DARK

EMPIRES
The game of skirmishes in the world of Arkana

THE PHASES

There are 4 phases:

MOVEMENT: Move your models up to their Move (M) value.

MAGIC: Any warriors that can cast spells may do so.
SHOOTING: Any warriors with ranged weapons may fire them.
COMBAT: Resolve fights in Close Combat.

STATISTICS

MOVE(M): How far the warrior can move in inches.

SKILL(Sk): How good the warrior is in Close Combat.
RANGED SKILL(RS): How good the warrior is at shooting.
STRENGTH(S): How strong the warrior is.
TOUGHNESS(T): How tough the warrior is.
WOUNDS(W): How many wounds the warrior can take before it dies.
ATTACKS(A): How many attacks the warrior can make in Close Combat.
SAVE(Sv): How much you have to roll to deflect a blow.
MORALE(Mo): How courageous the warrior is.
MAGIC(Ma): How much magic the warrior can use in a battle.

MOVEMENT
Warriors may move up to their Move in inches, or double that but they can't do anything else
except fight in close combat.
Difficult Terrain halves the Move of warriors moving through it. If your move only takes you
partially through Difficult Terrain, you still halve your total Move.

MAGIC
If a warrior can cast magic spells, they may cast them during this phase. Spells cost a certain
amount of Magic to cast. If you run out of Magic, you can't cast any more spells. You can't
cast spells in Close Combat.

SHOOTING
Any warriors with ranged weapons may fire them in this phase. To fire, subtract the warrior's
Ranged Skill from 7: this is how much you have to roll or higher to hit.

If the shot hits, compare the weapons' Strength against the enemies' Toughness: If they are
the same, you need 4+ to wound, if the S is higher by one, you need 3+ to wound, if the S is
higher by two, you need 2+ to wound, and if it is higher by more, it automatically wounds,
with no save allowed. However, if the T is higher by 1, you need a 5+ to wound, and if the T is
higher by 2, you need a 6 to wound, and if the T is higher by any more, it is impossible to
wound the target-It is just too tough!
If a warrior is wounded, roll for its save-a Sv of 4+, for example, would mean that you need to
roll 4 or higher to block the wound. If you fail the Sv roll, or you never had one, then the
warrior takes a wound. If the warrior is reduced to 0 wounds, remove the warrior from play-he
is slain.

COMBAT
If two or more opposing warriors are in base-to-base contact, they are said to be in Close
Combat with each other. To resolve a Close Combat, first see who has the highest Skill, and by
how much. If their Skill is the same, no bonuses are applied. If one sides' Skill is higher, add
the difference to the combat roll.
Once skill has been resolved, roll a dice for each Attack the warrior has and apply any
bonuses. If any roll is higher than the enemies' highest roll, the attack hits-resolve the hit as if
it was a Shooting attack, but use the warrior's own Strength instead. If you win the combat,
push the enemy back 1". If more than one attack hits, roll once for each attack that hit.
If you attack a warrior in the side, the enemy gets -1 Sk for the battle. If the enemy wins, he
turns towards the attacker. If you attack a warrior in the back, they cannot react in any waythey are quite literally stabbed in the back!

MORALE
Morale is an important part of any battle-it's no good trying to command warriors that are
running in sheer terror! Each warrior has a number of Morale points equal to its Morale.
Warriors lose a point of Morale if they lose a combat, if a friend loses a combat within 3", or
each turn if less than half of your force remains.
If charging an enemy that causes Fear, you lose a point of morale before you move-same as if
it charges you.
You also lose a point of morale if you end your turn within 3" of a warrior that causes Fearfriend or foe!
Warriors that cause Fear are also immune to Fear.
Terror works the same, but causes warriors to lose 2 points of morale instead of 1.
If reduced to 0 Morale, you have to move d6" away each turn in a straight line from whatever
caused you to lose your last bit of morale-The warrior runs away screaming! If it reaches a
table edge, remove it-It counts as a causalty in all respects. If it cannot run away in a straight
line, move it around in as straight a line as possible.

If the warrior cannot run away due to blocking enemy models, the enemy gets to make free
hits on the cowardly warrior equal to the number of combined attacks the enemy warriors in
base contact have-the fleeing warrior cannot react in any way.

EQUIPMENT
HAND WEAPON: No additional effect.
SPEAR: +1 S against Cavalry.
PIKE: +2 S against Cavalry and Chariots.
TWO-HANDED WEAPON: +1 S but -1 Sk.
TWO HAND WEAPONS: +1 A.
SHIELD: +1 Sv.
ARMOUR: +1 Sv.

HEAVY ARMOUR: +2 Sv but -1 M.

BOW: R:12" S:3
LONGBOW: R:18" S:4
CROSSBOW: R:16" S:5
SLING: R:8" S:2
THROWING WEAPON: R:6" S:3
CHAIN: R:3" S:2 If it hits, enemy must miss a turn.

CAVALRY
Cavalry are an important part of any army, whether riding horses, camels, or more exotic
beasts.
Cavalry gain +1 S on the charge against Infantry, except against Infantry armed with Spears
or Pikes.
If they enter Difficult Terrain, roll a dice. On a 1, take a wound.

CHARIOTS
Chariots are anything that has wheels and is pulled by one or more animals.
Chariots gain +1 S against Infantry on the charge, but if they charge anything, roll a dice. On
a 1, the chariot takes a wound.
They can move double their move and still fire ranged weapons and cast spells.
Chariots cannot enter Difficult Terrain.
When they move, they may stop halfway, fire their weapons, and do a single turn up to 180
degrees, and move the rest of their Move.

