From 03766f23718c7fa2475d62d40c9809b4664ee786 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tor Andersson Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2023 15:50:06 +0200 Subject: RULEBOOK --- info/rules.html | 1077 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 1077 insertions(+) create mode 100644 info/rules.html (limited to 'info/rules.html') diff --git a/info/rules.html b/info/rules.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5da7d8c --- /dev/null +++ b/info/rules.html @@ -0,0 +1,1077 @@ + + + +Time of Crisis + + + + + +
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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

+ +

1. Introduction

+

2. Components

+

3. Starting the Game

+

4. Definitions

+

5. Cards

+

6. Sequence of Play

+

7. Determining the Winner

+

8. Combat

+

9. Crisis Checks

+

10. Historical Figures

+

11. Mobs

+

12. Pretender

+

13. Example of Play

+

14. Historical Notes

+ +
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

2

+

1. Introduction

+

Time of Crisis is a game for two to four players set in the Roman

+

Empire during the 3rd century. Each player represents the head

+

of a great family, and attempts to use that family’s influence

+

to manipulate people and situations to ensure that the family’s

+

name is remembered by history rather than being lost in the

+

mists of time.

+

2. Components

+

• One game board

+

• 6 six-sided dice

+

• This rules manual

+

• Four player mats

+

• Three counter sheets consisting of:

+

• 64 Informational markers (24 Seat of Power/Breakaway

+

[six markers in each of the four player colors], 17 Quaestor/

+

Castra, 16 Mobs, 6 No Place Governor and 1 First Player)

+

• 50 barbarians (10 counters of each of the five tribes)

+

• 36 Improvements (12 counters of each of the three

+

improvements)

+

• 33 Roman Legions

+

• 32 Governors (6 circular counters in each of the four player

+

colors, plus 8 gray Neutrals)

+

• 24 Generals (6 square counters in each of the four player

+

colors)

+

• 12 Militia

+

• 8 square blanks

+

• 4 Emperor Turns (1 in each of the four player colors)

+

• 4 Legacy (1 in each of the four player colors)

+

• 3 Rival Emperors

+

• 3 Barbarian Leaders

+

• 120 cards: 105 influence cards (in suits of Red, Yellow and

+

Blue, each suit has 12 x 1-value; 9 x 2-value, 8 x 3-value,

+

and 6 x 4-value), and 15 event cards

+

• Crisis Tables for two- and three-player games

+

All components in the game are limited to the provided amount.

+

Roman Legion

+

+

Full Strength

+

Reduced Strength

+

Governor

+

+

Player

+

Neutral

+

Barbarian Tribe

+

+

Active

+

Inactive

+

Militia

+

Barbarian Leader

+

Quaestor

+

Castra

+

Seat of Power

+

First Player

+

Legacy

+

Improvements

+

+

Basilica

+

Limes

+

Amphitheater

+

General

+

Rival Emperor

+

Emperor Turns

+

Mob

+

Breakaway

+

No Place Governor

+
+ +
+

3

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Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

3. Starting the Game

+

3.1 Game Setup

+

• Place the game board in the center of the table.

+

• Each player takes the twenty counters of one color (six

+

Governors, six Generals, six Seat of Power/Breakaway, one

+

Legacy, and one Emperor Turns) and a player mat. Place the

+

Emperor Turns and Legacy counters in the zero space on the

+

score track located on the map and place the Governor and

+

General counters near your play mat facedown so the cost

+

of each counter is visible. Finally, place the Seat of Power/

+

Breakaway markers nearby for use when needed.

+

• Each player creates a deck consisting of three Red 1, three

+

Blue 1 and three Yellow 1 influence cards, and places those

+

cards face down in the Available Pile on his player mat. Place

+

all unused 1-value cards back in the box.

+

• Place the remaining Influence cards beside the game board

+

in face-up stacks sorted by name.

+

• Place the Improvement counters (Amphitheaters, Basilicas

+

and Limes) beside the game board in face-up stacks sorted

+

by name.

+

• Place the Legion counters near the board for use when needed.

+

The names on the Legion counters are for historical flavor

+

only and have no impact on game play.

+

• Sort the Barbarian counters by tribe and place all the counters

+

in their respective homelands inactive side up.

+

• Place the remaining counters, including the Barbarian leaders,

+

near the board for use when needed.

+

• Find the Diocletian event card, set it

+

aside and shuffle the remaining event

+

cards. Then shuffle the Diocletian

+

event and the top three events and

+

place those four cards at the bottom

+

of the event deck. Place the event

+

deck beside the game board.

+

3.2 Player Setup

+

• Choose a random player to go first, placing the First Player

+

marker in front of that player as a reminder.

+

• Beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise

+

around the table, each player selects a province other than

+

Italia.

+

• Each player places his at-start Governor in the 1 space on the

+

support track and his at-start General with one full-strength

+

Legion and a Militia in the provincial capital space of his

+

selected province.

+

• After each player has chosen a province, place a Neutral

+

Governor in the 1 space on the support track of all remaining

+

provinces and set the support level of Italia to 8 (the number

+

of provinces governed by the Neutral faction).

+

• Each player then secretly chooses any five cards from his

+

Available Pile to place in his hand, leaving the remaining

+

four cards face down. The game begins with the First Player.

+

3.3 Changes for Two- and Three-Player Games

+

Three Players:

+

• Place a No Place Governor counter in the provinces of

+

Hispania, Africa, and Aegyptus.

+

• Do not place a Neutral Governor in these provinces.

+

• Use the three-player Crisis table instead of the table printed

+

on the map.

+

• Return all Nomad counters to the box as they will not be

+

needed.

+

• Italia’s starting support level is six.

