The path to power is littered with those too weak to do what must be done. Many have gone into the Northern Wastes seeking the power the gods of Chaos can provide. Now it is the Ruinous Powers turn to seek out those in the Old World. Chaos in the Old World makes you a god of Chaos. You will descend upon the pathetic world of men, elves, and dwarfs and reshape it in your image. Corruption is the future of the Old World, and you are the vessel bringing it.
Power corrupts, and this week, we get absolute power.
“Corruption never has been compulsory” - Anthony Eden
Until now that is. Every round will see the further domination of a Region in the Old World. On each Region is a resistance number, representing how well defended the area is against the spread of chaos. Poorly defended, with few native peoples, the Badlands and the Border Princes are easy pickings for the forces of Chaos. Their mirror in the north, Norsca and Troll Country openly consort with the forces of Chaos, weakening their resistance to the call of the gods.
The heavily populated areas throughout are well defended and present a real challenge to the gods. Requiring far more troops and daemons, these regions are also worth the most points. The Empire is five times more defended than the lands of Norsca! Each Region in the populous areas is significantly more defended, and they will require far more of your forces to dominate them.
“The sun also shines on the wicked” - Seneca
At the end of every battle phase, and your followers have crushed the paltry devoted of the other Ruinous Powers, you count up the total number of your disciples in that Region. The player with the highest total in the Region gets to check his score against the resistance number (see above). If his number is higher, he scores a pile of victory points. After the points are awarded to the most worthy player, every player places a corruption token for each cultist they have in that Region. Once these tokens are placed, if the total number of corruption tokens is 12 or greater, the Region is ruined forever! The player with the most tokens is awarded the lion’s share of the Ruination points, second most gets half as many points, and the rest of the players get next to nothing. Chaos only rewards the strongest and most clever.
“Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.” - SiddhÄrtha Gautama
The world can only tolerate so much corruption. If there are five or more Regions ruined at the end of the turn the game is over. The player with the most victory points is declared the triumphant god and all of the Old World is reshaped in his image. Each god will take corruption in a different way. Khorne’s followers are less concerned with corruption, and focus heavily on the blood of the other minions available. Khorne’s cultists can be upgraded to have an attack value, making them more than capable of advancing Khorne’s dial. Tzeentch will favor areas with magic icons in them. Watch where his spells go, as he can create magically charged Regions to corrupt. Slaanesh will corrupt where there are nobles and heroes, as he loves a fall from grace most. Nurgle loves watching large numbers of people become infected with his special strain of corruption and will most often be found in the populous areas in the middle Regions.
“If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable. - Horace Mann
Don't forget to sign up for the Chaos in the Old World events at GenCon. There are still spots for you to take on Eric Lang, who has issued a challenge to any would be Ruinous Powers.
Chaos in the Old World is a game of conquest, pitting the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos against each other for control of the Old World. Players must out summon, out play, and outwit theirs rivals to ensure their domination of the lands for ages to come.