Lords of Ragnarok Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Key Concepts
  • Goal of the Game
  • The Three Victory Conditions in the Game Are:
  • Ragnarok
• The Board
  • Lands and Regions
  • Population Strength and Control Over Regions
  • Realms and Seas
• Heroes
  • Other Player Components
• Movement
• Owning and Player Pools
• Preparation
  • Game Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Hero Draft
  • Player's Turn
    • 1. Prayer
    • 2. Hero
    • 3. Rune Actions
    • 4. Maneuvers
    • 5. Special Actions
• Special Actions
  • A. Reinforce
  • B. Mobilize
  • C. Prepare
  • D. Build Temple
  • E. Monsters
  • F. Usurp
  • G. Build Monument
• Monsters and Hunting
  • Activating and Controlling Monsters
  • Controlling Monsters
  • Starting a Hunt
  • Wound Slots and Rewards
  • Resolving a Hunt
  • Monster Round
  • Hero Round
  • Slaying a Monster
  • Artifact Reward
• Battles and Other Rules
  • Battles
  • Artifacts
  • Cards and Discard Piles
  • Limited Components

Components

Components:

• Two-sided main board
• 8 Oversized Rings
• 4 Hero Rings
• 80 Control Markers
• The Monster Die
• Rulebook

Tokens:

• Action Wheel
• 7 Temples (and plastic bases)
• 4 Player Boards
• 5 Hero Tiles
• 2 Realms (for 2 Players)
• 24 Army Dials
• 6 Forge Tokens
• 36 Rune Tokens
• 6 Slayer Tokens
• 12 Attribute Tokens
• 6 Realm Tokens

Cards:

• 21 Event Cards
• 35 Combat Cards
• 36 Blessing Cards
• 3 God Cards
• 14 Monster Attack Cards
• 6 Origin Cards
• 3 God Artifacts
• 6 Monster Artifacts
• 10 Ragnarok Requisite Cards
• 2 Temple Tracks
• 4 Help Cards #1
• 4 Help Cards #2
• 4 Help Cards #3
• 6 Monster Trays
• Loki Boss Tray

Miniatures:

• Freya's Monument (disassembled)
• Odin's Monument (disassembled)
• Thor's Monument (disassembled)
• 5 Hero Miniatures
• 6 Monster Miniatures
• 1 Loki Boss Miniature
• 24 Army Miniatures
• 4 Drakkar Miniatures
• 16 Priest Miniatures

Solo components are listed in the Solo Rulebook.

Key Concepts

Goal of the Game

In Lords of Ragnarok players take the roles of Heroes from Norse myths to conquer territories, fight ferocious Monsters, and build great Monuments of Norse Gods. They will be taking their turns one after another in clockwise order until somebody wins by fulfilling 1 of the 3 Victory Conditions OR the game ends with Ragnarok.

The Three Victory Conditions in the Game Are:

Great Jarl – A player wins the game immediately when they have control over all Regions in 3 Lands.

Great Gothi – A player wins the game immediately when they have control over 5 Regions with a built Temple. When a player controls 4 Regions with Temples this condition can be fulfilled by gaining control over a Region with a Temple or building a Temple in one of their Regions.

In a 2-player game the players need to control only 4 Regions with a Temple to win (instead of 5).

Slayer – A player wins the game immediately when they slay the Boss (Loki). The Boss can only be Hunted by players who have already slain 2 other Monsters. If any player successfully Hunts Loki, the game immediately ends and that player wins.

In a 2-player game players need only 1 slain Monster to start Hunting the Boss (instead of 2).

Boss The Boss is a powerful entity that alters game rules. Before starting the game, make sure all players are familiar with the rules on the Boss tray. If any player slays the Boss they fulfill the Slayer Victory Condition and immediately win the game. The Boss IS NOT a Monster – any effects that can target only Monsters cannot be used on a Boss unless specifically stated.

In each game there can be only one Boss – players choose it before the game starts. Loki is the only Boss in the base game, but more of them are available in expansions.

Ragnarok

Ragnarok is coming. Great winter is here and three roosters are ready to crow. During the game various Ragnarok Requisites will be fulfilled. Each time a Monument is built players should check if any Ragnarok Requisites are fulfilled and if so, flip that Ragnarok Requisite card face down. When at least 3 of them are face down after the Build Monument Special Action Ragnarok begins.

After this, each player will play their last turn of the whole game. It means the last turn of the whole game will be played by the same player who takes the Build Monument Special Action that starts Ragnarok. After that, if none of the players win by fulfilling any of the Victory Conditions (if somebody fulfills any of them during Ragnarok this ends the game immediately and that player wins), the player who controls the most Regions adjacent to Yggdrasil (the central spot on the map with the Action Wheel on it) wins. In case of a tie, the player who took their last turn earlier wins the game.

The Board

The map in Lords of Ragnarok is divided into three types of territories separated by borders: Regions, Realms, and Seas. The round area in the center of the board where the Action Wheel will be is Yggdrasil.

