Description

Evil In The North is a solitaire adventure game that is set in a dark wintry realm. The player oversees several game characters as they fulfill missions in this challenging environment. These characters represent a declining pagan population that is caught between the New Religion and the spiteful counter religion known as the Growing Evil. This latter division includes ruffians, malicious necromancers, the infamous NecroFiend occultists, and demons from foul depths.

Player guided characters will travel on a map that consists of card tiles. These tiles require various checks as the characters move from turn to turn. At the same time, game controlled characters known as NecroFiends will be spawned; eventually traveling the tile map through an automated movement system. When player characters run into a NecroFiend, conflict is likely to occur. Opposition can also emerge through the Occurrence deck (from entering a tile) or through the Demon deck (upon exiting a tile). These encounters gnaw away at a character's vital resource --their followers. A lack of followers makes a character extremely vulnerable and will often lead to elimination from the game if more followers cannot be acquired soon.

Combat in the world of Evil in the North is resolved through two means, Brute Conflict and DarkArts Conflict. The former combat type is associated with physical conflict and uses a Combat Results Table involving up to three 4-sided dice. The latter combat type is associated with sorcery and uses a simpler system involving the combatants' INSIGHT ratings and a single 4-sided die.

The game is divided into 3 stages to represent the different missions to be undertaken. To win Evil in the North, a player must fulfill every mission started. The game is lost if all player characters perish during the performance of a mission, regardless of how many missions have been completed. Without losing, you may end a game after any mission (but before another has begun).

ABOUT THE REIMPLEMENTATION:
This game builds on Black Metal by offering a whole new map treatment. Rather than building the tile map as you play, Evil in the North uses a preset tile map that is arranged prior to play. The preset tile map constrains player movement to a 7 x 7 grid (removing the chances of a run-away tile map). Furthermore, additional map tiles have been added to create the vast Ice Sea; a central area of the tile map consisting of 9 map tiles. Additional rules have been created to serve this new aspect of the tile map.

Unlike Black Metal, a regular game of Evil In The North is played with full map disclosure (all map tiles are displayed face-up from the onset).

Other changes/additions include:
--Updated text on many cards (mainly to accommodate the new tile map)
--An updated and consolidated rulebook (integrating the Mission booklet)
--New and updated rulebook diagrams
--New rules and sections within the rulebook (including a new Q&A and Card Clarifications section)
--An official variant sheet for an advanced game