Arena: The Contest – Tanares Penumbral Pack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Introduction
• Novelties
  • New Barrier — Pillar (Scenario Pack)
  • New Obstacle — Banner (Scenario Pack)
  • New Cosmetic Figures
  • New Effects
  • New Hero — Vaeraunt, the Mastermind
  • New Hero — Tsuyoko, the Ninja
• PvP Expansions
  • Chi Battle
    • Prematch Steps
    • During the Match: Cubes and Skills
  • Penumbral Arenas
• Time Twist — Epic Level Campaign
  • Sections
  • Assemble Your Team
  • Penumbral Influence Level — Your past actions produce penumbral reactions.
• Chapter 102 — Arcana
• Quest 102 — Arcana (Epic 1)
  • Special Rules
  • EVENT 1
  • EVENT 2
• Chapter 103 — Malrokian Kingdom
  • ROOM TILES x SAVE LOG
• Quest 103 — Malrokian Kingdom (Epic 2)
  • Special Rules
  • EVENT 1
• Chapter 104 — Reginheraht
• Quest 104 — Reginheraht (Epic 3)
  • Special Rules
  • EVENT 1
  • EVENT 2
• Chapter 105 — Penumbral Dragon
  • Using Epic Skill Cards
• Quest 105 — Penumbral Dragon (Epic 4)
  • Special Rules
• Chapter 106 — Sindile
• Quest 106 — Sindile (Epic 5)
  • Special Rules
  • EVENT 1
• Chapter 107 — Cursed Wharf
• Quest 107 — Cursed Wharf (Epic 6)
  • Special Rules
• Chapter 109 — The End

Components

This book comes inside the Penumbral Pack. The box is a storage solution for the components found in the following packs: Character Pack, Class Pack, Villain Pack, Penumbral Pack, and Mystical Pack.

To play the "Time Twist" Epic Campaign, you need the following expansion, too: Scenario Pack | Dread, the First Ungod.

Introduction

This work is an expansion of Tanares Adventures.

The Tanarean Universe — Boxes and Packs

To play this expansion, you need Arena: the Contest (Core Box): it comes with Heroes, dice, the main board, and other essential components. You don't need to read Arena's Rulebook to play the Epic Campaign.

Tanares Adventures is an expansion for Arena: the Contest. You need Tanares Adventures' Rulebook: it focuses largely on the rules of the Cooperative Mode that you need to know.

This book expands Arena (Novelties and PvP Expansions) and Tanares Adventures ("Time Twist" Epic Level Cooperative Campaign). We recommend it especially for those who have already played these previous games.

Novelties

New Barrier — Pillar (Scenario Pack)

• This miniature has two possible positions:
  • Standing (placed upright, occupying 1 square): apply Wall rules.
  • Toppled (placed sideways, occupying 3 squares): apply Barricade rules.
• Pillars are always Standing when a quest begins.
• [hand icon] (a Standing Pillar): Topple the Pillar, so that it occupies 3 orthogonal squares (its base must remain on the same square).
• You can only topple it onto Combatants and Terrains (not onto Barriers or Obstacles).
• If a Pillar is Toppled onto a combatant, it takes 10 DMG and must MOVE to its closest free square (controlled by the interacting hero).

You may Topple it in any of the four orthogonal directions. If you're in one of these directions (i.e., not diagonally in [1] of it), it may Topple onto you (in which case you must move and take DMG).

New Obstacle — Banner (Scenario Pack)

• PvP — Team Deathmatch: used to protect against future skills of the enemy Team (see "Chi Battle" Expansion).
• Time Twist Campaign: one is gained every time you accomplish an Extra Challenge — any hero may discard it at any time to re-roll a die.
  • On the board, Banners are considered Obstacles.

New Cosmetic Figures

• Tombstone: Marks heroes' square of death.
• Malign Tower: Replaces the Fatigue Cube for heroes.

