(Trier Honour is everything! - Skirmish Combat on a different level. Soe On CTCL CTUCONTENTS Introduction and Requirements for Playing....... Building a Warband ‘The Cards Set Up — Turn Order ~ Activation... Movement — Distances — Terrait Combat : The Suits in Combat. ‘A Combat Example... SKIS sss page 11 Scenarios Optional Rules Historical Settings ~ Maori. Aztecs... Vikings. Gladiators Other periods ~ Iroquois — Heian Japan - Cave Wars .....page 26 Reference Tables........... rear coverINTRODUCTION & REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAYING e aim of TRIBA Lis to co any pre-gut prowess in battle. tral to this type of warfare and the TRIBAL wargame is Honour. Honour could determine why one would go to war, how battle was conducted, what sorts of tactics (honourable and dishonourable) were used and finally who was the victor at the end. Within cultures Honour could mean different things. social standing, skill, nobility, fame, strength of will, and sometimes magical power as well. For Polynesian groups like the Maori, Samoans, Tongans land Hawaiians it was referred to as Mana. For the Vikings. there was honour drengskapr and shame mdr. Aztec warriors wore emblems and ornaments to denote their fearsomeness in battle and honour maltuizz0t Honous, saving-of-face and shame are inextricably linked conditions in Confucian and Japanese cultures, central to ‘motivations and resolutions in combat. ‘TRIBAL focuses on the small scale skirmishes = raids, ambushes, revenge and murder ~ that have been recorded in history through song, dance, saga and legend. In these tales itis the prowess and Honour of the hero that is remembered ~ the lone warrior facing a band of foes and, cither triumphing in bloody hand-to-hand combat or, dying with Honour intact. ‘One thing is always true in TRIBAL - live or die, win or lose the battle, Honour always determines the true victor! pplure the essence of the heroi skirmish style war existed in powder cultures. A warrior cultures exalted the feats of the individual and their ings you'll need to play TRIBAL: ‘© 2 standard sized decks of 54 poker cards including, the red and black jokers ~ 1/deck for each player. It’s ‘a good idea to have each deck distinguishable for the ‘other in case the cards become mixed up dusing the game! ‘© Something to act as a tum counter ~a ten-sicled die placed near the card decks can be used. (ish small counters to record Honour Points ~ the small glass beads available in most game shops are perfect, ‘+ A small bag or container per player ~ so that they can conceal their remaining, Honour Points from their opponent, ‘© Tabletop —A 3ft by 3ft battlefield plus LOTS of scenery Depending othe scnaco played ich payee wil ap + A Chief or War-Leader, 2-3 individual Hero models, and a method to record their wounds ~ small dice ‘work well, but we'll cover this in more detail later. #344 units of 5 warriors each. Warrior groups are armed ‘with either short weapons (such as clubs, swords, axes or knives) or long weapons (spears, long,axes or war-clubs). All figures should be based on 20-25mm round or square bases, Chiefs and Heroes can be set on larger bases to make them stand out from the lesser Warriors fn the tabletop.BUILDING A WARBAND Warbands are put together from units. ‘Units come in 3 types: a Chief, individual Heroes and lastly, groups of 5 lesser Warriors. ‘Chiefs and Heroes collectively make up a Warband’s Characters. Warriors, needless to say, are not Characters. Depending on the scenario chosen, each player will be given a number of Honour Points from a central supply ‘with which to purchase their units and Skills before the start of the game. ‘The scenario will also place a limit on force size or point spending as players must always begin a game with a certain amount of Honour Points leftover, The Chief (Honour Cost 0. Skills 0-2) [A warband will always have 1 Chief who is the leader of the warband, and a warrior of great skill and Honour. He i free and, unless upgraded with skills, costs no Honour Points to buy. By spending extra Honour however, a chief may start with Lup to 2 skills. See the Skill section for alist of skills, their descriptions and Honour costs. A Chief starts with 6 wounds, and is either armed with a short or Jong weapon. This is determined by the main ‘weapon the model is equipped with. ‘Though the leader of the warband, a Chief always fights and moves as an individual. He will never join with, Heroes or Warriors, and always fights alone to better display his prowess over lesser mortals. [A Chief's Combat Hand is 1 card for each of his remaining 6 wounds, Sce the Combat section for an explanation of a ‘Combat Hand. Heroes (Honour Cost 1. Skills 0-1). Each Hero costs 1 Honour Point to include in a warband. Unless the scenario specifies otherwise, a player may only purchase 1 Hero for every group of 5 Warriors in their warband, ‘As with the Chief, a player may also elect to spend extra Honour to give a Hero a single skill A Hero is a warrior of renown, and starts with 5 wounds, He will also be either armed with a short or long weapon. Like the Chief, this is again determined by the weapon the model is sculpted with Like the Chief they wish to impress, Heroes always fight and move as individuals. They will never group with ‘other Heroes or Warriors. ‘A Hero's Combat Hand is 1 card for each of his remaining ert reer ao Perec eean ronrnns ree eee Seeger) eee nee a dec basing, Chiefs a ae ere: ‘Small hollow mero Pearce sunds Pree eon ee teen eee ett) pee While a di ae ae ess errr) Warriors (Honour Cost 1 per 5 models Skills 0-1) Warriors are the common men of the tribe who have been gathered to fight. For our purposes, they are banded together in groups of 5 that cost 1 Honour Point for the entire unit Like their betters, a band of Warriors may also purchase a single skill that applies to all members, Thought somewhat ‘more limited in scope than those available to Chiefs and Heroes, these skills represent Warriors who are somewhat seasoned rather than just farmers with spears! Each Warrior has but I wound, and is therefore removed after asingle hit. Additionally, all members of a group ‘must be armed with the same type of weapon ~ either short or long. Warriors always move and fight with the other members| of their unit. As their numbers are reduced by casualties ‘however, several small groups of surviving warriors can merge: If, at the start ofa tum, two or more diminished groups ‘are in a cluster that is entirely within Coherency see page 9 then they may merge intoa single unit Just like a unit bought atthe start of the game, a merged ‘group must number 5 or less models in total and, all models in the new group must be armed with the same type of weapon — short or long, ‘The Combat Hand of a Warrior unit is 1 card for each surviving member ~ from 1105. Remaining Honour points. After purchasing their Warbands, each player will always: have a certain amount of unspent Honour, During the ‘game, you should keep your remaining Honour Points concealed from your opponent. This will keep the enemy guessing about how well - or poorly! ~the game is going, Though it may be lost or gained during the course of the ‘game, if a players Honour total ever reaches zero their warband immediately les the battlefield and they lose the game. Honour Supply Any left-over Honour Points held by neither player are placed together in a central supply to the side ofthe table. During the game, players will occasionally take Honour from the supply or, sometimes, return their own Honour twit Rene ee met enn Se eet eee ay eee en ae 7 gorilla fingers! ver cen ts) Pee eee et eee eet omerat eaters eee ey Danan eten parareaeat eee ae. ere eet ne ea een Bel togo with a 30mm base, w ay ee Sees Rees fie ee aiiTHE CARDS. ‘The TRIBAL wargame rules are unusual in that, unlike ‘most rulesets, you will not use dice. Or, for that matter, even tape-measures! Instead, players will each have their own standard sized deck of common playing cards, including the two Jokers, ‘These are used for everything from initiative, distance measurement, unit coherency, and resolving combat ‘As each card is used, place it face up onto the player's discard pile, When a player's draw deck of unused cards is exhausted, immediately reshurfle their discard pile and form a new face-down draw deck. I you feel that you're shuffling your cards far too often) it’s simple matter to make a thicker deck by mixing 2 (or more!) decks of the same design together Card values in each suit run from 2 to 10.as normal. In TRIBAL, however the court cards also have a numeric Value: Jacks n ‘Queens 2, Kings 13. Aces 14 Jokers 15, If-you're not concemed about keeping your deck pristine but are concerned about your memory, it can be very helpfull to write these numbers in marker-pen upon the court cards, Unlike many other games that use cards, there is no sult precedence in TRIBAL. A Queen of Hearts has the Value ~ 12 ~as a Queen of Spades, Diamonds or Clubs.GAME SETUP, TURN ORDER, AND ACTIVATION CARDS Setup. ‘The initial setup and turn limit of the game are determined by the scenario chosen, See page 12 for a selection of Turn Order Rundown & Winning the Game. Each turn of TRIBAL runs through in the same order. Each player takes it in turn to activate one of their units| by using their assigned Activation Card. They perform ALL of that unit's activation (movement, combat and resolution), and then their opponent activates one of theirs. Once every Activation Card remaining on the table has, been used, the tum ends. Unless the games turn limit has run out, or one of the players has lost their remaining Honour ~ in which case they immediately lose = the turn counter is advanced and. anew turn begins. If the turn limit is reache have achieved any’of the scenario objectives. If so, Honour ach player checks to see if they bonuses are awarded, Finally, each player compares their total Honour: Victory goes to the player with the most. In some eases this may mean the player who lost the scenario! Itis, always worth remembering that sometimes history and Jegend do not celebrate the victor. Activation Cards & Turn Initiative. At the beginning of the turn each player is dealt a card face up. The player with the highest value has the Tum Initiative and can choose either to activate the first unit in the turn or, force thelr opponent to do so, If'both cards are the same, continue to deal until the tie is broken. ‘Once this has been decided upon, both players flip their cards face down and are dealt a number of additional face-down cards until they have a total of 1 card for each of their units on the table, Each player then picks up their cards and, concealing the value from their opponent, assigns 1 to each unit and places it face-down nearby on the table. These are the Activation Cards. The player who had been determined to go first now activates one of their units. It’s worth noting that a player ‘ean choose to activate ANY of their units who still has an tunuised Activation Card. Order is not determined by the cards value, only by player choice. ‘When a unitis activated, the player flips the card and reveals itto their opponent. The unit may then either pass = doing nothing or move. If movement ends with the unit in contact with an enemy, a Combat is also fought — see page 8. Occasionally a scenario may also detail special actions that may require an activation. These may range from launching canoes to setting fire to buildings! (Once a unit's activation has been completed, their card is discarded, The enemy will then activate one of their units, Ifa player has no units left