THE RETURN OF POCALYPSE

“For generations the Tur’aj1 cult has been only a whisper in the wind, a dark tale of zealous believers sustaining an ancient evil by sacrificing
the living. But now the Dark Riders2 ride The Land3, and the Minions of Apocalypse4 have stepped out of the shadows at last. Its members
have cast aside their loyalties to other factions like unneeded cloaks and now worship only death and destruction. Though they have yet to
build an army of their own, occasional raids by Apocalypse cabals to kidnap innocents have been enough to strike fear into th e hearts of
common folk– especially as rumours say that those kidnapped are being sacrificed by the Minions to power dark magic that might divide
and destroy The Land once and for all…”
Anonymous, 435 Tz5.

In the Age of Mists6, the Apocalypse Dragon7 birthed thousands of twisted creatures and along with the Underworld forces, led them on a
rampage that laid waste to the entire Land. Countless armies fought valiantly against the Apocalypse Dragon with no success, until four great
heroes appeared: Kaznak8, Syrthyn8, Lord Valantis8 and Tovak Wyrmstalker8. These mighty warriors smashed the Apocalypse Dragon to the point
of sealing it back into the egg that it came from, in an epic and bloody battle that shook the world. From that day on, they were known as the
legendary Dragonslayers8.
The mystical egg turned out to be indestructible. So, from that moment on, the Draconum9 and Drakona10 hid the Egg away and swore to watch
over and defend it forever. The Dragonslayers were themselves sealed in a sort of magic stasis to arise when the Apocalypse Dragon made a
comeback.
Now, several centuries later, the cycle has begun anew: The Egg has been forcibly captured from its guardians and the Apocalypse faction is rising
up from the shadows. What the ancient faction leaders feared in the past, is happening now: The Apocalypse Dragon has been reborn!
Will you be able to stop it or will you try to escape its imminent dominance over The Land? Only you decide…
Nothing is known yet about the Dragonslayers and if their magical sealing broke. Strangely, even the Council of the Void hasn’t manifested itself
anymore; they seem to have vanished after the events around the abrupt appearance of the Apocalypse Dragon, but that’s another story…
 ~ THE APOCALYPSE DRAGON ~
THE DRAGON
In this scenario, the Apocalypse Dragon is represented by five red enemy tokens corresponding to the number of its
heads: War, Famine, Control, Pestilence and Death.

Although being the most powerful creature to have ever existed in the history of The Land, after desolating an entire
city, the Dragon decided to stop and stay on the ruins to concentrate its inner powers and spawn abominable armies.
It’s a smart creature, so it’s waiting for the right moment to unleash all its rage and to begin spreading chaos and
destruction all over the world again.

Despite having a suddenly passive behaviour, its presence and plagues manage to be perceived thousands of miles
away, even beyond the edges of The Land. The warring factions and local civilizations haven’t realized yet that the
End of Times is about to come soon.

APOCALYPSE DRAGON’S DEED DECK

The Dragon has its own Deed deck that determines what it does during the game. Follow the scenario description to see how this deck is composed. Shuffle it very
well and put it next to the tile where the Dragon is located. During the game, the cards from the deck are flipped over and form the Dragon’s face up discard pile.

COMBAT VERSUS THE APOCALYPSE DRAGON

The Dragon behaves exactly like a city, so all its heads have innate Fortification. It is so powerful and confident that doesn’t even bother to move. Whenever
attacked, it is considered as an assault (but you don’t lose Reputation). The combat has a similar structure to the usual combat with enemies. It has all four
phases as a standard combat with enemies, and you follow the same rules. Remember that you cannot use Siege Attacks against Draconum tokens with
Double Fortification. When you fight the Dragon, you face the components of its army additionally.

ARCANE IMMUNITY
All the heads of the Apocalypse Dragon have Arcane Immunity. This means the Dragon is immune to all the special effects that would destroy it, prevent
it from attacking or otherwise affect it.

