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Rules Book

A game by Philippe Thibaut

Wisdom Owl 2018 ©

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 1


INVASIONS – VOOLLUUMMEE 1 – 350-650 AD

Foreword C. Military Units


The Great Invasions (GI) simulates 600 years of European history, from  They are mostly of two kinds:
350 to 950 AD more or less. It will come into two games, one – volume 1 - standard, with only one front side  infantries, cavalries (i.e. the most
- covering the early period (till 600 AD more or less, before the Arabs) commonplace units) ;
and another – volume 2 - on the late period (from the Arabs till the - elite, which usually have two sides: elite troops, legions, guards (most
Normans). During this period, known as the Dark Ages, many people rare)  only, baring exceptions, for civilized nations (Kingdom / Empire).
invaded the continent, each hoping to colonize it or conquer a realm
there, replacing other people established before them. Units may be available on or from certain turns, a symbol
But the new conquerors would never maintain their new powers for long, displayed on the counter will indicate which.
as they were also themselves invaded by other and newer peoples. This
game ends by the time those great migrations ended.
In GI, each player controls many different peoples. Each of them strives  Infantry : this is the basic unit.
to carve a realm at the best possible location, in view of historical  Archer (bow symbol ) : will shoot first before battle start (and before
objectives assigned by the rules. Some will prevail and found strong the opponent's return fire), then will fight normally afterwards. May be
kingdoms and prosperous empires...others will vanish in the void of mounted ( horse+bow, nomads mostly) and therefore also cavalry.
history  Cavalry (horse head symbol ): can help gain the "Cavalry
To help you get into the game, the rules are cut into two parts: the main Advantage".
rules here which explain the principal gameplay mechanisms, and  Limes: unmovable fortified unit, stops invasions at the border.
special rules for some peoples, which are presented on their respective  Fleet ( anchor symbol) used for naval warfare or transportation.
gameplay charts.  Some people have rare units (Elephants, Horse-Archers, Frankish
infantry…) that usually combine some of the special traits listed here.

C. Elite Units
I. INTRODUCTION  All elite units are shown with a white diamond on the front side of
their counter.
A. Presentation  Elite units have 2 sides. When an elite unit is hit, it is placed on its
 The Invasions (volumes I & II) simulate the 350 to 925 AD time period, back side  it then becomes a simply infantry (whatever it was
with various barbarian or civilized people active over Europe and Middle- previously, even a cavalry).
East.  The back side (infantry) displays a «red diamond» , to indicate it is
 Each players has its own specific Player Aide, and plays with a set of a hit/damaged elite unit.
assigned peoples (a.k.a. hereafter as nation).  Elite unites are only for civilized nations (kingdom or empire).
 Each nation can only have one status : Barbarian (including nomadic)  A barbarian nation cannot use those units as elite (even if in its force
or Civilized (kingdom or empire). This status may only evolve during the pool), they are used, if present, only as the type of unit shown on the
game from Barbarian to Civilized. front side : often a cavalry if shown, the rest of the time as an infantry.
 All nations have an individual « Nation Card » (some important The elite white diamond symbol is to be ignored until the nation becomes
peoples even have two of them). Each card indicates the special rules civilized (by founding a kingdom).
for that nation, its victory objectives, reinforcements, leaders, etc… --> Some elite units:
 There is also a « Time Table ». It indicates, turn by turn, the nations  Elite : most elite infantry.
entering play, barbarian reinforcements and historical leaders.  Guard : imperial, with 2 white diamonds, it is also a heavy unit (see
below).
B. Dices  Noble Cavalry (kingdom) : it is an heavy elite cavalry.
 Two 6-sided dices, called « D12 », are used for battle
and revolts. D. Heavy Units
 One 6-sided dices, called « D6 », is used for various  Some units are shown as « heavy », which is indicated as an extra
Areas selection or other fate determinations. information on the counter, whatever their types. The symbol is a
 A 10-side dice, called « D10 », is used for everything
« shield + sun ».
else (sieges, etc…).
 A heavy unit can be normal or elite.
 When you get the Heavy Advantage in battle, you opponent suffers a
penalty of -1 to its D12 battle dices.
Rounding!  The above Heavy Advantage is gained if you have at least 2 heavy
 in this game, all rounding is up.
units more than the opponent, or if the latter has only one unit and you
are the only one to have a heavy unit.
a Roman legion is an heavy elite unit.
A Barbarian cavalry is often heavy too.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 2


II. THE GAME TURN
E. Leaders
 There are two types of leaders: A. Game Turn Sequence
- generic national leaders (unnamed, with a relevant ‘title’ such as Rex,
Khagan, Satrap, Caesar, Dux, etc..), without any turn indication (i.e. 1. Event Phase - Diplomacy
available without special turn constraints) ; most playable nations have
2. Ruling Phase
one;
3. Reinforcements Phase
- historical leaders, usually in play for 1 or 2 turns, such as famous 4. Military Phase - nation by nation
emperors, kings or generals, with their name on the counter. (normal turn + campaigns)
 A leaders shows different informative values:
5. Redeployment Phase (at home)
 top: the turn(s) when the leader is in play. Generic leaders have none B. The Event Phase
 Each player, each turn, draws 1 event card (whatever the number of
 left: top to bottom
people he controls).
 Combat : number of re-rolls in a battle, and
 Event cards are either public or secret.
reaction bonus (interception or flight).
 A public card can be identified from its red colored
 Stacking: number of extra stacking of units
back and hold a parchment symbol. It must be played
with the leader.
immediately when drawn.
 right: top to bottom  A secret card has standard brown color back, bears
 Administration : management bonus. an eye symbol on its front, and can be kept by the player
 Diplomacy: diplomatic draw bonus. and used later.
 Campaigns: number of times the leader can play during its own turn.  Any played card is set aside upon play (not back into the deck for now,
this will be done via an event card).
 bottom: name followed by a symbol showing if it is an emperor ,a
(Barbarian or Civilezed) king or a general C. The Diplomatic Phase (see below  section XXII)
 An Empire draws 1 +? diplomatic card(s) +? (where ? is the
diplomatic bonus of its currently active historical leader)
F. The Map
 A Kingdom draws a number of chit(s)/card(s) equal to the diplomatic
 The map is divided into different land provinces and sea zones. bonus of its leader (otherwise, if none present, it draws 0).
 Each province has a name, an income value, a terrain type
(background colour) D. The Military Phase (details)
 It may contain extra information such a a city site (existing or not), a  The first thing dealt with are the Pillager peoples' raids as indicated on
river or crest border, a cravan site, a strait connexion with another the Time Table. Each raid is made by a roll the Raids Table.
province, or a border with a different Area.  Each nation then plays in sequence, starting by Barbarians, then
 Sea zones have a name and, for some of them, the commerce value Kingdoms, and last Empires. [order is from oldest to youngest, as per
they generate. the Time table]
 In addition, provinces are grouped by areas (civilized or barbarian)  Within the Military turn of each nation:
 On the map edges you can find different tracks or tables to help you
during game play. 1. Activation Stack by Stack - Movement - (Interception/flight) –
Battle - Retreat.
2. Campaigns of leaders

 See map key on page 7

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 2


III. STATUS OF NATIONS
F. Kingdoms
A. Presentation  Most civilized nations are usually « Kingdoms».
 Each nation is either Barbarian, Kingdom or Empire.  Kingdoms always play after barbarians.
 The Nomads are a special kind of Barbarian.  A Kingdom has a capital (see the back of the horde counter), and he
 Each nation has a counter that will be placed on the must have administration every turn (no automatic reinforcements).
Aging Tracks (aging is symbolized by a parchment)  It receives a regular income each turn, and runs its administration.
 There are two such tracks: one for Barbarian, one for Civilized.  It must pay for the maintenance of its units (1 Gold per unit).
 Each track has 12 slots. In addition each track is divided into 3  It must play a Ruling Card, which as various effects such as: the
sections: «administrative» cost of the Kingdoms (for the current turn), the
- young: slots 1 to 4. calamities suffered, and the aging.
- mature: slots 5 to 8.  A Kingdoms may potentially have no leader during the current turn, as
- old: slots 9 to 12. this is based on the Ruling card.
 Each turn, the nation's marker can move on the tracks.  A Kingdoms may then recruit its units and suffer the effects of the
 Each new Barbarian nation always enters play on slot 1 of the calamities received.
Barbarian track.
G. Empires
B. Nations Aging  There are also «Empires». At the start of the game, both Rome and
 A Barbarian nation ages automatically of 1 slot per turn. Byzantium are united and represent the Roman Empire. Those will
 A Kingdom or Empire nation ages according to the Ruling Card he separate into distinct entities on turn 3 (historically 395 AD).
played this turn. It is usually 1 slot each turn, on average.  Empires always play after Kingdoms.
 There are 2 cycles: at the end of its track, a barbarian becomes a  An Empire is played more or less like a Kingdoms, except for the
young kingdom (move to slot 1 of kingdom track). Also, a Barbarian may administration which is a bit more delicate.
become a Kingdom (by test) after it has reached a mature age.  An Empire has a military superiority over the Barbarians. It also
 Similarly a barbarian or a kingdom may become a young empire, when benefits from an Imperial Capital bringing more income.
it reaches or exceed a certain size, but with added risk of immediate  It collects less Gold than a Kingdoms but, in exchange, pays no
crumbling... maintenance.
 A civilized nation (kingdom or empire) also suffers more calamity when  The Hun nomad may become directly an empire quickly, and/or can
it enters the mature or old zones of its track. collapse as quickly.
 In no case a nation may exceed slot 12 or be less than slot 1.  The Sassanid Persia may become an empire, if it expends in the East.

C. Order of Play H. Collapse of the Empire


 Barbarians play first, followed by Kingdoms and then, last, by  An empire can collapse by itself if its age reaches or exceeds 9 and it
empires. suffers bankruptcy.
 Within the same category, the oldest plays first.  See the complete rule details in the Player Aid of Rome.
 In case of equality in age and status, the order of play number is
indicated on the nation's card.

D. Barbarians
 Barbarians receive reinforcements each turn (see the Time Table) and
always have, every turn, a leader and a horde, in addition to other units.
 On the turn they appear, they usually benefit from a Major Invasion
turn, which boosts them significantly.
 They are fast to play: no administration, no purchase of units, no
maintenance, etc…
 They perceive no income, except via Tribute or Pillage.
 They have different kind of units, but their elite units are considered as
normal (i.e. single side, ignore the white diamond).
 They age automatically by 1 slot each turn.
 Each Barbarian will ultimately become civilized and will found a
kingdom, after a few turns. It is advised to find a suitable location,
preferably in the civilized parts of the map (regions with cities that are at
the beginning located within the Roman empire – civilized Areas are
indicated with a greek column before their name ).

