Towers in Time Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• You start the game by:
  • Pre-game setup
  • Sequence of play
  • Winning the Game
• Anatomy of a card
• Attributes
• Abilities
• Creatures
• Objects
• Spells
• Status
• Abilities
• Regular Actions
• Free Actions
• Playing Field (Domain)
• Combat
  • Rules of Combat
• Taking Down Shields
• Multi-Player Rules
• Other Terms

Game Overview

Each Wizard (Player) begins the game by placing the first five playing cards face up at the top of the playing area, called the Domain. This represents the five magical shields that allow you to travel through time and place. During the game, your opponents will try to attack and defeat your armies and take down your shields.

So, to keep this from happening, each Wizard begins to build powerful towers from elemental sources. Each Source can hold one tower and each tower can hold three creatures or artifacts. As each Wizard plays more elemental sources, he can make more towers for defense or attack. Once a tower is full it is considered Empowered and gives all creatures inside a +1 Attack and a +1 Defense. Therefore, the first Wizard to build his forces, hold off his opponent, and destroy the other Wizard's shields, wins.

As simple as this may sound, destroying an enemy in a few turns is difficult, if not impossible. Towers in Time was designed to be a building game. Every card depends on another card, and so-on. Also, remember that some creatures have ranged attacks and some also have alignment; both add a whole new dimension to play. So, strap yourself in and get ready to take a trip through Towers in Time!

You start the game by:

Each opponent should make up a deck of at least 50 cards. In competition you may have no more than 4 of each card. In friendly games their are no limits. After you and your opponent make up decks and shuffle them well, cut each others decks and begin the game.

Pre-game setup

1. Create your shields. Deal five cards randomly off the top of your deck and lay them across the top of your playing field. These are your shields. As creatures get through your defenses, they will bring down your shields. When your shields are all gone, your opponent has collapsed the dimension and you lose the game.

2. Draw 14 cards. If you do not have at least two sources, you may reshuffle your deck and draw again.

3. Put eight cards down on the playing field. You must follow these rules:

   • You may put creatures, items, or artifacts directly into play.
   • You may not play any spells.
   • You may not put a Median creature in a tower that does not have a Minor creature.
   • You may not put a Major creature in a tower that does not have a Median creature.
   • You may put creatures, items, and artifacts in limbo.
   • If you have more than six cards that you cannot place on the field, you must discard down to six.

   These cards represent your starting forces. These are forces that were in your domain when the battle started.

4. Proceed in the normal sequence of play. The player that has the creature with the highest attack value begins the game. If they tie go to the next highest attack, etc.. If they tie to the last creature, flip a coin.

Sequence of play

Note that both players follow this sequence at the same time. There are no separate turns.

1. Beginning Phase: Straighten all sapped and taxed cards.
2. Maintenance Phase: Pay maintenance cost on any sustained spells that require it. Any spells that you do not properly maintain, remove from play.
3. Draw Phase: Both players draw a card.
4. Action Phase: The player whose turn it is makes an action. If the player does not wish to make an action, he passes by saying "Pass." Now the other player may take a regular action. If she does not wish to take an action she passes by saying "Pass." This continues back and forth until both players pass or one player passes three times in a row. The turn ends, both players discard down to six cards and play resumes at the beginning phase. The player who ended the turn by passing, now goes last when the turn begins again.

Winning the Game

Play continues until one player loses all of his shields. Once all of your opponent's shields are destroyed, he is banished from your domain and you win the game.

Anatomy of a card

You must first learn to understand the information provided on each card. This may seem confusing at first, but it is really quite simple.

The card diagram is titled "Anatomy of a Towers in Time Card" and labels these parts:

• Name
• Attributes
• Abilities
• Picture
• Card Text
• Artist's Name
• Card Number

Attributes

Look at the four glyphs (symbols) that appear to the right of the name of the card. These glyphs describe the attributes: how much temper a card produces, how much temper a card costs to play, and what its attack and defensive values are.

