Map Setup and Deployment

This section describes the bulk of setup for a game. First, the map must be set up, then the warbands deployed. At that point, the game can be started!

Map Setup

There are a few steps to carry out during map setup. These are:

1. Roll for map type
2. Set up map
3. Add Treasure tokens

Each one is described below.

Map Types

Roll on the table below to decide on the map type. If you don't have satisfactory terrain for certain map types, feel free to reroll. Which map types the group has terrain for can be discussed at the start of a campaign.

d20	Map Type
1	Notable building in the centre
2	Village alongside a river
3	Main street in a city
4	River through the city, large bridge in the middle
5	Cemetery
6	Docks
7	Mountaintop
8	Valley
9	Hillside
10	Sewers
11	Town Square
12	Park in the middle
13	Abandoned hideout (many bridge connections)
14	Defensible position
15	Dense city
16	City outskirts (low density)
17	City walls (in the middle)
18	City with keep in the middle
19	Warehouse district
20	Mansion
21	Tower in the middle

Set Up Map

After rolling for the Map Type, it's time to set up the terrain according to that map type. To do so, first you need a suitable playing surface. The game is played on a 3' by 3', flat, stable surface. This means most dining tables are perfect for a game. A surface slightly larger or smaller is fine.

After marking out the edges of the map, it is time to set up the terrain. Place terrain down to suit the map type, making the terrain as dense as possible. It should be difficult for units to see in any one direction for more than 1'.

Generally it is best to set up terrain from largest to smallest, starting with risers, rivers, roads, and any other terrain that has an impact on building placement. After this, buildings should be placed down, covering up the vast majority of the map.

Next, fences, scatter terrain, and other smaller pieces should be placed down. These should help form chokepoints and encourage units to move towards objectives via less direct routes.

Finally, players should go through ensuring the majority of areas can be accessed without Agility Checks, although these routes may not always be convenient. This means placing down ladders, crates, stairs, ramps, bridges, and walkways to allow units to get around.

Should you not have sufficient terrain, you can always use household items as proxies. Using boxes for risers is a particularly good way to improve the quality of a map at no cost. Cans, books, and whatever you have lying can act as terrain in a pinch.

At this point, players should discuss any potential ambiguous terrain, such as what requires a Climb Check or counts as Difficult (or even impassable) Terrain. This can prevent potential misunderstandings arising during the game itself and ensures everyone is on the same page.

Guidelines for Map Set Up

The end goal of setting up the map is always to encourage warbands to split up and use the terrain in a variety of interesting ways. This leads to more dynamic games and the potential for more heroic, character-defining moments for your units. The following guidelines are good rules-of-thumb to make sure you all have the best experience while playing.

Tall Buildings

In general, it's recommended to have taller buildings towards the centre of the board, as these are often ideal positions for units with Ranged Weapons to hole up and rain death down upon unsuspecting foes. If they are placed closer to the edge, try to distribute them across the board evenly so that no one side is too heavily favoured.

Tall buildings can often also be placed in such a way where they do not provide so much of an advantage, such as having an exposed side face toward the centre of the board, or having other tall terrain near it to block line-of-sight.

There is nothing wrong with allowing these set ups, but careless placement has the potential to allow one player to wreak havoc on another. After playing a few games, players should be able to judge what vantage points may be problematic and which are okay.

Open Spaces

Open spaces should be used sparingly. They are a great way to create variety within a map, but too many can encourage warbands to bunch up in the area and have the game devolve into one large melee, or become a shooting ground for nearby ranged units. The more chokepoints within a map, the more it encourages warbands to split up to effectively use their entire roster.

Walkways

Walkways between buildings deserve a special mention. If you are unsure why players rarely move their units up into higher positions, even though you have plenty of such positions, then adding more walkways is likely the answer.

Ideally, a unit should be able to cover a large portion of the map without ever touching the ground. This even incentivises melee units to use verticality, as it often helps them avoid ranged units getting Advantage against them and can usually provide a quick path to Treasure tokens.