E. Nomads
 The «Nomad» is a special brand of barbarian.
 Nomads : Huns, Alans, Hephtalites, Avars… most coming originally
from Central Asia.
 A Nomad is basically a Barbarian which has the benefit and usage of a
few unique special rules.  See Huns player aide.
 However, the Nomad remains a Barbarian and must following all the
rules of a Barbarian. He just benefits from extra specific rules.
Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 3
IV. CONTROL OF PROVINCES V. ADMINISTRATION
Only from turn 2 onwards (pre-calculated in turn 1).
A. Presentation
 A nation controls the provinces where it has military units. A. Barbarians
 Provinces are also regrouped into «Areas» (ex. Italia, Hispania,  There is no administration for Barbarians.
Graecia, etc…), and it is possible to get control of a whole area without  Each Barbarian nation receives its reinforcements units as indicated on
needing to leave units there. the Time Table (or its nation's card).
 Each Barbarian also always has a generic leader, every turn, or its
B. Control of Provinces historical leaders (but no both at the same time unless specified).
 When a nation does not have the official control of an «Area», it must  If the Time Table no longer shows any reinforcements, a Barbarian will
have a military unit present in a province to maintain its control there. receive by default 1 unit as reinforcement each turn.
 Control of a province includes that of the city present within, if any.  A Barbarian collects no income.
 In case of conquest of an enemy province, the city there must however  It may however receives a tribute from
be captured (via siege) to get its control. If the city holds, the province another nation or pillage opposing cities or
will have to be evacuated at the end of the turn. treasury sites.
 Those revenues thus collected bring him Gold (that can later be used
C. Control of an Area when it becomes a Kingdom).
 An Area regroups many provinces. Islands are usually linked to the
Area to which they belong (see map key). B. Kingdom and Empires
 Control of an Area is achieved at the end of the whole turn in  Only the «civilized» nations (Kingdom or Empire) need administration.
progress (and not at the end of the nation's turn).  Each turn, a civilized nation basically draws 2 Ruling Cards
 To maintain overall control of an Area, a nation must leave 1 unit at the (sometimes more if the current leader of the nation has an administration
end of its nation's turn (some exceptions apply to Rome and Byzantium). value that is not nil), pays and plays one.
 Kingdom: if a Kingdoms controls the majority of provinces, he
C. Ruling Cards
receives the official control of the Area.
 They are of three "types": passive (a sun calendar), military (crossed
 Empire: if an empire controls the majority of the Area's cities, he gets
swords),and reform (amphoras, column, balance and parchment),
the official control of the Area. That level of control is superior and
exceeds that of a Kingdom.
 An empire exerts a total control if it owns all cities and there are no
hostile hordes or kingdoms within the Area (excepted Foedus).
 If the above does not apply, the empire is deemed to have partial  The first two are in equal numbers (7 each), the third type is rarer (4
control (if it has the majority of cities). only).
 The player draws 2 ruling cards at random (not viewing at them), and
 Barbarian: it can control a Barbarian Area (indicated by an axe
only sees the card's backs (indicating passive, military, reform) with their
picture before its name) if it is the sole to have its horde there (or a
administrative cost.
submitted horde).
 He chooses a card, without looking at it, and pays its cost.
 It can maintain control there, even after it has founded a Kingdom.
 He can then look at the card and see the results that must be applied
 It can control a Civilized Area (indicated by a greek column symbol
now (see below)
before its name) if it controls the majority of the provinces or if he is the
 Then he reshuffles the cards back into the deck (including the one just
only one to have units there with its horde (or via units and horde of a
played).
submitted nation).
 Effects :  3 cards or more
 Control of an Area is helping calculation of income.  If the 2 cards drawn are of the same type, the player must draw 1
 It is not necessary to have a unit per controlled province. more, until his hand holds at least 2 different types of cards (still not
 Each empty province inside the Area is automatically controlled. looking at the cards front).
Same thing if a province occupied by another people is evacuated.  The player chooses a type and keep the card(s). If he has in hands 2
cards of the same type, he may look at them and choose which one he
D. Barbarian Areas prefers before paying (this is an advantage).
 All Areas located outside of the Roman Empire or the Sassanid Persia
 Administrative Cost
Kingdom are considered as «Barbarian Areas» in 350 AD (in GI I).
 Each card has a basic administrative cost indicated on its back, for the
 Barbarian Areas : Caledonia, Scandinavia, Germania, Danube,
Kingdoms or Empires, as follows:
Barbarum, Balticum, Scythia, Steppes, Caucacus, Mahgreb.
Kingdoms Empire
 Each barbarian province inside the barbarian areas is considered to Passive 5 Gold 10 Gold
have some intrinsic population and defense. It can be conquered by a Military 10 Gold 20 Gold
unit with a horde, or 3 units without horde (Barbarians), or 5 units Reform 20 Gold 30 Gold
(Civilized).
 The cost is unrelated to the size or age of the Kingdom or Empire.
 Active barbarians may cross freely any barbarian province, without a
fight, if the don't stop there (just to go through it).  Historical Leaders
 A Civilized nation can't do that (Kingdom or Empire). Its units must  Some of the historical leaders have an "administration" bonus on
stop and conquer each empty barbarian province if they wish to move their counter (top right).
further. In addition they can control those province only if they leave at  This allows to draw more cards.
least one combat unit in it.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 4


Example 1: at the start of the turn, the Visigoth announces he is founding a
Kingdom in Hispania. Therefore he must now administrate it. He draws two VI. INCOME
Ruling cards: 1 passive & 1 military. he decides to keep the military one (cost 10 From turn 2, simultaneous (start of turn). Values of ½ are rounded up.
Gold) and reshuffles the other one. He then turns back the card he keep and
applies its effects (according to his current age).
A. Civilized Nations
Example 2: Byzantium draws 2 passive cards (so same type). So he must draw  Only civilized nations receive income(kingdoms empire).
another one (this third is a military). He now has 3 cards, with 2 different types.  With its treasury, a civilized nation may buy new units.
He decides to keep the 2 passive ones, look at their front and then decides to
 The Treasury marker is used to keep track of the accumulated Gold.
keep the most favorable one of the two, paying its cost and reshuffling the other
cards. Gold can be kept in reserve, there is no need to spend all the collected
amount each turn.
Example 3: the Ostrogoth founds a Kingdom in Italy. He has an historical leader,  Gold cannot be transferred to another nation, even between nations
Theodorich, with an administration bonus of 2. He thus draws 4 cards (2 base
belonging to the same player. The only allowed transfer is via paying
draw + 2 bonus draw for leader). His hand is now 1 passive, 2 military and 1
Reform. He chooses the latter, pay the 20 Gold cost, reshuffles the other cards Tribute.
and can now look at the card's front for its effects.  There is however a difference between kingdom and empire
(summarized below):
D. Front Indications - Ruling Cards
 Each ruling card has, on its front, a certain number of indications that  Kingdom: the nation collects the sum of its provinces + cities
are affecting the nation playing the card. income.
 A kingdom capital brings a set fixed 5 Gold (in addition to its on map
 Duration value).
 Some cards may have more than one turn (the standard)
duration, in which case it will be indicated next to the sandglass  Empire: the nation collects the sum of its Areas + cities income.
icon.  The imperial capital brings an extra 10 Gold (in addition to its on map
value).
 Gold
 Some cards bring or cost Gold, in addition to their already  Other Income: trade, sometimes a tribute (submitted nation or client),
paid administrative cost. caravans.
 A caravan income is checked every turn, from turn 2 onwards.
 Calamities
 A Civilized nation can received from 0 to 3 calamities, B. Treasury Track
depending on its age.  Each nation has a "Treasury" marker to put on this track (slots 0 to 20).
 There are about a dozen of calamities, more or less harmful  The position of the marker indicates how much Gold the nation owns.
 See Calamities Sheet.  It is moved according to gains and expenses.
 An Empire sometimes receives increased effect for calamities  On the back of the counter, the value «+20» is to be used when the
(as compared to Kingdoms). treasury exceeds 20.
 The maximum is 40 Gold, after the reinforcements purchases (all Gold
 Leaders in excess is lost).
 Each military type card (except one) allows to play your
leader freely during your turn (this is the main purpose and C. Kingdoms
interest of the card). The information is displayed on the card  A Kingdom calculates its gross income as follows: cities + provinces +
showing the leader head with the green v-shaped Yes sign. capital + commerce + caravans + tributes.
 On all other cards (passive and reform types), the leader must  Cities : income from all controlled cities (including the capital).
stay in the capital, inactive during your nation's turn. The card  City income is based on city size:
shows the leader head with the red X-shaped No sign. size I  1 Gold, size II  2 Gold, size III  3 Gold
 NB: the leader may nevertheless intercept (or flee) during the  A looted city brings only ½ Gold, whatever its size.
turns of the other nations.
 Provinces : income from all controlled provinces.
 the income of a province is the Value printed on it on the map(ex. 2
Gold in Chaldea, 1 Gold in Susiana, and only ½ Gold in Hyrcania).
 The figure set inside the big Red Dot next to an Area
name is the summary of all its component's provinces
income (ex. Gallia Merid. 12 Gold, Asia 8 Gold). Without the
cities!
 Royal Capital: it brings a bonus of 5 Gold (in addition to its size value).

 Net Income
 From its gross income, a Kingdom must pay maintenance for its units:
1 Gold per unit. A leader costs nothing.

 Difference between Gross Income and Maintenance Cost is the Net


Income, which is to be added to the treasury. It may sometimes become
a negative value (for instance when there are too many units).

