User manual | FC Rules-4 - GMT Games

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Onward Christian Soldiers
Onward Christian
Soldiers
The Cr usa de s a nd Th e Kin g d o m o f J er u s a lem
Rules for The First Crusade; 1097-1099
a Richard H. Berg Game Design
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction ................................................................
Components ...............................................................
General Course of Play ..............................................
The Card Decks (1C only) .........................................
Leaders and Manpower ..............................................
Land Movement, Continuation, and Attrition ............
Land Battles ...............................................................
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4
5
6
8
12
8. Cities and Towns ........................................................
9. Naval Rules ................................................................
10. Resources and Communication .................................
11. Diplomacy, Bribes, Ransom, Deals ...........................
12. The Event Cards .........................................................
Scenario #1: The First Crusade .........................................
GMT Games, LLC
P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308
www.GMTGames.com
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
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Onward Christian Soldiers
(1.0) INTRODUCTION
The Towns and Cities are all named; the Points are numbered for
easy identification.
Onward Christian Soldiers is a game covering the first three Crusades to “The Holy Land”. This rules book covers the First Crusade, which sought to restore Jerusalem to Christian control. This
version of the game operates on a wide level of player possibilities,
from solitaire (the system greatly aids such play) to a big 7-player
First Crusade game.
(1.1) The Two Versions of Onward
There are two “versions” of Onward: The First Crusade and the
Second/Third Crusades. Several rules in the First Crusade version
are essentially identical with those in the Second/Third Crusade
version, with only small differences, but for the sake of player convenience, we have decided to present the game in two completely
separate rulebooks. Even so, in some cases the rules show either
[1C] or [2C/3C]. The former refers to a rule that applies only to the
First Crusade version, the latter to the Second/Third Crusade version. These notifications help players quickly grasp the differences
between the two versions.
That said, there really aren’t that many differences between the two,
and players will be able to move from one version to the other
smoothly and easily. The major differences are as follows:
• The First Crusade uses the Event Cards; the Second/Third Crusade does not, using an Events Table instead
• The First Crusade uses the Activation Cards; the Second/Third
Crusade uses a simpler Activation Markers system
• The First Crusade can be played by anywhere from two through
seven players, and includes specific multi-player rules throughout, as well as a Diplomacy section; the Second/Third Crusades
are two-player games only. (But both can easily be played solitaire.)
(2.0) COMPONENTS
The coastal areas of the Eastern Mediterranean are divided into Sea
Zones, to delineate movement of galley fleets.
There are also several edge-of-the-map holding areas for soon-toarrive units from such as the Fatimids, the Turks, etc.
While the map shows much of the actual terrain in the region, such
terrain has no effect on play. It is there solely to provide a geographical context for players as they work their way from place to place.
(2.2) THE CARDS
The First Crusade scenario uses two categories of cards: Activation
Cards (4.1) and Event Cards (12.0). Activation Cards consist of
Leader Activation Cards (those which bear the name of Leaders)
and Standard Activation Cards; together, these cards make up the
Activation Deck (the composition of which varies from Game-Turn
to Game-Turn. Event Cards are divided into two decks, one for the
Crusader player(s) and one for the Muslim player(s). The three decks
must be kept separate.
(2.3) THE PLAYING PIECES
The playing pieces—cardboard markers—are used to locate where
each of that type of unit is at any given time, or keep track of certain
statuses. For example, Army Strength Point markers are provided
to show how many troops a given Leader has in his Army. There are
also Control Markers to keep track of who controls a specific City,
and Resource Point markers to show how much a City’s Resources
have been reduced.
Leaders
Rank
Scenario
Activation Rating
Name
Faction
Command Rating
Fleets
Onward Christian Soldiers, The First Crusade, uses
• 1 22"x 33" game-map
• 110 cards, in 3 decks
• 2 sheets of 1/2" cardboard playing pieces
• 1 sheet of 5/8" cardboard control markers
• 1 sheet of 1/2" game markers
• 1 Rules Book
• 4 Player Charts and Aids Cards
• 2 six-sided dice
Movement Rate
Fleet Strength
Army Strength Points (ASPs)
(2.1) THE MAP
The 22" x 33" mapboard covers the area of The Middle East—or
The Holy Land—as it was during the 11th to 12th centuries. Most
of The Holy Land was difficult to traverse by armies, with the small,
but tough, mountain ranges channeling traffic into specific paths,
those paths usually guarded by cities and fortifications of different
size and strength. Towns are large circles, Cities are squares. The
paths also include small circles (Points) with numbers therein representing Attrition costs, not Movement Points.
Control Markers (front)
(The front side for cities and the back side for towns)
Northern
Franks
Fatamid
Cities
Towns
Points
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Southern
Franks
Northern
Syrian
German
Southern
Syrian
Mosul
Turks
Sicilian
Armenian
Onward Christian Soldiers
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(2.4) THE DICE
one of the largest cities in the Western world at that time.
Onward Christian Soldiers uses six-sided dice. Sometimes only one
die is used (1d6). At other times players roll two dice and add the
numbers together (2d6). At still other times, both dice are rolled,
with the two numbers combined (2d66) to form a double-digit number, with the red die read first and the white die second. For instance, rolling a red 4 and a white 2 yields a result of 42.
City Entry Space: The space to which the City is connected. Each
city has only one City Entry space.
(2.5) GAME TERMINOLOGY AND
ACRONYMS
Control: The last faction to solely occupy a City, Town, or Castle
controls it.
DR: Acronym for die-roll (also spelled dieroll without the hyphen
here). A DRM is a die-roll modifier, a number used to adjust the
die-roll.
Entry Space: Same as City Entry Space.
The following terms and acronyms are used throughout the rules.
1C: First Crusade version of Onward Christian Soldiers (OCS).
2C/3C: Second/Third Crusade version of OCS.
ASP: Army Strength Point, a generic way of indicating the strength
of an Army.
Activated: A Leader is considered activated when his Leader Activation Card is drawn (although it’s possible to draw the card and
pass the Activation). All Crusader Fleets are considered activated
when the Crusader Fleet Activation card is drawn; Fatimid Fleets
can activate only on the play of the “Fatimids” Muslim Event Card.
An Army is activated when an activated Leader does something
with them.
Activation Card: Cards that currently form—or that may be purchased to form—the Activation Deck.
Activation Deck: The card deck that controls the order in which
armies and fleets move during the turn. It consists of the Leader
Activation Cards purchased for the current turn, plus the Standard
Activation cards automatically included with every turn. The Activation Deck is assembled anew at the beginning of every turn. See
4.0.
Activation Points Marker: Markers drawn randomly by the
player(s), at the beginning of each turn, in order to determine which
of each faction’s Leader Activation Cards will be added to the Activation Deck for this turn. Activation markers bear the designation
AP, meaning Activation Points.
Activation Rating: The number on the left side of each Leader
counter.
Adjacent Space: A space with a connecting line directly to the space
in question.
Army: ASPs with a Leader.
Event Deck: The card deck that determines random events. Players
take cards from the Event Deck only after drawing one of the “Draw
Event Card” cards from the current turn’s Activation Deck. See 4.0.
Faction: The essentially separate armies of each side (Crusaders or
Muslims).
Force: Army, Garrison, or Leaderless ASPs.
Garrison: Leaderless ASPs in a City or Town. See also Intrinsic
Garrison.
Interception: Stopping an army as it moves, engaging it in battle.
Intrinsic Garrison: 1-ASP force inside a City or Castle. All Cities
or Castles automatically have an Intrinsic Garrison at all times; if
the current one is destroyed, it is automatically and immediately
replaced by one belonging to the capturing faction.
Leader Activation Card: Activation Cards that bear the name of
Leaders of the various factions.
Line of Communications (LOC): A line tracing back to a source
of Resources. It can potentially include Points, Towns, Cities, and
Sea Areas. There are three types of LOC: Limited, Unlimited, and
Naval.
NSP: Naval Strength Point; each Fleet counter begins with 2 NSP
and can be reduced to 1 NSP before being eliminated.
Path: See Space.
Point: See Space.
Resources: The ability each city has to ameliorate Attrition. Unless
depleted (for various reasons), a City’s Resource level is equal to
the city’s Siege Defense Rating.
Resource Points: Various actions cost Resource Points, drawn from
the Resources provided by Cities and by some Event Cards. Also
called just “Resources”.
Assault Points: Points inflicted by an army that Assaults a city;
once the number of Assault Points equals the city’s Siege Defense
Rating (SDR), the City falls.
SDR: The Siege Defense Rating of the City or Castle. The SDR for
all Cities is printed beside the City on the map. The SDR for Castles
is printed on the Castle’s marker. For Cities (not Castles), the SDR
indicates its (usually) available Resources.
Attrition: The loss of manpower (ASPs) frequently incurred through
movement and more rarely through inertia.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Almost all cities and towns were walled. The
effect of this, game-wise, is relative.
Attrition Rating: The numeric rating of each location on the map,
used when adding Attrition Points during movement and when calculating possible Attrition losses in the Attrition Phase. Each point
on the map shows its Attrition Rating inside the circle; all Towns
and Cities have an Attrition Rating of 1.
Side: Crusader or Muslim (1C only); Frank or Saracen (2C/3C only).
All Crusader/Frank factions are on one side and all Muslim/Saracen
factions are on the other. In multi-player games, however (1C only),
factions on the same side will not necessarily cooperate, and even
in two player games, factions on the same side may experience dissension through the play of event cards (1C only).
Campaign Rating: The number on the right of each Leader counter.
Cities: The squares on the map. Spaces with large circles are Towns,
not Cities.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Most of these “cities” were hardly that ...
more collections of a few buildings than anything else. The big
cities, such as Antioch, were quite big for that era. Antioch was
Space: Any City, Town, or Point on the map to which an Army may
move. The Cities are the squares; the Towns are the large circles;
the Points are the small circles with numbers inside. They are all
connected by Paths.
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
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Onward Christian Soldiers
Standard Activation Card (a.k.a. Standard Card): Activation
Cards that do not bear the names of Leaders.
Towns: Spaces on the map denoted by large circles.
Win, Lose, or Draw: An Army wins a battle if the opposing force
retreats out of the Space (voluntary or mandatory retreat). An Army
loses a battle if it retreats from the Space (voluntary or mandatory
retreat). A battle is a draw if neither force retreats.
Withdrawal: Avoiding battle by moving the army away.
(2.6) SCALE
Game-turns are 6 weeks in duration, except for Winter, which covers 3 months. Strength points and Fleets represent a wide number
of men or war galleys, but, very loosely, about 200 men per ASP.
(2.7) QUESTIONS?
Any questions about play? If you’re willing to wait, send your questions and a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
GMT Games
ATTN: Onward Christian Soldiers
POB 1308
Hanford, CA 93232
• Step 1. The Players place all the current scenario’s Standard Activation Cards face down in a pile. This is the start of the Activation Deck, whose contents change every turn.
• Step 2. Each Player now draws, randomly and blindly from a
cup, one Activation Points marker corresponding to each faction he controls. The number on the marker represents the number of Activation Points the Players can use to “buy” Leader
Activation Cards. The Player now uses these Activation Points
to buy Leader Activation Cards belonging to that faction, placing the purchased cards face-down in the Activation Deck and
keeping secret which cards he purchased. If the Player controls
two or more factions, he performs this step one faction at a time.
Note that Leader Activation Cards may be purchased only for
Leaders who are on the map, not those which have not yet arrived as reinforcements.
• Step 3. Once all factions have purchased their Leader Activation Cards and placed them in the deck, the Activation Deck is
shuffled and placed face-down, ready for drawing.
D. Operations Phase. The Operations Phase consists of playing all
of the Activation cards in the Turn Deck, in the sequence below.
The order of play and player is random and depends on which card
is drawn.
Alternatively, you can contact us by email:
Designer: [email protected]
Publisher: [email protected]
For ongoing online support of this game, visit our website at
www.gmtgames.com. It features a set of ‘Living Rules’ (a set of
rules that we update regularly), as well as a discussion board where
you can ask questions and get the latest tips and tricks from the
designer and developer, as well as other players.
We can also be found, along with most of the rest of the GMT designers and developers, on ConsimWorld’s discussion boards, at
www.consimworld.com.
(3.0) GENERAL COURSE OF PLAY
(3.1) STARTING THE GAME
See the individual scenarios for instructions on how to set up the
pieces and start the game, and what (if any) special rules apply to
that scenario.
(3.2) THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Each IC Game-Turn uses the following sequence, undertaken in the
order written.
A. Diplomacy Phase. Players discuss, secretly or openly, any deals
or arrangements they wish to make. (See 11.0) Anything not specifically prohibited by the rules is possible. Players also bribe nonplayer forces during this phase. See the scenario rules.
B. Army Assignment Phase. Players may divide each Faction’s
ASPs that are in the same Space among the Leaders for that faction
that are also in that space (see 5.4).
C. Activation Deck Creation Phase. Players create the Activation
Deck for the current turn, going through the following sequence.
All Standard Activation Cards are automatically added each GameTurn; all Leader Activation Cards are available, including those used
in the previous Game-Turn, but only those purchased—see Step 2
below—are used during the current Game-Turn, with the rest kept
face-down off the map for possible use in future Game-Turns.
• 1. Who Draws a Card? At the start of the Operations Phase,
each Player rolls two dice. High total draws the first card from
the Activation Deck in that Game-Turn. (Roll again to break
ties.) After that, the player whose Army last was activated draws
the next card.
• 2. What happens when an Leader Activation Card is drawn,?
The player whose Leader is specified on the Activation Card
undertakes his Operations Phase, during which he may undertake Movement, Battle, and/or Siege (all, some or none) with
that Army, in any order he wishes. (Muslim 3-star Leaders may
raise troops, instead; see 5.5) . When he is finished, he draws the
next card.
• 3. What happens when a Standard Activation Card is drawn?
The drawing Player may do with that card whatever he wishes
and can do, unless he draws one of the cards instructing him to
draw an Event Card, in which case he draws the top card from
the Event Deck and follows its instructions. See 4.5 and 11.0.
All drawn cards are placed in the appropriate Used pile after their
use. When all Cards in the Activation Deck have been drawn the
Operations Phase is over.
E. Attrition Phase. The following units check for attrition, in the
following order:
1. Siege Attrition: All units still involved in a Siege (see Siege
Attrition in 8.3),
2. Point Attrition: Armies in Points (see Point Attrition in 6.3C),
unless they are besieging Cities,
3. Ravaged Attrition: ASPs in unbesieged Cities or Towns with
a Ravaged marker of any kind (see Ravaged Attrition in 6.3C),
unless they were involved in Siege Attrition, and
4. Fleet Attrition (see 9.2).
F. Recovery Phase.
1. All “Ravaged-Remove” markers are removed, except for those
in Cities under siege.
2. All “Ravaged” markers are flipped to their “Ravaged-Remove”
side, except for those in Cities under siege.
3. The Resources of all Cities that are not under Siege, Ravaged
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Onward Christian Soldiers
(or Ravaged-Remove) or Destroyed are brought up to the level
of their SDR.
4. Assault Points (or a portion thereof) are removed from Cities
no longer under Siege—see 8.3B.
5. All “Dropped-Off” markers are removed from ASPs in Towns,
Cities, and Castles.
6. All Event markers that last until the end of the turn (such as
“Visions”, “Jihad”, “Heat”, “Ravager”, etc.) are removed.
(4.0) THE CARD DECKS (1C only)
(4.1) THE THREE DECKS AND HOW THEY
WORK
Each turn of Onward Christian Soldiers depends on three decks of
cards: the Activation Deck and two Event Decks. These decks are,
at all times, kept separate from one another.
At the beginning of each Turn, the players create a brand new Activation Deck, following the procedure outlined in 4.5. Then, during
the Operations Phase, they draw cards from the top of the Activation Deck one at a time, with each card resulting in one of three
activities:
• Activating a specific leader and his forces
• Bringing a fleet or other force (such as the Armenians) into play
• Instructing the player to draw a card from the Event Deck and
follow its instructions
After all Activation Cards have been played, the Operations Phase
is finished for that turn.
Each card is placed face-up on its appropriate Used pile after use.
There’s a Used pile for Activation Cards and one for each Event
Deck.
(4.2) THE EVENT DECKS
The Event Decks consists of, in essence, random events cards. There
are two of these, one for the Crusader player(s) and the other for the
Muslim player(s). The Event Decks come into play only when a
player pulls an Activation Card saying “Draw an Event Card”, at
which time that player takes the top card from the Event Deck of
the side to which he belongs (Crusader or Muslim). Each Event
Card specifies whether or not the player must play the card immediately or, if desired, hold it for later use. Each Event Deck is reshuffled only after all its cards have been played (either discarded
or held in player hands).
See 12.0 for details about using the Event Cards.
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(4.4) LEADER ACTIVATION CARDS
Each player has two Leader Activation Cards for each of his Leaders in the game. Leader Activation Cards are used to activate the
Leader (and his Army) named on the card.
In his Card Selection Phase, the Players randomly and blindly draw
an Activation Points marker for each one of his factions. If there is
more than one Crusader Player, each player draws an Activation
Points marker for only his faction(s); see the scenario rules for more
information.
EXAMPLE: Four-player version of The First Crusade. Crusader
player “A” controls the Germans and Southern Franks. He draws
a German Activation Points marker and a Southern Frank AP
marker for those separate factions.
Each of those Markers tells the player how many Activation Points
he may use that Turn to “buy” Leader Activation Cards. Each Leader
Activation Card names a Leader, and lists the number of Activation
Points needed to “buy” that card and place it in the Turn Deck.
Immediately after each Activation Points marker is drawn, that player
now “buys” Leader Activation Cards for his faction, spending the
number of Activation Points showing on each Leader Activation
Card he chooses. He may choose as many Leader Activation Cards
as he wishes, as long as he doesn’t exceed the number of Activation
Points shown on the Activation Marker he drew to start the Card
Selection Phase. In some cases, he will be able to buy all his Leader
Activation Cards; in other cases, he might be able to buy only a
couple of them.
EXAMPLE: Two-player version of The First Crusade. The Muslim
player controls all three Muslim factions. He draws one Activation
Points marker for the North Syrians, one for the South Syrians,
and one for the Mosul Turks. After each draw, he buys Leader Activation Cards for each of those factions, taking care not to combine the Activation Point expenditures among the factions.
PLAY NOTE: If honesty becomes an issue, at the end of the Turn
compare Points spent with the Activation Points marker drawn.
When playing a game with fewer than seven players, players commanding two or more factions must buy the Leader Activation Cards
for each faction immediately after drawing the Activation Marker
for that faction. Only after that purchase does he draw the Activation Marker for the next faction.
When a Leader Activation Card is drawn during the Game-Turn,
the player for that Leader may use all the ASPs in that Leader’s
Army, as per 5.0.
PLAY NOTE: Obviously, if a Leader is not yet in the game there is
no point spending Activation Points to use his card.
(4.3) THE ACTIVATION DECK
The Activation Deck controls the order in which players perform
actions during the turn. It is, in fact, the heart of the game itself. It is
created anew at the beginning of each turn, and during the Operations Phase players draw from it to determine what happens next.
After all its cards have been played, the Operations Phase is over
for that turn.
The Activation Deck is made up of
• Leader Activation Cards “purchased” by the Players (4.4)
• All Standard Activation Cards for the scenario being played (4.5)
The Activation Deck is created anew at the start of each GameTurn, and all cards are always eligible for possible inclusion. No
card is ever “out of the game”.
(4.5) STANDARD ACTIVATION CARDS
Each scenario has Standard Activation cards, cards that are automatically placed into the Activation Deck each turn, without purchase.
For The First Crusade, these include:
• 2 Armenians cards
• 2 Crusader Fleet cards
• 4 Draw Event Card cards (see 12.0)
The Player who draws a card with the instruction “Draw Event Card”
must immediately take an Event Card from either the Crusader Event
Deck or the Muslim Event Deck, whichever corresponds to the side
he’s on. See 12.0.
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
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Onward Christian Soldiers
The player who draws an Armenian or Crusader Fleet card may use
it, if he so chooses, as per the rules for their use. If he doesn’t use it,
it is simply placed aside with the other used cards.
Activation (left number on counter). The number of Activation
Points (left-hand side of counter) needed to place this Card in the
Activation Deck.
Fleet Activation: Crusader Fleets come into play only when a Crusader player draws an Event card saying Crusader Fleet Arrives.
Until that time, the Crusader Fleet Activation cards are simply discarded, with no effect. Once at least one Crusader fleet is in play, all
Crusader fleets on the map may be activated when a Crusader Fleet
Activation card is drawn. The Fleet (all or some of its galleys) may
be activated by the Crusader player who drew it, or, if drawn by a
Muslim player, by the Crusader player who most recently played an
Activation. If it is the first card drawn in a Turn, and drawn by a
Muslim player, place it back into the deck and shuffle. Army ASPs
that are either being transported by a Fleet or are in a port in the
naval Area in which the fleet is, may be transported by that Fleet
(see 9.5), if the Army is of the same faction as the player activating
the Fleet.