+

Two Players:

+

• Place a No Place Governor counter in the provinces of

+

Britannia, Hispania, Africa, Aegyptus, Syria and Galatia.

+

• Do not place a Neutral Governor in these provinces.

+

• Use the two-player Crisis table instead of the table printed

+

on the map.

+

• Return all Nomad and Sassanid counters to the box as they

+

will not be needed.

+

• Italia’s starting support level is four.

+

Provinces marked with a No Place Governor marker are treated

+

like any other province except players cannot choose them as their

+

initial province nor target them with the Place Governor action.

+

4. Definitions

+

Adjacent: Two regions that share a common border. In

+

addition, the provinces of Hispania/Africa and Thracia/Asia

+

are considered to be adjacent to each other.

+

Army: All barbarians of the same tribe in a region, a Rival

+

Emperor, a Militia unit, or a general and all units stacked

+

with him.

+

Emperor: The governor of Italia.

+

Enemy: All Barbarian counters not in the player’s army,

+

Rival Emperors, and units commanded by other players.

+

Neutral Faction: All the neutral governors are considered

+

to be the owned by the same player, the neutral faction.

+

Pretender: A player who has a Seat of Power marker in a

+

province he governs (12.0).

+

Pretender Provinces: All provinces containing a Seat of

+

Power or Breakaway marker.

+

Region: Provinces, sea zones and Barbarian homelands are

+

regions.

+

Unit: A counter that represents a military force, such as

+

Roman Legion, Militia, Barbarian, Barbarian Leader, or Rival

+

Emperor.

+
+ +
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Time of Crisis Rules

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© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

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4

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5. Cards

+

Cards in your hand represent your political capital that can be

+

spent to manipulate people and situations to benefit your family.

+

+

+

+

+

Military

+

Senate

+

Populace

+

5.1 Influence Points

+

All actions that a player performs during the game are paid

+

for with influence points. Influence points are in one of three

+

spheres: Military (Red), Senate (Blue), or Populace (Yellow).

+

Playing a card from your hand generates influence points equal

+

to its value in the sphere represented by its color. You are not

+

required to spend all the points generated from a card before

+

playing another card, but any unspent influence points are lost at

+

the end of your turn. Players may find it helpful to track points

+

remaining to be spent using the pips of a die placed on any card

+

not fully spent.

+

5.2 Events

+

If you play an influence card that has an event, you may play

+

that event at any applicable time during your turn as described

+

in the event text. The card still generates its influence points

+

whether or not you choose to use the event.

+

5.3 Buying/Trashing Cards

+

Each province on the map has a support level from 0 to 4 (Ex-

+

ception: Italia’s support ranges from 0 to 8). The provinces

+

you govern generate political points equal to their support level

+

minus the number of Mob counters present (11.1). Political

+

points are spent to buy new cards and/or trash unwanted cards.

+

Newly-purchased cards are placed in your Discard Pile and

+

trashed cards are removed from the game. Any unspent political

+

points are lost at the end of your turn.

+

You may buy a card from the supply by spending political points

+

equal to the card’s cost plus the number of cards you have already

+

bought this turn. A card’s cost is equal to:

+

• Its value if the value is less than or equal to the number of

+

provinces you currently govern,

+

Double its value if the value is greater than the number of

+

provinces you currently govern.

+

You may trash a card in your Discard Pile by spending three

+

political points, regardless of the card’s value.

+

Example: You govern Galatia with a support level of 4, Syria

+

with a support level of 3 and Asia with a support level of 3. You

+

have ten political points with which to buy/trash cards. Possible

+

options include:

+

• You could buy a 3-value card for three points, then buy a

+

2-value card for three points (two points for the 2-value

+

card plus one point for the previously bought card) and then

+

buy another 2-value card for four points (two points for the

+

2-value card plus two points for the two previously bought

+

cards).

+

• You could buy a 3-value card for three points, another 3-value

+

card for four points and trash a card from your Discard Pile

+

for the remaining three points.

+

• You could trash three cards from your Discard Pile for nine

+

points, losing the remaining point.

+

• You could buy a 4-value card for eight points (the cost is

+

doubled since the value of the card exceeds the number of

+

provinces you govern), losing the remaining two points.

+

6. Sequence of Play

+

A player completes all eight phases before proceeding to the

+

next player.

+

+

6.1 Upkeep

+

Remove all Quaestor markers in provinces you govern and

+

Castra markers on armies you command.

+

6.2 Crisis

+

Roll 2d6 on Crisis Table and resolve the result (9.0).

+

6.3 Take Actions

+

Play cards from your hand and spend influence points to perform

+

any combination of the following actions in any order you wish.

+

You may choose the same action multiple times, if you can af-

+

ford to pay the necessary influence points.

+

6.3.1 Military Actions

+

Recruit General

+

Spend Military influence equal to the printed cost on the back

+

of one of your unclaimed General counters to move that counter

+

to your Available Leaders box. You may purchase any General

+

you can afford.

+

Add Legion to Army

+

Select an army you command located in a province you gov-

+

ern. To add a full-strength Legion to the selected army, spend

+

Military influence equal to the number of Legions that will be

+

in the army after the Legion has been added.

+

Example: To add a second Legion to an army costs two Military

+

influence, to add a third Legion would cost three.

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+ +
+

5

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Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

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Create Army

+

Spend one Military influence to place one full-strength Legion

+

along with a General from your Available Leaders box in a

+

province you govern.

+

Train Legions

+

Spend one Military influence to flip one reduced-strength Legion

+

in an army you command back to its full-strength side.

+

Move Army

+

• You may spend one Military influence to move an army you

+

command from one region to an adjacent region.

+

• If you move an army into a province, place the army outside

+

of the provincial capital.

