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CHRISTOPHER MOELLER’S
Rulebook
Rage of the Witch Queen
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Booklet Cover Art 1.pdf 1 1/23/23 2:06 PM
Undying Rules v1.1

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The spawn of the twin gods Khark and Grom call
themselves Shashka. We refer to them as orcs
and goblins, but trolls and ogres are corrupted
branches off the same foul tree. The Shashka hate
life, fear only one another and spend their twisted
existence in a fever of violence and murder. That
so many of them were once our children, husbands
and wives makes fighting them doubly cruel.
-Abbot Melitus
As I compose this first volume of The Burning
Banners, chronicling the final muster of the great
hosts of mankind, I do so using rare Abyssal
black ink gathered from a Deep Kraken by Abbot
Asylaion during his travels over the Western Sea.
For this most important of works, perhaps the last
that will be written in this city, the precious jars
have been unsealed. May my humble account
of the great war waged by that most despicable
of monsters, the Witch Queen of Scyx, uplift and
glorify mighty Bahuramman, he who fell and rose
eternal. May he protect our precious world of
Kalar, our young continent Kheros and this city,
final remnant of a once mighty Empire, devoted
to his glory, from the clutches of encroaching
darkness.
The victory of Night must have seemed complete
when Abbot Melitus penned his famous history
during the twilight years of the 6th century. He
could scarcely have foreseen the phoenix-like
resurrection of his beloved Empire, much less
the destruction of the Vampire Queen and the
banishment of her undead Lord, in their time so
impossibly ascendant. My contribution to Melitus’
chronicle, inscribed in scarlet ink distilled from his
blood after his tragic death, concerns the powerful
heroes and magicians that laid our Empire low,
only to raise it up again.
-Sorceress Sandaria of Silverian
Tower of Bahuramman, 664 VE
1. Introduction
- Abbot Melitus of Aureliana
Tower of Bahuramman, 596 VE
2Burning Banners
Table of Contents
Basic Game page
1. Introduction 2
2. Setting up the Game 6
3. Abilities & Characteristics 8
4. Settlements 9
5. Sequence of Play 13
6. The Income Phase 14
7. The Activation Phase 15
8. Movement 16
9. Combat 19
10. Building and Recovery 22
11. The Season Ends 24
12. The Kingdoms 24
Advanced Game
13. Playing the Advanced Game 32
14. Heroes 34
15. Monsters 36
16. Magic Cards 38
17. The Arcane Study Phase 42
Reference
18. Magic and Hero Card Guide 45
19. Glossary and Index 55
1.1 Basic Game and Advanced Game
Burning Banners contains two Books: this Rule
Book and a separate Campaigns Book. The Rule
Book is designed to help players learn to play by
organizing the rules into two sections: a Basic
Game, which introduces players to the fundamental
rules of the game and allows for quick play, followed
by an Advanced Game which adds rules for
Monsters, Heroes and Magic spells. References to
the Advanced Game in the Basic Game rules and
Campaign book are in red ink and may be ignored
when learning the Basic Game.
1.2 Kingdoms
There are six Kingdoms in Burning Banners :
Fjordland, the Eastern Empire, the Oathborn, the
Army of Night, and the two Shashka Kingdoms:
the Goblins and the Orcs. Campaigns in Burning
Banners are always divided into two sides: Invader
and Resistance. One or more Kingdoms will form
the Invader, the others the Resistance. If more than
two players are playing, each side will play as a team
(1.11).
Undying Rules v1.0: An evolving set of rules for Burning
Banners, this version of the Undying Rules is current as of
September, 2024.
Player Note: An arrow followed by a highlighted word
or phrase means that only the section of the rule from the
highlight on has been revised or corrected. A rule marked
by an arrow without a subsequent highlight means that the
entire rule has been revised or corrected.

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4Burning Banners
Collapse
Empire
Eastern
The
Imperial Banner Army of the Night
(Front) Banner (Back)
1.6.2 Banners: Each Kingdom has a Banner marker
featuring its symbol. When setting up a Campaign,
Banners are placed on the Turn Track section of the
Season Display, establishing the turn order for each
season. The reverse of each Banner is used when the
Kingdom collapses (7.6)
Revolts Revolts
10+
Income Income
20+
Income Marker (front & back)
1.6.3 Income: Most Kingdoms have an Income
which is recorded using Income markers on the
Income Track. Shashka Kingdoms do not use
Income markers (12.2.2).
RAZED
Razed Marker
1.6.4 Razed Markers: These markers are placed in
Settlements that have been pillaged and abandoned
by their inhabitants or otherwise thrown into
disarray (4.10).
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-fi
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-fi
Control Markers
1.6.5 Control Markers: Each Kingdom has a
number of these, used when it takes control of a
Settlement.
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Arcane Study Marker
1.6.6 Arcane Study Markers: These markers
represent the combined studies of the magical
scholars of Kheros and dictate when and how players
draw Magic Cards (17.1).
1.7 Units
Units in the Basic Game are Armies. The Advanced
Game introduces a second type of unit, the Hero.
Armies are rated as follows:
Name
Build
Cost
(3 Gold)
Movement
Rating (3)
Kingdom
Affiliation (Goblins)
Combat
Rating
(2o, 1u)
(Hobgoblins)
3Hobgoblins
fi
Build Cost (Feral)
(1 Gold)
Abilities (Stealth)
ff
Swarm
of Rats
1
Fragile
1.7.1 Build Cost: The cost in gold to build an Army
(move it from the playmat to the map, 10.0).
1.7.2 Combat Rating: The number and type of dice
an Army rolls when resolving combat (1.10). Each
symbol equals one dice. A White symbol indicates
one Light dice o (1d6). A Black symbol indicates
one Heavy dice u(1d8).
1.7.3 Movement Rating: This governs the distance
an Army may move when activated. Movement may
be affected by the terrain moved through.
1.7.4 Weakened: Armies are flipped over when
damaged, becoming weakened (indicated by a red
border on the piece’s right side). Weakened Armies
have a Recovery cost instead of a build cost. This
is the gold required to flip the weakened Army back
to its Full Strength side, a process called Recovery
(10.4).

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5BASIC GAME
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2Hobgoblins
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Weakened Army
1.7.5 Fragile: Fragile Armies (3.2.2) are eliminated
when flipped over instead of weakened. They are
identified by a gray border on the piece’s right side.
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1
Orc
Scouts
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Orc
Scouts
Fragile Army
1.7.6 Feral: Feral Armies (3.2.1) consist of wild
creatures. They are identified by a distinctively
shaped build and Recovery cost symbol.
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1
Th
Swarm
of Rats
1

Feral Army
1.7.7 Huge : Huge armies (3.2.3) consist of giant
creatures. They are identified by a black hex symbol
around their Movement Rating
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Th
Th
Dire Raven5
Huge Army
1.7.7 Siege Engines: Each Kingdom may build
a Siege Engine Army to assist in attacks against
Fortified Settlements (9.11). 3
Siege Engine
Th
Siege3
Th
Engine
Siege Engines
1.8 Heroes and Monsters
The Advanced Game introduces brave Heroes and
ferocious Monsters.
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King’s
Crossbows3
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Freyja
fi
Marsh Troll
4

1.8.1 Heroes: These units enhance their Kingdom’s
Armies and cast magic spells (14.0).
1.8.2 Monsters: Deadly Monsters dwell in Lairs,
either on land or under the sea (15.0). They are not
units.Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th
Monster Command Marker
1.8.3 Monster Command Markers: When a
Monster enters play, it is marked with a Command
marker.
1.9 Elimination
When an Army is eliminated, it is returned to its
Kingdom’s playmat, and becomes available to be
rebuilt. Eliminated Heroes: see 14.4.
1.10 Dice Rolls
Burning Banners uses two types of dice: White
six-sided dice, referred to as Light Dice (o) or d6’s,
and black eight-sided dice, referred to as Heavy
Hero Monster

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6Burning Banners
Dice (u) or d8’s. The notation 1d6 or 1o means
one Light Dice. The notation 1d8 or 1u means one
Heavy Dice. When rolling either type of dice, the
goal is to roll as many results as possible equal to or
greater than 5 (this is expressed in the rules as 5+,
meaning 5 or greater). Each roll of 5+ is a success.
Any other result is a failure.
Dice Roll Results
1-4 = Failure, 5+ = Success
Dice rolls may be modified in the rules by the
notation +x or -x. A roll which is modified by +1
would score a success on a roll of 4+ (dice roll 4 +1
modifier = 5, a success).
1.11 Team Play
Burning Banners Campaigns may be played by up
to 6 players, divided into two sides: Invader and
Resistance. Each side plays as a team, supporting
one another and attempting to defeat the other side.
Some rules for how teams function:
1.11.1 Transferring Gold: A Kingdom may transfer
gold during its turn to any allied Kingdom at a ratio
of 2:1 (the transferring Kingdom spends 2 gold, the
receiving Kingdom receives 1 gold).
1.11.2 Transferring Control: Kingdoms may not
“trade” control of Settlements.
1.11.3 Allied Settlements: Settlements are
welcoming to units of allied Kingdoms and may
not be attacked by them. A Kingdom may not
place Control markers in Settlements Loyal to or
controlled by allied Kingdoms.
1.11.4 Denying Entry: Before a unit enters an
allied-controlled Settlement, the allied player may
deny entry to the unit (in which case, the unit may
not enter the Settlement). Settlements which deny
entry remain allied and may not be attacked.
1.11.5 Victory: Burning Banners is a game of
Alliances. Unless there is a special Campaign rule
stating otherwise, players win or lose as a team,
rather than individually.
2. Setting up the Game

2.1 Choose a Campaign
Before play, players consult the Campaign Book and
decide which Campaign they wish to play. There
are dozens of Campaigns in Burning Banners . The
smallest feature one map and two players, while
the largest use all four maps and up to six players.
When playing a Campaign with fewer players than
Kingdoms, some players will control more than one
Kingdom. The Campaign Book includes all of the
information needed to play a game: which maps and
Kingdoms are in play, the order in which players
set up, the strength of the forces involved, and the
Campaign’s Victory Conditions.
2.2 Prepare the Season Display
Place the Season Display near the map. Place
the Season marker and Campaign End marker in
the spaces on the Season Track indicated in the
Campaign Rules. Place Income markers for each
Kingdom in play on the Income Track, in the spaces
indicated in the Campaign Rules. Place a Banner
for each Kingdom in its space on the Turn Track, in
the order indicated in the Campaign Rules. Ignore
all spaces containing the symbol of a book (Arcane
Study spaces), these are used only in the Advanced
game.
2.3 Prepare Playmats
Each Kingdom begins with a playmat, and an
information card which summarizes that Kingdom’s
special rules. All of a Kingdom’s pieces are placed
on the playmat: gold, units and Control markers.
When playing the Basic Game, ignore the spaces for
units and markers in the Advanced Game section of
the playmat.
a. Collect the gold indicated in Opening Builds
section of the Campaign Rules.
b. Place Armies and Siege Engines in their spaces.
c. Place Control markers in the Markers space.

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7BASIC GAME
2.4 Prepare the Play Area
Set up the Map(s) used in the Campaign. Place
Control, Razed and Abandoned Lair markers on the
map as instructed by the Campaign Rules. Place
remaining markers near the map.
2.5 Opening Builds
In the order specified in the Campaign Rules, each
Kingdom builds Armies, placing them on the map in
or adjacent to friendly Settlements (10.1) or in Entry
Hexes (4.11). The Opening Builds entry in each
Kingdom’s Campaign instructions lists a starting
amount of gold with which to build these Armies. It
may also list other units, which are built at the start
of the game at no cost in gold. These units must be
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
RAZED
G
o
ld
Set-up Example for a 2-K ingdom
Campaign, played on one map.

Basic
Game
Advanced
Game
R
az
e
d
M
a
r
k
e
r
s
M o n s t e r s
S e a M o n s t e r s
T r e a s u r e d e c k
S p e l l d e c k
Playmat
Playmat
Playmat
Playmat
B le s si n g d i s c a r d p i le
S p e l l d i s c a r d p i le
Blessings deck
Hero Cards &
owned Treasures
Map
Information
Card
Information
Card
Vampire
Knights
9
Giant
Bats
5Wolf Pack2
Ghouls
2
Swarm
of Rats
1 4
Vengeful
Ghost 3
Siege Engine
3
Emissaries
Enslaved

hero 3 Markers
Swarm of Rats (x5)Hero (x6) Wolf Pack (x3) Giant Bats (x3)
Emissaries (x3)
Vampire
Knights (x2)
Fragile, Feral, Stealth
Stealth
Ghouls (x4)
Regenerate
Feral, FlyingFeral
Flying Fragile, Flying
Siege Engine (x1)
Fragile, Flying
Vengeful Ghost (x2)Mage Enslaved Hero (x4)
Basic Advanced
Army Night
of the
The Income Action Step: Place Coven
Oathborn
The 7
Giant
Storm
King’s
Crossbows3 4
Iron
Legion1
Miners
hero 3
Khazud
Basic Advanced Hero (x6) Markers
Miners (x9)King’s Crossbows (x5)Iron Legion (x6)
Dragon Slayers (x2)
Oath Takers (x2)Storm Giant (x1)Siege Engine (x1) Lost City of Khazud
Stea lth
Ranged
HugeMountaineering:
No movement penalty when entering
Mountain hexes (except Siege Engine).
MonsterMonsterMonsterMiners: May perform Mine Actions. 5
Oath
Takers5
Dragon
Slayers 3
Siege
Engine
Season
Display
placed on the map during set-up, but gold may be
spent and/or saved unless the Campaign instructions
dictate otherwise.
2.6 Prepare Monsters and Decks of Magic
Cards:
If playing the Advanced Game, randomize
Monsters into two pools, one for land Monsters and
one for Sea Monsters. Shuffle the Spell and Treasure
decks and place them on the Magic Card Display.
Shuffle each Kingdom’s Blessing deck and place it
and the Kingdom’s Hero Cards near that Kingdom’s
playmat. Each player draws to Full Strength in Spells
and Blessings (16.1.1).

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Fire is the bane of regeneration magic, and our
settlements are made of wood.
-Abbot Melitus
Giant Spider
8Burning Banners
2.7 Begin Play
Kingdoms conduct turns in sequence, starting with
the left-most Banner on the Turn Track. How turns
are conducted is outlined in the Sequence of Play
(5.0). Once each Kingdom has completed its turn,
the season ends.
3. Abilities & Characteristics
3.1 Abilities
In Burning Banners units may have five different
abilities: Ranged , Stealth, Regenerate, Flying and
Mage.
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2
3.1.1 Ranged: During combat, an Army with Ranged
wins ties (inflicting 1 hit on the opponent). If
both sides in a combat have Ranged , neither player
wins ties. Ranged has no effect when resolving an
Ambush. A unit with Flying may not move through
a hex that contains an enemy Army with Ranged .
Th
2
3.1.2 Stealth: If an Army has Stealth , it may declare
an Ambush during combat (9.6). When an Ambush
is declared, instead of rolling dice simultaneously, the
side with Stealth Strikes the opposing stack, rolling
dice equal to its Combat Rating. Then, if the target
survives, it Strikes back using its Combat Rating. If
both sides in a combat have Stealth , neither side may
declare an Ambush.
Th
2
3.1.3 Regenerate: An Army with Regenerate
Recovers (10.4) as a Free Action, and does not
require a nearby Settlement. Units may not use
Regenerate while occupying a besieged Settlement
(10.3) or during combat resolution.
Th
2
3.1.4 Flying: A unit with Flying gains the following
attributes:
1. It may enter any terrain type on the map
during Movement, except Lair hexes, ignoring
terrain costs. It may not end its move in a
prohibited hex (8.2).
2. When moving, it may pass through a
hex containing an enemy Army or hostile
Settlement (unless an enemy Army in the hex
has Flying or Ranged).
3. When attacking across a River or Major River
hexside, its opponent does not gain a terrain
modifier.
4. It may attack across Sea hexsides.
Flying has no effect when a unit is using Ship
movement (8.1.4).
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2
3.1.5 Mage : A unit with this ability is a Mage for
purposes of casting Magic cards (16.6)
3.2 Characteristics
In Burning Banners Armies may have three different
characteristics: Feral , Fragile, and/or Huge .
Th
2
3.2.1 Feral : Feral Armies consist of wild
creatures: rats, wolves, bats, even clouds of insects.
A Feral Army may enter a welcoming Settlement like
any other Army. If it ends its activation in a hostile
Settlement, (after first removing any enemy control
marker), the Settlement is razed. Feral Armies may
neither Loot nor place Control markers. A Feral
Army may not use Ship Movement
(8.1.4). In the Advanced Game,
a Feral Army does not collect a

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Farsund is loyal to the shadowy Assassin’s Guild.
Beledi is loyal to Mara Mitai, a desert kingdom in
the south. Neither kingdom is playable. They do
not have playmats or units.
-Abbot Melitus
9BASIC GAME
reward when it defeats a Monster. All limitations for
Feral Armies are ignored if the Army is stacked with
a non-Feral Hero (14.6).
3.2.2 Fragile: Fragile Armies represent forces
with low cohesiveness: irregulars, conscripts and
marauding warbands. While most Armies are
weakened when they receive a hit, Fragile Armies are
eliminated. Fragile Armies cannot Recover.
Th
2

3.2.3 Huge : Huge Armies are gigantic creatures
that tower over the landscape. A Huge Army which
ends its activation in a hostile settlement Razes it
(it neither Loots nor places its Kingdom’s Control
marker in the Settlement). A Huge Army may never
end its activation in a welcoming Settlement. If built
in a Settlement, it must leave before the season ends.
It may move through but may not otherwise occupy
a welcoming Settlement. A Huge army which,
after removing an enemy control marker, would
advance into a welcoming settlement, instead remains
adjacent. Huge armies may never Loot or place
Control markers. A Settlement may not remove a
Razed marker while a Huge Army occupies the hex.
A Huge Army may not use Ship Movement (8.1.4).

4. Settlements
Settlements are identified on the map by the
Settlement’s name plus any or all of the following
symbols: Loyalty, City, Wilderness, Fortified and
Port.

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4.1 Loyalty
A Settlement marked with a Kingdom’s crest is Loyal
to that Kingdom (Aureliana is Loyal to the Eastern
Empire). A Loyal Settlement which does not contain
a Control marker or Razed marker is welcoming
to friendly and allied units, and is hostile to enemy
units.
Farsund
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4.1.1 Loyal Neutral: Settlements which are loyal
to Kingdoms not in play are Loyal Neutrals. The
Campaign Rules establish the posture (4.6) of Loyal
Neutral Settlements.
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4.1.2 Neutral: A Settlement with no Loyalty Symbol
is Neutral (Fort Gorod is a Neutral Settlement). The
Campaign rules establish the posture (4.6) of Neutral
Settlements.
City
4.2 City
Cities have special rules that affect Looting (4.8),
garrisons (9.5) and Kingdom collapse (7.6).
Wilderness (Mountain & Forest)
4.3 Wilderness Settlement
A Wilderness Settlement combines the
characteristics of a Settlement with the terrain type
the Settlement occupies (it is both a Settlement
hex and a Forest or Mountain hex). A Wilderness

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10Burning Banners
Settlement benefits from both its garrison and
the hex’s terrain type when attacked. There is no
additional movement cost to enter a Wilderness
Settlement.
4.3.1 Wilderness Razed Markers
If a Wilderness Settlement is Razed (4.10) the
movement cost to enter the hex reverts to that of the
hex’s terrain type (use a Wilderness Razed marker
to indicate its terrain type). Settlements without a
Wilderness Symbol use a normal Razed marker.
Example: An Army enters a Wilderness Settlement,
spending 1 Movement Point. If the Settlement were
Razed, the Army would pay 2 Movement Points.
Because a Wilderness Settlement is both a Settlement
and a Wilderness hex, a Fjordland Ranger Army,
which gains 1o while occupying a Forest hex, also
gains that benefit while occupying a Forest Wilderness
Settlement (Razed or not).

