Credits Set Rises Lead Designer: Jack Emmert Know, o prince, that between the years when Development: Shane Hensley, George the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming Vasilakos, Timothy Brown, Darrell Hayhurst, & Mack Martin. cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Cover & Character Illustrations: Victor Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when Moreno. a power-mad wizard set in motion a chain Dark Horse Comics Artists: Kelley Jones, of events that would come to be called…the Michelle Madsen, Brian Ching, Michael Atiyeh, Rise of Monsters! Tomas Giorello, Jose Villarrubia, Joseph Michael Thoth-Amon seeks the greatest power he can conceive, Linsner, Timothy Truman, Dave Stewart to become an avatar of Father Set, the Great Serpent God. Graphic Design & Layout: George Vasilakos. This is not some exalted priesthood Thoth covets with Miniatures Photography: Caden Hensley paltry baubles and a handful of slave girls as his reward. Playtesting & Advice: John Wick, Jimmy No, the Stygian sorcerer wants far more—he seeks nothing Macias, Ross Watson, & Jason Peck. less than to summon the elder god into the physical world to destroy all who would oppose his mad rule. These are the full ALPHA rules for If he is successful, the arrogant wizard would not become Conan: Rise of Monsters. Though a god, but he would command one. Or so he believes. they’ve been tested thorougly for Serpents and Shadows two years, we want to hear about any Summoning the Great Serpent is no easy task. It first issues from you! We’ll update to a requires an army of believers, a return of the ancient cults “final” version after our Kickstarter which rose unbidden in the dark times—and fell when closes and before we send it to press. great heroes and common citizens uncovered their vile deeds. We hope you enjoy the game! The new serpent cult is far more insidious. Their inhuman acts are conducted in secrecy and their schemes Samplemore filesubtle, though no less foul. Offers of arcane power, political influence, or simple wealth have quickly given rise to legions of new worshipers. Most are little more than foot soldiers for the cause, but some are priests or dabblers in the dark arts who can in turn raise other foul things in the service of the Scaled One. This new “Legion of Set” now hides in the shadows of every city of every nation of Hyboria. WWW.PULPOSAURUS.COM CONAN® and ©2017 Conan Properties International LLC. All Rights Reserved. “This day you become knights!” Rise of Monsters ®2017 and Sigil game system ® he laughed fiercely, pointing with his and ©2017 Pulposaurus, a division of Great White Games (DBA Pinnacle Entertainment Group). dripping sword towards the hillmen All Rights Reserved. horses, herded nearby. “Mount and follow me to hell!” —Conan, Black Colossus Permission is granted to print this file for personal use.

2 Mitra & Other The Rise of Monsters Interlopers Thoth fears the coming of Conan. He has watched Thoth-Amon knows his chief rivals are the other gods. the iron-thewed warrior-king from afar and has had To prevent their intervention, his silent legions have more than one of his schemes foiled by the barbarian’s begun to despoil their images, taint their religions, and actions. The necromancer has watched the Cimmerian convert or slaughter their followers. decimate mortal armies who challenged his rule, and has heard tales of his conquests over powerful wizards Once the rival gods’ believers are scattered, Set’s such as the ancient Xaltotun and insidious Thugra followers will reveal themselves directly, toppling their Khotan. foes’ monuments, burning their temples, and blocking their meddling from Set’s holy quest. Thoth knows he needs more than an army to defeat Conan; more even than sorcery. He needs the most Then Thoth-Amon’s foes will be nothing but mortals— abominable creatures of the earth—and some from like the meddling barbarian who sits upon the throne those beyond. He gathers ancient tomes and tainted of Aquilonia. scrolls and performs the ancient rites that give rise to King Conan horrors beyond imagining. King Conan broods in his keep, longing for a Though the cost is great, the sorcerer is successful. return to his days of high adventure. He is not Thoth laughs at his new-found strength. He to be disappointed long. Outriders, scouts, and gives the word and the Legion of Set rises. At his emissaries from neighboring lands speak of command are mortal warriors bought with pledges grisly murders in the dead of night, or fierce of gold or power and horrors dredged from the stuff civil wars erupting among the generally of nightmare. peaceful followers of Mitra and Ibis. King Conan assembles his own The barbarian king smells dark coalition of iron-hearted warriors, sorcery. His suspicions are confirmed cutthroat mercenaries, and great when guardians of a distant desert beasts of the far forests and ruin tells of a wizard who seeks jungles to oppose him. Together the legendary scrolls of Skelos. they are the Circle of Iron. Conan and Thoth’s paths have The epic battles between crossed many times, but always these two titanic forces are indirectly. Now the barbarian Sample file fought from the jungles of feels the time has come to meet Kush to the cold reaches of the scheming necromancer in Cimmeria and the lotus fields the flesh. of Khitai. The war promises The old spark fills the to leave a trail of blood and king’s eyes. He calls for horror the likes of which his armor. His sword. His Hyboria has never seen. mount. Conan the Barbarian Truly, this is the Rise of rises once more. He will lead Monsters! an alliance of warriors to protect the weak—he will form a “Circle of Iron” about the helpless. He will ride into the fields and valleys and deserts against this wizard, his servants, and his foul creations. He will ride to blood and thunder and glory once more. And he will teach his enemies the true answer to the riddle of steel!

