Card Descriptions & FAQ
All of the cards included in Of Popes & Plagues along with explanation of play and FAQ for each card or card type.
Improvements
Cards with a Stone Mason in the upper-left corner are improvements
Four of the Improvements (Aqueduct, City Walls, Monestary and Sewer) begin in the center of the play area and are available to be built by players.
You may "Build" one of these Improvement rather than playing a card during your turn.
To build an Improvement, select the desired Improvement from those available in the center of the play area and place it, face up, in front of yourself.
Two Improvements (Knights Hospitaller and Templar) are added to the Playing cards at the beginning of the game in order to form the Draw Pile. These Improvements will be drawn and played from the player's hand.
When removed from play by another card, the improvement is removed from play, it is not added to those in the center of the table, available to be built.
FAQ
May I play an Improvement on another Player?
> No you may only play an Improvement on yourself.
What happens if I want to build an improvement and there are none available?
>There are limited and varied number of each improvement (City Walls x4, Aqueduct x 3, Sewers x3, Monestary x2, and 1 each of the knights). Once they have been played and/or removed, they are not available again.
The box and the Rulebook says that the game includes 13 Improvements. My game has 14. Is there a problem with collation?
>Collation is correct.
An Aqueduct is built to provide clean water to your village.
An Aqueduct is an Improvement.
Place this card in front of yourself. It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
A player with an Aqueduct card in play will gain a plus one (+1) modifier to a Prosperity Roll and a minus one (-1) modifier to a Plague Roll.
While the Aqueduct is in play, the controlling player MAY NOT be the target of Drought or a Fire cards.
A player may only have one Aqueduct in play at any time.
When an Improvement card is removed by any card, it is removed from play. The removed card MAY NOT be reused/rebuilt/replayed.
FAQ
May I build an Aqueduct if there are none available?
> No you may only build an Aqueduct if there is one or more left in the center of the table.
City Walls are built to provide clean protection for your village.
City Walls are an Improvement.
Place this card in front of yourself. It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
A player with a City Walls card in play will gain a plus one(+1) modifier to a Prosperity Roll and a minus one (-1) modifier to a Plague Roll.
While the City Walls are in play, the controlling player MAY NOT be the target of Raid cards (Corsair and Viking Raids).
While the City Walls are in play, the controlling player will get a plus one to any war roll.
A player may only have one City Walls in play at any time.
FAQ
May I build a City Walls if there are none available?
> No you may only build a City Walls if there is one or more left in the center of the table.
A Monestary is built to provide religous guidance for your village.
A Monestary is an Improvement.
Place this card in front of yourself. It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
A player with a Monestary card in play will gain a plus one (+1) modifier to a Prosperity Roll and a minus one (-1) modifier to a Plague Roll.
A player with a Monestary card in play MAY NOT be the target of Flood cards.
A player may only have one Sewer in play at any time.
FAQ
May I build a Monestary if there are none available?
> No you may only build a Monestary if there is one or more left in the center of the table.
A Sewer is built to provide provide drainage to and to remove waste from your village .
A Sewer is an Improvement.
Place this card in front of yourself. It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
A player with a Sewer card in play will gain a plus one (+1) modifier to a Prosperity Roll and a minus one (-1) modifier to a Plague Roll.
A player with a Sewer card in play MAY NOT be the target of cards with Crusade in their name (Crusade & Children's Crusade).
A player may only have one Monestary in play at any time.
FAQ
May I build a Sewer if there are none available?
> No you may only build a Sewer if there is one or more left in the center of the table.
The Knights Hospitaller establish an outpost in your village.
At the beginning of the game, the Knights Hospitaller are included in the Draw Pile and are an played from the Active Player's hand like a Playing card.
When played, place this card in front of yourself.
It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
Player gains a plus one (+1)to any War roll.While the Knights Hospitaller is in play and the controlling player MAY NOT be the target of cards with Crusade in their name (Crusade & Children's Crusade).
Player immediately gains a Monestary Improvement (if available and does not already have one in play).
The Knights Templar establish an outpost in your village.
At the beginning of the game, the Knights Templar are included in the Draw Pile and are an played from the Active Player's hand like a Playing card.
When played, place this card in front of yourself.
It will remain in play and generating its effect until it is removed by another card.
Player gains a plus one (+1) to any War roll.While the Knights Hospitaller is in play and the controlling player MAY NOT be the target of cards with Crusade in their name (Crusade & Children's Crusade).
Player immediately gains a City Walls Improvement (if available and does not already have one in play).
Playing Cards
Playing cards have a Sun or a Rat in the upper left hand corner.
You typically play the Suns on yourself and the Rats on the other players... the Sun shines on you and you Rat on your friends...
See below for the Yellow Suns/Instants - Buy Indulgence/Negotiated Peace and the Tactical Advantages
FAQ
May I play sun cards on other players and rat cards on myself?
> Absolutely! It is generally helpful to use the bit above when teaching new players the game. There are definitely instances where you would play "good cards" on other players and perhaps "bad cards" on yourself.
A bountiful harvest lead to population growth.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player (usually self).
Target Player Gains 10 Population.
The youth of a village leave to join a Children's Crusade.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Active Player Increases population by fifteen (15) while the Target Player Loses fifteen (15) Population.
Barbary Coast Coarsairs raid a coastal village.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses 10 Population.
Population from your village join a Crusade to the Holy Land.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses 10 Population.
A tradeship, bearing the Plague, arrives bringing the Black Death with it.
This card must be played immediately upon being drawn.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
The game enters the Plague Phase with the Target Player becoming the Active Player.
Drought parches the village's residents and kills crops.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player. Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
Strong tremors topple buildings.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses five (5) Population.