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 5


D. Empires
 Empires calculate income as follows: cities + Areas + capital + VII. REINFORCEMENTS
commerce + caravan + tributes.
 Areas: the Income from an Area is a basic 2 Gold (full control) or 1 A. Barbarians
Gold (partial control), whatever the actual wealth or values printed on  Barbarians: all reinforcements are always placed in the
map. same province as the one holding the horde (next to it).
 To help in the calculation, the Area value with its cities At this stage, don't consider stacking limits ( it will be respected later
(in 350 AD) is printed on the map in a black square with during play).
an eagle symbol (ex. Graecia is worth 2 + 7 cities = 9 Gold).  Each barbarian receives its reinforcements as indicated in the Time
Table; or 1 reinforcement per turn if the said table has no longer any
 Imperial Capital: it brings an extra 10 Gold bonus (in addition to its size indications.
value).
 At least half of barbarian reinforcements must be infantries. This
 Gross Income priority must be respected as much as possible (depends on counters
 An Empire pays no maintenance for its units, but gets less money still available). The rest of the selection is free.
from its Areas. Therefore its Net Income = Gross Income.  Nomad: can choose whatever units available without constraints.
 Usually, after some turns, the quantity of reinforcements will go lower,
E. Other Incomes (Kingdoms and Empires) as the Barbarian nation is supposed to get civilized and become 
 Commerce : gain of 1 Gold per Sea Zone, if the nation Kingdom.
controls at least one coastal city on the said sea zone. Some  No units can ever be purchased with its gold treasury.
cities are common to multiple sea zones.
 If a nation controls all coastal cities of the same sea zone, it receives B. Civilized Nations
as bonus the Commerce Value of that sea zone (see the red figures on  Civilized nations buy units with their Gold.
the ship symbol inside the sea): its a monopoly bonus!  Reinforcements are placed freely within the provinces controlled, as
long as stacking limits are respected.
 Caravans: a province with a caravan symbol brings 1 Gold
(in addition to the province itself),  The purchase prices are different between kingdoms and empires
or 5 Gold if this is the exceptional caravan determined in the start of the (more expensive for the latter). They are indicated for each nation 
game turn (see  Caravan Table on map): Aegyptus, Tripolitania, see nation's sheet.
Persis and Steppes are the Caravan provinces.  A heavy unit is slightly more expensive.
 The elite units (heavy or not) are the most expensive ones.
 Tribute: gain of 1 Gold per submitted nation.
 When all units counters are in play, a nation can no longer buy units.
At best it can save the funds in its treasury.
F. The Capital
 The Romans (Rome and Byzantium) have some
 Each civilized nation has a "Capitol" marker (the nation’s capital).
recruitment limitations for its national units (1 per turn
 If a nation loses its capital, it can re-found a new one maximum till 500 AD) but can freely recruits its Barbarian
by replacing its marker, on the next turn, but without troops (i.e. Federate) when they become available (see
collecting its bonus income during the re-foundation turn. turn value on counter).
G. Bankruptcy C. Historical and IntrinsicLeaders
 If a civilized nation (kingdom / empire) spends more for its  An historical leader may appear as a reinforcement (it ca never be
administration than what it has in its treasury, it is considered as purchased).
bankrupt (suffering bankruptcy).
 It may be placed in any province of the nation.
 In such a case it suffers 3 penalties:
 The intrinsic leader in that case is placed on the turn track as a
- it immediately ages by 2 slots (max. slot 12).
reinforcement for next turn. It can never be in play at the same time as
- it receives a « decadence » chit (maximum cumulative is 2).
an historical leader.
- it draws from the deck 1 Ruling Card extra at once and applies the
indicated calamities (ignoring the Age information/requirements).  Empire: this is an exception, the intrinsic leader (ex. Rome's Caesar)
 If it is a Kingdom, it loses all units extra (i.e. those it cannot pay for) or is allowed permanently, even if an historical leader is present.
half of its current units (whatever is less).
 If it is an Empire of age  9, it may collapse. see details  Rome D. Units with a Date
sheet.  Some units are not available before a specific turn, or before some
particular conditions are met. This is specified on the Time Table.
(see image of Roman federate above, available from Turn 3 onwards)
 As long as such a unit is «outside pool», it remains unavailable.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 6


VIII. REVOLTS For the second revolt, he rolls 2 then 3 it's Gaul, and the Persian player who is
selecting the province: it can't be in Treverum (as the Caesar leader is there), so
he selects Neustria (Paris). Rome loses 1 + 2 (province + city) = 3 Gold from its
A. Roman Empire income.
 To check revolts in an Empire (Roman or another one later) the first In total, Rome loses 3½ + 3 = 6½  rounded up to 7 Gold.
step is to select the Area (with a D10). Rome moves the African garrison to Tripolitania to attempt crushing the revolt
there, and does the same with his Caesar's army to Neustria.
 Rome: [1-2] Gaul N / S, [3-4] Britannia, [5] Illyria,
[6-7] Hispania, [8-9] Africa, [0] Italia.
 Byzantium: [1-2] Moesia, [3] Asia, [4-5] Cappadocia,
[6-7] Aegypt, [8-9] Syria, [0] IGracia.
 Then one of the players is selected at random to choose the province
in revolt.

B. Kingdom
 For a Kingdom, where the revolt occurs does not matter.
 One of the players is selected at random to choose the province in
revolt.

C. Player's selection
 One player is selected at random (can be you!) with a D6.
1-2 Roman 5 Goth
3-4 Persian 6 Hun
 The selected player places a Revolt marker in the province of his
choice (as long as the said province belongs to the victim).
 Limitation: the province with the capital or with a leader can't be
selected.
 Presence of military units is unimportant or irrelevant.

D. Effects of Revolts
 The province in revolt becomes hostile, but still officially belongs to the
original owner.
 The owner loses 1 Gold + the income from the province (+ of its city).
 The loss is increased by +2 Gold if there is an heresy inside the
province's Area.
 Revolts have no impact on commerce or caravan.

E. Subduing a Revolt
 To do so, military force must be sent to crush it (then a test is made).
 The revolt in the province is subdued on result of 9+ (with a D10),
modified as follows:
+1 per unit present (whatever the type)
-1 if there is an Heresy in the Area
-1 if the subduer is of a different religion than the one of the Area
(an area with an heresy is considered of the heretic religion)
 A leader provides as many Re-Rolls as its combat value.
 City walls are ignored, there is no siege or combat here.
 If the result is a success, the province is subdued and the revolt
removed.
 If it is a failure, the revolt stays in place and the nation loses 1 unit (of
its choice among those present).

F. Untamed Revolts
 Each revolt still in existence costs 1 Gold + the province (and its city)
income is lost each turn, as long as not subdued.
 If the province changes control (to another nation), the revolt is still not
subdued. The new owner must attempt to subdue it, which can be done
immediately after conquest.
Example: in 375 AD, Rome suffers 2 revolts. The Roman players rolls a D6,
result is 5  Africa (an Area with an heresy). Another D6 is rolled to determine
the player who places the revolt; roll is 2  it's the Roman player (himself!). He
selects a province in Africa, and places a revolt in Tripolitania. Rome loses 1 + ½
(province) +2 (heresy) = 3½ Gold from its income.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 7


IX. STACKING X. MOVEMENT
A. Presentation A. Presentation
 There is a stacking limit in each province.  A player can move as many units of the active nation as he wants
 Each military unit is worth 1. during the nation's movement phase (all, some or none).
 Stacking of military units is checked after movements of the nation  Each unit as a movement potential (see B below), renewed in full each
(thus before combats), and also after retreats. turn.
 During movement, an unlimited number of units may cross a friendly  A nation must move its units, stack by stack as this is important for
province. interception of flight attempts.
 Only units of the active nation are taken into account (no matter what  A stacks moves with the potential of the slowest unit it contains (and
the opponent is or has in case of battle). the said unit can be dropped off at the start or during the course of the
move).
B. Stacking Limits  A stack moves from a province to an adjacent province (with a
 The base limit is 4 units in most regions except mountains: 3 units. common border or connection). It is not possible to skip intermediary
 Presence of a leader gives a bonus (left value « +x »). provinces during the move.
 During an invasion, the invader receives during his turn a +1 stacking  Non expended movement capacity cannot be kept from one turn to the
bonus for all his stacks. next, or transferred from an unit to another.
Example : a barbarian leader with a stacking value of +2 may have 6 units (4  During movement, there are no stacking limits. Once movement is
terrain +2 leader )in most provinces or only 5 units in mountains (3 terrain +2 completed, stacking must be respected, whether the province of arrival is
leader). friendly or not.

C. Special Cases B. Movement Capacity


 A single Limes counter is allowed in a province, and it  A land unit can only move a limited number of provinces each turn.
never counts in the stacking (set it up next to units, in a  Units are split into 3 genres (for movement):
clearly visible different stack).  Infantry: 3 provinces.
 A Horde is never stacked. Set it up independently, alone,  Cavalry: 4 provinces.
clearly visible next to a barbarian stack (if any). It never  A barbarian Horde has its own specific movement capacity (shown on
counts in the stacking limit.
the counter).
 The same applies to a fortified city or a pillage marker.  A Leader increases the above by +1 province.
 A leader is placed on top of its stack. It never counts in the stacking  A Limes counter never moves (fixed).
limit.  Rivers or Terrain have no influence on movement.
 See section XVII for Naval Movement

C. End of Movement
 A stack must stop when it enters a province which contains units of
another nation (even if played by the same player).
 Exceptions: see  Overrun (X.F below) ; Passage in force (X.G
below) ; Submitted Nations (XXI) or Allies (XXII).

D. Leader and Movement


 A unit that moves with a leader can move 1 extra province (4
provinces for Infantries, 5 for Cavalries), but only if the said unit moves
with the said leader during all its movement.
 At the start of the nation's turn, a leader can be placed on a friendly
stack anywhere, without taking into account distance, even beyond the
seas.

E. Dropping Off or Collecting


 A stack may "drop off" units from the original stack, or "collect" units
which have not moved along the way. The movement capacity remains
that of the slowest unit inside the stack from start of move.
 A dropped-off unit may continue to move further if it has some
remaining movement capacity.

F. Overrun
 If a moving stack has 6 units (or more) versus 1 single opposing unit
(in defense), the moving stack can overrun it.
 The defending unit is then eliminated without combat.
 An Overrun costs 2 in movement (instead of the regular one to move
into a province) for the moving stack (therefore you can't overrun if you
have only 1 movement capacity left).

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 8


 Exceptions: Roman Limes or Fortified Cities cancel all Overrun and  A Limes cannot retreat (it is eliminated instead).
block movement.  If the Roman player loses, then recaptures a province on the border
Example: Roman emperor Julian invades Persia with 7 units. He moves through with a Limes, he may immediately place it back there, free of cost.
Adiabene where 1 Persian unit is located. The Persian refuses to react  At the end of turn 7, all Limes are removed from play and become
(interception or flight). The Roman player announces an Overrun and eliminates local units (check the back of the counter): «Themae» for Byzantium,
the Persian unit, at the cost of 2 of its movement capacity. Julian pursues its «Gallo-roman, etc… » for Rome. Those units will follow some special
move to Akkad where there is another Persian unit, which does not react either. rules  check Rome / Byzantium sheet.
The Roman does a second overrun, spending another 2 of its movement. Julian
should now stop as his infantry can no longer follow (3+1 for leader in move
K. Straits
capacity)...
 An arrow on the map linking two provinces
G. Passage in Force over a sea indicates a straits.
 This is a special movement that allows you to cross an enemy
province without stopping there.  A land force may cross a Straits, no fleet is necessary.
 If you move 2 times as many units in the attacked province as the  To move through a Straits, the stack must be at the start of its move
defender possess in the said province, those defending units are on the province on the side of the straits, and move then to the other
considered as "neutralized". side.
 You can then cross freely the said province with other units. Your  A straits forbids overruns or passage in force.
leader is not counted there.
L. Scythian Steppes, Arabia Desert, Maghreb
 Units that you used for the passage in force can't move any further
after this. In addition a battle will take place in the concerned province.  Those barbarian provinces are forbidden, except for some units.
 Exceptions: Roman Limes, fortified cities and straits do not allow  Arabia Desert: province forbidden to all except Arabian pillagers.
passage in force.  Maghreb: All provinces in the Area are forbidden to all, except the
Maures and Berbers pillagers.
Example: the Visigoth has 1 unit en Aquitania. The Frank player moves 2 units in
this province to make a passage in force. Other Frankish units can now freely
move through Aquitania (without stopping). If the Visigoth has had 3 units in
Aquitania, the Frankish player would have need 6 units to move there and
established passage in force, which would only be possible with a leader (4 for
terrain + 2 leader)..

