Alone Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Read this Manual
• Components
• Game Setup
  • Hero Setup
  • Evil Setup
• Game Overview
  • Hero Overview
  • Evil Overview
• The Game Area
• Mission Overview
  • Starting Missions
  • Mid-Game Rewards
  • Final Mission
• Orienteering 101
• Hero Compendium
  • A Quick Recap
  • Performing Actions
  • Action — Move
  • How to Interpret Noise
  • Light Effects
  • Action — Explore
  • Action — Fight
  • Action — Locate
  • Action — Scavenge
  • Action — Interact
  • Items & Companions
  • Reaction Track
  • Using Adrenaline
  • End of the Round
  • Nightmare Mode
  • Difficulty Level
  • End of the Game
  • Glossary
• Evil Compendium
  • A Quick Recap
  • How to Evil
  • Updating the Map and the Labyrinth
  • Playing Reactions
  • Reaction Timing
  • Standard and Allowed Reactions
  • Spawning and Moving
  • Communicating a Noise
  • Blocked Doors
  • Light and Dark
  • Creatures and Fighting
  • Resolving Hero Actions
  • End of the Round
  • Nightmare Mode
  • Difficulty Level
  • End of the Game
• Creature Roster

How to Read this Manual

This rulebook is made up of three separate booklets: the Intro Rulebook, the Hero Compendium and the Evil Compendium. The Intro Rulebook gives a brief introduction to the game's core concepts, components and setup. Once it has been read, the Hero player must read the Hero Compendium, which explains the rest of the game rules from the Hero player's perspective, while also giving the information related to the Evil side of things that the Hero player also needs to know. The Evil players must read the Evil Compendium, which explains the rest of the game rules from the Evil players' perspective, while also giving them the information related to the Hero's side of things that they also need to know.

Boxes in the Evil Compendium contain brief information regarding related Hero rules; boxes in the Hero Compendium contain brief information regarding related Evil rules. Boxes contained in both Compendiums present shorter reminders of rules that were already explained elsewhere. Labels such as "See 'Topic', page XX" help find rules related to the ones described on each page.

Beware: ALONE has been designed to simulate the typical feeling of tension usually felt while playing sci-fi survival video games. This game will put the Hero player under pressure by design.

Components

• Hero Compendium, Evil Compendium and Evil screen booklets
• Creature miniatures: Worm, Spore, Hybrid, Cultist, Parasite, Boss, Cultist Chief, Alpha Worm, Mech
• Corridor tiles: Cross Corridor tiles x2, T-Junction Corridor tiles x5, Straight Corridor tiles x5, Curve Corridor tiles x5
• Room tiles x8: Infirmary, Escape Pods, Hangar Bay, Ventilation Room, Dormitory, Generator Room, Laboratory, Control Room
• Round marker, Turn tokens x8, Adrenaline tokens x6, Charge tokens x73
• HP marker, Stairs tokens x4, Light/Blocked tokens x55, Danger/Condition tokens x72, Stairs tiles/LCU x8
• Evil Leader token, Hero token, minimum Spawning Distance matrices, Dice x8
• Icons on cards: Interact Action, Move Action, Exploration Action, Radar Action, Scavenge Action, Fight Action, Life Damage, Self Control Damage, Charge, Passive Item, Danger, Condition, Instant Reaction, Mechanical, Chemical, Electronic

Icons on cards represent the two Actions the Hero can take (Move and Action), the resources tracked during play (Life and Self Control), and the Charge, Passive Item, Danger, Condition and Instant Reaction symbols that appear on cards and tokens throughout the game.

Game Setup

Follow this procedure to set up the Randomized Mode, which generates a new random scenario each time. To play the Campaign Mode and set up a specific Scenario instead, a slightly different procedure is used; for further details refer to the Scenario book.

Before you begin, either choose or randomly pick one of the players to be the Hero; the other players will be the Evil players. The Hero must sit at the opposite end of the table from where the Evil players are. Then the Hero chooses a Difficulty Level to play. This affects how many Items the Hero starts with, and which rewards will be earned upon triggering the Final Mission.

The Difficulty Level mainly affects the Hero, but should be chosen based on the experience of all the players with ALONE. Beginner Heroes should probably play with Easy difficulty to get a grasp on the basics of the game, but otherwise it is recommended to play with at least a Normal difficulty.

Difficulty	Starting Items	Mid-Game Rewards
Easy	Take 1 of the 3 "Bullets" cards at random, then draw 1 other random Item card.	Gain 1 additional Round, then Recover 3 Life AND 3 Self Control
Normal	Draw 1 random Item card.	Gain 1 additional Round, then Recover 3 Life OR 3 Self Control
Nightmare	Draw 1 random Item card.	Recover 3 Life OR 3 Self Control
Impossible	No starting Items.	No Mid-Game Rewards

Hero Setup

1. Place the Hero sheet in front of the Hero. The Hero also receives the tray containing Mission tokens, Charge tokens, Turn tokens, Adrenaline tokens, Round marker, Life and Self Control markers, and places them in a general pool in front of themselves.
2. The Hero either chooses or randomly draws 1 Character card and places it on the Hero sheet, with the Hero side up, then reads its effects aloud. It determines the Hero's special abilities. Also, the Hero declares the chosen Difficulty Level, then places the corresponding Difficulty token on the Character card.
3. Place the Life and Self Control markers on the 12th space of the corresponding Health tracks on the Hero sheet.
4. Place the Round marker on the rightmost space of the Round track, between the two Health tracks.
5. Place 1 Turn token on each Turn space of the Hero sheet.
6. Place 3 Adrenaline tokens in the Adrenaline pool space. This is the Hero's starting Adrenaline pool.
7. The Hero receives the Item deck and places it face down next to the Hero sheet. Then the Hero draws the Starting Items determined by the chosen Difficulty Level and reads their effects aloud.
8. The Hero takes the Reference cards and places them next to the Hero sheet. The Creature Stats card is placed with the regular/green side facing up.
9. Shuffle the Final Mission cards, then randomly draw 1 card and place it on the table in front of the Hero, next to the Hero sheet. This is the Final Mission for this game. This Mission won't come into play until the Hero completes 1 of the 2 Starting Missions, so don't follow its setup procedure now — that happens when the Mission is triggered by the Hero.
10. Shuffle the blue Mission cards, randomly draw 1 card. The Missions must have different Room Sector icons. If this Mission card has the same icon as the Final Mission, discard it and draw another one until a card with a different Room is drawn. Then place it next to the Final Mission. This is one of the Starting Missions for this game.
11. Repeat this procedure for the green Mission cards. All 3 Missions must have different Room Sector icons. This is the other Starting Mission for this game.
12. Before proceeding, read the Mission cards aloud. If any of the Starting Missions have "When Revealed" effects, apply them before starting the game. Do not apply the setup procedure of the Final Mission.
13. The Hero must place 3 Mission tokens, 1 for each color, on each corresponding Room Sector space on the Hero sheet. The Hero must give the remaining Mission tokens to the Evil players, who set them aside.