Temper produced: Temper is energy produced by a creature or object. Temper is the energy that flows through all things. This magical energy or mana can be used to do your bidding.

There are six schools of magic: Air, Earth, Fire, Water which derive their temper from the elements; White magic which derives temper from non-living sources; and Black magic which derives its temper from living sources. For example, a card with a Fire background produces Fire temper, Air cards produce Air temper, etc. Living temper is produced by creatures; Non-living temper is produced by sources that are not alive, such as clouds or mountains.

Some cards have no element in their background, and are called neutral cards. Neutral cards that produce temper do so according to these rules.

1. A neutral card (i.e. a spell, totem, or item) that is played on another card generates the same element and temper as the card on which it is played.
2. A neutral card played in a tower generates the same element and temper of the source.

Cost to play: This is the temper cost for playing a card. On a spell, it is the cost to cast it, and all of the temper must come from the correct element. You will know the element required by looking at the background on the card. Air spells must have air temper to cast, and so on.

On a creature or object, the temper cost provides the energy to transport it. Again, you must use the correct element of temper. A Fire card can only use Fire temper to transport. Neutral cards can use any school to transport. However, the source of a Tower must be used to transport into a Tower. If the cost to play symbol does not appear on the card it may be transported for free as a regular action (ie: sources).

Attack: This is the amount of damage the card deals in combat. The attack attribute comes from a combination of weapons, skill, strategy, guidance, and internal essence of the creature. Other cards played on the creature (spells, Totems, or Items) may increase its attack value. Add all attack values together to get the final attack value for the creature.

In example 1.1, if the Orc Boar Riders have a Snake Totem, a Flaming Sword and a Wand of Lightning, they would have a total attack of 10 and their attacks count as Fire elemental effects and Air elemental effects. Unless a creature is Immune to both, it will take full damage from the Orcs.

1.1: You should note that in the above example, although there are four cards present there is only one creature, the Orc Boar Riders. The Snake Totem and all Items are considered part of the Orcs. Unless specifically stated on a card, you may not target Totems or Items that have been added to another card. The Orc and all of its modifiers are considered one card, so all cards are discarded if you kill the Orcs.

Example cards (attribute values as printed, in glyph order: temper produced, cost to play, attack, defense): Wand of Lightning 0-4-3-0; Flaming Sword 0-2-3-0; Snake 1-2-1-1; Orc Boar Rider 2-4-3-3.

Defense: This is the creature's ability to take damage. Be sure to add all defenses from any other cards played on the creature. In the above example, the Orcs get a +1 defense bonus from their Snake Totem, for a total defense of 4.

If a creature takes enough damage to reduce it to zero defense, it is dead. In some cases, spells or other modifiers may reduce a creature's defense below zero, but a creature is never killed by modifiers alone. Until it takes at least 1 point of damage it is still alive.

A variable-value symbol (a row of four symbols) represents a variable value. The actual value will be described in the card text.

Abilities

The next set of glyphs you should learn to recognize. They define in more detail the specific abilities of each card. These glyphs, or symbols, appear right below the name of the card.

The first glyph identifies what the card is. All of the cards will begin with either a creature glyph, an object glyph, or a spell glyph.

If the first glyph is a creature, it will be immediately followed by a Status glyph (Minor, Median, or Major) which is then followed by the creature's abilities and available actions. Some cards will have many glyphs, whereas some will have only a few. Be sure that you understand what each glyph signifies. The better you know these glyphs, the better you will play the game.

Creatures

There are three types of creatures, each represented by its own glyph. They are:

• Followers: These are creatures such as men-at-arms or cavalry that are blindly loyal to you, so loyal that they allow you to transport them to other dimensions to do battle for you. Followers are the only creatures that can hold items or have Totems. Like all creatures, they have a status: Minor, Median or Major. Followers produce living temper of their own element.

• Totems: These are usually animals that can either be transported to a Tower as a Minor creature, or given to a Follower. If given to a follower, the follower gains all the benefits of the totem. Simply add all of the glyphs of the totem to those of the follower.