THE CALAMITIES OF THE APOCALYPSE

Depending on the difficulty level of the scenario, the Dragon begin to spread and generate its own pests:
c WAR. A powerful roar is heard in the distance, similar to a war cry in a language never spoken before, frightening the villages and local civilizations.
Because of fear and distrust, interactions are less common; consequently, it’s more difficult to happen.
c FAMINE. Food is scarce. Due to the weakening and the decrease in strength, the movement has become very tiring.
c CONTROL. Mysteriously, declines in sanity begin to occur. In the surroundings, if not all over the continent, there is an increasingly strong air of confusion.
The warring factions still don’t know where this unusual feeling comes from, but it’s only a matter of time.
c . An unknown deadly epidemy spreads across much of The Land, causing unexplained illnesses and strange wounds on the body.
c DEATH. The survival rate is kept at minimum and countless deaths occur. In front of such devastation, the priceless losses demoralize even the bravest
and fiercest knights.
c BEASTMOTHER. Using Elemental Magic and the essence of exterminated and devoured creatures, the Apocalypse Dragon is able to spawn an abominable
offspring, formed by an army of twisted creatures without their own identity, lost as they were generated by the Dragon itself, who now uses them as part
of its army.

THE GHOST OF OBLIVION

By combining the arts of Necromantic Magic with a high concentration of mana, an ancient relic and a mysterious element, the
Dragon managed to summon and take possession of the wandering spirit of a powerful deceased Draconum warrior, who was
possessed, betrayed and murdered by the Solonavi. It seems the Dragon has transformed it into a spectral familiar giving it
new life, or that it has turned it into a puppet; nobody knows…
It’s only known that the Draconum spectre has been summoned again and sent to the surroundings of the Darthion Citadel
to make sure that no mortal dares to undertake retaliations against the being that gave its life back, even if such attempts
would be in vain anyways...
Follow the scenario description to find out how this mysterious spectre behaves.
It seems the decisive battle will take place a few miles
north of the Darthion Citadel11, near a tributary of the Roa
Galtor river12.
After being advised by an agent of the High Elven Lords
about the events concerning the Apocalypse Dragon, you
went east over the river, on the vast Wylden Plateau13
(Elementalist domain), with low expectations to being
able to negotiate a short armistice with the High
Prophet-Priest Tremelen14 who unfortunately, rejected
your proposal.
He’s more interested in winning his own war against the
Dark Crusaders, without giving any credit to your words
and ignoring what’s happening on The Land; it seems they
have lost one of their most important ideals: To preserve
and defend The Land, life and nature…at any cost.
Upon your return, after landing on the Bay of Darthion,
the locals inform you that the conflict of the two Factions
has crossed the river and that there are numerous clashes
in the surroundings between the Leader’s troops. They will
hinder your plan to reach the citadel as soon as possible.
Your instinct tells you that there is no more time to waste
but it seems you will have to fight with some of them in order to make your way north and try to gain as much experience as possible before the final battle.
You’re about to undertake what, perhaps, will be the last march of a Mage Knight…

