Necromancer – Full Rules v0.5

Note: These are in the process of being updated to v0.5.1. Experienced players should check the Change History for details of modifications.

Credits

Necromancer is a Diplomacy variant set in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth.
1. Variant
  
  Necromancer was invented by Richard Egan, with help from John Cudmore, Andy Bate, and Mike Lay. Acknowledgements to Hartley Patterson, Glover Richardson, John Norris, Iain Bowen, Martin Lewis, and Richard Walkerdine. Thanks to Bridget Davidson and Gary Stevens. The first version (0.1) was first published in Bill O’Neills zine Exidio, and first playtested in Paul Norris’ zine Die Große Dampfmaschine.
2. Version 0.5
  
  Version 0.5 rewritten by Gary Duke. Many improvements have been incorporated since Richard’s last version 0.4, inspired by comments and queries from many people, but especially Will Wible, Felix Spehlmann, Morry Veer, David Norman, and Luke Ellis. Queries, comments, and suggestions should be sent to Gary Duke (gary AT garyduke.me.uk). Please note that the variant has not been fully playtested, and these rules are still provisional.
3. Legalities
  
  The Necromancer variant is copyright 1989-94 Richard Egan; version 0.5 is copyright 2000 Gary Duke. Necromancer is Public Domain, and may not be used for profit. Provided all the above credits remain intact, the variant may be freely redistributed. Any use of trademarks not explicitly acknowledged within these rules is not intended to challenge the status of the trademarks. No warranty is provided for these variant rules, nor is any liability for the contents assumed by the designers and distributors.
Basic Rules
1. Diplomacy
  
  Standard Diplomacy rules apply, except where modified below.
2. Terminology
  
  Some terms used within standard Diplomacy rules are used with precise meanings within these rules. To avoid confusion, they are explained here. The rules in this Section are merely clear statements of rules used in standard Diplomacy; they may be modified or overridden by variant rules.
  1. Basic Terms
    
    Several terms from the Basic Rules are distinguished here by always being written with an initial capital letter, for clarity.
    1. The pieces each player orders are referred to as Units.
    2. The spaces on the board are referred to as Provinces, which can be Land or Sea. Land Provinces can, in turn, be Inland or Coastal.
    3. The nations which are played by the players are referred to as Powers.
    4. The names of the various phases that make up the turns are Movement, Retreat, and Adjustment.
    5. The various orders that can be issued to Units in each phase are: (Movement:) Move, Hold, Support (and Convoy); (Retreat:) Retreat and Disband; (Adjustment:) Build and Disband.
    6. The special Provinces used in Adjustment Phases to determine each Power's strength and for victory calculations are Supply Centres, usually abbreviated SCs. Those which a Power may Build in are Home Supply Centres, or HSCs.
    7. The situation where a player fails to submit orders for one or more Units is termed NMR (for No Moves Received).
  2. Strength
    1. The Strength of a Move order during a Movement phase is always 1 + (number of uncut Supports).
    2. The Strength of a Hold order during a Movement phase is always 1 + (number of uncut Supports). This includes the Hold order implicit in all orders other than Move orders.
    3. A unit ordered to Move but bounced always Holds with Strength 1, but cannot receive supports.
    4. The Strength of any Retreat order is always 0.
  3. Failure
    1. A Move order is considered to Fail if the unit does not succeed in leaving its Province (due to a bounce).
    2. A Hold order is considered to Fail if the Unit is Dislodged. This includes implicit Hold orders.
    3. A Support order is considered to Fail if the Support is cut.
General Unit Rules
1. Basic Units
  1. Necromancer does not use Fleets. Hence there is no Convoy order.
  2. There are three types of Units in Necromancer:
    - Standard Armies;
    - Special Units (Armies with special extra rules);
    - Personality Units.
    Every Power possesses and can Build standard Armies; some Powers may possess and/or Build Units of other types, as detailed in the rules for that Power.
  3. Additionally, all Units except Personality Units may build ('Raise') Auxiliaries, which are treated as extensions of that Unit.
2. Special Unit Powers
  
