Glorantha: The Gods War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Familiar with Cthulhu Wars?
I. Introduction
- Note from Sandy:
II. Components
III. Setup
IV. Game Basics
V. Action Phase
VI. Power Phase
VII. Council Phase
VIII. Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes
IX. Victory: Ending and Winning the Game
- Special Cases:
X. Player Tips
XI. Empires
XII. Elder Races
XIII. Monsters
XIV. FAQ
- Runes
- Empires
- Elder Races
- Monsters
XV. Rule Omega – The Final Question
XVI. Credits

Familiar with Cthulhu Wars?

We recognize that many players of Glorantha: The Gods War may be familiar with our earlier game, Cthulhu Wars. While these games share many similarities, The Gods War has a number of fundamental differences. Please read the entire rulebook before attempting to play The Gods War. The most notable differences are described below:

The Power Phase

Power is accumulated in a completely different manner in The Gods War than it is in Cthulhu Wars.

The Council Phase

While this serves some of the same functions as Cthulhu Wars' Doom Phase, The Gods War's Council Phase is more formal and structured. Certain cosmic, game-changing events will happen during the Council Phase.

Buildings

Unlike Gates in Cthulhu Wars, buildings belong to particular empires and must be conquered in battle before their ownership can be transferred. Many buildings contribute to their own defense.

The Move Action

In The Gods War, you may move any or all of your units from a single area (and ONLY that area) for a single point of Power.

Rout (Retreat) After Battle

Unlike Cthulhu Wars, your opponent in battle determines the area to which "pained" units must retreat, and these units must all go to the same area. In The Gods War, your units can be retreated to an area containing enemy units. It's possible, and even likely, that units from both sides will end up in the same place. In The Gods War, "pains" and "retreats" are called "routs."

Conquest/Destruction

This is a new step that happens after the Post-Battle step; it determines the fate of any buildings in the battle area.

I. Introduction

Glorantha: The Gods War is a fast-moving, asymmetric strategy game set at the time of the end of the universe, or perhaps the beginning of a new one. The players take on the roles of powerful elemental factions (referred to in these rules as "empires"), and will battle to determine the fate of the cosmos.

Note from Sandy:

Glorantha: The Gods War is set in the mythic realm of Glorantha, a setting created by Greg Stafford and first introduced to the world in 1975. Glorantha and its inhabitants have been featured in novels, art, and role-playing, board, and computer games. My first full-time job as a game designer, in the 1980s, saw me heavily involved in Glorantha's development and expansion, which helped to launch my career. Now, with The Gods War, I have returned to this legendary setting. I have loved working on this game and I hope and expect that you will love it, too.

II. Components

Glorantha: The Gods War consists of the core game and several expansions. This rulebook contains rules and instructions for all The Gods War products listed below: the core game, and the Empires, Elder Races, and Monsters expansions.

Core Game Components

Storm Empire — The Thunder King, Orlanth (Greater God); The Champion; 3 Stormbrothers; 4 Barbarians; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Sky Empire — The Sun God, Yelm (Greater God); The Emperor; 3 Phoenixes; 4 Archers; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Darkness Empire — The Hellmother, Kyger Litor (Greater God); The Mistress, Cragspider; 3 Shades; 4 Trolls; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Chaos Empire — The Mad God, Ragnaglar (Greater God); The Magna Mater, Thed; The Lady of Disease, Malia; 6 Broos; 1 Mad God Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Shared components — 1 Castle of Lead building token; 16 regular six-sided dice; 6 double-sided Chaos Nest building tokens; 3 Ziggurat building tokens; 18 Shrine building tokens; 9 Temple building tokens; the Rule Book.

Also included among the core components: a double-sided game map (3-player side and 5-player side); a double-sided Hell tile (Inner Hell / Outer Hell); a double-sided Sky Dome tile (Heavens / Moon); a Chaos Rift/Spike tile; 3 Monster Combat tokens; 3 Dragon Combat tokens; the Kylerela tile; a double-sided First-Player marker; 50 Rune cards (see Section VIII: Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes for the full list of rune effects); the Victory Track board; 4 Hint Cards (Phases of Play); the Oblivion Box tile; 4 Empire Sheets (Chaos, Darkness, Sky, Storm); and 24 Gifts (split across the four empires).

Empires Components

Glorantha: The Gods War also includes rules and components for expansion empires, sold separately, that plug into the core game.

Earth Empire — The Titan, Genert (Greater God); The Titan, Pamalt (Greater God); The Behemoth; 4 Axe Maidens; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Sea Empire — The Churner, Magasta (Greater God); The Kraken; 3 Sea Serpents; 4 Mermaids; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Moon Empire — The Red Goddess (Greater God); The Crimson Bat; 3 Selenes; 4 Assassins; 1 Oblivion Marker; 3 Victory/Power Markers.

Invisible God Empire — 4 Knights; 4 Wizards; 4 Specters; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Shared Empires-expansion components — Wedding Rings (one per empire color); 3 Castle building tokens; 3 Ziggurat building tokens; 3 Tower building tokens; 18 Shrine building tokens; 9 Temple building tokens; the Lunar Cycle/Slave Pen/Moonburn Box tile; 7 Earth Queens (one per empire: Chaos, Darkness, Invisible God, Moon, Sea, Sky, Storm) with 7 matching Earth Queen cards; a Submerged token; a Marriage tile.

An Earth Queen card reads: "Give to a new Spouse. Cost: 2. Combat: 1 (or 0 vs. Earth Empire). The Earth Queen is now married to you for the rest of the game; should you be eliminated or her unit be eliminated she returns to your unit pool instead of the same marker's pool. Earth may also re-summon her from your pool when placing a Temple or Ziggurat. When this happens you do not decide the area to which she is summoned; you will instead offer her a spouse from the area she is placed. During the Council Phase, earn 1 Power if this Queen is in play. Be warned that the Earth Queen has an Injunction ability, which may eliminate an Earth Queen during the Council Phase in order to gain a rune. Injunctions count in the same Council Phase before you would gain power for Injunction."

Elder Races Components

Elder Races are neutral, independent peoples that any empire may recruit through diplomacy or special conditions, each with its own Loyalty Card and unique special abilities. The box includes: 3 Ducks; 3 Dwarfs (The Mostali); 3 Elves (The Aldryami); 3 Slarges (Reptile Folk); 3 Vadeli Raiders; 3 Luathans; a Dragonewt Inhuman King; a Giant; a Maidstone Archer; a Dragonewt Scout; 3 Boggles; 3 Waertagi Dragonships; 3 Scorpion Men; 12 Loyalty Cards (Dwarfs, Elves, Waertagi, Ducks, Boggles, Giants, Luathans, Maidstone Archers, the Vadeli, Scorpion Folk, Slarges, Dragonewts); 10 Gifts (Vadeli, Dwarf, Waertagi, Elf, Boggle, Duck, Scorpion Folk, Luathan, Slarge, Maidstone Archer); a Dragonewt marker; an Aldrya marker.

Each Loyalty Card names the elder race's mortal minion/hero stats (cost and combat), its Pre-Requisite (if any), Setup, Alliance procedure (how an empire recruits them via diplomacy), Special Abilities, and a HeroQuest condition. For example, the Slarges (Reptile Folk) card (Cost 3, Combat 1 or 3): Pre-Requisite: Umathela must be on the map. Setup: Place a Slarge in Umathela. Alliance: normal diplomacy procedure. Special Ability — Generation Alternation (Battle; Ongoing): Before rolling combat dice, roll a die. On a roll of 1-3, each Slarge in the battle has a combat of 1. On a roll of 4-6, each Slarge has a combat of 3. If you need to check a Slarge's combat when not in a battle, follow the same procedure. HeroQuest: No Slarges are in your pool. The Dragonewts card describes a four-stage evolution track (Scout → Warrior → Priest → Noble/Dragon Hero), with Rebirth (Council Phase; Ongoing): each time the Dragonewt is killed in Battle, you may choose to rotate the evolution marker one step counter-clockwise instead of returning it to the Scout level; and Dragon Magic (Power Phase): if the Dragonewt is a priest, it provides 2 Power; if it is a noble, it provides 1 Power and 1 VP; if it is a Dragon Hero, it provides 2 VP.

Monsters Components

The Monsters expansion adds powerful neutral creatures that can be summoned onto the Spike or fought for their rewards: Androgeus; Juggernaut; Leviathan; Cwim; Mother of Monsters; Sky Terror; Black Dragon; Brown Dragon; Red Dragon; 3 Dragon Rewards; 3 Dragon Loyalty Cards (Black Dragon, Red Dragon, Brown Dragon); 6 Spawn Tokens and 6 matching Spawn Miniatures.

Additional Monsters components: 3 Cosmic Monster Rewards and 3 Cosmic Monster Loyalty Cards (Leviathan, Juggernaut, Androgeus); 3 Chaos Monster Rewards and 3 Chaos Monster Loyalty Cards (Cwim, Sky Terror, Mother of Monsters).

The Androgeus (Cosmic Monster) card (recommended no more than 1 cosmic monster per game; Combat 6) reads: Placement: Do not place Androgeus at the start of the game. When the Great Compromise is triggered, place Androgeus in Altinela. Council Phase: All empires with units in Androgeus' area earn 1 VP. Special Ability — Lust (Ongoing): When you summon a unit into Androgeus' area, or an adjacent one, choose an enemy empire to immediately summon a unit (for free) into that area, of the lowest cost available in their pool. If the area was adjacent, Androgeus also moves into the area. Superhero (Battle): You may roll a maximum of 4 combat dice vs. Androgeus. (If Storm uses Single Combat, his Champion's combat dice counts against the 4 total.) Killing Androgeus: You must have a hero or greater god in the battle and score at least 1 kill against Androgeus. Androgeus must also roll at least 1 kill in return. You must select which of your heroes or greater gods involved in the battle is killed, after which Androgeus dies. Any other battle result has no effect on Androgeus.

The Mother of Monsters (Chaos Monster) card (recommended no more than 1 Chaos Monster per game; Combat 6, or equal to total Spawn in play — i.e., if 2 Spawn are in play, each has combat 2) reads: Placement: Do not place the Mother of Monsters at the start of the game. When the Chaos Rift opens, place the Mother of Monsters in the Artmal Empire. No buildings may be built or upgraded in the area occupied by the Mother of Monsters. Special Ability — Titanic (Post-Battle): The Mother of Monsters is only affected by routs. She may not be routed to an area containing Spawn. Spawn are affected by battle results as normal, except that they may not be routed to the Mother of Monsters' area (they route to another Spawn's area). Birth (Action; Cost 0 or 1): All players can use this action. Move the Mother of Monsters to an adjacent area that does not contain any Spawn. (She can use movement arrows and freely exit Hell.) If all adjacent areas contain a Spawn, this ability may not be used. Then, place a new Spawn in the area the Mother just vacated. If 0, 1, or 2 Spawn are in play, this action costs 0 Power. If 3+ Spawn are in play, this action costs 1 power. Spawnrise (Action; Cost 1): All players can use this action. Select a Spawn to battle a chosen empire in its area. Spawn can destroy buildings. Killing the Mother of Monsters: The only way to kill the Mother of Monsters is to rout her — and she is unable to retreat due to the presence of Spawn.

Arachne Solara Components

Arachne Solara — a Cosmic Monster and alternate double-sided First-Player figure; 12 Web Tokens; a Loyalty Card. Also included: 16 Battle Dice.

The Arachne Solara (Cosmic Monster) Loyalty Card (recommended no more than 1 cosmic monster per game; Combat 10) reads: Placement: At the start of the game, place Arachne Solara in Inner Hell. Special Abilities — Tangled in the Web (Post-Battle): For each kill you score against Arachne Solara, gain 1 VP. Arachne Solara does not destroy buildings, even if she has killed and/or routed all of your units. Spinning the Web (Action; Cost 1): If Arachne Solara is in Hell or the Heavens, relocate her to any area on the surface world which does NOT yet have a web token, then place a web token in that area. If she is on the surface world, relocate her to Heaven or Hell (do not place a web token). All players may take this action. Empowering the Web (Council Phase): In player order, any player with a building in an area containing Arachne Solara and/or web token may choose to gain 1 power for every such building. That player then places a web token from the pool onto his empire sheet, to indicate he or she cannot do this again (each player can use this ability only once per game). Completing the Web (End of Game): The game immediately ends when all 12 web tokens have been taken from the pool. The game ends even if no one has reached 35 VP. Runes may be played at the end of the game, as usual. Killing Arachne Solara: You cannot kill Arachne Solara; she cannot be routed, killed or eliminated in battle, nor can she be moved by any means (other than Spinning the Web). If she is on the Spike when it explodes, place her in Inner Hell.

Buildings Components

Building tokens come in each empire's color. Each of the eight empires (Storm, Darkness, Sky, Moon, Chaos, Sea, Earth, and the neutral/expansion colors) has: 6 Shrine tokens and 3 Temple tokens, plus a matching Ziggurat token. Darkness alone has a unique Castle of Lead. The Invisible God Empire has 3 Castles and 3 Towers instead of a Ziggurat. Chaos has 6 double-sided Chaos Nest tokens instead of Shrines/Temples.

The Brown Dragon Loyalty Card (recommended no more than 1 dragon be used in a given game; Combat 4) reads: Setup: Place the Brown Dragon on the Spike. No units may be summoned into a Dragon's area. Council Phase: At the end of each Council Phase (just before the Action Phase), the last player in turn order may discard a rune to move the Brown Dragon to the area of his choice; it immediately battles his selected empire. If that player cannot or does not wish to activate the dragon, the next player in reverse turn order gets a chance, and so forth. If no player is able or willing to activate the dragon, the Brown Dragon does not activate that Council Phase. Special Ability — Rage (Post-Battle): Units routed by the Brown Dragon remain in place. However, the activating player earns 1 rune per "routed" unit, whether or not the Dragon survives. Kills are scored normally. The Brown Dragon may destroy a building in the area if it is the only unit remaining after battle. (If a player battles the Dragon during the Action Phase, no player takes any runes.) Killing the Brown Dragon: You must score 3+ kills against it, or 2 kills if your hero is present. The Dragon is routed normally. If the Spike shatters while the Dragon is on it, it is also killed. In this case, no player takes the reward, and all players with one or more runes must discard one, gaining no effect.

III. Setup

A. The Map

The map comes in two pieces, each of which is printed on both sides and contains many labeled areas. The two sides have identically-shaped continents, but the 5-player side of the map contains more land areas than does the 3-player side. For reference, the player counts are printed on the maps.

THREE-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with both 3-player sides face-up.

FOUR-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with one 3- and one 5-player side face-up. There are two different possible arrangements. It does not matter which you choose – both are fair starts.

FIVE-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with both 5-player sides face-up. (The 5-player game is only playable with the Empires expansion).

If you have the Empires expansion, you may also use the 6-8 player map. This works similarly to the core game map, using both 6- or both 8-player sides for those respective player counts and using one of each for a 7-player game. As with a 4-player game, a 7-player game offers two different map arrangements.

Place the Spike tile face-up on the map, covering Magasta's Pool. Place the Kylerela tile in the Togaro Ocean, orienting it so that it does not touch any land areas. Place the Hell & Sky Dome sideboards where players can reach them; these sideboards are part of the map.

B. Tabletop Setup

Place the victory track so that it is visible to all players and within the reach of at least one player. Shuffle the Rune deck thoroughly and place it, along with the dice, within reach of all players.

C. Empire Setup

Players now select their empires. This may be done randomly, or players may agree to choose their empires. In the latter case, we recommend settling disputes by permitting younger players to choose first.

Place your empire sheet in front of you, along with your building counters, six gift tiles, and the plastic figures representing your empire's units. Some empires may receive additional counters (for example, Chaos receives Oblivion tokens). These components make up your empire's pool.

Place your victory marker on the "0" space of the victory track.

Follow the setup instructions on your empire sheet. These typically entail placing a Shrine in a particular area and setting your Power to 6.

If someone is playing as Sky, give that player the first-player marker. Otherwise, you may choose the first player in any way you prefer. Note that the Chaos player CANNOT be the first player. The first player decides the initial direction of play by choosing which side of the first-player marker to place face-up on the table; play will then commence accordingly, in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

If you have the Arachne Solara first-player figure, you can use that instead of the die-cut marker; just place her on the table in front of you, with her hand pointing in the direction of play.

IV. Game Basics

A. Object of the Game

Each player is in control of an empire representing a cosmic force of Glorantha's universe. The object of the game is to grow in influence, achieve Heroquests, acquire gifts, and use your accumulated might to triumph over your enemies. In the end, the winner will be the player who acquires the most victory points (VP), which signify cosmic importance and power. See Victory: Ending and Winning the Game on page 80 for more details.

B. Phases of Play

Each round of The Gods War is played out over three distinct phases:

1. Action Phase 2. Power Phase 3. Council Phase

Play proceeds in the order indicated above, and returns again to the Action Phase after the end of each Council Phase. This cycle continues until a player triggers the end of the game by earning at least 35 VP.

Below is a brief overview of play; the following pages describe the phases in detail:

In the Action Phase, players take turns performing actions. A player may only perform one action per turn. There are four common actions that can be taken:

Build or Upgrade a Building. This allows you to grow your empire by placing a building onto the map, or by improving one already there.
Summon a Unit. This places one of your units on the map. Your units can defend your buildings and battle against enemies.
Move your Units around the map.
Declare Battle, possibly followed by Conquest or Destruction. During battle you can kill your enemies' units and replace their buildings with yours.

Each action generally costs some amount of Power, which is tracked on your empire sheet's Power track. The Action Phase continues until all players are out of Power, at which point play moves on to the Power Phase.

In the Power Phase, players replenish their Power. How much Power a player gains is dependent on how many different types of buildings that player has on the map and the number of achieved Heroquest fragments on his or her empire sheet.

Once everyone has gained Power, play moves to the Council Phase. Several things occur during this phase, in turn: the first-player marker may change hands, then players earn VP according to how many buildings they have on the map and how many Heroquest fragments they hold. Finally, special Council Phase gifts and abilities may be used. As the game progresses, special events will change the ways in which the game is played.

C. Empire Sheets

Your empire sheet contains valuable information:

A. Empire Name B. Setup: this provides information on your starting position and resources. C. Power: this is where you keep track of your Power D. Unique Ability and Weakness: each empire has its own unique ability and weakness E. Heroquests: these slots describe the special goals you must achieve in order to earn gifts. F. Units and Buildings: this section shows the number and type of units and buildings available to you, along with their costs, combat ratings, and any special notes. G. Power Phase/Council Phase notes: this area provides a reminder of any gifts or abilities that take place during the Power or Council Phases.

D. Units and Buildings

Most empires have 9 units available to them over the course of the game. There are four specific types of units: mortal minions, mortal heroes, lesser gods, and greater gods. All empires except for Chaos and Invisible God have at least one unit of each type. All units are unique to their own empires.

Most empires have 10 buildings. Unlike units, most empires share the same three types of buildings: Shrines, Temples, and Ziggurats.

Units and buildings are limited to the number noted on each empire sheet. For instance, Storm can never have more than four Barbarians. A unit in your pool is not considered to be in play, and vice versa. Units that have been killed in battle or otherwise eliminated during play are typically returned to your pool. Likewise, buildings that have been conquered or destroyed in battle are also typically returned to your pool.

Most of the time, your units and buildings will either be in your pool or on the map. If they are on the map, they are considered to be in play; otherwise they are not in play. A unit or building that is in play is a valid target for your enemies' (or your own) actions, abilities, gifts, and runes. A unit or building "in an area" is by definition "on the map," and vice-versa.

There are a few off-map locations in the game. Units and buildings can only be put into or extracted from these locations under very specific circumstances. Off-map locations are not areas; units and buildings in them are not on the map, in an area, in your pool, or in play (exception: units in Moon's Slave Pen are still in play, with restrictions - see the FAQ about Moon's Enslavement gift).

For example, the Chaos Rift is an off-map location, even though the Chaos Rift tile is placed on the map. During the Chaos Rift Struggle, units and buildings are put into (and extracted from) the Chaos Rift in a specific way. While in the Rift, these units and buildings are not in play; neither you nor your enemies may target them. They are also not in your pool, so you cannot summon or build them.

V. Action Phase

The Action Phase is when players will have the opportunity to build and upgrade buildings, summon and move units, declare battle against each other, use certain gifts and abilities, actively strive to achieve Heroquests, and otherwise interact with each other.

