Table Of Contents 2What you need to play Pride of Lions 3Overview And Philosophy 4Where Does The Title “Pride Of Lions” Come From? 4What Is “The Splintered Light”? 5What Has This To Do With Splintered Light Miniatures? 5What Has This To Do With Song Of Blades And Heroes? 5

Basic Rules 6Units 6Die Levels 6Morale States 6Commanders And Characters 8Character Roles 8Character To Character Combat 11Orders 11Sequence Of Play 15How Units Move 15Movement And Facing 16Movement And Morale States 16Moving And Interpenetration 16Interpenetrating Shaken Or Routing Friends 17Multiple Chargers And Defenders 17Terrain And Movement 18How Units Fight 18Factors Affecting Die Level In Melee: 19Defending Against Multiple Attackers 20Combat Results Table 20Applying The Effects Of The Crt 20Morale Effects From The Crt 21Pushbacks From Melee 22Following Up 22Explotation (break-through!) 22Withdrawing From Combat 23Missile Attacks 23Optional Shooting Adjustment 24Die Rolling Convention 24

Before The First Turn 25The Environment Of The Battle 25Daylight And Darkness 25Climate And Weather 25Environmental Advantage 25Local Advantage 25Terrain 25Scouting 26Deployment 26Blind Deployment And Movement Trays 27Army Reserve 27Flank Marches And Pickets 27A System Of Points For Balancing Armies 28Diagrams 29

Magic Rules 34What Is Magic? 34Shamanic Magic 34How Shamans Do Magic 34Difficulty Levels For Standard Shamanic Spells 35Spells To Reduce Enemy Morale 36Spells To Raise Friendly Die Levels 36Spells To Reduce Enemy Die Levels (Melee/morale And/or Missile Attack) 36Spells To Change A Unit’s Order 36Spells To Affect Terrain 36Spells Directly Attacking An Enemy Unit 37Generalized Weather Spells 37 Tactics Cards 37Dwarven Runelore 38Rune Items 38Special Rune Items 39Army Limits On Rune Items 39Pagan And Demonic Magic 40

Demonic and Pagan Divine Magic Procedure 40Necromancy 41Undead 41Necromancers 42Common Necromantic Spells 43Greater Undead And Demons As Generals 43Godfearers 44Spirits 46

Special Units And Attacks 48Mighty Dragons And Giants 48Constructions 49Gas Attacks 49Artillery 50Swarms 50Hordes 51Herds 53Flying Units 53Moving Air Units In The Turn Sequences 55Some Representative Air Units 55

Generic Army Lists And Scenarios 56Generic Armies 56Civilized/drilled 56Infantry-based Army: 56Barbarian Host 56Pikes And Heavy Cavalry 56Cavalry Army 56

Generic Scenarios 57The Bridge 57Ambush! 58Dark And Bloody Ground 59Raid! 59Massacre! 60Surprise! 61Morning Fog 61Fog Rules 61

A Shamanic Army: Wyldewood 62A Goblin Army: Moonglade Wolfclan 63An Army Of Horse Nomads 64Dwarven Royal Army 65An Army Of Godfearers 66Prayer List For Priests Of The Risen Sun 66

Cultural Background And Army/spell Lists 67The Prides Of The Land - Culture, Economy, Ecology 67The Prides And Their Military Forces 68Sun/golden Pride 68Dark Pride 69Blood/red Pride 70Moon/ghost Pride 71Black Pride 72Leonine Spells 73Dark Pride Unique Spells 73Moon Pride Unique Spells 73Blood Pride Spell 74Spirits For Leonines Opposing Undead 74From Sunpride Or Dark Pride: 74From Blood Pride: 74From Moon Pride: 74From Dark Pride: 74The Sundered 75Appendix 1: Saexman Army With Priests Of Odin And Thor 76Appendix 2: Elven Army Lists 77Constructing Army Lists and Some Advice on Tactics 78Charismatic Heroes 79Lances and Horse Fatigue 79Caltrops and Stakes 79Keeping Track of Necromancers’ Power 80Preparing For Battle 80Players’ Reference For Pride Of Lions 81Sequence of Play 82Spell Cards 83Chits 85

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WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY PRIDE OF LIONS:

1) These rules. If you have questions, our Yahoo group is PRIDEOFLIONSRULES, http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/prideoflionsrules/

2) Miniature armies.

