TEXT: CHEMES
  UTARCH
  OF THE
  SA
  A strategy Guide and mission pack for wrath of the autarch
  
  Credits
  Contents
  Welcome! 
  3
  Strategy Guide 
  4
  Threats 
  9
  Ionna's Wedding 
  9
  Of Snow and Sinew 
  11
  A Rotten Backlash 
  13
  Mole Hunt 
  14
  Concept and Design: Phil Lewis
  Editing: Amanda Valentine
  Graphic Design: Nathan Paoletta
  Cover Art: Eric Quigley
  Interior Art: Eric Quigley
  Schemes of the Autarch
  http://www.ziapeltagames.com/
  Copyright © 2017 Ziapelta Games, LLC
  All rights reserved.
  Select mechanics and minigames are available 
  for use via a CC-BY license. See http://www.zia-
  peltagames.com/wrath-of-the-autarch for more 
  details.
  Art is © 2017 by their respective creators (Eric Quigley).
  This work is based on Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated 
  Edition (found at http://www.faterpg.com/), products of Evil 
  Hat Productions, LLC, developed, authored, and edited by 
  Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, 
  Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, 
  and Rob Donoghue, and licensed for our use under the Cre-
  ative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://cre-
  ativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
  Fate™ is a trademark of Evil Hat Productions, LLC
  Schemes of the Autarch
  A Strategy Guide and mission pack for
  
  3
  Welcome!
  Some people love analyzing complicated games. They like breaking down different strategic options and 
  finding each optimal path. Other people would rather learn the ins and outs quickly. If you’re the latter 
  type of person, then the strategy guide is for you! I break down some of the different tactics and strategies 
  that are built into the game. It will help you become a more effective player (both for the Stronghold and 
  for the Autarch).
  Additionally, Schemes of the Autarch includes four threats for use in your Wrath of the Autarch campaign. 
  There is one threat for each type of conflict: diplomacy, infiltration, skirmish, and warfare. Use the threats 
  as is, or use them for inspiration to create your own threats and schemes.
  Schemes of the autarch
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  4
  Early on in the campaign it can be more useful 
  to get as many resources as possible, since resourc-
  es are rare and it’s good to have some flexibility in 
  the lower tier developments. However, that quick-
  ly changes as the campaign progresses. As resourc-
  es become more abundant, maximizing resources 
  becomes less and less useful. At that point, usually 
  sometime around year two, it’s better to dogged-
  ly pursue a particular path, going for the highest 
  impact developments that will form the backbone 
  of a long term strategy.
  Challenge Phase
  The best advice for the challenge phase: when the 
  difficulty is easy, create campaign aspects and use 
  hindering aspects. Treat low difficulty missions as 
  opportunities to raise skills aggressively. During 
  more difficult missions, taking lots of stress might 
  mean failure during the conflict. For easier mis-
  sions, this isn’t as big of a hurdle.
  Furthermore, easier missions are great oppor-
  tunities to create some campaign aspects. If the 
  challenge scenes can be knocked off quickly, 
  instead of creating mission aspects for the conflict, 
  create campaign aspects that can be used during 
  later missions.
  So, what qualifies as an easier mission? That 
  largely depends on what heroes are available. 
  However, if the heroes on the mission have rel-
  evant skills that are higher than the mission dif-
  ficulty (for instance, a Fighting skill higher than 
  the difficulty of a skirmish mission), they stand a 
  pretty good chance of winning. If their skills are a 
  few steps higher than the difficulty, it’s usually very 
  easy. So take some stress, raise some skills, and cre-
  ate some campaign aspects!
  What to do when the mission difficulty is hard? 
  Cash in those campaign aspects! Also, don’t be 
  afraid to strategically fail at some challenge scenes 
  where the difficulty is off the charts. It’s sometimes 
  worth it to fail at a challenge scene and create a 
  new one rather than spending many turns building 
  up supporting aspects in order to barely succeed.
  Strategy Guide
  Broadly speaking, there are four main paths to 
  success for the Stronghold, one for each type of 
  conflict: diplomacy, infiltration, skirmish, and war-
  fare. More specifically, it’s difficult to completely 
  avoid any one type of conflict. This is particularly 
  true for skirmish conflicts, which feature promi-
  nently in the conquering of neutral regions. Hav-
  ing some heroes that are competent in skirmish is 
  important for any of the various strategies.
  Before getting to those four strategies, I’ll dis-
  cuss the Stronghold upkeep phase and the chal-
  lenge phase in general terms. There are some tips 
  and tricks that are useful to know regardless of 
  what long term strategy is pursued.
  Trading for Fun and Profit
  The first thing to notice about trading is that trade 
  forms a wheel of sorts. Gravewood takes luxuries 
  and gives timber. Crescent Hold takes timber and 
  gives ore. Burgan Vale takes ore and gives mana. 
  And so on. To get the most from trading, it can be 
  helpful to consider this relationship when assign-
  ing initial dispositions.
  By ensuring that factions next to each other on 
  the wheel of trade have higher dispositions, it’s 
  possible to maximize trading. In particular, it’s use-
  ful if the dispositions increase along the wheel—
  for example, if Gravewood has two disposition, 
  Crescent Hold has three disposition, and Burgan 
  Vale has four disposition.
  Creating this kind of arrangement lets the 
  resources from earlier trades get used in later 
  trades. At each step of trade, dice that rolled low 
  may be used for further trades down the wheel, 
  while dice that rolled high may be used for build-
  ing developments.
  TacTical vs sTraTegic Trade
  Granted, maximizing the trades along the wheel 
  isn’t as useful if there’s one particular development 
  that’s desired. Usually there’s a trade-off between 
  maximizing short term resource gain versus look-
  ing strategically and trying to get one particular 
  development.
  