H. Migration of a Horde
 A barbarian Horde can move freely only when using a « migration ».
 To migrate, the horse must move with all units of the nation together
and without attacking (during the movement phase).
 In case of an « Invasion », migration is free and without the above
constraint.
 A leader can do campaigns or move as he wants after a migration.
 A horde may never migrate during a leader campaign (as it is not
allowed to stack with a leader).
 A horde may settle inside an empty barbarian province without fighting.

I. Invasions
 The Time Table indicates the turns where barbarian nations have an
Invasion.
 A nation in invasion is particularly active and dangerous.
 Invasion
 The barbarian nations plays twice in a row: 1) movement - combat, 2)
movement, combat.
 It benefits from a stacking bonus of +1 unit, everywhere. Cumulative
with the leader bonus.
 His leader may make his campaigns afterward and keep this
exceptional stacking bonus.

J. The Roman Limes


 The borders of the Roman empire are protected by the
« Limes » (fortifications and walls) till 500 AD, i.e. turn 7
(included).
 The Roman (Western and Eastern) has various « Limes » counters
setup in the border provinces.
 Limes have a blocking effect. All invaders must stop when they cross
into a border province where a Limes is located.
 No passage in force or overrun is possible.
 The Limes counter is setup in a separate stack, clearly visible, next to
any Roman stack present. It does not count in the stacking limit.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 9


 The opponent runs a flight test (on a D10). The flight succeeds on 9+
XI. OPPONENTS REACTION modified as follows:
+? Combat value of the leader (i.e. of fleeing stack nation, if
A. Enemy Interception present)
 When you invade enemy territory, the opponent may react and +3 the invaded province has a fortified city
announce an immediate «interception» allowing him to move 1 stack +3 the opponent has twice has many units
towards the invaded province. -1 the opponent has less cavalry
 The opponent may react with 1 stack of his choice without leader.
 Success:
 He may also, in addition, react and intercept with all stacks with
 Flight succeeds, the opponent may move away up to 3 provinces,
leaders.
without being intercepted.
 The opponent must announce all his interceptions before testing them.
 Flight is not allowed into invaded provinces.
 A land connection must exist between the location of the intercepting
 Units may be dropped off along the way during flight.
stack and that of the intercepted one (straits or passage through allied
territory are allowed). The bigger the distance, the lesser the chance the  Stacking must be respected in the destination province.
interception to succeed.  Move capacity is not considered, as fleeing is a special case
 Movement capacity is not considered, as interception is a special movement.
movement case.  After the resolution of the opponent's flight, the active player stack may
 Warning, an enemy stack itself under attack cannot intercept (even if continue moving.
attacked by a smaller force than itself).  Beware, the opponent stack, even if it fled, may still intercept you later
 The opponent must first announce the selected stack, then run an on...
interception test with a D10. Interception succeeds on a roll of 6+,  Failure:
modified as follows:  When flight fails, the opponent stack remains in the attacked province
+? Combat value of the leader present (if any) and a battle will take place there.
+3 the target province is the opponent's capital
-1 per province non-adjacent to target (i.e. provinces to cross)
-2 mountain crest or straits crossed
+2 empire
 However, there is no possibility to intercept beyond 3 Areas (ex. from
Constantinople, the Byzantine player may intercept up to anywhere in
Syria, but not into Egypt).
 Each stack attempting interception must make its own D10 test roll.
 Success:
 Interception succeeds, the opponent moves his stack to target
province.
 He may drop off units in his starting location.
 The opponent must respect stacking in the destination (target)
province.
 All units in excess regarding stacking must remain in the starting
province.
 Intercepted moving stacks cease moving (but can use passage in force
if relevant or applicable). A battle shall take place in the destination
province during the combat phase.
 Failure:
Interception fails, in which case the intercepting opponent stack
remains in its starting province.
 It can no longer attempt to intercept your moving stack (i.e. in other
provinces further your movement path). But it can attempt to intercept
other stacks that will move afterwards.
Example: en 375 AD, the Visigoth plays and invades the Roman Empire in
Moesia. The Roman player reacts and announces his intent to intercept with 2
different Roman stacks: a stack without leader (in Constantinople), and a stack
currently in Syria with Emperor Valens.
The first stack is tested: D10 roll is 3, it's a failure. The second stack is also
tested, Roll is 10, with modifiers +1 (leader) +2 (empire) -2 (straits) -4
(intervening non-adjacent provinces) = 7, ca success.
The second Roman stack moves to Moesia, but must leave on unit behind in
Syria to respect stacking at the destination: 4 (plain) +2 (leader) = 6 units.

B. Enemy Flight
 The opponent is also allowed to immediately «flee» as soon as the
active player moves in.
 The stack in the invaded province can attempt to flee. It may leave
some units behind and flee with others (note the leader, if present, will
apply whether he flees himself or not).

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 10


 Then each player rolls a D12 and applies the result. No matter who
XII. COMBAT starts rolling, results are simultaneous.
 There are some tactical modifiers to be taken into account.
Battle Sequence  Each player inflicts a certain number of «hits» to his opponent.
 The player decides and chooses his own losses: i.e. he selects which
1. Calculation of bonus of his units are damaged or eliminated.
2. Fire (archers) or Ambush (mountains)  A hit eliminates a normal unit or damages an elite unit (which is then
3. 1st round of battle (with possible retreat?) placed on its back side, showing the normal infantry unit).
4. 2nd round of battle (except if previous retreat)
 After the 1st round, the cavalry or heavy advantages are checked
5. Victory?
again, as well as all elite bonus, then the 2nd round is processed.
6. Retreat
 Mercenaries
7. Losses Recovery
 When a stack is «mixed» and contains both national units and foreign
A. Presentation units (i.e. allies), the player must eliminate in priority 1 national unit
(from his own) before mercenaries.
 After movement, combat takes place in every province that has units of
2 different nations (even if they belong to the same player).  All following losses can be taken freely.
 The active nation is the «Attacker», the other is the «Defender».
E. Advantages (a.k.a. Tactical Superiorities)
 When more than one battle is taking place, the Attacker can select the
 There are two of them: cavalry and heavy. They must be checked
order in which they are resolved.
before battle start.
 Each battle is resolved till completion, one after the other.
 The must be re-calculated each round.
 A battle lasts at most 2 rounds and ends at the completion of the
second one.  Cavalry Superiority
 Some losses in the battle may be recovered after its completion.  A player with 2 cavalries more than his opponent (all cavalry
 The victor is the side with the less losses (if equal, the best leader types), or 1 cavalry if the opponent has only 1 infantry type unit.
wins, if equal again, the defender wins).  This player receives a +1 to his D12.
 A leader does not fight directly but confers a bonus to the units under
 Heavy Superiority
his command.
 A player with 2 heavy units more than his opponent (all
B. Archers' Fire types), or 1 heavy unit if the opponent has only 1 non-heavy unit
(any type).
 The «archers» units of both sides, if present, will engage in
an exchange of fire before the start of the 1st round of battle.  The opponent suffers a penalty of -1 to his D12.
 The Fire Table is used.
F. Elite Bonus
 Each side rolls a D12 (if it has archers firing) and applies the result,
usually 0, 1 or 2 hits.  If a side has at least 2 elite units (diamond symbol) , it receives a
 Order of fire is unimportant as fire and results are simultaneous. +1 to its D12. This does not take into account whatever elite units could
be present or not on the other side.
 Modifiers (to the D12) :
+1 per archer  This bonus is checked every round.
-2 if the opponent has the heavy advantage.  Rome, Byzantium: if Rome has 4 elite units, the bonus becomes +2.
 Archers will still battle in the normal ensuing round(s). The Guard unit by itself is worth 2 elite units.
 Franks: Frankish infantry had a special axe, the «francisque» and is  Reminder: a Barbarian nation cannot used his elite units as such (the
thus considered as an archer, but with a bonus limited to +½ per symbol is ignored, they are for now 'normal') and must become civilized
Frankish infantry (rounded up). to consider them as elite.

