As we move closer to the release of BattleLore, we thought we would take this opportunity to revisit some commonly asked questions, as well as answer a few new ones.

Some – but not all – of these issues have already been addressed or discussed at length in a number of venues (our forums, boardgamegeek.com, etc…). We are mentioning them here for the benefit of our most recent readers, and for the sake of completeness, not out of a desire to reopen some already hotly debated subjects.

Promotional Miniatures

There are two promotional miniatures to be released for the launch of the game: a Hill Giant, and an Earth Elemental.

In the US -

The Hill Giant is available to anyone who pre-orders the game from a FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store). As of this writing, all participating stores should have received their figures, and be able to hand them out as pre-orders are placed. If your FLGS does not have any Hill Giant in stock, they should contact their regular game distributor. If your store or their distributor has already run out of their initial allocation, no worry – They will be able to get additional Hill Giants in sufficient quantities to fulfill all of their pre-orders on hand, when the game finally ships.

Recognizing that not everyone is within easy reach of a FLGS, we are also making the Hill Giant available to folks who choose to pre-order the game from our web site. The Hill Giants for these pre-orders are being shipped out as of this writing. They are going out in batches, with the earliest pre-orders handled first. Because these are being shipped ahead of the actual release of the game via parcel post, some of you may already have received your figures, while others are still waiting for them.

We ask that you do not call or e-mail us to ask the whereabouts of your miniature(s). This would just slow us down, and we would not be able to provide you with any additional details.

The Earth Elemental is going to be used as a promotional item to spur game demonstrations surrounding the actual launch of the game. These will be released at a variety of events, venues and conventions which will be listed on our web site. A few lucky participants at BGG.con likely received the first Earth Elementals to reach this country, last week-end in Dallas. Other events will follow soon: Demo events and volunteers will be the subject of an upcoming blog entry.

Again, realizing that not everyone lives within driving distance of the various events that will be held in the coming months, we will also make the Earth Elemental available from our web site.

By early next year, any registered owner of BattleLore (like all our big box games, BattleLore contains a unique web access number which you can enter on our web site to register your product and gain access to a variety of functions, including the free Online Adventure Editor) will be able to order a copy of the Earth Elemental. The Earth Elemental will be available free of charge, save for a modest shipping and handling fee.

In Europe -

Due to differences in our distribution networks, in Europe, the promotional miniatures are being handled as follows:

A limited number of promotional miniature sets, including both the Earth Elemental and the Hill Giant, are being allocated to each country. These miniatures will be given to pre-order customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Note that unlike the US, these miniatures will NOT be handed out or shipped ahead of the game’s actual release. Instead, they will be handed out with the first copies of the game.

Days of Wonder customers who placed orders on our European web store will receive their miniatures in the same manner, along with their own copy of the game.

In the rest of the world (including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, etc…) -

Both the Hill Giant and the Earth Elemental will be shipped to our local distributors, along with their pre-ordered copies of the game. These distributors will then pass those on to their own local resellers along with copies of the actual game once it ships.

Days of Wonder customers in these parts of the world, who have placed orders off our web site, will receive both miniatures via parcel post, either ahead of the game’s shipment or along with it, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Again, we kindly ask that you refrain from contacting us to ask the whereabouts of your own promotional minis until you have received your own copy of the actual game, as we would not be able to provide you with any additional information.

Languages, Rules & Localization

As of this writing, the game is published and fully supported in three languages, namely: English, French and German.

With the generous help of some volunteers, some additional languages (Spanish, Dutch, Italian) are partially supported via online resources such as this blog. However no definitive plans have been made to release the complete game and its upcoming expansions in these languages (not to mention others); nor is it likely for us to make any decision in this regard until we gain additional visibility on the demand in these markets.

Likewise, we have no plans to release the 80 pages rulebook as a PDF. For those wanting to learn more about the game, the present blog provides a comprehensive and rather detailed overview of the game and its mechanics. In addition, and recognizing that some will want additional copies of the rules for their own reasons (to loan out, bring on trips or to the office, give out to members of their role-playing group, etc…), we will make additional copies of the rulebook available, for a charge, on our web site following the shipment of the game.

