Racer Knights of Falconus rules

=OBJECT OF THE GAME= Build a custom Racer and compete against your opponents in the race arena. Gain Glory by driving over waypoints and by wrecking other Racers. The player with the most Glory at the end of the race wins. =TERMINOLOGY= A Racer is a car driven in the arena to acquire Glory.

A Knight is a person who drives a Racer. Knights come from many species.

A joust is an arena duel between two or more Knights in their Racers, the winner of which is the one who gains the most Glory.

=SET UP=

Build Your Racer
As you purchase or trade for Racer Knights cards, you'll be able to build your own custom Racer by combining different parts you collect and build. If this is your first pack of Racer Knights cards, take the cards one at a time and carefully punch out the parts and assemble them.

Two of your cards will form your Racer's chassis. All of the other Racer parts attach to the chassis. One card will form your Racer engine and also have a shield mod. Another card has your tires and a weapon.

A Racer must have a chassis, engine, tires, weapon and a Knight to be considered suitable for play. Everything else is optional. Once you build your Racer, be sure to collect the punch-out strips that list the statistics for each part of your Racer. These "stat strips" fit together so you can see all of your Racer's game details. For example, your chassis might give your Racer 3 Speed and your engine might give your Racer 2 Speed. When you line up your stat strips, you can look down the Speed column to see that this Racer has a total Speed of 5.

Check your engine's stat strip for the Durability score of your Racer. Take one of the dice that came in your pack and set it on your engine with the engine's Durability score showing on the top of the die. As your Racer suffers damage in the race, the engine will lose Durability. Turn this Durability die so that it always shows your remaining Durability points on the top face of the die. If you are reduced to zero or less Durability, your Racer is Wrecked! and the race is over for you.

Some parts have special abilities that change the way the rules work for you! The special ability rules on a part's stat strip always overrule one of the basic rules of the game listed in this rulebook. Each special ability is explained at the end of these rules.

Valor
Valor represents the "something extra" that being a Knight offers. Add up the total number of Valor your Racer and Knight give you before you hit the arena. Put that many Valor markers in front of you. You'll spend one of these each time you use Valor in the race. You’ll find Valor on your driver, chassis, engine and weapon cards.

You’ll see a star on the back of the Valor marker. This is a special token not used in the basic game of Racer Knights. You’ll use this token for advanced and tournament play. Its use depends on the kind of joust you’re playing. You can find variant joust rules free for download at http://www.racerknights.com. For now though, just use the Valor side of these tokens.

Waypoint Placement
Your cards came with waypoint and blocker play pieces to punch out and use. Set aside one waypoint for every player at the table, plus one extra waypoint. For example, in a three-player game you would have four waypoints. Make certain all the waypoints have a different number on them and are in order. Thus, waypoints 1, 2, 3 and 4 are used in a three-player game.

Place waypoint 1 in the center of the table or play area. Starting with the oldest player and going in age order to the youngest, each player takes the lowest-numbered waypoint from the pile (starting with waypoint 2, because waypoint 1 is already placed) and places that waypoint anywhere on the table. Waypoints may never be placed closer together than the short side of a Racer Knights card.

During the joust, you gain a point of Glory whenever your Racer passes over any part of the waypoint.

Before a Racer can pass over a waypoint, however, you must open the waypoint by destroying its blocker. The blocker will have an Armor and Durability listed on it. You must use a Ram or Weapon attack (explained below) to destroy the blocker. Once you destroy the blocker, you can drive over the waypoint to gain one Glory.

Each waypoint blocker needs to be destroyed only once. Thereafter every player is free to drive over the waypoint without having to attack the blocker first.

You gain one Glory for each waypoint you touch, but you must touch each waypoint in numerical order (first waypoint 1, then waypoint 2, then 3, etc.). The first Racer to cross the last waypoint gains 2 Glory. Take one Glory marker for each Glory you gain during a joust.



