THE JORWOOD RUBY

INTRODUCTION

The Amazon treasure, the Jorwood Ruby, was lost during the great exodus of the Barbarian Wars. Your job is to return to the old homelands, find the ruby, and bring it home while avoiding the Barbarian and Orc natives. Easy as pie. This two-player scenario uses 2nd Edition rules and the maps and blocks that come with the 2nd Edition game. You should have at least 2-3 expansion packs, but you could get by with one if you do not mind hiring mercenaries from other races.

SETUP

Use maps 13, 14, 15, and 16. and arrange them as follows.

The primary adversaries are Barbarians versus Amazons. The Amazon player will be trying to find the Jorwood Ruby on Barbarian Island and to move it to the southern board edge. The Barbarian player will be trying to kill as many invaders as he can. The game starts with Undead and Orc neutrals holding key positions, and both Amazons and Barbarians with some starting forces in play.

Each player has a draw pool of extra units, and every turn each player will randomly draw reinforcements (usually one) from his pool. The player buys and improves each block with 9 gold and deploys it at one of two start cities. This is the only way new units (except for treasures and castles) enter the game.

You need one artifact to represent the Jorwood Ruby. (The ruby is imbedded in the artifact.) Ideally it should be an Amazon artifact, but any artifact will do. Set it aside near the game map. You will also need markers or beads (9 at most) to search hexes and markers or pencil and paper to count eliminated units.

The following creatures begin the game independent of player control. The Undead Castle is placed face up, flat. The Orcs may be laid flat until allied with the Barbarians.

The following table shows the Barbarian player's setup. The Barbarian start cities are Karheim and Vazholm. The Barbarian player deploys units first.

The following table shows the Amazon player's setup. The Amazon start cities are Ertona and Talina. The Amazon player deploys units second.

REINFORCEMENTS AND THE PLAYER POOLS

Each player has a pool of blocks from which he randomly draws new units. Ideally, each player should have a pool of 14 Amazons or 16 Barbarians. A pool should not contain castles or treasures, but it may contain artifacts, which should be built and deployed at the player's start cities just like oher drawn units. . Players should agree beforehand how to create their pools. If you empty a pool, use blocks from another faction. You may shuffle eliminated blocks back into a pool if your game has too few units. Otherwise, set them aside to count for score. If you put them into the pool, you must keep track of losses separately either on paper or using tokens.

All new units must enter as reinforcements via the draw pool. When a player draws a block from his pool, he spends up to 9 gold to purchase and improve it. Excess gold is lost. A player draws reinforcements at the end of the build phase after he has improved units.

The Amazon player draws one reinforcement block each turn, which he deploys at either Ertona or Talina. The Barbarian player draws two blocks on turn one and one block each turn thereafter. The Barbarian player deploys reinforcements at Vazholm or Karheim. If enemy units occupy both start cities, a player may deploy them in any coastal hex that is between the two start cities. A player is not forced to draw reinforcements, but skipped reinforcements do not enter later.

Players may add steps to units at controlled cities, but they may not build new units there except for treasures and castles, which are built normally.

GAME LENGTH

The game ends at the end of any turn in which the Jorwood Ruby is captured or destroyed. The game also ends (rarely) if the Amazon player moves the Jorwood Ruby to any coastal hex adjacent to the southern map edge. Lastly, the game ends at the end of turn 13 if neither event has occurred.

VICTORY

The Amazon player loses if he does not find the Jorwood Ruby or if an Amazon (C1) or Guardian is unable to move the Jorwood Ruby artifact off Barbarian Island. Otherwise, compute the Barbarian player's victory points. Count the number of hexes from the southern map edge to the hex where the artifact was destroyed or last reached. The Barbarian player receives three point for every hex to the artifact. Half-hexes count as one; use the shortest measurement. For example, if the artifact was destroyed in Iron Gate, which is 4 hexes from the south edge, then the Barbarian player would score 12 points. Add one point for every eliminated Amazon unit, and subtract one for every eliminated Barbarian or Orc unit. All eliminations count including self-destructions, destroyed treasures and artifacts, and even disbanded units. Combined units sent to the pool do not count, however. Important note: The Amazon spell "Beguiled" causes a Barbarian Chaos unit to switch sides and then to be eliminated. A Barbarian Chaos unit eliminated in this fashion counts as a Barbarian victory point, not Amazon. The Barbarian player wins if he scores 13 or more victory points. Otherwise, the Amazon player wins.