There are four common actions that all players may perform:

Build or Upgrade a Building. This allows you to grow your empire by placing a building on the map or improving one already in play.
Summon a Unit. This allows you to place one of your units on the map. Units can defend your buildings and battle against enemies.
Move Units around the map.
Declare Battle. During battle you can kill and/or rout enemy units, and conquer (take over) or destroy an enemy's building.

In addition to these common actions, there are also:

Unique Actions. Each empire has access to actions provided by their gifts and abilities. Certain Heroquests may also be achieved by performing specific actions described on their individual empire sheets.

Every action has a Power cost (which can be 0), indicating how much Power must be spent to perform that action. Whenever you spend Power, adjust the marker on your Power track accordingly. Your Power cannot go below 0. If you do not have enough Power to pay for the cost of an action, you cannot perform that action. Conversely, if you pay to take an action, you must take that action.

Starting with the first player and going in turn order, each player performs a single action. Play continues around the table in this manner until all players are out of Power and are therefore unable to perform any more actions. Once this happens, the Action Phase ends.

Unless you are at 0 Power, you cannot skip your turn; you MUST perform an action. However, if it is your turn and you do not wish to perform any more actions in this Action Phase, you may voluntarily reduce your Power to 0. This is not an action (i.e., there is no "Pass" action).

If you somehow gain Power after spending it all, you are "re-activated" and can once again take actions on your turn.

Note: Some units may seem like they are "restricted" to water or land areas, like sea serpents or scorpion men. They're not.

A. Build or Upgrade a Building (Cost: variable)

The Build or Upgrade a Building action allows you to take a building from your pool and place it onto the map. The Power cost of this action is the Power cost of the building you wish to place onto the map. Most buildings require another type of building to already be in play; each empire sheet will detail buildings' Power costs, along with any prerequisites.

To build a Shrine, pay its cost (1 Power) and take a Shrine from your pool, placing it on an area of the map that does not already contain a building.

If you already have a Shrine on the map, you may upgrade it to a Temple. This is done by paying the Temple's cost (2 Power) and replacing the selected Shrine with a Temple from your pool. Likewise, a Temple may be upgraded to a Ziggurat by paying its cost (3 Power). In both cases, the building removed from the map is returned to your pool.

Important Rules for Building or Upgrading a Building:

When you perform the Build or Upgrade a Building action, you may only build or upgrade a single building. For example, you cannot pay 2 Power to build 2 Shrines.
There are no restrictions as to where on the map you can Build or Upgrade a Building. Buildings may be placed on land or sea areas, on the Spike, on Kylerela, on Sky Dome, or in Hell.
An area cannot contain more than one building (Chaos Nests are an exception to this rule).
You do NOT need to have a unit in an area where you Build or Upgrade a Building – the area can be empty, or it might even be filled with enemy units.
If you cannot pay the Power cost of the building you wish to place on the map, you cannot perform this action for this building.
If you want to place a building on the map but do not have any of that building in your pool, you cannot perform this action for this building.
If the building you want to place on the map has a prerequisite building, and none of these buildings are on the map, you cannot perform this action for this building. The prerequisite building must belong to your empire (e.g., you cannot upgrade another empire's Shrine to one of your Temples).

Chaos, Darkness, and Invisible God have unique building types. Darkness' Castle of Lead cannot be built unless its Ancestor Worship gift is active, and it cannot be built directly; it must be upgraded from any other Darkness building, which is then returned to Darkness' pool. By contrast, Invisible God's Castles and Towers are built like Shrines and do not upgrade at all. Chaos' standard Chaos Nests are also built like Shrines, but with certain distinctions described below.

Chaos' Imbedded Chaos nests are "upgraded" from standard Chaos Nests, but instead of removing the standard Chaos Nest from the map, it is instead flipped over to become an Imbedded Chaos Nest. Note that the Chaos player does not actually perform a Build or Upgrade Building action to do this; instead, Chaos uses its Imbed gift.

Chaos Nest Exceptionalism

Chaos is able to build Chaos Nests, which may be built in an area that already contains an enemy's building. Chaos cannot build 2 Chaos Nests in the same area. Chaos may always build a Nest in an empty area. Non-Chaos empires may build one of their buildings in an area containing a Chaos Nest and no other building. The presence of a Chaos Nest does not prevent an empire from upgrading a building. (All of the above apply to both standard and Imbedded Chaos Nests.)

B. Summon a Unit (Cost: variable)

The Summon a Unit action allows you to take a unit from your pool and place it onto the map. This is done by paying the unit's Power cost and placing it into any area where you have a building. Units' Power costs are printed on their respective empire sheets.

Important rules for Summoning a Unit:

When performing the Summon a Unit action, you may only summon a single unit. You may not pay extra Power to summon multiple units at once.
Any of your units may be summoned into an area containing one of your buildings.
Some units (notably, greater gods) have requirements that must be met before they can be summoned. Any requirements will be printed on those units' respective empire sheets.
If you cannot pay the Power cost of the unit you wish to summon, you cannot summon that unit.
If you wish to summon a unit and have none of that unit in your pool, you cannot summon that unit.
If you have no buildings on the map, you cannot Summon a Unit.

C. Move Units (Cost: 1)

To Move Units, spend 1 Power and select an area where you have at least one unit. All of your units in that area may now be moved into adjacent area(s).

Important rules for the Move Units action:

Your units do not need to move TO the same area (but they must all come from the same area).
You do not need to move every unit out of the activated area.
Your units cannot be prevented from moving by the presence of enemy units or buildings.
Only units may move; buildings do not have that capability.
All units may go into all areas. (Sea Serpents and Dragon Ships may move to land areas, etc.)

Example: Storm has a Shrine, three Barbarians, and a Stormbrother in Teshnos. He activates the area for movement, moving one Barbarian and the Stormbrother to the Sea of Fog, and another Barbarian into Genert's Garden. The last Barbarian stays where he was, guarding the Shrine.

Movement & the Map

The map has several features that may affect movement, as described below:

The Surface World. The surface world consists of all areas on the main map board, including the Spike and the Floating Island, Kylerela. The surface world does NOT include the Sky Dome or Hell sideboards.

All areas on the surface world are counted as either land or sea/ocean. Areas with the word "sea" or "ocean" in their names are sea/ocean areas (often just referred to as sea areas; the terms are interchangeable). All other areas are land areas, including Kylerela and the Spike.

For most purposes there is no difference between land and sea – all units can freely move into either type of area, buildings can be built in the sea, and so on. If this seems odd, consider that in our own world there are thousands of islands too small to be shown on most maps.

Any two areas on the surface world are adjacent if they share a border.

Sea-Crossing Arrows. Many land areas are connected to each other on the map by printed arrows. Any two areas connected by an arrow are considered adjacent for the purposes of the Move Units action (and when units are routed in battle, but not for any other purpose). The Floating Island, Kylerela, can block sea-crossing arrows. Example: on the western 5-player side of the map, units may use the sea-crossing arrow to go directly from Jrustela to Umathela, skipping over the Brown Sea.

Sky Dome Sideboard. The Sky Dome is that part of the universe above the surface world. It is composed of 2 areas in a game with 3-5 players, and 3 areas in a game with 6-8 players. Sky Dome is part of the map, but not part of the surface world. As such, its areas are neither land nor sea.

All areas within Sky Dome are adjacent to each other. Land areas on the north and south edges of the surface-world, plus the Spike, are labeled as "To/From Sky Dome," meaning that they are adjacent to all areas of the Sky Dome, and vice-versa.

Example: A player moves a minion from the Enmal Mountains to the Heavens (he could have moved to the Moon instead). With his next action he moves that minion again, this time from the Heavens to Altinela. Thus with two Move Units actions he has transferred his minion across the entire world.

Hell Sideboard. Hell is that part of the universe below the surface world. It can be difficult, or even impossible, to leave Hell. As with the Sky Dome, Hell is part of the map but not part of the surface world. As such, its areas are neither land nor sea. All areas within Hell are adjacent to each other. Depending on player count, Hell will be composed of 2 or 3 areas.

A unit may enter Hell through the use of a Move Units action. Units can only enter Hell from a land area labeled "To Hell." From that land area, a unit can move to any area in Hell. (You can also be routed to Hell, as explained in the Post-Battle rules.)

Note: All the Hell entrances are on the western side of the map (where the sun goes down), at least until Magasta's Pool is revealed.

Exiting Hell is difficult. No unit may leave Hell (via the Move Units action or with a movement-like ability) unless it has permission to do so. To gain permission there must be another unit in the same area of Hell with a higher combat rating than that of the unit(s) wishing to leave (empire sheets describe each unit's combat rating). You must ask the player who controls the unit with the higher combat rating if your unit(s) may exit Hell. If the player agrees, your unit(s) may leave. You may also give your own unit(s) permission to leave Hell, but if you do so, the unit granting permission may not leave with them. Buildings cannot grant permission; only units can do so. If you are granted permission to leave Hell, you are not obligated to do so.

When exiting Hell via the Move Units action, all units must be placed in the Gates of Dawn area on the surface world.

Once Magasta's Pool is in play, you may spend 1 VP (in addition to 1 Power for the Move Units action) to move units out of Hell without permission. The 1 VP cost covers any number of units, though of course using the Move action means they must all come from the same area in Hell. The 1 VP may also be spent in conjunction with a movement-like ability in order to exit Hell without permission. If you do not wish to pay the VP cost you may still request permission to leave, as described above.

The Spike. The Spike is a surface-world land area that is adjacent to the Sky Dome, as well as four sea areas. At a certain point during the game the Spike will shatter and be replaced with the Chaos Rift.

The Chaos Rift. This appears when the Spike shatters. The Chaos Rift is not an area; units may not move into it, nor can buildings be built there. Units and buildings will be only placed in the Chaos Rift during the Chaos Rift Struggle. (For more details, see The Chaos Rift Struggle.)

Magasta's Pool. Once the Chaos Rift closes, it is removed from the map and Magasta's Pool becomes visible. Magasta's Pool is not an area; instead it indicates that all four adjacent sea areas are now entries to Hell. Units may now enter Hell by moving (or being routed in battle) from any sea area bordering Magasta's Pool. Units may not exit Hell via Magasta's Pool.

Kylerela. Kylerela is the Floating Island. If you activate units on Kylerela for a Move Units action, you may move the Kylerela tile itself in addition to moving your units on it. Kylerela is a land area.

Some important rules for how Move Units works with Kylerela:

Units "aboard" Kylerela may disembark to adjacent areas before and/or after the island itself has been moved.
You may only activate Kylerela as part of a Move action if you have a unit or a building on it.
You may move Kylerela without moving any units from it (this still costs 1 Power as a Move Units action).
The presence of enemy buildings or units does not prevent you from moving Kylerela (no one "owns" the Floating Island).
Kylerela may only move 1 ocean space per Move Units action.

Kylerela must remain unambiguously in a single sea area; it may never be placed over a land area or two different seas. However, when it is moved, you may place the tile so that one or both of its docks connect to a land area. A dock connecting Kylerela to a land area makes Kylerela adjacent to that area for all purposes. Two docks can touch different land areas, if the tile's size permits. All land areas at which Kylerela docks must be adjacent to the same sea area. Even if Kylerela touches a third land area by its shape or size, this land area is not considered adjacent to Kylerela – it must be one of the two areas touching a dock. The Spike is a land area; Kylerela may dock at it.

There are ultimately three ways in which Kylerela can be positioned, making it adjacent to exactly one, two, or three areas, respectively: completely surrounded by a single sea area, in which case it is adjacent only to that sea area; in a single sea area, and connected by one (or both) docks to a single land area; or in a single sea area, and connected by its docks to two separate land areas both touching that same sea.

If Kylerela wholly or partially covers a sea-crossing arrow, that arrow is unusable until Kylerela moves away. You may cover a sea-crossing arrow even if Kylerela is not docked to any lands. Example: in a 5-player game, Kylerela is placed so that its docks are on Seshnela and Luathela. This blocks the sea-crossing arrow leading from Brithos to Jrustela.

Example of a Move Units action involving Kylerela: Kylerela is in the Sea of Fog. Storm has three Barbarians and his Champion on Kylerela when he activates it with a Move Units action. First, he moves one Barbarian into the Sea of Fog. Then, he moves Kylerela to the Togaro Ocean, placing its docks on the Gates of Dawn and the Artmali Empire, across (and blocking) the sea crossing in the Togaro Ocean. He then moves one Barbarian to the Togaro Ocean and his last Barbarian and his Champion to the Artmali Empire (he could have moved one or both of them to the Gates of Dawn instead). All this for the low, low cost of 1 Power!

D. Declare Battle (Cost: 1)

Battle is the most common way to remove enemy units from the map, as well as to conquer or destroy enemy buildings. To Declare Battle, spend 1 Power and select an area where you have at least one unit and an enemy empire has at least one unit or a building. This becomes the battle area for that battle.

Important rules for the Declare Battle action:

You cannot Declare Battle in an area where you have no units, even if your building in that area has a combat effect.
You can Declare Battle on an enemy building; no enemy units need be present.
You may only battle a single enemy at a time; if more than one enemy empire has forces in the battle area, select only one of those empires to battle against. Any other empires present in the area are idle bystanders.
For the purposes of battle, there are no functional differences between land, sea, Sky Dome, or Hell areas.
Declare Battle is an action: simply moving into an area containing enemy units does not trigger a battle! Empires may co-exist for many turns without battling.
You may Declare Battle even if you would roll 0 combat dice, as long as you have at least one unit present.
A Declare Battle action consists of a single battle. For example, you cannot pay 2 Power to declare two separate battles.

Note: Since a greater god can be killed, do not bring it out before you can protect it with other units.

For any given battle, the attacker is the player who Declared Battle; the other player involved in the battle is the defender. When a battle is declared, all of the attacker's units in the battle area (and their building, if one is present) become involved in the battle. Similarly, all of the defender's units in the battle area (and their building, if one is present) become involved in the battle.

How Battle Works

Once battle has been declared, it proceeds through the following steps:

Pre-Battle
Combat Rolls
Post-Battle
Conquest or Destruction

1. Pre-Battle

During the Pre-Battle step, the attacker and the defender may use any of their Pre-Battle gifts or abilities. These gifts and abilities typically specify that they can only be used if a particular unit is involved in the battle. These gifts and abilities are not actions, and they do not have a Power cost.

The attacker must use all of their Pre-Battle gifts and abilities before the defender uses any. If a player is able to use more than one Pre-Battle gift or ability, they may choose the order in which they are used. Each Pre-Battle gift and ability may be used only once per battle. After the attacker has chosen and used any Pre-Battle gifts and/or abilities, the defender does the same.

Occasionally there may be a gift or ability that can be used by an empire not participating in the battle. If this is the case, that gift or ability may only be used after the defender has used his or her Pre-Battle gifts and/or abilities.

2. Combat Rolls

All units have a combat rating; this is a number (which can be 0) that indicates how many combat dice that unit contributes to their side in a battle. Most units' combat ratings are fixed, but some units have combat ratings that depend on certain conditions or are calculated with a simple formula. Units' combat ratings are located on their respective empire sheets, in the "Combat" column.

Determine your side's combat total for a battle by adding together the combat ratings of all your units involved in the battle. For example, if Storm had two Barbarians and their Champion in a battle, Storm would have a combat total of 4 (1 + 1 + 2).

Each side in the battle then rolls a number of dice equal to their respective combat totals. Combat rolls are simultaneous! If separate rolls are needed, keep track of each side's results.

For each 6 you roll, you score 1 kill. For each 4 or 5, you score 1 rout (see below for details on these). Rolls of 1-3 are misses; they have no effect.

All buildings have a combat effect; this is some number (which can be 0) of kills or routs that are added to their side's combat results. Most buildings' combat effects are fixed, but some do have conditional combat effects. Buildings' combat effects are located on their respective empire sheets, in the "Combat" column.

Your combat results are the total number of your rolled kills and routs, plus any additional kills or routs added by any of your buildings involved in the battle. Continuing the example above, Storm rolls 1 kill, 1 rout, and 2 misses. He also has a Temple present, which adds another rout. Storm's combat results are 1 kill and 2 routs (along with 2 misses, which have no effect).

Some gifts and abilities are marked simply as "Battle." These are normally used during the Combat Roll step of battle.

Note: Petersen Games also sells special battle dice with symbols. Instead of using numbers, the dice are pre-marked with Kill, Rout, and Miss symbols, which can make it quicker to determine results.

3. Post-Battle

After determining combat results (including the contributions of any buildings), it is time to inflict these results upon your enemy!

Kills are inflicted first (on both sides), followed by routs.

For each kill scored against you, one of your units is killed. You select which of your units involved in the battle are killed; these are returned to your pool. Excess kills are ignored. While both sides may assign their kills simultaneously, the defender may choose to wait until the attacker has finished.

After all kills have been resolved, it is time to assign and apply rout results to any remaining units. For each rout scored against you, one of your units is routed. You select which of your units involved in the battle are routed, and then your opponent selects an adjacent area into which ALL of your routed units are immediately sent. Excess routs are ignored. Routs are always inflicted upon the attacker first, followed by the defender. The defender does not select which of their units are routed until after the attacker's routed units have vacated the battle area.

Important rules for the Post-Battle step:

Any unit – even a greater god – can be killed or routed as a result of a single die roll.
Both the attacker's and defender's routed units may be sent to the same area.
Kills and routs can only be assigned to units. Buildings cannot be killed or routed.
Units CAN be routed along sea-crossing arrows (unless those arrows are out of play due to Kylerela).
Units can be routed to/from Sky Dome (along the northern and southern boundaries of the surface world and the Spike, while it is in play).
Units can be routed into Hell if battling in an area with a border marked "to Hell"
Units can NEVER be routed out of Hell. You cannot ask for permission to exit Hell during a battle.
Special note for Storm's Single Combat ability: if his Champion inflicts a rout on an enemy unit during Pre-Battle, then all enemy units routed later in the battle must also go to that same area

There are many Post-Battle gifts and abilities. These are used during the Post-Battle step, often modifying how combat results are assigned. As with Pre-Battle, these gifts and abilities are resolved in the order of attacker first, defender second. If a player has more than one Post-Battle gift or ability, he or she may use them in any order. Each Post-Battle gift or ability may be used only once per battle.

4. Conquest or Destruction

After resolving all combat results and Post-Battle gifts and abilities, check to see if conquest or destruction will occur. For either of these to happen, a combatant must have at least one unit remaining in the battle area while their enemy has only a single building and no units present. If this happens, the empire with a remaining unit MUST then choose to conquer or destroy the enemy building.

To conquer the building, return it to its owner's pool and replace it with your own identical building (i.e., Shrine for Shrine, Temple for Temple). If you are unable to replace an enemy's building with one of yours of the same type (for example, if you have no Temples in your pool), you must destroy the building.

To destroy an enemy building, simply return it to its owner's pool. Even if you could conquer a building, you may always choose to destroy it instead.

As always, units belonging to empires not participating in the battle are ignored. They do not protect buildings from conquest or destruction, nor do they participate in these actions. Likewise, if a building in the area does not belong to either empire involved in the battle, it may not be conquered or destroyed as part of this battle.

There are a few gifts and abilities that are marked "Conquest/Destruction." These are used during the Conquest or Destruction step. Resolve these in the order of attacker first, defender second. Each Conquest/Destruction gift or ability may only be used once per battle.

Imbedded Chaos Nest Exceptionalism

When an Imbedded Chaos Nest is "destroyed," flip it over; it becomes a standard Chaos Nest. Thus, completely destroying an Imbedded Chaos Nest takes two separate battles across two separate actions.

Simple Conquest Example: Darkness has a Troll in an area in which Storm has a Shrine, but no units. Darkness pays 1 Power and Declares Battle, but doesn't bother to roll combat dice (since she can't kill or rout the Shrine). Thus, in the Conquest or Destruction step, Darkness' unit is still in the battle area with Storm's lone building. Darkness chooses to conquer by replacing Storm's Shrine with her own.

Complex Battle Example: Storm attacks Darkness in Altinela. Storm has 2 Barbarians and his Champion, while Darkness has 2 Trolls, a Temple, and her Mistress. Each player has all 6 of their gifts.

In the Pre-Battle step, Storm uses his Whirlwind gift to bring a Stormbrother in from elsewhere on the map (and add 1 die to his combat total). He then uses his Champion's Single Combat gift to roll that unit's 2 combat dice first, before any other combat rolls are made. Storm rolls 1 & 4 for his Champion, meaning that one of Darkness' units has been routed. Darkness selects a Troll, which Storm routs to the Moon.

