Invisible God Empire

Invisible God Empire is one of the four expansion empires from Glorantha: The Gods War Empires board game expansion. It focuses on...

Components

Empire

Setup
Either one Tower or one Castle on Brithos, your choice. Start with 6 Power.
Unique Ability
The Wizard Gate (Ongoing): When moving, all areas that contain your castles & towers are considered adjacent. (They are not adjacent when you are routed).
Unique Weakness
Ecumenicism (Ongoing): Enemies can conquer your castles and towers as though they were temples. Enemy runes, gifts and abilities that target Temples may also be used against your castles and towers.
Heroquests
First Fragment
You kill or eliminate an enemy mortal. If it was a hero, take 1 VP.		A wizard is killed or eliminated.
Second Fragment
You kill or eliminate an enemy god. If it was a greater god, take 1 VP.		A knight is killed or eliminated.
Third Fragment
You destroy an enemy building. If it was a temple or ziggurat, also take 1 or 2 VP, respectively.		Your specter or building is killed, conquered or destroyed.
Fourth Fragment
Another player targets you with a gift.		The Final Ritual: As an action, flip all your face-down Book gifts face-up.
Gifts
File:Gift - Invisible God (Blue Book of Sorcery).png	Blue Book of Sorcery (Action: Cost 0; one-time use): All players roll a die. You then choose whether each player keeps their roll or discards it. All "kept" dice stay face-up; the next roll made by a player must include his "kept" die. Take 1 Rune and flip this Gift face-down.
File:Gift - Invisible God (Brown Book of Commerce).png	Brown Book of Commerce (Action: Cost 0; one-time use): Earn 1 Power for each Tower in play, then distribute that same amount of Power among the other empires as you please. Finally, take 1 Rune and flip this Gift face-down.
File:Gift - Invisible God (Divine Right).png	Divine Right (Council Phase): Gain a Rune. If 3 or more players have more VP than you, gain another Rune.
File:Gift - Invisible God (King's Blessing).png	King's Blessing (Council Phase): Build a Castle or Tower (for free).
File:Gift - Invisible God (Magic Explosion).png	Magic Explosion (Pre-Battle): Select a Specter in the battle and kill it. Add the killed Specter's Combat + 2 to your combat total.
File:Gift - Invisible God (Red Book of Power).png	Red Book of Power (Action: Cost 0; one-time use): Summon a Specter (for free) at each of your Towers, then, take 1 Rune and flip this Gift face-down.
File:Gift - Invisible God (Sturdy Peasantry).png	Sturdy Peasantry (Ongoing): This Gift acts as an indestructible, off-map Castle for all purposes. (i.e., Power Phase, Council Phase, your Knight's Combat, etc.)
File:Gift - Invisible God (Tapping).png	Tapping (Council Phase): Gain 1 Power for each area containing a Wizard. Then, each enemy player rolls a die. Each player with a result equal to or less than the amount of Power you just received loses 1 VP.

Units

Mortal Minions
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Knight (Painted).png	Knight	4	1	1 per castle in play	Sturdy Peasantry
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x4)
File:Wizard (TGW) (Painted).png	Wizard	4	2	1 per tower in play	Tapping
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x4)
Lesser Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Specter (Painted).png	Specter	4	3	3 when attacking 1 when defending 2 if you need to determine combat when not in a battle.	Magic Explosion Red Book of Power
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x4)

Buildings

Buildings
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Castle Figure (Painted).png	Castle	3	2	0, +1 Rout in battle vs any minions
		Availability: [Token] The Empires {TGW-1} (x3) [Figure] The Buildings {TGW-4} (x3)
		The Castle figure replaces the Castle token.
File:Tower Figure (Painted).png	Tower	3	2	0, +1 Rout in battle vs any minions
		Availability: [Token] The Empires {TGW-1} (x3) [Figure] The Buildings {TGW-4} (x3)
		The Tower figure replaces the Tower token.