to activate, their opponent continues to activate units until every Activation Card remaining on the table has been used, Activation Cards in Combat. Ifa unit charges into combat with an enemy —see Movement on page? — their Activation Card becomes the first card in their Combat Hand. It’s therefore quite important to place high-Value ‘Activation Cards on units who are likely to become involved in combat in the coming turn, Likewise, ifa unit is charged by the enemy before they have had a chance to activate, their unused Activation, Card becomes the first card in their Combat Hand. This will of course mean that after the combat is resolved ‘and Combat Hands are discarded, the unit will have lost their Activation Card and will therefore not get a chance to act this tum. In this way itis quite possible with clever play to tie up enemy units — limiting your opponent's tactical choices, ‘and ruining their cunning plans! (e)\(e) (aA esMOVEMENT, DISTANCES & TERRAIN [As mentioned earlier, in TRIBAL you won't be using a tape measure to move your miniatuces, Instead distances ‘are measured using either the long or short edges of a playing card. When a figure is moved, take their Activation Card and hold itso that a long edge is running along the surface of the table and one of the now vertical short edges is. touching the figure's base. Now, simply move the figure to the other end of the card - Voila! Movement done! A couple of points are worth noting however: ‘© Figures are moved so that the card lies between their starting and ending positions. They're actually moving a base-width moze than the length of the card, ‘+ Don’t bend your cards! Movement is in straight lines ‘© A figure does not have to move the full length of the card. + Unless they‘re intending to engage in combat, figures cannot move closer than their base width to an enemy during their move. ‘© Models cannot move through each other or across another models base ~ even those on the same side. Normal Moves & Sprinting. The movement description above shows a normal move — most likely a jog or slow run. You can also choose to move your figures at a Sprint. Simply put, this is 2 normal moves ~ 1 carried out after the other. ‘Some scenarios ot terrain may also specify slower ‘movement. Where used, this is referred to as moving at a Walk, Walk movement is 1 short card-edge. Terrain & Movement. When it applies to movement, terrain is rated in one of aerdaaye + Open. A forest clearing, gentle hill side, sandy. beach and the like. This terrain has no real effect on movement, + Tough Going. Thick foliage, a swamp, a shallow creek or river, [fany part of a figure’s movement lies in an area of Tough Going, they may only move at a Walk during their activation, To put it another way, they cannot ran and certainly cannot Sprint + Impassable. Cliffs, deep rivers ete, This terrain is, well, impassable. Unit Coherency & Moving Groups of Warriors. ‘Warriors fight and move as a group, and must stay in close proximity fo each other on the tabletop. hiss called Coherency. To check Coherency, at the end of the group’ ‘movement take thelr Activation Card and hold it flat just higher than the models in the group. Each figure should have at least a fraction of their base ‘covered by the card, If any are out, shift the figure the smallest distance so itis back in Coherency with their fellow warriors Rather than measuring and moving each warrior in a ‘group individually, move 1 warrior and then place the dothers in Coherency around him, This may mean that some of the warriors move a bit more than might normally be allowed. Given that these units often represent young. warriors fit and eager to make names for themselves, we'll pass this off as enthusiasm! Charge! - Moving into Combat. Charging is simply moving a unit into combat with enemy figures. This can be done using a normal move or a run ‘welll discuss the differences in Combat on page 8~and tends with both figures in base-to-base contact. Once a unit has completed a charge move, a round of Combat is immediately fought. It’s worth noting, that when a unit Charges into combat it begins with Advantage for the first Exchange. This is discussed on page 8, When charging with a group of warriors, move 1 model into base-to-base contact with an enemy figure, and then ‘move the others so that they are in Coherency and, where possible, in contact with a foe. If contact is not possible, as long as the warrior is within 1 base width of the enemy they will be able fo take part in the combat. Any that are ‘ot, will not contribute fo the unit's Combat Hand. Asa point of clarification, since normal movement isin straight lines, the only way a unit can Charge an enemy that they cannot see atthe start of their activation is by running. This will give a bonus to the defenders Combat Hane.COMBAT & RESOLUTION Introduction. In the movement section awe discussed how to get into combat, Now comes what to de once you get there! A combat round in TRIBAL consists of a minimum of Land a maximum of 5 Exchanges. Each Exchange represents the combatants either striking a blow, dodging or manoeuvring for advantage in the melee. The winner of each Exchange is determined by both. players comparing the value of acard played from thele Combat Hand, The Combat Hand. At the start of @ combat round each player will form their ‘Combat Hand. Ifa unit charges into combat with an enemy, the Activation Card used for thelr movement becomes the first card in their Combat Hand. Likewise, ifa unit is charged by an enemy before they have had a chance to activate, their unused Activation Card becomes the first card in theic Combat Hand, As mentioned earlier, this will mean that after the combat is resolved, the unit will have lost their Activation Card and will not get a chance to act this tum, ‘Once any initial cards have been determined, both players are dealt additional face down-cards until they have a total ff 1 for either each remaining wound - ifthe unit is a Hero, ‘or Chief — or each surviving Warrior in a group. A player will also get bonus cards for the following: Their unit has a skill that gives Combat see Skills Hand bonuses: variable ~ see the Skill lst. ‘Their unitis defending a palisade or a defensive position: Allof these bonuses are cumulative, This may mean that a unit may end up with quite a large Combat Hand! Exchanges. ‘The combatants will then play thtough a number of Exchanges equal to the combat hand of the player holding the most cards - up to a maximum of 5. The advantage in holding more than a 5 card Combat Hand lies in having ‘a wider choice of available cards to play during each, Exchange, Any unused cards after a combat round has ended are simply discarded If both players have less than 5 cards, simply play out the reduced number of Exchanges. Panic! Ifa player has fewer than 5 cards and also less than their ‘opponent, then their cards for any remaining Exchanges after their Combat Hand is exhausted, are drawn blindly from the top ofthe draw deck as they frantically attempt to parry In addition, the best result they can hope for is to block their opponent's blow and win the initiative ~ they can cause no hits, and nor will their winning Feint Cards have any effect for the remainder of the combat round, Advantage. In each Exchange, the player holding the Advantage will always choose and play their combat card AFTER their ‘opponent has played and revealed their card In the first Exchange of a combat, the unit that charged ‘will have the Advantage. In subsequent Exchanges, it will be held by the winner of the previous exchange. Occasionally, a unit may also have a skill that gives them Advantage preference in certain situations. Winning & Losing an Exchange. Once both combat cards are played and revealed, their values are compared. The player with the highest value card will win the Exchange. Aside from giving the Advantage for the next Exchange, the winning card will also have an effect based on its suit. After applying any hits or other effects, the winner of the Exchange places their used combat card to the side. The laser merely discards their card, At the end of the combat round the player with the most winning cards will be the winner of the combat rourid After determining the winner, these cards are also placed in their respective discard piles Draws. Due to length, any unit armed with long weaponry facing foes armed with short weapons will win a drawn Exchange. Otherwise, ifthe result is a draw, both combatants are unharmed and neither player wins the Exchange ~ both cards are discarded. The Advantage holder however has squandered their ‘opportunity ~ the Advantage passes to their opponent for the next ExchangeThe Suits - Combat Effects. As previously mentioned, winning combat cards will also have an effect based tupon their suit. Of course the primary aim of a melee isto kill or wound your opponent, but outcomes can also be dirty tricks or feints that leave your opponent wide open fora follow-up strike! The 4 playing card suits are divided into black Strike Cards - spades and clubs, and red Feint Cards ~hearts and diamonds. Feint Cards — Red. v¢ Feint Cards cause no wounds, but give the winning player bonus in the next Exchange. Hearts — Jab — The winner of an Exchange with a heart may change the suit of the card they play in the next Exchange. This is declared just after revealing it. Diamonds ~ Dodge - The winner of an Exchange with a diamond may change the suit of the card their opponent plays in the next Exchange. This is declared when itis, revealed. Strike Cards - Black. & 4 Strike Cards primarily cause damage either as wounds to {hero or chief, or as outright kills against warriors. Each black suit is tied to a particular weapon length: ‘Clubs ~ Bludgeon - Short weapons such as the club, knife, sword or axe. Spades ~ Stab — Long weapons like the spear, staf, wwarclub ot long-axe. Ifa unit is armed with the weapon tied to the Strike Card played, they gain +1 to the value of the card. For example: A hero armed with a sword (short weapon) plays a 7 of Clubs in an Exchange. His card value is therefore inereased to 8, Strike Cards — Wounds, Kills & Overpowering. A hit from a Strike Card equates to I wound to a Hero or CChiet, or the removal of a Warrior from an enemy group. |v worth remembering that the Exchanges of a combat round are considered to happen nearly simultaneously ‘Therefore a unit's Combat Hand size is not reduced in the ‘current combat round when suffering wounds, Ifa winning Strike Card is atleast triple the loser’s total, then the attacker Overpowers their enemy and causes 2 wounds Due to the brutal blows from close-in short weapons, they only have to double their enemies score to Overpower. Red & Black Jokers. Jokers are played as either suit of their relative colour, and, with a value of 15, will generally beat all other cards. If a player wins an Exchange with a Joker, they may then decide which of the 2 suits it represent: If two Jokers are played in the same Exchange, this heralds ‘abad omen! Perhaps an earthquake shakes the ground or the sun is suddenly dimmed by a passing thunderhead. Aside from the normal outcome of the Exchange, ALL units on both sides of the battle take! wound immediately as morale falters and men flee Winning & Losing the Combat Round — Rewards & Penalties. Regardless of actual damage caused, the winner of ‘combat round is the player who has won the most Exchanges. This is simply determined by comparing the number of each player's winning cards. The reward for besting an enemy in combat is an increase in Honour, o the opponent's detriment — the