Expansions Roadmap

While we have to keep some surprises up our sleeves regarding the future of this game, here are a few tidbits we’ve already shared about upcoming expansions – with a few additional details thrown in for good measure!

Starting in March 2007, we hope to release 2-3 mini-expansions every month. These expansions will come in the form of easily recognizable blisters (similar to those used for the promotional miniatures), which will be available through our regular distribution channels as well as our web site.

Pricing will typically be in the $7.00 to $12.00 range, with some items lower, and a few higher.

The objective of these expansions is NOT to start an arm’s race toward the most powerful Creatures, Units or Armies. While these expansions will come in blister packaging, they will not all be plastic figures, units or battalions.

Instead, our goal is to both surprise you and delight you, by building upon some of the many foundations introduced in the game’s core rulebook.

While competitive play is definitively a possibility, and will be an aspect of this game, we care just as much about story-telling and providing you with the tools needed to create memorable game sessions. As you think ahead to the game’s future, think D&D just as much as Warhammer!

This also means that we do not plan to design every mini-expansion as a must-have for everyone. Instead, the mini-expansions provide us with a vehicle which are intended to explore different facets of the game, styles of play and players’ tastes, etc…

In addition to the above-mentioned expansions, there will be two major expansion released next year, one around the summer, the other before Christmas.

Again, while possible candidates include the miniature additions (army expansions à la Memoir ‘44 expansion packs) one would come to expect for such a game, just as likely a source of inspiration comes from the role-playing side of the hobby. Campaigns, Heroes & the like are all subjects worthy of consideration and future development.

One other small piece of news/confirmation: While we do intend to stay away from a traditional point-based approach to building armies, Richard and the development team have been hard at work on an innovative, and truly fun new approach. So stay tuned!

The world of BattleLore is the one of history books – or, more precisely, the world of Europe during the Late Middle Ages.

A period rich in major mass combat clashes, minor skirmishes and daring chevauchées;

A period full of characters so lively and colorful (among them, a sheperdess hearing voices before leading her troops to victory; a mad king – or two!; a man known as the Black Prince, and another as Don Pedro the Cruel…) that no one would believe in them had they been invented;

Finally, a period with enough geo-political twists (not to mention religious – never again would the world witness three competing popes vying for the control of “their” church) and military and scientific innovations (cannons and gunpowder, astronomy, …) to make anyone’s head spin.

You will discover this world progressively through the writings of one of the period’s leading chronicler – Jehan (Jean) Froissart.
As a principal witness and the primary narrative source for this period, Froissart is widely acknowledged as the most entertaining, if not always the most impartial, chronicler of this troubled time.

As you delve into the Adventure’s booklet that comes with the game – Froissart’s Vrayes croniques de France, d’Engleterre et païs voisins – you won’t be able to help but notice that even the best history books didn’t quite get it right!

Maybe it will be the frequent sighting of mercenary bands of mythical races; or the rumors of the monstrous creatures said to roam the land; or the whispered talk of Lore, this arcane power that is said to draw as much from science as from witchcraft;

It doesn’t matter: soon enough, you will acquire the conviction that not all is at it seems in old Europe.

In order to ensure a rapid game set-up, all BattleLore adventures are presented in a similar format, featuring:

• The adventure’s title, and (when provided by Froissart), its date in history
• A Battle Map, depicting the lay of the land, and the forces deployed on the battlefield at game start
• A list of the Terrain (type and quantity) used
• A list of key figures and supplemental units, if any
• The Adventure’s Battle Notes

An adventure’s Battle map and…	… the accompanying Battle notes
Click on the pictures to Zoom

The Battle notes provide a short background introduction to the adventure, a briefing section denoting the opposing camps: known Commanders, Lore Masters and/or War Councils composition, and the party who moves first (ie who starts the game). Also listed are the Victory Conditions, and Special Rules, if any.

The adventures presented in the base game have been specifically designed to progressively introduce players to all the various facets of BattleLore.

Each adventure lists, in a brief Apprentice section at the end of the Battle Notes, the key new rules featured, along with the relevant chapter or page numbers in the Player’s Guide.

Once players have become familiar with the whole system, they will be able to revisit each adventure with the War Councils, Lore Masters and Creatures of their choice, as well as head over to the Adventures section of the official BattleLore web site, where additional adventures will await them.