Fortified Magically Fortified
4.4 Fortified
There are two types of Fortified Settlements:
Fortified and Magically Fortified. The term
“Fortified” applies to both types unless a rule
specifies otherwise.
When attacking a Fortified Settlement, the attacker
suffers a -1 modifier to its die rolls (meaning 6+ is
required to score a success). Magically Fortified
Settlements impose a -2 modifier on the attacker
(meaning 7+ is required to score a success). Note
that it is impossible for Light Dice o to roll successes
against Magically Fortified Settlements without the
aid of a Siege Engine (9.11). Critical Hit rolls (9.8.1)
are not affected by Fortifications.
Fortified Settlements may not be targeted by Strikes.
An Attacking unit with Stealth may not declare an
Ambush against a Fortified Settlement. If a unit
defending a Fortified Settlement has Stealth , it is free
to declare an Ambush, in which case the attacker,
if it survives, may Strike back (the Fortification’s
modifier, being a terrain feature, would be ignored).
Each Siege Engine Army (9.11) adjacent to a
fortification negates one of that Fortification’s -1
modifiers for friendly or allied Armies attacking
it (including the Siege Engine itself). Two Siege
Engines adjacent to a Magically Fortified Settlement
negate the Fortification’s entire -2 negative modifier
Port
4.5 Port
A unit performing a Ship Movement action in a Port
Settlement gains a Ship Movement Rating of Six
(8.1.4). Ports are only besieged if adjacent to two
enemy Armies (10.3).
4.6 Posture
A Settlement’s posture determines how it interacts
with the different Kingdoms in play. A Loyal
Settlement is welcoming to friendly and allied
Armies and hostile to enemy Armies. The posture
of Neutral and Loyal Neutral Settlements is outlined
in the Campaign Rules. The posture of a Settlement
changes when it contains a Control (4.9) or Razed
(4.10) marker.
4.6.1 Welcoming Settlements: Units may freely
enter and occupy welcoming Settlements. When
an Army ends its activation in a welcoming Neutral
Settlement, it may place its Control marker in the
Settlement and increase its Income by one (4.9.2).
Armies may not Loot welcoming Settlements (4.8)
unless removing an enemy Control marker. An
Army may remove a Razed marker from a welcoming
Settlement (4.10.2).
4.6.2 Hostile Settlements: An Army must defeat a
hostile Settlement in order to enter it, at which point
it will Loot (4.8) the Settlement and possibly gain

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11BASIC GAME
control of it (4.9.2). An Army may not remove a
Razed marker from a hostile Settlement.
Flying Units: A unit with Flying may pass through,
but not end its move in, a hostile Settlement hex
(provided the hex is not occupied by a unit with
Flying or Ranged).
4.7 Attacking Unoccupied Settlements
A Settlement which does not contain an Army is
unoccupied. An Army may attack an unoccupied
hostile Settlement using its Combat Rating. The
unoccupied Settlement defends with its garrison
(9.5). If the attacking stack wins the combat, it must
advance into the hex and Loot it.
4.8 Looting
When an Army enters a hostile Settlement, it Loots.
Looting is a Free Action and immediately generates
gold for the Looting Army’s Kingdom. An Army
may not Loot a welcoming Settlement (4.9.2). A
Huge Army (3.2.3) never Loots. A Feral Army may
not Loot unless stacked with a Hero.
4.81 Gold From Looting: A Kingdom gains 2 gold
when Looting. When a Shashka Army loots, it gains
3 gold instead. When an Army loots a City, it gains
double the normal gold (a Shashka Army looting a
City gains 6 gold for example).
Loot a Settlement: gain 2 Gold
Loot a City: gain double Gold

x2
4.9 Control
Control affects where a Kingdom can build its
Armies, and how much gold it generates during the
Income Phase.
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th
4.9.1 Control Markers: Each Kingdom has a limited
number of Control markers which may be placed
when its Armies occupy Settlements it does not
control. Placing a Control marker on a Settlement
allows the controlling Kingdom to build its units
there and increases its Income. A Kingdom cannot
place Control markers if it has none remaining on its
playmat (but see 4.9.4).
4.9.2 Capturing Enemy Settlements: When an
Army defeats a hostile Settlement in combat, consult
the following sequence:
1. The victorious Kingdom gains Gold from
Looting (4.8).*
2. If the Settlement contains an enemy Control
Marker, it is removed (4.9.4).
3. The victorious Army/Stack must advance into the
Settlement.*
4. The Settlement’s posture (4.6) determines what
happens next:
a) Hostile: The victorious Kingdom
places a Control Marker or Razed
Marker (4.9.2).*
b) Welcoming Neutral (posture set at
outset): The victorious Kingdom may
place a Control Marker.*
c) Loyal to the victorious Kingdom: No
Control Marker is placed.
d) Loyal to an allied Kingdom: No
Control Marker is placed.
5. Incomes are adjusted**:
a) The victorious Kingdom gains +1 income in
cases 4a, 4b or 4c above.
b) Ally gains +1 income in case 4d above.
c) Defeated Kingdom’s loses -1 income if the
defeated Settlement was one of its Loyal
Settlements, or if its Control Marker was
removed in 2 above.
*- See special cases for Huge (3.2.3) and Feral (3.2.1) armies.
**-Shashka kingdoms do not track income

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Control markers represent the administrative
limits of a kingdom. When a control marker
is placed on a settlement, the local government
is replaced by a military authority. When the
control marker is removed, the settlement, as
well as having been stripped of resources by the
military, is left essentially ungoverned. Until
local rulers re-establish their authority and
settlers return to the plundered countryside, the
town or city no longer functions as a community.
- Abbot Melitus
A Kingdom’s starting income may not match
the number of Settlements it controls. This is
intentional.
-Abbot Melitus
12Burning Banners
4.9.3 Effects of Control:
A Neutral Settlement with no marker is
controlled by no Kingdom. It is hostile or
welcoming to the Kingdoms in play based on
its Posture (4.6) as outlined in the rules for the
Campaign being played.
A Loyal Settlement with no marker is controlled
by the Kingdom identified on the Settlement’s
Loyalty symbol. It generates one Income for
the controlling Kingdom each season, is hostile
to enemy Armies and welcoming to friendly
and allied Armies. It may be used to build and
Recover the controlling Kingdom’s Armies.
A Settlement with a Control marker is controlled
by the Kingdom that placed the marker. It
generates one Income for the controlling
Kingdom each season, is hostile to enemy
Armies and welcoming to friendly and allied
Armies. It may be used to build and Recover
the controlling Kingdom’s Armies.
A Settlement with a Razed marker is controlled
by no player and is treated as if were not a
Settlement hex, reverting to the terrain type of
the hex it occupies (4.3).
4.9.4 Removing Control Markers: Control
markers may be removed involuntarily (when an
enemy Army defeats the Settlement and advances
into it), or voluntarily. During its turn, a Kingdom
may remove any number of its Control markers
from Settlements on the map. If removing a Control
marker would result in a Settlement hostile to
the active kingdom, the Settlement is Razed. A
Kingdom does not Loot when replacing one of its
Control markers with a Razed marker (exception:
Laying Waste 12.2.2).
4.9.5 Control Markers and Income: Control
of Settlements determines the amount of gold a
Kingdom will receive during its Income Phase. A
Kingdom’s Income increases by 1 when one of
its Control markers is placed on the map, or an
enemy Control marker/Razed marker is removed
from one of its Loyal Settlements. A Kingdom’s
Income decreases by 1 every time one of its Control
markers is removed from the map, or one of its Loyal
Settlements is Razed or has a Control marker placed
in it.
Income Adjustment
+1 When your Control marker is
placed on the map.
+1 When a Razed marker or Control
marker is removed from your
Loyal Settlement.
-1 When your Control marker is
removed from the map.
-1 When your Loyal Settlement is
Razed or has a Control marker
placed in it.
=
4.10 Razed Markers
Razed markers may be placed in a
RAZED
Settlement for a variety of reasons:
- When it is Laid Waste by a
Shashka Kingdom (12.2.2).
- When a Huge unit enters a hostile Settlement.
- When an occupying Army chooses to place
a Razed marker in a hostile Settlement rather
than a Control marker.
- When removing a Control marker from a
Settlement results in it becoming hostile (4.9.4).
- At the start of the game, as outlined in the
Campaign Rules.
- When a Feral unit enters a hostile Settlement.
- When, after receiving a hit from a Strike
outside of combat, an unoccupied Settlement is
hostile to the Striking Kingdom (16.9).

---

Recolonizing a razed settlement involves sending
refugees back to rebuild their destroyed homes
and farms. Without ample protection and
investment, particularly in the face of rampaging
orcs, this invites additional attacks. Often it is
best to ignore the pleas of displaced civilians and
leave an orc-infested province denuded of settlers
until the threat has passed.
-Abbot Melitus
13BASIC GAME
4.10.1 Razed Effects: A Settlement containing a
Razed marker:
- May not be Looted, controlled, or used to build
and Recover units.
- Does not have a posture (4.6).
- Has none of the symbols associated with the
Settlement (Fortification, City, Port or Loyalty).
- Reverts to the terrain type of the hex the
Settlement occupies (4.3).
4.10.2 Removing a Razed Marker: During its turn,
a Kingdom may remove a Razed marker from any
Settlement occupied by one of its Armies provided
the Settlement is welcoming to that Kingdom.
Removing a Razed marker is a Free Action, costing
2 gold. Once the Razed marker is removed the hex
resumes its status as a Settlement. Place a Control
marker and adjust incomes as required (4.9.2).
4.11 Entry Hexes
4.11.1 Effects of Entry Hexes
- A unit beginning a Ship Move in a Sea Entry
hex gains six Ship Movement Points (8.1.4).
- A unit built in a Sea Entry hex may not end the
turn in the hex.
- A Kingdom may build new Armies in its Entry
hexes.
- Entry hexes are never besieged.
- A unit may pass through another Kingdom’s
Entry hex while moving, but may not end its
move in the hex.
5. Basic Game Sequence of Play
5.1 Years, Seasons and Turns
A Campaign in Burning Banners will generally span
one or more Years, each of which is broken down
into four seasons: the three campaign seasons of
Spring, Summer and Autumn, plus Winter. During a
campaign season, every Kingdom resolves one turn.
It collects gold, spends it building or Recovering its
forces and attacks enemy Armies and Settlements.
During Winter, all fighting comes to a halt. In the
Basic game, Winter seasons are skipped. Years,
seasons and turns are tracked on the Season Display.
5.1.1 Years: When a Campaign begins, the Season
marker is placed in one of the spaces on the Year
One row of the Season Track and the Campaign Ends
marker in another of the Spaces (anywhere from Year
One to Year Three). This determines the duration of
the Campaign.
Duration
Start Date
End Date
6 turns
Year 1, Summer
Year 3, Spring
5.1.2 Seasons: A Campaign begins with the Season
indicated in the Campaign Rules. After every
Kingdom has resolved its turn, the Season marker is
moved one space to the right on the Season Track.
When it enters the space containing the Campaign
End marker, the game ends after all Kingdoms
have completed their turn. When a Season marker
enters a Winter space, no turns are resolved (move
the Season marker to the Spring space of the
Units may be built in friendly Entry hexes.
Permanent Entry hexes include those with the
Goblin symbol along the Northern map edges
and the Orc symbol on the Eastern map edges. A
Campaign’s special rules may specify other hexes as
temporary Entry hexes. These are not marked and
operate as Entry hexes for that Campaign only.
Entry Hexes

---

Season
Marker
(Front)
Season
Marker
(Reverse)
Campaign
Ends
Marker
Campaign
End
Season
Years 1-3
Years 4-6
Years 7-9Years 10-12
Season Campaign
End
Season
Years 1-3
Years 4-6
Years 7-9Years 10-12
Season
14Burning Banners
following year). If the current year is Year 3 and
the Campaign’s duration is more than three years,
flip the Season marker over and rotate it so that the
correct span of years is at the top, then place it in
the Spring space of Year 1. By cycling the Season
marker in this way, Campaigns of any duration may
be played.
The Eastern Empire must spend gold equal
to the amount indicated on the Revolt Track
(12.4.4)
A Shashka Kingdom must pay 1 gold for each
Control marker it has on the map or suffer
collapse (12.2.3).
Activation Phase:
• Friendly Armies on the Map become ready .
• Units may be built and activate (7.0)
If, at the end of this phase all of the active Kingdoms’
Cities are Razed or enemy controlled, the Kingdom
collapses (7.6). If a Shashka Kingdom, it collapses if it
has no Control markers on the map (7.7).
• The active Kingdom’s Banner is moved to the
Turn Complete box on the Turn Track. If all
Kingdoms have completed their turns, the
season ends.
Season Ends: If the Season marker occupies
the space containing the Campaign End marker,
the game is over. Calculate victory based on the
Campaign instructions. Otherwise, advance the
Season marker to the next space on the Season
Track. If it is a Winter space, move the marker to the
Spring space of the following year. Move all Banners
out of the Turn Complete spaces on the Turn Track,
and begin the next season.
6. The Income Phase

During each Income Phase, the active Kingdom
gains gold which it may spend during the Activation
Phase to bring new units into play.
6.1 Income Actions Step
During the Income Actions Step, the active Kingdom
may disband its Siege Engine (9.11.2). Certain
Kingdoms have additional Income Actions they
may (or must) resolve. The Army of the Night
may attempt to place one of its Covens on the map
(12.3.1). The Eastern Empire must make a roll on
the Revolt table (12.4.3). A Shashka Kingdom may
Lay Waste to Settlements it controls in order to Loot
them and to avoid paying gold to support them
5.2 Turns: Kingdoms resolve their turns one at
a time in the order indicated on the Turn Track,
starting with the Banner in the first turn space and
proceeding from left to right down the line. Once
all Kingdoms have completed their turn, the season
ends. Each turn is resolved using the Sequence of
Play outlined below.
Income Phase:
a) Income Actions Step:
• The active Kingdom may disband its Siege
Engine (9.11.2).
• Additionally, if one of the following Kingdoms
is active:
The Army of the Night may attempt to place a
Coven on the map (12.3.1).
The Eastern Empire must roll on the Revolt
Table (12.4.3).
A Shashka Kingdom may Lay Waste to any
number of Settlements it controls (12.2.2).
b) Income Step:
• The active Kingdom gains gold equal to its
Income Level.
• Additionally, if one of the following Kingdoms
is active:

---

15BASIC GAME
during the Income Step (12.2.2).
6.2 Income Step
During the Income Step, the active Kingdom gains
gold as indicated by the position of its Income
marker on the Income Track. Shashka Kingdoms do
not collect or track income (12.2.1).
6.2.1 Shashka Collapse: During its Income Step, an
active Shashka Kingdom must pay 1 gold for each
Settlement it controls. If it cannot do so, it collapses
(7.7).
6.2.2 Empire Revolt marker: During its Income
Step, the player controlling the Eastern Empire must
pay gold equal to the number of revolts on the Revolt
Track (12.4.4).
7. The Activation Phase
During the Activation Phase, the Kingdom whose
turn it is may build new Armies (10.1) and activate
those on the map. Armies move and fight one at a
time. When a unit is selected to begin moving it
becomes active. After it has completed its move and
has performed an action, it becomes finished , ends
its activation, and another unit may be activated or a
new unit built (7.4).
7.1 Ready versus Finished
When a Kingdom’s turn begins, its units are ready .
After each unit completes its activation (moves and/
or performs an action), it may not activate again that
turn. It becomes finished . As a memory aid, units
should be rotated 45º as they finish their activation.
Thfiffflfflffftffi
King’s
Crossbows3
Th
Freyja
fi
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fflffftffi
King’s
Crossbows3
Th
Freyja
fi
ready finished
7.2 Actions
When activated, a unit may move (8.0) then perform
one action. After performing an action, the unit
ends its activation and becomes finished .
Actions: The following is a list of actions available to
an active unit:
- Attack (9.0): An Army may attack an adjacent
hostile Settlement, enemy Army, unexplored Lair
or enemy Monster (15.2).
- Perform Ship Movement (8.1.4): Use Ship
Movement to cross Sea, Major River and Coastal
hexsides, or enter Major River hexes.
- Recover (10.4): Pay a weakened Army’s Recovery
cost and flip it back to its Full Strength side. It
must be in an Entry hex or in or adjacent to an
un-besieged welcoming Settlement.
- Work a Mine (12.1.1): Oathborn only.
- Pass: Forego an action this turn.
7.3 Free Actions
Any number of Free Actions may be performed by
a unit in addition to its single Action. Some Free
Actions may be performed at any time, including
when finished and during an opponent’s turn. Most
have timing or other restrictions.
Free Actions: The following is a list of Free Actions
available to any unit (active or inactive):
- Place a Control marker (4.9.2): When an Army
ends its activation in a Settlement which is
neither friendly nor allied. Increase Kingdom’s
Income.
- Place a Razed marker (4.10): When an Army
ends its activation in a hostile Settlement in
which it cannot or chooses not to place a Control
marker.
- Perform Ship Movement (12.5.2): Active
Fjordland units only. Use Ship Movement as a
Free Action to cross Sea and Coastal hexsides,
or enter Major River hexes. A unit may only
perform Ship Movement (as a Free Action or as a
regular action) once per turn.
- Remove a Razed marker (4.10.2): From a
welcoming Settlement occupied by a friendly
Army (costs 2 gold).
- Loot (4.8): When an Army enters a hostile
Settlement.
- Regenerate (3.1.3): Recover an Army with
Regenerate (10.4).
- Play Magic Card (16.7) or Hero Power (14.5.1).
- Sell a Treasure (16.5).

---

The orcs and goblins suffer intense pressure to
expand. Paradoxically, the more they conquer, the
more that pressure increases.
-Abbot Melitus
16Burning Banners
7.4 Ending a Unit’s Activation
A unit ends its activation, becoming finished, after it
performs an action, another unit activates, or a unit
is built.
7.5 Ending the Activation Step
At any point during a player’s turn, he or she may
declare the Activation Step finished. Otherwise a
Kingdom’s Activation Step ends when it cannot build
or activate any of its units. 7.6 Kingdom Collapse
At the end of the Activation Step, if all the active
Kingdom’s Cities contain Razed markers or enemy
Control markers, it collapses. Barring Campaign
rules to the contrary, the Eastern Empire and
Oathborn Kingdoms will not collapse due to loss of
Cities unless all of their Cities are in play (2 for the
Empire, 3 for the Oathborn).
When a Kingdom collapses, it is removed from
play for the rest of the game. The Kingdom’s Turn
marker is flipped to its collapsed side. It will no
longer conduct turns. All of its Armies and Control
markers are removed from the map (the Settlements
are not Razed). Its Loyal Settlements become Loyal
Neutrals (hostile to the Kingdom’s former enemies,
welcoming to its former Allies). Settlements marked
with Razed markers retain them. Arcane Study
markers are not placed in the Study space beneath
the collapsed Kingdom’s Turn marker.
Because players often control more than one
Kingdom, the player controlling the collapsed
Kingdom may be able to continue playing with
another Kingdom he or she controls. Treasures
owned by the player remain in play.
Alternatively a player may take control of a Kingdom
controlled by another player with more than one
Kingdom. Blessings held by the original player are
transferred to the new player and both players draw
to Full Strength in Spells. Treasures remain with
their original owners.
7.7 Shashka Kingdom Collapse
The Shashka Kingdoms must check for collapse
twice during each season. During the Income Step,
if a Shashka Kingdom is unable to spend 1 gold for
each of its Control markers on the map, it collapses.
Additionally, at the end of its Activation Step, if a
Shaska Kingdom has no Control markers on the
map, it collapses.
A Shashka Kingdom cannot collapse if it has never
controlled any Settlements (once it controls its first
Settlement, it becomes subject to collapse).
7.8 Eastern Empire Collapse
The Empire collapses if it suffers a Revolt while the
Revolt marker is on its +10 side and occupies the 9
space on the Revolt Track (12.4.7).
8. Movement
When a unit is activated, it completes all movement
before performing an Action. To move, a unit moves
across the map from hex to hex, crossing hexsides
as it does so. Each hex entered costs movement
points (MPs), which are deducted from its printed
Movement Rating (1.7.3). A unit may not spend
more movement points in an activation than its
Movement Rating allows.
8.1 Movement Costs
As a unit moves, it spends movement points up
to but not exceeding its Movement Rating. The
Terrain Effects Chart on the player’s aid indicates
the movement point cost to enter a hex or cross a
hexside. When activated, a unit may always move
a minimum of one hex, even if the total cost of the
move would exceed its Movement Rating. Certain
hex and hexside types are prohibited and may be
neither entered nor crossed (8.2).
8.1.1 Road Movement: Units pay 1 Movement
Point to cross hexsides containing a Road or Bridge
symbol, regardless of other terrain. A non-Flying
unit that travels entirely across road and/or bridge
hexsides gains +1 movement point for the turn.

---

The Guild of Cartographers indicates Rivers
with two lines, Major Rivers with four lines: a
dark outline (like a coastal hex) plus two thin
interior lines. Again, using artistic license, the
Cartographers have included river sources, where
a river symbol terminates inside a hex without
following any of the hexsides. These have no
effect on play.
- Abbot Melitus
17BASIC GAME
Thfffift

8.1.2 River Terrain: There are three types of River
terrain: River hexsides, Major River hexsides and
Major River hexes.
River Hexsides: Armies pay +1 movement point
when crossing a River hexside, and gain 1o when
defending against an attack across a River hexside.
If a river symbol terminates inside the hex without
following any of the hexsides, it is a river source hex,
and has no effect on play.
River
Source
(no e fect
on play)
Major
River
Hexside
River
Hexside
Major River Hexsides Armies pay +2 movement
points when crossing a Major River hexside, and gain
2o when defending against an attack across a Major
River hexside.
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Major River Hexes: In addition to serving as hexside
boundaries, Major Rivers are a hex type (as shown
above). Major River hexes allow Armies using Ship
Movement to travel inland, moving from one Major
River hex to another (8.1.5). A unit using Ship
Movement may cross a River or Major River Hexside
for 1 Ship Movement Point (after which it becomes
finished). This is the only way a unit using Ship
Movement may end its move in a hex other than a
Coastal or Major River hex.
8.1.3 Sea and Coastal Hexes and Hexsides: Sea
hexes are entirely blue with no coastline symbol.
Coastal hexes contain a soft lighter blue color and
some portion of coastline symbol.
Sea
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Sea
Sea
Sea
Sea
SeaSea
All hexsides of a Sea hex are Sea hexsides, while
some Coastal hexsides may be Sea, some Coastal
and some land. All units may cross Coastal hexsides,
paying the cost of the other terrain in the hex when
using normal movement or 1 movement point when
using Ship Movement. Except when using Ship
Movement (8.1.4) only Flying units may cross Sea
hexsides (Lakes may contain Sea hexsides). In no
case may a unit end its move in a Sea hex.

