LOAD: League of Ancient Defenders Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Component List
• League of Ancient Defenders
  • Game Overview
  • Achieving Victory
  • Additional Players
• Game Setup
  • Select a Faction
  • Select Heroes
  • Take Lane Creeps
  • Shuffle the Forest Deck
  • Shuffle the Item Deck
  • Assemble Game Board
  • Populate Game Board
• The Models
  • Heroes
  • Lane Creeps
    • Protectors
    • Skirmishers
    • Runners
• Game Board
• Decks
  • Forest Deck
  • Item Deck
• Combat
  • Attack Skills and Items
  • Establishing Range
  • Damaging and KO'ing
  • Attacking Models and Objectives
  • Defending
  • Modifiers and Rerolls
  • Status Effects
• Turn Order
  • Phase Summary
  • Replenish Mana & Earn Gold
  • Spawn Lane Creeps
  • Activate Towers
  • Move and Merge with Lane Creeps
  • Attack with Lane Creeps
  • Activate Heroes
• Tournament Mode
  • Small Tournaments
  • Large Tournaments
  • Hero Selection
• Rules Summary
  • Setup
  • The Three Phases
  • Movement
  • Attack
  • Kill and be Rewarded
  • Victory
  • Status Effects

Component List

• 12 Heroes
• 12 Character Cards
• 60 Item Cards
• 48 Lane Creeps (2 Protectors, 2 Skirmishers, 2 Runners and 18 Regulars for each faction)
• 1 Game Board
• 60 Forest Cards
• 12 Dice
• 20 Mana tokens
• 46 Gold tokens
• 15 Status tokens
• 11 KO tokens
• 7 Demolish tokens
• 56 Damage tokens

League of Ancient Defenders

Game Overview

League of Ancient Defenders (LOAD) is a two-player skirmish game depicting the invasion of the island kingdom of Atlantis by the relentless armies of Chaos. Each player will field a host of frontline soldiers affectionately referred to as "creeps" as well as an assortment of Heroes whose allegiances to the cause may range from unwavering to recently purchased. Players will need to utilize every resource at their disposal to achieve victory as the forces of Chaos push ever closer to the capital and the champions of Atlantis do all they can to drive them back into the ocean.

Achieving Victory

Players alternate turns, activating their creeps, Towers and Heroes in an attempt to force their opponent to abandon their stronghold in full retreat. A player accomplishes this by destroying enemy objectives: Towers and Spawn Points. Each objective awards 2 Victory Points and when a player reaches 6 Victory Points, the game immediately ends and they are declared the winner!

Additional Players

This rulebook is written with the assumption the game is being played with two players; however, LOAD can also be played with four or six players.

In games with more than two players, each team (Chaos and Atlantis) should consist of six Heroes instead of five. Each team must have one of every role (Guardian, Striker, Assassin, Archer and Mage) as well as one additional Mage.

In a 2vs2 game, one of the Chaos players will take their turn first, followed by an Atlantis player, then the second Chaos player and so on. Each player controls three Heroes and has a maximum Mana Pool of 5 instead of 8.

A 3vs3 game is similar to a 2vs2 match, except each player controls two Heroes and their Mana Pool caps out at 4.

Game Setup

Select a Faction

Each player must select a faction: Chaos or Atlantis. The faction you choose determines who goes first, the style of creeps you field as well as dictating how rambunctious your victory celebration will be.

Select Heroes

Each player must select the Heroes they wish to bring to the battlefield. Heroes are the dominant force on any team and their unique items and skills can lead your faction to victory. This game box contains 12 Heroes, but more will be available in future expansions. The following requirements apply to Heroes in the standard version of LOAD, but players may agree to customize the game to adjust the number and type of Heroes they bring to the battle.

Each player must select one Hero for each role available. A Hero's role identifies what areas of combat and support they excel at. There are five roles in LOAD: Guardian, Striker, Assassin, Archer, Mage.

Once you have selected your Heroes, be sure to take their associated Models and Character Cards and place them within reach. Character Cards should be face up in front of you with the Models placed on or near their specific card.

Take Lane Creeps

Lane Creeps are the workhorse troops of your army. Significantly less powerful than Heroes, they succeed only in numbers. Each player should take the 24 creep Models belonging to their chosen faction, identified by color, and place them within reach.