Another key feature of BattleLore’s adventure system is the Online Adventure editor accessible free of charge to all registered BattleLore owners. A very simple interface will give each player access to the same tool we use internally to develop and test our adventures, opening the door to countless new adventures in the setting of the players’ choosing.

BattleLore Editor (Click on the picture to zoom)

This Online editor is part of a more ambitious effort on our part to progressively offer to the community the tools required for it to thrive (read: something far superior to our now-abandoned M44platoon effort, for those brave souls among Memoir ’44 users who ventured to use that tool ).

But this will be the subject of a separate, future entry…

Medieval battles, while brutal and bloody affairs, were often framed by basic and familiar terrain. An impassable waterway, a densely wooded copse, or an elevated mound bordering the battlefield, were often the sole distinctive geographical features on the horizon.

Though rumors abound of a multitude of terrain variations and nuances in remote lands, there are only four basic Terrain Types in the core BattleLore game:

• Countryside
• Wooded Terrain
• Elevated Ground
• Waterways

Each terrain type is characterized by its impact, or restrictions, on movement, battle and line of sight.

Some common Woods

When present, terrain battle limitations impose a cap – or limit – on the default number of battle dice a unit attacking in or from this terrain type will roll by default.

Usually, the rougher the terrain, the lower the limit. As a result, Red Banner troops, weighed down by their superior armament, or armored mounts, usually suffer the worst in difficult terrain, while Green Banner “irregulars” fare comparatively better.

This limit on the number of dice rolled, when present, only applies to the base number of dice rolled by that particular troops’ unit type. Bonuses gained from Lore or Command cards or any other source are not subject to this limit and still add up, so that the actual number of dice rolled by a unit in difficult terrain may still exceed the maximum for that terrain type.

Landmarks

What nature does not provide, the ingenious talent of man will usually build. As a result, many distinctive Landmarks dots the battlefield.

Unless specified otherwise, Landmarks provide advantageous defensive capabilities to their occupiers, since a landmark’s occupant usually becomes Bold by the sole virtue of occupying said landmark, regardless of adjacent troops’ support or not.

In BattleLore, Landmarks often confer to their owners unique advantages, making them heartily contested and prized possessions.

When landmark rules are in effect, any player who is the sole owner of a level 3 Lore Master of a given class is entitled to his own, unique Landmark.

A high-level Wizard’s prized possession…

The side benefit of a Master Thief’s life…

Unique among all Lore Masters’ landmarks stands the Commander’s Stronghold. Indeed, any player with a level 3 Commander will find itself with its own Stronghold on the battlefield.

A Commander’s Stronghold

The Stronghold bolsters the morale of the Commander’s troops (making any of those adjacent to the Stronghold Bold), but beware the fool who lets his Stronghold fall to the enemy!

Lairs

High-level Lore Masters are not the only ones to enjoy the benefits of one’s family properties. Creatures of legends are often rumored to have their own secret lairs from where they lay in wait – ready to jump and pounce on the next hapless, straggling enemy unit.

Some circles of power are better left alone …

We are back from the Essen Game Convention where BattleLore was presented.

A view of our booth in Essen

Richard Borg and Eric Hautemont discussing in front of the game
A game in process

We will get back to our regular posting, next week.

In the meantime, if you wish to have a look at the content of a BattleLore box, head to Tric Trac (the French equivalent of boardgamegeek) and enjoy the hilarious “Open the box”

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are now off to Essen, where the largest boardgame convention in the world is held every year. We will be demonstrating BattleLore on our booth, # 68 in Hall 12.

We will resume our presence here, and post additional entries on this blog, once we are all back in the office and settled, in 10 days or so.

Thank you for your understanding.

The BattleLore War Council

In BattleLore, monstrous Creatures are not just a figment of the imagination of frightened peasants. Fortunately, they are just as rare as they are dangerous.

On the battlefield, a Creature is represented by a single figure, and recognizable by its distinctive Banner shape. This single figure is considered a unit, for gameplay purposes, but it is neither a foot unit nor a mounted unit. Instead, Creatures are very special units, that share some common characteristics.

