Might & Magic Heroes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Goal
• Game Material
  • Cards
  • Sheets
  • Markers
  • Wooden Markers
  • Dice
• Game Setup
  • 1. Determine Player Colors
  • 2. Setting Up the Player Areas
  • 3. Setting Up the Game Board
  • 4. Preparing Card Decks
  • 5. Preparing Other Markers, Dice, and the Initiative Track
  • 6. Choosing the Starting Hero
  • 7. Assembling the Starting Army
• Course of Play
  • 1. Choosing the Start Player
  • 2. Revealing the Week Card
  • 3. Playing Action Cards
  • Build
  • Gather Resources
  • Recruit
  • Activate Hero
  • Battles
• Game End
• Other Game Rules
  • Dark Times
  • Experience Points (XP) and Leveling Up
  • Luck
  • Trading
  • Using Card Effects
  • Overwhelm Markers
  • Enemies
• Tips for Beginners
• Credits
• Description of the Game Board
  • Terrain Features on the Game Board
  • Game Board Locations

Game Goal

In the course of the game, the heroes gather victory points (VP). Whoever first reaches an amount of victory points depending on the number of players (2 players = 12 VP; 3 players = 14 VP; 4 players = 16 VP) wins the throne of Ashan. Alternatively, the player who has the most victory points after all week cards have been resolved wins.

Game Material

This game contains the following game materials:

• 1 Rulebook — Contains all the important information about the game.
• 16 Map Tiles — The game board is assembled from these map tiles.
• 1 Initiative Track — Markers and wooden pieces are placed on this track to determine the attack order of creatures, heroes, and encounter tokens in battle.

Cards

There are various types of small-format cards:

• 16 Action Cards
• 20 Artefact Cards
• 64 Skill Cards
• 15 Treasure Cards
• 20 Scroll Cards
• 15 Week Cards

Sheets

• 4 Capital Boards — These boards represent the capitals of the four factions.
• 12 Hero Sheets — Each hero sheet represents one hero and contains all the important information about him.

Markers

There is a large variety of markers, whose use is explained in the relevant rules text:

• 43 Encounter markers
• 4 Element markers
• 8 Exploration markers
• 36 Building markers
• 13 Luck markers
• 22 Gold markers (value 1)
• 23 Gold markers (value 3)
• 104 Creature markers
• 22 Resource markers (value 1)
• 23 Resource markers (value 3)
• 16 Damage markers
• 1 Battle marker
• 1 Start Player marker
• 12 Overwhelm markers (value 1)
• 4 Overwhelm markers (value 3)
• 3 Additional encounter markers

Wooden Markers

There is a set of wooden markers per player color (black, white, blue, green), used in the game for various purposes:

• 4 Capital markers
• 12 Hero markers
• 60 Control markers
• 4 Power markers

Dice

5 eight-sided attack dice and 1 six-sided elite die.

Game Setup

Before playing for the first time, the various cardboard markers must be carefully separated from the punch-boards. It is recommended to pack them into the enclosed plastic bags.

1. Determine Player Colors

Before playing for the first time, the hero markers must be stickered. It is important that the portraits of the heroes are applied to the correct wooden discs (matching the color of their faction). Each faction has three heroes:

Sanctuary (blue hero markers)

Necropolis (green hero markers)

Haven (white hero markers)

Stronghold (black hero markers)

At the start of the game, each player chooses a faction in agreement with the others (or at random).

2. Setting Up the Player Areas

After choosing factions, each player takes 1 capital board ❶, 3 hero sheets ❷, all wooden markers ❸, all creature markers ❹, all building markers ❺, a set of skill cards (consisting of 8 might cards ❻ and 8 magic cards ❼) and 4 action cards ❽ in his player color. Each player also receives resource markers worth 5 ❾ and gold markers worth 7 ❿.

Each player lays out or prepares their game components directly in front of themselves:

• The capital board is placed centrally.
• Directly next to the victory-point track shown on the capital board, the power marker is placed (each player starts with 0 VP).
• A control marker is placed on the Level I space of the town-expansion track on the capital board. If a player expands his capital during the game, his marker is moved further to the right.
• The creature markers are sorted by type. This is the player's reserve.
• The might cards are shuffled and set up as a face-down deck.
• The magic cards are shuffled and set up as a face-down deck.
• The 3 action cards whose backs show boots are placed face up. The action card whose back shows a scale is set aside for now (it is not available at the start of the game).
• The gold and resource markers are placed in the treasury shown on the capital board.

Complete setup of a player area

3. Setting Up the Game Board

Building the Game Board

The game board is made up of several map tiles. Each map tile is divided into 16 square spaces, which can contain various terrain features and locations. Elements relevant to game mechanics are marked with symbols. Each map tile also has a number in the lower-left corner, which is needed when setting up the board.

On the last page of the rulebook all terrain features are listed together with their symbols and explained.

Depending on the number of players, the game board is assembled from specific map tiles:

• With 2 players, map tiles 1 to 9 are set up in a 3x3 grid.
• With 3 players, map tiles 1 to 12 are set up in a 3x4 grid.
• With 4 players, map tiles 1 to 16 are set up in a 4x4 grid.

The respective map tiles are shuffled and then placed next to each other, as shown above. The players take turns placing one map tile each. The map tiles may be oriented in any direction. The illustrations of the landscape are not important for board setup (bodies of water and roads do not need to line up with each other).

The map tiles marked in red indicate where the capital markers will later be placed.

Important exception: Map tiles must not be placed so that portals are on adjoining edges or corners. If two map tiles with portals lie next to each other, they must be oriented so that the portals are as far apart from each other as possible.

Placing Out Encounter Markers

• Ordinary Encounters (yellow background)
• Dangerous Encounters (purple background)
• Legendary Encounters (gold background)

The encounter markers are sorted by color, and the markers of one color are shuffled together.

On every space marked with a colored encounter symbol, a randomly drawn encounter marker of the same color is placed (systematically from upper left to lower right). The marker is placed face up on the space.

All unused encounter markers are put back in the game box.

Preparing Additional Encounter Markers and Element Markers

The following markers are not put back in the box, but are placed within reach of all players.

Additional encounter markers come into play through week cards. They are placed on the initiative track to indicate that an additional, identical encounter marker must be fought.