Shuffle the Forest Deck

The woodlands of Atlantis are mostly unexplored and often fraught with peril. The Forest Deck is composed of 60 cards that represent the dangers posed by straying from the Beaten Path into the wilderness. Shuffle the deck and place it facedown within reach of both players.

Shuffle the Item Deck

Shuffle the Item Deck and place it facedown within reach of both players. Draw nine cards from the deck and place them faceup along the side of the board as shown on the next page. An item can be purchased by any Hero on their turn as soon as they have enough gold to pay for it. Once a card is purchased, draw a new one to take its place along the side of the board.

Assemble Game Board

The game board for LOAD has two bases on opposite sides consisting of three Spawn Points and Towers each. The bases are connected by three lanes known as Beaten Paths which are separated by two Forests. More details about the game board can be found on page 10.

Populate Game Board

Each player places three Regular Lane Creeps on each Spawn Point in their base.

Take the dice, gold, mana and other tokens and place them within reach of all players. You have now finished setting up the game and are ready to begin!

The Models

The various combatants taking part in the siege of Atlantis are represented by a number of Models. There are two types of Models in LOAD: Heroes and Lane Creeps.

Heroes

The most important members of your army, Heroes each bring distinct skills that can turn the tide of a battle. They are hardier than Lane Creeps and come with a unique weapon as well as a slot for an additional item that can be purchased during the game. Each Hero Model has a corresponding Hero Card providing detailed information about that Hero. While each Hero is different, they all share common traits as seen below.

1. ROLE: A Hero's role identifies what areas of combat and support they excel at.
2. NAME: The name of the Hero.
3. HEALTH POINTS (HP): Health Points represent the amount of damage a Hero can sustain before being forced to leave the battle.
4. SIGNATURE WEAPON: The Hero's default weapon that can be used for the cost of one General Action. Can be performed multiple times in the same activation.
5. ITEM SLOT: An open slot that can be filled with a purchased item. The item's type must match one of the symbols on the item slot to be equipped.
6. SKILLS: Special abilities a Hero can use in combat. Skills can either be defensive or offensive in nature, identified by the shape of the mana cost icon on the far right of the skill box (hexagon for offensive and a shield for defensive). Defensive skills require only the mana listed to use while offensive skills require both mana and one General Action. In addition, offensive skills may not directly target an enemy objective nor can they be used on an objective field that contains no Models.

Lane Creeps

There are two types of creeps in LOAD: Lane Creeps and Forest Creeps. Both types can be killed by Heroes for gold but only Lane Creeps have Models.

Lane Creeps spawn in waves of up to three at a player's Spawn Points before pushing toward the enemy base. Left unchecked, they will overwhelm your Towers and destroy your Spawn Points, forcing a hasty retreat.

A player moves all creep waves a lane at a time, starting with creeps closest to the enemy Spawn Point. A wave may move once per activation up to two fields. Lane Creeps may not finish their movement on a field occupied by other creeps or enemy Heroes and objectives. Creep waves always end their movement as soon as they are able to attack. If they begin their activation in range to attack, they will not move at all.

If a creep wave's movement would put them on the same field as another wave, the player has the option to merge the two waves. The receiving wave must have fewer than three creeps and cannot have more than three once the merge is complete. Creeps cannot be removed from the receiving wave, which must be the one closest to the enemy Spawn Point. Any creep can be merged, regardless if it is regular or specialized. Place the merged creeps onto their new field at no cost. Any unmerged creeps remain on the field behind the receiving wave.

Each Regular Lane Creep has 1 HP and rolls 1 die when attacking, needing 4+ to Hit. Every two creeps killed with a single attack from a Hero award 1 gold.

From the second turn onward, two Regular Lane Creeps will spawn on each of a player's Spawn Points. In addition, the player may spawn one specialized creep of their choice at a Spawn Point. The Runner, Skirmisher and Protector are the three types of specialized creeps and each has special bonuses that apply to the wave they are a part of as detailed below. The first specialized creep is free, but players have the option to purchase up to two additional specialized creeps per round at the cost of 3 gold each. Each specialized creep must be spawned at a different Spawn Point and the full 3 gold must be paid by a single Hero. If a player's Spawn Point is KO'd, then they may only spawn up to two specialized creeps, and so on.

Protectors

A Protector creep has two HP instead of one and can only be killed if both HP are taken with a single attack. Protectors must be targeted first in a creep wave.

Skirmishers

A creep wave with a Skirmisher rolls one additional die when attacking. Skirmishers must be targeted last in a creep wave.

