BoardGameArchiveRoot Sympathy & Outrage Rules
When Outrage triggers, how to remove sympathy, why tokens do not count toward rule, Vagabond exceptions and Supporters payments.
When Outrage triggers, how to remove sympathy, why tokens do not count toward rule, Vagabond exceptions and Supporters payments.
Root Outrage is the Woodland Alliance’s penalty for opponents entering sympathetic clearings with warriors or removing sympathy tokens. The cost is a card matched to the clearing, paid to Supporters. Removing sympathy can also be worth a victory point to the opponent, so both rules must be resolved correctly.
Root Outrage: the quick rule
Outrage triggers when another player moves warriors into a clearing with a Woodland Alliance sympathy token, or when another player removes that token. The offending player gives the Alliance a card matching the affected clearing’s suit. A bird card works as a wild card. If the player has no matching card, including no bird card, they show their hand and the Alliance draws one card from the deck into its Supporters stack, subject to the stack’s capacity.
There are two important non-triggers: merely placing a warrior or other piece in the sympathetic clearing is not moving warriors into it, and moving the Vagabond pawn into it does not qualify because the pawn is not a warrior. Removal of the sympathy token triggers Outrage regardless of who removes it, including the Vagabond.
The authoritative references are Leder Games’ Law of Root, especially sections 8.2.5–8.2.6.
What triggers Outrage? Complete examples
| Action involving a sympathetic clearing | Outrage? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Move a group of Cat warriors into it | Yes | Another player moves warriors in |
| Move a single Eyrie warrior into it | Yes | Only one entering warrior is needed |
| Move warriors out of it | No | Outrage checks entering, not leaving |
| Recruit or place warriors there | No | Placing pieces is different from moving |
| Move the Vagabond pawn there | No | Pawn is not a warrior |
| Remove sympathy in a battle | Yes | Token has been removed |
| Remove sympathy via a card or special ability | Yes | Removal triggers regardless of the method |
| Move controlled hireling warriors there | Yes | Law of Root hireling exception applies |
| Move Alliance warriors as the Alliance | No | Outrage applies to another player |
When one move transfers several warriors into one sympathetic clearing, resolve one entering-move trigger, not one per warrior. Distinct moves into other sympathetic clearings and later token removals are separate triggering events.
How to remove a sympathy token in Root
A Woodland Alliance sympathy token is a token, not a warrior or a building. An opponent can remove it through battle or an effect that explicitly removes eligible enemy pieces. A sympathetic clearing can still be battled even if the Alliance has no warriors there, as long as the attacker meets the battle requirements and the Alliance has a piece to defend.
- Enter a legal battle: the attacker must have the relevant pieces in the clearing and choose the Woodland Alliance as defender.
- Resolve the battle: determine hits using the dice, any defensive abilities and other current effects. When the Alliance has no defending warriors, the Defenseless rule can add an extra hit against its cardboard.
- Apply hits in order: defending warriors are removed before buildings and tokens. If a hit removes the sympathy token, return it to the Alliance’s supply or faction track as the rules require.
- Score and resolve Outrage: removing an enemy token ordinarily gives the removing player one victory point, and removal of sympathy triggers a card payment or the no-card fallback. Hirelings have a scoring exception: their controller does not earn VP for pieces the hireling removes.
Example: the Cats battle an Alliance clearing containing only a sympathy token. If the attack resolves sufficient hits to remove that token, the Cat player ordinarily scores 1 VP but must also pay Outrage. If the sympathetic clearing is a fox clearing, a fox or bird card can cover the payment.
The requirement to remove a token is distinct from the requirement to rule a clearing. You do not automatically remove sympathy by taking control, outnumbering the Alliance or building in the same clearing.
Do sympathy tokens count toward rule of a clearing?
No. In Root, only warriors and buildings contribute to rule of a clearing. Sympathy is a token, so it neither increases the Alliance’s rule count nor prevents another faction from ruling the clearing. The Vagabond pawn also does not count toward rule.
A clearing can therefore contain a sympathy token and still be ruled by the Marquise de Cat, Eyrie Dynasties or another faction. The sympathy remains relevant because it creates Outrage when another player moves warriors into that clearing or removes the token. The presence of sympathy alone is not a movement prohibition.
For the underlying rule, see Law of Root, section 2.5 (Rule).
Supporters: which card is paid, and what is the limit?
The clearing’s suit determines the payment: mouse, rabbit or fox. The player who triggered Outrage picks one matching card from their hand and gives it to the Alliance’s face-down Supporters stack. A bird card counts as wild and can satisfy any of those suits.
If the player has no matching-suit or bird card, they show their hand to the Alliance and the Alliance draws one card from the common deck into Supporters instead. The offending player does not just discard an arbitrary card, and the Alliance does not take a card from that player’s hand.
Supporters are not the Alliance’s normal hand. They do not count against its hand-size limit and are spent for their suit on Alliance actions. However, before any Alliance bases are on the board, the Supporters stack has a maximum of five cards. If it is full when a supporter would be gained, the extra card is discarded. With at least one base, there is no maximum.
When a base is removed, supporters of its suit (including birds) are discarded and the Alliance loses half its officers, rounded up. If no bases remain, supporters are also reduced to five. See Law of Root, sections 8.2.3–8.2.4.
Does the Vagabond trigger Outrage?
