BLO@DSHED BEGINS Design: Steven Shen» Drelopen Leer Sith rjc Conlon: Dav Win ef Gr “Ans Tony Difeize Hen Higesbottan, Dana Knaton, ‘eon Evel Rob Lazare, @ Dave Subeland Graphic Desig 8 Beton Prepress Ti Cove Graphs & are Corner Tn Lely B Poy Caper “ipopapls Anges Linke Pathan: Dee Bane Phyecting ou Babnssh tr, aye Bere, Krk Bie, Daze Colt ‘George Cua: Frank Dido, Bont Pankoubo David Gea Ra Ol “Tht Gusal, lan Hobson, Dee Sees. Bors Kop Joa Lent ‘oi Jelsen ler Dwayne Pak Cindy Pay, ag Sond Tedd Sckoonovey Steve Sates, 6 2 ‘Specie thant to: Woligana Bae Co} McCombs Tul Saest, Ray Vee J Wr ere ean ed by Tn hn Ws Pcs De TSR log ISR rcs hae nae te the since ieee eta ar rates ond y TS ano ose oi fin gates ave ose tan Heh inte ok se or Epo nage pois of TS ne Dutra be oak se thy rate he Ce gh {ISK Deore inh yates eon Ua, 2 IN+RODUC+ION Throughout eternity, the lords of the nether domains have fought an endless Blood War. Leading infernal hordes, they have battled back and forth across reality’s lower planes, each seeking to seize sufficient teritory 10 hhecome supreme, And behind the scenes, they have plot- ted and schemed, endeavoring fo win through intrigue ‘what they could not gain through combat. Now the war has overflowed the nether realms and spills ‘across all the planes of existence. In the Boon Waas™ cca game, you guide your own warlords and legions in a bid for dominance. The fist player ta seize enough battle- fields for supremacy wins the game! C@RE CONCEP+ ‘The Bloap Waks game is an expandable card game of intrigue and combat. Each deck contains a random mix of cards representing, attlefields, warlords, legions, and elements of fate. Players use their warlords, Tegions, and fate cards to seize battlefields. The win- ner isthe first player to capture enough haitefields to match a preset number of victory points, ‘Any number of players can compete in a Boon Wats game session, from two to infinity, though four or five is ‘optimum. By collecting, new cards, players ean tailor their decks fo their own tastes, shaping the game to the style of play they prefer.CARD DIAGRATI All of the Bloop Wars cards use a single design, though details differ from card to card, Challenge Box: Lists Alignment Tide: The {by leter and eotor), Combat Surengt (CS) or Inigue ‘Strength (15), and a Random Hustration: Result (RR), ‘Warlords sre Bate framed in a Fields list : shield shape Victory: Legions in | Points (VP) an oblong, rather than and all CSors. others ina Square ™ Ientifed as, Warlord, Legion, Ballefield, or Fate leone aenties EY : un oe L cea eae special power Warts cr regunes the cad Batten, : - toe poe i= Git offatc card — TextBox Core or sent 0 CRtotte ten | Contains descrp- the Dead Book Driers Spl and erect anor —_(enoved om Suppor) spical nics. piy) when ss g 4 fag DECK CONS+RUC+ION ‘A Bioop Wars deck can be played right out of the box, but there is a great deal of fun in tailoring your own ‘deck, Modified decks can range from 40 to 100 cards. The ‘chart below tells how many cards of each type a deck can contain, Note that some types are also limited by maxi mum total Combat Sirength (CS), Intrigue Strength (IS), cr Victory Points (VP) in a deck, Also, a deck cam have no ‘more than 3 copies of any particular card. Deck Sie; 40 50 60 70 90 90 100 Card type. Nuiiber Allowed Mont! 35 36 57 33 39°39 39 MarIS 60. 70 80 90 100 110 120 leuion 10-20 10-25 10-30 10-35 10-40 10-45 10-50 Max.C5 120 10 180 210 240 270 300 Favelich) 5612 5:15 S17 5-20 5:22 5-25 5-27 Ream 0-2 03 04 05 06 06 06 Lover 0-2 0-3 0-4 05 06 06 06 Site/Toun 0-4 0-5 0-6 07 08 09 0-10 Max. VP 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Fare 0-15 0-20 0-25 0-40 0-35 O40 0-45 Acolyte 0-10 0-12 O14 0-16 0-18 0-20 0-20 Trem 0-15. 0-20 0-25 0-30 0-45 Anifict 0-1 02 0-3 04 0-5 Magical 0-1 0-4 0-5 0-6 oa Other 0-15 0-20 0-25 0-30 045 Orders 0-3 0-4 0-5 0-6 09 Spell 0-10. 0-12. 