Element markers come into play when a player summons an elemental creature with the help of a certain scroll. These are always summoned only for one battle and are then discarded again afterward.

Placing the Capitals

The power markers of all players are put into a cup or bowl and mixed. Then any player blindly draws a marker. Its owner is the first to place his capital marker on the game board. After that, one further marker is drawn at a time and one further capital placed, until all players have had a turn.

(Power markers — cylindrical wooden pieces)

The following rules apply for placing capitals:

• You may only place your capital marker on one of the red-marked map tiles (see p. 5) that has not already been chosen by another player.
• The capital marker may not be placed on a space that contains a location or an encounter marker.
• Capitals cover the terrain features of the spaces they are placed on. Until the end of the game these spaces count as capital spaces; the terrain underneath them is ignored.

Note: When placing the capital marker, always keep the movement rules in mind, so as not to accidentally lock your heroes into the capital (movement rules, see p. 13).

4. Preparing Card Decks

The following cards are each shuffled and set up as a face-down deck within reach of all players. The card effects are covered again in detail on page 20.

Artefact Cards

Artefact cards represent especially valuable, magical items. Every artefact card states the name, category, and effects of the artefact.

Whoever receives an artefact card draws the top 3 cards from the artefact card deck and chooses 1 of them to keep.

Treasure Card

Treasure cards represent the treasures that heroes find in the course of the game. Each treasure card is divided into four fields.

Whoever lands on a treasure-chest symbol (on an encounter marker or map tile) draws the top card from the treasure card deck and chooses a certain number of fields, whose treasures he receives.

Scroll Cards

Scroll cards represent spells that can be cast by heroes. Each scroll card has a name, a school-of-magic symbol, a level between 1 and 5, and a two-part text box.

Players can acquire scroll cards through exploration actions and by collecting treasures.

Used cards go onto separate discard piles. If a draw deck is empty, its corresponding discard pile is shuffled and set up as the new draw deck.

Week Cards

The week cards determine the maximum length of the game: when the last week card is revealed, the final game round begins. Each card also describes events that affect the current game round.

The week cards are pictured with three moon phases on their backs — Crescent Moon, Half Moon, and Full Moon.

The week cards are sorted by their backs (the three moon phases) and each of these three stacks is shuffled individually. Then, depending on the desired game length, cards are drawn from each week-card stack:

• Quick Game: 3 cards per moon phase
• Standard Game: 4 cards per moon phase
• Epic Game: 5 cards per moon phase

All remaining week cards go back into the game box. Then the week stack is assembled by placing the Full Moon cards at the very bottom, the Half Moon cards on top of those, and the Crescent Moon cards on top of that. The finished week stack is set up next to the other card decks.

5. Preparing Other Markers, Dice, and the Initiative Track

Gold, resource, overwhelm, luck, damage, and exploration markers are sorted and placed next to the game board.

• Gold marker — small: value 1; large: value 3
• Resource marker — small: value 1; large: value 3
• Overwhelm marker — small: value 1; large: value 3
• Luck marker
• Damage marker
• Exploration marker

The initiative track, battle marker, attack dice (d8), and the elite die (d6) are also placed within easy reach of all players (they are needed for battles).

6. Choosing the Starting Hero

First, each player chooses one of the three heroes of his faction as his starting hero. He places that hero's hero sheet in front of himself, and the corresponding hero marker on his capital board (to show that this hero is currently in the capital).

Layout of a Hero Sheet

The hero sheet contains all the important information about the hero:

1. Reputation: This value will only play a role in future expansions. For the base game it is irrelevant. (Three possible symbols: Path of Tears, Balance, Path of Blood.)
2. Hero's Name

Attributes

3. Might: In battle, to hit, you must roll equal to or under your might value. A higher value therefore means more efficiency when attacking.

4. Magic: Determines the effectiveness of certain magic skills and indicates which scroll cards the hero may use. Under certain circumstances, magic can be used in battle in place of might.

5. Initiative: A higher value means the hero and his army can act earlier in battle.

6. Leadership: Indicates how many creature markers the hero can have in his army. This value may never be exceeded.

7. Hero's Starting Abilities

• Aggressor: The hero gets 1 additional attack die in battle.
• Supply Delivery: When the hero enters play (as starting hero or later), the controlling player immediately receives 5 resources.
• Mysticism: Whenever the hero may draw 1 scroll card, he takes the top 3 cards and chooses 1 to keep. He discards the others.
• Pathfinder: The hero can move across mountain spaces unhindered, as long as he does not end his movement there.
• Artefact Finder: Whenever the hero may draw 1 artefact card, he takes the top 5 cards (instead of the usual 3) and chooses 1 to keep. He discards the others.
• Inheritance: When the hero enters play (as starting hero or later), the controlling player immediately receives 5 gold.
• Merchant: Whenever the controlling player of the hero performs the "Gather Resources" action, he receives 2 additional resources.
• Landowner: Whenever the controlling player of the hero performs the "Gather Resources" action, he receives 2 more gold.
• Portal Traveler: The hero can move unhindered from one portal to any other portal on the game board.
• Celebrated Leader: The hero begins the game with 2 additional elite creatures with might 2.
• Sage: When the hero enters play (as starting hero or later), the controlling player immediately draws 1 skill card for him.
• Wanderlust: If the hero is in the capital at the start of his activation, he has 1 additional movement point.

Master

If a hero has one of the following four Master abilities, he must pay less gold to recruit the corresponding creatures. Basic creatures cost 1 gold less, and elite creatures even get a 2 gold discount.

• Master of Dreamwalkers
• Master of Griffins
• Master of Kenshi
• Master of Vampires

Leader

If a hero has one of the following four Leader abilities, he may, after recruiting a matching creature, additionally add a matching elite creature to his army (as long as this does not exceed his leadership).

• Orc Leader
• Crossbowman Leader
• Shark Soldier Leader
• Skeleton Leader

8. Faction Symbol: Shows which faction the hero belongs to.

9. Might/Magic Schools: The hero's specialization. On skill cards bearing these symbols, the hero may use both parts of the text box (in the case of an AND) or choose one part (in the case of an OR).

Might schools: Might Exemplar, War Cries, Tactics, Warfare, Kingdom. Magic schools: Primal Magic, Dark Magic, Light Magic, Earth Magic, Water Magic.

