The Age of Iron and Rust

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GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 • www.GMTGames.com

RULES OF PLAY

Game Design by Wray Ferrell and Brad Johnson

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

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Introduction

1. Components

2. New Influence Cards

3. Optional Emperor Rules

4. Optional Non-Player Faction Rules

5. Card Notes

6. Example of Play

7. Historical Notes

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Time of Crisis Expansion Rules

Introduction

This expansion adds several new options to Time of Crisis. You

may choose to play with any combination of these additions:

• New Influence Cards: This expansion adds a full set of 9

new influence cards, plus a recommended replacement for one

card from the base game. This doubles the selection of cards

available for purchase and greatly expands your deckbuilding

choices.

• New Emperor Rules: Using these rules allows you to specify

the location of your Emperor, opening up new ways to gain

Legacy, but also new risks to manage.

• Non-Player Faction Rules: If you are playing with fewer

than 4 players, these rules allow the open positions to be filled

by your choice of three different “artificial intelligence (AI)”

profiles, providing a mix of challenges working against the

human players. You can even play solo against all 3 non-

player factions.

1. Components

• This rules manual

• 69 new influence cards (in suits of Red, Yellow, and Blue,

each suit has 9 x 2-value, 8 x 3-value, and 6 x 4-value)

• 6 replacement influence cards (6 Blue 4-value)

• 3 AI mats

• 4 AI instruction / card reference bi-folds

• One counter sheet consisting of:

o 8 Emperor tokens (1 square and 1 round in each of the 4

player colors [green, red, blue, yellow])

o 3 AI mode markers (1 for each bot)

o 1 Ludi Saeculares (AI reminder) marker

• Wooden pieces including:

o 9 AI black pawns (3 for each bot)

o 9 AI cylinders (3 each of red, yellow and blue)

Emperor Tokens

(Senate/Populace)

Emperor Tokens

(Military)

AI Mode Markers

AI Reminder Marker

2. New Influence Cards

2.1 Game Setup

A full set of 9 new types of influence cards is provided to expand

your deckbuilding options.

First, replace the Damnatio Memoriae cards provided in the

base game with the new version provided in the expansion. (You

can return the old cards to the box.)

Design Note: It was felt that the original Damnatio Memoriae

event needed to be adjusted in order to provide better balance

with the new expansion events.

Then, choose one of the following three options (Fixed Setup,

Variable Setup, or Selective Setup) for using the expansion

cards in your game.

All other game setup remains unchanged from the base game.

2.1.1 Option 1 - Fixed Setup

Choose this option if your group wants to have all deckbuilding

options available and desires certainty regarding which cards

will be available to be purchased.

• Place both the original

influence cards and the

expansion influence cards

beside the game board in

18 face-up stacks sorted by

name.

• All cards will be available

for purchase throughout the

game.

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Time of Crisis Expansion Rules

2.1.2 Option 2 - Variable Setup

Choose this option if your group wants to introduce some strat-

egy to manipulating the influence card market during the game,

and does not mind uncertainty regarding which cards might be

available for purchase during each player’s turn.

• For each category (color/value) of card, create one stack by

shuffling both the base game and expansion cards together.

(For example, shuffle all of the Tribute and Princeps

Senatus cards together to form one Blue 2 card stack.)

• Place the nine shuffled stacks face-down beside the game

board.

• Turn the top card of each stack face-up to start the game.

Only this card is available to be purchased from that stack.

• Whenever a card is purchased from a stack, immediately turn

the new top card face-up to show the next card available for

purchase.

SPECIAL RULE: During each player’s Buy/Trash Cards

Phase, the active player may spend 1 political point to put

the top (visible) card of one stack face-down on the bottom

of that stack and then turn the new top card of that stack

face-up. This may be done on any stack(s) as many times as

the player can afford.

Design Note: This abil-

ity to pay to “cycle” the

card stacks can allow you

to hunt for the card you

want to buy if you have

the political points to

pay for the privilege. You

could also use the ability

to try to bury a card type

you know your neighbor

wants. However, in both

cases, you are spending

political points that might

otherwise be used to buy

or trash cards.

2.1.3 Option 3 - Selective Setup

Choose this option if your group wants to be certain about what

cards will be available for purchase during the game, but would

like to force some variation from game to game.

• For each category (color/value) of card, choose either the

base game cards or the expansion cards to use in that slot.

(For example, choose either Tribute or Princeps Senatus

to use as the Blue 2 stack for this game.)

• You may select the stacks of your choice, or randomize the

selection.

• Place the 9 selected stacks face-up beside the board and return

the other cards to the box.

• Only cards from these selected stacks are available for

purchase during this game.