+

• At any time during your turn, if you have an army in a

+

province and no other army is in the provincial capital space,

+

you may move that army into the provincial capital space for

+

no cost.

+

• At any time during your turn, if you have an army in a

+

provincial capital space, you may move that army out into

+

the surrounding province for no cost.

+

Notes:

+

• There are no restrictions on how far an army may move

+

other than the cost to pay for it.

+

• There is no limit on the number of armies that can be in

+

a province, but only one army can occupy the provincial

+

capital space.

+

• An army may never drop off or pick up Legions, nor

+

combine with another army.

+

• An army may never end a turn in a sea region.

+

• Militia may never move with armies, but may stack with

+

an army that is in the provincial capital.

+

EXAMPLE: The movement costs for the army in Africa is as

+

follows: four points to move to Britannia (green arrows), two

+

points to move to Italia (blue arrows), three points to move to Asia

+

(yellow arrows), or one point to move to Aegyptus (red arrow).

+

Initiate Battle

+

Spend one Military influence to initiate a battle (8.0) between

+

one of your armies and another army in the same region. The

+

battle must be completed before initiating another battle. Once

+

an army is involved in a battle it may not be selected for the

+

Move Army or Initiate Battle actions until the start of the owner’s

+

next Take Actions Phase.

+

Disperse Mob

+

Spend one Military influence to activate an army you control in

+

a province you govern. Subtract one support from the province

+

and remove a number of Mob counters from the province equal

+

to the number of units in the activated army. This is not consid-

+

ered an Initiate Battle action; therefore no legacy is gained and

+

the army may still move and battle as normal.

+

6.3.2 Senate Actions

+

Recruit Governor

+

Spend Senate influence equal to the printed cost on the back of

+

one of your unclaimed Governor counters to move that counter

+

to your Available Leaders box. You may purchase any Governor

+

you can afford.

+

Support level of Italia: The support level of Italia reflects the

+

support the Emperor has among the Senate. As the Emperor’s

+

senatorial support increases, his power grows; as this support

+

is lost, his power wanes. When a new Emperor claims the

+

throne the support level of Italia is set to the number of prov-

+

inces governed, including Italia, by the new Emperor. During

+

his reign, the support level of Italia is increased by one each

+

time the Emperor performs a successful Place Governor ac-

+

tion and is immediately decreased by one each time he must

+

remove a Governor from the map. In addition, enemy armies,

+

Barbarians, Rival Emperors and Pretenders (6.4) can decrease

+

the support level of Italia.

+

Place Governor

+

You may replace the Governor of a province that does not con-

+

tain a Breakaway or Seat of Power marker by gaining enough

+

votes in the Senate. The required number of votes is determined

+

as follows:

+

• The base number of votes needed is equal to double the

+

province’s support level.

+

• Each unit in the provincial capital commanded by the player

+

who governs the province adds one to the required number

+

of votes.

+

• Each unit commanded by you in the provincial capital

+

subtracts one from the required number of votes, to a

+

minimum of one.

+

For each point of Senate influence spent roll one six-sided die.

+

You must declare how many influence points you are spending

+

before rolling the dice. Results are tallied as follows:

+

Each 1 rolled:

+

+1 vote only if the Neutral faction

+

currently governs the target province.

+

Each 2-5 rolled: +1 vote

+

Each 6 rolled:

+

+1 vote and one bonus die.

+
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

6

+

Any bonus dice earned are rolled following the same procedure.

+

Thus, a result of 6 on a bonus roll does grant another bonus

+

die. There is no limit to the number of bonus dice that can be

+

earned in this way.

+

If you gain the required number of votes, follow these steps:

+

• Remove all Mob counters from the province and any Militia

+

counter in the capital.

+

• Replace the former Governor with a Governor from your

+

Available Leaders box. Return the former Governor to the

+

owner’s Available Leaders box (or to the side of the board,

+

if a Neutral governor).

+

• Reduce the support level of your new province by one to a

+

minimum of one. Exception: If placing a Governor in Italia

+

the support level is set to the number of provinces, including

+

Italia, that you currently govern.

+

• Adjust the support level in Italia if necessary.

+

Each province can only be the target of one Place Governor

+

action during your turn.

+

Example: You target Hispania with a Place Governor ac-

+

tion. The support level of Hispania is currently three and it is

+

governed by another player. You command one Legion in the

+

provincial capital of Hispania. The number of votes needed is

+

five—the support level of the province (three) times two is six,

+

minus one (for the one Legion you command in the capital).

+

You play a Blue 3 and a Blue 1 influence card, allowing you

+

to roll four dice (one die per point of Senate Influence played).

+

You roll 6, 6, 2 and 1 for a total of three votes. However, the

+

two 6s you rolled grant two bonus rolls which are a 6 and a 1.

+

This adds another vote to your total (now four), and since one

+

of the results was a 6 you get yet another bonus roll. The new

+

roll is a 3, which adds a fifth vote to your total, but since the

+

result was not a six you are done rolling dice. With five votes,

+

your proposal to replace the governor passes. You place your

+

Governor in the two space (support level drops by one from the

+

previous support level from replacing the Governor) and return

+

the former Governor to the owner’s Available Leaders box.

+

Recall Governor

+

Spend two Senate influence to move one of your Governor

+

counters on the map to your Available Leaders box. Place a

+

Neutral Governor in the vacated province in the one space on the

+

support track and adjust the support level in Italia if necessary.

+

6.3.3 Populace Actions

+

Increase Support Level

+

Spend Populace influence equal to the value of the next higher

+

space on the support track of a province you govern to move your

+

Governor to that space. This action cannot be performed in Italia.

+

Example: If Syria’s support level is currently two it would cost

+

three Populace influence to move your Governor from the two

+

space to the three space.

