Core Rule Book

2. Players, Components and Setup

Players and Dice

• Players: 2 to 5.
• Dice used: D6 and D12 for combat and card effects.
• Use a D30 or tracking app to record Wizard Life Points. In two-player games, D20 dice or another suitable counter may be used.

Choosing the Starting Player

Each player rolls a D12. The player with the highest roll begins the game. Reroll ties as needed.

Game Components

• One shared Main Deck of Spell cards.
• One shared discard pile.
• 9 faction-coloured hex tiles per player.
• 1 white Dungeon tile per player.
• 1 gold Grotto tile placed at the centre of the battlefield.
• 9 Faction Banners per player, used to mark conquered tiles.
• Gold effect pieces or tokens for Relics and other ongoing effects.
• Warrior pieces for Standard Warriors, Elite Warriors and each Wizard.

Main Deck and Discard Pile

• All Spell cards are shuffled together into one shared Main Deck in the centre of the table.
• All players draw from the shared Main Deck.
• All Spells that have finished resolving are placed into one shared discard pile. Players do not have separate discard piles.
• Cards that are still resolving on the Spell Chain, or that remain on the board as Relics or ongoing effects, are not placed into the discard pile until their effect ends or they are removed from play.
• If a player needs to draw and the Main Deck is empty, shuffle the entire discard pile to form a new Main Deck. If both the Main Deck and discard pile are empty, no more cards can be drawn until an effect adds cards.

Board Setup

1. Place the gold Grotto tile in the centre of the play area.

2. Players take turns placing their faction tiles, including their white Dungeon tile, one tile at a time around the Grotto.

3. Each tile placed must have at least one connecting side touching a tile that has already been placed.

4. Once a tile has been placed, it cannot be moved or changed unless a card or agreed scenario rule says otherwise.

3. Wizards and Factions

Faction Selection

Each player chooses one faction. Your faction determines your tile colour and Warrior pieces.

You may play any Wizard with any faction. Your choice of Wizard and your choice of faction do not have to match.

About the Wizard

Each player assumes the role of a Wizard, the supreme commander of their faction. Every Wizard has a unique Special Ability that reflects their heritage and battle mastery. Unless stated otherwise, a Wizard’s Special Ability may be used once per turn.

Additional Wizards may appear in Realms of Thaloria expansion boosters and future releases.

4. Starting Forces and Deployment

Starting Hand

• Each player begins the game with 5 cards drawn from the Main Deck.
• Players may hold a maximum of 10 cards in hand.
• If a draw would cause a player to exceed the hand limit, that player must immediately discard or play cards until they have 10 cards in hand.

Starting Forces

• 18 Standard Warriors. Standard Warriors roll a D6 in combat.
• 5 Elite Warriors. Elite Warriors roll a D12 in combat.
• 1 Wizard at full Life Points.

Wizard Life Points

• Two-player game: each Wizard starts with 40 Life Points.
• Multiplayer game, 3 to 5 players: each Wizard starts with 30 Life Points.
• Use dice, counters or a tracking app to record each Wizard’s Life Points.

Deployment at Start

5. Players take turns placing Warriors on tiles that match their faction colour. Each placement may place one group of Warriors on a tile of that player’s choice.

6. Warriors are deployed from the player’s Wizard’s Reserve. Any Warriors not placed on the battlefield remain in reserve to defend the Wizard or enter play later.

7. Each Warrior has a Power Point value: Standard Warrior = 1 Power Point; Elite Warrior = 2 Power Points.

8. A single tile may contain up to 5 total Power Points worth of Warriors per faction, unless another rule or card changes this limit.

9. No more than 3 Warriors from the same faction may occupy one tile at any time, excluding the Grotto and Dungeon tiles unless a card says otherwise.