Design Note: A setup that

only uses certain cards

could significantly change

the relative desirability

of some of the events and

force players to explore

new strategies.

3. Optional Emperor Rules

During this period of Roman history, Emperors were frequently

not just seated in Rome like kings. Many Emperors were generals

who were crowned by their men and spent their reign campaign-

ing in the field with their legions. Some were regional officials

who may have never seen Rome, elevated by local popular

support or outright mob rule.

These rules may be used to help represent the different ways

Roman Emperors were positioned during their reigns, introduc-

ing some new variation into the game.

When using these rules, each time a player takes over as Em-

peror, that player places an Emperor token on the map showing

where his Emperor is actually located. Different choices provide

different avenues for gaining Legacy points, but may also pro-

vide additional risks.

These rules override or amend the basic game rules as noted.

3.1 Game Setup

When using this optional rule, each player simply adds their

two Emperor tokens (one round, one square) to their Available

Leaders box. These tokens will be used to designate the location

of your Emperors during their reigns.

3.2 Becoming Emperor

In all cases, there is still only one way to become Emperor:

During your player turn, you must perform a successful Place

Governor action in Italia, per the base game rules in 6.3.2

(modified by applicable cards). You must still have an available

Governor token to place in Italia.

When you succeed at a Place Governor action in Italia, perform

the steps as given in the base game rules, section 6.3.2 Place

Governor, and then perform the following additional step:

• Choose one of the following locations to place your Emperor

token:

Time of Crisis Expansion Rules

o In Italia: Place your round Emperor token on top of

your Governor token in Italia. Your Emperor is a Senate

Emperor.

o In a non-Italia Province: Place your round Emperor token

on top of your Governor token in a province you govern

that is not Italia. Your Emperor is a Populace Emperor.

o With an Army: Place your square Emperor token on top

of your General token with an army you command. Your

Emperor is a Military Emperor.

You may choose any available option for placing your Emperor

token, regardless of the circumstances leading up to your suc-

cessful Place Governor attempt in Italia.

You may only ever have one of your Emperor tokens on the

board at a time.

Note: Once placed, your Emperor token remains as placed

until it is removed as Emperor. You may choose a different

placement for your token the next time you become Emperor.

Note: A Military Emperor does of course move with the army

with which it is placed.

3.2.1 Limitations

You may not attempt a Place Governor action in Italia if you

have already been Emperor at any point during your current

turn (i.e., if you were a Military Emperor who was killed in

battle this turn).

3.3 Types of Emperor

Each of the three types of Emperor has its own benefits and

risks, as described below:

3.3.1 Senate Emperor

When an Emperor token is placed with a Governor in Italia, it

is a Senate Emperor.

While you control a Senate Emperor, you apply the following

rules:

Gain Legacy: During the Gain Legacy phase of your turn, you

gain Legacy equal to the support level of Italia minus the number

of Pretender provinces, treating a negative number as zero. (See

second bullet in the base game rules, section 6.6 Gain Legacy,

“If you are the Emperor.”)

Special Advantages: You have control over the Senate of Rome.

No player may target you with the Damnatio Memoriae event

when you are replaced as Emperor.

Special Disadvantages: None.

Removal: You are removed as Emperor only when another

player performs a successful Place Governor action in Italia.

(See 3.4 Being Removed below.)

Note: This is the “default” type of Emperor carried over from

the base game, and is generally the safest, most easily-defended

position. However, it offers no additional means for improving

your Legacy gains.

3.3.2 Populace Emperor

When an Emperor token is placed with a Governor in a province

other than Italia, it is a Populace Emperor.

While you control a Populace Emperor, you apply the follow-

ing rules:

Gain Legacy: During the Gain Legacy phase of your turn, you

gain Legacy equal to twice the support level of the province

containing your Emperor token minus the number of Pretender

provinces, treating a negative number as zero. (This replaces the

second bullet in the base game rules, section 6.6 Gain Legacy,

“If you are the Emperor.”)

Special Advantages: As a leader of the people, no player may

target a province you govern with a Mob event. Additionally,

at the time you become Emperor, you may immediately remove

all Mob tokens from provinces you govern.

Special Disadvantages: By turning your back on Rome, you

are especially vulnerable to intrigues in the Senate. Opponents’

Place Governor attempts against you in Italia add 2 to the number

of votes that are gained from rolling the dice.

Removal: You are removed as Emperor when another player

performs a successful Place Governor action in Italia OR in the

province where your Emperor token is located. (See 3.4 Being

Removed below.)