The Creatures banners

Critical Hits

Unlike troop units, Creatures are immune from the wear and tear of normal combat. Instead, they are eliminated only when they receive a Critical Hit.

When a Creature comes under attack, all the Battle Dice rolled against it that would normally have scored a hit are set aside and rerolled. If the Creature’s banner color does not come up on this second roll of dice, the Creature survives the attack; otherwise it dies and is immediately removed from the Battlefield.

In addition to receiving her Victory banner, the player who vanquishes the Creature also collects one Lore token from the common Lore pool.

Out-of-Section ordering

In addition to being more resistant to attacks in combat, Creatures can be ordered at the will of their master…

When playing a Section card, you may issue an order to a Creature that is in a different section from the one designated on the Command card you just played. To do so, you must immediately pay 3 Lore tokens from your reserve back into the common Lore pool, however. The Creature thus ordered still counts as one unit toward the total count of units ordered for the turn. It is simply said to be ordered Out-of-section.

While giving this costly unit added flexibility on the battlefield (remember – a single Creature costs a precious Lore Master level token to bring into play), the careless player will soon find himself running out of Lore tokens however, an unfortunate event given their role in fueling the play of Lore cards!

Morale, Support, Retreats and Trampling

Creatures are not easily routed. They are Bold. However, unlike other Bold units, they must always ignore one flag rolled against them in battle. They may never opt to retreat instead, even when a retreat seems preferable.

Creatures provide support to adjacent friendly units; but they never receive support from them, and they also do not benefit from the customary Morale boost to Bold when occupying a Landmark.

For each retreat flag a Creature ends up being forced to take, it must retreat 2 hexes, unless explicitly stated otherwise on the Creature’s summary card.

The Giant Spider

If it cannot, it risks receiving a Critical Hit, with its attacker rolling 1 die for each hex of retreat ground not covered. Each “hit” is then re-rolled; if the Creature’s banner color now appears, the Creature is killed.

An additional danger to surrounding units is the fact that during its retreat, a Creature whose retreat paths are blocked by units (friends or foes!) will automatically Trample those blocking her retreat, causing them to lose a figure for each hex of retreat ground not covered!

Special Powers and Power-ups

Above and beyond the powerful common Creature traits described above, what truly sets one Creature apart from another is its unique Special Powers.

The Creature’s summary cards list the Creature’s powers, along with their cost requirements for invoking them – a set number of Lore symbols the Creature must roll in Combat to trigger the corresponding power!

… and her Special Powers

Creatures have a unique ability with regard to their Battle dice results: They can opt to temporarily store any Lore rolled in combat, in a mechanism known as a Power-up.

This allows a Creature to for a higher-level Special Power later on, rather than a lesser one immediately, at the risk of getting killed by the enemy before getting a chance to use the Special Power it was saving its results for!

Web and Poison tokens await a Spider’s prey!

For example, the master of a Giant spider can opt to not cast a web on its enemy, in the hope of poisoning it in a later round instead!

A preview of the official BattleLore website is now live at www.battlelore.com

There you can download the Primer for a more in-depth look at the game:

You can also pre-order the game now…

Let the fun begin!

Playing with a single low-level Lore Master at your side is a great way to learn the system and discover what spells a Wizard might be able to cast to sway the tides of battle in your favor; but the real fun won’t start until you’ve assembled your own full cadre of expert Lore Masters into a personal War Council.

A generic Lore Master level token

At the start of any Lore adventure in which you wish to bring the War Councils into play, you must first:

• Turn your War Council sheet onto its other face, revealing the tent and all its potential inhabitants ;
• Agree on a total number of Lore Master levels in each War Council;
• Grab the corresponding number of Lore Master Token levels;
• And secretly assign these tokens to the Lore Masters you wish to have present in your War Council, piling one token for each level desired.

The total number of levels in each War Council is often specified in the Lore Adventure’s battle notes. When it isn’t, we recommend setting it to a mutually agreed 6 levels, which is sufficient to permit a wide combination of Lore Masters and levels of expertise, while forcing some serious choices from among the various possible trade-offs.