Evil Setup

1. Place the screen between the Evil players and the Hero, so that the Hero cannot see what's behind it.
2. If playing with more than 2 players, also choose or randomly pick one Evil player to be the starting Evil Leader, and give them the Evil Leader token.
3. Randomly place 2 Map sheets behind the screen; they must be placed vertically next to each other. This is the Map for the current game. Either side of the Map sheets can be used, and each sheet can be rotated 180°, creating 16 possible layouts for each game.
4. Each separate Map sheet represents a different Level (an upper Level and a lower Level); they are connected to each other by the 2 sets of Stairs present on each sheet. Place the Stairs tokens of both colors as depicted on the sheets. Only sets of Stairs of the same color are connected to each other.
5. Place the tray containing the following components next to the Map, behind the screen: Light tokens, Blocked tokens, Danger tokens, Room Sector tokens, Hero token, Creature tokens, LCU/Stairs tiles.
6. The Evil players randomly place 1 Room Sector token in each Room Sector space on the Map.
7. The Evil players must now place the 3 Mission tokens they received from the Hero on the Room Sector tokens corresponding to the Missions for this game, as a reminder.
8. The Evil players may now swap the position of any two Room Sector tokens of their choice. This can be useful to prevent the Mission Rooms from being too close to each other, and to plan a strategy to hamper the Hero's efforts accordingly.
9. Place the Hero miniature matching the Hero's Character card, the dice, the Creature miniatures, the Door tiles, the Sector tiles and the Room Sector tiles where they will be handy for the Evil players.
10. The Evil players place the Hero token on the Map, in a Corridor Sector of their choice. This is the Hero's starting position, and it's another important strategy element for the Evil players.
11. The Evil players choose 2 of the 4 Reaction decks to play with during this game and declare their choice to the Hero. Put the unused decks back into the box. The Evil players shuffle each deck separately, then draw cards depending on the number of Evil players in the game:

• 1 Evil player: draw 10 cards. The Evil player may freely draw each card from either Reaction deck during the game.
• 2 Evil players: draw 6 cards each. Each Evil player may only draw from a specific Reaction deck and will always draw from that deck for the rest of the game. The starting Evil Leader chooses a deck first, the other Evil player takes the other one. Both players place their decks in front of them.
• 3 Evil players: draw 4 cards each. The starting Evil Leader decides which decks the Evil players will play with, and they place the chosen decks in front of them. During the game, the Evil player sitting between the other two may draw cards from both Reaction decks in any combination, while the other two Evil players must always draw from the Reaction deck in front of them.

12. The Evil players place 2 Creature tokens of their choice in 2 different Sectors chosen from the Mission Room Sectors and Sectors adjacent to them (but not in the Hero's Sector).
13. Then they also place 2 Danger tokens on each level of the Map; Danger tokens can be placed in any Sector except the Hero's Sector.
14. The Evil players create the "Labyrinth" by placing the Sector tile corresponding to the Hero's position in front of the screen, on the Hero's side of the table, with the Hero miniature on top of it.
15. Finally, place the Compass next to the Map, so that the cardinal points are oriented like on the Hero sheet. It is used to keep the Map and the Labyrinth with the same orientation.

Game Overview

Hero Overview

The Hero gameplay is all about deduction, exploration and survival. The Hero has Missions to complete while using their wits to avoid the many dangers lurking in the darkness of the Labyrinth. The Hero wins if the Final Mission is successfully completed.

Each Turn the Hero has to perform 1 or 2 of the available Actions: Move, Locate, Fight, Explore, Scavenge and Interact.

To help in their solitary journey, the Hero can draw Item cards and even take some of the Items apart to Upgrade them. The Hero can also take advantage of the Special Ability granted by the Character card placed on the Hero sheet.

The Hero can only see parts of the Labyrinth while exploring. The complete information on the layout of the Labyrinth and the position of Room Sectors or Creatures will never all be available at the same time, and will be gradually revealed (and removed) on the table by the Evil players, depending on the Hero's actions.

Evil Overview

The Evil gameplay is all about planning strategies and setting traps. Evil players will spawn Creatures, place Danger tokens and play Reaction cards in response to the Hero's Actions. The Evil player(s) can only win the game by defeating the Hero.

It is not always wise to mindlessly react to each single action performed by the Hero: the Evil players need to tailor their efforts to the Hero's decisions.

Some Reaction cards can only be played face up as a Reaction to specific Actions, while they may always be played face down as a Reaction to any Action. Reaction cards played when the Hero is in a Sector containing a Danger token have an additional effect, as described on each card. After a Reaction card is played, it must be placed on the Reaction track on the Hero sheet.

The Game Area

The game area is divided into three main sections:

1. The Map, where everything that happens during the game is recorded (the layout of the Labyrinth, the position of Rooms, Creatures, Danger tokens and the Hero's movements). It is placed behind the screen and surrounded by the tokens needed by the Evil players. It is the Evil players' duty to keep it always up to date, and they can also use it to plan their strategy.
2. The Labyrinth, where the action takes place. The Labyrinth is a sort of "zoomed in" view of the Map, and represents only the parts of the Map that the Hero can actually see at a specific moment, plus what is cached in the memory of their Holowatch, the multipurpose device worn on their wrist. Everything present in the Labyrinth is considered Revealed; everything that is not is Unrevealed. Since parts of the Labyrinth will be removed at the end of each round (simulating the Holowatch's cache being routinely cleared), the Hero must try to remember them, to avoid getting lost. It is again the Evil players' duty to keep it up to date, since they are the only ones who can see the Map (which always reflects the real, complete status of the environment).
3. The Hero sheet, where the Hero's stats are tracked. The Hero can also use the Radar and Room Sector spaces to make notes and reminders of the information gathered during the game — the blue and green sides of the Charge tokens can be used to keep track of various information, like the layout of the Map, the direction of Noise heard, and so on. The Hero sheet also features the Reaction Track, where each Reaction card played by the Evil players is placed. It's a way for both sides to keep track of the number of Reactions still available to the Evil players, and a way for the Hero to have some clues regarding the Evil players' strategy.

Each Sector tile has two sides, showing the same Sector in different light conditions: one side shows the Sector in the Dark, and the other shows the Sector with the Lights switched on. For all Sector tiles, only the dark/light status of the artwork counts as a gameplay element — everything else is purely decorative.

Mission Overview

There are 3 different Missions in play during each game: 2 Starting Missions and 1 Final Mission. At the beginning of the game, the Final Mission is "locked" and the Hero can't even try to complete it before it is triggered, i.e. "unlocked" and made available. To trigger the Final Mission, the Hero must complete 1 of the 2 available Starting Missions first. When the Final Mission is triggered, its special effects, if any, also come into play.

To complete a Mission, the Hero must reach a specific Room Sector and perform some specific Actions, as described on the card. Some Missions may also have ongoing special effects that last until it is completed and/or trigger upon its completion. Each Mission also reports any rewards obtained by the Hero when it is completed.