10. This is where the creature markers belonging to the hero's army are placed.

Layout of a Creature Marker

1. Might value
2. Sword symbol (marks the elite side)
3. Battle ability (see p. 18)
4. Initiative value

7. Assembling the Starting Army

At the start of the game, each hero has an army of 6 creatures' strength, consisting of 3 creatures with might 2 and 3 creatures with might 3. The corresponding creatures are taken from the reserve and placed with their elite side up underneath the hero sheet.

Starting Creatures of the Various Factions

• Sanctuary: two creatures shown (might 2 and might 3)
• Necropolis: two creatures shown (might 2 and might 3)
• Haven: two creatures shown (might 2 and might 3)
• Stronghold: two creatures shown (might 2 and might 3)

All remaining hero sheets and markers are set aside; they come into play later in the game.

Example of a Game Setup with Three Players

1. Play area of the Necropolis player (start player)
2. Play area of the Stronghold player
3. Play area of the Haven player
4. General supply, cards, dice, initiative track, and battle marker

Course of Play

In the following, the course of play is explained step by step. Along the way, the game materials used at each point are explained in detail.

1. Choosing the Start Player

The player who has played the oldest version of the PC classic Heroes of Might & Magic is named start player and receives the start player marker. Alternatively, the start player can also be determined however you like.

2. Revealing the Week Card

At the start of every round (except the first), the start player draws the top card of the week stack and reads its text aloud. The event described on the card affects the entire round. When the last week card is drawn, the final round of the game begins.

3. Playing Action Cards

The game is played over several rounds. In each round, the start player takes his turn first, then play continues clockwise. The player whose turn it currently is is called the active player.

Actions let you activate heroes (to move them across the game board and let them fight in battles), expand your own capital, gather resources, and recruit new creatures. There are 4 different actions, explained in more detail below:

• Build
• Gather Resources
• Recruit
• Activate Hero

The active player must always play exactly 1 of his action cards.

Every action card shows two symbols, representing the possible actions. The player must decide on 1 of the two actions.

After resolving the action, the action card is flipped over (this shows that the card has been used).

Then the player to his left becomes the active player and performs an action. The round ends when no player can play an action card anymore.

Because the available action cards lie face up and used ones lie face down, you always know exactly which actions your opponents can still perform. It is also possible to pass, by playing an action card but doing nothing with it.

Once all players have used up their action cards (all action cards are face down), the game round ends. The start player passes the start player marker to the left, all action cards are turned face up again, and a new round begins.

Build

With the Build action, the active player can expand his capital, either by constructing new buildings or by raising his capital's level by 1.

Capital Levels

At the start of the game, every player has a capital of level 1 (marked by a small house above the picture of the town). This can be expanded further as an action. Per action, you may raise the capital level by a maximum of 1. To do so, you pay the required resources (by moving them from your own treasury into the general supply) and move the control marker on the capital board 1 space to the right. With a higher capital level you can recruit stronger creatures and build better buildings. Of course, you may still recruit creatures and build buildings of lower levels as well.

1. The level of the capital
2. The gold cost for recruiting a creature (left for the basic, right for the elite creature)
3. The creatures that can be recruited with a capital of this level (left the basic, right the elite creatures)
4. The resource cost for reaching this level

Buildings

Every player has 9 different buildings that he can construct in his capital. Each building brings different advantages and is represented by a special building marker. On the front are shown the resource cost and the minimum capital level required; on the back are the benefits and effects you receive immediately after building it. Constructed building markers are placed with their back face up along the bottom edge of the capital board.

List of All Symbols on Building Markers

• The owner can pay 5 gold to recruit a hero.
• Whenever the owner performs the "Gather Resources" action, he receives 3 gold or 3 resources extra.
• The owner receives the fourth action card (BUILD - GATHER RESOURCES) and may trade.
• The owner receives 3 VP.
• The owner may recruit elite creatures and upgrade basic creatures to elite creatures.
• Whenever the owner performs the "Recruit" action, he has a recruitment limit increased by 2 (5 in total).
• All of the owner's heroes get Leadership +1.
• The owner's heroes may move into or out of the capital through portals.

Special Rules for Specific Buildings

• The building "Temple of Asha" can only be built if the active player pays both 12 resources and 12 gold and possesses the artefact card "Tear of Asha" (only one player per game can therefore build the Temple of Asha). It does not matter which hero of the active player holds the artefact card; that hero also does not need to be in the capital when the building is constructed. After construction, the artefact card is placed under the building marker (the player can no longer lose that artefact).

• The building that produces additional gold or resources on the "Gather Resources" action costs, to build, either 3 gold or 3 resources. The active player decides what he pays with.

• The following four building abilities are faction-specific, i.e. the associated buildings can only be built by one particular faction each. Their abilities apply to all heroes of that faction.

  • Guardian Angel: Once per exchange of blows, the owner can ignore the damage from the elite die.
  • Necromancy: The owner receives RAISE DEAD 2 after every battle that one of his heroes took part in.
  • Blood Rage: The owner always has priority in the event of a tie in initiative.
  • Honor: Before the battle, the owner decides whether all battle participants receive the elite die, or whether no one may use it.

Gather Resources

With the Gather Resources action, the active player can get gold and resources from his buildings and the spaces he controls. A sawmill produces 3 resources, a mine produces 2 resources, and a crystal cavern produces 1 resource. Every gold mine yields 4 gold. Certain buildings as well as skill cards, abilities, and artefacts of the active player's heroes can further increase the amount gathered. The player takes the corresponding number of gold and resource markers from the general supply and places them in the treasury of his capital board.

Recruit

With the Recruit action, the active player can recruit both new creatures and new heroes, or upgrade creatures from his heroes' armies. In one Recruit action, a maximum of 3 markers (creatures and heroes) can be recruited, but any number of creatures may be upgraded. Certain buildings increase this recruitment limit.

Recruiting Creatures

The active player can buy new creature markers for any heroes currently in his capital. To do so, he chooses any creature available at his capital's level and pays the gold cost stated on the capital board. You should check whether the relevant hero has a Master or Leader ability.

If there is no marker of a creature in the active player's reserve, that creature cannot be recruited either. Furthermore, elite creatures can only be recruited once a specific building has been constructed.

Creature markers must be added to a hero's army immediately after being recruited. Don't forget: the maximum number of creature markers in a hero's army depends on his Leadership.