  For Example: A Dwarf with a Wolverine Totem would be equivalent to a single creature whose glyphs show 4 and 3. Note that this now counts as 1 creature. (The individual attribute glyphs of the Dwarf and Wolverine are not legible in the scan, so only the combined result is given here.)

  For taking down shields, totems add to their follower. Thus, a Median follower with a Minor totem counts as a Median and a Minor for the purposes of destroying a shield. (For more information, see Status below.) Totems produce living temper of the element of their follower. If they are not with a follower they produce living temper of the element of their source.

• Monsters: These creatures are bound, summoned or bribed by you to do your bidding. Monsters cannot hold items. They are either Minor, Median, or Major. They produce living temper of their own element.

Objects

There are also three types of objects: sources, items, and artifacts.

• Sources: You must have a source at the base of every tower. It is a regular action to put a source in play. These cards produce non-living temper appropriate to their element. Fire sources produce fire temper, water sources produce water temper etc.. If a source produces more than one type of temper, you may draw either type from it. If it produces fire temper and water temper and is the Source for a Water Tower you may still draw fire temper from it. Also remember that neutral cards produce the element of temper from the Source of their Tower. Thus, a neutral barbarian in a fire Tower produces fire temper. The same barbarian on a Hot Springs Source produces either fire or water temper.

• Items: These are carried by followers. Any glyphs that appear on the Item may be added to the follower. The same is true of temper, attack, and defense. The follower adds the numbers from the glyphs on the Item to his statistics.

  If an Item also produces a special effect, the follower may activate it instead of using it in combat. For example, a Follower carrying a Wand of Fire is assumed to use it in combat, and his attack is raised by 2. However, the same Follower could stay safely behind the lines and just fire the wand across the walls. In this case he could do 2 damage to any vulnerable target with it's ranged attack.

  A follower may only use two items at any given time, although he may hold as many as you want to give him. So, a Knight may have a Wand of Lightning, a Sword of Swiftness, and a Bow of the Glade, but only two are available to him.

• Artifacts: Followers may not hold artifacts. They may only be placed in a tower where they will take up one of the spaces. They are either Minor, Median, or Major. Artifacts with a defense may attack and defend as creatures. You may kill or destroy such an Artifact in the same way as creatures.

  Many artifacts have special powers that require an action to use.

Spells

All spells have a casting cost (in temper): Air temper for Air spells, Earth for Earth, Fire for Fire, Water for Water, Living for Black, and Non-living for White. There are two types of spells: Instant and Sustained.

Instant Spells: These spells may be cast as an action and their effects last for an entire turn. As always, remember that you must have the appropriate temper to cast any spell. Spells that do direct damage to a creature or object deliver it in the phase you use them.

Sustained Spells: These are enchantments that may remain in play beyond the turn in which they were cast. Sustained spells may require you to spend temper on them every turn. A spell requires this maintenance cost if there is a cost after the Sustained spell symbol in the glyphs (i.e. the sustained spell glyph followed by a temper glyph showing 1). At the beginning of the turn, after you draw your card, you may use free actions to draw temper from your domain and pay the maintenance. If you do not pay the temper to maintain the spell, it is removed from play. You must use temper from the proper school. You must spend fire temper for fire spells, living temper for Black spells, Non-living temper for White spells, etc. If you cast an enchantment on a target, any glyphs on the spell card are added to the target of the spell. If the spell has attack and defense values, add them to the target. These added glyphs last as long as the spell remains in effect.

Status

There are three levels of status:

• It takes four Minor creatures to bring down a Shield.
• It takes two Median creatures to bring down a Shield.
• It takes one Major creature to bring down a Shield.

Thus 4 Minor = 2 Median = 1 Major creature.

Remember that a Tower must contain a Minor creature before you can transport a Median creature into that Tower. You must have a Median to transport a Major. Thus, a Tower can never contain more than two Medians or more than one Major.

