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20. Battle

Battle

Generals of Kaladan: Age of Crowns – Battle resolution, dice mechanics, casualties, and Crown elimination

Battle is the decisive method of seizing territory, removing enemy forces, and eliminating rivals. Movement alone cannot enter an enemy tile — only battle can break resistance.

This section defines every rule governing battle resolution, dice comparison, casualties, invasion, and Crown defeat.

1. When a Battle Occurs

A battle occurs when:

You declare an attack against an adjacent enemy tile during your Action Phase.

  • A battle is mandatory if you attempt to enter a tile containing an enemy unit or Crown.
  • Two armies may never occupy the same tile.

Only one battle may be initiated per turn.

You may only attack from one tile and attack a single opponent's tile. No multi-tile battles.

2. Battle Sequence Overview

Every battle follows this sequence:

  1. Declare the attack
  2. Declare magic card usage (both players independently choose whether to use a magic card)
  3. Determine attacking and defending units
  4. Determine dice pools
  5. Roll all attack and defense dice simultaneously
  6. Sort each player's dice from highest → lowest
  7. Compare dice one-to-one (highest vs highest, etc.)
  8. Assign casualties
  9. Resolve survival and Crown status
  10. If attacker wins: mandatory invasion
  11. If defender wins: defender holds position
  12. If a Crown is defeated: eliminate the player and transfer their Special Unit

Magic Card Declaration

After the attack is declared but before determining units and dice pools:

  • The attacking player declares first whether they will use a magic card
  • The defending player then declares their intention to use a magic card
  • Each player decides independently whether to opt in or opt out
  • Once both declarations are made, the decision is final and cannot be changed
  • The content of magic cards is only revealed after both players have made their declarations

This ensures both players have equal opportunity to enhance their forces before battle resolution begins.

During the gold spending phase, players may:

  • Swap a magic card for an unused one from the deck (blindly) for 2 Gold
  • Purchase an additional magic card from the unused deck (blindly) for 4 Gold

Magic cards that save defeated units may be declared after battle.

3. Dice Pools & Simultaneous Rolling

Simultaneous Dice Rolling

  • Both players roll all their dice at the same time
  • Dice are rolled into separate dice containers
  • No totals are added — each die is judged individually

One-to-One Dice Comparison

Sort each player's dice from highest to lowest

Compare:

  • Highest vs highest
  • Second highest vs second highest
  • Third vs third
  • And so on…

Dice Count Limitation

If one side has more dice than the other:

  • Only the lowest side's number of dice are used
  • Extra dice from the higher side are ignored
  • Because only that many units can participate in one-to-one comparisons

This ensures battle outcomes are determined by matched die pairs, not raw quantity.

4. Determining Dice for Each Side

Dice pools come from:

  • Units on the attacking tile
  • Units on the defending tile
  • Castle bonuses (if defending tile has a Castle)
  • Terrain bonuses (if specified by the rules)

Refer to the Unit Stats section for exact dice values.

5. Casualty Assignment

After comparing all matched dice:

  • For each comparison, the side with the lower die loses one unit
  • In the case of ties, both dice result in no casualties for that pair
  • The owning general chooses which units are removed for each casualty taken

Permanent Removal

  • All defeated units are permanently removed from the board
  • Special Units are the only units that can return, through the Special Unit respawn rules

6. Special Unit Respawn Rules (Important Update)

A Special Unit costs 2 Gold to respawn.

Respawn priority:

  1. Any Castle tile controlled by the player, respecting capacity
  2. If the player controls no Castles →
    Respawn on the Crown's tile, if capacity allows
  3. If the Crown tile has no capacity →
    Respawn on an adjacent vacant tile next to any tile the player controls
  4. If none of these conditions are possible →
    The Special Unit cannot respawn this turn

7. Example Battle Scenarios (with Image Placeholders)

Use these examples with images to demonstrate dice sorting, one-to-one comparison, and final outcomes.

Example 1 – Forest Attack vs Mountain Castle Defense

Situation:

Player 1 attacks from a Forest with:

  • General
  • Catapult
  • Shield

Player 2 defends a Mountain Castle with:

  • Nanchi (Special Unit)
  • Crown
  • Shield

IMAGE PLACEHOLDER 1

[INSERT IMAGE: forest_attacker_vs_mountain_castle_defender_01]

Ready for asset replacement

Dice Pools (Example Values)

  • Attacker: General + Catapult + Shield → X dice
  • Defender: Nanchi + Crown + Castle bonus + Shield → Y dice

Comparison

  1. Both sides roll simultaneously
  2. Sort dice high → low
  3. Compare one-to-one
  4. The lower value in each pair suffers a casualty

Outcome

If attacker wins:

  • Defender's units removed
  • Attacker must invade with up to tile capacity (Mountain = 3)

If defender wins:

  • Defender holds position
  • Attacker's casualties removed
  • Defender does not move

Example 2 – Field to Forest Engagement

Player 1 attacks from a Field with 4 Swords.

Player 2 defends in a Forest with 1 Archer and 1 General.

IMAGE PLACEHOLDER 2

[INSERT IMAGE: field_attack_vs_forest_defense_02]

Ready for asset replacement

Forest capacity = 3

Field capacity = 4

Invasion Example

Field (4 units) → Forest (capacity 3)
→ Attacker must invade with 3 units if victorious

Example 3 – Small Skirmish

Player 1 attacks with 2 Shields from a Mountain.

Player 2 defends a Field with 1 Sword.

IMAGE PLACEHOLDER 3

[INSERT IMAGE: mountain_attack_vs_field_03]

Ready for asset replacement

Resolve using the same one-to-one dice comparison.

8. Mandatory Invasion

If the attacker defeats all defending units, the attacker must invade using:

The maximum number of units the target tile can hold

Updated Examples

  • Forest (capacity 3) attacker → Field (capacity 4)
    → Move 3 units
  • Field (4 units) attacker → Forest (capacity 3)
    → Move 3 units

Mandatory invasion is not optional.

9. Defender Victory

If the defender eliminates all attackers:

  • Defender keeps control
  • Defender does not move
  • Attacker loses all defeated units permanently

10. Crowns & Player Elimination

If a Crown is defeated in battle:

  • The player is immediately eliminated
  • All their remaining units are removed
  • Their Castle becomes controlled by the victor only if the battle took place on the Castle tile
  • The victor gains the defeated player's Special Unit

Special Unit Transfer

  • The transferred Special Unit spawns on the tile where the battle took place and the Crown was defeated
  • It becomes part of the victor's army immediately
  • It follows normal Special Unit rules from that point forward
  • It does not count as a spawn or purchase

11. Summary of Battle Principles

  • A battle is the only way to enter an enemy tile
  • You may only attack from one tile and attack a single opponent's tile. No multi-tile battles.
  • Dice are rolled simultaneously
  • Dice are compared individually, not totaled
  • Only matched dice count; extra dice are ignored
  • Casualties are permanent
  • Special Units respawn for 2 Gold under strict rules
  • Crown defeat eliminates the player
  • Only one army may occupy a tile
  • Attackers must invade if they win
  • Defenders hold position if they win
  • Special Units transfer only when a Crown falls
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