  5
  † Strategy Guide †
  a military strong enough to make it through the 
  Sundered Crag isn’t as hard as building up a mil-
  itary to directly take on the Autarch, but it will 
  take some time. All that’s really needed to make it 
  through the Crag is lots of infantry, so don’t worry 
  about getting archers or cavalry. The expense and 
  time isn’t worth it. The Stronghold will likely need 
  fifteen units of infantry to match the Rock Demons 
  guarding the pass.
  Another good early move is to go on the quest 
  for Crescent Hold to get Aren’s Forge. If the dispo-
  sition for Crescent Hold is below three, an alliance 
  mission might be needed first. With Aren’s Forge 
  in hand, and a few advances on the skirmish tech 
  tree, lots of options open up. Going after a region 
  heavy in mana and ore, like Sightrock, is a good 
  option early on as well.
  laTe sTraTegy
  Continue to gain resources with mana and ore. 
  Good candidates are the Gray Forest, Fennel 
  Marshes, and Dusk’s Ayrie. As more regions are 
  gained, food will get stretched thin, which is why it 
  was important to build up infantry early on. Trad-
  ing with the Sunriders will help.
  Also continue to purchase skirmish tech. If 
  the Stronghold is able to gain Kinetic Armor, it’s 
  time to enter the Animaelic Forest. Even without 
  Kinetic Armor, if the heroes are able to get skir-
  mish skills to six or so, there’s a very good chance 
  the Stronghold will succeed.
  Right before heading into the Sundered 
  Crag, going on the quest for the Sunriders to get 
  Pelakhar might be useful. If the Stronghold has 
  Pelakhar, fewer infantry are needed. Pelakhar can 
  be sent forward to soften up the demons before 
  the infantry tries to wade through them.
  defense
  The biggest liability is likely to come from diplo-
  matic threats and schemes. If possible, purchase 
  some diplomats on the diplomacy tech tree for 
  defense. Even with that, it’s likely that the Autarch 
  will try to lower the disposition of different factions 
  which are allied with the Stronghold. Getting Aren’s 
  Skirmish (The Severing)
  Since most of the neutral 
  regions are conquered with skir-
  mish missions, some skirmish 
  tends to be necessary regardless 
  of what strategic path is chosen. The end point of 
  a heavy skirmish strategy is to complete the sev-
  ering of the Autarch’s magical conduit in the Ani-
  maelic Forest. Prior to getting there, it’s necessary 
  to run the gauntlet of the Sundered Crag, which 
  will require some measure of warfare capability.
  seT Up
  Having six or so strong skirmish characters is 
  important, because there’s a good chance a few 
  of them will be out of commission at any given 
  time. After that, build two characters decent in 
  warfare and two characters decent in diplomacy. 
  A skirmish strategy works fairly well with magic. 
  It will slightly dilute the tech trees, but it can be 
  a very powerful way to advance quickly. If that’s 
  desired, focus on the Secrets of the Elements and 
  the Secrets of the Wilds. Those secrets have access 
  to powerful offensive magic.
  The Sunriders, Crescent Hold, and Burgan Vale 
  are good choices for starting alliances. Crescent 
  Hold is the easiest faction to form alliances with, 
  so having them start a little lower might make 
  sense if you’re really thin in diplomacy. Alterna-
  tively, having Crescent Hold starting at three dis-
  position opens up a really early quest to secure 
  Aren’s Forge.
  sUggesTed sTarTing alliances
  Sunriders
  3
  Crescent Hold
  2
  Burgan Vale
  1
  early sTraTegy
  A skirmish strategy requires ore, mana, luxuries, 
  and food. Right off the bat, look at getting a region 
  with food on it, like Green Vale. Use the food pro-
