Nuada of the Silver Hand Elf Hero
Kluruch Wraithlord Fir Bolg Hero
Lugh the Long Arm Gael Hero Mordred Fir Bolg Hero
Daghda Gael Druid Gael Chariot Herne Lord of the Hunt Gael Hero Danu Gael Druid
Mark Brendan C
Coovveerr AArrttwwoorrkk Clint Langley C
Coonncceepptt AArrtt Clint Langley G
Grraapphhiicc DDeessiiggnn && LLaayyoouutt Christina Robertson H
Heeaadd SSccuullppttoorr Kev White FFiigguurree SSccuullppttoorrss
Mike Owen & Steve Saleh FFiigguurree PPaaiinntteerrss
Mark McNaught, Andrew Wedmore, Erwan Hascöet & Christian Weiss P
Phhoottooggrraapphhyy
Davison Read Associates D Diioorraammaass Gary Chalk D Diiaaggrraamm IIccoonnss Stuart Beel P Pllaayytteesstteerrss
Brad Van Middlesworth, Bryan Stroup, Chris Gilders, Mike Jones, Rodney Harper, Scott Paquette, Torben Kastbjerg, Andrew Starling, Peter Houston, Simon Tams, Steven Houston, Andrew G Paul, Dave, G3 Gaming Group, Gav, James Lennon, Alan Davies, STAGS & Spencer Warner.
D Diirreeccttoorrss
John Robertson (Managing), John Grant & Felix Garzon SSaalleess
Richard Scott, John Cudworth, Craig McDowell, Tom Wakeford & Moray Grant P
Prroommoottiioonnss Adam Souness D
Deessiiggnneerrss
Kevin White, Peter Flannery, Nick Collier, Mike Owen, Steve Saleh & Christina Robertson P
Prroodduuccttiioonn
Celine Leuty, Craig Leslie & Willie Stirling
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The island continent of Goria is a land divided by warring factions. The Goddess Anu and her husband, the first Horned God Arawn, created Goria in a time beyond reckoning. Anu and Arawn had an enemy in Arawns brother, who became the maggot-god Crom Cruich. Anu and Arawn raised a race of children called the Fir Bolg, but Crom brought death, so that Arawn had to be sacrificed to save the land. A new Horned God was chosen from the Fir Bolg by Anu, and every seven years he too was sacrificed. The first strife came to Goria when Crom tricked Cernunnos, one of Anus Horned Gods, into steal-ing the key to immortality. For this all the Fir Bolg were eternally damned to living death by Anu. The Fir Bolg tried to make war on Anu and awoke the Sidhe, a race of immortals who fought the Fir Bolg and banished them from Goria-though not permanently. The war damaged the fabric of the world and allowed the realm of Lochlann to infringe on Goria. The people of Lochlann were Fomorians, demonic raiders that forced the Sidhe to retreat to the Great Western Division, an impenetrable mountain range running all the way down the western coast of Goria. Much time passed and Anu created a new husband, this time a sun god called Lahmfada, and they raised a race of warriors called the Gaels to win back the land from the usurpers. The most recent faction to
arrive are the Vanir, from a desolate wintery realm. They have travelled over a strange magi-cal rainbow bridge magi-called Bifrost to raid the north-ern shores of the land, turning it into tundra and frozen forest in the process.
In the far north Vanir raiders have carved out a permanent homeland. The Frostiron Causeway leads to the open sea and Bifrost. The Vanir strongholds are great natural octagonal rock formations mined out by the raiders. The main stronghold is the Vaul Halls, but there is also Heimdall and Bodir Dúr. To the south of these set-tlements are the bleak, frozen moors of Dulach Lairg.
Moving west one reaches the haunted forest of Saibir Frith, full of evil spirits from Croms great idol The Cruichan. The Cruichan stands at the northern end of Mag Slecht, the terrible Plain of Adoration where the Fir Bolg sacrifice the living. The northwestern shores of Goria break away into the Islands of Fire, where flame and smoke constantly belch from the mountaintops.
Running all the way down the western side of Goria is the Great Western Divide, atop which the Sidhe built the massive, continuous fortress wall known as Ridgeworld. Ridgeworld was built with the aid of elemental magic, and is broad enough to contain whole cities within the curtain wall. The northernmost Sidhe capital city
The Realms of Goria
is Findias. Far to the south of Findias the next Sidhe capital city is Gorias. Due west of Gorias, past the Dreaming Forest, on an island out in the ocean, stands the third Sidhe capital of Falias. Falias is connected to the mainland by a delicate bridge, over a collapsed sea stack called the Dragons Teeth. The land south of the Dreaming Forest gives way to the beautiful Ór-Gearraidh, the golden pastures of the Sidhe. The last great Sidhe capital lies on the most southwesterly tip of Goria and is called Murias. To the west of the mountains around Findias lies Ariant Forest, the silver forest of the Sidhe. To the south of Ariant Forest is a large bay in which Scathas Isle is sit-uated.
On the opposite coast the Gaels have a similar island called Inis Ler. On the northernmost reaches of the Gael territories lie the Mounds of the Old Kings, a range of haunted hills where the kings of the Fir Bolg have their burial mounds. The Gael kingdoms extend down the east of Goria, and the largest of their hill forts in the north is Clontragh. Between Clontragh and the next major fort of Drogheda lies Sliab Dubh, the Black Mountain, and the Great Eastern Forest, through which the River Gais flows. South of Drogheda is Fid Usga the sacred forest of the druids, and the smaller Southern Forest. Below Fid Usga are the great Gael forts of Taras, the capital, and Dun
Flaitheman. On an island off the coast here is the Sacred Isle where the druids have their college.
The centre is mostly taken up with the Desolation of Nudd, a vast area of flat marshy ground dotted with bogs, lochs and treacherous waterways. The Fomorians hold sway here, com-ing up from subterranean warrens such as Torr Glas, Torr Aibeais and the Castle of Balor to pil-lage and slaughter. The ruins of once great Sidhe palaces like Atrans Palace, The City of Spires and Caer Hethen add a forlorn air to this dark land. To the northwest of the Desolation of Nudd is the Plain of Red Slaughter, where the Gaels repelled the Fomorians and Lahmfada personally slew the Demon King Nudd.
High in the mountains to the south are the Hidden Woods, a Sidhe sacred place where no mortal sets foot and lives to tell the tale. To the south of this lies the Citadel of Bones and Kluruchs Marsh, where the Wraith-Lord holds sway and terror stalks the marshes.
cup back into the loch again and scooped up the rest of the mead. Unbeknownst to Anu, there was a worm in the bottom of the loch, and she drank him down with her second draught. After drinking a loch full of mead, Anu felt drowsy and she went to her golden fortress to sleep it off. As Anu slept, the worm grew into a man in her belly. This trou-bled her sleep and made her sick during the night, so that she had to fetch a bucket of water to wash the flagstones. The little man was washed away.
Anu awoke the next day, still feeling weary from her trials, but the burden of her long-ing was strangely absent. She went to brlong-ing her cattle in for milking and there was a man waiting for her by the stalls. This was the worm from the loch of mead, that had grown in her body into the form of a man. Anu named him Arawn-the first Horned God-and made him her consort.