THE JORWOOD RUBY

The Jorwood Ruby is hidden in one of the 10 rough terrain hexes on Barbarian Island. (There are 7 forest hexes, 2 desert hexes, and 1 mountain hex.) Each hex may be searched only once. An Amazon unit searches a hex by skipping movement and remaining stationary. Lay the block flat with a marker atop it, and conduct the search by rolling a die. The first 4 searched hexes will always fail to find the ruby. On each subsequent search after the 4th, roll a die as you mark the hex. In the 5th searched hex, you must roll a 1 to find the ruby. In the 6th searched hex, you must roll a 1 or 2 to find it. In the 7th hex, you must roll a 1-3, in the 8th a 1-4, the 9th a 1-5, and in the 10th it is found automatically. If a search fails, the ruby is not in the hex. Mark the hex.

When it is found, place the artifact at full strength in the searcher's hex. Only a Guardian or C1 Amazon (members of the royal family) may carry the Jorwood Ruby! Others may find it, but only a royal family member may carry or use it. Once found, the Amazons may never leave the artifact alone in a space, unguarded, nor may they voluntarily destroy it. The ruby-bearer may use the power of the artifact, but he may not use it up, destroying it. (In short, you cannot dump or destroy the ruby yourself to win the game.)

THE UNDEAD CASTLE AT GARUNDY

The Undead castle is hostile to both players. If attacked, the opposing player rolls its dice for the battle. The castle always begins a battle at 2 strength. Unless destroyed, it heals immediately to 2 strength after every battle. The castle does not generate or use gold. If destroyed, it does not count for victory points. If both players attack it on the same turn, then player 2 must temporarily ally with the Undead against player 1. If player 2 wins, he must regroup away from the castle if it was not destroyed.

ORC TERRITORY

The Orc Territory is all land and coastal hexes south of Niko's Wall and east of the Ranger Islands. Orcs never leave their territory and are eliminated if forced to leave. The Orcs do not move, generate gold, or use gold until they go to war. If the Amazon player's units enter Orc Territory, then the Orcs declare war on the Amazons and become friendly with the Barbarians. The Barbarian player them controls them as friendly units for the rest of the game. However, the Barbarians and Orcs may never stack together, including in battles. Orcs and Barbarians never go to war, and the Barbarians may not enter Orc Territory unless the Amazons first invade it. When activated, the Orcs always go third after the Barbarian and Amazon players as if the Orcs were a third player but controlled by the Barbarian. Orcs may rebuild damaged units in Orc cities but may not build new units. Dead Orcs count for Amazon victory points.

SEA MOVEMENT

Units have a limited ability to move across channels, straits, and bays in this scenario. A unit may move from one coastal hex to an adjacent coastal hex across an all-sea hex side provided the unit starts its movement in the first coastal hex and ends its movement in the second coastal hex. It also must roll 1d6 for attrition at each crossing. On a roll of 1-3, it loses one step. Amphibians add +1 to the die. Popular crossings are from Talon Point to Rosik Woods across Tana Bay. across Garun Strait to and from Garundy, and south across the Tamis Strait from Barbarian Island. Units may not use this ability to cross rivers.

MISCELLANEOUS SPECIAL RULES

The Amazon player has the initiative on turns 1 and 2. Roll for initiative normally beginning with turn 3.

All vacant cities in Orc Territory are Orc-friendly. All other cities are neutral unless occupied, including both players' start cities. New units may not be built at cities; only repairs may be done there.

When players create their pools, they should probably have roughly the same number of wizards in each, and players may agree to recyle wizards to their pools if they have small pools. In addition, both players should have access to treasures even if one needs to borrow from other colors.

Scenario by Stan Hilinski 2007.