Racer Placement
Starting with the youngest player and going in age order to the oldest, each player places his Racer five card lengths from waypoint 1. No Racer can be placed any closer to another Racer or waypoint than the long side of one card. =JOUST!= Now the joust begins! The race is played in rounds and continues until one of two things happens: 2All but one Racer is Wrecked! (Remember, a Racer is Wrecked! when its Durability is reduced to zero or less.)
 * 1) A Racer crosses over every waypoint in number order, or

Round Sequence
Each game round goes in the following order.
 * 1) Drive Roll: Each player rolls a die for his drive roll. The result of the drive roll is used to determine both the order in which each player takes his actions and how fast a player's Racer goes during his round. It's best to leave your drive roll in front of you until you take your actions so there's no confusion about what you rolled. Note that if anyone wants to use a special ability that happens before drive rolls, the player must declare this before he makes his drive roll.
 * 2) Round Order: Each player adds his drive roll to his Reflexes (from the Reflexes stat strip totals). The player with the highest total goes first. That player is now the acting player and goes through his entire round (step 3 below). The player with the next highest drive roll + Reflexes total goes next, and so on until every player takes his actions.
 * 3) Use Speed Points to Take Action!: When you're the acting player, you add your drive roll to your Speed to determine how many Speed Points you have to spend in your round. Speed Points are spent on movement, turns, attacks and some special abilities your Racer or Knight may have. You can take these actions in any order until all your Speed Points have been spent, at which time your round is over and the next player takes his actions. Your round also ends if you ram someone even if you have Speed Points remaining.

Move
Each time you spend 1 Speed Point to move your Racer forward (or 2 to move in reverse), your Racer moves in a straight line in the direction the Racer is currently pointed a distance equal to the short side of any Racer Knights card. This short side of the card is referred to as 1M for 1 Move. If you're moving forward, lay down a card so that one corner of the short side of the card touches one front corner of your Racer and the other corner of the short side is ahead of your Racer in the same direction your Racer is headed. Move the front end of your Racer along the short card side to the other corner of the card side and spend your Speed Point. You may always choose to move less than 1M if you wish, though this still costs one Speed Point per partial movement. When driving in reverse, do the same thing with the back end of your Racer and spend 2 Speed Points. You must have 2 Speed Points to spend to move in reverse, even if you do not move a full 1M backward.

Be careful — the magical waypoints are dangerous! If you end your game round with any part of your Racer on top of a waypoint, it flares and your Racer loses 1 Durability.

Turn
To make a turn, flip over any Knight card to see the turning diagram. Lay the turning diagram card down so the point of the turning arrow is in the middle of either side of your Racer (Racer bodies are marked with a centering mark where you will center the turn diagram). Turn your Racer by moving either its front or back end toward the angled line of the turning diagram arrow. The turn diagram has 3 lines across it. Each time you spend 1 Speed Point to Turn, you can turn up to the angle of your Handling. For example, if your Racer has a handling of 2, it can turn up to the 2nd line (90 degrees). If your Racer's handling is 4, it can turn all the way around (180 degrees). You may always choose to turn less than a full turn if you wish, though this still costs one Speed Point per partial turn.

Important Note: Before you can turn your Racer from the direction it's currently heading, you must have moved forward or in reverse at least one card side distance (1M) since the start of your game round and since the last time your Racer turned. If you want to turn hard to the right, for example, you would start your round by moving forward, then making one turn, then moving forward again, then making your second turn, then forward, then turn, etc.

Fire a Weapon
Knights are the warriors of their school and people, and attacks are common in the jousting arena. If you choose to fire a weapon at another Racer or a waypoint, it costs 2 Speed Points. If you don't have 2 Speed Points left to spend, you cannot fire a weapon this game round. A Racer can fire its weapon only once each game round.

To fire your weapon, do these things in order.
 * 1) Declare your target.
 * 2) Make sure your target is within your Firing Arc (see below) and within the range of your weapon. You may check your Firing Arc or range before deciding to attack. "Line of sight" isn't important in Racer Knights — if your target is in your Range and Firing Arc, you may attack it regardless of what lies between (other Racers, waypoints, etc.).
 * 3) You and your target announce any Valor you want to spend on Strength and Armor (see below). You and your opponent can go back and forth adding points until you either agree to stop or both spend your maximum allotment (whichever happens first).
 * 4) Roll two dice for your attack roll and add your weapon's Strength to the result of the dice. If your total is greater than your target's Armor, you hit!
 * 5) Your opponent subtracts an amount of Durability equal to the Damage of your weapon. Also resolve any special abilities of your weapon like Spin or Slow (see below). If your target is reduced to zero or less Durability by your attack, he is Wrecked! — you earn one Glory and your target loses one Glory!

