Storm the Castle

Number of Players: 1-8 Inspired by WorldWorks' Shellendrak Manor and any B movie that includes a rampaging mob with torches and pitchforks taking down a mad scientist or similar

• Inspirational reading
• Tropes

The goal of Storm the Castle is to kill the evil tyrant who has been tormenting the local village with his villainous ways and fiendish creations.

1. Layout the map
   1. Place the Lair of the Evil Tyrant.
      • The Lair has no entrances or exits and should not connect to any door of any room. The only way in is to find the secret passageway with clue cards.
      • No room can be placed next to the Lair in such a way that a door would connect to the lair.
   2. Each player takes a turn to place a room and a corridor until they have none left.
      • Every room should connect to every other room.
      • No room should connect to the Lair.
      • Both doors on each room should be connected.
   3. Place the Castle Entrance tile last, where it is most convenient on a corridor.
2. Choose the evil tyrant type
3. Choose characters
   • Each player may choose any character group - but only one of each type may be in a game, except for Farmers.
   • Each character group receives +1 in a particular characteristic. This applies to all villagers in that group.
4. Place cards in rooms
5. Each player receives one random room card (it may be a type, level or special) which they can use during any room reveal to replace a card shown. This can only be done once in the game per player.

Showing-
Hero: 1 Str 2 Dex 4 Spd 0 Hlt 2 Skl 1 Wp
Lieutnenant: 2 Str 1 Dex 1 Spd 2 Hlt 1 Skl 1 Wp
Flunkey: 1 Str 1 Dex 0 Spd 1 Hlt 1 Skl 1 Wp

Hero, Lieutenants (2), Flunkeys (4)

• Heroes receive a 1 space marker for characteristics.
• Lieutenants receive a 3 space marker
• Flunkeys use a 5 space marker

• Strength/Dexterity track
• Speed/Health track
• Skill/Willpower track

Range: +4 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 +0
Humans and villagers have a basic Agility, Toughness, Health of 2 and a Move of 4.

• Detailed explanation of statistics

1. Players move
   • Each player moves all their villagers
     • If a villager opens a door into a new room, the room cards are revealed.
       • Any player may at this point choose to replace one of the cards in the room with the one in their hand. The replaced card is discarded.
   • Villagers next to a door may choose to open the door. Doors may never be closed in the game (they're battered down in a flurry of righteous indignation).
   • Villagers that are in contact with a Fiendish Creation may attack them once each.
2. Fiendish Creations move
   • Each Creation moves towards the nearest villager at their full speed if possible. They will always attempt to mob a character and they make no distinction between flunkey, lieutenant or hero.
   • Creations that are in contact with a Villager will attack them once each.

Rooms receive 3 cards - a Type card, a Level card and a Special card.
When a character opens a door to the room for the first time, all three cards are revealed. Any player then has the choice to replace one of the room cards for the card they were dealt with at the beginning of the game.

1. Attacker's Dexterity > Defender's Agility = hits
2. Attacker's Strength > Defender's Toughness = damages
3. Basic Weapon = 1 damage

• Charging - If the attacker charged (ie the first time they move next to the defender to attack), they receive +1 STR.
• Mobbing - If there is more than one attacker in contact with the defender (up to a maximum of 4), each attacker receives a cummulative +1 DEX (after the first).
  • 1 Attacker = no bonus
  • 2 Attackers = +1 Dex for each attacker
  • 3 Attackers = +2 Dex for each attacker
  • 4 Attackers (maximum) = +3 Dex for each attacker
• Morale - Morale counters may be spent to increase any characteristic by +1. Counters need not be spent before the characteristic is used, but can be spent after.
• Character Type - Each character group receives +1 in a particular characteristic. This applies to all villagers in that group (ie the Sheriff, his Guards and Militia all have +1 STR)
• Extra Damage - A magic weapon does +1 damage. Mob Fiendish Creations belonging to Evil Tyrants other than the Necromancer may cause +1 damage (see Characteristic Specialisations)

• Fiendish Creations

Each player starts with 20 morale counters which may be lost through spooky events or through expending them to raise characteristics.
If a player runs out of counters, all the villagers in their party rout. Each turn the player must move all their villagers via the fastest route to the exit. No villager will attack any Fiendish Creation, nor will they ever move into an unexplored area. If they reach the exit, they leave the game, never to return.

The Evil Tyrant is not placed on the board to begin with and is in a secret room that can only be found if enough clues have been revealed.