Game Setup

• Number of players: 1 • Next to the Dragon’s deck, it’s recommended

• Length: six Rounds (3 days and 3 nights) to place a mana token corresponding the color
• Purpose: A difficult task where you have to of its randomly chosen Powers (see Difficulty,
fight the Spectre and the Apocalypse Dragon Powers of the Dragon).
before it’s too late. In this way, it’s easier to remember which
Powers are in play and which are the effects to
Scenario Components be activated each of the Dragon’s turns (see
• Base: All the components. Course of the game).
• Lost Legion: All the components except • Pick one red enemy token from the regular red
Volkare and Volkare’s camp (Map tile). enemy token pile and place it on the rampag-
• Shades of Tezla: ing Draconum space (Red City tile) adjacent to
- Enemy Tokens Core Tile 4 (see picture), face up. It represents
- Faction Tokens (Relics) the Spectre, which gets all values, abilities and
- Graveyard Tiles type of attack from the placed red enemy to-
ken. It will be pursuing you through the map,
Map The Dragon and the Draconum Spectre always closest to your Hero every time (see
• Map shape: Open Map limited to 3 columns. • The Dragon replaces the Dummy Player in Course of the game). Mark the enemy token
• Countryside tiles: 8. this scenario and counts towards the total with a black mana token to distinguish it.
Exactly 4, 3 or 2 should contain a Magical Glade number of players, so you have one extra die
(see Difficulty). in the Source and one extra Unit in the offer.
• Core city tiles: 2 (White and Red City tiles). Put • Before placing any other token on the map,
the corresponding Ancient Ruin token on the pick three red enemy tokens from the regular
Red City tile. Therefore, don’t place rampaging red enemy token pile. Then, pick one red Dark
enemy tokens in the Red City tile. Crusader enemy token and one red Elementalist
• Core non-city tiles: 5. enemy token. These five enemy tokens repre-
• City: The White City is friendly. sent the Apocalypse Dragon, put them on the
Put one Shield token on it but you’re not the Red City card face down; they are revealed
Leader. The Red City was destroyed and it’s once you’re adjacent to the city space.
where the Apocalypse Dragon is located. The tokens don’t benefit of the city bonus since
• Cards and Skills: Remove the four competitive it was destroyed.
Spells (109-112) from the Spell deck, and the • Prepare the Dragon’s deck:
one interactive skill. Choose one of the other ✓ 16 Base Action cards of the chosen Hero
Heroes at random– add one Skill of that Hero ✓ The 4 interactive spells removed from the
to the common Skill offer after each your Level Spell deck
Ups and assign its Round Order Token to the ✓ a certain number of Wounds, according to
Dragon. the Difficulty
Scenario Difficulty
Choose a difficulty level. Based on the Dragon’s mood, the following changes are applied in the setup:
Dragon’s Tiles containing a Wounds in the Combat rewards against the
Starting Fame Powers of the Dragon
Mood Magical Glade Dragon’s Deck Draconum Spectre
Angry 4 +2 4* 20 Advance Action Card + Relic**
Furious 3 +1 5* 18 Spell + Relic**
Rampaging 2 0 6 16 Artifact or Spell + Relic**
Roll a mana die as many times as the described number to determine the Powers of the Dragon that will be in play based on the colours obtained (see Course
of the Game, Powers of the Dragon). Roll the die several times until the colours are different. Do not roll any die if you choose Rampaging level.
* The power BEASTMOTHER must be present on every difficulty level.
** You choose the Faction of the Relic you gain.

Special Rules

Skill Level Ups Magical Glades

When you level up, don’t discard the Skill Whenever a Magical Glade is revealed on a north-
token or tokens you don’t choose; put ern countryside map tile, place a Graveyard tile over
them in the common Skill offer face up. it and then a green and a brown Dark Crusader
You can pick them from the common enemy token face up on the Graveyard tile.
Skill offer the next time you level up. If you do, you
have to take the Advance Action card in the lowest Whenever a Magical Glade is revealed on a south-
position in the Advance Action Offer. ern countryside map tile, place a green and a brown
Elementalist enemy token face up on it.
Unit Offer
Depending on the Difficulty level, the arrangement Whenever a Magical Glade is revealed on a map
of Elite Units may be more accessible: tile in between the north and the south, place an
1. Angry. enemy token from a random faction (see previous
- Round 1 and Round 2: Regular 3, Elite 1 example); either Elementalist enemy tokens or a
- Round 3 and Round 4: Regular 2, Elite 2 Graveyard tile and Dark Crusader enemy tokens.
- Round 5 and Round 6: Regular 1, Elite 3 Enemy Tokens
Note: If at least one Core Tile is revealed, just Green, brown and red enemy tokens are sorted by Liberate Location
follow the third step. faction. To liberate a Graveyard or a Magical Glade, you
2. Furious. may enter it from its space (as an Action).
- Round 1 and Round 2: Regular 4 When placing rampaging enemies, pick from the Fight both enemies. If you don’t defeat both, the
- Round 3 and Round 4: Regular 3, Elite 1 Dark Crusader pile for northern map tiles, and pick remaining token(s) remain on the space. They can
- Round 5 and Round 6: Regular 2, Elite 2 from the Elementalist pile for southern map tiles. be attacked again in a later turn.
Note: If at least one Core Tile is revealed, just If the map tile is between the two, place a random
follow the third step. faction enemy token: Roll a mana die. If you obtain Night rules must apply in a Graveyard, but none of
3. Rampaging. red, blue or black, place a Dark Crusader enemy the other effects of a Graveyard and Magical Glade
Follow the standard Unit arrangement. token. If you obtain green, white or gold, place an can be used unless you defeat at least one enemy
Elementalist enemy token. token.
White City
The Lords of the Darthion Citadel are great allies. Each time you defeat an enemy belonging to a If you defeat the last enemy then you liberate the
Thanks to their support and influence, you can take faction, you gain either a corresponding Relic, or location. Gain a Spell and a crystal of the same
advantage of more than one service: 1 extra Fame immediately. color if it was a Graveyard, or gain an Artifact and a
➢ You can recruit Units of all types. Also, you can crystal of any color if it was a Magical Glade. Mark
pay 2 Influence points to add one Elite Unit it with your Shield token and gain +1 Reputation.
(gold) card to the Unit Offer.
➢ Healing: You may pay 3 Influence for 1 Heal.
➢ Learning: You may pay 7 Influence points to
gain an Advance Action Card from the offer
(replenish the offer after) or a random card
from the top of the Advance Action deck.
Put the gained card on top of your Deed deck.
➢ Acquiring new knowledge: You can buy Spells
for 8 Influence points plus a mana that is the
same color as the Spell being bought.
➢ Defend: If you are inside the Citadel and you
start a combat or you are attacked, your Hero or
one of the Units you control gain Armor +1.
Course of the Game