Both players then roll their combat dice. Storm rolls 4 dice for his 2 Barbarians and the Stormbrother, plus the extra die added earlier by the Whirlwind gift. (He does not roll again for his Champion.) Darkness will roll just 1 die for her remaining Troll, as she has opted to use her Mistress' Hunger gift rather than rolling combat dice for that unit. Storm rolls 1, 4, 4, and 6, for two more routs and a kill. Darkness rolls a 6, which will result in a kill. Her Temple adds an automatic rout and she uses her Mistress' Hunger gift to add 1 kill, giving Darkness a total of 2 kills and 1 rout.

Storm is the attacker, so he suffers kills first; he chooses to kill both of his Barbarians. Darkness assigns the kill to her Troll. Storm, the attacker, now suffers routs first; he assigns the single rout to his Champion. Darkness sends Storm's Champion to Genert's Garden. Now Darkness must suffer her rout. Storm must send Darkness' remaining unit to the Moon, as that is where Darkness' Troll was routed to in the Pre-Battle step (the "extra" rout is ignored).

Storm still has a Stormbrother left in Genert's Garden and Darkness' Temple is unaccompanied by any of her units, meaning that Conquest or Destruction must now take place. Storm chooses to conquer the Temple instead of destroying it. Darkness could have chosen to have her Mistress score 2 routs instead of 1 kill, in which case she would have routed all of Storm's units out of the area and saved her Temple, but she would have killed one fewer enemy unit.

E. Unique Actions (Cost: variable)

Each empire has unique gifts and abilities, some of which are labeled as actions and have a stated Power cost (which may be 0). If the gift or ability is active, then on your turn you may pay the cost of one of these actions and carry out its effects rather than using one of the four common actions of Build or Upgrade a Building, Summon a Unit, Move Units, or Declare Battle. If you do not have enough Power to pay its cost, you cannot perform that action. (Remember also that if you have 0 Power, you cannot perform any actions, even 0-cost actions.)

Additionally, some Heroquests found on your empire sheet are classified as actions; these may have a stated Power cost (which may be 0). You may perform one of these as your turn's action.

For more details, see Chapter VIII: Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes.

VI. Power Phase

Once all players have spent all of their Power in the Action Phase, it is time for the Power Phase. In this Phase all players will gain Power according to the guidelines below, moving their Power markers to indicate their new totals. This is done simultaneously. Once this is completed, players then apply the Minimum Power Rule as necessary. (If this is the first game for any of the players, it is best to have players gain their Power one at a time.)

There are four main sources of Power for each empire: Glorantha's Blessing, buildings, Heroquest fragments, and special abilities.

Note: In the early game, focus on increasing your Power base. High Power creates opportunities and gives you more options.

1. Glorantha's Blessing (1 Power, if Chaos Rift is not open)

The Goddess of the Universe, Arachne Solara, grants all empires (other than Chaos) 1 Power unless the Chaos Rift is currently open (in which case no one receives this blessing). Chaos' unique weakness, Loathsome, prevents Chaos from ever gaining Power from Glorantha's Blessing.

2. Buildings (2 Power per type)

Each empire earns 2 Power for each TYPE of building it has on the map.

For example, a player has both a Shrine and a Temple in play, representing two separate types of building; that player will receive 4 Power. If a player has 6 Shrines and no other buildings on the map, that player has only one type of building in play and will thus receive 2 Power.

Chaos only has a single building type; Imbedded Chaos Nests and standard Chaos Nests are considered to be the same type of building for the purposes of gaining Power in this manner.

3. Heroquest Fragments (1 Power each)

On the right side of each empire sheet are that empire's Heroquests, each divided into three fragments (or four, for Invisible God). Each fragment is subdivided into two Heroquest slots; this is where your gifts will go once they have been earned.

Earn 1 Power for each fragment containing at least one gift.

Each fragment that contains at least one gift will grant you one power. In this case, the player has two fragments, each containing one gift, so the player earns two power. In this other case, the player has two gifts, but they are in the same fragment, so the player only gains one power.

4. Power Phase Gifts & Abilities (variable)

Many gifts and abilities activate during the Power Phase. Each player should check his empire sheet for these gifts and abilities and gain any associated rewards. In the rare case of conflict between players, perform these effects in player order with each player using all of their active Power Phase gifts and abilities before moving on to the next player. Unless stated otherwise, players may choose the order in which they activate their gifts and abilities. Note that some Power Phase gifts and abilities may not provide Power but will instead generate some other effect.

Example: Sky gets 1 Power from Glorantha's Blessing, as the Chaos Rift is not yet open. He has 3 Shrines and a Temple, so he gains another 4 Power for having two types of building. He has achieved both Heroquests from one fragment plus another in a second fragment, and thus receives 2 more Power from his three gifts as they are spread across 2 fragments. During the gifts & abilities segment, his Solar Energy gift grants him 3 more Power. His final total is 1 (Glorantha) + 4 (buildings) + 2 (fragments) + 3 (Solar Energy gift) = 10.

5. Apply the Minimum Power Rule

At the end of the Power Phase, after everyone has recorded their Power on their Power tracks, apply the Minimum Power Rule: if your Power is less than half of that held by the player with the greatest amount of Power, increase your Power to half of that player's total, rounding up.

Example: After a disastrous turn, Darkness finds himself earning only 3 Power. The player with the most Power, Sky, has 13. The Minimum Power Rule bumps Darkness' Power up to 7 (half of Sky's total, rounded up).

While the Power track only goes to 15, you may exceed that total. The easiest way to track this is to "wrap around" with your Power marker. For instance, if your Power is 17 you could place your Power marker on the 2 space and remember that it is really 17 (15 + 2). Then, when it hits "0," bump it back to the 15 spot immediately (when wrapping around like this, do not leave your marker on 0 or you will be giving yourself an extra, "free" Power! It should go directly from 1 to 15).

VII. Council Phase

The Council Phase represents the Council of the Gods, when all empires meet to decide the laws and fate of the universe. In this phase the next round's first player is determined, VP are earned, cosmic powers are activated, the Chaos Rift is fought against, and the Judge of the Great Compromise is chosen. While the Power Phase does not normally require any interaction between players, the Council Phase does.

The Council Phase has several segments, which must be completed in order: A. Determine First Player B. Earn VP from Buildings & Fragments C. Activate Council Phase Gifts & Abilities D. Chaos Rift Struggle E. Great Compromise

A. Determine First Player

The current first player gives the first-player marker to the player with the most Power. If two (or more) players are tied for most Power, the current first player decides which of the tied players receives the marker (If she is involved in the tie, she may choose herself). Chaos may never be first player and thus is ignored in this determination.

The new first player takes the first-player marker and decides whether to set it to the clockwise or counterclockwise side. Whichever side she selects will determine the direction of play until the beginning of the next round's Council Phase. If the first player retains her position, she may choose to change the direction of play.

B. Earn VP from Buildings and Fragments

In this segment, players earn VP from buildings and Heroquest fragments. Move each player's VP token forward 1 space on the victory point track for each VP earned.

Players MUST perform this segment in player order, starting with the first player. (After the Chaos Rift has opened, players may choose to count up their VP simultaneously. For more details, see The Chaos Rift Struggle.)

VP from Buildings. Earn 1 VP for each individual building you have in play. For example, 1 Shrine and 1 Temple will earn 2 VP, while 6 Shrines will earn 6 VP.

VP from Fragments. Earn 1 VP for each Heroquest fragment with gifts in both of its slots. A fragment with two gifts filled grants 1 VP; a player with two gifts spread across two different fragments (one gift in each) does not gain any VP, as neither fragment is completely filled.

C. Activate Council Gifts & Abilities

Most empires have at least one council gift or ability, as noted on their empire sheets. In this segment, starting with the first player and following the direction of play set in the Determine First Player segment, players may activate any of their available gifts or abilities.

D. Chaos Rift Struggle

The Chaos Rift Struggle represents the banding together of all empires to prevent Chaos from destroying the universe, and it has a powerful effect on play. Skip this segment until the Chaos Rift has opened.

The Spike Shatters

The shattering of the Spike is the event that triggers the Chaos Rift Struggle. The Spike shatters when any empire reaches 10 or more VP; this normally happens in the second segment of the Council Phase, and it may affect the amount of VP earned by some players.

When the Spike shatters, the following immediately occur:

All units and buildings on the Spike are destroyed and returned to their owners' pools.
The Spike tile is flipped over to reveal the Chaos Rift.
If Chaos is in play it now takes the Catastrophe gift, plus a rune.

For example, Sky has a Shrine on the Spike. In the first segment of the Council Phase Storm becomes the first player, which causes Sky to become the second player. Then, in the second segment of the phase, Storm reaches 10 VP. The Spike immediately shatters, destroying Sky's Shrine on the Spike. Sky, second in turn to score VP, will NOT earn VP for the lost Shrine.

Note: Units eliminated on the Spike when it shatters do NOT count for Chaos' Anarchy unique ability; they are not considered eliminations for the Mad God's marker total.

The Chaos Rift Struggle Sequence

Once the Spike has shattered and the Chaos Rift tile has been placed, the Chaos Rift Struggle must be resolved during each Council Phase. It will normally take more than one Council Phase to successfully close the Rift.

To resolve the Chaos Rift Struggle, perform the following steps in order:

All players except Chaos must select one of their units or buildings in play and place it on the Chaos Rift tile. Greater gods may not be placed in the Rift. In the rare event that a player is unable to place a unit or building in this way, that player is exempted from this step.
Each player takes a single die and, under a cupped hand, secretly turns it face-up to the amount of Power he wishes to expend. (Thus, players may spend anywhere from 1-6 Power).
All players reveal their dice simultaneously and add their values together to determine the "Power commitment." If Chaos is in play, subtract the value of Chaos' die from the total commitment, rather than adding to it.
All players now adjust their Power tracks to reflect the Power spent on their individual commitments. If any player shows a die face higher than his available Power, his contribution is counted as zero and he spends no Power. (Hence, players whose Power is 5 or lower can fail to contribute by setting their dice too high). The player who committed the least amount of Power loses 1 VP (even Chaos). Any players involved in a tie for the smallest commitment lose 1 VP each.
Sum the costs of all units and buildings in the Rift. Add that number to the Power commitment as calculated in step 3. This final total is the "total commitment" to close the Chaos Rift.
Roll dice equal to the number of empires in play (including Chaos, if applicable). The result of the roll represents the current strength of the Chaos Rift, to be matched against the total commitment. If the total commitment exceeds the strength of the Chaos Rift, the non-Chaos empires succeed and the Rift is closed! Remove the Chaos Rift tile from the board and replace it with Magasta's Pool. If the total commitment is equal to or less than the strength of the Chaos Rift, the Rift remains open and the Struggle will continue in the next Council Phase.
If the Chaos Rift stays open and Chaos is in play, Chaos draws a Rune (per its Catastrophe gift). If the Rift closes, all units and buildings lost to it return to their owners' pools.

Note: It may be worth the effort to try to close the Chaos Rift early. Remember, for each round it is open, the Rift costs you Power, plus a unit or a building. And remember, Chaos earns a free Rune each Council Phase that the Rift is in play!

If the Chaos Rift recurs on the next Council Phase, each step of the Struggle is performed again. This means the units and buildings lost to the Rift in step 1 will accumulate, making the Rift easier to close the longer it stays open. (These units and buildings represent heroic sacrifices to Oblivion, in order to help seal the crack in the universe where Chaos is pouring through.) Units and buildings in the Chaos Rift are not considered in play, nor are they counted as part of your pool.

Example of the Chaos Rift Struggle: Chaos, Storm, Sky, and Darkness are playing. At the start of the Chaos Rift Struggle segment, each of the non-Chaos players chooses to discard one of their Shrines from the map to the Rift (they could have discarded something else, but Shrines are cheap and easy to spare). Storm, Sky, and Darkness expose commitments of 2, 2, and 5 respectively, for a total of 9 points. Chaos shows a 3, so the Power commitment is now 6 (9 minus 3). Storm and Sky tie for having contributed the least Power, causing each to lose a VP. The cost of the buildings in the Rift is 3, and this is added in for a total commitment of 9. As there are four players, four dice are rolled to determine the strength of the Chaos Rift; they come up 1, 2, 2, 4, for a total of 9. As the total commitment does not exceed the strength of the Rift, the Rift remains open and Chaos earns his rune.

Note: When the Chaos Rift is open, you do not gain 1 Power in the Power Phase for Glorantha's Blessing. Once the Rift is closed and Magasta's Pool has been opened, Glorantha's Blessing will be restored in the next Power Phase.

E. The Great Compromise

The Great Compromise represents the gods' attempt to right the wrongs of The Gods War. It occurs once any player has reached 20 VP, and it will recur during every Council Phase for the rest of the game.

Until the Great Compromise is triggered, skip this segment of the Council Phase and move on to the Action Phase. If the Chaos Rift has already been closed, skip from segment 3, Activate Council Gifts & Abilities, directly to the Great Compromise.

Starting with the first player and going in turn order, one player may choose to become the Judge of the Great Compromise. If the first player declines, move on to the next player(s) in the turn order. Once a player accepts, he becomes the Judge for this round's attempt at the Great Compromise. If no player accepts, there will be no Great Compromise in this Council Phase and play will continue on to the Action Phase.

The Great Compromise Sequence:

The Judge spends half of his total Power, rounding down.
The Judge now earns 4 VP, and chooses another player to gain 3 VP. The Judge then assigns 2 VP to a third player and continues onward in this fashion, reducing the VP award by 1 with each subsequent player until the last player receives his VP. Continue dropping by 1 even if the result is 0 or negative. For example, in a game with 5 players, the last player picked will get 0 VP. In a game with 8 players, the last player will lose 3 VP!
Once all players have received their VP awards (or penalties!), the Compromise ends for this Council Phase, the Judgeship ends, and play moves on to the Action Phase.
The Great Compromise will happen again in the next Council Phase, possibly with a new judge.

Note: In the very rare event that ALL players have fewer than 20 VP in a later Council Phase, the Great Compromise will cease to occur until at least one player has again reached the 20 VP threshold.

VIII. Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes

Each empire has a unique set of abilities, which represent the magical powers and cosmic forces that these empires can bend to their purposes; each empire also has a unique weakness. These powers derive from five sources, as described below:

Empire Unique Abilities
Empire Unique Weaknesses
Building Abilities
Greater God Abilities
Gifts

Collectively, these are called gifts and abilities. Each of these is exclusive to its respective empire, and each provides its empire with some benefit. (With the exception of an empire's unique weakness, which only benefits that empire's enemies.)

Each gift and ability has a name, a description of what it does, an indicator of when it can be used and/or when its effect occurs, and if it is subject to any conditions or restrictions. To enjoy the benefits of a gift or ability, it must first be active. The source of a gift or ability determines when it becomes active.

1. Empire Unique Abilities

Every empire has a unique ability, representing the cosmic forces inherent to that empire. These abilities are always active, and they are available from the very beginning of each game. An empire's unique ability can be found in the upper-left corner of its empire sheet. Exception: Chaos has two unique abilities.

2. Empire Unique Weaknesses

Every empire also has a unique weakness, which represents a prominent, negative feature of the cosmos. These weaknesses are always active, and they cannot be avoided. As with each empire's unique ability, these weaknesses are in effect from the beginning of each game. Each empire's unique weakness can be found immediately below the description of its unique ability. Exception: Most weaknesses are passive; they are always 'on.' Moon's unique weakness (which is the same as her unique ability) is active; it is an action that Moon or her enemies can optionally pay to use.

3. Building Abilities

A building ability is one provided to its empire by a non-Shrine building (Shrines do not grant abilities). A building's ability is active only if its respective building is on the map; if all of an empire's buildings of a given type are removed from the map (or put into the Chaos Rift), the ability is lost until that building is replaced on the map. Building abilities can be found on their respective empire sheets. Exceptions: Invisible God's Castles and Towers do not have any building abilities. Earth and Moon have buildings whose abilities happen as soon as they are placed on the map; this effect happens whenever a building of its type is placed on the map (even the first time).

Note: Abilities & gifts are optional (though by default considered active), unless the description says otherwise. But an empire's unique weakness is NEVER optional, and is always considered to be in effect.

4. Greater God Abilities

Every greater god has a greater god ability that is active as long as that unit is in play. If your greater god is killed and returned to your pool, its ability becomes inactive until it returns to play. Greater god abilities can be found on their respective empire sheets. Exception: Earth's greater gods' ability is actually a weakness.

5. Gifts

Every empire has six gifts, which provide them with particularly powerful effects or actions. None of these are active at the start of the game; they must be earned by achieving Heroquests (see below). Gifts, once earned, will typically remain active for the rest of the game (some will not remain active; these are discussed below). Exception: Invisible God has eight gifts.

Gifts are printed on individual tiles matching each empire's color. All of your gift tiles are inactive at the start of the game; they should be placed on the table, near your empire sheet. As soon as you have achieved a Heroquest, place the gift tile of your choice face-up on your empire sheet, in that Heroquest's slot. This face-up gift is now active. Some gifts are turned face-down once used; any face-down gifts on your empire sheet are inactive.

Each gift represents a significant enhancement to your empire, so a major part of your game strategy will be to decide which gifts to choose as you progress through the game, as well as the order in which you choose them.

Gifts are not secret; they must be shown to other players upon request. We recommend announcing a gift's name each time one is earned, and describing it if new players are present.

The terms "gift" and "gift tile" are used interchangeably. The Elder Races expansion makes a distinction between "empire gifts" and those originating from elder races, which are called "elder race gifts." Details on this distinction can be found in the Elder Races section.

Note: All gifts strengthen you in some way. Sometimes they can be chained together in such a way as to turbo-charge a strategy.

Earning Gifts (achieving Heroquests)

Listed on the right side of each empire sheet are six Heroquest boxes (Invisible God has eight). These boxes describe the requirement(s) that must be met in order to achieve those Heroquests. As soon as you meet one of your Heroquest requirements, immediately select one of your gifts and place it in that Heroquest slot. Earned gifts cannot be lost, even if the requirements for earning them are no longer true. Heroquests can be achieved in any order. Any Heroquest currently covered by a gift cannot be achieved again (i.e., meeting its requirement again does not earn another gift). Exception: Sky has two Heroquests that can be gained repeatedly.

Example 1: One of Sky's Heroquest requirements is "Place your Ziggurat." As soon as this happens, he chooses a gift to place in that slot of his empire sheet. Even if his Ziggurat is later destroyed, he retains the gift. If he rebuilds his Ziggurat, he does not earn an additional gift.

Heroquests are not linked to specific gifts, so when you achieve a Heroquest you are free to choose any of your unearned gifts to place in its slot. Heroquests are not "optional" – when a Heroquest requirement is fulfilled, you must earn a gift. Exception: Chaos' Catastrophe gift is linked to a particular Heroquest and its slot.

Many Heroquest requirements are met by performing a particular action, while some Heroquest requirements are themselves an action (see Sky's Heroquests). However, many Heroquest requirements can also be met on another player's turn, particularly those requirements that cannot be met entirely on your own (e.g. "Every player has 3 units on the map") or that depend entirely on other players (e.g. "An enemy empire has 6 gifts"). Regardless of which player causes it to happen, and even if it is not your turn (and even if it is not the Action Phase), you achieve a Heroquest and immediately earn a gift as soon as its requirements are fulfilled Exception: when a Heroquest requirement is fulfilled during a battle, the gift is not earned until after the battle is over. Thus, the newly-earned gift cannot be used to affect that battle.

You earn a gift even if its Heroquest requirement is fulfilled during another player's turn.

Example 2: Sky gains a rune at a time when Darkness already has one. This completes Storm's "at least two enemy players have runes" Heroquest requirement, so Storm immediately takes a gift even though it is not his turn. (Note that this scenario could occur during any phase of the game.)

Some Heroquests state that you gain Power, VP, and/or runes; this happens at the same time as you earn the gift (either immediately, or at the end of the current battle).

Timing of Gifts and Abilities (When Can I Use Them?)

All gifts and abilities are printed with indicators of when they can be used and/or when their effects occur. Each gift and ability will have one (or more) of these indicators:

Ongoing
Action
Pre-Battle, Battle, Post-Battle, Conquest/Destruction
Power Phase
Council Phase
One-Time Use

IMPORTANT: regardless of these indicators, if a gift or ability is not active (as described above), its benefit is not available to you.

Ongoing. Ongoing gifts and abilities are in effect at all times; the benefit (or limitation) they provide is always operational.