---

18Burning Banners
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8.1.4 Ship Movement: Ship Movement is an action
which allows a unit to move a second time during its
activation, using a special Ship Movement Rating. A
unit using Ship Movement may cross Sea hexsides,
Coastal hexsides, and Major River hexsides. It may
enter Major River hexes, Sea hexes and Coastal
hexes. It pays a movement cost of 1 MP per hexside
crossed and must end its move in a Coastal or Major
River hex (exception: 8.1.6).
A unit which begins Ship Movement in a friendly
Port or Entry hex has a Ship Movement Rating of 6,
otherwise it has a Ship Movement Rating of 3.
Depart Coastal or
Major River Hex:
Movement Rating 3
Depart Port or
Entry Hex:
Movement Rating 6
Ship Movement
fi
ff
6 5 4 3 2
1
3
2
1
Example of Ship Movement: An Army in hex A (a
Port) declares a Ship Movement action, gaining 6
movement points. It moves through the hexes indi-
cated by the black arrow. An Army in hex B (not a
port), also declares a Ship Movement action. It gains
3 movement points and follows the blue arrow. Both
units end their move in a Coastal hex.
8.1.5 Ship Movement Along Major Rivers:
Ship Movement may be used to enter and leave
Major River hexes (8.1.2). A unit must follow the
course of the River when using Ship Movement to
leave or enter a Major River hex.
8.1.6 Crossing Rivers: A unit may use Ship
Movement to cross a River or Major River hexside
(examples C & E below), ending its move in a hex
which is neither Sea, Coastal nor a Major River hex.
This is the only way that a unit using Ship Movement
may enter such a hex, and its Ship Movement
ends immediately, even if it has Movement Points
remaining.
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Example: An Oathborn Army in hex A (not a
port) declares a Ship Movement action, gaining 3
movement points. It could move to B (passing through
a welcoming port Settlement). It could alternatively
use its third movement point to cross the Major
River hexside at C (ending its Ship Move, even if it
had movement points left). If it had started its move
in Port, it would have gained 6 movement points,
and could have ended its move in the swamp at the
mouth of the river. In another example of using Ship
Movement to cross a River hexside, Army D moves one
hex, then performs a Ship Movement Action to cross
the River hexside (ending its activation).
8.2 Legal and Prohibited Hexes and
Hexsides
Prohibited hexes may not be entered during
movement. There are special cases where prohibited
hexes may be passed through, but in no case may a
unit end its activation in a prohibited hex. A legal
hex is a hex that is not prohibited. A Prohibited hex
is one containing:

---

NO
YES
YES
19BASIC GAME
Prohibited Hex Exception*
Enemy Army Flying unit (unless the enemy
Army has Flying or Ranged).
Hostile Settlement Flying unit (unless occupied by
a unit with Flying or Ranged).
Allied/Enemy
Entry Hex Any unit may pass through.
Sea Hex Flying unit and any unit using
Ship Movement.
Lair No Exceptions.
*Indicated unit types may pass through, but not end
their activation in the hex. Huge units may not end a turn
in a welcoming Settlement (3.2.3).
8.2.1 Prohibited Hexsides: A prohibited hexside
is a hexside that a unit may not cross. Sea hexsides
are prohibited for non-Flying units not using Ship
Movement. Hexes other than Sea, Coastal and
Major River (8.1.2) are prohibited to units using Ship
Movement (8.1.4).
8.2.2 Partial Hexes: A partial hex on an edge of the
map may be only occupied by a unit if half or more
of the hex is visible, otherwise it is prohibited.
8.3 Stacking
When two or more units occupy a hex, they form
a stack. In the basic game, only one Army may
occupy a hex at a time. This one-Army per hex
“stacking limit” is enforced at the end of each Army’s
movement. An Army may pass through a hex
occupied by a friendly or allied Army, but may not
end its move in such a hex. An Army may not be
built in a hex in excess of stacking limits. Advanced
Game stacking, see 14.6.
8.3.1 Switching Positions: A unit may end its
movement in a hex in excess of stacking limits,
provided the inactive unit or stack is both friendly
and ready. The active unit may not perform an
action after its move, and the ready unit must activate
next, leaving the hex so that stacking limits are no
longer exceeded. This rule allows units to “switch
places” while observing the stacking limits.
9. Combat
An active Army may initiate combat against a hex
adjacent to it by performing an Attack action (7.2).
Enemy Armies and unoccupied hostile Settlements
may be attacked. Armies conduct combat using their
Combat Rating, consisting of two types of dice: Light
(o white six-sided dice) and Heavy (u black 8-sided
dice). To resolve combat, each player rolls dice and
compares the total number of successes rolled with
those of their opponent. The player with the most
successes wins the combat and inflicts the difference
as hits.

3
o u
King’s
Crossbows3
fi
9.1 Attacking and Defending
The Army performing the Attack action is the
attacker. The attack’s target is the defender.
9.1.1 Calculating Total Combat Rating: When
attacking and defending, players roll all dice gained
from the following sources:
- Army Combat Rating
- Hexside terrain between the attacking and
defending hexes (defense only)*
- Terrain within the defender’s hex (defense only)*
- Hero Powers
- Magic Cards
* Only the defender’s Combat Rating is affected by
terrain. Terrain dice are ignored during Strikes (9.7).
9.2 Winning a Combat
An attacker wins a combat by rolling at least one
more success than the defender. The defender wins
by rolling at least one more success than the attacker.
If players roll the same number of successes, the
result is a tie. If neither player rolls any successes,
the result is a draw . If there is a winner, hits are

---

20Burning Banners
inflicted on the loser equal to the difference between
the number of successes rolled by each player. For
example, if an attacker rolls 3 successes versus a
defender’s 1 success, the attacker wins the combat,
inflicting 2 hits on the defender (3 successes for the
attacker minus 1 for the defender).
9.2.1 Hits: For each hit scored, the player suffering
the hit chooses one of the following options, based
on what the hex contains:
- Full Strength Army: Flipped to its weakened side.
- Weakened Army : Eliminated. Attacker may
advance.
-Fragile Army: Eliminated. Attacker may
advance.
- Garrison: Defeated. Attacker must
advance.
- Hero: Eliminated (14.4).
- Monster: Defeated (15.2).
Eliminated Armies are returned to the owning
player’s playmat, from which they may be rebuilt.
For eliminated Heroes, see 14.4.
9.3 Unoccupied Hexes and Advance
Any hex that does not contain an Army is said to be
unoccupied. When an Attack inflicting one or more
hits on the defender results in the defender’s hex
being unoccupied, the attacking Army may choose
to move into the hex. This is called an Advance.
When a hostile Settlement is defeated in combat, the
attacker must advance into the hex. An Army may
never advance into a prohibited hex (8.2).
9.4 Terrain Modifiers
Terrain may modify the defender’s Combat Rating
during combat. Consult the Terrain Effects Chart for
details. If terrain would impose multiple modifiers,
all are applied.
Example: The Oathborn Settlement of Nal Narag
in the Wildlands is unoccupied. It is being attacked
by a Wolf Pack (Combat Rating 2o) from the hex
to the southwest, across the bridge over the Boiling
River. Unoccupied Settlements have a garrison rating
of 1o (9.5.1). Nal Narag gains a second 1o for
being a Mountain Wilderness Settlement. It gains an
additional 2o because the attacking and defending
hexes share a major river hexside (the bridge and
road do not cancel the river effect for combat, only
for movement). Nal Narag will roll 4o as its defense
against the wolves’ attack.
Wolf Pack
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2
9.4.1 Additional Modifiers: Special Kingdom rules,
may also modify Combat Ratings. For example,
a Fjordland Ranger has a modifier of +1o when
attacking into, or defending in a Forest hex (12.5.1).
When defending in, or attacking into a forest hex,
the Ranger would add 1o to its printed Combat
Rating of 2o. Magic Cards (16) and Hero Powers
(14.5) may also modify Combat Ratings.
9.5 Garrisons
Garrisons help to defend Settlements. If, after
receiving one or more hits in combat a Settlement is
unoccupied (meaning there is no Army in the hex),
the garrison has been defeated and the attacker must
advance (9.3). Garrisons disappear if a Settlement is
Razed (4.10).
9.5.1 Garrisons in Unoccupied Settlements:
An unoccupied Settlement has a garrison which
provides 1o on defense. A Settlement occupied by
an Army has no garrison (but see 9.5.2).

---

Garrisons in cities represent the effects of walls
and towers as well as large bodies of occupying
troops or city guards. These standing troops
contribute their manpower to the defense,
whether field armies are present or not.
Garrisons in smaller settlements represent local
resistance, maybe organized into militias, maybe
not, which melt away when organized troops take
up the settlement’s defense. In towns and villages
with control markers, provisional garrisons
represent a detachment or two of troops from the
occupying kingdom. They keep the peace and
man the walls while the army is away, then rejoin
their comrades when the army returns.
-Abbot Melitus
21BASIC GAME
9.5.2 Garrisons in Cities: Cities have permanent
garrisons which provide 3o on defense, whether the
Settlement is unoccupied or not.
one or more successes, a single hit is inflicted on the
target (9.2.1). Critical hits (9.8) generated by a Strike
may cause more than one hit on the target.
Strike Summary
• Only the Striking player rolls dice.
• Terrain modifiers to Combat Ratings are
ignored.
• Fortified Settlements may not be targeted.*
• One hit is inflicted on the target, regardless of
the number of successes rolled. Critical hits
(9.8) may cause additional hits.
*Exception: if a defender with Stealth declares an
Ambush (9.6), the attacker may Strike back, ignoring
the prohibition against striking Fortified Settlements.
9.7.1 Strikes Outside of Combat: See section 16.9.
9.8 Critical Hits
When resolving combat or a Strike, a die roll result of
7+ is both a success and a Critical hit. Each Critical
hit may score one additional success if confirmed.
To confirm a Critical hit, 1o is rolled. If a success, it
is added to the total number scored. Critical hits are
the only way a Strike can inflict more than one hit.
Example: An Oathborn Dragon Slayer Army (Stealth,
Combat Rating 2u) is attacked by a Full Strength Orc
Army. The Dragon Slayer declares an Ambush, using
its Stealth ability and rolls two 8-sided dice, scoring a
7 on one and an 8 on the other (two successes). This
inflicts one hit on the Orc Army (a Strike causes a
maximum of one hit, regardless of the number of
successes). In this case, however, since both die rolls
were Critical hits, the Oathborn player makes two
confirmation rolls (2o, one per Critical hit). The
results are 5 and 6, confirming both. The Orc Army
suffers three hits total (one for the Strike, two for the
confirmed Critical hits). The Orc Army is eliminated
and has no chance to Strike back.
9.8.1 Fortifications and Critical Hits:
Confirmation rolls for Critical Hits are unmodified by
Fortification modifiers (a roll of 5+ always confirms a
Critical Hit).
9.6 Ambush
If either the attacking or defending Army in a
combat has Stealth , it may declare an Ambush.
When an Ambush is declared, combat is resolved
using the Ambush combat sequence instead of the
normal combat sequence. In an Ambush, each
Army performs a Strike (9.7), using its full Combat
Rating. The Army with Stealth resolves its Strike
first. If, after any hits are inflicted, the opponent
has not been eliminated, it Strikes back. If the
original defender is eliminated, the original attacker
may advance (must advance if the defending hex
contained a hostile Settlement). When resolving
combat as an Ambush, there are no winners, losers,
ties or draws. (9.2)
If both the attacker and defender in a combat have
Stealth, neither may declare an Ambush (combat is
resolved normally).
9.7 Strikes
In the Basic Game, Strikes only occur when
resolving an Ambush (see Advanced Rules for
other situations). The player initiating the Strike
rolls dice (the target does not). Terrain effects are
ignored during Strikes. Strikes may not target units
in Fortified Settlements. If the Striking player rolls

---

22Burning Banners
9.9 Basic Game Combat Sequence
When a unit performs an Attack action, combat is
resolved using the following sequence (see 16.8 when
playing the Advanced Game).
Combat Step 1. Ambush Declaration:
Either side may declare an Ambush if it has an
Army with Stealth , in which case the remainder
of the combat is resolved as an Ambush (9.9.1).
Combat Step 2. Resolve Dice Rolls:
Players roll dice equal to their total Combat
Rating. Confirm Critical hits if any are scored.
Combat Step 3. Combat Results:
Determine the result of the combat (9.2).
If there is a loser, it receives hits (9.2.1)
and combat ends. If the attacker wins, it
may advance into the defender’s hex if it is
unoccupied (must advance if the hex contains a
Settlement) (9.3).
9.9.1 Ambush Resolution: If an Ambush is
declared in Combat Step 1, resolve the remainder of
the combat using the Ambush Sequence:
Ambush Combat Step 2. Opening Strike:
The Army that initiated the Ambush performs
a Strike on its opponent using its Combat
Rating (9.7). If any successes are rolled, one hit
is inflicted on the opponent (9.2.1). Confirmed
Critical hits may inflict additional hits (9.8).
Ambush Combat Step 3. Strike Back: If the target
of the Ambush survives the opponent’s Strike, it
Strikes back, using its Combat Rating. There is
no winner or loser in an Ambush. The attacker
may advance into the defender’s hex if it is
unoccupied (must advance if the hex contains a
Settlement) (9.3) and combat ends.
9.10 Heroes and Combat
See section 14.4.
9.11 Siege Engines
Siege Engines are a specialized Army type, designed
to defeat enemy Fortifications (4.4). Siege Engines
have a Combat Rating that may be used only to
defend against attacks and to attack un-Razed
Settlements (the red tower symbol on the counter is a
reminder of this). 3
Siege Engine
fi
Siege3
fi
Engine
9.11.1 Effect of Siege Engines: One Siege
Engine Army adjacent to a Fortified Settlement
negates the Fortification’s -1 defensive modifier (4.4)
for all attacks by the Siege Engine Army as well as its
friends and allies. One Siege Engine adjacent to a
Magically Fortified Settlement reduces its modifier to
-1. Two allied Siege engines removes its -2 negative
modifier altogether.
A Siege Engine does not negate Fortification
modifiers for enemy Armies.
Example: An Oathborn army wants to attack the
Spire of the Moon (a Magical Fortification). With no
Siege Engine army adjacent to the Spire, the Oathborn
player would need to roll 7 or higher to score successes
(the Spire imposes a modifier of -2 on all attacking
die rolls). If an Oathborn Siege Engine were moved
adjacent to the Spire, the Oathborn army would
need to roll 6 or higher to score successes (the Siege
Engine would reduce the Spire’s modifier to -1). If the
Oathborn’s ally Fjordland were to move a second Siege
Engine adjacent to the Spire, the full -2 modifier would
be negated, allowing the attackers to succeed on rolls
of 5 or higher. A third Siege Engine would have no
additional effect (all of the Spire’s negative modifiers
having been negated by the first two Siege Engines).
9.11.2 Disbanding Siege Engines: Unlike other
types of Armies, Siege Engines may be disbanded
voluntarily, allowing them to be built elsewhere on
the map. During the Income Actions Step (only), the
active Kingdom may remove its Siege Engine from
the map and return it to its playmat.

---

23BASIC GAME
10. Building and Recovery
Throughout its Activation Phase, a Kingdom may
bring new Armies into play, chosen from those
available on its playmat, by paying their cost in gold.
Each Kingdom has a limited number of each unit
type that can be built. If all Armies of a particular
type are in play, no further Armies of that type may
be built until one of them returns to the playmat.
Once in play, a unit may not be returned to the
playmat voluntarily (exception: Siege Engines 9.11.2).
10.1 Building Armies
Armies are built at Full Strength. They enter play in
a friendly Entry hex or in or adjacent to a friendly
Settlement hex, by paying the build cost on the front
of the counter. Armies may not be built weakened,
or while another Army is active. An Army may
not be built in an occupied hex, in a Settlement hex
made friendly in the current turn, or in or adjacent
to a besieged Settlement (10.3). Kingdom-specific
rules may give additional instructions on where
Armies may be built.
10.1.1 Status: An Army built in an Entry hex or
Settlement hex enters play ready (7.1). An Army
built in a hex adjacent to a Settlement enters play
finished.
10.1.2 Feral Armies (Army of the Night): In
addition to normal build rules, the Army of the
Night may build its Feral Armies in Wilderness hexes
adjacent to friendly besieged Settlements (10.3) and
Covens (12.3.8). They enter play finished .
10.2 Building Heroes: See section 14.2
10.3 Besieged Settlements
If an Army occupies a hex adjacent to a hostile
Settlement, that Settlement is besieged. A besieged
Settlement may not be used to build or Recover
Armies. Ignore this rule when setting up the game.
Besieging does not affect the ability of the Army
of the Night to build and Recover Feral Armies in
Wilderness hexes adjacent to its Settlements and
Covens (12.3.8).
10.3.1 Besieging Ports: A Port Settlement is only
besieged if two or more enemy Armies occupy
hexes adjacent to it (they may be from different
Kingdoms).
10.3.2 Prohibited Terrain and Siege: An Army
separated from a hostile Settlement by a hexside
it is prohibited from crossing is ignored when
determining if the Settlement is besieged. A non-
Flying Army separated from a hostile Settlement by
an all-Sea hexside would not cause the Settlement
to be besieged. If the Army had Flying , it would
contribute to the Settlement being besieged (the all-
Sea hexside not being prohibited to it).
There is a key concept hidden in the build rules
that is easy to overlook: During its turn, a
Kingdom may build as many Armies as desired
before, between and after activations. The
idea of building first and moving second is such
a common mechanism that players will default
to it even though it doesn’t apply here. Much of
the strategy in Burning Banners depends on the
skillful timing and placement of your builds.
-Abbot Melitus
The rules governing Sieges in Burning Banners
affect only building and recovery, they do not
affect movement. Units in a besieged settlement
may enter and leave the hex freely.
-Abbot Melitus
10.4 Recovery
A weakened Army may use the Recovery Action
(7.2) if it ends its move in a friendly Entry hex or in
or adjacent to an un-besieged welcoming Settlement.
To Recover, the owning Kingdom pays the Army’s
Recovery cost and flips it back to its Full Strength
side (the Army becomes finished ).Thfiffflfifflfift

2Hobgoblins
Th

---

“We tread paths of Sun and Stone as one, without
fear, arm in arm, true to one another and to our
honored dead. In the name of mighty Durngur
and our cherished ancestors, we pledge never again
to abandon the roofless world: not to orcs, not to
humans, not to any mortal foe.”
The Oathborn dwelt in Kheros long before humans
arrived, building fortresses with roots deep
beneath the mountains. They were consummate
delvers, as comfortable in dark caverns under
the earth as on frozen mountain peaks. During
a series of orc invasions in the 420s and 30s, the
Empire was defeated repeatedly in the field, and
abandoned its easternmost districts. The dwarves,
left unsupported, were forced underground as the
orcs battered down their towns and fortresses. In
435, the greatest of the dwarven kings, Sognir
Oathbringer of Swardfeld led a counterattack
that drove the orcs back over the Deepwater. The
victorious dwarves resettled not only their gutted
settlements, but also those of the former Imperial
provinces. Sognir challenged his people to take an
oath of loyalty, unifying their scattered kingdoms,
establishing a standard set of laws and establishing
their right to live under the sun. As The Oathborn,
they would no longer rely on humans to protect
24Burning Banners
An Army with Regenerate (3.1.3) may Recover as
a Free Action at any time outside of combat by
paying its Recovery cost and flipping it back to Full
Strength. An Army may Regenerate anywhere on the
map.
Thfifffiflfifflftffifi

Example: A Full Strength unit with Regenerate is
attacked and suffers 1 hit, reducing it. After combat
ends, the unit’s owner declares that it is Regenerating.
The Recovery cost is paid, the Unit is flipped back to
its Full Strength side and becomes finished. If it had
taken 2 hits it would have been eliminated before
having a chance to use Regenerate.
10.4.1 Covens and Recovery: A Feral Army
belonging to the Army of the Night may Recover
in a Wilderness hex adjacent to an Army of the
Night Coven or Settlement, even if the Settlement is
besieged (12.3.8).
10.4.2 Using Magic Cards and Hero Powers to
Recover: When a Magic Card or Hero Power
causes an Army to Recover, no gold is paid, and no
Settlement is required. The target simply flips to its
Full-Strength side.
11. The Season Ends
11.1 Advance the Season Marker
The Season marker is advanced one space on the
Season Track. If the Season marker occupies the
space with the Campaign Ends marker, the game
ends instead, and victory is determined as outlined
in the Campaign instructions. If the marker
occupies a Winter space, advance it to the Spring
space of the following year.
11.2 Reset Kingdom Banners
Move Banners out of the Turn Complete spaces on
the Turn Track.
11.3 Begin the Next Season
Repeat the Sequence of Play beginning with the first
Kingdom on the Turn Track.
11.4 Advanced Game Season Ends
See section 13.2.
12. The Kingdoms
Each of the Kingdoms in Burning Banners has
special rules which makes playing them a unique
experience. Information Cards are provided which
summarize the rules for each Kingdom.
The Oathborn
The Goblins
12.1 The Oathborn