winning, player takes 1 Honour from the central supply. In the ease of a draw, the player who initiated the combat by Charging will win the combat round. The loser of the combat must retreat ~ moving their unit up to 1 Jong card-edge away from their victorious foe. All figures in the unit must end up at least 1 short card-edge from the victors of the combat and at least a base width from any other enemy models. Groups of Warriors must also end a retreat in Coherency, 1 for some reason a figure - either Warrior or Character cannot be moved to a safe position because of blocking, models or terrain, they are run down and slain. Remove them from the table as a casually Destroying Units - Blood Payment. When a unit is completely destroyed for any reason, it has automatically lost the combat exchange and the owning player must give Honour Points to their opponent as Blood Payment. + Inthe case of a Hero 0 group of Warriors, this payment is 1 Honour + Hla Chiefs killed then 2 Honour must be transferred, Blood Payment replaces the normal Honour payment for losing combat A unit is also destroyed if, for any reason, its moved even partially in the case of Warrior groups ~ off the table during a gameA COMBAT EXAMPLE ‘Stephen's hero Ranulf the Bowlegged charges into combat against Marks as-yet unactivated group of 5 warriors. Ranulf is armed with a spear —along weapon, while Mark's warriors are all armed with swords and axes ~ short weapons, Ranulf has the Throwing Weapon skill and, as he charges, Stephen flips a card from his deck: 24! One of Mark's Warriors falls pierced through the throat by Ranulf's javelin Both players now draw their combat hand. Ranulls activation card was Ke, so this becomes the first card of his combat hand. Stephen draws 4 more cards as Ranulf is unwounded and has 3 wounds remaining. Ranul’s combat hand is therefore 5 cards: Ke 8 Jv 10® 2¥ ‘Mark would normally have 2 combat hand of 4: 1 for each of his remaining warriors, He draws 3 cards and adds his ‘unused activation card, the 9, fora total of 4. Because Ranulf ran however - made a double move ~when he charged, Mark draws a 5th card. His final combat hand is: Qy Ov 8¥ 9¢ and Jkve the red Joker! Since both players have Combat Hands of 5 cards there ‘will be 5 Exchanges in the following combat. Exchange 1. Because Ranulf Charged into combat, he will start with the Advantage in the first Exchange. Mark's warriors must therefore play the fist card. Thinking to save his Joker for a later exchange, Mark plays his O¥. Stephen could reply ‘with his Ke but decides to let Mark take the first exchange since, with a ¢, Ranulf will not suffer a wound. He strengthens his hand by playing his lowest card ~ the 2¥. Final totals are Mark: 12, Stephen: 2. Mark wins the ‘exchange with the QY. In the next exchange he can change the suit of his own card using the ¥ feint ability Exchange 2. Since Mark now has the Advantage, Stephen must play first, Thinking that Mark may have already played his best card, Stephen plays his Ke witha smile. Stephens: smile fades somewhat when Mark plays his Jkve and then, using the ¥ feint card ability from the first exchange, promptly changes its suit toa @! Both players gain #1 10 the value of their Strike cards duc to their weapons being linked to the card suits played, Final totals are ~ Mark: 3541-16, Stephen: 13+1=14 Mark wins the exchange again, and poor old Ranulf takes a wound, At the end of exchange 2, the remaining combat hands are as follows ~ Stephen: 8¢ J¥ 108 Mark: 9 S¥ 98 Exchange 3. Sweating somewhat, Stephen must play first again. He playshis]¥. Surely Mark can'thave any more high cards can he? At last luck smiles on Ranulf as Mark ditches his Sy, Victory to Stephen: 1 to 8! In the dth exchange he will be able to change the suit of his own card. Exchange 4. Each player now has two cards remaining ~ Stephen: 8¢ 100 and Mark: 9¥ Ge Mark must now play first, Looking at his remaining cards the decides to play the 9¢ in the hope of landing a hit. ‘Stephen cunningly replies with his 8, Why? Firstly, he changes the card's suit to # using the ¥ feint card ability from his victory in the last exchange. The +1 value added from his Jong weapon when playing a brings his total to 841-9 matching Mark's 9... A draw? Unfortunately for Mark, no ~ a unit armed with long weaponry facing foes armed with short weapons will win a drawn exchange. Mark loses, and one more of his warriors bites the dust Exchange 5. It's the final exchange of the combat. Mark must play first and, having no choice, plays his 9¥ and crosses his fingers. ‘Stephen plays his 104 and wins 10 to 9. Yet another warrior dies on the flashing blade of Ranulf’s spear! The End of the Combat. Both players now compare the number of exchanges they won in the combat Stephen's 3 to Mark’s 2 means that Ranulf is the overall vietor of the melee! Mark's remaining, 2 Warriors must now retreat Up to 1 Jong card-edge away from Ranulf. Neither can end any closer than 1 short card-edge to the Hero. Ranulf, bloodied, has lost one wound in the combat but, as he was the victor, Stephen may take 1 Honour Point from the central supply and add it to his own poolSKILLS [After determining a scenario and buying their warbands, players can also purchase skills for their units from their Honour Point budget. ach skill can only be bought once per unit, and some ‘may also be limited to Characters only or even to the Chief himself. Skills fall into tivo broad categories - those that cost 1 Honour Point each, and those that cost 2 1 Honour Point. Agile: Alway’s begins a combat round with the Advantage ~ even if charged. If both units have Agile the charging, unit starts with Advantage as normal Cunning: Gains +1 value when playing any Feint Card during an Exchange. Fearsome: + wound damage from hits with Strike Cards When in combat against a group of Warriors. Skilled: Gains +1 value Strike Card of their weapon type of choice combined with the skill Champion. 2 total of 2 — when playi This cannot be Throwing Weapons: This skill represents units armed. \with various weapons that were cast at an enemy just prior to the clash of melee. From axes, javelin and clubs fo the Maori Hoeroa ~ a5 long tethered whale-bone club ‘short ranged throwing weapons were common to many caltures ‘When the unit Charges into Combat, flip a card from. the draw deck. If its black, the target enemy unit takes 1 hit. Note that this damage is not increased with the skill Strong ‘Tough: Characters only. ‘The figure begins the game with *I wound. Thisextra wound does not increase their Combat Hand size however. 2 Honour Points. Champion: Characters only. Not only gains #1 value ~ for A total of +2 - when playing a Strike Card of their weapon. type of choice, but also gains +1 value when playing the other Strike Card suit The skill cannot be combined with the skill Skilled. Seasoned: Characters only. May discard and redraw 2 ‘ards from their Combat Hand before the first Exchange of a combat. Strong: Characters only. +1 wound damage to any successful hit with a Strike Card. ‘Tactician; Chiefs only. Immediately after the setup phase ‘ofa scenario, the owner of this figure may reposition 1 ‘enemy hero Or group of warriors to anywhere in theit ‘opponents setup zone, If playing the Ambush the new position must be within 3 long card-edges of another of their unitsSCENARIOS To Battle! There are two basic elements of TRIBAL warfare, which are as important to the battle as the warriors and the weapons they carry First of all, there must be a cause for battle, Given a good reason for going to war, a chief could gather his warriors from their homesteads, bring together his allies, exhort his ‘men to greater deeds, and fight with more strength and Honour. Secondly, the killing ground — must be chosen, where the terrain is advantageous and the war party placed for maximum effectiveness and slaughter. Choosing a Scenario. The first thing the players must do is agree on a Scenario. If they cannot, then each draws a card from the deck ~ the holder of the highest value card decides, IE the cards are drawn then the scenario will be “Ambush” = with the added complication that each will set up the others force! Preparing the Warbands. Each scenario details the number of Honour Points each player will receive, Of these points, a certain number may be spent on units and skills ~the scenario will outline the minimum and maximum that a player may spend on their Warband Each scenario may also detail special rules, a game turn limit and lastly attacker objectives that, if met, will give Honour Point bonuses. Remember that ifa player ever runs out of Honour then they immediately lose the game. Determining Attacker & Defender. ‘Once the scenario has been chosen and Honour points spent on Warbands and Skills, the attacker and defender of the scenario must be decided. Each player draws a card from the deck ~ the lowest will be the defender of the scenario. In the event ofa tie, simply redraw The attacker of the scenario will then often have to pay a tithe in Honour points at the beginning of the game, and ‘will start with less Honout than their opponent. Though this system may seem to give the defender the adv. scenarios however often give the attacker strong advantages and opportunities to gain much Honour! Setting Up Terrain. In almost any game, the best way to set up terrain isto ‘come to a pleasing agreement with your opponent. Tribal differs only in that the playing area should have plenty of terrain to break up line-of-sight and movement. Not only’ does this make the game visually more interesting, but adds complexity to the tactical decisions that players need to make during play I you really can’t agree as to set-up (or can’t be bothered thinking too hard!), draw a card for each quarter of the battlefield. Depencling on the suit drawn, the players take turns adding the following number of terrain pieces: Clubs ~ 3, Diamonds 4, Spades ~5, Hearts 6Scenario 1 - REVENGE. The concept of ‘setling scores’ fs one of the key's to understanding tribal warfare. Insults slander, theft, musder, and assault inflicted by other tribes resulted in a loss of Honour and would cause shame, This would impact on the Tribe's well-being, Not only could it could ereate disharmony amongst its ‘members, but it could also be seen as a sign of weakness by rival tribes — thus encouraging further attacks. To restore the Tribe's Honour, it was believed necessary to seek redress. This would most often be done by seeking, ‘out the offender and killing them. Ifthe offender was not available, a family-member or relative would have to suffice Maximum Game Length 6 tums. Honour Fach player has a pool of 15 Honour Points. They may spend between 4 and 6 Points on units, and 0 to 4on skills Attacker Tithe ‘The attacker must pay a further 3 Honour points for the shame of the iweong done to them by the defender. Setup All errain is setup and mutually agreed upon. The attacker then chooses one battlefield edge as their starting, line. The opposite edge will be the defender's starting line. Starting with the attacker, each player then takes it in turn to place one unit within 2 long card-edges of their starting, Line until all units are on the battlefield. Attacker’s Objectives ‘The attacker must secretly nominate — by writing on 2 piece of paper - one of the enemy units to slay in the battle, That enemy Hero, Chief or group of Warriors ‘committed a grave offense against the tribe, and the only ‘means of reparation is by sending them to their gods. If they can destroy the unit, and reveal their secret ‘nomination, the attacker gains 5 Honour Points to