Starting Missions

There are 2 kinds of Starting Missions. The green Starting Missions grant the Hero some kind of bonus when they are completed, while the blue Starting Missions add an ongoing hindrance to the game that remains active until they are completed.

The Hero must complete 1 of the 2 Starting Missions in order to trigger the Final Mission and try to win the game. Once the first Starting Mission is completed, completing the other is entirely optional.

Mid-Game Rewards

When the Final Mission is triggered, depending on the Difficulty Level chosen, a few extra rewards are awarded to the Hero (in addition to the rewards given by the completed Starting Mission, if any). These Mid-Game Rewards are not awarded if/when the Hero completes the other Starting Mission, as they are just a special reward for triggering the Final Mission. (See the Mid-Game Rewards column in the Game Setup difficulty table above.)

Final Mission

When the Hero completes the Final Mission, the game ends and the Hero wins. To be able to complete the Final Mission, the Hero MUST trigger it first by completing at least one of the Starting Missions. When the Final Mission is triggered, its special effects, if any, also come into play. A Final Mission is usually time-dependent, either directly or indirectly — the Hero will need to win a race against time to grab victory. Reward: the Hero wins!

Orienteering 101

Even if the Hero does not have a precise Map of the Labyrinth, there are a few cornerstones in the way all the Map sheets are built that can be taken into account during the game.

• The Map has 2 different Levels; each Level is contained inside a 4x6 grid, and always has exactly 4 Room Sectors.
• The minimum distance between two Room Sectors is never less than 3 Sectors nor more than 8 Sectors.
• Each Level has 2 Stairs that lead to the other Level. The Stairs are always roughly halfway down the two longer sides of each Level, i.e. the east side and the west side.
• There are always 4 LCUs (Light Control Units) on each Level of the Map. Each LCU can switch on the Lights in the LCU's Sector and at least 2 other Sectors. It is always possible to switch on the Lights in at least 2 out of the 4 Rooms of a Level, while at least 1 Room is always Dark.
• A Room Sector always has 2 or 3 Doors. When there is a Door, there is always a Room Sector behind it. The Doors in the game are automatic: they open when they are adjacent to the Hero, but when the Hero is far from them, they interrupt their Line of Sight.

The Hero can use this information to help understand their position on the Map at the beginning of the game. It is recommended that the Hero player use the blue and green sides of the Charge tokens and the Mission spaces as reminders of the information obtained (which Rooms have been seen, from where Noise was heard, etcetera). There are no specific rules for how to do this — each Hero finds their own way to make use of these tools.

Hero Compendium

This section is to be read by the Hero player, after all players have read the Intro Rulebook. It explains the game rules from the Hero player's perspective, while also giving the information related to the Evil side of things that the Hero player also needs to know.

A Quick Recap

As the Hero, during the game it is always "your" Turn — there is no proper "Evil Turn." The Evil players can only play in Reaction to your Actions. You perform 1 Action each Turn, unless you trigger Bullet Time.

Each Round is made up of 8 Turns, represented by the Turn tokens placed on the Hero sheet. During each Turn you choose 1 Action to perform (you may perform 2 Actions in a single Turn by triggering Bullet Time). At any moment after you declare your Action, the Evil players may play 1 or 2 cards as a Reaction; each card specifies in which moment it may be played during the Turn. After your Action has been resolved and the Evil players have had the opportunity to play their Reaction, the Turn ends.

During the game, the Round marker moves to the left on the Round track at the end of each Round (you may also gain additional Rounds during the game, in which case the marker moves to the right). When the Round marker reaches the final space of the Round track, the game enters Nightmare Mode.

Your first goal is to complete one of the Starting Missions, which triggers the Final Mission (i.e. "unlocks" it and makes it come into play). Triggering the Final Mission also gives you a few extra rewards, depending on the Difficulty Level you chose to play with. If you manage to complete the Final Mission too, you win the game.

Performing Actions

During each Turn you must choose an Action to perform, declare it, and then spend a Turn token by flipping it face down. In normal conditions, you can only perform 1 Action each Turn; you may perform 2 Actions in a single Turn by triggering Bullet Time.

The available Actions are:

• Move: move to an adjacent Sector. You may Block 1 adjacent Door after each movement.
• Explore: Reveal up to 2 adjacent Sectors in a straight line from the Hero's Sector, without entering them, and make one safer by removing 1 Danger token.
• Fight: roll 2 dice to attack a Creature in the Hero's Sector.
• Locate: check your distance from two targets on the Map hidden behind the screen.
• Scavenge: draw Item cards and Upgrade the Items in your Inventory.
• Interact: repair LCUs and switch on the Lights in a few Sectors; needed to complete most Missions.

Whenever you perform an Action, you "unlock" certain Reaction cards (Allowed Reactions) for the Evil players to play — the icon in the top left corner of each Reaction card indicates which Action triggers it. There are also a few Reactions triggered when the Hero takes Life damage or Self Control damage. Each Reaction card can be played in a specific moment during the Turn, as shown on the card itself.

When you perform an Action, you must Declare it to the Evil players before resolving its effects. If you intend to trigger Bullet Time, you must Declare it before Declaring the Action(s) you will perform this Turn.

Bullet Time: at the beginning of your Turn you can trigger Bullet Time by spending 1 Adrenaline token, allowing you to perform 2 Actions in a single Turn. Adrenaline tokens can also be used to Recover Health.

Using Items: your Actions may also be used to activate the effect of Items in your Inventory. When using an Action to activate an Item, the card text completely overrides the regular effect of the Action. Using Items still triggers Reactions related to the used Action.

Action — Move

The Move Action lets you move to an adjacent Sector and Block an adjacent Door. To perform it, declare to the Evil players the direction you want to move (north, east, south or west) — the Radar on the Hero sheet shows which direction is which.

Moving into an Unrevealed Sector automatically Reveals it (which carries the risk of encountering Creatures). While you move, the Evil players update the Labyrinth according to the Map, Revealing all elements of the Sector you enter, if needed. After each movement step, you may also Block an adjacent Door.

Any Sector not shown on the Labyrinth is Unrevealed; any Sector visible in the Labyrinth is Revealed. When a Sector is Revealed, everything it contains (Doors, Stairs, LCUs, Creatures, Danger and Condition tokens) must also be Revealed. Even if out of Line of Sight, thanks to the Holowatch's cache memory, you also "see" what happens in all Revealed Sectors, as reported on the Map, until the end of the Round.

Using and blocking Doors: Doors are automatic and open whenever you are adjacent to them; you can freely move through Doors with a regular Move Action. Creatures can move through Doors too, which is why blocking them can help. You can Block 1 adjacent Door after each movement step; while Blocked, nothing can go through it, including Creatures — or you. Adjacent Sectors linked through a Blocked Door are not considered adjacent for rules and card effects. To move through a Blocked Door, you must Unblock it first by spending an entire Move Action just for that purpose (without actually moving). Evil players can Unblock Doors too, by spending a "movement step" from a Reaction that grants Creature movement.