What Anu did not know about Arawn was that he had a brother in the loch that was left stranded when she drank all the mead. Once he became a man and found himself in the arms of Anu, Arawn forgot all about his little worm brother. Arawns brother was called Crom Cruich, and he envied Arawn for his good fortune, and he hated Anu for draining his loch. Crom Cruich crawled out of the loch, which was now little more than a puddle, and made his way through the pas-Before the many worlds came to be, there
was only the Land of the Ever Living. In the Land of the Ever Living there was only one goddess-Anu. Anu was the first, the eternal, the timeless-beautiful and without limits. Anu had all she needed to prosper in the Land of the Ever Living. If she desired mead, the burns and lochs brimmed with golden honey brew; if she wanted porridge, her cauldron was always full and warm. She had more cattle than could easily have been reckoned, and a great golden fortress for her shelter. She had rowanberries to eat all year round and the salmon would leap onto the river-bank at her feet if she told them to. The land was plentiful and brought forward its bounty at her command. Anu was not content though. All of the great treasures of the Land of the Ever Living that were hers and hers alone had been provided for her. She could have anything she desired just by wishing it, but she had created nothing in this land-it had all come from elsewhere, though she did not know from where.
Anu decided to have a drink from the rivers and lochs of flowing mead to ease her trou-bles. She took up her great, goddesss cup and scooped up half the mead of a whole loch. She drank this off in a long drink, but afterwards she still did not feel content, so she plunged her
her cattle and other beasts to serve the Fir Bolg, and Arawn went down with them to be their teacher. With the cattle Anu sent down went Crom Cruich, and on the new world he saw a way to take his revenge. Crom slew from within the beast that carried him, and gnawed his way out of the carcass. Crom then bored a hole in the land and hid within it, his body grew fat and death came to the world of Goria thanks to his presence. In his foulness Crom gave birth to new creatures to do him honour, as the plants and beasts and men of Goria honoured Anu. Croms children were the maggots, and black beetles, and hoodie crows and other scavengers and carrion eaters. tures to her fortress. He was only a worm, and this
journey took him many months to complete. Crom Cruich thought to hide himself away in one of Anus drinks, so that he too could become a man in her belly like his brother, and then challenge Anu and his brother for the dominion of the Land of the Ever Living. Once he reached Anus fortress, Crom Cruich entered a well of clear spring water in the courtyard. But hed made a ter-rible mistake, because this was the water for Anus cattle, to keep their milk creamy and white. The next day Crom Cruich was drunk down by one of Anus cattle, in whose belly he remained for some time, trying to devise a way out of his new predicament.
While Crom was scheming and dragging his body across the Land of the Ever Living, Anu and her new companion caused a new world to happen. But this world was not like the Land of the Ever Living; it was barren and lifeless. Anu and Arawn took fertile soil and growing things and animals from the Land of the Ever Living and placed them on the new world. After a great epoch of time had passed the new world was vibrant and in bloom. Anu was pleased with the new land and she named it Goria. Anu and Arawn then conceived a race of children to do them hon-our and they called them the Fir Bolg. Anu gave of
She
cursed
them with
immortality,
but it was the immortality
of the
Ever Dying,
not the Ever Living,
so their bodies fell away
and the wind howled between their ribs
The First Founding
Because he had brought death to the land, Anu had to cause the land to be reborn every seven cycles, or else Crom Cruich's poison would take hold forever. Though she wept to do so, she commanded that the Fir Bolg must sacrifice Arawn and a new Horned God be inaugurated as her consort. This then became the way of things, with the old Horned God making way for the new every seven cycles, so that the world could be born anew. At the appointed time Anu's consort would be taken to the Sacred Grove to be returned to the land. The Fir Bolg's High Priest would give him the final meal of porridge, prepared by the priest-esses. The porridge contained the thirteen berries of the goddess and the black wheat.
The black wheat was Anu's gift of vision to the mortal world, and eating bread or porridge made from the wheat would loosen the spirit of the
eater. Then a spirit could travel for a short time to the Land of the Ever Living, and other worlds beside. Of these other worlds, Anu knew nothing, but through her priesthood, she began to learn of them. If the black wheat was misused though, or the eater was not an ordained priest, the spirit could become lost or trapped by bad spirits. When this happened the death spasms and then the trance of living death would follow. Eventually the body would die without its spirit.
The porridge given to the Horned God at his ordained hour would contain a fatal dose of the black wheat, and his spirit would return to reside with Anu forever.
salmon were called the Salmon of Knowledge and Anu had forbidden her children to eat them. Anu's Priestesses had the task of guarding this pool. It was said that if anyone ate the flesh of a salmon from the pool, they would gain great knowledge but pay a terrible price for it.
Each of Anu's Horned Gods served her in a different way, allowing the land to grow and prosper, and drawing out Crom's poison. Anu cherished each of her Horned Gods in their own way, and each of them brought different aspects to the renewal of the land. Anu's thirteenth Horned God was called Cernunnos. Cernunnos was intel-ligent and ambitious and during his allotted time he was an inspiring and energetic Horned God. When his time came Cernunnos did not want to return to Anu. He had much more to do as Horned God-he would build a great kingdom for the Fir Bolg and rule them justly, and overcome the
death in the land.
Crom Cruich came to Cernunnos in a vision, on the eve of his sacrifice. Not knowing the true nature of the worm, Cernunnos asked Crom how he could cheat the death that awaited him, and build a just kingdom for the Fir Bolg. Crom told him that the secret lay in the Salmon of Knowledge. Anu did not want her people to learn the secrets of life without death, because then they would be free of her tyranny. Cernunnos's judgement in this matter was clouded by his desire for immortality, and he chose to believe Crom. Wasting no more time, Cernunnos seduced the priestess guarding the pool. He was not without charm and guile. Her name was Ceridwenn. Ceridwenn and Cernunnos then trawled the fish from the pool and prepared a feast of salmon broth for the Fir Bolg, in the Goddess's Cauldron. Believing it to be Cernunnos's last feast, the Fir Bolg ate the salmon and Anu was greatly enraged. By eating the salmon, which had feasted on the corpses of all the Horned Gods right back to Arawn, the Fir Bolg learned the secrets of necromancy-the art of death. Anu came to her children though, and dis-owned them for their crime. She cursed them with immortality, but it was the immortality of the Ever Dying, not the Ever Living, so their bodies fell
away, and the wind howled between their ribs. Anu reserved special torments for Cernunnos and Ceridwenn, who had cuckolded her and were behind the revolt. Cernunnos was made impotent, and Ceridwenn driven mad, both of them unable to die and forced to endure Anu's judgement for-ever. And Crom Cruich's mischief and hatred had proven too much this time. Anu banished the worm from Goria, to a realm of horror and pain called Anwyn. This place had been discovered by Fir-Bolg soul-travellers in the most terrible, burn-ing torments of the black wheat.
The Fir Bolg despaired and left the land fallow. They crept to hiding places in the hills, and swamps and wild groves. A great sadness came over Goria and the light in the sky went out and the forces of night went about during the daytime, making the shadows longer.