Abilities

After the glyphs that identify the card, you will see some others that identify a creature's abilities and the types of actions it may take.

Note: the glyph numbers printed in the rules' combat examples are not legible in the scan. Where an example depends on them, the example is given in words below.

Fast: If you use a Fast creature to attack, it receives an additional action after the attack phase. It may not attack again but may take any other action available to it.

Quick: A Quick creature is at an advantage in combat. Damage from combat is normally resolved simultaneously; but a Quick creature actually damages its opponent before its opponent has a chance to strike back. An opponent's creature, ally, etc., cannot return damage if you do enough damage to kill it.

For example: You have your Dwarf Riflemen souped up to a Quick creature. They are fighting a Water Elemental. Because the Dwarves are quick they deal their 4 points of damage to the Elemental before the Elemental can fight back, and the Elemental dies. If the Dwarves were not quick, then the Elemental would still take 4 damage— but it would survive long enough to strike its blow, and both would die simultaneously.

Magical Attack: The creature's attacks are considered magical. Magical attacks are the only attacks that will affect certain creatures.

Regenerate: You may spend temper to regenerate any creature with this ability. The temper spent must be of the appropriate type. A fire creature must have fire temper to regenerate. A Black creature must have living temper to regenerate. Regenerated creatures get all of their defense back. Unless specifically stated otherwise, a creature may regenerate at any time, as long as you have the temper to pay for it. If there is no temper symbol after the regeneration symbol, then it costs nothing to regenerate. Killed creatures may regenerate, destroyed creatures may not. Regeneration counts as a regular action, but it may be done even if the card is taxed.

Fly: A creature that can Fly may attack and defend from the air. Only other Flyers can defend against flying creatures. Creatures with ranged attacks may shoot at flying creatures. You do not have to Fly if you do not want to. Creatures that can Fly are flying unless you state otherwise. Once you state that a creature is not flying you cannot change your mind. It is on the ground until the end of the phase.

For Example: you attack with a Major Air elemental. Your opponent has no flying creatures. Despite your opponent's ground forces, you may Fly across the battlefield and bring down a Shield without stopping. On the other hand, your opponent may have Ranged attacks to shoot down your Air elemental— a Stone Giant hurling rocks for 4 damage, perhaps. Your Elemental dies in the air and plummets to the ground before reaching the Shields.

Ranged Attack: A Ranged attack allows you to pick a vulnerable target and do damage equal to the strength of the attack (ie. a ranged attack that does 2 damage). Unless otherwise specified you may only fire Ranged attacks at vulnerable targets. Of course, firing a Ranged attack makes a creature vulnerable. Using a ranged attack is a regular action.

Army: Creatures with this ability may attack in groups. Creatures with the Army ability are trained to form up into units and march into battle. Units in danger may be reinforced or change their formations when they reach an enemy. To account for this, when creatures attack or defend as an Army and receive damage as a result of combat, you decide how to apply the damage. You must, however, apply all the damage. This will sometimes kill some of the creatures in the Army. There are some restrictions. Good creatures cannot be in an army with Evil creatures, and vice versa.

For Example: You attack with an Army of Dwarves: a Dwarf, a Dwarf, and a Dwarf. Your opponent defends with an Air Elemental. All creatures deal their damage— a total of 6 points on your side and 4 on his. Because your Dwarves are formed up into an Army, you decide where to apply all the damage. So, you apply 1 point to the first Dwarf, 2 points to the second Dwarf and, 1 point to the third Dwarf, killing him but sparing your two more powerful creatures. You must use all the damage but you may apply it where you like. You may also apply ranged attack damage this way.

Instant effect: If this glyph appears on the card, it has an ability that requires an action. If the card has an ability in the description and the card does not have this symbol, then the ability is always available. Using an instant effect is a regular action.

For Example: Your Great Strategist has this glyph. You may, at your option, use his special power to move all of your creatures, objects and Items. The Great Strategist may not make another action this turn.