  Some Special Units are distinguished by having one or more simple powers.
  1. Hidden Movement
    1. A Unit with Hidden Movement does not automatically have its orders revealed with each adjudication; only the owning player is always informed of the location and orders of a Hidden Movement Unit.
    2. Move and Hold orders are revealed only if they Fail.
    3. Support orders are always revealed.
    4. Retreat orders are always revealed.
    5. If a Hidden Movement Unit is dislodged, its location is always revealed.
    6. If a Hidden Movement Unit affects any other Unit, including another Hidden Movement Unit, its location and order is revealed. This includes bouncing during Movement and Retreat phases.
    7. When a Hidden Movement Unit is Built, the Build is always revealed. Disbands of Hidden Units are revealed only if the Unit was visible at the time of the Disbandment.
    8. If a Hidden Movement Unit is given Support whilst Hidden, only the giver of the Support is informed of the validity of the order.
    9. A Hidden Unit not given a legal order is not revealed if none of the above force it to be revealed.
  2. Double Movement
    1. A Unit with Double Movement may be issued two orders in every Movement phase.
    2. If Double Movement is to be used in a given turn, both orders must be issued in the Movement phase.
    3. The orders for a Unit using Double Movement must consist only of Hold and/or Move orders. The Unit may issue other orders, such as Supports, if and only if it does not use Double Movement that turn.
    4. The second order is adjudicated as occurring between the Movement and Retreat phases, and has the Unit’s normal Strength. It cannot be Supported. It cannot affect the results of the Movement phase (e.g. it cannot cut Support).
    5. The second order may be the reverse of the first, i.e. a move from A to B can be followed by a move from B to A in one turn.
    6. If the second order is a Move, it will be bounced if the target Province was the site of a bounce in the Movement phase, just as a Retreat would not be allowed to such a Province.
    7. A Unit with Double Movement can dislodge a weaker Unit (such as a Personality Unit) with its second order; such a dislodged Unit must Retreat as if it had been dislodged during Movement.
    8. If the first order of a Unit attempting to use Double Movement Fails, then the second order is automatically void, and is never revealed.
3. Personality Units
  
  A Personality Unit represents an individual person of some significance.
  1. All Personality Units always Move and Hold with a base Strength of 0. They are thus dislodged by a single unsupported attack. They may receive Support from other Units as normal. They may not give Support or Raise Auxiliaries.
  2. A Personality Unit may freely occupy the same Province as another Unit of the same Power; it may never occupy the same Province as any Unit belonging to a different Power.
  3. A Personality Unit may Retreat to a Province occupied by a friendly Unit, and a Unit may Retreat to a Province occupied solely by a friendly Personality Unit.
  4. A Personality Unit blocks enemy Retreats. If an Unit is ordered to Retreat to a Province occupied by an enemy Personality Unit, the Retreating Unit is Disbanded. (This usually arises when a Personality Unit has the Hidden Movement power.)
  5. If a Personality Unit is ordered to Retreat to the same Province as a retreating enemy Unit, and both Retreat orders are valid, then both Units are disbanded (because both Retreats are of Strength 0).
  6. Personality Units do not cause changes in SC ownership. If a Personality Unit occupies an SC during an Adjustment phase, the SC’s ownership does not change. However, if the owner of an SC attempts to Build Units in a Province occupied by an enemy Personality Unit, the Build order fails and the new Units are lost.
  7. Personality Units are not counted when determining the number of Units the owning Power has during an Adjustment phase.
4. Auxiliaries
  
  An Auxiliary is a special ‘unit’ that is attached to a standard Unit, and gives it some form of special ability.
  1. Auxiliaries are created via a new Movement phase order: Raise (abbreviation ‘r’). As normal, a Unit may only be given one order in a Movement phase, including the Raise order. The Raise order must include the type of auxiliary to be built (e.g. A (Abc) r F will Raise a Fleet Auxiliary).
  2. Auxiliaries cannot be created during Adjustment Phases.
  3. A Raise order Fails if the Unit is attacked (in exactly the same way as a Support order is cut). In this case, the Auxiliary is not created.
  4. A Raise order that succeeds results in the Unit acquiring the Auxiliary. The combination is then ordered as Unit/Auxiliary (e.g. “Army/Fleet”, abbreviated “A/F”).
  5. Each Unit may only own one Auxiliary. If a Unit Raises a second Auxiliary, the first Auxiliary is destroyed.
  6. Auxiliaries are not transferable; it is impossible for a Unit to acquire an Auxiliary from another Unit. Auxiliaries can only be gained via Raise orders.
  7. Auxiliaries are not counted when determining the number of Units a Power owns during an Adjustment phase.
  8. The Raise order includes an implicit Hold order; hence a Unit ordered to Raise can be Supported to Hold.
  9. An Auxiliary, in general, exists so long as the Unit to which it is attached exists; it is only destroyed should the Unit to which it is attached be destroyed or voluntarily Disbanded.
General Variant Rules
1. Fortresses
  