Campaign (right number on counter). This rates the Leader’s tactical capabilities, and is used with the Battle Formation Table to determine how his Army deploys and fights in a given battle, as well
as when determining Interception and Continuation of Movement.
(4.6) INITIATIVE
Initiative refers to the player who gets to draw the first AM each
Game-Turn (starting with Game-Turn 2—there is no initiative roll
on Game-Turn 1). Each player rolls two dice.
• High result gets the Initiative.
• Tie result: both players roll again.
(4.7) ACTIVATING, DISCARDING, PASSING
To sum all of this up, after the Activation Deck is created and placed
face-down on the map, the player who wins the Initiative roll draws
the first card from the top. This card will either be a Leader Activation card or a Standard Activation card. If it’s a Leader Activation
card, the player may either activate that Leader (and possibly other
Leaders with him—see section 5) or pass by simply discarding the
card. If it’s a Standard Activation card, the player does what’s possible according to the rules for those cards; in some instances, nothing is possible, and in other instances the card might be passed. No
matter which type of card is played or discarded, the player who
performed the Activation or who passed draws the next card. Play
proceeds until all Activation Cards have been played or passed, at
which point the game moves to the Attrition Phase.
PLAY NOTE: Many times during the game, players will find that
passing is a better option than activating. This is an intentional
part of the design.
(5.0) LEADERS AND MANPOWER
(5.1) LEADERS
Each player’s faction is represented by Leaders. Leaders are represented by both counters and cards. Leaders
are the only units that can move on land in the game,
but each Leader may “carry” Army Strength Points
(ASPs) with him—they are his Army. A Leader may carry any number of ASPs; there is no limit.
Each Leader is rated as follows:
Rank (number of stars on counter). This enables players to determine who is “in Command” (5.3) where there is more than one
Leader in the same Space, and which Leader is the overall commander for his faction. Three stars is the highest rank.
(5.2) ARMIES AND FACTIONS
Regardless of the number of players, each “side’ is divided into
factions:
• The Crusader Army has 4 separate factions: The Northern Franks/
Normans, the Germans, the Southern Franks, and the Sicilian
Normans.
• The 3 separate Muslims factions are Northern Syrians, Southern
Syrians, and Mosul-based Turks (or Turcomen).
Each faction maintains its own Armies. All Army Strength Points
(ASPs) with a given Leader are that Leader’s Army. No ASPs from
one Faction may ever be transferred to another faction’s Army, although they may be transferred between leaders within that Faction
during the Army Assignment Phase.
(5.21) Changing Army Sizes. All Army Strength Points (stacked)
with a given Leader are that Leader’s Army. There are four ways to
change the constitution of that Army (and see also Reinforcing
Armies in 5.3 and Interception in 6.4):
• Armies may lose ASPs in combat.
• Armies may drop off ASPs in Cities or Towns during the GameTurn. Place a “Dropped-Off” marker on top of those ASPs to
denote that these ASPs may not be picked up by another Army
at any time during that Game-Turn. The “Dropped-Off marker”
is removed in the Recovery Phase at the end of the Game-Turn.
• Armies may pick up leaderless ASPs in Towns or Cities (6.1)
during the Game-Turn, as long as those ASPs had not been assigned to another Leader in the Army Assignment Phase and
Dropped-Off there this Game-Turn (in which case they should
have a Dropped-Off marker on them).
• In the Army Assignment Phase, each Leader is assigned ASPs
from among those currently in the same Space as that Leader.
ASPs from the same faction that are in the same Space may be
divided among the Leaders for that faction also present in that
Space. Once assigned, those ASPs may not be transferred to
(stacked under) another Leader until the next Army Assignment
Phase. All ASPs in a space containing a Leader must be assigned
to an Army, except for those which would violate the restrictions on size of commands outlined in 5.4. Overages are either
left behind (if in a Town or City), or placed in the nearest Town
or City controlled by that faction (or to another faction who permits them to do so)—and there must be a Limited Line of Communication to that Town/City. If there are no such Towns/Cities,
the overages are eliminated.
• Leaders may pick up subordinate Leaders and their Armies according to 5.3; this does not actually increase the active Leader’s
own army size, but of course practically it does so.
(5.3) WHO IS IN COMMAND
Leaders command the ASPs in their own Armies, and sometimes
those of other Leaders as well.
PLAY NOTE: Keep individual armies stacked in the same Space
separate by making sure each Leader is atop/with his own ASPs.
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Onward Christian Soldiers
We have provided Army boxes on the map for players who don’t
like big stacks.
The Two Activations Rule: No Leader may ever be Activated more
than TWICE in one Game-Turn, whether on his own, via MultiLeader Activations, or in conjunction with Independent Leader Activations. If a Leader Activation Card is drawn and that Leader passes
(does nothing), it does not count as an Activation (but the Leader
Activation Card is still considered used); any other action does count.
Overall Leader of a Faction: At the beginning of the game, the
highest-ranking Leader of each faction is automatically that faction’s
Overall Leader. All other Leaders of that faction are Subordinate
Leaders. If that Leader is killed or captured, the next highest-ranked
Leader of that faction immediately becomes the faction’s Overall
Leader (if the original Overall Leader is returned to play after capture, he immediately regains his original status). If a faction loses
enough Leaders that all remaining Leaders have the same number
of stars, that faction’s player decides which of these Leaders is the
Overall Leader for that faction for the remainder of the game.
More than One Leader with an Army: When there is more than
one Leader with an Army, the Leader with the highest Rank is in
Command. If there is a tie in the rankings of the highest-ranked
leaders from the same faction, that faction’s player decides which
leader is in charge. If the tie is between leaders from different factions, see the Multi-Leader Activations rule below.
More than One Leader in a Siege or Assault: See the rules for
Sieges and Assaults (8.0).
Activating Subordinate Leaders: A Leader can always move/activate other Leaders (and their armies) with whom he is stacked at
the time his Leader Activation Card is drawn, as long as:
• his Rank is higher than the Leaders he wishes to move, and
• The other Leader has not already gone Independent that GameTurn (see below).
Independent Leaders: When a subordinate leader’s Leader Activation card is drawn, he automatically becomes Independent for
the remainder of that Game-Turn unless the activation is simply
passed (i.e., the subordinate leader does nothing). Being independent means that he
• is always free to move/activate his Army
• may not be activated or even picked up by any other Leader,
regardless of Rank.
• has an Independent Leader marker placed on top of him
This rule does not apply to Armenian or Fatimid leaders.
Multi-Leader Activations: Whenever 3-starred leaders (or similarly equal-ranked leaders in charge of their forces) start an Army
Assignment Phase together in a Space, the player (or players) may
declare, before starting Operations for that Game-Turn, that ONE
of the 3-starred leaders is in charge of the entire stack. This leader is
called the Overall Leader. Players still buy Leader Activation cards
for all the leaders normally, but when the Overall Leader’s card is
picked, he may (not must) activate all other 3-starred leaders and
their armies, as well as any 2-starred and 1-starred leaders who have
not gone Independent (see “Independent Leaders”, above).
When a Leader Card for any of the other leaders in the combined
Army is picked, that leader may (not must) activate on his own (and
see “Independent Leaders”, above), in which case the Overall Leader
can no longer command them during that Game-Turn, even if they
end up in the same Space later that turn.
7
Multiple leaders of different factions may attack together only when
they fall under the Multi-Leader Activation rule (which will be rare).
However, if multiple leaders are attacked in a space, they always
defend together. See the rule for Battle Formations, below, for how
to handle this situation.
Reinforcing Armies. A leader may move his Army into a space
containing another Army, but the two Armies remain separate (at
least until the next Army Assignment Phase). If an enemy Army is
already in that space, the active Army is called the Reinforcing Army,
and he need not attack the enemy Army (the only time this is allowed). If he does attack, however, the other allied Army in the
space may not join the attack (because the two Armies are separate). If the enemy army attacks, however, the original Army and
the Reinforcing Army defend together. The leader of the original
Army may not, when his Activation Card is pulled, command the
Reinforcing Army, because that Army has already moved independently that Game-Turn.
(5.4) SIZE OF COMMANDS
Each leader has a rank. 3-starred leaders are the highest ranked, 2starred leaders are second, and 1-starred leaders are the lowest
ranked. Some factions have all three ranks, but some do not.
Leaders are restricted as to how many men they can lead at any one
time. In general, no leader may lead as many ASPs as a higherranked leader of the same faction, without suffering some consequences.
EXAMPLE: Robert of Flanders, the 3-starred leader for the Northern Franks, has 18 ASPs under his command. Robert of Normandy,
the 2-starred leader for that faction, has 15 under his command
(he could have as many as 17). Stephen, the faction’s 1-starred
leader, commands 8 ASPs, although he could have as many as 14.
Whenever one of a faction’s subordinate Leader Activation Cards
is drawn, count that leader’s ASPs and compare the total to the leader
of that faction with the immediately higher rank. If the activated
leader has too many ASPs, he may not be activated, unless at least
one of the following is true:
• the leader ranked higher than him is currently inside a city under
siege,
• the leader(s) ranked higher than him has had his strength reduced by battle, siege assault, or attrition during the current
Game-Turn.
In these cases, the subordinate leader may activate normally , but
he may not increase the size of his own army.
EXAMPLE: Continuing the example above, if Robert of Flanders
loses 3 ASPs in battle (reducing his army to 15 ASPs), Robert of
Normandy may still activate normally for the remainder of the
Game-Turn, even though he now has too many ASPs under his
command (his army and Robert F’s are equal in size). However, if
Robert F had dropped off 3 ASPs in a city, Robert N would not be
able to activate.
During the Army Assignment Phase, count the ASPs under the command of each leader. If a subordinate leader has too many ASPs in
his army (i.e., more than his immediately superior leader has), you
may purchase Activation Cards normally for that subordinate leader,
but you may not activate him as long as he commands too many
ASPs. During a game-turn, the only way to rectify this situation is
to have his superior leader pick up enough ASPs to make up the
difference—but remember the restriction against pickup up ASPs.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
In most cases, a leader with too many ASPs in the Army Assignment Phase will not be able to move at all during that game-turn.
DESIGN NOTE: This rule simulates the inner politics of the factions. It is somewhat artificial, to be sure. However, given the range
of ratings for the leaders, it is necessary for game play ... and does
reflect, in a somewhat sterile way, the politics of the time and event.
(5.5) RAISING TROOPS
PLAY NOTE: One of the major problems for the Crusaders of the
First Crusade is that their army is shrinking, while the Muslims
are growing.
Crusader Armies: The Crusaders may never Raise Army Strength
points. These arrive—when they do, and never in The First Crusade—only by Event.
Muslim Armies—Reinforcements: Some Muslim ASPs arrive as
Reinforcements by Event card. This happens each time the Muslim
player plays a “Muslim Reinforcements” card (see 2.2).
Muslim Armies -Raising Troops: The Muslim Player may also
Raise Troops as follows. Note that Raising Troops depends on both
the Leader in charge of recruiting and the Leader (if any) in the city
chosen for recruitment.
When a Muslim faction’s highest-ranked surviving Leader -the
faction’s Overall Leader as per 5.3—is activated (no other Leader
from that faction may recruit), that Leader may Raise Troops; his is
called the Recruiting Leader. He may do nothing else during that
Activation, and each Muslim faction may Raise Troops only once
per Game-Turn. The recruited ASPs are raised and placed in a City
controlled by that Leader’s faction—this city is called the Recruitment City for the purposes of this rule (and see the paragraph immediately following this one about raising Mosul Turk troops)—or
with the Recruiting Leader if he is in that City’s entry space. The
Recruiting Leader may raise those troops only if he can trace an
Unlimited Line of Communication from his current location to the
Recruitment City (automatic if he is in the City or City Entry space
itself). The recruiting Leader may not Raise Troops if he is in the
same space as an enemy Army, and Troops may not be Raised in a
City that is under siege.
To recruit, he rolls one die and adjusts that dieroll by the rank of the
highest-ranked Leader (from the recruiting faction) in the Recruitment City or its City Entry Space (and this might not be the recruiting Leader), as follows. The result is the number of ASPs he immediately places in the selected City (or optionally in its Entry Space
if that’s where the Recruiting Leader is):
• 3-starred Leader in the Recruitment City or Entry Space: no modification to the die-roll
• 2-starred Leader in the Recruitment City or Entry Space: subtract one (–1) from the die-roll
• 1-starred Leader in the Recruitment City or Entry Space: subtract two (–2) from the die-roll
• No Leader in the Recruitment City or Entry Space: subtract three
(–3) from the dieroll.
The recruiting player always gets a minimum of 1 ASP in the Recruitment City, no matter the final result.
EXAMPLE: The North Syrian leader Ridwan (a 3-starred leader)
uses his Activation to recruit. He has a Limited Line of Communication to the city of Homs, which the North Syrian faction controls, so he makes Homs the Recruitment City. The North Syrian 1-
starred leader ed-Daba is currently in the Homs City Entry Space.
The Muslim player rolls a “5”, modified by –2 because ed-Daba is
a 1-starred leader, and places 3 ASPs in Homs.
Recruitment in Mosul Turk Boxes. In addition to raising troops in
Cities controlled by the Mosul Turk faction, the highest-ranked surviving Mosul Turk leader may raise Troops in the Mosul Turk Entry box and the Cappadocia box. These boxes function as Mosul
Turk Cities for this purpose (and only this purpose). A Mosul Turk
force (or just a Leader by himself) may move into these boxes (but
may not Withdraw or Retreat into them) in order to help raise troops
and/or in order to collect troops raised there. No other factions may
enter these boxes, nor may the boxes be captured, besieged, assaulted, ravaged, or destroyed.
These troops appear in the specified box (even if a Leader is in an
adjacent space) and a Leader must go back to the space (the box has
an Attrition Value of 0) to get them; it does require a Stop to pick
them up). No other factions may enter those boxes for any reason
whatsoever, and the Mosul Turk player may use them solely for
raising troops and collecting those troops.
(5.6) LEADERLESS FORCES AND INTRINSIC
GARRISONS
ASPs without Leaders may exist only in Cities and Towns. They
may not exist in Points. Leaderless Forces may neither attack nor
withdraw; they defend normally (with an automatic Defend in Place
Formation).
Each City also has an Intrinsic Garrison of 1 ASP. See 8.2.
(6.0) LAND MOVEMENT,
CONTINUATION, AND ATTRITION
(6.1) LAND MOVEMENT
When a Leader is Activated he may move his Army. Armies move
from Space to Space, following the connecting lines between the
Spaces. Barring any required Stops (see 6.2), an Army may move
as far as the player wishes; there are no Movement Allowances or
Movement Points to consider. Importantly, however, there is Movement Attrition—see 6.3A.
Whenever a Leader and his army stops moving, by choice or otherwise, that Leader rolls for attrition (see Movement Attrition, below), and any losses are applied to that force. At that point, one of
the following occurs:
(a) Unless he enters an enemy-occupied space, he may simply stay
where he is and do nothing else, thereby ending the Activation;
(b) If he stops in a friendly-occupied or unoccupied space, he may
roll for Continuation; if he succeeds, he may move again, and he
may repeat the Movement, Attrition, and Continuation procedure
until he Stops willingly or fails to Continue;
(c) If he stops in the Entry space of an enemy-controlled City, and
as long as that Entry space is not occupied by an enemy force, he
may Ravage that City, thereby ending the Activation (see 8.3G);
(d) If he is in the Entry space of an enemy-controlled City, and as
long as that Entry space is not occupied by an enemy force, he may
roll for Continuation and, if he succeeds, initiate a Siege (see 8.3A),
thereby ending the Activation;
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Onward Christian Soldiers
(e) If he is in the Entry space of an enemy-controlled City, whether
or not that Entry space is also occupied by an enemy force, he may
roll for Continuation and, if he succeeds, assault the City (see 8.3B),
thereby ending the Activation;
(f) If he is in an enemy-occupied space, he must offer Battle—follow the Battle sequence in section 7. If the enemy force Withdraws
before Battle, the active Leader may roll for Continuation and keep
going as in (b) above. If the active Leader wins the battle (see 7.2A),
he may also roll for Continuation, but if he loses or draws the battle,
the Activation ends.
Movement on the Connecting Lines: In case of a Battle (or in
multi-player games when a faction does not allow the moving Army
to enter a space), it is necessary to keep track of the direction from
which the army entered that space. Instead of placing the moving
Army on the space occupied by the non-moving Army, it is placed
on the connecting line along which it reached the space. For such
purposes as the various types of attrition, it is considered in the
same space as the enemy Army, but the two Armies are now blocking each other. It is entirely possible to have several Armies occupying the same space but with all of them placed, in arrival order,
along the connecting line. Indeed, Armies can get trapped in this
manner.
Multi-Player Games: In Multi-Player games, all instances of “enemy-occupied” and “enemy controlled” (and the like) in the points
above also apply to spaces with forces controlled a faction not controlled by the moving player. The difference is that a force belonging to a different player on the moving player’s side may give permission for the player to move through the space. But see the rules
in Section 8 for Actions Against Cities in multi-player games. If a
non-moving Army allows a moving Army to occupy the same space,
the two Armies are placed on top of each other on the map. In a
subsequent Activation, the active Army may leave that space without hindrance or interception.
Armies (ASPs with a Leader) may stop and stay in Points. ASPs
without a Leader may not exist in Points; however, Armies may
drop off ASPs only in Towns or Cities. They may do so either by
stopping in the Town or in the City or its Entry space, or by dropping them in the Town or the City space immediately before starting to move. If the former, the Leader must roll for continuation if
he wants to keep moving; if the latter, he simply places the ASPs in
the Town or City space and then starts his move.
Place a “Dropped-Off” marker on ASPs that have been
dropped off, to denote that no other Army may pick them
up during the current Game-Turn (5.21). The DroppedOff marker is removed in the Recovery Phase at the end of the current Game-Turn.
Armies may pick up leaderless ASPs in Towns or Cities, as long as
those ASPs were not assigned to a different Army at the start of the
Game-Turn (i.e., as long as there’s no “Dropped-Off” marker on
the ASPs). The Leader must Stop in order to pick up the ASPs and
roll for continuation if he wants to keep moving.
PLAY NOTE: The Leader does not need to enter the City space itself
in order to pick up the troops in the City; he may do so by simply
entering the City Entry space. This is still considered entering the
City, however, so it requires a Continuation roll to keep going.
Fatamid Box. Only the Fatimid forces may enter the Fatimid box
(it has an attrition value of 0). It may not be attacked.
9
(6.2) CONTINUATION
Any time an Army completes any action, it has Stopped. This includes
• Fighting a Battle;
• Entering a City for any reason;
• Starting a Siege, Assaulting a City, Ravaging a City, Destroying
a City, Rebuilding a City;
• Undertaking Recovery from Demoralization;
• Entering an enemy-occupied Space from which the enemy force
Withdraws;
• Stopping Movement simply to minimize Attrition.
• Picking up or dropping off ASP in a City/Town space.
If that army wishes to perform more actions after completing what
it stopped for, it must roll for Continuation. The player rolls the die
and compares it to the Leader’s Campaign Rating.
• If that die-roll is equal to or lower than the Campaign Rating,
the army may move again, computing any Attrition anew.
• If that die-roll is higher than the Campaign Rating, the Army is
finished for that Activation.
If the Active Army wins a Battle (see 7.2A), it must pass a Continuation roll if it wishes to move out of the Space or to fight again. If it
loses or draws the battle, it is Finished and may not Continue (see
below). If the result on the Formation is a Standoff (SO), modify
the continuation roll by –1.
When an Army fails its Continuation roll (or when the player decides not to attempt Continuation), that Army is Finished for that
Activation.
In addition, the following actions result in Armies being Finished
Automatically, in which case the player may not roll for Continuation:
• Declaring a Siege (see 8.3A)
• Conducting Siege Assault or Treachery (see 8.3B and 8.3E)
• Losing or Drawing a Battle (see 7.2A)
• Ravaging a City (see 8.3G)
• Raising Troops (see 5.5)
Fleets do not use the Continuation rules.
(6.3) ATTRITION
Attrition is the omnipresent loss of manpower every army incurs
through campaigning, sieges, and, sometimes, staying outside of
Cities for too long. Siege Attrition is covered in the Towns and Cities section.
Only ASPs, AK Points, and Fleets (see 9.3) may suffer Attrition;
Leaders do not.
A. Movement Attrition
Whenever an Army ceases Movement to do anything else (such as
fight), and before it does that anything else, that Army must check
for Attrition. To do this, it totals the Attrition Value of each Space it
entered during its Movement.
• All Towns and Cities have an Attrition value of ‘1’.
• All Points have their Attrition value printed within the Point.
This total represents the Accumulated Attrition Total.
The Player now rolls one die (1d6) to check for the affects Attrition
had on its Movement.