10. No Warriors may be placed on the Grotto or Dungeon tiles during setup.

11. Each player places their Wizard in front of them at full health at the start of the game.

5. Turn Structure

Each player’s turn follows these steps in order:

12. Draw Step

13. Deployment Step

14. Advance Step

15. Attack and Defence Step

16. Consolidation Step

Disputed Tiles Before the Draw Step

If a tile contains Warriors from two factions at the start of a player’s turn, that tile is disputed. Before the Draw Step begins, combat on disputed tiles must be resolved. Disputed-tile combat takes priority over the normal turn sequence until ownership of the tile is determined.

Draw Step

• Draw cards as required by the rules or card effects.
• Action and Deferred cards may be played during your Draw Step.
• Resolve any effects that trigger at the start of the Draw Step before the active player draws, unless the card says otherwise.

Deployment Step

During the Deployment Step, deploy Warriors from your Wizard’s Reserve onto faction-coloured tiles you control. Reinforcements gained through Spells may enter play during this step or during the Consolidation Step unless a card states otherwise.

• You may deploy Warriors to any tile matching your faction colour, provided tile capacity and control rules are not exceeded.
• A tile may contain a maximum of 3 Warriors from the same faction unless a rule or card changes this limit.
• A tile may contain a maximum of 2 factions at one time.
• Warriors cannot be deployed to the Grotto, Dungeon tiles, or conquered tiles that display another faction’s banner.
• Deployment may occur across multiple legal tiles during this step.

Advance Step

During the Advance Step, move your forces across the battlefield. You may move up to 3 Warriors, in any mix of Standard and Elite Warriors, to adjacent legal tiles.

• Each Warrior may move only 1 tile per turn unless affected by a Spell, Wizard ability or special rule.
• All Warriors must complete their Advance Step movement before any Attack and Defence Steps occur.
• Dungeons cannot be entered through normal movement unless a card effect specifically allows it.
• The Grotto is neutral ground. Warriors may move through it, but combat is not permitted there.

Attack and Defence Step

When your Warriors enter an enemy-occupied tile, combat begins. Resolve combat before continuing normal movement or later steps.

Consolidation Step

At the end of your turn, you may redistribute forces, deploy reinforcements and resolve ongoing effects.

• Redistribute forces by moving Warriors between faction tiles and conquered tiles you control, following all tile capacity and control rules.
• You may move up to 3 Warriors per tile when redistributing forces.
• Warriors cannot move onto conquered tiles bearing another faction’s banner or onto a tile that is still disputed.
• Additional Warriors from your Wizard’s Reserve may be deployed if allowed by the reinforcement rules.
• Resolve ongoing effects, special movements and triggers caused by Spells, Relics, Rituals, Traps or other card effects.

All effects and actions should be resolved before the next player’s Draw Step begins.

6. Movement and Combat

Warrior Strength

• Standard Warrior: rolls a D6 in combat.
• Elite Warrior: rolls a D12 in combat.

Combat Rules

• The attacker rolls for up to 3 attacking Warriors. Standard Warriors roll D6; Elite Warriors roll D12.
• The defender rolls for up to 2 defending Warriors. Standard Warriors roll D6; Elite Warriors roll D12.
• Compare the highest rolls. The higher result wins.
• Ties are rerolled until there is a clear winner.
• Defeated Warriors are immediately removed from the battlefield.

Retreat

The attacker may retreat at any time to an adjacent friendly or empty tile, including the Grotto if it is adjacent and legal to enter. If all enemy Warriors on a tile are defeated, proceed to the Attacking the Wizard rules if applicable.

Disputed Tile Resolution

If a tile contains Warriors from two factions at the start of a player’s turn, it becomes a disputed tile. Before any other action, including the Draw Step, all combat on disputed tiles must be resolved.

• The factions on that tile take turns performing Attack and Defence Steps until only one faction remains or a faction retreats.
• Once resolved, the surviving faction controls the tile and may place a Faction Banner if conquest rules require it.
• If a banner is placed outside an Attack and Defence Step, the Attacking the Wizard step does not occur.