Runners

When activated, creep waves with a Runner will move to the legal field closest to the enemy Spawn Point. Remember that a creep wave always stops movement when it is in range to attack.

When spending gold it is important to maintain the right balance between purchasing items for your Heroes and spawning creeps to push lanes and defend objectives.

Game Board

The game board is segmented into 1x1 squares and 1x2 rectangles both known as fields. Lane Creeps can only move through the rectangular fields, keeping them within their Beaten Path, while Heroes are free to move across the entire map. Neither creep nor Hero can enter a field occupied by an enemy Model, Tower or Spawn Point. Additionally, Heroes may not end their movement on a field occupied by a friendly Hero. All of these restrictions are referred to as "illegal" fields and understanding them will be vital in the defense (or destruction) of Atlantis.

A. Spawn Points: Spawn Points are special fields a player's Heroes and Lane Creeps will use to enter the board. They are also an important target for the enemy as their destruction permanently prevents a player from spawning creeps in that lane. Destroying a Spawn Point awards the opposing player 2 Victory Points and 5 gold to the Hero who destroyed it. Spawn Points have 5 HP and the field they are on may not be entered by an enemy Model.

B. Towers: Towers are an additional line of defense for your base. They have a range of 2 and roll 4 dice, hitting with 3+. Each Tower has 8 HP and, if destroyed, awards the opposing player 2 Victory Points as well as 5 gold to the Hero that destroyed it. Like Spawn Points, Models may not move on or through fields containing an enemy Tower.

C. Forest: The 2x4 wooded areas on either side of the middle lane. When a Hero steps on a Forest field, they draw one card from the Forest Deck.

D. Empty Base Fields: The 2x2 set of fields between a player's Towers and Spawn Points are considered part of their base. Enemy Heroes may not enter these fields until at least one of the adjacent towers is KO'd. Regardless of the status of the towers, only friendly Heroes may enter and exit the base through the Forest.

E. Beaten Path: The three lanes connecting the outposts of Atlantis and the citadels of Chaos. Lane Creeps will traverse these rectangular fields as they advance upon the enemy. There is no limit to the number of Heroes a player can have in any particular lane, but the terrain is narrow and sacrificing one path for another is a risky strategy.

Decks

Forest Deck

When a Hero enters a Forest field, they will draw one card from the Forest Deck. The deck, like the Forest, is full of both reward and peril. If a Forest Creep is drawn, it attacks first. The opposing player rolls the number of die indicated on the card, each result equal to or higher than the To Hit number reduces the Hero's HP by one if no defense is utilized. If the Hero survives, they can choose to either use their General Action(s) to attack the creep or continue their move action. If the Hero attacks the creep and inflicts damage equal to or greater than its HP, the Hero receives the amount of gold indicated on the card. The damage to Forest creep may be inflicted across multiple attacks as long as they occur during the activation of the Hero who drew it. Regardless of the results of the Forest Creep attack, even if the Hero was unable to kill it, its card is discarded at the end of the turn.

Forest card anatomy:

1. GOLD VALUE: The amount of gold the Hero will receive for slaying the Forest Creep during their turn.
2. NAME: The name of the Forest Creep or event.
3. HP: The total HP required to slay the Forest Creep.
4. DESCRIPTION: The Forest Creep's attack values and/or explanation of rules specific to the card.

Item Deck

Once a Hero has accumulated enough gold, they may purchase an item to place on the empty slot on their Hero Card. Items can be purchased at any time during a Hero's activation. Each item has a specific type as shown in the box at the bottom of this page. If the Hero's item slot does not have the matching symbol, they cannot buy and equip that item. Once an item is purchased and equipped, it is immediately available for use by the Hero. Items with a range value require one General Action to use, while all others may be activated without cost. Regardless of the type of item, they can only be activated once per round unless otherwise noted on the card.

Item card anatomy:

1. GOLD COST: The amount of gold required to purchase the item.
2. NAME: The name of the item.
3. TYPE: The type of item as well as the slot it can be equipped on.
4. DESCRIPTION: The item's attack values and/or explanation of the abilities specific to the card.

Item types: Offensive (One-Handed, Two-Handed, Ranged, Magic); Defensive (Heavy, Light, Shield); Other (Accessory).