their pool from the supply. Scenario 2 — RAID. ion for good land, ly and protracted, Population pressures made compet livestock and other resources de: Many battles were fought as sudden raids on homesteads and settlements in search of food and slaves. In some early cultures, this was the same thing.. Maximum Game Length Stuns Honour Each player has a pool of 17 Honour Points. They may spend between 4 and 8 Points on units, and 0 to 5 on i Attacker Tithe The attacker must pay a further 4 Honour points for the infamy that their attack will bring Setup All terrain is placed by the defencler. The defender then chooses one battlefield edge as their starting line. The ‘opposite edge will be the attacker's starting line. The defender then places half of their units ~ rounding up - within 1 long card-edge of their starting line. At the beginning of turn 3 they may place their remaining units within 1 long card-edge of ANY battlefield edge as they rush from the surrounding area to defend their stedding, Finally, the attacker sets up their entire warband within 1 Jong card-edge oftheir starting ine Attacker's Objectives Ater setting up the battlefield, the attacker places four markers mode! livestock or terrain features such as storehouses ae recommended ~ each within 2 long card edges of the defenders side ofthe batlefield, These are the objectives. [fan attacking unit spends their activation ard and remains stationary in or on an objective the attacker gains +2 Honout to their pool from the supply Once harvested, each objective is removed!Scenario 3 - AMBUSH. “Birds sleep sound and peacefully upon the tree branch, ‘but man is ever wakeful and in dread of enemies” — Maori Saying, ‘One of the most common forms of attack was the ambuscade., It was regarded as quite in accord with the rules of war to slaughter a party of unsuspecting guests or hosts ata village gathering, massacre a travelling wedding Party, or to attack wood carriers, cultivators or fishermen. In this scenario, the attackers have fallen upon a party from a nearby village. Unfortunately for the defender, this group also contains a number of unarmed and untrained members of their tribe. Game Length Variable. Atthe end of each tum after the fifth, draw a card from the deck. Ifthe card's value is equal to or less than the turn number the game ends Honour Each player has a pool of 15 Honour Points. They may spend between 4 and 6 Points on units and 0 to 5 on skills. Attacker Tithe The attacker must pay a further 3 Honour points for the infamy that their attack will bring Setup. All terrain is placed by the attacker. The defender must then setup their entire warband anywhere on the battlefield, Included in their warband are 3 units of Non- ‘Combatants: ‘+ Honour Cost: 0 for 5 models, No Skills. Units of Non- Combatants never draw a combat hand. Instead, they always fight as Panicked ~ see page 8 Finally, the attacker then places all of their units anywhere con the battlefield, as long as they are within 2 long card: edges of a battlefield edge, and atleast 1 long card-edge away from any enemy unit Attacker’s Objectives The defender must pay 2 Honour to the attacker for each unit of Non-Combatants that is slain or leaves the battlefield, Defender Bonuses At the end of the game, the defender gains 1 Honour from. the supply for each unit of Non-Combatants who have had 2 or more members survive the skirmish.Scenario 4 — DESTRUCTION. ‘When at last push came to shove, raids and ambushes would finally give way to open warfare. Rather than the battles of later times and more “civilized” cultures, larger attacks would be aimed at destroying the villages and dwellings of the enemy. Any of the foe that survived would be slain or enslaved, and their ancestral gods cast down, Game Length Stums. Honour Each player has a pool of 18 Honour Points. They may spend between 5 and § Points on units and 0 to 6 on skills. Attacker Tithe None. The end is nigh ~ the blood of the slain cries out for vengeance, Setup All terrain is placed by the defender. This must include scenery to represent a village or farm of 5 buildings or dother scenic pieces. Other incidental scenery can be added to taste The village must be placed so that One of its structures is within 2Jong cardbedges of a table edge. + All structures are within 1 long card-edge of at least 2 others The table edge closest to the village is the defenders starting line. The opposite edge will be the attacker's starting line The defender then places half of their units ~ rounding up. within 1 Long card-edge of any structure in the village. tthe beginning of turn 4 they may place their remaining, tunits within 1 long card-edge of ANY battlefield edge as they rush from the surrounding area to defend their homes, Finally, the attacker sets up their entire warband within 1 Jong card-edge of theie starting line. Attacker’s Objectives The attacker must fire the 5 main structures of the village Ifan attacking unit spends their activation card and remains stationary in base-to-base contact with one of these structures, draw a card from the deck. If the card is red, the building is fired and the attacker gains +2 Honour to their pool from the supply. Each building can only be burnt once, and each unit can only attempt to burn one building in their activation. Defender Bonuses Defending their hearth and homes, the defenders will fight with ferocity borne of desperation. Any defending nit with all of is models touching any of the five main structures fights as if in a defensive position ~ they will gain #1 bonus card to their Combat Hand. Unfortunately, being thatched or wooden, village buildings cannot be extinguished once ablaze. Options For a truly epic game, add two or three Non-Combatant units from the Ambush scenario to the defenders force The added attacker objectives and defender bonuses will make for ever more chaos, LA,OPTIONAL RULES Remember that if you're planning to use any of these ‘optional rules it's always considered polite to discuss this with your opponent prior to the game. MISSILE WEAPONS Missile weapons could be anything from bows and arrows, javelins, slings, or even stones and sharpened sticks, In many cultures, missile weapons were seen as less honourable than those that required the user to stand face-to-face with the foe. As such, these troops were often ‘made up of the young and inexperienced, those to old for the rigours of melee or, in some cases, even slaves! We see the purpose of missile-fire, especially ina skirmish level game, as more of a tactical weapon than something, that will inflict large numbers of casualties. In TRIBAL rmissile-fire serves mainly to distract and slow enemy Units. It can be imagined that they're secking to avoid the missiles raining down on them by either taking cover behind shields and terrain, or trying to dodge whilst in the open. If missile troops are included in a Warband, then itis recommended that only one or two units are taken at most Cost Like Warriors, missile troops cost 1 Honour to purchase, and come in a unit of five figures Melee Missile troops are not trained or equipped for melee, and therefore never draw a combat hand. Instead, they always fight as if Panicked — see page 8. Line-of-Sight Missile troops cannot see through or over other units for the purposes of shooting, Solid terrain such as hills, rock formations and buildings completely blocks line-of-sight. Missiles can be fired or thrown 1 short card-edge into ‘areas of trees and thick undergrowth. After that, line-of- Sight is again blacked, Units on hills or elevated positions cannot fire over friendly figures or intervening terrain features. When firing at units containing more than one model, only ne figure of the group need be seen to allow an attack. Range Atscale, the battlefield for TRIBAL is typically only 64 metres from one side to the other. Given that a typical modern javelin throw is 60-80 metres; we think that range limits are not really needed in the game, Also, since a well Jaid-out TRIBAL battlefield should have plenty of terrain — this should act to imit missle fire to nothing more than at relatively close range. If missile troops have a clear sight from one side of the battlefield to the other, you're setting, up the table wrong! Attack! Like any other unit, a missile unit receives an Activation Card at the start of the turn, Instead of moving or performing other actions, they can use this card to fire at {an enemy unit in line-of-sight. The Activation Card is revealed and played as missile fire The enemy unit must then play theie Activation Card in response. If they have already used their Activation Card, they must draw one randomly from the card deck. The values of both cards are compared ~ suits make no difference. If the target unit isin the open, and have no cover, they have a-3 modifier to their card value: Ifthe defenders value beats the attacker, then the missiles cause no harm, + Ifthe attack value beats the defence, the target unit takes one hit + Ifthe attack value is twice or more that of the defender, the target unit is Overpowered and takes two hits. Even if the missiles dono damage they will, most often, have still managed to use up the activation of an enemy unit! For this reason, some players like to use the optional rules for Card Pools - see below = when using missile troops. This enables players to reactivate units who have been fired upon, but does lessen the overall effectiveness of missile fie MEN OF HONOUR This optional rule results in a slightly quicker game between veteran players, where Honour is even more closely tied to victory! The reward for winning a round of ‘combat is taken from the losers Honour pool instead of the central supplyCARD POOLS This rule variation gives each player a hand of 5 cards at the beginning of the game. Once dealt and inspected, they are placed to one side keeping the faces hidden from the ‘opposition Each card can be used once, in one of the following ways: ‘+ Toroplace an enemy or friendly unit's Combat Card as soon as it is played ‘© Toreplace a friendly unit's Activation Card if it has been lost due to missile fie oF the unit having been charged, Note that this does not allow a unit that has used its eard during its own activation to get a second action. © Toreplace the randomly drawn card when a unit is Panicked. + To replace either activation card revealed when a unit attacks with, or is targeted by, missile fre It's important to note that cards can only be replaced once — players cannot “trump” one another's cards, Its also considered sporting to allow a player a moment or two to replace their own card before slapping one of yours upon it! If the Card Pool rules are being used, the following Skills ‘may also be chosen: 1 Honour Point. Respected: Chiefs only. At the start of the game, the ‘owner of this figure draws an additional 1 card for their Card Pool. This will bring their total to 6. Cannot be combined with the Skill Revered 2 Honour Points. Revered: Chiefs only. At the start of the game, the owner: of this figure draws an additional 2 cards for their Card ool. This will bring their total to 7. Cannot be combined ‘with the Skill Respected, DIRTY TRICKS In many cultures, part of the process of gaining honour in the eyes of your fellow men was to not only best your ‘enemies, but fo also put on a good show while you did so! ‘Weapon prowess, unflinching courage and often a studied distain for the skills of your foe, were sure-fire ways to fave the lads talking up your deeds over their next cup of ale. (On the other hand sometimes it is merely enough to have survived and any trick, no