3 Game Overview Conan: Rise of Monsters is a miniatures wargame in Sigil Dice an age undreamed of. There are two sides in this Each side needs between cataclysmic war—those who have sworn allegiance to ten and twenty custom sigil the dark sorcery of the wizard Thoth-Amon and those dice. These six-sided dice are who have pledged their steel to King Conan’s alliance, emblazoned with three Swords, the Circle of Iron. two Shields, and a mysterious Sigil used to resolve unpredictable events (such as Components attacks). The following components are required to play Conan: Rise of Monsters, for without them a warlord is naked Swords are offensive, representing violence. and helpless, buffeted by fate and cast aside with the broken steel. Shields are defensive, representing survival. Miniatures Each player uses the fully-painted miniatures that Sigils are wild, representing magic and the come with this game to represent his forces on the field unknowable. of battle. Figures and Bases: Models in Conan: Rise of Monsters are comprised of two parts, the figure and the base. The Fate Deck base is used to measure ranges for attacks, movement, Conan: Rise of Monsters comes with two Fate Decks, and other battlefield positioning. The figure represents one for the Circle or Iron and one for the Legion of Set. the warrior and his relative size, and is used to Additional themed “boosters” are available, and may determine visibility. be added to emphasize different strategies. The set each Fate Card belongs to is labeled on the front so you can reassemble them if they get mixed up.

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Destiny Stones Tokens Each commander has a set of crystals to track “Destiny.” A number of tokens come with the game, marking Destiny is a critical resource Conan and Thoth can use troops’ wounds and morale and whether or not they’ve to aid their troops and influence initiative activated this turn. once battle is joined. Fleeing Wounds Activated 4 Unit Cards Each unit has a corresponding Unit Card that describes Unit Types its prowess and failings in the form of attribute numbers There are three different types of units inConan: Rise of and special rules. Most miniatures have multiple unit Monsters,denoted by the icon at the bottom left of their cards, allowing the models to be fielded in a variety of Unit Card. ways (usually varying in number or training). Heroes are great wizards, mighty warriors, or Title: The unit’s name and faction loyalty. These are other champions. Conan and Thoth-Amon most often used by Fate Cards and Special Abilities. are the ultimate leaders of their factions, but Cost: The unit’s value. Use this if the scenario says valiant heroes such as Pallantides and Valeria something like “Thoth’s player may field 20 points of also fight, as do villains such as Xaltotun and troops.” The Priests of Set pictured here, for example, the vampire, Akivasha! are worth 3 points. A Hero consists of a single model. Count: The number of models in the unit. Warriors are the soldiers who serve the Movement (MA): The number of inches the unit may Legion of Set and Circle of Iron. Bossonian move each turn. Troops can move further if they charge Archers and Gunderland Pikemen are or run (see page 8). examples of those who serve King Conan, while Stygian Skirmishers and shambling Melee Attack (MA): The warrior’s prowess in hand to Ancestor Guard answer Thoth-Amon’s call. hand combat. Each miniature in a unit adds this many dice to an attack roll (see page 9). A Warrior unit typically consists of three to five models. Ranged Attack (RA): The miniature’s ability to strike at distant foes. Like MA, each miniature in the unit Monsters are Hyborian beasts pressed into adds this many dice to an attack roll. Units without a service or trained for war by the Circle of ranged attack have an Ra of “—”. Iron, such as Oliphants and War Rhinos. Range (RN): The range in inches of the unit’s ranged Thoth-Amon’s horrors are typically attack. Units without a ranged attack have an RNof conjured by foul sorcery, such as the Scion of “—”. Set or the Devil from the Outer Dark! Defense (DEF): The ability to resist damage. SampleThe unit Monsters file are often one large model, but may also (not each miniature in this case!) adds this many dice serve in groups. to a defense roll (see page 9). Defense is a measure of inherent toughness, armor, willpower, and resilience. Wounds (W): The amount of damage each model in the unit can suffer before it is removed. Special Abilities: The tactics and skills possessed by the models in the unit. Some abilities ignore or bend the normal rules Count: The number of models in the unit of play. Type: The type of unit: Hero, Monster, or Warrior. Destiny Value: How many Destiny: The Destiny tokens a player may number of Destiny spend on one of the unit’s die tokens that may be rolls (see page 12). This is not spent on this unit’s die rolls. how many Destiny tokens it contributes to its side—unless a Unit Card says otherwise, all Cost: The price to units contribute a single point of field the unit Destiny to its player’s pool. 5 Once at least four terrain pieces have been placed, each Setup player may continue to place terrain until his opponent passes. Then he may place one more piece if he wishes. Follow these steps before beginning your bloody contest of brawn and spellcraft: See page 14 for more on Terrain and its effects. Choose A Scenario Purchase Troops Each game begins by selecting a scenario from those Conan: Rise of Monsters comes with 17 points worth listed on page 13. These tell the players what troops of troops for the Circle of Iron, and the same for the they may recruit, the victory conditions, and any other Legion of Set. You can purchase additional troops by special considerations for the bloody battle to come. unit, or combine the core troops with those from the Warlord Expansion to create much larger armies. Both players should agree on the scenario to be played, or roll five sigil dice each. Whoever rolls the most Before beginning, players should agree on their armies’ Swords gets to decide. See page 13 for basic scenarios. point values. They may then purchase the troops they want for the coming fight after choosing the scenario Place Terrain and placing terrain. Use a 4x4 table for forces of 20 points or less (see below), and a 6x4 for larger armies. Construct Fate Decks Each player’s Fate Deck must consist of at least 12 Fate Assign one side of the table to the Legion of Set and Cards and may not contain any duplicates. There is no the other to the Circle of Iron. Starting with the Legion maximum size to your Fate Deck. See page 12 for more. of Set, each player picks a piece of terrain (either those included with the game, Reaper Miniature’s official Deploy Forces Conan: Rise of Monsters resin terrain, or your own), and Once the battlefield is set, the Circle of Iron places any places it anywhere on the board at least 8” away from one of its units within 6” of his board edge. Then the any table edge and any other piece of terrain. Legion of Set does the same. Placement alternates until all units have been placed, then the game begins.