Design Note: A Populace Emperor can provide significant

benefits, especially for an Emperor who only governs a couple

provinces, but has a lot of support in at least one of them. Also,

since support in the “home” province you select generally isn’t

affected by Rival Emperors and can be improved through the

Increase Support Level action normally, it’s easier to maintain

your Legacy gains. However, you now need to defend two

provinces (your “home” province and Italia) to avoid removal.

3.3.3 Military Emperor

When an Emperor token is placed with a General, it is a Military

Emperor.

While you control a Military Emperor, you apply the follow-

ing rules:

Gain Legacy: You double all Legacy gained for each battle won

by the army with which your Emperor is placed.

Note: Any bonus received for playing a Triumph event is not

doubled. It is received as a separate bonus after normal battle

rewards are calculated. For example, a Military Emperor

defeats a barbarian army containing three units, eliminating

all three barbarians, and then plays a Triumph event. The

total Legacy gained is 13 - 5 Legacy (2 for winning the battle

+ 3 for eliminating three barbarian units), doubled to 10 (for

being Military Emperor), and then +3 (for the Triumph event),

for a total of 13 Legacy.

During the Gain Legacy phase of your turn, you must subtract

Legacy equal to the number of Pretender provinces. The amount

subtracted cannot be greater than the total amount of Legacy

you gained through winning battles during your just-completed

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Time of Crisis Expansion Rules

turn. (This replaces the second bullet in the base game rules,

section 6.6 Gain Legacy, “If you are the Emperor.”)

Example: You are a Military Emperor and win one battle that

scores you 6 Legacy points during your turn. During your Gain

Legacy phase, there is a Pretender with 3 provinces on the board,

so you must lose 3 Legacy at that time. If you had won no battles

during your turn (gaining 0 Legacy), you would not be required

to lose that 3 Legacy due to the Pretender at the end of your turn.

Special Advantages: You are beloved by the army (for now, at

least). No player may use a Praetorian Guard event against

you.

Special Disadvantages: Since you are leading your legions in

the field, your Emperor token can be lost in battle.

Whenever the army containing your Emperor token is involved

in a battle (whether attacking or defending), perform the steps

as given in the base game rules, section 8.1, and then perform

the following additional steps:

• For each hit dealt to the Emperor’s army, regardless of the

battle result, your opponent rolls 1d6. If at least one die shows

a 5 or 6, your Emperor has died in battle. (See 3.4 Being

Removed below.)

• If all units are eliminated from the Emperor’s army, regardless

of the battle result, your Emperor has died in battle. (See 3.4

Being Removed below.)

Note: If your Emperor dies in a battle that you won, you still

gain the bonus Legacy points. However, the Triumph event

may not be used for a battle in which the Emperor died (since

he’s obviously not there to preside over a lavish parade in

Rome).

Design Note: The chance of losing your Emperor is meant to

reflect not only normal death in battle, but also the fact that

more than a few so-called Barracks Emperors during this

time were executed by their own men.

Removal: You are removed as Emperor when another player

performs a successful Place Governor action in Italia or if your

Emperor token is lost in any battle as described above. (See 3.4

Being Removed below.)

Note: A Military Emperor fighting in the field can possibly

gain large amounts of Legacy by fighting the right battles,

especially in conjunction with cards like Force March and

Triumph. However, these opportunities might not always be

present and of course the risks of death on the field of battle

can be quite significant. A Military Emperor will definitely

want to remain mobile and well-supplied with fresh legions.

3.4 Being Removed

Whenever your Emperor token is removed from play, for any

reason, you are immediately removed as Emperor.

But also, whenever your Governor is removed from Italia, for

any reason, you are also immediately removed as Emperor, no

matter where your Emperor token is located.

3.4.1 Senate Emperor

If your Senate Emperor token is removed from Italia via an

opponent’s successful Place Governor action:

• Return your Emperor token and the associated Governor

token to your Available Leaders box.

• The opponent places his Governor in Italia and thereby

becomes Emperor, as normal.

3.4.2 Populace Emperor

If your Populace Emperor token is removed via an opponent’s

successful Place Governor action:

• Return your Emperor token and the associated Governor

token to your Available Leaders box.

• The opponent places his Governor in that province, as normal.

• Also remove your Governor from Italia and replace it with a

Neutral Governor, following normal rules for setting Italia’s

new support level.

If your Governor is removed from Italia via an opponent’s suc-

cessful Place Governor action:

• Return your Governor token to your Available Leaders box.

• The opponent places his Governor in Italia and thereby

becomes Emperor, as normal.

• Also remove your Emperor token from the province where it

is located (but not the associated Governor) to your Available

Leaders box.

3.4.3 Military Emperor

If your Military Emperor token is removed from an army due

to death in battle:

• Return your Emperor token to your Available Leaders box.