  A Fortress is a special Province which gives a defender an extra advantage.
  1. A Unit occupying a Fortress receives an extra uncuttable Support to Hold (this is referred to as "the Fortress benefit"). This includes Personality Units.
  2. Units occupying Fortresses which attempt to Move or are not ordered (e.g. NMR) do not receive the Fortress benefit.
  3. Units occupying a Fortress which are ordered to Support or Raise are implicitly Holding as well, and do receive the Fortress benefit.
  4. Fortresses have no effect on Retreats.
  5. Fortresses can be SCs, but need not be. The difference should be clearly indicated on the map. In Necromancer, all Fortresses are SCs except Cair Andros (CAn) and Dunharrow (Dhw).
  6. If a Unit with Double Movement attacks a Fortress with its second Move, then the Fortress benefit is still applied as normal. This includes the case where the defending Unit has Moved to the Fortress in that Movement phase.
  7. If a Unit with Double Movement occupies a Fortress, it is treated normally unless it uses Double Movement. If it uses Double Movement to Hold and Move, it only gains the Fortress benefit for the main Movement phase, not against any other Unit's second movements. If it uses Double Movement to Move twice, it gains no Fortress benefit that turn.
2. Multiple Units
  1. Multiple Units are a method of placing several normal Units in a single province. Most Powers may not use Multiple Units; those that can are given in the detailed rules for each Power. Unless otherwise specified, Units belonging to different Powers can never occupy the same Province via the Multiple Unit system.
  2. A Multiple Unit (or “MU”) is referred to by prefixing its size (the number of Units it contains), e.g. “3A” for an MU containing 3 Armies. The constituent Units are referred to as ‘Components’ of the MU.
  3. An MU is formed by ordering several Units to the same Province. The orders for the Units must note the size of MU to be formed, e.g. A (Los) - 2A (SIt); A (Pel) - 2A (SIt) (to enable a self-standoff to be distinguished). Errors result in a self-standoff.
  4. One or more Units forming an MU may be Holding in order to do so. They should be ordered as if Moving to their current province, e.g. A (Los) - 2A (Los); A (Pel) - 2A (Los).
  5. Each Component of an MU may be given a separate order. Each separate order may be Supported as normal by other Units. If too many orders are given for the number of Components, the orders are treated as ambiguous and hence void. If too few orders are given for the number of Components, the remaining Components are unordered and therefore Hold.
  6. When moving more than one Component of a Multiple Unit to a single Province, the size of MU must be given for both the source and destination - e.g. 2A (Los) - 2A (SIt). The destination size may be larger in the event of an attempt to join with other Units to form a larger MU. Failure to write these sizes correctly results in the affected orders becoming void.
  7. All components of an MU ordered to Move to the same Province must be ordered by one order. Multiple Move orders to the same Province are automatically void. Wth all other orders (in particular Support orders), multiple Components may be given identical orders, and such orders are all followed normally.
  8. The Strength of an order given to one or more Components of an MU is equal to the total Strength of the Components so ordered, adjusted for Supports and cuts as normal.
  9. If an MU is attacked when some of its Components are Supporting, the Strength of each different Support is reduced by the Strength of the strongest cutting attack minus the number of Components ordered to Hold, to a minimum of 0.
  10. Components of an MU may Support the Moves of other Components of the same MU.
  11. MUs attack the province in which they form with the combined Strength of all the Components, but each border is crossed with the Strength only of the Units concerned. Therefore, if an enemy Unit in the target Province attacks one of the Units forming the MU with more Strength than that Unit (and it is not bounced from that Unit's current Province), it will dislodge that Unit, and that Unit will not become part of the MU.
  12. If two Units attack each other's Provinces, and either Unit is part of a Multiple Unit of which some Components are Supporting, then only the excess Strength of one attack can be applied towards cutting of Support by rule ix.
  13. If a Unit attacks a Province containing a Unit Supporting an attack on the first Unit's Province, then the Support is not cut unless the Supporting Unit is dislodged (as per Standard Diplomacy rules). Additionally, if the Supporting Unit is a Component of an MU of which other Components are Supporting other Units, then only the difference in Strength between the attack and the first Support is counted when determining which other Supports are cut by rule ix.
  14. If an MU is formed in a Province occupied by one of the Units forming the MU, then the Province must be occupied as a result of an attack in order to prevent the formation of the MU.
  15. The Strength in Holding of an MU is equal to the combined Strengths of the Components which do not Move, added to the Strength of Components which attempt to move, but are bounced. If at least one Component was ordered to combine with other Units to form a new MU in the same Province, then the Strength of such Units is also added to the Strength of the overall MU. Supports to Hold for the MU are only valid if at least one Component did not attempt to Move; then all such valid uncut Supports add to the Strength in Holding of the MU.
  16. All Components of an MU which is dislodged must retreat together, and do so with Strength 0. MUs cannot be formed or augmented during the Retreat phase.
  17. MUs may be formed or augmented during Adjustments, by either Building more than one Unit in an HSC, or by Building Units in an HSC that is already occupied.
  18. Individual Components of an MU may be separately Disbanded during an Adjustment Phase; the whole MU does not have to be treated as one in this case.
  19. Supports given by foreign Units to any order involving MUs do not have to state the correct size of the MU involved.
  20. Each component of an MU may have a single Auxiliary attached; hence an MU may have as many Auxiliaries as it has Components. These Auxilaries should be mentioned in all orders. If any ambiguity arises as to the location or existence of any MU's Auxiliaries due to a failure to specify Auxiliaries in the orders, all affected Auxiliaries are destroyed.
3. Fleets
  