Lands and Regions

Land – consists of 3 or 4 Regions in the same color (also marked with a unique symbol). A player controlling all such Regions is considered to control the Land. Controlling 3 Lands allow players to win the game by the Great Jarl Victory Condition or to fulfill some of the Ragnarok Requisites.

Regions are the most common territories in the game. Regions are numbered from 1 to 21 (or 1 to 16 if players use the 2-player side of the map). Each of them have a Population Strength and one or more symbols on it.

Monument – There are 3 Regions with Monuments, represented by 4-piece miniatures that will be built by the game. Players can send Priests to Monuments to increase Attributes and receive other God bonuses. Each Monument starts on level 0 (base) and can be built up to level 3. There is also a special God's Artifact card connected to each Monument. Players who have control over a Region with the Monument also gain that Artifact.

Settlement – When a player Activates an Army in a Region with a Settlement they may choose to increase the Army value. They may also Recruit new Armies in the Region using the Reinforce Special Action.

Shrine – If there is a Shrine in a Region, the player who controls that Region may place a Temple there using one of the Special Actions. There may only ever be one Temple in each Region with a Shrine.

Forge – At the start of the game, players randomly place Forge tokens in these Regions. This tells them what type of Rune can be gained there. One Rune token of the same type will be placed there at the start and again each time someone Builds a Monument. Runes can be picked up from the Forges by Heroes during the Prayer step or players can gain them from their Regions when they Build a Monument. Forge tokens can never be taken from the board.

Population Strength and Control Over Regions

Regions can be neutral or controlled by one of the players (it is considered as their Region) and marked with their Control markers. There can only be Armies of a single player in each Region (with the exception of a Battle). If at the end of any step during the game any player has Armies in a neutral Region with a total Army value equal to or higher than the Population Strength of the Region, the player immediately takes control over the Region. They place a Control marker on this Region so that it covers the Population Strength — it is no longer relevant in the game.

Controlled Regions are treated as if their Population Strength is 0. That means that any Army can easily take control over that Region just by entering there. If there is already an Army there, it will start a Battle, and depending on the result, the Region will be taken over or remain in the original player's control.

Runes Players can gain Runes during the game in various ways. There are 3 types of Runes in the game – each one with a different symbol: Uruz, Othala and Algiz.

Runes are mostly picked up from the Forges by Heroes during the Prayer step but players can also obtain them in different ways. When a player gains a Rune from the Forge they take that specific Rune token from there and put it into their Pool. If players gain Runes from other sources they take them from the Supply (and in most cases can choose which type of Rune they take) to their Pool.

All Runes a player has are in their player Pool and they use them for Rune Actions. The number of Runes players can have in their Pools is limited by Heroes' Wisdom.

Realms and Seas

Aside from Regions, there are also two other types of territories on the map:

Seas – Marine territories around the whole map. Only Drakkars can stay and move on the Seas. Drakkars of different players can be on the same Sea. There are no Battles between Drakkars.

A Player may move their Armies and Hero using their Drakkar from one Region adjacent to the Sea with their Drakkar to another. In terms of Army and Hero movement (but only for movement purposes) all Regions adjacent to a Sea with a player's Drakkar are adjacent to each other for that player.

Realms – Territories that are not part of any Lands. Nothing can be moved or placed into Realms with the exception of Control markers that players can place there to show that they have an Alliance with that Realm. Many players can have an Alliance with the same Realm and each player can have an Alliance with each Realm.

Forming Alliances Players can form Alliances with Realms to gain Realm bonuses during Special Actions. The base way to do this is to have a Hero in a Region adjacent to a Realm and spend a specific Rune (see Rune Actions later). To mark that a player has an Alliance, place a Control marker on the Realm. When the player is the first one who forms an Alliance with that specific Realm (there are no Control markers on that Realm yet), they additionally draw 1 Combat card. Each player may form an Alliance with each Realm only once and when an Alliance is formed it lasts until the end of the game.

Heroes

Heroes and their development is one of the main parts of the game. Each Hero has a Special Ability on its Hero tile and an Origin bonus from a card chosen at the beginning of the game. The Special Ability works for the whole game while the Origin bonus is given to the player only at the start of the game.

Each Hero has three Attributes that start with a value of 2 and can be increased to a maximum of 6:

Authority – defines the starting value of each Army the player Recruits during the game.

Might – shows how many Combat cards the player will draw at the start of each Hunt. Also, it defines which Regions the player can Activate as a Special Action. Heroes can only Usurp Regions with the Population Strength (neutral Regions) or Total Army value (other players' Regions) equal to or lower than their Might.

Wisdom – used during the Hunt when checking the Weak Spot value. It also defines separate limits of Combat cards and Runes that players can have in their Pool at any given moment. It means a Hero with 2 Wisdom can have 2 Combat cards AND 2 Runes at the same time in their Pool. Each time any player takes a Combat card or Rune which exceeds this limit, they take it but immediately after that the player must discard chosen Runes/Combat cards down to their Pool limit. The only exception to this rule is the Hunt, when players can have an unlimited number of Combat cards – they must discard them to their Pool limit immediately after the Hunt.

