The fault and the eruption
Partway through every game the ground cracks. A fault opens from north to south and splits the battlefield in two, and in the last round the ground beside it erupts. Numbers from Faultline rules v10 (v0.3, the Crown, with the fault).
When: “Tremors…”
Section titled “When: “Tremors…””The fault opens at the end of a round between half and two thirds of the way through. The app chooses which round in secret when the game starts:
| Game | The fault opens at the end of round |
|---|---|
| Short (8 rounds) | IV or V |
| Standard (10 rounds) | V or VI |
| Long (12 rounds) | VI, VII or VIII |
At the start of that round everyone sees Tremors… and the map shakes. Use the round: the fault opens when it ends. The round track shows the possible rounds with a dashed amber outline, and marks the round it opened after.
Where: last place rolls
Section titled “Where: last place rolls”When the round has been scored, the side in last place (fewer points; if level, fewer zones; if still level, the app tosses a coin) chooses where the fault opens by rolling the Core:
| Face | Fault |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | the west fault, beside the West Point |
| 5 to 8 | the centre fault, beside the Centre |
| 9 to 12 | the east fault, beside the East Point |
One player on that side is asked to roll their Core. If you have no Core connected, tap Let the server roll. After 30 seconds anyone can let the server roll instead. Bots always let the server roll. Everyone sees who rolled and the face.
Each map draws its three faults as dashed red lines. Whichever opens, one capture point is on the crack.
What changes
Section titled “What changes”The opened fault is drawn as a glowing red-and-gold crack, and the app shows The faultline has opened with what changed and what it means for your team:
- The ground shook. Every zone touching the crack loses 1 token. A zone left with none becomes empty.
- Crossing is hard. An attack across the crack must win by 3 or more. You can’t claim across it.
- Land is split. Land on opposite sides of the crack no longer counts as joined.
- Vents. The side in last place places 2 vents on empty zones touching the crack: tap them on the map. A vent zone held at the end of a round scores 2 instead of 1. After 30 seconds the server places them. If fewer than 2 empty zones touch the crack, there are fewer vents.
On your turn, attack previews across the crack say by 3, and the order button says win by 3.
The eruption
Section titled “The eruption”After the last wave of the final round, and before it is scored, a region touching the crack erupts: every zone in it becomes empty. A capture point in that region keeps its holder, with 1 token. Then the final round scores double, as always.
The app picks the erupting region at random from the regions touching the crack, so every zone near the crack is at risk.
- If you hold the capture point on the crack, reinforce it: attacks on it from across the crack must win by 3, but the shake and the eruption can still thin it out.
- Vents are worth taking: 2 points a round each.
- Land on both sides of the crack no longer joins up, so plan where you want your joined land.
Next: The result and the replay.