0-15 0-17 025 Support 0-8 0-10 0-12 0-14 0-16 0-18 0-20ICONS & ACHIVAF@RS ‘Shown here are icons used on ears for the Boop WaKs ‘card pack and the first wo Fscalation Packs. (Later Fsca~ lation Packs will add a few new icons, such as one for the elemental plane of water} Dead-Book Discard Flip General {cons Acoic —Arifct Avatar Feel lem niagieal 0g = @ Orders ‘Spell Support Outer Plane Icons a Acheron aloe rn i SR Ge ee Gihema Gray Waste SK ‘Al Mectaius Mount Celestia Panderoniom Yoga Other Planar leans ‘Outlands s Ahm ‘Astral PrimeTABLE LAYOU+ DIAGRAM Warlords & Baide Hands In Play Draw Pile Deail-Book TURN SEQUENCE SUMMARY Pre-Game Phase + Ser the Stage: Choose game length {number of vp) + Muster In: Choose Mustering Period (number of Challengeless tars). * Collect Forces: Draw 6 cards, minimum 1 Warlord. # Seize Initiavive: Draw RR for first Acting Player: Opening Phase * Reinforcements: Draw 2 cards into Command Han Assembly Phase (Skip during Gist wind * Troop Formation: Put Legions & Fate in Batle Hands Action Phase (Skip diring Wustering Perind.) + Challenge: Reveal Batlefeld 8 type of Challenge, Conduct aecording to Combat or Intrigue summary. + Rally: IP Challenge falls, Acting Player may Challenge again. . Resolution Phase ‘© Induct New Warlords: Add Warlords to the table, © Regroup: Unilip Warlords & Battle Hands, © Cull the Weak: Reduce Command Hand to 7 cards, Vietory Phase © War Report: Acting Player wins IF he possesses. sufficient VP; otherwise player to the left becomes the new Acting Player.IN+RIGUE SUMMARY —yt * Flex Political Musele: Acting Player presents his Challenger, * Dissenting Opinions: Other players declare Warlords in aid or opposition, starting at ‘Acting Player's right. ** Power Caucus: Use Warlorts' Intrigue Powers, then Legions! Use Fate '* The Ballot: Draw Hidden. Ally (RR) for each, side. Compare sides’ IS totals. * Bloodless Coup: Successful Challenger takes ‘the Batlefleld. His alles draw cards in payment. * Loss of Status: Unsuccessful Challenger is flippeds his Legions and Fate are returned (0 the Command Hand, Opposing allies draw cards in payment, * Lying Lov: Flip Warlords used on bath sides ‘of Challenge, with their Battle Hands, COMBA+ SUMMARY Se © Invest the Ficld Acting Player presents his Challenger; adds Fate cards (0 Battle Hand. * Defender Rouses: Determine Defender first choice to Acting Player’s tight. Add Fate (0 Battle Hand. * Conduct Bart a. Use Warlord Powers; b. Use Legion Powers; Compare CS totals. ‘= Spoils of Whr: Successful Defender draws RK number of cards into his Command Hand as payment for defending. Challenger takes Battlefield if his CS exceeds total of Defender’s CS + Battlefield’s VP. * Lying Low: Flip Warlords used.on both sides; discard thelr Battle Hands.TURN SEQUENCE Pre-Game Phi #56 sie Suage Players agree upon a game length Choices are: Conflict (short, to 13 VP), Battle (medi- um, 19 VP), or Campaign (long, to 25 VP livery Players agiee upon a Mustering Pesiod: an inital number of twns during which no Chal- lenges can he made. Choices are: 2 turns, 4-tams, 6 “ums © Colon: Forces: Bach player shuffles his deck and ‘draws 6 cards from it to begin his Command Hand (the Nand used in all but Combat). Any player who draws no Warlords discards his entire Command Hand andl draws 6 new cards, repeating as neces- sary’ until he has atleast 1 Warlord S00 Ji cuive Determine the first Acting Player by drawing and discarding the top card from each deck. The player who drew the highest RR becomes the Acting Player and takes his tum first. Afler his tum, play prostesses clockwise Each Acting Player's turn consists of the following phases, in order. 2 ] } 1, Opening Phase © Gelu/ineenenis: Draw 2 cards into the Command Hand. (Ifthe draw deck is depleted, shulfle the dis- cards to make a new draw deck.) 2, Assembly Phase (Skip this phase during the first turn.) Place Legions and Fate cards to build or augment Battle Hands, subject to the following. rules; © Goverci Rule: Battle Hands can only. he assembled under Warlords currently on the table and not flipped = Lj'0y Formation Up €0 4 Legions can be stacked. ‘under each Warlord, if their alignments (see Special Notes) and the Warlord’ alll match in at least one Jetter—first letter to First Ieter, or second to second. Up to 6 can be stacked if they match the Warlord’s allgnment exactly. hve For avon: Fate eards can he stacked in exch. Batile Hand as wel, as long as they do not exceed the number of Legions in the stack. @ Ressuree Ficieie: Any number of cards can be exchanged from Command Hand fo Baitle Han Batrle Hand to Command Hand, or Battle Hand to Battle Hand, subject to the stacking limits above, Note: Legion and Kate cards in « Battle Hand are hidden from view of all opponents. They are normally revealed onty during 4@ Combat Challenge (see below),3. Action Phase {Skip this phase during the Mustering Period.) * Challenges The Acting Player presents the Battle ficld to be taken, playing it from his Command Hand onto the table, and declares the type of Chal- lenge to be made~Inérigue or Combat. Fach type of Challenge follows its own, distinctive procedure, as detailed under the appropriate heading, below. * Rally: The Action Phase may be repeated any n er of times—with a new Battlefield, new Chal- lenger, and new Defender(s) each time—until the Acting Player either captures a Battlefield or de- ‘ides not to issue any further Challenges. Note: A player may only capture one Battlefield per tum. AF iwerigue Challenge: * Fleting Poitcal Muscle: The Acting Player chooses 4 Challenger from among his unflipped Warlords, # Dissenting Opinioss: Beginning to the Acting Player's right and proceeding counter-clockwise, each other player may choose one of his untlipped Warlords in the same way, to ald or oppose the Challenger. Opposers are termed “Defenders.” + Power Caucus: Beginning with the Challenger and proceeding eouner-cloekwise, cach Warlord involved in the conflict has a chance to use his Intrigue Power. Then any Legions with Intrigue Powers in the players’ Command Hands may acti- vate those Powers, (See “Legion Powers” under “Special Notes.”) again beginning with the Chal- lenger and proceeding to the right. Players may also “4 | play Fate cards from their Command Hands at any time during this step, + The Ballot The Detender with highest 18 and the Challenger each draw ome card fiom their decks asa “iden Ally” ain its RR to the total IS forthe side. + Bloodless Coupe If the Challenger's side’ total 1S cxceeds the Defender’ side's total IS, the Battlefield is won; the Acting Player puts tin bis Victory Pool Alles ofa victorious Challenger each draw a mum= her of eards equal to the number of Warloris involved on their side of the Challenge and add ‘hem fo their Command Hand as payment for ther help. 4 Loss of Sus: If the Challenger’ side's total 18 is less than or equal ta the Defender's side's total IS, the Batiefield is discarded. Any Legions and Fate in the Challenger's Battie Hand are returned to the player's Contmand Hand, and the Challenger is flipped. The Defender and his allies each draw @ number of cards equal fo die muimber of Warlords involved on their side of the Challenge, adding them to their Command Hand. This is thei reward for thwarting the Challenge. + Lying Low: Flip all Warlords used on both sides {along withthe Battle Hands they lead) Note: Ifa Warlord is discarded ‘or sent to the Dead-Book for any reason during an Intrigue Challenge, discard the entire Battle Hand that he leadsCombat Challeng Jp lie vite The Acting Player ehooses @ Chal- lenges from among his unflipped Warlords. He 1e- ‘moves from his Command Hand any Fate caris he wishes to devote to the coming battle and places them into the Challengers Batle Hand, (Nore: Fate cards in the Battle Hand may exceed the normal sticking limits at this point) Then he sets aside his, Command Hand and picks up the Bartle Hand. Dejidey vovscs* Begining with the player to the Challenger’s right and proceeding eounter-clock- swise, players have the opportunity co oppose the Challenge. The first to declare his intent to do so thhooses a Defender from among his unflipped War- lords. (Unlike Intrigue, Combat uses only one Defender.) He removes from bis Command Hand any Fate cards he wishes to devote to the coming battle and places them into the Defender's Battle Hand. (Nore: Fate cards in the Battle Hand may exceed the normal stacking limits at this point.) ‘Then he set aside his Command Hand and picks up the Batlle Hand. sin Tie: Combat proceeds as follows: | Worn Powers: Most Warlord Combat Powers fre designed for use al the very beginning of the Challenge. The Challenger has the option to use his Combat Power fist, then the Defender may use his. But some special Combat Powers may he used at other times in the Challenge, as indieated on theit Warlords car. When a Combat Power is used tip the Warlord and place his card on the table. (Note: Flipped War- lords coun as 5 28, should « card refer to their 1S.) 16 J, Legion Powers: (See “Legion Powers” under “Spe- cial Notes") Legion Combat Powers are played in altemating sequence, First the Challenger has the option to use one Legion's Combat Power from his Battle