Incantation 2 Rules of Play

Version 4.0

Rules © 2002 by Rackham

Translation © 2021 by Michael Tisdel

VERSION 4.0

Table of Contents
1 Crime and Punishment 5

2 Magic Cards 7

3 Characteristics of Magic 7
3.1 Mana.................................................................................................................... 7
3.2 Colleges of Magic.............................................................................................. 7
3.3 Difficulty............................................................................................................... 7
3.4 Range.................................................................................................................. 8
3.5 Area of effect ...................................................................................................... 8
3.6 Duration............................................................................................................... 8
3.7 Frequency........................................................................................................... 8
3.8 Description.......................................................................................................... 8
3.9 Special................................................................................................................. 8
3.10 Power .................................................................................................................. 8
3.11 Points of Armies (P.A.) ..................................................................................... 8

4 Elements 8
4.1 Primary Elements .............................................................................................. 9
4.2 Principle Elements............................................................................................. 9
4.3 Elemental Opposition........................................................................................ 9
4.4 Elemental Gems ................................................................................................ 9
4.5 Elements............................................................................................................. 9
4.6 Opposition........................................................................................................... 9
4.7 Gems and Casting ............................................................................................ 9
4.8 Neutrality...........................................................................................................10

5 Magic and Magicians 10

5.1 Personalities.....................................................................................................10
5.2 Warrior-Mage ...................................................................................................10
5.3 Power Characteristic.......................................................................................10
5.4 Levels of Magic................................................................................................10
5.5 Colleges of Magic............................................................................................10

6 Laws of Magic 14

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7 Translator’s Notes 23
7.1 Copyrights.........................................................................................................23
7.2 Translation Notes ............................................................................................23
7.3 Anachronistic Rules ........................................................................................23
7.4 Acknowledgements.........................................................................................23

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List of Tables
Table 5 Revision Histories ..................................................................................................23

Table 4 Incantation 2 Mana Recovery Table...................................................................25

RULES © 20002BY RACKHAM 4 TRANSLATION © 20002BY MICHAEL TISDEL

 Incantation
1 Crime and Punishment Cranium. The perfidious ambush in this
deserted village had been bloody, but the
warriors of Alahan had fought valiantly.
With Alahel the Messenger, Adventurer of They had been able to set out again but
Alahan and herald of king Gorgyn, are on good number of them were wounded.
the way towards the free city of Cadwallon Méliador decided to intervene. It spanned
to fulfill a mysterious mission there. But the window of its laboratory, follow-up of
the road towards the antique quoted of the its two Familiar. Supported by a powerful
Elves is full with dangers: Alahel met breath, it could from now on evolve/move
Tharn, a Champion of Darkness, and its in the airs. The trio flew away towards the
troop underwent heavy losses. Making horizon.
pass his mission before his pride, the
Messenger of the Light chose the escape. ...
... The place of the village was as empty as
Alahel had found it before, but Méliador
Yllia culminated at its point highest. knew now that it was only one lure. It felt
However, in the heart of the night, a pure the presence of very close Darkness: its
light betrayed the effervescence that two Familiar flew to a few meters to the
reigned at the top of the tower of Méliador. top of the ground, seeking the enemy of
At the interior, a small winged being held a the glance. The forest was plunged in the
broad filled up water basin. Urio, the half-light, it had only silence there.
Familiar one of Air, seemed in fright. Suddenly, one see of in addition to-fall was
Leaned with the top of the container, made hear.
Méliador, after having pronounced an " Mortal, you do not have your place here.
antique formulates Hermétique, plunged a I feel the capacity that impregnates your
gem of Light there. glance and I know the nobility of the blood
"That do you make, Master?" asked that runs in your veins. If your virtue
another familiar that attended perplexed granted a spark of reason to you, moves
the ritual. away, your hour did not come yet. If you
are there to carry the Light in Darkness,
" I feel that Alahel has serious difficulties, you will meet your destiny "
Shanis! "
The voice seemed to come from
The crystal water of the great cut changed everywhere. It was powerful without
gradually into bluish vapor, revealing with deafening, being covered and mélodieuse
the eyes of Méliador the remote vision of a at the same time. The Celestial one seized
expensive friend. its Set of Prisms and murmured with its
The Magician then saw briefly the terrible Familiar to remain vigilant while it
combat which had just had place between gathered all its capacity. Even if it had
its protected and Tharn, the Warrior-
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never heard it, this voice seemed to him fly away towards firmament, awaking old
familiar étrangement. and terrible capacity. Threatening clouds
invaded the sky whereas the air took care
The Undead ones expressed soon their
presence, outgoing their masks by pushing of electricity.
sinister growls. Among the zombies The feet of the Magus left the ground
pourrissants and the skeletons bleached whereas electric arcs ran along its body.
were the victims of the first massacre, still Flashes tore the sky, predicting the fury to
carrying on them the noble badges of the come.
Lion. Gorgone knew well this magic spell, too
A Goat-sucker whirled around the three old and too brutal to result from the
envoys of the Light. After having badgered Hermetic Magic of the Lion. It had faced
the two Familiar ones of its song raucous in immémoriaux times of the Magicians
and distressing, it came to be posed on an able to unchain such a Storm. It believed
invisible perch. Sign of misfortune, the them all deaths... All, except that which
bird hunter of hearts announced quite had overcome it whereas time did not
worse than death. exist.
" Gorgone! " blew Méliador by repressing Of an epic of the hand, it revealed a Gate
a shiver. The raptor pushed a raucous cry of Darkness above ground level. A Morbid
like requiring silence with the appearance Angel came out of there, spreading its long
of its mistress. desiccated wings in a threatening way. On
And it came out of the shade, pure their side, the two Familiar ones sowed the
blasphemy against the life. disorder during theAlive ones. Crashing to
pieces the bones rotted on their passage,
Measuring the Magician of a glance full the elementary creatures compensated for
with hatred, Nécromancienne spoke about their small size by an incredible
a whistling voice. promptness. But the Morbid Angel still
" Méliador, insolate mortal, do you thus proved faster. When Urio tried to interpose
believe to be able to eternally draw up you between its Master and him, the infamous
on my path? " creature avoided it, forsaking this too
modest prey to melt on the Magician.
The Lion did not answer the provocation: Méliador raised the hand slowly, like
it knew its adversary, but would not have stopping the macabre headstock in full
made the error to underestimate it. flight. A light beam pierced the sky,
One had seen Gorgone rôdant close to the reducing the Morbid Angel in dust in a
Forest of Raised Pierre, exploring the plugging halation.
sewers of Klûne or haunting the corridors Inattentive by the creature, the Magician
of a monastery of Griffon. The last had hardly time to see its enemy to indicate
witnesses had seen it in Cadwallon. it in his turn. Nothing, it materialized a
One day or the other, their paths were to flight of burning projectiles which split the
cross... air in its direction. The first Arrow of
Hécate struck Shanis of full whip, it
It was necessary some more to intimidate returning instantaneously in its native plan,
Méliador. Seizing itself of a gem handle of the plan of the Light. The second deviated
Mana, it pronounced a short litany, in the of its trajectory to continue Urio. Méliador
language of Keltois. Its words seemed to was then let invade by anger: it traced in