Recruiting Heroes

When the active player has built the "Hall of Heroes" in his capital, he can recruit new heroes. To do so, he simply chooses an unused hero of his faction and pays 5 gold. He places the new hero's hero sheet in front of himself and puts the hero marker on his capital board. The new hero starts with 1 elite creature of his faction, available at capital level I. For the recruitment limit, recruiting a hero (including his elite creature, or his 3 elite creatures if he has the Celebrated Leader ability) counts as recruiting 1 marker. Each player may control a maximum of 3 heroes at the same time. Creature markers, scroll, artefact, and skill cards may not be traded between heroes.

Upgrading Creatures

If the active player has the matching building in his capital, he can both recruit elite creatures and upgrade existing basic creatures to elite creatures. For the latter, he must pay the cost difference between the basic and elite creature. Then he can turn the creature marker to its elite side. Upgrading creatures does not count against the recruitment limit — you may additionally upgrade any number of existing basic creatures (as long as you can afford it), on top of recruiting new ones.

Dismissing Creatures

When recruiting, the active player may dismiss, i.e. discard, any number of creature markers from his heroes' armies. Only the last creature in a hero's army may not be dismissed. The cost of dismissed creatures is not refunded. The markers simply go back to the active player's reserve.

Activate Hero

With the Activate Hero action, the active player can move all his heroes (one after another) or have them perform actions. A second hero (if he has one) can only be activated after the activation of the first has been completed. In other words: activating a new hero automatically ends the activation of the previous one. A hero who has been activated, moves, or performs actions is called the active hero.

The active hero may use any number of his movement points (MP) and fight in exactly one battle. Heroes who do not have at least 1 creature in their army cannot be activated and must remain in their capital.

Movement Across the Game Board

Every hero has four movement points (MP). This means he can move up to four spaces across the game board. The following rules apply:

• Heroes may only move orthogonally (vertically and horizontally), not diagonally.
• Heroes may not enter water or mountain spaces (see terrain features on the game board, p. 24).
• Not all MP need to be used. Unused MP are lost.
• Heroes may not enter enemy capital spaces.
• As soon as the active hero enters the space of his own capital, his activation ends and the hero marker is placed on the active player's capital board.
• When the active hero enters a space with an enemy hero marker or an encounter marker, a battle immediately takes place.
• The active hero may pass through a space occupied by another hero of the active player, but may not end his movement there.

Movement Through Portals

If you have built a town portal in your capital, you can move your heroes directly into the capital via portals, or out of the capital onto a portal space. There are also heroes with the special ability Portal Traveler, who can travel between two portals on the game board (they do not need a town portal in their capital for this). The following rules apply when traveling through portals:

Leaving the Capital Through a Portal

• The active player chooses any portal on the game board.
• Then the active hero begins his movement as if the capital space were directly adjacent to the portal space. In other words: moving from a capital space to a portal space costs him 1 MP.

Entering the Capital Through a Portal

• When the active hero travels through a portal on the game board into his capital (enemy capitals may not be entered), his movement ends immediately. He must be able to reach the portal space with his regular movement. Then the active player simply places the active hero's marker on the capital space (this costs no MP).
• If the active hero has the Portal Traveler ability, he can travel between two portals on the game board. The following applies to this movement: the active hero must reach a space with a portal using his regular movement. Then the active player takes the hero marker and places it on any other game board space with a portal, as though the entry and exit spaces were directly adjacent to each other (this costs 1 MP). After exiting the portal, the hero can continue moving normally, provided he still has MP left. Using a portal is always optional, meaning heroes can also pass through a portal space without traveling through the portal.

Exploring Spaces

Exploring spaces is an important aspect of moving heroes. It is optional and costs no additional MP.

Every explorable space (recognizable by the telescope symbol) can only be explored once per game. A space counts as already explored if it is not guarded by an encounter marker and no exploration marker lies on it.

At the start of the game, all explorable spaces are guarded by encounter markers. Before exploring a space, the active hero must defeat the associated encounter marker in battle. The arrows on the game board show which marker guards which space.

Whenever a hero enters an explorable space, the controlling player can declare that he wants to explore the space. If the space is guarded, a battle takes place immediately. If the hero wins, he may explore the space and receives its bonus as a result (see p. 24). Sometimes explorable spaces are no longer guarded, e.g. because the creatures of the encounter marker have already been defeated. If the creatures of the encounter marker were defeated, but the associated location is not explored immediately, an exploration marker is placed on the location. This is removed as soon as a hero explores the space. In this case, the active hero can explore the space unhindered.

Controlling Game Board Spaces

Every player has an interest in controlling spaces with mines, sawmills, and other locations that yield VP, gold, or resources. Controllable spaces are marked on the game board with a blue flag symbol. You may control any number of these spaces with your heroes. The following conditions apply for taking control:

• The active hero must pass through or end his movement on the controllable space.
• The space must not be guarded by an encounter marker. Similar to exploring, a battle takes place immediately if the active hero tries to take control of a guarded space. If the hero defeats the encounter marker, he can take control of the space.
• If the space is controlled by another player, it must lie outside that player's heroes' control zones (see below).

If all these conditions are met, the active player takes control of the space and places one of his control markers on it. If he took the space over from another player, he must first remove that player's control marker (it goes back to its owner's reserve). As soon as the space is under the active player's control, he receives the number of VP shown on the space (he moves his power marker on the capital board forward accordingly). If another player has lost the space, he must subtract the same number of VP (i.e. move the power marker back on his capital board). Taking control costs no movement points.

Control Zone of Heroes

Every hero on the game board has a control zone, i.e. an area protected by his army. If a controlled space lies in a hero's control zone, opposing players cannot take it over, unless they defeat the hero in battle. If the space lies in the control zones of two heroes belonging to the same player, it is enough to defeat one of them in battle. In this case, the other hero cannot prevent the takeover. The control zone extends in a radius of 2 MP around the hero marker. Important note: terrain features can restrict the extent of a control zone. In general, only spaces that the hero could actually enter count toward a hero's control zone. If the hero is in his capital, he has no control zone. Control zones are only relevant for controlling spaces; they have no effect on the movement of enemy heroes.

Sandor's control zone is not restricted by mountain spaces, because he can move across mountains unhindered (thanks to the Pathfinder ability).

