Overlord Rulebook

The Book of Skelos The Tiles

At the start of the game, the tiles are placed in the order given by the scenario.
The Overlord does not have a character sheet like the hero players, but instead uses a large
The tiles contained within the overlords activation track are divided into two categories: minion
tile known as the book of Skelos, which allows him to control multiple groups of minions.
Tiles and the Event Tile.

All unit tiles contain the following information::

6 7 8
1 Name 1
3 2 Illustration 3 2
5 4 3 Base color 7
4 Base armor value for each of the models from the Unit
5 Defense value for each of the models from the Unit
2 Melee attack value or Ranged attack value for each of the 4
6 models from the Unit
9 5
7 Skills for each of the models from the Unit
1 2 3 8 Respawn cost for each of the models from the Unit 6
1 8
Armor value :
When attacked, this value indicates how many hits are absorbed by the minions armor before
they become wounds. You substract the armor value of a model from the total amount of hits
caused in order to determine how many wounds it takes.

1 The Activation track 6 Additional movement

2 Activation costs 7 Active defense
3 Available stamina zone 8 Rerolls
4
5
Fatigue zone
Stamina Recuperation
9 Tiles
I n the village center, Conan hacks
at a guard, causing 5 hits.

2 The guard has 2 armor points,

- 2=
that prevent two of the hits, leaving 3 (5-2) that become wounds and are substracted from his
hit points.

As the Pict only has 1 hit point and the Overlord player does not wish to spend Stamina gems
on defending him (see page 8 on Active defense), the guard dies and is removed from the board.
 Base movement value:
This is the number of areas that each minion belonging to this tile may move for
free each time it is activated. This free movement can only be used before attacking.
Additional movement for each model may be purchased with Stamina gems via the movement
quick action (see page 8). When moving multiple minions attached to the same tile, each one
must be moved separately.
Respawn cost:
Most minions (lesser characters) are likely to leave and enter the board multiple times
during a game depending on the scenario. This value indicates the cost of respawning
one minion from that tile in Respawn points. Respawn points, when available, are
provided when the Event tile is activated and reinforcements are listed as one of the possible
actions. Areas where reinforcements may appear are indicated on the map by this icon.

Movement IS obstructed by enemy heroes in the same area (see page 12 of the Heroes
Rulebook for more details).

Melee attack value :

When a minion belonging to this tile performs a melee attack, this indicates the
number and type of dice rolled. Rerolls may be acquired via the reroll quick action F or Pict hunters were killed earlier in the game. Their models are
therefore available as reinforcements.
(see page 8). Supplementary dice and attacks may not be purchased by the Overlord.

Melee attacks are NOT obstructed by enemy heroes in the same area (see page 12 of the Heroes
Rulebook for more details).
The Overlord decides to
return them to the game
Ranged attack Value: and activates the event tile,
When a minion belonging to this tile performs a ranged attack, this indicates the using the reinforcement
number and type of dice rolled. Additional rerolls may be acquired via the reroll quick event which, according to
action (see page 8). Supplementary dice and attacks may not be purchased by the Overlord). the scenario, gives him 4
reinforcement points. He
pays the cost of the tile:
Ranged attacks ARE obstructed by enemy heroes in the same area. (see page 12 of the Heroes 7 gems due to the tiles
Rulebook for more details). position on the track.

Skills: He can then spend his 4 reinforcement points to bring back the 4 Pict hunters who enter play
Any skills belonging to this unit are shown via icons here. The effects of each skill through one of the Respawn points indicated on the map.
is listed on the skills sheet.

Hit points:
Once a minion has no hit points remaining, it is slain and removed from the board. When all
models belonging to a tile are removed from the board, that tile is flipped over to the bloodied
side and moved to the top of the track. It continues to move down the track normally. If one
Note: Tiles can have one or more models assigned to them. The number of models controlled
or multiple models belonging to the tile are brought back as reinforcements, turn it back over
by one tile varies during the game depending on losses and reinforcements. Basic minions are
but leave it in its current position on the track.
generally assigned to tiles in groups whereas Leaders or independant models will have their
A bloodied tile can be activated for the purposes of moving it back to the top of the track. own tile.
This activations counts as one of the Overlords 2 per turn however. Minions only have 1
hit point. Leaders and Monsters have multiple hit points, as indicated in the scenario brief.
Hit points are symbolized by tokens bearing the characters portrait. These tokens should be
placed on the turn counter sheet.

Purging the track Most scenarios will have an activation track that includes an Event tile:
The Overlord can opt to permanently sacrifice two Stamina gems in order to remove a bloodied When the event tile is activated, the Overlord must play one of the effects listed
tile from the activation track. These gems should first come from your Fatigue zone, then your by the scenario. The quantity, type and prerequisites for the event tile are listed
Available zone. This tile and all minions attached to it are then removed from the game and by the scenario brief.
may not re-enter under any circumstances. This does not count towards the Overlords two tiles
per turn limit. There is no limit to how many tiles the Overlord can purge from the game as
long as he is willing to pay the price.
 The Book of Skelos 2) The activation phase
During his turn, the Overlord may activate up to two tiles (0, 1 or 2 tiles).