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the air in front of him an ideogram that 3 Characteristics of

stopped the fatal flight.
Magic
All around the two Magicians, the air had
become heavy and crépitait of magic
energies. Disorientated by this outburst of 3.1 Mana
hidden powers, the macabre headstocks
wandered randomly, blind men with the Each spell requires a certain quantity of
presence of the Follower of the Light. energy to be cast. This energy comes from
gems of Mana. The number and the type of
Given than ever, Méliador was let invade gems necessary to cast each spell appear
by all the power of its last gems. The on the card.
Celestial one, the hand tended towards the
sky, appeared a short moment a such angel At the beginning of the game, a Magician
of Light, before sacrificing all its energy in lays out a number of gems equal to his
an ultimate petition addressed to Old. Power characteristic. This mana reserve
can contain gems of any of the Elements
Answering its call, a flash melted on that a Magician controls.
Gorgone in a deafening thunder.
A Magician cannot use gems of an
"Leave this ground that never you should Element he does not control.
not have pressed. I order it to you!" howled
Méliador. 3.2 Colleges of Magic
But for any answer, it obtained only one
Magic is not universal; each race of
odious and grotesque snigger.
Aarklash conceives and uses it in a
"Not, my old enemy, not yet, not this different way. These divergences are such
time..." that each race only regards his philosophy
of the mysteries as the way of Magic,
2 Magic Cards understood and used by him. Each race
thus has its own College of Magic. The
The models of Incantation come with Colleges of Magic are described in the
different types of cards. As in Magicians section.
Confrontation, their characteristics and
3.3 Difficulty
their abilities are described on a reference
card. The other cards are magic spells. The difficulty represents how elaborate a
If one of these models has one or more ceremonial the Magician must carry out to
artifacts which are reserved for him, each cast the spell. At casting time, the
one of them are described on a special Magician must equalize or exceed a spell’s
card. difficulty by a Power test, i.e. by adding
the result of d6 and his Power
All the models with a Power characteristic
characteristic.
are called Magicians.
Sometimes, the difficulty varies according
to various factors mentioned in the
description of the magic spell. Certain
magic spells have a free difficulty. In this
case, it is the Magician who chooses the

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difficulty of the magic spell before 3.9 Special

launching it.
Certain spells are exclusive to a caste
3.4 Range
Magicians or a one particular. Others
The range indicates the maximum distance require certain ingredients to be cast.
that separates the Magician from his target. 3.10 Power
It is expressed in centimeters. Certain
spells have a range of the only Magician, Each spell has a Power rating. A Magician
or with a combatant in base at base contact can control only a certain total of Magic
with him. Others have an unlimited range. Power. He can choose many magic spells
of low Magic or only one Power more
3.5 Area of effect
significant.
A spell acts in a precise area: it is its area The Magician can control spells of a total
of effect. It can extend to only one power equal to twice his Power
combatant, a specified area or the battle characteristic. This is his Magic Potential.
field as a whole. The sum of all the Powers of the spells that
a magician chooses may not exceed this
3.6 Duration value.
Each spell remains active during a limited 3.11 Points of Armies (P.A.)
time. So some have one very short
working life like those with devastating Like the troops, spells and artifacts have a
effects, others last longer and distil their value in P.A. This is added to the value of
energy continuously. the Magician when purchasing the army.
The Magician can choose to use some of
3.7 Frequency the spells and artifacts to which he has
access.
Certain spells can be very simple but very
long. Other spells are cast quickly - during
the fury of the combat. The frequency Note: A magician may purchase any spell
indicates the number of times that the or artifact that uses the same elements to
spells can be cast in one turn. which he has access and are not
restricted to a certain race or model.
Certain extremely powerful and complex
spells can be cast only once per game.
The frequency is not related to the level of 4 Elements
the Magician.
3.8 Description Life on Aarklash is governed by Elements.
The fluctuations and balance of the
The effects of a spell are usually Elements influence the behavior of the
spectacular. The description gathers all the inhabitants of Aarklash. In the same way,
information with regard to them. It also the Elements govern magic.
describes the exact consequences of the
spell on the play.