  duction to purchase infantry units. Building up 
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  6
  possible. Grabbing North Oaks early on is fairly 
  easy and provides needed timber, which will be 
  important later. Another early region that should 
  be picked up is Boar’s Hollow. Provided the dis-
  position with Lily Manor is at 3 or higher, it’s also 
  worthwhile to attempt to gain the support of the 
  Sapphire Djinn.
  Besides timber, luxuries will be in short supply. 
  The food from Boar’s Hollow can be traded with 
  Lily Manor to provide those luxuries. Raising dis-
  position with Crescent Hold and Burgan Vale is 
  also an important early task. Since the mission 
  with Crescent Hold will probably be fairly easy, 
  use that to increase skills and possibly create some 
  campaign aspects.
  laTe sTraTegy
  The late strategy involves gaining as many mili-
  tary allies as possible. With some military allies, it 
  might be possible to take Ferry’s Glenn. Look for 
  opportunities to trade away low rolling dice when 
  building developments.
  In addition, it will be useful to push the 
  Empire’s stability down to -3 or -4 by funding the 
  resistance. That will make it easier to handle the 
  schemes of the Autarch as well as mount a mili-
  tary assault. When enough factions become mil-
  itary allies (ideally the Sunriders, Crescent Hold, 
  and Burgan Vale), it will be possible to mount a 
  campaign against the Imperial capital.
  defense
  The Autarch player will most likely use either 
  infiltration or skirmish schemes. To mitigate that, 
  building an early guard force will be helpful. With 
  clever use of trade, it’s possible to build many of 
  the defensive developments. That might be more 
  useful than building other types of developments, 
  as it gives the Stronghold enough time to develop 
  relationships with the different factions.
  It’s also possible the Autarch player builds up 
  their armies to slow down the progress with the 
  military alliance. If that happens, spend food to 
  gain more infantry to help offset the growth of the 
  Imperial military.
  Forge as soon as possible becomes important. If it’s 
  not possible to go on the quest to get Pelakhar later 
  in the game, that’s not as big of a deal.
  Another possibility is that the Autarch builds 
  up a military force and starts conquering regions 
  that the Stronghold controls. If so, it’s important 
  that the Animaelic Forest is attacked early in year 
  five, prior to the capital falling. That still should 
  be enough time to build up skirmish characters, 
  unless threats have been very unlucky.
  Diplomacy (Military Alliance)
  A diplomacy strategy takes a 
  while to get going, but becomes 
  very powerful later on. The goal 
  of a diplomacy strategy is to gain 
  military alliances from as many 
  factions as possible prior to year 
  six. Feed the resistance within the Empire. Finally, 
  march on Prominence and stop the Autarch.
  seT Up
  Five characters strong in diplomacy are enough 
  to start with. For the remaining five characters, 
  ensure a good mix of skirmish and warfare ability. 
  The warfare heroes will be shelved until nearing 
  the end of the campaign, but it’s necessary to have 
  them. While not usually a strong magic strategy, 
  having one or two characters with Secrets of the 
  Mind or Secrets of the Dead can be useful.
  It’s best to start with Lily Manor at a disposition 
  of 3. The factions that are easier to form alliances 
  with, such as Crescent Hold and Burgan Vale, are 
  better to start at lower dispositions.
  sUggesTed sTarTing alliances
  Lily Manor
  3
  Gravewood
  2
  Sunriders
  1
  early sTraTegy
  Naturally, a big part of the diplomacy strategy is 
  to increase the disposition of as many factions as 
  