The choices made at this stage are important because:

• Your Commander’s level determines how many Command cards you will get to play with for the duration of this Adventure;
• The level of your highest level Lore Master character (Cleric, Wizard, Rogue or Warrior) determines your initial number of Lore tokens in reserve at game start; how many Lore cards you get to keep from among the four you initially draw; and how many Lore cards you may keep in hand and play from, at any one time.

All this information is conveniently gathered in a couple of summary tables, directly printed on your War Council sheet. Also written on each sheet are directions on how to build the common Lore deck of cards that each player will draw from throughout the game. The deck’s exact mix varies in function of the players’ own, and relative, War Councils’ choices!

This brings into light an interesting issue: What happens when you draw a Lore card for which you have no corresponding Lore Master on your War Council, such as Jean de Brosse drawing a Wizard’s Magic Web spell card?

This is where one of the critical trade-offs that you made when choosing how to allocate your levels among the different classes of Lore Masters at your disposition now appears:

• If you opted to go deep, focusing all your level tokens on one or even a couple of Lore Masters, to maximize your starting Lore reserve and Lore cards, you are now increasingly likely to draw Lore cards from Lore Masters that are absent from your War Council. Each time you will want to play such a card, you will have to play it Out-of-Character (ie play it without having the required Lore Master class in your Council).Lore cards played out-of-character cost you 3 more Lore tokens to bring into play. Furthermore, these cards can only be played at level 1, regardless of the level of the other Lore Masters in your War Council.

  
  Casting this Lore Drain without a Wizard on board would be dumb! You’d be paying 2+3 = 5 Lore to drain a measly 1*1 + 2 = 3 Lore off your opponent!

• If, on the opposite, you went wide and spread your tokens between most – or all – of the possible Lore Masters, you are now well covered. But few, if any, of your Lore Masters, are likely to be high-leveled… and you will now pay the price in correspondingly diminished Lore capacities (lower initial Lore reserves, lower Lore cards in hand, lower effectiveness for level-dependent Lore cards).

The dilemna facing you when choosing your War Council only becomes greater if Landmark rules are in effect. For in that case, if you end up being the only player with a level 3 Lore Master of a given class in your War Council, that Lore Master will offer you the benefit of his own unique, famed family property!

The Healing Pool, privilege of a level 3 Cleric!

To top it off, you will also have to consider whether diverting one of your precious and scarce Lore level tokens to bring a Creature to your side, placing the corresponding level token in the monster cage at the bottom left of your War Council sheet.

These monstrous Creatures, and their fearsome powers, will be the subject of our next major entry…

Lore is the subject of many a conversation in the world of BattleLore.

To some – commoners, skeptics and fools – it is nothing more than myth or legend; yet to others – men of substance, strength and wisdom – it is a source of power and intrigue.

In terms of game play, Lore is the gateway to legendary actions on (and off) the battlefield.

Lore tokens, gathered in a common pool at the start of any Lore adventure, act as the currency that fuels the actions of the players’ legendary characters, the Lore Masters.

Be they a man of deep faith, a wizard of legend, a bold fighter or a sneaky rogue, these (off the map) advisors all rely on the power of their Lore cards to help win the day when armies clash on the battlefield.

An aspiring Wizard…

But let’s take a closer look at how a budding level 1 Wizard might help you.

At the start of the Lore adventure in which you’ve decided to invite this Wizard to your side, you draw a single Lore token from the Lore pool, and place it into a goblet reserved to that effect, to form your initial Lore reserve.

You also receive four random Lore cards, drawn from the Wizards’ Lore deck. From among those, you must choose one – your aspiring Wizard’s starting spell. The remaining spell cards are then be shuffled back into a common deck, and placed next to the Command cards, within easy reach of both players.

An ambitious (and expensive) spell !

Your starting spell’s card will have a Name, a Power Cost (which must be paid, in Lore tokens, when the spell is cast), a Phase of Play (which dictates when during a game turn this particular spell may be cast), a Target (the victim – or beneficiary, sometimes – of the spell) and an Effect, which describes the spell’s precise action.

This Lore card also displays a Lore Master Class symbol, in this case the Wizard’s Hand.

Finally, you also receive a War Council sheet, which is placed Wizard’s side face up; in BattleLore, your first introduction to the Lore Masters is always via a Wizard!