The Active Player chooses one of the Target Player's Improvement(s) to remove.
FAQ
May I play an Earthquake card on a Target Player that does NOT have an Improvement?
> Yes. The Target Player will ONLY lose five (5) Population.
Famine devastates the population.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
The Active Player MAY move one Pestilence card that is in play on ANY player.
Fire rages through the Target Player's Village.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses five (5) Population.
The Active Player chooses one of the Target Player's Improvement(s) to remove.
FAQ
May I play a Fire card on a Target Player that does NOT have an Improvement?
> Yes. The Target Player will ONLY lose five (5) Population.
Floodwaters innudate your village sweeping away population.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
The Pope's inquisitors search for heritics the Target Player's Village.
This card must be played immediately upon being drawn.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
On the Target Player's turn, after the Prosperity or Plague Roll, the Target Player rolls two (2) dice.
On a modified dice roll of less than two (2), the Target Player will NOT lose Population.
On a modified dice roll obetween three (3) and seven (7), the Target Player will lose five (5) Population.
On a modified dice roll of eight (8) or above, the Target Player moves the Inquisition tp a new Target Player.
Optional Rule:1) If the Knights Templar are in play when the Inquisition card is played or moved, the Target must be the player that has the Knights Templar in play.
FAQ
Does the Inquisition card have an immediate effect on the player?
> No, the Target is only affected until his turn.
May the dice roll for the Inquisition be modified by Tactical Advantage(s)?
>Yes, Tactical Advantage cards may be used to modify the roll.
May the dice roll for the Inquisition be modified by Improvement(s)
>No, Improvements will NOT modify the Inquisition roll.
The Active Player takes five (5) Population from each player.
The active player moves his token up five (5) spaces on the game board.
Each other player decrease his population by five (5) on the game board.
The Active Player MAY move a Pestilence card that is currently in play to a new player.
FAQ
If one or more playerss have less than five (5) population, what happens?
>The players lose the population that they have and the active player gains the same amount that they lost.
The Mongol Horde rains death and destruction on your village.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
The Active Player chooses one of the Target Player's Improvement(s) to remove.
FAQ
May I play an Mongol Horde card on a Target Player that does NOT have an Improvement?
> Yes. The Target Player will ONLY lose ten (10) Population.
Disease ravages your population.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses five (5) Population.
The Pestilence card remains in front of the Target until moved by another card or as the result of a dice roll.
Can be moved when...
- A player plays a Famine Card
- A player rolls doubles (the rolling player MAY move ANY/ALL Pestilence cards in play to ANY Target(s).
When moved to a new player (Target), that player immediately loses five (5) population.
A player with an Pestilence card in play will gain a plus one (+1) modifier to a Prosperity Roll and a minus one (-1) modifier to a Plague Roll.
A trade route is established.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player gains ten (10) Population.
The Active Player MAY move one Pestilence card that is in play on ANY player.
FAQ
Why can a Pestilence Card be moved?
> A Trade Route encourages population movement. This movement and interaction has the potential to spread disease to new populations.
Vikings plunder your village.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
Target Player Loses ten (10) Population.
The game enters the Plague Phase with the Target Player becoming the Active Player.
The Active Player removes the Target's Monestary.
FAQ
May I play an Viking Raid card on a Target Player that does NOT have a Monestary Improvement?
> Yes. The Target Player will ONLY lose ten (10) Population.
You have started a war - or contributed to the start of a war between two factions.
You have instigated a war - but you will not be directly involved.
The Active Player plays on a Target Player.
The Target Player selects a Player (Selected Player) other than the Active Player to go to war with.
Prior to the Die rolls, ANY player may play a Buy Indulgence, Negotiated Peace card to end (discard) the W
The Target Player and the Selected Player will each roll one die to determine which side wins the war.
The die rolls of both the Target Player and the Selected Player may be modified cumlatively
- Plus one (+1) to the player's roll if that player has City Walls
- Plus one (+1) to the player's roll if that player has Knights Hospitaller
- Plus one (+1) to the player's roll if that player has Knights Templar
- Plus two (+2) for each Tactical Advantage played on the player
The player with the higher modified roll is the winner and suffers the Winner's losses while the lower modified roll suffers the Loser's losses.
If the modified roll is a tie, both the Targeted and the Selected Players lose the winner's losses and the war continues with each making a die roll and modifying until a winner is detemined.
If an Improvement is included in the Loser's losses, the Winner of the War selects which Improvement is removed from the Loser.
FAQ
What happens if the Targeted and Selected players roll (modified) ties several times?
> Each time the modified die roll results in a tie, they both suffer the Winner's losses.
Cards with Yellow Suns in the upper-left hand corner are instants that may be played outside of the play or discard portion of your turn.
The Pope interceeds on a player's behalf.
Played in response to a War or a Crusade card.
In response to a Cusade card, immediately discard the Crusade card. The Target Player does not lose ten (10) population.
If played in response to a War card, the Pope may be played any time before die are rolled. When played, immediately discard the War card and any Tactical Advantages in play.
The Active Player may play one or more Tactical Advantages from hand.
The Card MAY be played before or after any roll.
The Active player selects the Target Player (may be self) and declares whether a plus two (+2) or minus two (-2) modifier will be applied to the roll.
Tactical Advantages are discarded after the roll is resolved. In the case of a War, the Tactical Advantage remains in effect until a winner is determined and the War card is discarded. In the case of a Population or Plague roll, the Tactical Advantage(s) is discarded as soon as the roll is resolved.
FAQ
In a War, will/may a Tactical Advantage target both players?
> No you may only affect one player's roll.
General FAQ
<text>
<text>
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.