7. Dungeons, The Grotto and Special Zones

Dungeon Tiles

• Dungeons are white tiles.
• No combat occurs in Dungeons unless a card effect specifically creates a Dungeon combat or survival roll.
• Warriors may only enter or leave Dungeons through card effects or special rules.
• Warriors moved into a Dungeon by a card effect remain there for 2 Draw Steps unless the card says otherwise.
• Use a D6, token or counter to track how long Warriors must remain in a Dungeon.
• Spell effects and special characters may move through or interact with Dungeons only as stated by their card text.

The Grotto

• The Grotto is the gold tile placed at the centre of the battlefield.
• The Grotto is a neutral zone.
• Combat is not permitted in the Grotto.
• Warriors may move through the Grotto freely, subject to normal movement and card effects.

Tile Capacity and Occupancy

• A single tile may contain up to 5 Power Points worth of Warriors per faction unless a card or special rule changes this limit.
• Standard Warrior = 1 Power Point. Elite Warrior = 2 Power Points.
• A maximum of 2 factions may occupy the same tile at one time.
• Tile capacity still applies when Warriors are moved or summoned by card effects unless the card says otherwise.

8. Reinforcements, Spells and Card Types

Reinforcements

All reinforcements gained through Spells enter play via the Wizard’s Reserve unless the card says otherwise. Reinforcements may only be deployed during your Deployment Step or Consolidation Step unless a card specifically allows a different timing.

Playing Cards

• Players may play as many cards as they wish during their turn, provided each card’s conditions are met.
• Action and Deferred cards must be played during the Draw Step of the player’s turn.
• Reaction cards may be played at any time their condition is met, including during an opponent’s turn.

Spell Play Rules

• Action and Deferred Spells must be played during your Draw Step.
• Reaction Spells may be played during any player’s turn, when their condition is met.
• Reinforcements gained through Spells may only be deployed during your Deployment or Consolidation Step unless stated otherwise on the card.
• You may play any number of cards during your turn, provided their conditions are met.
• Some Spells also have a Card Type, such as Relic, Charm, Curse, Ritual or Trap. The Spell Type tells you when the card can be played. The Card Type tells you how the card behaves after it is played.

Spell Types

Card Types

If a card has both a Spell Type and a Card Type, read them together. For example, an Action Charm is played during your Draw Step and then remains active as a Charm. A Reaction Trap is played during any player’s turn when its trigger condition is met, then resolves as a Trap. A Deferred Relic is played during your Draw Step and remains in play until its delayed effect resolves or the card removes it.

9. Deck Construction and Expansions

Main Deck Structure

• The game uses one shared Main Deck of 100 Spell cards.
• The Main Deck follows the Singleton Rule: each card in the Main Deck must be unique, with no duplicates, unless an expansion or variant rule specifically allows extra copies.
• The Main Deck may include Spells from any Realms of Thaloria expansion.

Building the Main Deck

• Before starting a game or campaign, the group builds a 100-card Main Deck.
• Players may agree on a theme or card mix, such as more combat, more Relics, more chaos or a balanced deck.
• Once the Main Deck is set, it is placed in the middle of the table and all players draw from it for the entire game.

Using Expansions

Cards from Realms of Thaloria expansion boosters and future sets may be added to the Main Deck, provided the 100-card deck size and Singleton Rule are respected. Expansion cards are designed to integrate smoothly with the core set, introducing new mechanics, Spells, creatures and Relics while remaining compatible with the existing rules and rarity system.

Set Identification and Rarity

• Each card has a Set Code printed in the lower-left corner, such as ROT for Realms of Thaloria.
• Rarity reflects power level, availability and strategic impact within the game.

10. Conquering Tiles, Banners and Wizard Attacks

Conquering a Tile

When you defeat all enemy Warriors on a tile and take control of it, that tile is considered conquered.

Placing a Banner

• Immediately place one of your Faction Banners on the conquered tile to mark ownership.
• Banners remain unless removed by a Spell, special effect, or because the tile is conquered or re-conquered by another faction.