New Effects

THROW (Red villains)

• The target of this effect is PUSHED in a straight line and away from the villain. Then, it takes "X" DMG, "X" being the number of squares moved.
  • The thrown target must stop just before it leaves the grid or enters a square with anything (except Terrains).
    • If the position of the villain is so that you're thrown diagonally, you DO NOT stop when crossing the corner of an occupied square (i.e., including walls).

DOUBLE ATTACK (Blue villains)

• After the villain's attack resolves, it gains an extra Move and Prime Action (once per turn).

These extra actions are not considered a new turn; all "once per turn" effects cannot apply again.

• I.e., the Double Attack effect itself cannot become a "triple attack."
• I.e., if the Passive Power was already applied, it cannot apply again.
• I.e., if the villain had incited a Reaction before its first attack, you may not deal Reaction DMG to it again.
• I.e., if a hero was controlling this villain when it made the first attack, the second attack is made under that hero's control, also.

Save for the "once per turn" restrictions, the villain behaves as if it were a new turn:

• Check Favorite Target again (it may have changed, or not);
• It may move as usual (and even Dark Surge, in some occasions).

DISPELLING STRIKE (Green villains)

• Remove all Temporary and Permanent effects from this villain, and from its farthest hero.

CONTAGION (Orange villains)

• All heroes in [2] of the villain gain one copy of the Condition Token indicated on its card.

New Hero — Vaeraunt, the Mastermind

"All combatants in a 5x1 area"

• This affects a straight line of five orthogonally-adjacent squares (never diagonal!)
• Follow the same rules of a 3x3 attack in area. Its Central Square is the third square, counting from either end of the straight line affected.

"Make this attack from your square of death" (Interrupt)

• When you die, replace your figure for your HP Token. That marks your square of death.

• The enemy whose attack you interrupt must be in [8] of your square of death.

• Interrupts must be declared before the enemy declares its attack's target. Therefore, if Vaeraunt revives, it may become a valid target for that enemy to declare.

• When she changes Combat Roles, flip her Hero Card (her Passive Power changes), and change each of the Hero-exclusive Primary Attacks on her set (if any) for a Hero-exclusive Primary Attack of the other Role.

  • The new Hero-exclusive Primary Attacks (if any) come not flipped.

Playing PvP, or Arena: the Contest's Campaign

• Her Role will change as you flip her Heropad.
  • This changes her Passive Power, Stats, and Primary Attacks.

New Hero — Tsuyoko, the Ninja

This unique Hero is characterized by her ability to change Roles (from Controller to Tactician, and vice versa) during a Match or Quest.

Playing Tanares Adventures' Campaign — BEFORE QUESTS BEGIN

• She can never be included in your City Phase's Assets Deck.
• Spend any 3 resources, at any time, to permanently acquire her and play Quests with her.
• There can never be another Tactician and/or Controller in her Team.
• When reading the Journal, always consider that she is a Controller.

DURING QUESTS (Tanares Adventures)

• She always begins Quests as a Controller. Her Role-based Attack Cards, Items, Stats, and Skills are always the Controller's and may be used even when she's on the Tactician side.
  • When applying a Quest Feature, always consider that she is a Controller.

PvP Expansions

This material brings you two Expansions for "PvP: Team Deathmatch" Game Mode. They are:

• Chi Battle: Heroes can tap into their Chi to use skills on enemy turns. Not even death can stop these powers.

• Penumbral Arena: Create even more different scenarios, with unique situations that will challenge your team-building and strategic-thinking skills.

• In 3x3 matches, you may apply both expansions at the same time.

• The winning condition is still: "all enemies are dead."

• Please consult Arena: the Contest's Rulebook for the standard Team Deathmatch rules: apply them in everything that doesn't contradict the rules ahead.

Chi Battle

In ancient times, champions were admired not only for the size of their muscles or the brightness of their spells: their defining feature was the ability to control their Chi and intensely employ it in its pure form.