+

Place Militia

+

Spend two Populace influence to place a Militia counter in the

+

capital of a province you govern that does not already contain

+

one and is free of enemy units. Militia cannot be moved, but will

+

stack with any army you command in the capital. Any Militia

+

counter present is removed if the Governor is replaced.

+

Hold Games

+

Spend two Populace influence to remove one Mob counter from

+

a province you govern.

+

Build an Improvement

+

Spend three Populace influence to build

+

an improvement in a province you gov-

+

ern that does not already contain that

+

improvement. The selected province

+

cannot contain a Mob, Barbarians, Rival Emperor, or armies

+

commanded by other players in the provincial capital. Each

+

improvement in a province increases the legacy earned by the

+

governor and provides the following bonus:

+

• Amphitheater: Mob counters are not added to a province

+

containing an Amphitheater during the End of Turn Phase.

+

• Basilica: Roll one additional die for each province you

+

govern containing a Basilica when performing a Place

+

Governor action in Italia.

+

• Limes: Invading barbarians placed in a province containing

+

Limes and all subsequent provinces on that invasion path

+

are placed on their inactive side. Inactive barbarians do not

+

cause any support loss, but will defend themselves normally

+

if attacked.

+

6.4 Support Check

+

Perform the following steps, in order:

+

• Reduce the support level of all your governed provinces

+

containing at least one active Barbarian, a Rival Emperor

+

and/or an enemy army in the provincial capital by one.

+

• If you are Emperor and there is a Pretender and/or Rival

+

Emperor on the map, reduce the support level of Italia by one.

+

This is in addition to any reduction that may have occurred

+

in the previous step.

+
+ +
+

7

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Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

• All of your Governors in provinces that now have a support

+

level of zero or where the number of Mob counters equals

+

or exceeds the support level are removed from office. Return

+

these counters to your Available Leaders box. Place a Neutral

+

Governor in the one space on the support track in any vacated

+

provinces. If placing a Neutral Governor in Italia, the support

+

level of Italia is set to the number of provinces that are

+

governed by the Neutral faction.

+

• If you are still Emperor at this point, reduce the support

+

level of Italia by one for each Governor you removed in the

+

previous step. If the support level of Italia is reduced to zero

+

you are replaced by a Neutral Governor as in the previous

+

step.

+

Support Check Example: At the start of the Green player’s Sup-

+

port Check Phase, he governs four provinces and is Emperor as

+

he is governor of Italia.

+

The Green player is required to reduce the support of Thracia

+

from one to zero due to the presence of active barbarians in

+

the province. In addition, the support level of Pannonia must

+

be reduced from two to one; the support loss is not increased

+

for having both active barbarians and an enemy army in the

+

provincial capital.

+

The Green player is required to reduce the support level of Ita-

+

lia from four to three due to the presence of the Rival Emperor

+

Postumus in Gallia.

+

The Governor of Thracia is replaced by a Neutral Governor as

+

the support level was zero. Since the Green player had to remove

+

one Governor the support level of Italia is reduced by one to two

+

completing the Support Check Phase.

+

6.5 Expand Pretender Empire

+

If you are a Pretender, place a Breakaway marker in each prov-

+

ince you govern, except Italia, with a support level of three or

+

higher that is not already marked and is adjacent to any province

+

that was part of your Pretender empire at the beginning of this

+

phase.

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Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

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8

+

6.6 Gain Legacy

+

Perform the following steps, in order:

+

• If you are a Pretender:

+

• Gain one legacy for each province you govern containing

+

a Seat of Power or Breakaway marker if there are no other

+

Pretenders.

+

• If you are the Emperor:

+

• Remove any Breakaway or Seat of Power markers in

+

provinces you govern, as your claim has been legitimized.

+

• Gain legacy equal to the support level of Italia minus the

+

number of Pretender provinces, treating a negative number

+

as zero.

+

• Advance your Emperor Turns marker by one on the score

+

track if there are no Pretenders or Rival Emperors present.

+

• Gain one legacy for each province you govern

+

• Gain one legacy for each improvement present in the

+

provinces you govern.

+

Gain Legacy Example: Continuing with the Green player’s turn,

+

at the start of the Gain Legacy Phase he governs three provinces

+

and is Emperor as he is governor of Italia. He gains six legacy

+

for the turn as follows: +2 for the support level of Italia since

+

he is Emperor, +3 for governing three provinces and +1 for hav-

+

ing an Amphitheater in Italia. His Emperor Turns marker is not

+

advanced due to the presence of the Rival Emperor Postumus.

+

6.7 Buy/Trash Cards

+

Place all played cards in your Discard Pile. Then, you may

+

discard any number of additional cards from your hand to your

+

Discard Pile. You may then spend the political points generated

+

by your governed provinces to purchase and/or trash cards (5.3).

+

You can look at the cards in your Available Pile and/or Discard

+

Pile to help you determine what cards you wish to buy.

+

6.8 End of Turn

+

Perform the following steps, in order:

+

• Add one Mob counter in each province you govern containing

+

a Mob and no Amphitheatre.

+

• Flip all inactive barbarians in provinces you govern to their

+

active side.

+

• Secretly select cards from your Available Pile to refill your

+

hand up to five cards. If you need to select a card and your

+

Available Pile is empty, place your Discard Pile face down

+

in your Available Pile and continue selecting. Once you have

+

refilled your hand, the player to the left of you takes his turn.

+

Variant: To speed up play, the next player can start his turn

+

when the current player starts the Buy/Trash Cards Phase. It

+

will give players knowledge of the next Crisis roll (and pos-

+

sibly more) while they buy cards and select their new hand,

+

however it should have little impact on the outcome of the

+

game as all players will benefit equally from this knowledge.