To that die-roll he adds:
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Onward Christian Soldiers
• the Attrition Points accumulated since the Army was last stopped.
• the “tens” digit of his ASP total, to a maximum addition of +10.
For example, an Army with 32 ASPs will add ‘3’, and an army
of 200+ will only add 10.
• two (+2) if it is a Rain Turn.
• three (+3) if it is a Winter Turn.
• two (+2) for each River Path (see the terrain Legend) used to
move to another space (unusable in Rain Turns).
• the number of Armored Knights points with the moving Army
(Crusaders only).
From that die-roll he subtracts:
• one (1) if the Army is Muslim
• a number equal to as many of the available Resources of the
City (or City Entry Space) in which his Army ends movement,
and which he wishes (or is permitted) to spend. The City must
not be Ravaged or Destroyed, and it must have been controlled
by the moving Leader’s faction before he entered it, or by a faction that gives permission for that force to enter the City. Resources so used reduce the Resource level of that City: each
dieroll modifier reduces the Resource level by one.
If the total, adjusted die-roll exceeds ‘14’, that Army loses the number of ASPs equal to the difference (but see “Attrition Negation”,
immediately below). If the total is 14 or below, there are no losses.
EXAMPLE: A Crusader Army of 27 ASPs in G7 moves past Homs
(G8) and then through G9 and H8, stopping in H9, the Damascus
City Entry space. The march incurs 9 Attrition Points (1+4+3+1).
The Player rolls a ‘5’ for his Attrition die-roll. That ‘5’, plus ‘2’ for
its ASPs and ‘9’ for its Attrition points, equals 16, which is 2 more
than 14. That Army loses 2 ASPs to Attrition.
If a Leader’s army is completely destroyed by attrition, the Leader
is placed in one of his (or a consenting faction’s) controlled Cities
or Towns, or with another Army of the same faction. If there are no
such locations, the Leader is removed from the game permanently.
HISTORICAL NOTE: The ability to cross the Jordan, and other
larger rivers, was quite restricted. “Fords” were few and far between, and crossing such rivers at the places indicated by “River
Paths” was dangerous, difficult, and often took a great deal of
time . . .and sometimes cost lives. In some places, the two major
rivers of the region—the Orontes and the Jordan—were the benefit
of the old Roman road system, and its bridges.
B. Withdrawal/Retreat Attrition
Whenever a force Withdraws before battle or Retreats after battle,
it undergoes Withdrawal/Retreat Attrition. This attrition is calculated by rolling one die and comparing the result to the Attrition
value of the Point the force moves into. If the dieroll result is less
than this value, the Withdrawing/Retreating force loses ASPs equal
to the difference between the two numbers. Note that the size of
the withdrawing/retreating force is not considered in this type of
attrition.
EXAMPLE: A Sicilian Norman army of 25 ASPs and 1 AK point
under Bohemond withdraws into a 3-Attrition point space. The Crusader player rolls a “1”. The army loses 2 ASPs. Note that neither
the ASPs total nor the AK points factor into the result for this type
of attrition.
C. Point and Ravaged Attrition
In the Attrition Phase, each force sitting on a Point or in a Ravaged
Town or City is subject to Attrition. To avoid Point/Ravaged attrition, Armies or individual ASPs must:
• be inside a non-Ravaged (either kind of Ravaged marker) City
or Town controlled by that faction or by a faction that allows the
City/Town to be so used, OR in the Entry Space of a such a City,
and
• have not already undergone Siege Attrition this phase
For forces in all other situations, the player rolls for Attrition according to the following sequence.
1. Remove 1 ASP from the force. This is automatic and happens
even if the stack suffers further Point/Ravaged Attrition, and even
if it eliminates the entire force. Note that single-ASP forces are automatically eliminated if they’re caught in this situation.
2. Add the Attrition rating of the Point the units are in to the 10’s
digit of the Army’s remaining ASP total (example, an army of 32
ASPs would add 3 plus the Attrition rating). This produces a Forage
Rate. Town and City spaces (in cases where these are subject to
attrition) have an Attrition rating of 1 for this purpose.
Note: Armored Knight points are not included in the calculation
for Point/Ravaged Attrition (only for Movement Attrition).
3. Roll one die (1d6) and compare it to the Forage Rate. If the DR is
lower than the Point’s Forage Rate, the Army loses ASPs equal to
the difference—even if this means the army gets eliminated completely. The Forage die-roll is modified by minus one (–1) for Armies
in a City or Town bearing either kind of Ravaged marker, or the
Entry Space of such a City. But see Ravaging, 8.3G.
EXAMPLE: An Army with 25 ASPs ends a Game-Turn in a ‘3’ AP
Point. This yields a Forage rate of ‘5’ - 2 for the number of ASPs
plus 3 for the Point. First, the Army loses 1 ASP automatically.
Now, the player rolls a ‘1’ when checking for Point Attrition. That
army loses 4 additional ASPs for ending its Turn where it did (Forage rate of 5 minus the die-roll of 1).
Ravaged Attrition: A force in an unbesieged City bearing either
kind of Ravaged marker—or in the Entry Space of such a City—
must undergo Attrition as if it was in a 1-Attrition point. If there are
forces in both the City space and the Entry space, both must undergo attrition (considered to take place at the same time). The intrinsic garrison of the City space is eliminated only after all other
ASPs in the City are eliminated. If a City loses its intrinsic garrison
as a result of Ravaged attrition, the City is immediately taken by the
Army currently in the city’s entry space. If no enemy force is in the
entry space, the intrinsic garrison is not lost.
EXAMPLE: An Army of 20 ASPs ends a Game-Turn in a Ravaged
City. This yields a Forage Rate of 3 - 2 for the number of ASPs plus
1 for the City. First, the Army loses 1 ASP automatically, which
brings the size of the Army down to 19 ASPs and therefore the
Forage Rate down to 2 (1 for the Army size and 1 for the City). The
player rolls a ‘1’, which is modified to zero because of the Ravaged marker; The Army loses an additional 2 ASPs.
EXAMPLE: An Intrinsic Garrison is alone in a City at the end of
the Game-Turn; the City bears a Ravaged-Remove marker and an
enemy Army is in the Entry space. The Intrinsic Garrison is automatically lost (and the enemy Army captures the City).
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Onward Christian Soldiers
If the force suffering attrition consists of more than one faction—or
one or more faction along with Armenians and/or Fatimids, only
one attrition roll is made (with all the ASPs in the space combining
to produce the Forage Value), but the total attrition losses for the
force are distributed as evenly as possible among the various factions or non-player armies. For instance, continuing the Example
above, if the force consisted of two Muslim factions and the Fatimids,
each Muslim faction and the Fatimid army would lose 1 ASP, with
the fourth ASP loss assigned to whatever army the player wanted
(usually the Fatimids).
If all of a Leader’s ASPs are lost because of Point/Ravaged Attrition, the Leader is placed in one of his (or a consenting faction’s)
controlled Cities or Towns, or with another Army of the same faction. If there are no such locations, the Leader is removed from the
game permanently.
Unlike Siege Attrition (see 8.3C), Point/Ravaged Attrition may not
be negated by spending resources.
Note that ASPs in Cities under siege, and the Armies besieging those
Cities, suffer Siege Attrition (8.3C) rather than Point/Ravaged Attrition.
D. Siege Attrition
See 8.3C for how to conduct Siege Attrition.
E. Armored Knights and Attrition:
Whenever a Crusader Army with AK points moves, the AK Points
are added to the total Attrition points incurred by that Army for
Movement Attrition, and the AK points themselves are subject to
Attrition loss. After the Attrition roll, if Attrition losses are 5 ASPs
or more (and only in such cases), determine the percentage of ASPs
lost (without rounding up or down). The tens digit of that percentage equals the number of AK points lost (permanently) as well. So
if an Army of 30 ASPs loses 3 ASPs to Attrition during a march
(and therefore loses 10% of the starting force), it also loses 1 AK; if
it had lost 6 ASPs (20%), it would lose 2 AK.
AK points do not figure in any other types of attrition, nor do they
have any effect on sieges (assaults or attrition). Nor do they count
in ASP totals for any purpose, including battles and ravaging or
destroying cities/towns/castles.
EXAMPLE: Godfrey leads an army of 30 ASPs with 2 AK Points.
It is the Winter Game-Turn, so there is an adjustment of +3 to the
base attrition. The army marches from Homs to Damascus (G8,
G9, H8), for a total of 8 Attrition Points. He stops there and rolls
for Attrition, and unfortunately for him, he rolls a 6. To this roll he
adds 8 (Attrition Points accumulated), plus 3 for Winter, plus 3
(the tens digit in the ASP total of the Army), plus 2 (for the AK
points). The total modified Attrition roll is therefore 22. He subtracts the standard 14 from this total, arriving at loss of 8 ASPs. 8
ASPs is more than 5, so the AK points are in danger. 8 ASPs represents 27% of the original total (30 ASPs), so 2 AK points are lost
(the tens digit for 27). This has been a horribly expensive march.
(6.4) INTERCEPTION
An Army that enters a City Entry space may be Intercepted by an
Army that is in that City space. There are two different Interception
situations: (a) Intercepting into Unoccupied spaces; (b) Intercepting into Friendly-Occupied spaces.
11
Interception in General
Only an Army with a Leader may attempt interception. Garrisons
may not intercept. Armies in Towns or Points may never intercept,
nor may armies in a City space currently under siege. Interception
may not be attempted against a Muslim army using Harassment
(7.1).
To attempt Interception the non-Active player rolls one die. If the
dieroll is the same or lower than the Campaign Rating of Leader
attempting the Interception, the Interception succeeds. See below
for what happens in each type of Interception situation.
An intercepted army may not use Withdrawal. Interception is not
Movement (for Attrition purposes) for the intercepting army. Unsuccessful Interception does not Stop a moving army (although successful Interception does). An army that attempts interception and
fails may not use Withdrawal if attacked by that same army during
its current activation.
Multi-faction armies must be able to attack together in order to intercept together (see 5.3).
Interception into Unoccupied Spaces
When an Army enters an unoccupied City Entry space and is successfully intercepted by the Army inside the City itself:
• The Army in the City moves into the City Entry space and becomes the Attacker;
• The combat is resolved immediately;
• If the Intercepting Army is forced to retreat, it may go back inside the City, but it is not required to do so.
Interception into Friendly-Occupied Spaces
When an Army enters a City Entry space occupied by an enemy Army,
and a second enemy Army is inside the City itself, the following procedure applies. Here, Army A is the active army; Army B is the army
in the City Entry space; Army C is the army in the City.
Step 1: Army B decides if it wishes to Withdraw. If it does so,
Army C may attempt to intercept, using the rules for Intercepting
into Unoccupied Spaces (above). If not, go to Step 2.
Step 2: If Army B does not Withdraw, Army C may attempt to Intercept from within the City in order to join Army B in attacking
Army A.
• If the Interception is successful, Armies B and C combine their
strength in the City Entry space and become the Attackers, with
the higher-ranked Leader commanding the battle. If forced to
retreat, the combined army must retreat together, either into the
City or to another connected Point or Space.
• If the Interception fails, Army A proceeds with the attack, adding two (+2) to his Battle DR (in addition to any other modifiers), reflecting the morale blow caused to Army B by not receiving help from the Army inside the City.
PLAY NOTE: In the case of multiple factions and multiple factions
being involved, all applicable possibilities in Steps 1 and 2 for
combining forces are subject to the player controlling Army B permitting Army C to enter the City Entry space.
(6.5) LEADER MOVEMENT
Leaders usually move with their Armies or Fleets. However, a player
may move an activated Leader by himself. Leaders move as far as
they want, are not subject to Attrition, are not subject to the Continuation rule (which means they may pick up ASPs and automatically continue in order to do standard movement—after which they
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Onward Christian Soldiers
are subject to all the above, of course), but they are subject to Interception. If Intercepted successfully they are considered “Captured”,
at which point the player who holds that Leader may either Kill him
or Ransom him back to the Player. Ransom payments consist of
whatever the players agree upon during the Diplomacy Phase.
(6.6) WEATHER
There are two types of Weather: Rain and Winter. See the GameTurn Track for which Turns are affected by these conditions. All
other turns are unaffected by weather.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Granted, it doesn’t rain all that much in the
Middle East, but any extended Rain made what roads there were
very muddy, and travel difficult. In Winter, things got bad enough
for campaigning to slow down measurably.
Rain: In the Rain Turn (Mid-October to November), +2 is added to
each Movement Attrition die-roll. In addition, no Army may use a
River path in a Rain Turn.
Winter: Winter is covered by lumping the entire season into one
game-turn, The Winter Turn. In Winter turns, players add +3 to every Movement Attrition die-roll.
Heat: The sometimes oppressive and enervating Middle
Eastern heat is covered by an Event Card. See 12.0.
PLAY NOTE: Weather affects only Movement Attrition, not any
other Attrition type.
(6.7) THE RIVER JORDAN
Crossing the River Jordan was a difficult proposition for an army,
with only one usable ford available. It could be crossed elsewhere,
but not if opposed.
To that end, no army may use a River Path to cross The Jordan if such
move would take it directly into an enemy-occupied Point/Space. If
an army moves into such a space and is intercepted, it is considered
to have already crossed the river and this rule does not apply.
(7.0) LAND BATTLES
HISTORICAL AND PLAY NOTE: Warfare in the 11th century (and
a bit later) had little to do with battle, which was usually avoided
because of the inherent dangers it provided in terms of campaigning. Most warfare revolved around controlling areas, and denying
control and use of those areas—usually defined by cities and
castles—to the enemy. In the Middle East, the Muslims eventually,
but fairly quickly, learned to avoid the very effective European armored cavalry, often using tactics that allowed them to use their
strengths: speed and missile capability. The mechanics, and focus,
of this game are built around this premise and should be kept uppermost in the minds of the players. That said, players will almost
certainly find that battles are more frequent in Onward than they
were historically; given the six-week turn scale, to have it otherwise would have meant huge lengths of playing time between combats and therefore a less enjoyable game.
Battles between armies occur when a Player moves his Army into a
Space occupied by an enemy Army, or starts an Activation in such a
Space, and declares a Battle. There are two kinds of combat: Full
Battle, available to both Crusader and Muslim forces; and Harassment Attacks, available only to Muslim forces.
Any form of Combat constitutes a Stop, in terms of Movement.
• To continue after winning a Full Battle, a leader must roll continuation, adding +1 to that Continuation dieroll, but even if successful he may not conduct another Full Battle during that Activation. He may not Continue after losing or drawing a Full Battle;
that Leader is Finished for that activation. He may roll for Continued Movement, however, if the Formation Adjustment result
is SO (stand-off), and in such cases he may conduct another Full
Battle in the same Activation. The Muslim player may always
conduct Harassment Attacks after successful Continuation.
• A Leader may Continue after a Harassment Battle, regardless of
the result, using the normal Continuation dieroll (and no modifiers resulting from the battle). The activated Leader/Army may
do whatever it wishes, including attempting another Attack (Full
or Harassment). However, if the player decides to stay in that
Space and Attack again, he must undergo an additional Continuation dieroll.
Defenders in Towns. If a Defender is in a Town Space controlled
by that faction, or another faction that permits its use, and after
deciding that he will not Withdraw, the player must decide whether
or not he will use the defensive benefits of that Town. If he uses the
Town:
• the Attacker has a DRM of –1.
• the Attacker may not use his Armored Knight points.
• the Attacker may not perform a Harassment Attack
PLAY NOTE: Note that the rule above refers to Towns, not Cities.
Defenders in Cities are not attacked by Battle at all, but instead by
Siege or Assault (see section 8).
(7.1) HARASSMENT ATTACKS (Muslim Side
Only)
The Muslim player(s) may use Harassment Attacks as a means of
whittling away at the Crusader forces. Damage is light, but because
the Crusaders get no reinforcement during the entire First Crusade
scenario, any damage the Muslim player(s) can inflict is worthwhile.
A. Harassment Attack Sequence
1. The Attacking Muslim army moves into the enemy-occupied
Space, either through movement or interception, or it begins an
Activation already in an enemy-occupied Space. Harassment may
not be used against a defender in a Town Space, whether or not the
defender controls the Town. Nor may it be against a defender in a
City space, although it may be used against a defender in a City
Entry space.
2. The Crusader leader rolls for Western Aggression (see that section). If Western Aggression results, go to Full Battle Resolution.
3. The Players compare the Campaign Ratings of their leaders. (See
the rules for Multi-Leader armies in the Full Battle Resolution section, below. An army with no leader is treated as a ‘0’.)
• If the Muslim Leader is higher, the differential between the two
ratings is applied to the Harassment dieroll as a positive DRM
• If the Crusader Leader is higher, the differential between the
two ratings is applied to the Harassment dieroll as a negative
DRM.
4. The Muslim player may roll for Continuation if he wants to do
so.
A battle may also occur as a result of a successful Interception (6.4).
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Onward Christian Soldiers
ing these (larger defending force), 6:17 is 1:3, thus a –3 DRM, while
6:13 is 1:2 and a –2 DRM.
Harassment Attack Resolution Table
Adj DR
Result
0 or less
Muslims lose 1 ASP
1-3
No Effect
4-5
Crusaders lose 1 ASP
6-7
Crusaders lose 2 ASPs
8 or higher
Crusaders lose 3 ASPs
13
5. Battle Formatons Determined: Both players roll on their respective Battle Formation Table to determine the Formation their
leaders use for this battle, and to determine if they use their Armored Knights.
B. Western Aggression (Harassment Attacks Only)
Harassment Attacks can trigger Western Aggression. After the Muslim army announces the Harassment Attack, the Crusader player
rolls (he has no choice) to see if it turns the tables and becomes the
Attacker. Subtract the Muslim Leader’s Campaign Rating from the
Crusader Leader’s Campaign Rating. The difference is the number
the Crusader player must roll (that number or lower) in order to
succeed at Western Aggression. However, no matter the difference
between Campaign Ratings, a dieroll of “1” always succeeds.
When Western Aggression occurs, the Crusaders become the Attacker and use the Full Battle sequence. In rolling for Battle Formation, the Crusader player adds one (+1) to the Crusader formation
dieroll while the Muslim Player subtracts one (–1) from his dieroll.
If Western Aggression occurs, the Defending Muslims may not
Withdraw.
Western Aggression cannot occur if the Frankish army is conducting a siege (either type).
(7.2) FULL BATTLES (Both Sides)
This section applies solely to Full Battles only. It does not apply to
Harassment Attacks.
A. Wins, Losses, and Draws
A force that retreats or is eliminated has Lost the battle; the other
force has Won. Any battle that does not result in elimination or retreat is a Draw (and both Armies remain in the battle space). Only if
an Active army wins a battle may its Leader roll for continuation.
See the Retreat rules, below, for details on voluntary and mandatory retreats.
B. Full Battle Sequence
1. Full Battle Declared: The Attacking force moves into the enemy-occupied Space, either through movement or interception, or
it begins an Activation already in an enemy-occupied Space, and
declares a Full Battle.
2. Town Defense Declared: The Defender declares whether or not
he will use the Town’s defensive benefits (if applicable). If he decides to use the Town, skip step 3.
3. Withdrawal Declared: The Defending force decides if it wants
to withdraw (intercepted armies, and armies using a Town for defense may not withdraw). If it does, the current Combat sequence is
finished. Do NOT go to Step 4 and beyond.
4. Battle Ratio Determined: The strength in ASPs is determined
for both sides, with the attacker’s strength expressed as a ratio to
the defender’s force (see the Combat Rations chart to avoid having
to calculate it yourself). Ratios are rounded to the nearest whole
number (except in the case of 1.5, explained below). The larger
number in the ratio is then used as a dieroll modifier on the Battle
Resolution Table. For example, 13 ASPs to 6 ASPs is 2:1 and gives
a +2 DRM. By comparison, 17:6 is 3:1, giving a +3 DRM. Revers-
PLAY NOTE: The Crusaders may use their “Knights Charge” card
(12.1) to automatically assume the Frontal Charge (FC) Formation.
6. Formation Adjustment Determined: The Attacking player consults the Formation Adjustment Table, cross-referencing the Formations determined in Step 5, to determine the Formation Adjustment modifier.
7. Additional Adjustment Determined: The Attacking player determines any additional modifiers, such as Terrain, Visions, Town
Spaces, etc., as outlined below the Battle Results Table.
8. Battle Cards Declared: Both players, beginning with the Attacker, determine if they want to play any Battle cards (see 12.0).
Multiple cards may be played to influence the battle, with the players going back and forth (attacker always first), one card at a time.
9. Battle is Resolved: The Attacking player rolls two dice (2d6),
adjusting the result by the total of the modifiers determined in Steps
4, 6, and 7. He locates the adjusted diceroll on the Battle Results
Table and applies the Result that appears immediately to the right.
Both players remove the number of ASPs required by the Battle
result, and any voluntary or mandatory retreats.