Battles

A battle always occurs when the active hero enters a space with an encounter marker or an enemy hero marker, or when he wants to explore or take control of a guarded space. A battle consists of several rounds, so-called exchanges of blows, in which both sides attack with their heroes and creatures. Since a wide variety of abilities can be used, the outcome of a battle is decided not only by luck or combat values.

All heroes, creature markers, and encounter markers involved in the battle carry out attacks. The attacker is always whoever is currently rolling (and dealing damage); the defender is whoever suffers and assigns the damage. Battle participants alternate acting as attacker and defender.

There are two kinds of battles: against encounter markers, and against other heroes.

Battles Against Encounter Markers

Layout of an Encounter Marker

1. Might value
2. Threat value
3. Battle ability (see p. 18)
4. Initiative value
5. Experience points
6. Treasures (number of chests = fields on the treasure card)

Reward for Defeating an Encounter Marker: Experience points, and treasures (number of chests = fields on the treasure card).

Battle Preparation

The player to the left of the active player controls the encounter marker that the active player is fighting (he takes the marker off the game board).

• The active player takes his hero marker off the game board and replaces it with the battle marker. This marks the space where the battle takes place.
• It is checked whether the current week card affects the battle.

Initiative in Battle

• All creature and encounter markers taking part in the battle are sorted by their initiative and placed on the initiative track. The marker with the highest initiative goes to the far left, then play continues in order.
• All elite creatures of one type are placed as a stack in the lower row (marked by the sword symbol), all basic creatures of one type as a stack in the upper row.
• If there are both basic and elite creatures of the same type, they form a two-part stack together. That is, the stacks are placed in the same column of the initiative track.
• If creature stacks and encounter markers with the same initiative value take part in a battle, you place, alternating, first an encounter marker and then a stack from the active hero's army onto the initiative track, until all markers are placed.
• Don't forget: heroes can attack too. The active hero's hero marker is placed on the initiative track like the other markers.

Example of an initiative track occupied with markers

Creature Stack

In battle, all creature markers of the same type (both basic and elite creatures) attack as one unit, i.e. they form a stack. The attacker receives 1 attack die for every creature in the stack (maximum 5, plus the elite die if available). Damage taken is always assigned to a whole stack and destroys individual creatures from it. It is important to form a two-part stack — separated into basic and elite creatures — they attack simultaneously but have different abilities and can absorb different amounts of damage.

Resolving Battles

A battle consists of several consecutive exchanges of blows. In each exchange of blows, the participating markers attack in order of their initiative (i.e. from left to right on the initiative track). Whenever a creature stack, an encounter marker, or the active hero attacks, proceed as follows:

• Determine number of dice: Every stack gets 1 attack die (d8) per member creature. The active hero has exactly 1 attack die; encounter markers have attack dice equal to their threat value (minus any damage they have already suffered). In general, you can never have more than 5 and never fewer than 1 attack dice (plus, potentially, 1 elite die).
• Roll: The attacker rolls the number of attack dice just determined.
• Evaluate results: The attacker compares his die results to the might value of the attacking marker. If the result is equal to or under this value, the attack is a hit and deals 1 damage to the enemy. A 1 is always an automatic hit, and an 8 is always an automatic miss, regardless of the attacker's might value.
• Assign damage: When damage has been dealt, the defender must immediately assign it to a marker.
• Next attack: After damage has been dealt and markers destroyed if applicable, play continues with the attack of the next marker on the initiative track.

Rerolling Dice

Sometimes you may or must reroll dice. Each die may only be rerolled once per attack. Example: The attacker rolls 4 attack dice (d8) and the elite die (d6). With 4 or less he hits; his die results are: 1, 3, 4, and 7, plus the luck symbol on the elite die. His opponent has the artefact card "Ring of Misfortune," which forces the attacker to reroll all hits. First the attacker rerolls the 7 (because of his rolled luck symbol) and then the 1, 3, and 4 (because of the "Ring of Misfortune"). If the die that originally showed the 7 hits this time, it is not rerolled again.

Assigning Damage

When a hero's army suffers damage, proceed as follows:

• The defender decides which creature stack suffers the damage.
• That stack suffers the full damage of the attack (hits from the d8s + bonus damage from the d6 + any other modifiers).
• Basic creatures are destroyed when they suffer 1 damage. Elite creatures are flipped to their basic side when they suffer 1 damage.
• If the stack has been completely destroyed but damage remains, the defender must designate another stack and assign the remaining damage to it.
• Heroes cannot suffer damage and cannot be destroyed, i.e. you may not deal or assign damage to them.

With encounter markers, assigning damage works a little differently. The defender assigns damage to the encounter marker by placing that many damage markers next to it. Each damage marker reduces the encounter marker's threat value by 1. The encounter marker is destroyed as soon as its threat value is 0.

The Elite Die (d6)

If the attacking creature stack contains at least one elite creature, the controlling player may replace one of his attack dice (d8) with the elite die (d6) when attacking. If the army contains at least one elite creature, the hero may likewise replace one of his attack dice with the elite die.

The controlling player of an encounter marker may also replace one of his attack dice with the elite die, if the encounter marker bears one of the following symbols: (five faction/type symbols).

The elite die does not count as an attack die and therefore does not count toward the maximum of 5 attack dice (i.e. if you would theoretically have 6 or more attack dice, you can use 5 attack dice plus the elite die).

The symbols on the elite die have the following effects:

• Damage (skull): The attacker deals 1 or 2 damage, depending on how many skull symbols the die shows.
• Laurel wreath: The attacker may immediately upgrade 1 creature of the attacking stack to an elite creature, or he receives RAISE DEAD 1. If a hero rolls this result, he may revive any creature from his army. If the result is rolled by the encounter marker's player, he must choose RAISE DEAD 1.
• Luck (horseshoe, gold): The attacker may immediately reroll all missed d8s.
• Bad Luck (horseshoe, dark): The attacker must immediately reroll all d8s that hit.

Reviving Creatures

Sometimes you get the opportunity to bring a destroyed creature back to life. This is called "RAISE DEAD X," where X is the number of raise-dead points. 1 raise-dead point undoes 1 damage suffered. For encounter markers, simply remove that many damage markers. For stacks, only creatures that were destroyed in the current battle can be revived. It is, however, also possible for a basic creature to become an elite creature due to a raise-dead effect.