Other Player Components

Player board – board with Attribute tracks, and a place for Hero tiles, Origin cards, Priests, and Runes that players have in their Pools.

Army – each Army is represented by a miniature with an Army value from 1 to 6 shown on its base. This value can be increased during the game as a result of Army Activation or from other sources. It may also be decreased due to losing Battles, Casualties, and effects from Combat cards, Monster Stomps, and Region Attacks or some other effects. When the Army value is decreased below 1 it is killed and the player must remove it from the board and back to their Pool. The total Army value is a sum of all Army values of one player from one Region.

Drakkar – a miniature that can only move on Seas. Armies and Heroes may use Drakkar as bridges during movement, which means that all Regions adjacent to a Sea with a player's Drakkar are treated as adjacent to that player for purposes of movement.

Priest – each Priest is represented by a miniature. Players gain a Priest of their color from the Supply and add it to their Pool (placed on the player's board) as a result of Building Temples and Monuments, or as a Reward during a Hunt. Priests from the player Pool can be placed on any Monument (players do not have to control a Region with a Monument or have a Hero there) with an empty Priest slot during the Prayer step. Priests are never placed on the other places of the board.

Movement

Most miniatures can move during the game. This refers to Heroes, Armies, Drakkars, Monsters, and the Boss. Other miniatures (like Monuments and Priests) cannot be moved. There are different movement rules for different types of miniatures.

Moving a Hero – Heroes may move to any adjacent Region regardless of the controller of that Region or what other miniatures are there. Heroes may move by Drakkar. They move mostly during the Hero step.

Moving an Army – Armies may move to any adjacent Regions regardless of the controller of that Region or what other miniatures are there. When an Army moves into a Region with other players' Armies, a Battle will start immediately at the end of that turn step (see Battle resolution on page 12). Armies may move by Drakkar and they mostly move during the Maneuvers step or when a player performs the Mobilize Special Action. Armies cannot move into a Region with Loki (this is his special Boss rule).

Withdraw – Armies sometimes may have to withdraw. This means that the player who owns them must move them from a Region they are in to an adjacent Region controlled by their owner. If there is no such Region, the player must kill them (remove all Armies from the board to their Pool). During withdraw, Armies can move by Drakkar. In most cases withdrawal, Armies must withdraw after losing a Battle but some Monster or other effects in game can also force players to withdraw their Armies. Withdrawal is not considered movement for the purposes of in-game effects.

Moving a Drakkar – Drakkar may move to any adjacent Sea regardless of other Drakkars. They mostly move during the Hero step.

Moving a Monster – they may move to any adjacent Region regardless of the controller of that Region or any other miniatures that are there. Monsters CANNOT use Drakkars during movement. They move during their activation.

Boss movement – each Boss has different move options described on its tray.

Moving and Placing Some game effects tell players to "place" components on the board. Placing is not considered a movement so any effects referring to movement do not apply here. In case of "placing," the player just takes a given miniature (from board, Supply, or Pool) and puts it on the board in a space described by the effect.

Owning and Player Pools

In Lords of Ragnarok players may own many different things. If a player owns something it means that it is theirs. Players own all elements in their Pools. This refers to undeployed Armies, Priests, and Runes from their Pool (but not those from Supply), as well as Combat cards in their hands, and Artifacts and Blessing cards that they gain during the game. A player also owns all elements from the board that are under their control: Regions with their Control marker and Monsters with their rings. Players cannot own Realms, Seas, Monuments (but they can own Regions with them) and the Boss. All things that are not on the board or in player Pools are in the common Supply.

Preparation

Game Setup

1. Place the Main board on the table face up on the side appropriate for your player count. The 2-player side is marked with the solo icon.

2. Place the Realm tokens in their respective places. Tokens of Niflheim and Jotunheim are different for 2-player games than they are for 3 or 4 player games so use the ones that fits your player count.

3. Place the Action Wheel (with the side corresponding to your player count face up) on the Yggdrasil in a way that Actions will be pointing toward the corresponding Realms.

4. Take the Temple card appropriate for your player count, choose one of its sides (the side with 2 Draft keywords is suggested for the first play), and place it near the board. Place the Temples on this card until all spaces are filled. Put all unused Temples back in the box.

5. Randomly place Forge tokens face up on their spots in Regions with Forge symbols. Place a corresponding Rune on each Forge.

   In 2-player games use 3 Forges with different Rune types on them and a random additional one from the rest.

6. Place each Monument base in the Regions with their corresponding Attribute symbol (Odin on spot with Authority, Thor – Might and Freya – Wisdom). Keep the rest of the pieces of each Monument close to the Region with its base. Place the God's Artifact card on the board next to each Monument.

7. Take 6 Monster trays. Each Monster tray has a Rune symbol in the upper right corner. Take two Monster trays with the same Rune symbol and place them randomly one above another. Take the next pair of Monster trays with the same Rune and place them in the same way on the right side of the previous pair. Do the same with the last pair of Monster trays with the same Rune symbol. Then place the Monster Artifact cards and Monster miniatures next to the Monster trays.

