Storm Empire

Storm Empire is one of the four empires from Glorantha: The Gods War board game. It focuses on...

Components

Empire

Setup
Shrine on Kylerela. Start with 6 Power.
Unique Ability
Inferiority Complex (Power Phase): Once per Power Phase, you may choose to spend 2 VP to gain 4 Power.
Unique Weakness
Honor (Ongoing): It costs you 2 Power to declare battle against an empire with 0 Power.
Heroquests
First Fragment
Kill an Enemy Mortal in battle.		Kill an Enemy God in battle.
Second Fragment
An Enemy empire has 6 Gifts.		Place your Ziggurat.
Third Fragment
At least two enemy players have Runes.		Summon the Thunder King, Orlanth.
Gifts
File:Gift - Storm (Courage).png	Courage (Post-Battle): If Thunder King is involved in a battle in which the enemy has 3+ combat, earn 1 Rune at the battle's completion (whether or not Thunder King survived).
File:Gift - Storm (Insurgency).png	Insurgency (Conquest/Destroy): When you conquer an enemy building, you may replace it with a Temple, if you have one in your pool. You may only replace a Chaos Nest if it is the only building in the area.
File:Gift - Storm (Single Combat).png	Single Combat (Pre-Battle): If your Champion is involved in the battle, either roll his 2 Battle dice first, and inflict results before continuing with the rest of the battle, OR add 1 battle die to your total.
File:Gift - Storm (Teleport).png	Teleport (Action: Cost 1 or 2): Relocate the Thunder King from any area to any other area. He can bring along with him one other unit (from any empire) that was in his area. If the Thunder King transports a greater god, and/or uses this to exit Hell without permission, pay 1 extra Power (for a total of 2).
File:Gift - Storm (The Unholy Trio).png	Whirlwind (Pre-Battle): When a battle is declared involving your unit (not a lone building), you may add 1 battle die to your combat total. You may also relocate any Stormbrothers (from any areas) to the battle area.
	Weather Control (One-Time Use): The moment you gain this Gift, gain Power equal to your total earned Gifts, including this one. Then, flip this card face-down and take 1 Rune.

Units

Mortal Minions
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Barbarian (Painted).png	Barbarian	4	1	1
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x4)
Mortal Heros
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Champion (Painted).png	Champion	1	2	2	Single Combat
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x1)
Lesser Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Stormbrother (Painted).png	Stormbrother	3	2	1	Whirlwind
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x3)
Greater Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:The Thunder King, Orlanth (Painted).png	The Thunder King, Orlanth	1	4 (Your Temple or Ziggurat must be in play)	*
		Combat: Equals your total earned gifts
		Kinship (Council Phase): Decide whether to gain 1 VP or 2 Power. Whatever you choose, select another player to gain the other reward.
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x1), Special Orlanth {TGW-STORMKING} (x1)

Buildings

Buildings
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Shrine Figure - Storm (Painted).png	Shrine	6	1	0
		Availability: [Token] Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x6) [Figure] The Buildings {TGW-4} (x6)
		The Shrine figure replaces the Shrine token.
File:Temple Figure - Storm (Painted).png	Temple	3	2+Shrine	+1 Rout
		Fly (Ongoing): Your units starting on a Storm Temple may skip over one area when moving. In doing so, they may not use sea-crossing arrows.
		Availability: [Token] Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x3) [Figure] The Buildings {TGW-4} (x3)
		The Temple figure replaces the Temple token.
File:Ziggurat Figure - Storm (Painted).png	Ziggurat	1	3+Temple	+1 Kill
		Fly (Ongoing): Your units starting on a Storm Ziggurat may skip over one area when moving. In doing so, they may not use sea-crossing arrows.
		Availability: [Token] Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x1) [Figure] The Buildings {TGW-4} (x1)
		The Ziggurat figure replaces the Ziggurat token.