Because Anu had abandoned them, and because Anu had cursed them, the Fir Bolg went to Cernunnos and his new concubine to guide them. For a long time Cernunnos did not know what would happen to him and his people. He tried to speak again with Crom, but Crom was nowhere to be found. The Fir Bolg began to change. They withered and decayed in many dif-ferent ways, each demise determined by the spir-it of the sufferer. Ceridwenn's madness became strange and subtle, and she had the vision with-out any wheat and the vile spirits of Anwyn were
drawn to her like a beacon, she in turn derived pleasure from their attentions, so that she became known as the Mother of Abominations. It was during her visions that they drew her down to Anwyn, and in Anwyn she found Crom again. Crom spoke to her and told her how they could bring him back to Goria, to save the Fir Bolg from Anu's curse. Crom made it pass by the power of his sly tongue that Cernunnos led the Fir Bolg to the Plain of Anu. This was a holy place, where Anu first walked on Goria and later her cattle had grazed. In the centre of Anu's Plain was a great mound. In the good times her priesthood had made devotional offerings there and had raised twelve stone idols. Cernunnos raised an idol of gold to the maggot-god on the mound, and invoked his name.
They came as blue lightening from the ground,
as shards of ice, as
living pillars
of obsidian, and as fountains of glowing earthfire.
They were called the
Aes Sidhe,
the People of the Mounds
Nothing happened so Cernunnos had a hunting party bring them one of the beasts that still roamed the plain. He cut out the calf's heart and invoked the name Crom Cruich a second time. Purple lightening flashed and a thunderclap threw the Fir Bolg down on the ground. As they grovelled before the mound the black pillars of a gate from hell burst up through the soil. The pillars were inscribed with glowing bane-runes of ogham and rivers of blood gushed through the gateway and soaked the Fir Bolg. Crom returned and the Fir Bolg swore to bring him more blood if he helped them get to the Land of the Ever Living. The Plain of Anu was renamed Mag Slecht, the Plain of Adoration in the tongue of the Fir Bolg.
Crom taught the Fir Bolg the secrets of the gates and they learned the proper rituals to summon forces from Anwyn. Cernunnos attempt-ed to create a chain of gates from Anwyn, through Goria and into the Land of the Ever Living, so that they could battle with Anu. Anu's spells upset the ritual though and the attempt failed. The powers of Anwyn that Cernunnos had invoked then placed a binding on him so that he would not attempt such a task for another thousand years, for it had sorely tested them. The failure had another effect too. The spirits that lived in the fab-ric of Goria were sleeping serpents that held the
world together. The tearing of worlds that had accompanied Cernunnos's great rite of joining awakened the serpents and they poured up through the earth, bursting from sacred mounds all over Goria. They came as blue lightening from the ground, as shards of ice, as living pillars of obsidian, and as fountains of glowing earthfire. They were called the Aes Sidhe, the People of the Mounds. After their awakening the Aes Sidhe, Sidhe for short, assumed shapes that were more appropriate for the surface world. The most pow-erful took bodies that looked like the old Fir Bolg, who had been born in Anu's image. Others took the serpent forms that were like the shapes they'd slept in beneath, and these became the servants of the higher Sidhe.
Being made of the stuff of the earth itself, the Sidhe truly were immortals. They had four great rulers, one for each of the elements of the world. The Sidhe Countess of the thunder and the lightening was and remains Avellin. The Sidhe Princess of ice and the clear, cold waters of the underground was and remains Branwyn the Ice Princess. The Sidhe Duke of the ground and the black stone foundations of the world was and remains Bran. The Sidhe Duke of the earth fire and the burning world below was and remains Gwydion.
Crom. Despite their immortality, the awakening had made the Sidhe things of flesh and blood and bone. A war was fought throughout Goria and Anu sought to win over the Sidhe. But the Sidhe were wilful and wild, and they bore her no allegiance-no goddess would stand before them-so Anu with-drew her support. Even without the Goddess on their side the Sidhe Dukes were potent and dire, and after a great struggle their spells and keen steel drove the Fir Bolg from Goria. The Fir Bolg relinquished the land and fell back to the realm of Anwyn, where the Sidhe could no longer per-secute them.
They were the offspring of
Chaos
and Old Night,
and they
hated all living things,
even each
other
The Third Founding
After the Fir Bolg had been vanquished, the Sidhe used their magic to raise imposing walled fortresses, the like of which had never been seen on Goria before. They particularly liked the massive stone cliffs where the land met the ocean. On Goria's western coasts the Sidhe made their capital cities. Farthest north the Sidhe-Ia, subjects of Branwyn the Ice Princess, raised the city of Findias. South of Findias the Sidhe-Carnac, subjects of Bran, raised the city of Gorias, named in honour of the land from which the earth-Sidhe had sprung. Gorias was the prin-cipal city of all the Sidhe houses. Even further west of Gorias, so that it stood out on the ocean itself on a thin causeway, the Sidhe-Tairnach, subjects of Avellin, raised the city of Falias. South of Falias and Gorias the Sidhe-Aith, subjects of Gwydion, raised the city of Murias. In this way the
western coastline of Goria became a great, con-tinuous fortification from north to south. The Sidhe raised many towers besides these great cities, and they built magnificent barges that sailed on the wind, not just the water. In no time at all they had dominion over Goria.
Although the Fir Bolg had been driven from the land, they possessed the means to return. The gates of hell could be opened from Anwyn as well as from Goria, and the land was never at peace for long. The Fir Bolg changed in Anwyn, and the longer they spent there, the more shadowy and sinister they became. Although dead, many of them craved living blood and flesh. By feeding on the living they would not fade away into permanent shadow.
They also required sacrifices for their dark maggot god whom they would burn in colos-sal wicker effigies. This blood and flesh, and these sacrifices, they took from the Sidhe. On dark nights when the stars and the moon were in unfavourable alignments, the dead ones returned to carry off Sidhe people to Anwyn. The Fir Bolg's knowledge of death magic allowed them to walk once more on Goria by bonding for a short while to the bones of warriors that fell in times past. Time and again the Sidhe repelled them with their spells, often resorting to awakening deeper ser-pents, which had not been roused by Cernunnos's great ritual. Eventually the Sidhe disturbed such deep things that the foundations of the world were split and the realm beneath began to seep in.
The realm below the foundations of the world was called Lochlann. Lochlann was an endless dank cave system; full of half-drowned tunnels and damp underground watercourses. There was enough water to fill an ocean in Lochlann. And what's more, there would be enough left over to fill another, with more left over. Beyond that no one could tell. The waters of Lochlann came up through Goria's founda-tions like the green moss filling up on the peat bog.
With the dark waters came the people of Lochlann. The people of Lochlann were called Fomorians and they were very ugly. Even more terrible than their appearance was the Fomorians' temperament. They were the offspring of Chaos and Old Night, and they hated all living things, even each other. Warlike and brutal they fell on the Sidhe like a great riptide. The middle part of Goria was mostly flat and because of the encroachment of Lochlann, became riddled with lochs and bogs and other expanses of standing water. It was through these places that the Fomorians would strike. Hordes of stinking demons, coated with slime and scales, crooked and deformed, would rise up dripping from the waters and raid the inland settlements of the Sidhe. Many of the Fomorians looked more like beasts than men, and amidst their ranks went ter-rible beings of the deep waters. Some of these demons were awesome monsters, others, the blood reavers, acted as mounts. Others still seemed alluring and otherworldly, and gave to unwary Sidhe warriors the promise of a warm embrace and more besides. These ones were called Sirens, and their queen was Domnu. But they were not what they seemed to the smitten Sidhe men, and the cold, wet arms of the Sirens gave only a drowning embrace. Aside from sly
and sheets of the misting rain would blow in with them.