Hand, Then the Defender may use one from lis, The Challenger can then use a second Legion's Combat Power, followed by the Defender, and so fon, unl nether side has any remaining that they desire to use, When a Combat Power is used, flip the Legion ‘and place its card on the fable, Flipped Legions count as 1S, rather than their normal CS. f: Coyibat Strength Comparison: The Challenger land Defender exch add up the CS ofall Legions and Fate in their Battle Hands and compare them (counting flipped Legions and Fate as 1 C5 each). The high total is victorious, though the Defender ‘wins any ties. Spnils of War Dujoider: We vitorious, the Defender draws an RR and then draws thai many’ cards from bis draw pile tals Command Hand in payment for defeating the Challenger. I the Defender i defeated, he receives nothing. Q Claileigers 1 the Challenger is vietorious, he Sub- tracts the Defenders €S total from his, and captures the Battlefield ifthe remainder equals or exceeds its VP rating. The captured BalfieN is placed ini Vietory Pool. “If the Challenger is defeated, or if his total CS is tess than the total of the Nefender’s CS total plus the Battlefields VP, he receives nothing. 7+ Lying Low Both Challenger and Defender are flipped and placed back beside the players’ other Warlords ‘on the table, Their Battle Hands are discarded, Note: Ifa Warlord is discarded 6 sent to the Dead-Book for any reason during a Combat Challenge, discard the entire Battle Hand that he lead Resolution Phase * Induct New Warlords: The Acting Player may take any Warlords from his Command Hand and place them on the table. fa Wariord is marked “Unigue,” the player must state so and read the name aloud. If another player already has that Warlord in play, the Acting Player must return the card to his Command Hand) + Regroup: Any Aipped Warlords the Acting Player has are nov turned face up. along with their Battle Hands, ready for use agai z + Call the Weak: The Acting Player discards, if neces sary, fo reduce his Command Hand to 7 cards, . Vietory Phase liar Reports If the Acting Player possesses Battlefield. VP equal to or exceeding that chosen for the game length (see “Pre-Game Phase,” above), he wins, Other- wise he announces that his tum is finished, the player to his left hecomes the new Acting Player, and the ame continues; Note: A player’s Victory Pool, hence VP total, 18 open to view by all players at all times, 18 GENERAL N@TES a The following notes explain some special rules and con- cepts that span the game, Alignment Alignment is a designation of personal values, consisting of the ethical divisions Lawful (L: in blue}, Chaotic (C: in red), and Neutral (Ns in split blue and red}, and the moral divisions Good (G: in white), Evil (E: in gray), and Neus tral (N: in split white and gray). Towether, these ereate nine different combinations, such as Lawful Good (LG: in blue and white) or Chaotic Evil (CE: in red and gray), Fate Fate cards can be played at any time, even during another player's turn, The only restriction to this rule concerns Items and Support played during a Combat Challenge, ‘which must be played with the Legions using them. In effect, emis and Support are assigned to specific Legions. A single Legion can be assigned only one Icem or Support card. Ifthe Item or Support card has an Alignment listed on it, it may be assigned only 10 a Legion whose Align ‘ment matches the Faiv card's in at least one letter After being played, Fate carls are discarded, unless otherwise noted on a particular cart, Warlord Powers ‘While most Warlords have either a Combat Power or an Ingrigue Power (in some cases bor), a few Warlords have 19‘a “Personal Power.” Personal Powers are general effects that operate even outside of a Challenge, such as a par- ticular Warlord’s ability to hold units of varied alignment within a single Battle Hand. Legion Powers Some Legions have unique Powers that are explained on their cards. But many have Powers shared by other Legions of similar alignment, Definitions of those Powers follow: # Cobar Pov ec: Playable during a Combat Challenge, Berseiter: (Chaotic) Discard to send one opposing Legion to discard. (ier Neutral) This Legion can hold two Fate cards in a Battle Hand (even outside of Combat) and when totalling Combat Strength Givrdia): (Lawful) Allows the Challenger to claim a Battlefield if his CS total exceeds