Expansion Units

Lesser Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Earth Queen - Storm (Painted).png	Earth Queen	1	2	1, OR 0 vs. Earth Empire
			How to Obtain the Earth Queen Loyalty Card: Give to a new Spouse. The Earth Queen is now married to you for the rest of the game. She is your unit to control, and if she is killed or eliminated she returns to your unit pool rather than Earth’s unit pool. You may summon her in the same manner as any of your other units. Earth may also re-summon her from your pool when placing a Temple or Ziggurat. When this happens you do not decide the area to which she is summoned, but you still control her after she is placed. During the Council Phase, earn 1 Power if this Queen is in play. Be aware that the Earth has the Injunction gift, which may eliminate an Earth Queen during the Council Phase in order to gain a rune. Injunction occurs in the council Phase before you would gain 1 power for this unit.
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x1)
Greater Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Purposeful Violence, Storm Bull (Painted).png	Purposeful Violence, Storm Bull	1	0/3	2
		To Summon: When the Spike shatters, immediately place Storm Bull at any of your buildings. You may also summon him by paying 3 Power.
		Face Enemy (Post-Battle): Your units are immune to rout if Storm Bull is in the battle.
		File:Gift - Purposeful Violence, Storm Bull.png	Heroquest: Storm Bull is in play and a Greater God is killed in a battle. Berserk (Battle): If Storm Bull is in play and you roll no kills in a battle, score 1 kill. If you roll no routs, score 1 rout. (Applies only if you have at least 1 combat die).
		Availability: War Gods {TGW-5} (x1)
		The Desert Storm, deity of berserkers and purposeful violence, though often uncontrolled. The Storm Bull was one of the few entities powerful enough to try to stand against the chaos onslaught, and his warriors became famous for their insensate fury.
File:Ill Wind, Vadrus (Painted).png	Ill Wind, Vadrus	1	2	0
		To Summon: A Storm Greater God must be in the Sky Dome; place Vadrus on Kylerela.
		Wild Hunt (Pre-Battle): If Vadrus is in play, just before a battle, you may move one or more units from adjacent areas to the battle area. You may move enemy units in this way. Wild Hunt may not be used during a battle against a lone building.
		File:Gift - Ill Wind, Vadrus.png	Heroquest: Storm has 6 empire gifts. Villain (Ongoing): If Vadrus is in play, you no longer suffer from your Honor weakness, but all other empires do.
		Availability: Magic Gods {TGW-6} (x1)
		Though rain is a blessing, not all the Storm entities are benign. Vadrus represents everything that can go wrong with the atmosphere – freezing wind, stagnant calm, and the frost that kills. Storm seeks to control Vadrus’s sinister might to aim it at their foes.
File:Singer of the Gods, Llankor Mhy.png File:Singer of the Gods, Llankor Mhy (Painted).png	Singer of the Gods, Llankor Mhy	1	0/3	*
		To Summon: When you earn your 3rd empire gift, immediately place Llankor Mhy at any of your buildings. You may also summon him by paying 3 Power.
		Combat: Equals that of the strongest enemy unit in the battle
		Wisdom (Ongoing): When Lhankor Mhy is first placed on the map, take 6 dice and lay them out in front of you, preset to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Before dice are rolled for any purpose in the game, you may replace one die rolled (per player) with a Wisdom die. This uses up that Wisdom die. This ability remains in effect even if Lhankor Mhy is no longer in play.
		File:Gift - Singer of the Gods, Llankor Mhy.png	Heroquest: While Lhankor Mhy is in play, as your action for a turn, each enemy player gains 1 Power. Song of the Gods (Ongoing): If Lhankor Mhy is in play and you have no Wisdom Dice, refresh them all.
		Availability: Secret Gods {TGW-7} (x1)
		The gray-robed singer of the gods knows the Law and the History and the Geneology of all things. His wisdom tempers the Storm faction’s ferocity and renders it useful for humankind.

Other components

Other components
Image	Component	Quantity	Notes
	Empire Sheet	1
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x1)
File:Victory-Power Marker - Storm (Painted).png	Victory/Power Marker	2
		Availability: Glorantha: The Gods War - Core Game (x2)
	Chaos Rift Die	1
		Notes: Used for the Chaos Rift Struggle.
		Availability: Chaos Rift Dice {TGW-DICE-3} (x1)

Strategy

Faction Strategy

Storm is a classic bully-boy - though you can dish it out, you can't always take it. You have good attack potential, but you are a late bloomer in terms of gifts - often, you must wait for other players to advance ahead of you. Your movement is by far the best in the game, even better than that of Darkness. Your Temples let you strike across the map, while Whirlwind and Teleport let you gather your forces.

In the early-to-mid game, focus on gathering armies rather than buildings. Remember, though, that you'll need enough buildings to keep up your Power production. Use extra Power from Inferiority Complex and/or Kinship to bolster your forces; this will cause you to fall behind in VP, but your board presence and forces should surge ahead.

In the late game, you need to go all-out - most Storm victories are nail-biting, come-from-behind wins! Now, at last, you profit from double-teaming Courage and Insurgency, earning runes and setting Temples down as you devastate your enemies.

Gift Strategies

• Courage
  • Encourages you to seek out larger clusters of enemies. Fortunately, you have the tools necessary to replace your losses. Still, this is not a good Gift to take early, before you have these tools. Remember to attack early in the turn, so that you aren't hurt by Honor.
• Insurgency
  • Can transform oddball buildings, such as Chaos Nests and Castles of Lead.
  • It also means that when you lose a Temple to an enemy, it is trivial to get it back.
• Single Combat
  • Makes you both flexible and unpredictable - a dangerous combination.
• Teleport
  • Useful for either kidnapping an enemy or for charging into battle.
• Weather Control
  • Take this gift early to jump-start your empire, or use it to super-charge a late-game turn. Remember that it triggers as soon as you take it, unlike other one-use gifts. Do not fall into the trap of always taking it as your last gift - sometimes 3-4 Power and a rune early in the game is better than 6 Power later on.
• Whirlwind
  • This lets you station Stormbrothers as building garrisons, while also keeping them available for a critical battle. If you whirl even a single Stormbrother into combat, the extra die you gain makes him as cost-effective as your Barbarians.

Story

Epilogue

"The rain intensified, and lightning strikes were so frequent that it almost seemed as though the thunderhead was walking on thing legs of fire. Then Uncle Clem hooted and pointed into the heart of the storm—men and animals were soaring through the air, flinging themselves through the cloud with wild and furious abandon. Towering over the scene, the cloud top began to form into a gigantic, raging face."
—Sandy Petersen