Example: Chaos' Lady of Disease has the Plague greater god ability; this provides the effect that any player who wants to Declare Battle in her area must first pay 1 VP. Because the ability is ongoing, this effect is "always on" (as long as the Lady of Disease is on the map). Note that it cannot be "turned off," and therefore affects even the Chaos player!

Action. Action gifts and abilities provide new actions that you may perform during the Action Phase, on your turn. As with any other action, they have a noted Power cost (which can be 0) that must be paid whenever the action is performed (remember: if you can't pay the cost, you can't perform the action). You may perform these actions as many times as you like (and can afford), but remember that you can only perform one action during each of your Action Phase turns.

Example: Storm has the Teleport gift, which provides an action that only Storm can perform (if he pays its cost). Teleport lets Storm transport the Thunder King (plus a companion) around the map; this is not the same as the Move Units action, though its effect is similar. Note that this action is only available to Storm after the Teleport gift has been earned.

Some action gifts and abilities state, "All players may perform this action." This means that the action provided by this gift or ability can be performed by any player during their Action Phase turn (provided they can pay its cost), regardless of who "owns" the gift or ability.

Pre-Battle, Battle, Post-Battle, Conquest/Destruction. Many gifts and abilities provide their benefits during battle. The indicator specifies the step of battle in which the gift or ability takes effect or can be used. (The indicator "Battle" usually indicates the "Combat Roll" step. Also, these are collectively called "battle gifts and abilities.")

A number of battle gifts and abilities require a specific unit to be involved in the battle before that gift or ability can be used. For example, Sky's Arrogance gift requires the presence of his Emperor.

All of your (active) battle gifts and abilities are used during every battle in which you are involved as long as any stated requirements have been met, but each of them can only be used once in any given battle. Most of these gifts and abilities (but not all) offer you the option to use them or not. If you have more than one gift or ability that could be used during a particular step of battle, you choose the order in which they are used.

Power Phase. Power Phase gifts and abilities provide their benefits during the Power Phase. Each active Power Phase gift and ability provides its effect only once during each Power Phase. Unless stated otherwise, you may choose the order in which you use your Power Phase gifts and abilities.

Council Phase. Council Phase gifts and abilities provide their benefits during the Council Phase. Active Council Phase gifts and abilities provide their effect only once during each Council Phase. Unless stated otherwise, you may choose the order in which you use your Council Phase gifts and abilities

One-Time Use. One-time use gifts and abilities provide an enormously powerful benefit that can only be used once per game. After one of these has been used, it cannot be used again. The text of all one-time use gifts and abilities state when those gifts or abilities may (or must) be used. In a few cases, it's possible to flip such gifts face-up again, in which case they can be re-used.

Do I Have to Use My Active Gifts and Abilities?

The benefits (or limitations) provided by active gifts and abilities are mandatory, but there are exceptions:

If the text of a gift or ability states "you may" (or similar), then you have the choice of whether to use that gift or ability (at the appropriate time); this is typical of battle-related gifts and abilities.
If a gift or ability provides an action, it is up to you to decide whether or not to perform that action during any of your Action Phase turns. As such, action gifts and abilities may be considered "optional." However, once you have chosen to perform an action, its entire effect must take place.
If a gift or ability demands that something impossible must happen, there is no penalty for being unable to obey that demand. For example, if a gift or ability states that you must summon a unit from your pool but you have none left to summon, you may disregard that requirement.
If the use of a gift or ability is possible only under certain conditions (e.g. "if your greater god is involved in a battle…") and those conditions are not true, you cannot use that gift or ability.

Runes

Runes symbolize your empire's mastery of secret forces. Each empire gathers runes differently, and sometimes they may even be gained through other players' actions or effects.

Note: Runes (not including battle runes played during a battle) can (only) be played before or after a player's action. Or at the end of the game, for points.

1. Gaining Runes

When you gain a rune, draw it from the deck and place it facedown by your empire sheet; you may freely examine your own runes at any time. Some runes provide VP, while others provide special bonuses. Some do both.

2. Playing Runes

Except for the end of the game, runes may only be played during the Action Phase. To play a rune, reveal it, activate its effects, and then discard it. If more than one player wants to play a rune at the same time, play them in the order in which players declared their use (in the case of a tie, go by turn order).

In a few cases runes may have temporary, ongoing effects. These may be placed on the map or left face-up on the table and discarded only after its effects have been completed. Most runes can be played after any player's action has been completed, even if it is not your turn and even if you have 0 Power.

Example: Sky has 2 Archers; he has chosen to Declare Battle against Darkness. After combat has been resolved, Sky has a unit remaining in the area with Darkness' lone building, allowing him to conquer it. Darkness wants to reveal his Life rune in order to place a unit and save his Temple, but he cannot do so until after Sky's action is finished, by which time Darkness' Temple has already been conquered.

A few runes are "battle runes." These can be revealed during any battle, even those in which you are not involved. Simply state that you are revealing the rune during the appropriate part of the Battle (i.e., Pre-Battle, Battle, Post-Battle). You may reveal a battle rune outside of battle and still receive any VP it gives, but you will not receive any of its other benefits. Note: Other than battle runes, runes cannot be played during an action. They may only be played before or after an action.

Runes during the Power Phase and Council Phase

Runes may not be played during these phases, except for the end of the game. (See below.)

Runes at the End of the Game

You may always reveal runes for VP when the end of the game is announced; this is the only time that runes may be played outside of the Action Phase. Runes revealed at this time only count for VP; any other benefits are ignored. Any runes that do not immediately provide VP are assigned a value of ½ VP each (round fractions up). If there is a disagreement about the order in which runes should be played, play them in turn order.

IX. Victory: Ending and Winning the Game

When any empire's marker reaches or passes 35 on the victory track, the game ends.

The announcement of the end of the game is the only time that runes may be played outside of the Action Phase, but they can only be played for VP at this time. Any runes played now that do not give VP can be played for ½ VP each (round fractions up).

Most games will end in the Council Phase, as players will often reach 35 VP during the Great Compromise. If a player reaches 35 VP during the Council Phase the game will continue until the end of the Phase, at which point scores will be compared.

Occasionally a game will end in the Action Phase, when a player turns in runes to reach at least 35 VP. If this occurs, all other players may also turn in their own runes in an attempt to match or exceed that player's score. In this case, the game ends at the end of the action in which a player reached 35 VP; no further actions may be taken by any player. Players may turn in remaining Runes as described above for VPs.

Rarely, someone will reach 35 or more VP during the Power Phase. In this case, the game ends at the end of that phase. Runes are tallied as described above.

In every case, the player with the most VP is declared the winner. If two players tie for the most VP, they rejoice in their shared win.

Special Cases:

Knocked Out of the Game

It is possible, though unlikely, that a player could lose all of his units AND all of his buildings. If all areas on the map are filled with buildings, it is actually possible for a non-Chaos player to be seemingly unable to return to play. (Chaos can always place a Chaos Nest alongside another player's building.)

In this case, that player remains "in play." He still earns Power and VP (though these will likely be based on the Minimum Power Rule) and he is still able to perform actions, although of course these will be limited. He may also play runes as normal, if he has any and wishes to do so.

In this case and only in this case, the player may, as a 0-cost action, choose any building on the map and carry forth a "rebirth." That building (regardless of type) is returned to its owner's pool and replaced with one of the "knocked-out" player's own buildings (of any type, up to and including a Ziggurat). That player may also place, for free, units worth a total of 4 Power into the area with the building.

Player Leaving the Game

Sometimes a player may have to leave in the middle of a game. In this event, the vacated empire becomes known as the Uncontrolled Faction and is subject to the rules below:

Leave all Uncontrolled Faction units and buildings on the map, intact.
Continue to add up the Uncontrolled Faction's Power and VP every round.
During the Chaos Rift Struggle, the Uncontrolled Faction always bids 3 Power. It does not donate a unit or building to the Rift.
The Uncontrolled Faction may never be the Judge of the Great Compromise.
The Uncontrolled Faction always drops its Power to 0 on its first turn of each Action Phase.
If the Uncontrolled Faction is attacked, the player with the fewest VP (who is not battling it) takes control of the Uncontrolled Faction's units for that battle and makes any necessary choices (such as where to rout enemy units). In the event of a tie, the tied player who moves last in turn order takes charge.

X. Player Tips

A. General Tips

Gameplay can be divided into three main phases: the early, mid, and late game.

Early Game: In your first few turns you should try to build up your Power base, earn a gift or two, and summon a few units. You'll want two different types of buildings by the end of the first round. Battle in the early game is opportunistic rather than strategic, and often focused on Heroquest requirements. At this time it is usually better to go for depth (building variety, to gain Power) rather than breadth (lots of Shrines, for an early VP lead).
Mid Game: This starts once most areas contain buildings. Start gathering a serious army, focus on gifts, and maintain map position. Try not to fall too far behind in VP.
Late Game: This starts once your greater god is in play and you have 3-4 gifts under your belt. The Chaos Rift has opened and has possibly even closed again. Now, the purpose of battle changes: instead of expanding your territory, seek instead to remove your opponent's buildings so that they earn fewer VP. If one player surges ahead in VP, get the others to work with you against him. If YOU are the player who surges ahead, try to break up such alliances.

B. Playing as Chaos

Chaos revels in destruction. Your Gods are lethal. You may struggle for Power because you have only one type of building, but you are also hard to stamp out.

As the game progresses, your gifts and abilities will sap your foes' strength. You make the game harder for them in many little ways. I Fought, We Won helps you and weakens your enemies. Blood Sacrifice is both frightening and annoying, and custom-made for the Lady of Disease. Oblivion slowly erodes enemy empires. Your poison accumulates over time.

Half of Chaos' gifts are earned through other players' actions. Several of your gifts are best when taken early, so you must choose carefully between them in the early game. Imbed's extra Power and defense is best when taken early – its advantage is not so much one of Power as it is of defense. Oblivion is far better in the early game – later on, players may opt to lose units. Of course, I Fought, We Won is always an option. Your first gift may determine your strategy for several turns.

While it may be tempting to hold off on Broos until you have Irruption, this is a sucker bet – just one or two Broos early on can clear out enemy Shrines and weaken your foes. You do not need to defend Chaos Nests, as they are cheap; just place new ones if necessary, replacing them when they are lost. Remember that your enemies have 10 buildings to your 6, so you must prune back your foes' growth or fall behind in VP.

You are at your greatest strength in the mid-to-late game, and can inflict terrifying losses. You can invade with greater gods, threatening with Oblivion to devour an enemy's precious building or unit. The Chaos Rift starts producing for you (and hurting your enemies) by the 2nd or 3rd turn. At this time, one Irruption can really roil the waters. Careful placement of greater gods maximizes Blood Sacrifice.

In the mid- or late-game, use a well-timed Unholy Trio to empty an area and send the Mad God over the top. Make sure the Mad God has a force of Broos to soak up hits while you clear areas out.

Blood Sacrifice: Take this gift early, and use it! Lady of Disease should always be at an opponent's building. Double-team with Oblivion.
Catastrophe: A no-brainer. Literally.
I Fought, We Won: If you need Power, this will help. This is often a reflexive first choice for Chaos. Before you take it, consider if Oblivion or Imbed might be better.
Imbed: An Imbedded Nest is amazingly hard to dig out, and the extra Power adds up.
Oblivion: The virtue of this gift is not so much that you remove enemy units; rather, the fear that you might do so paralyzes enemies.
Unholy Trio: At its best when two opponents battle. Jump-starts the Mad God.

Thwarting Chaos

Chaos is easiest to beat on a territorial basis. Until late in the game, Chaos can engage in effective combat in exactly one area – Magna Mater's location. This makes it vulnerable along his periphery. Uproot a Chaos Nest every turn. Mad God is unstoppable in the late game, but if Chaos has fallen behind on VP it won't matter. Do your best to avoid the trap of letting the Chaos Rift drag on with minimum bids; make a good faith attempt to close it unless you really need the extra Power or you are certain the other players are planning to defect.

Chaos: Epilogue

"The things surged over the hill like a tide of frantic insects. Fumes rose from them, and the stink choked our warriors. The Broos were insensate; easy enough to kill because they sought only blood for their Goddess and cared naught for their own deaths, and they kept coming. Even mortally wounded, they slaughtered us. Their deities were the same – an enormous, cosmic being stumbled in a clumsy charge into our lines, spreading death not only to our army, but smashing its own troops beneath its hooves." —Sandy Petersen

C. Playing as Darkness

Darkness is a predator as well as a scavenger. Rather than assault a stronghold, you prefer to detect weakness and exploit it. With four types of building you have the most latent Power and VP of any empire, but it is expensive to realize that potential. Your ability to strike from Hell is fantastic, and your ability to hide there avoids retribution. Early on, collect trophies from the other empires for your big Heroquest. The Mistress' Hunger is extremely helpful in this regard. While it might seem fun to take out enemy Temples with your second-turn attack (and you can certainly do this), it is probably better to target their Shrines. The Temples usually have at least one defender, and they (Sky, in particular) will scatter your forces with routs. This will force you to have to regroup and attack again. Simple, surgical strikes are preferable.

Remember that when you finally achieve your big Heroquest (the one in two parts), you get a one-time infusion of Power. You can use this to establish board presence, summon your greater goddess, or build a Ziggurat, all of which set you up for the following turn. Do not waste it on petty revenge.

In the late game, the combo of Fear and Psychopomp rewards you for seeking out little fights; Spectral Form and Hellmother's Nocturnal Raids will help you survive these battles.

A common beginner's mistake is to build a Temple or even a Ziggurat in Hell. This deprives you of that building's special power. Keep your eyes on the surface world! Hell is a refuge, not a base of operations.

Sky may try to talk you into letting Sun God out of Hell. But...the truth is that Hellmother is Darkness' only unit capable of releasing him, and she has better things to do. Let him rot.

Ancestor Worship: Best in the mid-to-late game. In the long run, the Castle of Lead is cheaper than a Ziggurat, and it gives you just as much Power. Still, you should usually place your Ziggurat before the Castle of Lead, for the gift the Ziggurat provides.
Black Market: You must be sly to maximize this gift's value. Do not always "buy" the runes yourself – instead choose players who are unlikely to use the rune to hurt you.
Fear: While your victims are normally sent to Hell, sometimes it can be better to move them somewhere else.
Hunger: Often your first gift, because it plays so well with your need to eliminate other empires' units and buildings.
Psychopomp: An entertaining gift which irritates foes and encourages late-game raids.
Spectral Form: Gives your Shades the capacity to protect other units in your army.

Thwarting Darkness

Darkness is annoying, but opportunistic. In the early part of the second turn she can send 4 Trolls anywhere on the map to destroy that precious Temple you built in the first turn, so make sure to leave your buildings defended! In general, your best offense against Darkness is a good defense. Keep important buildings guarded or be poised for immediate vengeance should Darkness decide to raid; she may turn to easier prey. Darkness is weak in terms of combat dice, so a medium-to-large army is useful against her.

Darkness: Epilogue

"We could hear her voice echoing from inside the great castle, but we understood not what it said. When she clambered out, we were aghast. Cragspider the Firewitch was both beautiful and hideous. Her hair and hands blazed with magical potency, and she commanded us to turn over our now-screaming prisoners as tribute. Too fearful to disobey, and to our shame, we did as she decreed." —Sandy Petersen

D. Playing as Sky

Your most important early concern is getting Sun God out of Hell. Fortunately, you have no fewer than three different bribes to offer the other players – two Heroquest requirements which directly benefit them, plus a Rune reward if they free you. If your chosen ally betrays you, use Noblesse Oblige to replay those requirements. You can use Call to Justice to coerce obedience.

Your empire is about coordination, forethought, diplomacy, and aristocracy. You have both carrots and sticks with which to reward or punish unruly enemy empires. Your buildings are particularly difficult to destroy, and Shanasse with a few supporting Archers can create an almost insurmountable obstacle for your enemies. Unfortunately your attacks are not as powerful as those of your opponents, but with a little planning you can use Dawn to pull off an unstoppable surprise conquest!

Remember that every time you use Sunspear against an enemy it not only kills one of their units but also places one of your own. Use Dawn to set up your network of defenders and then start laying your buildings down. Your path to victory is simple – keep as many buildings in play as possible and boost your weakest rivals with your Great Decrees, to aid them in pulling your stronger enemies down.

Arrogance: Excellent both for defense and attack – with Arrogance, your Emperor is one of the best combat units in the game.
Call to Justice: Can be used to force other players' compliance, to move your own units, or to inconvenience others' battle plans. If Sun God is in Hell, pull key enemies to you on every single turn. Even Darkness is discomfited by needing to drag a Shade or The Mistress out of Hell. Again.
Noblesse Oblige: Unless you are very short on Power, use this every turn. For 2 Power you earn a Rune and influence other players. If you can, make them vie for your favor.
Shanasse: A great station for your Archers is Sky Dome, where they can blanket much of the world with their arrows.
Solar Energy: A never-ending font of joy once Sun God exits Hell, and it more than offsets the cost of Noblesse Oblige.
Sunspear: Never summon Phoenixes; always place them via Sunspear. This gift is just as much about breaking up an enemy's attack as it is about preparing for your own.

Thwarting Sky

Make Sky pay dearly to escape Hell. His buildings are hard to wipe out once they are upgraded to Temples, so either take out his Shrines early or pay the price later on. Sky takes time to build to a dangerous level and he often can't afford a large army, so seize an early lead and hold on to it. If every area on the map is filled with buildings, it is hard for Sky to get a foothold (unlike Darkness or Chaos, for example, who can always make a niche).

Sky: Epilogue

"Slowly, the Dead God lifted his face. A ghost stepped forward and shouted, "Has one come at last to free the Lord of All?" Our champion lifted up the Keys of Hell and walked toward the great stone lock. As the doors began to shift, the entire hall suddenly blazed with light. The Dead God was catching fire, literally. The air was filled with glowing birds and showers of joyous arrows, and a hymn rose to the Dawn – the first Dawn." —Sandy Petersen

E. Playing as Storm

Storm is a classic bully-boy – though you can dish it out, you can't always take it. You have good attack potential, but you are a late bloomer in terms of gifts – often, you must wait for other players to advance ahead of you.

Your movement is by far the best in the game, even better than that of Darkness. Your Temples let you strike across the map, while Whirlwind and Teleport let you gather your forces.

In the early-to-mid game, focus on gathering armies rather than buildings. Remember, though, that you'll need enough buildings to keep up your Power production. Use extra Power from Inferiority Complex and/or Kinship to bolster your forces; this will cause you to fall behind in VP, but your board presence & forces should surge ahead.

In the late game, you need to go all-out – most Storm victories are nail-biting, come-from-behind wins! Now, at last, you profit from double-teaming Courage and Insurgency, earning runes and setting Temples down as you devastate your enemies.

Courage: Encourages you to seek out large clusters of enemies. Fortunately, you have the tools necessary to replace your losses. Still, this is not a good Heroquest to take early, before you have those tools. Remember to attack early in the turn, so that you aren't hurt by Honor.
Insurgency: Can transform oddball buildings, such as Chaos Nests and the Castle of Lead. It also means that when you lose a Temple to an enemy, it is trivial to get it back.
Single Combat: Makes you both flexible and unpredictable – a dangerous combination.
Teleport: Useful for either kidnapping an enemy or for charging into battle.
Weather Control: Take this gift early to jump-start your empire, or use it to super-charge a late-game turn. Remember that it triggers as soon as you take it, unlike other one-use gifts. Do not fall into the trap of always taking it as your last gift – sometimes 3-4 Power and a rune early in the game is better than 6 Power later on.
Whirlwind: This lets you station Stormbrothers as building garrisons, while also keeping them available for a critical battle. If you whirl even a single Stormbrother into combat, the extra die you gain makes him as cost-effective as your Barbarians.

Thwarting Storm

The key to defeating Storm is his habit of allowing his rivals to surge ahead in VP during the early game. Your task is to make your lead so solid that he can't catch up at the end. If you can keep your head before The Thunder King, Orlanth shows up, you can trim Storm back in early battles.

Storm: Epilogue

"The rain intensified, and lightning strikes were so frequent that it almost seemed as though the thunderhead was walking on thin legs of fire. Then Uncle Celm hooted and pointed into the heart of the storm – men and animals were soaring through the air, flinging themselves through the cloud with wild and furious abandon. Towering over the scene, the cloud top began to form into a gigantic, raging face." —Sandy Petersen

XI. Empires

Empires adds 4 new empires and new, 6-8 player maps to The Gods War.

Playing as Earth

Your empire's strategies revolve around your Earth Queens. Each Queen comes in two colors – green (the color of Earth), plus the color of another empire.