Paralyze: If you use this ability the target may not make an action until next turn. Paralyzed creatures with the Fast ability may take no actions until next turn. You do not need a vulnerable target, but you become a vulnerable target after you use this ability. Using this power is a regular action.

You cannot use Paralyze to keep a creature from doing something after he has already declared it. For example, you cannot choose to paralyze a creature after it has attacked. The creature still gets to attack. However, it cannot make another action until next turn.

Invisibility: Invisible creatures cannot be targeted by Minor creatures or Followers. Median and Major creatures are unaffected by invisibility.

Wall: Walls are sustained spells which in some way fortify a tower. All creatures in a tower will receive the benefit of the wall as long as all criteria are met.

Gate: A gate is a source that has some special ability associated with it. In most cases, using a gate destroys the tower which is built upon it and destroys everything that was in the tower. Gates provide Temper from all four elements and are played like Sources.

Regular Actions

These actions all use up your creature's action until the next turn (exception: Fast creatures). In a regular turn the players take turns making regular actions with their creatures and objects. After each regular action you take, your opponent may take a regular action. Once you declare an action, it cannot be revoked or interrupted.

Most regular actions require you to use a card. When you use it, you turn it sideways or mark it with a counter so you can remember that it may not make another action this turn. This is called Taxing a card and has no other function except to identify that that card has been used.

Moving a creature or artifact: This takes a regular action and the creature cannot act for the rest of the turn. You may move a creature to a different tower. The Tower must be of the proper element and may not have creatures of a different element already in it. When moving a creature it is not necessary to follow the status rules. You may move a Median creature into a tower that does not have a Minor creature, even though you could not transport him there. It must still sit in the proper position. (ie. Majors in the top of a tower, and Medians in the top two positions.)

Moving an Item: This costs the Follower who receives the Item a regular action and taxes him until the next turn.

Moving a Totem: The creature that receives the Totem must take an action, and the Totem itself is also considered to have taken an action. The Totem can be moved to a position of its own.

Attacking: An attack takes one regular action, and creatures attack one at a time (exception: Armies). Creatures are considered to have taken their action as soon as you announce the attack. When you attack, a special combat phase starts (see Combat.)

Defending: Defending with a creature takes a regular action. Creatures are considered to have taken their action as soon as you announce they will defend. You may defend with more than one creature, but your opponent may apply the damage however he likes.

Transporting: By paying the cost in the cost to play symbol, you may transport a creature or object into your domain. You obtain the temper from Sapping your creatures and sources for the amount of temper listed in the temper produced symbol. Remember that you must always use temper of the appropriate type: If a creature or object is a fire card, you may only use fire temper to bring it into play. Note that objects do not require a specific element of temper, but must still sap enough Sources or tax enough cards to bring it into play.

You must put a creature or object in Limbo before you may transport it. If Limbo is full, you must make room before you can move a creature from your hand into Limbo.

When you bring a card into play from Limbo, you must place it in the Tower where the temper was produced. So, if the Source of a Tower is already sapped, you may not bring anything into that Tower that turn. If you have no Sources available, you may not transport.

Free Actions

These are actions that do not "use up" a your action [sic] for the turn. You may take as many free actions as you like, as long as it is your turn to make actions. Free actions cannot affect your opponent. Free actions include:

Dropping a spell: Terminating a spell is a free action and can be done at any time.

Put a card in Limbo: All transporting is done through Limbo. You can put a creature into Limbo at any time, but remember that Limbo cannot hold more than six cards. If Limbo is full, you cannot transport creatures and objects out of your hand.

Sapping Temper from a Creature or Source: Remember that each of your Sources and Creatures can only be used once per turn. Once they have produced temper they cannot produce temper again or make another action until the beginning of the next turn. After a Source has produced temper, you mark it some way so you will know you have used it. The most convenient way is to turn your card sideways (called Sapping a Source). At the beginning of your turn always straighten any sapped Sources to show that they are ready to be sapped again.