The Sidhe were not easy foes, but the price they paid for their immortality was that no children were born to them. At first things went badly for the Fomorians, the might that had repelled the Fir Bolg being brought against them in full. But the Fomorians bred seemingly endless hordes in the darkness, spawning like toads. In the end the Sidhe became a diminished force on Goria, and the remnants of their people were forced to aban-don the centre to the Fomorians. They retreated in their sky barges to the high coastal fortresses, where the creatures of Lochlann could not reach them. There the Aes Sidhe settled to live out their immortal days, dreaming of past glories, and rarely venturing from their towers of exile.
For three long epochs Anu had mourned the treachery of her children. At first there was adventure in the form of Cernunnos's attempt to link the three worlds. Then she had tried unsuc-cessfully to adopt the Sidhe-but though they were a living part of the land she had created with Arawn, the Sidhe were a deeper, older part of their twin natures and were not something she could control. After this failure Anu was truly bereft and turned her back on Goria, abandoning the land she had birthed to whatever strange fate might befall it. She had withdrawn to her simple life in the Land of the Ever Living, where every-thing was provided for her and she did not have to worry. Goria had grown in ways that she could never have foreseen. But as time passed the pain diminished and was replaced by the yearning to create new life again. Anu was the all-mother and she longed to have her land back, so that she could nurture it and shower her abundance on it once more.
One night Anu was sewing a pattern for
her pleasure, of a tree bearing three golden apples. The needle slipped as she sewed and the point broke off in her leg. Anu did not realise that the point had broken off, and she put honey on the needle prick to stop it going bad. When she woke the next day, there was a big lump like a gull's egg on her thigh. 'That's strange,' thought Anu. 'The honey should have stopped any poison getting in.' She squeezed the lump and a little man popped out of it. She gave him a drink of milk and he grew to full size. He was a mighty speci-men, so she painted him with the blue woad. Then she made his hair stand up straight with goose fat and dyed the tips red with her own blood. Then she dressed him in shimmering scales of red gold. His eyes each had nine pupils that glittered with an inner light, keen as the nee-dle-point that had made him. He was full of a great energy that had long been missing from the land of Goria.
The Fourth Founding
Lamfahda
would not be another
Horned God,
he would be a
Sun God,
and bring the light back to her land. With him,
she would give birth to a new race of children,
not followers and worshippers, but
Realising that she'd been given a second chance, Anu named him Lamfahda and made him her new consort. Lamfahda would not be anoth-er Horned God, he would be a Sun God, and bring the light back to her land. With him, she would give birth to a new race of children, not fol-lowers and worshippers, but free children. They would be filled with the spirit of Lamfahda and they would be great warriors and poets. They would love their short lives and burn brightly dur-ing them, and they would win back Goria for Anu. So Anu and Lamfahda made a new race of children and called them the Gaels. As the Horned God of the Fir Bolg had done before him, the Sun God went down to Goria with his chil-dren to watch over them and teach them the ways of the land. The first challenge the Gaels faced was the threat of the Fomorians. Energetically they threw themselves into the fray against the monsters of the deep and many red deeds were done in that campaign. Lamfahda had the power of Anu flowing through his veins and he could call upon that to change, twisting into terrible warped forms in which he became a tyrant of battle. Lamfahda could hack the brainballs off a legion of Fomorians with one stroke of his massive sword. He personally slew Nudd, the King of the Fomorians and Domnu's lover, by casting his spear right through the great demon's skull. Unable to resist the battle-lust of the Gaels, the Fomorians withdrew their hosts from Goria and returned to raiding from beneath. The Gaels could
never quite get rid of all the Fomorians and even sent heroes into the labyrinth of Lochlann-but to no avail. The Fomorians always crept back and the Gaels were forced to build their main settle-ments in coastal regions, much like the Sidhe. These settlements were big, stone fortresses built on the tops of broad plateaus, or across whole ranges of hills. The largest of these was the capital of Taras, where the Sun King built his palace.
Of the Sidhe, the Gaels at first attempted to dislodge them and make them go back to the ground. Battles were fought that sorely tested each side, and finally an uneasy alliance was achieved. However, the Sidhe soon discovered that they could take Gael mates and bear half-Sidhe children. These children were themselves infertile, like the offspring of the horse and the ass, so the truce was often broken by Sidhe raid-ing parties, comraid-ing to capture human breedraid-ing stock.
There was also the question of the Fir Bolg. The dead would still periodically return from Anwyn to slaughter the living and carry them off to hell-particularly on Samhainn Eve. And Cernunnos, acting as Crom's mouthpiece even managed to corrupt one of the Gael tribes living around the Mounds of the Old Kings. They had always been an insular and feared people, but under Crom they became the Flesh Eaters and joined the ranks of the living dead. Gael druids, wise men and women of their people who acted
The Coming of Winter
Nothing pleased the
Vanir raiders
more than the sight of
red blood
on
white snow,
and the glow of
burning
on the shore,
in the twilight as their ships cast off
When Anu created Lamfahda and sent him down to Goria, as with all things wrought through desires, there was a price to be paid. Who collects this toll? We will never know, but there are deeper powers at work between the worlds than even the gods and goddesses can fathom. Lamfahda was born of heat and light, and he gathered great energy to him on his journeys, so that after he had passed there was chill in his wake. His passage between the Land of the Ever Living and Goria left such a desolation behind him, not a dark, frozen waste but a beautiful rain-bow bridge of scintillating ice. This bridge could only be looked upon from certain angles and the people of Goria could not see it from their per-spective. Nor could Anu see it in her heavenly realm. Nor could the Formorians in Lochlann see
it. And nor could the Fir Bolg or even Crom Cruich see it in Anwyn. No others in the whole of creation could see it, save for the people of one realm alone-the Vanir of Midgaard. The realm of Midgaard was a bleak place, and perhaps it was the wintry nature of the Vanir that allowed they alone to see the rainbow bridge. Midgaard was the realm of deep winter, where the spirits of the wasteland haunted the frozen forests and barren tundra. The Vanir were three different peoples, liv-ing as one. First were the Dwarfs, who were gnarled and stunted men, short of stature but thick of arm and beard.
The Dwarfs were miners and delvers, and they were clever smiths of metal. Second were the Valkyrie, who were fierce, winged warrior women, of equivalent stature to the Dwarfs. The Dwarfs took Valkyries as brides for there were no Dwarf women, and the Valkyries took Dwarfs for husbands for there were no Valkyrie men. The Valkyries lived in high places on the tops of Midgaard's great craggy mountains. Last, but certainly not least, were the Jötun. The Jötun were frost giants and they were terrible battle foes. On Midgaard the Vanir lived in tribes, most-ly around the broken coastlines, where they hunt-ed mighty sea beasts or fishhunt-ed. At certain times during the year they would send hunters inland to meet the countless herds of migrating elk and snow deer. The hunters would slaughter enough animals to last the tribe till the next time the herds passed by. Many creatures of the wintry forest accompanied the Vanir on these expeditions, such as the ravens, wolves and bears, and each tribe had a special affinity with a particular animal spirit. The more adventurous tribes of the Vanir lived by their wits, building huge dragon-prowed ships that plied the fjords and carried whole com-munities on never ending journeys of battle and adventure. They would land at coastal settle-ments to pillage and burn them before moving on
in search of fresh conquests. Nothing pleased the Vanir raiders more than the sight of red blood on white snow, and the glow of burning on the shore, in the twilight as their ships cast off.
