Manafields - Early Alpha
If you would like to be a part of the early alpha testing of Manafields, join the Discord here! And if you're interested in learning more, check out the devlogs here on YouTube.
Manafields is a 1v1 fantasy wargame that sees Humans, Elves, Orcs and Undead face off in pitched battles. Players will wrestle for control of objectives in the centre of the board, and attempt to assassinate the enemy General to gain a decisive lead.
The aim of the game is to be the first player to reach a 12 point lead.
The player going second receives 1 point when the game begins. After that, players score points at the end of each of their turns for the following:
- 1 point for each objective that you control *
- 1 point if your General is standing on an objective that you control *
- 6 points for killing the enemy General
* Players control objectives if there are more friendly than enemy units standing on them.
Note that your General must be outside of your deployment zone (or dead) in order for your units to count towards objectives, and in order to score points.
Each turn, players receive 3 Order Points which they use to issue orders to their units. Most orders cost a single Order Point to carry out, but there are some exceptions to this rule.
Morale is a secondary resource that is used alongside Order Points to issue special Orders. Each time you destroy an enemy unit, you will receive 1 Morale (to a maximum of 5).
(Note: the player taking the first turn of the game receives 2 Order Points instead of 3)
Move Order (Cost: 1 OP *)
- Units that are not within 4 of enemies and have not received any orders this turn can receive a Move Order for 0 OP *
- Move a unit a number of squares equal to their Speed
- Units cannot move through terrain, or other units
- If the unit begins its Move adjacent to an enemy, this Order costs 2 instead of 1
Fight Order (Cost: 1 OP)
- Fight in melee with a unit, against an adjacent target
- Each unit can only receive a Fight Order once per turn
Shoot Order (Cost: 2 OP)
- Shoot with a unit, against a target within their shooting Range
- Each unit can only receive a Shoot Order once per turn
- The shooting unit may not be adjacent to any enemy units
- Enemy Heroes cannot be targeted if they are adjacent to enemy Troops
Heroic Ability Order (Cost: 1 OP / 0 OP)
- Carry out a Hero’s unique Heroic Ability
- Each Hero can use their Ability no more than once per turn
- Your General can use their Heroic Ability for free (0 Order Points) each turn
Faction Ability Order (Cost: 0 OP, 5 Morale)
- Each Faction has a unique Faction Ability (see Factions section)
Note that, for both movement and the ranges of weapons and abilities, diagonal squares count as 2 instead of 1.
Note that ‘adjacent’ always means cardinally (North, South, East, West) unless diagonals are also specified.
When making an attack (with a Fight Order, or a Shoot Order), the procedure is as follows:
1) Gather a number of dice equal to the attacking unit’s remaining HP
2) Roll those dice “To Hit” the target.
3) Remove all results that are lower than the attacking unit’s To Hit stat.
4) Roll the remaining dice “To Break” the enemy’s armour.
5) Remove all results that are lower than the target unit’s Armour stat.
6) Multiply the number of remaining dice by the attacking unit’s Damage stat.
Objectives in Manafields are centres of immense power. When your Heroes stand on objectives, they give out buffs to themselves and their allies:
- All friendly units on that objective gain +1 to their rolls To Hit
- All friendly units on that objective heal 1 HP at the start of each turn
Each Faction provides 2 benefits:
- A Passive Rule, that is always in effect.
- A Faction Ability Order, that costs 5 Morale to activate.
Humans
- Passive: Human Troops that are adjacent to friendly units gain +1 Damage during Fight Orders.
- Faction Ability Order: Until your next turn, all friendly units count as 3 when determining control of objectives.
Elves
- Passive: Non-Cavalry units that receive a Fight Order can immediately receive a Move Order for free (0 Order Points) if they are still adjacent to enemy units.
- Faction Ability Order: Pick 3 units, teleport them to any empty objective square.
Orcs
- Passive: When receiving a Fight Order, injured Orc Troops add 7 to the number of dice they roll (to a maximum of their original HP total).
- Faction Ability Order: The first 3 Fight Orders issued this turn are free (0 Order Points).
Undead
- Passive: Whenever an enemy non-Zombie unit dies within 5 squares of an Undead Hero, it returns as a Zombie.
- Faction Ability Order: Pick 3 Zombie units, they each blow up dealing 3 Damage to all adjacent units (friend or foe).
The core Troops in Manafields are Infantry, Cavalry and Archers.
Each of these is a part of a rock-paper-scissors dynamic:
Infantry: +1 Damage against Cavalry
Cavalry: +1 Damage against Archers
Archers: +1 Damage against Infantry
Additionally, Troops have other passive abilities:
Infantry:
- Infantry that made a Move Order this turn can select diagonal targets for Fight Orders.
- Infantry units that were targeted by a Fight Order last turn score a number of automatic 6's To Hit (equal to their level) this turn.
Cavalry:
- Cavalry units that start a move without adjacent enemies, and finish that move in a straight line, deal Damage to an enemy in the direction of travel.
- If the impacted unit has a non-empty square behind, this unit deals additional Damage (equal to their level).
Archers:
- Archers that did not move earlier in the turn can carry out a Shoot Order for 1 OP instead of 2.
- Archers that did not receive any orders on this turn and their previous turn gain a number of automatic 6's To Hit (equal to their level) this turn.