Expansion Units

Lesser Gods
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Earth Queen - Invisible God (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)
Mortal Heros
Image	Unit	Quantity	Cost	Combat	Gifts
File:Patron of Order, Saint Malkion (Painted).png	Patron of Order, Saint Malkion	1	0/3	2
		To Summon: When the Spike shatters, immediately place Saint Malkion at any of your buildings. You may also summon him by paying 3 Power.
		Bringer of Order (Council Phase): If Saint Malkion is in play, when any enemy player's Council Phase ability affects you, gain 1 Power.
		File:Gift - Patron of Order, Saint Malkion.png	Heroquest: Saint Malkion is in play and one of your buildings is conquered (not just destroyed). The Law of Malkion (Council Phase): If Saint Malkion is in play, you choose the first player each turn. You may only choose yourself or Chaos if you (or Chaos, respectively) have the most Power or are tied for most Power.
		Availability: War Gods {TGW-5} (x1)
		The prophet of the Invisible God, who taught its ways to the western world. He fought boldly against the forces of disorder and confusion, and in doing so, saved the world. He also created the social system which is now termed Malkionism.
File:First Wizard, Zzabur.png File:First Wizard, Zzabur (Painted).png	First Wizard, Zzabur	1	2	1
		To Summon: Your building must be in the Skydome; place Zzabur in Brithos.
		Enchant (Action: Cost 1): Swap out any or all of your Castles for Towers, or vice versa.
		File:Gift - First Wizard, Zzabur.png	Heroquest: Zzabur is in play and you own at least 2 Runes. Dispel Magic (Ongoing): If Zzabur is in play, when an enemy announces an action, you may cancel it by discarding a Rune. The Rune has no other effect, but the enemy must select a different action.
		Availability: Magic Gods {TGW-6} (x1)
		The First Sorcerer, and one of the four Sons of Malkion. He invented magic, and survives to this day, weaving his sinister ceremonies on the Isle of Brithos. Though he is respected, he is not loved, and it is notable that he is never considered for sainthood.
File:Patron of Sacrifice, Saint Xemela.png File:Patron of Sacrifice, Saint Xemela (Painted).png	Patron of Sacrifice, Saint Xemela	1	0/3	2
		To Summon: When you earn your 3rd empire gift, immediately place Saint Xemela at any of your buildings. You may also summon her by paying 3 Power.
		Xemela's Blessing (Ongoing): From the moment Saint Xemela is first placed on the map, until the end of the game, your building on Brithos cannot be conquered or destroyed (by any means). This ability remains in effect even if Saint Xemela is no longer in play.
		File:Gift - Patron of Sacrifice, Saint Xemela.png	Heroquest: Saint Xemela is in play; lose 2 units in combat at the same time. The Shadow Well (Post-Battle): If Saint Xemela is involved in a battle, you may spend VPs on a 1:1 ratio to reduce kills inflicted on you, to increase kills inflicted upon the foe, or both.
		Availability: Secret Gods {TGW-7} (x1)
		Mother and queen, Saint Xemela sacrificed herself to stop the unstoppable plague which threatened all the world. She is now the patron of healing and protection

Other components

Other components
Image	Component	Quantity	Notes
	Empire Sheet	1
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x1), Errata Pack (TGW-ERRATA} (x1)
File:Victory-Power Marker - Invisible God (Painted).png	Victory/Power Marker	2
		Availability: The Empires {TGW-1} (x2)
	Chaos Rift Die	1
		Notes: Used for the Chaos Rift Struggle.
		Availability: Chaos Rift Dice {TGW-DICE-3} (x1)

Strategy

Faction Strategy

You may seem weak because you have no greater god to shore up your empire, but your excellent units and proper use of Specters more than make up for this. Your greatest advantage is that you have 8 gifts, which means that you can earn 4 Power and VP per turn. Focus on gathering those gifts! Four of those gifts give you runes, so make those a part of your strategy.

The nature of your units and buildings presents you with three fundamental strategies - go combat-heavy with Knights and Sturdy Peasantry, spread out and absorb magical power with Wizards and Tapping, or seek balance between the two. If you go for Wizards, Specters become more important for their combat might and your Red Book of Power also becomes stronger.

Your empire depends heavily on timing. Your three Book gifts can each be used twice by means of your Final Ritual, which means you'll want them early in order to take advantage of their full value. You do not have very many buildings and can't afford to keep replacing them, so take advantage of your Wizard Gate to help protect them.

Gift Strategies

• Divine Right
  • A candidate for first gift. It keeps on giving.
• Blue Book of Sorcery
  • This is one gift you never need to delay in getting. The moment you get it, use it - the only reason to delay is to use that 0-cost action to draw out the turn.
• Brown Book of Sorcery
  • Do not wait until you have all your Towers to fire this off, even if you are getting its full benefit (remember, you can reuse it when you perform your Final Ritual). It's benefits can be "shopped around," to see who will cooperate with you in taking down a hated enemy.
• King's Blessing
  • This gift helps make up for the high cost of your buildings. In a game with lots of construction you may need to ensure that rivals' buildings are being destroyed in order to leave spaces open for your freebies.
• Magic Explosion
  • This helps dissuade enemies from attacking areas with Specter - if you are sure the Specter will die anyway, why not explode it? It also gives 'oomph' to help capture an important area.
• Red Book of Power
  • A good way to suddenly defend otherwise-vulnerable buildings.
• Sturdy Peasantry
  • This is the first give chosen by many players, not least because it provides VP every single turn and ensures an extra 2 Power per Power Phase if all your other buildings are Towers. If you focus on Castles instead, it lets you bump your Knights up to Combat 4.
• Tapping
  • Use this to make Wizards pay for themselves and hurt your enemies. Be careful, as this gift forces you to space your Wizards out and also makes them a target.

Story

Epilogue

"The wizard and his warriors stalked forward, their necks craning alertly, "What do ye here, friend?" asked Uncle Clem. The wizard raised his white staff, "We have come to bring you the truth of the Invisible God. Soon your festivals will be our festivals. Your holy rites will be our holy rites. And the names of your gods will be forgotten." Celm stumbled backwards as a nimbus of blue fire played around the wizard, and the newcomers moved into battle formations."
—Sandy Petersen