+

7. Determining the Winner

+

7.1 Game End

+

The last round of the game is triggered when, at the end of his

+

turn, a player is Emperor and has 60 or more legacy. The game

+

will end when all players have taken the same number of turns.

+

Or, if the Diocletian event is drawn, the game ends immediately.

+

Players then receive bonus legacy based on the number of turns

+

they were the undisputed Emperor of the Roman Empire, as

+

indicated by the Emperor Turns markers on the score track.

+

The player with the most turns receives the 1st place bonus; the

+

player with the next highest turns receives the 2nd place bonus,

+

and so on. A player must have been an undisputed Emperor at

+

least once to receive this bonus.

+

• 1st place – 10 legacy

+

• 2nd place – 6 legacy

+

• 3rd place – 3 legacy

+

• 4th place – 0 legacy

+

In the case of a tie in Emperor Turn scores, all tied players

+

receive the same legacy bonus.

+

Example: The Green and Red players were undisputed Emperors

+

for five turns each, the Yellow player for three turns and the Blue

+

player was for zero turns. The Green and Red players would both

+

receive 10 legacy, the Yellow player would receive 3 legacy and

+

the Blue player would not receive any bonus legacy.

+

The winner is the player with the most legacy. Any ties are

+

broken in the following order:

+

1) Current Emperor

+

2) Current Pretender

+

3) Player governing the most provinces

+

4) Player commanding the most Legions

+

5) Highest die roll.

+

7.2 Short Game

+

If players want a quicker playing game, reduce the legacy needed

+

to end the game from 60 to 40. This is recommended for your

+

first game to allow players to become familiar with the game

+

mechanics.

+
+ +
+

9

+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

8. Combat

+

8.1 Procedure

+

• Each unit in the battle rolls between one and three six-sided

+

dice, as follows:

+

Legions, Militia, Barbarian:

+

Roll one die

+

Barbarian Leader:

+

Roll two dice

+

Rival Emperor:

+

Roll three dice

+

• Each type of unit requires a different target number to hit:

+

Full-strength Legion:

+

Hit on 3+

+

Barbarian, Barbarian Leader,

+

Rival Emperor:

+

Hit on 4+

+

Reduced-strength Legion, Militia:

+

Hit on 5+

+

• As with Place Governor rolls (6.3.2), each 6 rolled also earns

+

a bonus die. Any bonus dice earned are rolled following the

+

same procedure and to-hit target number as the base roll.

+

Thus, a result of 6 on a bonus roll does grant another bonus

+

die. There is no limit to the number of bonus dice that can

+

be earned in this way.

+

• Both sides roll their dice and simultaneously inflict damage.

+

• Each hit flips a full-strength Legion to its reduced-strength

+

side or removes a Barbarian, Barbarian Leader, Rival

+

Emperor, Militia, or reduced-strength Legion.

+

• Players allocate hits they inflict on barbarians in any manner

+

they wish, but must take hits inflicted on their units in the

+

following order: Militia, Barbarians, and then Legions.

+

• Eliminated Legions and Militia are returned to the supply,

+

where they can be acquired again.

+

• If all units in a Roman army are eliminated, return the

+

General counter to the owner’s Available Leaders box.

+

• Eliminated barbarians are returned to their homeland,

+

inactive side up.

+

• Eliminated Barbarian Leaders are removed from the game.

+

8.2 Determining Victory

+

The winner of a battle is the side that inflicted the most hits with

+

ties going to the defender. If one side was eliminated, the other

+

side is victorious regardless of hits inflicted. If both sides are

+

eliminated there is no winner.

+

The winner of the battle gains two legacy. If the winner defeated

+

a barbarian tribe, he gains one additional legacy for each barbar-

+

ian counter removed.

+

8.3 Retreat

+

Defeated Roman armies do not retreat unless they were defend-

+

ing in a provincial capital space. In that case, the army must

+

immediately move out into the surrounding province. Any

+

surviving units from a defeated barbarian army are placed back

+

in their homeland still on their active side.

+

Combat Example: During the Red

+

player’s turn he plays a Military 3 -

+

Flanking Maneuver influence card. He

+

uses one Military influence point from

+

the card to perform the Initiate Battle

+

action, choosing the Green army to

+

attack. The red player will roll 3d6 (1d6

+

per Legion) while the Green player will

+

roll 3d6 (2d6 for the two Legions and

+

1d6 for the Militia). Before the dice are

+

rolled, the Red player uses the Flanking

+

Maneuver event from the card to allow a re-roll if needed. The

+

Red player rolls 5, 3, 3 for three hits (full strength legions hit on

+

a 3+), but the presence of the Castra reduces the hits inflicted

+

by one for a final total of two hits. The Green player rolls a 2 for

+

his full-strength legion, which misses, a 5 for his reduced-strength

+

legion, which is a hit (reduced strength legions hit on a 5+) and

+

a 4 for his Militia, which misses (Militia hit on a 5+) for a total

+

of one hit. Since the Red player is winning the battle 2 hits to 1

+

hit, he decides not to use his re-roll ability. The Green player

+

must remove the Militia for the first hit (as it is first in hit prece-

+

dence) and decides to remove his reduced-strength legion for the

+

second hit. Since he lost the battle, he must retreat his army into

+

the province and remove the Castra marker. The Red player flips

+

one of his full-strength legions for his one hit and chooses to

+

advance his army into the Provincial capital.

+

Continuing his turn, he spends one Military influence from the

+

card to perform the Train Legions action, flipping the reduced

+

legion back to its full-strength side, leaving one Military influ-

+

ence available to spend.

+
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

10

+

8.4 Advance

+

Immediately after any required retreat is performed, a victorious

+

Roman army may choose to advance into the provincial capital

+

space, if it is vacant.