End of an Exchange of Blows

After all heroes, stacks, and encounter markers have had a chance to attack, the exchange of blows ends. If neither side has been completely destroyed, another exchange of blows begins immediately.

New Exchange of Blows

At the start of every new exchange of blows (after the first), the active player may declare a retreat. Encounter markers never retreat. If the active player remains in the battle, check whether the initiative order has changed due to alternating play or card effects, and adjust the initiative track accordingly if needed. Then the new exchange of blows begins.

Retreat

When the active player declares a retreat, he places his hero marker in his capital. The hero loses 2 creatures from his army (or 1, if he has no more than that). Note: no damage is assigned at this point. The active player simply chooses 2 creature markers and returns them to his reserve. Then the battle ends.

End of a Battle

The active hero wins the battle when all encounter markers, or the enemy's stacks, have been destroyed (i.e. have a threat of 0). If the hero wins, proceed as follows:

• The encounter marker is flipped over and now serves as a trophy. It is placed next to the active hero's hero sheet.
• The active player checks which benefits he gets from the freshly won trophy. The medals in the upper row represent experience points (XP) (spending XP is explained on p. 19); the lower row shows how large the captured treasure is.
• The active player draws the top card from the treasure stack, chooses as many fields on it as there are treasure-chest symbols on the trophy, and receives the corresponding treasures. (The exact procedure for treasure cards is explained on p. 20.)
• The active hero's hero marker is placed back on the space that held the battle marker. All surviving creature markers return to the bottom edge of his hero sheet.

Encounter markers win the battle if the active hero's entire army has been destroyed, or the hero has retreated. If the encounter marker wins, proceed as follows:

• All damage markers are removed from the encounter marker and it returns to the space where the battle took place.
• The marker of the defeated hero returns to his capital.

In every case, the battle marker is removed from the game board after the battle.

Battle Between Two Heroes

A battle between two heroes plays out somewhat differently than a battle between a hero and an encounter marker:

• Each player controls his own hero, including his army.
• If several creature stacks have the same initiative, the initiative value of the heroes decides who may place a stack on the initiative track first. If there is still a tie, the active player has priority, i.e. he places one stack first, then the opposing player. Play alternates like this until all stacks with the same initiative have been placed.
• At the start of every new exchange of blows (after the first), each hero has the option to retreat. The passive player (i.e. the player who is not currently taking his turn) has the first opportunity to retreat. A retreat counts as a defeat.

The winner of the battle draws 1 skill card OR takes 1 artefact card from the defeated hero AND he may take control of locations, e.g. mines or sawmills, of the loser.

• Drawing a skill card: If the winner decides on a skill card, the normal rules for obtaining new skill cards apply; the only difference is that no XP need be spent for this. So the player draws 2 cards, either from his might or his magic deck, decides on 1 of the cards, and discards the other.
• Taking an artefact card: If the defeated hero possesses an artefact card that can be used by the victorious hero, the winner has the option to take that card and place it next to his hero sheet. Since every artefact card is worth 1 VP, the victory-point tracks of both participants must be adjusted accordingly.
• Taking over the loser's locations: If a space controlled by the loser lies within the control zone of the victorious hero, it immediately passes to the winner after the battle. All of the loser's control markers on it are replaced with the winner's control markers, and both players' VP tracks are adjusted accordingly.

Additional Rules for Battle

Heroes, creature stacks, and encounter markers can use a wide variety of abilities, skills, spells, and artefacts in battle. Below is a description of all battle abilities as well as detailed rules for handling scroll, skill, and artefact cards.

Battle Abilities

Some creature and encounter markers show symbols in the lower left. These indicate which abilities are available to the marker in battle.

Note that basic and elite creatures of the same type may have different battle abilities. Where relevant, it is indicated whether a battle ability applies to the whole stack or only to individual creatures.

• Focused Attack: If at least 1 creature of the attacking stack has Focused Attack, the attacker may, before rolling the dice, choose the target of the attack (a specific enemy stack or an encounter marker). The chosen stack is assigned the full damage of the attack. In addition, the attacker may reroll 1 missed d8.
• Defender: If at least 1 creature of a stack has Defender, the entire stack is immune to Focused Attack, i.e. the attacker cannot choose this stack as the target of a focused attack. Nevertheless, the attacker may still reroll 1 die for his focused attack. When retreating, you may sacrifice 1 creature with Defender instead of the normal 2 creatures.
• Resilience: Per resilience symbol, a marker can absorb 1 additional damage without being destroyed. Example: if a creature with 1 resilience symbol suffers 1 damage, a damage marker is placed on it. Only on the second point of damage is it flipped or destroyed. If a marker has 2 resilience symbols, it can hold 2 damage markers and is only flipped or destroyed on the third point of damage. If several creatures with Resilience are in one stack, damage suffered may not be spread evenly among them, but must first be assigned entirely to one creature. Only once that creature is destroyed is remaining damage assigned to a new creature. After the battle, all damage markers on surviving creatures with Resilience are removed.
• Piercing: If at least 1 creature of the attacking stack has Piercing, the defender must ignore the Resilience of his creatures when assigning damage.

The following three abilities occur only on encounter markers:

• Annihilator: The encounter marker deals 2 damage for every hit. Elite die results are still resolved as usual.
• Battle Fury: The encounter marker always has 5 attack dice, regardless of how high its current threat is.
• Regeneration: At the end of every exchange of blows, all damage is removed from the encounter marker. This ability only works as long as the marker has less damage than its threat value.

Skills in Battle

Whenever you obtain a skill card, place it to the right of the hero sheet of the hero who gained the skill. That hero may use the card until the end of the game.

A hero can use various skill cards, as well as the abilities of his artefact and scroll cards. In battle, all of these cards count as skills. When exactly they can be used is noted on the respective card. In case of doubt, the active player's skills take priority.

• Before the Battle means shortly after the battle has been declared, but still before markers are placed on the initiative track.
• At the Start of Battle means after all markers have been placed on the initiative track, but still before the first attack. The target of such skills can be chosen anew in the next exchange of blows.
• In Battle means while the hero is attacking. The skill replaces his regular attack, even if the skill is not itself an attack (e.g. Stoneskin).
• After the Exchange of Blows means after every battle participant has attacked, but before a new exchange of blows begins.
• After the Battle means after the battle has ended, but before markers are removed from the initiative track.