It was these brigands that discovered the rainbow bridge, and they called it Bifrost. The Vanir sailed their dragon ships over Bifrost, and discovered that it emerged in a strange sea cloaked in the thickest fog. The mist eventually gave way and they found themselves in the coastal waters around Northern Goria. Raiding up and down the coasts of Goria, they found the Gaels and the Sidhe to be spirited defenders and worthy opponents. They also made some inland incursions and encountered the Fomorians and the Fir Bolg. Goria seemed a wonderfully fer-tile world to them, and there was great treasure to be plundered from the richer settlements they managed to sack. The rune casters amongst the Dwarfs decided this land was a gift from the Vanir gods of battle and winter. Even if it was too warm and wet for their icy blood. The rune casters were wise old Vanir who knew the secrets of the Futhark, a runic script of great power given them by their gods. The Vanir dragon fleet withdrew for a short time, and then returned in force, bringing many more ships with them. The Vanir wanted to make this land their own, and they brought
magi-cal stones on their voyage this time. These stones, called vettar-stanes in the language of the Vanir, were carved blocks of granite, as big as one of the Lia the Gaels used to mark ceremonial sites. The rune casters bound spirits of the Midgaard wasteland into them. The sacred Futhark kept them tied to the stones. The frost giants carried the vettar-stanes off the dragon ships and on to Goria, where the angry wasteland spirits trapped in the granite whipped up blizzards and froze the land before them. The forces of deep, desolate winter had come to Goria to claim the land from Anu's children.
Celtos 30 What you will need to play 30
Dice and Dice use 30
The Rules 31
Setting up the Battlefield 31
Terrain 31
Areas and obstructions 31
Terrain types 32 Depicting Terrain 32 Placing Terrain 32 The Game 32 Your Army 32 Units 33 Profiles 33
The Stat Line 33
Equipment and Organisation 34
Models Facings 34
Army Points Limits 35
Victory Conditions 35 Most Survivors 35 Most Damage 35 Objectives 35 Scenarios 36 Deployment 36 Basic Deployment 36 Strategic Deployment 36 Game Turns 37
The Marker Phase 37
The Initiative Phase 38
The Activation Phase 38
Orders and Order Sequence 38
Order of play 39
Markers 39
Measuring Distances 40
Awareness and Line of Sight 40
Tests 41
Test Difficulty (Diff) 41
The Active Stat 41
Morale 41
Morale Checks 42
Sole Survivors 42
Making a Morale Check 42
Morale Check results 42
Panic 42
Rally Checks 43
Making a Rally Check 43
Rally Check modifiers 43
Rally Check results 43
Reaction 43
Reaction Checks 43
Making a Reaction Check 43 Reaction Check results 43
Movement 44
Warband Cohesion 44
Broken Cohesion 44
Movement and Terrain 44
Shooting 44
Check Range and LOS 45
Select a Target 45 Roll to Hit 45 Shooting Table 45 To Hit modifiers 45 Allocate Hits 45 Roll to Damage 47 Damage Table 47
Damage and Casualties 47
Shooting into a Close Combat 48
Reaction Shooting 48
Terrain and Cover 48
Blocking LOS 48
Cover Saves 49
Weapons 49
Weapon Profiles 49
The Weapon Stat Line 50
Weapon Capabilities 50
Weapon Type and Special Rules 51
Close Combat 51
Assault Moves 51
Charge 51
Close 52
Break Off 53
Fight the Combat 54
Who can fight 54
Allocating Attacks and Hits 54
Charge bonuses 54
Who Strikes First 55 Attacking Panicked Units 56 Terrain and Close Combat 56
Rolling To Hit 56
To Hit modifiers 56
Close Combat Table 56
Rolling to Damage 57
Damage Table 57
Damage and Casualties 57
Combat Results 57
Heroes 58
Hero Profiles 58
Purchasing + Using Feats and Rites 59
Magical Artefacts 59
Abilities 59
Slaying Another Hero 59
Heavy Units 60 Morale 61 Shaken 61 Movement 61 Move Orders 61 Turning 61 Reversing 61 Shooting 61
Selecting Targets + Shooting Arcs 62
Close Combat 62 Combat Arcs 62 Damage Tables 63 Special Rules 63 Battle Awareness 63 Berserk 63 Control 63 Extra Attacks 64 Fast 64 Fearless 64 Ferocious Charge 64 Glide 64 Heavy Armour 64 High Morale 64 Immune to Mesmerism 64 Inspiring 64 Killing Blow 65 Lethal Strike 65 Marksman 65 Mesmerism 65 Parry 66 Penetrating 66 Shadow Sight 66 Skirmisher 66 Slow 67 Standard Bearer 67 Steadfast 67 Strike First 67 Tactics 67 Template Attacks 67 Terrifying 68 Army Lists 69 Armoury 120 Rosters 123 Templates 126
C
Ceellttooss
For those of you who are new to playing miniatures games, here's what it's all about. Celtos is a battle game; each model represents a single warrior, monster, cavalry piece, or war engine. Each model has its own range of skills, equipment and abilities that defines its effec-tiveness and behaviour on the battlefields of Goria.
You can think of your armies as large bat-tle groups, smaller scouting parties, raiders or defenders of outposts. Alternatively think of them as being part of an even larger force, and the bat-tle you are fighting as being a small (but impor-tant) part of the battle that is taking place around them.
The main bulk of you army will be made up of bands of warriors; followers and retainers of the war leaders that lead them into battle. These war leaders will be potent heroes, influential chieftains, or powerful sorcerers and druids, all capable of single-handedly disposing of several times their own number of enemy warriors. Cavalry, chariots or large and ferocious mon-sters will provide heavy support on the battlefield. This is a tactical game, and your skill in manoeuvring and positioning your units is impor-tant. Maximise the potential of your units and use them wisely, and you should be well on the way to winning.
The Celtos rules are designed to pro-duce a fair and balanced game that will allow you to play exciting battles that give the feel of armed clashes between potent heroes, hardened war-riors and powerful mystics. Although we have tried to cover most situations in the rules we didn't want to turn them into a huge and lengthy legal docu-ment! Once you have read the rules and are play-ing the game, you and your opponents are in charge of what goes on. During a game, if you come across an unusual situation, or cannot agree with your opponents on how a particular rule should be played, roll a dice or flip a coin to decide the matter. After the game you can talk it over and agree how to treat such situations in future games. Just remember that all players should agree any new rules or changes before you start a game.
