originally published in The Book of Drastic Resolutions, Volume Prax by Stephen Martin.
What follows is errata for the Wizard’s Attic translation of Les Dieux Nomades, the French version of Nomad Gods. This is not necessarily complete, but it presents all of the errors I have found or have had pointed out to me. Most are mine or Oriflam’s. Some clarifications and game aids are also provided.
Map Corrections
| Days Rest (“Repos du Jour”) | Move up and to the right one hex. |
| Jaldon’s Point (“Pointe de Jaldon”) | Move down one hex. |
| Pimper’s Block (“Bloc de Pimper”) | Move down one hex. |
Rulesbook Corrections
Rules of Play
| Page | Rule | Title/Section | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| pg. 3 | Dead Place Hex | …with a CF of 2 (CF of 1 if disrupted). Shaman/fetch… | |
| pg. 4 | 3.3.1 | Change map color references from “green” to “brown.” | |
| pg. 4 | 4.1 | The sample counter should have an Air Rune, not a Motion Rune, in its MF. | |
| pg. 5 | 4.5.1 | Add the following CF listing: “0 — The unit is not a spirit, but may not attack or be chosen as a casualty in melee.” | |
| pg. 5 | 4.5.1, 4.5.2 | The figure that looks like a “1” is an exclamation point. | |
| pg. 6 | 5.3.3 | Winter Fertile Ground | All Optional Rules are determined (or rejected, rather) before play begins — a player cannot object to an optional rule during the course of a game. |
| pg. 6 | 5.3.4 | Change reference from “3.2” to “3.3”. | |
| pg. 12 | 7.8.3.3 | The paragraph on leadership should not be italicized. |
Unit Descriptions
| Page | Rule | Title/Section | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| pg. 21 | 10.1.4 | Cannibal Cult | If all of the defenders in a hex are routed by the Cannibal Cult’s special ability, it may Advance After Combat at the appropriate time, as if they had been eliminated. |
| pg. 25 | 11.3 | Elemental Demons | Replace the 2nd paragraph of the rules description with the following: “When an Elemental Demon is drawn from the Spirit Pool, it immediately attacks the stack which caused its appearance, regardless of its mode of attack. If it eliminates all tribal or independent units, it remains at the holy place until eliminated. If it is eliminated by the tribal units, and at least one tribal unit survives, the demon is captured rather than eliminated, as if it were a normal spirit. Once allied in this manner, it must remain stacked with a clan. Plague can never be allied in this manner. If the demon does not eliminate all units in the stack, and is not itself eliminated, it is forced from the Holy Place. It retreats one hex without having to leave a covering force, and has no further effect during that player-turn. In the beginning of the next player-turn it begins Random Movement (see 6.6). If it cannot retreat due to terrain or ZOCs, it is eliminated.” |
| pg. 28 | 11.7.3 | Silver Deer | Add the following sentence to the end of paragraph 2: “The hunter stack moves at the normal, undisrupted MF value of the unit with the slowest MF. Units stacked with the Silver Deer do not require support.” |
| pg. 28 | 11.7.4 | Watchdog of Corflu | The second paragraph should be italicized. |
| pg. 29 | 11.9.4 | Found-child | This description is correct; it is the counter which is wrong. |
| pg. 30 | 11.10.3 | Good Shepherd | I have changed this unit since publication of Les Dieux Nomades. Those who wish can replace the current description with the one given later under Optional Rules. |
| pg. 32 | 11.11.5 | Pavis | Further research requires that the following sentence be added to his description: “Pavis may not control any unit with an infinite MgF.” |
Scenarios
| Page | Rule | Title/Section | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| pg. 41 | 17.1.1 | Scenario 1 | Note that the reference is off, as the diagram is obviously at the bottom of pg. 40. |
| pg. 42 | 17.3.1 | Scenario 3 | Units cannot be deployed on any holy place. |
| pg. 42 | 17.3.2 | Scenario 3 | Game length should be 10 turns, not 14. |
