For a limited time, you can purchase a signed, numbered copy of Warlords at regular MSRP. These are signed by all 3 game designers and will be limited to 100 copies. The shrink wrap has been removed so we could sign the box top, but the game is otherwise unopened and unpunched.

Early in the 13th century, Medieval Europe is experiencing a time of widespread conflict between lords, barons, kings, and countries. You have the opportunity to create a dominion without rival. Your warlords must subjugate the peasantry, then bring other kings, warlords, and nobles into submission. Through conquest they will become your vassals and swear allegiance to you. Then by taxation and plunder you will muster grand armies and conquer fiefs from one kingdom to the next, capturing and building castles along the way. The more fiefs and castles you control, the larger your taxable domain grows, and the more formidable your armies will become. You will need solid strategy, cautious planning, excellent timing, and good fortune to defeat your rivals. Control the majority of finished castles and you will be crowned Emperor and winner of Warlords of Europe.

Warlords Accessories and Parts

FAQ

Q. Is there a bulk discount on games/shipping?

A. Yes. If you order more than 1 game, shipping is a lot cheaper per game since we switch to FedEx Ground and/or Parcel Post (shipping policy), and this conveniently makes the s/h charge the same for multiple Warlords even if added to multiple copies of our other (very light weight) games. If the shipping amount looks incorrectly high, or if you are interested in bulk pricing (ordering 4+ games) then e-mail us.

Q. What is the box like?

A. The box has a solid/sturdy feel and has a high quality texture. The artwork is a beautiful commissioned painting by Mark Churms.

Q. What is the board like?

A. The map is a quad fold, high quality game board. The artwork is designed to mimic the antique look of hand drawn maps from the early cartographers. While liberty was taken in the physical sizes and shapes of the fiefs and kingdoms for gameplay purposes (it takes a certain amount of physical room accommodate the plastic army men), a great amount of research went into the creation of the map. Fief names are true to the approximate region, cities were chosen from popular period-appropriate maps and are in their proper places, and with some exception, geography is generally accurate.

Q. Can you tell me more about actual gameplay?

A. Sure. Up to 4 people can play, each controlling one of nine kingdoms. Each fief provides gold with which you can outfit larger armies. Warlords is a turn based, area movement epic strategy game where terrain, event cards, and die rolls can sway the outcome of each battle.

This article in Game Trade Magazine gives a bit more detail about gameplay.

Q. Can I download the rulebook?

A. Yes! Here is a copy of the rulebook (low res to keep file size reasonable).
We used this handy Free PDF Merge Tool to join the page files together.

Q. Are there errors in the rulebook?

A. Unfortunately, yes. To err is juman.

• Page 10 (mid-right) uses the word parity but should use the word plurality when describing the castle-gold bonus if you own more fiefs than any other player owns.
• Page 4 (mid-right) uses the word causality but should use the word casualty. Sci-fi themed games are in the works, but Warlords is not one of them.
• Page 4 (mid-right) tells you that warlord casualties are handled differently, and says to look it up on page 6. Warlord info is found on pages 8-9.

Q. If I capture a warlord, but I have no castle, where does he go?

A. Consider the warlord a regular casualty (put it back into the supply). Its former owner is allowed to purchase more warlords (assuming none of his other warlords are prisoners).

Q. If I negotiate the release of my captured warlord, but I have no castle, where does he go?

A. Into any of your fiefs.

Q. Does the Commissariat Surplus card apply to everyone or just me?

A. Just you. When you play a card, it applies just to you if the effects are beneficial and just to the enemy if the effects are harmful. Your cards cannot be played during an interaction between 2 other players.

Q. Does the Plunder card upgrade any 3 spearmen anywhere?

A. No. The spearmen to be upgraded have to come from that specific battle. The card should be played "After a battle" not "After the battle phase." Don't use the card unless you have spearmen surviving the battle. You may use the card even if no enemy swordsmen were present (other soldiers do carry swords and shields, but all the pieces are abstractions anyway, representing hundreds or thousands of soldiers and pieces of equipment).

Q. The Inquisition card says it applies to fiefs adjacent to my kingdom. Which kingdom?

A. That should read "dominion" and not "kingdom" as the card applies to all fiefs adjacent to any fiefs you control.

Q. Does the Treachery card immobilize Light Cavalry Raiders troops for the entire round?

A. No. Treachery says the soldiers returning to the fief do not join any battle there. It does not say they are prohibited from doing Campaign Maneuvers. So, as long as you play LCR before you finish your Campaign Maneuvers, a Treachery card cannot immobilize those 3 soldiers. And even if you slip up and play LCR after Campaign Maneuvers, you could still move those soldiers during Maneuver Reserves.