Using Stairs: the two Levels of the Map are connected by 2 sets of Stairs; Sectors connected by Stairs are considered adjacent. When you move from one Level to the other, the Evil players immediately remove from the Labyrinth all Sectors from the Level you leave, except the Sector with the Stairs.

Encountering Creatures: if, while moving, you enter a Sector containing a Creature that wasn't already Revealed, you get scared and lose Self Control — the amount depends on the Creature, per the Creature Stats table. This also happens if a Creature coming from an adjacent Unrevealed Sector enters the Hero's Sector as a consequence of a Reaction. If Creatures remain in your Sector at the end of the Turn, they attack you.

Attacks of Opportunity: whenever you leave a Sector that also contains 1 or more Creatures, you grant the Evil players an Attack of Opportunity — they roll 1 die for each Creature in the Sector, and you lose 1 Life for each Hit. If there is Light in the Sector you are leaving, the Attack of Opportunity is reduced by 1 die.

Creature Movement: Evil players can move Creatures using some of their Reaction cards; the number of Sectors a Creature may move is on the card. Additionally, Evil players may play any Reaction card face down (a Standard Reaction) to move any 1 Creature up to 1 Sector. When an Unrevealed Creature enters a Revealed Sector, it must be Revealed, whether or not the destination is in your Line of Sight — but you only get scared if it is Revealed into the Hero's own Sector. When a Creature moves from a Revealed Sector to an Unrevealed one, the Evil players must Communicate the direction it left, then remove the miniature from the Labyrinth. If a Creature simply leaves your Line of Sight while remaining in a Revealed Sector, its miniature stays visible.

How to Interpret Noise

When a Creature is Spawned or moved, it produces Noise, giving you clues to its position. Evil players must always be honest when Communicating Noise, telling you the real direction from which it reaches you — the direction that takes the fewest movements to reach the Creature. If there is more than one route of equal distance, the Evil players choose which direction to tell you. If the noise comes from the other Level, they only Communicate that fact. Blocked Doors interrupt the diffusion of Noise, so the direction you hear from may not indicate the real closest route to the Creature. You can use the Radar on the Hero sheet and the Charge tokens to keep track of Noises you hear.

Light Effects

Having the Light switched on in a Sector benefits you: it's easier to hit with your dice when fighting, some Creatures are less effective at fighting, and if you leave a Lighted Sector containing a Creature the resulting Attack of Opportunity is reduced by 1 die. After repairing an LCU, new Sectors may be Revealed and in some cases your Line of Sight may extend.

Lights can be switched on by: using an Interact Action in a Sector containing an LCU to repair it; using an Item card effect; or resolving a Mission card reward that switches on the Lights.

Creatures and Light: at the end of each Turn, if a Creature has moved into a Lighted Sector that is not the Hero's Sector, the Lights in that Sector are switched off (the Creature attacks the lights just as it can attack you, without needing to roll dice). Only specific Reactions may allow Creatures to switch off Lights in the Hero's own Sector.

Adjacent Doors: Doors are a clue that a Room is in sight. Since Doors are automatic and open whenever you are adjacent, when you are in a Sector with a Door and the Sector on the other side is Revealed, that Sector is considered in Line of Sight. When a Door is not in the Hero's Sector, it interrupts Line of Sight.

Line of Sight (LoS): everything the Hero miniature can directly see at a given moment. LoS starts from the Hero's Sector and extends through all Revealed Sectors in a straight line in each direction. It is interrupted by: a wall (such as a Curve Sector or T-Junction); a Door not adjacent to the Hero's Sector; an Unrevealed Sector; or a Sector on the other side of a set of Stairs. The Hero's Sector is always in LoS; an Unrevealed Sector is never in LoS; a Revealed Sector may or may not be in LoS.

Action — Explore

The Explore Action lets you Reveal up to 2 adjacent Sectors in a straight line from the Hero's Sector, without entering them. A wall, a non-adjacent Door, or a Blocked Door interrupts the exploration. Declare the direction you want to Explore; the Evil players update the Labyrinth, Revealing all elements of the Sectors explored. If you explore through the Stairs, only the single Sector on the other end is Revealed (instead of 2 in a line). If there are any Danger tokens in the Hero's Sector or any newly explored Sector, you may discard 1 of them — you may also Explore already-Revealed Sectors just to remove a Danger token.

Action — Fight

The Fight Action lets you roll 2 dice to attack a Creature in the Hero's Sector. Choose and declare the Target, then roll 2 dice: the number of Hits is the damage dealt.

Damaging a Creature: each Creature has a life-point threshold shown as two numbers on the Creature Stats table — the first is the damage needed in a single attack to inflict the first Wound, the second is the damage needed in a single attack to inflict the second Wound (which Kills the Creature). These are thresholds, not cumulative totals: damage that doesn't reach a threshold in a single attack is "lost." To directly Kill an unwounded Creature with one attack, you need damage equal to or greater than the sum of both thresholds.

Hit or Miss: each die shows one of three results. Normally only one result counts as a Hit, and the others as Misses, though a Miss-type result may count as a Hit in special conditions (which differ depending on whether you or the Evil players are rolling).

Fighting in the Light: if the Hero's Sector has Light, an extra die result counts as a Hit when you roll. Darkness favors the Evil players; Light favors the Hero.

Danger tokens and dice: Evil players can also count an extra die result as a Hit when the Hero's Sector contains a Danger token.

Damage Reactions: some Reaction cards can be played by the Evil players specifically when you are taking Life or Self Control damage, independent of your Action.

Hero taking damage: there are two Health tracks — Life and Self Control. For each point of damage taken, lower the corresponding marker 1 space. If one track reaches 0, further damage of that kind is applied to the other track instead (without changing which kind of damage it counts as for rules purposes). If both tracks reach 0, you lose the game.

Healing Cap: the position of the Round marker between your Health tracks determines the Healing Cap — you can never recover health beyond it, and if a health marker is already beyond the cap you can't recover that kind of health until it drops below the cap.

Gaining Experience: when you Kill a Creature of a certain type, you gain an Experience Point in the matching Ability, marked with a Charge token (blue side) in the corresponding Ability space on the Hero sheet. A second Experience Point in the same Ability unlocks that Ability for the rest of the game (flip the token to green). You gain no Experience for killing Unrevealed Creatures, and no more than 2 Experience per Ability. Killing a Boss grants 1 Experience Point in 2 different Abilities of your choice. The four Abilities are: Courage (once per Creature encounter, force a reroll of 1 Evil die, reducing Self Control damage by 1 on a Miss), Cold Blood (permanently +1 Adrenaline pool, gained at the end of the Round), Acute Sight (draw 1 additional card on a Scavenge Action), Precision (reroll 1 Miss result once on a Fight Action), and Dexterity (force a reroll of 1 Hit result once when you would lose Life from a Creature attack — five abilities total are referenced across the Ability track).