| pg. 42 | 17.3.3 | Scenario 3 | The Sequence of play is incorrect. It should show as follows: |
| The Player-Turn Segment The Invading Player’s Turn The Alliance Phase The Movement Phase The Exotic Magic Phase The Combat Phase The Rally Phase The Defending Player’s Turn The Alliance Phase The Movement Phase The Exotic Magic Phase The Combat Phase The Rally Phase The Bookkeeping Segment |
Other Errata
| Page | Rule | Title/Section | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| pg. 47 | 20. | These references should be to chapter 19, not 20. | |
| pg. 47 | 20.1 | Sheet 2 (front) | Correct/add the following: |
| Three-Bean Circus | MgF * | ||
| Found-child | RF (6) | ||
| pg. 47 | 20.1 | Sheet 2 (reverse) | Correct/add the following: |
| Rainbow Girl | MgF 2 MF 4 RF 0 | ||
| Found-child | RF 0 | ||
| pg. 47 | 20.1 | All herd descriptions should read “t”, not “h”. | |
| Back Cover | Emissary Table | The first Die Roll should read “0-2”, not “1-2”. | |
| Back Cover | Missile Fire Terrain Modifiers | Add “oasis” to the second list of modifiers. | |
| Back Cover | Missile Fire Unit Modifiers | The modifier for “Bison clans, herds, or ancestors” should read “-1”, not “-2”. | |
| Back Cover | Game Turn Sequence | This contains an error, as the “Random Events Segment” is not used in Nomad Gods. Delete this segment, and renumber the others “1)” (Player Turn Segment) and “2)” (Bookkeeping Segment). The rules text in 2. is correct. | |
| Back Cover | Player Turn Sequence | The exclusions listed for phases 2 and 4 are wrong; others are not given. Replace the entire chart with the following: A player turn is composed of the following phases (parentheses indicate scenarios in which the phase is used). | |
| 1) Random Movement Phase (5-7) 2) Alliance Phase (3, 5-7) 3) Movement Phase (1-7) 4) Exotic Magic Phase (3-7) 5) Combat Phase (1-7) 6) Rally Phase (1-7) |
Optional Rules
Magical Societies
It occurs to me that the Magical Societies, rather than being doubled versus the appropriate elemental spirits, should be able to capture them as if they were Magical Leaders. Thus, the following rules descriptions of each unit can be used to replace the ones given, as an OPTIONAL RULE.
| Page | Rule | Title/Section | Optional Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| pg. 22 | 10.5.1 | Red School of Masks | “Their MgF is doubled against Lunar Spirits. This does not include the Book of Dale. They may capture these Lunar Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16).” |
| pg. 23 | 10.5.2 | Serpent Dancers | “Their MgF is doubled against Water Spirits. This does not include Zola Fel or the Portable Oasis. They may capture these Water Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16).” |
| pg. 23 | 10.5.3 | Star Witches | “Their MgF is doubled against Fire Spirits. This includes Wildfires, but not Oakfed or the War Arrow Medicine Bundle. They may capture these Fire Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16).” |
| pg. 23 | 10.5.4 | Sunset Society | “Their MgF is doubled against Darkness Spirits. This includes Shades, but not Dark Eater or Tada’s Cudgel. They may capture these Darkness Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16).” |
| pg. 23 | 10.5.5 | Wind Singers | “Their MgF is doubled against Air Spirits. This includes Whirlvishes, but not the Wild Hunter or Tada’s Sandals. They may capture these Air Spirits (only), as if they were a Magical Leader (see 7.16).” |
The Silver Deer
This unit is difficult to eliminate. While it can be viewed as a deterrent against large stacks, some may find it too effective. For those who wish, the following rule can be added to the end of the second paragraph of the rules description:
“…belong to the same player (see 7.4.1). If the hunter stack is attacked with Spirit Magic, all casualties MUST be chosen from the top down, as with melee. This means that the Silver Deer must be chosen as the first casualty. Even if the Deer is eliminated (thus releasing the hunters), the full MgF Loss must be carried out.
