The Recruit Mandate allows players to place more of their figures on the board, bolstering their armies. The player who choses this Mandate gets to decide last where to place their figures, first seeing what their opponents do.

ALL PLAYERS

The player may Summon 1 of their figures they have in reserve to each of the Provinces where they have a Stronghold. So, for example, if a player has 3 Strongholds on the Map, they may Summon up to 3 different figures, and they must each be placed in the Provinces that contain those Strongholds. A player may have more than 1 Stronghold in the same Province, in which case they may Summon a number of figures to that Province equal to the number of Strongholds they have there. There is no limit to the number of figures that may occupy each of the Provinces. If the player has no more figures in their reserve, they cannot Summon another figure.

CURRENT PLAYER AND THEIR ALLY

The player may Summon 1 additional figure to any one of their Strongholds, even if they have already Summoned a figure there.

Negotiation Tip

Recruiting when you have more Strongholds than your opponents means you get more figures than them. Bribing another player to play this Mandate when it’s the most beneficial for you is worth a shot. Once you commit a Shinto to a Shrine, it will be there for the rest of the Season. It might be best to first negotiate with your Ally who will worship which Kami, so you don’t end up wasting a Shinto needlessly.

SUMMONING SHINTO

When a Shinto warrior is Summoned (and only at the moment when it is Summoned), the player may choose to send it to climb the holy mountains to Worship one of the Kami. If they choose to do so, the Shinto is immediately taken from the Province where it was Summoned and placed on any of the 4 Shrine tiles on the top of the board. There is no limit to the number of Shinto figures that may occupy each of the Shrines.

A Shinto worshipping at one of the Shrines is not considered to be on the Map. It cannot be Moved to the Map or to a different Shrine.

EXAMPLE: The LOTUS player plays Recruit. After all other players have performed the Mandate, the LOTUS player performs it. Since they have 3 Strongholds on the Map (2 in Kyushu and 1 in Nagato), they may Summon a total of 4 figures (1 in each Stronghold, and an extra 1 in a Stronghold due to the Mandate Bonus). The player decides to Summon a Bushi and a Shinto in the Kyushu Strongholds, a Shinto in the Nagato Stronghold, and for the Bonus, they Summon the Yurei Monster they had in reserve to Nagato. They then decide to send the Nagato Shinto to worship Hachiman in his Shrine.