matter how shameful, is fair-play when the swords are reaping a red harvest In this rule variation, players can spend Honour during combat to either adjust the value of their cards, or cower and thus avoid being wounded, (Only Fleroes and Chiefs can spend Honour Points in this way. Nobody really expects common warriors to behave with honour! ‘At the start of a combat round, after Combat Hands have been drawn but before the first Exchange, each player can take 0-3 Honour from their pool and hides them in a closed fist. Once both players have chosen the Honour they will spend in the coming combat, each opens their hand and reveals the total to their opponent. These Honour Points are set to the side and will be used in the following Exchanges. Any points that are unspent at the end of the combat are discarded to the bank and lost. These Honour Points can be spent — one-at-a-time or in multiples ~ during the coming Exchanges of the combat in either of the following ways ‘© Toadd #1 to the value of a card the player has just played from their Combat Hand. ‘+ Toavoid taking wounds, Each wound cancelled requires a separate Honour Point to be spent. Using the Dirty Tricks and Card Pool optional rules together can make the game somewhat more complicated, so itis only recommended for experienced players,HISTORICAL SETTINGS Below are a variety of rules to enable players to add cultural differences to the armies they play. The: e backgrounds are, ‘of course, entirely optional. The emphasis is to bring fun and flavour to the game by incorporating elements of real- world Tribal culture and warfare from different historical eras, Needless to say a game, no matter how complex, can ever hope to capture the true depth of the customs and beliefs of a society! Our game is, well, just a game — just as card-play or dice rolling can never replicate real combat, the rules that follow are only approximations of reality. In tum, fee free to adapt the special rules to your own setting - whatever works for you! For example, a Haka wardance could work just as well in a Viking setting as a pre:baitle warcry. MAORI (12th to 18th Centuries) Ka tuwhera te tawaha o te riri, kaore e titiro ki te ao marama The gates of war are open and man reeks not of the world offlife Introduction The Maori are native to New Zealand. polynesian culture, they call their home Aotearoa: Land of the Long ‘White Cloud. Evidence suggests that they arrived in New Zealand circa 1280CE, through a succession of long- distance migrations via ocean-going canoes (waka). Oral traditions of iwi (tribes) maintain that the Maori came from a distant land known as Hawaiki, Each successive ‘migration was attached to one particular ocean-going ‘canoe, each of which landed in different parts of New Zealand — seeking to find their own land andjor resources. Subsequently, whakapapa (genealogy) of many Maori traces tribal affiliation to a particular canoe in which their ancestors came to Aotearoa and settled - eg Tainui, Te Arawa, Takitimu and Kurahaupo. Reliant on kumara (sweet-potato) as theit primary crop, and with access to food and water stocks crucially ‘important to the survival of settlements, competition for land and waterways became more and more fierce. This resulted in centuries of intertribal warfare. Fortified hills, islands and clifftops (known as Pa), with palisades and terraces, became defensive points for Tribes (Iwi) and sub- Tribes (Hapu) ~ food was gathered and stored within these. ato protect them against raids ‘Warfare was a seasonal affair ~when the kumara had been harvested and stored, then it was time for the fighting season’. Bloody conflict between tribal groups occurred for both practical and cultural reasons. As described, population pressures and related competition for land ‘and natural resources increasingly created the right circumstances for fighting. Central to Maori warfare, however, were cultural justifications ~ primarily related to concepts of mana and utu, Mana could be seen as ‘honour’ in other cultural contexts. The mana or prestige ofa tribe and its members was absolutely, fundamentally, important. Tribes and their rangatira (chiefs) could increase mana by triumphing over other tribal groups and eating the flesh of their fallen foes An injury, insult, murder, assault, adultery or even theft by other tribal groups could negatively affect mana. To restore the tribal mana it was often believed necessary to seek utt, Utu is not just a simple aspect of revenge, rather itis seen as a means of redressing imbalance. Of course, this could mean that a Tribal feud could last for many generations — enemies constantly seeking utu against one another. These feuds typically included lightning raids against other tribes, ambushes on unsuspecting parties, land attacks on an enemy pa. Sometimes, when gathered forces were large enough (hundreds to tens of thousands ‘f warriors), large battles would be conducted on open ground. Rakau Maori (Maori Weaponry) Maori weapons were designed for close combat. In battle itwas common for toa (warriors) to take a long handled weapon and/or short weapons into battle. Maori wore little into battle apart from a mato (kilt) ora tBtua (bel). In ‘some cases a tapahu (dogskin war cloak) or a pauku (cloak tosshicld spear thrusts) was worn. Maori did not use bows and arrows, s0 fighting was almost entirely hand-to-hand. Famous weapons were given names and handed down ‘trom generation to generation Long-handled weapons: Taiaha (fighting staf) One of the ‘most well-known Maori weapons is the taiaha. It is usually. ‘made from wood, though sometimes itis made from whale bone. Due to its shape, itis sometimes mistakenly referred to as a spear. The staff has a pointed end, and is usually between 1.5 and 1.8 metres long. The pointed end (the arero or tongue) comes out of the upoko (head) which then becomes the ate (liver) or tinana (body). Its used {or stabbing, parrying (warding off blows) and striking. Tewhatewha (axe-like fighting staf) A tewhatewha is a long-handled staf. Its shape issimilar to an axe with a Jong handle, though itis shapes from a single piece of ‘wood or sometimes bone. The end of the handle is pointed and blows from the axe-like part were made with the hhandle rather than the blade, Short-handed weapons: Patu (club) - Patu were made from wood, stone or whale bore. Both the tip and the blade could be used. It was used for striking, stabbing or parrying, Mere pounam - Patu fashioned from pounamu (greenstone or jade) were highly prized weapons, and ‘were known as mere pounamu, This was also a symbol of authorityThe Warparty Taua Rangatira— The leader of the Tribe or sub-tribe, Usually famed for their battle prowess with a particular weapon, their feats of combat would be remembered in stories and legends for generations to come. Itwas under the Rangatira’s mana with which he gathered his men for battle, If he fell, his men would become greatly disheartened there are many tales of victorious forces who retreated when their Rangatira fell in battle. Ariki —usually born to a high rank in the Tribe, and retaining a high mana of their own, they fought alongside their Rangatira, Senior warriors ~ Lieutenants who were veterans of many battles, their fighting skills and prowess gave them advantage in combat, they were usually the teachers of Mau Rakau (weaponry skill to younger warriors, ‘Tohunga ~The Priest who performed specific rites and blessed the warriors with karakia (prayers) prior to battle, The Tohunga would pray to'Tu — the god of War - for vietory over the enemy, and he would see that the tapu (taboo) status of the warparty maintained its spiritual strength. It was on the Tohunga’s word thata battle could {go ahead, IF they savy something that was a bad sign -a dead bird lying in their path, a distant earthquake, a ‘warning spirit in the water ~ a Tohunga would cancel an entire battle, and the warparty would return home to await, ‘a more fortuitous time for war. ‘Toa - Warriors ~ trained in specific long or short weapons, the steadfast farmer-soldiers ofthe tribe formed the bulk of the warparty Slaves Usually captured enemies, slaves were typically used as menial servants. In battle, they could be organised for lowly tasks, such as the casting of stones and javelin- like spears, but slaves could not be relied upon in combat. Reference Material + Elsdon Best, late in the 19th Century, spent decades ‘withthe Tuhoe tribe, recording their oral history and traditions. Over several years, he published a series of articles on Maori warfare, providing substantial insight into the Maori approach ta war and confit. + Best, Elsdon 2001) Notes on the art of war as conducted by the Maori of New Zealand, Auckland Reed in Association withthe Polynesian Society + The Maozi- Volume Two by Elsdon Best also provides ‘a chapter on Maori warfare, and is available to read via the NZ Electron Text Collection: hitp/inzet. victoria, aacnz/tescholary/tei-BesO2Maor html + Knight, lan (2009) Maori Fortifications Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing ‘+ Hoami, Bradford (2000) ‘Maori traditional warfare. In The Oxford companion to New Zealand Military History, edited by lan MeGibbon, pp. 303-307: ‘Auckland: Oxford University Press + Vayda, A. P. (1970) Maori warfare Wellington’ Reed for the Polynesia Society Figures + Eureka Miniatures www.eurekamin.comau. A range ‘of maori specifically suited to these rules 4+ Empress Miniatures - htp:/www empressminiatures. com More suited to 19th Century Musket/Maori wars, bbut some lovely figures inthe range that could be used for Tribal Special Rules The Haka Before a battle a war party would often perform a Haka Peruperu —a ritual war dance. The Rangatira would ‘usually stand at the rear to exhort is troops. After setting up their units, but before the first turn, each Maori player secretly bids Honour from their pool in a closed hand, Non-Maori players cannot bid, and will, always lose. After revealing, the winner loses their bid but draws 5 cards from the deck. These Haka Cards use the same rules as those from the Card Pools detailed in the Optional Rules section above. ‘The losor also loses their bid, but gains 2 Haka Cards. If after bids are revealed the haka is a draw, both players lose theit bid but gain 3 cards each, If you also intend to use the Card Poo! optional rule, the Card Pools before the Haka should be limited to only 3 cards instead of 5. Otherwise the number of cards held by the players can get out of hand Mataika — First Fish The first person slain in battle was known as the first fish and to slay the Mataika was very prestigious. If possible, their heart would be cut out and the Whangai Hau ceremony performed — an offering to an Atua or spirit entity, ‘The first Maori player to kill an opponent's model gains +1 Honour Point from the supply. Ifthe figure slain was a hero or chief, the reward is =? Honour.AZTECS (14th to Téth Centuries) Introduction For 200 years, between the founding of Tenochtitlan at the beginning of the 14th Century to the destruction of their empire at the hands of the Conquistadors, the Aztecs rose to become one of history's greatest military powers. Capable of fielding forces of 300,000 at a time when European armies could barely support a tenth of that number the Aztecs, on the face of things, may seem an odd choice for a game that focuses on skirmishes involving a few dozen at most! The thing to remember however is, that for every battle involving multitudes, history glosses ‘over hundreds of small actions and skirmishes. Aztec soldiers were banded together and trained by tribal warrior societies