Special Mercenary Leader and 3 special mercenary armies : The Elven Black Prince and his Royal Guard Make a new Diplomacy Card, one fortress counter, and four unit counters for this special mercenary variant.

1. The Black Prince counter is a Special Mercenary Leader, with a movement of 7 and a terrain bonus in forests.

2. The Royal Guard counters (3) are Elven armies, with movements of 6, and terrain bonuses in forest.

3. The castle of Letho counter is a castle with an intrinsic defense strength of 2, and can only be placed on the hex NE of the map words "Mires of the Sinking Kind" (the hex shows an island in the middle of a river), and only under certain circumstances.

Only 1 Royal Guard counter normally enters play with the Black Prince counter. The remaining two counters can only enter play under certain circumstances (see section 2 below). The Black Prince counter does not normally supersede the Elfland monarch counter, except if entered as described in section 2 below. The Letho castle counter only enters play as a result of section 2 conditions.

Story

The Elven Black Prince is the surviving heir to the previous Elven monarch, who led his country into a disastrous war two generations ago. Driven from the capitol in shame by his defeated people, the Black Prince led his fanatically devoted Royal Guard into exile. He has nurturing his hatred of the other kingdoms of Minaria, particularly the goblins of Nithmere, but the realities of exile, and the exorbitant costs of maintaining his lifestyle and his followers' equipment, have forced him to occasionally join sides in the common border skirmishes and minor wars of plunder that frequently beset Minaria. In recent years, the Black Prince has covertly settled in the ruins of the Elven city of Letho, turning the hardening quick slime into a formidable defensive labyrinth, waiting patiently for short-lived human memories of the last war to fade, and plotting his return to leadership over Elfland. This is not as far fetched as it seems, for many of the arrogant elves secretly cling to the ideals of ra-cial superiority, and would rally to the old royal blood if the opportunity arose.

Entering the Elven Black Prince and his Royal Guard:

1. In a regular game, his Diplomatic Card is entered as per any other Special Mercenary leader/unit.

a) The Black Prince's counter and that of one (1) Royal Guard counter enter at any friendly castle. This has absolutely no effect on Elfland or its monarch.

b) The Black Prince acts a regular mercenary leader, giving +1 on combat rolls, for the duration of the game. The Royal Guard is a Special Mercenary army, which adheres to all regular rules.

"The Second Great Elven War"

2. If the Elven Black Prince is entered by the player controlling Elf-land (either as a player monarch or an allied non-player monarch), special conditions apply:

a) the Black Prince may enter on the Mires of the Sinking Kind hex, which becomes, for the duration of the game, a castle (Letho) with an intrinsic defense strength of two (2). The Letho castle counter is placed.

b) In addition to the Black Prince counter and the regular Royal Guard counter, two (2) additional Royal Guard counters enter play in Letho.

c) The owning player may immediately replace, at no cost, all currently destroyed Elfland armies, placing them in Ider Bolis. This is a one-time only free replacement.

d) Finally, the owning player then has the option of having the Elfland monarch overthrown (if a non-player monarch). If he decides to do so, the current personality card of the Elfland monarch is set aside and a new personality card is drawn to represent the Black Prince. There are no repercussions and Elfland does not go into confusion. The Black Prince then becomes the monarch counter for Elfland. The Elfland monarch counter must be removed from play, and may only return to play if the Black Prince is later killed or captured.

e) The Black Prince counter gives +1 on combat rolls for the duration of the game.

If captured while acting as Elfland monarch, the Black Prince acts like a regular monarch. If killed, Elfland goes into confusion, as per normal, with a new monarch returning to the throne as per regular rules. The Elfland monarch counter returns to play at that time.

If the player who entered the Black Prince under Section 1 conditions above later acquires Elfland as an ally, he may not implement the Section 2 conditions. Once the Black Prince is entered under Section 1 conditions, the provisions of Section 2 may never be implemented.

Notes:

This variant is an attempt to create a situation of the great Elven War within a regular Divine Right game, and secondly to spice up the rather dull northwest corner of the board. Originally a scenario design, this worked better as a more limited Special Mercenary variant. It has not been extensively playtested and I would welcome additional feedback.