  7
  † Strategy Guide †
  After securing some of these early regions, 
  shift over to using sabotage and heist missions 
  judiciously. It will be useful to lower the difficul-
  ty of assassinating the Autarch through sabotage. 
  heist probably makes the most sense against Lily 
  Manor, to steal luxuries. It’s helpful to have Superb 
  Spy Houses, which let the Stronghold inflict a two 
  stability loss.
  laTe sTraTegy
  There isn’t much of a late game in the infiltration 
  strategy. Whenever it looks possible, try to assas-
  sinate the Autarch. If the difficulty can be lowered 
  by one through sabotage and the Gossamer Spirit 
  is in hand, it’s probably worthwhile to attempt. If 
  either the Shadow Hall or the Map Hall is built, 
  that makes success very likely.
  defense
  Speed! There will be some lumps in this strategy. 
  Probably ignore the warfare build up the Autarch 
  player will most likely do. More than the other 
  strategies, doggedly pursue important infiltration 
  developments and improve the infiltration char-
  acters. One of the worst threats may come from 
  diplomacy, so if there are funds, building some 
  diplomats is a good idea.
  Warfare (If You Can't 
  Beat 'Em Join 'Em)
  Warfare takes a while to get 
  going, but tends to be one of the 
  easier strategies long term. The 
  biggest problem is usually a lack of stability, so be 
  prepared to spend some luxuries to have festivals! 
  The populace will need to be intoxicated to ignore 
  the rank suffering and trauma you’ll be inflicting 
  on them.
  The other issue is perhaps time. It can take a 
  little while to build up the forces needed to take 
  out the Autarch. If the Autarch player is able to 
  slow down the Stronghold, or if there are lots of 
  threats early on, it might be difficult to march on 
  the Empire with enough time to spare.
  Infiltration (Assassinate 
  the Autarch)
  A strategy heavy in infiltration is 
  probably the trickiest of the four 
  to pull off. The goal is to assas-
  sinate the Autarch, an infiltration mission of diffi-
  culty 8. Unlike the other strategies, time is not on 
  your side. It’s harder to gain quite as many resourc-
  es, which will inhibit long term growth.
  seT Up
  You’ll need four or five characters strong in infil-
  tration, with high skills in Disguise, Thievery, and 
  Stealth. Additionally, a few skirmish characters 
  and a few diplomacy characters will be important. 
  It might be worthwhile to ignore warfare. Going 
  this route probably means losing a few regions, but 
  hopefully the Autarch will be assassinated before 
  the Stronghold falls. If magic is desired, Secrets of 
  the Dead is probably the best discipline to follow. 
  Giving a character Secrets of the Wilds is another 
  possibility. Initially they’ll be better suited for skir-
  mish, but once they’re able to unlock snake form, 
  they will be a powerful option for infiltration.
  The peak alliance is naturally with Gravewood. 
  Gravewood provides access to the Gossamer Spirit 
  and access to timber. Lily Manor is a good second 
  choice to gain more luxury dice to give to Grave-
  wood. After that it doesn’t matter much. Since 
  building units isn’t a big priority, having lots of 
  food isn’t as big of a concern.
  sUggesTed sTarTing alliances
  Gravewood
  3
  Crescent Hold
  2
  Burgan Vale
  1
  early sTraTegy
  Gaining a few of the easier regions, like North 
  Oaks and Green Vale, is useful. Fairly early on, 
  though, it’s worth going after the Gossamer Spir-
  it. That will make infiltration missions much easi-
  er. With the Gossamer Spirit in hand, it should be 
  possible to go after Sightrock.
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  8
  Continue building up the military tech tree 
  toward catapults and cannons. Imperial regions 