called Calpulli. This fostered a very competitive style of ritualized warfare not only with the enemy, but also between allied calpulli. Arrayed in dazzling costumes and headgear denoting their bravery and prowess, an Aztec force arrayed for battle would have been an awe-inspiring sight. In many ways similar to a modern sporting match, the Flower Wars of the Mesoamericans were conducted to gain, honour and prestige for the individual, the city-state, and the ruler by capturing enemy combatants, These prisoners ‘were destined to sate the endless hunger for human sacrifice demanded by the gods. In many cases opposing generals and their staff would act as referees; amicably arranging the sites of battles with their counterparts, keeping “score” as individual warriors captured prisoners, and determining when the Flower War could be concluded, ‘once enough sacrifices were gathered. At this point, certainly earlier in the period, armies would simply pack upand head home. Aside from prisoners, no land or other resources would change hands. After the Season lof War was concluded the religious festivals would begin and, over the next month or so, the captives would meet their end in ritual gladiatorial combat or sacrificed atop a stepped pyramid, Weaponry ‘Making little use of metal, most Aztec weapons were made using wood. The famous macuahiutl-a wooden sword edged with obsidian blades is the most commonly recognised Short Weapon of the Aztecs. Also used were various war clubs and the short copper-bladed axes sometimes bome by the well-to-do. Long Weapons were pretty much limited to the tepoztopilli~a polearm witha broad wooden spearhead ‘edged, like the macuahiut, with obsidian blades. There are also tales of warriors wielding huge two-handed macuahiut ~ these would also certainly count as long, ‘weapons. Like many cultures that tied prestige directly to ability in hand-to-hand combat, missile weapons - the bow and sling - were considered less honourable and relegated to lower caste warriors fromtsubjugated peoples or even slaves. Spears and spear-throwers, on the other hand, were used by all classes of warriors. More common in previous eras, by the height ofthe ritualistic splendour of the Flower Wars the use ofthe throwing spear seems to hhave been less common. Using the Tribal rules, spears are pethaps best represented using the Throwing Weapons Skill Troop Types ‘The omate battledress of the Aztecs displayed the number of captives taken by the wearer. Therefore, even within 2 relatively small/calpulli,a variety of different costumes would be seen. Part uniform, part insignia, they were also a high military honour ~ each elaborate uniform was not only ceremoniously presented by the Emperor, but the uniforms themselves were constructed by the Imperial household Within the game of Tribal, Aztec Warbands can be easily divided —by costume — into the three usual unit types: Warrior units are low ranking and can be represented by figures dressed simply in the quilted cotton jackets worn by all ranks under their uniforms. Yet to be awarded a costume of their own, these novice warriors would be new recruits and untried (or merely unlucky) youths. Heroes can be taken from among those warriors who have captured two to four of the enemy. Dressed in bright body suits marked with the hawk scratch and conical hats or, Jaguar suits with snarling wooden helmets, Aztec Heroes ‘ill certainly standout on the battlefield! Chiefs are represented by the warrior-elite of the Aztecs, Resplendent beneath omate feathered banners or hidden behind demonic Tzitzimitl helms, these are the men whose names are known in the Imperial court.Reference Material + Like most Wargaming projects, a great starting point is nearly always among the Osprey titles: # Aztec Warrior AD 1325-1521 (Warrior 32) by John obi has historical noes, discussions of weaponry and tactics, and fantastic colour plates by Adam Hook # Foundry Publications has the catchily named “The Armies of the Aztec and nea Empires, other Native Peoples of the Americas, and the Conquistadores 1450-1608" by Ian Heath. Containing a wealth of information and fascinating facts, this isa book to have if you're interested in the period. Figures Surprisingly, there are afew Aztec ranges about. Some of the best are made by the following companies: «Eureka Miniatures ~ www.eurekamin.com.au. «The Assault Group ~ www-theassaultgroup.co.uk + Wargames Foundry ~ www.wargamesfoundry.com. = Outpost Wargames ~ bitpl/www.outpostwargameservices.co.uki # Gringod0s - http://www gringot0s com/ Special Rules Flower War — honour and prestige among Aztec warriors vas inextricably tied to foes captured on the battlefield ‘The following rules attempt to replicate this: Aztec Characters begin the game with a number of servants that follow their master to bind defeated enemies, and drag them back behind friendly lines. Place a named Post-It note, piece of paper, card tile, or similar near the game-board for each Hero and Chief in your warband. This is the Character's “tile” Whenever one of your Characters kills an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, you may elect to capture the model instead ~ carefully place it upon the victor’s tle, Each Character can only capture a maximum of 4 enemies; no ‘more may be taken after this, {At the end of game, each captured enemy model on your tiles is worth a certain number of bonus Honour Points ‘even if the owning Character has themselves been captured or slain: © Warriors 1 © Heroes 2 © Chier 3 Captured! models are still considered to have been killed when determining if unit is Wiped Out, Honour Points are still transferred as normal aVIKINGS (8th Century to 12th Century, Norse Clans to Viking Expansions and Icelandic Sagas) Introduction Vilking warfare was part of Norse life from the early- Viking age, when they were located in isolated settlements ‘on the coasts and inland - with Clan affiliations and long running feuds. Their expansion throughout Western and Eastern Europe, and on to the isolated Iceland, continued the cultural and social preconditions for skiemish-warfare and territorial conquest. The Viking sagas tell of us of the heroic deeds of legendary figures in the Fornaldarsaga. They also explore the long, and bloody feuds of the Clans in the Islendinger Sogur (celandic Sagas). Throughout the oral tradition of the Saga, there is a celebration of the cunning and boldness of warriors and the intense focus on honour and vengeance as motivation for fierce and brutal conflict. (Of utmost importance to the Viking were the two concepts ‘of honour (drengskapr) and shame (nid). Snorri Sturluson, ‘wrote, “Valiant men who exert a good influence are called drengr.” A drengr was seen to be brave, noble, and had honoured characteristics such as a sense of fair play and ‘respect for others in their Clan. Physical bravery was essential to being drengr, as was self-control. In contrast to this was the nidingr - an abject of hate, scorn and. shame, Seen as a disgrace, the primary causes of shame included: cowardice in battle; treachery; shameful acts (such as killing kinsmen or defenseless people); and breaking one's oath. It is interesting to note that trickery and deceit, especially in battle, were things to be honoured. land retold in the Sagas — they were seen as positive traits reflecting cunning and 'smarts’. To Vikings, deceit, stealth, and ruthlessness were not seen as cowardly ~ they were necessary to win, and the opponent would be defeated because they did not have enough desire to win. Honour could be gained and lost through one’s actions in battle = drengskapr and nidr would be attributed by what was witnessed and retold by others there Viking tactics focused on ambushes and lightning raids that were not expected — they tended to ignore the ‘common military methods, and customs ofthe time. They ‘were happy to attack holy sites and they would never ‘arrange a common battle time with their enemy. There was, a lack of formation in Viking units. Like swarming bees they would attack in small units with specific objectives, |happy to get to grips with their opponents - close up and hand to hand. not only did they reflect one’s material wealth — they displayed a warrior’s rank, power and honour amongst their peers. Sometimes weapons were named only objects that separated a Viking from life and death in combat, they were honoured as such by their owners ‘as the Battle axe Weaponry The quality ofa Viking warrioe's weapon was important, ‘The Battle axe was the most popular Viking age weapon, With agricultural and crafting purposes, they went from ‘everyday too! to a deadly weapon on Viking raids. One- handed axes varied in size from small handheld axes through to broadaxes that could be used both for raids and in farming, ‘The two-handed Danish Axes were well over ameter in length.These axes had a wooden shaft, with a large, curved iron blade. They required less swinging, power than expected, as the large bladed heads allowed gravity and momentum to do most of the work. The axe had points on each tip of the blade where the curve tapered off. This allowed the axe to be used to hook an ‘opponent, while also doubling as a thrusting weapon Swords Believed to have borrowed heavily from Frankish sword designs, the Vikings used double-edged swords, typically with blades 3 feet in length and 6 inches in width. These swords were designed for slashing and cutting, rather than stabbing, so the blades were carelully sharpened while the tip was often left relatively dull, Spears A.common Viking weapon spears were inexpensive to make, easy to train warriors with and effective in hand tohand combat. The length of the wooden handle of such spears was between two and three meters. There were two types of spears; one was made for throwing while the other was generally used for thrusting, The handles ‘of both were the same, but the blades of throwing spears ‘were typically one foot in length while the thrusting spears, were usually closer to two feet Shields ‘While not regarded, typically, as a weapon ~ the Viking shield was an important part of combat. Made of wood ‘with three iron bands and a handle fastened to the back side by iron nails, shields were normally made to the relative size of the warrior — ie some shields were bigger than others. Typically, though, they were 32-36 inches in diameter. Equipped with a leather sling, warriors could ‘throw their shields behind their backs to better wield their weapons. Shields were afixed to the side of raiding longboats when waterbound, warriors quickly grabbed their shields when they rushed into combat on land or water.Troop Types Leaders - Typically the Chief of a Clan, or a senior nobie such as a Jarl, it was expected that a Viking leader would lead from the front. Having achieved his position of authority through his skill in warfare, the Viking leader would stand in the most prominent position in the attack to gain honour for himself and his house. All would depend on his personal forturies- if he fell, itis ikely that his army would withdraw or rout Huscarls - Trusted senior warriors, usually personal, bodyguards to the Leader of the Viking force. Trained to protect their Leader with their lives, they were also expected to conduct heroic charges into the enemy to create and exploit weakspots. To die in battle for the glory of their house was an honour a Huscar! always hoped fo. Warrior-Shaman/Berserker ~The men who carried magic into battle typically fell into two groups: the berserkers (Old Norse berserkir, "bear-shicts") and dilfhednar (Old Norse for "wolf-hides"). The consumption of