Story of HeroScape

Valhalla was a lush, largely unexplored planet in a distant galaxy, ruled by winged human-like creatures called Kyrie. The Kyrie lived in relative peace for thousands of years. Then the wellsprings were discovered, and everything changed. These mysterious fountains of youth, power and immortality soon became the ultimate plunder in the battle of all time.

The story of Heroscape begins with Thormun, a Kyrie who discovered the first wellspring quite by accident. Thormun recounts the event in his journal:

It was not long before new wellsprings were discovered by other Kyrie. They drank from them, gained powers from them, and soon became a species of super-kyrie called Valkyrie. But along with their powers came strange visions of armies at war, armies made up of creatures from other eras, other worlds. As the Valkyrie began a violent struggle to seize control of the wellsprings, they devised ways to summon the warriors of their visions to fight for their cause. Lush valleys and hillsides became military strongholds; majestic mountains became vantage points for deadly attacks on those below. Armies marched, fought, claimed victory or conceded defeat, all for the wellsprings.

They are calling this age of war The Rise of the Valkyrie. And indeed, the Valkyrie have ascended to commanding positions as generals in the ever-intensifying struggle for the wellsprings. As the battles grow bloodier and more challenging, these generals call for brave leaders to join their fight. Can you gather an army powerful enough to defeat the enemy? Can you lead them to victory on a battlefield of treacherous terrain and perilous pitfalls? Good fortune, brave heroes! The fate of Valhalla rests in your hands!

Related Links:
Thormun's Journal

How to Play HeroScape

Step 1: Build Your Battlefield
A game of HeroScape really begins with building the battlefield. Each battlefield is constructed from interlocking, stackable hexagon-shaped tiles. These can form cliffs, mountains, rivers, and much, much more. You can build the maps included in the Master Set or terrain expansion instructions, look online for downloadable maps and scenarios, or create your very own battlefields limited only by your imagination and the number of tiles you own.

Each battlefield has a scenario or scenarios that can be played on it. The scenario you choose will determine how the game is setup and explain the victory conditions for each player or team.

Step 2: Gather Your Troops
Once your HeroScape battlefield is ready, it's time to gather your army. You have nearly limitless options for building a great army. Choose your favorite Heroes and Squad figures, not exceeding the point total for the given scenario. You can either bring along a pre-made army, or you can take turns “drafting” army figures until all players reach the point total for that scenario.

Step 3: Battle!
Once the troops are on the field, you’re ready to rumble! The game of HeroScape is played in rounds. Each round is made up of three turns for each player. On a turn, each player will generally do these three things: 1) Choose an Army Card; 2) Move one or more of the figures on that Army Card; and 3) Attack with one or more of those figures.

Figures move, attack and defend according to the Move, Range, Attack and Defense numbers on their Army Cards. Battles are resolved by rolling the combat dice. The attacker rolls the number of attack dice listed on the Army Card, hoping to roll as many skulls as possible. The defender rolls the number of defense dice listed on the Army Card, hoping to roll enough shields to fend off the attack. If the attack is successful, the defender receives wounds. If it receives more wounds than the life number on the Army Card and the figure is removed from the game. The Master Game of HeroScape features advanced movement and combat rules along with special powers that will challenge your strategic skills to the max!

Step 4: WIN!
Each scenario has a victory condition. The first player or team to meet this condition wins the game! The victory condition may be as simple as destroying all of your enemies. While it's always satisfying to be the last one standing on the battlefield, you'll often need to do something more (or at least different) to win. Some scenarios in HeroScape require that one army be the first to reach a certain spot, find a certain artifact, rescue a certain figure, or survive until a certain round.

Battlefields

It’s the “scape” in HeroScape. And it’s what makes HeroScape as much fun to set up as it is to play. While you can play HeroScape on pretty much any kind of battlefield, the battlefields featured in the game guides were created with several factors in mind:

Location:
Where in Valhalla will the battle take place? Is it dry? Hilly? Are there lakes, rivers or swamps? Are the warriors on a frozen tundra? In a lava pit or jungle? Not only do different terrain tiles affect the movement of your figures; hills, cliffs, ruins, trees and more can affect how they attack and defend in battle.

Victory Conditions/Special Powers:
The terrain in most game scenarios is designed to make victory a challenge. That’s why you’ll always need to keep the terrain in mind when chosing HeroScape figures for your army. Figures have special powers and abilities that allow them to “break the rules” while moving and battling. Some figures can “fly” or “leap” over cliffs and walls. Other figures can move quickly through water, ice and lava. And when battling, some figures have special attacks that can wipe out several foes at once!

The Wow Factor:
The “wow factor” in building a battlefield in HeroScape is deserving of special mention here. Rather than building HeroScape battlefields “by the book,” set your imagination loose and create your very own custom-built masterpiece!

Related Links:
AliasQTip's Exclusive Scenarios

Characters

Hero and Squad Figures
Your Army can consist of Hero figures, Squad figures, or any combination of these two major classifications. Hero figures are (usually) very powerful figures and have an Army Card all to them to themselves. Squad figures consist of two or more (usually) less powerful figures who are grouped together on an Army Card. Army Cards also list the Valkyrie General that the Hero or Squad fights for, along with the species, class, height, point value and special powers. Some or all of these characteristics will probably come into play as you choose which figures will make up your HeroScape Army.

How Figures Move and Battle

MOVE and RANGE Numbers:
Each figure’s Army Card defines how many spaces it can move (MOVE number) on a turn, and how close to an enemy it must be (RANGE number) to attack. For example, a figure with a hand weapon like a sword or a club has a RANGE number of 1, meaning it must be next to an enemy to attack it; butut a figure with a ranged weapon like a bow or a rifle may attack from several spaces away. Special powers may affect a figure’s MOVE and/or RANGE number.

ATTACK and DEFENSE Numbers:
Each figure’s Army Card also tells how many dice the figure rolls when attacking and defending in battle. Generally, the more powerful a HeroScape figure (or the figure’s weapon), the more attack dice it gets to roll; likewise, the more armor or other protection a HeroScape figure has, the more defense dice it can roll when attacked. Special powers may also affect a figure’s ATTACK and/or DEFENSE number.

Expansion Sets: Call in the Reinforcements!
Along with its modular terrain design, HeroScape expansion sets offer dozens of ways to diversify and strengthen your forces. Small expansion sets introduce new Hero and Squad figures, and may also include terrain tiles to expand your HeroScape battlefield. Larger expansion sets feature special terrain tiles and warriors with unique powers not found in HeroScape Master Sets. Collect them all to add towers, ladders, trees, lava, ice, and formidable figures to your Army!

Related Links:
Army Card Index