Conquered Tile Rules

• Warriors from any faction may move onto a conquered tile if movement is otherwise legal.
• If the tile bears an enemy banner and has no defending Warriors, the entering faction conquers or re-conquers the tile immediately.
• If the original owner re-conquers their own tile, remove the enemy banner. The tile colour already shows its original control, so the original owner does not place a new banner.
• If the tile contains defending Warriors, combat occurs as normal.
• When control changes, the banner changes or is removed as appropriate.
• Wizard combat only occurs when a faction first defeats all enemy Warriors on a tile that was defended during the Attack and Defence Step. No Wizard Attack occurs when reclaiming or capturing already bannered territory without defeating defenders.

Attacking the Wizard

After conquering an enemy tile during your Attack and Defence Step, you may attack the enemy Wizard.

• The defending Wizard may be protected by up to 2 Warriors from their Wizard’s Reserve.
• Standard dice rules apply: Standard Warriors roll D6; Elite Warriors roll D12.
• If there are more attackers than defenders, excess attack rolls directly reduce the Wizard’s Life Points.
• When a Wizard reaches 0 Life Points, they are eliminated from the game.

Wizard Defeat Consequences

When a Wizard is reduced to 0 Life Points, that Wizard is eliminated from the game. The fall of a Wizard has lasting effects across the battlefield.

• Army Disbands: all Warriors belonging to the defeated Wizard’s faction are immediately removed from the game.
• Tiles of the defeated faction become neutral. Remove all of that Wizard’s faction banners from any tiles they controlled. These tiles may later be conquered or claimed by any remaining faction as normal.
• Tiles originally belonging to other factions but controlled by the defeated Wizard return to their original owner’s control. Remove the defeated Wizard’s banners from those tiles.
• Any active Spells, Relics, Charms, Curses, Rituals, Traps or creatures controlled by the defeated Wizard are dispelled unless they are active on the game board and their card or scenario rules say they remain.

11. Victory and Defeat

The game ends immediately when a Victory Condition or Defeat Condition is met.

Victory Conditions

• Last Wizard Standing: you are the only Wizard remaining in the Realm. All opposing Wizards have been defeated or eliminated.
• Territorial Victory: you control 9 enemy conquered tiles, each marked with your Faction Banner. Control is established when your banners remain uncontested at the end of your turn.

Defeat Conditions

• Wizard Defeated: your Wizard’s Life Points are reduced to 0 through combat or Spell effects. Your faction is removed from the game and all of your Warriors are removed from play.
• Total Territorial Loss: all tiles matching your faction colour are under enemy control and display enemy banners. You are eliminated unless you can immediately play a Spell that alters tile control or prevents elimination.
• No Remaining Warriors or Reserves: you have no Warriors on the board and no reinforcements left in your Wizard’s Reserve. If your Wizard cannot reclaim territory or summon aid before your next turn, you are eliminated before your next Draw Step.

Final Elimination Rules

• Once a player is eliminated, all remaining cards in their hand are placed into the shared discard pile.
• The eliminated player’s Faction Banners are removed, allowing other factions to conquer those tiles as normal.
• If two or more players achieve a victory condition simultaneously, the player with the highest remaining Life Points is declared the winner.
• If there is still a tie, the player who controls the most total tiles, including conquered tiles, wins.
• If the tie persists after both checks, the Realm falls into chaos and the match is declared a draw.

Appendix A. Advanced Rules and Clarifications

This appendix collects advanced timing rules and edge-case interactions. If anything in this appendix directly contradicts the Core Rules, the Core Rules take priority.

A1. The Spell Chain and Reactions

A1.1 The Spell Chain

• When a player plays a Spell, it is placed onto the Spell Chain.
• Players may respond by playing Reaction Spells. Each Reaction is added on top of the Chain.
• When all players pass in order, the top Spell on the Chain resolves.
• After that Spell resolves or is cancelled, players may again add Reactions before the next Spell on the Chain resolves.