---

Because of his longstanding feud with Sognir, King
Hoban refused to take the Oath in 435. When
the rest of the dwarven Kingdoms sided with
Sognir, Hoban gathered his folk and fled into
the dark, pulling down his halls and mines and
vanishing from recorded history. For many years,
he wandered the hidden roads beneath Kheros,
re-emerging on the surface only after an encounter
with the Yeti known as the Grey Herald led to trade
and eventually alliance. Protected by the Yetis’
powerful magic, Hoban’s engineers constructed a
magnificent city on a remote mountainside where
Dwarf and Yeti could dwell unmolested by the
outside world. Hazy legends of Khazud arose over
the years: a veiled city, wealthy beyond dwarven
dreams, perched on a snow-capped mountain peak.
During the War of Burning Banners, Shashka
hordes threatened to overrun Khazud. The secret
city could not remain secret forever. The time had
come for Hoban’s people to march to the aid of their
kin, or face extinction.
-Sorceress Sandaria
Shashka are the spawn of twin gods: Khark,
Lord of Chaos and Grom, Despoiler of Worlds.
Oddly, the Shashka also share kinship with
the Elves in the south (Khark and Grom being
corrupted younger siblings of Elven gods
Sillandrus and Trinita). Khark’s minions,
the goblins, plagued the mountains of the
North, while Grom’s orcs terrorized the coastal
steppelands of the East. Like the Elves, they
appeared mysteriously in the years after the
Abomination. If their origin was unknown,
how they increased their numbers was well
understood. All thinking beings were their
prey. When an orc or goblin army overran a
settlement, the inhabitants were subjected to
dark rituals from which they perished or emerged
corrupted: fresh warriors for the Shashka swarm.
-Abbot Melitus
them from the scourge of the East. Sognir’s Oath
laid a solid foundation upon which a unified
dwarven kingdom might be established.
-Abbot Melitus
25BASIC GAME
12.1.1 Mining: Mines are scattered about the
various maps in Mountain hexes. These are ignored
by units other than the Oathborn. Mines are not
Settlements and may be entered freely by any
Kingdom’s units. An Oathborn Miner Army in
a Mine hex may use its action to Work the Mine,
gaining 1 gold.
12.1.2 Dwarven Mountaineers: Oathborn Armies
(with the exception of the Oathborn Siege Engine)
and Heroes spend 1 MP to enter Mountain hexes,
instead of 2 MP.
12.1.3 The Lost City of Khazud:
Khazud
When Oathborn Blessing #5 Lost
City of Khazud is played, the Khazud
counter is placed in any unoccupied
mountain hex on the map that is not
a Mine or Road hex and is neither in
nor adjacent to a Settlement or Lair. Khazud is a
Magically Fortified Loyal Oathborn City. When
placing Khazud on the map, immediately increase
the Oathborn Income by 1. Khazud is never
eliminated once in play (though it may be captured
or Razed). Once the Khazud Blessing is played it is
removed from the game (it can only be played once
per game).
The Lost City is not counted when determining
victory conditions. For example, in Campaign
11, it would not count as an Oathborn controlled
Settlement for purposes of calculating victory.
The Shashkja
12.2 The Shashka Kingdoms (Orcs and
Goblins)

---

The Shashka rely on ruthless expansion to survive.
Settlements are uprooted, burned, then abandoned.
The wealth and slaves generated by this systematic
plunder allows the horde’s outward expansion
to continue. The moment it stops growing, it
disintegrates.
-Abbot Melitus
The undead leader of the Army of the Night was
Lilith, Queen of the Night, known to the Empire
as the Witch Queen. When war broke out, Lilith
was at least five centuries old, granted immortality
during the Abomination by Scyx, goddess of death,
in return for her loyalty. When the Worldwound
was closed and Scyx banished, Lilith was forced
into hiding. She fled across the Western Sea to
Kheros and made her home in the Wildlands.
There, she encountered and eventually enslaved
a group of powerful amazon tyrants, exiled in
502 from the southern Kingdom of Mara Mitai.
These would form the core of Lilith’s undead cult,
pledged to bring about the return of Scyx. In
subsequent years, the Army of the Night sought out
powerful nobles in every nation, founding secret
covens throughout the continent. Reflecting their
amazon heritage, the Army of the Night harvested
When a mob of Shashka enters a province,
its warriors fan out across the countryside,
establishing filthy, hastily made encampments.
More precious to these creatures than food
or wealth, are slaves. Towns are stripped of
everything of value, then abandoned. They
establish a widely dispersed region of terror where
anyone unfortunate enough to be caught has their
humanity eradicated by the defiling rituals of
their Warlocks. Once the Shashka have infested
a province, every square league of it must be
searched and cleansed.
-Abbot Melitus
26Burning Banners
12.2.1 Control Markers: The
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th

Shashka do not collect or track income.
Instead, as indicated by the red “-1” on
their Control markers, a Shashka
Kingdom must pay 1 gold for each of its Control
markers on the map during its Income Step. If this is
not paid, the Kingdom collapses (12.2.3).
12.2.2 Laying Waste: During the Income
RAZED
Actions Step, a Shashka Kingdom may
Lay Waste to any number of Settlements
containing its Control markers. To Lay
Waste to a Settlement, replace its Control
marker with a Razed marker and Loot the Settlement
(4.8).
12.2.3 Collapse: If a Shashka Kingdom has
never controlled any Settlements, it is not subject
to collapse (there are Campaigns in which
Shashka Kingdoms start the game controlling no
Settlements).
the easternmost map edge for the Orcs and the
northernmost map edge for the Goblins).
Once an Orc or Goblin Control marker is placed on
the map (including during Set-Up), the Kingdom
will collapse if either of the following occurs:
1. During its Income Step the Kingdom is unable to
pay 1 gold for each of its Control markers on the
map.
2. At the end of its Activation Phase, The Kingdom
has no Control markers on the Map.
12.2.4 Entry Hexes: Shashka Kingdoms have
permanent printed Entry hexes (lying along
12.2.5 Goblin Mountaineers: Goblin Armies (with
the exception of the Goblin Siege Engine) and Heroes
spend 1 MP to enter Mountain hexes, instead of 2
MP. The Orc Kingdom does not benefit from this
rule.
12.2.6 Expert Plunderers: Shashka Kingdoms
gain 3 gold when their Armies Loot (including when
Laying Waste, 12.2.2), instead of the usual 2.
The Army of the Night
The Eastern Empire
12.3 The Army of the Night

---

only women. Men were devoured, their desiccated
corpses packed into ghoul towers to await the great
summoning, when they would serve Scyx a second
time as hordes of undead predators.
In this way, the Army of the Night spread in silence.
There might have been the odd disappearance, the
strange, inhuman glance, the mysterious increase
in the rat population, but it wasn’t until one terrible
spring night that our people finally understood the
evil that had crept among them.
-Abbot Melitus
27BASIC GAME

Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th

Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
-Th
12.3.1 Covens: Army of the Night Control markers
feature Covens on the back. Covens are placed in
hostile Settlements. They provide income to the
Army of the Night while they remain on the map.
They do not affect control of Settlements they occupy
and may coexist with enemy units and markers.

12.3.2 Placing Covens: During the Income Actions
Step, the Army of the Night player may attempt to
place one Coven in any hostile Settlement on the
map that does not already contain a Coven. Covens
may occupy Settlements containing enemy units
and Control markers. A Coven may not occupy
a welcoming or Razed Settlement (the moment a
Settlement containing a Coven becomes Razed or
welcoming to the Army of the Night, the Coven is
removed).
To place a Coven, the Army of the Night player
selects a Settlement and rolls 1d6. If the result is a
success, the Coven is placed in the Settlement. If the
result is a failure, the Coven is not placed. The roll to
place a Coven may be modified as follows:
+1 If the Settlement is unoccupied.
+1 If the Settlement is unfortified.
+1 If the Settlement is a Wilderness Settlement or
is adjacent to a Wilderness hex.
These modifiers are cumulative (an unoccupied,
unfortified Wilderness Settlement would add +3
to the placement roll). Covens listed as part of the
Army of the Night’s Opening Builds do not have to
make a successful die roll, they may be placed in any
hostile Settlement).
12.3.3 Effects of a Coven
Income: During the Income Step of the Army of
the Night turn, each Coven on the map gains 1
additional gold for the Kingdom. For example, if the
Army of the Night’s Income is 9 and it has 3 Covens
on the map, it collects 12 gold during the Income
Step (9 income + 3 gold from Covens).
Building and Recovery: The Army of the Night may
build and Recover Feral Armies in Wilderness hexes
adjacent to Covens (12.3.8).
Control: A Settlement’s control is unaffected by the
presence of a Coven.
Hidden Agents: When an Army of the Night Army
attacks a Settlement hex containing a Coven, either
by regular combat or Ambush, it gains 1o.
12.3.4 Removing a Coven Marker: Covens are
removed when a Settlement becomes welcoming or
is Razed. Covens may be voluntarily removed by
the Army of the Night at any point during its turn.
Covens are removed the moment an enemy Army
ends its movement in the Coven’s hex unless the
Army of the Night player makes a successful Hiding
in Shadows roll (12.3.5).
A Coven is removed when:
• The Settlement becomes welcoming .
• The Settlement is Razed.
• The Coven fails to Hide in Shadows when an
enemy unit ends its move in the Settlement.
12.3.5 Hiding in Shadows: If an enemy Army ends
its move in a Settlement containing a Coven marker,
the Coven is removed. The Army of the Night player
may attempt to prevent this by Hiding in Shadows:
roll 1d6, if the roll succeeds, the Coven remains in
place. If the roll fails, the Coven is removed.

---

At the time of the War of Burning Banners ,
the Eastern Empire was only one arm of a vast
nation spanning two continents. Founded after
the healing of the Worldwound, the Empire stood
for order against the chaos of the Abomination.
The golden towers of Bahuramman, raised after
its first citizen’s ascension to godhood, served to
honor and spread his teachings: Restraint in the
use of magic, law over tyranny, strength over evil,
progress in science and the arts, justice for every
Imperial citizen. As the centuries passed, the
Eastern Empire drifted from Bahuramman’s high
ideals. It suffered under the rule of weak Emperors
and Empresses. Provinces broke away or were
abandoned. Power shifted from the professional
bureaucracy and the judicial system into the hands
of powerful nobles, resulting in factionalism,
declining public spending, impoverished peasants,
dissent and revolution. When the war broke out,
the Witch Queen confronted an Empire which had
lost its way: still a golden tower, but one whose
foundations were crumbling away beneath it.
-Abbot Melitus
Its menacing tip vanished among roiling clouds, its black
masonry flickered with pale magic. -Abbot Melitus
28Burning Banners
Hiding in Shadows
1-4: The Coven is discovered and dispersed.
Remove the Coven marker.
5-6: The Coven escapes detection. The Coven
remains in play.
After the Army of the Night makes its Hiding in
Shadows roll, the enemy unit triggering the roll
may perform its action normally. Once a Coven
successfully Hides in Shadows it is protected for the
remainder of the active Kingdom’s turn.
12.3.6 The Spire of the Moon
The Spire of the Moon is a Magical Fortification
(4.4). At no time may an enemy of the Army of the
Night build a unit in a hex adjacent to the Spire.
Hero Modifiers to the Enslavement roll:
Lilith gains a +2 modifier
Dominia gains a +1 modifier
12.3.8 Feral Armies
The Army of the Night may build and Recover its
Feral Armies in Wilderness hex adjacent to friendly
Settlements and Covens, even if beseiged. The Army
enters play finished .
12.3.9 (Optional Rule) Vengeful Ghosts
These Armies ignore the -1 penalty when attacking
Fortified settlements (they do not ignore the penalty
for Magically Fortified Settlements).
The Shashka
The Eastern Empire
12.4 The Eastern Empire
12.4.1 Imperial/Empire: The terms Eastern Empire,
Empire and Imperial all refer to the same thing: the
Eastern Empire Kingdom.
12.3.7 Enslaved Heroes:
Enslaved

Enslaved Heroes only enter play by
way of the Army of the Night
Blessing Enslaved. An Army may
not be enslaved if it is stacked with a
Hero or occupies a Settlement. When
Enslaved is played successfully, an Enslaved Hero is
removed from the Army of the Night playmat and
stacked with the enemy Army (the stack becomes
ready). The Enslaved Hero gains the Movement
Rating and abilities of the Army with which it is
stacked. While stacked with the Enslaved Hero, the
Army is under the control of the Army of the Night
player. It retains all abilities, including Kingdom
abilities (for example, an enslaved Oathborn Miner
Army could perform a Mine Action, providing gold
for the Army of the Night).
If an Enslaved Hero is eliminated, the enslaved
Army immediately returns to the control of its
original owner. If in a hex welcoming to the Army
of the Night, the freed Army is immediately moved
by its owner to an adjacent hex or is eliminated.
When an enslaved stack suffers hits, the first hit
eliminates the Hero. An Enslaved Hero may never
voluntarily unstack from an Army it has enslaved. If
all Enslaved Heroes are in play, the Blessing Enslaved
may not be played (discard it immediately when it is
drawn and draw again).

---

Carved from the frozen lands of the north,
Fjordland began its existence as a province of the
Eastern Empire. Its people were primarily seafarers
and traders, hunters and fisherfolk. Harsh
conditions along the shores of the Sea of Tyr led to
a culture distinct from that of the gentler south.
Imperial governors spent as little time in their
northern holdings as possible, leaving the day-to-
day governance to local lieutenants called Jarls.
Imperial priests and magical academics avoided
travel to the north as well, so that homegrown
The Oathborn
Fjordland
29BASIC GAME
12.4.2 Revolt: The Empire is politically unstable,
wracked by rebellion and disloyalty among its
conscripted armies. During the Income Actions Step
and as a secondary effect of some Imperial Blessings,
Imperial subjects may rise in Revolt, diminishing the
Empire’s ability to collect taxes.
12.4.3 Imperial Revolt Check: During the Eastern
Empire’s Income Actions Step (6.1), the Imperial
player rolls 1d6 and consults the Imperial Revolt
Table:
1: A Season of Fire and Terror
As the endless war slaughters the poor and
impoverishes the wealthy, the Empire threatens
to disintegrate. The Empire suffers 4 Revolts.
2: Treasonous Nobles Form a Faction
A clique of ambitious nobles takes up arms
against the Emperor, outraged that their
prerogatives are being trampled. The Empire
suffers 3 Revolts.
3: Commander Stages a Coup
An Imperial General decides to go his own
way. He and his underlings wrest control of
their province from the civil authorities. The
Empire suffers 2 Revolts.
4-5: Peasant Uprising
An outlying province goes up in flames. Nobles
are robbed, granaries looted, tax collectors
assaulted. The Empire suffers 1 Revolt.
6+: Imperium in Aeternum
Despite grumbling and corruption, the Eastern
Empire proves itself once again a force for
good. Long Live the Emperor! The Empire
suffers no Revolts.
Revolts Revolts
10+
Income Income
20+
12.4.4 Resolving Revolts: Revolts are tracked on the
Revolt Track. Whenever a Revolt occurs, the marker
is advanced on the track, increasing the total by 1.
If the Revolt marker is in the 9 space when a Revolt
occurs, the marker is flipped to its +10 side and
placed in the zero space, indicating that the number
of Revolts is 10 plus the value of the space the marker
occupies (if the marker is already flipped, see 12.4.7).
During each Imperial Income Step, the Empire
must spend gold equal to the amount indicated on
the Revolt Track. If the Empire fails to spend the
required amount, each unspent gold will cause one
additional Revolt. The Empire may not choose to
accept revolts in lieu of spending gold in this step. If
it has the gold, it must spend it.
12.4.5 Suppression: Revolts may be suppressed
during the Imperial Activation Phase (or during Set-
Up if the Campaign Rules permit) at a cost of 1 gold
per suppression. Each time a Revolt is suppressed,
move the Revolt to the next lower number on the
track. When the Revolt marker occupies the zero
space on the Revolt Track it may not be reduced
further.
12.4.6 Modifying the Revolt Roll: When playing
Campaigns in which only the Fields of Ash map is
used, add +2 to the Imperial Revolt roll.
12.4.7 Imperial Collapse: If the Empire suffers a
Revolt while the Revolt marker is on its +10 side
and occupies the final space on the Revolt Track, the
Empire collapses.
12.5 Fjordland

---

Sorceress Sandaria suggests that you
play the Introductory Campaign
Invasion of Drefeld using the Basic
Game rules before proceeding to the
Advanced Game.
HALT!
priests and mages stepped in to fill the gap. The
people began praying to the siblings Tyr, god of
the sea and Gyda, goddess of wild places, whose
blessings seemed suited to the austere world around
them. A school of distinctly northern magic was
practiced, secretly at first, then more openly, called
the Path of Frohr. As might have been anticipated,
over time Fjordland’s culture diverged so far from
that of the Empire that frictions grew, climaxing
in Fjordland’s bid for independence. Fourteen
years after winning the “Jarl’s War”, Fjordland’s
toughened veterans remained as an aging, but
powerful warrior class. Of all of the defenders of
the west against the Witch Queen, they were the
poorest in wealth, the smallest in population, and
the fiercest in battle.
-Abbot Melitus
Fjordland’s Rangers spent their lives in the great
pine forests of the North. Skilled trackers and
hunters, they were responsible for providing
security as well as game to the Freeholds.
-Abbot Melitus
Masters of sea and sky, Fjordland’s long ships
ventured far to the west, establishing fishing
colonies on islands whose locations were carefully
guarded secrets. Their raids along the Imperial
coast and beyond were the stuff of legends.
-Abbot Melitus
30Burning Banners
In addition, Fjordland units have a Ship
Movement rating that is 2 higher than normal
(8 Movement points when departing a Port, 5
when departing any other hex).

Example: a Fjordland Freeholder Army
(Movement Rating 3) spends one movement
point traveling to a friendly Port. From there,
it performs Ship Movement as a Free Action,
spending 8 sea movement points, ending
in a Coastal hex. Finally, it spends its last
two movement points traveling over land, to
complete the movement portion of its activation.
It may now perform an action (other than Ship
Movement, since it has already performed its
one Ship Move this activation).
Fjordland
12.6 Mara Mitai and the Assassin’s Guild:
Mara Mitai and the Assassin’s Guild are non-
player Kingdoms with Loyal Settlements on the
Burning Banners maps. These Settlements are
Loyal Neutrals, and may be hostile , welcoming,
or allied to player Kingdoms, as outlined in
the rules for each Campaign. There are no
playmats or Armies for these nations.
12.5.1 Ranger Woodcraft:

Fjordland Ranger Armies and Heroes stacked with
them spend 1 MP to enter Forest hexes, instead of 2
MP. Additionally, a Ranger Army gains 1o while
Striking into, attacking into or defending in a Forest
hex.
12.5.2 Fjordland Seafaring:
Ship Movement for Fjordland units is a Free Action
(7.3). It may be declared by an active Fjordland unit
before, during or after movement (once the unit
has performed an action, Ship Movement may no
longer be declared). A Fjordland unit or stack may
perform Ship Movement once per activation. The
Drakken Army does not benefit from the Seafaring
rule (as it is both Feral and Huge ).