  with keeps and castles will have to be battered 
  down using siege weapons. Taking Guilder Farms 
  or Southkeep will simultaneously weaken the 
  ability of the Empire to defend against military 
  attacks as well as granting the Stronghold more 
  food. After taking one or two Imperial regions, try 
  to take down Prominence.
  defense
  The Autarch player will probably improve infiltra-
  tion and warfare abilities for the Empire. Improv-
  ing warfare will slow the Stronghold’s military 
  down and infiltration will be used to assassinate a 
  key hero—both of which will only delay the inevi-
  table. It’s also possible the Autarch player will use 
  diplomacy to lower the disposition of a faction. 
  Most likely this will not be the disposition of a fac-
  tion like Lily Manor or Gravewood, since both of 
  them would just become military targets for the 
  Stronghold. Targeting the Sunriders would be the 
  most effective tactic. That scheme would have to 
  be addressed directly.
  Generalist
  While the prior four strategies rely heavily on 
  one of the four conflict types, this isn’t necessary 
  to win the game. In fact, WotA was designed with 
  the intention that a mix of mission types would be 
  used in service to victory. Playing through a variety 
  of conflicts tends to be more interesting than play-
  ing the same type of conflict over and over.
  It’s certainly possible to have two or three heroes 
  strong in each type of conflict, and two or three 
  more at least competent. The advantage of this 
  approach is its flexibility. Early on, conquest can be 
  used to get some regions, while alliances and sabo-
  tage are interspersed as methods to improve scarce 
  resources. The end game of a generalist strategy is 
  most likely invading the Animaelic Forest, although 
  assassinating the Autarch might also be an option. 
  Marching on the Empire tends to take a consider-
  able military effort rather than just dabbling.
  seT Up
  It’s good if about half the characters are good at 
  skirmish and half the characters are strong at war-
  fare. Giving the warfare characters a mix of diplo-
  macy skills is beneficial. Magic isn’t usually as inte-
  gral to the warfare strategy, although advancing far 
  enough on the Secrets of the Dead to summon an 
  army is powerful.
  The main factions to ally with are the Sunrid-
  ers and Crescent Hold. It’s likely the other factions 
  will become military targets of the empire-build-
  ing Stronghold.
  sUggesTed sTarTing alliances
  Sunriders
  3
  Crescent Hold
  2
  Burgan Vale
  1
  early sTraTegy
  Early on, the goal is to get a few regions. Pay very 
  close attention to the food situation, trying to grab 
  regions which produce food: Green Vale, Boar’s 
  Hollow, and Ferry’s Glenn. Ferry’s Glenn is likely a 
  year two or three region given the troops necessary 
  to take it. The other goal over the first few years is 
  to gain a military alliance with the Sunriders. That 
  will greatly accelerate the ability of the Stronghold 
  to take regions.
  Spend every extra bit of food to build troops. 
  In particular, try to get both infantry and caval-
  ry. Archers are better for defense, so they aren’t 
  as necessary. It may even be useful to lose some 
  stability in order to spend more food on military 
  might. Tighten those belts for the war machine!
  laTe sTraTegy
  When the Stronghold has a solid base of ten or so 
  units, it’s time to go on the Sunrider quest to gain 
  Pelakhar. Pelakhar needs to go on a military cam-
  paign at least once each year, which shouldn’t be a 
  problem. Look to pick off less well defended Impe-
  rial regions as well as regions controlled by factions 
  with low disposition toward the Stronghold. The 
  luxuries that Lily Manor controls are a likely target.
  