The game then proceeds, like a normal Medieval adventure, but with the following modifications:

• Once per turn, you may cast a spell, by playing the corresponding Lore card and paying its Power cost out of the Lore tokens currently in your reserve.
• At the end of your game turn, after drawing your Command card, you may also do one, and only one, of the following:
  • Draw 2 Lore cards from the common deck, select 1 and discard the other;
  • Draw 1 Lore card from the common deck and 1 Lore token from the common Lore pool;
  • Draw 2 Lore tokens from the common Lore pool, to place in your Lore reserve.

The Lore Masters

In addition to the budding wizard, you can bring to your side a whole fellowship of Lore Masters of varying origins and talents. Those Lore Masters cover all four main fantasy archetypes. In addition to the Wizard already introduced, these are:

The Cleric

A shepherd to his troops, who he’s known to soothe, protect and heal, this man of faith can also wield a heavenly wrath upon his enemies…

The Warrior

A master tactician who never seems to sleep, the Warrior may lack a sense of humor, but his sheer grit and determination more than compensate…

The Rogue

Cunning and nimble, the Rogue is a jack-of-all-trades. His talent lies in his remarkable resourcefulness and ability to disrupt the enemy’s best laid plans…

A Rogue’s back-handed blow!

Last, not least, and unique to BattleLore, but central to the game, is…

The Commander

He differs from his fellow Lore Masters in that he does not play Lore cards, but rather, dictates the size of your hand of Command cards.

Together, these men of power often assemble to congregate and conspire in powerful War Councils, which we will discuss in our next entry!

As alluded to in the previous entry, units in BattleLore have an important new attribute: Morale, which determines how a unit reacts to Retreat flags rolled against it in combat.

By default, all troops are considered to be at a Normal level of morale. When forced to retreat, they follow standard Retreat rules, retreating 1 hex toward their side of the board for each Retreat flag rolled against them.

Should a Normal unit’s retreat path be blocked for any reason, it loses one figure per hex of retreat ground not covered, instead.

Where things get interesting is when a unit has higher Morale (Bold unit) or lower Morale (Frightened unit).

The Benefits of being Bold

A Bold unit is one that has the ability to ignore one (or more) flag(s) rolled against it in combat. For one of several reasons, the unit feels particularly valiant, and is determined to stand and fight back.

Bold units engaged in Melee (i.e., attacked by an enemy from an adjacent hex) are entitled to battle back against their attacker, immediately following the results of that attacker’s battle dice roll, if they survive the initial onslaught and did not retreat.

Only Bold units are entitled to battle back, making a troops’ Morale something important to watch (and/or bolster, whenever possible).

There are various ways to boost a unit’s morale to Bold, either temporarily or permanently, but the most common is to surround the unit with at least two friendly, adjacent units.

Any unit thus supported is said to receive Support, and its Morale immediately boosted to Bold for as long as it continues to receive support.

With Support – or without – a big difference!

Upon attack, the unit is able to ignore one flag from any dice roll made against it. Even better, if in Melee, the unit can ignore one flag, and battle back (assuming it was not forced to retreat because of another flag, nor destroyed in the initial assault!).

This makes keeping troops in ranks particularly effective for a defender, and breaking up those ranks a worthwhile endeavour for any attacker. It also makes self-supporting triangular formations particularly effective!

A Bad Scare

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a Frightened unit is a squeamish one… and likely to run away faster and farther than normal. Any unit that must retreat 2 or more hexes for each Retreat flag rolled against it (instead of the standard 1 hex per flag of Normal units) is said to be Frightened.

Frightened units must make a Panic Loss check each time they run away from combat. For each hex of retreat ground covered during a retreat move, a Frightened unit must roll 1 battle die.

Any colored helmet rolled that matches the retreating unit’s banner color forces the removal of a figure from that unit. (All other dice results are ignored in a Panic Loss, so as not to trigger a recursive rout, however!)

A Summary of Morale Effects

Morale Modifiers

In BattleLore, Landmarks (men-made constructions or natural wonders distinctive enough to warrant their own hex on the battlefield), racial attributes, and plain good old magic and Lore are also among the game elements that can impact one’s Morale.

Next week… The Lore Masters!