3) A tabletop battlefield.

4) Rule or measuring tape, in inches.

5) Dice, one per army: D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D16, D20, and D24.

A D4 can be substituted by a D6 (reroll if 5 or 6) or a D8 (divide by 2). A D16 can be substituted with a D8 plus a second die; if the second die is odd, read the D8 as 1-8; if the

second die is even, read the D8 as 9 – 16 (i.e as 1-8 plus 8). A D24 can be substituted with a D12 plus a second die: if the second die is odd, read the D12 as 1-12; if

the second die is even, read the D12 as 13 – 24 (i.e as 1-12 plus 12). D16s and D24s are available from dice manufacturers such as Chessex.

DO NOT roll two D8s and add for a D16, or two D12s and add for a D24; the odds are completely off. (On a D16, there is a 6.67% chance of rolling a 1, or a 16, or any other number on the die. On a D8 plus a D8, there is NO chance of rolling a 1, and only 1/64 chance of rolling a 2 or a 16.)

6) Order chits: template provided to print and cut out.

7) Cards for spells. Templates for common tactical spells and the leonine spells are in the book. Other spell templates can be found as downloads at the Yahoo group. Ordinary playing cards can serve as spell cards; one deck will suffice for both sides.

8) Markers made from short lengths of “pipe cleaner” chenille stems available at craft stores: white, yellow, red, and green, plus a few other colors are useful.

9) Movement trays cut from mattboard, 40mm by 120mm inside measurement, with balsa rims glued on. These are optional but speed up the game considerably and save wear-and-tear on the miniatures.

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THESE RULES seek to provide a fast and fun game of fantasy mass combat. It is the designer’s belief that the best games result from a combination of simple rules mechanics and the opportunity for the players to make many decisions.

In PRIDE OF LIONS the role of each player is that of the commanding general of the army or warlord of the horde. Magic, and the courage and skills of individual heroes, can affect the game, but the outcome of the battle will depend mainly on the clash of large units of common fighters operating under the general’s orders. Maintaining a coherent battle line, (or, better, TWO battle lines, as reserves are very useful) is not obligatory but is amply rewarded by the rules.

There is, by deliberate choice, a degree of abstraction or unhistorical looseness in the rules, particularly as regards formations and units moving through one another. I have never enjoyed fiddling with such details and playing “traffic cop,” although realizing that in real life troops do get in one another’s way and that such crowding has sometimes determined victory and defeat, as when Hannibal destroyed the Roman army at Cannae. These rules compromise with realism in favor of speed and ease of play, and hopefully of enjoyment. Players will have plenty of things to worry about without bothering themselves with the sort of details that the unit commanders, or their sergeants, should be handling.

Each turn begins with players issuing orders to eligible units by laying inverted movement chits behind each unit. After a magic phase, which can result in a unit’s orders being changed involuntarily or randomly, all orders are revealed and movement is conducted simultaneously by all sides but in a strict sequence, with the most aggressive movement coming first (charges) and skirmishers going last. Both melee combat and missile fire are conducted through opposed die rolls, using dice of various sizes from D4s to D24’s, with the difference between the die rolls determining the outcome. Factors such as terrain, magic, special weapons and tactics, and leadership and heroism by characters all affect the game either through the movement chits or the die rolls.

I assume that players will read the rules through once, and will then refer to them as needed to find necessary information in the middle of playing a game.

Some material is repeated. I have tried to include relevant information everywhere it applies, for ease of reference during a game.

WHERE DOES THE TITLE “PRIDE OF LIONS” COME FROM?

