HORDES OF THE THINGS:
Cheat Sheet

Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu)
Reading some complaints about the writing in HOTT, I am quick to agree - it stinks. However, once you figure it out, make a cheat sheet - that is, a single piece of paper with all the vital info on it for each player to refer to during the game. It makes the game playable. Here's mine. Note that some of these things may actually be house rules - apologies to the Web at large for foisting them off on you as legitimate. I no longer remember which are Barker's rules, which are mine, and which are simply my best guess at what his convoluted rules-writing means. I'd be curious if anyone can find any grossly wrong interpretations in this!

Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu)

Reading some complaints about the writing in HOTT, I am quick to agree - it stinks. However, once you figure it out, make a cheat sheet - that is, a single piece of paper with all the vital info on it for each player to refer to during the game. It makes the game playable.

Here's mine. Note that some of these things may actually be house rules - apologies to the Web at large for foisting them off on you as legitimate. I no longer remember which are Barker's rules, which are mine, and which are simply my best guess at what his convoluted rules-writing means. I'd be curious if anyone can find any grossly wrong interpretations in this!

An army consists of 24 Army Points (AP). At least 12 AP must be AP-1 or AP-2 elements.
Any one element can be designated the General, except a Beast, Dragon, God, Lurker, Paladin, or Sneaker.

Sequence

Roll for PIP
Activate off-board elements, Desorcell, Movement
Long-range Combat
Close Combat

Element	Movement (in Paces)				AP Value
Element	Road	Good	Bad	Water	AP Value
Airboat	500	500	500	500	3
Artillery	300	200	0	0	3
Beast	400	400	400	100	2
Behemoth	400	300	200	100	4
Blade	400	200	200	100	2
Cleric	400	200	200	100	3
Dragon	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200	4
Flyer	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200	2
God	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200	4
Hero	500	500	200	100	4
Hero (Aerial)	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200	6
Horde	400	200	200	100	1
Knight	400	300	200	100	2
Lurker	0	0	300	0	1
Lurker (in water)	0	0	0	300	1
Magician	500	500	200	100	4
Paladin	500	500	200	100	4
Rider	500	500	200	100	2
Shooter	400	300	300	100	2
Sneaker	400	300	300	100	3
Spear	400	200	200	100	2
Stronghold	0	0	0	0	-
Warband	400	200	200	100	2

Explanations
Good	Off-Road Good Going (Plain, Gentle Slope)
Bad	Off-Road Bad Going (Rough Terrain, Woods, Town)
Road	Includes fords and bridges
AP	Army Points

Element	Combat Type	vs Stronghold or Foot	vs Mounted or Aerial	If Combat Loss
Airboat	Aerial	+5	+3	Recoil
Airboat	Aerial	+5	+3	vs Magician	Flee 600 Paces
Artillery	Foot	+4	+3	Recoil
Artillery	Foot	+4	+3	if in contact	Destroyed
Beast	Mounted	+3	+4	Recoil
Beast	Mounted	+3	+4	vs Mounted	Destroyed
Behemoth	Mounted	+4	+5	vs Behemoth	Recoil
				vs God	Recoil
				vs Artillery	Flee 600 Paces
				vs Dragon
				vs Magician
Blade	Foot	+5	+3	Recoil
Blade	Foot	+5	+3	vs Warband	Destroyed
Cleric	Foot	+4	+4	Recoil
				vs Knights	Destroyed
				vs Warband	Destroyed
Dragon	Aerial	+6	+6	vs Hero	Destroyed
				vs Paladin	Destroyed
				vs Behemoth	Flee from Battlefield
				vs Dragon
				vs God
Flyer	Aerial	+2	+2	Recoil
Flyer	Aerial	+2	+2	vs Magician	Flee 600 Paces
God	Aerial	+6	+6	vs Cleric	Flee from Battlefield
				vs God
				vs Magician
Hero	Mounted or Aerial	+5	+5	Recoil
				vs Magician	Ensorcelled
				vs Artillery	Destroyed
				vs Hero
				vs Paladin
				vs Stronghold	Flee 600 Paces
Horde	Foot	+2	+2	Recoil
				vs Knight	Destroyed
				vs Warband	Destroyed
Knight	Mounted	+3	+4	Recoil
				In Bad Going	Destroyed
				vs Behemoth	Destroyed
				vs Artillery	Destroyed (only if Knights are aggressors this turn)
				vs Magician
				vs Shooter
Lurker (all)	Foot	+2	+2	Flee from Battlefield
Magician	Foot	+4	+4	Recoil
				vs Magician	Ensorcelled
				vs Dragon	Destroyed
				vs God
				vs Hero
				vs Paladin
Paladin	Mounted	+6	+6	Recoil
Paladin	Mounted	+6	+6	if in contact	Destroyed
Rider	Mounted	+3	+3	Recoil
Rider	Mounted	+3	+3	In Bad Going	Destroyed
Shooter	Foot	+3	+4	Recoil
Shooter	Foot	+3	+4	vs Mounted	Destroyed
Sneaker	Foot	+5	+3	Flee 600 Paces
Spear	Foot	+4	+4	Recoil
				vs Knight	Destroyed
				vs Warband	Destroyed
Stronghold	Stronghold	+6	+6	Captured
Stronghold	Stronghold	+6	+6	vs Aerial	No Effect
Warband	Foot	+3	+3	Recoil
				vs Behemoth	Destroyed
				vs Knight	Destroyed