  Fleets are a type of Auxiliary which allows sea travel.
  1. A Fleet is denoted by the name “Fleet”, abbreviation “F”.
  2. Fleets can only be Built in Coastal Provinces.
  3. A Fleet is destroyed if the Unit it is attached to successfully Moves or Retreats to an Inland Province or a Coastal Province only accessible across a land boundary (i.e. any move which would not be permitted for a Standard Diplomacy Fleet), or is Disbanded.
  4. Any Unit attached to a Fleet may Move to, Support into and from, and Retreat to, Sea Provinces, just as can Fleets in standard Diplomacy.
  5. Each Component of an MU can be attached to a Fleet independently of the other Components; the combined Unit is referred to with the number of Units and the number of Fleets noted separately, e.g. “3A/2F”.
  6. Components of MUs which have attached Fleets use their combined Strength at sea, just as on land. Components without Fleets can never affect actions in Sea Provinces.
4. Siege Engines
  
  Siege Engines are a type of Auxiliary which makes attacking Fortresses easier.
  1. A Siege Engine is denoted by the name “Engine”, abbreviation “E”.
  2. Siege Engines can only be Built in Land Provinces.
  3. Only one Siege Engine may exist in a Province at any one time; any further Raise Engine orders are void. (This particularly affects Multiple Units.)
  4. A Siege Engine is destroyed if the Unit it is attached to leaves the Province for any reason: a successful Move, dislodgement, or Disbandment during Adjustments.
  5. An MU only loses its Siege Engine if all its Components leave the Province.
  6. If a Unit attacking a Fortress has a Siege Engine, the defender's Fortress benefit (if any) is neutralised by the Siege Engine.
  7. A Unit with a Siege Engine must be ordered to Move to a Fortress Province to neutralise any defender's Fortress benefit; a Siege Engine has no effect on defenders if the Unit to which it is attached is ordered to Support.
Map Rules
1. Eriador
  
  Eriador is a special Province which can contain any number of Units belonging to any combination of Powers.
  1. Eriador is adjacent to Fch, Ang, HPs, Hol, Gld, Min.
  2. Units may always freely move to and from Eriador:
    - All valid Moves and Retreats to Eriador succeed;
    - Eriador is always a valid Retreat for adjacent Units (even if the attacker came from Eriador);
    - Moves from Eriador are not bounced if another Unit moves to Eriador from the target Province.
  3. Units in Eriador cannot be ordered to Support or Raise; any such orders are void.
  4. Eriador contains two HSCs, one each for the Dwarves and Elves, which cannot change ownership. The SCs are, however, destroyed if and when Sauron is eliminated.
  5. The Eriador HSCs are always open for Building during Adjustment phases, so long as they have not been destroyed. Each can only be used to Build one Unit per Adjustment phase. This is regardless of how many, or whose, Units are already in Eriador.
  6. Until their destruction, the Eriador SCs can be counted by their respective owners towards achieving victory. They can be counted in the same Adjustment phase in which Sauron is eliminated.
2. Mountains
  
