Navigation
Ethereal Vortices
Ethereal Vortices
Epicenters of Ether are the most dangerous and most important regions on the lands of Westorn. They will just as endlessly beckon ambitious explorers to them as they will disgorge them.
Ethereal Vortices are elements of a flat game landscape. They are anomalous zones of unstable ether on the battlefield.
Element Of The Landscape Is The Tile Of The "Ethereal Vortex".
They have a number of properties and game rules - let's take a look at them
Closing Landscape
Ethereal Vortices give Cover for Miniatures that occupy adjacent Hexes by the rules of the "Volume Landscape".
Cards of Ether Wonders
For explore Vortices of Instability you need a deck of Cards of Ethereal Wonders. Deck should always be near the battlefield so that both players can interact comfortably with her. The deck consists of 16 cards, the composition and number of which the players do not change.
Cards of Ether Wonders
Ether Supply
Each Ethereal Vortex has its own Ether Reserve value noted in the Scenary. When Vortex of Instability loses the last crystal of Ether, it is removed from the Battlefield.
Marker "Crystal of Ether", which marks the Reserve of Ether.
Players note the current amount of Ether Reserv using Ether Crystal Markers, which are placed on top of an element of the Ethereal Vortex landscape.
A vortex having an "Ether Reserve" equal to three Ether Crystals.
Devotion of Vortices
There are the following types of contact with the Ethereal Vortex:/p>
Successful Explore
Non-successful Explore
Move into Vortex
They are described in more detail later in the chapter, but before proceeding to them, we will explore "Devotion" of Ethereal Vortices.
Devotion
Any Ethereal Vortex on the battlefield has a special parameter that show its current status and determines the level of danger for the Miniatures contacting with it. This parameter is named "Devotion". Each Ethereal Vortex on the battlefield or has a devotion to one of the four Domains, or has no devotion to any of them.
There are the following types of Devotion for Ethereal Vortices:
Without Devotion
Vortex of Creation
Vortex of Destruction
Vortex of Life
Vortex of Death
At the beginning of the game, all the Ethereal Vortexes on the battlefield have no devotion. Every time a Miniature contact with an Ethereal Vortex that has no devotion, there is a chance that it will stabilize, after which it will gain Devotion to one of the four Domains. Devotion of the Vortex to one of the Domains is displayed by a Scenary Marker, which is placed on it with the necessary symbol up.
Hostile Domains
For each of the four Domains, there is an foes Domain that is hostile to it..
Domain of Creation (Torgvar) and the Domain of Destruction (Otraax) are hostile
Domain of Life (Rouna) and Death (Noctis) are hostile.
For each Domain one is hostile, and the other two are neutral.
Devotion to more than one Domain
If the Miniature has a Devotion to two or more Domains, then at the first contact with the Ethereal Vortex for activation, the player must select one of the Domains available to the Miniature and play contact with the Vortices until the end of activation, as if the Miniature had a Devotion only to the selected Domain.
Examples of Miniature Devotion icons to more than one Domain.
The Wheel of Four
An image from the manuscript of A. Mortenson, in which he captured a symbol found in the ruins of a temple of the First Age.
Vortex Stabilization
When a player's Miniature contact with a Vortex without devotion, his opponent rolls 1 Attack Die. 
. The rolled value means:
Critical Success.
Vortex gets Devotion to a Domain that is hostile to the Devotion of the Miniature.
Nothing
Vortex receives a Devotion to the Domain same the Devotion of the Miniature.
Success.
Vortex remains in the "No Devotion" status..
Example
Player Torgvar decides to use an Action: Explore by his Engeln's Swordsman, choosing an Ethereal Vortex without devotion as a target. His opponent Otraax makes an Attack Die roll and gets a Critical Success. и получает значение Критического Успеха 
.
Ethereal Vortex receives devotion: Destruction, because the Engeln's Swordsman's devotion is Creation, the hostile domain of which is Destruction.
Players note gaining Devotion by placing a Scenary Marker - Destruction on top of the Ethereal Vortex.
A die roll to determine the Stabilization of the Vortex is maked no more than once per Miniature activation.