Tactic Selection
• When taking Tactics, you always choose first. - Whether there are corresponding dice - Retreat. There is no combat (and you
The Dragon then takes a random Tactic. to be rerolled or not, regardless of the don’t take your turn in advance) –
• As usual, the Tactics determine the turn order. color obtained on the die, nothing based on the difficulty, you just take
Arrange the corresponding Round Order tokens. happens because the revealed card Wounds to your hand or discard pile:
• At the end of each Day or Night, remove both didn’t activate any Power that was in  Angry. Two Wounds to your discard
used Tactic cards from the game. Each Tactic play in the first place. pile.
card is picked exactly once during the game The action of rerolling a die from the  Furious. Two Wounds to your hand.
Source this way is only to hinder the  Rampaging. Two Wounds to your
Apocalypse Dragon’s Turn player; the Dragon makes sure that hand and another Wound to your
• When it is the Apocalypse Dragon’s turn to play, everything goes according to its plans. discard pile.
reveal the first card from its deck. • When a Wound card is revealed, the Dragon Don’t forget that each time you defeat
The card determines its action for this turn. doesn’t act. It’s the Spectre’s turn. the spectre, besides the corresponding
• When a non-Wound card (Spell or Action Card) It moves, attacks or is summoned again (if it’s Fame and Reputation, you get a reward
of any color is revealed, check that the color of been previously defeated). (see Difficulty). Consider when it is more
the revealed card matches the color of one of ➢ When it moves, it steps towards one convenient fighting or ignoring it.
the Powers of the Dragon that is in play (see space on the map, closer and closer ➢ When the spectre is summoned again,
Difficulty, Powers of the Dragon). until it’s adjacent to the Hero, after pick another regular red enemy token,
➢ If the colours match, the Basic effect of the which it may attack in the next turn. place it on any Draconum space (Red
corresponding Power is followed. - When it moves, the spectre ignores City tile) and the sequences start over.
- Then look at the Source. If there’s one any terrain or other things in the map.
or more dice of the corresponding - It keeps levitating; therefore, it can End of Round
color, reroll one of them (ignore Gold move over unexplored tiles without • The Dragon never announce End of the Round.
as a wildcard for this function). If you exploring them or remain over any • When you announce End of the Round, the
obtain the same matching color from space until it moves again or until it is Dragon doesn’t play its turn.
that rerolled die again, then follow the defeated in combat. • You never reshuffle the Dragon’s deck. On the
Enhanced effect of the activated Power - The spectre is considered, for all next turn, you just keep revealing one card on
in addition to the Basic effect. purposes, as a rampaging enemy. each of its turns.
If you obtain a color other than the ➢ When it attacks, the spectre doesn’t
just revealed card, nothing happens; move but it has to be adjacent to your Combat Outcome against the Dragon
however, if you obtain Gold or Black, Hero. If you are being attacked, you can To defeat the Apocalypse Dragon, all of its heads
you have to follow the corresponding choose to take your full turn in advance have to be taken down. If you have knocked down
effect only if these colours are in play. (like when attacked by another player) one of its heads belonging to a Faction, take the
If there are no dice of the matching to fully attend the combat or not; you corresponding Relic. If you can’t take all the heads
color to be rerolled, follow only the can retreat otherwise. down, you must retreat to the space you attacked
Basic effect of the activated Power. - Combat. If you choose to take your from. You’re not forced to defeat its troops (if any) but
➢ Contrarily, if the color of the revealed turn, flip your Round Order token. you still have to fight them.
card matches the color of one of the You may use everything as if it is your
Powers of the Dragon that is not in play, turn, and then perform your End of The End of Times
nothing happens. Turn sequence (but then you skip When there are no more cards to reveal in the
- However, you have to reroll a die from your next turn; see Rulebook, page12. Dragon’s deck, your time has run out: The Dragon
the Source corresponding the color of PvP, 3a section). roars and is about to rise from the ground; you can
the revealed card. no longer stop it. You still have one last turn to try
to totally knock it out.