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4.1 Primary Elements allow materialization of the effects of the

spell. As say the Magicians, the power
There are six elements. The four primary precedes the form.
elements are: Water, Air, Earth and Fire.
4.5 Elements
Perfectly balanced, they are naturally
present on Aarklash; their effects are Each Element is symbolized on the cards
visible to everyone. of fate by a gem of Mana.
4.2 Principle Elements
4.5.1 Water and Fire
The other two Elements are called
Principles. They are Light and Darkness. Water is imperceptible, unforeseeable and
They subtly influence the other elements. often excessive. It is opposed to Fire,
destructor, insatiable but purifying.
The primary Elements are closely related
to each action or demonstration in the
4.5.2 Earth and Air
material world. All are repelled or attracted
by each other. But none has, nor should The Earth, principle of fertility, is
have, supremacy over the others. inalterable and yet malleable. It is opposed
to the Air, rapid and intangible.
4.3 Elemental Opposition

If that occurred, the consequences would 4.5.3 Light and Dark

be disastrous and irreversible. This is why The Light, symbol of harmony and purity,
each Element has its opposite, an Element is beneficent, but austere. It is opposed to
diametrically opposite, with which it is in Darkness, underhand, pernicious, but so
eternal conflict. These Elementary much attracting.
Oppositions guarantee the balance of
creation. 4.6 Opposition

4.4 Elemental Gems The Light, pure and mysterious, is opposed

only to Darkness. Darkness, because of
The gems of Mana which one finds on their corrupting nature, is opposed to all
Aarklash come from the Elemental the other Elements and all the other
Kingdoms. The Magicians conclude pacts Elements are opposed to them.
with the beings of these strange fields to
obtain some. The gems of Mana are the 4.7 Gems and Casting
crystallized shape of each Element. Their
potential is enormous, with the proviso of The type and the number of Mana gems
giving them to reload this energy. required by the spell are described on its
card. A Magician can cast only magic
The gems that circulate on Aarklash are spells using the Elements that he controls.
the subjects of rough exchanges between In the same way, if a magic spell does not
the people. Only Achéron, Baron of belong to the one of the Colleges of Magic
Undead, has the monopoly of the trade of of the Magician, he will not be able to cast
the gems of Darkness. the spell.
Incantation is the process of manifesting
Magic: Mana is the raw material that will

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4.8 Neutrality 5.3 Power Characteristic

In certain cases, a spell does not require Magicians and Warrior-Magi have an
any Element in particular. The gem will additional characteristic, Power, which
then be replaced by a symbol of neutrality. symbolizes the control of elementary
But if such a magic spell requires several forces of the Magician.
gems to be cast, the Magician is able freely
to combine gems of several Elements to do 5.4 Levels of Magicians
it.
There are four levels of magic. They
5 Magic and Magicians symbolize the experience of the
Magicians. The first level is that of Initiate;
then that comes from Adept, then Master
Both feared and respected, magicians are and finally Virtuoso.
isolated from the rest of society. Some are
needed for their beneficial abilities; others
extended their domination due to terrible 5.4.1 Initiate (Initié)
powers. The Initiates are knowledgeable about a
The reason that the majority of them single Element.
misuse or neglect physical force is
mysterious: their spells are more 5.4.2 Adept (Adepte)
frightening in the combat. The Adepts supplement their knowledge
5.1 Personalities by the study of a second Element. This
control opens possibilities to them that the
Magicians are often Personalities. Elements used individually cannot achieve.
Personalities are distinguished from the
other models because they have a unique 5.4.3 Master (Maîtres)
name.
The power and knowledge of the Masters
See Confrontation for rules for raises them at the top of the Magician
Personalities. hierarchy. Their control of three Elements
5.2 Warrior-Mage enables them to see beyond appearances of
the material world.
A category of Magicians, called the
Warrior-Mage, are the only ones who can 5.4.4 Virtuoso (Virtuose)
bind the mysteries of Magic to the science The Virtuosos are magicians of legend,
of the combat. Contrary to the "pure" spoken of with respect by the Masters
Magicians, the majority of the Warrior- themselves. Only wisest or most insane
Magi are not personalities. can bring their power to this level.
See the New Competencies section of this
for more information on the Warrior- 5.5 Colleges of Magic
Mage.
The Magicians always control an Element:
the college related to the essence of their
people.

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Certain Elements are prohibited. The that is too chaotic for their Machiavellian
Magicians are able to learn the mysteries plans.
of these Elements. Each people follow one
or more College of Magic. The principal 5.5.3 Cynwälls Elves
ones are described below, but others, quite
as frightening, remain to be discovered... Primary College: Unknown

Prohibited College: Unknown

5.5.1 Sorcerers of Alahan
Primary college: Light Withdrawn in their cyclopean cities, the
Cynwälls Elves live far from the world,
Prohibited college: Dark ignoring the people that surround them. On
The largest Magi of Aarklash are the the high peaks of the Béhémoth Mounts,
Sorcerers of Alahan. They study the they raise the immense Dragon of Cîmes
Elements in their purest form, symbolizing to serve as their frightening mounts.
this research by the Light. Their prophecies predict a dark future.
Their magic is practiced according to Which Magic do they practice? None or
Incantations and the complex rituals of all? Many scholars tried to solve this
Hermetic Magic. For them, Magic is more enigma without ever being able to answer
than one art; it is a science that is practiced it...
with precaution.
The extent of their power is impressive. 5.5.4 The Dwarves of Tir-Na-Bor
They reject Darkness, principle of Primary College: Earth
corruption and destruction.
Prohibited College: Dark
5.5.2 Necromancers of Achéron
Under the Aegis Mounts, the Dwarves of
Primary College: Darkness Tir-Na-Bor control the power of the Earth.
By using the currents of energy that cross
Prohibited College: Light and Water. the ground, the Alchemists can activate the
power of the various mixtures of filings
The handling of death is the source of the and other metal salt solutions that they use
ritual magic of the Necromancers of in their incantations. This is the Telluric
Achéron. They are the only ones to be Magic. The grandest dwarf Magicians
pledged to Darkness. Their way of Magic, claim that the magic is only one extension
necromancy consists in calling upon the of them. Under this enigma one of greatest
dead ones as well in spirit as out of matter, secrecies of the Dwarves hides.
but also to give to the Dead the appearance
Life.
5.5.5 Griffons
Many of the Necromancers faced the
guardians of death, and returned to the Primary College: Fire
living. The macabre troops which
constitute their armies give them an Prohibited College: Dark
inexhaustible power, that of the undead.
What Scratch calls the Heart of Merin is
The Necromancers fear the Light that the College of Théurgique Magic. For
could destroy them and distrust the Water them, Magic is not the incarnation of the