When placing an Earth Queen on the board, you may choose any of the 7 Queens available to you. Outside of an 8-player game, some Queens will always belong to empires not represented in the current game. If summoned, those Queens will remain under your control. For example, in a game in which no one plays Darkness, the Darkness Earth Queen will remain under your control.

Building Temples is always important to your plans, since they give you Queens. If you lose a Temple to a foe, it is almost a blessing – it costs only 2 Power to upgrade to a new one, and that cost is repaid by the free Queen.

You may not want to place both of your Titans in the same area – a lucky enemy assault could kill them both in one fell swoop. While you will want to marry one of your Earth Queens off to at least one other player's empire, remember that Queens are effective in battle and cheap to replace. As your Axe Maidens will frequently be off guarding buildings, Queens can be helpful to have around.

Eventually, you will need to engage in battle. You can profit from losing your Behemoth with Extinction.

Chastity: You're often short on units; this gift lets you defend your Temples cheaply and effectively. With only a single Maiden in play, an attacker will need 4 units to guarantee victory.
Extinction: Summon your Behemoth to an enemy Ziggurat, attack, take 2 runes, repeat. Otherwise, you can back the Behemoth up with enough troops to ensure kills and fight your army to extinction through the enemy ranks. By the time you're exhausted, you'll have a pocketful of runes and your enemy will be nearly wiped out.
Injunction: Gains you an extra rune each turn. The flexibility afforded by having so many runes can be a tremendous asset.
Pacifism: Terrifying to your foes. Watch carefully for your chance, and do not be shy about using it as a threat. Remember that you do not have to be directly involved in a battle to use Pacifism. It is also good as a one-time, "don't kill my Titan" escape clause.
Quake: This gift is usually defensive, for transporting an expensive building out of harm's way (swapping it with a Shrine), but it has other uses, such as beefing up a critical area with a Ziggurat or Temple to make you more dangerous in battle.
Ubiquitous: This is actually your main "movement" ability. Simply summon your units into the place you plan to strike.

Thwarting Earth

Though Earth has the most figures available (14, as opposed to most empires' mere 9), Earth actually has a shortage of units in actual play. Her Axe Maidens and Earth Queens are scattered across the map. Her main combat units (the Titans and Behemoth) roll lots of dice, but they are expensive and clumsy. Focus on destroying Earth's Shrines – she loves it when she can place a new Temple, so leave those alone unless it is so near the end of the turn that she can't replace it.

Earth: Epilogue

"Our King was marrying the Earth Woman, and it was supposed to be a time of joy as we sat happily at the wedding feast. When the Earth Woman first appeared she was just a young girl, timid and afraid to face our rough and muscular ruler. But the moment the life vows were spoken, she underwent a transformation. Her figure blossomed. Flowers sprouted in her hair. As she strode confidently across the grass, berries fruited in her track. Our King seemed both besotted and somehow shrunken." —Sandy Petersen

Playing as Invisible God

You may seem weak because you have no greater god to shore up your empire, but your excellent units and proper use of Specters more than make up for this. Your greatest advantage is that you have 8 gifts, which means that you can earn 4 Power and VP per turn. Focus on gathering those gifts! Four of those gifts give you runes, so make those a part of your strategy.

The nature of your units and buildings presents you with three fundamental strategies – go combat-heavy with Knights and Sturdy Peasantry, spread out and absorb magical power with Wizards and Tapping, or seek a balance between the two. If you go for Wizards, Specters become more important for their combat might and your Red Book of Power also becomes stronger.

Your empire depends heavily on timing. Your three Book gifts can each be used twice by means of your Final Ritual, which means you'll want them early in order to take advantage of their full value. You do not have very many buildings and you can't afford to keep replacing them, so take advantage of your Wizard Gate to help protect them.

King's Blessing: This gift helps make up for the high cost of your buildings. In a game with lots of construction you may need to ensure that rivals' buildings are being destroyed in order to leave spaces open for your freebies.
Magic Explosion: This helps dissuade enemies from attacking areas with Specters – if you are sure the Specter will die anyway, why not explode it? It also gives you a little extra 'oomph' to help capture an important area.
Divine Right: Another candidate for first gift. It keeps on giving.
Brown Book of Commerce: Do not wait until you have all your Towers to fire this off, even if you are not getting its full benefit (remember, you can reuse it when you perform your Final Ritual). Its benefits can be "shopped around," to see who will cooperate with you in taking down a hated enemy.
Sturdy Peasantry: This is the first gift chosen by many players, not least because it provides VP every single turn and ensures an extra 2 Power per Power Phase if all of your other buildings are Towers. If you focus on Castles instead, it lets you bump your Knights up to Combat 4!
Tapping: Use this to make Wizards pay for themselves and hurt your enemies. Be careful, as this gift forces you to space your Wizards out and also makes them a target.
Red Book of Power: A good way to suddenly defend otherwise-vulnerable buildings.
Blue Book of Sorcery: This is one gift you never need to delay in getting. The moment you get it, use it – the only reason to delay is to use that 0-cost action to draw out the turn.

Thwarting Invisible God

Invisible God's buildings are few and expensive, and losing them is problematic for him. He has a lot of units but if you attack him early, before his Knights and Wizards get pumped up, you can keep him trimmed back. Invisible God is weak at taking out other players' infrastructure, as he can't conquer buildings (Invisible God has no Shrines or Temples with which to replace conquered buildings). And, since he only has 6 buildings (7 with Sturdy Peasantry), you can out-Power and out-VP him with a determined construction program.

Invisible God: Epilogue

The wizard and his warriors stalked forward, their necks craning alertly. "What do ye here, friend?" asked Uncle Celm. The wizard raised his white staff, "We have come to bring you the truth of the Invisible God. Soon, your festivals will be our festivals. Your holy rites will be our holy rites. And the names of your gods will be forgotten." Celm stumbled backwards as a nimbus of blue fire played around the wizard, and the newcomers moved into battle formation." —Sandy Petersen

Playing as Moon

The early game is the best time to focus on your Lunar Cycle Heroquests – other players are generally too short on Power to mess with you, and you do not have enough units on the map to frighten them.

All of your best powers require time to implement properly, and all compete for your attention. If you put off Enslavement, Moonburn, or Madness until near the end of the game, these gifts will have little effect. The most common error a Moon player makes is to try to use all of these gifts. You cannot, at least not in every game, so you must choose between them or seek a balance to build a sensible strategy. If you can get these gifts to all work together, you can execute amazing combinations. Joining the Goddess's Menses with Eclipse, Enslavement, and Madness can churn through the Cycle quickly while also piling up a store of hostages your enemies will need to ransom.

Even with Menses, you may still want to summon your first Selene to start the Madness cycle. Sometimes players won't want to spend Power to advance your cycle and you'll find yourself staying at Full Moon for a while, but that's pretty sweet too.

But...getting to this point takes a delicate balancing act. The Crimson Bat is by far the most potent unit in your pool – use his Mindblast to bring victory out of defeat, or even completely shut down a weak enemy.

Adoption: Not only a useful escape route, but also good to put a hated enemy in harm's way.
Eclipse: It may seem like a double-edged sword, but in effect it gives you a free Lunar Cycle bump, since you ought to be attacking anyway. Of course, reserve your Dying Moon attacks for unguarded Shrines. Adoption can put you in position for these attacks.
Enslavement: Another reason you should want to attack as often as possible. Every person in your Slave Pen is a Power boost waiting to happen.
Madness: Even if all you do is pay to churn through the Cycles with properly-spaced Selenes, it only costs you 4 Power to earn 3 Power and a rune. Obviously it is best to take this gift when you are at Dying or Waxing Half, so that you can benefit from it ASAP.
Mindblast: A terrifying prospect for any foe, and this one is just as good on offense as it is on defense.
Moonburn: Any time you are at Full Moon, watch your enemies scramble and squabble trying to get someone else to pay to knock you off your high horse so that their Temples won't fry. In the meantime, go ahead and fry them.

Thwarting Moon

Moon is centered on her Cycle, but remember that you can move Moon's Cycle, too. Usually she has only one big army, guarding her Red Goddess. You can't defeat that army, but you may not need to: instead, pick off her scattered Selenes, gobble up her Shrines and Temples, and remember to topple Moon when she is at her Full aspect. Remember that Moon can only Moonburn Shrines and Chaos Nests when she is at Half-Moon, so if you have no Temples, pushing her to Full Moon can actually protect your buildings.

Moon: Epilogue

"The sky started to light up as the thing rose up in the sky. On the path below we saw a procession of dancing, twisting folk, dressed in a riot of color. Despite their complex pirouettes, they advanced swiftly. Our chief warrior-woman held up her spear and asked their name and purpose, while I nocked an arrow. The newcomers halted, but spoke no word. The round thing rose higher and became brighter. "The sun has been gone this long age," I whispered to my companion, "what is this thing in the heavens? A replacement? A mockery?" He shook his head. Then we saw them – beings flowing down the shafts of light. First came dozens, then hundreds, then thousands. The dancers began again, faster and faster, while the rest of our soldiers began to scream in psychosis." —Sandy Petersen

Playing as Sea

You have many conflicting tasks to accomplish in order to achieve your Heroquests. You have to destroy a building, you need to train costly units, and you are as obsessed with the Chaos Rift as is Chaos itself! One major decision you'll need to make is whether to use your one-time Submerge on summoning Magasta or your Kraken. Sometimes you may even want just a Sea Serpent, to complete your collection.

You earn runes earlier than other players, so use this to seize an early advantage and then hold on to that edge for dear life. Once you've achieved your Heroquests, runes will trickle in much more slowly. Your units have abilities that annoy and menace your opponents, who will generally (and helpfully) try to avoid you.

Once the Rift is closed, your Aquatic boost plummets unless enemy buildings are also in the sea. After all, your Ziggurat now only costs 1 Power. Magasta has a fabulous ability, but you will need to plan carefully in order to use it to maximum effect. One easy technique is to use it to slingshot an army across the world into an enemy's territory. Another is to join together units from multiple oceans.

Aquatic: You can use your Submerge ability to plunge a tasty enemy Ziggurat underwater, thus gaining 3 Power every turn from then on.
Constrict: Combine with Drowning to ensure a kill in every battle.
Drowning: A key source of VP in the late game; because it doesn't just give you a VP but actually drains one from an enemy, it is better than it might seem at first glance.
Siren Song: Locks down an enemy in a most gratifying way. Weak foes dare not flee your attacks, which feeds into your Drowning/Constrict engine.
Tidal Surge: Opens up an area to conquer a building or to simply scatter your enemies. Unlike a rout, you can scatter enemy units into different and inconvenient areas.
Whirlpool: Most empires try to hang on to their Power for as long as they can. With Whirlpool you are usually happy to be the first to run out, and the groans of your opponents are delightful. If you have a Power-giving rune, you can time it so you drop to 0 Power a second time in that turn to double-dip! Enemies hate that.

Thwarting Sea

Obviously, since Sea is focused on the Chaos Rift, you need not be. You can balance him off against Chaos. His biggest weaknesses are his hunger for Power and his late-game loss of steam. While you probably can't stop him cold, you can force him to pay for his gains. Enough pyrrhic victories and Sea can't surge unreachably far ahead. Then, in the late game, once his runes and advantages have worn off, you can thrash him.

Sea: Epilogue

"It rose up over the beach like a mountain. Everyone ran for the highlands, but as we looked behind we saw that this would be no salvation. Even the rivers were now running uphill, the wrong way. As we peered helplessly into the green, transparent water, we saw huge creatures swimming in it, peering back at us." —Sandy Petersen

XII. Elder Races

Elder Races is an expansion for Glorantha: The Gods War. It contains mini-factions, with whom any player may ally.

Elder Race Setup

Players should collectively decide how to choose which Elder Races to include in their game, either randomly or by intentional selection. We recommend adding one Elder Race per player.

If the Scorpion Folk were selected to be part of your game, randomly select one additional Elder Race to include in your game. Once Elder Races have been chosen, set them on the map according to their loyalty cards. Some races must start the game on specific areas of the map, while others do not start the game in play. If a selected race's "home" area is not present due to the configuration of your map, discard that race's loyalty card and select again.

Note: A race chosen by a player may turn out to be different from the race with whom they ally.

At the start of the game, all elder races are neutral; neutral units may not be attacked. While neutral, these units' racial abilities and Heroquests are not available. A neutral elder race can only be affected by an empire's attempt to form an alliance with it, as described below.

Diplomacy (Gaining an Elder Race as an Ally)

All elder races have an Alliance Method printed on their loyalty cards. In most cases, enticing an elder race to ally with you involves sending an emissary to their Citadel (the area of the map containing their neutral unit(s)), followed by use of the new Diplomacy action; this action is ONLY used if you are including the Elder Races expansion in your game.

Diplomacy (cost: 1)

Unless a race's loyalty card states otherwise, you must have a unit in the same area as an Elder Race AND you must not yet have an Elder Race as an ally.

To perform the Diplomacy action, spend 1 Power and roll a die. If your roll is equal to or less than the combined cost of ALL your units in the area, that Elder Race allies with you. If you roll a 6, one of your units in the area is killed (you choose which one). Otherwise, nothing happens. (If you have units whose combined cost is 6 or greater AND you roll a 6, you lose a unit but also successfully gain the race as an ally.)

When an Elder Race allies with you, take its loyalty card and all its units. Some Elder Races trigger effects when they become allies. Units belonging to the Elder Race with whom you allied are now yours to do with as you please.

Note: Some Elder Races follow special alliance rules. Please follow these where required.

Benefits of an Elder Race Ally

Once you are allied with an Elder Race, their units are yours to control; for all game purposes, they are considered to be a part of your empire. When not on the map, their units go into your pool and you can summon them as you would any of your other units. To other players, your elder race units are "enemy units" and are valid targets for any action, gift, ability, or rune that targets such units. Your allied elder race units are also affected by your gifts and abilities (e.g., elder race units allied with Darkness may freely exit Hell, elder race units allied with Sky are affected by the Sun God's Dawn ability, and elder race units allied with Sea cannot use sea-crossing arrows).

In addition (and sometimes more importantly), you gain the use of your allies' unique ability (printed on their loyalty card).

Most elder races also have a unique gift that can be earned by achieving the Heroquest printed on their loyalty card (exactly as with your own Heroquests). Once an elder race's gift is earned, place the gift tile in the Heroquest slot of that race's loyalty card. This gift is now active, and you may use as if it were your own gift. However, you do not gain Power or VP for an elder race gift during the Power or Council Phases, since they are not a part of your empire's Heroquest fragments.

Note: You may only have ONE Elder Race as an ally. Once you have an ally, you may not use Diplomacy again. (Exception: Scorpion Men)

XIII. Monsters

Monsters is an expansion for Glorantha: The Gods War; it contains 9 Monsters that can be added to your game. There are three types of monsters: Dragons, Chaos Monsters, and Cosmic Monsters. We recommend that you restrict yourself to no more than one Monster of each type, and note that you may play with fewer than one Monster of each type. Experienced players may choose to add as many Monsters as they feel comfortable using.

Dragons

Dragons are placed on the map at the start of the game; they move and attack as part of the Council Phase. Dragons can be attacked at any time, but they only attack on their own initiative during the Council Phase.

Dragons tend to be a balancing element, since their attacks are controlled by one of the weaker players. For any relevant game purposes, Dragons are classified as greater gods.

Chaos Monsters

Chaos Monsters tend to be unbalancing elements, and are placed when the Chaos Rift opens. They do not attack. Instead, each Chaos Monster has a unique action that can be taken by any player. This special action always moves the Chaos Monster, followed by another effect.

Note: While Chaos Monsters do not attack, the Spawn of the Mother of Monsters DO attack when activated by players.

Chaos Monsters can be attacked. Killing them, as with any Monster, requires that certain requirements be met. For any relevant game purposes, Chaos Monsters are classified as greater gods. The Mother of Monsters' Spawn are classified as mortal minions.

Cosmic Monsters

Cosmic Monsters appear when the Great Compromise is first triggered. They create a sort of suppressive "aura" in their area and those adjacent. They tend to affect the game in major ways and create new levels of strategic choices. For any relevant game purposes, Cosmic Monsters are classified as greater gods.

Placement Rules

If players cannot agree on which Monster(s) to place we recommend that the game's owner make the final decision, after wisely weighing his friends' words.

Dragons are placed at the start of the game.
Chaos Monsters are placed when the Chaos Rift opens.
Cosmic Monsters are placed when the Great Compromise is first triggered.

Monster Card

From top to bottom, Great Monsters have a number of special features:

Placement: This explains where and when the Great Monster is placed on the map.

Movement: All monsters have specific triggers for their movement and abilities. In general, players cannot move monsters through the use of gifts or special abilities. For example, Storm cannot use Teleport to carry a monster along with Storm King.

Special Power: Each Monster has its own special power, which describes how and when it inflicts itself upon the world:

Action Phase (Chaos Monsters only): All players may activate these Monsters' actions.
Council Phase (Dragons only): Dragons apply their powers ONCE, at the end of each Council Phase. The details of the Dragons' actions, and who controls them, are specified on each Dragon's loyalty card. If more than one player qualifies to be a Dragon's controller, then the Dragon does not act.
Trigger (Cosmic Monsters only): Cosmic Monsters do nothing until a player activates the Monster's trigger, usually by having units present in the Monster's area or an adjacent area. The Monster's ability occurs after the resolution of the trigger action.

Important: The Spawn of the Mother of Monsters are NOT Monsters. They are mortal minions, and they can be killed by normal means.

Combat: As with all units, Monsters have a Combat rating. Dragons instigate battle when they activate, but most Monsters only fight if they are attacked. Though Monsters are affected by gifts, runes, and special abilities, they cannot be destroyed by them – see below, "How to Kill," for details. Example: Sunspear cannot be used to kill Monsters – it always fails against them.

Battle Ability: Most Monsters have battle abilities (usually occurring during Post-Battle) which generally do something undesirable to their enemies.

Killing a Monster: Though Monsters may be affected by gifts, runes, and abilities, they cannot be killed by them. Each Monster can only be destroyed in one specific way, as described on their cards. Monsters are difficult to kill – in every case, some special result or procedure is required in order to destroy them. Once destroyed, a Monster is removed from the game. It will not return.

Reward: A player that kills a Monster is rewarded for his efforts. These rewards are described on the Monsters' cards.

Being Routed by a Monster

If a player controls a Monster when it attacks, that player chooses the area to which routed units are sent. If a player attacks a Monster directly, that player decides where to send any of his units that were routed by the Monster.

XIV. FAQ

Q. When the Spike shatters during the Power Phase, do I count my Power from a building atop it first? A. Usually yes, because the baseline Power for buildings is taken before gifts & abilities kick in (which is when received VPs shatter the Spike). If this becomes a concern, you may have to go through the Power Phase step-by-step.

Q. If I earn a gift as a result of a battle, when does it take effect? For example, if I earn a Darkness gift as the result of killing an enemy and take Spectral Form, can I use it on my Shades immediately? A. Gifts earned from a battle appear after the battle is concluded, which means they cannot be used in the battle in which they are earned.

Q. What happens if a lone building is attacked, and it kills or routs all its attackers? Is it still conquered or destroyed? A. No, because at the end of the battle there are no enemy units remaining in the area.

Q. Some greater gods cannot be summoned unless you have a Temple or Ziggurat – do those Gods need to be Summoned AT a Temple or Ziggurat? A. No. They can be summoned to any of your buildings. You just need to have a Temple or Ziggurat somewhere on the map.

Q. If my units in an area total 0 combat dice, can I still Declare Battle? A. Yes, but remember that a lone building may never Declare Battle.

Q. Can Chaos take the Catastrophe gift before the Chaos Rift opens? A. No. Note that Catastrophe is the only gift Chaos can take in that slot.

Q. Can Chaos use Magna Mater's Irruption even if he has no Broos in his pool? A. Yes. Irruption places "all" Broos from the pool, even if the number is zero.

Q. Can I place two Chaos Nests in the same area? A. No. The limit is one Chaos Nest and one normal building per area. You can only construct a Chaos Nest in an area that does not contain another Chaos Nest.

Q. How is Magna Mater's Combat rating figured to determine if she can exit Hell, or give permission to another unit to exit? A. Roll a die ONLY when needed, using the result to determine eligibility. This can change from moment to moment. For example, a player asks Magna Mater for permission to leave Hell – she rolls a 1 (not enough to permit him to leave), so he Declares Battle against her instead. She now rolls again to determine her combat rating for this battle.