  9
  † Threats †
  their passions. In that case, you would need to cre-
  ate characters for Ionna, Karok, and friends sym-
  pathetic to their cause.
  Sample Challenges
  The primary focus for challenge scenes should be 
  cultural differences between Crescent Hold and 
  the Stronghold. The challenge phase is also an 
  opportunity to aid Ionna and Karok in their efforts 
  to see each other.
   
  ̊ Intercede in an argument between Theron 
  and Ralik.
   
  ̊ Help Ionna craft a bilateral chronometer.
   
  ̊ Sneak Karok into the Academy Barracks.
   
  ̊ Represent the Stronghold’s interests during 
  the monthly Learning Council summit.
  conflicT
  difficUlTy
  Diplomacy
  5
  Ionna and Karok are in love. Unfortunately for 
  them, neither Ionna’s parents nor Karok’s guard-
  ian are thrilled with this development. Ionna has 
  intensive training within Crescent Hold to become 
  a gearwardern. Ionna’s parents, Theron and Anas-
  tia, do not want her distracted while she is so close 
  to achieving her goal. Karok has a debt to Ralik, a 
  captain of the guard within the Stronghold. Ralik 
  is fashioning Karok into a soldier capable of meet-
  ing the forces of the Empire on the field of battle.
  As Ionna and Karok ignore the advice and 
  guidance of others, the situation between Cres-
  cent Hold and the Stronghold becomes more 
  toxic. What started as the irritation of parents and 
  guardians is now spilling over into broader anger 
  between the factions. Cultural differences have 
  been laid bare and used as weapons to drum up 
  dissent.
  Karok abandoned his training and moved to 
  live with Ionna at the Academy. This resulted in 
  the forcible removal of Karok, although the lov-
  ers are resolute in their efforts to see each other, 
  consequence be damned. It is up to the heroes to 
  smooth things over between Crescent Hold and 
  the Stronghold.
  This threat is best as a faction threat with Cres-
  cent Hold. It can be adapted to a regional threat 
  by making Ionna and Karok hail from different 
  regions within the Stronghold. If it’s used as a 
  regional threat, the conflict will showcase differ-
  ences from within the Stronghold. Make sure to 
  leverage any past issues within regions as fodder 
  for challenge scenes. Another possibility is for 
  the heroes to represent the side of leadership and 
  work to convince Ionna and Karok to put aside 
  Threats
  Following are four sample threats for use in your Wrath of the Autarch game. You can either use these as is 
  or use them as guidelines to create your own threats. There is one sample threat for each type of conflict.
  Ionna's Wedding
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  10
  RALIK (LEADER)
  Senator of the Trade Council
  Practical to a Fault
  sUperb  
  (+5) 
  Wits
  greaT  
  (+4) 
  Society
  good  
  (+3) 
  Rapport
  fair  
  (+2) 
  Fighting
  average  (+1) 
  Command
  Physical 2
  Mental 
  4
  Consequences -2 1, -2 1
  Commanding Word (Society): Spend a fate point 
  to add an additional point of support when suc-
  cessfully gaining support.
  Socially Adept (Society): For diplomacy, the charac-
  ter’s Society skill is 2 higher for purposes of turn order.
  Ralik is not as involved in Ionna’s life as Anastia 
  is. Despite that, he agrees with Anastia on the best 
  course of action for Ionna.
  THERON (LIEUTENANT)
  Gruff Captain at Arms
  Doesn’t Mince Words
  sUperb  
  (+5) 
  Command
  greaT  
  (+4) 
  Rapport
  good  
  (+3) 
  Society
  fair 
  (+2) 
  Wits
  average 
  (+1) 
  Will
  Physical 2
  Mental 
  3
  Consequences -2 1
  Passive Aggressive (Rapport): When the character 
  successfully gains support, opposing characters on 
  the same issue take one mental stress.
  Commanding Word (Society): Spend a fate point 
  to add an additional point of support when suc-
  cessfully gaining support.
  Theron is not a fan of Crescent Hold. He is suspi-
  cious of their ability to provide troops in the case 
  of an Imperial assault. Crescent Hold has been 
  very isolationist in the past, which allowed the 
  Empire to grow. So it’s with extra emphasis that he 
  doesn’t want Karok to pause his military training.
  Opposition
  Anastia, Ralik, and Theron should be in the con-
  flict. If there are more than three players, use 
  Agatha and Thea from Crescent Hold to fill out 
  leaders. Alternatively, you may create another 
  character from the Stronghold to reinforce Ralik’s 
  interests. The heroes will primarily represent the 
  interests of Ionna and Karok while trying to allay 
  the concerns of the various invested parties.
  ANASTIA (LIEUTENANT)
  Retired Gearwarden of the Decade War
  Life of the Party
  sUperb  
  (+5) 
  Rapport
  greaT  
  (+4) 
  Wits
  good  
  (+3) 
  Society
  fair  
  (+2) 
  Will
  average  (+1) 
  Command
  Physical 2
  Mental 
  4
  Consequences -2 1
  Related Point (Rapport): When an actively 
  opposed character successfully gains support, they 
  gain a boost. If the character succeeds with style, 
  they gain an additional boost. 
  Passive Aggressive (Rapport): When the character 
  successfully gains support, opposing characters on 
  the same issue take one mental stress.
  Anastia is not thrilled about Karok, but she is 
  more concerned about Ionna’s future as a gearwar-
  den. In the stratified world of Crescent Hold, there 
  aren’t many opportunities to move up in station.
  Resolution
  If this is used for a regional threat, the Strong-
  hold gains one stability if the heroes successful-
  ly resolve three issues. Otherwise, the Stronghold 
  doesn’t lose or gain any stability, since the threat 
  wasn’t ignored. If used for a faction threat with an 
  ally, the Stronghold gains one disposition if the 
  heroes successfully resolve three issues. Other-
  wise, there is no change to disposition.
  
  11
  † Of Snow and Sinew †
  Sample Challenges
  Threats with a faction are always a good opportu-
  nity to bring up old issues from diplomatic inter-
  actions with leaders. In addition, this threat pro-
  vides good opportunities to showcase the tracking 
  and survival abilities of the heroes. Perhaps there 
  is some measure of competition between Sdila 
  and Samo and the heroes. Eventually, the heroes 
  should either track and confront Whitemane or 
  perhaps be attacked while surprised. Either situ-
  ation will trigger the conflict.
   
  ̊ Create a shelter to weather the bitter cold.
   
  ̊ Hunt a wild boar for food.
   
  ̊ Work with Sdila and Samo on a plan to find 
  the snowcats.
   