Game End

The game ends immediately when a player reaches an amount of victory points depending on the number of players (2 players = 12 VP; 3 players = 14 VP; 4 players = 16 VP). That player wins the game and thus the throne of Ashan.

Alternatively, the game ends after all week cards have been resolved. In that case, the player with the most victory points at the end of the round wins. In case of a tie, whoever among the tied players has more gold and resources wins. If there is still a tie, the game ends in a draw.

Other Game Rules

Dark Times

When the drawn week card shows the Dark Times symbol, the following rules apply for the round:

In battle, you must always field two encounter markers instead of one. To do this, the additional encounter marker of the matching color is used. It is treated like a second encounter marker with identical values. In other words: the hero must now defeat two encounter markers. When assigning damage, the controlling player must first destroy one encounter marker completely before he can assign damage to the next one. If the active hero loses the battle, only the original encounter marker returns to the game board (even if it was destroyed and the additional encounter marker survived). If the active hero wins, he only receives treasures and XP once — the additional encounter marker is discarded without further effect.

Furthermore, during Dark Times a hero's overwhelm value must be 1 higher in order to rout an encounter marker.

Experience Points (XP) and Leveling Up

In the course of the game, heroes gather experience points (represented by medal symbols on markers and cards). After defeating an encounter marker, flip the marker over and check how much XP the hero receives. The marker is placed as a trophy next to the hero sheet and stays there until you decide to spend the XP to level the hero up. As soon as a hero has gathered enough XP, he may level up immediately. To do so, discard trophy markers with a sufficient number of medal symbols (at least as many medal symbols as required for the level-up).

Treasure cards can also provide XP. If you choose a treasure field with XP, you must spend it immediately — it cannot be kept like a trophy marker. However, a treasure card's XP may be supplemented with trophy markers so that together they are enough for a level-up. Sometimes a trophy shows more XP than needed for the next level-up. In that case, the excess XP paid is lost (there is no "change given"). XP cannot be traded between two heroes. The cost of leveling up is proportional to the number of skill cards the hero already has (see the following table).

Hero Level-Up Table

Number of skill cards	0	1	2	3	4	5	6
XP cost of the new skill	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

As you can see, a level-up always costs the number of skill cards already held, +3 XP. When a hero levels up, you first decide which skill stack (might or magic) you want to draw from, then take 2 cards. You read through both and choose one to place next to the hero sheet. The other goes on the corresponding discard pile.

If a skill deck is empty, shuffle its discard pile and declare it the new skill deck. If the discard pile is also empty, no further cards can be drawn from that skill deck.

Luck

Whenever you receive a luck marker, place it on your hero sheet. After rolling for an attack in battle, you may spend the luck marker to reroll all missed attack dice or the elite die (if it was used in that attack). A luck marker can also be spent to negate the elite die's Bad Luck result. In that case, no reroll takes place.

Trading

When you have built a marketplace in your capital, you can do the following:

• While performing an action, you may exchange gold and resources at will in a 2:1 ratio (e.g. you place 4 gold in the general supply and take 2 resources for yourself).
• Heroes can sell their scroll cards in the capital. To do so, discard the scroll card and take gold equal to the scroll's level.

Using Card Effects

Golden Rule: If the text of a skill, artefact, or scroll card contradicts this rulebook, the card text always takes priority.

Normally, card texts describe precisely when and how they can be used (for timing conflicts, proceed as described on p. 18). Special game terms are usually not spelled out but represented by signs and symbols, as they also appear on markers and the game board.

Here follows a detailed description of the different card types and their effects.

Skill Cards

Skill cards are divided into might cards and magic cards.

• Might symbol
• Magic symbol

Every skill card from the might and magic decks has:

1. A name
2. A reputation symbol
3. Two different abilities: a primary one (upper section) and a secondary one (lower section)

The primary ability can be used by any hero who owns the skill card. The secondary ability is only available to heroes whose hero sheet shows the matching might/magic school symbol.

If the secondary ability begins with the word OR, you must decide between the two abilities (usually the secondary one is stronger). If it begins with the word AND, however, you may use both abilities.

Scroll Cards

These cards represent the heroes' spells. A hero's scroll cards are kept face down next to his hero sheet. To use a scroll card, the hero's magic value must be at least as high as the scroll's level. All other card elements correspond to those of a skill card.

Scroll cards can only be used once — afterward they go on a discard pile next to the scroll deck. If the scroll deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile and declare it the new scroll deck.

The magic value states the maximum number of scroll cards a hero may hold. To draw another scroll card, the controlling player must first discard a scroll card of his choice.

Treasure Cards

Treasure cards symbolize the loot and trophies that a hero finds or can claim in battle. When you draw a treasure card, you normally do not get its entire contents, but must choose a part of it. Treasure cards are divided into four fields. When you may draw a treasure card after defeating an encounter marker, the number of treasure-chest symbols on the marker indicates how many fields of the treasure card you get. With multiple treasure-chest symbols you may freely choose the fields, but each field only once.

When defeating an ordinary encounter marker, you may not choose a field with an artefact card; instead, you must choose one of the other three fields.

After exploring a location with a treasure-chest symbol (dragon shrine), you draw 1 treasure card and choose one of its four fields. The same applies if you decide on the treasure card after exploring a dragon vein.

Artefact Cards

Artefacts are immensely powerful magical items that heroes find in the course of the game. Every artefact card has:

1. A name
2. A reputation symbol
3. One of five categories: clothing, armor, weapon, jewelry, or item. This is followed by:
4. A description of the card's ability

Each hero may have a maximum of 1 artefact card per category. Furthermore, every artefact card is worth 1 VP. This is credited immediately upon receiving the artefact card, but can also be taken back if the hero loses the artefact card — the victory-point track must be adjusted with every gain or loss of an artefact card.

If a hero receives an artefact card of a category he already has one of, he must decide between the new card and his existing one. The other card goes to the matching discard pile. You must immediately check whether this changes the hero's values. The player's VP total remains unchanged, since he simultaneously gained one artefact card and lost another.