(Return the associated General token only if all units in the

army were eliminated, as normal.)

• Also remove your Governor from Italia and replace it with a

Neutral Governor, following normal rules for setting Italia’s

new support level.

If your Governor is removed from Italia via an opponent’s suc-

cessful Place Governor action:

• Return your Governor token to your Available Leaders box.

• The opponent places his Governor in Italia and thereby

becomes Emperor, as normal.

• Also remove your Emperor token from the army where it is

located (but not the associated General) to your Available

Leaders box.

Design Note: When Populace or Military Emperors away from

Rome are removed, it probably makes it very easy for the active

player to immediately take over as the next Emperor, if he has

planned properly. However, the player does still need to spend

at least one Blue influence and have an available Governor

token to perform a successful Place Governor action in Italia

to take advantage of this opportunity.

+ +

Time of Crisis Expansion Rules

GMT Games, LLC

P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308

www.GMTGames.com

7. Historical Notes

7.1 Senate Influence Cards

• Princeps Senatus: The first member by precedence of the

Roman senate. He had the honor of speaking first on any

topics before the senate and the position brought enormous

prestige and influence to the senator holding it. During the

Principiate, the Emperor was the Princeps Senatus, but it is

claimed that others held the position during the Crisis of the

Third Century. For example, it is stated that future Emperor

Valerian was Princeps Senatus during the reigns of Emperors

Maximinus Thrax, Gordian I, and Decius.

Art: Statue of Cicero, arguably one of Rome’s greatest orators

and historical Princeps Senatus, from the state courthouse in

Rome, Italy.

• Frumentarii: Military logistics officers who originally

gathered, escorted, and distributed wheat throughout the

empire. Being in close contact with the local population led

naturally to the accumulation of significant information, which

eventually put the frumentarii in the position to serve as a sort

of secret police force for the Emperor. In game terms, having a

personal spy network allows you to receive information about

events occurring throughout the empire in time to plan for them.

Art: A scene from Trajan’s column showing the Roman army

collecting grain. As they were spies, the only records about

frumentarii exist on graves, acknowledging their service, and

an inscription from the Legio VII Gemina.

• Triumph: A public celebration, granted by the senate, to

acknowledge and sanctify a military commander who had

led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state.

Triumphs were highly ritualized events that remained largely

unchanged throughout the centuries. During the Principiate,

triumphs were more politicized, much less common, and

primarily restricted as a privilege of the Emperor.

Art: Detail from a painting by Carle Vernet (1758-1836)

of the triumph held to celebrate Aemilius Paulus’s victory

over King Perseus of Macedon. While occurring several

centuries before the Crisis of the Third Century, it depicts a

vir triumphalis in his chariot.

7.2 Military Influence Cards

• Cavalry: Soldiers who fought mounted on horseback,

giving them the advantage of height, speed, and mass over

infantry. Cavalry units figure more prominently in army

accounts of this period, but there does not seem to have been

a significantly higher proportion of horsemen than in earlier

times.

Art: Detail from a mosaic in the Villa Romana del Casale in

Sicily dating from the early 4th century.

• Force March: A movement on foot by soldiers who must,

in order to satisfy a military requirement, travel at a speed

that would normally tire them excessively.

Art: A scene from the column of Marcus Aurelius showing

Roman legionaries marching.

• Spiculum: A spear used by the Roman infantry. A standard

tactic was to throw spears just before charging, to soften the

enemy’s lines before engaging hand-to-hand. The spiculum

replaced the pilum as the main throwing javelin around 250

AD.

Art: Original drawing created for the game by Kurt Miller.

7.3 Populace Influence Cards

• Ambitus: In Roman law, ambitus was a crime of political

corruption – mainly a candidate’s attempt to influence the

outcome of an election through bribery.

Art: A Roman coin from 63 BC showing a voter submitting

a ballot.

• Mobile Vulgus: A Latin phrase that means “the fickle

crowd”, from which the English term “mob” was derived. In

game terms, the support of the people can sometimes falter

as easily as it can be encouraged.

Art: Painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) showing the

conquest of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus.

• Demagogue: A popular leader or rabble-rouser who gains

power by exploiting prejudice among the common people

and whipping up the passions of the crowd. If the local

government can’t keep the populace in check (by diverting

the necessary resources to public demands), the mob may

get unruly.

Art: Plate 127 in Figures from the History of the Roman

Republic by Silvestre David Mirys (1742-1810) showing

Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, addressing a crowd.

While not of the period, it depicts a Roman official addressing

a large public gathering.

7.4 Title

The expansion title is a quote from Cassius Dio, a Roman sena-

tor from the late 2nd century, who commented “our history now

descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust”.

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