I

Setup

With three players, remove the Vagabond. With two, also remove the Alliance.

  1. Choose factions. Each player takes a faction board and all of its pieces. Pick a random starting player and seating order.
  2. Set scores. Every score marker goes on 0.
  3. Deal cards. Shuffle the shared deck of 54 cards and deal 3 to each player. With 2 players, remove the four Dominance cards first.
  4. Place ruins. Put the four ruins on the map slots marked “R”.
  5. Item supply. Put 2 bags, 2 boots, 1 crossbow, 1 hammer, 2 swords, 2 teapots and 2 coins on their spaces at the top of the map.
  6. Other pieces. Hand out the faction overview cards and put the two custom dice by the map.
  7. Set up factions. In this order: Marquise, Eyrie, Alliance, Vagabond, as below and on the back of each faction board.
II

Faction Setup

Marquise de Cat

Industry and garrisons

  1. Supply. 25 warriors and 8 wood.
  2. Keep. Put the Keep token in any corner clearing.
  3. Garrison. 1 warrior in every clearing except the corner diagonally opposite the Keep.
  4. Buildings. 1 Sawmill, 1 Workshop and 1 Recruiter in the Keep's clearing and/or next to it. The rest fill their tracks right to left.

Eyrie Dynasties

Birds of the old order

  1. Roost. 20 warriors in supply. 1 Roost and 6 warriors in the corner diagonally opposite the Keep (any corner without the Marquise).
  2. Leader. Choose a Leader and tuck your two Loyal Viziers into the Decree columns it shows.
  3. Roosts track. Your other 6 roosts fill the track right to left.

Woodland Alliance

Sympathy, then revolt

  1. Supply. 10 warriors. Bases in the Bases box, 10 sympathy tokens on their track.
  2. Supporters. Draw 3 cards and put them face down in your Supporters stack.

Vagabond

A lone wanderer

  1. Character. Choose a character card. Put your pawn in any forest.
  2. Quests. Shuffle the quest deck and draw 3 face up.
  3. Ruins. Put one “R” item (bag, boot, hammer, sword) under each ruin and shuffle each stack before putting them back.
  4. Items. Take your character's starting items (marked S).
  5. Relationships. A marker for each other faction on Indifferent.