Combat

Attack Skills and Items

Heroes inflict damage upon enemy Models and objectives using a variety of unique skills and items while Towers and Lane Creeps have set statistics. Regardless of how the damage is done, however, all attacks share the following characteristics:

1. Name: The unique name of the weapon or skill.
2. To Hit: The number that must be rolled on the dice to damage the target. Each roll equal to or higher than the number is a Hit and each roll lower is a Miss.
3. Dice: The number of dice rolled when the weapon or skill is used.
4. Range: The number of fields away the attack or skill can target.
5. Effect: The special effects that take place whenever the attack or skill is used.
6. Mana Cost (Skills Only): The amount of mana from the Mana Pool required to perform the attack.

Establishing Range

The range of a weapon or skill is always measured in fields. Take the range value of the attack and count that many fields from the attacker to the intended target not including the field the attacker occupies. If the number of fields exceeds the range of the attack, the attacker must move or select a different target. Range cannot be established with diagonals but is not obstructed by either Models or objectives. Below is an example of a Hero establishing range.

Example: Vashara's Fire Serpent attack has a range of 2. She may target fields A or B, but field C is out of range from her current position. By moving one field to her left and another two forward, Vashara will be in range of field C. This may prove to be a costly endeavor, however, as it will require Vashara to draw a total of two cards from the Forest Deck.

Damaging and KO'ing

Every Model and objective in LOAD has a number of Health Points (HP) to determine how much damage must be inflicted before it is KO'd. A Hero's HP is listed on its matching card while the HP for Towers and Spawn Points is listed on the game board. Lane Creeps all have 1 HP with the exception of Protectors, who have 2.

Damage Tokens. Whenever a Hero, Tower or Spawn Point is damaged, place the number of damage tokens equal to the amount of damage it received on its corresponding Hero Card or field. Whenever a Model or objective has received an amount of damage equal to or greater than its HP, it is removed from the game board. This is known as "KO'ing".

KO Tokens. When a Lane Creep is KO'd, remove it from the game board and place it within reach of its controlling player.

When a Hero is KO'd, remove the Model from the game board and place it on top of their Hero Card along with a KO token with "2" side facing up. Remove all of the Hero's gold and place it back in the pile of unowned gold. If the Hero is KO'd by an enemy Hero, that player's Hero receives 3 gold. Heroes KO'd by creeps or objectives award no gold.

At the beginning of a player's Hero Phase, any Hero not on the game board and without KO tokens may immediately spawn from the Spawn Point of the player's choosing and activate as normal. Spawning a Hero is free, but a Hero may not spawn on a Spawn Point occupied by another Hero. At the end of the player's Hero Phase, each KO token on their Heroes is either flipped or removed ("2's" are flipped while "1's" are removed).

When a Tower or Spawn Point is KO'd, place a Demolish token on that field. If a Hero performed the action that KO'd the objective, they are rewarded with 5 gold. If a creep destroyed the objective, the gold is lost. A field with a Demolish token is treated as if it was part of the Beaten Path.

Demolish Tokens. When KO'd, objectives cease performing their functions. Towers will no longer attack and Spawn Points will no longer spawn Lane Creeps or be available for Heroes to spawn.

Useful Terms

• Friendly - Any Model or objective under your direct control is considered "Friendly". You cannot intentionally attack friendly targets.
• Enemy - Any Model or objective not under your direct control is considered an "Enemy".

Attacking Models and Objectives

Attacking is the primary way Models, Towers and creeps inflict damage. While all attacks are unique, they all follow a few basic rules.

Targeting. Attacks target entire fields, regardless of how many Models or objectives are on them. Fields containing no enemy Models or objectives may not be the target of an attack, even if the attack would result in an enemy being hit.

Rolling the Attack. Each attack, whether it is from a signature weapon, skill or item, lists a number for Dice, To Hit and Range.

When an attack is used, the player rolls the number of Dice listed. Each die result equal to or greater than the To Hit number is a Hit and each die lower than the To Hit is a Miss. After the dice are rolled and the number of Hits is determined, those Hits are assigned to the enemy Models in the target field. Friendly Models are never affected by your attacks unless otherwise noted.

Did You Know? A One-Handed Weapon item called Backstabber can target both enemy and friendly Models, allowing you to KO a Hero on your own team.

Hits are not assigned freely to enemy Models and objectives on the target field. All Hits must be assigned using the priority order below.