Ramming
Any Racer can drive straight into any other Racer or waypoint blocker. This is called ramming. Ramming ends your round even if you still had Speed Points left to spend. Ramming is very similar to attacking with a weapon. Your distance traveled in a straight line leading up to the ram determines the Strength of the attack, and your Ram Damage statistic (on your Racer's stat strips) determines the Durability damage your ram attack inflicts if you hit. If you hit and damage an opponent (or waypoint blocker) with a ram, you also lose 1 point of Durability.

Only the distance you drive in a straight line at your opponent counts toward your ram Strength. You can turn before you start your ramming run, but the distance traveled before the turn is not counted toward your Strength for the ram attack. Your ram Strength increases by 1 for every two spaces you move (full or partial). Only one partial move can be counted as a full move action. You must move in order to make a ram attack; you cannot ram a Racer you began your round touching unless you back up and then charge forward into it.

In certain situations, a Racer might be hit on two different sides by a ram attempt, such as when an opponent in front and to the left of a Racer comes crashing into his target. When this happens, the defending player chooses which side of the Racer receives the attack.

Firing Arc
Different weapons are mounted on Racers in different ways. Some are fixed to the chassis and can fire in only one direction (Arc A). Some have a pivot mount that lets the weapon turn a bit (Arc B). Some are mounted on turrets that can turn the weapon to fire in any direction (Arc C). An opponent's Racer must be at least partially within the Firing Arc of your weapon in order for you to attack it with that weapon.

Find the Firing Arc diagram on the back of any Knight card (the diagram below shows how this works). For weapons with Firing Arc A, set the Firing Arc diagram so the tip of the Firing Arc A arrow points at the front center of your Racer. Anything even partially between the lines that extend in front of your Racer can be hit by your weapon. (The front of Racer bodies have a tab on which the front shield mounts. Use this tab to center the Firing Arc diagram.) Weapons with Firing Arc B use the same method, but the arc is wider: You can hit anything in front of your Racer, within range. Firing Arc C weapons may fire in any direction, and range is measured from any point on the firing vehicle.

Range
Weapons can fire a number of long-side card lengths equal to their Range. The long side a Racer Knights card is referred to as 1R for 1 Range. A weapon with Range 3 can be used to attack any Racer within its Firing Arc so long as any part of the opponent's Racer is also within 3R.

For weapons with Firing Arcs A and B, range is measured from the front center of the Racer. Place the first measurement card in the very center of the front of the vehicle (touching the shield mount tab), with other cards laid end-to-end lengthwise until you reach the target or run out of range. For weapons with Firing Arc C, use the same method, but you may place the first measurement card anywhere on the playing surface as long as it is in contact with the attacking Racer.

Strength
Strength is a measure of how likely the weapon is to break through an opposing Racer's armor. You add your Strength to your attack roll, and if this total is higher than your opponent's Armor you hit.

Damage
The amount of Durability points your opponent loses when you hit with the weapon.

=WINNING THE RACE= The race ends at the end of the round in which any Racer crosses the final waypoint, having crossed all the waypoints in order. At that point, each player who has not acted in the current round plays out his actions as normal and the race concludes at the end of the round.

The race also ends immediately if all Racers except one are Wrecked!

At the end of the race, players count up their total Glory. The Racer Knight with the highest total Glory from the race wins. Note that it's possible to win even if another Racer Knight leaves you Wrecked!

Counting Glory
=USING VALOR= Valor helps you compete against other Racer Knights. So long as you have Valor, you may spend it on certain actions in the race.