  In general, all mountains are impassable. For reference, the list of Provinces which are adjacent only by mountain boundaries is as follows:
  - Iron Hills: NCa/Wit.
  - Grey Mountains: For/NEa.
  - Misty Mountains: CDu/Eri; Eri/Gun; Eri/Lng; Eri/Gob; Hol/OFo; Gla/Hol; Dim/Hol; Dim/Gld; Gld/Nim; Dun/Nim; Dun/Fan.
  - White Mountains: Ado/Pin; Ado/Hel; Hel/Pin; Pin/Wes; Edo/Pin; Dhw/Pin; Dhw/Lam; Eas/Lam; DrF/Lam; DrF/Los.
  - Ash Mountains: Lit/NoL; Gor/NoL.
  - Mountains of Shadow: Gor/NIt; Gor/SIt; NNu/SIt; SIt/SNu; SNu/WKh.
  - Mountains of Rhûn: Dor/Rhu.
3. Sea Provinces
  
  Anduin (AND) and Tolfalas (TOL) are treated as Sea Provinces for all purposes. Note that Tolfalas is also an SC.
4. Moria/Khazad-Dûm
  
  If Moria (Mor) is taken by the Dwarves, then it may be renamed Khazad-Dûm (KDu) at the GM's discretion.

Scenario Rules

Powers and Initial Position

There are 8 Powers in Necromancer. The initial unit positions are:

(D)	Dwarves	A (Ere), A (Eri), A (Iro)
(E)	Easterlings	A (Kha), A (NRu), A (Rhu)
(L)	Elves	A (Eri), A (Lor), A (Woo)
(G)	Gondor	A/F (DAm), A (Lam), A (MTi), A (Pel), A (Pin)
(H)	Harad	A/F (Cit), A (FHa), A (NrH)
(R)	Rohan	A (Edo), A (Hel), C (Wol)
(S)	Saruman	A (Dun), A (Ise), W (Ise) plus A (?)
(U)	Sauron	A (DGu), A (MMo), N (MMo) plus one other
	Standing Armies	A (BDu), A (CDu), A (CGo), A (Gre), A (Gob), A (Gun), A (Mor), A (Mou), plus S (EMi or NMi), D (Wit)

Turns

The game begins in Third Age (TA) 2750, and the first turn is TA 2765. Turns occur at 15-year intervals thereafter (TA 2780, 2795, 2810, …). Every second turn (i.e. any ending in ‘0’) is an Adjustment turn, just as in standard Diplomacy.
Victory Conditions

The Victory Condition is a score of 19 or more Victory Points. Any Power obtaining this target in an Adjustment phase wins the game immediately, except as detailed below.
1. Each Power gains one Victory Point for every SC it owns; the winning condition is thus typically one-third of all the (permanent) SCs.
2. Some SCs are worth more than one Victory Point for particular Powers, as detailed in the rules for those Powers.
3. If more than one Power attains the Victory Condition in the same Adjustment phase, the Power with the greatest number of Victory Points wins.
4. If there is a tie for the most Victory Points in an Adjustment Phase, the game must be continued.
5. The game may, instead, be ended at any time in accordance with the House Rules in operation. If the House Rules do not specify otherwise, then only a draw between all surviving players is allowed, and all surviving players must consent to the draw.