the Defender’s but not by enouigh to capture the Battlefield riormally ios (Evil) Does not count toward a Battle Hand's 4 or 6 Legion stacking limit [even outside of Combat). Also can exceed the limit of 3 identieal cards per deck, fares (Good) This Legion counts as two Legions against Powers that force a discard. When the first dis- card is forced, fip the Martyr; when the second is Forced, discard it Siiock ‘ovo: (Any) This Legion. can be added to a Battle Hand as “last-minute recruits,” as Fate cards can, ‘exceeding the normal fimit of 4 or 6 Legions Spir-(Any) These Legions are not discarded at the end of Combat; they return to the Warlord’s Buttle Hand instead, But they can be sent to discard by Fate cards and various powers 20 * Tnirigue Poirers: Playable duzing an Intrigue Challenge. Advocate: (Neutral) When discarded, guarantees the player the reward of a vietorious aly. ‘vie: (Good) When ciscarded, adds its CS to the War- lord's IS total Diplomat: (Layful) When discarded, doubles the RR of its side's Hidden Ally card, Pavastie: (Evil) This Legion, when discarded, subsracts its CS from an opposing Watlord’s 5, Terrorist: (Chaotic) When discarded, forces an oppo. nent to discard from his Command Hand a number of cards equal to its C5, Fate and Power Intersection In general, when a card is played immediately in response to another card, the later card affeets the earlier ‘one, Bul some cards preclude another from being played. (Example: A Fate card that ends Combat precludes the play of furiher Combat Powers in that Challenge) Sending Cards to Discard of Dead-Boal When a Fate or Power causes the discard of an opposing card of a particular C5 "or less” the opponent must ds- card the card closest to that CS, but not over it, (Example: To discard of a “Legion of 5 € ot less” rom a Batt Hand containing 3 Legions—of 3 CS, 4 €S, and a €3- discard the CS card} Ia Tate or Power eases the dis- least” a pateular CS, the opponent ‘mist diseard the card closest to that CS, bue not under i. (Example: To discard of « “Legion of atleast 6 CS" from a Batle and containing 4 Legions—of 4 C5, 5.C5,7 CS, and @ CS-diseard the 7 CS card} Cazds sent tothe Dead Book follow the same procedire iesADVANCED RULES —t ‘The following rules are standard, not optional, but come into effect primarily through rare cards New Fate Cards New Fate cards are introduced! in the frst Escalation Packs of ihe BLOOD WARS game. These cards modify the stacking of Baile Hands and their use in Combat ‘Fare: Support Cds: Like an lem card a Fate: Support card attaches (0 a Legion and adds ( its CS in battle However, it differs from an Item in that it ean be dis= carded in place of the Legion itis assed fo, whether that Legion is being discarded because of a Combat Power used on it, a Fate card targeting it, or simply because Combat is over, In the last case, the Legion reruns tothe Battle Hand beneath the Aipped Warlord # Faie: Acolite Cards: A Fate: Acolyte card allows a player to make a Legion follow a particular leader, stacking in that leader's Battle Hand, This allows cer- tain classes of Warlovds-inamely Avatars and Factols {gee below}-to stack 6 Legions of varied alignments into theis Battle Hands “Note: An Acolyte card does not count against the Legion's one Fate card limit; thus, « player can stack one Acolyie card and one other Fate card with a Legion. ‘Note: Some Acolyte cards work exactly like a standard Legion that has an Acolyte card aitached. These Acolyte Legions have no need for a Fate card in oriler to stack under their particular Avatar or Factol. 2 Avatars & Realm Powers Some Warlords are marked as “Avatars.” These are deities using thetr avatar forms (0 participate in the flaod Wars. Unlike most Warlords, Avatars have two Powers to choose from during 9 Challenge: the first a Combat, Intrigue, or Personal Power, and the second a special Realim Power. To gain the Realm power, an Avatar’s home realm (noted on both the Battlefield and the Warlord card) must be conquered and placed into the player's Victory Pool Factols & Factions in the Blood Wars Introduced with the “Factions & Factols” Escalation Pack, Warlord: Factols allow players to use the Factols (War- lords) and the Factions (Legions) that operave out of the city of Sigil. Factols can stack six Legions of varied aligns ments if they are members of that Warlord’s Faction. 2