Action — Locate

The Locate Action lets you check your distance from two targets — anything on the Map can be a target (specific Room Sectors, a kind of Sector, Doors, Stairs, LCUs, a kind of Creature). Declare 2 Targets; the Evil players check the Map and Communicate the shortest distance, in Sectors, between the Hero's Sector and each Target, and specify which Level each Target is on ("same Level" or "the other Level"). Unless you ask for a specific target, the Evil players communicate the distance to the nearest target of that kind.

Communicating Information: when the game requires the Evil players to Communicate information (the Locate Action and a few other occasions), unless a Reaction card explicitly allows otherwise, they cannot lie — they must give correct and clear information. Blocked Doors do not interrupt the shortest distance calculation.

Action — Scavenge

The Scavenge Action lets you draw Item cards and Upgrade Items in your Inventory. Declare the Action, then draw 1 card from the Item deck (3 cards instead if you are in a Room Sector, but only once per Room per game — mark this with a Charge token on the corresponding Room space). Place drawn Item cards in your Inventory; unless the card or a Reaction says otherwise, place 3 Charge tokens (blue side up) on each Item drawn. If you have more than 6 Items after drawing, discard down to 6. After drawing (and possibly discarding), you may Upgrade any Items in your Inventory as part of the same Action.

Upgrading Items: each Item card belongs to a Matrix (Chemical, Electrical or Mechanical) and requires a component of a specific Matrix to be Upgraded. To Upgrade an Item, take 1 Charge token from another Item of the correct Matrix, flip it to the green side, and place it on the Required Component space of the Item you want to Upgrade. This can be done multiple times during the same Scavenge Action.

Action — Interact

The Interact Action has different uses: it lets you repair LCUs to switch on Lights in a few Sectors, or interact with other devices to complete a Mission. Declare an eligible Target in the Hero's Sector — either an LCU (repairs it, see Repairing Lights) or a Mission Sector (many Mission cards require 1 or more Interact Actions in a specific Room Sector).

Repairing Lights: each LCU on the Map can be repaired. Repairing one switches on the Lights in the LCU's Sector and up to 2 adjacent Sectors in a straight line from it. Declare which direction to switch the Lights on; if Lights are switched on in an Unrevealed Sector that would be in Line of Sight, that Sector also gets Revealed. The Evil players update the Labyrinth, flipping Sector tiles to the Lighted side and Revealing new Sectors if needed. The same LCU may be repaired more than once to switch on Lights in different directions.

Items & Companions

There are two types of Item cards: Action Item cards and Passive Item cards. An Action Item card can only be activated when performing the specific Action shown by the icon in its top left corner; to activate it, discard 1 Charge token from the card after declaring the Action — the card's text then completely overrides the regular effect of that Action. A Passive Item card shows a lightning-bolt-style trigger icon in its top left corner; to activate it, discard 1 Charge token when the trigger condition described in the card text occurs. Unless otherwise specified, only 1 Charge may be discarded from a card each time it is activated, so its effect can only be used once per Action. When the last Charge from an Item is used, that Item is discarded immediately. If an Item allows an extra Action, both the Action activating the Item and the extra Action trigger their related Allowed Reactions. Using Items still triggers Reactions related to the Action used.

Companions: each Character in the game can be used as the Hero or as a Companion. Companions can be obtained as a reward for completing certain Missions — when obtained, place 6 Charge tokens on their card as Health Points. A Companion has two kinds of abilities: Sacrifice Abilities (once per game, at the start of a Turn, discard the Companion card along with any remaining Charges to activate a one-time, usually powerful, effect) and Companion Abilities (activated as described on the card, each use discarding 1 Charge token from the Companion). If the last Charge from a Companion is discarded, the card must also be discarded immediately. When the Evil players deal damage to you, they may choose to deal all of it to the Companion instead, removing 1 Charge for each point of Life and/or Self Control damage dealt to the Companion this way.

Reaction Track

The Evil players may only play up to 2 Reaction cards each Turn. Each Reaction card played must be placed on the Reaction Track of the Hero sheet, giving you a reminder of which Reactions were played against you this Round. The first Reaction card played in each Turn must be an Allowed Reaction and is placed vertically on the first empty space from the left of the Reaction Track. A second Reaction card in the same Turn must also be an Allowed Reaction, and is placed horizontally, covering the next two empty spaces. When all spaces on the Reaction Track are occupied, the Evil players cannot play any more Reactions that Round.

Danger Tokens: when there is a Danger token in the Hero's Sector, the Evil players may trigger enhanced effects on their Reactions, and can count an extra die result as a Hit. There can only be up to 8 Danger tokens on each Level of the Map at a time. The final spaces of the Reaction Track show Danger token symbols; if the Evil players play a lot of Reactions and cover these spaces, fewer Danger tokens are placed on the Map at the end of the Round from those spaces, but there is always at least 1 Danger token symbol placed at the end of each Round regardless (a space at the very end of the track sits outside any card space).

Instant Reactions: most Reaction cards are marked with an Instant Reaction icon, specifying when during the Turn they can be played. A card without this marking can only be played at the end of your Turn.

End of Round Cleanup: at the end of the Round, check how many Danger token symbols are still showing at the end of the Reaction Track — the Evil players take an equal number of Danger tokens from the pool and set them aside to place later. Then all Reaction cards on the Track are discarded to their respective discard piles next to the corresponding Reaction decks.

Using Adrenaline

There are two ways to spend Adrenaline tokens: to Recover Health or to trigger Bullet Time. You can do both in a single Turn, but only 1 Adrenaline token for each purpose. You start the game with 3 Adrenaline tokens; at the end of each Round, your Adrenaline pool is restored to the maximum shown on the Adrenaline track corresponding to the lower of your Life and Self Control tracks.

Recovering Health: at the beginning of each Turn, you may spend 1 Adrenaline token to recover 1 Life or 1 Self Control (never exceeding the Healing Cap). Declare this while flipping the Turn token for this Turn, placing 1 Adrenaline token with the Recover side up on top of it.

Bullet Time: at the beginning of each Turn, you may trigger Bullet Time, allowing 2 Actions in a single Turn instead of 1. Declare this while flipping the Turn token for this Turn, placing 1 Adrenaline token with the Bullet Time side up on top of it. You don't need to declare both Actions in advance. Both Actions trigger their related Allowed Reactions, so the Evil players may play Reactions matching either or both. Because the number of Adrenaline tokens available each Round is limited, Bullet Time must be used wisely.