---

The Advanced Game
Live your life in the heart of the Empire and you might be forgiven for thinking that seasons involve nothing
more than the changing of the weather, that your village and the sweat of your brow represent the sum total
of human experience. You might be forgiven, but you would be wrong.
Descend into the ruins of Firewing Peak, where stone flows like water and demons guard forbidden
treasures. Greet the mages and heroes of Kheros, and marvel at their mighty deeds. Set your astral body
adrift on the silent tide, flowing through the halls of the gods and into the mirror realm of Meji. Witness
mighty Bahuramman elevating ordinary citizens into avatars of justice.
Then you will see that your conception of the world is the merest beginning.
-Sorceress Sandaria

---

Sorceress
Helena
Sandaria
32Burning Banners
The Advanced Game introduces Heroes, Monsters,
Spells, Blessings and Treasures. When playing
the Advanced Game, add the red rules text in the
sections above as well as that which follows.
13. Playing the Advanced Game
13.1 Preparation
At the start of the game, add the following to the list
outlined in rule section 2.0:
13.1.1 Arcane Study Markers: Collect and
distribute Arcane Study markers (17.1.2).
13.1.2 Playmats: Each Kingdom’s Heroes (14.0) are
randomized and placed in a stack, face down, on
the space marked Heroes. Place Blessings and Hero
Cards nearby. Place Monster Command markers in
their spaces.
13.1.3 Monsters: Randomize all Monsters (15.0)
into two pools, one for land Monsters, one for Sea
Monsters, and place them face down so that players
can draw them without knowing their identities.
13.1.4 Magic Card Display and Decks: The Magic
Card Display is a play aid with four spaces indicated,
one for each of the main Magic Card Decks (Spells
and Treasures), plus one for discarded Spells and
one for discarded Blessings. Treasures do not have
a discard pile. The Blessings of all Kingdoms are
discarded into the same discard pile (they are sorted
out at the end of the year and shuffled back into their
individual decks).
Place the Magic Card Display beside the Season
Display. Shuffle the Spell and Treasure decks and
place them in their spaces on the Magic Card
Display. Shuffle each Kingdom’s deck of Blessings
and place it near that Kingdom’s playmat.
13.2 Advanced Game Sequence of Play
Income Phase:
a) Income Actions Step:
• The active Kingdom may disband its Siege
Engine (9.11.2).
• Additionally, if one of the following Kingdoms
is active:
Army of the Night may attempt to place a
Coven on the map (12.3.2).
Eastern Empire must roll on the Revolt Table
(12.4.3).
Shashka Kingdom may Lay Waste to any
number of Settlements it controls (12.2.2).
b) Income Step:
• The active Kingdom gains gold equal to its
Income Level.
• Additionally, if one of the following Kingdoms
is active:
Eastern Empire: Must pay gold equal to its
Revolt Level (12.4.4).
Shashka Kingdom: Must pay 1 gold for each
Advanced Game

---

33ADVANCED GAME
Control marker it has on the map or suffer
collapse (12.2.3).
Army of the Night: Gain 1 gold for each Coven
on the map (12.3.3).
Activation Phase:
• The active Kingdom’s units and commanded
Monsters become ready .
• The active Kingdom’s locked Hero cards unlock
(14.5.2).
• The active Kingdom may build and activate
units (7.0).
• Magic Cards may be played by the active player
(all other players may play Cantrips only).
When the phase ends, the active Kingdom’s turn
marker is moved to the Turn Complete box on the
Turn Track and all players return eliminated Heroes
to their playmats (14.4). If all of its Cities are Razed
or enemy controlled, the Kingdom collapses (7.6). If
the active Kingdom is Shashka, it collapses if it has
no Control markers on the map (7.7).
Arcane Study Phase:
Reveal the Turn’s Arcane Study Marker: Flip
over the Arcane Study marker for the current turn.
If a Glyph is revealed, all players study up to 3
Disciplines. If a Churn symbol is revealed, all players
study up to 1 Discipline. The available disciplines
are:
1. Study Treasures:
Retrieve one owned Treasure to hand (16.1.1).
2. Study Blessings:
Discard up to 1 Blessing, then draw to Full
Strength in Blessings (1 Blessing per Kingdom
controlled).
3. Study Spells:
Discard up to 1 Spell, then draw to Full
Strength in Spells (3 Spells).
Once Arcane Study is complete, the next Kingdom’s
turn begins. If all Kingdoms have completed their
turns, the season ends.
13.2.1 Finalize the Season: If the Season marker
occupies the space containing the End Campaign
marker, the game is over. Calculate victory based
on the Campaign instructions. If the Campaign
continues, perform the following steps:
a) Advance Season Marker: Advance the
Season marker to the next space on the Season
Track. If the space contains the Autumn Churn
marker, add it to the pool of Arcane Study
markers. If the marker is in a Winter space,
resolve a Winter Season (13.2.2).
b) Distribute Arcane Study Markers:
Randomize the pool of Arcane Study markers.
Place one in each study space on the Turn
Track (excess markers are placed in the Unused
Markers space, unexamined).
c) Begin the next Season.
13.2.2 Winter Seasons: When the Season marker
enters a Winter space, a Winter Season is resolved as
follows:
a) The Silent Tide Flows: Place the Autumn
Churn marker in the Autumn space of the
upcoming year (17.2). Collect and randomize
the other Study markers and place one in
each Study space on the Turn Track beneath a
Kingdom Banner. Excess markers are placed in
the Unused Markers space.
b) Drums in the Deep: Remove defeated
Monsters from Lair hexes, reopening them for
exploration. Removed monsters are returned
to the appropriate Monster pools. Commanded
Monsters and Abandoned Lair markers (15.8)
remain in place.
c) Sell Treasures: If a player holds more than 2
Treasures (in hand or owned), sell enough of
them (16.5) to bring the total down to 2.
d) Shuffle Discard Piles: Discarded Spells,
Blessings and Treasures removed from play are
shuffled back into their decks.
e) New Year: Move the Season marker to the
Spring space of the next year.

---

34Burning Banners
14. Heroes
14.1 Heroes
Heroes are mighty Wizards and Warriors. Heroes
add their abilities and unique Hero Powers to Armies
they are stacked with.
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13
Freyja

14.2 Building Heroes
Heroes are chosen randomly when built. They are
shuffled and placed face down with their generic
Hero symbol showing. When built, the build cost is
paid, the Hero is flipped face up and placed on the
map.
Each Hero has an associated Hero Card, outlining
the Hero’s unique Power. When a Hero enters play,
its accompanying Hero Card is placed next to its
Kingdom’s playmat in the unlocked position (14.5.2).
Heroes may be built in an Entry hex or in or adjacent
to an un-besieged (10.3) friendly Settlement. A Hero
may not be built in a hex occupied by another Hero.
A Hero built in an Entry or Settlement hex enters
play ready (7.1). One built adjacent to a Settlement
enters play finished . A Hero built in a hex containing
a finished Army enters play finished (and vice versa if
an Army is built in a hex containing a finished Hero).
14.3 Gaining Heroes
Heroes gained through the play of Magic Cards may
be placed with any friendly Army, regardless of its
location (including in besieged Settlements).
14.4 Heroes in Combat
When a Hero is stacked with an Army, the Army
gains the Hero’s Powers, Combat Rating and abilities,
with the exception of Flying (14.6.3). When a hit is
inflicted on a stack, it may be assigned to the Hero
(eliminating it), or the Army. If a defending Hero
is alone in a hex after combat, it is eliminated if
the victorious Army advances into its hex (14.6.5).
At the end of each turn, all Kingdoms shuffle their
eliminated Heroes, face down, with any unbuilt
Heroes on its playmat.
14.5 Hero Cards and Powers
When a Hero is placed on the map, its Hero Card is
placed face up beside its Kingdom’s playmat. Hero
Cards describe the Hero’s unique Power. Hero Cards
enter play unlocked (14.5.2).

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14.5.1 Playing Hero Powers: While a Hero and
its Card are in play, the Hero’s abilities and Power are
available. Some Powers are active as long the Hero
is on the map, while others must be played (like
Magic Cards), in order to have an effect. If a Hero’s
Power features the Cantrip symbol (16.7.2), it may
be played any time a Cantrip can be played. A Hero
Card is not discarded when its Power is played, but
many Powers have the keyword Lock (14.5.2). Like
Magic Cards, play of Powers is governed by Battle
Magic rules (16.7.3). Hero powers follow the same
Duration limitations as Magic Cards (16.7.1).
Example 1: Goblin Hero Iron Skull has a
Power called Deadskull’s Helm with the text
“When Iron Skull is stacked with a Goblin Elite
Army gain 1o.” This is an ability that remains
active as long as Iron Skull remains stacked
with a Goblin Elite Army (adding 1o to Iron
Skull’s Combat Rating).
Example 2: Imperial Hero Anna Lontius has a
Power called Velvet Glove with the text “Lock:
Suppress one Revolt.” This power does not have
the Cantrip symbol, meaning that, during the
Imperial turn, as a Free Action, Anna may be
locked to Suppress one Revolt (12.4.5). She
unlocks at the start of the next Imperial turn.

---

35ADVANCED GAME
Example 3: Oathborn Hero Dara Firemane
has a Power called Lightning Rune with the text
“Lock: Gain 1o.” This power has the Cantrip
symbol, meaning her Hero Card may be locked
during any player’s turn to add 1o to Dara’s
Combat Rating. Her Hero Card will unlock at
the beginning of the next Oathborn turn.
14.5.2 Hero Power Keywords: Many Hero Powers
use Keywords with the following meanings:
Lock: After playing a Power with this keyword,
rotate the Hero Card 90º to the right to lock
it. The card unlocks (is turned upright) at the
beginning of the player’s next Activation Phase.
While a Hero Card is locked, its Power cannot
be played. Locking a Hero’s card has no effect
on the Hero’s unit.
Gain: Powers that gain o and u increase the
Hero’s Combat Rating accordingly.
Enslave (Army of the Night only): This
modifies the Hero’s Enslave rolls (12.3.7).
Battle Magic: This Power may only be played
during the Battle Magic Step (16.7.3).
14.6 Heroes and Stacking
In the advanced game, an Army and a Hero from
the same Kingdom may occupy the same hex,
activating together, performing actions together and
conducting combat together. This is called stacking.
14.6.1 Activating as Stacks: Stacked units may
activate together or individually. If activated
together, the units composing the stack move and
conduct actions jointly. Stacked units combine
their Combat Ratings during combat resolution.
Stacks move at the speed of the slowest unit in the
stack.
A ready unit may be picked up by a moving unit,
allowing them to continue moving together,
provided neither unit exceeds its Movement Rating.
A stack may drop off a unit as it moves, but the
dropped unit is finished and may not perform an
action.
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Examples of Moving as a Stack:
A: During the Fjordland turn, Hero Freyja
(Movement Rating 8) moves five hexes to a hex
occupied by a ready, friendly Army (Drakken,
Movement Rating 3).
B: Freyja “picks up” the Drakken Army and they move
together as a stack for three additional hexes, ending
adjacent to an enemy Wolf Pack Army. Freyja has
spent a total of 8 movement points, the Drakken has
spent 3, so neither has exceeded its Movement Rating.
C: They perform an Attack action against the Wolf
Pack Army, after which they become finished.
D: During the Army of the Night’s turn, a stack
containing Hero Lilith (Movement Rating 6) and
another Wolf Pack Army (Movement Rating 4) moves
two hexes.
E: Lilith drops off the Wolf Pack (it becomes finished),
and continues moving two more hexes.
14.6.2 Stacks and Actions: Stacked units perform
actions jointly. When a unit ends its move stacked
with a finished unit, it becomes finished as well and
may not perform an action.
14.6.3 Stacks and Abilities: A stack benefits
from the abilities of both Army and Hero with the
exception of Flying . A stack gains Flying only if both
units in the stack have the ability. Characteristics are
not shared between stacked units.
14.6.4 Stacks and Advance After Combat: If a
stack advances, it must advance together (one unit in
the stack may not advance while the other remains
behind). If the hex being advanced into contains an
enemy Hero, it is eliminated. Defeating a Monster
does not allow an advance.

---

When an Army attacks a Monster, picture a select
group of heroic veterans from that army, venturing
where only the bravest dare tread. The mission
of this courageous band is to seek treasure, avoid
traps, and confront whatever hideous monsters lurk
in the depths. The outside world is left behind as
the adventurers tread the forbidden corridors of the
36Burning Banners
14.6.5 Lone Heroes: A Hero that is not stacked
with an Army is termed a “lone Hero”. Lone Heroes
may neither attack nor be attacked, even if they
have a Combat Rating. If an enemy Army enters a
lone Hero’s hex during movement or advance after
combat, the Hero is eliminated. When moving, a
lone Hero may pass through a hex containing a lone
enemy Hero without either unit being affected (the
active Hero may not end its move stacked with the
enemy Hero). Lone Heroes cannot advance (9.3).
When a Settlement containing a lone Hero is
attacked, the Settlement is considered unoccupied
(9.5) but the Hero is not “lone” (it is commanding
the defending Settlement’s garrison). The Hero’s
abilities and Combat Rating are added to that of the
garrison. If the defender suffers a hit, the Hero is
eliminated and the attacker must advance.
15. Monsters
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15.1 Lairs
Hexes with a Monster symbol are Lairs: regions
of dread in the world of Burning Banners . A Lair
without a Monster present is said to be unexplored.
Because Lairs are regions of dark rumor, they may
never be entered by units of either side (including
Flying units).
Marsh Troll
4
Monster (Front and Back)
Monsters are not units. The front of a Monster
counter features a generic Monster symbol. The
reverse features the Monster itself, with Combat
Rating, abilities and a gold reward, gained when
the Monster is defeated. When a Monster enters
play, a counter is drawn randomly from the pool of
Monsters, placed on the map, and flipped over so
that its identity is revealed.
2
Siren
Sea Monster (Front and Back)
15.1.1 Sea Monsters: Sea Monsters are a special
type of Monster, distinguished by a blue Monster
symbol. They form their own Sea Monster pool,
separate from the other Monsters. When a Sea Lair
is attacked, a Sea Monster is selected to defend it. An
active Army adjacent to a Sea Lair or Sea Monster
may always attack it, even if separated by a Sea
hexside.
15.2 Attacking Monsters
Unexplored Lairs and Monsters commanded by
enemy Kingdoms (15.3) may be attacked. When
attacking an unexplored Lair, a Monster or Sea
Monster is chosen randomly from the appropriate
pool, placed Monster side up in the hex, and combat
is resolved. Terrain is ignored during combat with a
Monster.
15.2.1 Defeat: If a Monster suffers a hit it is
defeated. If in a Lair hex, it is flipped over. The Lair
is now explored and may not be attacked while the
defeated Monster remains in the hex. If a Monster is
defeated in a non-Lair hex, it is shuffled back into its
Monster (or Sea Monster) pool.

---

Sunken Tomb, lose their way in the Labyrinth of
Evil or confront what lurks atop the thousand steps
of the Giant’s Staircase. If their luck holds, they will
return to the Army laden with gold and magical
Treasures.
-Sorceress Sandaria
37ADVANCED GAME
Coven
+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
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15.3 Commanding Monsters
When a Monster enters play, it comes under the
command of an opponent of the player who initiated
the attack (15.4.2). If there are several Kingdoms
eligible to command a Monster, the players
controlling those Kingdoms decide which will
gain command. If unable to choose, command is
determined randomly.
Each Kingdom may command a maximum of 3
Monsters. When a monster is defeated (15.2.1) or
Slinks away (15.4) its Monster Command marker
is returned to the owner’s playmat. If a Kingdom
commands 3 Monsters, one may be ordered to Slink
Away (15.4) in order to gain command of a new
Monster.
When a Kingdom gains command of a Monster,
place one of its Monster Command markers on the
Monster. Monsters with Mage may be used by the
commanding player to cast Spells (not Blessings or
Treasures). Monsters cannot move, stack or advance
after combat. Magic Cards and Hero Powers (like
Spell #27 Fear ) which cause a target to leave its
hex cannot target a Monster. Spells which would
eliminate the caster (like Spell #24 Martyrdom ) may
not be cast by a Monster.
15.4 Undefeated Monsters
A Monster that survives an attack remains in play.
It may not move, but may perform limited actions
(below) and the Kingdom which commands it may
use it to cast Spells if it has Mage ability. Undefeated
Monsters may not be the target of attacks or Strikes
by the Kingdom commanding the Monster or its
allies, but may be attacked by any other player.
During a Kingdom’s Activation Step, each Monster
it commands may perform one of the following
actions, after which it becomes finished :
1. Perform a Strike: Strike an enemy stack
or Settlement within range (15.5), using the
Monster’s Combat Rating. Rules section 16.9
(Strikes Outside of Combat) applies to Strikes
made by Monsters.
2. Slink Away: Return the Monster to the
pool of available Monsters. The Command
marker returns to the Kingdom’s playmat. If
the Monster was in a Lair hex, the Lair is
unexplored and may be attacked by any player.
3. Pass: The Monster remains in play without
making a Strike.
15.5 Monster Strike Range
All Monsters may Strike targets in adjacent hexes.
Sea Monsters and Monsters with Mage and Flying
can strike more distant targets, as shown below.
Monster
Strikes
Sea Monster: 4 Hexes
Flying: 3 Hexes
Mage: 2 Hexes
Other: Adjacent
Ranges
A Monster’s Strike range may be traced through
prohibited hexes with one exception: Sea Monsters
may trace their 4 hex Strike range only across Sea
and Coastal hexsides.
15.6 Reward
Attacking and defeating a Monster results in a
reward for the victor. Most Monsters have a gold
value printed on their counter. A player who defeats
a Monster in combat gains that gold and draws a
Treasure card from the Treasure deck (16.1.1).
If a Monster is eliminated outside of combat (16.9),
no reward is gained.
Monster Command Marker

---

38Burning Banners
Reward Summary
• Gain the gold on Monster’s counter.
• Gain a Treasure card.
15.7 Wandering Monsters
Magic Cards may cause Monsters to appear in
hexes other than those containing unexplored Lairs.
These are Wandering Monsters. A Wandering
Monster enters play ready , commanded by the active
Kingdom.
When placing a Wandering Monster, select one at
random and examine it before placing it on the map.
It may not be placed in a Lair, in a hex occupied by a
Monster or unit, or in a hex containing a Settlement
(including Razed Settlements). The hex a Wandering
Monster occupies is a prohibited hex (treat it like a
Lair) as long as the Monster is present: units may
not enter or advance into the hex.
When a Wandering Sea Monster enters play, it must
be placed in a Sea hex adjacent to a Coastal hex.
Monsters are not Armies. They do not besiege
Settlements.
While in play, Wandering Monsters follow the rules
for Undefeated Monsters (15.4).
When a Wandering Monster is defeated it is removed
from play and returned to the pool of available
Monsters. The Kingdom which eliminated it gains
the gold indicated on the Monster’s counter as a
reward, but does not gain a Treasure.
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+1
Control
Monster
Abandoned
Control
Control
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Abandoned Lair Marker
15.8 Abandoned Lairs
When the Campaign Rules call for one or more Lairs
to be abandoned, place Abandoned Lair markers
in those hexes. An Abandoned Lair may not be
attacked, but remains in effect for all other purposes.
16. Magic Cards
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There are three types of Magic Cards: Treasures,
Spells and Blessings (each Kingdom in play has its
own unique deck of Blessings). When the game is set
up, Magic Cards are sorted by type, each separated
into its own deck. The Treasure and Spell decks are
shuffled and placed in their spaces on the Magic
Card Display. Each deck of Blessings is shuffled and
placed near its Kingdom’s playmat.
When a game begins each player draws to Full
Strength in Spells and Blessings (16.1.1): three Spell
cards plus one Blessing from each Kingdom he or
she controls (a player controlling two Kingdoms
would have a starting hand of 5 cards: 3 Spells plus 1
Blessing from each Kingdom.
16.1 Decks
Each type of Magic Card has its own deck. During
play, cards are drawn from one of these decks into a
player’s hand. If a deck runs out of cards, its discard
pile is shuffled and forms a new deck.
16.1.1 Drawing, Gaining and Retrieving Cards:
Once a game is underway, new Spells and Blessings
are drawn by all players during each Arcane Study
Phase. If, when instructed to “draw to Full Strength,”
a player is already at Full Strength for a card type,
no card is drawn. Treasures are Retrieved during
the Arcane Study Phase (16.1.2) or drawn from the
Treasure deck and added to a player’s hand (usually
as a reward when a Monster is defeated). When
played, a Treasure becomes owned by the player that
played it rather than discarded. When a Treasure
is Retrieved, one is chosen from among those the
player owns, and is added the player’s hand.
16.1.2 Treasures: When drawn, a Treasure is
added to the player’s hand of Magic Cards. When

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39ADVANCED GAME
played, it becomes owned rather than discarded.
Owned cards are placed face up beside the player’s
playmat. During Arcane Study Phases, a player
may Retrieve one Treasure he or she owns (16.1.1).
Owned cards may be examined by all players.
Treasures which are sold or otherwise eliminated are
set aside and shuffled back into the Treasure deck
during Winter seasons.
16.1.3 Hand Size: There is no limit to the number
and type of cards a player may hold in his or her
hand. Full Strength (17.4.4) governs a player’s ability
to draw cards, but does not represent a maximum
hand size.
16.2 Discard Piles
Spells and Blessings have a single discard pile each,
formed as cards are played. When a Spell or Blessing
is played, its effects resolve, after which it is discarded
(placed in the discard pile). Discard piles may be
examined by all players. Treasures do not have a
discard pile (16.1.2).
All Kingdoms’ Blessings share a common discard pile
in order to reduce table clutter.
16.3 Spells
At Full Strength, a player’s hand contains 3 Spells.
The Spell deck is a common deck, accessed by all
players.
16.4 Blessings
Blessings represent direct intervention in the physical
realm by Kalar’s numerous deities. When at Full
Strength, a player’s hand contains 1 Blessing from
each Kingdom that player controls. Unlike Spells
and Treasures, Blessings are Kingdom-specific. For
example, a Fjordland Blessing may only be drawn
and played by the player controlling Fjordland; may
only affect and be cast by Fjordland’s units (16.6);
and may only be played during Fjordland’s turn (if
not a Cantrip).
Blessings are shuffled into individual decks which
are placed near their Kingdom’s playmat. Only
the Blessings of Kingdoms which are in play are
available. Blessings share a common discard pile.
Bahuramman, watches over the Empire. The twins
Tyr and Gyda guard the North. The Dwarves worship
Durngur the Builder. The Shashka tribes follow the
fallen brothers: Khark, Lord of Chaos and Grom the
Despoiler. The Army of the Night serves Scyx, First
and Most Ancient, Goddess of Death, Goddess of the
Moon, Enemy of all living things.
- Sorceress Sandaria
16.5 Selling Treasures
During his or her Kingdom’s turn, a player may sell
Treasures (either owned or in hand) for 2 gold each.
A Treasure may not be played and sold in the same
turn. When sold, a Treasure is eliminated (16.6.3).
During Winter seasons, players may retain up to
2 Treasures that they own or hold in their hand.
Treasures in excess of 2 must be sold.
How desperate or depraved must a mortal be to
relinquish one of these priceless objects for a pocketful
of coins?
-Sorceress Sandaria
16.6 Casting Magic Cards
A Magic Card may have a requirement (16.6.2),
generally the Mage ability, meaning that in order to
play the card, a unit with that ability, controlled or
commanded by the casting player, must be chosen
from which the Magic Card’s effect will originate.
That unit is the card’s caster . Casting a Magic Card is
a Free Action (7.3).
A Hero Power may only be cast by the Hero named
on the Hero Card. Monsters may cast Spells, but not
Blessings or Treasures.
16.6.1 What is a Target?: A Magic Card or Hero
Power may use the term target in its text, meaning
that the person playing the card must declare what
Black Axe