W
Whhaatt yyoouu w
wiillll nneeeedd ttoo ppllaayy
Before you play a game of Celtos you should have a few things on hand that you will need to use throughout the game. The following things will be useful: P
Peennss aanndd NNootteeppaappeerr:: We have tried to keep the amount of notes you will need to take during a game to a minimum; even so it is always handy to have a pen and notepad to hand. If you are playing your own scenarios you will need to note down successes and failures in gaining objec ives. You'll also need them at the end of a game to add up victory points if you're using them.
A
A RRuulleerr oorr TTaappee MMeeaassuurree:: A ruler marked in inches is essential-all measurements in the game are in imperial units. You will need to measure how far your warriors can move, shoot or even run for cover! A retractable steel rule is ideal.
M
Maarrkkeerrss oorr CCoouunntteerrss::A supply of counters or markers of some kind will usually be use ful, especially in larger games. They can be placed beside units that have taken their turn, are waiting to see what the enemy does, are panic stricken, or are subject to a variety of other helpful or harmful effects. Different coloured card markers, coins of various sizes, or coloured tiddlywinks can all be useful as markers. Just as long as you and your opponents know what they indicate and they're not too obtrusive.
A
A ssuuppppllyy ooff ssnnaacckkss aanndd ddrriinnkkss::A chieftain has to keep his or her strength up if they are to lead their warriors success
fully. However it's usually a good idea to keep your provisions on a side table, unless you like your armies fighting around a roast elk!
D
Diiccee aanndd D
Diiccee uussee
Although good tactics are the basis of vic-tory in a game of Celtos, nothing is ever certain. A number of dice are used in the game and these will often decide how luck (or fate) affects your well-laid plans. In any situation where there is an element of chance the dice will decide. Will your
warriors survive when they charge that enormous demon, or will it crush them? Good tactics will swing the odds favourably, but they are never a guarantee of success.
The Celtos game system uses an ordi-nary ten sided dice, and we will refer to this as a d10. At some points you may need to roll two or more dice at once, adding the results together. This would be stated as roll 2d10, roll 3d10 etc.
Sometimes there will be modifiers to a particular dice roll. For example when you are rolling a dice to see whether one of your models can hit an enemy model the roll may be modified by a magical effect, or because the foe is pan-icked. Modifiers like this are always applied to the dice roll, so for example, a +1 modifier (+1 mod) would mean that you would roll your dice and add 1 to the score. At all times, when you are rolling a dice to see whether one of your models succeeds in a particular task, a roll of a natural 10 is suc-cessful and a roll of a natural 1 fails.
T
Thhee R
Ruulleess
This section deals with all the concepts and mechanisms that you will need to become familiar with as you learn the game. It will take you through setting up your playing area, choosing and deploying your armies and fighting battles. After this there is a section that details special rules that apply only to certain warriors. At the rear of this book there are army lists containing background information on the main races of Goria, and details of the warriors, creatures and heroes of their armies.
These lists will enable you to choose forces based on your tastes and style of play, and allow you to build an army that will crush your opponents (you hope!). Also included in this book are some blank rosters for keeping track of your warriors and some templates for area effect dam-age (more on this later). Feel free to photocopy these as many times as you like.
SSeettttiinngg uupp tthhee BBaattttlleeffiieelldd
The first thing you will need to do in order to play a game is set up your battlefield. The minimum sized area you will need to play a game of Celtos is a flat area of about 4 feet by 4 feet, though for larger battles 6 feet by 4 feet would be better. This can be an area of floor, a tabletop,
or any other clear flat space you can find. Wherever you decide to play, you need to be able to tell where the edge of the battlefield is. During a game models cannot move off the edge of the battlefield.
T
Teerrrraaiinn
If you are new to this kind of game we suggest that you keep your battlefields simple for your first few games, and restrict yourself to play-ing on a plain flat area covered with a piece of green cloth or felt. Skip this section and go to the section titled 'The Game' to find out how to fight battles. Once you've fought a couple of battles and are happy with the basic game come back to this section to spice up future games.
All sorts of terrain can be used to add interest to your battles. It can provide much need-ed cover from incoming arrows as you advance, or fortifications and earthworks for your warriors to defend. Hills, swamps, rivers, clumps of forest or even the remains of a fallen city can all be used as terrain. You are limited only by your imagina-tion.
A
Arreeaass aanndd oobbssttrruuccttiioonnss
It is helpful to think of terrain in terms of 'areas' and 'obstructions'. Examples of terrain 'areas' would be a patch of forest, a piece of marshland, a broken rocky piece of land, an expanse of soft sand or a hill. Basically most 'areas' would be of terrain that covered a rea-sonably sized sector of your battlefield. Examples of 'obstructions' would be a single tree, a large rock, a standing stone, or a section of wall. Basically 'obstructions' would be single relatively small pieces of terrain.
T
Teerrrraaiinn ttyyppeess
Terrain can be divided into three basic types: 'normal', 'rough' and 'impassable'. At the beginning of a game you will need to decide what the terrain you have decided to use should be classed as. Sections later in this book that cover movement, shooting and combat, will describe how various terrain types affect these activities. You and your opponents should agree before the game starts how to treat terrain. Use the follow-ing suggestions as a guide.
N
Noorrmmaall::plains, grassland, fields, gently sloped hills, shallow streams, roads, paving, steps, sand, sparse undergrowth, shallow snow, slightly rocky plains. Basically most of your battlefield will usually be normal.
R
Roouugghh::steeply sloped hills, soft or shifting sand, broken rocky ground, thick mud and bogs, thick vegetation, dense forests, deep snow, waist to chest deep water, rubble piles.
IImmppaassssaabbllee::Cliffs and extremely steep slopes, deep fissures, quicksand, deep water, high walls.
D
Deeppiiccttiinngg TTeerrrraaiinn
You can use all sorts of things to depict terrain. If you are using a green felt cloth to repre-sent your battlefield you could use books or video cases placed under the cloth to indicate hills. You can depict terrain areas by cutting out an irregular shape from a piece of cloth or felt and placing it on the table. Areas of any size can be depicted in this way, from small patches a few inches across, to large areas that take up much of the tabletop. If you wish to depict an area of forest you could use a green coloured material and place individual model trees on the cloth. A brown coloured mate-rial with small bushes dotted around could indi-cate a marsh. A blue material could represent pools and ponds.
Those are just a few suggestions. There are lots of commercially available models and scenic accessories you can use. And if you use your imagination and keep your eyes open many household items and bits and pieces can be
scavenged to use as scenery. Its amazing what can be done with bits of card tubing, empty car-tons etc. given a bit of time and effort.
P
Pllaacciinngg TTeerrrraaiinn
You and your opponents will need to agree on a mutually acceptable method where to place terrain pieces on your battlefield. Terrain can make your battles very interesting, but too much of it, or unfairly placed pieces can mess up a game.
One good way of placing terrain is to mark out the playing area in a grid, of say twelve inch by twelve inch squares. Use dice, coins or counters to indicate the corners of the grid squares. Players can then take it turns, one grid square at a time, to place a piece of terrain or declare the grid square empty (i.e. normal). No subsequent player may place terrain in a square that already has a terrain piece, or has been declared empty. Once all of the grid squares are accounted for, the battlefield is complete.
Remember the object of the game is to have fun and for all players to enjoy themselves. It's in everybody's interest to make the playing area as fair and interesting as possible.