C. Withdrawal
When an Army announces a Full Battle, the defender may avoid
combat by Withdrawing
• if he is not in a Town Space and, if he is, he has not chosen to
use the Town’s benefits; and
• if he has not been Intercepted.
Only leader-led armies may Withdraw, and they do so into a nonoccupied or friendly occupied Space no more than one Space away
from the current Space, but not using the path the attacker used to
enter the current Space. If the Withdrawing army is in a City Entry
space, it may withdraw into the City space or withdraw part of the
ASPs into the City space and the remainder to a different space. In
the latter case, the ASPs in the City would be unable to become
undemoralized until they get a Leader.
Once the non-active Army has Withdrawn, the active Army must
roll for Continuation if it wishes to keep going.
An Army may Withdraw as often as it wishes; there are no restrictions, except as follows:
• An intercepted Army may not Withdraw
• An Army conducting a Full Siege may not Withdraw
• A Muslim Army that has triggered Western Aggression may not
Withdraw.
• A Crusader Army may not Withdraw from a Muslim Army conducting Harassment
DESIGN NOTE: As mentioned in the historical note above, this
was an era-and a war-of few battles. Armies would routinely not
close for (Full Battle) combat, even though they were well aware
of each other’s presence.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
Withdrawal has two consequences:
• After Withdrawing, the force rolls for Withdrawal/Retreat Attrition (see 6.3B).
• After Withdrawing, the Withdrawn Leader (or leaders if more
than one in the force) is Demoralized (place a Demoralized
marker on the stack).
• In a battle in which AK points are used, for each 10% of losses
above 19% that the Crusader army loses it permanently loses 1
AK. Thus there will be no AK loss if they lose 0-19%, and 1 AK
if they lose 20-29%, 2 AK if they lose 30-39%, etc. Place the
appropriate AK marker on the leader’s stack to denote this loss.
With armies of 5 ASPs or fewer, AK points are never lost.
Demoralized Armies may not attack or even enter a
Space occupied by an enemy Army or, in multi-player
games, another Faction’s Army. That is the only penalty, and there are no additional penalties for multiple
Withdrawals.
EXAMPLE: A Southern Frank army led by Raymond (highest-ranking leader for that faction)and his full complement of 3 AK points
is attacked by the Mosul Turks and the Southern Frank player rolls
an I formation. The Battle dieroll for the Muslim player is modified by –3 to reflect the number of AK points. In the battle, the
Southern Franks take 20% losses, so they permanently lose 1 AK.
Demoralization is removed when that Leader is next activated and
states he wishes to Recover. The army automatically removes Demoralization, but the Leader must die-roll to see if he can Continue
Movement. If more than one Leader in the stack is Demoralized,
the rules for Multiple-Army activation take effect; all Leaders under the command of the activated Leader remove the Demoralization, OR—if a subordinate is activated—only the subordinate removes the Demoralization and he becomes an Independent Leader
for the remainder of the Game-Turn.
D. Crusader Armored Knights
PLAY NOTE: Muslim forces do not have Armored Knights.
The superior weapon system on these battlefields was the heavy
cavalry, the armored knights, of the western armies. While the Muslims eventually learned (how) to avoid them, their presence was
still a major factor in land battles, depending on how they were
used.
The army controlled by the highest-ranking Leader of each faction
has AK (Armored Knights) Points, according to the following list:
Northern Franks:
4 AK
Southern Franks:
3 AK
Germans:
2 AK
Sicilian Normans:
1 AK
Place an Armored Knights marker of the appropriate
strength with each faction’s highest-ranked Leader at
the start of the game. As that Leader loses AK points,
flip or replace this marker to reflect that current level.
The AK marker must remain with the highest-ranking Leader of the
faction at all times. If the Army containing the AK marker is ever
destroyed completely in battle, that faction loses its AK capabilities.
If the Leader controlling the Armored Knights is killed or captured,
the AK are immediately placed with the next highest-ranking Leader
of that faction; don’t use the movement system, just pick up the AK
marker and place it with the new Leader. If the original Leader is
returned to play (assuming he had been captured, of course), he
immediately gets the AK marker back.
AK and Battles: AK points affect Battle in the following ways:
• Whenever a Crusader army with AK points fights a Battle with
a Formation of F, IC, or FC, the Battle dieroll is modified in
favor of the Crusader player by the number of AK points in the
Battle (in addition to any other Battle DRMs). The AK points
provide no Battle DRM when a Crusader player rolls a D Formation.
• The AK points do not count as ASPs for the purposes of calculating battle odds or determining losses (but see the immediately following bullet).
AK and Towns: A Crusader Army attacking a force in a Town space
does not receive the AK Battle modifier (whether or not the Defender uses the Town benefit). Nor does a Crusader Army which
defends in a Town space and which uses the Town benefit.
AK and Amphibious Attacks: AK points may not be used a Crusader Army conducting an Amphibious Attack.
AK Points and Multiple-Faction Armies: When the highest-ranking leaders of two different factions combine into one large army
(5.3), the AK points are totaled for both battle and movement purposes. Battle losses of 20% or higher result in the permanent loss of
AK points to both factions.
EXAMPLE: In the Army Allocation phase, the Crusader players
combine Robert of Flanders (North Franks) and Raymond (South
Franks) into one large army. Both are the highest-ranking leaders
of their factions, so their AK factors are totaled. As a result, as
long as they operate together for movement or battle, they have 7
AK factors—a hugely strong combat force but extremely susceptible to movement attrition. If they lose 20% or more in a battle,
both Leaders will take the AK factor loss.
E. Battle Formations
Before resolving battle, each side determines what Formation his
army will assume (Formation being a game term for the general
tactics that commander has decided upon). The comparison of Formations produces a die-roll modifier for the Battle Table (see also
the Crusader Armored Knights section above—7.2D—for the effect of AK points). The Crusader player does not perform the Formation dieroll if he plays a Knights Charge card, which automatically gives him an FC Formation (see 12.1).
To determine his Formation, each player rolls one die (1d6) and
cross-references that die-roll with the Campaign Rating of the Leader
for his Army on the Battle Formation Table. (See 5.3 for who is in
command.).
For battles in which Western Aggression (7.1) has been instigated,
the Crusader player adds one (+1) to his dieroll and Muslim player
subtracts one (–1).
EXAMPLE: A Crusader Leader with a ‘4’ Campaign Rating and a
die-roll of ‘5’ will undertake a Frontal Charge (FC).
PLAY NOTE: The Christians, throughout all scenarios of the game,
use the same Formation Table. The Muslims use a different table
in each Crusade.
A leaderless force automatically uses the D formation, as do Armenian and Fatimid forces.
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Onward Christian Soldiers
The possible Formations are as follows:
D = Defend in place (if Attacker, this means a reluctance to
proceed)
C = Caution
F = Flank
E = Feigned retreat and then Encircle
IC = Impetuous Charge
FC = Frontal Charge
The two players now compare the Formations they have adopted to
determine the Diceroll Modifier that will be used to adjust the Battle
Resolution die-roll, using the Formation Adjustment Table that reflects who the Attacker is.
HISTORICAL NOTE: An organized Frontal Charge by Crusader
knights was a most effective tactic, especially against the much
lighter Muslim armies of the era. However, it didn’t take the Muslims too long (albeit, after the First Crusade) to figure out how to
avoid these charges (think Alexander at Gaugamela and the Persian chariots)—and the Crusaders never figured out how to counter
such methods—rendering such charges not only useless, but a negative as far as the Christians were concerned.
Stand-Off: If the table says ‘SO’ that means that a brief, tenuous
feeling-out has taken place. Both sides lose 1 ASP. The moving
units may continue to move, if they pass a Continued Movement
die-roll, and they cannot be Intercepted again by the same force.
Any Event cards that have been played to affect the battle die-roll
remain discarded despite the SO result. Exception: If a garrison—
i.e, force without a Leader—is attacked in a Town, a result of SO
becomes a Formation Adjustment DRM of zero (0) instead.
EXAMPLE: In the First Crusade, the Crusaders attack, and they
get a “D”, Defend in Place Formation (which is game short-hand,
in this case, for reluctance to proceed), while the Muslims die-roll/
adopt a Flank (F) Formation. Cross-referencing the two on the
portion of the table that has the Crusader attacking, produces a –
2 die-roll modifier for the Crusader.
DESIGN NOTE: The Formations are not an optional choice for
the player because the mechanic represents the different tactical
thinking of each side, together with the propensity for lesser-capable leaders to “Do the Wrong Thing”. The players would not be
so dense.
F. Multi-Leader Armies
Defending with Multi-Leader Armies: If multiple Armies are in the
same Space when that Space is attacked, determine which leader is
in command of the defense as follows:
• In 2-player games, or other games in which all factions of the
defending force are being played by a single player, that player
chooses any Leader in the stack, subject to the restriction that a
lower-ranked Leader may never command the forces of a higherranked Leader
• In multiple-player games, players decide among them who is in
command for that battle. If they can’t agree within three minutes (the opposing players will be more than happy to time it),
the Defender’s formation is always a D (Defend in Place).
Attacking with Multi-Leader Armies: See 5.3 (“Multi-Leader Activations”).
15
G. Full Battle Resolution
The players now resolve combat by referring to the Battle Results
Table, rolling 2d6 and adjusting the result according to the following:
(a) the DRM for Comparative Strength. Each side totals their ASP,
comparing the totals and reducing that comparison to one of the
ratios on the Comparative Strength Chart. Fractions are rounded to
the nearest number, with .5 and below rounded downwards. See the
separate Battle Ratio Calculation Table for all the possible strength
DRMs.
EXAMPLE: 35 ASP attacking 49 ASP will be a 1 to 1.5 ratio, and
a DRM of –1. By comparison, 35 ASP attacking 40 ASP is a 1:1
ratio (DRM of 0), 35 ASP attacking 53 ASP is a 1:1.5 ratio, and 35
attacking 62 ASP is a 1:2 ratio (–2 DRM).
PLAY NOTE: Long-time consim players need to pay close attention to this method of calculating the battle ratio, to avoid assuming the more traditional means of odds calculation (which in many
other games means rounding all fractions down). For instance, in
this system, 5 ASP vs 9 ASP is a 1:2 ratio, while 3 vs 7 is a 1:2 and
3 vs 8 is a 1:3. 4:7 is 1:1.5 (–2 DRM) and 7:4 (1.5:1) yields a +1
modifier.
(b) the DRM for Formation Adjustment. See 7.2E.
(c) the DRM for Armored Knights. See 7.2D.
(d) the effects of Terrain:
• a unit that used a River Path to directly enter a Space that engenders a Battle subtracts two (–2) from the combat diceroll.
• if the defender is located in a Town Space that it controls, subtract one (–2) from the diceroll. (Remember, the defender must
declare his intention to use the Town as soon as the Attacker
announces his intention to do so.)
• an Army defending in the Syrian Gates doubles its ASP strength.
(e) the Effect of a Jihad or Vision card. See 12.0
(f) the effect of Amphibious Attack (from Naval Transport; see 9.5),
–3.
(g) the effect of Failure to Sortie during Combined Siege Relief
Attack (8.3D): –2.
(h) the effect of a Successful Sortie during Combined Siege Relief
Attack (8.3D): +2.
(i) the DRM resulting from the play of a Terrain Advantage card
(see 12.0).
(j) other possible Card DRMs.
PLAY NOTE: Leaders’ Campaign Ratings are not DRMs; they are
used for Formation determination.
Battle Results
The Attacker rolls two dice, adding them (2d6), applying the applicable DRM, then consulting the Battle Results Table for the result
next to that adjusted diceroll. The currently activated Army is the
Attacker, unless it has been intercepted, in which case the Intercepting Army is the attacker.
All results are expressed in terms of percentage of SP’s lost by the
attacker (to the left of the slash) and by the defender (to the right of
the slash). Thus a 30/20 result means the Attacker loses 30% of his
men, the Defender 20%.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
The Army that suffers the higher % loss rounds his losses upwards;
the one with the lesser % losses rounds down. If both suffer the
same % loss, round up.
To help calculate the ASP losses, use the Battle Loss Calculation
Table included with the Charts and Tables. And refer to 7.2D for
losses of AK points.
To determine the winner or loser of the battle, see Retreats, Wins,
and Losses below.
Numerical Superiority: Whenever one player has a Comparative
Strength ratio of at least 3:1, he has Numerical Superiority. When
this occurs, the player with Numerical Superiority takes his percentage losses based on the number of ASPs in his opponent’s army
(at the start of the battle), not his own army.
EXAMPLE: Ridwan’s army of 22 North Syrian ASPs attacks
Bohemond’s army of 8 ASPs. The final battle result is 25/15. The
Comparative Strength ratio (rounded mathematically as always)
is 3:1, so Ridwan’s losses are 25% of 8 (2 ASPs lost), not 25% of
23 (6 ASPs lost).
When more than one faction is involved on one side, losses are
divided as equally as possible among the factions. Overage is decided by the Faction whose Leader was in command that battle.
If Armenians and/or Fatimids are involved in the combat as part of
an army consisting of player factions, at least 50% of the total losses
must be assigned to the player factions. In other words, you can’t
use the Armenians/Fatimids simply as cannon fodder.
Unpredictable Results (UR): If a combat result on the Battle Table
is an “X” the attacker has attained an Unpredictable Result. Grab
your hasheesh, sacrifice that lamb, burn that incense ... and roll one
die, (1d6) adjusting the DR by the number next to the “x”. This
adjusted DR (which is never adjusted below ‘1’ or above ‘6’) is the
number in brackets—e.g., [4] on the Battle Results Table, and the
result for that battle.
EXAMPLE: An adjusted UR die-roll of “[2]” would produce a 20/
5 result.
H. Leader Casualties
Leader Casualty rolls apply to Full Battles, but not to Harassment
attacks. They do not apply to Battles with a stand-off (SO) formation.
After applying ASP losses (but even when a side takes zero losses),
the players each now roll two dice (2d6) for each Leader with the
Army, not just the Leader whose ratings were used. If the DR is a
‘2’ or ‘12’, roll one die (1d6) again
• If the DR is a 1-2, that Leader has been Killed
• If the DR is a 3-6, that Leader has been Captured.
Killed Leaders are out of the game (but see next paragraph).
Leaders have replacements on the reverse side of the counter. Replacement Leaders are used/placed immediately upon the death or
capture of the original Leader, with the same Army (or in one of
that faction’s City or Towns if the Army no longer exists). If a captured Leader returns to his original owner (by ransom, prisoner exchange, or whatever other means), the replacement leader counter
is flipped back over to the front side. If he is not already with an
Army, he gets placed wherever the original owner wishes, keeping
in mind the command restrictions of 5.3 and 5.4. Replacement Leaders can never be killed or captured. If a replacement Leader participates in a Battle, do not roll for Leader Casualties for him.
If the Mosul Turks have no on-map Cities, Towns, or Armies after a
Leader is killed, the replacement Leader is placed in the Mosul Turk
entry box and can enter the map from there (after, presumably, raising troops or picking up previously raised troops from that box).
If a killed or captured Leader has no replacement leader on the reverse side, and there is no other Leader with his Army, immediately
after taking battle losses (not as a separate activation) that Army
must move to a Town/City/Castle space controlled by that faction
or that another faction permits it to enter, in one single land movement (it may not use naval transport). It may take any route, and it
must follow the normal movement rules, except that it may not stop
anywhere along the route for any reason, not even if it moves through
enemy-occupied spaces (i.e., it does not conduct battles). It may
not be intercepted. After reaching its destination, it rolls for attrition; in addition to the usual DRMs, it adds one (+1) to the roll for
every ten enemy ASPs (or portion thereof) it passed through.
Captured Leaders may be Ransomed—returned for payment—under whatever terms the two parties agree to in the Diplomacy Phase.
J. Retreats, Winners, and Losers
A force that retreats or is eliminated has Lost the battle; the other
force has Won. Any battle that does not result in elimination or retreat is a Draw (and both Armies remain in the battle space). Only if
an Active army wins a battle may its Leader roll for continuation.
After all losses—ASPs and/or Leaders—have been taken, the player
whose Army suffered the higher percentage loss on the BRT must
decide whether or not he wants to Retreat or Stay (and see Mandatory Retreats, below).
• If he decides to Retreat, that ends the Battle. The Retreating force
has Lost.
• If he decides to Stay, the opposing player now makes the same
decision and then the battle ends. It is possible that both Armies
will remain in place, in which case the battle is a Draw.
• If both players lose the same percentage, the Attacker decides
first.
No Army may move through an enemy-occupied space while an
enemy force occupies it (even a replacement force). In the case of a
Draw—both armies remaining in place—place the Army beside the
battle space, on the Path from which it came, to help players remember the direction from which it approached.
Mandatory Retreat: If an Army loses at least twice as many ASPs
as the opponent, or at least one ASP when the opponent loses none,
it has Lost the battle and must Retreat. However, this applies only if
the Army losing the greater number of ASPs also took a higher percentage loss on the BRT. Armies forced to retreat have Lost the
battle.
Retreat Direction for the Defending Army: A retreating Defender
may Retreat to any adjacent Space in which there are no enemy
Armies, and not into a Space from which the enemy forces just
moved.
Retreat Direction for the Attacking Army If an Attacking Army
retreats, it must return to the space from which it launched the attack. This is true even for Muslim Armies that moved to attack but
then became the Defender via the Western Aggression rule. If a
Crusader Army became the Attacker because of Western Aggression, and decides to (or must) retreat, it follows the rule for retreats
for defending armies (above).
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
Onward Christian Soldiers
Inability to Retreat: If an Army that has to Retreat cannot (and
remember that Armies conducting a Full Siege may not retreat), it
stays where it is and loses additional ASPs equal to 1d6. In this
case, the other Army has automatically won the battle and may roll
for continuation.
Retreat by Sea. An army that was transported by sea for a Land
battle (as per 9.5) must retreat into the fleets that brought it. The
fleets stay where they are ... for now.
Retreat Attrition: After performing the retreat, the retreating Army
undergoes Withdrawal/Retreat Attrition (see 6.3B).
There are no Advances after retreats.
An Army that loses or draws a battle may not roll for Continuation.
An intercepted Army that wins a battle may roll to Continue.
K. After a Full Battle
The Winner of a Full Battle:
• may roll for Continuation but he does so incurring a +1 DRM.
• may not attack using Full Battle again within that Activation.
The Loser of a Full Battle, or an Army that gains a Draw, is Finished for that activation.
(8.0) CITIES AND TOWNS
Onward Christian Soldiers (First Crusade) features two types of
built-up Spaces: Towns and Cities (Castles exist only in the Second
and Third Crusade scenarios). Each type of Space has its unique
characteristics.
Control: To show who controls a built-up Space, place a Control
marker belonging to that faction on top of the defenders (or by itself
if no defenders). If a City space, flip the Control marker to show the
1-ASP intrinsic garrison; if a Town space, flip it to show no garrison. The last faction to have been inside a Town/City controls it.
Control requires, at the least, that an Army performed a Stop in the
space. Unoccupied Towns may be captured by moving an Army to
the Space and Stopping; when it does so, the Army is automatically
inside the Town. There is no such thing as an unoccupied City space;
it always has at least an intrinsic garrison (see Cities, below).
An Army must Stop when it goes inside a built-up Space, even if
only to drop off a Garrison. However, it does not need to stop in an
unoccupied Town (even if it bears an enemy Control marker); it
may simply go through the Town space and keep going. However,
it must Stop if it wants to take control of the Town; if not, the enemy
Control marker simply remains in place.
Multiple Factions and Control: Only one faction may control a
built-up Space at any given time. However, the controlling faction
may permit any other faction’s armies to enter the space, without
relinquishing control.
PLAY NOTE: Armenian control of Cities and Towns is slightly different. See the Armenians section in the scenario rules for the First
Crusade.
(8.1) TOWNS
Towns are represented on the map by large circles. All Towns function identically, providing defensive benefits for Armies defending
in them (but not attacking from them).
The siege rules do not apply to Towns. Towns are attacked via the
Battle system.
17
22 ASPs + 1 AK
24 ASPs
Example of Combat
The Sicilian Norman leader Bohemond (Campaign Rating 4), with
22 ASPs and 1 AK point, moves into the St. Symeon space and
attacks a Northern Syrian army of 24 ASPs led by Ridwan (Campaign Rating 3).
1. Ridwan decides not to withdraw (otherwise, this wouldn’t be
much of a combat example). He also decides to use the benefits of
the Town for his defense.
2. The Crusader player determines that the combat ratio is 15:24,
which simplifies to 1:1. Consulting the Combat Ratio Chart shows
a Diceroll adjustment of –1 for this comparative strength. So the
Battle DRM so far is 0.
3. Both players now roll on their respective Battle Formation Tables.
The Muslim player rolls a 4, the Crusader rolls a 5. Consulting these
charts reveals that Ridwan has adopted a Formation of C (Caution),
while Bohemond is in FC (Frontal Charge) Formation.