That line was added to Treachery mainly for when it is used on the offense to keep those 3 defenders from bolstering an adjacent fief's defense (if you were attacking both fiefs) since they would technically be in transit when the Battle phase is resolved. Obviously as the attacker, you would want to resolve the potential destination fief's battle first to force the ones displaced by Treachery into a different fief (one that you aren't attacking).

Q. How do you define terms like army and soldier?

A. A soldier is 1 plastic figurine of any type other than a castle (warlords are soldiers). Other games call this a unit, but that term sounded too modern, thus "soldier" is used. An army is 1 or more soldiers in a fief or combining to attack a fief. Peasants are not typically considered armies unless the City Militias card is in play.

Q. If I roll the 0 on a d10, is that zero or ten?

A. Ten. A spearman has a 25% chance to hit (roll a 7+) on a d8, a 40% chance on a d10, and a 50% chance on a d12.

Q. Are there any castle clarifications?

A. Here is a consolidated list of castle stuff.

• A castle is not a soldier, and cannot control territory. However, a castle cannot be completely abandoned to the peasants the way other fiefs can. You must have 1 soldier in it by the end of your Maneuver Reserves.
• You cannot destroy a castle, ever.
• If you capture a castle and get bonus troops, those new soldiers cannot be used to immediately attack since the Campaign Maneuvers phase has past, but they can be moved during Maneuver Reserves.
• You can Maneuver Reserves into any fief you own including into and through fiefs you just conquered during the Battle phase, including a castle.
• When you capture a castle, you may Deploy Armies into it immediately because it is not brand new (not under construction). The only time you cannot Deploy unlimited soldiers to a castle fief is the same turn it is being initially built.
• You cannot finish (repair) any castle during the bonus Muster/Deploy you immediately get for capturing a castle. If you capture the castle on your individual turn, then you can finish it on the next Muster/Deploy group phase.
• If you lose your only castle and choose to resign from the game, your troops sit on the board. They do not attack, but will defend themselves if attacked. If you've left the room, have a different player roll for them.
• If you lose your only castle and play on, your troops can be forced into vassalage. If you conquer another castle before this happens, your troops are no longer at risk of forced vassalage.

Q. Are the Initiative cards always face up?

A. Yes, at all times. The contents (but not size) of your hand of Pope/Conquest/Merchant cards is the only hidden information in Warlords.

Q. Is there a significance to the number of boats in a Naval Lane?

A. No. All Naval Lanes make 2 fiefs directly adjacent. The number of boats doing the connecting is irrelevant. We just thought boats/waves looked cooler than traditional attack lines.

Q. When playing Merchant Galleys, are there any destination restrictions?

A. Sort of. You can follow naval lines, so you can use Merchant Galleys to go from Wessex to Brittany to Francia to Gascogne (map). But because one cannot logically use boats to travel across land borders of fiefs that have non-adjacent coasts, you cannot use Merchant Galleys to go from Wales to Northumbria to Champagne to Burgundy.

Q. Are there more starting scenarios? Will you post my suggested scenario?

A. Yes, lots; and probably if you e-mail them.

• Economic Focus: every player begins with an unfinished castle instead of a finished castle. Each player can then decide to spend his gold on the castle upgrade or on units. Change the victory condition to count an unfinished castle as half a castle in the tally.
• Some of the following different geographic scenarios rely on removing naval lanes between 2 adjacent kingdoms to make them no longer directly adjacent (mark the lane with a deck token or other marker). Likewise, some of these scenarios rely on removing entire kingdoms from play, thereby shrinking the map. If a naval lane or entire kingdom has an X over it, no part of it may be used for any purpose.
  
• 2 player scenarios
  • Basic 2, Western: the suggested beginner scenario
  • Basic 2, Central
  • Basic 2, Eastern
  • Large 2, Western (a): more gold, more space, more forgiving of mistakes
  • Large 2, Western (b)
  • Large 2, Eastern (a)
  • Large 2, Eastern (b)
  • Cutthroat 2: instant conflict
• 3 player scenarios
  • Inverted T: the suggested beginner scenario, more gold, more space, more forgiving of mistakes
  • Upright T
  • Western Focus: less forgiving, quicker conflict
  • Central V: a little tighter than the T
  • Eastern Focus
  • Mediterranean Cutthroat: instant conflict
  • Eastern Cutthroat
  • Western Cutthroat: impassable desert/naval lane
• 4 player scenarios
  • Four Corners: longer game, the suggested beginner scenario, more gold, more space, more forgiving of mistakes
  • Central Focus: shorter game, less forgiving, quicker conflict
  • Western Focus: impassable desert/naval lanes
  • Eastern Focus: impassable naval lanes/Prussia + Pomerania
• 5 player scenarios
  • Central Focus: Let the war for Germany begin!
  • Full Map: German player must negotiate alliances.
  • Restricted North: no direct adjacencies in the north
  • Restricted South: no direct adjacencies in the south