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dream or the control of invisible hidden that will ensure the victory of the Empire
powers to the eye of the laymen, but of the Scorpion.
indeed a gift of a single god, Merin: the
The changeable and imperceptible air is
gift of Creation. The Preachers, Inquisitors contrary to their rational and scientific way
and the Hunters of Darkness take care of of thinking.
the safety of their people. By fire and iron,
they carry the word of Merin.
5.5.8 Akkyshan Elves
5.5.6 Orcs Primary College: Earth
Primary College: Any Prohibited College: Light and Fire
Prohibited College: None From the fabric of the forest sometimes
escapes long tearing howls. Akkyshan
Magic does not form part of the Orcs. elves corrupt their flesh by the dark powers
However, some of them develop a form of they handle to further the dark intention of
instinctive magic. The wizards of the orcs Lilith, the Supreme Matriarch. Scäelin, the
are sensitive to rough magic energies that first Black Widow, carries in her hard a
they use to project various brutal forces. plague that is on the brink of spreading.
The gems used by the Instinctive Magic Her daughters conduct orgies of fire and
are represented on the spell cards with the blood to put to death all their male
neutral symbol. These manipulators of the captives.
intuitive arts cannot call upon the Colleges
Elementary Magic, but use primitive 5.5.9 Wolfen
magic. Primary College: Water
As they do not distinguish the true nature
of the gems they use, the intuitive wizards Prohibited College: Light and Dark
cannot counter or absorb magic spells. The Under the light of Yllia, the Wolfen use the
nature of Instinctive Magic generates spells College of Murmurs. Whispering
that can neither be countered nor absorbed. unceasingly, the pack involves its prey
towards their fate. When the murmur
5.5.7 The Alchemists of Dirz becomes howl, it is too late.
Primary College: Dark When the Wolfen Shamen call down the
blessing of Yllia on their land and people,
Prohibited College: Light and Air the lamentations arise as a curse.
The goal of the Alchemists of Dirz led to Carrying out their rituals by the light of the
the search of Surhomme. The future of moon in darkness, the Wolfen are not
humanity proved to be an incurable evil. influenced by either Light or Darkness.
Technomancy, the College of the
Alchemists, uses Darkness to bind 5.5.10 Goblins
organics and mineral, animated and
inanimate by the impious Cleric’s Offices. Primary College: Air
Technomancers, Masters of Prohibited College: None
transformations and constructs, create
under their ziggurats the unnatural armies

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Air magic is appropriate for the Goblins. 5.5.13 Keltois Barbarians

As tortuous and unexpected as they, this Primary College: Air, Earth, Fire, and
element guides them on to the College of
Water.
Sorcery.
By means of scrolls, Goblin Shamen are Prohibited College: Darkness and Light
able to control all the elements. Their In the Plains of Avagddu, the Keltois
adaptability is such that neither the Light Barbarians live in close relationship to
nor the Dark can resist them. The Goblins nature; they follow the way of
worry so much about the concepts of Good Shamanisme. They are of either Drunes or
and Evil that the influence of these two Sessairs clans. Their Magicians do not
elements is accepted as natural, like an dominate the Elements; rather they borrow
additional factor in their fluctuating genetic their energy to answer the needs of their
inheritance. nomadic life. They create Talismans,
Gesas, to obtain these favors.
5.5.11 The Dwarves of Mid-Nor
Primary College: Dark 5.5.14 The Elementals
The Elemental Colleges are not true
Prohibited College: Light and Air Colleges of Magic, but a set of spells
The Tir-Na-Bor Dwarves rejected the common to all the Colleges of an Element.
Dwarves of Mid-Nor. They are exiled in Even if their casting differs from one
the levels in the ground where the magma people to another, the effects are the same.
flows. Their Chtonienne Magic is the There is an Elemental College for each
College that is opposed to the Telluric Element. To use an Elemental spell, the
Magic. Magician must control the Element
The Lictors base their power on organic necessary to his incantation.
components to drain the energies of the
Earth. Only the gems of Darkness make it 5.5.15 Primitive Magic (Primage)
possible to obtain the desired effects. The
corrupt air that stagnates in their dungeons Primitive magic is not a College of Magic
does not make it possible for them to in the strictest sense. It is an ancestral
control this Element. aspect of Magic that gathers all the spells
that act directly on magical energies. This
College is available to all and its spells can
5.5.12 Daïkinees Elves be cast with any type of gems.
Primary College: Water A neutral gem represents the number of
Prohibited College: Darkness and Fire gems necessary to cast a primitive magic
spell
The Daïkinees Elves live in perfect
harmony with nature, surrounded by
Fairies, the elementary creatures. The
Daïkinees Sentinels know, thanks to the
Fey Magic, how to wake the protective
heart of nature. They reject with violence
Fire, destroyer of forests, and Darkness.