+

9. Crisis Checks

+

Roll the white and black dice and consult the crisis table ap-

+

propriate for the number of players.

+

Ira Deorum

+

Flip one inactive Barbarian to its active side in every tribe’s

+

homeland, but do not check for invasion.

+

Event

+

Draw the top card from the event deck and follow the instruc-

+

tions on the card. Players may wish to place lasting events on

+

the map as a helpful reminder.

+

Pax Deorum

+

All players secretly select one card from their Available Pile

+

and place it in their hand.

+

Franks, Alamanni, Goths, Sassanids, or Nomads

+

• Flip one inactive counter of the named tribe in their homeland

+

to its active side.

+

• Roll the white and black dice again.

+

• If the number rolled on the black die is less than or equal

+

to the number of active counters in the tribe’s homeland, a

+

number of active counters equal to the number rolled on the

+

black die invade.

+

• The value on the white die determines the invasion path, as

+

indicated on the map.

+

• Place barbarians, leaders first, in the first province listed until

+

there are three barbarians of the invading tribe in the province.

+

Repeat this step for each province listed on the invasion path

+

if barbarians remain to be placed.

+

• If there are any barbarian counters remaining after reaching

+

the end of the list place them back in the tribe’s homeland

+

on their active side.

+

• Barbarians never Initiate Battle and multiple tribes will co-

+

exist peacefully in the same province.

+

Invasion Example: Asia contains three Goths, Galatia contains

+

two Sassanids, and there are five active and three inactive Sas-

+

sanids in their homeland.

+

The dice are rolled and the result is the Sassanid entry on the

+

Crisis table. One inactive Sassanid unit in its homeland is flipped

+

to its active side, bringing the total of active Sassanids in their

+

homeland to six.

+

The dice are rolled again; the black die is five and the white die

+

is three. Since the five is less than or equal to the number of

+

active Sassanids, five Sassanids invade (the value of the black

+

die) and the invasion path is Galatia then Asia (the value of the

+

white die). However, the invading Sassanids are flipped to their

+

inactive side upon encountering the Limes in Galatia.

+

One Sassanid is placed in Galatia bringing the number of Sas-

+

sanids in Galatia to three. Since there are now three Sassanids

+

in Galatia and still barbarians to place, the remaining barbar-

+

ians continue to the next province listed on the invasion path,

+

which is Asia.

+
+ +
+

11

+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

There are no Sassanids present in Asia so three Sassanids are

+

placed in Asia; the presence of the Goths has no impact on the

+

number of Sassanids placed. The one remaining Sassanids coun-

+

ter is placed back in the Sassanid homeland on its active side as

+

the end of the invasion path has been reached leaving two active

+

Sassanids in their homeland.

+

10. Historical Figures

+

10.1 Barbarian Leaders

+

There are three Barbarian leaders that are brought

+

into play via event cards. Each leader rolls 2d6

+

in battle, is removed after one hit and has a

+

special power that is explained in the event text

+

that brings them into the game. If a Barbarian

+

leader is removed because of a player’s victory, the player can

+

either take an immediate Increase Support Level action at no

+

cost in the province from which the leader was removed, or the

+

first Military card he buys in the current turn’s Buy/Trash Cards

+

Phase has its cost reduced by two points. If the latter action is

+

chosen, flip the leader over and place it in your play area as a

+

reminder.

+

10.2 Rival Emperors

+

There are three Rival Emperors that are brought

+

into play via event cards. Each Rival Emperor

+

rolls 3d6 in battle and is removed after one hit.

+

If a Rival Emperor is removed because of a

+

player’s victory, the player can either take an

+

immediate Increase Support Level action at no cost in the

+

province from which the Rival Emperor was removed, or the

+

first Senate card he buys this Buy/Trash Cards Phase has its

+

cost reduced by two points. If the latter action is chosen, flip

+

the Rival Emperor over and place it in your play area as a re-

+

minder.

+

Rival Emperors reduce the support in Italia during the Support

+

Check Phase (6.4) as well as in the province where they are

+

located. They never Initiate Battle and will peacefully co-exist

+

with barbarians in the same province.

+

11. Mobs

+

Mob counters represent rioting and instability in

+

the provincial capital of a province.

+

Note: A Mob counter can be flipped to become a ‘Mob x 2’

+

counter, which is exactly equivalent to two individual Mob

+

counters. ‘Mob x 2’ counters are provided simply for easier

+

management of large mobs; at any time, a ‘Mob x 2’ counter

+

can be exchanged for two Mob counters and vice versa.

+

11.1 Effects

+

• During the Support Check Phase (6.4), if the number of

+

Mob counters in a province equals or exceeds the province’s

+

support level the Governor is replaced by a Neutral Governor

+

with a support level of one.

+

• The political points generated by a province are reduced by

+

the number of Mob counters in the province. (5.3)

+

• During the End of Turn Phase (6.8), one Mob counter is added

+

to each of your governed provinces that already has a Mob

+

counter and no Amphitheater.

+

Example: You govern Galatia with a support level of four which

+

contains two Mob counters and Asia with a support level of three.

+

You will have five political points (Seven support minus the two

+

Mob counters) with which to buy/trash cards. During the End

+

of Turn Phase, a third Mob counter will be added to Galatia.

+

11.2 Removing Mobs

+

Mob counters can be removed in the following ways:

+

• The owner of an army in a province he governs may perform

+

the Disperse Mob action to remove Mob counters equal to

+

the number of units in the army.

+

• The Governor of a province may perform the Hold Games

+

action to remove one Mob counter.

+

• All Mob counters are removed from a province when the

+

governor is replaced.