Sample file A typical setup on a 6x4 table. The players have placed a Boulder Field, a Tree of Woe, a Grove, and a Barrow Mound.

6 Turns Step Four: End the Turn Once a scenario has been determined and set up Once all units have been activated and their movement (including the terrain and deployment of forces), play and actions resolved, check for any events that happen proceeds in “turns.” at the end of the turn such as special scenario rules and A turn is divided into four steps. Each step is resolved victory. in order, finishing one completely before the next step begins. Victory Each scenario has its own objective, which can include Step One: claiming important terrain, slaughtering foes, or Fate& Destiny summoning dark monstrosities from the abyss. If this is the first turn of the game, both players draw a If one player has achieved her goals and the other has hand of three Fate Cards from their chosen Fate Deck. not, she has emerged victorious, covered in the blood and shame of her foe. If both players achieve their On the second turn and every turn thereafter, each ambitions simultaneously, or fail to do so by game’s player draws one Fate Card during this step. end, the battle is a draw. Next, each player refreshes their Destiny pool—one token for each unit the player had at the beginning of The Last Turn the game. The Destiny pool does not decline as units Unless the scenario says otherwise, a game of Conan: are destroyed! Those desperate fighters remaining at Rise of Monsters ends after the sixth turn. the end of the fray may spend more freely than those companions who have already fallen or run from the field like the dogs they are. Step Two: “I am Akivasha! I am the Vie for Initiative woman who never died, who never grew old!” Each player now rolls a number of sigil dice equal to his Destiny (re-rolling ties). The player with the most Sword results has the initiative, and may decide which side activates first. Sample file Step Three: Activate Forces Each player takes turns activating a unit and resolving its Movement and Actions. “Ten thousand years ago I died Once a unit has activated, mark its unit card with to live for ever! Give me your lips, an Activation token. No unit may be activated strong man!” more than once in a turn except by Fate Card or Special Ability (such as Thoth-Amon’s Sands of — The Hour of the Dragon Time). Each unit may move and then perform an action during its activation. All movement must be completed before any actions. Measuring Distances: Players may measure anytime they wish in Conan: Rise of Monsters. Always measure movement and attack ranges from figures’ bases rather than the figure itself.

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