4. Keeping these two Formations in mind, the Crusader player consults the Formation Adjustment Tables. Because he’s the Attacker,
he uses the one for Crusader Attacker and Muslim Defender. Crossreferencing his FC against the Muslim’s C shows a Diceroll adjustment of +5. The Battle DRM at this point is +5.
5. The players now determine any final Diceroll adjustments. Ridwan
is defending in a Town Space, which provides a –1 adjustment.
Bohemond’s cannot use his Armored Knights because Ridwan is
using the Town for defense; otherwise they would have provided a
+1 adjustment. None of the other possible adjustments applies. The
final Battle DRM is +4.
6. The Crusader player consults the Battle Results Table and rolls
two dice. The result is 8. He adds the Battle DRM of +4, yielding
an adjusted Diceroll of +12.
7. On the Battle Results Table, beside the +12 Diceroll result, is a
Battle Result of 10/20. The Crusader player must remove 10% of
his 15 ASPs, rounding down. His total loss, therefore, is 1 ASP. The
Muslim player must remove 20% of his 24 ASPs, rounded up. As a
result, he loses 5 ASPs.
PLAY NOTE: The Numerical Superiority factor does not apply here,
as the odds/ratio is 1: 1.5.
8. Both players check for Leader casualties by rolling 2d6 each.
Ridwan rolls a 5 and survives. Bohemond rolls a 12 and therefore
becomes a casualty. The Crusader players rolls 1d6 to see if
Bohemond is killed or captured. The roll is a 2, so Bohemond is
killed. The Bohemond counter is flipped over to show the much
less capable Rainulf (Campaign Rating 2) as his replacement.
9. Because he lost at least twice Bohemond’s losses, and suffered a
higher percentage loss than Bohemond, Ridwan must retreat. He decides to move to the Space immediately south of St. Symeon, where
he rolls for Retreat Attrition; his roll of 5 means he takes no further
losses. Note that if he had been unable to retreat, he would have lost
additional ASPs in the amount of the result of a 1d6 die-roll.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
When a force inside a Town is attacked, the Attacker subtracts one
(–1) from the Battle dice-roll.
The force must be inside the Town for this DRM to take effect (i.e.
a Control marker must be on top of the stack); simply being in the
Town space is not sufficient.
If only one faction’s forces are in the Town space, they are all considered either inside or outside the Town (it’s the choice of the player
controlling that faction). However, it is entirely possible for forces
from different factions to be in the Town space with only one or
some of them inside the Town. In such a case, the force outside the
Town must leave the space (via movement, withdrawal, retreat, or
elimination) for an Attack to be made against the force inside the
Town—after a Continuation roll or in a separate Activation.
Crusader Armored Knights may not be used in battles against forces
defending in Town space. Similarly, Harassment Attacks may not
be conducted against forces in Town spaces. Both these restrictions
apply whether or not the defenders are inside the Town (i.e., the
space itself provides the restriction).
Forces inside a Town attacking an enemy force in the Town space
do not receive the Town benefit.
If a force withdraws from a Town before combat or retreats from
one after combat (or is eliminated), the Attacker automatically gains
control of the Town (it is considered to be inside). In multi-player
games, if there is more than one faction attacking, the Leader who
was in charge of the combat gets control of the Town. If that Leader
has been killed or captured, players decide among themselves who
takes control (if no agreement within 30 seconds, put Control markers for the participating factions in a cup and draw randomly).
Harassment Attacks may not be conducted against forces in Town
spaces (whether or not they are inside the Town).
1-ASP garrison (Control markers are double-sided, the front side
for Cities and the back for Towns). Intrinsic garrisons count as 1
ASP when calculating Assault ratios, and they may be eliminated
only after all other ASPs are gone.
Intrinsic garrisons are placed either at the start of the scenario or
when a City is captured. In the latter case, he must garrison it (he
has no choice); he removes 1 ASP from the force that captured the
City and places the Intrinsic Garrison marker, and he may move
any number of additional ASPs into the City as well (or only the
Intrinsic Garrison if he wishes). The ASP that creates the Intrinsic
Garrison is not considered “dropped off” by the capturing Army,
nor may it be “picked up” by a friendly Army (for the rest of the
game). They are simply considered part of the City itself.
City Entry Spaces. Each City (except Cyprus) has only one space
connected to it; this is called the City Entry space. Any action taken
against a City-Siege, Assault, and Ravage-happens from this space.
For many purposes (such as picking up ASPs and Point Attrition),
having an Army in the City Entry space of a City controlled by that
Army’s faction is the same as being in the City itself.
Siege Defense Ratings: Each City has a Siege Defense Rating
(SDR). The SDR has three functions:
• It is the number of Assault Points which the Attacker must inflict before the City falls to the Attacker. When the Assault Points
equal the SDR, the city is captured.
• It is multiplied by five (5) to determine the number of ASPs an
Army must have in order to place the city under siege.
• It is the amount of Resources a City has. The Resources are drawn
upon for a variety of purposes (Siege Assault, reducing the affects of Movement Attrition, etc.).
(8.2) CITIES
As a City’s Resources get used, its Resource level is reduced by
that amount. Ravaged cities provide no Resources; Destroyed cities
provide no SDR or Resources. (See below for all the effects of Ravaging and Destruction.) Resources are automatically replenished,
for that city, in the Recovery Phase at the end of each Game-Turn,
unless that city is Ravaged, Destroyed or Under Siege.
Cities provide resources to reduce attrition and anchor lines of communication. To reflect their importance, victory in Onward Christian Soldiers hinges on the control of Cities.
The SDR of all Cities are printed on the map beside the City’s name.
A City’s SDR is never reduced.
City Spaces have individual Siege Defense Ratings (SDR), which
represents both their military strength against a siege and their Resources. The Siege Defense Rating (SDR) of the City (see Sieges,
below) is on the map beneath the City Space. The number of Resources equals the SDR except when depleted (10.2). See 6.3A for
how Resources affect Movement Attrition.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Militarily, the SDR represents how long that
city is likely to resist continued Siege assaults. Antioch’s walls, for
example, were so extensive the city could not be surrounded. As
such, the bigger cities usually had greater supplies. Virtually every settlement in the Latin East had some sort of walls. The game
treats these relatively.
Map Note: The Cyprus space on the map is in fact the city of Salamis;
it has an SDR of 2.
Capturing a City: There are four ways to capture a City:
• Besiege it until the Defending force is eliminated through Siege
Attrition (8.3C) or it voluntarily Surrenders (8.3F).
• Assault it until the number of accumulated Assault Points equals
the City’s SDR (see “Assaults” in 8.3B).
• Play the Treachery card against it while it is under Siege (8.3E).
• Arrange a diplomatic deal with the Defender (see 11.0).
Towns cost 1 Attrition Point to enter. They do not provide Attrition
Negation. They do, however, prevent Point Attrition (see 6.3C).
Only the forces of the faction controlling a City may move to the
City space at will. Other forces may enter, but only with the permission of the controlling Player.
ASPs in a City space are always Inside the city. They may not be
attacked directly, although they can be whittled down and destroyed
through sieges and assaults (see below).
An Army must Stop when it goes Inside a city, even if only to drop
off a Garrison.
Intrinsic Garrisons. Each City has an intrinsic garrison of 1 ASP
belonging to the faction controlling that City. ASP markers are not
used to show this control; the Control marker itself represents the
Occupying a Captured City: An Army that captures a City places
an Intrinsic Garrison marker on the City space- See the Intrinsic
Garrison rule above. The capturing Army immediately loses 1 ASP
in order to create the Intrinsic Garrison (this is not optional). In
addition, the player may transfer as many or as few of the ASPs and
Leaders as he wishes from the capturing Army into the City, leaving the remainder (if any) in the City Entry space. Note that if he
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Onward Christian Soldiers
leaves ASPs in the City Entry space, he must also leave a Leader
with them.
(8.3) ACTIONS AGAINST CITIES
Cities may be subject to a host of difficult times: Sieges, Assaults,
Treachery, outright Surrender, Ravaging of the surrounding areas,
and total Destruction. These actions were the main features of the
warfare of this era, the denial of control and its accompanying resources (mostly in Europe, but adapted and adopted quickly by the
Crusaders and Muslims).
A. Sieges
HISTORICAL NOTE: The Crusades saw as many sieges as battles.
Conducting a Siege. To undertake and maintain a Siege, a Leader
either starts his Activation in a City Entry space and announces a
Siege OR moves to a City Entry space, succeeds at a Continuation
roll and announces a Siege, OR amphibiously assaults a City Space.
The army activated with that Leader must have at least as many
ASPs as the City’s SDR multiplied by five (5). While a siege is in
progress, if the number of ASPs in the besieging Army drops below
5 times the SDR, the siege ends immediately.
After beginning a Siege, the leader’s current Activation is over. He
may not roll for Continued Movement. Furthermore, an Army may
not start a Siege in the same activation in which it has Assaulted or
Ravaged the City.
The City Entry space may not contain any opposing forces when a
siege is begun. However, once a siege is in place, having an enemy
force co-occupy the City Entry space does not, in and of itself, prevent the siege from continuing. Only the events in “Ending a Siege”
(below) do so.
Ending a Siege. A Siege is over when one of the following happens:
• The besieging Army leaves the City Entry space for any reason
(including retreat).
• The besieging Army no longer has five times (5X) the SDR of
the City.
• The besieged force sorties and the besieging Army takes a higher
percentage loss than the besieged force (8.3D).
• The Assault Points against the City equal the SDR (8.3B).
• The besieged force is eliminated completely through Siege Attrition 8.3B).
• The besieging and besieged players agree to a Surrender (8.3F).
• The City falls to Treachery (8.3E).
• The besieging Leader, when activated, removes the Siege marker,
after which he may move normally.
Full and Partial Sieges. When first instituting a siege, and each
time the besieging Army is activated after that, the besieging player
must declare (by using the appropriate markers) whether his Army
is on Full or Partial Siege. Whichever one he chooses, it remains
that way until the siege is broken or that Leader is activated again
(at which time he may change it).
• Full Siege. All ASPs are used for Assaults, or if attacked by
Sortie. If attacked from outside by an enemy Relief Force, or by
combined relief attack, the ASP strength is halved, rounding
down. A force conducting a Full Siege may not withdraw or retreat if attacked.
• Partial Siege. Half (rounded down) its ASPs are used for Siege
Assault, or if attacked by Sortie. All ASPs are available if attacked from outside by an enemy Relief Force or by a combined
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relief attack. A force conducting a Partial Siege may withdraw
or retreat if attacked.
Siege Attrition: Forces involved in a Siege will possibly undergo
Siege Attrition in the Attrition Phase. See 8.3C for details. A besieging player is under no obligation to do anything once a City is
under Siege, opting to let Siege Attrition have its effect.
Multiple-Force Sieges (Single Player). After the Siege marker has
been placed, if there is only one player on the side conducting the
siege, or if (in a multi-player game) all of the factions involved in
the siege are controlled by the same player, the following happens.
• All Armies in a City Entry space combine for the purposes of
Sieges and Assaults (see Assaults, below).
• One Leader is chosen as Leader of the siege (and is called the
Commanding Leader). The highest-raking Leader is always in
command; if two highest-ranking Leaders of the same rank are
in the space, the player chooses. His Activations determine all
Siege actions (including Assaults, Treachery, Ravaging, etc.).
No other Leader in the combined force may do any of these things
(and the Commanding Leader’s activations count against the twoActivation limit for all Leaders in the space)
• If the City is captured, the faction of the Commanding Leader
takes control of it. Place an Intrinsic Garrison marker belonging
to the capturing force in the City Space (along with as many
ASPs from that force as the player wishes).
• Whenever an Army enters the Entry space of a City under siege
(or is already there when the siege is begun), it automatically
and immediately joins the besieging force (it may not Ravage,
Assault, etc. before doing so).
• Note that all of the above is in force only after the Siege marker
has been placed. If an Army moves into a City Entry space where
a siege does not already exist, its Leader may start a siege only if
it has enough ASPs to do so (keeping in mind all the permutations of 5.3 to determine who may command which ASPs).
Mutliple-Force Sieges (Multiple Players). In a multi-player game,
after the siege marker has been placed, if Armies controlled by different players are involved in a siege, the following happens:
• Armies belonging to the same faction who enter the City Entry
space (or who are already there when the siege is begun) must
merge with those of that faction already in the space.
• Armies from other factions entering the City Entry space (or
who are already there when the siege is begun) may join the
original besieging force if their players so wish. If so, the highest-ranking Leader takes command of the siege (and is called
the Commanding Leader). If two or more highest-ranking Leaders are in the space, those factions must decide immediately which
one is in command (and this happens every time yet another
Leader of that rank enters the space). If they can’t agree within
three minutes, there’s no siege at all, even if any one of the factions has enough ASPs.
• The instant the Armies of multiple factions combine, that Leader
may change the current Siege type from Partial to Full (or vice
versa) if desired.
• If the City is captured, the faction of the Commanding Leader
takes control of it (which is why it matters who’s in charge).
Place an Intrinsic Garrison marker belonging to the capturing
force in the City Space (along with as many ASPs from that
force as the player wishes).
• The Activations of the Commanding Leader may determine all
Siege actions (including Assaults, Treachery, Ravaging, etc.),
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Onward Christian Soldiers
but other players may have their Leaders do such actions independently when their Activation Cards come up (but keep in
mind the two-Activation limit for each Leader). One or more
players may also attack the other players’ Armies, and so on. It’s
a free-for all in there, but keep in mind the rules for multi-force
armies, intra-faith combat, and restrictions on the number of
Activations.
• Note that all of the above is in force only after the Siege marker
has been placed. If an Army moves into a City Entry space where
a siege does not already exist, its Leader may start a siege only if
it has enough ASPs to do so (keeping in mind all the permutations of multi-faction and multi-leader forces as per 5.3).
B. Assaults
Any time an Army occupies the City Entry space of an enemy-controlled City (whether or not that Entry space is also occupied by an
enemy force), it may Assault that City (but see “Multi-Force Assaults”, immediately below). In order to assault in the Activation in
which it moves into the Entry Space, the Leader must pass a Continuation roll before assaulting (if he fails, he is Finished).
The purpose of an assault is for the Attacker to inflict a number of
Assault Points equal to the City’s SDR. The instant this occurs, the
city falls.
Assaults are conducted from the City Entry space. An Army may
assault whether or not the City is under siege. If the City is under
siege, the Army may assault whenever that Leader is activated. If
the City falls, the assaulting player immediately removes 1 ASP
from the assaulting Army (this is not an option), places an Intrinsic
Garrison control marker in the City Space, and may, additionally,
immediately transfer additional ASPs from the assaulting Army into
the City Space (although he doesn’t have to). He is then Finished
for that Activation.
To perform an Assault, the Attacking player rolls one die (1d6) on
the Assault Table. He modifies this die-roll according to any applicable die-roll modifiers listed below that table. He applies the results shown on the table, with the same die-roll affecting both the
defenders (1st column) and the attackers (2nd column). If the city is
not under Siege, the assaulting Army subtracts one (–1) from the
die-roll.
Results are
• ASPs lost by one or both sides (the defender’s losses are removed first), and
• Assault Points inflicted by the Besieger
Inflicting and Removing Assault Points: When Assault Points are
inflicted, place an Assault Points marker, reflecting the accumulated Assault Points inflicted thus far, on or beside the City Space.
This marker stays in place as long as an enemy Army containing at
least as many ASPs as the original SDR of the City, and not necessarily the originally assaulting army (it can be replaced by another)
remains in the City Entry space. The instant the Entry space is free
of such an army, one Assault Point is immediately removed (replace the Assault Points marker accordingly). In each subsequent
Recovery Phase, beginning with the current Game-Turn (see the
Sequence of Play), three Assault Points are removed. This process
continues until either the City is free of Assault Points, it has more
Assault Points inflicted upon it, or an enemy Army with ASPs at
least equal to the SDR moves into the Entry space and prevents
Assault Points from being removed.
Defender Losses: After making the Assault roll and determining
the Assault Point losses, subtract the accumulated Assault Points
from the City’s SDR. The result is the number of ASPs that are not
subject to being eliminated by the Assault dieroll (protected by the
walls, if you will). From those ASPs that are subject to losses, remove the amount specified on the Assault Table, or as many as possible given the number protected by the walls.
Attacker Losses: ASP Losses incurred by the Attacker are removed
after the Defender takes losses; if the ASP total falls below the number required to sustain the siege, the siege is automatically over.
EXAMPLE: A Crusader army of 20 ASPs assaults Jerusalem, which
has an SDR of 5, no current Assault Points, and is not under siege.
Jerusalem has a garrison of 2 ASPs plus the intrinsic garrison, so
3 ASPs total. The die-roll modifiers are +2 for having 3X the
garrison’s ASP strength and –1 for having no siege in place (+1
total). The Crusader player rolls a “6”, which is modified to a
“7”, resulting in 2 Assault Points against the City and 1 defending
ASP lost. Subtracting the 2 Assault Points from the SDR of 5 gives
a result of 3, which means that walls can protect up 3 ASPs. Since
there are only 3 ASPs in the City, all 3 are unaffected and the defender suffers no ASP losses (but the 2 Assault Points remain in
place).
When the number of Assault Points equals the SDR, the City/Castle
falls, and the defender automatically loses all his ASP inside. The
City/Castle retains its SDR. The assaulting player declares whether
any Leaders are Captured (and held for Ransom) or killed. The City’s
Resources, if any remain available, are now usable by the player
controlling the city. See “Inflicting and Removing Assault Points”
(above) to determine what happens to the accumulated Assault
Points.
After performing an Assault, the leader’s current Activation is over.
He may not roll for Continued Movement.
An Army may not Assault a City in the same activation in which it
initiates a Siege or Ravages the location (because both actions automatically end the Activation).
Multiple-Force Assaults (Single Player). If there is only one player
on the side conducting the Assault, or if (in a multi-player game) all
of the factions involved in the assault are controlled by the same
player, the following happens.
• If the City is under siege, see the rules for Multi-Force Sieges
(Single Player) above. The Commanding Leader of the siege
conducts all assaults.
• Even if the City is not under siege, all Armies in the City Entry
space must combine for the purposes of Assault, and they may
assault only as an action by the Commanding Leader (i.e., they
may not assault on their own).
• If the City is captured, the player decides which faction takes
control of it. Place an Intrinsic Garrison marker belonging to the
capturing force in the City Space (along with as many ASPs
from that force as the player wishes).
• Whenever an Army enters the Entry space of a City under siege,
it automatically and immediately joins the force already there; it
may not Assault before doing so.
Mutliple-Force Assaults (Multiple Players). In a multi-player
game, if Armies controlled by different players are involved in an
Assault, the following happens:
PLAY NOTE: Assault Points do not lower either SDR or Resources.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
• If the City is under siege, see the rules for Multi-Force Sieges
(Multiple Players) above.
• If the City is not under siege, all Armies are considered independent and conduct their own assaults (calculating odds accordingly), unless they have combined, in the Army Assignment
Phase, according to the Multi-Force Activations rules (5.3).
• If the City is captured, the faction conducting the Assault that
added the final Assault Point takes control of it. If the City falls
in a Multi-Force Activation, the faction of the Leader of that
force takes control of it. Place an Intrinsic Garrison marker belonging to the capturing force in the City Space (along with as
many ASPs from that force as the player wishes).
• The Activations of the Commanding Leader may determine all
Siege actions (including Assaults, Treachery, Ravaging, etc.),
but other players may have their Leaders do such actions independently when their Activation Cards come up (but keep in
mind the two-Activation limit for each Leader). One or more
players may also attack the other players’ Armies, and so on. It’s
a free-for all in there, but keep in mind the rules for multi-force
armies, intra-faith combat, and restrictions on the number of
Activations.
C. Siege Attrition
In the Attrition Phase at the end of the Game-Turn (Phase “E”),
both players currently involved in a Siege (i.e., wherever a Siege
marker is) must check for the Attrition from that Siege.
Each player rolls two dice (2d6) and consults the Siege Attrition
Table:
• Defender adds one (+1) if the City is a blockaded Port
• Defender subtracts one (–1) if the City is an unblockaded Port,
and the Defender has a Fleet present. (See 9.3).
• Both forces add one (+1) if the City is Ravaged. This does not
apply to Besieging force bearing a Ravager marker (i.e., if it
Ravaged the City during the current Game-Turn).
• Besieging (but not Besieged) Muslim forces subtract one (–1)
from the diceroll.
The result is the number of ASPs lost by that Army. If there is more
than one Faction involved, losses must be divided among the factions as evenly as possible.