+

12. Pretender

+

12.1 Creation of a New Pretender

+

A player can become ruler of his own personal empire by play-

+

ing the Pretender event. For purposes of creating or adding to

+

an empire, the provinces of Gallia and Britannia are considered

+

to be adjacent. The province of Italia can never be added to a

+

personal empire.

+

When playing the event, you must choose one of your eligible

+

provinces (as described in the event text) to be your capital by

+

placing your Seat of Power marker in that province. Then mark

+

the rest of the eligible provinces in your empire by placing

+

Breakaway markers in them.

+
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

12

+

Pretender provinces (marked with a Seat of Power or Breakaway

+

marker) are immune to the Place Governor action and reduce the

+

support in Italia during the Support Check Phase (6.4).

+

Once a player becomes a Pretender any province he governs with

+

a support level of three or higher that is not already in his empire

+

and is adjacent to any province in his empire will automatically

+

leave the Roman Empire and join his empire during the Expand

+

Pretender Empire Phase (6.5).

+

Pretenders gain bonus legacy points during the Gain Legacy

+

Phase (6.6).

+

12.2 Occupation of a Pretender Provincial

+

Capital

+

During your turn, if you control an army in the Provincial capital

+

of a province containing a Breakaway marker not governed by

+

you, remove the marker and return the Governor of that province

+

to the owner’s Available Leaders box. You may then place a

+

Governor from your Available Leaders box in the “1” space of

+

province’s support track at no cost. If you decide not to or can’t

+

place a Governor, place a Neutral Governor in the “1” space in

+

the province’s support track instead.

+

During your turn, if you control an army in the Provincial capital

+

of a province containing a Seat of Power marker not governed by

+

you, the process is the same, except after placing your Governor/

+

Neutral Governor remove all Breakaway markers in provinces

+

governed by that player, but do not remove those governors.

+
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

18

+

13. Historical Notes

+

13.1 Influence Cards

+

Red 1: Unidentified sculpture of a period Roman soldier.

+

Castra: The Latin word castra was used by the Romans to mean

+

(among other things) a temporary camp constructed by legions

+

for use as a military defensive position. When near enemies, the

+

legions would construct marching camps. A trench would be dug

+

around the camp, throwing the dirt inward, to be formed into a

+

rampart. On top of this, stakes would be erected. The soldiers

+

had to carry these stakes while marching. Art: Original drawing

+

created for the game by Dariusz Buraczewski.

+

Flanking Maneuver: A flanking maneuver is an attack on the

+

sides of an opposing force which significantly reduces the ma-

+

neuverability of the outflanked force and its ability to defend

+

itself. One of the most famous flanking maneuvers in history

+

was used in Hannibal’s victory over the Romans at the battle of

+

Cannae in 216 BC. Art: Fresco from the synagogue in the Roman

+

fortified frontier city of Dura Europos dating around 250 AD.

+

Praetorian Guard: The Praetorians may have been tasked with

+

protecting the Roman Emperor, but they were also the single

+

greatest threat to his life. The guard or their prefect played

+

a part in the murder of Commodus in 192, Caracalla in 217,

+

Elagabalus in 222 and Pupienus and Balbinus in 238. Emperor

+

Pertinax was confirmed by the Praetorians in 193 and then slain

+

just three months later when he tried to force them to accept

+

new disciplinary measures. Art: The Praetorians Relief, part of

+

the Arch of Claudius erected to commemorate the conquest of

+

Britain, is a Roman marble relief dated to 51–52 AD and housed

+

in the Louvre-Lens.

+

Blue 1: Marble statue from the 1st century of an aristocratic

+

Roman with toga with a re-worked head of Emperor Nerva.

+

Housed in the Vatican Chiaramonti museum.

+

Tribute: Historically, Rome paid tribute (basically a bribe) to

+

the various barbarian tribes so they would stop their pillaging

+

ways and head back home. One example was Alexander Severus

+

who, on the advice of his mother, attempted to buy off the Franks

+

who had invaded Gallia. It caused the Roman legions—who

+

felt like the Franks should be punished for their insolence—to

+

look down on him, eventually leading to the assassination of

+

both Alexander and his mother. Art: Photo of the 33-lb. haul of

+

bronze and silver Roman coins dating from the third century

+

unearthed by Swiss archaeologists in July 2015 in the country’s

+

northern municipality of Ueken.

+

Foederati: Foederati was the practice of providing benefits

+

in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used,

+

especially under the Roman Empire, for groups of barbarian

+

mercenaries, who were typically allowed to settle within the

+

Empire. Basically, Rome gave barbarians land in return for

+

help defending the empire. Art: A scene from Trajan’s Column

+

showing three barbarian foederati behind a Roman legionary.

+

The looping lines around them are war bugles.

+
+ +
+

19

+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

Damnatio Memoriae: A Latin phrase whose literal translation

+

is “condemnation of memory,” meaning that a disgraced person

+

must be stricken from memory. It was a form of dishonor that

+

could be passed by the Roman Senate on traitors or others who

+

brought discredit to the Roman State. The intent was to erase the

+

person from history. Art: The Severan Tondo, a circa AD 199

+

tondo of the Severan family, with portraits of Septimius Severus,

+

Julia Domna, Caracalla, and Geta. Geta’s face has been erased,

+

because of the damnatio memoriae ordered by his brother.

+

Yellow 1: Painting of a carpet salesman by Ettore Forti (1850-

+

1940).

+

Quaestor: A Quaestor was a magistrate in charge of the city’s

+

treasury. As time passed their duties were expanded to include

+

collecting taxes and tributes from the territories as well as re-

+

cruiting new soldiers for service in the army. Eventually each

+

provincial governor would have his own Quaestor. This event

+

supposes your Quaestor is looking after your interests in the

+

province while your attention is focused elsewhere. Art: Color

+

lithograph of a Quaestor by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur

+

(1757-1810).