hallucinogenics, fasting, exposure to extreme heat, and ceremonial dances could. induce a state of possession for the Warrior-shaman by their kindred beast - acquiring its strength, fearlessness, and fury. The rest of the men would stand back and let the Warrior-Shaman lead the way into battle — following closely on his heels as he cut a bloody ppath into the enemy. Karls - Farmers, Landowners and Guards, The Bondi and the Hauldr formed the majority of a Viking force as Thralls ~Slaves and Leysingi (freedmen), usually given the lovrliest of tasks in battle ~ if they were needed. Typically, they could provide missile support with stones, slings and bows. Reference Material + The Viking World (2008) edited by Stefan Brink with [Neil Price particularly interesting chapters on Viking honour, Viking warfare and weapons. + Osprey. Elite Series 3 The Vikings (1985) lan Heath and Angus McBride ~ still incredibly useful in its breadth and depth of knowledge in Viking warfare and culture +The Prose Fada Snorri Sturlson’s collection of Norse Pootry (English translation in this pdf) /The-Prose-Edda, + _hutps/ww.redicecreations.com/ti pat # Icelandic Saga Database~To get an excellent under= standing of the Viking worldview, and what honour and vengeance and combat means, have a read of the Sagas from Iceland, Make sure you get the English bitpisagadb.org/ Figures + Foundry — wvrw.wargamesfoundry.com. lovely figures, to paint and to look at + Gripping feast -hitpi/www grippingbeastco.0k/ A comprehensive collection ofthe different types of ‘warriors and leaders + Saxon Miniatures —httpsaxonminiatures.com/ A nice mix of Viking and Saxon figures +) Eureka Miniatures - www eurekamin.com.au Have their Beowulf range, which cover a range of Norse heroic figures. Special Rules The Shieldwall The sagas mention the ability of Norse warbands to ‘organise their units and form ranks. In the front rank were the swords and handaxes, with shield. In the rear were the spearmen andl long-axes, attacking over the front rank. ‘with their extended reach, If Wo units of Vikings form up ranks (all members of a unit touching, with a minimum of three figures), short ‘weapons/shields at front and long weapons in the rear, two mules apply Ifthe front rank is defeated from a charge in the front arc, ‘they will not retreat — they stand their ground. In turn, the viciors may not move ~ they are still caught up in combat. The rear rank spears do not need to be in contact to count as in combat ~ they effectively have a reach of one base- ‘width to count as “in combat’ Odin’s Men COdin’s men [berserkers and iilfhednar] went armor-less Into battle and were as crazed as dogs or wolves and as strong as bears or bulls. They bit their shields and slew ‘men, iwhile they themselves were harmed by neither fire nor iron, This is called ‘going berserk’ - the Ynglinga Saga (On the battlefield, the berserker or ilfhedinn would often enter the fray naked but for his animal mask and. pelts, howling, roaring, and running amok with godly or demonic courage. A Viking force may purchase one berserker as a hero. The berserker, as a hero, may still, purchase an extra skill A berserker may lose wounds during a battle, but they will always draw five cards for 4 round of combat, Being so focused on attack, however, ‘means they are weak in their defence, they get a-2 toany red defensive card they play in combatTHE GLADIATORS OF ROME (Ist BC to 2nd€ AD) Introduction Fame. The crowd roars and surges to its feet chanting his name. The murmillo raises his sword above his head and slowly turns; basking in the adulation of the masses. The body of his foe lies in the bloody sand at his feet. Honour and Fame are two sides ofthe coin that ensures a gladiators immortality. As honour increases so does fame. 'Ss fame grows a warriors actions are further restricted by the expectations of the masses — pulling a blow to stretch ‘out the drama of a combat, allowing a fallen foe to regain their feet or, sparing their life as they lie wounded before you. Playing Tribal with gladiators is a litle different than the usual game. For a start, most of a player’s Warband will be likely made up of Characters. Therefore, the usual rule limiting a warband to 1 Hero for every group of 5 Warriors {signored when using this setting. As per normal however, each warband can only have 1 Chief - the star of the gladiatorial ludis. Likewise, most gladiator Characters begin the game ‘with more skills than is usually the case in Tribal. Each different type of gladiator is purchased with a number of skill already builtin, This will mean that they cost more Honour Points to include in a warband than the usual one ‘or two, ‘These built-in skills also do not count against the Characters normal skill imit: Heroes can still buy'1 extra skill from the lst, and Chiefs can buy up to 2. Weaponry Short weapons among gladiators are the sword, dagger, club and occasionally a specialized weapon such as that used by the Scissor. Long weapons included the spear as well as the famous trident Ranged weapons in the arena were limited to the javelin and a light recurved bow. Ithas been speculated that the power of the bow was deliberately reduced — no one wanted to see a fight end before it even began! Troop Types “The Romans had many varieties of gladiator. Some came and went in popularity, others are no doubt lost to history, but some of the most famous types are detailed below. ‘Warrior units in the arena comprise the lowest ofthe low: condemned criminals, rebellious slaves and prisoners of ‘war, Though perhaps having some combat experience, these men would be completely out of their depth and certainly not expected to survive, Unless in exceptional circumstances, Warrior units have no armour, and are armed with Short weapons only. Heroes and Chiefs, The real stars of the arena, gladiators come in many different types, Detailed below are the ‘names, Honour Point cost, weapons, armour and Skills of several of the most common. Since in a normal game of Tribal Chiefs are free, deduct 1 point from the Honour Point cost when purchasing a leader for your warband. AS normal, gladiator Characters can purchase extra Skills. Crupellarius. 3 Points, Short weapon, Heavy armour. Massively armoured but with very litle vision, Crupellari amour protects on a 7+. Unfortunately for them however both Feint and Strike cards suffer 1 to their value Dimachaerius, 3 Points. Short weapon. Light armour. ‘Agile. Wielding paired blades, the Dimachaeril relied on lighting strikes and speed to win a bout Hoplomachus, 2 Points. Long weapon. Light armour. The boplomachus was a later gladiator type armed with a long spear and small round shield. ‘Murmillo or Provocator. 3 Points. Short weapon. Medium armour. Arguably the workhorses of the arena, these ‘warriors are equipped with good armour, a short sword, and a large infantry shield. Sagittarius. 2 Points. Missile weapon. Li Having no hand-to-hand weaponry other than a small ddagger, the bow armed Sagittarius always fights as if Panicked in melee, Retiarius or Laquearius. 2 Points. Long weapon. Light armour. Cunning. Armed with the net to entangle and trident to finish theit foe, the retiaii were often, for some reason, hated by the public. Laquearil were similar to retiali, But used a lasso or rope instead of ant. Scissor. 4 Points, Short weapon. Heavy armour. Skilled. Heavily armoured and wielding a sword paired with a strange blacied gauntlet, the scissores could both entrap their foes weapons and cut their way free of entangling nets, Secutor. 4 Points. Short weapon. Medium armour. Tough: Similar to a murmillo in appearance, a secutor was ‘commonly paired against a retiariius, With head encased in a tight fiting globular helm pierced only by two eye- holes, it must have taken incredible stamina not to collapse ‘with heat exhaustion after only a few minutes. ‘Thraex.2 points. Short weapon. Light armour. Equipped with a hooked blade designed to strike around shields foes facing the Thraex have the protection level of their armour reduced by 1 point. eles. 2 points. Long weapon. No armour. Throwing Weapons. Modelled on the light infantry of the Roman army, Veles were armed with a javelin that was often tothered to their wrist :Reference Material + Gladiators 100 BC to AD 200 (Warrior 3) by Stephen Wisdom, is the go-to Osprey ttle. It has historical notes, discussions of wesponry, and the usual beau- tiful colour plates in this case by the famous Angus McBride + Gladiator ~the complete guide to ancient Rome's bloody fighters by Konstantin Nossov and published by Lyons Press, A good over-view and also containing some very nice colour plates ‘© Gladiators ~ violence and spectacle in ancient Rome by Roger Dunkle and published by Pearson-Longman isa weightier tome, but well worth the read if you are interested in the period. Figures There are plenty of excellent gladiator miniatures on the market, Some of our favourites are: (Crusader Miniatures ~ www.crusaderminiatures.com. A beautifully sculpted and very complete range. ‘Wargames Foundry — www.wargamesfoundry.com. Some ‘of the most dynamic poses on the market. joy to paint! Eureka Miniatures ~ www.eurekamin.com.au, Sell some very nice gladiatrives ~ female gladiators Special Rules cone of the differentiating features of each sular style and Armour gladiator type was a variation in the p: overage of their armour. there are three different armour levels: light, medium and heavy. Aside from “no armour it, the owning players draws a single card from their deck. Ifthe card ‘When a model wearing armour takes value is equal to, or more, than the armour’s protection. level then the hit is nullified and no damage is taken, The drawn card is then discarded. Needless to say, ifthe card ‘Value is lower than the protection level then then hitis| taken as normal Im the case of an Overpowering strike, only one of the two points of damage can be cancelled ~ 1 hit will always get through the armour. If you wish to use armour in other settings, we have included unit restrictions and Honour Point costs just like other Skills: Light Armour: 1 Honour Point: Protection level: 12+ (Queen) Medium Armour: Characters only. 2 Honour Points. Protection level: 10* + Heavy Armour: Characters only. 2 Honour Points. Pro tection level: 84, Characters wearing Heavy Armour have their reaction speed slowed: all red Feint Cards suffer 1 to their value.Other Periods/Tribes IROQUOIS WARBAND/ MOURNING WARS (10th Century to 16th Century) A confederacy of East Coast tribes, the Iroquois Confederacy had a complex system of inter-tribal ‘economies of trade and political representation. They fought with other tribes for hunting grounds and for access to waterways ~ particularly the Alongquian peoples Mourning Wats Iroqouis often went to war to gather ‘captives as replacements for newly-dead relatives; often seeking the strongest and best-looking, When an enemy Character falls in combat, the Iroquois player may choose not to kill their foe but capture them instead. They may choose one figure of their own from the ‘victorious unit and immediately remove both models from the battlefield. The Hero or Chief is now a captive, tied upand ready to become a member of your Tribe. Though not slain, the normal Honour Point rewards and Blood Payment are still earned as if the Character was killed in battle Atthe end of game, each captured enemy model is worth a certain number of bonus Honour Points: © Heroes 2 © Chief 3 JAPANESE CLANS OF THE HEIAN PERIOD (9th Century to 12th Century) ‘The Heian Period is an interesting one of Imperial Court intrigues, intermittent warfare between Clans, attacks ‘on the Northern Barbarians, and battles with pirates and bandits throughout Nippon. In this time, the beginnings of a soldier-caste is established, based on rigid-systems of honour/bushi, and obedience to Family fiefdoms. An Honorable Death At the Battle of Uji in 1180, Minamoto no Morimasa committed seppuku in order to avoid capture by the enemy. While ritual-suicide would later become an honoured display of loyalty and obedience for Samurai, in the Heian period it was viewed as a heroic attempt to evade defeat and captivity Ifa Heian Character believes they are about to be defeated, at the beginning of their activation they may choose {0 ‘remove’ themselves from the battle through an honourable death. The player still loses the normal Blood Payment for the Character, but this Honour is returned to the supply rather than passing to their opponent. Thus the enemy is denied an advantage through the hero's death. CAVE WARS (Pre-Historic: Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon man, approx. 