Powers of the Apocalypse Dragon

BASIC EFFECT ENHANCED EFFECT

(Revealed Card) (Obtained color from the rerolled die)
WAR If you reveal a red card, all Interaction costs are increased by 1. All Interaction costs are increased by 1.
FAMINE If you reveal a blue card, exploration cost is increased by 1. The Move cost of all terrains is increased by 1.
CONTROL If you reveal a green card, discard a Relic (if any). Put an Artifact from your hand back on the top of your Deed deck (if any).
If you reveal a , add a Wound to your hand. Add a Wound to your discard pile.
DEATH If you obtain a Black mana die, a Ready Unit you control with the lowest level becomes spent until the end of your next turn.
Each time a Gold mana die is obtained after being rerolled, alternate adding either a green or brown enemy token to the Apocalypse Dragon,
BEASTMOTHER
starting with green.
Scenario End

The scenario can end by one of these ways: If you are bold enough, you can start with the lowest difficulty level.
• If the Dragon’s deck runs out of cards and if you didn’t manage to defeat Don’t roll a die to determine which Powers of the Dragon will be in play,
it in your last turn, you lose. feel free to choose them at will.
• It doesn’t matter how many turns you take to knock out the Apocalypse • The random factor is considerably increased in this scenario. The game
Dragon. If all its heads have been defeated, you win. could be on average difficulty or very complicated.
If you want to count your score, you may play one more turn. • Some mechanics may be a bit complex, hard to understand or perform
at first glance. Just apply how it works as you play, step by step, reading
Scoring and following the description carefully.
The goal is to defeat the Apocalypse Dragon, no matter what it costs. • Whether you win or lose, most of the time the Dragon’s deck will run
If you want to score, take your base Fame and apply the Achievement Bonuses. out of cards before the scenario ends. You must always try to optimize
Assign no titles. your turns.
• Score 20 points only for finishing the scenario (victory or defeat) and for • The successful strategy in this scenario is to find ways for leveling up
having had the courage to face alone the Apocalypse Dragon. and gain enough strength for the final battle against the Dragon.
• Score 5 points for each time you have defeated the Draconum Spectre. - Good timing is key. Remember that in the White City you have many
• If you defeated the Dragon, you get: benefits. Try to use this to your advantage.
- Bonus of 30, 40 o 50 points (depending of the Difficulty level). - Card effects or skills that reduce the cost of the terrain or make it
- Increase it by 2 for each card left in the Dragon’s deck. much easier to move around on the map are essentials.
- Multiply the result by 1, 1.5 o 2 (depending of the Difficulty level). - All heads of the Apocalypse Dragon have Arcane Immunity, so cards
• Score 30 points for each unplayed Round. with non-Attack nor non-Block effects are second priority.
• Score 5 points if End of Round was not announced on last Round. - Be sure to keep enough strength for the final combat, which may take
several turns to finish.
A Few Tips - Taking Wounds is unavoidable and sometimes, necessary. Consider
• This is a complex and challenging scenario. It requires a good resource how and when to assign damage to your troops or Hero carefully.
management and decision-making skills. It’s not highly recommended
for those who still have to learn or remember the basics of the game.