A shaman/fetch unit on the shaman side (or other Magical Leader) may advance into a hunter stack containing one or more of its own units, in violation of the normal stacking and ZOC rules, and capture the Silver Deer as if it were alone in the hex. This also releases all hunters. Hunters not of the same tribe must immediately retreat one hex; if unable to retreat due to terrain or ZOCs, they are eliminated.”
Parts of the Devil
The original combat rules for Nomad Gods included a result of “Retreat,” which ensured some chance of encountering these entities However, the Dragon Pass rules do not. When Nomad Gods was updated, the chance of encountering one of these units became almost nil — what reason is there to go anywhere near the Swamp? It is true that an additional Part of the Bull can be allied from there, but that is limited to certain scenarios. Parts of the Devil could be put in the Spirit Pool, but their mythos gives them a clear link to the Swamp, so I find that solution unsatisfactory.
Two rules are provided to allow for their appearance in the game. The first allows for their random appearance; the second gives players a reason to travel into the Swamp.
First, Parts of the Devil could randomly appear in the Devil’s Swamp. During the Bookkeeping Phase of each turn, one player rolls a die. On an odd roll, one of the Parts of the Devil is drawn at random from a cup and placed on a random hex of the Devil’s Swamp. It is subject to all the rules for Creatures of Chaos, including Random Movement. It may travel away from the Swamp. However, any Part of the Devil which is outside the “ZOC” of the Swamp when a new one is placed on the board, is removed from the board and returned to the cup. Parts of the Devil still in or near the Swamp are not so removed. In this way, a number of the Parts of the Devil may be on the board at one time, and may be encountered away from it.
Second, players may be allowed to replace their Khan if he has been eliminated by any means. At least two clans must journey into the Devil’s Swamp and defeat a Part of the Devil. The rules for their appearance are used exactly as written. All clans which enter the Swamp must remain stacked together, or the Khan cannot be regained. If a Part of the Devil is defeated, the Khan will be stacked with any clans which leave the Swamp. If all of the clans are eliminated during the battle, or by other Parts of the Devil which may be present or appear, the Khan does not return.
The tribal shaman may not be regained in this way, nor can a shaman accompany the clans into the Swamp or aid them in any way. Treasures may be carried to aid the clans, but no spirits or independents will accompany them.
As this rule has not been playtested, I would be interested in hearing results of this “quest”.
The Good Shepherd
I am dissatisfied with the rules for this spirit, but did not discover this until after the game had come to print. Those who wish can change his RF to (2) on the front, (1) on the reverse, and replace the rules description with the following:
“The Good Shepherd has the ability to absorb an eliminated result for any friendly unit anywhere on the board, at the time the unit is chosen as a casualty.
The Good Shepherd’s RF indicates the number of units he can resurrect. The Good Shepherd’s RF is not affected by the Book of Dale (see 13.5). Once the first unit has been saved the Good Shepherd is turned over, as if he had been disrupted (see 7.15). If the Good Shepherd is disrupted in any other way he is also turned over, and so can save one fewer unit. Once he has saved two units and/or been disrupted twice, the Good Shepherd is eliminated and returned to the Paps, where he again becomes available for alliance.
When a unit is chosen as a casualty and the Good Shepherd intervenes, the unit is not removed from play. If the enemy player still has points of CF or MgF loss remaining at that time, he may apply them to the unit again. Thus, the same unit could be eliminated more than once during a given combat, if it was resurrected by the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd does not recover from being disrupted in the normal fashion. However, if he is moved into the “ZOC” of the Paps, he is restored during the controlling player’s rally phase, and can again save up to two more units. This is true whether he was disrupted by saving a unit or through combat.”