T
Thhee G
Gaam
mee
Once you have your playing area set up you're ready to begin. All you need now is an army and one or more players to fight against. The battle will be played out over a number of turns that give each player the opportunity to do some-thing with his or her army. Strategy, tactics and fate (dice rolls to you!) will determine the eventual winner. Hopefully you will emerge victo-rious and your opponents will be routed, or better still obliterated without trace.
Y
Yoouurr A
Arrm
myy
Before you can fight a battle you will need an army. Read through the introductions in the army list section towards the back of this book and pick the army that appeals most. You will find that each of the races have their own characteristics, and each will require slightly different tactics and strategies if you are going to vanquish your ene-mies. Once you've chosen an army you'll need to know what the capabilities of your warriors are.
warriors in your army. Each warrior type has a variety of characteristics, and many have special capabilities and powers. Some warriors are par-ticularly good at fighting, while others excel at archery. Some are fast and nimble, while others are slow and lumbering. The various characteris-tics of your warriors are described in the models 'profile' as detailed later.
U Unniittss
Armies can be quite numerous, and can contain many different warrior types. Warriors of similar type and purpose are usually grouped together into units containing several models. This allows you to control your army more easily and to plan tactics for using the unit during a game. Units can either be 'warbands', 'individuals' or 'heavy units':
W
Waarrbbaannddss::A warband is a group of models that work together as a team on the battle field. Warbands will often contain a leader with more or better abilities than the other warband members have. There are two types of warbands: 'foot' soldiers who as the name suggests fight on foot, and 'mounted', who go to battle mounted on some sort of steed. Generally the bulk of your army will be made up of warbands.
IInnddiivviidduuaallss:: Individual models operate independ ently, though many can be added to warbands. They are usually powerful and are more than capable of surviving on their own on the battlefield. They are usually heroes, but could be other types of powerful creature. Individuals can be 'foot' or 'mounted'.
H
Heeaavvyy UUnniittss::Heavy units are very large, single models that could be powerful monsters or demons, or chariots crewed by a number of warriors. They are less manoeuvrable than other units,
but usually withstand a lot more damage, as well as dish out a lot more.
P Prrooffiilleess
A models profile contains all the informa tion needed to use it in the game. The profile shows how your warriors interact
on the battlefield. They represent models characteristics with a set of statistics that are used to define how the models move and attack. You will find profiles for your models in the army lists. Each army list contains profiles for all the warriors in that particular army. Profiles are all presented in the same basic format (see the sample profile).
T
Thhee SSttaatt LLiinnee
The stat line is a row of physical and men-tal qualities that show a model's characteristics. We refer to these characteristics as 'stats'. The characteristics included in the stat line are shown below:
A
Assssaauulltt ((AASS))::This stat shows how good the model is when attempting to hit an enemy in close combat. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 4. Models with a high stat have more chance of hitting an enemy.
SShhoooottiinngg ((SSHH))::This stat shows how accurate the model is when shooting (or throwing) weapons in ranged combat. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 4. Models with a high stat have more chance of hitting an enemy.
SSttrreennggtthh ((SSTT))::This stat shows how strong the model is. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 4. Models with a high strength have more chance of causing damage if they physically hit an enemy in close combat. T
Toouugghhnneessss ((TT))::This stat shows how tough and resistant to damage the model is. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 4. Models with high toughness have less chance of taking damage if they are hit.
W
Woouunnddss ((WW))::This stat shows how much damage a model can take before it is killed or destroyed. It can range from 1 upward. The average warrior has 1 wound;
heroes, larger creatures and war engines will often have more.
IInniittiiaattiivvee ((II))::This stat gives an indication of the model's reflexes and ability to act fast under pressure. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 4. Models with a high score are more likely to react quickly to enemy action. C
Coommmmaanndd ((CCDD))::This stat gives an indication of the model's self-control, training and bravery. It can range from 1 to 10, a 1 is very poor and a 10 extremely good. On this scale the average warrior rates at 5. Models with a high score are more likely to stand their ground.
SSiizzee ((SSZZ))::This stat indicates how large a model is. It can range from 1 upward. The average warrior is size 2. Larger models present easy targets for archers and other missile troops, and so are easier to hit.
M
Moovvee ((MMVV))::This stat shows the models normal move distance in inches. It can range from 1 upward. The average warrior has a move of 4. A high score can allow you to outrun or outmanoeuvre your enemies. E
Eqquuiippmmeenntt aanndd OOrrggaanniissaattiioonn
Below the stat line is all the other infor-mation you will need to enable you to choose your models, organise them into units and use them to fight battles. This is presented as shown below:
SSttrruuccttuurree::This shows the unit type, i.e. whether a model is an individual, or a member of a warband, or a heavy unit. It also shows the minimum and maximum number of models that may be in the unit if it is a warband. T
Trroooopp TTyyppee//EEqquuiippmmeenntt//NNoo.. PPeerr uunniitt//CCoosstt:: These tell you the types of warriors that can be in the unit, the equipment they carry, and their points cost. The point cost of models is important when building armies; it's used to make sure that you and your opponents have
balanced and fair games.
SSppeecciiaall RRuulleess:: These show any extra rules that apply to the models in the unit. They may be particularly brave, very heavily armoured, or subject to some other (not always beneficial) effect.
SSaam
mppllee W
Waarrbbaanndd P
Prrooffiillee
G
Gaaeell WWaarrrriioorrss
Gael warriors are bondsmen and women who have earned the right to carry heavier weapons into battle, capable of inflicting far worse wounds and thus increasing their enemy head count and reputation. A ASS SSHH SS TT WW II CCDD SSZZ MMVV 4 4 4 4 1 4 5 2 4 Structure: Warband/Foot Unit Size: 4-12 T
Trroooopp TTyyppee EEqquuiippmmeenntt NNoo.. ppeerr UUnniitt CCoosstt
Warrior Two Handed 4-12 14
Weapon
Leader Two Handed 0-1 17
Weapon
Champion Two Handed 0-1 18
Weapon
Standard Bearer Two Handed 0-1 17
Weapon
Musician Two Handed 0-1 17
Weapon SSppeecciiaall RRuulleess
LLeeaaddeerr::Battle Awareness, High Morale 1 C
Chhaammppiioonn:Strike First
SSttaannddaarrdd BBeeaarreerr::Standard Bearer M
Muussiicciiaann::Tactics 1 M
Mooddeellss FFaacciinnggss
The models comprising your units all have 'facings'. Most models have two facings: front and rear. A models front facing is in the direction to its front (i.e. the direction in which it is looking) and its rear facing is in the direction to its rear. Facing is important because most mod-els can only shoot at enemy models that are in their front facing. For most models their front facing is a 180-degree arc to their front.
Some special models (usually heavy units) will have more restricted facings, but this will be cov-ered later in the rules.
A
Arrmmyy PPooiinnttss LLiimmiittss
Before playing a game you and your opponents will need to agree on how many points to spend on building your armies. The higher the point limit the more models will be in your army, and the longer the time required to complete a game. For normal games all players should have armies of equal points total. There is no minimum or maximum points limit, it's entirely up to you how large you want your games to be:
· 500 points a side will give you a small quick battle lasting about an hour. · 1000-1500 would give a two or three of
hours fighting.
· 3000+ would be an epic struggle lasting a whole afternoon or more.