  ̊  Fight off Imperial scouts.
  conflicT
  difficUlTy
  Skirmish
  6
  It’s customary for hunters from Gravewood to track 
  snow cats in the fall. They push the beasts deeper 
  into the forest, away from the footpaths between 
  havens. Every so often a hunter gets ambushed, 
  but most years the hunters are successful in thin-
  ning the pack.
  This year is different. Before the first leaves fell, 
  some traders from Green Haven were attacked 
  by a very large and aggressive snow cat. A fami-
  ly was killed. The description of this cat matched 
  one that Sdila remembered from his childhood. 
  Sdila’s father nicknamed it Whitemane. It was tre-
  mendously difficult to fight off, requiring coopera-
  tion between the havens. With many of the great-
  est hunters dead, that option may not be available 
  to Gravewood.
  Sdila reaches out to heroes from the Strong-
  hold for help, hoping they can lend their aid in 
  hunting the beast. This gives an opportunity for 
  the heroes to interact with various characters from 
  Gravewood, both old friends and new.
  To use this threat as a regional threat, change 
  the focus from Gravewood to a different region 
  within the Stronghold. The opponents in the con-
  flict could be kept the same, or could be reskinned 
  slightly based on the fauna that exist within the 
  Stronghold. The focus could be tweaked slightly 
  as well—perhaps the heroes are participating in a 
  great hunt rather than fighting off a predator.
  Of Snow and Sinew
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  12
  SNOWCAT (MINION)
  Fearsome Predator
  Powerful Jaws
  fanTasTic (+6) 
  Fighting
  sUperb 
  (+5) 
  Athletics
  greaT 
  (+4) 
  Physique
  Physical 3
  Powerful Attack (Fighting): The character is a 
  bruising attacker, capable of delivering crushing 
  blows. Add +2 to attack actions using Fighting.
  Snowcats tend to hunt in packs, working together 
  to drag down an opponent.
  Resolution
  If the heroes successfully defeat Whitemane, the 
  disposition with Gravewood increases by one. Oth-
  erwise, even in failure, Sdila respects their attempt 
  to stop the beasts, so no disposition is gained or 
  lost.
  Opposition
  The heroes are attacked by Whitemane, along 
  with a contingent of one snowcat for each hero.
  WHITEMANE (LEADER)
  Great Snowcat of the Frozen North
  Powerful Jaws
  Lightning Fast Reflexes
  Heightened Senses
  fanTasTic  (+6) 
  Fighting, Physique
  sUperb 
   (+5) 
  Athletics, Survival
  greaT 
  (+4) 
  Stealth, Tactics
  Physical 4
  Mental 
  2
  Consequences -2 1, -2 1, -4 1
  Whirling Attack (Fighting): Draw a stress card 
  to attack every opponent in the same zone using 
  Fighting. Only determine the attack once, but each 
  defender may defend individually.
  Powerful Attack (Fighting): The character is a 
  bruising attacker, capable of delivering crushing 
  blows. Add +2 to attack actions using Fighting.
  Quick (General): Prior to making an attack action, 
  may move one zone. Usual rules for moving out of 
  an opposed zone apply.
  Whitemane attacks as many heroes as possible 
  with unthinking fury.
  
  13
  † A Rotten Backlash †
  ZOMBIES (UNIT, INFANTRY)
  Unthinking Killing Machines
  How Dare You Disturb Our Slumber!
  Gleeful Seekers of Destruction
  greaT 
  (+4) 
  Armor
  good 
  (+3) 
  Fighting, Movement
  average 
  (+1) 
  Marksmanship 
  Morale 
  3
  Aura of Terror: A commander wishing to take 
  units into the same zone as the undead soldiers 
  must succeed at a Great (+4) Command roll.
  Only murder and death will quench the zombies’ 
  thirst.
  REVENANT (LIEUTENANT)
  Revered Military Commander
  Anger Incarnate
  Unceasing and Unyielding
  fanTasTic (+6) 
  Command, Tactics
  sUperb 
  (+5) 
  Fighting, Physique
  greaT 
  (+4) 
  Survival, Wits
  good 
  (+3) 
  Athletics, Marksmanship
  Physical 4
  Mental 
  4
  Consequences -2 1, -2 1
  Infantry Maneuver (Tactics): Once each 
  exchange, add +2 to an attack utilizing infan-
  try exclusively (no other unit type may be in the 
  attacking group). The attacking commander may 
  control other unit types.
  Pushback (Tactics): If the character inflicts more 
  casualties than the other side in a clash of arms 
  (taking into account possible outflanking), may 
  move opposing commander and units to an empty 
  adjacent zone. If no adjacent zone is empty, or if 
  both sides lost the same number of units, they 
  remain where they are.
  The revenants are leaders from the Stronghold’s 
  past. They lead the zombie hordes into battle.
  conflicT
  difficUlTy
  Warfare
  6
  This is a regional threat showcasing the problems 
  with magic. It works best if one of the regions has 
  been subject to magical backlash. Alternative-
  ly, it could work if the heroes have used magic to 
  questionable ends while on a mission elsewhere. 
  Finally, if none of those things are true, perhaps 
  the region in question has been targeted by a rival 
  faction or a rogue wizard within the Stronghold.
  Whatever the cause, the dead are returning in 
  large numbers. Large enough numbers that they 
  are threatening the people and resources of the 
  region. There are enough of them that they must 
  be met with military force rather than a small 
  band of heroes.
  Sample Challenges
   