C. Mountain Ambush G. Tactical Modifiers


 If the battle takes place in a mountain, the Defender can setup an  There are a few Tactical Modifiers which will modify the D12 of both
ambush. the attacker and the defender.
 All defending units «fire» as if they are archers during the Fire  Those bonus or penalties modify the D12 of the player each round.
sequence, but only with a value of +½ per unit (but the archers  The river, straits or mountain crest penalties to the Attacker only
themselves keep their normal +1 value). apply if the Defender made no interception (successful or not).
 No special bonus is granted to real archers for ambushes (same for  Attacker
Frankish infantry). -1 marshes, straits
 Exception: no ambush takes place if the attacking leader has a -1 river or mountain crest, 1st round (only)
"Mountain" symbol: Alarich, Belisarius, Fergus, Baïan in this volume. -1 forest if the Defender is a non-Nomad barbarian
+1 in barbarian provinces (barbarian vs. civilized)
D. Round of Combat
 The two rounds of battle will take place now, one after the other.  Defender
+1 fortified city, straits
 Each players totals and sums up the number of units, which
determines the column used on the Combat Table.  Tactical Situation
 Important: a horde attacked is worth as 1 unit in defense. Warning, it +1 have 2+ elites (+2 for Rome or Byzantium with 4+ elites)
cannot suffer a hit. +1 empire vs. barbarian
 Both players check their respective advantages ( see E: cavalry, +1 nomad in steppes
heavy), Elite units presence (see F) and tactical modifiers (see G: +1 Cavalry advantage
terrain, status, etc…). -1 Heavy advantage (penalty inflicted on the opponent
+? event card
Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 11
 Retreating units of the Defender may pass through and/or retreat into
H. Leaders Re-Rolls provinces where a battle is yet to be resolved. Set them aside, they will
 Each leader has a Combat (a.k.a. tactical value 0 to 3) (top left). be ignored in the said battle. In case of a defeat there, they will be
 This value is the number of Re-Rolls (i.e. number of times the D12 can unaffected but will be forced to retreat again.
be rolled again) that this leader may ask during a battle.  While retreat, a barbarian may cross any province in a Barbarian Area,
 Each round, both players roll their respective D12 and may announce if whether it is occupied or not.
they ask for a Re-Roll (Attacker first).
 A Re-Roll can be asked either in his own favor, or against the N. Roman Limes
opponent.  Combat is handled differently if the Limes is alone in the
 When a Re-Roll is asked, the target player immediately re-rolls his province or a Roman stack is also present.
D12, the new result now applies.  Limes alone
 This can occur as many times as there are re-rolls.  There is no real battle. The Limes is destroyed, but it may inflict a loss,
 Re-rolls don't need to be used all at once, some can be kept for usage determined by the roll of a dice: even result 1 hit, odd result nothing.
during the 2nd round.  Nevertheless, the Limes will stop the invader.
 When a player used all his-Rolls, no more can be asked till the end of  If the Roman player succeeds in intercepting inside the Limes
the battle. province, the Limes is still destroyed and fight as above before the arrival
 A player is never forced to use all his Re-Rolls (especially if he likes his of the Roman stack.
D12 - or his opponent's - rolls).
 NB: no Re-Roll can be asked during the Fire or Ambush sequence,  Limes with other forces
they can only take place during the normal battle rounds.  A Roman stack is already present.
 The Limes fights and is counted as 1 unit for the Roman (but is still not
I. Victory counted for stacking). It may suffer a loss during the battle.
 Victory is checked in the following decreasing order of importance:
1. The player who eliminates all opposing units is the victor. Example I: battle of Osrohene
2. The player with the less eliminated units is the victor. In 350 AD, Roman Emperor Julian fights a battle against the Sassanid Persian
3. If the number of losses is equivalent, the Defender wins if he Shapur II in front of the fortified city of Nisibis, recently captured by the Persians.
 Romans (7 units): 1 Guard*, 2 Legions**, 3 elites, 1 Palatine cavalry *
has a fortified city or his Horde is present.
 Persians (6 units): 1 Immortals cavalry*, 1 heavy cavalry*, 3 horse archers,
4. If the number of losses is equivalent, the best general in Combat
1 elite
Value wins.
5. If the generals combat values are identical, the Defender wins. [* = heavy]
 The loser must retreat. a) Tactical advantages:
The Roman has 7 elites (bonus +2) = +2 ; and the Heavy advantage
J. Elimination of Leaders? The Persian has the cavalry advantage (+1), 2 elites (+1) and the fortified city
 If the enemy stack is totally destroyed, its leader must make a test on a (+1)  +3 -1 (Roman heavy advantage as a penalty) = +2.
D10: even result nothing happens, odd result eliminated. b) Fire :
 An eliminated intrinsic leader is placed as a reinforcement for the next The Persian archers fire  dice 5 +3 (archers) -2 (heavy) = 6  nothing.
turn. c) 1st round :
(Leaders: Julian has 3 Re-Rolls and Shapur II has 2.)
K. Recovery of Losses The Roman rolls a D12 and gets a 11 +2 = 13. The Persian rolls a 6 +2 = 8. The
 At the end of a battle, each player regains 2 eliminated units (of his Persian does not like it and asks for two re-rolls, one for the Roman and one for
choice). himself (he therefore uses all his re-rolls…).
 An eliminated elite unit is recovered damaged, i.e. on the back side. Roman re-roll on the D12 is now 6, sot 6 +2 = 8. Persian re-roll is 5 +2 = 7. The
Persian must keep his roll (which is worse than the first time)... but the Roman
 Small Battles:
asks for a re-roll for himself, and throws the D12 again.
- if one of the two players has 2 units, only 1 unit is recovered by He gets 6 +2 = 8. He still does not like it and asks for another re-roll, this time
each side; getting 8 +2 = 10. He decides to keep the roll, saving his third and last re-roll for
- if one of the players has 1 unit only, no loss is recovered. a potential usage in the second round.
Roman: 7 units, D12 : 8 +2 = 10  4 hits.
L. Flipping to front side of Elite unit Persian: 6 units, D12 : 5 +2 = 7  2 hits.
 A civilized nation (kingdom / empire) receives an extra privilege at the  The Roman flips 2 elite on the back side.
end of a battle: 1 elite unit can be flipped back from its back side to its  The Persian flips his Immortal cavalry on the back side, flips and then
front side. removes 1 elite, and eliminate 1 horse archer.
 This is done only after recovery of losses. d) 2nd round : the tactical situation has changed for the Persian as he lost his 2
 Both sides (victor and loser) may benefit from this privilege if they are elites (now on their "normal" back side)  his bonus goes down to +1 (fortified
both civilized. city).
The Roman rolls his D12 and obtains 4 +2 = 6. The Persian rolls 8 +1 = 9. The
M. Retreat Roman asks for his last re-roll, for himself, and gets 6 +2 = 8.
 At the end of the battle, the loser must retreat, and this may be up to 3 Roman: 7 units, D12 : 6 +2 = 8  3 hits.
provinces. Persia : 4 units, D12 : 8 +1 = 9  2 hits.
 The Roman removes his already hit elite units to satisfy the 2 hits.
 Retreat is allowed and possible towards adjacent friendly provinces
 The Persian destroys 2 horse archers and his already hit Immortal cavalry.
(i.e. belonging to the same nation, or allied to it) or into empty ones and,
in both cases, where the stacking limit is not reached. e) End of the Battle: the Roman wins (2 units lost vs. 5 for the Persian).
 The Attacker must retreat towards the province where it came from. The Persian recovers 2 losses: one elite, and his Immortals cavalry (both of them
on their back side).He decides to retreat as far as Akkad (at 3 provinces away
 The Defender may never retreat towards the province where the
from the battle).
Attacker came from. This is very important.
Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 12
The Roman recovers 2 losses, placing his eliminated elite back into play on their The Roman has 4+ elite units (+2) and the advantage empire / barbarian (+1) =
back side. +3 ; and not the Heavy advantage, so total +2.
As both players are civilized, they can put back on hit elite unit back to its front, The Visigoth has 2+ elite (+1), Cavalry advantage (+1), so total +2 and the heavy
which the Persian does with his Immortal cavalry and the Roman with one of his advantage.
elite units.
b) Fire :
f) Siege of Nisibis (fortified city): 7 (base) -2 (walls value) +1 (empire) = 8+. The Roman horse archer B fires and rolls 7 +1 (archer) -2 (heavy) = 6 
The Roman does not assault and rolls 4 dices instead (1 base + 3 for Julian nothing.
combat value) : 6, 9, 3, 7  victory ! Nisibis surrenders and becomes Roman
c) 1st round :
again.
(Leaders: Fritigern has 2 Re-Rolls, Valens has 1.)
See Next chapter (XIV) for siege resolution details.
Roman D12 gives at 7 +2 = 9, and the Visigoth obtains 9 +2 = 11. The Roman
asks for the Visigoth to re-roll, which he does, and gets again 9 +2 = 11. The
Example II - Battle of Colmar
Roman no longer has re-rolls...
In 375 AD, the Alaman invades Gaul and crosses the Rhine. The Limes stops
him, the time that the Western Roman army (let by Emperor Gratian) intercepts Visigoth: 7 units, D12 = 9 +2 = 11  5 hits.
him. As it is an interception, the Rhine crossing has no effect (the Alamans got Roman: 5 units, D12 = 7 +2 = 9  3 hits.
enough time to cross the river).  The Visigoth loses 2 infantries and 1 heavy cavalry.
The Limes, alone at the border, is destroyed before the arrival of Gratian's army.  The Roman flips and loses his elite, flips his Palatine cavalry and loses the
A die is rolled, the result is odd, so no hit is inflicted on the invader. horse archer B and the infantry B.
 Alamans (6 units) : 6 infantries d) 2nd round : the tactical situation has changed, as the Roman no longer has
 Romans (5 units) : 1 elite cavalry, 3 Federate infantries B***, 1 infantry his Guard (worth 2 elite units) so his bonus is reduced to +1.
(the back side of the Palatine cavalry) The Roman rolls a D12 and obtains 7 +1 = 8, while the Visigoth obtains 2 +2 = 4.
[* = heavy] The Visigoth uses his first Re-Roll for himself and this time he gets 9 +2 = 11. As
he is pleased with the dices, he decides not to use his remaining Re-roll.
a) Tactical advantages: Visigoth: 4 units, D12 : 9 +2 = 11  3 hits.
The Roman has the advantage empire / barbarian (+1) = +1 ; and the Heavy
Roman: 2 units, D12 = 7 +1 = 8  1 hit.
advantage.
The Alaman has no advantage, and a 'disadvantage' : +0 -1 (heavy) = -1.
 The Visigoth loses 1 heavy cavalry.
 The Roman loses all his units...
b) Fire :
None, as there are no archers on either side. e) End of the Battle: the Visigoth wins as his enemy is eliminated.
The Roman recovers 2 units, his Guard and his Palatine cavalry (both on the
c) 1st round : back side).
(Leaders: Gratian and the intrinsic Alaman leader both have 1 Re-Roll.) The Visigoth recovers 2 heavy cavalries.
The Roman rolls a D12 and gets 9 +1 = 10, while the Alaman obtains 7 -1 = 6. The Roman is the only one civilized and puts his Guard unit back to full strength
The Alaman ask his opponent to re-roll his die, and this time the D12 shows 4 +1 (front side).
= 5… The Roman is unhappy and asks a Re-Roll for himself, getting 10 +1 = 11. The Eastern Roman army is now only 2 units strong and retreat to
Nobody has any re-roll in store now. Constantinople…
Alamans: 6 units, D12 = 7 -1 = 6  2 hits.
f) Test of Valens: the Eastern Roman army was destroyed in battle, and thus its
Romans: 5 units, D12 = 10 +1 = 11  4 hits.
leader must be tested: the die is 3, odd  Valens is killed (see leader
The Alaman loses 4 infantries.
elimination rules).
 The Roman loses 2 heavy infantries B.
Special: Emperor Theodose is immediately received as reinforcement on the
d) 2nd round : the tactical situation has changed, as the Roman no longer has
vanquished Roman stack (see Rome sheet).
the Heavy advantage, so the Alaman no longer suffers from the -1 penalty
Alamans: 2 units, D12 = 8  1 hit.
Romans: 3 units, D12 = 8 +1 = 9  2 hits.
 The Alaman is totally destroyed and loses his last 2 units.
 The Roman loses his last heavy infantry B.
e) End of the Battle: the Roman wins (3 units lost vs. 6 for the Alamans).
The Roman recovers 2 heavy infantries B.
The Alaman recovers 2 units (infantries).
The Roman being the sole civilized regains the right to flip his damaged Palatine
cavalry back to the front side.. she is up to full strength again.
The Alaman barbarian goes back across the Rhine and wait for better times in
the forests of Germania…
The Western Roman army is however reduced to 4 units, but Emperor Gratian,
recent victor of the invaders, is now ready to help his uncle Valens in the East..or
not…