• Mad Scientist
  • Characteristic: Skill
  • Variants: Arboreal Alchemist (plants), Frankaiju (animals), Technomancer (machines)
• Evil Sorceror
  • Characteristic: Willpower
  • Variants: Infernalist (demons), Solomnolist (golems), Illusionist (illusion)
• Dastardly Baron
  • Characteristic: Strength
  • Variants: Mercenary Commander (humans), Dungeon Master (fantasy races)
• Necromancer
  • Characteristic: none, special power of ressurrection
  • Variants: Animator (skeletons, zombies), Spiritualist (ghosts, wraiths)

• Sheriff, Guards, Militia
  • Special Power: Authority - The Sheriff is able to order other villagers around.
  • Characteristic: Strength
  • Weapon: Short Sword
• Guild Master, Merchants, Street Hawkers
  • Special Power: Trade - The Guild Master is able to trade items throughout his network.
  • Characteristic: Dexterity
  • Weapon: Coin Purse
• Innkeeper, Staff, Patrons
  • Special Power: Dutch Courage - All members of this group are immune to morale loss from fear.
  • Characteristic: Speed
  • Weapon: Tankard
• Farmer, Family, Farmhands
  • Special Power: Farm Stoicism - All members of this group are immune to Spooky events.
  • Characteristic: Health
  • Weapon: Pitchfork
• Schoolteacher, Assistants, Pupils
  • Special Power: Spot - The Schoolteacher is able find hidden doors and objects
  • Characteristic: Skill
  • Weapon: Abacus
• Priest, Elders, Congregation
  • Special Power: Rally - With a rousing speech the Priest is able to rally any fleeing villagers.
  • Characteristic: Willpower
  • Weapon: Crucifix

• Authority - The Sheriff is able to order other villagers around.
  • Once per turn the player may also move either the flunkies, or the lieutenants of another player in addition to their own characters. The player may only spend their own morale counters on the behalf of these villagers if theywish (rather than the owning player).
• Trade - The Guild Master is able to trade items throughout his network.
  • Once per turn any item given by a villager in contact with one of the characters in the Guild Master's party may be given to any other character in contact with a villager of the Guild Master's party (or kept by any member of the party).
• Dutch Courage - All members of this group are immune to morale loss from fear.
  • Any attacks described as causing fear have no effect.
• Farm Stoicism - All members of this group are immune to Spooky events.
  • Characters ignore Spooky events.
• Spot - The Schoolteacher is able find hidden doors and objects
  • Once per room the player may find an item in the room they are in, if it contains fiendish creations - take the item from the discard pile. If there are no items discarded, nothing can be found.
  • Once per room the player may choose to find a secret door. Place a secret door counter on any wall.
• Rally - With a rousing speech the Priest is able to rally any fleeing villagers.
  • Once per turn the characters of another player may be rallied if within line of sight of the priest. The fleeing player receives 1 morale counter. No player may receive a morale counter if they already have one. The villagers belonging to that player may be moved as normal next turn.

If enough clue cards have been found to equal 1 high level (1 high = 2 medium = 4 low), a secret door is placed in the room. This door leads to the lair of the Evil Tyrant. Once the Tyrant has been defeated, the game ends and players total their victory points.

• Killing a Swarm or Mob
  • Low Level: 1VP
  • Medium Level: 2VP
  • High Level: 3VP
• Killing a Giant
  • Low Level: 2VP
  • Medium Level: 3VP
  • High Level: 4VP
• Exploring a room: 1VP
• Killing the Evil Tyrant: 5VP

The Lair is 10×10 in size and contains all the remaining room cards, separated into groups of 3 (type/level/special).

• Any events are ignored (traps/spooky), and removed from the room (with the two cards accompanying them)

The Evil Tyrant is a human with statistics of 2 and a Move of 4. Their characteristic specialisation is at 5.

• The Evil Tyrant has both special powers unless they are a Necromancer.
  • The Necromancer has Power A and the Necromancer may only be permanently killed by a magic weapon - or if all other fiendish creations in the Lair are dead. Otherwise the Necromancer comes back with a Health of 2 one turn after being killed.

There is a special movement rule for Fiendish Creations in this room - they will always defend the Tyrant first. Any villager attacking the Tyrant will have a higher priority.

• Place the Evil Tyrant as far from the entrance to the Lair as possible.
• Place the Fiendish Creations in thei card groups evenly between the Tyrant and the entrance.

• Swarms, Mobs and Villagers are 1 space counters
• Giants are 2×2 space counters
• Secret Doors are 1 space counters

• Rooms are a minimum of 3×3 up to a maximum of 5×5
• Rooms have at least 2 doors of 2 space width
• Corridors are 2 spaces wide and 3 to 5 spaces long
• The Castle Entrance tile is 4 spaces wide
• The Entrance to the Lair tile is 4 spaces wide

For each player, take-

• 3 random room tiles
• 6 corridor tiles

• Room Cards

For villagers, I highly recommend Dryw the Harper's Imperfect figures

• Villager paper miniatures from Dryw the Harper's Imperfect figure range.
• http://www.curufea.com/Wikka/uploads/StormTheCastle/villagers.pdf PDF list of villagers figures to use