After calculating Siege Attrition for a City, the Besieged force may
use the Resources of that City to nullify Siege Attrition losses. In
addition, the Besieging force may nullify its losses by using Resources from any one City (either one of its own or that of an ally
willing to spend its resources for this purpose) to which it can trace
a Limited Line of Communication (see 10.4). Two (2) Resources
are required to nullify each ASP lost. Place Resource markers in the
reduced cities to show the resulting Resource levels
EXAMPLE: Homs (SDR of 3, hence Resources of 3) is under siege
at the start of the Attrition Phase. The Muslim player has 6 ASPs
inside the City. The Muslim player rolls 2d6 with a result of 10, so
they lose 4 ASPs. He decides to use 2 of the city’s Resources to
reduce losses by 1 ASPs, so the Muslim force loses only 3 ASP. He
then places a “1 Resources” marker on the City to denote the reduced number of Resources available.
If all ASPs inside a besieged City are eliminated by Attrition, the
city falls. Any besieged Leaders are captured. The City’s Resources
stay as they are, subject to replenishment in the upcoming Recovery Phase. See “Inflicting and Removing Assault Points” (above) to
determine what happens to any accumulated Assault Points.
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Armies that are besieging Cities do not suffer Point Attrition (only
Siege Attrition).
D. Siege Relief
During one of his Activations, the defender may attack the besieging Army. He may do this by having the forces inside the City attempt a Sortie, by having a Relief Force from outside the City attack the besieging force, or by launching a Combined Attack using
forces from both inside and outside.
Sortie: The Defender, when activated, attacks the Besieging army.
The latter defends with all its ASPs if at Full Siege, or half its ASPs
if at partial Siege. If the Besieging Army suffers a higher percentage loss than the Sortie-ing Army, the Siege is over, and the formerly Besieging army might be forced to retreat, according to the
normal Retreat rules (but a force conducting a Full Siege may not
retreat). If the Besieging force does not retreat, the Siege may be
started again, but that will take another full activation. If the Sorteing Army must retreat, it stays in the City with no additional penalties (i.e., it just goes back inside the City). Note that the Siege is
also over if the Sortie has resulted in sufficient losses to the Besieging force that it no longer has enough ASPs to maintain the Siege.
PLAY NOTE: If there’s no leader inside the City, the defender cannot Sortie, as that Army cannot be activated.
Relief Force. Another Army moves into the City Entry space and
attacks the besieging units in a normal battle. The latter defends
with half its ASPs if at Full Siege, or all its ASPs if at partial Siege.
If the defending besiegers Retreat, or if it loses sufficient ASPs to
force a retreat but may not do so (a force conducting a Full Siege
may not retreat), the Siege is over. Any other result, everything stays
the same…although it is getting crowded in that locale. And, once
again, the Siege is also over if the Sortie has resulted in sufficient
losses to the Besieging force that it no longer has enough ASPs to
maintain the Siege.
An army conducting a Full Siege may neither Withdraw before combat nor Retreat after combat. Furthermore, Western Aggression is
not in effect for a Crusader army conducting either kind of siege.
Combined Attack. A Player who is bringing in a Relief Force to
relieve the Siege may attempt to have any non-Demoralized inside
defenders (they must have a Leader) join in the battle, which takes
place “outside”, as a normal battle. To do this he rolls one die (1d6)
and adds one (+1) to the result if the inside force is of a different
faction from the outside force:
• If the dr is the same as or lower than the Campaign Rating of the
Leader inside the City, that inside Army may combine its ASPs
with those of the Relief Force (but the Leader of the relief Force
is “commanding” the actual battle). The besieging force defends
with half its ASPs (rounded up) if at Full Siege or all its ASPs if
at Partial Siege. In addition, the combined attack gives the attacker a modifier of two (+2) to the Battle roll.
• If the dr is higher, well, that’s a morale blow to the Relief Force,
which was expecting a little bit of help from their friends. The
Attacker, in resolving the battle, subtracts two (–2) from his Battle
DR. The besieging force defends normally (i.e., depending on
which type of siege it’s conducting).
E. Treachery
Both Events Decks have Treachery cards (12.0). A player with a
Treachery card may use that card to try to resolve a Siege by treachery. Any attempt to do this is that Leader’s entire Activation, whether
it works or not. It costs Resources to use a Treachery card, with
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Onward Christian Soldiers
each Treachery Point costing 2 Resources (yes, it’s expensive). Resources may be drawn from any City or Cities controlled by any
faction in the Leader’s army (or any other faction willing to give
them), as long as the City/Cities are within an Unlimited Line of
Communication (10.1).
The player attempting Treachery adds his paid-for Treachery points
to the Campaign Rating of the Leader he has activated. This Leader
must be present at the Siege, but he does not have to be the Leader
in charge of the Siege. He then rolls two dice (2d6), to which he
adds the original SDR of the City (current Assault Points have no
effect) plus the Campaign Rating of any one defending Leader inside the city (or zero in the case of no Leader). If more than one
Leader is inside the city, it’s the attacker’s choice which one to use.
• If the adjusted diceroll is lower than the Treachery Points plus
Campaign Rating, the City is taken—by that Leader and his ASPs
only—by treachery. He may do with the occupants as he wishes,
except that at least one of the defending Leaders must be spared
(and placed in any Space that Leader’s player controls). Guess
who the traitor is?
• If the adjusted diceroll is the same as or higher, the Treachery
attempt fails, and that activation is over (but the Resources are
still spent).
Restrictions. Because of its power, Treachery Cards have 2 restrictions:
• Play of a Treachery Card is the only action that Leader may
undertake in the activation in which he does so.
• A Treachery Card may not be held in a player’s Hand from one
Turn to the next. If not played, it must be discarded in the Recovery Phase at the end of the Game-Turn.
EXAMPLE: Antioch (SDR of 7) is under siege. The defenders are
led by Yagi-Sihan, Campaign Rating of ‘2’. The besieging Leader,
Raymond of Toulouse, is a ‘3’, and he spends 24 Resources for 12
Treachery Points to take Antioch by Treachery. With 9 being added
to the Treachery die-roll (Antioch + Yagi), Raymond would have
to roll a ‘5’ or lower to succeed.
PLAY NOTE: Remember that you need a Treachery card to try
this.
F. Surrendering
The Defender, at any time after an enemy Army enters the City
Entry space, may always choose to Surrender the City. He may do
so at whatever terms the players agree on, including an exchange of
Event Cards and a demand for payment of Resources from the conqueror. Surrendering ASPs may, if players agree, be placed in any
City controlled by the Defender, but not in any other location.
If a Leader surrenders during his own Activation, he is automatically Finished for that Activation.
G. Ravaging
DESIGN NOTE: Ravaging is a process whereby the
attacker destroys the ability of a City, and its surrounding area, to provide any Resources. Such undertakings
were a main feature of the warfare of the era.
An Army may Ravage a City or Town, no matter who controls it.
Ravaging can be part of a Siege, but it does not have to be.
To Ravage a City/Town requires an Army of at least 10 ASPs, and it
requires that the Army enter (or already be in) the City Entry space
or the Town space. No enemy force may be in the same space. Ravaging is part of Movement, but the Leader may not roll for Contin-
ued Movement afterwards. Ravaging is automatic; the following
results occur, but no die-roll takes place:
• A “Ravaged” marker is placed on the City or Town space.
• A ravaging army does not check for Point Attrition in the gameturn in which it has done the ravaging, as long as it remains in
the space and does not add any more ASPs (but it may drop
below the required 10 ASPs). Indicate such by placing a “Ravager” marker with that Army. If it ravages a City and places the
City under siege, however, it does undergo Siege Attrition. Furthermore, if other forces join the ravaging Army, those forces
undergo Point attrition normally (i.e., with the ravaged City
modifying their die-roll).
• The Ravaged City may not replenish its Resources until after
the Ravaged-Remove marker is removed (see below).
• If a ravaged City is under Siege, both players add one (+1) to
their Siege Attrition die-roll (see the Siege Attrition chart for
more effects). This does not apply to Besieging force bearing a
Ravager marker (i.e., if it Ravaged the City during the current
Game-Turn)..
A City/Town/Castle bearing a Ravaged or Ravaged-Remove marker
may not be Ravaged again until all such markers are gone.
PLAY NOTE: To ravage a Town, the Army must either have started
the Activation in the Town space or have moved into the Town space
as a Reinforcing Army.
In the Recovery Phase at the end of the Game-Turn, the following
happens for Ravaged City or Town that is neither Under Siege nor
Destroyed:
• All “Ravaged-Remove” markers are removed, meaning the City/Town is no longer Ravaged. Then,
• All “Ravaged” markers are flipped to their “Ravaged-Remove” side, meaning the City/Town is still
Ravaged.
If the City is Under Siege or Destroyed, the Ravaged or RavagedRemove marker remains until the siege is lifted and/or the City is
rebuilt (see below).
H. Destroying and Rebuilding
Destruction is the reduction of the defenses of a city—literally, tearing down the walls and towers—so that it provides no defense whatsoever.
Destroying. An Army (of at least 10 SP) may Destroy a
City. It must control the city and be inside it to do so,
and the city may not be under Siege. Destruction is part
of Movement, and the Leader may not roll for Continued Movement afterwards. Destruction is automatic; the following results
occur, but no die-roll takes place:
• A “Destroyed” marker is placed at the city space.
• Destroyed Cities are treated for defensive purposes as if they
were only Towns (they have lost their SDR), although they are
attacked from the City Entry space.
• Destroyed Cities have no Resources.
• Once Destroyed, a City may be not be Destroyed again until it is
Rebuilt.
• Destroyed Cities provide one Victory Point if destroyed by a
Crusader player, none if destroyed by a Muslim player.
• If a City destroyed by a Crusader player is rebuilt by a Muslim
player, the Crusader player loses the Victory Point he gained for
destroying it.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
• As long as a “Destroyed” marker is in place, any “Ravaged” or
“Ravaged-Remove” markers for that City stay in place.
Rebuilding. “Destroyed” markers are removed when the city is rebuilt. Rebuilding requires an Army of 10 ASPs or more (with a
Leader) to spend an entire Game-Turn (from Phase A through Phase
F) in the City space (not the City Entry space). At the beginning of
the Leader's next Activation, the "Destroyed" marker is removed
(unless the player decides to move that Leader away without rebuilding it) and a “1 Assault Points” marker is placed on it (see
8.3B for how to recover Assault Points). The City regains its SDR.
The Leader may roll to continue, adding the SDR of the City to the
Continued Movement die-roll.
HISTORICAL NOTE: If rebuilding seems to take too short a time,
consider that, in the Third Crusade, Ascalon was destroyed by
Saladin and later rebuilt by Richard. Even though Richard started
the rebuilding process in horrible winter weather, and unable to
start for two weeks because of the rains and mud, he still managed
to rebuild it to its former strength in only two months.
23
(9.2) NAVAL MOVEMENT
Fleets are placed in, and move into, Sea Zones. Those are the only
Spaces they may inhabit. They may not move into a Port/City.
Fleets have a Movement Allowance of 3 Sea Zones. There is no
continuation movement for fleets. Fleets stacked together may move
together or separately, but each Fleet counter or stack must finish
its movement before another Fleet counter/stack moves. Fleets may
not pick up other Fleets along their path of movement.
Fatimid Fleets may move only when activated by a Fatimids event
card. They move like any other fleets, except that they (and only
they) may move into and out of the Fatimid Box. The Box costs 1
naval MP to enter.
DESIGN NOTE: This seeming “unfair, the Fatimids can run and
hide”, rule reflects the inability of any of the other powers to deal
with the large, home fleets the Fatimids kept in Alexandria,
Pelusium and Damietta.
(9.3) FLEET ATTRITION
HISTORICAL NOTE: Almost all the ships in these fleets were galleys, with minimal on-ship supply capacity, resulting in a major
dependence on being supplied from the ports along the coast.
(9.0) NAVAL RULES
(9.1) FLEETS AND SEA ZONES
Fleet counters have two sides, indicating the
strength of that Fleet, either ‘2’ or ‘1’ Naval
Strength points (NSP). The scenarios indicate
at what strength these Fleets start, and players
can always take a ‘2’ Fleet and break it up into two 1’s (or vice
versa) at any time during movement.
Each Port on the map has a Fleet Support Capacity of 4, meaning it
can support 4 naval Strength points (or 2 full-strength Fleet counters)
belonging to the faction who controls it. Deep Ports—Cyprus, Acre
and The Fatimid Box—have an unlimited Fleet Support Capacity.
Crusader Fleets are activated by Fleet Activation Cards, in the same
manner as Armies, except that the Fleet Activation Card has no
Leader name. When a Crusader player draws a Fleet Activation Card
he may activate as many Fleets as he wishes.
At the end of each game-Turn, any Fleet counter that is in a Sea
Zone above the ability of the Ports in that Area that are controlled
by that faction to provide Fleet Support must check for Attrition.
Roll one die for each such Fleet counter (not each NSP):
• If the DR is a 4-6, that Fleet loses 1 NSP.
• If the DR is a 1-3, that Fleet must move (any distance) to the
nearest Sea Zone that will provide such support. If there is none,
the Fleet is destroyed. This movement does not incur/start any
naval attacks.
In the First Crusade, Crusader Fleets, each worth 2 NSP, arrive via
an Event Card. Only then do the Crusader Fleet Activation Cards
come into play. If a Crusader Fleet Activation Card is pulled from
the Activation Deck before this Event Card is played, the Activation card has no effect (but is considered played).
In the Winter Turns, the following effects are in place:
• The Fleet Support Capacity of all Ports, other than Deep Ports,
is ‘1’.
• Add two (+2) to all Attrition dierolls.
Once this Event Card has been played, the Fleet is in play. It (all or
some of its galleys) may be activated by the Crusader player who
drew it, or, if drawn by a Muslim player, by the Crusader player
who most recently played an Activation. If it is the first card drawn
in a Turn, and drawn by a Muslim player, place it back into the deck
and shuffle.
DESIGN & HISTORICAL NOTE: The Deep Ports are those with
enough depth and capacity to handle the large fleets easily. One
can now see why Acre is such a target, and why Richard chose to
ensure Cyprus’s availability by taking the island as his own.
Fleet counters also bear the number 3; this refers to the number of
Sea Zones a fleet can move. See 9.1.
The Fatimid Fleet—all the NSP of the Fatimids—is activated by a
Fatimid card (played by a Muslim player). There is no cost in Resources to so activate that Fleet, and there are no Activation Cards
associated with the Fatimid Fleet. When the Event Card is played,
the Fleet is activated immediately.
There are eight (8) Sea Zones on the map, separated from one another by dashed blue lines. Each Sea Zone corresponds to a port in
that area: Tarsus, Cyprus, Tortosa, Tripoli, Sidon, Acre, Caesarea,
and Jaffa.
EXAMPLE: The Crusader Player has 4 Fleet Counters in the Acre
Sea Zone. All are at full strength (8 NSP). He controls Tyre (worth
4 Support), but the Muslim controls Acre. If those 4 Fleets are in
that area at turn’s end, he must roll for 2 of them, as Tyre can
support only 4 NSP and he gets no such support from Acre.
(9.4) BLOCKADE
A Fleet in a Sea Zone which has a Port/City under Siege will affect
that Siege as follows:
• –1 to the Siege Attrition die-roll of the Defender if the Fleet
belongs to the force under Siege.
• +1 to the Siege Attrition die-roll of the Besieging force if the
Fleet belongs to the player undertaking the Siege.
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If opposing players have Fleets in the same Area, there are no Blockade effects for Siege.
(9.5) NAVAL TRANSPORT
Each Naval Strength Point can carry and transport up to 5 ASPs and
any number of Leaders. Transport is undertaken as part of a Fleet
Activation, not a Leader activation. ASPs moved without a Leader
acquire a “Dropped Off” marker when placed in their destination
port. ASPs moved with a Leader may move later in the Game-Turn
as part of that Leader’s activation(s). For the purpose of the “Two
Activations” rule (5.3), the naval transport does not count.
To transport ASPs, the NSPs must start the Fleet Activation in a Sea
Zone with the ASPs in a Port space—Town or City—in that Zone.
The ASPs are then placed on the Fleet and moved, as per the Fleet
Movement Allowance, and Debarked—placed—into any Port in any
Sea Zone it can reach. Debarking finishes the ASPs’ and the fleet’s
move for that activation.
• Deep Ports may be used to initiate/end transport for any number
of Fleets.
• All other ports have a 4 NSP maximum per Activation.
PLAY NOTE: Remember, Fleets may never move into Ports.
Granted, that sounds silly, but it helps make the game less complex.
ASPs transported without a Leader may not enter enemy-occupied
Ports (unless permitted by the faction controlling that Port).
ASPs transported with a Leader may enter any Port, just as if entering the space from Land Movement. If such a Port is occupied by
enemy units, an Amphibious Attack (for Town Ports) or Siege (for
City Ports) occurs immediately, even though it is currently a Fleet
activation. In both cases, the Overall Leader of the Army is considered in command. Note, however, that all Siege rules are in effect,
including the requirement for the Attacker to have at least 5X as
many ASPs as the City’s SDR. If it does not, it may not conduct
Naval Transport to that space at all.
For Amphibious Attacks against Town Ports, the attack is resolved
as a normal land battle, but with the dieroll modifier (–3) for such
an attack. If the attacking Army is forced to retreat, it is placed back
on the Fleet.
For amphibious attacks against enemy-occupied City Ports, the defenders (but only if they have a Leader) may choose to do one of
two things:
• Put as many ASPs as they wish “outside” the city/port and force
the attackers to use normal land combat, as above.
• Stay inside the port, in which case the attack becomes a regular
Full Siege (8.3A). In this case, the amphibious Army and
Leader(s) are placed on the City Entry space space (except for
Cyprus, where they are simply placed beside the City space).
They may not be intercepted when placed there (the defender
has already had that opportunity in the point above).
Armies in spaces adjacent to the Port under amphibious attack may
not intercept.
(9.6) NAVAL COMBAT
Naval combat may occur when two enemy Fleets occupy the same
Sea Zone , and one of them is active. A Fleet that starts its activation
in the same Sea Zone as an enemy fleet may always move out, or it
may Attack. A Fleet that moves into an enemy-occupied Sea Zone
must attack, unless permission to enter is given by the opposing
player (or, in multi-player games, by all the players). Naval combat
is carried out after all Fleets have moved for that Activation; it is
entirely possible for a Fleet to enter an enemy-occupied Sea Zone
in which the opposing player states that he will fight, and then move
Fleets which have not yet moved into the same Sea Zone to help
with the attack.
General Procedure
1. The Active Player declares Naval Combat during his Naval Movement by moving into enemy-occupied Sea Zones.
2. The active player finishes all Naval Movement.
3. The Defender may attempt to Avoid naval combat by moving
away from Sea Zones in which Combat has been declared.
4. If there is no Avoidance, Combat is Joined.
5. Players Resolve the combat.
Combat Declaration
Fleets may co-exist in a Sea Zone without combat, but a moving
Fleet may enter an occupied Sea Zone only if the latter gives permission. If he does not, and the active player still enters that Sea
Zone, a Naval battle is thereby declared. Combat must be Declared
to be Joined. Once a player Declares Combat, his Naval Movement
for that activation ceases.
Avoidance and Joining Combat
The Defending Player may Avoid Naval Combat by moving into
any adjacent Sea Zone not occupied by Fleets of another player,
and not the Area from which the moving fleet just came. Even if the
Defending fleet chooses Avoidance, the movement of the activated
Fleet is finished. The defender, regardless what he chooses to do,
does not have to pay any Resources to defend. The Fatimid player
(only) may Avoid into the Fatimid box.
Resolving Naval Combat
Naval Combat is resolved by rolling one die for each Fleet Naval
SP (not each counter). Each NSP is entitled to one die-roll. Thus, a
Fleet containing 4 Naval Strength Points will use 4 die-rolls to resolve its portion of combat. There are no second “rounds” of dierolling. Once through the Fleet and the battle is over.
Each Player rolls the number of dice he is entitled to.
• Any ‘5’ or ‘6’ eliminates an enemy Naval SP.
• Any other result has No Effect.
Results are applied simultaneously and after all die-rolls. The affected player removes the number of Fleet points he has lost, the
choice being his. If the number of Naval SP remaining is insufficient to carry all the ASPs it is transporting, the number of ASPs
greater than the total the fleet can now transport is eliminated.
When the battle is over, the fleets stay where they are.
Naval Transport may not take place in Winter Turns unless it originates from one of the Deep Ports or the Fatimid Box, and ends in
another such location.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
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(10.0) RESOURCES AND
COMMUNICATION
and the Resource level of that City is reduced accordingly, with a
Resource maker placed on each denoting the number of Resource
Points remaining there.
Onward Christian Soldiers uses a Resources system to represent
money, food and supplies that were accessible to the inhabitants of
the Latin East.
EXAMPLE: A Muslim army wants to reduce Attrition. They draw
2 Resource Points from Edessa , currently under Muslim control.
A “1 Resources” marker is placed on Edessa (meaning it has only
one Resource Point left for use until replenished).
(10.1) LINES OF COMMUNICATION (LOC)
Onward uses three types of Line of Communication: Unlimited,
Limited, and Naval. Rules such as Raising Troops (Muslim leaders only) require an Unlimited LOC. Rules such as using resources
and allocating overages of troops require a Limited LOC. The type
of LOC required for each action is noted in the rules for that action.
