Covenant Chess™ — Skirmish
Rule Book · rules version 1.9.3
1 · The field and the turn
- Two armies, Gold and Blue, meet on a field of flat-top hexes. Gold moves all its pieces, then Blue — that is one round.
- To act, a piece is activated and receives Movement Points (MP) equal to its Speed.
- Walking costs 1 MP per tile, and 2 MP to enter forest, hill or desert.
- A melee blow ends the piece's movement. Shooters and holy strikers fire while MP remains and may walk with what is left.
- Each piece acts once a turn unless a power grants it more.
2 · Combat
- Damage = Attack − Defence + 4, never less than 1. A piece whose Blood reaches 0 falls.
- Every attack on an adjacent piece is answered by one counter-blow. A piece counters at most once per round. A kill draws no counter.
- An attack from two tiles or more (arrows, holy strikes) draws no counter — except from the Angel, whose wrath reaches 4 tiles.
- Holy strikes deal flat damage that ignores Defence. Three pieces are of the holy kind: the Apostle (strike 6), Elias (strike 7) and the Angel (wrath 7 + 4).
- The Apostle and Elias cast their holy strike as an attack; the Bastion's wall turns it (he keeps his Defence). The Angel's holy strike is a counter only — she never attacks first — and because her wrath comes straight from heaven it breaks even the Bastion's wall.
- Arrows cost MP per shot (see each shooter) and may be loosed as often as MP allows.
3 · The land
- Forest +1 Defence.
- Hill +1 Attack when striking a lower tile.
- Desert −1 Defence.
- Holy City — the marked hex and its six neighbours — +1 Defence.
- Rough ground (forest, hill, desert) costs 2 MP to enter.
4 · Holy Cities, Grails and recruiting
- A royal (King, Queen, Heir, Princess, Maiden) standing in a Holy City earns its side 2 Grails at the start of its turn.
- A city yields at most 2 Grails per turn, and nothing while any enemy piece stands in it.
- Grails recruit new pieces at the prices in the table. A recruit is placed on a free tile beside any of your royals and acts from the next turn.
- Royals and Legends (★) are one-of-a-kind on the board. The King is never recruited.
5 · Auras of the court (allies within 4 tiles)
- King — +1 Attack.
- Queen — +1 Defence.
- Heir — +2 Speed; he takes the crown if the King falls.
- Princess — allies recover 2 Blood each turn.
- Maiden ★ — For the Kingdom! each ally may buy one extra action a turn for 4 Blood.
6 · Special powers
- Militia — Shield wall: +1 Defence for each adjacent Militia.
- Pikeman
- Charge: +1 Attack per tile moved this act, up to +3.
- Set pike: +1 Attack against riders.
- Archer
- Arrows: range 4, 3 MP a shot, shoots while MP remains.
- Bastion's height: +1 range when standing beside a Bastion.
- Blade — Sweep: strikes up to 3 adjacent foes at once; only the first target counters.
- Vanguard — Bulwark: +2 Defence to every adjacent ally.
- Berserker — Fury: strikes the same foe 2 times; only the first blow is countered.
- Bastion
- Bolts: range 2, 2 MP a shot, shoots while MP remains.
- Stone wall: his Defence is never ignored, not even by holy strikes.
- Apostle
- Holy strike: flat 6 damage at range 2, 2 MP a cast, ignores Defence.
- Convert: on a kill, may spend 1 Grail to raise the fallen under your banner (never royals or Legends; the convert stands idle its first turn).
- Prophet — Healing: fully heals one ally within 4 tiles each turn (himself allowed).
- Lancer — Charge: +1 Attack per tile moved this act, up to +7.
- Templar — Sacrifice: may act a second time in a turn, then loses 4 Blood.
- Ranger — Arrows: range 4, 3 MP a shot, shoots while MP remains.
- Angel ★
- Wrath (holy strike, counter only): the Angel never attacks first. When attacked — by blade, arrow or holy fire — she answers any attacker within 4 tiles with a holy strike of attack 7 straight from heaven: it ignores all Defence and breaks even the Bastion's wall.
- Grace: when an ally falls within 4 tiles, its recruiting price is refunded in Grails.
- Paladin ★ — Sacrifice: may act a second time in a turn, then loses 4 Blood.
- Attila ★ — Arrows: range 4, 3 MP a shot, shoots while MP remains.
- Wayfarer ★
- Two acts: acts twice every turn.
- Pass-through: walks through other pieces (must land on a free tile).