1. Lane Creeps
2. Heroes
3. Objectives

Hits must be assigned to Lane Creeps before any other enemy. Creeps themselves have their own priority; Protectors must be hit first, followed by Regular Lane Creeps or Runners and finally Skirmishers. After all Lane Creeps are KO'd (or if none were present to begin with), Hits must be assigned to Heroes. Finally, if there are no remaining enemy Models on the field, Hits may be assigned to an objective, if present. If a Hero used their signature weapon or an offensive item to attack, they may choose to assign Hits to an objective over a Hero after all creeps are dealt with.

All Hits from an attack must be distributed if possible - an attacker cannot hold back!

Unless specifically stated otherwise, each Hit deals 1 damage.

Examples

Example 1: Two Lane Creeps and a Hero with four HP are guarding a Tower when they are attacked by an enemy Hero with his signature weapon. Even though the enemy Hero's 4 successful Hits would KO the Hero, the first two must be assigned to the Lane Creeps. The enemy Hero may then decide to assign the Hits to either the Hero or the Tower.

Example 2: A Hero with seven HP is guarding a Tower with one HP when an enemy Hero attacks with a skill. The enemy Hero rolls 4 Hits, but all must be assigned to the defending Hero. If the enemy Hero had chosen to use their signature weapon (or an offensive item) instead, they could have KO'd the Tower.

Defending

Defensive skills and items can be used after Hits are assigned to a Hero to mitigate damage from the attack. Rolling for defense is the same as attacking, with each roll equal to or above the To Hit value successfully canceling one of the attacker's Hits. Unless otherwise noted, defensive skills and items can only be used to cancel Hits against the Hero with the item equipped.

Defensive items may have additional or alternative bonuses in the card description:

1. Additional (ADD): Items with this label will, upon activation, allow rolling the specified number of dice when attacked as well as activate the ability detailed in the description.
2. Alternative (ALT): Items with this label allow the player to choose to either make a defensive roll or activate the ability detailed in the description.

Example: The Enchantress attacks Turtleback with her Charm skill. She rolls 3 dice with a given To Hit value and luckily gets all 3 Hits! Charm has an effect that causes it to Immobilize the target on hit. Turtleback has the defensive item Mystic Shield equipped which allows him to roll 1 die with a given To Hit value. Turtleback rolls a successful result, thus ignoring one of the incoming Hits. Mystic Shield also has the ADD label, allowing him to ignore 2 additional Hits if he is targeted by a skill. Combined with his successful roll, Turtleback ignores all of the Enchantress' Hits. Immobilize is still applied to him, however, as Charm did successfully hit, even if every Hit was ignored.

Accessory items do not have a set moment they can be activated. They may be useful before an attack is made, after damage is taken or even when no attack is taking place at all. Read the description carefully so you are prepared to use the accessory at the right time.

Modifiers and Rerolls

Some effects or abilities alter an attack's To Hit value (such as -1 or +1). This modifier applies to the die roll result only and not to the To Hit value of the attack.

Example: Thrasher has an attack that rolls 5 dice and has a (icon)+ To Hit value. An effect gives him +1 to Hit. Thrasher rolls a 1, 2, 4, 4 and 5. The 5 is already a Hit, so the bonus is irrelevant to that roll. The 1 and 2 are too low to be helped, but the 4's become 5's, changing them from Misses to a Hits, for a total of three Hits to his target.

Some items or skills allow a number of dice to be rerolled. When a die is rerolled, the old result is discarded and the new result is used. A player may choose to reroll any number of dice as long as they have enough rerolls through skills and items to do so, including rerolling the same die multiple times to get the desired result.

Transcriber's note: the To Hit numbers in the Defending and Modifiers examples are printed as die icons in the source and are not reproduced here; the Hero Phase draft diagrams on the Tournament Mode page are likewise omitted.

Status Effects

There are a number of Status Effects a Hero can suffer from, usually resulting from enemy attacks or abilities. When a Hero is inflicted with a Status Effect, take the matching token and place it on the Hero's card. As long as the token remains, the status listed below applies. Status Effects are always removed at the end of that player's Hero Phase or if the Hero is removed from the board. Creeps and objectives are not affected by Status Effects.

• BLIND: Hero suffers -1 To Hit.
• KNOCKDOWN: Hero loses 1 General Action.
• IMMOBILIZE: Hero cannot move.