300,000BCE to 10,000BCE) Archeaological evidence indicates violence occurring, very early on between groups of prehistoric humans. For example, Neanderthal skeletal remains have been found \with spear points embedded in their bones. Most likely 40,000 years ago, the newer human Cro-Magnons would have had some contact with Neanderthals in modern day Europe, as the expansion of the former would have ‘encroached on hunting/herding lands of the latter Within a few thousand years, Neanderthal settlements had disappeared from much of Europe. The rapid shift from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon settlements sugs that there had to have been some level of competition and conflict between rival families and tribes. Skin Walkers Some tribes may have been associated with particular totemic animals such as wolves, bears or large-cats Shamanic warriors would take on the skin of their animal - wearing their pelts, teeth and claws — while also inhabiting the spirit of that animal: roaring into battle with primal, animalistic fury A Cave Tribe may include one skin-walker. They are considered a Hero, cost 1 Honour Point, may purchase single skill and begin the game with 5 wounds. A skin-walker may lose wounds during the battle but, in their frenzy, will continue attacking little-affected: they \will always draw five cards at the beginning of a round of combat. Boing so focused on attack, however, leaves them clumsy in defence, thus they get a-2 to the value of any red Feint card they play in combat,Normal Vlong card-edge Sprint 2 long card-edges Walk Tshorteard-eage Tough Going Moves become short edge ‘Units made up of more than 1 figure must be in Coherency at the end of their movement. Figures in Coherency will have a portion of their bases covered by a card held above the unit. ‘Teard per wound of a solo figure 1 card / model in a mult-figure unit. Engaged by aSprinting enemy +1 Uphill from enemy + In a defensive position a Combat Hand affecting Various 1 Exchange for each card held by the player with the largest Combat Hand — up toa maximum of 5 Ifa player does not have a card to play in an exchange their unit Panics ‘* Panic cards are drawn blindly from the top of the draw deck. # Ifa Panic card wins an exchange it will cause no damage nor have a Feint effect. + Panic cards CAN win Initiative The player whose unit charged into contact starts with Initiative in the 1* Exchange. Thereafter the winner of each Exchange will start the next with tive waits until they have seen their opponent's card before choosing and playing their own. * Ina draw, Initiative passes from the current holder. + Long Weapons always win draws against Short ) ‘Spades. Strike Card ~ Stab +1 value if Long Weapon Clubs. Strike Card - Bludgeon. +1 value if Short Weapon. ed Heart. Feint Card — Jab. Change own suit in next Exchange, Diamond. Feint Card — Dodge. Change opponents suit in next Exchange. AA final value of triple or more causes 2 hits. Short Weapons only require double or more to Overpower. The winner of a combat gains 1 Honour from the supply. © The losers unit must retreat up to 1 long card-edge ‘+ Ifa unit is destroyed, the loser must pay the winner 1-2 Honour. Agile Begins combat with Initiative. Champion +2 with weapon type of choice, +1 with the other Strike card. Gunning +1 Vallte with Feint cards Fearsome #1 hit vs Warriors. Seasoned Discard & redraw 2 cards from Com- bat Hand. Skilled +2 with weapon type of choice. Strong +L hit vs ALL opponents. Tactician Reposition enemy unit at setup. Throwing Weapon When the unit charges into combat flip accard. Black=hit. Tough Starts game with +1 Wound. Range: Limited by line of sight ‘© Compare attacker and target's activation cards Target's value is ~ © Attacker > target ‘© Attacker > 2x target=2 wounds ifin the open wound Missile troops always fight as if panicked. & facebook.com/tribalgame/ themanapress@gmail.com IMAINAN SS eurekaminiatures ORASgle 2, anIntroduction. New Skills. THE TRIBES Neanderthals Scenario 1: Rites of Passage .. Cro Magnons son Scenario 2: The Crossing. Denisovans Scenario 3: The Burn Off. Early Hominids Scenario 4: The Carcass . BARE ‘The Wild: Animals in TRIBAL Prehistoric Bestiary ‘THE HUNT-— mini campaign. ‘The Hunt Scenario 1: Tracking ‘The Hunt Scenario 2: Driving the Prey The Hunt Scenario 3: The Kill.... ‘The Hunt Scenario 4: The Return Interesting Reading... ‘Animals in TRIBAL Quick Reference Sheet (rear cover)INTRODUCTION Welcome to PRIMEVAL a prehistoric gaming supplement for the TRIBAL rules ~ a skirmish-style wargame which focuses on the heroic deeds of units and individuals in battle. PRIME! {AL continues the theme of ‘honour’ as a fundamental element of tribal life and combat - which determines who actually ‘wins’ a game, through the actions of the protagonists in bate PRIMEVAL goes back to the era of the Dawn of Man, when humanity was frst establishing itself across the harsh landscapes of a prehistoric world. Humanity’s fight for survival and — ultimately’ ss! We're fascinated by the huge output of findings in archaeology, anthropology and DNA tracing which igaming opportunit for supremacy, we think, provides a world of interesting informs us on our human ancestors - and the hominid species which preceded ours, ‘The constantly emerging finds in the field, which challenges us all to reassess who we are, and where we come from, inspired us to research and game in the era of PRIMEVAL man. While we try to share our enthusiasm for the research and theories on Prehistoric tribal life and warfare, we recognise that \we cannot offer a definitive perspective on Prehistory! In the end, PRIMEVAL is a game. But a game that hopefully inspires players to share our enthusiasm for history and research. If Pulp or Hollywood-inspired game is what interests you or, if you feel like playing a tribe of tough Amazonian warriors ~ led, presumably, by Raquel Welch ~ batting a war party of intelligent apes then go for it! TRIBAL & PRIMEVAL are toolboxes for you, the player, o take and create the sorts of games you want 10 play. Finally, continuing on thi theme, we believe there are new rules, skills and scenarios within PRIMEVAL which could be used is a variety of settings. We have specifically designed elements of PRIMEVAL to be taken and applied to whatever period players may be interested in. Again, we believe our rules and supplements are tools, to be taken and “plugged to whatever kind of ‘wargame you may enjoy. IF you'd like to hunt lions on the African savanna, oF take a pack of hounds with you on a Scottish border raid, then please be our guest! Go fort Renee you get in PRIMEVAL New skills: Savage, The Shaman, Concealment, Ferocious Fighter, Skin Changer, Dog companions ée Animal skills + New Factions: Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon, Denisovans, Early Hominids - with descriptions, special rules and unit makeup. + 4 New Scenarios: associated with each of the Factions above. ‘+The Wild ~ Animals in Tribal: Playing with wild animals in Tribal, featuring movement and behaviours; a Prehistoric Bestiary ~ covering a variety of species across Eurasia, The Americas and Australia. + The Hunt: A four-scenario mini-campaign which sets ‘two tribes against each other as they track, drive and capture their prey. What you'll need to play Asin TRIBAL, there are a few essential items required t0 play PRIMEVAL. There are some additional items which we believe players need to play in the PRIMEVAL setting, To play any game of TRIBAL, players will need: + 2standard sized decks of 54 poker cards ~ including the red and black joker ~ 1 deck for each player. It’s a good idea to have each deck distinguishable for the other in case the cards become mixed up during the game! Something to act as a turn counter a ten-sided die placed near the card deck can be used. ish small counters to record Honour Points ~ the small glass beads available in most game shops are perfect. Tabletop ~ A 3¢t by 3ft battlefield plus LOTS of scenery, Each player will also need! A Chief or Wat-Leader, 1-3 individual Hero models, and ‘a method to record their wounds ~ small dice work well + 2-Lunits of 5 warriors each. Warrior groups are armed. with either short weapons (clubs, axes, knives) or long weapons (spears, throwing-spears). ‘+ All figures should be based on 20-25mm round or square ’bases. Chiefs and heroes can be set on larger bases to make them stand out from the lesser warriors on the tabletop. For PRIMEVAL, we recommend that the players have: + An additional deck of 54 poker cards, to be used for specific scenarios, andjor for the purpose of playing, animals in the game, + Animal miniatures, if they are to be used in the game. At Teast a large generic animal ike a mammoth or bear, oF predators like a pack of wolves or a large cat. For some variety, herd animals like deer or horses can bring a different dynamic to a hunting scenario. + Asetof the TRIBAL core rules, of course!NEW SKILLS 1 Honour Point Savage: This unit attacks single targets with a predator-like savagery ith Strike Cards when in combat against single model units. +1 wound damage from hits ‘The Shaman: Characters only. One member of the Tribe has the touch of a seer about them, They have the ability to read the winds of fate that blow in the battle, and are able to channel these winds to blow favourably for their Tribe, Once per game, a player with a Shaman in theie Tribe can take their discard pile and reshuffle back into their draw deck. This can be done at ANY time ~ even during combat round Concealment: Chief only warband uses red cards placed face-down to represent their units, During their setup, the ace cards Number cards indicate units of Warriors, wh represent Characters, An equal number of black card dlecoys, are also placed face-down at the same time. Just prior to the ‘commencement of the first turn, all cards are flipped and units positioned where a matching red card was placed. Ferocious Fighter: Characters only A Ferocious Fighter may be injured during the battle but, in their frenzy, will continue attacking litle-affected: their Combat Hand is not reduced as they lose wounds. Being so focused on attack, however, leaves them clumsy in defence, thus they get a? tothe value of any red Feint card they play in combat. Skin-Changer: Characters only. Capable of drawing on of ferocious energy even if mortally wounded, the the followers ‘of many shamanistic traditions can draw o spirits of totem animals to fight with a berserk rage. Ifa wounded Skin Changer wins an Exchange with a Panie! card, itis resolved with full combat effect