My son David McBride owns Splintered Light Miniatures (www.splinteredlightminis.com). David’s first range of fantasy miniatures was the leonines. You can see them at www.splinteredlightminis.com/leonines.html We wanted a campaign setting for them, with a cultural background. We also wanted to be able to fight battles using the same miniatures on both sides. We developed the idea of rival leonine societies, the Sun Pride plains dwellers and the Dark Pride forest folk, with the Blood Pride berserkers and the Moon Pride spooks. I began to write and we began to play the rules at this time, and the name came naturally. (A year later I bought a lot of painted 15mm Zulus at a convention flea market, and we had several blisters of old Ral Partha wimmicks (lion centaurs) and so the hybrid human-leonine Black Pride was born).

OVERVIEW AND PHILOSOPHY

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WHAT IS “THE SPLINTERED LIGHT”?

It is a phrase from JRR Tolkien’s poem MYTHOPOEIA; you can read the whole poem at http://www.splinteredlightbooks.com/cgi-bin/slb/mythopoeia.html. The most relevant part, for those creating fantasy worlds, reads:

The heart of Man is not compound of lies,but draws some wisdom from the only Wise,

and still recalls him. Though now long estranged,Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.Dis-graced he may be, yet is not dethroned,

and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned,his world-dominion by creative act:

not his to worship the great Artefact,Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light

through whom is splintered from a single Whiteto many hues, and endlessly combined

in living shapes that move from mind to mind.Though all the crannies of the world we filled

with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to buildGods and their houses out of dark and light,

and sowed the seed of dragons, ‘twas our right(used or misused). The right has not decayed.We make still by the law in which we’re made.

I will confirm what astute readers would soon suspect: I am a Christian, and like Tolkien hope to describe a world that is not our own reality, yet is consistent with what I understand of God’s. I am at best an amateur theologian, and if those more knowledgeable of Christianity believe I have missed the mark somehow, I shall be glad to be instructed.

WHAT HAS THIS TO DO WITH SPLINTERED LIGHT MINIATURES?

David and I work closely together, but his focus is on the production and sale of miniatures, while mine is on the rules and the world. Many of the races of the World of Splintered Light are produced in 15mm miniature by David.

There will eventually be a campaign supplement with a full map and cultural background for many races, for all of the miniatures line sold by Splintered Light and many more besides.

WHAT HAS THIS TO DO WITH GANESHA GAMES’ SONG OF BLADES AND HEROES?

Nothing directly. Andrea Sfiligoi, founder of Ganesha Games and author of SONG OF BLADES is a friend, and we have edited and contributed to each other’s work. I did a supplement for him, SONG OF THE SPINTERED LANDS, and he did much of the artwork for PRIDE OF LIONS, including the cover.

SONG OF THE SPLINTERED LANDS is set in my world, and some of its cultural background (particularly the Druid of Wyldewood, the Dwarven King of Mountain Home, and King Shade and the goblins of Moonglade) is also to be found in PRIDE OF LIONS.

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Part One: BASIC RULESThe rules given in this first section allow for a fast-paced

and enjoyable game. Magic is excluded, as are many types of troops and tactics. It is HIGHLY recommended to play through a game or two using only these basic rules. The addition of complexities such as magic and fliers will proceed much more smoothly if players are already familiar with the rules for orders and movement and combat. Also, these basic rules are suitable for historical games with very little added.

UNITSEach player should field an army of a dozen or more units. A

unit begins the game composed of three stands of figures. We use 40x40mm bases, but any basing system with a uniform frontage should work. A unit, in our games, is therefore a battle line 120mm wide and 40mm deep. We use four types of troops, represented on the stands as follows:

Close order infantry are based 6 to a stand and move 6”;

Loose order infantry are based 4 to a stand and move 8”;

Large battle beasts such as mammoths are based one to a stand, with stands of loose order infantry to their left and right to make the unit of three stands – these units also move 8’:

“Cavalry” – anything running on four legs – are based either three to a stand for heavies or two to a stand for lights, and all move 12”. Chariots, based one to a stand, are considered cavalry. If a unit is eligible to skirmish, it is considered “light cavalry”; this includes light chariots.

(Very large beings such as dragons or the largest giants are considered a unit by themselves, and occupy bases big enough to accommodate them, either 120mm square or 120mm wide and 60 or 80mm deep. These types are discussed separately below.)

Some units may be designated on their Order of Battle as Drilled; they gain certain movement advantages when in good order.