Example III - Battle of Adrianople


In 375 AD, king Fritigern invades the Empire with his Visigoths, under a major
invasion. He crosses easily the Danube, crushing the Limes there without a loss.
The Eastern Roman army and intercepts it, under command of Emperor Valens.
Western Roman empire tries to intercept too, but is too far and fails... A big battle
will start. The Visigoth can have 7 units because of the invasion (stacking 4 +
leader 2 + invasion 1). His Ostrogoth allies lends him 1 Noble cavalry.
 Visigoth (7 units): 5 heavy cavalries*****, 2 infantries
 Roman (5 units): 1 Guard**, 1 elite, 1 Palatine cavalry*, 1 horse
archer B, 1 infantry B
[* = heavy]
a) Tactical advantages:

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 13


XIII. MILITARY CAMPAIGNS XIV. SIEGES
A. Presentation A. Presentation
 Once a nation took its normal move and combat sequence, its leaders  When a stack is victoriously entering a province (enemy beaten, or
may continue to play by taking campaigns. empty province) with a city, a siege takes place.
 The leaders have a «campaign» value indicated on their counters
(lower right), between 0 and 3.
 A campaigning leader will be allowed to move again once or more after NB: Cities can be fortified or not
its nation turn a number of times equal to this campaign value.
 A leader with a value of 0 has no campaign obviously.  Siege is resolved immediately after battles.
 Before the start of its campaign, a leader and its stack may be moved  If the besieger cannot take the city, he must raise the siege and retreat
anywhere within connected friendly territory, then the campaign starts. to another friendly province ( see XII.M).
 If a nation has many leaders, they can campaign in the order desired, If the city is taken by siege, it becomes looted (place a pillage marker
as campaigns can be taken as the nation's controller wishes. there). A pillaged (= looted) city brings only ½ Gold in income in the next
 A barbarian can never move during a campaign (as the horde cannot administration phase (whatever its actual level).
be stacked with a leader).
B. Barbarian Terror
B. Units without Leader  When a Barbarian leader moves, a wake of terror precedes him and
 A leader may collect or drop off units along his campaign movement, may inspire a non fortified city to surrender without a fight or siege.
as desired, as long this remains within movement limits.  Before siege is resolved, roll a dice: even pillage ; odd nothing and city
 He may also aggregate units from nearby provinces and integrate will resist.
them inside his stack and then move them, etc... as long as each such  When the city is pillaged, the Barbarian nation receives a booty of 2
unit never exceeds its own movement limits. Gold + 1 pillage chit per city level.
 As a consequence of the above, the units with leaders can have then  The chit(s) is placed on top of the city as a reminder.
played (in their normal turn), played again (with the leader in the  When the city resists, a siege must be made (if not, the province must
campaign), and played again etc... as long as they are with the be evacuated).
campaigning leader.  In all cases the Barbarian leader may continue his movement.

C. Opponent's Reaction  Exception: if the city is fortified, the Terror effect is ignored.
 When a leader undertaking a campaign invades an opponent's
province, the said opponent may react and intercept. C. Siege
 Or flee.  To resolve the siege, the besieger rolls a D10 + as a bonus an extra
number of D10 equal to the leader's combat value. ++
The city falls and is taken if any one of the rolled D10 shows a result of
7+.
+1 assault ordered: besieger takes 2 hits (see below)
+1 civilized besieger (kingdom / empire)
-1 nomadic besieger (till turn 9)
+1 besieger is "decadent"
- ? wall value (fortified city ), -2 to -4 ( or -1 for Roma city)
-1 turns 4 and 5 for non fortified cities
-1 port city and enemy fleet at sea (not applicable if assault
ordered)
 The besieger may order an assault, to get an extra bonus of +1. In
exchange, he suffers 2 hits which cannot be recovered.
 If the siege test succeeds, the city is taken and pillaged: 2 Gold + 1
pillage chit per city level.
 The pillage chit is placed on top of the city.
 Some chits have secondary effects (e.g. gain of a campaign, usurper,
etc..).
 The besieger may however decided not to pillage the city.
 If the siege test fails, the city resists and the besieger must retreat.
 A siege may however be maintained, during a leader's campaign (only)
by leaving one unit in the besieged city province (and a siege test will be
made during each subsequent campaign, even if the leader is not
present). While the unit left behind maintains the siege, the leader is free
to act elsewhere.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 14


XV. FORTIFIED CITIES
A. Presentation
 In 350 AD, there are some fortified cities directly indicated (printed) on
the map, with a wall symbol around them.
 During setup, please place a fortified city marker on them.
 All capitals (present or future) are fortified.

B. Benefits
 A fortified city has a blocking effect against all opposing nations.
 It forbids all passage in force, overrun and raid in depth.
 A fortified city is immune to the Barbarian terror effect.
 Civilized nations: if a battle takes place in the fortified city province, the
Defender gets a +1 to his D12 in both rounds of that battle.
 A fortified city inflicts a penalty of -2 in case of siege.
 but Rome inflicts only a -1.
 Ctesiphon, Ravenna and Constantinople inflict -3 (can go up to -4 for
the latter after Theodosian Walls built)

C. Fortifying a City
Example: on turn 2, the Visigoth invades Graecia and reaches Athina (a non  A civilized nation may fortify a city, but this is a heavy cost.
fortified city). Testing the barbarian terror effect, he rolls a die, but result is odd,
meaning no effect...… Athina resists and a siege must be laid to capture the city.  To do so, he must pay 15 Gold during the administration phase.
Visigoth leader Fritigern decides not to assault as he wants to preserve his army.  A fortified city marker is then placed on the city of the target province.
He suffers a penalty of -1 to his D10 because there is a Roman fleet in the
Aegean sea, adjacent to the harbor of Athina (therefore supplying the city). D. Non-fortified Cities Specials
To succeed, a 7+ is needed. Fritigern has a 2 combat value. He rolls 3 D10 (1 +  A Barbarian may easily conquer non fortified cities thanks to the
its leader value of 2) and gets : 3, 9 and 1. The second die is 9 -1 = 8  the city Barbarian terror effect (see above  XIV. Siege).
is captured!
The Visigoth loots Athina (a level II city), and receives 2 Gold + 2 pillage markers  Turns 4 and 5 (425-450) :
(as it is a level II city) (they bring an extra 3 gold). The final loot is thus  2 + 3 =  During those 2 turns, non fortified cities have a special resistance
5 Gold. bonus of -1 in case of siege. This represents the special defensive effort
that was undertaken during that period of heavy invasions.
D. Dismantling the Walls
 When a fortified city is captured, the conqueror may decide to
dismantle (tear down) its walls.
 In such a case, the fortification marker on the city is removed.
 Exception: a capital is and remains always fortified.

E. Recuperation of Pillaged Cities


 A pillaged city is worth only ½ Gold in income in the next
administration phase (whatever its actual level).
 At the end of the reinforcement phase that follows this administration,
all pillaged markers are removed from pillaged cities.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 15


D. Raid Resolution
XVI. RAIDS  Roll a D10, modified as follows:

A. Presentation -1 per adverse unit present/crossed +1 previous raid is (-)


+2 previous raid is (+)
 Some yet inactive barbarians called pillagers will effect Raids
at the beginning of each turn, as listed on the Time Table.  Result
To do so, a simple D10 test is made.  [1-4]: failure  1 unit lost (active raiding barbarian only).
 Active Barbarians may also make a raid during their turn, but in such a  [5-6]: raid (-)  gain of 1 Gold and place a Raid (-) marker
case they forfeit all other actions.  [7-10]:raid (+)  gain of a pillage marker (1 to 3 Gold income)
 Each pillager or Barbarian has its own Raid marker. and place a Raid (+) marker
 The objective of raiding is to loot one opposing province instead of  The pillage marker is selected randomly and placed on the province
conquering it. site.
 The target enemy province shall be a treasury site, that is a civilized  A raid (+) entails the elimination of any present Limes unit.
province with an empty city site (the yellow square on the map).  [11-12] : raid (+)  gain of a pillage marker (1 to 3 Gold income) +
 When such a site is pillaged, a pillage chit is drawn at random and the 2 units of the raider are placed inside the looted province, in addition
placed on the empty site. to the Raid (+) marker.
 If a given site is already looted, no further raid is possible there (for as  Those pillagers / barbarians may move when this is their turn.
long as the pillage chit remains in place).  in Britannia, those units will be added to the reinforcements when the
pillager becomes an active nation.
 A raid can be effected up to 2 provinces in depth in adverse territory,
except if it has to go through a province with a Limes or a fortified city in E. Recovery from Pillage
the first province.  At the end of the reinforcement phase following the next
 The first province can be crossed by raiders even if there are enemy administration, each Area removes 2 pillage markers from the various
units in it. But those enemy units will inflict a penalty. sites of looted provinces within the Area (no more).
 As a consequence, a looted Area will take time to recover.
B. Inactive Nations as Pillagers
 Those nations are indicated on the Time Table, at the start of each F. The Pillage Chit
turn.  Each pillage cheat brings from 1 to 3 Gold.
 Each of those has its own Raid marker , and 2 units that may  Sometimes, the chit also specifies an event in favor of the pillager (in
possibly invade the enemy territory in case of very successful raid (see such a case keep it aside and put any other pillage chit on the map), or
below). the appearance of an usurper in the target nation (i.e. the one owning
 Inactive Nations as Pillagers in 350 AD the looted province)  See Rome Aide.
 Picts, Hibernia and Scots in Britannia (first one is played by the Goth,
second by the Hun, the last one by the Persian). F. Raids and VPs
 Berbers in Africa (played by the Hun).  Raids will bring VPs if successuf: 1 for a Raid (-), 3 for a Raid (+).
 Kushans in Iran (played by the Goth).
 Arabs in Persia or Oriens (played by the Hun).
 Later, some other pillagers enter play: Angles and Jutes in
Britannia (turns 3 and 4, before they become active there) ; Blemmyes
in Egypt ; Viking in Britannia.
Exception
 When a pillager, in Britannia, becomes an active nation, it immediately
ceases raiding as a pillager (i.e. Picts, Scots, Angles and Jutes).

