Description

Circle of Blood is a cooperative wargame, for two to four players, that uses 32mm miniatures and scaled scenery to recreate the tactical confrontations of one or more groups of adventurers, called guilds. The game also allows to play solo, for those adventurers who prefer to live the Gormalak experience by themselves. Or competitives one.

In Circle of Blood you take command of a guild made up of three adventurers. You can design them to your liking or use the predesigned characters (which we recommend to get started).
Game sequence
The first thing you have to do in order to play is choosing a mission. We recommend playing "New in town," featured in the complete manual.
Each player sets up their three models within the area specified by the mission. Then, one of the players starts the turn by activating one of their adventurers. Next the other player chooses one of their adventurers and activates it.
NPCs are always the last models to be activated (regardless of whether they are allies or not). Thus, after each guild has activated one adventurer, it’s the NPCs turn, who must activate the model that is the closest to an adventurer.
Remember to place an activation marker next to each model once it has been activated so you don't activate it again until the next turn.
This same activation order is repeated over and over again until there are no more models left to be activated, at which point the turn ends and we move on to the next one. Remove all activation markers at that time.

Game system
When activated, each model has a number of Action Points (AP), which is usually 4. Most of their actions (such as moving, jumping, or attacking an enemy) cost it 1 AP, though some may cost more. The model can repeat the same action a number of times equal to half its total AP (usually two). The only action that a model can freely repeat is to move.

Movement (MOV)
For each AP that the model uses to move, it will cover a distance equal to the one indicated in the MOV box of its template. When you move, the model can be facing in any direction you want.

Checks
Many actions are not automatic and require checking certain values from the Adventurer Sheet or creature template. Look up the value in question (which will range from 1 to 20) and roll 1d20. If the result is less than the number indicated on the Adventurer Sheet, the check is a success. If the result is exactly that number, it is a critical success. If the result is greater than the required number, it is a failure. Regardless of the final result of the check and whether it is successful or not, it always consumes the AP required to perform the action.

Penalties
External factors, which we call 'penalties', can negatively affect the course of a test. The sum of all the penalties changes the final value to be obtained in the check.
For example: A 2 penalty on a skill of 12 requires a d20 roll between 3 and 12.

• Melee: This type of attack requires base-to-base contact with the enemy model. The attacker rolls his Combat Skill (CS) and suffers a penalty equal to the opponent's Defense (DEF).
• Ranged: The target of the attack must be within the range of the weapon used. The attacker rolls his Shooting Skill (SS) and suffers various penalties (adjustments for long range, cover, movement, etc.).
• Magical: The target of the spell must be within range. The attacker rolls his Magic Skill (MS) and suffers penalties depending on the difficulty of the spell and the Magic Resistance (MR) of the victim.

When the offensive action succeeds, it will deal an amount of damage indicated on the weapon or spell’s description. This is subtracted from the victim's Armor (ARM) and the final result is subtracted from their current Hit Points (HP). When the model loses all of its HP, it will be defeated and must be removed from the game.
Reaction
If a model has not been activated yet, but suffers an offensive action, it has the chance to react. During a reaction, the model has access to only half its normal AP and can only attack the model that caused the reaction.
To determine who acts first, both models make a Dexterity (DEX) check. Whoever rolls the highest on a d20 wins. Alternate the actions of the models involved until they consume all their AP.

NPC Behavior
All the NPCs act according to the objective they must fulfill in the mission (attack, defend, secure an area, etc.). Each objective describes how the model must me moved during the scenario and what actions they will perform.
When another model or game circumstance “bothers” them (for example, attacking the NPC or making it impossible for them to fulfill their objective), we must consult their personality trait (rational, aggressive, or passive). This will determine their behavior, for example, causing them to run away from the model responsible, ignore it or even attack.

NPC combat
When they decide to fight, NPCs look for the most effective way of attacking based on the attributes of their weapons (CS, SS or MS). They always use the one that allows them to attack the greatest number of times taking into account, for example, if they are in base-to-base contact or further away from their enemy.

These are the most important mechanics in Circle of Blood. Now we invite you to take a look at the final manual to see everything that this narrative action wargame has to offer. Battle dozens of different enemies, gain fame and riches, and discover the sinister secret behind Gormalak!

—description from the publisher