End of the Round

At the end of the eighth Turn of a Round, after the Evil players have the chance to React, the Round is over. Before starting a new Round:

1. Reaction Track Cleanup: count remaining Danger token symbols showing on the Reaction Track; the Evil players take an equal number of Danger tokens from the pool and set them aside to place later. Remove the Reaction cards from the track to their discard piles.
2. Labyrinth Cleanup: the Evil players remove all Sector tiles from the Labyrinth except the Hero's Sector tile, all adjacent Sectors, and all Lighted Sectors in your Line of Sight.
3. Replenish Adrenaline: restore your Adrenaline pool to the number on the Adrenaline track corresponding to the lower of your Life and Self Control tracks.
4. End of Round Effects: apply any End of Round effects from Mission or Hero cards in play, before moving the Round marker.
5. Moving the Round Marker: move the Round marker to the left on the Round track. If it reaches the final space as a result, Nightmare Mode is triggered — flip the Round marker to the purple side as a reminder.

At the end of the Round, the Evil players also replenish their hands of Reaction cards and place additional Danger tokens on the Map (up to the maximum of 8 per Level).

Nightmare Mode

When the Round marker reaches the final space of the Round track, Nightmare Mode is triggered. This means too much time has been spent trying to complete the Missions, and the Creatures enter an enraged state, becoming stronger, scarier and faster. When Nightmare Mode is triggered, flip the Creature Stats card to the Nightmare side; also, at the end of each Round from then on, the Hero loses 2 Self Control. Nightmare Mode lasts until the end of the game — entering it is irreversible, even if a card effect grants additional Rounds. Triggering Nightmare Mode does not end the game, it just makes it much more difficult, since with stronger Creatures the Evil players have an easier time defeating the Hero.

The Creature Stats card lists, for each Creature type, its life-point thresholds (the damage needed to Wound it, and the further damage needed to Kill it once Wounded), its Attack dice pool in a Dark Sector versus a Lighted Sector, and its Minimum Spawning Distance from the Hero. The card has a Regular side and a Nightmare side; once Nightmare Mode triggers, the Nightmare side's higher values apply for the rest of the game.

Difficulty Level

Depending on the Difficulty Level chosen during setup, the Hero's Starting Items and the rewards obtained when triggering the Final Mission differ — see the difficulty table in the Game Setup section above (Easy, Normal, Nightmare and Impossible Difficulty).

End of the Game

The game ends in one of two ways:

• You complete the Final Mission: you instantly win the game. Remember that to trigger the Final Mission, you must complete 1 of the 2 Starting Missions first. You may still win the game even if Nightmare Mode has been triggered.
• You are defeated: the Evil players instantly win the game if your Life and Self Control tracks are both lowered to zero.

Glossary

• Allowed Reactions: the types of Reaction cards the Evil players can play during a Turn, determined by the Actions performed by the Hero that Turn.
• Communicate: when the Evil players answer questions the Hero asks using the Locate Action (or in a few other situations), they are Communicating information. A Communication must always be true, unless a card specifically states it may be false.
• Dangerous: a Reaction card is considered Dangerous if the Hero Action that allowed it was performed in a Dangerous Sector — a Sector containing a Danger token.
• Draw: when the game tells the Evil players to draw cards, the Evil Leader decides how to distribute the cards drawn, and may split them between all the Evil players in any way.
• Element: anything that can be in a Sector — Creatures, Danger tokens, Condition tokens, Doors, LCUs, Stairs and Mission tokens are all Elements.
• Line of Sight (LoS): everything the Hero can see at a specific moment. LoS starts from the Hero's Sector and extends through Revealed Sectors in a straight line in each direction, interrupted only by a wall (such as a Curve Sector or T-Junction), a Door not in the Hero's Sector, an Unrevealed Sector, or a Sector on the other side of a set of Stairs. The Hero's Sector is always in LoS; an Unrevealed Sector is never in LoS; a Revealed Sector may or may not be.
• Noise: when a Creature is Spawned or moves, it produces Noise. When the Evil players tell the Hero the direction Noise comes from, this is "Communicating a Noise."
• Revealed/Unrevealed: an Element or Sector is Revealed once added to the Labyrinth; otherwise it is Unrevealed.
• Spawn: when a Creature is Spawned, it is placed in a Sector on the Map, chosen by the Evil players. The minimum distance between the Hero's Sector and the Spawn Sector depends on the Creature type, per the Creature Stats table. A Spawned Creature produces Noise in the Sector where it is Spawned.
• Teleport: a teleported Creature does not follow the rules for Spawning — it produces no Noise, and the Minimum Spawning Distance is ignored.
• Wound: a Creature gets a Wound after receiving damage equal to the relevant number on the Creature Stats table. After the first Wound, it is "Wounded"; after the second Wound, it is Killed.

Evil Compendium

This section is to be read by the Evil players, after all players have read the Intro Rulebook. It explains the game rules from the Evil players' perspective, while also giving them information related to the Hero's side of things that they also need to know.

A Quick Recap

As the Evil players, there is no proper "Evil Turn" — it is always the Hero's Turn. The Evil players can only play in Reaction to the Hero's Actions. The Hero performs 1 Action each Turn, unless Bullet Time is triggered.

Each Round is made up of 8 Turns, represented by the Turn tokens on the Hero sheet. At the end of each Round, the Hero's Round marker moves left on the Round track (the Hero may also gain additional Rounds, moving the marker right). When the Round marker reaches the final space of the track, the game enters Nightmare Mode.

The Evil players' only goal is to defeat the Hero before the Final Mission is completed. To trigger the Final Mission, the Hero must first complete 1 of the 2 available Starting Missions. To defeat the Hero, both the Life and Self Control tracks must be brought down to 0. Creatures are the main tool for dealing both kinds of damage — encountering an Unrevealed Creature costs the Hero Self Control, while a Creature attack deals Life damage. Some Reaction cards improve Creature efficiency or damage the Hero directly, and placing Danger tokens on the Map makes Creatures stronger and unlocks additional Reaction effects.

How to Evil

The Reaction decks: there are 4 Reaction decks, of which only 2 are used each game (chosen during setup). All decks contain the same number and kinds of cards, but each is themed: Fury (red) makes Creatures stronger in combat and more aggressive; Speed (blue) makes Creatures faster and allows Reacting more often; Terror (green) makes scaring the Hero easier and allows more control over the Hero's Actions; Traps (purple) makes placing Danger tokens easier and more effective.

Evil Leader duties: the starting Evil Leader chosen during setup has the additional task of coordinating the team — before playing Reaction cards, the Evil players must ask for the Leader's approval. A new Evil Leader takes charge each Round; the Evil Leader token passes to the left at the end of the Round.

Handling cards: Evil players must never show their cards to each other. They can talk freely about strategies and the kinds of cards they intend to play, but the Hero will hear everything said, so the team needs a subtle way of communicating.

Communicating information: when the Hero performs the Locate Action, or on a few other occasions, the Evil players must Communicate information to the Hero. Unless a Reaction card explicitly allows otherwise, they cannot lie — they must give correct and clear information.

Revealed and Unrevealed: everything shown on the Labyrinth is Revealed to the Hero; everything present on the Map but not shown is Unrevealed. Even out of Line of Sight, thanks to the Holowatch's cache memory, the Hero "sees" what happens in all Revealed Sectors, as reported on the Map, until the end of the Round.