A1.2 “When a Spell is cast”

• “When a Spell is cast” means when it is placed on the Spell Chain, before it resolves.
• These triggers happen immediately after the Spell is placed on the Chain.

A1.3 Cancelled Spells

• If a Spell on the Chain is cancelled, it does not resolve and has no effect.
• Any costs paid to cast it remain paid, such as cards discarded or Life Points lost.
• Triggers that cared about the Spell being cast have already triggered and are not undone.

A1.4 Priority

• The active player, whose turn it is, gets the first chance to add a Reaction to the Chain. Priority then passes clockwise.
• On their priority, each player may either play one legal Reaction Spell or pass.
• When all players pass in a row, the top Spell on the Chain resolves.

A1.5 Copying Spells

• A Spell that copies another Spell creates a new Spell on the Chain with the same rules text as the original.
• The copying player chooses new legal targets for the copy, if any.
• The copy is independent of the original Spell. Cancelling one does not affect the other.

A1.6 Cards in Play and the Discard Pile

• When you play a Spell, it goes onto the Spell Chain. After it fully resolves, it is placed into the shared discard pile unless it says it remains in play or is removed from the game.
• Deferred Spells go to the discard pile only after their delayed effect has triggered and resolved.
• Relics and other ongoing effects remain on the board until a rule, Spell or card effect removes them. At that point they are either placed into the discard pile or removed from the game, as stated on the card.

A2. Summoning and Summoning Restrictions

A2.1 What Counts as Summoning

• A Warrior is summoned when it enters the battlefield or a Wizard’s Reserve from a Spell or ability.
• If a Spell is cancelled, its Warriors were not summoned.
• Moving Warriors already in play is not summoning.

A2.2 Effects that Say “Cannot Summon Warriors”

• If a player cannot summon Warriors, any effect that would summon Warriors for that player simply does nothing for them.
• Other parts of the card still resolve if possible, such as Life gain or card draw.

A2.3 Multiple Start-of-Turn Effects

• If several Deferred effects or Relics trigger at the start of a turn or Draw Step, the active player chooses the order in which their own triggers resolve, then other players do the same in turn order.
• Restrictions such as “you cannot summon Warriors” apply to later effects in that same timing window.

Example: If Summoning Lock resolves before Eternal Legion, Eternal Legion’s summon does nothing. If Eternal Legion resolves first, you get the Warriors, then Summoning Lock stops later summons that turn.

A2.4 Tile Capacity

• When multiple effects would summon or move Warriors onto a tile and that tile would exceed its Power limit, the tile’s owner chooses which Warriors successfully enter until the limit is reached.
• Any remaining Warriors stay where they were or are not summoned, as appropriate to the effect.

A3. Draw Steps, Skipped Draws and Ending the Turn

A3.1 Skipping a Draw Step

• If an effect says “skip your next Draw Step”, the next time that player would take a Draw Step, they do not draw cards. All other steps of the turn occur normally.
• If multiple effects say “skip your next Draw Step”, that player skips one Draw Step for each such effect, one at a time.

A3.2 Effects that Trigger at the Draw Step

• If an effect says “at the start of each Draw Step”, it only triggers on Draw Steps that actually happen.
• If a Draw Step is skipped, “at the start of the Draw Step” triggers tied to that Draw Step do not occur.

A3.3 Ending the Turn Early

• If a card ends the current player’s turn immediately, treat this as though the player reached the end of turn.
• End-of-turn effects trigger as normal.
• Unresolved Spells on the Chain are removed with no effect.
• Deferred effects that say “at the start of your next turn” are not affected. They wait until that player’s next full turn.

A4. Movement, Forced Movement and Impassable Tiles

A4.1 “Must Move” Effects

• If an effect says a Warrior must move, read this as “must move if able”.
• If there is no legal destination because of impassable tiles, tile Power limits or special rules such as Dungeons, that Warrior stays where it is.