- Untouchable: no piece can counter him.
- Elias ★ — Holy strike: flat 7 damage at range 2, 2 MP a cast, ignores Defence.
- Levite ★ — Curse: every enemy within 4 tiles has Defence 0.
7 · Victory
- Fell the enemy King and you win.
- If their Heir stands, he becomes King and the battle goes on.
- 30 rounds without a capture is a draw.
8 · The pieces
Atk 3Def 4Blood 15Speed 4Grails —Limit 1
aura: allies within 4 tiles +1 Attack; 2 Grails/turn in a Holy City; HIS FALL LOSES THE GAME (unless the Heir stands)
Atk 1Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 3Limit 1 on board
aura: allies within 4 tiles +1 Defense; 2 Grails/turn in a Holy City
Atk 3Def 4Blood 15Speed 4Grails 3Limit 1 on board
aura: allies within 4 tiles +2 tiles speed; 2 Grails/turn in a Holy City; BECOMES KING if the King falls
Atk 1Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 3Limit 1 on board
aura: allies within 4 tiles recover 2 Blood per turn; 2 Grails/turn in a Holy City
Atk 2Def 2Blood 12Speed 4Grails 4Limit 1 on board
aura: allies within 4 tiles +1 action per turn (each extra action costs 4 Blood); 2 Grails/turn in a Holy City
Atk 2Def 3Blood 12Speed 4Grails 1Limit unlimited
each adjacent militia +1 defense
Atk 2Def 2Blood 12Speed 4Grails 1Limit unlimited
CHARGE when move: +0/+1/+2/+3 by tiles moved; +1 Attack vs riders
Atk 2Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 1Limit unlimited
range 4; constant attack 2; shot costs 3 MP; shoots while MP remains; adjacent to Bastion +1 range
Atk 4Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 1Limit unlimited
strikes 1-3 adjacent enemies at once; only the first target counters
Atk 3Def 5Blood 15Speed 4Grails 2Limit unlimited
+2 Defense to any adjacent allied unit
Atk 5Def 3Blood 15Speed 4Grails 2Limit unlimited
can strike twice on the SAME target; only the first strike is countered
Atk 1Def 7Blood 20Speed 2Grails 2Limit unlimited
range 2; constant attack 1; shot costs 2 MP; shoots while MP remains; his defense is never ignored by holy strikes
Atk 2Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 2Limit unlimited
holy strike: range 2; costs 2 MP; damage always 6 ignoring Defense; the Bastion's defense is never ignored; on a kill may spend 1 Grail to CONVERT the fallen (never royals or Legends; convert stands idle its first turn)
Atk 1Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 2Limit unlimited
fully recovers one allied unit within 4 tiles per turn (may include himself)
Atk 3Def 4Blood 15Speed 8Grails 2Limit unlimited
CHARGE when move: +0/+1/+2/+3/+4/+5/+6/+7 by tiles moved (8th tile: 3+7=10)
Atk 5Def 5Blood 15Speed 8Grails 2Limit unlimited
may act twice in a turn then loses 4 Blood
Atk 3Def 2Blood 15Speed 8Grails 2Limit unlimited
range 4; constant attack 3; shot costs 3 MP; shoots while MP remains
Atk 0Def 1Blood 12Speed 4Grails 4Limit 1 on board
within 4 tiles: when an ally is killed the recruiting cost is refunded in Grails; when attacked she counters any attacker within 4 tiles with a HOLY STRIKE of attack 7 ignoring defense (ranged attacks too) - her wrath comes straight from heaven and breaks even the Bastion's wall; she never strikes first - her holy strike is a counter only
Atk 7Def 7Blood 15Speed 8Grails 4Limit 1 on board
may act twice in a turn then loses 4 Blood
Atk 4Def 3Blood 15Speed 8Grails 4Limit 1 on board
range 4; constant attack 4; shot costs 3 MP; shoots while MP remains
Atk 5Def 3Blood 15Speed 4Grails 4Limit 1 on board
acts twice per turn; walks through other units (must land on a free tile); others cannot counter attack him
Atk 3Def 2Blood 12Speed 4Grails 4Limit 1 on board
holy strike: range 2; costs 2 MP; damage always 7 ignoring Defense; the Bastion's defense is never ignored
Atk 3Def 1Blood 15Speed 4Grails 4Limit 1 on board
within 4 tiles ALL enemy Defense drops to 0
Covenant Chess™ · © 2026 David Shiguang Zhu. All rights reserved. ·
The spec table is the law; this book restates it.