Maintaining spells: During the Maintenance phase spend the temper to maintain your spells. If you do not, the Sustained spells are gone and immediately removed from play.

Playing Field (Domain)

The playing field diagram is labeled as follows: Shields (a single row of five cards); Major, Median, or Minor (the top row of the tower positions); Median, or Minor (the second row); Minor (the third row); Sources (the bottom row); Towers (the row of towers across the field); Limbo (a block of six cards beside the field); Discard; and Deck.

Combat

Creatures may initiate the combat phase by declaring an attack as their action. When this happens the normal sequence of play stops and does not resume until after the combat phase is ended. At which time play resumes with the next player taking their regular action. Combat follows these rules:

Rules of Combat

• Any creature that participates in the combat or affects the other side in any way becomes vulnerable.
• Attacking and defending creatures remain vulnerable until the combat phase ends.
• Creatures that are not attacking or defending remain vulnerable until your opponent has an action to target them. They then remain vulnerable only if you take an action with them or affect them in some way.
• Empowerment or other bonuses that are in place at the beginning of the combat phase, last until the end of the combat phase.
• Every action you make during a combat phase must affect the combat.
• You may not move a creature or object during combat.
• You may not transport during a combat.
• During a combat phase each player makes as many regular actions as he chooses. However, he may not interrupt the opponent. You should make all the actions you wish and then announce that it is your opponents turn to make an action.
• Creatures that are killed or destroyed in combat must be saved immediately or removed from play. If you announce that it is your opponents turn to make an action and they are still dead, it's too late to save them now, take them out of play.
• Combat may be ended by either player. They simply pass instead of taking an action.

Example: Player 1 attacks with a Major Earth Elemental while Player 2 Defends with a Minor Earth Elemental. Player 2 knows that Earth Elementals will not hurt each other so he also fires three Dwarf Catapults at the Major Earth Elemental, doing 6 damage. All three Dwarves are now vulnerable. Player 1 must either save his Elemental or remove it. Player 1 uses his Healers to prevent 5 damage to the Elemental and presses the combat by shooting one of the Dwarf Catapults with his Elven Bowmen doing 4 damage. Player 1's Elven bowmen and Healers are now vulnerable. Player 2 must either save his dwarf catapult which has taken enough damage to kill it or remove it. He decides to let the Dwarves die and removes them from play. He then uses his elves to shoot their wand of lightning at Player 1's healers The other two Dwarf catapults that have participated are no longer vulnerable. Player 1 decides to end the combat. So he passes instead of making an action.

Taking Down Shields

In order to take down a shield you must get a Major creature, or its equivalent, through your opponents defenses. The creature must not be blocked and must be alive at the end of the combat phase. You may get multiple creatures through in a single turn. These are cumulative for taking down shields. However, shields return to full strength at the end of the turn.

Multi-Player Rules

Towers in Time multi-player rules follow the same sequence as the standard rules with two exceptions:

1. Any action that affect another players initiates a sub-phase. During this sub-phase, the affected player has an opportunity to react. The initial player then gets to react to that reaction, and so forth until either player decides to end the phase. The play then resumes as normal.

2. Combat: When a player initiates combat, he announces that he is sending his creature or army into the nexus. Each player then chooses if and how he will defend against the attack (thus taxing that creature). A player may choose to send a creature to defend another player's shield. Once all players have announced their defense, the attacker chooses which shield to attack. The combat phase begins between the attacker and his chosen defender. No one else is able to participate in combat (unless their creature was defending the attacked shield). Once combat is resolved, play continues as normal.

For Example: John transports in a Dwarven militia. This does not affect another player, so his action is complete and it's the next players turn. On her action, Mary casts Disrupt Transport on John's newly transported Militia. Since the spell affects John, he has the opportunity to react. He cast a Dispel. Mary is unable to directly affect the action so she passes and ends her action phase. Alex announces that he is sending his Major Mjorn Fire Elemental into the nexus. John defends with his Dwarven Militia while Mary sends a Median Mjorn Water Elemental to protect her shields. Alex decides to send his Elemental at John's shields and a combat phase involving Alex and John. The Fire Elemental kills the Dwarves without taking enough damage kill itself, so John finishes it off with an Assault of Stone. Alex passes and ends combat. Then John passes, Mary passes, and Alex passes, ending the turn.