Q. When is the Mad God's marker incremented after units are killed? A. Immediately, so that units killed in Pre-Battle may improve his combat rating for that battle.

Q. If two of Chaos' Greater Gods are in the same area, can Chaos use Blood Sacrifice twice in that area? A. Yes, but Chaos must target two separate empires with a presence in that area. Both of those empires can also be affected by Oblivion, if it is in play.

Q. How about Imbedded Chaos Nests? Can Storm use his Insurgency gift to replace an Imbedded Chaos Nest with a Temple? What about other methods of immediately destroying buildings, such as Moonburn? A. Insurgency does not destroy the Imbedded Chaos Nest but rather conquers it, so the Nest is replaced by a Temple. In general, most methods of eliminating a building outside of combat (including Moonburn) only reduce an Imbedded Chaos Nest to a standard Chaos Nest. The notable exceptions are when the Nest is replaced with something else.

Q. If Darkness conquers a building instead of destroying it, can she take that building and place it on her empire sheet for the relevant Heroquest? A. No. A building must be destroyed to count for this quest.

Q. Can an enemy rout Darkness' units into Hell if a Darkness Temple is present in the battle area? A. Yes, but this is usually foolish as it only helps Darkness.

Q. If Darkness scores a kill against Sun God, and this is the first Sky unit she has killed, can she place Sun God on her empire sheet for the relevant Heroquest? A. No. Sun God routs to Hell instead, as per his ability. She'll need to destroy a different Sky unit or building for this Heroquest.

Q. The Ancestor Worship ability and the Castle of Lead description say that when you place the Castle, you earn a rune. However, the description of Castle of Lead's Darksee ability says you get a rune if it is in play during the Power Phase. Which is it? A. Both. You get a rune each time you place the Castle AND during each Power Phase that it is in play.

Q. Is Sun God's Dawn ability only used when he moves from Hell to the Surface World? A. No, it happens every time he moves to an area outside Hell, regardless of the area in which the move originated. For example, it will trigger if he moves from the Elf Jungle to the Enmal Mountains.

Q. What effect does Shanasse have on building conquest or destruction? A. None. An Archer battling from an adjacent area via Shanasse may not defend a building from conquest, nor may he conquer a building.

Q. Can Shanasse be used to shoot into or out of Hell? A. Yes, but only into an area to which the Archer could move. For example, an Archer in Hell can shoot at the Gates of Dawn (but no other surface world area). An Archer on Brithos can shoot into Hell. Archers do not require permission to shoot out of Hell.

Q. When Sky uses Sunspear, it says he "may" place a Phoenix. Is this required? A. No. He may use Sunspear and decline to place the Phoenix. However, to use this ability he MUST have a Phoenix in his pool.

Q. In battle, can Sky intentionally assign a Kill to Sun God (who then reappears, per Nightfall) in order to spare another of his units? A. Yes.

Q. When Sky moves Sun God and uses Dawn, can Sky move other Sky units out of Hell? If so, do those units need permission to leave? A. Any of Sky's units in Hell need permission to leave. However, if Sky has units in BOTH Hell areas after Magasta's Pool is in play, he only needs to spend 1 VP total to receive permission for both areas (moving them both via Dawn).

Q. How does Sky's Arrogance affect building conquest? A. Following the battle, the exempted unit "returns" after the Conquest and Destruction step is resolved. Thus a building can be conquered regardless of an exempted unit's presence, but a building cannot be conquered by an exempted unit. For example, if the Emperor (by himself) attacks an enemy Shrine guarded by a single unit, the Emperor can exempt the enemy unit and then automatically conquer the Shrine, after which point the exempted unit returns.

Q. Sky has a Heroquest that reads, "Conquer or destroy a Shrine or Chaos Nest in battle." An Imbedded Chaos Nest will flip to a standard nest, but does this count as "destruction" for purposes of the Heroquest? What about for Darkness' second fragment? A. Flipping a Chaos Nest does not fulfill Sky's, Darkness' or Invisible God's "kill a building" requirements.

Q. If Storm's Hero faces a Shade (plus other Darkness units) and inflicts a kill or rout result using Single Combat, can Darkness choose to inflict the result upon his Shade? If so, what happens under the rules of Spectral Form? A. If the Shade receives the result, he suffers the consequences – he must absorb the single hit before the rest of the battle continues. Thus a single rout would force him to retreat during Pre-Battle and a single kill would remove him from the board, but the Shade is able to absorb two results if rolled by the Champion.

Q. Storm's Whirlwind says you move one or more Stormbrothers to the battle area and add 1 battle die. Do the Stormbrothers ALSO roll their normal battle dice? A. Yes! For example, if a single Barbarian is attacked and Storm uses Whirlwind to move two Stormbrothers to the battle, he will roll a total of 4 Combat dice: 1 for the Barbarian, 2 for the Stormbrothers, and 1 for the Whirlwind boost.

Q. If Storm uses Single Combat to rout a unit out of the fight and later on Chaos plays his Unholy Trio gift to turn all routs into kills, what happens to the unit that was previously routed? A. That unit is spared from later results and is not killed.

Q. Do units that do not actually roll dice count towards Storm's Courage gift? For example, Darkness's Mistress using Hunger? A. Storm is rewarded for being in a fight in which the enemy starts with a 3+ Combat total – regardless of how many dice are actually rolled in the battle. To choose another example, if Sky's Emperor used Arrogance to exempt one of his own units from combat, Storm would still get his Courage gift even if this reduced Sky's battle total below 3.

Q. If Storm's Champion uses Single Combat to rout a non-Darkness enemy to Hell, and is then himself routed to Hell, does that trigger Psychopomp once or twice? A. Only once. The single battle is the "when" that triggers Psychopomp. As there are two different empires involved, Darkness will have the choice of whether he gains 1 Power or 1 VP.

Runes

Q. Can I use the Change rune to swap a building with a Chaos Nest? Can this lead to two Chaos Nests, or two normal buildings, being in the same area? A. You may swap a Shrine with a Chaos Nest, as they share the same cost. However, two Chaos Nests (whether regular or Imbedded) or two regular buildings may never share the same area.

Q. The Plant rune says I can upgrade or place a building. Can I "place" a Temple or Ziggurat? A. No, but you can upgrade to one. You can also upgrade a Chaos Nest by Imbedding it, even if you do not yet have that gift.

Q. The Heat rune removes the target's least expensive building. Can I use it to destroy an Imbedded Chaos Nest? A. If ALL of the Chaos Nests are Imbedded, then it is Chaos' least expensive building. In this case, however, it will revert to a standard Chaos Nest.

Q. If the Disorder rune is played and I have no Power, do I have to pay a VP? A. Yes.

Q. If the player using the Fate rune is also the player with the fewest VP, does he end up gaining 3 VP? A. Yes.

Q. What happens if a player copies the Infinity rune with the Illusion rune? A. The player who played Infinity takes two actions, and then the player who played Illusion performs one extra action, out of turn. The game then returns to the normal Action Phase turn order.

Q. If the Illusion or Chaosium rune is used to duplicate the Monster or Dragon rune, what happens? A. We have provided three separate Monster and Dragon tokens for just this purpose – these tokens are differently-colored, so that players can tell the tokens apart.

Q. Can Chaos use the Spirit rune? A. Yes, but because Chaos has no lesser gods all the rune does is give Chaos a VP. He must then summon someone ELSE's lesser god into the area.

Q. How specific is the Law rune? A. The user simply specifies a legal action, such as "Move Units," "Declare Battle," "Summon a Unit," etc. He may choose a empire-specific action, such as "Sunspear," but then of course only that empire is affected.

Q. What is the cost of the unit created by the Monster or Dragon runes? Can I put it in the Chaos Rift? A. Its cost is zero. It can go into the Rift, but since its Power cost is zero it contributes nothing to closing the Rift.

Q. How specific is the Truth rune? A. As specific as its user wishes. For example, he may just want to know if the target is going to Move Units, or he may force the target to specify, such as: "I plan to Teleport Thunder King plus his Champion to Genert's Garden." The stated action must be performed on the target's turn, if possible. If the action is impossible (for instance, a battle is ordered, but by the time his turn rolls around, the empire has no units sharing an area with an enemy), ignore the rune. The target of the Truth rune must describe an action possible at the time the rune is played.

Q. Can runes that affect units of the map also affect units in the Slave Pen (i.e., Secret Chaos, Kill, etc.)? A. If an ability or rune says "on the map," then no. If it just says, "select a unit," then yes.

Q. Will the Farm rune remove an Imbedded Chaos Nest from the map, or will the Nest flip to a "standard" one? A. The building is removed from the map, as stated. It is not technically "destroyed."

Q: Can Rune(s) be played at the very start of the Action Phase, before the first player takes their first action? A. Yes, if you hurry. Once the first player has declared an action, you have to wait till it's finished.

Q. When the last player with Power remaining uses up the last of their Power, the Action Phase ends. Can a Rune be played after this action, before the Power phase? A. Yes, certainly.

Q. If the game ends in the Action phase, can other players play their Runes "normally" or can they only be revealed for their end-of-game VP value? A. No, the game ends immediately at the end of that action. This also applies if a Battle Rune is played which brings a player to his critical VP total – finish out the battle (unless all players agree the outcome is irrelevant), and then no more Runes can be played for effect – only for end-of-game VPs.

Q. What about Runes at the end of the game which can affect other players' VPs or which require a decision on the part of another player? A. At the game's end Runes can ONLY be played for ½ VP, or for their printed VP bonus for the user, not for any other effects. For example, the Chaos Rune can be played to give the user 2 VPs (or 1 VP if they're Chaos). The Fate Rune gives the user 1 VP, then gives 2 VP to the player with the fewest VPs. This still works. On the other hand, the Disorder Rune normally forces other players to choose whether to lose 1 VP or 1 Power, but at the game's end, all it does is give the user ½ VP. Ditto for the Earth Rune – it requires another player to make a decision, so is only worth ½ VP. The Secret Earth Rune lets you choose an empire to lose 1 VP, so it still works, because it doesn't force ANOTHER player to make then decision.

Empires

Q. Can an enemy player choose his Earth Queen to be destroyed by Chaos' Oblivion? A. Yes, but he will never get it back.

Q. Earth Queens are controlled by their spouses. Can they be used to attack Earth? Do they benefit from any of Earth's gifts? A. Yes, they may be used to attack Earth (although in this case their combat is 0). They do not benefit from Earth's gifts.

Q. Earth summons an enemy's Earth Queen, which is later killed. If Earth builds a Temple, can she bring that Queen back to life (i.e., summon her), perhaps to use Injunction later on? A. Yes. Earth can bring any Queen to life (With exceptions; see the note above regarding Chaos' Oblivion ability).

Q. When Earth uses Injunction, is she still considered "married" to the empire against which it was used? A. Yes. Injunction does not divorce them. Think of it as a temporary separation (until that particular Earth Queen is summoned again).

Q. If Chaos kills a Titan in battle, can Earth choose that Titan as the victim of Oblivion? A. Yes, and no additional ill effects are suffered. In effect, the Titan's Twilight weakness "protects" her other units from Oblivion.

Q. Can Earth build a Temple or Ziggurat if all Earth Queens are already in play? A. Yes, but in this case Earth will receive no additional benefits.

Q. How does Earth's Pacifism interact with Storm's Single Combat? A. Single Combat bypasses Pacifism because it is a Pre-Battle ability, and Pacifism specifies that it happens "After Pre-Battle has been resolved." You resolve Single Combat before Pacifism begins to take effect.

Q. As Invisible God, may I perform my Final Ritual with fewer than three Book gifts flipped face-down? A. You may perform your Final Ritual at any time, even if you have no Book gifts flipped face-down or in play (or even if you have no Book gifts at all on your empire sheet!).

Q. Can I eliminate more than one Specter in a single battle via Magic Explosion? A. Yes. If you had all four Specters attacking a single area and exploded them all, you'd receive 20 battle dice from that alone.

Q. What does it mean for Invisible God to be "targeted" by a gift, as specified in his Heroquest requirement? A. It means that a gift affects Invisible God in any way. For example, if Storm attacks Invisible God and uses his Courage gift to gain a rune, this does NOT count as "targeting" Invisible God, because it doesn't affect him. However, if Storm used Single Combat, or Sky used Arrogance vs. Invisible God, those would count. A gift that affects all players logically affects Invisible God, and thus triggers this requirement. Hence, if Chaos uses I Fought, We Won to extort Power in the Council Phase, this "targets" Invisible God.

Q. If Invisible God has a building in Hell, can he use Wizard Gate to move a unit from the area containing that building to an area outside of Hell that contains one of his buildings? A. Yes, but he still needs permission to do so.

Q. Can a unit in Moon's Enslaved box be cast into the Chaos Rift during the Chaos Rift Struggle? A. No.

Q. How do Pacifism and the Crimson Bat's Mindblast ability interact? A. The Bat's Combat is reduced to 0 by Pacifism, so it can only "reduce" the enemy's combat by 0.

Q. Does the Selene produced by the Red Goddess's Menses ability prevent Moon's building from conquest or destruction in that step of battle? A. Yes.

Q. Moon's Adoption lets you swap places with an enemy army, up to equal numbers. How does this work if you and your chosen enemy's forces are of different sizes? A. First, move all of the units belonging to the smaller force to the chosen area. Then, move an equal number of units (selected by you) from the other faction. For example, if you have one Assassin in an area, you could swap that Assassin into an area full of Storm's units, but only one of Storm's units would trade places (but you could pick Storm King himself!).

Q. How does Moon's Mindblast interact with Storm's Single Combat? A. First, Storm subtracts the Crimson Bat's combat from his total amount of dice. If he has any dice remaining, he can roll up to 2 of them for his Single Combat. Example: It is Half-Moon, and Storm is attacking Moon's Crimson Bat with Storm's Champion, a Stormbrother, and a Barbarian. Storm's combat total is 4. He must subtract 3 due to Mindblast, leaving him with 1. He then gets to do Single Combat with his Champion, but only rolls 1 die. Then, in the main part of the battle, he rolls no more dice.

Q. Are units in Moon's Slave Pen considered to be in play? A. Yes. Any units in the Slave Pen are in play; they are legitimate targets for gifts and abilities. However, units in the Slave Pen may not use any gifts or abilities that would allow them to leave the Slave Pen. For instance, Orlanth and any Stormbrothers could not teleport out, but enslaved Trolls would still count towards Hellmother's combat.

Q. What happens if Moon's Enslavement gift is active and she routs a neutral unit, such as one of Mother of Monsters' Spawn? Does that unit go to the Slave Pen? A. No. The ONLY units that can be Enslaved by Moon are those controlled by an empire. Elder race units allied to an empire may be Enslaved in this manner, but neutral units, including neutral elder race units or the above-mentioned Spawn, may never be Enslaved.

Q. If I have Eclipse and conquer an enemy Temple, what happens? A. When you Declare Battle, you'll bump the Lunar Cycle up a notch, because you were the Attacker. Then, in the conquest and destruction step, you'll place your new Temple and move the Cycle along another step.

Q. How does Moonburn work on an Imbedded Chaos Nest? A. An Imbedded Chaos Nest is still a Chaos Nest, which means that at Half Moon it is "destroyed," flipping it over to the standard Chaos Nest side. A Chaos Nest, Imbedded or not, cannot be targeted at Full Moon. As an Imbedded Chaos Nest is not put into the Moonburn box, Chaos could be targeted by Moonburn again.

Q. The costs of Sea's Temple and Ziggurat drop drastically after the Chaos Rift closes. Is this true for every purpose? A. Yes. For example, the Sea Ziggurat is only worth 1 for the Aquatic bonus. The Change rune can then be used to swap a Shrine with Sea's Ziggurat, since they cost the same (but you couldn't then swap your Ziggurat with a Sea Ziggurat).

Q. If I am Sea, can I choose to lift Siren Song in an area in order to permit an enemy to leave without spending a VP? A. No.

Q. Does Sea need to control a building to gain the Aquatic bonus? A. No.

Q. When Sea's Siren Song is in effect, can a player transport units out of the area using non-move actions such as Storm's Teleport? What if a rune is used or an enemy is moved involuntarily? A. The VP only needs to be spent if a Move Units action is performed. The effects of Whirlwind, Adoption, and Teleport, for example, do not count as performing a Move Units action.

Q. When using Magasta, The Churner's greater god ability, must my actions involve Magasta? A. No. You may perform as many actions in a row as you like, as long as each action originates in a Sea area. Magasta can be anywhere, even on land; he just has to be in play.

Q. How does Sea's Submerge interact with Sky Dome and/or Hell? A. You may only move to Sky Dome or Hell from a land area. Thus, if Vithela were Submerged you could not enter Hell from that area. Similarly, if the Enmal Mountains were to be Submerged, they would no longer be adjacent to Sky Dome. However, if the Gates of Dawn were Submerged, you would still exit out of Hell into that area.

Elder Races

Q. Can I remove a building to satisfy a kill taken as a failed Diplomacy roll? A. No, because a building cannot be "killed" and failed Diplomacy is not a battle. It also doesn't count towards the cost of the Diplomacy effort.

Q. Can I choose an Elder Race unit to be affected by Chaos' Oblivion? A. Yes.

Q. The Dragonewt description says that if a Dragonewt is "eliminated instead of killed," it restarts at the base level. Isn't a kill a type of elimination? A. Normally yes, but here we are distinguishing between kills and other types of elimination. For instance, if the Dragonewt is destroyed by a rune, it comes back as a Scout. If it is killed in battle, it can advance a stage.

Q. Can Chaos use the Dwarf's Construction action to place an Imbedded Chaos Nest? What if Chaos does not yet have the Imbed gift yet? A. Yes, to both. Construction allows the Dwarfs to ignore building requirements.

Q. If a Duck is killed in battle, thus earning the Duck gift, can it immediately be applied in Post-Battle? A. No. A gift earned in battle doesn't start taking effect until after the entire battle is completed.

Q. If I have two Luathans in an area when I use Devastate, do I lose both of them? A. You only have to lose one of them. The other gets routed, like any other unit.

Q. Does the Luathans' Devastate also affect Monsters/Spawn? A. Yes, as "all other units rout" and Monsters and Spawn are units. This has the potential to eliminate Mother of Monsters if she can't rout.

Q. Can a Waertagi Dragonship move into a land area? A. Yes, but it can only use its Major Invasion gift when it is in a sea area.

Q. If my Waertagi Dragonships are routed, do they go to the same area as my other routed units? A. Yes, even if that would rout your Dragonships more than 1 area away.

Q. How can I be certain to remember the action chosen by the Slarge Obsession gift? A. If you think players are likely to forget, or you must stop play for a period of time, we suggest noting the action on a scrap of paper and putting it on top of the face-down gifts.

Q. The Dragonewt rune is used against a Dragonewt unit; what happens? A. If a Dragonewt unit is replaced through the use of the Dragonewt rune, this does not reset the Dragonewt unit's stage. When it returns to play, it will return in the same stage it was in when it was replaced.

Q. If Darkness uses the Dwarfs' Construction ability to place the Castle of Lead before they have Ancestor Worship, do they still get the rune for placing it, or must they first have the appropriate gift? A. The gift is required in order to receive the rune for placing the Castle.

Monsters

Q. Do Monsters and Spawn technically count as units? If killed, do they increment the Mad God's marker? A. Yes, and yes.

Q. How does Juggernaut interact with Sea's Siren Song? A. Juggernaut overrides Siren Song and no one pays any penalties, since it is Juggernaut and not they who are moving the units.

Q. How does Juggernaut's Community ability interact with other movement-type abilities? What about those of elder races, or other monsters? A. ANY movement-type ability will trigger Juggernaut's Community ability.

Q. How does Juggernaut interact with Hell permissions? A. Juggernaut's Community supersedes Hell permissions. When Juggernaut moves, everyone moves.

Q. Can Androgeus' Lust target an enemy with no units in their pool? A. No. You must select an enemy with units available to be summoned.

Q. What happens to Mother of Monsters if Juggernaut tries to move her into an area containing Spawn? A. She gets moved into the area. Her restriction is that routs and her Birth action can't move her to a Spawn. Juggernaut's move doesn't count as either of those.

Q. Without any heroes or greater gods, how can Invisible God kill Androgeus? A. He can't, unless he allies with an Elder Race that is classified as a hero.

Q. Dragons and Spawn attack when activated; when they attack in the Lady of Disease's area, does the activating player have to pay 1 VP? A. No. It is the dragon that is attacking, and not the player.

Q. Does Sky Terror's reward (immediately select any enemy units totaling cost 4 or less and eliminate them) work on units in the Slave Pen? A. Yes.