An Unlimited LOC is a path of Spaces/Sea Zones of any length,
from the space needing the Resources to the City space. This path
must be free of ASPs, controlled Towns, and controlled Cities (along
with their Entry Spaces) belonging to any other player who states
he will Block that LOC. If the potentially blocking player grants
permission, the LOC may be traced through the space. An Unlimited LOC may also use a Naval LOC (see below) for any one portion of its length.
A Limited LOC is a path of Land Spaces totaling no more than 10
Attrition Points, free of ASPs, controlled Towns, and controlled
Cities (along with their Entry Spaces) belonging to any other player
who states he will Block that LOC. If the potentially blocking player
grants permission, the LOC may be traced through the space. A
Limited LOC may also include a Naval LOC (see below) for any
one portion of its path.
A Naval LOC is any sea path of not more than 3 Sea Zones to any Sea
Zone in which that Side controls a Deep Port (regular ports may not
be used for Naval LOCs). In the Winter, the length of a Naval LOC is
reduced to (1) Area. The Deep Ports are Cyprus, Acre and the Fatimid
Fleet Box. The Naval LOC can exist anywhere within the Unlimited
or Limited LOC path—beginning, middle—or end.
Sea Zones may be used for tracing a Naval LOC if that player’s
Side (not Faction) has a Fleet in any Sea Zone adjacent to a Port
City which that Faction (not Side) controls and can trace a LOC to
or from. LOC may not be traced through (or out of) enemy occupied Sea Zones. Thus, a Crusader player controlling Acre could not
use Acre to extend his LOC by sea if there is a Fatimid Fleet sitting
in that Sea Zone.
(10.2) RESOURCES
Each City has Resources equal to its SDR. Resources
may be drawn upon in order to make whatever payments are desired. Whenever a City’s Resources are
drawn upon, place a Resources marker in the City space
equal to the Resources remaining. When the City’s Resources are
replenished, remove the marker.
A City’s Resources are automatically brought up to its printed (SDR)
level in the Recovery Phase at turn’s end, unless that City is Under
Siege, Ravaged, or Destroyed.
Towns do not have Resources.
(10.3) RESOURCE SPENDING
Whenever Players need to pay for anything, they draw Resource
Points directly from the Resources of Cities they control (or which
another player grants them permission to draw from). At the instant
of payment, the Leader must trace a Limited LOC to any one City,
(10.4) RESOURCE REPLENISHMENT
In the Recovery Phase, all Cities not Destroyed, Ravaged or Under
Siege that have a reduced City Resource automatically recover to
their full Resource level (remove the City Resources marker). They
may never have more than their initial Resource level (i.e, their
SDR).
Resource Levels of a City may also be increased by Deals; see 11.0.
(10.5) RESOURCES AND CYPRUS
Cyprus (actually the city of Salamis) has a Resource Level of ‘10’,
even though its SDR is only 2. However, these Resources may not
be used until the “Byzantines Send Supplies” card has been played.
The Resources of Cyprus may be used for any payments needed by
a Crusader in a Port or besieging a Port, from which the Crusader
can trace a Naval LOC to Cyprus. Cyprus may not be used for any
other reason.
Note that Cyprus does not have a City Entry Space. See 9.5 for how
to conduct amphibious attacks against it.
(10.6) RESOURCES AND FATAMID EGYPT
The Fatimid Box provides 15 Resources for the Muslim Player only,
depending on LOC, but only during a turn in which the Muslim
Player has played a Fatamid Card and used it specifically for this
purpose.
(11.0) DIPLOMACY, BRIBES,
RANSOM, DEALS
Players may attempt to bribe other players to do things. They may
also strike deals with other players, or try to influence neutrals (e.g.,
Armenians) or ransom captured Leaders.
All deals are usually made in the Diplomacy Phase (Phase A). However, at any time in the game that the Leader who is active is in the
same Space, or within one Space of another player’s Leader, or as
part of a Siege surrender, those two players may arrange an “onthe-spot” deal. Furthermore, in multi-player games, a player drawing an Event card may give a card to another player on his side
(regardless of relative army locations) if he is about to draw an Event
card in excess of the maximum he may hold in his hand (see 12.0).
These are the only circumstances under which players may deal
outside the Diplomacy Phase.
Note that an on-the-spot deal between two players could result in
the trade of a card that immediately affects an event taking place
within a Limited Line of Communication of the Leaders involved
in the on-the-spot deal (use the closest Leader as the reference point).
For example, if Player A and Player B have Leaders in adjacent
spaces somewhere on the map, and Player B must fight a battle
elsewhere, as long as the Battle Space is within Limited LOC range
(see 10.1) of one of the two adjacent Leaders, Player B may cut a
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Onward Christian Soldiers
deal with Player A to obtain one or more cards from Player A that
will help with Player B’s battle.
And see 11.0 for the possibility of immediate transfer of cards between players.
Players may use Resources as part of deals. EXAMPLE: “I’ll give
you 5 Resources not to attack Homs.” Resource Points may be transferred from City to City, reducing the giving City’s Resource Level
and adding to the receiving one’s level…if a Limited LOC between
the two is available.
Cards may be used in trades, deals, bribes, and the transfer of cards
is allowed, but only during a Diplomacy Phase, or under the circumstances described in 11.0.
The only rule about sticking to an agreed-upon deal are the laws of
Survival and Vengeance.
PLAY NOTE: We suggest keeping this Phase within a short time
limit, and interpreting any disagreements according to what could
really happen ... and strictly so.
(12.0) THE EVENT CARDS
There are 68 Event cards: 34 Crusader Events and 34 Muslim Events.
At the start of the game, each of these separate decks is shuffled and
each deck is placed, information side down, in the appropriate Box
for drawing during the game.
The description on the card itself is sometimes shorter (for space
considerations) than the description below. In such cases, the card
references the rules. If it does so, be sure to read the rules descriptions below to ensure the card is being played correctly.
The Used Cards from each Event Deck are not reshuffled until all
cards from that Deck have been selected (except possibly by the
play of an “Uncertainty” card). When all the cards have been selected, take all the discarded ones and reshuffle the deck and start
anew for that deck.
When, in the course of a game-Turn, an Activation card is selected
that says “Draw Event Card”, the Player who drew that card must
now take the top card from his side’s Events Deck: Crusader players draw from the Crusader deck; Muslim players from the Muslim
deck. He must then either
• Play it immediately if it says “This card must be played immediately upon being drawn”, OR
• Play it immediately because he wishes to do so, even if it says
“This card may be held for later use” OR
• Hold it for play at any time later in that turn or a later turn, or for
trading, bribery, etc. Only cards that say “This card may be held
for later use” may be kept in the player’s hand.
Players may hold Event Cards in their hands from one turn to the
next, for play later in the game (but see the special rules for the
“Treachery” card). A player may not so hold more than three (3)
cards. If that player, holding three cards, draws a “Draw Event”
Activation card (see 4.5), he must randomly and blindly discard
one of the cards from his hand before drawing a new Event Card.
If a Player accidentally holds a card that he (or another player) later
discovers he should have played when drawn, the card is discarded
immediately and the player’s next Event Card is discarded and
treated as No Event as soon as it is drawn.
PLAY NOTE: See the rules on Treachery for an exception to this.
Event Cards held in a Hand may be played at any time during the
Operations Phase (only) of a Game-Turn turn, even by inactive players, unless otherwise specified in the card description. For example,
cards affecting Battles or Sieges may be played only if a player’s
ASPs and/or Leaders are participating in the specified Battle or Siege.
Each card has its own use—some have a choice of possible uses—
discussed below. Most of the applications and usage are printed on
the cards. The number of each card available for play is shown in
square brackets after the card’s title.
Event Cards in Multi-Player Games
When there is more than one player on a given side—Crusader or
Muslim—the number of Event cards that side—not a given player,
the entire side—may hold at any one time is two (2) plus the number of players on that side. Thus, if there are 4 Crusader players, the
Crusaders, in toto, may never have more than 6 cards amongst them;
if there are 3 Muslim players, the Muslims may never have more
than 5 cards in total. Moreover, no player may hold more than two
(2) cards.
Now the big question: Who gets the cards when there is more than
one player?
At the start of the game, if there is more than one player, each player
starts with one card.
After that, the player drawing the “Draw Event Card” gets that Event
Card.
• If he already has 2 cards of his own, but the Side maximum (see
above) has not been reached, that player may immediately give
that card to any other player on his side (who does not have 2
cards), under any arrangement/deal he can make.
• If the side already has reached its maximum, the player drawing
the Event Card must discard one of his own.
(12.1) CRUSADER EVENT CARDS
Armenians Revolt [2]: This is played against any other player at
any time. All Armenian forces controlled by that player revolt and
immediately (even if about to start a battle) go home. They are no
longer controlled by any player. The active player (not necessarily
the one who played the card) places the Armenian ASPs (and Leaders) in one or more Armenian controlled cities or towns. If there are
no such cities or towns, the Armenians are removed from play. This
card may be held for later use.
Assassination [1]: This card is played by the holder, during any of
his own Activations, against any Muslim Leader, other than Ridwan
of Aleppo and the other Northern Syrians, in the game. Roll one die
(1d6). If the result is higher than that Leader’s Activation Rating
(not the Campaign Rating), that Leader has been assassinated and
is considered killed. This card may be held for later use.
PLAY/HISTORICAL NOTE: A splinter Muslim sect of Ismaelis,
known as Assassins (an Anglicization of Hashesheen, so applied
because the members took hasheesh to give them a leg up in terms
of courage), made a religious point killing off Important Islamic
Folk. The Assassins, under their founder, Hasan as-Sabah, had
just set up their HQ to fight the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad (for
religious reasons) in the impregnable Iranian fortress of Alamut.
By the time of the 1st crusade, a decade later, they had expanded
to Syria. However, at this time, they targeted only Muslims, but not
the Northern Syrians under Ridwan, who treated them as an ally.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
Butimides [2]: The Byzantine Emperor Alexius provided the Crusaders with an expert in Siege operations—Manuel Butimides. The
Crusader player who plays this card applies it to a specific Siege
(Full or Partial) currently underway in which ASPs and/or leaders
from his faction are participating. Place the Butimides counter beside the Siege marker. For every Assault undertaken by the the Commander of that Siege, add one (+1) to the die-roll. Once that Siege
is ended, the Butimides counter is removed from the map. Only one
Butimides counter may be in play at any one time; if a second is
drawn while one is in play, it is discarded (without drawing another
card). Butimides may not be used in assaults against a City that is
not Under Siege. This card may be held for later use.
Byzantines Send Supplies [3]: All Crusader players may draw Resources from Cyprus as per 10.5. This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Caravan in Aleppo [1]: Aleppo provides 10 Resources, for the remainder of the Game-Turn, for the Crusader Player who controls
Aleppo. If a Muslim player controls Aleppo, the caravan simply
replenishes Aleppo’s Resources, fully and immediately. If no one
controls Aleppo, or it is under Siege, the caravan does not arrive
and the card is discarded (without drawing another). This card must
be played immediately on being drawn.
Dissension [2]: This is played against any other player who has
activated a Leader who controls, and is about to lead, ASPs from
different Factions, whether for movement, attack (but not defense),
or actions against a City. It may also be played at any time against
multi-faction forces conducting an ongoing siege. The play of the
card indicates dissension in the ranks, and has one of two possible
results (chosen by the player playing the card):
• the designated Leader now controls—and can lead—only those
ASPs in his army that belong to his faction. The other ASPs may
not accompany that Leader at this time and may not be activated
by him for the remainder of the Game-Turn. If there is no other
leader with those other ASPs, and they are not in a Town or City
space, the designated Leader may not move away from them.
• the designated Leader player rolls one die. The result is the number of ASPs he loses from those in his Army that belong to other
factions (but never more than one-half of those ASPs, rounded
up). These ASPs have wearied of the cause and are going home.
In either case, if the Army has been activated to attack or assault, it
must carry out the action.
This card may be held for later use.
Fleet Arrives [4]: The Crusaders get one Fleet worth 2 NSP, placing it in the Cyprus Sea Zone. If all the Crusader Fleets (the counters
available are a limit) are already in the game he discards this card
(without drawing another). This card must be played immediately
on being drawn.
Heat [1]: If this event occurs in any month from May through September, inclusive, the Holy Land suffers an oppressive Heat Wave
for the remainder of the turn. If not those months, treat as No Event,
discarding the card without drawing another.
• Add two (+2) to all Crusader Movement Attrition die-rolls.
• Subtract two (–2) from all Crusader Point/Ravaged Attrition dierolls
• Add one (+1) to all Muslim Movement Attrition die-rolls.
• Subtract one (–1) from all Muslim Point/Ravaged Attrition dierolls.
• Add two (+2) to all Siege Attrition die-rolls.
27
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Knights Charge [2]: This card may be played in any battle fought
by a Crusader army against Muslim forces. The Crusader player
does not roll for Formation; he automatically receives a Frontal
Charge [FC] result on the Formation Table. This card may not be
used if Crusaders choose to take terrain advantage of defending in a
Town Space and may not be used against a Harassment attack unless Western Aggression is triggered. This card may be held for
later use.
Leader Ill [2]: Play against any one Leader (from any faction whatsoever). For the rest of the current game-turn, that Leader may do
nothing; all Leader Activation Cards for that Leader are ignored. If
he If he is a Crusader Leader and is attacked, Western Aggression
does not apply. However, if a “Draw an Event Card” card appears
immediately following one of his Activation cards—whether or not
he did anything that Activation—the Event still belongs to that
Leader’s faction. This card must be played immediately on being
drawn.
Papal Peace [1]: This card is played to affect an Army (or even just
a Leader) in the same space as Adhemar of the Southern Franks.
This card nullifies a Dissension card that has just been played against
that space. Adhemar was a major force in keeping the peace during
the Crusade, until his death. This card may be held for later use.
Plague [1]: The player who plays this rolls two dice, combining
them (2d66…red die first) and consulting the Plague Table. The
resultant City (or Fatimid Box) has some ASPs in that City (even if
under Siege) reduced by plague. Roll two dice and add them together (2d6). That is the number of ASPs eliminated by Plague.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Spy [1]: The player may look at the cards remaining in the Activation Deck. He may keep such information secret (or reveal it, or sell
it). This card may be held for later use.
Surprise [2]: Play of this card as part of a successful Interception
allows the intercepting player to add four (+4) to his Battle diceroll.
This card may be held for later use.
Terrain Advantage [2]: This card may be played by a player whose
Army is attacked while in a Point (not Town or City). The Defender
gets the benefit of terrain: the Attacker subtracts from the diceroll a
number equal to the Attrition Rating of that Point. This card may be
held for later use.
Treachery [2]: A Player may use this card to attempt to take a City
under Siege by Treachery. The number of Resources paid for its use
is the number of Treachery points available. See 8.0 for details.
This card may be held for later use, but it may not be held from one
Turn to another.
Uncertainty [1]: This card has one of two possible effects:
• Plans Change: If this card is drawn in any game-turn prior to
Turn 12 (i.e., before June-to-mid-July 1099), it must be played
immediately. When done so, all Event Cards that are being held
In Hand by (all) the Muslim Player(s) are returned to the Muslim Event Deck and that Deck (along with all cards in its Discard Pile) is reshuffled. This card is returned to the Crusader
deck and that Deck (with its Discards but not including cards
held by the Crusader players) is also reshuffled.
• Combatants Agree to Terms: If this card is drawn in any turn
starting with Turn 12 (June-to-mid-July 1099), it must be played
immediately. The game immediately ends, unless a Muslim
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Onward Christian Soldiers
player is holding a Jihad card and wishes to prevent the game
from ending. If so, that Jihad card is discarded (Jihad does not
take effect), and the Uncertainty card is negated and removed
from the game.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Visions [4]: A Crusader Player may use this card for any one of the
enhancements listed below, and on any one of his Leaders. The
Leader claims he has seen a Vision. Only one Visions card per faction can be played in any one Game-Turn.
• For the remainder of the current Game-Turn, the Crusader Leader
for whom this card is played gains a +1 die-roll modifier for all
of his Battles or Siege Assaults.
• For the remainder of the current Game-Turn, the Crusader Leader
for whom this card is played gains a –1 die-roll modifier for all
of his Continuations.
• The Player may use this card to gain an additional Activation for
any one Leader; he places an unused Leader Activation Card for
that Leader, or the first such card to become available, into the
Activation Deck and shuffles.
Multi-Player Version of Visions: In a multi-player game, another
Crusader player (if there is more than one) may challenge the Vision. The Challenging player and the Visions player each rolls one
die, to which he adds the Activation Rating (not the Campaign Rating) of one of his Leaders (the Leader with the Visions for the Visions player; for the Challenger, any chosen Leader). The higher
total wins the dispute.
• If the Challenger wins, the effect of the Vision is cancelled, and
the affected Leader’s Activation is immediately finished.
• If the Leader claiming the Vision wins, he may proceed with his
activation, and the Challenger, and his ASPs, may not be used
the remainder of the Game-Turn (Ignore any of his Activation
cards.)
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
(12.2) MUSLIM EVENT CARDS
Armenians Revolt [1]: This is played against any other player. All
Armenian forces controlled by that player revolt and immediately
(even if about to start a battle) go home. They are no longer controlled by any player. The active player places the Armenian ASPs
(and Leaders) in one or more Armenian-controlled cities or towns.
If there are no such cities or towns, the Armenians are removed
from play. This card may be held for later use.
Caravan in Damascus [2]: Damascus provides 15 Resources, for
the remainder of the Game-Turn, for the Crusader Player who controls Damascus. If a Muslim player controls Damascus, the caravan
simply replenishes Damascus’ Resources, fully and immediately. If
no one controls it, or it is under Siege, the caravan does not arrive
and the card is discarded (without drawing another). This card must
be played immediately on being drawn.
Caravan in Homs [2]: Homs provides 10 Resources, for the remainder of the Game-Turn, for the Crusader Player who controls
Damascus. If a Muslim player controls Homs, the caravan simply
replenishes Homs’s Resources, fully and immediately. If no one
controls it, or it is under Siege, the caravan does not arrive and the
card is discarded (without drawing another). This card must be played
immediately on being drawn.
Crusader Entourage Goes Home [1]: This card is played, in any
of the active player’s Activations, against any one Crusader Leader,
one whose entourage has grown disenchanted with the whole prospect. Roll one die (1d6) after designating the affected Leader. Reduce that Leader’s Army by that number of ASPs. This card may be
held for later use.
Dissension [4]: This is played against any other player who has
activated a Leader who controls, and is about to lead, ASPs from
different Factions, whether for movement, attack (but not defense),
or actions against a City. It may also be played at any time against
multi-faction forces conducting an ongoing siege. The play of the
card indicates dissension in the ranks, and has one of two possible
results (chosen by the player playing the card):
• the designated Leader now controls—and can lead—only those
ASPs in his army that belong to his faction. The other ASPs may
not accompany that Leader at this time and may not be activated
by him for the remainder of the Game-Turn. If there is no other
leader with those other ASPs, and they are not in a Town or City
space, the designated Leader may not move away from them.
• the designated Leader rolls one die. The result is the number of
ASPs he loses from those in his Army that belong to other factions (but never more than one-half of those ASPs, rounded up).
These ASPs have wearied of the cause and are going home.
In either case, if the Army has been activated to attack or assault, it
must carry out the action.
This card may be held for later use.
Fatimids [4]: The Fatimids, rulers of Egypt, and owners of large
armies and fleets, did not get interested in the arrival of the first
Crusaders until it was a bit too late. The Muslim Player does one of
four things, at no cost in Activation cards:
• May use The Fatamid Box as a source of 15 Resources for the
rest of the Turn.
• Adds 10 ASPs to the Fatimid Army if it is in the Fatimid Army
Box
• May immediately activate and use any or all the Egyptian/Fatimid
fleets as his own.
• May immediately activate a Leader-led Fatimid Army as if it
were his own.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Heat [1]: If this event occurs in any month from May through September, inclusive, the Holy Land suffers an oppressive Heat Wave
for the remainder of the turn. If not those months, treat as No Event,
discarding the card without drawing another.
• Add two (+2) to all Crusader Movement Attrition die-rolls.
• Subtract two (–2) from all Crusader Point/Ravaged Attrition dierolls
• Add one (+1) to all Muslim Movement Attrition die-rolls.
• Subtract one (–1) from all Muslim Point/Ravaged Attrition dierolls.
• Add two (+2) to all Siege Attrition die-rolls.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Jihad [3]: A Muslim Player may use this card (but only one Jihad
card may be played in any one Game-Turn) for any one of the enhancements listed below, and on any one of his Leaders. Only one
Jihad card per faction can be played in any one Game-Turn:
• For the remainder of the current Game-Turn, the Muslim Leader
for whom this card is played gains a +1 die-roll modifier for all
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Onward Christian Soldiers
29
of his Battles or Siege Assaults.