C. Active Nations - Barbarians


 An active Barbarian nation may also Raid during its turn (use its raid
marker).
 2 units shall be assigned to the Raid, and 1 of them eliminated in case
of failure.
 When doing a raid with an active Barbarian, the nation must announce
a pass, i.e. it will do nothing else.
 They may however move units within controlled provinces.
 The target treasury site shall be within 1 or 2 provinces from the
raiding nation's horde. The raid may cross a barbarian province
(occupied or non) without penalty.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 16


XVII. SEA MOVEMENT & WARFARE E. Naval Battle
 A naval battle lasts 2 rounds, as in land, except that there is no fire
A. Warfleets phase.
 A warfleet is placed permanently at sea.  No combat modifier applies, unless mandated by an event.
 In the Mediterranean and Black Seas, if one side controls all coastal
 Each warfleet may move up to 4 seas per
turn, but can never be more than 2 seas from a cities of the sea where the battle takes place, it can have 2 Re-
coastal city controlled by their owning nation. Rolls.
 Rome, Byzantium: their units may take 2 hits (put on back side after
 Stacking at sea is particular, on the principle of stacks made of a first hit). If such a unit is not eliminated, it is flipped back to front side
maximum of 2 warfleets together. Therefore it is possible to have 2 after the end of the battle.
stacks in the same sea belonging to the same nation (e.g. Byzantium may  There is no victor or loser in a naval battle.
place 4 fleets in Aegean Sea, in two different stacks of 2 warfleets each).  When a naval battle takes place during Amphibious Landing (not naval
 There can be any number of stacks in the same sea and they can transport), the side effecting the landing must inflict more hits than the
coexist (as long as no stack has more than 2 warfleets). opponent (or sink all its units), otherwise the landing is cancelled (same
as in dispersal, see  C.).
B. Naval Transport
 Nations may cross seas either at a straits (rare) or while being F. Blockade of Straits
transported by warfleets.  A fleet may blockade the passage of a straits, in order to prevent an
 A naval stack may carry up to 6 units (+ one leader). enemy stack to cross the straits. This may happen even if a friendly (to
 When in transport, the whole operation counts as 1 move both for the the land stack) fleet is also present in the same sea.
fleet stack and the land stack.  To free the passage, the fleet friendly to the land stack must then start
 Transport cannot only be made from a friendly province to another a naval battle and inflict more hits. In such a case, the blockading fleet is
friendly province. forced to accept the battle if it wants to continue blockading the straits.
 A fleet may move, transport, move, make another transport, in any
order desired.
 A transported land stack may move after naval transport (with keeping
in mind that 1 move was "consumed" by the naval transport).
 A Nomad Barbarian may never use naval transport.

C. Amphibious Landing
 This is the action of moving into an enemy or empty coastal province.
 It is processed like a naval transport, but there is a sea risk to check as
a test.
 The sea risk test takes place before Naval Interception (see below).
 The land stack may move in all cases, whether the amphibious landing
succeeds or fails.
 The naval stacks rolls a D10 for the sea risk test, whatever the
distance travelled:
1-6 all is fine
7-10 storm, fleet is dispersed
Modifiers :
+2 if the nation has no controlled coastal city on the same sea
-1 Roman / Byzantine: Mediterranean and Pontus Euxinus
+ ? "Storm" event this turn

 If the naval stack is disperse, the landing is cancelled.


 The land stack returns to the starting province, no other landing may
be attempted afterwards for that stack from that province.
 Local Exception: when a Barbarian nation is in Invasion in Britannia,
the sea risk process and test is ignored.

D. Naval Interception
 When a fleet enters a sea where there is an opposing fleet, the latter
may attempt naval interception.
 Same thing even if the active fleet does not actually move but is
present in the same sea as an enemy fleet.
 A test is made, with a die roll: even naval battle ; odd failure of
interception.
 However, if the opponent controls all the coastal cities in the same sea,
the test always succeeds and the naval battle is automatic.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 17


XVIII. TRANSITION TO KINGDOM XIX. TRANSITION TO EMPIRE
A. Presentation A. Presentation
 Sooner or later, a Barbarian will become civilized and make a  A Kingdom may become an Empire if it reaches a certain size.
transition to Kingdom.  A transition test is mandatory, based on the situation.
 This transition can either be voluntary or forced, according to the  Age has no importance to become an Empire.
situation.
 In some extreme cases, the transition can even be directly into an B. Forced Transition (involuntary)
Empire, or, worse, provoke the disappearance of the nation.  This transition is tested at the start of the turn.
 When a Kingdom controls at least 3 Areas it must test transition into
B. Voluntary Transition Empire NB:  a Barbarian Area is worth ½ Area for purpose of this
 The transition must be announced at the start of a turn. count.
 When a Barbarian reaches age 3 (or older), its player may
announce the transition to Kingdom.  Test
 No test is required, only the announcement.  Player must roll a D10 at the start of his turn.
 When the result is  8, the Kingdom becomes an Empire.
C. Forced Transition (a.k.a. involuntary) +1 leader of combat value  2
 When a Barbarian reaches age 5 (or more), its player must +2 for each civilized Area above three (and +1 per barbarian Area)
test transition to Kingdom. +3 Rome or Constantinople controlled
 This test is made at the start of the turn.  Some nations may have special bonus  see nations’ aides.
 If the test succeeds, the empire is founded and the transition is
 Test immediate. The player must rule is new Empire from now  See V.
 The player rolls a D10 and compares the roll with the nation's age. Administration above.
 If the result is  age, the nation becomes a Kingdom.  If the test fails, the nation remains a Kingdom.
-1 for every 10 Gold in the nation's treasury
+2 if the nation's horde is in a barbarian Area C. Barbarian directly to Empire
 Transition is immediate. The nation must be managed as a Kingdom  This is a special case where a Barbarian may become directly an
from now  See Administration. Empire, but with an added risk of immediate collapse (without even
 If the test fails, the nation remains Barbarian. It will be allowed to make becoming a Kingdom).
another test only in the following turn (or later).  Details  See the Hun Aide

D. The Young Kingdom D. The Young Empire


 The nation marker is set on the R1 slot of the civilized track.  The nation marker is placed on the E1 slot.
 A new «level I» city is founded, possibly on an empty site in a  The young Empire receives immediately an exceptional bonus 20 Gold
controlled province. in its treasury, whatever its size.
 The horde is then flipped back to its capital side. It is placed on a  The next turn, it receives another bonus of 10 Gold (but no other
Level I city anywhere within the controlled provinces, and replaces it. bonus on all following turns).
This can be the new city founded (see just above) or any other city.  This is in addition to normal administration.
 If the Kingdom has no city (lack of available site for instance), it must  The Imperial capital generates 10 Gold, in addition to its actual map
wait to found one, and will not gain the Kingdom capital city bonus (5 value, and this every turn.
Gold).  Its units cost more.
 The young Kingdom receives immediately an exceptional bonus 20  An empire pays no maintenance.
Gold in its treasury, whatever its size.
 The next turn, it receives another bonus of 10 Gold (but no other
bonus on all following turns).
 This is in addition to normal administration.
 The Kingdom capital generates 5 Gold, in addition to its actual map
value, and this every turn.
 A Kingdom may stay Pagan, or become Arian, or Christian (see
Religion below).
 A Kingdom no longer receives free units in reinforcements (from the
Time Table).
 It must be ruled (administration) and must purchase and maintain its
units with gold from its treasury.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 18


 The Imperial units may either stay (and fight, as attackers), or be
XX. FOEDUS evacuated immediately into a friendly province up to a distance of 3
Designer’s note: the Foedus is a contract between an Empire and a Barbarian provinces.
(or Kingdom). This is an unequal agreement in which the Barbarian nation  The former Federate now recovers control of all units ceased to the
(hereafter also called the Federate) recognizes itself officially as a "subject" of
the empire.
Empire. They are removed from the map and immediately placed with
But this subject situation is mostly fictitious, so the Foedus is probably be best the Federate Barbarian horde.
considered as a form of non-aggression pact.

A. Presentation
 A Foedus is a voluntary agreement concluded between an
Empire and a Barbarian.
 One of them offers the Foedus to the other, at the start of the
Barbarian turn.
 The Empire gives (leases) some territory and tribute in exchange of an
alliance and military assistance. Officially the Empire keeps ownership
and control of the "leased" territory.
 To be part of the Foedus, the barbarian must have a province adjacent
to one of the empire at the start of his turn.
 Both nations sign a non-aggression treaty.
 The Foedus lasts from turn to turn. Only the federate (= the barbarian
recipient of the Foedus) is allowed to denounce (= cancel) it, with some
possible uncertainty and drawbacks.
 A Foedus provides advantages and duties to both signatory parties.
 Exception: a Kingdom may exceptionally sign a Foedus with a
barbarian with the help of a diplomatic card (see Diplomacy).

B. The Empire
 The Empire cedes as Foedus to the Barbarian federate 2 civilized
provinces which must be adjacent and within the same Area.
 Each turn, the Empire pays in addition a tribute of 3 Gold to the
Federate nation, for as long as the Foedus lasts.
 However the Empire keeps the Area income and all VP as if the
provinces were fully his.
 It is allowed to move and station troops freely within the Federate
provinces (respecting stacking limits though).
 The Empire receives 1 unit from the federate nation (+ 1 another one
each turn if the previous one is destroyed). This unit is a mercenary unit
and can only be placed with either the Caesar (for Romans only) or the
Emperor (for all).
 The Empire may not voluntarily denounce the Foedus.

C. The Federate (Barbarian)


 Federate
The horde and all units of the Federate are immediately moved
(whatever the distance) into the 2 provinces of the Foedus.
 The Federate receives the 2 provinces, and 3 Gold per turn. It is not
allowed to increase its territory anywhere else.
 It is not allowed to found a Kingdom (transition test is cancelled).
 It is not allowed to attack the Empire.
 It cannot collect any income from the 2 provinces (or their cities).
 It grants 1 unit to the empire (+ 1 unit per turn if destroyed).
 It earns 3 VP for its 2 provinces, each turn.