Tempra Times
...Surprisingly, the giant gates leading out of the incredibly spacious room turned out to be locked, leaving the squad members at a loss how to move on. The mystery, however, was solved quickly – four gutters went out from the gate, which each stretched to one side of the temple. Flat stone steps led up to four platforms, the air above each of which characteristically curved and trembled in the uneven light coming through the amber windows. — Ethereal vortices! Gottfried confirmed the general guess...
Contact with Vortices
Miniatures can explore Ethereal Vortices in search of Ether Crystals and for the effects that are triggered when the Vortex is successfully explored. To explore the Vortex, the player declares the Explore action with a Miniature that is within the range of the Explore action (usually a Hex adjacent to the Vortex). After that, the player rolls the Dice from the Action Tile.
Example: To perform Explore action, it is necessary to roll one Attack Die.
Successful Explore
If at least one Success (or Critical Success) was rolled, explore is success. After that, the player use the following steps:
Step 1
The player receives a number of Ether tokens equal to the number of Successes (including Critical) on the Attack Dice when rolled for Explore.
These Ether markers are taken from the Vortex Ether Reserve, which became the target of the explore. Thats mean, the Ethereal Vortex loses the same number of Ether points. If player must receive more than remain on Ether tile, he get only the amount that Vortex has. When last Crystal of Ether will lost, the Ethereal Vortex tile is removed from the battlefield.
Step 2
Payer takes the Cards of Ethereal Wonders from the top of the deck in quantity according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. Player resolve the effects described on the cards according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. After that, he returns them to the deck and shuffles it.
Non-successful Explore
If no one Success (or Critical Success) was rolled, explore is non-success. After that, the player makes next step: The player takes the Cards of Ethereal Wonders from the top of the deck in the amount according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. Player resolve the effects described on the cards according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. After that, he returns them to the deck and shuffles it.
Move into Vortex
Even careful and painstaking research of Ethereal Vortices is carries with many dangers. But to pass through the Vortex directly or get into it as a result of the movement of the Vortex is a sure way to run into serious injury or even find your death.
Following situations are Move into Vortex:
Miniature begins Activation while in Ethereal Vortex. (Step 2 "Landscape Effects")
Miniature finish Activation while in Ethereal Vortex.
Miniature enters and leaves Vortex within one activation.
When any of these triggers happens, Player takes the Cards of Ethereal Wonders from the top of the deck in the amount according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. Player resolve the effects described on the cards according to the Table of Ethereal Wonders. After that, he returns them to the deck and shuffles it.
Important! If the Miniature triggered more than one situation of Move into the same Vortex during one activation (for example, it started and finished Activation in an Ethereal Vortex), the player plays the effect only once.
Movement of Vortices
Each game Turn, after both players have activated all their Miniatures, the "Phase V: Movement of Ethereal Vortices" begins. Starting with the player who first activated all his Miniatures, the players make rolling dice to determine the direction of movement of the Ethereal Vortices. The players take turns moving all Vortices on the battlefield.
Movement of the Vortex makes as follows: the player rolls 2 Attack Dice, after which the Vortex tile moves 1 Hexon in the direction of the dropped combination of values. By moving the Vortex, the player can turn it in any direction.
Example
By making a Vortex movement, the player of the Rouna gets the values 
Rouna finds the same combination of values on the Vortex tile and moves it in that direction by 1 Hexon
.
Important! If the Hexon to which the Vortex is to move occupies a Volume Landscape or another Ethereal Vortex, then the movement does not can made and the Vortex remains in place. At the same time, the player can turn it in any direction.
Example: An Ethereal Vortex cannot move to a Hexon occupied by a Volume Landscape and remains in place
If the Hexon to which the Vortex is to move is occupied by the "Fiery Earth" or "Ruinous Swamp", then the Vortex moves on top of this element. As long as the Vortex covers this element, the Miniatures, falling on this Hexon, interact only with the Vortex, ignoring the properties of the "Fiery Earth" or "Ruinous Swamp".