  ̊ Fortify the farms in Tarrydale.
   
  ̊ Prepare soldiers for an encounter with their 
  dead ancestors.
   
  ̊ Light a great bonfire to cleanse the fallen.
   
  ̊ Forced march through the long cold night.
  Setup
  For this threat, the heroes are on defense. The 
  zombies have a fairly simple plan: move forward 
  and attack anything in their way.
  Resolution
  If the heroes are able to repel the zombie threat, 
  the Stronghold gains one stability.
  Opposition
  The pass is guarded by twelve units of zombies led 
  by military commanders from the Stronghold’s 
  past. There is one military commander for each 
  hero on the mission.
  A Rotten Backlash
  
  † Schemes of the Autarch †
  14
  Setup
  The Guild of Maps is fairly busy during most 
  times of the day. While less busy at night, people 
  still come and go frequently enough to make it 
  very difficult to pass undetected.
  Resolution
  If the heroes are successful, the Stronghold gains 
  one stability.
  Sample Challenges
  This is a chance to flesh out different characters from 
  the Empire, in particular Minim, the Guild of Knowl-
  edge Grandmaster. The heroes may also be aided by 
  members of the resistance, such as Tulim or Akilah.
   
  ̊ Create a cover identity while staying at the 
  Brass Sheep Inn.
   
  ̊ Shake Lucia down for information on key 
  personnel within the Guild of Maps.
   
  ̊ Steal a set of Imperial cloaks from drunken 
  guards.
   
  ̊ Create a duplicate key for the lower safe.
  Sample Security Challenges
   
  ̊ Disguise: Pass off written approval to 
  bureaucrat within hall of records.
   
  ̊ Stealth: Sneak past the guard hall.
   
  ̊ Thievery: Open the door to Minim’s vault.
  Opposition
  If Minim is still alive, use Minim as the leader, 
  along with a number of no skill minions (all skills 
  are equal to the mission difficulty) as guards.
  IMPERIAL GUARD (NO SKILL MINION)
  Aspiring Gray Cloak Agent
  ”Who Goes There?”
  sUperb  
  (+5) 
  Guard Stuff
  Physical 2
  Mental 
  2
  If desired, either the Observant Guards or the Tough 
  Guards from INFILTRATION may be used instead.
  conflicT
  difficUlTy
  Infiltration
  5
  The Stronghold has a mole problem. Imperial 
  agents have intercepted secret shipments heading 
  out from Tarrydale Farms. Additionally, informa-
  tion about an upcoming trade deal was leaked to 
  Lily Manor by the Empire, making it more diffi-
  cult to complete. All signs point to the mole living 
  within Tarrydale Farms, but efforts so far to dis-
  cover the leak have been fruitless.
  Recently, an agent from the Stronghold discov-
  ered a promising lead within Eastkeep, a moder-
  ately sized settlement on the eastern border of the 
  Empire. Located within Eastkeep is the Guild of 
  Maps, a front for the Gray Cloaks in charge of inves-
  tigating the Stronghold. Within the confines of their 
  headquarters is most likely the name of the mole.
  This threat is a regional threat against Tarry-
  dale Farms. It is fairly easy to change the threat 
  to reflect a different region. It is also fairly easy to 
  scale the difficulty up or down by changing the 
  peak skill for the guards.
  Mole Hunt
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/FATE (fudge) [multi]/Wrath of the Autarch/Schemes Of The Autarch.pdf