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Spellcasting can be a laborious business. Candles
are lit, wards inscribed, invocations chanted.
Cantrips are spells that require none of that.
Casting cantrips is like leaping directly into the
silent tide. They benefit from intuition and physical
control, rather than study and craftsmanship.
Because children sensitive to the tide first display
their talent through cantrips, lay folk believe that
they are mild and ineffective. That is untrue.
What they are is raw. When cast by a skilled mage,
cantrips like fireball can channel immense loads of
tidal energy. It is speed, not a lack of power, that
characterizes the cantrip.
-Sorceress Sandaria
41ADVANCED GAME
Cantrip Symbol
Discard: When playing a Spell with the discard
symbol, an additional Spell must be discarded.
If unable to do so, the card with the discard
symbol may not be played.
Discard Symbol
16.7 When a Magic Card May be Played
A player may play as many Magic Cards as desired
during the Activation Phases of Kingdoms he or she
controls. Cards with the Cantrip symbol (16.7.2)
may be played during any player’s Activation Phase,
including those of allied and enemy Kingdoms.
Casting a Magic Card does not require that the
casting unit be activated, ready or finished. A
friendly or commanded (15.3) Mage may be used to
cast multiple Magic Cards in the same turn. A Magic
Card may not be played to no effect (say, to increase
the Movement Rating of a finished unit). After a
Magic Card has been played and its effects resolved
it is discarded, or if a Treasure, becomes owned
(16.1.2). A Kingdom’s Blessings may only be played
on its turn (unless a Cantrip).
16.7.1 Magic Card Duration: Unless the text on
a Magic Card specifies otherwise, a Spell lasts until
the currently active unit’s or stack’s activation ends.
For example, if a Spell is played after an Oathborn
Army has activated, its effects last until that Army
becomes finished (this is true for Cantrips as well
as Spells played by the active player). If no unit is
active when a Magic Card is played, its effect resolves
immediately and then ends.
16.7.2 Cantrips: Certain Magic Cards have a
Cantrip symbol below the card’s title. Cantrips are
the only type of card which may be played during an
opposing Kingdom’s turn. During Battle Magic, the
active player may play Cantrips (only), in response to
Cantrips played by the defender.
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Spell #43 Fireball is a Cantrip
16.7.3 Battle Magic: The Advanced Game’s
combat sequence is expanded to accommodate
Magic. When an Attack is declared, Battle Magic
goes into effect, ordering the play of Magic Cards
and Hero Powers. First, the attacker may play cards
or Powers, then the defender may play Cantrips.
Finally the attacker may play Cantrips. After dice are
rolled in Combat Step 2, Battle Magic limitations are
lifted, and players may resume playing Magic cards
normally.
When resolving an Ambush, Battle Magic
restrictions remain in effect until the unit which
declared the Ambush rolls its dice.
All Magic Cards are eligible to be played during
the Battle Magic Step. Cards with the keyword Battle
Magic may only be played during Battle Magic.
16.7.4 Allies and Battle Magic
During Battle Magic, allies of the attacker may only
play Cantrips when the attacker plays cards. Allies
of the defender may only play Cantrips when the
defender plays cards.

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Great Raven
Within the Empire, there are three magical schools:
the Circle (often called the Circle of Tyrants, but not
by its members), the Academy, and the Custodians.
Followers of the path of Tyrants were responsible for
the Abomination that nearly devoured Kalar five
hundred years ago. Their traditions and practices
endure among the followers of the Circle, despite
past transgressions, for a simple reason: power.
Churn is not something Tyrants fear. They believe
it can be managed with discipline, talent and a
dominating will. Unlike the Circle, the Academy
emphasizes balance. Advancing in rank requires
patience and wisdom in addition to a talent for
sensing the ebbs and flows of the silent tide. The
Academy strives for gradual, sustainably rising
tidal power. The school of Custodians was founded
during the Abomination and was responsible
for closing the Worldwound. When the currents
between Kalar and Meji become disordered, it is
42Burning Banners
16.8 Advanced Game Combat Sequence
In the Advanced Game, Battle Magic is added to the
combat sequence:
Battle Magic: Players may play Magic Cards in
the following order:
a. The Attacker may play Magic Cards.
b. The Defender may play Cantrips (only).
c. The Attacker may play Cantrips (only).
Combat Step 1. Ambush Declaration: Either
player may declare an Ambush if his or her unit
has Stealth, in which case the remainder of the
combat is resolved as an Ambush (16.8.1).
Combat Step 2. Resolve Dice Rolls: Players
roll dice equal to their total Combat Rating.
Confirm Critical hits if any are scored (9.8).
Battle Magic ends: Players may resume playing
Magic Cards normally.
Combat Step 3. Combat Results: Determine
the outcome of the combat (9.2). If there is a
loser, it receives hits (9.2.1) and combat ends.
The winner may advance into the defender’s
hex if it is left unoccupied (must advance if the
hex contains a Settlement) (9.3).
16.8.1 Ambush Resolution: If an Ambush is
declared in Step 1, resolve the remainder of the
combat using the Ambush Sequence:
Ambush Combat Step 2. Opening Strike:
The stack that initiated the Ambush performs a
Strike on its opponent using its Combat Rating
(9.7). If any successes are rolled, one hit is
inflicted on the opponent (9.2.1). Confirmed
Critical hits may inflict additional hits (9.8).
Battle Magic Ends: Players may resume playing
Magic Cards normally.
Ambush Combat Step 3. Strike Back: If the
target of the Ambush survives the opponent’s
Strike, it conducts a Strike of its own, using its
Combat Rating. There is no winner or loser in
an Ambush. The attacker may advance if a hit
was inflicted on the defender and the defender’s
hex is unoccupied (must advance if the hex
contains a Settlement) (9.3) and combat ends.
16.9 Strikes Outside of Combat
Strikes (9.7) which occur outside of the combat
resolution sequence are handled as follows: A hit on
a Monster will defeat it, but no reward is collected.
If a hostile Settlement is unoccupied after a Strike
inflicts a hit on it, the Settlement’s control marker is
removed (if none is present, the Settlement is Razed
(4.8). No looting occurs, no Control marker placed.
Strikes do not inflict hits on welcoming Settlements.
Strikes Outside of Combat Summary
• If a hostile Settlement is unoccupied after a Strike
inflicts a hit, the Settlement is Razed, with no
Looting.
• If a Monster takes a hit: The Monster is eliminated
and no reward is collected.
• Strikes which occur as a result of Ambush are part
of combat resolution, so not governed by 16.9.
17. The Arcane Study Phase

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the Custodians who guide them back to their proper
paths. Finally there is the Priesthood. Although
not strictly a school of magic, the Priesthood seeks
favor with the powers that dwell within the tidal
realm. In the Empire, our priests ensure that mighty
Bahuramman benefits from the people’s loyalty and
devotion... a fair exchange for his divine protection.
-Sorceress Sandaria
Disruption to the silent tide, whether from natural
causes or reckless spellcasting is what we call
churn. Despite what the Tyrants claim, it is not
frivolous. It can choke off tidal energy, causing
sickness, decay, even death. When tidal currents
lose cohesion, cross one another, intermingle, or in
the most profound cases cut off altogether, it can
become impossible for sorcerers to locate and follow
the currents needed for successful spellcasting.
-Sorceress Sandaria
43ADVANCED GAME
17.1 Arcane Study Markers
Arcane Study markers determine when players draw
Magic Cards during the game. The front of each
marker displays the Arcane Study symbol on a white
ground. The back of the markers have either the
Glyph symbol, or the Churn symbol. The number of
Kingdoms in play dictates how many of each type of
marker will be used in the Campaign:
2 Kingdoms: 2 Glyphs, 1 Churn
3 Kingdoms: 3 Glyphs, 1 Churn
4+ Kingdoms: 4 Glyphs, 2 Churn
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all Arcane markers in play are gathered together,
turned face down (the Arcane Study symbol
showing) and shuffled. One marker is placed,
unexamined, beneath each Kingdom’s Banner in
the spaces containing the Arcane Study symbol.
Spaces which do not contain Kingdom Banners,
or contain Collapsed markers, do not have Arcane
Study markers placed beneath them. If there are
markers left over, they are placed in the Unused
Study Markers circle on the Season Display, also
unexamined.
Complete
Last
Turn
Unused Study
Markers
urnt
t
RACK
Turn
Complete
Turn
Complete
Turn
Complete
Turn
Complete
Turn
Complete
Turn
Complete
Empire
Eastern
The
Army
of the
The
Night
Fjordland
Autumn
Th
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A: Assemble the correct pool of Glyphs and Churn
markers. B: Flip them over to their generic Study
side, randomize them and distribute them to the Turn
Track, one per Banner. Any extras go to the Unused
Study Markers space. C: At the start of the game, and
during Winter turns, the Autumn Churn marker is
placed on the Autumn space of the Season Track.
17.2 Autumn Churn
As the year moves from spring toward winter, Churn
increases naturally, making it more difficult to
practice magic. This is represented by an increase in
the amount of Churn wizards experience towards the
end of the year.
At the start of the game, the Churn marker labeled
“Autumn” is placed in the Autumn space on the
Season Track. When each Summer Season is
finalized (13.2.1), the Autumn Churn marker is
added to the pool of Arcane Study markers. During
Winter, the Autumn Churn marker is removed from
the pool and placed in the upcoming year’s Autumn
space.
Autumn
17.1.2 Distributing Arcane Study Markers:
At the beginning of the game, during Winter
seasons and when finalizing campaign seasons,

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44Burning Banners
17.3 The Arcane Study Phase
At the end of each Kingdom’s turn, there is an
Arcane Study Phase in which all players participate.
The Arcane Study marker for the turn is flipped
over. If it reveals a Glyph symbol each player
may Study three different Disciplines (17.4). If it
reveals a Churn symbol, each player may Study one
Discipline.
17.4 Conducting Arcane Study
Study is conducted by all players. Each player
chooses one or more Disciplines to study, as
determined by the symbol revealed on the turn’s
Arcane Study marker:
Glyph: Player may Study 3 Disciplines
(none may be studied more than
once).
Churn: Player may Study 1 Discipline.
The disciplines which may be studied correspond to
the three types of Magic Cards: Treasures, Blessings
and Spells:
Study Treasures: Retrieve one owned Treasure
(17.4.1).
Study Blessings Draw to Full Strength in Blessings.
Player may discard one Blessing
first if desired. (17.4.2)
Study Spells: Draw to Full Strength in Spells.
Player may discard one Spell first if
desired. (17.4.3).
17.4.1 Study Treasures
The player Retrieves a Treasure (chooses one owned
Treasure from those he or she owns and adds it to
his or her hand). If a player owns no Treasures, this
Discipline may not be studied. There is no limit to
the number of Treasures a player may hold in his or
her hand.
17.4.2 Study Blessings
The player draws up to Full Strength in Blessings.
Full Strength for Blessings is one (1) Blessing card
from each Blessing deck the player controls. When
studying Blessings, one Blessing may be discarded
prior to drawing.

17.4.3 Study Spells
The player draws up to Full Strength in Spells. Full
Strength for Spells is three (3) Spell cards. When
studying Spells, one Spell may be discarded prior to
drawing.
17.4.4 Full Strength Summary
Spells: Three (3) Spells.
Blessings: One (1) Blessing from each
Kingdom the player controls.
Treasures: A Player may hold any number
of Treasures.
Note that Full Strength only applies during
Arcane Study, and during Setup (2.6). It does not
represent a maximum hand size (16.1.3).
17.5 Reshuffling Decks
During Winter turns discard piles and eliminated
Treasures are shuffled into their decks (13.2.2). If a
deck contains no cards when a player is instructed
to draw from it, reshuffle all discarded or eliminated
cards from that deck and recreate it.
Example of Arcane Study:
Shane is playing the Oathborn in a campaign against
the Orc and Goblin Kingdoms (both controlled by
Saiorse). Shane has completed the Activation Phase
of his turn and proceeds to the Arcane Study Phase.
He flips over the Arcane Study marker, revealing a
Glyph. He has no Treasures, Blessings or Spells in his
hand. He owns one Treasure (played previously, it sits
face up next to his playmat). Saiorse’s hand contains
one Spell, one Orc Blessing, one Goblin Blessing
and two Treasures. She owns two more Treasures
(also beside her playmat). Shane, having an empty
hand, draws three Spells, one Oathborn Blessing and
Retrieves his owned Treasure. Saiorse decides not to
discard her Spell, so she draws two Spells (bringing
her to Full Strength in Spells). She discards her Orc
Blessing and draws a replacement (because she has a
Goblin Blessing in hand, she is now at Full Strength
in Blessings). She Retrieves one of her two owned
Treasures, bringing the number in her hand to three
(there is no limit to the number of Treasures she may
hold in her hand). The Arcane Study Phase is over.

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Gond the Unbreakable
45REFERENCE
Reference
The following pages contain information on all cards
in the game, plus a Glossary/Index listing important
terms. Entries with a dash (-) have no additional
information.
18. Magic and Hero Card Guide Thfffiftfl988

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18.1 Spells
Burning Banners contains 52 Spells:
1. Heat Ray: If the target’s Combat Rating contains
no Heavy Dice, Heat Ray has no effect.
2. Dust Devil: If the target’s Combat Rating contains
no Light Dice, Dust Devil has no effect.
3. Sudden Fog: Sudden Fog removes dice from a
unit’s Combat Rating. A card like Spell #8, Lightning
Bolt does not involve a unit’s Combat Rating, so
Sudden Fog has no effect.
4. Earthquake: Earthquake may strike a Fortified
Settlement hex, which is ordinarily off limits to
strikes. When striking a Fortified Settlement with
Earthquake, ignore its -1 Modifier. Earthquake has
no effect on Magically Fortified Settlements. When
resolving Earthquake , roll for each affected hex
individually.
5. Crushing Vines: After seeing the results of the
initial Strike, the casting player may choose to invoke
the second part of the Spell by discarding a Spell and
striking the target again.
6. Tsunami: The target of Tsunami must occupy
a Coastal hex adjacent to a Sea hex. Tsunami may
not target units adjacent to Loch Fossvanet (on the
Wildands map). The Loch contains a Sea hex, but is
too small to sustain a tidal wave, even a magical one.
7. Mage Arrows: -
8. Lightning Bolt: The player casting Lightning Bolt
must decide whether or not to use its optional Heavy
Dice before the dice are rolled.
9. Swarm of Bees: Magic Cards that gain you an
ability do not force you to use it. You may play this
card to gain 1o even if you choose not to declare an
Ambush with Stealth .
10. Necromancy: This Spell may target any
eliminated unit within range (friendly or enemy).
Monsters are not valid targets for Necromancy .
11. Portal: If a unit targeted by Portal is placed in a
hex with a finished unit, the unit becomes finished .
12. Wave Strider: A unit or stack targeted by Wave
Strider may use Ship Movement as a Free Action
once during its activation (12.5.2). A unit may
only use Ship Movement once per turn (meaning
a unit may not use Wave Strider to perform Ship
Movement as a Free Action, then perform Ship
Movement again as its action). Huge and Feral
Armies may perform Ship Movement when targeted
by Wave Strider.

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46Burning Banners
13. Tidal Shelter: Tidal Shelter may be played after
dice are rolled in combat in order to negate hits
inflicted. Parenthetically, the “tidal” in the title of
this card refers to the silent tide, the invisible magical
power that connects the realms of Meji and Kalar.
14. Illusion: It is legal to wait and let the striking
player add to the power of his or her Strike before
negating it, as long as Illusion is played before any
dice are rolled. All Powers or Magic Cards played
in support of the Strike are discarded/locked/owned
after Illusion negates the Strike. If played during an
Ambush, only the targeted player’s Strike is canceled.
15. Negation: Because of Battle Magic limitations,
a Cantrip played by the attacker after the defender
has finished playing Cantrips cannot be canceled by
Negation. A card targeted by Negation is considered
played even though its effect was canceled.
16. Sleep: A Hero stacked with the finished Army
becomes finished as well. If the attacker is able to
negate Sleep with a Cantrip of his own, combat
continues.
17. Cure Wounds: Can this Spell be used to save a
unit that receives 2 hits during combat? Yes. Hits
are inflicted after the limitations of Battle Magic
have lifted. After taking one hit, the Spell may be
played, Recovering the unit, after which it would take
the second hit and end the battle weakened but not
eliminated.
18. Blood Magic: Blood Magic may not be cast by a
Monster. Magic Cards cast by the eliminated caster
prior to play of Blood Magic are not negated.
19. Cloud of Darkness: Cloud of Darkness must be
played before dice are rolled.
20. Monsters in the Hills: This card causes a
Wandering Monster (not a Sea Monster) to be
placed. The Monster must appear within 3 hexes of a
Lair (not a Sea Lair).
21. Teleport: The caster’s stack does not become
finished due to this Spell. It could start its move,
Teleport, then complete its move and perform an
action.
22. Living Grimoire (Tome): This is the only
Tome in the Spell deck. Play it when you play
another Spell. Discard Living Grimoire , then draw a
replacement Spell and a Blessing.
23. Spellbound: If the casting player would have
three Spells in hand after casting Spellbound , it may
not be played (his or her hand already being at Full
Strength).
24. Martyrdom: Magic Cards cast by the eliminated
caster prior to play of Martyrdom are not negated.
Draw two Blessings (they may be from different
Kingdoms you control, or the same Kingdom).
25. Giant’s Strength: A unit with no Light Dice in
its Combat Rating may not be targeted by Giant’s
Strength.
26. Earth to Mud: A stack moved (not built
or placed) into a hex, whether as a result of normal
movement, a Magic Card or a Hero Power, may be
targeted. Exception : A Unit may not be targeted if
entering a hex in which it would be prohibited from
ending its activation. Must be played as described
in Spell #47 Moryana’s Fury (i.e. cannot be played
retroactively).
27. Fear: If the Army targeted by Fear cannot move
legally, it must accept a hit. Movement adjacent to an
enemy commanded Monster is permitted. Monsters
and garrisons cannot be targeted by Fear . If stacked
with a Hero, the Hero may move with the Army or
remain in the hex.
28. Molten Hammer: -
29. Black Tide: The Wandering Monster must
be placed in a Sea hex adjacent to a Coastal hex.
Monsters may be placed in Loch Fossvanet (on the
Wildlands map).
30. Feral Mastery: Affects Feral Armies only (i.e. not
a Feral Hero or non-Feral Hero or Army).
31. Ice Storm: -

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47REFERENCE
32. Blazing Hands: -
33. Ray of Weakness: Ray of Weakness may be
played after dice have been rolled to negate one
success.
34. Banished to Meji: Because of Battle Magic
limitations, a Cantrip played by the attacker after
the defender has finished casting Cantrips cannot be
canceled by Banished to Meji .
35. Demonic Possession: A Strike performed by
Demonic Possession will not cause hits to anything
other than the targeted Hero. A Hero gained by
Demonic Possession must be placed immediately,
following the rules for placing a gained Hero (14.3).
36. Summon the Dead: Disregard reference to
Monster.
37. Ritual of Power: Ritual of Power may not be
cast by a Hero in a stack with no Light Dice in its
Combat Ratings.
38. Ritual of Speed: Both the caster and an Army
it is stacked with gain +2 to their printed Movement
Ratings for the duration of the Spell.
39. Summon Kraken: Loch Fossvanet in the
Wildlands contains a Sea hex. Disregard references
to Monster/Garrison.
40. Summon Morag: Disregard references to
Monster/Garrison.
41. Unerring Darts: Unerring Darts is played after
the caster’s stack has rolled its dice.
42. Undertow: Because of Battle Magic limitations,
a Cantrip played by the attacker after the defender
has finished casting Cantrips cannot be affected by
Undertow.
43. Fireball: -
44. Festering Wounds: This card allows one Critical
hit to cause up to three additional hits instead of the
usual one. If more than one Critical hit is rolled by
the casting player, only one confirms with 3 Light
Dice, the others confirm with one Light Dice each.
45. Paths of Dread: Since playing Spells is a Free
Action, the caster’s stack could move and perform an
action prior to casting Paths of Dread.
46. The Four Fingered Fist: When targeting an
unexplored Lair with The Four Fingered Fist, draw
a Monster and place it in the Lair. The Monster
becomes the target of the Spell’s Strike. The reward
in gold if the Monster is defeated is its printed value
-1 (a penalty reflecting the adventuring company’s
fee). If the Monster does not have a gold reward, the
casting player is not required to spend a gold.
47. Moryana’s Fury: When the target stack crosses
a Sea hexside, say “Stop!” then play this card. You
may not wait to see where a stack is going and then
retroactively play Moryana’s Fury to inflict a hit on
it.
48. Hawk Eye: This Spell can only be cast by a unit
or stack with the Ranged ability.
49. Ritual of Vigilance: The Mage casting Ritual of
Vigilance may not occupy a Settlement.
50. Sigil of Courage: This Cantrip cannot prevent a
Full Strength Army from being weakened, but it can
prevent that weakened Army from being eliminated.
51. Spirit Blade: -
52. Heat Lightning: -

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48Burning Banners
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18.2 Treasures
Burning Banners contains 36 Treasures.
1. Storm God’s Hammer: The caster gains 1o in
combat. If the caster’s opponent includes a Monster
or Hero, the caster gains 1u instead.
2. Endless Satchel: When you gain Endless Satchel
you must make a decision either to sell it or play it
(when played it simply becomes owned). While you
own Endless Satchel , you may Retrieve 2 Treasures
every time you study Treasures. Additionally, during
Winter seasons, when forced to sell Treasures,
Endless Satchel allows you to retain 3 Treasures in
addition to Endless Satchel (so 4 total), instead of 2.
3. Orb of Confusion: This card must be played
before any dice are rolled. For example, if a player
casts Earthquake, Orb of Confusion cannot be played
after the results of the Earthquake are known to
cancel those effects.
4. Philosopher’s Stone: Have an opponent
randomly choose which Spell is discarded.
5. Horn of Udun: This card may be played
creatively: for example, your Army is eliminated
in combat. You play Horn of Udun to place an
Army from an adjacent hex in the defending hex,
preventing the victor from advancing. Another
example: an enemy Army attempts to enter a hex
adjacent to one of your armies. You play Horn of
Udun to place an Army in that hex, blocking the
enemy Army’s entry.
6. Khadan’s Feathered Cloak: A Feral Hero stacked
with a Feral Army does not negate the Army’s Feral
characteristic (3.2.1).
7. Ring of the Moirai: The Blessing discarded must
match the Kingdom of the unit hoping to re-roll its
dice. If you hold no Blessings, Ring of the Moirai
may not be played.
8. The Journal of Thorgils Ogmundarson (Tome):
This Treasure increases the range of the Spell the
Tome is played in conjunction with.
9. Infernal Sphere: Have an opponent randomly
choose which Spell is discarded. Add one success to
those scored during your attack.
10. Soul Drinker: The caster gains 1o in combat.
It gains an additional 2o if the caster’s opponent
includes a Hero (as every sorcerer knows, Monsters
don’t have souls, hence Soul Drinker’s lack of interest
in slaying them).
11. Elven Bow: The caster gains 1o plus the Ranged
ability in combat. It gains an additional 1o if the
caster’s opponent includes a Monster or Hero.
12. Ring of Invisibility: When stacked with an
Army, it is legal to assign a hit to the caster, then
negate the hit with Ring of Invisibility.
13. Ring of Dragons: Ring of Dragons does not give
Flying to an Army the caster is stacked with. A Feral
Hero stacked with a Feral Army does not negate the
Army’s Feral characteristic (3.2.1).
14. Wizard Staff: -
15. Staff of Plagues: Every Spell or Treasure played
by the opposing player during the Battle Magic Step
(whether before or after Staff of Plagues is played)
will cost the opponent 1 dice. If different types of
dice are being rolled, the player using Staff of Plagues
decides which type of dice is lost. Blessings do not
trigger the Staff’s effect, nor do Spells or Treasures
cast by players other than the caster’s opponent.
16. Black Arrow: The caster gains Stealth and
Ranged. It gains an additional 1u if the caster’s
opponent includes a Monster or Hero.