Orientation of Vortex
Each Ethereal Vortex has a pictured direction symbol that consistent to the side with the values:
Images of the directions are used to deployment Ethereal Vortices when preparing the battlefield according to the Scenary Scheme.
An example of a fragment of a Scenary scheme with the location and orientation of the direction of Ethereal Vortices.
Cards of Ether Wonders
For playing effects from contacting with Etherial Vortices players use Table of Etherial Wonders
When the Miniature contact with the Vortex, the player takes a Card of Ethereal Wonders from the top of the deck and plays one of the effects, according to the Table.
If the Table asks the player to play the effects of two Cards, the player first takes the first Card from the deck and plays the effect. Then he takes the second Card and plays the necessary effect. After that, both cards are shuffles into the deck.
If the text of the card refers to the Explorer, then it means the Miniature that triggers the effect: explored, did not explore, or moved into a Vortex. If the effect need to measure the distance from the Ethereal Vortex, which is no longer on the battlefield, then the measurement is made from the Hexon that occupied the Vortex last time.
1 - Name
Unique name of Wonders Card, which can be referenced by rules or abillities.
2 - Positive Effect
Description of the positive effect of Ethereal Wonder.
Positive effect in Table of Ethereal Wonders.
3 - Negative Effect
Description of negative effect of Ethereal Wonder.
Negative effect in the Table of Ethereal Wonders.
Table of Ether Wonders
To determine how many Wonders Cards a player should take and what effects from them he should play, there is a Table of Ethereal Wonders shown below.
Allied
Allied Domain.
Vortex has a devotion to the same Domain as the Miniature contacting with it.
Successful Explore
Non-successful Explore
Move into Vortex
Neutral
Neutral Domain.
Vortex has a Devotion to a Domain that is not allied or hostile to the Miniature contacting with it, or the Vortex does not yet have a devotion.
Successful Explore
Non-successful Explore
Move into Vortex
Hostile
Hostile Domain
Vortex has a Devotion to the Domain that is hostile to the Domain to which the Miniature has a devotion.
Successful Explore
Non-successful Explore
Move into Vortex
Ether Crystals
Ether Crystal marker indicates the amount of Ether by the player. Ether crystals are any elements of the world infused with this resource: relics and artifacts of the past, natural crystal formations, and even living creatures. What are Ether Crystals used for in the game? Let's look further. .
Victory Points
Most game Scenarios reward players with Victory Points for points of Ether Crystals obtained during the game and saved by the end of the Scenary.
Conversion to Markers of Faith
Player can convert one Ether Crystal marker into a Faith marker of any color at any time of the game. Player can convert any points of Ether into Faith.
Usually this must be done before paying the cost of God Cards or abilities that require payment with Faith tokens, at times when the player does not have enough Faith tokens.
Dice Reroll
Player can spend an Ether Crystal token to reroll the result of a die from result of any roll or reroll by the actions, reactions, abilities and defensive rolls of the miniatures under his control. Player can spend any number of Ether Crystals to make a reroll of any number of Dice. Any number of Ether Crystals can be used to reroll the same Die.
Example 1.
Engel's Swordsman performs the Sword Strike Action. As a result of the roll, he gets the result of Nothing on the Attack Dice – he can reroll it using Ether Crystals
Example 2.
Dryadint Archer, in process of make Action of a Bowshot, rerolls result of Nothing on Attack Dice due to success on the Agility Dice and receives the same result. Now Dryadinta can reroll it using Ether Crystals
Example 3.
A Frontline Medic is trying to escape from an attack by a Possessed Rider. Making a defensive roll, he was forced to reroll the result of Success on one of the Defense Dice due to the Breach ability of the Rider's attack. If the rolled result does not suit him, he can reroll it using Ether Crystals.
"When Torn's suns and moons are in the right order, I see them! They called me a madman, and my Observation Tower was destroyed by ignorant envious people. But I saved my main invention. Ethereal Starscope is still with me. I see them! On those dark nights, when even Rouna and Noctis do not light up the firmament, I see them floating in far distant skies. In a black and timeless void, they drift — fragments of old and nameless dead worlds. I see in their face the future of my native world."