Power Rules
1. Dwarves
  1. The Dwarves gain a bonus of one Victory Point for each of Erebor (Ere), Grey Mountains (Gre), Iron Hills (Iro), and Moria/Khazad-Dûm (Mor/KDu) that they own, in addition to the Victory Points the provinces are worth because they are SCs.
  2. The Dwarves can use any mountain Fortress SC as an HSC. (Specifically, this means any Fortress other than CAn, Cit, DAm, DGu, Dhw, Lor, and Woo.)
  3. The Dwarves do not have access to any Special Units.
2. Easterlings
  1. The Easterlings treat all SCs as HSCs, i.e. they can Build in any SC they own.
  2. The Easterlings do not have access to any Special Units.
3. Elves
  1. The Elves gain a bonus of two Victory Points for each of Lórien (Lor) and Woodland Realm (Woo) that they own, in addition to the Victory Points the provinces are worth because they are SCs.
  2. The Elves do not have access to any Special Units.
4. Gondor
  1. Gondor can create, use, and Build Multiple Units without restriction.
  2. Gondor has no access to any other Special Units.
5. Harad
  1. Harad does not have access to any Special Units.
6. Rohan
  1. Rohan has access to a Special Unit type: Cavalry (“C”). Rohan can freely Build one Cavalry unit in the Wold (Wol) per Adjustment phase, subject to the normal rules governing Adjustments. Rohan cannot Build Cavalry Units anywhere else.
  2. A Cavalry Unit has the Double Movement power.
  3. Additionally, a Cavalry Unit using Double Movement can ‘overrun’ an enemy Unit, by dislodging it on its first move and then continuing to move on the second move. The dislodged Unit must Retreat, but cannot Retreat to the second Province the dislodging Cavalry Unit entered, and cannot remain in its original Province.
  4. A Cavalry Unit can use its second move to enter a Province where another Cavalry Unit dislodged another Unit in the Movement phase, provided the second Cavalry Unit's second move succeeded.
  5. Cavalry Units may Raise Auxiliaries. However, if a Cavalry Unit with an attached Auxiliary attempts to use Double Movement, the Auxiliary is destroyed before the second order is performed. If the second order is invalid because of the loss of the Auxiliary, the second order is ignored and the Auxiliary is not destroyed.
  6. Rohan does not have access to any other Special Units.
7. Saruman
  1. Saruman has a Personality Unit: the Wizard (“W”), representing Saruman himself. It starts in Isengard (Ise).
  2. If the Wizard is ever dislodged and is unable to Retreat (or is otherwise destroyed), Saruman is eliminated, and his units go into Civil Disorder. Saruman also loses the Wizard from his centre count.
  3. The Wizard has the Hidden Movement ability.
  4. The Wizard is also a (mobile) Home Supply Centre for Saruman. The Province containing the Wizard can be built in by Saruman in an Adjustment phase, unless:
    - The Province already contains one of Saruman's Units; or
    - The Province is a Sea Province; or
    - The Province is an HSC for another power. (This includes all Easterling-owned SCs, but not Eriador.)
  5. If Saruman Builds on the Wizard whilst it is in a (non-Home) SC belonging to another Power, the ownership of the SC is unaffected until (at least) the following Adjustment phase.
  6. The Wizard is worth one Victory Point to Saruman, in accordance with its status as an SC.
  7. The Wizard may travel aboard a Saruman Army/Fleet. The Wizard can leave the Army/Fleet only if moving to a Land Province.
  8. If the Wizard is dislodged whilst at sea, it may Retreat to any adjacent Land Province, any adjacent Sea Province containing another Saruman Army/Fleet (both independently of the original Army/Fleet), or simply together with the original Army/Fleet - subject to the standard rules for Retreats.
  9. Saruman may never Build new Wizard units.
  10. Since the Wizard is a Supply Centre, Saruman starts the game with a third Army. This may be placed in any of Angren (Agr), Enedwaith (Ene), Fangorn (Fan), Gap of Rohan (Gap), or Glanduin (Gld). The position is determined by Saruman's orders for the first turn, TA 2765, and is revealed with that adjudication.
  11. Saruman does not have access to any other Special Units.
8. Sauron
  1. Nazgûl
    1. Sauron has a Personality Unit: the Nazgûl, which represents (one of) the Ringwraiths. It begins the game in Minas Morgul (MMo).
    2. Sauron may only ever have one Nazgûl Unit in play at any one time. If the Nazgûl is destroyed, Sauron may always rebuild it in any HSC he owns in the next Adjustment phase.
    3. The Nazgûl has the Hidden Movement power.
    4. The Nazgûl also has the Double Movement power. Both moves can be Hidden.
    5. The Nazgûl can cross mountain Province boundaries, including on the second move of a Double Move.
    6. The Nazgûl may never enter Sea Provinces under any circumstances.
    7. If the Nazgûl starts a Movement phase in the same province as another Sauron Unit, the Nazgûl may be given a special Lead order (abbreviation “L”). This is written in the same way as a Support order for the Unit in the Province, and increases the Strength of the Unit's order by 1. The Lead order is always publicly revealed.