8. Place the Boss (Loki) tray and its miniature next to the board.

9. Shuffle each of the decks: Combat cards, Monster Attack cards, Blessing cards, and Event cards. Place them close to the board.

   When playing a 2-player game, before shuffling the cards, remove cards with numbers higher than 16 from the Event deck and place them back in the box.

10. Place all Rune tokens near the board to create a common Supply.

11. Place 5 Ragnarok Requisite cards appropriate for your player count (marked with player icon) above the board in a row face up.

12. Each player takes 3 Help cards, 3 Attribute tokens, and all components in their chosen color (Player board, 6 Army miniatures, 4 Priest miniatures, 1 Drakkar miniature, 20 Control markers, 2 oversized rings, and 1 Hero ring). Place 4 Priests in the Supply near the Player board.

13. Draw an Event card and place the Boss (Loki) miniature in a Region indicated by the number from the drawn card. Put that card on the Event discard pile.

14. Now draw Event cards to place some Monsters on the board. The number of cards to draw in this step is equal to the number of players. Draw the first Event card and check the Rune where it says "PLACE," then take the Monster miniature with the matching Rune and place it on its tray in the Region indicated by the number from the drawn Event card. If there are still two Monsters with the same Rune, use the one whose tray is above the other. If there is no Monster with the corresponding Rune left (both are already on board or not) do nothing. Regardless of if the Monster was placed on the board or not, the drawn card counts to the number that must be drawn. Place it on the Event discard pile. Repeat this step until the number of drawn cards is equal to the number of players.

15. Perform the Hero Draft described on the next page.

Playing the Game

Hero Draft

Randomly choose a first player – they will start the Hero Draft:

1. The player draws two random Hero tiles and two random Origin cards. They also take the Odinsson/Odinsdottir Origin card.
2. Then they choose 1 Hero tile and 1 Origin card from what they drew. If the player does not choose the Odinsson/Odinsdottir Origin card they give it to the player sitting on their left (the rest of the Origin cards and Hero tiles not taken by a player) go back to the Supply (shuffle them because other players may draw them when performing their draft).

After choosing their Hero and Origin card, that player:

3. Take a miniature of the Hero they chose and place their color ring on its base.
4. Place all Attribute tokens face up on the Uninjured side (without a "2" on them) on the first slot of each Attribute track. The Slot covered by an Attribute token shows the current Attribute value (so the starting value is 2).
5. Draw 1 Combat card.
6. Place their Drakkar on any chosen Sea (even with other player's Drakkars). Then place their Hero and 2 Armies with value 1 in one Region that is adjacent to the Sea with their Drakkar. They cannot place their Hero and Armies with other player's Armies or Control markers. If the Region the player chooses has Population Strength of 2, the player takes their Control marker on that Region and take control over it.
7. Place the Origin card on their Player board and apply all the bonuses from it.
8. Place the Hero tile on top of their Origin card on their board.

In clockwise order, each player repeats all these steps until each player has completed a Hero Draft.

The player who chose the Odinsson/Odinsdottir Origin card will be the first player to start the game. If nobody chose that Origin card, the player who started the Hero Draft remains the first player.

Players are now ready to start the game.

Player's Turn

Lords of Ragnarok is played in a series of turns taken by player in clockwise order until the game ends. The player who is resolving their turn is considered the Active Player. A player's turn is divided into steps that must be taken in a given order. The only step that is required is the Special Action step – others can be skipped if the Active Player wants to.

1. Prayer

The Active Player may resolve both:

Sending a Priest – The Active Player may place 1 Priest from their Pool on any chosen Monument if there is at least one free spot there. To place a Priest, the player doesn't have to control the Region with the Monument nor have their Hero there. Once a Priest is placed on the Monument it stays there (and blocks one spot of that Monument) until someone Builds a Monument. When a player sends a Priest to a Monument they receive bonuses from the God represented by it. Sending a Priest always permanently increases one of Attributes depending on which Monument the player chose and if that Monument is on level 1 or higher, the player also receives an additional bonus described on the God's card. Higher Monuments give more powerful bonuses but the Attribute is always increased by 1. The Active Player can send a Priest to a chosen Monument even if they cannot receive every bonus from it.

Rune Forging – if the player's Hero is in a Region with a Forge and a Rune on it they can pick up the Rune and place it in their Pool. Each time any player takes a Rune that exceeds their Wisdom limit, they take it but must immediately discard a Rune of their choice to their Pool limit (discarded Runes are placed in the Supply).

2. Hero

During this step a player may choose one of the following:

A. Move their Hero by up to two Regions. B. Move their Drakkar by up to two Seas. C. Heal 1 Injury of their Hero by flipping over one of their Attribute tokens if it was on Injury side. The token stays in the same position on the Attribute track after Healing.

Injuries and Healing When a Hero is dealt an Injury, flip one chosen Uninjured Attribute token to its Injured side without changing its position on the track. If a player already has all 3 tokens on their Injured side, they cannot take more Injuries (ignore them). When an Attribute token is on its Injured side, the value of it is 2, regardless of its position on the track. The token may still be moved if the Attribute is increased or decreased. When a player Heals an Injury, flip it from its Injured side to its Uninjured side.