• For the remainder of the current Game-Turn, the Muslim Leader
for whom this card is played gains a –1 die-roll modifier for all
of his Continuations.
• The Player may use this card to gain an additional Activation for
any one Leader; he places an unused Leader Activation Card for
that Leader, or the first such card to become available, into the
Activation Deck and shuffles).
reshuffled. This card is returned to the Muslim deck and that
Deck and its Discards, but not the cards held by the Muslim
players, is also reshuffled.
• Combatants Agree to Terms: If this card is drawn in any turn
starting with Game-Turn 12 (June-to-mid-July 1099), the game
immediately ends. This card is negated—no effect—if no Crusader Player controls Jerusalem. If negated, it is removed from
the game.
This card may be held for later use.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Leader Ill [1]: Play against any one Leader (from any faction whatsoever). For the rest of the current game-turn, that Leader may do
nothing; all Leader Activation Cards for that Leader are ignored. If
he is a Crusader Leader and is attacked, Western Aggression does
not apply. However, if a “Draw an Event Card” card appears immediately following one of his Activation cards—whether or not he
did anything that Activation—the Event still belongs to that Leader’s
faction. This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Muslim Reinforcements [4]: When this card is drawn, the most
recently Activated Muslim faction receives ASPs equal to a total of
three dice. He places them in one or more Cities (not Towns) controlled by that faction which are not under Siege (but see 5.5 for
recruiting in the Mosul Turk boxes); no more than half the ASPs,
rounded up, can go into any one city; if he has only one City, the
remainder are lost. If he has no Cities, he gets no recruits, and the
card is discarded without drawing another. This card must be played
immediately on being drawn.
Plague [1]: The player who plays this rolls two dice, combining
them (2d66…red die first) and consulting the Plague Table. The
resultant City (or Fatimid Box) has any ASPs in that City (even if
under Siege) reduced by plague. Roll two dice and add them together (2d6). That is the number of ASPs eliminated by Plague.
This card must be played immediately on being drawn.
Spy [1]: The player may look at the cards remaining in the Activation Deck. He may keep such information secret (or reveal it, or sell
it). This card may be held for later use.
Storms at Sea [1]: Roll one die for each Fleet counter on the map.
A die-roll of ‘6’ reduces that Fleet by one step. If there are no fleets,
the card is discarded without drawing another. This card must be
played immediately on being drawn.
Surprise [2]: Play of this card as part of a successful Interception
allows the intercepting player to add four (+4) to his Battle diceroll.
This card may be held for later use.
Terrain Advantage [4]: This card may be played by a player whose
Army is attacked while in a Point (not Town or City). The Defender
gets the benefit of terrain: the Attacker subtracts from the diceroll a
number equal to the Attrition Rating of that Point. This card may be
held for later use.
Treachery [1]: A Player may use this card to attempt to take a City
under Siege by Treachery. The number of Resouces paid for its use
is the number of Treachery points available. See 8.0 for details.
This card may be held for later use, but it may not be held from one
Turn to another.
Uncertainty [1]: This card has one of two possible effects:
• Plans Change: If this card is drawn in any game-turn prior to
Game-Turn 12 (i.e., before June-to-mid-July 1099), it must be
played immediately. When done so, all Event Cards that are being held In Hand by the Crusader Player(s) are returned to his
Deck and that Deck (along with any cards in its Discard Pile) is
SCENARIO #1: THE FIRST
CRUSADE
Historical Background
In 1071, an overly aggressive Byzantine Emperor, Romanus IV
Diogenes, in an effort to secure the major Eastern Roman recruiting
base of Anatolia, got himself and his army thoroughly smashed by
Alp Arslan, Sultan of the Seljuk Turks, at Manzikert. This not only
marked the downturn of Byzantine fortunes for all time, it also allowed the Seljuks to move in and seize most of the Mid-Eastern
cities, from Antioch to Jerusalem. The Holy Land was now closed
to Christians.
When the Byzantines turned to the west for help, Pope Urban II,
aghast at the loss of the foundation of Christianity and seeing
Byzantium’s request as an opportunity to gain more input for The
Papacy with the Greek Orthodox Church, on 25 November 1095
called for a Crusade to “free” The Holy Land from the infidel.
Three years later, four major European armies (see the game for
specifics) had formed to “take the cross”, head east, reclaim Jerusalem and, at least in the minds of not a few, gain their own little
kingdoms while killing as many heathens, which far too often included all Jews along and in the way—such pogroms were standard
operating procedure for future Crusades for the next 200 years. Some,
it is true, were led by deeply religious beliefs. Far too many were
landless knights, imbued with the warfare methodologies of the era.
They were pillage- and plunder- oriented thugs seeking an opportunity to practice their trade in a new location. As for their intended
targets, the Muslims of the East, split into four bickering, non-cooperating camps, were ill-prepared for this group of elite heavy cavalry leading a large army of foot.
Despite some problems getting through a now reluctant
Constantinople, and a couple of victorious but depleting battles
(Nicea and Dorylaeum) against the Seljuks in Anatolia, the four
separate armies descended upon Syria in the fall of 1097 and immediately laid siege to the key city of Antioch. The siege lasted seven
months, draining the manpower and the resources of The Crusaders
almost to the limit, but, when they eventually gained control of the
city, they had a major base from which to operate. They also had
Edessa, to the east, captured by Baldwin of Boulogne in March,
1098, thus setting up the first of the petty states of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem.
The Crusaders now headed south for their objective: Jerusalem. On
15 July 1099, with a three-pronged assault, they entered the city
and, in a horrendous, bloody slaughter of inhabitants, took it for
Christianity. A month later, at Ascalon, they drove off a belated attempt by the Fatimids (Egypt) to put a halt to Crusader successes.
And although reduced in numbers by about two-thirds, they now
held the entire Levant, which they fully intended to make their own
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Onward Christian Soldiers
through settlement. The True Cross was theirs, and The Kingdom
of Jerusalem had been born.
Number of Players
This is a scenario which can provide a game for a wide number of
players, although it is far more interestingly played by more than
fewer. It can always be played solitaire, if you don’t find it psychologically taxing to “switch hats”, but it wasn’t designed for that
purpose. The maximum number of players is seven (7).
well, establishing their own little kingdom in the north.
No Crusader units start on the map. Each Leader (and his ASPs)
enters the game in the first (Mid-October-to-November 1097) GameTurn. He enters through one of the three Crusader Entrance Boxes—
A thru C—along the northwestern edge of the map. Each Leader
must be placed, in the Army Assignment Phase of Game-Turn 1, in
one of the 3 Entrance Boxes. Leaders from different factions may
use the same Entrance Box.
• In the seven-player version, each player takes one of the 4 Crusader factions, or one of the three Muslim Factions.
• In the six-player version, each player takes one of the 4 Crusader factions, or one of the two Muslim Factions (combining
the Syrians into one faction).
• In the five-player version, each player takes one of two combined Crusader factions (Northern Franks plus Normans, or Germans and Southern Franks), or one of the three Muslim Factions. Alternatively, one player could play all three Muslim factions, while the Crusader players get one Crusader faction each.
• In the four-player version, each player takes one of two combined Crusader factions (Northern Franks plus Normans, or Germans and Southern Franks), or one of the two Muslim Factions
(combining the Syrians into one faction).
• In the three-player version, each player takes one of two combined Crusader factions (Northern Franks plus Normans, or Germans and Southern Franks), or all of the Muslims.
• In the two-player version, one player is all of the Crusaders, the
other the Muslims.
The Three Muslim Factions are:
HISTORICAL NOTE: It should be kept in mind that, despite their
supposedly religious objectives, each faction was truly out for itself in what became, for the Crusaders, a rather vicious land-grab.
• In the Cappadocia Box: Hasan, Emir of Cappadocia; 10 ASPs
• In Samosata: Balduk, Emir of Samosata; 15 ASPs
• In Tarsus: 10 ASPs
Game Length
The First Crusade starts with the first phase of the Mid-October-toNovember 1097 and ends after the final phase (i.e., the Recovery
Phase) of the September-to-mid-October 1099 turn, a total of 14
turns. However, play of a “Combatants Agree to terms” card in any
turn starting with Turn 12 may end the game precipitously.
With a full complement of experienced players, this is an 10-12
hour game.
Initial Dispositions
The four Crusader Factions are:
Northern Franks: Robert, Count of Flanders; Robert, Duke of
Normandy; Stephen, Count of Blois; 67 ASPs, 4 AK marker
Southern Franks: Raymond, Count of Toulouse; Adhemer of
Monteil; 50 ASPs, 3 AK marker
Sicilian Normans: Bohemond of Taranto; Tancred of Taranto; 30
ASPs, 1 AK marker
The Northern Syrians:
• In Aleppo: Ridwan, Emir of Aleppo; 10 ASPs
• In Antioch: Yaghi-Siyan; 10 ASPs
• In Hamah: 10 ASPs
• In Homs: Jarah-ed Daba; 10 ASPs
• In Harenc: 5 ASPs
The Northern Syrians control: all the above, plus Lattakiea and
Tortosa.
The Southern Syrians:
• In Damascus: Shams al-Malik Duqaq, 10 ASPs
• In Jerusalem: Soqman, the Ortoqid Emir of Amida; 25 ASPs,
The True Cross.
• In Tripoli: The Emir of Tripoli; 10 ASPs
The Southern Syrians control: All the above, plus Beirut, Sidon,
Tiberias, Nablus, and Ramlah.
The Mosul Turks:
The Mosul Turks control only those cities they solely occupy.
Note: For each initial disposition for Muslim forces with leaders,
the Muslim player may deploy those forces inside the City or in the
associated City Entry Space (or both).
Turk Reinforcements: Kerbogha, Atabeg of Mosul; 50 ASPs
These reinforcements arrive:
• From the Mosul box to any Point to which a connecting line
leads;
• Starting with the March-to-mid-April 1098 Game-Turn, the
Mosul Turk Player, at the end of the Diplomacy Phase, checks
to see if Kerbogha’s Army will arrive by rolling one die (1d6). If
the die-roll matches the range listed, the Mosul Turk may bring
in Kerbogha (and use his Activation cards). If not, wait until
next turn. They will automatically arrive in the June-to-mid-July
turn of 1098.
Germans: Godfrey of Bouillon; Baldwin of Boulogne; 43 ASPs, 2
AK marker
PLAY NOTE: Remember, the Muslims get additional recruits from
Event Cards, as well as 5.5, although 5.5 cannot be used by the
Mosul Turks until Kerbogha arrives. The Mosul Turks are probably the most difficult faction to play.
Resources: Each Crusader faction has 6 Resources available (no
LOC needed) for the first game-turn, only. These Resources may be
used for any function and do not require a LOC.
The Fatimids (see below):
In the Fatimid Box are al-Afdal Shahansah, Vizier of Egypt; 15
ASPs; 3 Fleets.
PLAY NOTE: Obviously some factions are “stronger” than others. Don’t let that dismay you. Player guile, wiliness and bravura
are key elements in this event. E.g., the Sicilian Normans did rather
The Fatimids control: Ascalon, Jaffa, Caesarea, Acre, Tyre, and
Hebron.
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Onward Christian Soldiers
31
THE ARMENIANS
Armenians (see below):
• In Edessa: Thorus; 5 ASPs
• In Lampron: Oshin, 5 ASPs
• In Partzerpert: 2 ASPs
• In Sis: 2 ASPs
• In Maresh: 2 ASPs
• In Raban: 2 ASPs
• In Melitene: 2 ASPs
The Armenians are, in a sense, Opportunistic Neutrals: they’ll work
for anyone willing to pay. The game starts with Armenians being
Neutral and in control of five cities, with two Leaders.
All Fatimids and Armenians in City or Town spaces start inside the
City or Town. Put an appropriate Control marker on top.
First Activation Card
The first Activation Card for the first turn (Mid-October-to-November 1097) must be one of the Crusader Leaders. If the Crusader
Players cannot decide among them—through whatever means they
choose to do so—roll dice.
First Turn Diplomacy Restrictions
For the First turn (only), there may not be any deals between Crusaders and Muslims. Players are free to bribe Armenians and/or make
arrangements among their side’s factions.
THE FATIMIDS
The Fatimids, while a Middle Eastern power of note, were very
slow to respond to the arrival of the Crusaders and the eventual
interference with their control of the southern seacoast. Her resources
were immense, but her army was small. Her Fleet was, for the most
part, the only fleet in the eastern Mediterranean.
Because of this, the Fatimids are not a faction in the game. The
Fatimids are an Event Card that a Muslim Player (only) may use.
The Muslim player who draws a Fatimid card may do whatever that
card says that player can do, as if he were the Fatimid Player. Fatimid
forces and Muslim armies may stack together for the purpose of
defense (a Muslim army may withdraw or retreat into a Fatimidcontrolled non-city space, for example), but a Fatimid army cannot
move or attack with other Muslim armies (not even as a subordinate). Nor can the Muslim player use the Fatimid forces to engage
in any sort of Diplomacy or trading.
Muslim players may not use the Resource points of Fatimid cities;
to use them, they must take such cities. However, any Muslim player
that has seized control of two or more Fatimid cities may no longer
(at any point in the game) use the Fatimid card. He must discard it
when he draws it.
Only the Fatimids may use/enter the Fatimid Box.
The Fatimids never gain Victory Points. They may very well deprive other players of VP, though.
When Fatimid ASPs engage in combat on their own, they use the D
Formation.
If Fatimids are involved in the combat as part of an army consisting
of player factions, at least 50% of the total losses must be assigned
to the player factions. In other words, you can’t use the Fatimids
simply as cannon fodder.
HISTORICAL NOTE: The Fatimids didn’t become active until 1099,
when, finally roused from their torpor, they massed an army and
advanced up the coast to regain her ports. They were roundly defeated by the Crusaders outside of Ascalon.
Players can gain control of Armenian Leaders—regardless who controls that Armenian Leader at the time, or if he is neutral—and their
ASPs only through successful Armenian Bribery. Armenian Bribery is conducted at any time in a Leader’s Activation (and does not
require a Continuation roll afterwards). Armenian Bribery is not
part of the Diplomacy Phase.
1. At any time during his Activation (he may interrupt his move to
do so but does not need to roll for Continuation afterwards), the
active Leader may decide if he wants to bribe a specific Armenian
leader. Each Player (not each faction—although they’re the same in
7-player games) can bribe only one Armenian leader per GameTurn (whether the bribe is successful or not), using only one Leader
to do so.
2. The active Leader must have an Unlimited LOC to the Armenian
leader being bribed and a Limited LOC to the City whose resources
are being used for the bribe (the City must belong to the Leader’s
faction or to a faction giving permission to use it for that purpose).
The player allots as many of that City’s Resources as he wishes,
removing the Resources from that City’s total immediately (they’re
used whether or not the bribe succeeds). He then rolls one die.
• If the dieroll is higher than the number of Resources allotted, the
bribe fails to impress the Armenians and they stay as they were
(but the Resources are still lost). A dieroll of “6” always fails.
• If the dieroll is the same as or lower than the number of Resources allotted, the bribe is successful and that Armenian Leader
is now allied with that Leader (Player). The player puts one of
his generic information markers on that Armenian leader to show
that control, and a “Bribe Performed” marker on the Leader who
bribed. The generic information marker remains with the Armenian leader as long as the control lasts (see below); the “Bribe
Performed” marker is removed in the Recovery Phase of the
current Game-Turn.
3. The player may now use that Armenian Leader and army as if
they were his own Army. He may pick them up with a higher-ranked
Leader, he may use them to garrison Towns and Cities, etc. He may
activate the Armenian Leader and army on its own, however, only
by getting use of one of the “Armenians” cards from the Activation
Deck. When an “Armenians” Activation card gets drawn and the
player drawing it does not have an Armenian Leader under his control, the card is passed clockwise around the table until it reaches a
player who does have such control. That player can now activate
that leader, if he wishes. Obviously, if nobody has an Armenian
Leader under his control, the card is simply discarded.
4. Control of that leader lasts until another player successfully bribes
that same Armenian leader (either the same Game-Turn or later), or
until the controlling player attacks any Armenian force on the map
or assaults, ravages, or besieges any Armenian-controlled City or
Town. If any of these events occurs, the Armenian Leader and his
army are immediately moved to the nearest uncontrolled Space (they
go into the nearest Armenian Town or City if available), and the
active force continues without them.
Armenian armies and ASPs control Towns and Cities the way everybody else does. However, armies controlled by the players may
move through and stop at (not in) any Town controlled by Armenians, as if it were a Point. If attacked, these armies do not get the
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC
32
Onward Christian Soldiers
defensive benefit of the Town (since they don’t control it); essentially, the Town and its inhabitants are ignored. The Armenians don’t
participate in the combat in any way.
Other Armenian Considerations.
• Leaderless Armenian ASPs remain neutral until attacked, or until an Armenian leader (who may be stacked with a Crusader or
Muslim leader) picks them up.
• When Armenian ASPs engage in combat on their own, they use
the D Formation.
• If Armenians are involved in the combat as part of an army consisting of player factions, at least 50% of the total losses must be
assigned to the player factions. In other words, you can’t use the
Armenians simply as cannon fodder.
• Armenians will not engage in any combat against other Armenians. If a stack contains both Armenians and other Crusader or
Muslim ASPs, that stack may not attack an Armenian-controlled
space.
• Armenian cities may not be used for Resources as long as they
belong to the Armenians (even if you’ve successfully bribed
them). To use them, you have to take them.
The True Cross
The True Cross, which starts the game in Jerusalem, goes to the
faction that takes that city (based on which Leader is in command at
that time). At the end of the game, the Crusader Faction holding the
True Cross earns 5 Victory points. The True Cross is not worth anything to the Muslim, who may neither move it nor destroy it. A
Crusader Leader may carry the True Cross with him.
Syrian Victory
Either Syrian Faction wins if it has the most VP.
Mosul Turk Variable Victory Conditions
The goals of the Turks in this war are somewhat confusing, and
they vary with the situation. The Mosul Turk Player, before the game
starts, picks six (6) of the listed cities, below, as his Goals. (Write
them down on a piece of paper; keep secret until the end of the
game.) These are the only cities for which he will gain VP for occupying.
City
VP
City
Damascus
15
Tripoli
4
Antioch
10
Tarsus
3
INTRA-FAITH COMBAT
Edessa
5
Harenc
3
In a multi-player game, where there is more than one Crusader/
Muslim Player, it is possible one of one type will attack another (of
the same faith). In this case, the defender may Refuse Combat simply by leaving the Space he is in and moving to an adjacent space
(as if he were Withdrawing, but he does not suffer Demoralization).
Intra-Faith Combat is resolved like normal combat, except that Formations are not used. Muslim players may not use Harassment Attacks in Intra-Faith combat.
Aleppo
5
Lattakeia
2
Hamah
5
Melitene
2
Homs
5
VICTORY
Each Faction receives its own Victory points, regardless how many
players are in the game. If a player has more than one faction, he
calculates his VPs by totaling the Factions’ VPs and dividing by
total by the number of factions he controls.
City Control
A Faction receives the VP listed below for occupying (with ASPs)
the following cities:
City
Crusader VP
Muslim VP
25
10
Jerusalem
Antioch
15
10
Damascus
10
10
Edessa
8
8
Aleppo
5
5
Acre
5
5
Hamah
3
3
Homs
3
3
VP
Crusader Victory (Multiple Crusader Players Only)
In a game with more than one Crusader player, each Crusader Faction determines its own Victory Conditions within the restrictions
below.
Crusaders must determine—write down for end of game revelation—at the end of the Turn in which Antioch falls to any Crusader
army, or at the beginning of the Winter 1099 Game-Turn, whichever comes first, each Faction’s Victory conditions. Using the list
of City Control Points, each faction chooses five (5) cities as his
Victory Point Conditions. Once chosen, this list may not change. In
addition, a Crusader faction loses 1 VP for each city on its list that it
does not control.
At the beginning of the March-to-mid-April, 1099, Game-Turn, in
the Diplomacy Phase, the Crusader factions reveal to each other—
but not to the Muslims—what their Victory Conditions are.
• If no player has selected Jerusalem, all factions may add it to
their list.
• If a faction has not chosen Jerusalem and others have, that faction
suffers Desertion, and immediately reduces its ASPs by 20%,
rounding down. Those lost points are now distributed evenly
among the other factions, with any overage being lost (they went
home).
WINNING
City Destruction
A Crusader player that destroys a City gets 1 VP for that faction for
doing so; the City must still bear a Destroyed marker at the end of
game for this 1 VP to count. Muslim players do not have this VP
opportunity, but their goal is to rebuild destroyed Cities to prevent
the Crusader player from getting the VP.
The Player with the most VP wins the game. When a player controls more than one faction, he totals that faction’s VP and divides
by the number of factions he controls.
GMT Games, LLC
P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308
www.GMTGames.com
© 2006 GMT Games, LLC

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