XV. Rule Omega – The Final Question

We have sought diligently to cover all possible rules and to make the game as true to Glorantha as we possibly can, but we are mere mortals and as such we are subject to error.

If you come across some conflict regarding a gift, ability, or rune, and you are unable to find the answer in our FAQ (or our website's online FAQ), we recommend that the players in the game votes on the desired outcome - the owner of the game should probably get a bonus (perhaps his vote counts for double). In the end, Glorantha: The Gods War is your game. If you feel compelled to add house rules, please do so with our blessing.

XVI. Credits

Design - Sandy Petersen Art Direction - Rich Fleider, Penny Lane Production - Arthur Petersen, Ben Donges Additional Art and Layout - Penny Lane, Matthew Colodny, Tony Mastrangeli Business Manager - Christine Graham, Ian Starcher Editing - Michael Schemaille, Arthur Petersen, Adam Gelin Customer Support and Sales - James Frashure, George Botelho Marketing - Ed Healy Social Media and VF Support - Pit Lanzrezac Playtest Lead - Lincoln Petersen

Playtesters - Erik Avalos, Andrew Bair, Kat Bair, Chuck Bartholomew, Frank Bauroth, Kyle Beasley, Sasha Begovic, Troy Bowman, Jazcek Braden, Nick Brooke, Mike Carlson, Jonathan Cohen, David Coon, John Coon, Chris Czechowski, Peter Dannenberg, Dustin Davis, "Almost Evil" Ed McDonald, Patrick Fenn, Thaddeus Fenton, Angela Fleider, Brad Gaffney, Nick Gaffney, Elliot Hamilton, Bryan Hehmann, Eric Henson, Guy Hoyle, Chad Jones, Mike Junio, Chris Lemens, Andrew Lucio, Rick Meints, Shovaen Patel, Spencer Petersen, Rick Porter, Amy Price, Jeff Richard, Chad Richard, Greg Robertson, Neil Robinson, Sarah Rosa, Ken Ross, David Scott, Blake Sherer, Paul Slusser, Greg Stafford, Toni Whalen, Lori Wilson and Kanon Wood.

Special Thanks To: Ameliazoth, Wendy Petersen, Debbie Petersen, Naomi Mongrel Petersen, Christopher Dearlove, Adam Starks, Moon Design, Chaosium, and Gearbox Software.

Concept Art Ben Hall - Mermaid, Kraken, Sea Serpent Christine Mitzuk - Broo, Thed, Phoenix, Stormbrothers, Selene, Genert, Pamalt Jennifer Wildes - Sedenya, Assassin, Earth Queen Paul Carrick - Mother of Monsters Rhonda Libbey - Malia, Ragnaglar, Emperor, Magasta, Specter, Great Compromise painting Sarah Bates - Arachne Solara, Cragspider, Kyger Litor, Scorpionman, Slarge, Black Dragon Steve Ellis - Shade Brynn Metheney - Behemoth, Brown Dragon Stewart Stansfield - Duck (Inspiration) Dan Barker - Dragonewts (Scout and Final stage), Orlanth, Crimson Bat Claudio Pozas - Elves, Luathan Demigod Jeff Brown - Spike Shattering painting Jon Hodgson - Map, Empire Expansion box cover Des Hanley - Waertagi Dragon ship, Androgeus Crystal Sully - Red Dragon, Leviathan Danny Huynh - Maidstone Archer, Cwim Derran Viss - Juggernaut, all buildings Leo David - Knight, Wizard Miguel Coronado - Axe Maiden, Vadeli Raider, Giant Zoey Christianson - Dwarf Ken Hogan - Pre-Shattered Spike, Kylerela Docking paintings Piotr Fo - Minion portraits Rich Fleider - Troll, Yelm, Archer, Barbarian, Duck (design) Conceptopolis - Key art and Empire portrait paintings

Sculptors Sculpting by Fenris Games - Arachne Solara, Archer, Barbarian, Broo, Cragspider, Dragonewt Scout, Duck, Elf, Emperor, Kiger Lytor, Kraken, Magasta, Malia, Mermaid, Phoenix, Ragnaglar, Red Goddess, Selene, Shades, Specter, Storm Brother, Thed, Yelm

Sculpting by Tidal 4 - Assassin, Axe Maiden, Behemoth, Black Dragon, Boggle, Brown Dragon, Champion, Crimson Bat, Cwim, Dragonship (Waertagi), Dwarf, Earth Queen, Genert, Giant, Inhuman King, Juggernaut, Knight, Leviathan, Luathan, Maidstone Archer, Mother of Monsters, Orlanth, Pamalt, Red Dragon, Scorpion Men, Sky Terror, Vadeli, Wizard

Sculpting by Derran Viss - Victory/Power token, Mad God Marker, Oblivion Marker, Wedding Rings, Spawn Tokens, Castle, Castle of Lead, Chaos Nest, Shrine, Temple, Tower, Ziggurat

Sculpting by Game Chain - Slarge, Troll

Sculpting by Lance Baker - Sea Serpent

Sculpting by Miranda Thomas - Androgeus

Glorantha: The Gods War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Familiar with Cthulhu Wars?
I. Introduction
- Note from Sandy:
II. Components
III. Setup
IV. Game Basics
V. Action Phase
VI. Power Phase
VII. Council Phase
VIII. Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes
IX. Victory: Ending and Winning the Game
- Special Cases:
X. Player Tips
XI. Empires
XII. Elder Races
XIII. Monsters
XIV. FAQ
- Runes
- Empires
- Elder Races
- Monsters
XV. Rule Omega – The Final Question
XVI. Credits

Familiar with Cthulhu Wars?

The Power Phase

Power is accumulated in a completely different manner in The Gods War than it is in Cthulhu Wars.

The Council Phase

Buildings

Unlike Gates in Cthulhu Wars, buildings belong to particular empires and must be conquered in battle before their ownership can be transferred. Many buildings contribute to their own defense.

The Move Action

In The Gods War, you may move any or all of your units from a single area (and ONLY that area) for a single point of Power.

Rout (Retreat) After Battle

Conquest/Destruction

This is a new step that happens after the Post-Battle step; it determines the fate of any buildings in the battle area.

I. Introduction

Note from Sandy:

II. Components

Core Game Components

Storm Empire — The Thunder King, Orlanth (Greater God); The Champion; 3 Stormbrothers; 4 Barbarians; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Sky Empire — The Sun God, Yelm (Greater God); The Emperor; 3 Phoenixes; 4 Archers; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Darkness Empire — The Hellmother, Kyger Litor (Greater God); The Mistress, Cragspider; 3 Shades; 4 Trolls; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Chaos Empire — The Mad God, Ragnaglar (Greater God); The Magna Mater, Thed; The Lady of Disease, Malia; 6 Broos; 1 Mad God Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Empires Components

Glorantha: The Gods War also includes rules and components for expansion empires, sold separately, that plug into the core game.

Earth Empire — The Titan, Genert (Greater God); The Titan, Pamalt (Greater God); The Behemoth; 4 Axe Maidens; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Sea Empire — The Churner, Magasta (Greater God); The Kraken; 3 Sea Serpents; 4 Mermaids; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Moon Empire — The Red Goddess (Greater God); The Crimson Bat; 3 Selenes; 4 Assassins; 1 Oblivion Marker; 3 Victory/Power Markers.

Invisible God Empire — 4 Knights; 4 Wizards; 4 Specters; 1 Oblivion Marker; 2 Victory/Power Markers.

Elder Races Components

Monsters Components

Arachne Solara Components

Arachne Solara — a Cosmic Monster and alternate double-sided First-Player figure; 12 Web Tokens; a Loyalty Card. Also included: 16 Battle Dice.

Buildings Components

III. Setup

A. The Map

THREE-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with both 3-player sides face-up.

FOUR-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with one 3- and one 5-player side face-up. There are two different possible arrangements. It does not matter which you choose – both are fair starts.

FIVE-PLAYER GAME: Arrange the board with both 5-player sides face-up. (The 5-player game is only playable with the Empires expansion).

B. Tabletop Setup

C. Empire Setup

Place your victory marker on the "0" space of the victory track.

Follow the setup instructions on your empire sheet. These typically entail placing a Shrine in a particular area and setting your Power to 6.

If you have the Arachne Solara first-player figure, you can use that instead of the die-cut marker; just place her on the table in front of you, with her hand pointing in the direction of play.

IV. Game Basics

A. Object of the Game

B. Phases of Play

Each round of The Gods War is played out over three distinct phases:

1. Action Phase 2. Power Phase 3. Council Phase

Below is a brief overview of play; the following pages describe the phases in detail:

In the Action Phase, players take turns performing actions. A player may only perform one action per turn. There are four common actions that can be taken:

Build or Upgrade a Building. This allows you to grow your empire by placing a building onto the map, or by improving one already there.
Summon a Unit. This places one of your units on the map. Your units can defend your buildings and battle against enemies.
Move your Units around the map.
Declare Battle, possibly followed by Conquest or Destruction. During battle you can kill your enemies' units and replace their buildings with yours.

C. Empire Sheets

Your empire sheet contains valuable information:

D. Units and Buildings

Most empires have 10 buildings. Unlike units, most empires share the same three types of buildings: Shrines, Temples, and Ziggurats.

V. Action Phase

There are four common actions that all players may perform:

Build or Upgrade a Building. This allows you to grow your empire by placing a building on the map or improving one already in play.
Summon a Unit. This allows you to place one of your units on the map. Units can defend your buildings and battle against enemies.
Move Units around the map.
Declare Battle. During battle you can kill and/or rout enemy units, and conquer (take over) or destroy an enemy's building.

In addition to these common actions, there are also:

Unique Actions. Each empire has access to actions provided by their gifts and abilities. Certain Heroquests may also be achieved by performing specific actions described on their individual empire sheets.

If you somehow gain Power after spending it all, you are "re-activated" and can once again take actions on your turn.

Note: Some units may seem like they are "restricted" to water or land areas, like sea serpents or scorpion men. They're not.

A. Build or Upgrade a Building (Cost: variable)

To build a Shrine, pay its cost (1 Power) and take a Shrine from your pool, placing it on an area of the map that does not already contain a building.

Important Rules for Building or Upgrading a Building:

When you perform the Build or Upgrade a Building action, you may only build or upgrade a single building. For example, you cannot pay 2 Power to build 2 Shrines.
There are no restrictions as to where on the map you can Build or Upgrade a Building. Buildings may be placed on land or sea areas, on the Spike, on Kylerela, on Sky Dome, or in Hell.
An area cannot contain more than one building (Chaos Nests are an exception to this rule).
You do NOT need to have a unit in an area where you Build or Upgrade a Building – the area can be empty, or it might even be filled with enemy units.
If you cannot pay the Power cost of the building you wish to place on the map, you cannot perform this action for this building.
If you want to place a building on the map but do not have any of that building in your pool, you cannot perform this action for this building.
If the building you want to place on the map has a prerequisite building, and none of these buildings are on the map, you cannot perform this action for this building. The prerequisite building must belong to your empire (e.g., you cannot upgrade another empire's Shrine to one of your Temples).

Chaos Nest Exceptionalism

B. Summon a Unit (Cost: variable)

Important rules for Summoning a Unit:

When performing the Summon a Unit action, you may only summon a single unit. You may not pay extra Power to summon multiple units at once.
Any of your units may be summoned into an area containing one of your buildings.
Some units (notably, greater gods) have requirements that must be met before they can be summoned. Any requirements will be printed on those units' respective empire sheets.
If you cannot pay the Power cost of the unit you wish to summon, you cannot summon that unit.
If you wish to summon a unit and have none of that unit in your pool, you cannot summon that unit.
If you have no buildings on the map, you cannot Summon a Unit.

C. Move Units (Cost: 1)

To Move Units, spend 1 Power and select an area where you have at least one unit. All of your units in that area may now be moved into adjacent area(s).

Important rules for the Move Units action:

Your units do not need to move TO the same area (but they must all come from the same area).
You do not need to move every unit out of the activated area.
Your units cannot be prevented from moving by the presence of enemy units or buildings.
Only units may move; buildings do not have that capability.
All units may go into all areas. (Sea Serpents and Dragon Ships may move to land areas, etc.)

Movement & the Map

The map has several features that may affect movement, as described below:

Any two areas on the surface world are adjacent if they share a border.

Note: All the Hell entrances are on the western side of the map (where the sun goes down), at least until Magasta's Pool is revealed.

When exiting Hell via the Move Units action, all units must be placed in the Gates of Dawn area on the surface world.

Some important rules for how Move Units works with Kylerela:

Units "aboard" Kylerela may disembark to adjacent areas before and/or after the island itself has been moved.
You may only activate Kylerela as part of a Move action if you have a unit or a building on it.
You may move Kylerela without moving any units from it (this still costs 1 Power as a Move Units action).
The presence of enemy buildings or units does not prevent you from moving Kylerela (no one "owns" the Floating Island).
Kylerela may only move 1 ocean space per Move Units action.

D. Declare Battle (Cost: 1)

Important rules for the Declare Battle action:

You cannot Declare Battle in an area where you have no units, even if your building in that area has a combat effect.
You can Declare Battle on an enemy building; no enemy units need be present.
You may only battle a single enemy at a time; if more than one enemy empire has forces in the battle area, select only one of those empires to battle against. Any other empires present in the area are idle bystanders.
For the purposes of battle, there are no functional differences between land, sea, Sky Dome, or Hell areas.
Declare Battle is an action: simply moving into an area containing enemy units does not trigger a battle! Empires may co-exist for many turns without battling.
You may Declare Battle even if you would roll 0 combat dice, as long as you have at least one unit present.
A Declare Battle action consists of a single battle. For example, you cannot pay 2 Power to declare two separate battles.

Note: Since a greater god can be killed, do not bring it out before you can protect it with other units.

How Battle Works

Once battle has been declared, it proceeds through the following steps:

Pre-Battle
Combat Rolls
Post-Battle
Conquest or Destruction

1. Pre-Battle

2. Combat Rolls

Each side in the battle then rolls a number of dice equal to their respective combat totals. Combat rolls are simultaneous! If separate rolls are needed, keep track of each side's results.

For each 6 you roll, you score 1 kill. For each 4 or 5, you score 1 rout (see below for details on these). Rolls of 1-3 are misses; they have no effect.

Some gifts and abilities are marked simply as "Battle." These are normally used during the Combat Roll step of battle.

3. Post-Battle

After determining combat results (including the contributions of any buildings), it is time to inflict these results upon your enemy!

Kills are inflicted first (on both sides), followed by routs.

Important rules for the Post-Battle step:

Any unit – even a greater god – can be killed or routed as a result of a single die roll.
Both the attacker's and defender's routed units may be sent to the same area.
Kills and routs can only be assigned to units. Buildings cannot be killed or routed.
Units CAN be routed along sea-crossing arrows (unless those arrows are out of play due to Kylerela).
Units can be routed to/from Sky Dome (along the northern and southern boundaries of the surface world and the Spike, while it is in play).
Units can be routed into Hell if battling in an area with a border marked "to Hell"
Units can NEVER be routed out of Hell. You cannot ask for permission to exit Hell during a battle.
Special note for Storm's Single Combat ability: if his Champion inflicts a rout on an enemy unit during Pre-Battle, then all enemy units routed later in the battle must also go to that same area

4. Conquest or Destruction

To destroy an enemy building, simply return it to its owner's pool. Even if you could conquer a building, you may always choose to destroy it instead.

Imbedded Chaos Nest Exceptionalism

When an Imbedded Chaos Nest is "destroyed," flip it over; it becomes a standard Chaos Nest. Thus, completely destroying an Imbedded Chaos Nest takes two separate battles across two separate actions.

Complex Battle Example: Storm attacks Darkness in Altinela. Storm has 2 Barbarians and his Champion, while Darkness has 2 Trolls, a Temple, and her Mistress. Each player has all 6 of their gifts.

E. Unique Actions (Cost: variable)

Additionally, some Heroquests found on your empire sheet are classified as actions; these may have a stated Power cost (which may be 0). You may perform one of these as your turn's action.

For more details, see Chapter VIII: Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes.

VI. Power Phase

There are four main sources of Power for each empire: Glorantha's Blessing, buildings, Heroquest fragments, and special abilities.

Note: In the early game, focus on increasing your Power base. High Power creates opportunities and gives you more options.

1. Glorantha's Blessing (1 Power, if Chaos Rift is not open)

2. Buildings (2 Power per type)

Each empire earns 2 Power for each TYPE of building it has on the map.

Chaos only has a single building type; Imbedded Chaos Nests and standard Chaos Nests are considered to be the same type of building for the purposes of gaining Power in this manner.

3. Heroquest Fragments (1 Power each)

Earn 1 Power for each fragment containing at least one gift.

4. Power Phase Gifts & Abilities (variable)

5. Apply the Minimum Power Rule

VII. Council Phase

A. Determine First Player

B. Earn VP from Buildings and Fragments

In this segment, players earn VP from buildings and Heroquest fragments. Move each player's VP token forward 1 space on the victory point track for each VP earned.

VP from Buildings. Earn 1 VP for each individual building you have in play. For example, 1 Shrine and 1 Temple will earn 2 VP, while 6 Shrines will earn 6 VP.

C. Activate Council Gifts & Abilities

D. Chaos Rift Struggle

The Spike Shatters

When the Spike shatters, the following immediately occur:

All units and buildings on the Spike are destroyed and returned to their owners' pools.
The Spike tile is flipped over to reveal the Chaos Rift.
If Chaos is in play it now takes the Catastrophe gift, plus a rune.

Note: Units eliminated on the Spike when it shatters do NOT count for Chaos' Anarchy unique ability; they are not considered eliminations for the Mad God's marker total.

The Chaos Rift Struggle Sequence

To resolve the Chaos Rift Struggle, perform the following steps in order:

All players except Chaos must select one of their units or buildings in play and place it on the Chaos Rift tile. Greater gods may not be placed in the Rift. In the rare event that a player is unable to place a unit or building in this way, that player is exempted from this step.
Each player takes a single die and, under a cupped hand, secretly turns it face-up to the amount of Power he wishes to expend. (Thus, players may spend anywhere from 1-6 Power).
All players reveal their dice simultaneously and add their values together to determine the "Power commitment." If Chaos is in play, subtract the value of Chaos' die from the total commitment, rather than adding to it.
All players now adjust their Power tracks to reflect the Power spent on their individual commitments. If any player shows a die face higher than his available Power, his contribution is counted as zero and he spends no Power. (Hence, players whose Power is 5 or lower can fail to contribute by setting their dice too high). The player who committed the least amount of Power loses 1 VP (even Chaos). Any players involved in a tie for the smallest commitment lose 1 VP each.
Sum the costs of all units and buildings in the Rift. Add that number to the Power commitment as calculated in step 3. This final total is the "total commitment" to close the Chaos Rift.
Roll dice equal to the number of empires in play (including Chaos, if applicable). The result of the roll represents the current strength of the Chaos Rift, to be matched against the total commitment. If the total commitment exceeds the strength of the Chaos Rift, the non-Chaos empires succeed and the Rift is closed! Remove the Chaos Rift tile from the board and replace it with Magasta's Pool. If the total commitment is equal to or less than the strength of the Chaos Rift, the Rift remains open and the Struggle will continue in the next Council Phase.
If the Chaos Rift stays open and Chaos is in play, Chaos draws a Rune (per its Catastrophe gift). If the Rift closes, all units and buildings lost to it return to their owners' pools.

E. The Great Compromise

The Great Compromise Sequence:

The Judge spends half of his total Power, rounding down.
The Judge now earns 4 VP, and chooses another player to gain 3 VP. The Judge then assigns 2 VP to a third player and continues onward in this fashion, reducing the VP award by 1 with each subsequent player until the last player receives his VP. Continue dropping by 1 even if the result is 0 or negative. For example, in a game with 5 players, the last player picked will get 0 VP. In a game with 8 players, the last player will lose 3 VP!
Once all players have received their VP awards (or penalties!), the Compromise ends for this Council Phase, the Judgeship ends, and play moves on to the Action Phase.
The Great Compromise will happen again in the next Council Phase, possibly with a new judge.

VIII. Heroquests, Gifts, Abilities, and Runes

Empire Unique Abilities
Empire Unique Weaknesses
Building Abilities
Greater God Abilities
Gifts

1. Empire Unique Abilities

2. Empire Unique Weaknesses

3. Building Abilities

4. Greater God Abilities

5. Gifts

Gifts are not secret; they must be shown to other players upon request. We recommend announcing a gift's name each time one is earned, and describing it if new players are present.