3. Rune Actions

The Active Player may spend Runes from their Pool during this step to perform ONE Rune Action, which costs from 1 to 3 Runes. All base Rune Actions that cost 1 Rune demand a specific Rune to spend. For example, if a player wants to take control over a Monster they must spend a Rune corresponding to the Rune symbol from their Monster tray. More expensive Rune Actions require a set of 2 or 3 Runes. In that case, all Runes in that set must be of different types (with different symbols on them). There are 9 different basic Rune Actions but players can gain access to new ones from Blessing cards or other sources.

Basic Rune Actions:

1 Rune (same as on a Monster/Boss tray or on a Realm):

• The player Activates the Boss in a Region with their Hero.
• The player takes control over a neutral Monster in a Region with their Hero (for controlling Monsters see page 10).
• The player forms an Alliance with a Realm adjacent to a Region with their Hero. Additionally they draw 1 Combat card if they are the first player that places their Control marker on that Realm.

Set of 2 Runes (of different types):

• The player increases the value of one of their Armies on the board by 1 (the Army doesn't have to be in their Region with a Settlement).
• The player Activates one Monster controlled by them or a neutral one (for Monster Activation see page 10).
• The player draws 1 Combat card.
• The player places their Hero in any Region.

Set of 3 Runes (all of different types):

• The player increases one of their lowest Attributes by 1.
• The player draws 2 Combat cards.

4. Maneuvers

The Active Player may Activate one Army during this step. If they don't have an Army on the board, they may instead Recruit one Army.

Activating and Recruiting an Army Activate 1 Army – each time a player Activates an Army they can chose one of the following:

• Move a chosen Army to any adjacent Region.
• Increase an Army value by 1, but only if that Army is in that player's Region with a Settlement.

Recruit 1 Army – each time a player Recruits an Army they place one new Army from their Pool on the board with an Army value equal to their Authority. The Recruited Army may be placed in any Region adjacent to their Drakkar or in their Region with a Settlement. They can place their Army in a Region with other players' Armies (if that Region is adjacent to the Sea with their Drakkar) but this will start a Battle.

5. Special Actions

In this step, the Active Player must choose one Special Action from the Action Wheel by placing their Control marker on that Action slot. To choose a Special Action, the player must be able to resolve its effect (for example, a player cannot choose the Reinforce Special Action when all of their Armies are on the board). A player can choose an Action with Control markers of other players but not with their own. If there are Control markers of other players, they place their marker on top of the stack (all Control markers on one Action slot on the Action Wheel should be stacked one on top of another).

If this is the first Control marker placed on that Action slot, all players that have an Alliance with a Realm corresponding to that Action may take bonuses from that Realm starting with the player to the left from the Active Player (so the Active Player will gain the bonus last).

If there are one or more Control markers on an Action slot, the player whose Control marker is just covered gains 1 chosen Rune from the Supply.

Players receive Runes or resolve Realm bonuses before resolving a chosen Special Action.

The Build Monument Special Action is an exception and works differently. It may only be chosen by a player who has at least one Control marker on any Action slot on the Action Wheel. The Active Player does not place a Control marker when they decide to take the Build Monument Special Action – also no Realm bonuses are gained (there is no spot for a Control marker and no Realm is assigned to the Build Monument Special Action).

After players resolve a chosen Special Action, their turn is over. Then the player in clockwise order may start their turn.

Special Actions

The 7 Special Actions described below:

A. Reinforce

The Active Player Recruits 1 Army (see Activating and Recruiting an Army on the previous page).

B. Mobilize

The Active Player Activates as many of their Armies from the board as they want (but at least one). After resolving all Activations check if they gain control over any neutral Region or resolve any Battles in Regions with Armies of two different players. In the case when more than one Battle would have to be resolved, the Active Player chooses which order they should be resolved.

C. Prepare

The Active Player chooses two of the following options (they can choose the same option twice):

A. Heal 1 Injury. B. Draw 1 Combat card. C. Gain 1 chosen Rune (from Supply). D. Increase an Army value by 1, but only if that Army is in that players Region with a Settlement.

D. Build Temple

The Active Player chooses one of their Regions with a Shrine and without a Temple. They take a Temple from the space with the lowest covered number from the Temple track and place it in that Region. Then, that player gains 1 Priest. If they just revealed the draft keyword on the Temple track, the Blessing Draft starts.

Blessing Draft The Blessing Draft triggers when somebody Builds a Temple when as a result of that they uncover the Draft keyword on a Temple track. The player who just Built a Temple draws a number of Blessing cards equal to the number of players plus one and places them face up in the center of the table. The Active Player chooses one of the cards and places it near their Player board. Then, moving counter-clockwise, each player chooses one of the Blessing cards and places it near their Player board. Once each player has chosen one of the cards, the Blessing Draft is over, and the remaining unchosen Blessing card is discarded.

Blessings give players unique abilities that last from now until the end of the game.