Before you make a drive roll, attack roll, or before an opponent makes an attack roll that targets your Racer, you can announce that you're using some of your Valor to increase your Reflexes, Speed, Strength or Armor for the results of that roll. If you use Valor to increase your Reflexes, the points add to your Reflexes for the rest of the game round. If you wish to have more Speed Points for your round, you must spend Valor on Speed before your Drive Roll.

When you spend Valor to add to your Strength or Armor for an attack roll, the Valor gives a bonus for that one attack roll only.

Unless a special ability says otherwise, you cannot spend more than 3 Valor at a time on any single roll or action in your round. You can spend Valor each time you attack or are attacked in any round. If you had enough Valor available, you could, for example, spend up to 3 Valor on Reflexes, 3 on Speed, 3 on your Strength in an attack against another Racer, 3 on your Armor when player 2 attacks you, and 3 more on your armor when a third Racer attacks you.

Important: Knights may spend a maximum of 3 Valor on any given action. Veteran Knights (see the Special Abilities section) may spend a maximum of 5 Valor on any given action. =SHIELD MODS= A shield is a special type of mod. Shields attach to the sides, front, and rear of a Racer.

The Shield mod and its other special abilities are effective only against an attack aimed at your Racer from the direction of the shield mod. For example, if you're being attacked with a Fire weapon from an opponent on your Racer's right side, shield mods with the Shield special ability on your front, rear and left sides offer no protection against the attack. In certain situations, a Racer might be hit on two different sides by an attack, such as when an opponent is in front and to the left of a Racer and could be shooting at the front or left side. In situations like these the defending player chooses which side of the Racer receives the attack. =SPECIAL ABILITIES= The special abilities of many Racer parts are explained below. For example, if the stat strip for your weapon lists that the weapon has the "Heavy" special ability, look up Heavy below to see how it affects the game.

In additions, weapons also have a weapon type listed in their special ability sections. These types (Lightning, Fire, Prism and Metal) describe the type of damage the weapon causes. By themselves, these weapon types don't do anything and they don't appear in the list below. The weapon type works with other special effects and abilities. For example, the Knight Tobias Stormcaller enjoys a bonus with Lightning weapons.

Bounce
When you score damage with this weapon, move your opponent's Racer 2 spaces (moves 2M) directly away from the direction of your vehicle. Do not change the direction the opponent's Racer faces. If the Bounce effect moves the opponent's Racer into another Racer, both Racers take 1 damage. If the Bounce moves a Racer into a wall or the edge of the racing arena, the Racer takes 1 damage. If the Bounce moves a Racer into a blocked waypoint, both the Racer and the blocker take 1 damage (thereby opening the waypoint, just like a ram). In any case, the bounced Racer stops moving when it hits something.

Coiled
This weapon has +2 Strength at Range 1 or less and +1 Strength between Range 1 and 2.

Damage Prevention (X)
If your Racer is hit, you may discard this mod to subtract X damage from the hit. For example, Damage Prevention (1) lets you discard the mod to ignore 1 point of damage. Your Racer is still affected by any special abilities of the weapon as normal unless Damage Prevention reduces the weapon's damage to zero. You may use Damage Prevention after checking other special abilities like Evasive or Repair, but you must use it before trying to use Durable. Many shield mods come with Damage Prevention abilities. In the case of shields, you may use the Damage Prevention ability only if the attack originates from the side of your Racer that has the shield mod attached.

Discharge
Instead of attacking on a given round, you may discharge your weapon. Immediately move up to 3 spaces backward at a cost of 1 Speed per space moved. You must move in a straight line when using the Discharge special ability.

Durable
If your Durability is reduced to 0 (or below), roll a die. On a 4, 5 or a 6 your Durability stays at 1 (though it may be reduced again by another attack, after which you may attempt to use the Durable special ability again). A Racer can gain the benefit of Durable from only one component at any time; having two components that grant the Durable special ability will not give the player two rolls to protect the engine from suffering damage.

Evasive
When your Racer is hit, roll a die. On a 5 or 6, ignore the hit. You may roll for evasion only once per attack even if you have more than one Racer part with Evasive.

Fast
This Racer is immune to Slow.

Heavy
You may spend 4 Speed (instead of the normal 2) to get +1 Damage when attacking with this weapon.