Turn Order

LOAD is played over a series of rounds, each consisting of three phases: Reinforcements, Aggression and Hero. Players complete the Reinforcements Phase simultaneously, refreshing their Mana Pools to 8, giving each Hero 1 gold and spawning as many Lane Creeps as they are able. The Aggression Phase is performed sequentially, beginning with the first player activating all of their Towers and followed by the second player doing the same. The first player then moves all of their Lane Creeps, then the second player and finally ending with the first (then second) player attacking with all of their creeps. The Hero Phase is also sequential, with the first player activating all of their Heroes and finishing with removing a KO token from each of their Heroes before the second player does the same.

Phase Summary

The game begins with Chaos' invasion of Atlantis and their march to the capital. The Chaos player always goes first. Below is an outline of the basic components and order of each phase.

1. REINFORCEMENTS PHASE (both teams, Chaos and Atlantis)
   • Replenish Mana Pool to 8
   • Give Each Hero 1 gold
   • Spawn Lane Creeps
2. AGGRESSION PHASE (Chaos, then Atlantis, for each step)
   • Activate Towers
   • Move with Lane Creeps
   • Attack with Lane Creeps
3. HERO PHASE (Chaos, then Atlantis)
   • Activate Heroes
   • Remove/Flip 1 KO from Each KO'd Hero

Replenish Mana & Earn Gold

Players replenish their mana to 8 every round. In addition, each Hero (active or KO'd), receives 1 gold for their service. Players can never have more than 8 mana at a time.

Spawn Lane Creeps

Every round after the first, two Regular Lane Creeps are spawned by each player per Spawn Point as well as one specialized creep. Players may also purchase up to two additional specialized creeps to be spawned at the cost of 3 gold per creep. These creeps must each be purchased by a single Hero and cannot be spawned at a Spawn Point with another specialized creep. The number of active (not KO'd) Spawn Points a player has is the maximum number of specialized creeps they may spawn per round.

Activate Towers

If a Tower has a valid target in range, it will activate. Each Tower has a range of 2, rolling 4 dice which hit on 3+.

Move and Merge with Lane Creeps

Each wave of creeps is activated in a lane in order, the wave closest to the enemy Spawn Point moving first. If a valid target is in range when a wave of Lane Creeps is activated, they forfeit their move action. Otherwise they will move forward up to two fields toward the closest enemy objective. The player may decide how many fields they move, but they must always move at least one field forward, if they are able. Lane Creeps may only move forward and never in a field occupied by enemy Models, objectives or a field occupied by friendly creeps. If their move action puts them in range to attack, they must stop moving. If a creep's movement would allow them to move onto a field with another creep wave, the player may choose to merge some of the creeps into the wave. A field cannot hold more than three Lane Creeps.

Attack with Lane Creeps

Creep waves attack in the same order they moved, the closest to the enemy Spawn Point in a lane attacking first. Lane Creeps will always attack if they are capable of doing so.

Note: Lane creeps must attack if able - they will never hold back!

Activate Heroes

The player will now take turns with their Heroes one by one in whatever order they wish. Unlike Towers and Lane Creeps, players have full control over every action their Heroes take.

Upon activation, Heroes may move up to three fields from their current location. If the Hero decides to use a General Action, their move ends immediately and any additional movement is lost. Heroes may never move diagonally, into fields containing enemy Models or objectives or a field containing a friendly Hero.

After a Hero is finished moving, they may use up to two General Actions before ending their activation. General Actions can be spent performing four different tasks:

• Signature Weapon - An attack with the Hero's signature weapon. Can be performed more than once, each time spending 1 General Action.
• Item Activation - Using an item purchased with gold. Not all items require a General Action to be activated.
• Skill Activation - Using one of the Hero's innate skills. Each skill can only be performed once per turn.
• Movement - Spend 1 General Action to move up to two additional fields. Can be performed more than once, each time costing 1 General Action.

KO Token Flip/Removal - Flip or remove one KO token from each of your KO'd Heroes. This ends your Hero Phase. Once both players have each performed their Hero Phase, a new round begins with another Reinforcements Phase.

Gold rewards:

• Whenever a Hero KO's at least 2 Lane Creeps with an attack, they receive 1 gold per every 2 KO'd creeps.
• Whenever a Hero KO's an enemy Hero with an attack, they receive 3 gold.
• Whenever a Hero KO's an enemy objective with an attack, they receive 5 gold.
• KO'ing an enemy Model with anything other than a Hero attack (such as with a Tower or Lane Creep) does not award any gold.

Tournament Mode

LOAD is a competitive strategy game with special rules for tournament play. The game can be played with tournaments as small as 8 players and as large as 64. In tournaments, players may pick their Heroes regardless of role. The tournament Hero pool consists of 24 Heroes: 12 from the base game, plus 6 each from the LOADING and PLEASE WAIT expansions.