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6 Laws of Magic 6.1.3 Spell Casting

The incantation necessary to cast a spell
6.1 General Rules requires the full concentration of the
Magician. A magician may not cast a spell
if he ran, charged, made a Prowess check
6.1.1 Purchasing Magicians or shot a ranged weapon. Magic spells or
artifacts that affect movement are not
When building an army, the player counted in this restriction.
chooses which spells they assign to the
various Magicians. Each Magician must To cast a spell, a Magician must have life
have his own spells. of sight to his target or be in base-to-base
contact with it
Note: The Magicians can have as many 6.2 Mana Reserve
spells as they wish it, as long as they do
not exceed their Potential (i.e. double their Casting a spell can be complex. The power
Power characteristic). is provided by mana gems, which are
expended to cast the spell.
A mana reserve is created at the beginning
During a battle, two Magicians of the same
of the game for each Magician. This
army cannot exchange their spells,
reserve consists of a number of gems equal
although each can have the same spells.
to the Magician’s Power characteristic. If a
The magic spells and artifacts have a cost magician can control multiple elements, he
in P.A. This is added to the total cost of the may select the type of each gem from the
Magician. elements he controls.
In the event of exception to these rules, the A magician’s mana reserve cannot have
indications of the card take precedence more gems than twice his Power
over the general rules. characteristic (i.e. his Potential).
A magician may not exchange gems with
6.1.2 Magic Phase other magicians.
The Magic phase is integrated with the 6.3 Spell Casting
Shooting phase.
The combatants who wish to cast a spell or Each magician can cast his spells one by
to shoot do so during the Shooting phase, one in the order he wishes. To cast a spell,
in order of their Initiative characteristic. If the Magician must use (spend) the gems
several model of the same camp have the required by the spell. The gems are pulled
same Initiative, treat their spell casting and from the magician’s mana reserve.
shooting as simultaneous.
If models of different players have the 6.3.1 Number of Spells
same initiative, then the player who won His level limits the number of spells a
the Tactical roll acts first. See the magician can cast. It is not related to the
Confrontation rules for more information frequency of the spell cast.
on the Tactical roll.

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Table 1 Spell per Turn the casting roll is subject to the following
modifications.
Magician Level Spells per Turn
Initiate 2 6.4.1 Fast Cast
A magician, who wants to cast a spell to
Follower 3
affect the course of a battle, can attempt a
Master 4 fast cast. Doing so increases the magician’s
Initiative by two. It also increases the
Virtuoso 5 difficulty of his spells cast this turn by 1.
These effects last for the current turn only.
A magician can declare a fast cast anytime
Example: Melkion, Preacher of Griffon, is in the Magic phase. Once declared, a fast
an Adept. In the Magic phase, he can cast cast can’t be cancelled. Multiple fast casts
three different spells. The number of cannot be declared.
Incantations for each of the three spells is
limited by their Frequencies Melkion’s 6.4.2 Prolonged Cast
mana reserve.
A magician, who wants to increase the
probability to successfully cast a spell, can
attempt a prolonged cast. Doing so reduces
6.3.2 Casting the magician’s Initiative characteristic by
two. It also decreases the Difficulty of his
To cast a spell, the player rolls a d6 and
spells by one. These effects last for the
adds the Magician’s Power characteristic.
current turn only.
If the total is equal to or greater than the
difficulty of the spell the cast is successful, A magician can declare a prolonged cast
otherwise, the spell fails. anytime in the Magic phase. Once
declared, a prolonged cast can’t be
Certain spells do not have a difficulty
cancelled. Multiple prolonged casts cannot
listed on their cards. These spells are said
be declared.
to have a “free difficulty”. The magician
sets the difficulty of the spell before 6.5 General Magical Rules
casting it.
The target of a spell must be within the
Note: When casting a spell, a natural spell’s range.
result of 6 entitles the player to roll again, A spell can only be cast on the same target
adding the 6 to the Power characteristic. A once per turn, whether the cast is
result of 1 is always regarded as a failure, successful or not.
even if it occurs after having rolled a 6.
A spell cast into a melee hits its target; it is
not randomized. The spirit is surer than the
hand.
6.4 Types of Spells
The effects of a successfully cast spell are
Casting a spell in the midst of combat is applied immediately.
much more challenging than doing so in
If the Resistance of a model falls below 0,
the quite of a magician’s tower. As such,
the model is killed immediately.

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A magician is not compelled to cast a spell. possibilities: To spend an Earth and a

Water gem; to spend an earth and a
6.6 Additional Gems Darkness gem, to spend a gem of
Darkness and Water, or to spend two
A magician may add additional gems to
gems of Darkness.
increase his chance of a successful cast.
For each additional gem spent, the
magician may roll and additional d6. These
additional dice are not added together. 6.7.2 Dispelling
Rather, the magician selects the best score
When dispelling a spell, the magician uses
of all dice rolled.
magic to choke the magical energies of the
Certain spells allow extra gems to be caster. The magician spends one gem of
added when casting to modify the effects any kind and rolls a d6. The result of the
of the spell. The exact effects are noted on die roll is added to the magician’s power.
the spell’s card. If the total is equal to or greater than the
result of the caster (not the difficulty of the
6.7 Counter Spells
spell), the spell is countered.
A magician can try to cancel a successfully Only one dispel attempt can be made
cast spell. against any spell, no mater how many
For a magician to counter a spell, he must magicians are in range.
be within range of the spell and must have 7 Mana Recovery
line of sight to the caster.
As he uses gems, the Magician consumes
Note: the field of vision of a model is the part of his energy. He must then try to refill
front 180°. his reserve by calling upon his elemental
power. At the end of the turn, each model
with a Power characteristic makes a mana
There are two ways to counter a spell:
recovery roll.
absorption or dispelling.
7.1 Recovery Procedure
6.7.1 Absorption
The magician rolls a d6 and adds his
To absorb a spell, the magician spends the Power. From this result, the magician
same number of gems as the caster, but the subtracts the number of gems he currently
gems must be of the opposite element. has in his mana reserve. The magician
For Primitive Magic, use the gems that are cross-indexes the total with his level on the
opposite of those used to cast the spell. Recovery table on page 25.
Absorbing a spell is automatic; no die roll The player may re-roll if he rolls a six. A
is required. See the table of Elementary roll of 1 is a failure, even on a subsequent
Opposites on page 25 for what elements roll.
are opposites.
Note: a magician may have up to twice
Example: To absorb a spell made up of a his Power level in gems in his mana store.
gem of Fire and one of Air, there are 4