Protection (X,#)
Many shield mods include Protection abilities, giving your Racer +1, 2 or 3 Armor vs. attacks that use the weapon type specified. For example, Protection (Fire 1) gives your Racer +1 Armor against Fire weapons. Protection (Ram #) grants +1, 2 or 3 Armor against ramming attacks. For example, Protection (Ram 2) gives your Racer +2 Armor against Ram attacks. A shield mod's protection ability increases your Armor only if the attack originates from the side of your Racer to which the shield mod is attached.

Recharge
This weapon cannot be fired two rounds in a row.

Repair
You may choose to repair your engine by taking no other actions that round. Choose a number of Durability to repair then roll a die. If the roll is greater than the amount of Durability you chose to repair, your repair works and you regain your chosen number of Durability! You may not repair your Engine above its starting Durability.

Sidewinder
This Racer can move laterally right or left (instead of forward or reverse) at a cost of 2 Speed per move. This does not change the facing of the Racer.

Slow
Place a Slow token on Racers that suffer damage from a weapon with the Slow special ability. Each Slow token on a given Racer reduces that Racer's Speed by 1. Slow tokens cannot reduce a Racer's Speed to less than 1.

Spin
If you damage a target by using a Spin weapon you may rotate the target Racer up to one Handling 2 turn (90 degrees) in any direction you choose.

Stable
This Racer is immune to Bounce.

Stall
If you roll a 1 on your Drive roll, you may not move your Racer this round. You can still fire a weapon if you have 2 or more Speed Points, however. Ignore the stall effect if you roll a 1 on the round following a round spent stalled.

Steady
This Racer is immune to Spin.

Surge
You may reroll your Drive roll. You must accept the reroll result.

Torqued
You can make two turns per movement (paying the Speed Point cost for each turn as normal).

Traction
+1 Strength on ram attacks.

Turbo
This mod grants a +2 bonus to Speed in any round that the Racer does not turn or shoot.

Veteran
You may spend up to 5 Valor on any action (normally Knights can only spend up to 3).

Weakness
Place a Weakness token on Racers that suffer damage from a weapon with the Weakness special ability. Each Weakness token on a given Racer reduces that Racer's Armor by 1. A Racer's Armor may never be reduced below 5 by Weakness. =CARD NUMBER AND RARITY= Stat strips and Knight cards also list the Racer parts' or Knight's card number and rarity (chassis parts are labeled a and b because they include two cards to make a single part). A rarity of C is common, U is uncommon, R is rare, UR is ultrarare, and T is a special prize available only through organized tournament play.

You can find a complete checklist and more about organized play at the Racer Knights website at http://www.racerknights.com. =FAQ=

Q: What is a "perfect racer"?
A: This is a racer that uses the components and knight from a single species. For instance, a gremlin knight in a Battle Bucket chassis outfitted with a Little Cranky engine, Wee Rockets tires and a Burnmaker weapon is consider "perfect". Any shields on this Racer would have to be gremlin as well.

Q: What is the benefit of a perfect racer?
A: At the beginning of each turn, the player controlling a perfect racer gains 1 Valor. Lord Falconus in a perfect racer gains 2 Valor per turn!

Q: When do you get this bonus Valor?
A: At the very beginning of the turn, prior to the Drive roll.

Q: How do we resolve a Reflexes tie?
A: If two or more knights have the same Reflexes total, then the first tie-breaker is the high Drive roll. If that’s also a tie, then have a roll-off with the high roller going first. Of course, keep the original Drive roll to calculate your Speed.

Q: What’s the difference between a Ram and a Collision?
A: A Ram is when one Racer purposely drives into another Racer or object (such as a waypoint blocker). A Collision occurs whenever a Racer is knocked into another object (e.g. as the result of Bounce).

Q: What’s the result of a Collision?
A: In some cases your racer is moved (beyond your control) into another racer or an obstacle. When this happens it’s called a Collision. A Collision causes 1 automatic Durability loss to both objects. If both objects are Racers, then both Racers lose 1 Durability. If one object is a Racer and the other is a Waypoint Blocker, then the Racer and the Blocker both lose 1 Durability. If one object is a Racer and the other is an arena wall or other barrier then only the Racer loses 1 Durability.

