The Mad Tyrant
Conan awoke gradually as the drums banging inside his skull subsided into dull thumps. As his eyes opened, Olmec’s hulking figure came into focus over him. With a start, Conan leapt up and slammed the king against the steel bars of their cage. “What treachery is this?” Conan shouted. Olmec held his hands up in a sign of appeasement. “It’s that madman Tolkemec. He’s imprisoned Valeria and Tascela in his chambers, and guards us with his warriors and pet dragon.” Footsteps alerted Conan to the arrival of two allies, whose faces dropped when they saw the locked gate. With a laugh, Conan said, “Let’s bust this door down and rescue the women!”
In the chambers near the throne room, the soldiers still loyal to Tascela knelt in obeisance, awaiting her command. “Well,” Valeria shouted through the hallway, “what are we waiting for? Let’s kill this tyrant and rescue the men!”
Winning the Game
Heroes
Conan & Valeria win if the Dragon of Xuchotl and Tolkemec are killed before the end of turn 10 and they are both still alive. Olmec and Tascela win if the Dragon and Tolkemec are killed before the end of turn 10 and they are both still alive.Overlord
The Overlord wins immediately if either Conan or Valeria AND either Olmec or Tascela are killed - or - if either the Dragon or Tolkemec are still alive at the end of turn 10.Setup
Heroes
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The game starts with the Heroes’ turn. The Heroes start in the areas indicated by the setup diagram. |
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Suggested Heroes and Equipment: |
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Conan (Dagger), commands Stygian Captain |  |
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Valeria (Pirate Saber, Leather Armor) | ||
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Olmec (Dagger), commands Techotl |  |
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Tascela (Stygian Scepter, Enthrallment), commands 4 Tecuhltli Swordsmen |  |
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After setup, each Hero moves 4 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone. |
Overlord
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The The Overlord starts with 6 gems in their Reserve zone and 6 in their Fatigue zone, and places the Recovery token showing a recovery value of 3 in the Book of Skelos. |
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When an event tile is activated the Overlord resolves the following event: Reinforcements: The Overlord gains 4 reinforcement points
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. Only one unit can be reinforced in each
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Tolkemec has the Jade Wand. |
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Special Rules
Game Board Rules: Standard game board rules apply.
Hidden Chamber: The Hidden Chamber’s opening connects to the stairs in the bottom right area of the Xuchotl board as though it were a border WITH line of sight.
Setup: During setup, the Overlord shuffles the 13 Treasure tokens
and places them facedown as indicated on the setup diagram.
Doors: The door with the red border can only be opened by a Hero using Wall Wrecker. The door with the blue border opens automatically when the Dragon of Xuchotl is killed or if the Energy Globe is shattered. All other doors can be opened with a simple Manipulation.
Indestructible: The Dragon of Xuchotl cannot be harmed except by melee weapons that have been dipped in poison. Tolkemec cannot be harmed until the Energy Globe is shattered.
Energy Globe: A Hero with the Tools card in the same area as the Energy Globe
may shatter it with a simple Manipulation. Dragon: The Dragon
of Xuchotl cannot climb stairs. Contrary to standard rules, its Reach ability allows the Dragon to attack units at a different
elevation as long as it has line of sight.
Makeshift Tools: Treasure tokens represent various items throughout the area. A Hero in
an area with a facedown Treasure token may perform a simple
Manipulation to search for components. Flip the token. If the number of the reverse side is 1, the item is trash: remove it
from the game. If the number is 2, the item is usable: keep it. These tokens have an Encumbrance value of 0 and may be dropped,
thrown, or traded like other items. As a free action, a Hero with four tokens may exchange them for the Tools card.
Mixed Motivations: If Conan or Valeria dies, remove them both from the board, since the survivor has lost the motivation to continue with the rescue. If Olmec or Tascela dies, remove them both from the board for the same reason. In either case, the remaining Heroes recover gems as though two Heroes had died.
Mixing the Poison: A Hero adjacent to the bath
may discard the Phial to poison the water. Afterwards, any Hero
adjacent to the bath may dip their weapon in the poison as a free action. The poison lasts for the remainder of the game.
Chests: Chests require a complex Manipulation with a difficulty of 1 to open. The Asset deck contains: Chain Mail, Halberd, Life Potion x2, Phial, Shield.