Other Terms

Fire magic is the most destructive. Fire creatures must be played where a fire Source is present. Typically, creatures aligned with fire are destructive and war like.

Water magic is the basis of life. Without it no creature could exist. Water creatures usually cannot survive unless constantly surrounded by water.

Earth magic is the strongest magic, the magic of fortitude and stability. Earth creatures know the secrets of metals and rocks, and tend to be tougher than most.

Air Magic is the most delicate magic, yet the most versatile. Its pervading nature symbolizes wisdom, while its turbulent side symbolizes foolishness. Air magic is the essence of many unpredictable creatures.

Black Magic represents the foulest of powers. (The raven serves as the glyph of Black magic.) Black magic draws its energy directly from the essence of living beings. Only temper generated from a living creature can fuel Black magic. Fortunately, living temper is easy to find, so Black magic is often chosen by those seeking the quick path to power. Anything produced by Black magic is by its nature evil. White magic and Back magic [sic] may not be in the same tower. Black may not use non-living temper (temper sapped from an Object). Thus, you can only bring it into play by sapping temper from creatures. On the other hand, Black creatures may be placed in a Tower without having to sap the Source. Unless specified on the card, Black creatures lose the powers they had in life and take on the characteristics on the the [sic] Black card.

White Magic is the purest form of magic. (The white dove glyph represents this type of magic.) White magic respects life, and may never be used with temper drawn from living creatures. It takes more time to develop powerful White magic, but the rewards of patience are great. Those that follow the White path are by their nature good. White magic and Back magic [sic] may not be in the same tower. White may not use living temper (temper taxed from creatures). Thus, you may only bring White into play by using temper from Objects.

Immunity: If a creature is Immune to certain effects, then it will not take damage from those effects, and it cannot be the target of cards that use those effects.

For example, the Order of Light are Immune to Evil. Any creature that bears the Raven symbol will not be able to target them or damage them in any way. However, this does not prevent the Order of Light from being blocked.

Some creatures are Immune to certain attacks. If a description says a card is Immune to Fire elemental effects, then any creature or spell that has that fire glyph will not affect this creature. This does not mean that it is Immune to any fire card, only those that carry the Fire elemental effects glyph. Also some Items and Totems add glyphs to Followers. If the Follower now has the glyph, then they do not affect the Immune creature.

Diffuse: Some creatures become diffused if they are forced to leave the Tower, are removed from a source, or forced to live on a source that does not match their element. NOTE: Players may not voluntarily move creatures to a tower that is not their element. A diffused creature is not only vulnerable at all times, it decreases in power and has -1 attack, -1 defense and -1 temper produced.

Targeting: You may only target vulnerable creatures. There are exceptions, such as special cards that can target even non-vulnerable creatures, or cards that can even target objects. The few exceptions that may exist will be noted on the cards themselves.

Empowered: All full Towers are empowered. This means that all the creatures in the Tower matching the element of the Source receive a bonus of +1 to their attack and defense values. All bonuses from empowerment last until the end of the phase. In some cases it is even possible for some creatures to be Double Empowered.

Example: Your Elf Prince (a neutral creature) is in a Tower with an Elf Scout (a neutral creature) and Sea Elf Marines (water creatures). The Tower is full, and built on a water source, so every water creature in the Tower is at +1 attack and +1 defense. Furthermore, as a special ability, the Elf Prince empowers the other Elves. Now, the Scouts are empowered because of the Elf Prince, but not by the Tower because they are not water creatures. The Elf Prince cannot empower himself, and he is not empowered by the Tower because he is a neutral creature. On the other hand, the Sea Elf Marines are water creatures, so they receive a bonus from the Tower and from the Elf Prince. In all, the Elf Prince gets no bonuses, the Elf Scout is empowered, and the Sea Elf Marines are double empowered.