Add Treasure Tokens

Now that the map is set up, Treasure tokens need to be added to the board. These act as objectives for the players to fight over and claim. In general, five tokens are placed down at the start of a game, unless noted otherwise.

It's recommended to place Treasure tokens one token directly in the middle, with the other four spread out so that they are all a third of the board away from each board edge, as well as a third away from each other. Having them be at a variety of heights is ideal.

Be aware that having them out in the open makes them harder to pick up, as units will likely come under ranged fire while attempting to claim the Treasure token. Inversely, having them behind cover makes it much easier for them to be picked up. A variety is fine, but it is better not to favour one side of the board too heavily.

First Games of the Campaign

At the start of the campaign, the city is largely unlooted, so there is an abundance of treasure! However, as the campaign progresses, treasure becomes harder to find.

For the first game of the campaign (ie. when the players have not played any games yet), place two additional Treasure tokens during deployment. It is recommended to set up the Treasure so that six of the tokens are placed in a formation similar to the pips of the 'six' face of a six-sided die, with the seventh token in the centre of the board.

For the second game of the campaign (ie. when the players have only played a single game), place one additional Treasure token during deployment. It's recommended to follow the same formation listed above, but without the seventh token in the centre.

Players with Different Number of Played Games

It is possible that the number of games played by both players may not be the same. It's highly recommended to avoid this situation if possible. If it is unavoidable, try to match up the player that has played no games against a player that has won the least games of the other players (so preferably someone that has not yet won a game). In this case, place extra treasure tokens based on the player that has played less games. So if one player has played no games and the other has played one, set up two additional Treasure tokens.

Event Tokens

From the pool of eight Event tokens, randomly choose a number of tokens equal to the number of Treasure tokens in the game, making sure not to see which (if any) will trigger an Event. Place them randomly face down under each Treasure token. The first time a unit picks up a Treasure token, flip the Event token to see if an Event is triggered. Whether an Event is triggered or not, the token is discarded.

There is one Event token that can trigger an Event and another that requires the unit picking up the Treasure to make a Plague Check. Once both of those Event tokens are revealed during the game, it is not necessary to check the other tokens.

Deployment

Now that the terrain is fully set up, each player's warband needs to be deployed. This means that each player will set up their miniatures according to the deployment type, such as deploying their warbands upon opposite edges. This is the final step before the game can properly begin. The steps for deployment are as follows:

1. Roll for deployment type
2. Check if any units are missing the game
3. Roll for deployment order
4. Each player deploys in order

Deployment Types

First, roll a d20 and consult the table below. This will describe how each player will deploy their warband.

d20	Deployments	First Set up/Turn
1-6	Opposite edge
7-11	Opposite quadrant
12	Ambush (Defender in middle, Attacker on any edges)	Attacker first
13	One side scattered, one along an edge
14	One side scattered, one along multiple edges
15-16	Strike teams vs strike teams
17-18	Strike teams vs scattered
19-20	Four equal lengths (1,2,3,4). One person deploys in 1,3 and other 2,4

Missing Units

Confirm which units will be participating in the game. There are some instances, such as via Scars, that may mean a unit may not be deployed for a game.

Deployment Order

To decide on deployment order, have each player roll a d20. Whoever rolls the highest deploys first (and will also take the first turn).

Deploying

Now each player takes turns deploying their entire warband based on the deployment order.

For a player to deploy, they do so as described in the Deployment Type that was rolled. Unless stated otherwise, units deployed along the edge of the board must not deploy any more than 2" away from the edge. The intention is that warbands may be deployed up to two units deep, but no more.

Unless explicitly mentioned, units also must deploy on the ground (including on risers or hills). This means that they may not start up in vantage points or places that would otherwise require an Agility Check to get to.

Units can be deployed anywhere within the confines of these rules by placing the miniature representing it on the board. Miniatures cannot be placed on impassable terrain or on other miniatures, but can be placed next to Treasure tokens (should the deployment type allow it).

Once a player has deployed their entire warband, the other player can deploy their warband. After that, players are ready to begin the battle!