Variant Rules
Increasing the Difficulty Curve
The scenario is already challenging. However, if you would like to increase the
Difficulty curve, remove a certain number of Wounds; take a certain number of
random Dual-color cards from the UE (add them to the Dragon’s deck) and apply
the corresponding City Bonus to the attack values of the Dragon heads.

Mood Dual-Color Cards Wounds City Bonus

Angry 2 18 Green City bonus
Furious 3 15 Red City Bonus
Rampaging 4 12 Blue City Bonus

• These variants are just suggestions and totally optional. You can freely
choose which ones to play with.
• Dual-color cards work like any other non-Wound card, although they will
activate one or both Basic Effects to the corresponding Power, if only (like
standard rules) these colors are in play. If there are both matching dice colors
in the Source, choose only one corresponding color (the more convenient
for you) to be rerolled and follow the standard steps.
Cooperative Play (not competitive)
The concept wasn’t intended to be performed as a competitive or cooperative
scenario. However, it just needs some playtesting to be included.
Meanwhile, if you want to give it a try, apply the following:
• Players: 2. Use Cooperative City Assault rules to combat the Dragon.
• At any Difficulty level, put 20 Wounds into the Dragon’s deck all the time.
• Use Tactic Selection (Special Rules) and Scoring from Full Cooperation in
addition to this scenario.
• Additionally, if both players are in the same tile where the Apocalypse
Dragon is located and the Spectre has to be summoned again, place its
corresponding red enemy token with the Apocalypse Dragon. Additional
effects are no longer activated when a Wound card is revealed afterwards.
 GLOSSARY
1. The Tur’aj Cult.
The main dark cult of the Apocalypse. By them, the Apocalypse faction managed to bring back the four Horsemen and the Apocalypse Dragon.

2. Dark Riders.
Main title assigned to the Avatars of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse: War, Famine, Pestilence and Death Avatars.

3. The Land.
The Land is the name of the continent where all the events of the Mage Knight universe happen. The name is kept by ancient writings since the Age of
Mists.

4. Minions of Apocalypse.
The second Apocalypse sub faction known, which mostly consists of hidden servants and corrupted members of another faction. When the time came,
they left their disguise to spread fear, chaos, death and especially to carry out the Tur’aj cult’s ritual.

5. Tz.
Time measurement unit, in honor of Tezla’s birth.

6. Age of Mists.
This era marks the beginning of known history for the people of The Land. A time before castles, culture, and civilization, when the deities walked the
earth and the beings of the Underworld made their way to the surface. While there are many tales and myths about the Age of Mists, every culture has
legends of a Great War between the gods that ended in a cataclysm of fire and destruction. Only two factions are known to have lived since then: The
High Elven Lords and the Draconum. While the Rivvenheim Elves may know more about the Age of Mists, as many of the High Elves were born during
that era, they speak little of those “dark times”.

7. The Apocalypse Dragon.

*Coming soon*

8. The Dragonslayers.
*Coming soon*

9. Draconum.
When you think of the Draconum, think of mystical Dragon People. Draconum are solitary, wandering warrior-monks seeking physical, magical and
psychological evolution. Combat empowers the Draconum physically and spiritually for their next transformational Chrysalis, and they are driven by
primal urges to battle in order to ready themselves for evolution.

10. Drakona.
As result of a band of Heroes awakening the ancient Drakona from their slumber, these ancient and cruel Draconum have begun to prepare an army of
conquest. As they already sent flyers to scout the uncharted territories to the west of the Dragon City, and laid claim to the ore-rich region of the Kuttar
Depths, these ancient warriors pose a major threat to the Black Powder Revolution, as well as the other factions of The Land.

11. Darthion Citadel.

*Coming soon*

12. Roa Galtor river.

*Coming soon*

13. Wylden Plateau.

*Coming soon*

14. Prophet-Priest Tremelen.

One of the Elemental Leaders stands as an overwhelming force among of Elven, Centaur, Troll and Faerie eco-warriors armed with the powers of nature,
the elements, and the fury of the storm unleashed. By the will of the Spirit of Tezla, they will triumph over all that stand before them.