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7.2 Recovery Modifiers 0. Nécromancienne starts with 5 Gems

from Darkness and 1 of Fire .
A magician in melee cannot concentrate as
8.1 First turn
well when trying to recover gems. As such,
twice number of gems in his mana reserve The Initiative of Méliador is 6. It will thus
is subtracted. act before Gorgone whose Initiative is 4.
Necromancers and Sorcerers are not Méliador tries to start its most terrible fate:
affected by melee when attempting to Storm of Light. The fate requires 4 gems
recover gems. of Light and 3 of Air . The Magus thus will
Orcs do not fail on a recovery roll of 1. empty all his reserve of Mana and will not
have additional gems to try to improve its
7.3 Trance control. It thus carries out a jet of Being
able with a difficulty of 11, that of the fate.
A trance is an extreme state of It obtains 5 on its D6, which cumulated
concentration where the spirit of the with its Capacity of 7 fact 12. Méliador
Magician is detached from his body and thus succeeded. The air takes care of
travels in the Elementary Kingdoms. electricity whereas supernatural flashes
A player declares that his magician is in a tear the sky. The reserve of Méliador is
trace in the Movement phase when the empty, leaving it vulnerable...
magician is activated. If the magician did Gorgone knows now that its adversary
not move, shoot, cast spells, fight in melee, does not have any more gems in its
or was wounded, it will profit form the reserve. It will not be able to thus carry out
trance at the end of the turn. A magician in of Contremagie. It decides to call upon a
a trance ignores the number of gems in his Morbid Angel to badger Méliador. The
mana store when making his recovery roll. fate requires 4 Gems of Darkness and has a
difficulty of 8. Contrary to its adversary,
8 Example of Play Gorgone put on prudence to improve its
control. It thus throws two D6. 1 and 3!
Méliador the Celestial one, accompanied Without this additional expenditure, the
by its two Familiar Shanis and Urio, is Morbid Invocation of Angel would
opposed to a horde of death-alive carried undoubtedly have failed, and the Gems of
out by Gorgone. Méliador the Celestial one Darkness would have been unnecessarily
is Adepte of the Lion. It controls the Light wasted. Emerging from a sphere of
and the Air. Its Capacity is 7, its Potential Darkness, a Morbid Angel spreads its long
of Power is thus 14. The Lion player emaciated wings and prepares with the
equipped with the following combat.
fates:Bannissement 4, Vent Carrying 4 At the end of the turn, Méliador carries out
and Storm Light 0. The Magician as with its jet of recovery of Mana. It throws D6
3 Gems from Air and 4 of Light . Gorgone and obtains 2. It cumulates its Capacity for
is Adepte of Achéron. It controls Darkness a total of 9 and does not withdraw
and Fire Its Capacity is 6 and its Potential anything, since it does not have any more
of Power of 12. The Player of Achéron gems in its reserve. As a Follower, it thus
chose for Gorgone the following magic regains 5 Gems. It chooses 4 Gems of
spells: Arrows of Hécate 5, the Morbid Light and 1 of Air. Gorgone carries out it
Invocation of Angel 4 and Eternal Torpor also its jet of recovery. Its D6 indicates 5,

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VERSION 4.0

for a total of 11 by adding its score of fury of the Light. Méliador spends two
Being able. As it has 1 Gem of Fire in its Gems of Light so that a flash strikes
reserve, one withdraws 1 from the result. Gorgone.
The total is thus 10. It regains also 5 Gems Not being able to risk a Wound, the
and chooses 2 Gems of Fire and 3 of creature spends immediately two gems of
Darkness. Darkness and absorbs the fate
8.2 Second turn automatically. A veil of blackness aspires
the flash of Light... the forces are opposed
The Morbid Angel flies in direction of then are cancelled without a noise.
Méliador, ready to be sacrificed for the Méliador acts before Gorgone. There
cause of Darkness. Méliador, which does remain to him two Gems of Air, of which
not wish in découdre with thealive one, it is used for to call upon a Carrying Wind.
chooses a final solution: the Banishment. The strategy of Gorgone did not bear its
The difficulty of the fate is equal to the fruits, the Follower of the Lion will not
Fear of its enemy + 6, that is to say 6 + 6 = cross its mortal glance this turn.
12. Méliador spends the three Gems of
Light which it has just gained, plus Nécromancienne devotes its 8 Gems of
increasing its chances of success. The Darkness to the Invocation of new Morbid
result of the two dice indicates 6 and 6. Angels. A couple of winged silhouettes
The Morbid Angel is dispersed in a emerge from a gate.
plugging light. Perfidious Gorgone, on its The two adversaries are measured glance.
side, persists in wanting to divert the The confrontation does nothing but start...
attention of its adversary and exhausting its A new turn engages in Confrontation.
Gem reserve. Calling upon the infernal
power, she calls upon the capacity of the On the battle field, magic energies whirl
Arrows of Hécate, without spending of around the two Magicians, immaterial and
additional gem. The total of its Capacity quiet tornadoes. In the hand of Gorgone,
and D6 indicates 11: a flight of ignited the black gems irradiate an unhealthy
projectiles moves towards Méliador. The gleam. And the avid glance of
Magician will try to counter the fate. He Nécromancienne is an omen of desolation.
spends one of his gems of Air and carries Méliador knows only too well this glance
out a simple jet To be able: 12! Of a and it knows from now on that it must
precise gesture, it draws in front of him an overcome or die...
ideogram, stopping the howling features 9 Rank and Artifacts
before they do not reach it. At the time of
the jet of recovery of Mana, Méliador
obtains 2 Gems of Light and 1 of Air. According to their rank, personalities do
Gorgone gains on its side 5 Gems of not have the same number of artifacts.
Darkness.
Table 2 Artifacts by Rank
8.3 Third turn
Rank Number of
Méliador has a presentiment of that Artifacts
Gorgone will try to plunge it in the Eternal
Torpor. It wants to withdraw glance of the Initiate, Irregular, 1
creature. But front, it tries to unchain the Regular, or Creature