E. Monsters

The Active Player chooses one:

A. Activate 1 or 2 different Monsters in a chosen order. They choose from Monsters controlled by them or neutral ones. B. Hunt a Monster that is in the same Region as their Hero (for Hunt resolution see page 10). C. Hunt the Boss if it is in the same Region as their Hero, this can be done only if that player has already slain two Monsters (or one in a 2-player game).

Slain Monsters and Slayer Tokens When a Monster is slain, the player who deals the last Wound to that Monster gains its miniature and puts it close to their Player board. Also, if any other player has at least 4 Control markers on the Wound slots of that Monster tray they gain one Slayer token. Both miniatures of slain Monsters and Slayer tokens count when a player checks if they can start to Hunt the Boss. So a player who has two Monster miniatures, one Monster miniature, and one Slayer token or two Slayer tokens can start to Hunt the Boss.

F. Usurp

The Active Player can make this Special Action only if their Hero is in a Region without other Heroes. They can perform it in a neutral Region if their Might is equal to or higher than the Population Strength of that Region. Other player Armies present in that Region must withdraw. The Active Player gains control over that Region and can immediately Recruit one Army there.

It is also possible to perform this Special Action in a controlled Region of another player. To do this, the player's Might must be equal to or higher than the Total Army value in that Region if there are any Armies there. All of those Armies must withdraw from that Region. In each case, the Usurping player takes control over that Region and can immediately Recruit one Army there.

G. Build Monument

To choose this Special Action, the player must have at least one Control marker on any Action slot of the Action Wheel. When a player performs this Special Action they take the steps below in order:

1. Choose one of the Monuments and add the next level to it (add the next part of the miniature). A player cannot choose an already built Monument (with all 3 levels already built).
2. Check all face up Ragnarok Requisite cards. If the Requisite is met, turn this card face down. If then there are at least 3 Ragnarok Requisite cards that are face down, Ragnarok begins (see rules of the Game, page 4).
3. All players:
   • Remove their Priests from all Monuments and put them back to the Supply (not to their Pools).
   • Remove their Control markers from the Action Wheel.
   • Recharge all their Artifacts.
4. Refresh all Forges by adding the corresponding Runes to empty ones.
5. The builder of the Monument gains 1 Priest to their Pool for each Temple in their Regions. Also, that player picks up Runes from Forges in their Regions.
6. Draw and resolve one Event card:
   • The Active Player checks the Rune symbol from the drawn Event card. If there is any Monster left with that Rune symbol on its tray that is not already on the board or was not slain, place that Monster in a Region indicated by the number on the drawn Event card (top part of it). If there are still both Monsters left with the corresponding Rune symbol (both are already on the board or are slain) do not place any new Monster on the board.
   • Go to the Activate section of the drawn Event card and check the first Rune symbol (from the left). Activate all Monsters with the corresponding Rune symbols that are already on the board starting with the one whose Monster tray is above the other one. Then do the same with the second Rune symbol from the Activate section of the Event card.
   • If there is a Boss symbol on a drawn Event card – Activate the Boss (Loki).

Monsters and Hunting

Activating and Controlling Monsters

When a Monster is Activated it will either move or perform a Region Attack. If the Monster is controlled by any player, this player decides what to do. If they chose to resolve a Region Attack they must resolve every effect, even if some of them can apply to themselves. If a neutral Monster was Activated, the Active Player must roll a Monster die to determine what that Monster will do. There are 3 different results on the die:

• Move – The Active Player moves the Monster to a chosen adjacent Region. Moving a Monster can trigger Stomp.
• Region Attack – Resolve the Monster Region Attack (described on its tray). If any decision has to be made here the Active Player decides.
• Move/Region Attack – The Active Player may choose to treat this result as a Move or Region Attack.

All decisions that must be made about neutral Monsters are made by the Active Player. All decisions about controlled Monsters are chosen by their controllers.

Stomp Each time a Monster moves to a Region with any Armies, decrease the value of one of these Armies by 1. If there is more than one Army, the player who moved the Monster (the Active Player or controller of the Monster) decides which Army decreases their value. If the Monster is controlled by a player, they may choose not to resolve the Stomp when the Monster moves. Neutral Monsters Stomp every time they enter a Region with any Armies.

Controlling Monsters

Control over a Monster is marked by a ring of the controlling player's color. Each player has only two rings, which means they can only control a maximum of two Monsters at once. If they already have two Monsters under their control and want to control a new Monster, they must remove their ring from another of their Monsters (and lose control of it immediately). A player can never take control over a Boss or Monster that is under control of any other player.

Starting a Hunt

Hunt is a combat between a Hero and Monster/Boss. To start a Hunt, player's Hero must be in the same Region as the Monster/Boss they want to Hunt. Then the Active Player must perform the Monsters Special Action. During a Hunt, players ignore Combat card limits from their Wisdom.

Combat Cards – These cards are used by players during Battles between Armies and when they Hunt Monsters/Boss.