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49REFERENCE
17, 18 and 19. Treasure Hoard: The player gains
the amount of gold shown and Treasure Hoard is
eliminated. Eliminated cards return to the Treasure
deck in the next Winter season.
20. Black Diamond: This dark abomination, a
prison for countless lost souls, may cause chains of
Critical hits, as the dice used to confirm the hits can
generate additional Critical hits.
Example: a Dragonslayer Army stacked with an
Oathborn Hero rolls a 7 and an 8 during combat,
generating 2 Critical hits. The Oathborn player
plays Black Diamond to confirm those Critical hits
with u dice rather than the usual o dice. The
confirmation rolls are 5 and 7, both successes. This
inflicts two additional hits plus the 7 scores a third
Critical hit. Confirming successfully with a roll of 8,
the third Critical hit inflicts another hit and scores
a fourth Critical hit. The confirmation roll for the
fourth Critical hit scores a 3, failing to confirm.
The Dragonslayers inflict 5 hits total (one plus four
confirmed Criticals).
21. Book of the Dead (Tome): Play along with a
Spell to force an opponent to discard a Magic Card.
The targeted player may choose whether to discard a
Spell or Blessing. If he or she doesn’t have any cards
of one type, the other must be chosen. A player with
no Spells or Blessings may not be targeted.
22. Encyclopedia of Monstrosities (Tome): Play
along with a Spell. The caster gains 1o plus all of the
abilities of one commanded Monster in play. If there
are no commanded Monsters in play, the caster still
gains 1o.
23. The Astronomicon (Tome): Play along with a
Spell to draw another Spell.
24. Scrolls of Scholos (Tome): Play along with a
Spell to draw a Blessing.
25. Staff of Healing: The effects of this Treasure
last for a full turn, instead of the duration laid out in
16.7.1.
26. Helm of Domination: Every Spell or
Treasure played by the opposing player during Battle
Magic, whether before or after Helm of Domination
is played, gains the caster 1u. Blessings are
disregarded. Spells or Treasures cast during Battle
Magic by players other than the opponent do not
trigger the Helm’s abilities.
27. Draconic Shield: Magic Cards and Hero Powers
that affect Fortified Settlements (such as Treasure #9:
Infernal Sphere) do not affect Draconic Shield.
28. White Wolf Amulet: A Feral Hero stacked
with a Feral Army does not affect the Army’s Feral
characteristics (3.2.1).
29. Curse of Xaraxxes: Once a player has been given
a curse, he or she may not pass it to another player.
The owner must pay 1 gold in order to Retrieve a
Treasure. If the gold is not paid, the Treasure cannot
be Retrieved. Curses may not be sold or Retrieved
themselves. Curses may be eliminated at any time
by spending 3 gold (eliminated cards return to the
Treasure deck during the next Winter season).
30. The Red Wizard’s Curse: (see Treasure #29,
Curse of Xaraxxes)
31. Tablets of Amûn Koth (Tome): The caster of
Tablets of Amûn Koth and the caster of the Spell it is
played in conjunction with must be the same Mage .
32. Eye of Kagutomo: Cannot be cast by a Mage that
occupies a Settlement hex.
33. Storm Giant’s Amulet: Caster gains Huge for
the duration of its activation (it may not use Ship
Movement and will Raze any Settlement it occupies).
34. Iron Golem: Roll the u provided by Iron Golem
separately. It hits on a 5+ (including vs Magical
Fortifications).
35. Fountain of Power: When a Fountain is played,
gain a Hero (14.4), then eliminate the Fountain and
draw another Treasure (eliminated cards return to
the Treasure deck during the next Winter season).
36. Fountain of Valor: see Treasure #35.

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Drakken
50Burning Banners
18.3 Blessings & Hero Cards by Kingdom
Burning Banners contains 98
Blessings and Hero Cards.
The Oathborn
Fjordland
Fjordland
Fjordland has 17 Blessings and Hero Cards.
1. Water Elemental: A Fjordland Mage is required
to cast Water Elemental (range of 2). A Fjordland
Army in a Major River or Coastal hex may be
targeted, as may a Fjordland Army attacking a Major
River or Coastal hex.
2. Call of the Wild: A Fjordland Mage is required
to cast Call of the Wild (range of 3). A Fjordland
Army in a Wilderness hex may be targeted, as
may a Fjordland Army attacking a Wilderness hex
(Wilderness Settlements count as Wilderness hexes).
3. Warrior of the North: Not a Cantrip (16.7.2).
4. Quest to the Western Isles: Cannot be played if
player does not have 2 Spells in hand.
5. Song of the Valkyrie: Requires a Fjordland Mage
to cast. If a 5-6 is rolled, a Valkyrie Army is placed in
an adjacent hex, and the caster gains 1o.
6. Berserk Rage: May only be cast by a Berserkir
Army. It will score Critical hits on rolls of 6+ instead
of the usual 7+.
7. Shield Wall: Any Fjordland unit may be affected,
including Fjordland garrisons (garrisons of Loyal
Fjordland Settlements and Settlements containing
Fjordland Control markers).
8. Tyr’s Favor: Any Fjordland Army can discard a
Spell to gain 1 Light Dice. If it occupies a Coastal or
Major River hex, it gains an additional Heavy Dice.
9. Gyda’s Favor: Any Fjordland Army can discard a
Spell to gain 1 Light Dice. If it occupies a Wilderness
hex (including a Wilderness Settlement), it gains two
additional Light Dice.
10. Northern Rangers: May only be cast by a
Fjordland Ranger Army.
11. Lieva Eriksdottir (Mistress of the Hunt): Move
Lieva’s stack one hex or leave it in its current hex
(if it is in a Forest). If played during Battle Magic,
resulting in Lieva’s stack no longer being adjacent
to its opponent, combat is canceled (the attacker is
finished).
12. Thor Jotunsson (Sea King’s Axe): This is an
ongoing Power. As long as Thor is in a Coastal hex
(including Lakes), one Light Dice in his stack is
converted to a Heavy Dice. This is not voluntary.
The Fjordland player must convert a Light Dice to
Heavy if possible.
13. Freyja (Wings of Valor): The target Hero
and its Hero Card never leave play. The Hero’s Card
does not unlock if locked. A Hero targeted by Wings
of Valor may not remain in the hex in which it was
eliminated, even if adjacent to Freyja.
14. Saffi Sigmundsdottir (Song of Rebirth): Song of
Rebirth only affects Fjordland Armies. The effects of
this Power last for a full turn, instead of the duration
spelled out in 16.7.1.
15. Cronax the Berserkir (Song of Slaying):
Fjordland Hero #13 (Freyja) may use Wings of Valor
prevent Cronax’s elimination.
16. Astrid Laufgrein (Gyda’s Fury): -
17. Karl Bondarsson (Song of Bravery): -

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51REFERENCE
The Shashka
The Eastern Empire
The Eastern Empire:
The Eastern Empire has 16 Blessings
and Hero Cards.
1. Bread & Circuses: This card may only be played
during the Imperial Activation Phase (16.7).
2. For the Emperor!: This card may not be played
if both Placidia and Aureliana are Razed, enemy
controlled, or not in play. Stacking limits must
be observed. The Cataphract may be placed in a
besieged City. Increase the number of Revolts by 1.
3. Hand of the Emperor: Once Hand of the
Emperor has been played, no Suppressions may be
performed until the following Imperial turn.
4. Heir of Bahuramman: Not a Cantrip (16.7.2).
5. Conscription: The Suppression option may not
be chosen if the effect of Imperial Blessing #3 Hand
of the Emperor is in force. If the Akritoi option is
chosen the three Armies are placed using the build
rules (but no gold is paid).
6. Massed Charge: May be cast by a Cataphract or
Korsari Army.
7. Elite Archers: May be cast by a stack with Ranged .
8. Disciplined Veterans: Disciplined Veterans may
be played on a weakened Imperial Army.
9. Fist of the Emperor: The Imperial player chooses
as many dice as desired, up to 3, and suffers that
many Revolts.
10. Call to Glory: Must be cast by an Imperial Mage .
It must be stacked with an Army with a Combat
Rating that contains at least 1o.
11. Ariadne, the Gray Wolf (Beast Slayer): -
12. Anna Lontius (Velvet Glove): -
13. Princess Sofia (The Sacred Banner): After
Sofia’s stack advances, it may move into any adjacent
legal hex or remain where it is. It may attack again.
14. Frostheart (Helm of the White Dragon): When
in combat with Frostheart, an opponent may not play
Spells during the Battle Magic Step. Blessings and
Treasures are unaffected. The opponent may begin
playing Spells again during Step 3 of Combat.
15. Vesta Psellos (Blinding Ray): A unit or stack
without any Light Dice in its Combat Rating cannot
be targeted by Blinding Ray .
16. Bardas Maleinos (Lightbringer): -
The Oathborn
The Goblins
The Oathborn
The Oathborn have 16 Blessings and Hero Cards.
1. The Deep Paths: This card changes a ready or
activated stack’s Movement Rating from its printed
value to 5. If it has already spent movement points
prior to playing The Deep Paths, those are deducted
from the 5 Movement Rating.
2. Delve Greedily: Delve Greedily is played after a
Miner Army has used its action to Mine (gaining
1 gold). If a 6 is rolled, the Miner gathers two
additional gold plus a Treasure.
3. Secret Ways: Once played, the Oathborn player
may build and Recover units in or adjacent to
besieged Oathborn Settlements for the remainder of
the turn.

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52Burning Banners
4. The Ravens are Flying: If the target Settlement
contains a Razed marker, it is removed immediately,
at no cost in gold. A unit may be placed in a
besieged Loyal Oathborn Settlement using this
Blessing.
5. Lost City of Khazud: See section 12.1.3. This
card is removed permanently from the game once
played.
6. Fury of the Ancestors: This card may only be
played after an Oathborn stack has won a combat,
prior to its advance. The victorious stack may choose
to advance or remain in its hex, after which it may
perform an attack with its Combat Rating, increased
by one Heavy Dice. Fury of the Ancestors permits
the Oathborn player to opt not to advance into a
defeated Settlement. If it does so, the Settlement is
not Looted and control does not change.
7. Spirit of the Mountain: This is a Cantrip, so it
can be used in sneaky ways (for example, to add a
Hero to a combat during Battle Magic (14.4).
8. Mountain Folk: Target Army may move (with +2
Movement Rating), then Attack (with +2o).
9. Strongheart: Not a Cantrip (16.7.2).
10. Runestones: The Oathborn player can play
this card if already at or above Full Strength. After
drawing cards, the player then discards down to 3
(Full Strength in Spells).
11. Haga-Tor: The Red Eagle (Blade of the
Ancestors): This Power lets Haga-Tor’s stack
advance after combat if it wins as the defender (as
well as declare its own attack). If Haga-Tor’s stack
advances into a Settlement, the Oathborn player will
Loot and gain control of it.
12. Yeti Elder (Lore of the Ancients): Each time it
is involved in a combat (on attack or defense), Yeti
Elder may draw a Spell, then immediately discard a
Spell. If the Oathborn player has no Spells in hand,
this Power may not be played.
13. Stormcaller (Heart of Ice): The Oathborn player
must decide whether or not to add a Heavy Dice to
Heart of Ice’s Strike before rolling any dice.
14. Smith-Master Horne (Dwarven Defense):
When Thorne is in a Settlement, Port or otherwise,
three enemy Armies are required to besiege it. He
may be built in a besieged Settlement.
15. Throndil (Durngur’s Hammer): This is an
ongoing Power. As long as Throndil is stacked with a
Miner Army, he gains 1o.
16. Dara Firemane (Lightning Rune): -
The Goblins
The Goblins
The Goblins have 17 Blessings and Hero Cards.
1. Instruments of Mischief: Since this is not a
Cantrip, it can only aid attacking Goblin Armies.
2. We Have Our Ways: -
3. Khark’s Chosen: Not a Cantrip (16.7.2). Instead
of gaining a random Hero, the casting player
examines, then chooses one Hero from those
available and puts it into play. The remaining Heroes
are shuffled and returned, face down, to the Goblin
playmat.
4. Quick and Quiet: A Goblin stack containing a
Hero may move through enemy occupied hexes only,
not hostile Settlements, Lairs, Sea hexes or other
prohibited terrain.
5. Spy Network: Because this card does not mention
winning or losing, it may be returned to hand after
an Ambush in which one or more hits are inflicted
on the opponent.
6. Natural Selection: The Hero may be placed in
any eligible hex (14.3).

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53REFERENCE
7. Eye of Badrok: Requires a Goblin Hero to cast.
8. Sneak Attack: -
9. Boulder Toss: Mountain Troll and Hill
Troll Armies may cast this Blessing. The Hero
Manstrangler may not (he’s not an Army).
10. Infiltration: An opponent randomly chooses
the Spell that is discarded. The opposing Army or
garrison affected is the one the Goblins are attacking
or defending against.
11. Finger Cutter (Khark’s Tailor): Khark’s Tailor is
an ongoing Power. As long as Finger Cutter remains
stacked with a Fragile Army, it negates one hit every
time hits are scored against it (except those inflicted
by Strikes).
12. Weasel Eyes (Cull the Weak): Weasel Eyes wins
combats which result in a draw (neither side rolling
any successes), inflicting 1 hit on the opponent.
Because Ambushes do not end in wins, ties or draws,
Cull the Weak has no effect on them.
13. Manstrangler (Living Siege Engine): When this
Power is played, Manstrangler gains the ability of a
Siege Engine Army until the end of the activation,
negating the -1 modifier of an adjacent Fortified
Settlement (or reducing the -2 modifier of an
adjacent Magically Fortified settlement to -1).
14. Iron Skull (Deadskull’s Helm): Deadskull’s
Helm is an ongoing Power. As long as Iron Skull is
stacked with a Goblin Elite Army, he gains 1 Light
Dice.
15. Swarm Master (Thousand Wing Cloak):
Thousand Wing Cloak is an ongoing Power. As long
as Swarm Master is stacked with a Plague Fly Army,
he gains Flying .
16. Siskar (Khark’s Troubadour): This is not a
Cantrip. On the Goblin turn, Siskar may be locked
at any time to force a re-roll (including one by
another player). This could be any roll of a d6, not
just a combat roll.
17. Turku (Pyromania): -
The Orcs
The Army of the Night
The Orcs
The Orcs have 16 Blessings and Hero Cards.
1. Whips of Grom: Requires an Orc Mage to cast.
In order to be targeted by Whips of Grom, an Orc
stack must be able to perform an Attack action after
its movement.
2. Grom’s Forge: The stack targeted by Grom’s
Forge must include an Orc Hero and an Orc Reaver
Army (a weakened Orc Reaver is legal). If a Monster
is defeated, the Orc player gains the Reward. If
attacking a hostile Settlement, the Settlement is
Razed if it is left unoccupied after suffering one or
more hits, otherwise it is unaffected.
3. Pestilence: Pestilence is not a Strike, so may
affect units in a Fortified Settlement. The Orc player
chooses one of his stacks that is adjacent to a non-
Orc stack. The non-Orc player rolls a d6. If the
roll is successful, Pestilence backfires, and the Orc
stack suffers a hit. If the roll fails, the non-Orc stack
suffers a hit.
4. New Recruits: -
5. Enforced Discipline: -
6. Feed off the Land: Armies may be Recovered
anywhere using Feed off the Land, they do not need
to be in or adjacent to an Orc Settlement.
7. Endless Hate: If the Orc Reaver Army is
eliminated after defeating a Monster, the Orc player
gains the reward. If eliminated while attacking
a hostile Settlement, the Settlement is Razed if it
is unoccupied after suffering one or more hits,
otherwise it is unaffected.
8. Hate: May only target an Orc Reaver Army.
9. Grom’s Hammer: This is a Cantrip.

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54Burning Banners
10 Overrun: If an Orc Army is eliminated by
Overrun after defeating a Monster, the Orc player
gains the reward. If eliminated while attacking
a hostile Settlement, the Settlement is Razed if it
is unoccupied after suffering one or more hits,
otherwise it is unaffected.
11. Warlord Szark (Lightning Axes): Lightning
Axes may be played whenever a Strike is declared
during combat (either by Szark or his opponent).
Lightning Axes trumps the rule that a Strike can only
inflict one hit. Note that Szark does not have Stealth .
12. Spy-Master Kagash (Prince of Deception):
Prince of Deception targets two enemy units within
three hexes of Kagash’s location, provided they are
adjacent to one another. One of them Strikes the
other with its Combat Rating. The Orc player rolls
the Strike. Either player may cast Magic Cards to
influence the Strike.
13. Gond the Unbreakable: Gond’s Power is
ongoing (his printed Combat Rating of 1u).
14. Kovat the Flayer (Terror Rides Before
Him): Target must be adjacent to Kovat. A unit
targeted by Terror Rides Before Him may not be
moved to a hex that it would not be able to enter
legally. The move is made by the target’s owner.
15. Karsch (Stranglethorn):-
16 Sumesh (The Black Death): Spells cast by
Sumesh before his elimination are not canceled.
The Army of the Night
The Eastern Empire
The Army of the Night
The Army of the Night has 16
Blessings and Hero Cards.
1. Out of the Shadows: This card causes a
Wandering Monster (not a Sea Monster) to be placed
on the map. The Monster must appear within 5
hexes of a Lair (not a Sea Lair).
2, 3 and 4. Enslave: Requires an Army of the Night
Mage to cast (See rule 12.3.7 for details). If the die
roll fails and the casting Hero is unlocked, it may be
locked to retain the Blessing rather than discard it.
5. Powerful and Eternal: Play of this Blessing allows
the Army of the Night player to Study one magical
Discipline at any time during his or her turn, either
Spells, Blessings or Treasures (17.4).
6. Your True Rulers: This Cantrip should be
played on an opponent’s turn, causing units built
in Settlements with Covens to enter play finished .
Secondarily, Covens cannot be removed for the rest
of the turn once Your True Rulers has been played.
7. Moonlit Champion: This is a Cantrip, so it can be
used in sneaky ways (for example, to add a Hero to a
combat during Battle Magic (14.4).
8. Knives in the Dark: Play instead of making the
Hiding in Shadows roll. This card’s Strike may be
performed inside a Fortified or Magically Fortified
Settlement (scoring successes on 5+).
9. Shapeshift: Play when a Hero is eliminated for
any reason. If the Army of the Night controls no
Settlements, this card may not be played.
10. Rule the Night: Requires a Mage to cast.
11. Lilith, Queen of the Night (Immortal
Sorceress): Immortal Sorceress may be played
only when Lilith casts a Spell or Blessing with the
Mage requirement (for example, play of Army of
the Night Blessing #8 Knives in the Dark would
not trigger Immortal Sorceress ). Lilith has an
additional ongoing Power: “+2 Enslave” which does
not disappear when Lilith’s Hero Card is locked.
Whenever Lilith casts the Blessing Enslaved, she
succeeds on a roll of 3 or better (roll of 3 +2 for
Lilith’s Power = 5+, a success).
12. Luna, Mist Hunter (Deadly Assassin): Deadly
Assassin is a Strike, but it does not inflict hits if
successful (it cannot generate Critical hits). If
the Strike is not successful and the Army of the
Night player has no Spells in hand, Luna must be
eliminated.