Q: What happens if I’m already against another Racer (or other obstacle) and I’m Bounced into it again?
A: You take damage as if from a Collision.

Q: Can I Ram a waypoint blocker?
A: Yes you may and a successful Ram will destroy the blocker. However, as your turn ends when you Ram, you do NOT cross the waypoint when you Ram it.

Q: Can I Ram without moving to gain a +0 Strength Ram?
A: No, you must move at least a partial move in order to Ram. If you’re already in contact with the object you wish to Ram, then you must first move (usually this means go backwards 1M) and then go forward again. Of course, if there’s room, then you might wish to go backward 3M (6 Speed) and then forward 3M (3 Speed) in order to gain a +2 Strength Ram.

Q: May I make just a partial turn before turning?
A: Generally no. If there is room to make a full 1M move before turning, then you must do so. If some other obstacle (another Racer, the arena wall, etc.) prohibits a full 1M move, then you must move just short of that obstacle before making your turn.

Q: May my Racer have more than one type of Shield?
A: Yes, it may have up to four different types (one per side).

Q: Must my Racer have four Shields?
A: Your Racer may have zero Shields if you’d like. However, the teachers at the Falconus Academy suggest you add a few.

Q: If I don’t turn or shoot and gain +2 Speed for Turbo, may I spend that Speed to turn or shoot?
A: No way.

Q: Does Balor Trueblade’s special ability operate on the first turn of a game?
A: Yes, even if all the knights are tied at 0 Valor (such as on the first turn of the joust), then Balor receives +1 Drive.

Q: Does Behemoth take one less damage (so no damage) when his Racer is in a Collision?
A: No, his special ability applies only to when he’s Ramming another Racer.

Q: Does Behemoth take one less damage when he Rams a waypoint?
A: Ok, so it’s not just another Racer. Yes, Behemoth’s special ability also means he avoids one point of damage when ramming a waypoint blocker.

=Assembly Instructions=

Chassis
=COLLECT THE FALCONS!= The cards that contain engines and shields also include special tokens known as Falcons. Falcons are special medals Knights earn when they joust victoriously.



These Falcons are valuable to you, too — redeem them for cool prizes! A silver token is worth one Falcon and a gold token is worth two Falcons. To learn more, visit the Racer Knights website at http://www.racerknights.com. =MORE RACER KNIGHTS!= To get even more out the game, check out the Racer Knights website at http://www.racerknights.com.

There, you can explore the Falconus Academy, meet the Knights who train in the arenas, study different Racer parts, get exclusive tips and strategies, and find out about Racer Knights tournaments happening near you.

=CREDITS=
 * Concept and Design: Mike Tinney
 * Additional Concepts and Design: Justin Achilli, Oscar Garza, Fred Yelk, Steve Wieck and Stewart Wieck
 * Art Director: Richard Thomas
 * Visual Concepts and Graphic Design: Matt Milberger and Mike Chaney
 * Conceptual Art: Richard Thomas and UDON
 * Art Assists: Craig Grant, Becky Jollensten, Aileen Miles, Rich Thomas
 * Playtesters: Justin Achilli, Carl Bowen, Philippe Boulle, Dirty Ol' Chad Brown, Dean Burnham, John Chambers, Oscar Garza, Brian Glass, Craig Grant, Will Hindmarch, Conrad Hubbard, Becky Jollensten, Dwayne Lawrence, Morgan Lawrence, Matt Milberger, Rebecca Schaefer, Eva Stotz, Aaron Voss, Steve Wieck, Stewart Wieck, Rachel "Bunnie" Winter, Fred Yelk
 * Special Thanks: Ms. Nichol’s class for their playtesting help: Matthew Antoci, Michael Antoci, Robin Dudek, Drew Faison, Madison Houston, Tyler Houston, Adrienne Lee.

© 2005 Arthaus Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Arthaus Publishing, Inc. Arthaus, Racer Knights and Racer Knights of Falconus are trademarks of Arthaus Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by Arthaus Publishing, Inc.

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