    8. If the Nazgûl is given a Lead order, it always remains with the Unit it is Leading for the entire turn; hence, it cannot use Double Movement that turn. Any second order is then void.
    9. Sauron may create a Multiple Unit in the province occupied by the Nazgûl, including Building the Nazgûl and other Units in an HSC during an Adjustment Phase (and even if the HSC is already occupied). The Nazgûl must remain with the Multiple Unit at all times; if a Multiple Unit is left at the end of any Phase without the Nazgûl being in the same Province, the excess Units are immediately destroyed. (A Spider or Dragon Unit (see below) should be the survivor wherever possible.)
    10. Any order given to multiple Components of a Multiple Unit is void unless the Nazgûl is ordered to move along with or remain with the Multiple Unit.
    11. If the Nazgûl Leads a Multiple Unit in Supporting, then the strength of the Support is equal to the Strength of the Multiple Unit, plus 1 for the Lead order, minus the Strength of the strongest cutting attack (if any). If the result is a Strength of 1, the Support's Strength becomes 0.
  2. Standing Armies
    1. There are 8 Standing Armies, in Barad-Dûr (BDu), Carn Dûm (CDu), Cirith Gorgor (CGo), Grey Mountains (Gre), Goblingate (Gob), Gundabad (Gun), Moria (Mor), and Mountains of Mirkwood (Mou). At the beginning of the game, they are ‘unactivated’ and act as if in Civil Disorder.
    2. Additionally, there are two more Standing Armies which do not exist on the board at the beginning of the game: the Spiders of Mirkwood, which begin in Eastern Mirkwood (EMi) or Northern Mirkwood (NMi), and the Dragons of the Withered Heath (Wit).
    3. Spiders and Dragons are Special Units, referred to with the abbreviations “S” and “D” respectively. They differ from normal Armies in two ways: they are not counted during Adjustment phases when determining Sauron's Builds/Disbands; and only one of each Unit can exist during each game, created by Activation as described below.
    4. In every Adjustment turn, plus the nominal Adjustment phase of TA 2750 at the beginning of the game, Sauron may issue one Activation order. When a Standing Army is Activated by means of the Activation order, Sauron takes control of the Army as one of his own Units. The order for TA 2750 is given along with Sauron's Movement orders for TA 2765.
    5. Sauron can only Activate one existing Standing Army, or the Spiders, or the Dragons, in each Adjustment phase. The Spiders or Dragons can only be Activated once each, and only if their start province is unoccupied at the time (Sauron must choose between the two alternatives at this time when Activating the Spiders). An order to actiavte the Spiders or Dragons is void if their province is occupied at the time, and does not prevent them from being activated later.
    6. If a Hidden Movement Unit (not belonging to Sauron) is in a Province when the Spiders or Dragons are to be Activated there, then the Activation fails, Sauron may not choose another Activation, the Hidden Unit is revealed, and Sauron loses the chance to Activate the Spiders or Dragons for the rest of the game.
    7. The Activation order is not publicly revealed. A newly Activated Standing Army is only revealed to have been Activated when it is given an order other than Hold, it is dislodged, or (for Spiders and Dragons) it bounces or otherwise affects another Unit.
    8. After a Standing Army is Activated, Sauron can treat the SC as an HSC. Sauron cannot Build in the Province until the Adjustment phase after Activation.
    9. Sauron may also treat as an HSC any SC which originally contained a Standing Army, and which Sauron recaptures from another Power, even if the Standing Army was never Activated.
    10. If a Standing Army is destroyed in a non-Adjustment turn, and no other Power actually gains ownership of the Army's SC in the following Adjustment turn, Sauron does not gain the right to Build there, but must capture or Activate the SC first.
    11. Unactivated Standing Armies do gain Fortress benefits.
    12. Sauron must be careful to ensure that a valid Activate order is always given where necessary, especially when playing by mail with Adjustments included along with orders for an earlier phase. The GM should not provide Activation orders if Sauron fails to give one.
  3. Elimination
    1. Sauron is automatically eliminated at the end of the TA 3020 Adjustment phase (the 18th turn). Sauron can win if the Victory Conditions are met during this phase.
    2. After TA 3020, the Nazgûl is destroyed, and all remaining Sauron forces (including any unactivated Standing Armies) enter Civil Disorder. If Sauron owns a Multiple Unit at this point, all but one Unit in the Multiple Unit is Disbanded.
    3. Before TA 3020, Sauron can be eliminated only if all Standing Armies are destroyed, both Spiders and Dragons have been Activated and destroyed, the Nazgûl is destroyed, and all Sauron's SCs are taken by other powers.
    4. No Sauron Units (including any unactivated Standing Armies) gain Fortress benefits once Sauron is eliminated.
Optional Rules
1. Alignment
  