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Rank Number of 10.3 Master (Maître)

Artifacts
Rare are those who can claim to have
Adept, Special, or 2
reached the rank of the Masters. Their
Elite
voyages within the Planes give them a
Master or Living 3 unique knowledge of the nature of
Legend Aarklash. They control three Elements at
will.
Virtuoso or Major 4
Ally 10.4 Virtuoso (Virtuose)

Some very rare magicians push the study

Certain artifacts can be allocated to any of Magic so much farther that the title of
type of troop while others are the property Master is not appropriate. They are able to
of a particular model. In this case, the text impose their least desire on the Elements,
on the artifact’s card supercedes this table. and exceeded the limits of their people.
The Virtuosos control all the Elements. A
10 New Abilities Virtuoso has no prohibited college.
10.5 Warrior-mage (Guerrier-
Certain models have unusual magic
faculties, by birth or acquired during long Mage)
years of research and study. These abilities
are listed on the model’s reference card. Warrior-mages undertake a difficult study.
In addition to the discipline of the warrior,
Some abilities are expressed with variable they also learn the way of the magician.
values/X. For example, Devotion/3 means The Warrior-Magi use the warlike Magic
that the sacrifice of the model grants 3 and arts.
gems to the Magician who sacrifices it.
• Their Potential is equal to their
The Spirit of the Earth ability means that Power characteristic.
a roll of a 1 on a casting an Earth spell is
not an automatic failure. • In melee, they recover of Mana as
if they were not committed.

Note: The abilities are listed below with • They are unable to enter a trance.
their French name in parenthesis. • They can Counter-attack.
10.6 Devotion/X (Dévotion)
10.1 Initiate (Initié)
Certain warriors have such a devotion
A Magician begins his career with the rank towards their Masters that they are ready
of Initiate. His training enables him to have to give their life to the glory of those they
access to the higher mysteries of an serve. When a Magician needs gems, he
Element. can sacrifice a model with Devotion at any
moment in the turn. The sacrificed model
10.2 Adept (Adepte) must be in base contact with the Magician.

With study, the Initiate rises to the rank of Sacrificing the model results in an
Adept. He learns a second Element. additional X gems in the magician’s mana

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VERSION 4.0

store. The sacrificed model is removed as D6 Result

if it has been killed.
College of its people if the model is
10.7 Spirit of X (Esprit de X not a Magician.

Certain Magicians have a privileged bond 6 Full moon. A free additional spell
with an Element. Their knowledge of this or Born Killer ability.
Element is such as they are able to control
it and use it according to their desire.
Selenites control the College of Water, in
When casting a spell of this Element, a
addition to those that they already have.
casting roll of 1 is not regarded as an
Bound to the same star that Wolfen of
automatic failure. On the card, X is
Yllia, they can ally with them.
replaced by the name of the Element.
10.9 Construct (Construct)
10.8 Selenite (Sélénite)
A construct is a device animated by magic
The origin of Selenites is a mystery. They
or mechanical means. Many are toys for
seem to form a secret caste, alive without
children of the nobility. Others on the other
knowledge of others, in the most remote
hand, are frightening machines of war! A
places of Aarklash. Few scholars know
construct reacts automatically without any
their history. Certain Selenites do not
feeling: Courage and the Discipline are
understand the present world that was
unknown for him.
made for them by the Moon. They
discover too late the influence of the night A combatant having this ability is immune
star on their behavior. Right before from the Fear, even caused by Undead.
purchasing the spells and artifacts of a In addition, it is not subject to the rules of
Selenite, roll a D6 and consult the Discipline. When it must carry out a
following table: Discipline test, it is considered to have a
D6 Result Discipline characteristic of 0.
1 to 3 Day .No modifier A Construct cannot drown: it does not
undergo a Light Wound when it fails a
4 Crescent Moon. +1 in Prowess check to swim.
Initiative and Discipline some
11 The Harlequin
5 Gibbous Moon. +2.5 in
movement and +1 in
Courage/Fear Hidden behind a hanging, the Harlequin
looked at the assembly. The room was
6 Roll again on the second table. crammed. This evening, Skahas, the
Ambassador of Alahan, received the
various delegations present at Cadwallon.
The reception beat its full.
D6 Result All the high society of the city was joined
1 New moon . Possessed ability. together in the large show. An assassin
could have decapitated Cadwallon in one
2-5 Half Moon. +1 in Power or moment.
Capacity 1 and an Initiate in the
College of its people if the model is
not a Magician.
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VERSION 4.0