V
Viiccttoorryy C
Coonnddiittiioonnss
In addition to deciding how big your armies are you will need to agree how to decide the eventual winner. It is often useful to set a time limit on how long the game should last. You can either set this by the clock or decide on a set num-ber of game turns for the battle to last. Once the time is up, or you've played the specified num-ber of turns, you can work out who won.
The most obvious way to win a game is by destroying your opponent's army or accept-ing his surrender, irrespective of time or turn limits a player can choose to surrender at any point. There are plenty of other ways that victory can be decided. If you decide to set specific victory conditions the most important thing is to make sure all players understand and agree the condi-tions before you begin the battle. Here are a few suggestions for ways to work out winners and los-ers.
M
Moosstt SSuurrvviivvoorrss
When the time or turn limit is up each player adds up the total point value of the models that they have remaining in play. This is your vic-tory point total. Whoever has the highest point value wins the game.
M
Moosstt D
Daam
maaggee
This method favours the side that caused the most damage so each player should keep track of the enemy models they destroy. Use the following method to calculate your victory points total:
· Each player adds up the total point value of the enemy models they killed during the game.
· Each player gets half the total point value of his or her remaining models. Add these two scores together. This is y our victory point total. The player
with the highest score wins.
O
Obbjjeeccttiivveess
Instead of comparing victory points at the end of a game, you could set a number of objec-tives or missions for the armies to accomplish. These could be such things as occupying a fortified outpost, liberating a prisoner or raiding supplies. Once the game ends the player who accomplished the most objectives is the winner. To make this even more interesting you can grade the importance of objectives so that maybe occupying an area is worth 1 point, freeing a pris-oner is worth 2 and raiding the supplies is worth 3.
SScceennaarriiooss
You could also play a battle around a par-ticular scenario. Here are some ideas for simple scenarios that you might like to try:
· None shall pass: one player must prevent their opponent(s) from getting their warriors through a pass or over a bridge for a set number of turns, or until reinforcements arrive.
· Take the camp: one player must defend a particular area or position while the enemy attempts to take it from them. · Grudge: each player nominates one of
their units as a primary target and it is their opponent's objective to destroy that unit.
These are just a few suggestions to give you some ideas. You can try these out, combine them or come up with new ones for yourself. If you're playing a scenario battle you will probably need to adjust the point values of the opposing forces. For example if a player has to take a heav-ily fortified position from a defender, you might increase the attacking force points by 50%. A good way to play scenarios is to fight the bat-tle; then for your next battle, use the same sce-nario but swap roles with your opponent. Just remember to make sure that everyone is clear on his or her mission before you begin.
D
Deeppllooyym
meenntt
Before starting a battle players need to place their units in their starting positions on the battlefield. This is known as 'deployment' and the area in which you can place your warriors is your 'deployment zone'. If you're playing a specif-ic scenario or a game with partspecif-icular objectives the deployment zones may vary, one player might be defending a position in the middle of the table for example. For now we'll just deal with a normal game.
The size, shape and number of your deployment zones will depend upon the size and shape of your playing area, and how many oppos-ing armies there are (three, four or more way bat-tles can be great fun and allow for plenty of treachery!). The idea is to keep some tactical space between the forces. Ideally there should be a distance of at least 24 inches between armies at
the beginning of a game. For example if two of you are going to play on a table you could just specify two opposite sides as deployment zones. Assuming you're playing on a table or similar rectangular area, and you've decided which sides are the deployment zones, you need to deploy your forces. There are two types of deployment you can use in Celtos. The first of these is basic deployment, which we recommend for beginners. Then there are the more advanced strategic deployment rules which we recommend you use once you've played a few games and are looking for a more challenging and realistic set-up.
BBaassiicc D
Deeppllooyym
meenntt
Basic deployment is very simple, and will give a fair game in which no one has too much of a deployment advantage, as players can react freely to the deployment of enemy units. All play-ers in command of an army (the 'army com-mander') should roll a d10; the player with the highest score gets the first choice of deployment zone, the player with the next highest score the second choice, and so on until all players have a deployment zone. Re-roll tied dice scores. Note that if two or more players are playing as a team and sharing an army, only one of them should take the role of army commander and roll a dice for deployment, they are all on the same side after all!
Once each army has a deployment zone the winner of the deployment roll places one of his units in his deployment zone (he 'deploys' it), then the player on his left deploys one of his units in his deployment area, followed by the player on his left. Deployment continues in this way clockwise around the table, player by player and unit by unit, until all units have been deployed. Once all units are deployed the game is ready to begin.
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The strategic deployment rules are designed to encourage players to think about how the various units in their army work togeth-er, and how best to deploy them advantageously in their deployment zone. You will need to study your deployment zone and the surrounding area, and have some idea where you are going to put your units in relation to each other, before any
units are placed on the table. Once the deploy-ment cycle has started you will not be able to react as freely to the deployment of enemy units as you can with basic deployment. Strategic deployment breaks down into three stages: the deployment roll, battle planning and unit deployment.
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Deeppllooyymmeenntt RRoollll: As with basic deployment, all army commanders should roll a d10; the player with the highest score gets the first choice of deployment zone, the player with the next highest score the second choice, and so on until all players have a deployment zone. Re-roll tied dice scores. Note that just as with basic deployment, if two or more players are playing as a team and sharing an army, only one of them should take the role of army commander and roll a dice for deployment.
BBaattttllee PPllaannnniinngg::Once each army has a deployment zone the players in command of the armies should assign an identification (ID) number to each of their units, and write it on that unit's roster (just numbering them 1, 2, 3 etc is fine). These unit ID numbers will be used later in the unit deployment stage. Players should now take a little time to study the lie of the land and formulate a battle plan, considering where to position their troops, and where possible threats could come from. We suggest that you agree a time limit for this stage, say 10 or 15 minutes. Once every body has worked out a plan (or the time is up!) you can move on to the next stage - deploying your forces. U
Unniitt DDeeppllooyymmeenntt::Give each army commander a number, the winner of the deployment roll is number 1, the player to his left number 2, the next player number 3, and so on clockwise round the table. Each army commander should now write a list of their units ID numbers on a piece of paper (just the numbers, no other details). Player 1 should hand his list to player 2, player 2 hand his to
player 3 and so on clockwise around the table.
Player 2 now reads out the ID number of one of player 1's units, and player 1 deploys the corresponding unit in his deployment zone. Player 3 then reads out the ID number of one of player 2's units, and player 2 deploys the corresponding unit in his deployment zone. Deployment continues in this way clockwise around the table, player by player and unit by unit, until all units have been deployed. Once all units are deployed the game is ready to begin.
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In a real battle opposing warriors are moving about shooting and fighting simul-taneously. In order to be able to play a game we have to be able to split the action up into a series of manageable chunks so that we can keep track of what's going on. We use 'Game Turns' to divide up the action. All games will consist of a series of game turns, during each of which players can do something with each of their units.
Each game turn is divided into three phases; these are, in order:
· The Marker Phase · The Initiative Phase · The Activation Phase
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During this phase all markers that are being used to show units that have been 'acti-vated' or that are on 'hold' are removed. Don't worry about the terms 'activated and 'hold' just now, they will be explained in detail later.