The unit moves and fights together. There are no formations as such other than a battle line. Some units may also SKIRMISH, which gives them great freedom of movement, but they still remain in the 120mm by 40mm line.

Die LevelsEach unit is given a die that is rolled whenever it is in melee

or is testing morale. Missile units have a separate die for shooting. Higher rolls are better; rolls of 1 and 2 are generally quite bad. A unit’s die level may vary from a D4 (a four sided die) up through D6 and D8 and D10 and D12 and D16 to D20 (a twenty sided die), and in certain circumstances to D24. A unit’s initial die level is assigned based on a combination of physical characteristics such as strength, weapons, armor and the like, and also on non-material characteristics such as training and morale.

A unit’s die level may decrease or (rarely) increase as the game progresses. Peasants forced onto a battlefield to fight with improvised weapons would rate an initial D6; elite heavily armored lancers might be an initial D20. Note that it is still possible, though very unlikely in the above example, for the elite lancers to roll a 1 and be defeated by the peasants.

Melee outcomes are determined by the difference between the die rolls of the opposing units: higher differentials result in increasingly dire consequences for the loser.

Morale rolls are done with the unit’s current die and a roll of 1 or 2 has a bad effect. Players will notice that the higher the die level, the lower the odds of rolling a 1 or 2. A D20 unit’s chance of failing a morale test is 10%, a D16’s is 12.5%, a D12’s is 16.6%, a D10’s is 20%, a D8’s is 25%, a D6’s is 33.3%, and a D4’s is 50%.

Morale StatesA unit’s starting die level, based on training and morale and

weapons and armor, assumes that the unit is fighting in GOOD ORDER. That means that the individual fighters are in their assigned places and orders can be heard and understood. A unit may become DISORDERED as a result of being pushed back in melee, being shot by missiles, failing a morale test, moving in difficult terrain, and so forth. A DISORDERED unit’s soldiers are out of position and/or confused, and its leadership is less effective. Orders take longer to be transmitted, and the unit’s standard operating procedures (the sort of things sergeants take care of – “Pick that up! Get back in line!”) are breaking down.

Whatever the cause, the state of DISORDER is represented by a white marker on the unit. (We use chenille “pipecleaners” as markers; they can be purchased at hobby stores in many colors and cut to a desired length – we like them about an inch.)

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The DISORDERED unit’s die level is reduced one below its starting level. It may still be issued any legal order, but it moves at half speed.

A unit recovers from DISORDER by spending a turn not moving and not in contact with an enemy unit. Its orders will probably be Hold or Stand and Shoot, although it could play a defensive formation order such as Shield Wall. It may shoot (as disordered) if missile equipped. Enemy missile attacks do not prevent recovery of good order unless they cause the unit to become SHAKEN or ROUT. At the end of the stationary turn the unit regains good order and the white marker is removed.

Worse than DISORDER is the state of being SHAKEN, indicated by a yellow marker. A SHAKEN unit’s individual soldiers are wavering (giving serious consideration to running away); its internal cohesion has broken down so that orders cannot be transmitted and normal operating procedures are not being followed. A SHAKEN unit is reduced two die levels below its starting point, and it may not voluntarily move closer to the enemy. SHAKEN units may not shoot, and move as disordered. It will normally require a turn out of contact with an enemy and

under a REFORM order to recover (to DISORDER). The opposite of SHAKEN is STEADY: a steady unit may be disordered but not SHAKEN or ROUTED.

Worst of all is ROUTING, indicated by a red marker. A ROUTING unit will automatically RUN AWAY, and if contacted in melee it fights down three die levels. Recovering from ROUTING normally requires that the unit be joined by a commander or other special character, and then pass a morale test raising it to SHAKEN. ROUTING units who flee off the table are considered destroyed.

A unit that destroys an enemy in melee will gain a green marker, indicating that it is ELATED. Its die level is increased one level. An ELATED marker cancels a DISORDERED marker (remove both) and changes a SHAKEN marker to DISORDERED and a ROUTED marker to SHAKEN. A unit may only have one of these four markers on it at a time.