  Alignment is a natural effect in some Provinces which defends them against attack by some Powers. It has no effects upon negotiation or co-operation between Powers. The use of these rules is recommended.
  1. Alignments are one of Good, Neutral, or Evil. Good and Evil are considered opposite Alignments.
  2. Every Power has an Alignment. Good Powers are the Dwarves, the Elves, Gondor, and Rohan. Sauron is the only Evil Power. All other Powers are Neutral.
  3. Every Province also has an Alignment. Fangorn (Fan) and Lórien (Lor) are Good Provinces. Barad Dúr (BDu), Dol Guldur (DGu), Moria (Mor), and Southern Mirkwood (SMi) are Evil Provinces. All other Provinces are Neutral.
  4. Units belonging to Neutral Powers are never affected by Alignment.
  5. A Unit attempting to Move to an oppositely-Aligned Province will fail to move unless the Strength of the Move is greater than 1.
  6. A Unit in an oppositely-Aligned Province is dislodged if not Supported, and any Support or Build order automatically fails. This includes Multiple Units, regardless of size.
  7. No Unit may Retreat to an oppositely-Aligned Province.
  8. If an SC in any Good or Evil Province becomes owned by a Power of different Alignment (including Neutral), the Province’s Alignment permanently changes to Neutral.
Change History
1. 24 January 2002: Clarifications to Sauron's Multiple Units in rule VIII H 1. Clause viii added; clause ix changed to cause disbandment instead of retreats; clause x added. These prevent Sauron exploiting the possiblilty of ‘abandoning’ an MU to scatter its Components in the Retreat phase, althoughb they do allow a mechanism for ‘teleporting’ by disband and rebuild. Thanks to Mikko Tähkänen and Mikko Saari.
2. 24 January 2002: Rule IV B. Added clauses vi and vii to solve issues with complex MU moves. These now forbid self-standoff between Components of a single MU, and also enforce a more precise order format for moving MUs. This last change significantly alters Gondor's order-writing. Thanks to David Norman.
3. 24 January 2002: Clarification to rule IV C. Clause iii now explicitly prevents movement of Fleets across all-land boundaries between Coastal Provinces. Thanks to Steph Mabie and Mikko Saari.
4. 25 January 2002: Further clarification to rule IV B. Clause xii added to handle situations where a component of an MU is Supporting while another ‘screens’ the support by attacking a potential cutting Unit. To give better logical consistency, also added “minus the number of Components ordered to Hold” to clause ix. Thanks to Mikko Tähkänen.
5. 25 January 2002: Additional to previous, another clarification to rule IV B. Clause xiii added to cover situations where a support is given by a Component of an MU to an attack against an incoming attack. These last two will definitely require examples...

Necromancer – Full Rules v0.5

Credits

Variant

Version 0.5

Legalities

Basic Rules

Diplomacy

Terminology

Basic Terms

Strength

Failure

General Unit Rules

Basic Units

Special Unit Powers

Hidden Movement

Double Movement

Personality Units

Auxiliaries

General Variant Rules

Fortresses

Multiple Units

Fleets

Siege Engines

Map Rules

Eriador

Mountains

Sea Provinces

Moria/Khazad-Dûm

Scenario Rules

Powers and Initial Position

Turns

Victory Conditions

Power Rules

Dwarves

Easterlings

Elves

Gondor

Harad

Rohan

Saruman

Sauron

Nazgûl

Standing Armies

Elimination

Optional Rules

Alignment

Change History