Note: All gifts strengthen you in some way. Sometimes they can be chained together in such a way as to turbo-charge a strategy.

Earning Gifts (achieving Heroquests)

You earn a gift even if its Heroquest requirement is fulfilled during another player's turn.

Some Heroquests state that you gain Power, VP, and/or runes; this happens at the same time as you earn the gift (either immediately, or at the end of the current battle).

Timing of Gifts and Abilities (When Can I Use Them?)

All gifts and abilities are printed with indicators of when they can be used and/or when their effects occur. Each gift and ability will have one (or more) of these indicators:

Ongoing
Action
Pre-Battle, Battle, Post-Battle, Conquest/Destruction
Power Phase
Council Phase
One-Time Use

IMPORTANT: regardless of these indicators, if a gift or ability is not active (as described above), its benefit is not available to you.

Ongoing. Ongoing gifts and abilities are in effect at all times; the benefit (or limitation) they provide is always operational.

Do I Have to Use My Active Gifts and Abilities?

The benefits (or limitations) provided by active gifts and abilities are mandatory, but there are exceptions:

If the text of a gift or ability states "you may" (or similar), then you have the choice of whether to use that gift or ability (at the appropriate time); this is typical of battle-related gifts and abilities.
If a gift or ability provides an action, it is up to you to decide whether or not to perform that action during any of your Action Phase turns. As such, action gifts and abilities may be considered "optional." However, once you have chosen to perform an action, its entire effect must take place.
If a gift or ability demands that something impossible must happen, there is no penalty for being unable to obey that demand. For example, if a gift or ability states that you must summon a unit from your pool but you have none left to summon, you may disregard that requirement.
If the use of a gift or ability is possible only under certain conditions (e.g. "if your greater god is involved in a battle…") and those conditions are not true, you cannot use that gift or ability.

Runes

Runes symbolize your empire's mastery of secret forces. Each empire gathers runes differently, and sometimes they may even be gained through other players' actions or effects.

Note: Runes (not including battle runes played during a battle) can (only) be played before or after a player's action. Or at the end of the game, for points.

1. Gaining Runes

2. Playing Runes

Runes during the Power Phase and Council Phase

Runes may not be played during these phases, except for the end of the game. (See below.)

Runes at the End of the Game

IX. Victory: Ending and Winning the Game

When any empire's marker reaches or passes 35 on the victory track, the game ends.

Rarely, someone will reach 35 or more VP during the Power Phase. In this case, the game ends at the end of that phase. Runes are tallied as described above.

In every case, the player with the most VP is declared the winner. If two players tie for the most VP, they rejoice in their shared win.

Special Cases:

Knocked Out of the Game

Player Leaving the Game

Sometimes a player may have to leave in the middle of a game. In this event, the vacated empire becomes known as the Uncontrolled Faction and is subject to the rules below:

Leave all Uncontrolled Faction units and buildings on the map, intact.
Continue to add up the Uncontrolled Faction's Power and VP every round.
During the Chaos Rift Struggle, the Uncontrolled Faction always bids 3 Power. It does not donate a unit or building to the Rift.
The Uncontrolled Faction may never be the Judge of the Great Compromise.
The Uncontrolled Faction always drops its Power to 0 on its first turn of each Action Phase.
If the Uncontrolled Faction is attacked, the player with the fewest VP (who is not battling it) takes control of the Uncontrolled Faction's units for that battle and makes any necessary choices (such as where to rout enemy units). In the event of a tie, the tied player who moves last in turn order takes charge.

X. Player Tips

A. General Tips

Gameplay can be divided into three main phases: the early, mid, and late game.

Early Game: In your first few turns you should try to build up your Power base, earn a gift or two, and summon a few units. You'll want two different types of buildings by the end of the first round. Battle in the early game is opportunistic rather than strategic, and often focused on Heroquest requirements. At this time it is usually better to go for depth (building variety, to gain Power) rather than breadth (lots of Shrines, for an early VP lead).
Mid Game: This starts once most areas contain buildings. Start gathering a serious army, focus on gifts, and maintain map position. Try not to fall too far behind in VP.
Late Game: This starts once your greater god is in play and you have 3-4 gifts under your belt. The Chaos Rift has opened and has possibly even closed again. Now, the purpose of battle changes: instead of expanding your territory, seek instead to remove your opponent's buildings so that they earn fewer VP. If one player surges ahead in VP, get the others to work with you against him. If YOU are the player who surges ahead, try to break up such alliances.

B. Playing as Chaos

Chaos revels in destruction. Your Gods are lethal. You may struggle for Power because you have only one type of building, but you are also hard to stamp out.

In the mid- or late-game, use a well-timed Unholy Trio to empty an area and send the Mad God over the top. Make sure the Mad God has a force of Broos to soak up hits while you clear areas out.

Blood Sacrifice: Take this gift early, and use it! Lady of Disease should always be at an opponent's building. Double-team with Oblivion.
Catastrophe: A no-brainer. Literally.
I Fought, We Won: If you need Power, this will help. This is often a reflexive first choice for Chaos. Before you take it, consider if Oblivion or Imbed might be better.
Imbed: An Imbedded Nest is amazingly hard to dig out, and the extra Power adds up.
Oblivion: The virtue of this gift is not so much that you remove enemy units; rather, the fear that you might do so paralyzes enemies.
Unholy Trio: At its best when two opponents battle. Jump-starts the Mad God.

Thwarting Chaos

Chaos: Epilogue

C. Playing as Darkness

In the late game, the combo of Fear and Psychopomp rewards you for seeking out little fights; Spectral Form and Hellmother's Nocturnal Raids will help you survive these battles.

Sky may try to talk you into letting Sun God out of Hell. But...the truth is that Hellmother is Darkness' only unit capable of releasing him, and she has better things to do. Let him rot.

Ancestor Worship: Best in the mid-to-late game. In the long run, the Castle of Lead is cheaper than a Ziggurat, and it gives you just as much Power. Still, you should usually place your Ziggurat before the Castle of Lead, for the gift the Ziggurat provides.
Black Market: You must be sly to maximize this gift's value. Do not always "buy" the runes yourself – instead choose players who are unlikely to use the rune to hurt you.
Fear: While your victims are normally sent to Hell, sometimes it can be better to move them somewhere else.
Hunger: Often your first gift, because it plays so well with your need to eliminate other empires' units and buildings.
Psychopomp: An entertaining gift which irritates foes and encourages late-game raids.
Spectral Form: Gives your Shades the capacity to protect other units in your army.

Thwarting Darkness

Darkness: Epilogue

D. Playing as Sky

Arrogance: Excellent both for defense and attack – with Arrogance, your Emperor is one of the best combat units in the game.
Call to Justice: Can be used to force other players' compliance, to move your own units, or to inconvenience others' battle plans. If Sun God is in Hell, pull key enemies to you on every single turn. Even Darkness is discomfited by needing to drag a Shade or The Mistress out of Hell. Again.
Noblesse Oblige: Unless you are very short on Power, use this every turn. For 2 Power you earn a Rune and influence other players. If you can, make them vie for your favor.
Shanasse: A great station for your Archers is Sky Dome, where they can blanket much of the world with their arrows.
Solar Energy: A never-ending font of joy once Sun God exits Hell, and it more than offsets the cost of Noblesse Oblige.
Sunspear: Never summon Phoenixes; always place them via Sunspear. This gift is just as much about breaking up an enemy's attack as it is about preparing for your own.

Thwarting Sky

Sky: Epilogue

E. Playing as Storm

Your movement is by far the best in the game, even better than that of Darkness. Your Temples let you strike across the map, while Whirlwind and Teleport let you gather your forces.

Courage: Encourages you to seek out large clusters of enemies. Fortunately, you have the tools necessary to replace your losses. Still, this is not a good Heroquest to take early, before you have those tools. Remember to attack early in the turn, so that you aren't hurt by Honor.
Insurgency: Can transform oddball buildings, such as Chaos Nests and the Castle of Lead. It also means that when you lose a Temple to an enemy, it is trivial to get it back.
Single Combat: Makes you both flexible and unpredictable – a dangerous combination.
Teleport: Useful for either kidnapping an enemy or for charging into battle.
Weather Control: Take this gift early to jump-start your empire, or use it to super-charge a late-game turn. Remember that it triggers as soon as you take it, unlike other one-use gifts. Do not fall into the trap of always taking it as your last gift – sometimes 3-4 Power and a rune early in the game is better than 6 Power later on.
Whirlwind: This lets you station Stormbrothers as building garrisons, while also keeping them available for a critical battle. If you whirl even a single Stormbrother into combat, the extra die you gain makes him as cost-effective as your Barbarians.

Thwarting Storm

Storm: Epilogue

XI. Empires

Empires adds 4 new empires and new, 6-8 player maps to The Gods War.

Playing as Earth

Your empire's strategies revolve around your Earth Queens. Each Queen comes in two colors – green (the color of Earth), plus the color of another empire.

Eventually, you will need to engage in battle. You can profit from losing your Behemoth with Extinction.

Chastity: You're often short on units; this gift lets you defend your Temples cheaply and effectively. With only a single Maiden in play, an attacker will need 4 units to guarantee victory.
Extinction: Summon your Behemoth to an enemy Ziggurat, attack, take 2 runes, repeat. Otherwise, you can back the Behemoth up with enough troops to ensure kills and fight your army to extinction through the enemy ranks. By the time you're exhausted, you'll have a pocketful of runes and your enemy will be nearly wiped out.
Injunction: Gains you an extra rune each turn. The flexibility afforded by having so many runes can be a tremendous asset.
Pacifism: Terrifying to your foes. Watch carefully for your chance, and do not be shy about using it as a threat. Remember that you do not have to be directly involved in a battle to use Pacifism. It is also good as a one-time, "don't kill my Titan" escape clause.
Quake: This gift is usually defensive, for transporting an expensive building out of harm's way (swapping it with a Shrine), but it has other uses, such as beefing up a critical area with a Ziggurat or Temple to make you more dangerous in battle.
Ubiquitous: This is actually your main "movement" ability. Simply summon your units into the place you plan to strike.

Thwarting Earth

Earth: Epilogue

Playing as Invisible God

King's Blessing: This gift helps make up for the high cost of your buildings. In a game with lots of construction you may need to ensure that rivals' buildings are being destroyed in order to leave spaces open for your freebies.
Magic Explosion: This helps dissuade enemies from attacking areas with Specters – if you are sure the Specter will die anyway, why not explode it? It also gives you a little extra 'oomph' to help capture an important area.
Divine Right: Another candidate for first gift. It keeps on giving.
Brown Book of Commerce: Do not wait until you have all your Towers to fire this off, even if you are not getting its full benefit (remember, you can reuse it when you perform your Final Ritual). Its benefits can be "shopped around," to see who will cooperate with you in taking down a hated enemy.
Sturdy Peasantry: This is the first gift chosen by many players, not least because it provides VP every single turn and ensures an extra 2 Power per Power Phase if all of your other buildings are Towers. If you focus on Castles instead, it lets you bump your Knights up to Combat 4!
Tapping: Use this to make Wizards pay for themselves and hurt your enemies. Be careful, as this gift forces you to space your Wizards out and also makes them a target.
Red Book of Power: A good way to suddenly defend otherwise-vulnerable buildings.
Blue Book of Sorcery: This is one gift you never need to delay in getting. The moment you get it, use it – the only reason to delay is to use that 0-cost action to draw out the turn.

Thwarting Invisible God

Invisible God: Epilogue

Playing as Moon

Adoption: Not only a useful escape route, but also good to put a hated enemy in harm's way.
Eclipse: It may seem like a double-edged sword, but in effect it gives you a free Lunar Cycle bump, since you ought to be attacking anyway. Of course, reserve your Dying Moon attacks for unguarded Shrines. Adoption can put you in position for these attacks.
Enslavement: Another reason you should want to attack as often as possible. Every person in your Slave Pen is a Power boost waiting to happen.
Madness: Even if all you do is pay to churn through the Cycles with properly-spaced Selenes, it only costs you 4 Power to earn 3 Power and a rune. Obviously it is best to take this gift when you are at Dying or Waxing Half, so that you can benefit from it ASAP.
Mindblast: A terrifying prospect for any foe, and this one is just as good on offense as it is on defense.
Moonburn: Any time you are at Full Moon, watch your enemies scramble and squabble trying to get someone else to pay to knock you off your high horse so that their Temples won't fry. In the meantime, go ahead and fry them.

Thwarting Moon

Moon: Epilogue

Playing as Sea

Aquatic: You can use your Submerge ability to plunge a tasty enemy Ziggurat underwater, thus gaining 3 Power every turn from then on.
Constrict: Combine with Drowning to ensure a kill in every battle.
Drowning: A key source of VP in the late game; because it doesn't just give you a VP but actually drains one from an enemy, it is better than it might seem at first glance.
Siren Song: Locks down an enemy in a most gratifying way. Weak foes dare not flee your attacks, which feeds into your Drowning/Constrict engine.
Tidal Surge: Opens up an area to conquer a building or to simply scatter your enemies. Unlike a rout, you can scatter enemy units into different and inconvenient areas.
Whirlpool: Most empires try to hang on to their Power for as long as they can. With Whirlpool you are usually happy to be the first to run out, and the groans of your opponents are delightful. If you have a Power-giving rune, you can time it so you drop to 0 Power a second time in that turn to double-dip! Enemies hate that.

Thwarting Sea

Sea: Epilogue

XII. Elder Races

Elder Races is an expansion for Glorantha: The Gods War. It contains mini-factions, with whom any player may ally.

Elder Race Setup

Players should collectively decide how to choose which Elder Races to include in their game, either randomly or by intentional selection. We recommend adding one Elder Race per player.

Note: A race chosen by a player may turn out to be different from the race with whom they ally.

Diplomacy (Gaining an Elder Race as an Ally)

Diplomacy (cost: 1)

Unless a race's loyalty card states otherwise, you must have a unit in the same area as an Elder Race AND you must not yet have an Elder Race as an ally.

Note: Some Elder Races follow special alliance rules. Please follow these where required.

Benefits of an Elder Race Ally

In addition (and sometimes more importantly), you gain the use of your allies' unique ability (printed on their loyalty card).

Note: You may only have ONE Elder Race as an ally. Once you have an ally, you may not use Diplomacy again. (Exception: Scorpion Men)

XIII. Monsters

Dragons

Dragons tend to be a balancing element, since their attacks are controlled by one of the weaker players. For any relevant game purposes, Dragons are classified as greater gods.

Chaos Monsters

Note: While Chaos Monsters do not attack, the Spawn of the Mother of Monsters DO attack when activated by players.

Cosmic Monsters

Placement Rules

If players cannot agree on which Monster(s) to place we recommend that the game's owner make the final decision, after wisely weighing his friends' words.

Dragons are placed at the start of the game.
Chaos Monsters are placed when the Chaos Rift opens.
Cosmic Monsters are placed when the Great Compromise is first triggered.

Monster Card

From top to bottom, Great Monsters have a number of special features:

Placement: This explains where and when the Great Monster is placed on the map.

Special Power: Each Monster has its own special power, which describes how and when it inflicts itself upon the world:

Action Phase (Chaos Monsters only): All players may activate these Monsters' actions.
Council Phase (Dragons only): Dragons apply their powers ONCE, at the end of each Council Phase. The details of the Dragons' actions, and who controls them, are specified on each Dragon's loyalty card. If more than one player qualifies to be a Dragon's controller, then the Dragon does not act.
Trigger (Cosmic Monsters only): Cosmic Monsters do nothing until a player activates the Monster's trigger, usually by having units present in the Monster's area or an adjacent area. The Monster's ability occurs after the resolution of the trigger action.

Important: The Spawn of the Mother of Monsters are NOT Monsters. They are mortal minions, and they can be killed by normal means.

Battle Ability: Most Monsters have battle abilities (usually occurring during Post-Battle) which generally do something undesirable to their enemies.

Reward: A player that kills a Monster is rewarded for his efforts. These rewards are described on the Monsters' cards.

Being Routed by a Monster

XIV. FAQ

Q. If my units in an area total 0 combat dice, can I still Declare Battle? A. Yes, but remember that a lone building may never Declare Battle.

Q. Can Chaos take the Catastrophe gift before the Chaos Rift opens? A. No. Note that Catastrophe is the only gift Chaos can take in that slot.

Q. Can Chaos use Magna Mater's Irruption even if he has no Broos in his pool? A. Yes. Irruption places "all" Broos from the pool, even if the number is zero.

Q. When is the Mad God's marker incremented after units are killed? A. Immediately, so that units killed in Pre-Battle may improve his combat rating for that battle.

Q. Can an enemy rout Darkness' units into Hell if a Darkness Temple is present in the battle area? A. Yes, but this is usually foolish as it only helps Darkness.

Q. In battle, can Sky intentionally assign a Kill to Sun God (who then reappears, per Nightfall) in order to spare another of his units? A. Yes.

Runes

Q. If the Disorder rune is played and I have no Power, do I have to pay a VP? A. Yes.

Q. If the player using the Fate rune is also the player with the fewest VP, does he end up gaining 3 VP? A. Yes.

Q. Can Chaos use the Spirit rune? A. Yes, but because Chaos has no lesser gods all the rune does is give Chaos a VP. He must then summon someone ELSE's lesser god into the area.

Q. When the last player with Power remaining uses up the last of their Power, the Action Phase ends. Can a Rune be played after this action, before the Power phase? A. Yes, certainly.

Empires

Q. Can an enemy player choose his Earth Queen to be destroyed by Chaos' Oblivion? A. Yes, but he will never get it back.

Q. Can Earth build a Temple or Ziggurat if all Earth Queens are already in play? A. Yes, but in this case Earth will receive no additional benefits.

Q. Can a unit in Moon's Enslaved box be cast into the Chaos Rift during the Chaos Rift Struggle? A. No.

Q. How do Pacifism and the Crimson Bat's Mindblast ability interact? A. The Bat's Combat is reduced to 0 by Pacifism, so it can only "reduce" the enemy's combat by 0.

Q. Does the Selene produced by the Red Goddess's Menses ability prevent Moon's building from conquest or destruction in that step of battle? A. Yes.

Q. If I am Sea, can I choose to lift Siren Song in an area in order to permit an enemy to leave without spending a VP? A. No.

Q. Does Sea need to control a building to gain the Aquatic bonus? A. No.

Elder Races

Q. Can I choose an Elder Race unit to be affected by Chaos' Oblivion? A. Yes.

Q. If I have two Luathans in an area when I use Devastate, do I lose both of them? A. You only have to lose one of them. The other gets routed, like any other unit.

Q. Can a Waertagi Dragonship move into a land area? A. Yes, but it can only use its Major Invasion gift when it is in a sea area.

Q. If my Waertagi Dragonships are routed, do they go to the same area as my other routed units? A. Yes, even if that would rout your Dragonships more than 1 area away.

Monsters

Q. Do Monsters and Spawn technically count as units? If killed, do they increment the Mad God's marker? A. Yes, and yes.

Q. How does Juggernaut interact with Sea's Siren Song? A. Juggernaut overrides Siren Song and no one pays any penalties, since it is Juggernaut and not they who are moving the units.

Q. How does Juggernaut interact with Hell permissions? A. Juggernaut's Community supersedes Hell permissions. When Juggernaut moves, everyone moves.

Q. Can Androgeus' Lust target an enemy with no units in their pool? A. No. You must select an enemy with units available to be summoned.

Q. Without any heroes or greater gods, how can Invisible God kill Androgeus? A. He can't, unless he allies with an Elder Race that is classified as a hero.

Q. Does Sky Terror's reward (immediately select any enemy units totaling cost 4 or less and eliminate them) work on units in the Slave Pen? A. Yes.

XV. Rule Omega – The Final Question

We have sought diligently to cover all possible rules and to make the game as true to Glorantha as we possibly can, but we are mere mortals and as such we are subject to error.

XVI. Credits

Special Thanks To: Ameliazoth, Wendy Petersen, Debbie Petersen, Naomi Mongrel Petersen, Christopher Dearlove, Adam Starks, Moon Design, Chaosium, and Gearbox Software.

Sculpting by Derran Viss - Victory/Power token, Mad God Marker, Oblivion Marker, Wedding Rings, Spawn Tokens, Castle, Castle of Lead, Chaos Nest, Shrine, Temple, Tower, Ziggurat

Sculpting by Game Chain - Slarge, Troll

Sculpting by Lance Baker - Sea Serpent

Sculpting by Miranda Thomas - Androgeus