A4.2 Impassable Tiles

• A tile that is impassable cannot be entered or passed through by movement.
• Warriors already on an impassable tile may remain there and act normally unless the card that made it impassable says otherwise.

A4.3 Dungeons and Special Zones

• Normal movement rules do not allow Warriors to move into or out of Dungeons unless a card effect specifically says so.
• Effects that try to move Warriors out of a Dungeon but are not allowed simply fail for those Warriors. They stay in the Dungeon.

A5. Life Points, Death and Replacement Effects

A5.1 Being Reduced to 0 Life Points

17. First apply any replacement effects that say something happens instead, such as setting Life Points to a specific number.

18. If more than one replacement effect could apply, the Wizard’s owner chooses one to use.

19. After that effect resolves, check again. If the Wizard still has 0 or fewer Life Points, they are eliminated.

A5.2 Simultaneous Elimination

• If multiple Wizards are eliminated at the same time, they all leave the game together.
• After removing them, if only one faction remains, that faction wins.
• If more than one faction remains, use the normal tie-break rules in the Victory and Defeat section.

A6. Wizards, Wizard Kings and Wizard Tokens

Some cards may use different terms, including Wizard King, Wizard Queen, Wizard, Warrior and Wizard token.

• Your Wizard King or Wizard Queen is your leader. They count as a Wizard and a Warrior for effects that refer to those types.
• Your leader is also uniquely your Wizard King or Wizard Queen for cards that use that exact wording.
• A Wizard token is a Warrior with the Wizard subtype, not a Wizard King or Wizard Queen.
• A Wizard token can be targeted by cards that affect Wizards or Warriors, but it is never treated as your leader and cannot be eliminated in your place.
• Unless a card specifically says Wizard King or Wizard Queen, the word Wizard may refer to any Wizard-type Warrior or your leader, as appropriate to the effect.

A7. Limited-Use Relics and Once-per-Turn Effects

A7.1 Once per Turn

• If a Relic or ability says “once per turn”, it can be used at most once during each player’s turn.
• The count resets at the start of every player’s turn.

A7.2 Once per Game

• If a Relic or effect says “once per game”, it may only be used once for the entire game.
• “Once per game per opponent” means you may use the effect once against each opponent during the game. Track which opponents have already been affected.

A7.3 Tracking Uses

• The controller of a Relic or ability is responsible for tracking its usage.
• Use counters, tokens, dice, rotated cards or any other clear marker your group prefers.
• If you control multiple copies of the same Relic, each copy tracks its own uses separately.

A8. Simultaneous Effects, Order and Active Player Choice

20. Identify all effects that trigger at that moment.

21. The active player chooses the order in which their own triggers resolve.

22. Then, in turn order, each other player chooses the order for their own triggers.

If an effect depends on another effect, such as a restriction that stops summoning, the chosen order determines which effect applies first.

A9. Rituals and Traps

A9.1 Rituals

• Rituals create temporary positive effects on a tile or space.
• When a Ritual is played, place it on the chosen tile or space stated by the card.
• The Ritual remains there until its duration ends or another effect removes it.

A9.2 Traps

• Traps create temporary negative effects, usually triggered as Reactions.
• A Trap may affect a Warrior, a tile or a group of Warriors, as stated on the card.
• A Reaction Trap may be played during any player’s turn when its trigger condition is met.

A9.3 Multiple Rituals and Traps

• A tile may have more than one Ritual or Trap affecting it unless a card says otherwise.
• If multiple Rituals or Traps trigger at the same time, resolve them using the normal simultaneous effects rules.

A9.4 Duration

• When a Ritual or Trap reaches the end of its stated duration, place it into the shared discard pile unless the card says to remove it from the game.

A Final Note

Heroes and Spells is designed for tactical play, dramatic turns and evolving card interactions. During play testing, use the card text first, the Core Rules second and this Appendix for edge cases. If a situation is still unclear, make the fairest ruling for the current game, record the issue and update the next playtest draft.