The table below summarizes the five morale states and their effects:

MORALE STATE Elated (Steady)

Good Order(Steady)

Disordered(Steady)

Shaken Rout

MARKER Green None White Yellow Red

DICE +1 level As assigned -1 level -2 levels -3 levels

ORDERS any any any No closer to en-emy; No shoot-ing

Run away from enemy

MOVE normal normal 1/2 speed 1/2 speed normal

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Table of ContentsOVERVIEW AND PHILOSOPHYWHAT HAS THIS TO DO WITH GANESHA GAMES’ SONG OF BLADES AND HEROES?WHAT HAS THIS TO DO WITH SPLINTERED LIGHT MINIATURES?WHAT IS “THE SPLINTERED LIGHT”?“PRIDE OF LIONS” COME FROM?

Part One: BASIC RULESUNITSDie LevelsMorale StatesCOMMANDERS AND CHARACTERSCHARACTER ROLESCHARACTER TO CHARACTER COMBATORDERSSEQUENCE OF PLAY

How Units MoveMovement and FacingMovement and Morale StatesMoving and Interpenetrationor Routing FriendsMultiple Chargers and DefendersTerrain and MovementHow Units FightFACTORS AFFECTING DIE LEVEL IN MELEE:

MULTIPLE ATTACKERSCOMBAT RESULTS TABLEMorale Effects from the CRTPushbacks From MeleeWITHDRAWING FROM COMBATMissile AttacksOPTIONAL SHOOTING ADJUSTMENTDIE ROLLING CONVENTION

BEFORE THE FIRST TURNTHE ENVIRONMENT OF THE BATTLEDaylight and DarknessClimate and WeatherEnvironmental AdvantageLocal AdvantageTerrainScoutingDeploymentMovement TraysArmy ReserveFlank Marches and Picketsfor Balancing Armies

Diagram 1Part Two: MAGIC RULESWhat is magic?

SHAMANIC MAGICHOW SHAMANS DO MAGICSHAMANIC SPELLSB.Spells to reduce enemy moraleC.Spells to raise friendly die levels (melee/morale and/or missile attack)E.Spells to change a unit’s orderF.Spells to affect terrainG.Spells directly attacking an enemy unitH. Generalized weather spellsI. Tactics Cards

DWARVEN RUNELORERUNE ITEMSSpecial Rune Items ARMY LIMITS ON RUNE ITEMS

DEMONIC MAGICDIVINE MAGIC

NecromancyUNDEADNECROMANCERSCommon necromantic spellsAS GENERALS

GODFEARERSSPIRITS

SPECIAL UNITS AND ATTACKSMIGHTY DRAGONS AND GIANTSCONSTRUCTIONSGAS ATTACKSARTILLERYSWARMSHORDESHERDS

FLYING UNITSTHE TURN SEQUENCESSome representative air units

Part Five: GENERIC ARMY LISTS AND SCENARIOSGeneric ArmiesCivilized/drilled infantry-based army:Barbarian hostPikes and heavy cavalryCavalry army

GENERIC SCENARIOSA: THE BRIDGE: (see Map A)B: AMBUSH! (See Map B)C.DARK AND BLOODY GROUNDD.RAID!E. MASSACRE!F. SURPRISE!G. MORNING FOGFOG rules

A SHAMANIC ARMY: WYLDEWOODA GOBLIN ARMY: MOONGLADE WOLFCLANAN ARMY OF HORSE NOMADSDWARVEN ROYAL ARMYAn Army of GodfearersPRAYER LIST FOR PRIESTS OF THE RISEN SUN

CULTURAL BACKGROUND AND ARMY/SPELL LISTSTHE PRIDES AND THEIR MILITARY FORCESSUN/GOLDEN PRIDEDARK PRIDEBLOOD/RED PRIDEMOON/GHOST PRIDEBLACK PRIDE

LEONINE SPELLSDARK PRIDE UNIQUE SPELLSMOON PRIDE UNIQUE SPELLSBLOOD PRIDE SPELLOPPOSING UNDEADFrom SunPride or Dark Pride:From Blood Pride:From Moon Pride:From Dark Pride:

The SunderedI. Culture, Economy, Ecology