FLIGHT
Warriors with Flight may ignore all terrain and non-flying enemy warriors when moving.

They can only be attacked with warriors with ranged weapons or Flight.

STRIDER
Warriors with Strider may ignore Difficult Terrain and all of it's effects.

FLAMING
Warriors with Flaming gain +1 S against Flammable warriors.

FLAMMABLE
Flammable warriors get -1 T against Flaming warriors.

MIGHTY CHARGE
Warriors with Mighty Charge get +1 S on the charge.

MAGIC SPELLS
EMBER: Ma:1 R:12" Single S3 hit on any enemy within range.
LIGHTNING BOLT: Ma:2 R:18" Single S4 hit on any enemy witin range.
RIFT: Ma:4 R:T Place the narrow tip of the Flame template on the base of the caster. All
models underneath suffer 1 S6 hit.

HEAL: Ma:1 R:12" Heal 1 Wound from a freindly warrior. May be cast just as model takes
wound.
CHILL: Ma:1 R:6" Single S4 hit on any enemy within range.
FIREBALL: Ma:4 R:18" Draw a straight line from the front of the caster's base to any point
18" away. Anything caught in the line takes a single S8 hit.
ICE BOLT: Ma:2 R:12" Single S4 hit on any enemy within range.
EARTHQUAKE: Ma:3 R:12" Place the Large Blast template anywhere within range. All nonflying models hit take a single S4 hit.
TORNADO: Ma:3 R:18" Place the Large Blast Template anywhere within range. All models hit
take a single S3 hit.
TIDAL WAVE: Ma:8 R:18" Put a 6"X6" square anywhere on any table edge. Draw a line to the
other side of the table. All models hit take a single S8 hit.
HOLY LIGHT: Ma:2 R:18" Put the small blast template anywhere within range. All models hit
take a single S4 hit.
SKYHAMMER: Ma:4 R:18" Put the large blast template anywhere within range. All models hit
take a single S6 hit.
PANIC: Ma:1 R:12" A single enemy warrior within range lose a single point of morale.
UNEARTHLY SCREAM: Ma:3 R:18" A single enemy warrior within range loses all it's morale.
BLIGHT STORM: Ma:3 R:18" Place the large blast template anywhere within range. All
models hit take a single S4 hit.
BLIGHTBOLT: Ma:1 R:12" A single enemy within range takes a single S3 hit.
STEAL SOUL: Ma:7 R:6" A single enemy within range instantly loses all it's wounds.
PLAGUE: Ma:4 R:12" Place the large blast template anywhere within range. All models hit
takes a single S4 hit.
TELEPORT: Ma:2 R:6" A single model within range gets moved 2d6" away in a direction of
your choice.
BLESS: Ma:2 R:12" A single model within range gets 1 of it's stats of your choosing increased
by 1.

PLAYING A GAME

To decide how long the game will last, roll an agreed-upon number of dice. That is the number
of turns in the game. For a very quick game, for example, you might just roll 1 dice, but for a
longer game that will take the whole evening, you might roll 3, 4 or even more dice!

To decide how much terrain there is, use the same method. Terrain can be anything-a patch of
brush, a river, or even a crashed sky-ship! The only limit is your imagination. Agree with your
opponent what counts as difficult terrain, and what is just plain impossible to go through.
Alternatively, you could create special rules for certain peices of terrain, such as a wood that
counts as difficult terrain, but reduces the Strength of any ranged attacks on the model by 1,
for example.

There will be seperate army books for each faction in the game, outlining the backstory
behind the faction and what warriors they may have on their force, what options they may
have, and how much they cost.
For now, there are some example force lists given in this booklet, that will have to suffice until
I get round to making them.

ENGARDIAN BORDER PATROL

ENGARDIAN KNIGHT
5

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo

5pts

4 3 3 1 1 5+ 4

Cavalry
Hand Weapon
Heavy Armour

ENGARDIAN KNIGHT
10

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
8

4 3 3 1 1 5+ 4

Cavalry
Hand Weapon
Heavy Armour

BORDER GUARD
13

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
4

3pts

3 3 3 1 1 6+ 3

Infantry
Spear
Armour

BORDER GUARD
16

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
4

Infantry
Spear
Armour

5pts

3pts

3 3 3 1 1 6+ 3

ENGARDIAN CROSSBOWMAN
20

M Sk RS S T W A Sv Mo

4pts

4 3 3 3 3 1 1 6+ 3
Infantry
Crossbow
Hand Weapon
Armour

20pts

FERAL GOBLIN WARBAND

FERAL GOBLIN CHARIOT
7

M Sk RS S T W A Sv Mo

7pts

2 2 4 4 3 2 4+ 3

Chariot
Two Hand Weapons
Throwing Weapon

FERAL GOBLIN BUTCHER

10

M Sk S T W A Mo
4 3 22 1 2

3pts
4

Infantry
Two Hand Weapons

FERAL GOBLIN WARRIOR

12

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
4

2pts

2 2 2 1 1 6+ 2

Infantry
Hand Weapon
Armour

FERAL GOBLIN WARRIOR

14

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
4

2pts

2 2 2 1 1 6+ 2

Infantry
Hand Weapon
Armour

FERAL GOBLIN WARRIOR

16

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo
4

2pts

2 2 2 1 1 6+ 2

Infantry
Hand Weapon
Armour

FERAL GOBLIN SPARK-SHAMAN

20

M Sk S T W A Sv Mo Ma
4

Infantry
Hand Weapon
Armour
Magic:
Ember, Fireball.
Special Rules:
Fear.

20pts

2 2 2 1 1 6+

4pts
3