Moving the Vagabond pawn into sympathy: no. The pawn is not a warrior, so simply entering a sympathetic clearing does not activate the warrior-movement trigger.
Removing sympathy: yes. If the Vagabond uses an ability or other legal effect to remove an Alliance sympathy token, the removal triggers Outrage. The Vagabond pays the matching card if available, otherwise reveals the hand and uses the Alliance draw fallback.
Moving Allied Woodland Alliance warriors with a Vagabond effect also does not trigger Outrage under the current wording using the Force keyword. This is a printing-sensitive detail; Leder Games notes that it was revised with the Marauder Expansion and the eighth printing. See the current digital Law of Root FAQ.
Three worked Outrage scenarios
1. Cats move three warriors into a rabbit clearing with sympathy
The move triggers Outrage once for the entering group. The Cat player gives the Alliance one rabbit or bird card. If neither is in their hand, they reveal it and the Alliance draws a supporter from the common deck, if capacity allows.
2. Eyrie recruits two warriors into a fox clearing with sympathy
This is a placement rather than a move into the clearing. The recruitment does not trigger Outrage by itself. If the Eyrie subsequently moves warriors into a sympathetic clearing, that movement is a separate event and does trigger it.
3. A Cat player moves into sympathy, then attacks it on a later action
Moving into the clearing triggers Outrage. If the Cat player later removes the sympathy token in battle, that removal triggers Outrage again. One triggering action does not exempt a separate later triggering event.
Root sympathy and Outrage FAQ
How do I remove sympathy tokens in Root?
Battle the Alliance’s token as an enemy piece or use a legal ability that explicitly removes eligible enemy tokens. When it is removed, Outrage applies; direct token removal ordinarily gives the removing player 1 VP.
Does sympathy count toward rule?
No. Sympathy is a token. Only warriors and buildings count for clearing rule, so you can rule a clearing containing an opponent’s sympathy.
Does placing warriors in sympathy trigger Outrage?
No. The rule specifically checks moving warriors into a sympathetic clearing, not placing or recruiting them there.
Does moving out of sympathy trigger Outrage?
No. Only entering the sympathetic clearing triggers the movement branch. Removing the sympathy token is a separate trigger.
Does the Vagabond trigger Outrage?
The pawn’s movement does not, because it is not a warrior. The Vagabond does trigger Outrage if it removes a sympathy token.
Does each entering warrior cost a supporter?
No. Moving a group of warriors into one sympathetic clearing creates a single movement trigger. Separate move events into sympathetic clearings can each trigger.
What if I do not have the required suit?
You may pay a bird card instead. If neither a matching card nor a bird is in your hand, reveal the hand and the Alliance draws a card from the deck for Supporters, subject to capacity.
Does Outrage apply when I remove sympathy without battling?
Yes. A card or ability removing sympathy is a removal trigger just as a successful battle is.
Can the Alliance hold more than five Supporters?
Yes, after it has at least one base on the map. With no base, the stack is limited to five cards.
Do hireling warriors trigger Outrage?
Yes, when a player moves controlled hireling warriors into sympathy or removes sympathy through hirelings. However, hireling removal follows a distinct VP-scoring exception.
Do sympathy tokens block movement?
No. They do not automatically prevent movement or create rule. They make entering enemy-warrior movement more costly by triggering Outrage.
Can I use any suit when paying Outrage?
No. Pay a card matching the affected clearing’s suit, or a bird wild card. You cannot voluntarily give an unrelated suit instead.
Outrage is triggered by interacting with a clearing that contains a Woodland Alliance sympathy token.
When does Outrage trigger?
Another player triggers Outrage when they either move warriors into a sympathetic clearing or remove a sympathy token.
What must the offending player pay?
They must give the Woodland Alliance one card from their hand matching the suit of the affected clearing. A bird card can satisfy the payment because bird is wild.
What if they have no matching card?
If the player has no matching card, including no bird card, they reveal their hand. The Alliance then draws one card from the deck and adds it to the Supporters stack.
Does placing a piece trigger Outrage?
No. Leder Games’ current rules FAQ explicitly says that simply placing a piece in a sympathetic clearing does not trigger Outrage. Moving warriors into the clearing does.
Does removing sympathy in battle trigger Outrage?
Yes. If battle removes the sympathy token, Outrage applies.
Does removing sympathy outside battle trigger Outrage?
Yes. The trigger is the removal of the sympathy token, not the specific action that removed it.
Can one action trigger Outrage more than once?
Resolve Outrage for each qualifying sympathetic clearing affected according to the current Law of Root and faction action being resolved.
Official source
Original checks September 2026; updated against the current Law of Root November 1, 2026.
Official Root rules and editorial scope
Rules checked November 1, 2026 against Leder Games’ official Law of Root and in-line FAQ: Rule (2.5), Battle (4.3), removing tokens and victory points (3.2.1), Alliance Supporters (8.2.3–8.2.4), Sympathy (8.2.5), Outrage (8.2.6), Vagabond rules (9.2) and the hireling exceptions (H.3.6–H.3.7).
The original September 2026 answers are retained above. The expanded examples are original editorial explanations rather than a reproduction of the official rulebook or licensed card text. For detailed faction order and expansion exceptions, consult the appropriate printing of the Law. Editorial policy and corrections.