The Overlords turn is composed of 2 phases : To activate a tile, the Overlord must first pay its activation cost. This is designated by the
number directly above it. The Overlord moves the corresponding amount of Stamina gems
from his Available zone to the Fatigue zone.
1) The maintenance phase
The Overlord starts his turn by removing a number of gems (equal to the recuperation value
given by the scenario) from his Fatigue zone to his Available zone.
The recuperation value varies depending on the scenario and how many heroes are being
played.

I n this example, the Overlords recuperation value is 5. At the beginning of his turn, the
Overlord therefore moves 5 gems from his Fatigue zone to his Available zone. He already
has 5 gems in his available zone, so will now have a total of 10 gems to use this turn if he
so chooses.

Then, he picks up the tile and moves it to the top of the activation track, sliding the others
The Overlord moves the turn marker along one space. down.

I n this example, the Overlord moves the

turn counter along one space and then
begins his third turn.

He may now activate the tile and the models assigned to it. All models must first be moved
before beginning your attacks with them.
Base movement may only be used before attacking.
You may activate the same tile twice in the same turn, however, you must pay its new
activation cost.
Quick actions
The Overlord can spontaneously improve his minions by spending Stamina gems on quick
actions. Each gem spent only affects one model and must be repurchased if you wish to use
the effects on another model. There are 3 quick actions.
Additional movement:
After having spent his normal movement, the Overlord can opt to purchase
additional movements for a model. Each movement point costs one Stamina
gem which must be moved from the available Stamina zone to the Fatigue
zone. A model may never move more than twice its base movement in one
turn. These additional movement points may be purchased before or after
attacking. This is the only way for minions to move after attacking.
Active defense:
Similar to heroes, the Overlord can spend energy gems to defend his minions.
For each gem spent, the Overlord can roll one and reduce the amount
of hits scored on the model by that amount. Before rolling, the Overlord must
decide how many gems he wishes to spend on his active defense before rolling
the dice. Attacks can only be defended against once.
Rerolls:
Similar to the heroes, the Overlord can spend energy gems to reroll dice that
he is not satisfied with. It costs one Stamina gem to reroll one dice. Dice can
be rerolled as many times as you wish.
Casting a spell
Certain Overlord minions are capable of casting powerful spells via the cards in their
possession.
Each time you wish to cast a spell, you must pay the cost in Stamina gems indicated on the
card. This cost can be fixed or variable, depending on the spell. When the spell is cast, the
Overlord pays its cost by moving gems from the Available Stamina zone and placing them
on the card.
Some spells can be cast as a reaction and can be used at any moment. These spells are
indicated by the Reaction icon. Spells without this icon can only be used during the models
activation. The number of gems present on a spell card may never be superior to its threshold
limit.
The effects of a spell are indicated on its card. At the end of the turn (the heros or the
Overlords), gems present on spell cards are moved to the Overlords Fatigue zone.
Three heroes have invaded a pictish village whose denizens are controlled by the Overlord.
They have just finished their turn.
The Overlord starts by recuperating 5 Stamina gems (as specified in the scenario) that he
takes from his Fatigue zone and places them into the Available zone. He then moves the turn
counter along 1.
As Conan is currently bearing down on the pict chieftain Zogar Sag, the Overlord decides to
slow him down by moving some Picts into his zone. He starts by activating the Pict warriors
tile. The tile is in third position on the track and so he moves 3 Stamina gems from the
Available pile to the Fatigue pile and moves the tile up to the top of the track. He may now
activate that unit.
He moves the 3 warriors towards Conan. The first two are able to enter his area, however the
third is one short. The Overlord pays 1 Stamina gem to use the movement quick action which
allows him to move one more area, catching up with the others.
Once their movement is complete, the three minions may attack. Each one attacks with
one. After the dust settles, they have scored 2 wounds on Conan. The first Pict scores 2 hits
on Conan that the barbarian decides to defends against solely with his passive armour.
He rolls a J1, reducing the number of hits by one. The remaining hit becomes a wound.
The second Pict scores 3 hits. This time, Conan decides to actively defend against the attack
as well as his passive bonus and spends 1 gem. He scores 1 success with his armor and 1
with his active defense, reducing the amount of hits by 2 and taking 1 wound (3-2). The third
Pict scores 2 hits but they are fully absorbed by Conans armor and another active defense.
Their activation is now complete. The Overlord now has the choice of activating a second tile.
He chooses to be frugal and activates the pict hunters that are in 1st position on the track. It
therefore only costs him one gem. He once again removes the tile from the track and moves
it to the top, sliding the others down. This tile controles 4 pict hunters indicated by red bases,
which he simply moves out of their hut using their base movement. He decides to not invest
any gems in additional movement as it would prove costly. After which, he has reached his
limit of 2 tiles and it is now the heroes turn to act.