Aeon's End Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Key Components
• Turn Order
• Player Turn
  • 1. Casting Phase
  • 2. Main Phase
  • 3. Draw Phase
• Nemesis Turn
• Exhausted Players
• Game End
• Variable Difficulty
• Solo Play

Object of the Game

Your goal is to defeat the nemesis before your home, Gravehold, is overrun or the players are exhausted. Each round, the players and the nemesis take turns in a random order determined by the turn order deck. On a player's turn, they cast spells, acquire gems/relics/spells from the supply, manipulate their breaches, and use their unique ability.

Key Components

• Player cards come in three types: Gems (played to give aether, the main currency — spent to gain cards, gain charges, and focus breaches), Spells (the main way to deal damage — must be prepped to a breach before being cast), and Relics (instantaneous effects). Cards are gained from the supply by spending aether equal to their cost; gained cards go to your discard pile.
• Breaches are the double-sided conduits through which spells are cast. Each has an Open Cost (aether to flip it to its opened side, permanently) and a Focus Cost (aether to rotate it 90° clockwise toward opening). A spell may only be prepped to an opened breach, or to a closed breach on the turn it was focused. Some breaches have effects (e.g., +1 damage on cast) while opened. Breaches are adjacent to the one or two physically next to them.
• Nemesis cards are the nemesis's Attacks (resolved immediately, then discarded), Minions (enter play with life, staying until defeated, with persistent effects), and Powers (build up over turns until they resolve). Basic cards work with any nemesis; unique cards belong to a specific one.
• Turn order deck: 9 cards used to determine the order of play.
• Life dials track the life of Gravehold and the nemesis; life tokens track players' and minions' life; charge tokens fuel abilities.

Each breach mage has a player mat with a breach setup, starting hand, starting deck, and a unique ability activated when charge tokens fill all its spaces (then all are removed).

Turn Order

At the start of the game and after each player or nemesis turn ends, draw a card from the turn order deck to determine who acts next, placing it on the discard pile. When the deck is empty, shuffle the discards to replenish it. (A standard deck contains player turn order cards and nemesis turn order cards.)

Player Turn

A player's turn has three phases in order:

1. Casting Phase

You may cast any prepped spells in opened breaches; you must cast any prepped spells in closed breaches (a spell prepped to a focused breach on the previous turn). Choose the order. When a spell is cast, discard it to the top of your discard pile, then resolve the effect after "Cast:". A spell deals damage to a single minion or the nemesis unless specified. Damage to a minion removes life tokens (discarded at 0); damage to the nemesis reduces its dial (players win at 0). A breach's "+1 damage on cast" applies to any spell cast from it.

2. Main Phase

Resolve the following actions in any order, any number of times:

1. Play a gem or relic card (execute all its text; gain aether even if you don't spend it).
2. Gain a card from the supply by spending aether equal to its cost (placed in your discard pile).
3. Gain a charge by paying 2 aether (place a charge token on your mat; you cannot pay for allies, nor exceed your ability's required charges).
4. Focus a breach by paying its focus cost (rotate it 90° clockwise; the fourth focus opens it).
5. Open a breach by paying its open cost (flip it to opened; it stays opened all game).
6. Prep a spell to a breach (place a spell from hand onto an opened breach, or a breach focused this turn).
7. Resolve a "While prepped" effect.
8. Resolve a "TO DISCARD:" effect.

3. Draw Phase

Place all gems and relics you played this turn on top of your discard pile in any order, then draw from the top of your deck until you have five cards in hand. (Because the deck is never shuffled, you control your future draws by choosing your discard order.)

You may sometimes cast another player's prepped spell; you become the "you" on that card and make all its decisions, placing it on that ally's discard pile.

Nemesis Turn

1. Main phase: from oldest to newest, resolve the effects of each minion and power card the nemesis has in play (persistent minion effects, power counters advancing/resolving, etc.).
2. Draw phase: draw a card from the nemesis deck. Resolve an attack immediately (then discard it); place a minion or power into play with the appropriate life/power tokens, resolving any "IMMEDIATELY:" effect. Each nemesis has a unique Unleash effect triggered by various cards.

Exhausted Players

If a player's life is reduced to zero, that player is exhausted. Resolve, in order: the nemesis's Unleash effect twice; the exhausted player destroys one of their breaches (discarding any prepped spell — destroyed breaches are gone for good); and the player discards all their charge tokens. Exhausted players keep participating but cannot gain life, and effects targeting "the lowest life" player target the lowest non-exhausted player.

Game End

When an end-game condition is met, play ends immediately. Players win if the nemesis has no cards in its deck and no minions or powers in play, or the nemesis has 0 life. Players lose if all players are exhausted, or Gravehold has 0 life (or a nemesis's specific loss condition is met).

Variable Difficulty

Play the nemesis mat as written for normal mode. Beginner: players start with 12 life, Gravehold 35, nemesis −10 life. Expert: use the nemesis's Increased Difficulty rules. Extinction: use Increased Difficulty plus players start with 8 life, Gravehold 25, nemesis +10 life.

Solo Play

Play as multiple mages you control (following the rules for that player count), or a true solo experience using a turn order deck of 3 player and 2 nemesis cards (you take a turn on any player card drawn), where you are your own ally.