+

Mob: Over one million people lived in ancient Rome and many

+

of them did not have a regular job. Even the most powerful

+

emperors had to keep this vast mob of Romans happy. Most did

+

this by distributing grain and holding vast spectacles to keep

+

them occupied. The Roman satirist Juvenal described this in his

+

famous quote, “Two things only the people anxiously desire—

+

bread and circuses.” Couldn’t have a game on ancient Rome

+

without a Mob event. Art: Drawing of a mob assassinating P.

+

Clodius Pulcher by Augustyn Mirys (1700-1790).

+

Pretender: A person who claims or aspires to a title or posi-

+

tion—in this case Emperor of Rome. Most Emperors spent a lot

+

of time and money stamping out numerous pretenders during

+

their reign. Art: Queen Zenobia before Emperor Aurelianus by

+

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770).

+

13.2 Events

+

Art: All event cards are original illustrations created for the

+

game by Kurt Miller.

+

#1 Plague of Cyprian: The name given to a pandemic, prob-

+

ably of smallpox, that afflicted the Roman Empire from AD 251

+

to 270. Its modern name commemorates St. Cyprian, the bishop

+

of Carthage, who witnessed and described the plague.

+

#2 Ardashir: The founder of the Sassanid empire.

+

#3 Priest King of Emesa: Uranius Antoninus successfully

+

defended Syria against Shapur I in 253, but declared himself

+

Emperor when he felt his actions were not appreciated by Rome.

+

#4 Palmyra Allies: The defeat and captivity of emperor

+

Valerian at the hands of the Sassanian monarch Shapur I in

+

260 left the eastern Roman provinces largely at the mercy of

+

the Sassanids. Odaenathus, king of the Palmyrene Kingdom,

+

attacked the Sassanids before they could cross the Euphrates,

+

and inflicted upon them a considerable defeat. He was murdered

+

in 267 under mysterious circumstances (some say it was Rome

+

worried about his growing power), leaving his widow Zenobia

+

as the leader of Palmyra.

+

#5 Shapur I: Son of Ardashir, who took over as King of the

+

Sassanid Empire upon his father’s death in 242. The most notable

+

event of his reign was the decisive defeat of the Romans at the

+

Battle of Edessa, where the Roman army was defeated and the

+

Roman Emperor Valerian captured. The Emperor was never

+

released and for the rest of his life was used as a footstool by

+

Shapur when he mounted his horse.

+

#6 Postumus: Marcus Postumus was a western Roman em-

+

peror of provincial origin. He usurped power from Emperor

+

Gallienus around the year 260 and assumed the title and powers

+

of emperor in the western provinces of Gallia, Britannia and

+

Hispania, thereby founding what was called the Gallic Empire.

+

He ruled for the better part of ten years before he was murdered

+

by his own troops.

+

#7 Ludi Saeculares: A Roman religious celebration, involving

+

sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in Rome every 100

+

to 110 years. The celebration lasted for three days and nights.

+

#8 Cniva: A Gothic chieftain who invaded the Roman Empire

+

and successfully captured the city of Philippopolis in 250, and

+

killed Emperor Decius during the battle of Abrittus. This was

+

the first time a Roman Emperor had been killed in combat

+

against barbarians.

+

#9 Zenobia: The second wife of King Odaenathus, she became

+

queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus’ death

+

in 267. By 269, Zenobia had expanded the empire, conquering

+

Aegyptus and beheading the Roman prefect who attempted to

+

recapture the province. She ruled over Aegyptus until 271, when

+

she was defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor

+

Aurelian.

+

#10 Bad Auguries/#14 Good Auguries: The practice of

+

divining the will of the gods from the observed flight of birds.

+

#11 Raiding Parties/#12 Preparing for War: Barbarian

+

activity along the borders of the Empire was not constant and

+

tended to wax/wane over time.

+

#13 Inflation: The Roman Empire faced inflation caused by

+

years of coinage devaluation. The easiest way for emperors to

+

raise money for campaigning was by inflating the coinage, a

+

process made possible by debasing the coinage with bronze

+

and copper.

+

#14 Diocletian: Lived 244-312 AD, emperor of Rome 284-305

+

AD. His overarching reforms stabilized the empire and marked

+

the end of the Crisis of the 3rd Century.

+
+ +
+

Time of Crisis Rules

+

© 2017 GMT Games, LLC

+

20

+

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

+

Credits

+

Design: Wray Ferrell & Brad Johnson

+

Art Director: Rodger B. MacGowan

+

Package Art & Design: Rodger B. MacGowan

+

Counter Art: Dariusz Buraczewski

+

Event Card Art: Kurt Miller

+

Map Graphics: Mark Simonitch

+

Manual & Player Aid Card: Charles Kibler

+

Proofreading: Scott Blanton, Aaron Cinzori, Jonathan Squibb

+

Production Coordination: Tony Curtis

+

Producers: Tony Curtis, Rodger MacGowan, Andy Lewis,

+

Gene Billingsley and Mark Simonitch

+

Playtesters: We would like to acknowledge all the people

+

who have played Time of Crisis over the years at various

+

conventions and gaming groups. Your contributions helped

+

turn an idea into a game. For going the extra mile, we would

+

like to thank:

+

• Scott Blanton, Jeremy Maciejewski, Jed Humphries,

+

Jamey Cribbs, and The Gamer’s Armory

+

• Gordon Pueschner and the First Minnesota Historical

+

Wargame Society

+

• Bill Dyer, Mark Ashton, Bill Desmarais, Lee Proctor,

+

Glenn McMaster, Joe Abrams and the Ludophilia gang

+

• Jim Murray and his local gaming group

+
+ + + -- cgit v1.2.3