Overwhelm Markers

Sometimes a hero and his army are so fearsome that they rout an encounter marker without so much as raising a weapon. This is called overwhelming. A hero's overwhelm value is tracked using special markers on his hero sheet. The following factors each increase a hero's overwhelm value by 1:

• The hero's army contains at least 9 creatures of any kind.
• The hero's army contains at least 1 elite creature with might 5 (recruitable from capital level IV onward).
• The hero has the "Forced Attack" skill.
• The hero possesses the artefact card "Gauntlet of the Giant Slayer."

Before a battle takes place between a hero and an encounter marker, it is checked whether the hero's overwhelm value is sufficient to rout the enemy. The required value depends on the type of encounter marker:

• To rout Ordinary Encounters (yellow), the active hero needs OVERWHELM 2.
• To rout Dangerous Encounters (purple), the active hero needs OVERWHELM 3.
• To rout Legendary Encounters (gold), the active hero needs OVERWHELM 4.

If the encounter marker is overwhelmed and routed, it is immediately removed from the game board. The active player receives the treasures shown on the marker, but not the marker itself (i.e. no XP for his hero). If the encounter marker was not overwhelmed, battle takes place as usual. The active player cannot voluntarily choose to fight a battle instead (e.g. to gather XP) if his hero's overwhelm value is enough to rout the encounter marker.

Enemies

Some rules, abilities, and cards — especially those relating to battles — use the term "enemy" or "hostile." This refers to all markers that you do not control yourself (e.g. encounter markers on the game board, as well as the hero markers, creature markers, control markers, and capitals of your opponents).

Tips for Beginners

Look closely at the 3-4 surrounding spaces when choosing your capital's location. It's important that your hero takes over a sawmill, gold mine, mine, or dragon shrine in the first few turns. These are the most important locations on the game board.

When choosing your starting hero, think carefully about which path you want to follow — that of raw might, or that of subtle magic.

In your first game, choose a hero with high Leadership.

At the start, it's advisable to first build buildings and recruit creatures. Wait to move and fight battles until at least your third action.

Buildings that produce additional gold or resources are especially useful. The marketplace is a good choice right after that, as it gives you an extra action card.

Attacks on encounter markers should be planned carefully. Start with the weakest (yellow) markers, and only attack stronger enemies once you have built up and upgraded your army.

Don't hesitate to retreat if a battle looks hopeless. The creatures you save today may ensure your survival tomorrow.

Always remember to use all the abilities of your heroes and creatures.

It's always good to have at least one luck marker in reserve — there are situations where it's indispensable.

Always check the effects of the current week card before you take on encounter markers. In some rounds, even weak encounters can be nearly unbeatable.

Before attacking another player, you should make sure you have the larger army and that he can't surprise you with scrolls (for important battles, it's a good idea to keep the "Dispel" card on hand).

Nothing is more profitable than attacking another hero. Take over as many of his locations as possible (e.g. mines) when you defeat him.

If you lose a battle against an enemy hero, you shouldn't immediately launch a revenge campaign. Instead, gather your strength and attack him later — at a suitable moment.

GOOD LUCK, YOUNG HERO!

Credits

Author: Marcin Tomczyk Rulebook: Marcin Tomczyk, Tomasz Majkowski Graphic Design & Layout: Axel and Honeyflavour

All graphics and illustrations are taken from the PC game Might & Magic Heroes VI.

English Editing: Transdesign Marek Mydel Publisher: Axel Editing: Axel Dice: Q-Workshop Playtesters: Maurycy Tomczyk, Jakub Swierczek, Jecek Bochon, Tomasz Gorczyca, Marek Tabor, Jakub Jamrozik, Tomasz Majkowski, Marek Mydel, Piotr Stankiewicz, as well as the participants of many board game meetups, conventions, fairs, and other events.

Acknowledgments: The author thanks everyone who helped him in the development of this game, especially Jerzy Malina, Daniel Malina, all the staff of Axel, Slawek Wozniczka of Ubisoft Polska, and everyone else whose inspiration and support made the game what it is today.

Official Website: www.heroes.axel.pl

© 2013 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Might & Magic, Heroes, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Description of the Game Board

Terrain Features on the Game Board

Open Space: These spaces can be passed through unhindered. The illustrations (forests, rivers, deserts, etc.) have no effect on game mechanics. For simplicity, all spaces that do not count as open spaces are marked with symbols. To travel from one space to an adjacent one, a hero must spend 1 MP.

• Water: This space is impassable for heroes.
• Harbor: From a harbor space, a hero can cross water spaces. If the active hero begins his movement on a harbor space, he can move across water spaces, but may not end his movement on one. He may end his movement on another harbor space.
• Mountain: This space is impassable for heroes.
• Encounter Symbols: Encounter markers are placed on these spaces during setup. The arrow shows which space the encounter marker guards. The color of the marker indicates the difficulty of the encounter (yellow, purple, gold).

Game Board Locations

• Sawmill: The controlling player receives 1 VP. Whenever he performs the GATHER RESOURCES action, he receives 3 resources.
• Mine: The controlling player receives 2 VP. Whenever he performs the GATHER RESOURCES action, he receives 2 resources.
• Arcane Library: When a hero explores this space, he may immediately draw 1 scroll card.
• Stable: When a hero explores this space, he may immediately perform another movement action (the hero is effectively activated a second time).
• Arena: When a hero explores this space, he may immediately recruit up to 3 creatures for his army. These must belong to the hero's faction, but are not restricted by his capital level.
• Crystal Cavern: The controlling player receives 3 VP. Whenever he performs the GATHER RESOURCES action, he receives 1 resource.
• Gold Mine: Whenever the controlling player performs the GATHER RESOURCES action, he receives 4 gold.
• Armorsmith: When a hero explores this space, he can upgrade all basic creatures in his army to elite creatures.
• Dragon Nexus: The controlling player receives 4 VP.
• Weaponsmith: When a hero explores this space, he draws 1 artefact card.
• Crystal of Revelation: When a hero explores this space, he receives 2 VP.
• Dragon Vein: When a hero explores this space, he may search the discard piles of the treasure, scroll, and artefact cards for a card of his choice.
• Stone of Enlightenment: When a hero explores this space, he immediately levels up, without needing to spend XP for it.
• Portal: Heroes can move directly from their capital onto this space (and vice versa), as long as their player has built the town portal.
• Dragon Shrine: When a hero explores this space, he draws 1 treasure card.