D. Breach of Foedus
 The fFderate may denounce the Foedus during his turn of play, and
rolls a die to do so:
 Test : even yes, Foedus breached, odd failure, Foedus still in vigor.
 The Federate may also automatically denounce the Foedus if an
Usurper takes power within the Empire. In such a case, the decision
must be announced immediately.
 Effects
 When the Federate breaches the Foedus, it takes control of the 2
provinces (including cities).
Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 19
 If the mercenary unit is eliminated, the submitted nation must supply
XXI. SUBMISSION another one to its overlord during the next reinforcement phase (it will be
placed on the nomad's horde)
A. Presentation
 A nation (Barbarian, Kingdom or Empire) may vanquish and «submit» F. Gain of Victory Points
by force another nation, except if the latter is an Empire (they never  The overlord receives VP for all the territory of the submitted nation, as
submit). if it was controlled by his own units.
 A «Nomad» barbarian is even different, as it does worse… It can  The submitted nation receives only half of its VP. (rounded up).
submit easily another Barbarian nation, especially inside barbarian Areas
 See the Hun Aide. G. The Submitted Nation
 In case of success, the submitted nation becomes a passive ally of the  A submitted Barbarian receives only 1 unit as a reinforcement each
victor, to which it pays a tribute each turn. turn (whatever the Time Table indicates).
 Submission is done by force. The opponent cannot submit voluntarily:  The submitted nation may increase its territory even if submitted.
it must be attacked and a battle must take place.  It is free to attack anywhere else, except the allies or other submitted
 A submitted nation can change from «overlord», if it is attacked again nations of its overlord.
and submitted by another nation.  The submitted nation is a prisoner. Its alliance with the overlord is
constrained and force, but the submitted nation is not forced to "help" the
B. Submitting a Barbarian overlord.
 To do, the victim Barbarian horde must be attacked and all Barbarian  It cannot submit other nations by itself either as long as being itself a
units must be killed in the battle, without any survivor. submitted nation too.
 If at least one Barbarian unit survives and retreats, the horde may also
retreat with it and flee (and is thus not submitted). H. Return to Freedom
 Reminder: the opposing horde is counted as 1 unit in the battle, but it  The submitted nation may return to freedom in the following cases:
can't suffer a hit (it is captured if there are no other surviving units with  The overlord is submitted itself by another nation, or eliminated.
it).  The overlord loses its horde (Barbarian) or its capital (Kingdom /
 When the horde is submitted, the overlord must immediately evacuate Empire).
the province and cease all other attacks versus the now submitted  The submitted nations benefits from (= plays) a card event "Betrayal"
barbarian. or "Renaissance".
 Nomad
C. Submitting a Kingdom  It can regain freedom more easily! see  See the Hun Aide.
 There are 2 conditions:
- The Kingdom capital must be attacked and all units there must be
eliminated during the battle, without any survivor.
- The Kingdom shall be reduced to 3 provinces (or less).
 If the Kingdom has no capital, the first condition above becomes:
eliminate a kingdom leader with all the units with it, in full.
 When the Kingdom is submitted, the overlord must immediately
evacuate the provinces and cease all other attacks versus the now
submitted kingdom.

D. The Tribute
 During conquest/submission, the overlord receives 1 pillage chit.
 The submitted nation loses half of its treasury (lost).
 The overlord then receives a tribute of 1 Gold from the submitted
nation every turn.
 The submitted nation gold is transferred no matter what, even if the
submitted nation has no more gold.
 the overlord receives nothing else from the submitted nation, just the
gold tribute.

E. The Vassal Unit


 The submitted nation must cede immediately 1 unit (of his choice) as a
mercenary to his overlord (the unit is placed with the overlord's horde if
barbarian, or in the capital region otherwise).
 It is a one-time gift: if the unit is later destroyed, the submitted nation
does not have to give another one in replacement (different from
Foedus).
 Nomads
 The rule is the exact opposite: the submitted nation must supply
permanently 1 unit as mercenary to the Nomadic overlord (Huns,
Alans, Hephtalites…).
 The Nomad chooses the concerned unit.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 20


switch sides (i.e. go into the opposing side) at the start of the battle
XXII. DIPLOMACY where this applies.

A. Presentation E. Tribute (2 cards)


 Diplomacy is rather limited in GI, as you need to use diplomatic cards  The «Tribute» card forces the target nation to accept a
to conclude agreements between nations. non-aggression pact fort 1 turn. It cannot be refused.
 There are 18 diplomatic cards ; to be drawn at the start of the turn, as  The player of the card pays 10 Gold to the target nation.
described below. If no cards are left and a draw is missing, the oldest
nation loses the missing card(s). F. Foedus (2 cards)
 Each Empire draws 1 diplomacy card + as many cards as its  The «Foedus» card forces a barbarian, currently inside
leader's diplomatic value (0 to 2 extra). one of your Areas, to accept a Foedus with the player of
 A Kingdom draws no cards, unless his leader as a non null diplomatic the card. The offer cannot be refused unless the target has
value. a Invasion underway.
 At the end of a turn, all cards are placed back in the deck and  The player of the card pays 3 Gold to the barbarian and cedes 2
reshuffled, whether they have been used or not. provinces (adjacent)  See rules of Foedus above.
 The barbarian horde and units of the target nation are immediately
 No Diplomacy is allowed or playable against or in favor of a moved there.
Barbarian in Invasion.  The barbarian nation may breach the Foedus next turn, without test,
and succeeds automatically.
B. Alliance (3 cards)
 The playing nation offers an alliance for 1 turn to the G. Graft (3 cards)
target nation of another player. This player can accept or  The «Graft» card is used to immediately cancel a siege.
refuse.  The player of the card must pay 1 Gold to the besieging
If he accepts, the two nations become friends and allies this turn. They target nation.
play at the same time, at the moment of the older nation (see their
playing order). H. Mercenary (4 cards)
 Controlled nations: you may play the card to the benefit of two of  The «Mercenary» card allows the player of the card to
your controlled nations, to form an alliance between them, but this is not recruit 1 unit from a barbarian whose horde is adjacent or
automatic and a die roll must be made: even yes, alliance signed ; odd within one of your Areas.
no alliance.  The player of the card pays 3 Gold to the target nation.
 Byzantium and Persia in the Caucasus: this card can be used to get  The barbarian selects 1 unit (of his choice) and grants it to the player
the alliance of one of the minor (not playable) nations of the Caucasus, of the card for 1 turn. The player of the card can place the unit wherever
i.e. Armenia, lIberia or Colchis (for 1 turn). A roll is made, as above: : he wants within his own territory. It cannot fight against its own nation, if
even yes, alliance signed ; odd no alliance. Check some particularities this happens, it will desert and switch sides (i.e. go into the opposing
 see Player Aides. side) at the start of the battle where this applies.
 In case of success, the concerned minor nation becomes an allied
client state. I. Nothing (1 cards)
 Rome: the Roman player may use that card on the minor Mauritanian  this card is a decoy and has no effects at all
kingdom.

C. Treaty (1 card)
 The «Treaty» card forces an enemy nation to accept a
non-aggression pact for the duration of 1 turn. It cannot be
refused.
 The player must pay 5 Gold to the target nation (from the treasury of
the playing nation).
 In exchange of such a generosity, the target nation transfers to the
playing nation 1 adjacent province (or an island if the playing nation
has a coastal city on the sea bordering the city and the said island) that
is directly connected to the player's territory.
 The player chooses the province, provided it is not a capital, nor a
granary province (see map) and in no case contains the target's horde.

D. Marriage (2 cards)
 The «Marriage» cards allow one of your princesses to get
a royal wedding in the target nation. The target cannot
refuse.
 The target nation gains 2 VP if it makes no attacks against the card
playing nation this turn.
 The playing nation pays 2 Gold to the target nation (as dowry).
 In exchange, you receive 1 unit (of the target's nation choice) for 1
turn. This unit is placed wherever you want within your territory. It
cannot fight against its own nation, if this happens, it will desert and

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 21


XXIII. RELIGIONS XXIV. ROMAN EMPIRES
A. Religion and Civilization A. Roman Reunification
 To simplify, at the start of the game, all provinces in all Areas inside  Is only possible if indicated on the Time Table, usually on turns 9 or 12,
the two Roman Empires are (Catholic) Christian. Same for all provinces and provided that neither Rome or Byzantium attacked each other, or
of the Area Caucasus. also in case of collapse. If this happens:
 With the exception of the two permanent initial heresies in Oriens and - one of the 2 empires disapears to the benefit of the other (replace
Aegyptus in all scenario, the religion is considered as Catholic in all the armies by those of the other empire, for as long as there are equivalent
Roman Empire areas at start of scenario. unit counters available)
 Some Areas, depending on the scenario in play, may start with - the disapearing empire loses all its treasury.
Heresies. - the disapearing empire immediately receives all the VPs linked to its
 To simplify, at the start of the game, all provinces in all Areas inside provinces and Areas as per indicated on the VP list, with a minimum of 3
the Persian (Sassanid) kingdom are Mazdeist (i.e. non Christian). VP per Area controlled.
 To simplify, at the start of the game, all provinces in all other Areas are Special Case: if Rome disappears to the benefit of Byzantium (most
considered Pagan likely) and that there are less than sufficient Byzantine armies to replace
the Roman units in the region belows, keep on map the Roman units and
B. Religion and Nations treat those Areas and the units as indepedent minors.
 Both Roman Empires (Rome and Byzantium), Britons, Armenia, - Britannia : Romans become Britons if not already there
Colchis and Mauretania are Catholic Christians - Gallia (both): all Romans become Gallo-Romans
 Sassanid Persia and Iberia are Mazdeist - Hispania: all Romans become Hispano-Romans
 The Wisigoths and Ostrogoths are Arianists, a Christian Heresy. There - Africa: all Romans become Africano-Romans
are immune to all Heresy event cards.
B. Andonment of Areas
 All other Barbarians and Raiders are Pagans. There are immune to all
Heresy event cards.  Rome (only, not Byzantium) may decide to abandon certain Areas from
turn 3 onwards. One Area per turn may be abandoned. Concerned areas
C. Religion and Ruling are Britannia, both Gallia, Hispania and Africa (all other cannot be).
 If the nation controlling an Area is of a different religion (including an  This is done at the start of the Administrative phase. Roman armies
heresy of the same religion, which is therefore considered as “different”) and fleets are moved immediately towards the next and closest province
than the Area, it suffers a different set of penalties. not in an abandoned area. Limes are kept where they are, if any.
 Revolts are potentially more frequent in those regions, and are harder  Rome receives an immediate tribute of 0.5 Gold per province in the
to subdue if there is an Heresy and/or if the owner is of a different Area which is not occupied by Barbarians (foedus are considered as
relgion. ‘Roman’ for this purpose)
 Optional: for each Area where the relgion is not the same as that of the  Rome can grant only 1 foedus in an area it abandoned on the turn it is
nation, 2 Gold are lost. abandoned but not on the following.
 Rome receives immediately 50% of the VP worth of the Area (if none
D. Conversion to Catholicism specified, 3 VP by default). Note however that Rome may also “pay” later
 If a non-Catholic Barbarian nation (Pagan or Heretic) decides to a penalty if it abandoned specified areas, as per its VP list.
convert to Catholicism (can be done during the Administration Phase), it
receives a one-time VP bonus equivalent to the total income value of all
the provinces it currently controls at the start of the Administration phase,
provided the VP bonus is listed on the nation’s data.
 When this happen, the player controlling Rome receives half of that VP
bonus too (rounded up). This represent the role of the Pope.

Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 22


TABLES

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Copyright Wisdom Owl 2018 © Invasions - Rules 23

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