But the Harlequin was not that one. He window. He launched out roof in roof thus,
was regarded the largest robber of taking speed with each one of his jumps.
Aarklash, but also as the guardian guard of
The many militiamans of Skahas launched
the city. There had always been a out to its continuation. Among the rare
Harlequin, and there would be always one civil ones which followed the police force,
of them. Nobody, not even the Duke Den the Rolon young person was most
Azhir, the lord of the city, knew his aggressive by far. He also had an account
identity. to regulate with the Guard of Cadwallon.
A young man has the silent air, leaned with At the end of a few minutes, the Harlequin,
a column, observed the assembly. too much fast, had outdistanced his
"Rolon, mischievous Rolon, which bad prosecutors. This foreseeable escape put an
blow you still prepare? " end to hunting.
The malicious eyes of the Harlequin, Darelh enrageait: "It only did not leave
behind his leather mask, followed the given, the Harlequin. You hear me... that
young robber fixedly. This one did not left given! ".
seem to be with its first larceny. Not being able to resign itself to give up, it
The Harlequin left a play tarot of his dispersed its men by small groups. Desired
satchel, chooses the chart of Star and, Rolon to join research.
using a gem, called his protection gently. In front of the refusal of Darelh, Rolon was
Then, practically invisible, it left its hiding- only engulfed in the night, with the
place to encase the step of Rolon... continuation of the robber. It saw nothing,
Without suspecting less the world which it no movement there... Suddenly, it
was supervised, Rolon went to the stage, discovered the Harlequin who observed it
penetrated discreetly in one of the rooms top of a roof, his card deck in hand, with
and came out from it a few minutes later the manner of a range.
with a satisfied smile. "Then, small robber, one wants to make
One of the maidservants realized misdeed me wear the hat? ". The words of the
and gave alarm... Harlequin were soft, however Rolon could
The jewels of the girl of Skahas had with what expect perfectly.
disappeared. Darelh, Captain of the guard By bravado, it caught a leather satchel
of Alahan and veteran of its people, which hung with its belt and raised it in
gathered his men for the tracking. The direction of the Harlequin.
robber owed, according to him, to carry a
"Looks at enturbanné, it is not you whom
black mask, bicornuate and a made cape of will have the jewels of the young miss!"
fabric parts of various colors.
Hardly it had finished its sentence that a
"You finally will pay, the Harlequin" sharp flash tore the half-light. When the
vociferated he. chart reached it, Rolon howled. The
The Harlequin had an old account to soldiers of Alahan arrived while running.
regulate with Darelh. He knew that he was They found Rolon which held the wrist of
not to be taken, if not captions it of the its still valid hand. With its feet lay its
guard of the robbers would die. He took divided right hand and a satchel containing
the chart of Bateleur, pronounced some the stolen jewels. There was also a chart of
words of being able and leaps by the

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VERSION 4.0

tarot mackled of blood. It was frayed like a chart of Justice.

razor blade. Darelh looked at it: it was the

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VERSION 4.0

12 Translator’s Notes translated the rules without the permission

of Rackham. This is not to be considered
a challenge to their copyrights.
Table 3 Revision Histories

Version Changes 12.2 Translation Notes

4.0 Separated into individual volumes. The format of the rules has been changed
Added clarification on purchasing slightly to better fit on letter-sized paper;
models. the original rules were a small book that
fits inside the figure blister. Changes to
3.2 Corrected Natural Born Killer entry; existing rules or new rules in existing
minor format and spelling
sections have been highlighted. Brand new
corrections.
sections are highlighted.
3.1 Corrected damage effects table;
added rule for running.
With version 4, I have split out the various
rulebooks into separate documents.
3.0 Incorporation of Confrontation 2 Though this means there will be four
changes; reformat of rules; addition documents to keep up with, it makes the
of purported mana recovery table translation easier to publish. However, all
from Incantation 2. four books will be delivered in a single zip
file.
2.0 More errata and major combat
clarifications.
12.3 Anachronistic Rules
1.0 Initial English translation.
The anachronistic rules included in version
3.2 have been removed from this version.
Anachronistic rules were rules or
corrections included in the first edition of
12.1 Copyrights
Confrontation that did not appear in
Illustrations in Rackham products, Confrontation 2.
including the present rulebook and the
reference cards are commissioned works or 12.4 Acknowledgements
creations. Exclusive rights on the whole
illustrations, miniatures or by-products The original translation was done using
belong to Rackham. Copying and AltaVista’s Babelfish translation engine
circulation, even as parts or bits, is (http://world.altavista.com/) and I cleaned
prohibited in any form, including up the result. As I know almost no French,
electronic and mechanic forms, as well as any errors you find in this translation are
photocopying and telematics without a wholly mine. Please send any such errors
written editor’s permission. or suggestions to jmt@jmichaelt.org. This
has not been a solo effort, I would like to
thank Mark Theurer, Al Edel, M. P.
Rag'Narok, Confrontation, Confrontation Jenner, Jim Callahan, John Bornmann,
2, Divination, Incantation, Incantation 2, Olivier Georgin, and the members of the
and Incarnation are all products of confrontation_en yahoo group discussion
Rackham and copyright by them. I list for their help on the translations. I

RULES © 2001 BY RACKHAM 23 TRANSLATION © 2001 BY MICHAEL TISDEL

VERSION 4.0

would also like to thank Rackham for

allowing me to publish this translation and
for providing answers to innumerable
questions.

The Confrontation 2 rules are based on

Emmanuel Collombel’s translation for
Starplayer (http://www.starplayer.fr). His
translation is available on their web site.

The Incantation 2 and Divination rules

are based on the French version posted at
http://www.sden.org/.

RULES © 2001 BY RACKHAM 24 TRANSLATION © 2001 BY MICHAEL TISDEL

Appendix - Various Tables

Table 4 Elemental Opposites Table

Element Opposite
Light Dark
Air Earth and Dark
Water Fire and Dark
Fire Water and Dark
Earth Air and Dark
Dark All
Instinctive None

Table 5 Mana Recovery Table

Result Initiate Adept Master Virtuoso

Failure 0 0 0 0

≤0 1 1 2 3

1-5 2 3 4 5

6-10 4 5 6 7

11-15 6 7 8 9

16-20 8 9 10 11

≥ 21 10 11 12 13
Index

A H
AltaVista’s - 14 History - 14
Anachronistic rules
Explaination - 14
I
B Incantation - 1, 14
Incarnation - 14
Babelfish - 14

R
C
Rackham - 1, 14, 15
Confrontation - 14 Rag'Narok - 14

D
Divination - 14