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55REFERENCE
13. Dominia, Herald of Scyx (Ring of
Domination): When placing a Coven within 5 hexes
of Dominia, no roll is made. The Coven is placed
automatically. Dominia has an additional ongoing
Power: “+1 Enslave” which does not disappear when
Dominia’s Hero Card is locked. Whenever Dominia
casts the Blessing Enslaved, she succeeds on a roll of
4 or better (roll of 4 +1 for Dominia’s Power = 5+, a
success).
14. Kali, Shrouded Reaper (Scourge of Shadows):
Kali’s Power affects the opponent’s Combat Rating, so
is effective against both Ambush combat and normal
combat. Lairs are not Wilderness hexes for purposes
of this Power, but Wilderness Settlements are.
15. Kharis (Night Winds): Night Winds is an
ongoing Power. As long as Kharis is stacked with a
Flying Army, she adds +1 to its Movement Rating
(Night Winds does not affect Ship Movement).
16. Bela (Animal Lover): Animal Lover is an
ongoing Power. While Bela remains stacked with a
Feral Army, she gains 1o.
19. Glossary & Index
Abandoned Lair (15.8): Lairs containing
Abandoned Lair markers may not be explored.
Ability (3.1): Units may have one or more of the
abilities Stealth , Ranged, Flying and/or Mage .
Action (7.2): When activated, a unit may move,
then perform one action, after which it is
finished (also see Free Actions).
Active/Activate (7.0): A Kingdom that is
conducting its turn is the active Kingdom. A
unit or stack activated to move and/or conduct
actions is the active unit/stack.
Allied (1.2.1): Kingdoms that are on the same
side are allied to one another. Settlements are
welcoming to units of allied Kingdoms and
hostile to their enemies.
Arcane Study (17.0): Players refresh the Magic
Cards in their hand during the Arcane Study
Step.
Army (1.7): Armies are units that are unique to
each Kingdom. They may be built during their
Kingdom’s turn. A maximum of one Army
may occupy a hex. Armies may stack with
Heroes from their Kingdom (14.6).
Attacker (9.1): An Army or stack that performs an
Attack action is the attacker.
Banner (1.6.2): Banners are placed on the Turn
Track to indicate player order. When a
Kingdom collapses, its Banner is flipped to its
collapsed side.
Battle Magic (16.7.3): During combat, the order
in which Magic Cards and Hero Powers may be
played becomes strictly ordered.
Besieged (10.3): Most Settlements are besieged
when an enemy Army occupies an adjacent
hex. A Port is besieged only when two enemy
Armies occupy adjacent hexes. A besieged
Settlement cannot be used to build or Recover
units.
Blessing (16.4): Each Kingdom has its own deck
of Blessings. Blessings may only be cast by or
benefit units of their Kingdom.
Build (10.1): To build a unit, its build cost is paid,
and it is moved from the playmat to the map. It
must be placed either in a friendly Entry hex,
or in or adjacent to an un-besieged friendly
Settlement. If placed in an Entry or Settlement
hex, the unit enters play ready . If placed
adjacent to a friendly Settlement, it enters
finished. Units may not be built in excess of
stacking limits (8.3).
Caster (16.6): A Magic Card or Hero Power may
require a Hero or Monster with the Mage
ability in order to be played. The Mage used to
play such a card is the card or Power’s caster.
Cantrip (16.7.2): A Magic Card or Hero Power
with the Cantrip symbol may be played during
any player’s turn.
Characteristic (3.2): Units may have one or more
of the characteristics Feral , Huge and/or Fragile
Churn: Churn represents turmoil in the silent
tide (the magical energy flowing between our
realm, Kalar, and the mirror realm, Meji).
When a Churn symbol is revealed during the
Arcane Study Phase, fewer cards are drawn
(17.3).
Collapse (7.6): When a Kingdom collapses, its
units and Control markers are removed from

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56Burning Banners
play.
Confirmation (9.8): When a player rolls a Critical
hit, a confirmation roll is made with 1o. If
successful, an additional hit is scored.
Command (15.3): When a Monster enters play
it comes under the command of a Kingdom
(place one of that Kingdom’s Command
markers on the Monster). Until it is defeated, a
commanded Monster activates during the turn
of the Kingdom that commands it.
Control (4.9): A Kingdom controls all of its Loyal
Settlements (provided they do not contain
Razed or enemy Control markers) plus all
Settlements that contain its Control markers.
Units may Recover and be built in or adjacent
to friendly controlled Settlements.
Control marker (4.9.1): A Kingdom may place
its Control marker in any un-Razed Neutral
or hostile Settlement occupied by one of its
Armies (this is a Free Action). When placed, a
Control marker increases its Kingdom’s Income
by 1. When removed, its Income is reduced by
1.
Critical Hit (9.8): If a player rolls a 7+ when
resolving combat or a Strike, a Critical hit is
scored. A Critical hit inflicts one hit like a
normal hit, plus, if confirmed, will inflict an
additional hit. Critical hits are the only way a
Strike can inflict multiple hits.
Defeated (15.2.1): When a Monster suffers a hit in
combat or as a result of a Strike, it is defeated
(flipped face down if in a Lair hex, returned to
the pool of Monsters if not).
Defender (9.1): During combat resolution, the
target of an active unit’s Attack action is the
defender.
Deck (1.5, 16.0): Each type of Magic Card has its
own deck: one Treasure deck, one Spell deck
and one Blessing deck for each Kingdom in
play. Treasure and Spell decks are placed on
the Card Display. Blessing decks are placed
near each Kingdom’s playmat. During Winter
turns, discard piles are shuffled back into their
decks.
Discard (16.2): When a Blessing or Spell is
discarded, it is placed face up on top of the
appropriate discard pile. Treasures are not
discarded when played (they become owned).
Discard Pile (16.2): The Card Display contains
spaces for two discard piles: one for Spells and
one for Blessings. Discard piles form as cards
are played. Cards are added to the appropriate
discard pile face up. Discard piles may be
examined at any time by any player.
Draw:
• In combat (9.2): A draw occurs during combat
resolution when no successes are rolled by
either player.
• A card (16.1): Drawing a card means adding
the top card of a deck to a player’s hand.
Eliminate:
• A unit (1.9, 14.5.1): Eliminated units are
returned to their Kingdom’s playmat where
they may be rebuilt. Eliminated Heroes are
shuffled, face down, with any unbuilt Heroes on
the Kingdom’s playmat, at the end of each turn.
• A Treasure Card (16.6.3): Remove the card
from the game. It is returned to the Treasure
deck in the Winter.
Enemy (1.2.1): Kingdoms on opposing sides are
enemies.
Entry Hexes (4.11): Units may be built in friendly
Entry hexes. Permanent Entry hexes include
those with the Goblin symbol along the
northern map edges of The Broken Coast and
The Wildlands, and the Orc symbol on the
eastern map edges of The Wildlands and Fields
of Ash.
Explored (15.0): A Lair hex is unexplored if there
is no Monster in it (face up or face down).
When a Monster in a Lair hex is defeated, it is
flipped over and the Lair becomes explored.
Finished (7.1): Once an active unit performs an
action, it becomes finished (it may not activate
again this turn). Finished units are rotated 45º
to indicate their status.
Feral (3.2.1): Feral is a characteristic. Feral units
are composed of wild beasts.
Flying (3.1.4): Flying is an ability. A unit with
Flying ignores terrain effects and the presence
of most enemy units when moving.
Fragile (3.2.2): Fragile is a characteristic. A Fragile
Army cannot be weakened, and is eliminated if
it suffers a hit.
Free Action (7.3): Unlike actions, Free Actions

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57REFERENCE
may be performed at any time, even during
an opponent’s turn. Free Actions may be
performed multiple times if applicable.
Friend (1.2.1): Units from the same Kingdom are
friends.
Full Strength
• Army (1.7): An Army is either Full Strength
or weakened (flipped over so that its weakened
symbol is face up). Armies may only be built at
Full Strength.
• Magic Cards (17.4.4): When a player is at
Full Strength in Spells, he or she has 3 Spells
in hand. When a player is at Full Strength in
Blessings, he or she has 1 Blessing in hand for
each Kingdom controlled.
Gain
• Keyword (14.5.2, 16.6.3): A unit may gain
abilities or increases to its Combat Rating
through the play of Magic Cards and Hero
Powers. The effect gained lasts for the duration
of the card or power (16.7.1).
• A Treasure card (16.1.1): Treasure cards are
most often gained during play as rewards
(15.6). When a player gains a Treasure card,
it is drawn from the Treasure deck and added
to his or her hand. Instead of being discarded
when played, it becomes owned (16.1.2).
• A Hero (14.3): When a Hero is gained through
the play of a Magic Card, one is selected
randomly from those available and stacked
with a friendly Army. It enters play ready if
stacked with a ready Army, finished if stacked
with a finished Army.
Garrison (9.5): Unoccupied Settlements have a
garrison of 1o when attacked. Cities have a
garrison of 3o when attacked (occupied or
not).
Glyph (17.4): When a Glyph is revealed during
the Arcane Study Phase, it means that Kalar’s
wizards were successful in coaxing power from
the silent tide. Spells are drawn, Blessings
gained, Treasures Retrieved.
Gold (1.6.1): Gold represents a Kingdom’s
treasury. Gold is spent to build units. Gold is
gained during the Income Phase, when Looting
Settlements and when a Monster is defeated.
Heavy Dice (1.10): A Heavy Dice is a black eight-
sided dice, abbreviated 1d8, or the symbol u.
Hero (14.0): Heroes and Armies are units. Heroes
may stack with Armies from their Kingdom
(14.6). When a Hero enters play, its Hero Card
enters play as well.
Hero Card (14.5): Each Hero in the game has both
a unit and a Hero Card. When a Hero’s unit is
built, its Hero Card is selected and placed into
play as well.
Hero Power (14.5.1): Hero Powers, as outlined
on each Hero Card, may be played like Magic
Cards. When a Hero Power is played, its card
may become locked (indicating that the power
cannot be used again until the card unlocks).
Hostile (4.6.2): A Settlement must be defeated in
combat before its hex can be entered by units
it is hostile to. When a unit enters a hostile
Settlement, the Settlement is Looted.
Huge (3.2.3): Huge is a characteristic. Huge units
have special rules governing their interaction
with Settlements. Huge units may not perform
Ship Movement.
Income (6.0): Each Kingdom gains gold equal to
its Income during the Income Step. Income
is adjusted up or down as Settlements are
controlled or lost. Shashka Kingdoms do not
receive Income.
Kingdom (1.2): Each Kingdom moves and fights
individually, in the order indicated by the
Banners on the Turn Track. A player may
control more than one Kingdom.
Lair (15.0): Lairs are feared by the kingdoms of
Kheros. Units may never enter Lair hexes.
When an unexplored Lair is attacked, a
random Monster is placed in the hex, which
the attacking units must defeat. If the Monster
is defeated, the counter is flipped, the attacker
gains a reward and the Lair becomes explored.
An explored Lair may not be attacked.
Light Dice (1.10): A Light Dice is a white six-
sided dice, abbreviated 1d6, or the symbol o.
Lock (14.6.2): Hero Cards may become locked
when a Hero’s Power is played. Locked Hero
cards unlock at the beginning of the controlling
Kingdom’s Activation Step.
Lone Hero (14.6.5): A Hero not stacked with an
Army, is a lone Hero. It cannot attack or be

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58Burning Banners
attacked, but its hex may be entered by enemy
units (an enemy Army entering a lone Hero’s
hex eliminates it).
Loot (4.8): When an Army occupies a hostile
Settlement it will Loot the Settlement,
generating gold. Looting is a Free Action.
Loyal (4.1): A Settlement that has its Kingdom’s
symbol printed on the map is controlled by that
Kingdom as long as it does not contain a Razed
or Control marker.
Mage (3.1.5): Mage is an ability. A unit with Mage
may cast Spells.
Magic Card (16.0): There are three different
types of Magic Cards: Spells, Treasures and
Blessings.
Mine (12.1.1): Hexes on the map with a crossed
pick-axe symbol are Mines. As an action, an
Oathborn Miner unit occupying a Mine hex
may perform the Mine action.
Modifier (9.4): Combat Ratings can be modified
by terrain and other factors, increasing or
decreasing the number of dice rolled, or
making it easier or harder to achieve a success:
• Number of Dice: This is usually expressed
in symbols: for example, 1o means “add one
Light Dice to a Combat Rating”, while -2u
means “reduce a Combat Rating by two Heavy
Dice”.
• Die Roll Result: This is usually expressed as +x
or -x. For example a +2 modifier to a die roll
increases the result rolled by 2 (so that a roll of
a 4 becomes a 6).
Monster (15.0): When an unexplored Lair is
attacked, a Monster is chosen randomly and
placed in the hex. Monsters come into play
under the command of a Kingdom. Place one
of the Kingdom’s Command markers on the
Monster as a reminder. A Monster with the
Mage ability may be used by its commanding
player to cast Magic Cards. Monsters are not
units and may not move or stack.
Owned (16.1.2): Treasures are not discarded when
played. They become owned (placed face-up
near one of the owner’s playmats.
Place: When a Magic Card causes a unit to be
placed in a hex, or on the map, the unit is
not subject to the movement rules. Its state
(finished or ready) is unaffected.
Play
• A Magic Card (16.7): Choose a card from your
hand and resolve its effects. After it is played, it
is discarded (or becomes owned if a Treasure).
• A Hero Power (14.5.1): Activate a Hero Card’s
Power (usually it becomes locked after it is
played). Hero Cards are not discarded when
their power is played unless the card’s text says
otherwise.
Playmat (2.3): Each Kingdom has a playmat used
to organize un-built units, Control markers
and gold. A Kingdom’s Blessings deck, Hero
Cards and owned Treasures are placed near its
playmat.
Power: (see Hero Power).
Ranged (3.1.2): Ranged is an ability. A unit
with Ranged wins combats that result in a tie
and prevents units with Flying from moving
through its hex.
Razed (4.10): When a Settlement becomes Razed,
it is marked with a Razed marker, essentially
erasing that Settlement from play while the
marker is in place. An active Army in a
welcoming Settlement may remove a Razed
marker as a Free Action for 2 gold.
Ready (7.1): When a Kingdom’s turn begins, all of
its units are ready (they may move and perform
actions). Once a unit moves and/or performs
an action, it becomes finished .
Recovery (10.4): Flipping a weakened Army
back to its Full Strength side is Recovery. A
unit which is located in or adjacent to an un-
besieged welcoming Settlement may Recover by
paying its Recovery cost. When a Magic Card
or Hero Power causes an Army to Recover, it
simply flips back to Full Strength (10.4.2).
Regenerate (3.1.3): An ability that allows a unit to
Recover at any time (outside of combat). May
not be used while occupying a besieged hex.
Retrieve (16.1.1): Owned Treasures may be
Retrieved (picked up off of the table and placed
into the owner’s hand) during the Arcane Study
Step.
Revolt (12.4.1): The Empire may suffer Revolts
during play. Each Revolt that occurs, moves
the Revolt marker to the next higher-numbered
space on the Revolt Track. After gaining
Income, the Empire must spend gold equal to
the number shown on the Revolt Track.

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59REFERENCE
Reward (15.6): When a Monster is defeated in
combat the Kingdom that defeated it gains a
reward: generally gold and a Treasure Card.
Season (1.4): Each season equals three months.
During the Spring, Summer and Autumn
seasons each Kingdom in play resolves one
turn. No turns occur during a Winter season.
Shashka (12.2): The Orcs and Goblins are Shashka
Kingdoms. They are kindred creatures and
have similar Kingdom rules.
Ship Movement (8.1.4): An action which allows
a unit to cross Sea, Major River and Coastal
hexsides and enter Major River hexes. Ship
Movement may not be used by Huge or Feral
Armies (a Feral unit stacked with a non-Feral
Hero may use Ship Movement).
Siege: (see Besieged).
Siege Engine (9.11): A Siege Engine is an Army
that negates the negative modifier imposed on
attackers by Fortified Settlements.
Sides (1.11): Players are members of one of two
sides: the Invader or the Resistance. When
playing with more than 2 players, all players on
a side win if that side wins.
Spell (16.3): Spells are Magic Cards that players
draw into their hands from the Spell deck.
They are discarded when played.
Suppression (12.4.5): The Eastern Empire player
may decrease the number of Revolts on the
Revolt Track by 1 for every gold spent.
Stack (8.3): A hex may contain a maximum of
one Army in the Basic Game. In the Advanced
Game, one Hero and one Army, both from
the same Kingdom, may occupy the same hex,
forming a stack. When a Spell or ability refers
to a stack, it means a hex that contains one or
both of those unit types.
Stealth (3.1.2): Stealth is an ability that allows
units to declare an Ambush during combat.
Strike (9.7): A Strike is an attack in which the
target rolls no dice. If the Striking player rolls
one or more successes, one hit is inflicted on
the target. Strikes Outside of Combat (16.9).
Tie (9.2): A tie occurs during a combat, when
both players roll the same number of successes
(minimum of 1 success rolled). A combat in
which neither player scores successes is a draw.
Tome (16.6.2): A Tome is a type of Spell that
may only be played alongside (in conjunction
with) another Spell. A Tome may be played
as a Cantrip if the Spell which it is played in
conjunction with is a Cantrip.
Treasure (16.1.2): Treasure cards are Magic
Cards that are generally gained as rewards for
defeating Monsters in their Lairs. They are
not discarded when played but become owned
(16.1.2).
Turn (5.2): Each Kingdom in play resolves one
turn per season. The Banner markers on the
Turn Track determines the order in which
Kingdoms conduct their turns.
Unit (1.7): Armies and Heroes are units. All other
playing pieces (including Monsters) are not
units.
Unexplored: (see Explored)
Unlock: (see Lock)
Unoccupied (9.3, 9.5.1): A hex that does not
contain an Army is unoccupied. Unoccupied
Settlements contain garrisons with which
to defend against attack. Cities retain their
garrisons even when occupied.
Wandering Monster (15.7): Magic Cards may
bring Wandering Monsters into play. When
this happens, a Monster is chosen randomly
and placed, Monster side up, on the map.
Weakened (1.7): When a Full Strength Army
suffers a hit, it becomes weakened (flipped
over). When a weakened Army takes a hit, it is
eliminated. Weakened Armies may Recover.
Welcoming (4.6.1): A Settlement is welcoming to
friendly and allied units (they may enter the
Settlement freely).
Credits
World Design, Game Design &
Artwork: Christopher Moeller
Creative Director: Brittani-Pearl
Eaton-Koch
Proofing: Rich Jennings
Playtesting: Brian Connelly, Margaret Connelly, Pauline
Connelly, Chase Davenport, Christian Dorko, Joe Durko,
Saoirse Foley, David Green, Jason Heakins, David
Jondreau, Johnathan Krauss, Ian Laver, Shane Lenhart,
Kevin Moeller, Eric Moeller, Tyson Reed, Kurt Rush, The
Thursday Night Gamers (Kurt Mericli, Chuck Silverstein &
Aaron Tobul) and Michael Ziemba.
Production: Billy Thomas, Julian Thomas
Undying Rules Assistance: Michael Boyd, Tom
Cannon, Rich Jennings, Nazim Lebdai

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Frostheart
Captain of
the Varyags
Build Cost (Feral)
(1 Gold)
Weakened
Army Name (Hobgoblins)
Build Cost
(3 Gold)
Recovery Cost
(2 Gold)
Movement
Rating (3)
Kingdom
Affiliation (Goblins)
Combat
Rating
Hero
(back)
(2o, 1u)
2Hobgoblins

Siege
Engine
Weakened
Army
Feral
Fragile
Huge
Unit Ratings
(3.2.1)
(3.2.2)
(3.2.3)
(9.11)
3Hobgoblins
3
Siege
Engine

hero 3
Kali

Effect
A Siege Engine adjacent to a Forti ied Settlement
negates the Forti ication’s negative modi ier for
friendly and allied Armies (9.11).
Combat
Rating
Fragile
(back)
(front)
Feral
(1uvs.
Settlements
and on defense
only)
Abilities (Mage & Flying))
Abilities (Flying)
Abilities (Ranged)
Abilities (Stealth)
Hero
Advanced Game
Movement Rating (6)
Hero
Background
(White )
Hero
Name
(Kali)
Build Cost
(3 Gold)
Front Back
1
9
Huge
Huge
(14.1)

Swarm
of Rats
1
1
Orc
Scouts

Orc
Scouts
9
Dire Raven5
Army

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