If your opponent's sneaky Goblin Archers fill your Elf Prince full of arrows during combat, the rest of your empowered Elves still receive their bonus from the Elf Prince until the end of the phase.

Vulnerable: Any action taken by a creature to affect your opponents makes it vulnerable. Because your creatures are safely behind the walls of your Towers, they cannot be affected by the enemy unless they first expose themselves to attack. Fortunately, you only make your creatures vulnerable when they take an action against your opponent, so choose your actions carefully. If a creature does something to make itself vulnerable, it is vulnerable until the end of the current phase.

Example: You are attacking with Barbarians and your opponent shoots them with a catapult and kills them. Now, your other creatures have the option of shooting back at the catapult because it has become vulnerable by shooting at you. Of course if your elf Follower shoots his bow at the catapult, he also becomes vulnerable. In all instances, you cannot revoke your actions. Once your creature becomes vulnerable, all it can do is grit its teeth and hope to survive to the end of the phase.

Shields: Before the game starts, deal all of the Shields face up. As you bring Shields down, your opponent discards them. You win once you have made your opponent discard all of his Shields.

As a regular action, you may pull down one of your own Shields and immediately put the card in play with no cost. This will cause you to lose a Shield. If the card that you take out of your Shield has a variable cost, you must pay to cast it.

Limbo: This is the region that all of your creatures pass through to get to your playing field. You may discard out of your hand into Limbo as a free action. You may only put creatures and objects in Limbo. Spells must stay in your hand. You may only transport creatures and objects into play from Limbo. You do not actually have to spend anything until you transport it out of Limbo.

Limbo can only hold six cards. You may not discard into Limbo if it is full. If for some reason there are too many cards in Limbo, you must pick one to discard. Spells do not have to go through Limbo before they can be cast.

In effect, all your transported creatures are put into limbo as a free action and then transported into play. This can be done all in the same action, as long as there is room in limbo.

Towers: A Tower consists of a Source and three spaces for creatures and objects. Empowered Towers are created when all three spaces are filled up. You may move creatures out of the Tower but you may not remove the Source out from under the creatures. When a creature is in a Tower it is safe from attack. Effects that do not require a vulnerable target may affect creatures in a Tower. All effects require a vulnerable target unless otherwise stated.

You must note what cards can fit in the different places in the Tower. It is also important to note that creatures of different elements cannot be in a Tower together. For example if you have a Hot Springs (combination fire/water Source) and you put in an Orc (fire creature), you may not put a water creature in it. You may still put in neutral creatures or Artifacts.

Domain: This is your playing field that consists of all your towers and all the creatures, objects and spells in play.

Schools: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, White, Black.

Sapping: After a source has produced temper, turn your card sideways (called Sapping a source).

Source: This is a magical location that can channel Temper to any Wizard who has the knowledge to harness it.

Taxing: After a creature, object, or spell has taken an action that turn, mark it with a token or turn the card sideways (called Taxing a card).

Temper: This the energy or Mana created by the elements that allow a Wizard to harness the power of Time and Space. Temper is provided by all creatures and objects. The amount produced is designated in the temper produced glyph.

Temper, Live: Temper gained from creatures.

Temper, Non-Living: Temper gained from objects.

Transporting: Objects and Creatures are transported into a tower from limbo by spending temper equal to their cost to play.

Free actions: Dropping a spell, Putting a card in Limbo, Sapping Temper, Maintaining enchantments.

Regular actions: Attacking, Defending, Using a power, Regenerating, Paralyzing, Firing a ranged attack, Transporting, Moving an Item, Moving a creature, Moving an artifact, or Moving a Totem.

Creatures: Followers, Totems, Monsters

Objects: Artifacts, Items, Sources

Kill: Creatures that are killed can heal or regenerate the damage.

Destroy: Creatures that are destroyed are obliterated and cannot heal or regenerate.