Each Combat card has:

1. Weapon symbol.
2. Value.
3. Hunt effect.
4. Battle effect.
5. Casualty symbols (present only on some Combat cards).

Monster Trays – trays that contain all the important information about a Monster.

1. Monster's Wound slots.
2. Monster's Rune.
3. Region Attack.
4. Special Attack.
5. Rewards.

Monster Attack Cards – Cards that represent Monster Attacks.

Each of these cards has:

1. Rage value.
2. Weak Spot value.
3. Monster draw.
4. Attack effect.

Monster Attack Deck This deck is never reshuffled during a single Hunt. When there are no more cards in the deck and the Monster must draw cards, they just draw as many as they can. Before each Hunt, the players shuffle all 14 cards from this deck to form a deck for the Hunt.

Wound Slots and Rewards

These slots represent how resilient a Monster is and how hard it is to slay it. Players will cover those slots with their Control markers when they deal Wounds to a Monster during Hunts. Each slot has a Weapon symbol, which the Combat card played during a Hunt must match in order to deal a Wound to the Monster. Some Wound slots have a Reward assigned to them. Players can gain this Reward during the Hunt if they deal that Wound.

There are 4 types of Rewards:

Realm – The player places their Control marker to any Realm without their marker. This Reward is considered as forming an Alliance so the player immediately draws 1 Combat card if they put their Control marker on a Realm without Control markers of any other players.

Priest – The player gains 1 Priest from the Supply and places it into their Pool.

Army +1 – The player increases the value of one of their Armies by 1 (that Army does not have to be in their Region with a Settlement).

Rune – The player gains 1 chosen Rune from the Supply to their Pool.

Boss Wound Slots Each Boss Wound slot has two Weapon symbols instead of one. This means that players must play two Combat cards with the two corresponding Weapon symbols simultaneously in order to deal a Wound to the Boss.

Resolving a Hunt

Each Hunt is divided into a series of rounds that alternate between a Monster/Boss and a Hero. During a Hunt, Monster, Boss actions and decisions are taken by its controller or player who sits to the right of the Hunting player. Before a Hunt starts, players should take the following steps:

1. Play and resolve all effects that say "at the beginning of a Hunt."
2. The Hunting player draws Combat cards equal to their Might.
3. The player who controls the Monster shuffles all cards from the Monster Attack deck and draws 2 of them.

Now the Hunt begins from the first Monster round. The Hunt lasts until one of the ending conditions is fulfilled.

Ending the Hunt

The Hunt ends successfully when Monster is slain which means the last Wound slot on its Monster tray is covered. In that case the Hunt ends successfully.

The Hunt ends unsuccessfully when:

A. The Hero is going to get an Injury and they already have all their Attributes tokens on the Injured side. B. The Monster Attack deck is empty at the start of the Monster round. C. The effect from the Monster Attack card says the Hunt is over. D. The Hunting player cannot or does not want to deal at least one Wound during Monster round.

When the Hunt ends unsuccessfully (the Monster is still alive), the Hero gets 1 Injury.

Ending the Hunt with the Boss If any player ends the Hunt with a Boss by slaying it, the game immediately ends and that player wins. Otherwise, if after a Hunt the Boss is still alive it immediately regenerates – remove all Control markers from Wound slots on the Boss tray.

Monster Round

In this round, the Monster attacks, and the Hero tries to defend themselves. Resolve the following steps in each Monster round:

1. Check if the Monster Attack deck is empty – if it is, the Hunt immediately ends (unsuccessfully).
2. The Monster chooses one Monster Attack card from their hand and plays it. They discard the rest of the Monster Attack cards from their hand.
3. The Hero may play Combat cards to defend themselves from the Monster Attack effects. The Hunting player may play as many Combat cards as they want (or may play none). To defend successfully, the total value of the played cards must be equal to or higher than the Rage value of the Monster Attack card played. As an alternate, the Hero may use Combat cards with a Shield symbol, which blocks most Monster Attack effects and ignores their Rage value.
4. If the Hero defends successfully, ignore all Combat card effects from the Monster Attack card – otherwise resolve them.
5. The Hunting player draws 1 Combat card.
6. Now add the Hero's Wisdom to the value of all Combat cards played to defend from the Monster Attack effects. If that sum is equal to or higher than the Weak Spot value from the Monster Attack card, the Hunting player draws 1 additional Combat card.
7. At the end of the Monster round, the Monster draws new Monster Attack cards from the deck. The number of cards that should be drawn is shown on a Monster Attack card that was played this round. After that, put that card on the discard pile. Now a Hero round starts.

Hero Round

During this round, the Hero deals Wounds to a Monster. To do so, the Hunting player must play Combat cards with a Weapon symbol corresponding to any uncovered Wound slots on the Monster tray. When they play the Combat card, they can resolve its Hunt effects and place a Control marker on a chosen Wound slot with a matching symbol from the Combat card just played. If there is a Reward on the Wound slot that was covered, the Hunting player gains that Reward immediately.