Updating the Map and the Labyrinth

The Evil players have complete access to all game information, recorded on the Map, while the Hero only knows what is shown on the Labyrinth and what they remember after it is cleaned up at the end of each Round. It is the Evil players' duty to update both the Map and the Labyrinth whenever the Hero moves to or explores an Unrevealed Sector. If a needed tile is not available in the pool, use the tile of the appropriate shape that is farthest from the Hero's Sector, taken from what is already part of the Labyrinth.

Events that must be recorded/updated: Light (place a token whenever Lights switch on in a Sector, and remove it when they switch off); Movements (place, move and remove Creature tokens, and move the Hero token); Doors (Reveal Doors whenever Revealing an adjacent Sector, and mark Blocked Doors with tokens on both Map and Labyrinth, removing them when Unblocked); Environment (place and remove Danger tokens, and any Condition tokens instructed by Mission cards).

Playing Reactions

All Evil players start the game with a number of Reaction cards in hand, determined by the number of Evil players (see Evil Setup). Reaction cards can be played from hand only as a Reaction to a Hero Action. The Action the Hero performs determines the Allowed Reactions playable that Turn; a Standard Reaction (a card played face down) can always be played regardless of the Action. Even with an Evil Leader, any Evil player can play a Reaction — the group should agree, but the Evil Leader has final say. Only up to 2 Reaction cards total can be played each Turn.

When a Reaction card is played, it is placed on the Reaction Track of the Hero sheet, facing the Hero. The first card played each Turn is placed vertically on the first empty space of the Track. A second card played "in combo" during the same Turn must also be an Allowed or Standard Reaction, and is placed horizontally, covering the next two empty spaces. The final spaces of the Reaction Track show Danger symbols — at the end of the Round, the Evil players collect and place on the Map a number of Danger tokens equal to the number of Danger symbols still visible on the Track. Playing a lot of Reactions covers these symbols, giving fewer Danger tokens to place next Round. When all spaces on the Track are occupied, no more Reactions can be played that Round; when only 1 space remains, combos are no longer possible. Since there is 1 Danger symbol at the very end of the Track outside any card space, at least 1 Danger token is always collected and placed at the end of each Round.

Some Reactions can be played specifically when the Hero is taking damage, rather than in response to a specific Action. When the Hero performs more than 1 Action in a single Turn (e.g. via Bullet Time or certain Items), each Action triggers its own related Allowed Reactions, though still capped at 2 Reactions per Turn overall.

Reaction Timing

Reaction cards marked with the Instant Reaction symbol in the top right corner can be played during the Hero's Turn at the exact timing stated on the card (e.g. "after dice are rolled" or "before Revealing elements"). Standard Reactions and cards not marked as Instant must be played at the end of the Hero's Turn. The order in which the Hero performs multiple Actions in a Turn is irrelevant — what matters is which Actions were performed, since that determines which cards can be played; those cards can be played in any order as long as their own timing requirement is respected.

Dangerous cards: when a Reaction card is played, normally only the effect of the first half of the card applies. If the card can be made Dangerous — most easily, by playing it while the Hero is in a Sector containing a Danger token — the effect of the second half also applies.

Standard and Allowed Reactions

Standard Reactions (playing a card face down) can always be played as a Reaction to any Hero Action, and are used to either move 1 Creature up to 1 Sector or Spawn 1 Creature following the regular Spawning rules. Allowed Reactions (playing a card face up) can only be played when triggered — the symbol in a card's top left corner is its Trigger, usually a specific Hero Action, though a few cards have different triggers (e.g. the Hero taking Life damage or Self Control damage).

Spawning and Moving

Limit to the number of Creatures: up to 4 Creatures may be on the same Level at a time (8 across the whole Map); some Mission cards may allow breaking this limit. The Creatures that can be Spawned of each kind are further limited by the number of tokens available. Once a Level's limit is reached, no more Creatures can be Spawned or moved into it.

Spawning: to Spawn a Creature, play a Standard Reaction (some specific Reaction cards may also allow Spawning). A Creature can be Spawned anywhere on the Map, but never closer to the Hero than its Minimum Spawning Distance, per the Creature Stats table. A Spawned Creature produces Noise in its Sector, which must be Communicated to the Hero.

Moving: a Standard Reaction moves a Creature up to 1 Sector; specific Reaction cards may allow faster or longer movement, as stated on the card. A Creature can also be moved 0 Sectors, useful for triggering additional effects or switching off Lights. Whenever an Unrevealed Creature is moved directly into the Hero's Sector, the Hero is scared and loses Self Control (the amount depends on the Creature); this does not happen if the Creature is Revealed into a different Sector first. A moved Creature produces Noise in the Sector it reaches, which must be Communicated.

Teleporting: the effect of some Reaction cards allows Creatures to be Teleported — a special movement that produces no Noise and ignores the Minimum Spawning Distance.

Using Stairs: the two Levels are connected by 2 sets of Stairs, each a different color; Sectors connected by a same-color pair are considered adjacent.

Communicating a Noise

When a Creature is Spawned or moves, it produces Noise that must be Communicated to the Hero, honestly, in the real direction of the shortest route between the Hero's Sector and the Noise's source. If more than one route shares the same shortest distance, the Evil players choose which direction to Communicate. If the Noise comes from the other Level, only that fact needs to be Communicated. Blocked Doors interrupt the diffusion of Noise.

Blocked Doors

The Hero may Block 1 adjacent Door at the end of each movement step; some Reaction and Item cards may also Block or Unblock Doors. While a Door is Blocked, nothing can pass through it, and Sectors linked by it are not considered adjacent for rules, card effects, or Noise diffusion. To move through a Blocked Door, a "movement step" must be spent Unblocking it first — for example, a Reaction that grants a Creature 3 Sectors of movement through a Blocked Door spends 1 of those Sectors unblocking, leaving up to 2 for actual movement.

Light and Dark

Light benefits the Hero (easier exploring, more effective fighting) while making Creatures less effective — the Evil players should try to switch Lights off whenever possible. The Map starts completely dark. Switching on Lights is tracked with Light tokens on the Map, and by flipping Sector tiles to their Lighted side in the Labyrinth if the Sector is Revealed; if a newly Lighted Sector enters the Hero's Line of Sight, it must be immediately Revealed. The Hero can switch on Lights via an Interact Action at an LCU (lighting that Sector plus up to 2 adjacent Sectors in a straight line), an Item card effect, or a Mission reward.

Switching off Lights: some Reaction cards shut off Lights directly. Also, at the end of each Turn, if a Creature has moved into a Lighted Sector that is not the Hero's Sector, the Lights there are switched off automatically (a Creature cannot switch off Lights in a Sector it didn't move into that Turn, nor in the Hero's own Sector).

Line of Sight: what the Hero can both see and interact with — the Hero's Sector plus all connected Revealed Sectors in a straight line in every direction, interrupted by a wall, a non-adjacent Door, an Unrevealed Sector, or the far side of a set of Stairs. The Hero's Sector is always in LoS; an Unrevealed Sector never is; a Revealed Sector may or may not be.

