Test of Honour: Campaign Rules

The Test of Honour community is going from strength to strength, with over 2,500 people now on the Facebook Group and new translations on their way! As well as sharing pictures of models in progress and experiences of the game, some of you have started creating your own rules content…

Mark Brown and Jez Fairclough from Tabletop Games UK have been working with game writer Graham Davey to produce this campaign system – it allows your samurai to win and control territories that in turn provide extra bonuses during battles. The system is deliberately easy to use so players can jump in with minimal fuss. If your preference is for something more complex, you might like to check out Tears of the Dragon – a cool looking map-based campaign.

Over to Mark and Jez…

The land is riven with conflict. Roving bands of Ronin take what they want, groups of peasants fight against the rightful order of things and some religious zealots have taken up arms and wear the masks of fallen Samurai. Exactly where you come into this is up to you. Perhaps your lord wishes you to pacify this area and bring the occupants to heel once more or maybe you are the leader of a desperate group of men living on the edge of the law. Maybe it’s not quite so black and white…

This campaign system is designed to allow any number of players to partake and to allow players to play as much or as little as they like whilst still being able to take part in the exciting Sengoku era. The only things that you will require to take part are a pad of paper, a pen and your usual Test of Honour paraphernalia!

Forces

Each player starts with a new force picked to a total of 18 points. All the normal rules for ongoing battles apply as described in the Battle Guide.

Agree with your group which optional rules to use. Varying Ability Scores is encouraged!

Initial Territories

Each player rolls two territories from the table below and then chooses a third. You cannot choose a Fort or Castle though if you are very lucky you may roll to control one!

Playing Battles

Play as many battles as possible! After each victory you roll on the table again and gain another territory. The new land has been captured, bought with your reward or simply granted by your lord.

If you have won against a player with more territories than yourself then you may re-roll the result (but must accept the second result).

Die One	Die Two	Name	Rules
Cross	Cross	Swamp	Tricked by the enemy, the land you have seized is a worthless swamp! This adds nothing to your realm.
Cross	Blank	Support of the Temple	You have garnered the support of a local temple boosting the morale of your troops! Grants you the favour of the gods. You can re-roll the first failed Test of Honour of the game.
Cross	1 Sword	Forest	The trees and bamboo are a weapon if you know the hidden pathways! Your troops are only reduced to moving 5” rather than 3” when moving through trees or bamboo.
Cross	2 Swords	Shrine	There is a small shrine where you are regularly seen assuaging the doubts of others over your conduct. Before each battle you may make a Test of Honour to remove any retained Dishonour card.
Blank	Cross	Training Ground	Your small Training ground allows your soldiers to hone their close-combat skills! Nominate one group of commoners after recruitment but before deployment and roll a single die applying the result to them for this battle. 2 Swords: +1 Strength 1 Sword: +1 Avoid Blank: +1 Melee Strike Cross: Stupid peasants learnt nothing!
Blank	Blank	Magazine	Control of the magazine gives you extra gun-powder and bullets to support your cause! The first musket armed group or individual that shoots does not need to take a reload counter, a freshly loaded musket is on hand in readiness! Subsequent shooting activations occur as normal.
Blank	1 Sword	Gambling House	The gambling house provides ample men willing to fight for your cause or at least for the money in your hand! Gain 1 extra Recruitment point each battle, that must be spent on commoners without missile weapons.
Blank	2 Swords	Main Road	Control of the main road lets you steal a march upon the enemy! In scenarios where your models are deployed on the table they may be placed up to 3” outside your normal deployment area.
1 Sword	Cross	Experienced Scouts	Your scouts report the lie of the land, positions of the enemy and allow your reserves to get to the field more quickly! Re-roll your first failed reserve roll of the game.
1 Sword	Blank	Stables	Controlling these stables provides extra horses for the campaign! Gain 1 extra Recruitment point each battle, that must be spent on mounted warriors.
1 Sword	1 Sword	Farming Village	Farming villages are a good place to pick up new recruits for the war! Gain 1 extra Recruitment point each battle, that must be spent on commoners with missile weapons.
1 Sword	2 Swords	Network of Spies	A carefully placed network of ‘little birds’ see all that the enemy does. Before each battle roll on the Spy Network table:X: The spy is caught and killed. This territory is destroyed. Remove it from your list. Start the battle with 1 additional Dishonour card.Blank: Observed preparing for battle. One non-hero Samurai loses one action during the first turn of the battle, remove one Samurai token from the bag and place it upon his card.1 Sword: The infiltrator manages to disrupt the enemy hero’s preparations causing him to lose an action in the first turn of the battle, remove one Samurai token from the bag and place it upon his card.2 Swords: The Ninja attacks the enemy Hero but is detected and chased off by one of his men with the job unfinished. One enemy non-hero Samurai figure begins the game with a single blood drop marker to reflect the wounds suffered in the clash.
2 Swords	Cross	Mine	The mines add to the riches of your clan! Gain 1 extra Recruitment point each battle.
2 Swords	Blank	A Friend at Court	Friends in high places are excellent for granting the odd favour! Allows subsequent rolls on this table to be re-rolled (this allows a re-roll to be re-rolled!).
2 Swords	1 Sword	Fort	A small fort overlooks the immediate area giving you an imposing military presence! Allows your hero to choose a single skill card with the Commander type before each battle (even if this exceeds his maximum allowance). The card must be discarded at the end of the battle.
2 Swords	2 Swords	Castle	Your castle is the pinnacle of what any commander of your worth would want. It is much grander than any others in the region! Grants you an additional Recruitment point and a single re-roll to any dice roll each battle.

Outmatched?

It may happen that you have been challenged by a superior rival and it would bring dishonour to you if you refuse! However in these troubled times there are no shortage of honourable men willing to help those in need and mercenaries that require little encouragement to join the fight. Should you find that your opponent controls at least three more territories than you, you may add a free Sergeant to your force for the battle. He represents a wandering Ronin capable of instilling a sense of purpose to the common man.

Ending the Campaign

The campaign can last as long as you like, though it is suggested that a time scale is imposed so that all of the participants know how long they have to squeeze in as many games as they possibly can!

The winner of the campaign is the player with the most territories at the end.

Let us know how you get on over on the Facebook Group!