Small Tournaments

Small tournaments are played with 8 or 16 players with the following rules:

• Victory Condition - 4-6 Victory Points needed to win (established at the beginning of the tournament).
• Elimination Round - The winner of a match advances to the next round while the loser goes home wanting. Quarterfinals are the only elimination round for tournaments with 8 players while 16-player tournaments will have two, beginning with a round of 16.
• Best of 3 - The Semifinals and Finals are played as best of 3. Whoever wins 2 games is the declared the victor.

Large Tournaments

Large tournaments are played with 32 or 64 players with the following rules:

• Victory Condition - 4-8 Victory Points needed to win (established at the beginning of the tournament).
• Group Stage - Groups are formed with four players per group. Each player will play one game with every other player in their group. The player with the most wins advances to the Elimination Round(s).
• Elimination Round - The winner of a match advances to the next round while the loser goes home wanting. Quarterfinals are the only elimination round for tournaments with 32 players while 64-player tournaments will have two, beginning with a round of 16.
• Best of 3 - The Semifinals and Finals are played as best of 3. Whoever wins 2 games is the declared the victor.

Hero Selection

The official Hero drafting method is Captain's mode. Each player or team bans two Heroes in the first round, selects three Heroes in the second round, bans more Heroes in the third round and makes final Hero selections in the fourth round. In the case of 2v2 play, the team captain will be the one banning and selecting Heroes for their team. Diagrams for 1v1 and 2v2 drafting rounds can be found in the printed rulebook.

Rules Summary

Setup

Each player places 3 Regular Lane Creeps on each of their Spawn Points.

The Three Phases

Reinforcements. Both players set Mana to 8 - Players cannot have more than 8 mana. Each Hero receives 1 gold. Every round after the first, each player spawns 2 Regular Lane Creeps as well as one specialized creep. Heroes may also purchase up to two additional specialized creeps for the cost of 3 gold each. No more than one specialized creep can spawn per Spawn Point.

Activate Towers - If a valid target is in range, the Tower will activate. Each Tower has a range of 2, rolling 4 dice which hit on 3+.

Move and Merge Lane Creeps - Players move their creep waves forward up to two fields toward the closest enemy objective. If their move action puts them in range to attack, they can no longer move (even if they are in range before moving). If a creep's movement would allow them to move onto a field with another creep wave, the player may choose to merge some of the creeps into the wave. No field can have more than three creeps.

Attack with Lane Creeps - All creeps will attack, lane by lane, starting with the wave closest to the enemy Spawn Point. Lane Creeps must attack if they are in range to do so.

Activate Heroes - Upon activation, Heroes may move up to three fields from their current location. Using a General Action will end their move. After a Hero is finished moving, they may use up to two General Actions before ending their activation. General Actions can be spent performing four different tasks:

1. Signature Weapon - An attack with the Hero's signature weapon. Can be performed more than once, each time spending 1 General Action.
2. Item Activation - Using an item purchased with gold. Not all items require a General Action to be activated.
3. Skill Activation - Using one of the Hero's innate skills. Each skill can only be performed once per turn.
4. Movement - Spend 1 General Action to move up to two additional fields. Can be performed more than once, each time costing 1 General Action.

After all of your Heroes are activated, flip/remove one KO token from each of your KO'd Heroes. Also remove any Status Effects on your active Heroes.

Movement

Models may not move diagonally or into fields containing enemy Models or objectives. Heroes cannot finish movement on a field containing a friendly Hero.

Attack

Select a field within range of the attack and roll the number of dice listed. Each result equal to or higher than the To Hit value is a Hit. Hits must be assigned to enemies in the following order unless an item or signature weapon is used:

1. Lane Creeps
2. Heroes
3. Objectives

Kill and be Rewarded

Heroes receive 1 gold for every two Lane Creeps they KO in a single attack, 3 gold for KO'ing a Hero and 5 gold for every Tower or Spawn Point they KO. Models and objectives destroyed by anything other than a Hero award no gold.

Victory

KO'ing a Tower or Spawn Point awards 2 victory points to the player. The first player to accumulate 6 victory points wins the game!

Status Effects

• Blind: Hero suffers -1 To Hit.
• Knockdown: Hero loses 1 General Action
• Immobilize: Hero cannot move.