Player can deal any number of Wounds to a Monster during their round. The Hero round ends in one of the three following cases:

1. The Hero cannot or does not want to deal a Wound to a Monster during their round. In this case, the Hunt immediately ends unsuccessfully.
2. After dealing a Wound all Wound slots on the Monster tray are covered – this means Monster is slain and the Hunt immediately ends (successfully).
3. The Hero decides to end their round after dealing at least one Wound to a Monster. The Hunt continues, the Hero round is over and a new Monster round begins.

Slaying a Monster

When the last Wound slot on the Monster tray is covered, that Monster is slain. The player who covers the last Wound slot gains that Monster miniature and puts it near their Player board. Any other player who has at least 4 Control markers on that Monster tray takes one Slayer token. Remove all Control markers from that Monster tray and put that tray back to the box.

Wounding Monster Outside the Hunt There are possibilities to deal Wounds to a Monster in other ways during a Hunt. When a player deals a Wound to a Monster outside the Hunt they do not gain any Rewards for it nor can they gain a Monster Artifact card that way. Monsters can still be slain outside the Hunt if the last Wound slot is covered and the player who did it gains that Monster miniature. Also, any other player who has at least 4 Control markers on that Monster tray gains one Slayer token.

Artifact Reward

If after the Hunt (no matter if the Monster was slain or not) there is still an Artifact card assigned to that Monster (nobody gained it earlier) and all Wound slots with no assigned Rewards are covered, the Hero gains that Monster Artifact card.

Battles and Other Rules

Battles

A Battle is a fight between the Armies of two players. A Battle must be resolved at the end of any step of a turn in which two or more Armies of different players are in the same Region. When more than one Battle must be resolved, they are resolved one by one in the order chosen by the Active Player.

Battle Sequence:

1. Playing Combat Cards: Starting with the defender, each player may play one Combat card or pass. After playing a Combat card, the player immediately resolves its Battle effect and places it in front of them. The value of all cards placed in front of them increase that player's Battle value during the next step. Cards with Casualty symbols may be played only if the total number of Casualty symbols played in this Battle does not exceed the Total Army value of that player's Armies in the Region of the Battle. After a player passes, they cannot play any more Combat cards during the Battle. Their opponent may continue playing as many as they want. Once both players have passed, continue to the next step in the Battle Sequence.
2. Counting Battle Value: Each player sums the values of the Combat cards they played, their total Army value of Armies in the Region of the Battle, and any other relevant effects (Artifacts, Blessings, and Hero Special Abilities). The total result is the Battle value. The player with the highest Battle value wins. In the case of a tie, the defender wins.
3. Casualties (Losing side): First, the player who lost the Battle must assign one Casualty to each Army from the Region of the Battle. Each of their Armies must decrease their value by 1. Then, the losing player decreases the value of their Armies by 1 for each Casualty symbol on Combat cards that played during this Battle. A player may freely decide how to assign Casualties from played Combat cards (not the ones for losing the Battle) between all their Armies in that Region. In rare cases, there may be more Casualties than the player can assign, and if this happens, all Armies are killed (removed from the board to the player's Pool) and the player ignores any additional Casualties.
4. Withdraw: The player who lost the Battle must withdraw all Armies from the Region of Battle. Their Armies must withdraw to one single adjacent Region.
5. Casualties (Winner side): The winner must assign each of the Casualties from their Combat cards played among their Armies as the defender did in step 3 (but they do not suffer any Casualties for winning the Battle).
6. Region Control: Finally, players check if the winner takes control of the Region. If the winner's total Army value is equal to or higher than the Population Strength of that Region, the player takes control of it.

Killing an Army If the value of any Army has to be reduced below 1 or the Army could not withdraw, remove that Army from the board and place it into the owner's Pool.

Artifacts

Whenever a player obtains an Artifact card they gain it Charged. They can exhaust (rotate it 90 degrees) any of their Artifact cards to use its effect in the moment described on the Artifact card.

There are two types of Artifact cards in the game that work exactly the same but can be gained in different ways:

Monster's Artifact Cards – each of them is linked to one specific Monster. Player can gain Monster Artifacts after the Hunt (no matter if the Monster is still alive or not) when all Wound slots with no Rewards under them are covered by Control markers. It can only be done if that Monster Artifact card was not taken before by another player.

God's Artifact Cards – these powerful items are linked to Regions with Monuments. When any player takes control over such a Region (regardless of Monument level) that player gains the God's Artifact linked to this Monument – no matter if it was in any other player possession or not. The player gains the God's Artifact Charged.

Cards and Discard Piles

There are 4 decks in the game: Event cards, Combat cards, Monster Attack cards, and Blessing cards. Blessing, Event, and Combat cards should be shuffled when their deck is empty and the player must draw another card. Take all cards from the corresponding discard pile, reshuffle it, and create a new draw deck. Monster Attack cards are always reshuffled before each Hunt. At any moment of the game, players are allowed to look through the discard pile of each deck.

Limited Components

During the game, players use various components like Runes, Armies, Temples, Priests, etc. Those resources are limited so when any of them run out during the game it cannot be obtained by any player. The only unlimited components are players' Control markers. In the rare case when somebody runs out of them, use any substitute.