Creatures and Fighting

A Creature automatically attacks the Hero whenever it is in the Hero's Sector at the end of a Turn — no card is needed. The Evil players roll a number of dice depending on the Creature's stats (the Creature Stats table lists dice for a Dark Sector and for a Lighted Sector separately), and the Hero loses 1 Life per Hit. Normally only one die face counts as a Hit and the other two as Misses, but Danger tokens can make an extra face count as a Hit for the Evil players (just as Light can for the Hero). Dice should always be rolled in front of the screen so the Hero can see the results.

Attacks of Opportunity: whenever the Hero leaves a Sector containing 1 or more Creatures, this grants a single combined Attack of Opportunity, rolling 1 die per Creature in the Sector (no special abilities apply to this attack), reduced by 1 die if the Sector is Lighted.

Creatures taking damage: each Creature's life-point thresholds on the Creature Stats table (first Wound / Kill when Wounded) work the same way as described for the Hero's Fight Action — thresholds per single attack, not cumulative, with excess damage "lost." When a Creature is Wounded, flip its token to the Wounded side and always Communicate Wounded status to the Hero on request; when Killed, remove its token from the Map and its miniature from the Labyrinth.

Hero's Experience Points: killing a Creature of a given type grants the Hero an Experience Point in the matching Ability (2 different Abilities of choice for a Boss); a second Experience Point in the same Ability unlocks it. No Experience is gained for Unrevealed kills, and no more than 2 Experience per Ability.

Resolving Hero Actions

Whenever the Hero performs an Action, the Evil players play an active role in resolving it — updating the Map, Communicating information, and so on. For each Action:

• Move: update the Map (move the Hero marker, mark Blocked Doors); Reveal any needed Elements (Sectors, Creatures, Doors, Blocked/Danger tokens, LCUs, Stairs), including any newly-in-Line-of-Sight Lighted Sectors; if the Hero changes Level, remove all Sectors from the Level just left from the Labyrinth except the Sector with the Stairs (an Attack of Opportunity may be resolved first).
• Explore: Reveal the explored Sectors and everything they contain (only the far Sector if exploring through Stairs); if the Hero removes a Danger token, remove it from the Map too.
• Fight: update the Map for any Wounded/Killed Creatures; Communicate whether a Revealed Creature is Wounded or not.
• Locate: check the Map and Communicate the shortest distance, in Sectors, from the Hero's Sector to each of the two targets requested, and which Level each is on (Blocked Doors do not interrupt this distance).
• Scavenge: the Hero draws 1 card from the Item deck (3 if performing this Action for the first time in a Room Sector, marked with a Charge token on the Hero sheet) and may Upgrade Items in their Inventory using Charge tokens of the correct Matrix taken from other Items; the Evil players simply need to be told what was drawn/Upgraded and its effects.
• Interact: when repairing an LCU, place a Light token in each newly Lighted Sector and flip those tiles to the Lighted side in the Labyrinth, Revealing any that are Unrevealed and in Line of Sight; when completing a Mission, manage tokens on the Map as the Mission card requires.

Hero Companions: each Character can be used as the Hero or as a Companion, obtained as a Mission reward and marked with 6 Charge tokens as Health Points. A Companion has a one-time Sacrifice Ability (discard the card and any remaining Charges at the start of a Turn) and repeatable Companion Abilities (each use discards 1 Charge from the card). When dealing damage to the Hero, the Evil players may choose to deal all of it to the Companion instead (never split between the two for a single event); 1 Charge is removed per point of damage dealt this way, and the Companion card is discarded immediately once its last Charge is gone.

End of the Round

At the end of the eighth Turn of a Round, after the Evil players have the chance to React, the Round is over:

1. Reaction Track Cleanup: collect a number of Danger tokens equal to the Danger symbols still visible on the Reaction Track (set aside to place later), then discard the Reaction cards on the Track to their respective decks' discard piles.
2. Labyrinth Cleanup: remove all Sector tiles from the Labyrinth except the Hero's Sector, all adjacent Sectors, and all Lighted Sectors in the Hero's Line of Sight.
3. Replenishing Adrenaline: the Hero's Adrenaline pool is restored to the number on the Adrenaline track corresponding to the lower of their Life and Self Control tracks.
4. Refilling hands of Reaction cards: replenish hands up to the hand size limit (discarding down if over it); unwanted cards from the previous Round may also be discarded before drawing. If a deck's cards are all discarded, shuffle its discard pile into a new deck.
5. Placing Danger tokens: place the Danger tokens set aside earlier on the Map — never in the Hero's Sector or Line of Sight, only 1 per Sector, and up to 8 per Level (remove some to place new ones if already at 8).
6. End of Round effects: apply any End of Round effects from Mission or Hero cards in play, before moving the Round marker.
7. Moving the Round Marker: move the Round marker left on the Round track. If it reaches the final space, Nightmare Mode is triggered.

Nightmare Mode

When the Round marker reaches the final space of the Round track, Nightmare Mode is triggered — the Hero has spent too much time on their Missions, and the Creatures become enraged: stronger, scarier and faster. Use the Nightmare side of the Creature Stats table from then on, and the Hero loses 2 Self Control at the end of each Round. Nightmare Mode lasts until the end of the game and cannot be reverted, even if the Hero gains additional Rounds. It does not end the game outright — it simply makes the Evil players' job of defeating the Hero considerably easier, so the Hero's efforts should be slowed as much as possible.

Difficulty Level

Depending on the Difficulty Level chosen during setup, the Hero's Starting Items and Mid-Game Rewards on triggering the Final Mission differ — see the difficulty table in the Game Setup section above.

End of the Game

The game ends in one of two ways: the Hero completes the Final Mission and instantly wins (after first triggering it by completing a Starting Mission — this can happen even after Nightmare Mode begins); or the Evil players bring both the Hero's Life and Self Control tracks down to zero and instantly win.

Creature Roster

The Creatures encountered in ALONE include Worms, Spores, Hybrids, Cultists, Parasites, Bosses, and Mission-specific types such as the Cultist Chief, Alpha Worm and Mech. In general terms: Spores are easy to kill and slow, but can be Spawned close to the Hero and deal significant damage. Parasites deal comparatively little damage but move quickly and aren't too difficult to kill. Cultists are simply deranged humans — they cause no Self Control loss on encounter and are unaffected by Light, but are tough to kill. Hybrids are part human, part worm, making them as scary as Worms, though less affected by Light and less difficult to kill. Worms are tough to kill, very scary and dangerous in a fight, but heavily affected by Light — they become largely harmless in Lighted Sectors — and must be Spawned relatively far from the Hero. Boss Creatures have widely varying stats specific to each Mission; refer to the relevant Mission card for details. Each Creature's precise Attack dice, life-point thresholds and Minimum Spawning Distance are printed on the Creature Stats card/table (with a Regular side and a Nightmare side).