Knights can Destroy their enemies only if in Good Going; otherwise, loser suffers a Recoil.

Ranges
Shooters	200 Paces
Magicians	600 Paces
Artillery	500 Paces (during enemy turn)

Tactical Combat Factors	If your element is:
+2	Bespelled across water (shortest distance)
+2	Bespelled or Shot at while in Wood or Town
+2	Fighting a Magician who is within 600P of any Cleric or Paladin
+1	A General, or General is contacting the rear of your element
+1	Uphill of the enemy
+1	Defending a River Bank (except at ford or bridge, or vs Aerial)
-1	For each flank overlapped by enemy
-1	For each enemy in contact with your flank or rear
-2	In Bad Going (except Shooters, Warband, Lurkers, Beasts)
-2	Fighting a Water Lurker
-2	Bespelling a Magician within 600 P of his own Stronghold
-2	Mounted or Aerial, and if foe is in Bad Going
-1	For each additional element shooting at your element, attacking your stronghold, or bespelling your element

Player Initiative Points (PIP) Expenditure
2 PIP	to move a Group contaning an Aerial Element or Magician Element. (Aerials can group only with Aerials.)
2 PIP	to move a Group containing both Elves and Dwarves.
1 PIP	to move any other Element or Group.
+1 PIP	to move any Element or Group not within 600 P of General (1,200 P if in line of sight.)
6 PIP	to activate a Dragon or God (God disappears next roll of 1 PIP).
1 PIP	to activate each Lurker. (2 PIP second time for the same Lurker, 3 PIP 3rd & Final Time).
2 PIP	to attempt to bespell an Element.
1 PIP	to activate a Horde.
6 PIP	to Desorcell a Hero or Magician.
1 PIP	gives a bonus of 100 P Road Movement to a Group containing a General. May be repeated.

Miscellaneous

A single element can turn freely while moving. A Group must all move the same, and can turn no more than 90 degrees.
To fight, a unit must move far enough to align its base squarely with an enemy's. An element hit in the flank or rear turns to face the attacker unless already engaged. You cannot move within one base of an enemy except to attack.
Aerials can be fought if their front is contacted from the prev. turn, or by Arty, Hero, Mage, Paladin, Shooter, Aerial.
Sneakers can only hurt other Sneakers, a General, or a Stronghold. They can pass through other troops of both armies.
Knights, Warbands, Behemoths and Beasts must advance after defeating an enemy unless they are in contact or overlapping.
Spears add +1 to other Spears directly in front, if neither is in Bad Going and the ones in the rear not under attack.
Shooters shooting at other Shooters can be shot back at.
Magicians bespelling Gods or other Magicians can be affected if they lose the combat.
The 2nd time a Magician rolls a "1" for a spell, he is self-Ensorcelled as a Toad!

Last Updates
25 August 1998	updated
19 June 1996	reorganized
19 April 1996	reformatted
7 April 1995	first published
Based (with permission) on Cheat Sheet designed by Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu)
Comments or corrections?

HORDES OF THE THINGS: Cheat Sheet

Sequence

Miscellaneous

HORDES OF THE THINGS:
Cheat Sheet