If you move a meeple into a region with another player’s meeple, you attack and start a war. You, the moving player, are the attacker. The other player whose meeple was already in the region is the defender.

1. Set – Both players take a war die and, using their hand as cover, secretly set it face up to a number indicating the total war cost they are willing to incur to fight the war (max 11). Players must have enough value in resources and ability bonuses when setting the die to pay their chosen war cost. OR, a player may set their die to the white flag to offer a peaceful alliance; which requires no cost in resources.

2. Reveal – Both players reveal their war die. The player with the highest war cost wins and takes control of the region. The other player, with the lowest war cost is the loser. If both players have selected the same war cost, the tie goes to the defender who then becomes the winner. If both players chose a white flag, a peaceful alliance is formed (see below).

3. Resolve – Win or lose, both players must pay their war cost. To pay your war cost, subtract any war cost abilities and then pay the remaining value with resources at the rate: mana is worth 2, ore is worth 1, and food is worth zero. Then, the winner’s meeple will remain in the warring region. The player who lost must retreat their meeple (see below) or remove it from play and return it to their supply.

Retreat: After war costs are paid, the losing player may pay food equal to the number of meeples they currently have in play to move their meeple to an adjacent region. This cannot result in another war. If there are no regions to move to, or the player does not have enough food, retreat is not an option. Remove the meeple from play and return it to the player’s supply.

Example: Brittany starts a war with Mike. Brittany has a total of 1 mana, 2 ore and has a faction that offers -1 war cost. So, Brittany sets her war die to a power of 5 even though she can only pay for a war cost of 4. Mike wants to conserve his resources, so he sets his war die to the white flag to offer peace. Mike and Brittany reveal their war die. Brittany’s 5 beats Mike’s 0, so she wins. Brittany only has to pay a war cost of 4 even though she set her war die to a power of 5. This is because of her faction’s researched special ability. Mike chose peace and therefore pays no war cost. He must retreat or remove his meeple from play.

Alliance: Both players offer peace. Both meeples remain in the region, and both players will enjoy the benefits of that region. The two players are now considered to be in an alliance. Later, an allied player may patrol or quest their meeple out of an allied region without penalty. If those players do not have any more allied regions together, they are no longer in an alliance.