The word "Chi" is a complex concept that finds its origin in the Province of Yama. It relates to the subtlest (and thus, most powerful) form of energy that flows through beings: the "life force" that crosses the line between death and life. Throughout the rest of Tanares, it is translated in various ways—from "blood" to "breath" to "spirit"—according to the local beliefs of the time about where such force is located, or how it may be controlled.

Using powers on enemy turns changes combat to make it more dynamic and unpredictable. Besides, this expansion reduces player elimination: Heroes gain "Chi Cubes" and may influence the fight even while "dead."

Prematch Steps

Incorporate the following steps into the standard PvP — Team Deathmatch rules:

Number of Heroes

• This Game Mode can only apply to 3x3 matches (i.e., each Team has three Heroes).

Teams grab their Chi Card set

• Chi cards come with "Team 1" or "Team 2" written in them. Each Team must grab a different set of four cards.

Assign Chi Cards on Hero placement

• When each hero is placed on the grid, its player must choose one Chi card not yet chosen and assign it to that hero.
• Chi cards have two sides: choose, at this moment, which side each hero will use during the match.

Put 5 cubes on each card

• Each Chi Card has a unique color. Put five Chi Cubes of that color on each card: one on each Spirit Pool, and one on each of the Chi Card's four slots (40, 20, 10, and 0).

During the Match: Cubes and Skills

Gaining Chi Cubes

• A living hero gains 1 Chi Cube the first time its HP drops to (or below) 40, 20, 10, and 0 (the slots indicated in the Chi cards).
• A dead hero gains 1 Chi Cube whenever any other hero (ally or enemy) dies.
• The maximum number of Chi Cubes in a hero's pool is 5.
• If you take enough damage to drop below two milestones at the same time, gain more than one Chi Cube.
• Healing past a milestone does not affect the number of Chi Cubes you'll gain, because you must consider only the first time you drop below it.
• If you and another Hero die at the same time, each of you gains 1 Chi Cube; other Heroes who were already dead gain 2 Chi Cubes.

Using Skills

• To use a skill, you must pay its Chi Cube cost. You can only spend Chi Cubes you have gained.
• Skill 1 costs one Chi Cube; Skill 2 costs two Chi Cubes.

Vision, Range, and HP

• All skills require vision of their target, unless their description says "anywhere" or "on the grid."
• If another distance or reference is not described, consider that all skills' range is [8].
• You cannot use a skill that requires paying HP if doing so would drop your HP to zero.

Using skills (when you are dead)

• When you die, you can bind your Spirit to that of any living ally of your choice: place your figure on that ally's Heropad.
• More than one hero can bind to the same ally.
• When that ally dies, you can choose (and bind to) another one.
• Skills that require paying HP spend the living ally's HP, and their range is verified from the ally's position.

Moment of use

• You can use skills only at the start of enemy turns. Only two things must happen before this:
  • Temporary Effects end;
  • Tanks and Bruisers check the position of the enemy for their Passives.

Limitations: number of uses

• A Team may use multiple skills per turn, but each Hero can only use ONE skill per turn.

Limitations: Banner of Protection

• After a skill is resolved, the enemy Team may put a Banner (Scenario Pack miniature) on one of its Heropads (once per turn — not per skill).
• At the start of a turn, no skills may be used if there's a Banner on the Heropad of the hero taking that turn.
  • At the end of that turn, remove all Banners that started the turn on that Heropad.
• Multiple Heroes in the same Team can have Banners.
• After a skill resolves, you may choose to put a Banner on the Heropad of the hero taking the turn — in this case, remove it only at the end of that hero's next turn (not this one, as the Banner didn't start the turn on its Heropad).

Penumbral Arenas

The Penumbral Plane is the chaotic realm of madness, nightmares, and distortions to the laws of physics.

In places where emotions run wild and the Tanarean Magic Field is constantly used for powerful spells, this dimension invades Tanares to create a variety of unique situations — The Arenas are one of these places…

Alternate Rule Cards

• Each of these cards contains a passive rule that must be observed for the entire match.
• If there's a contradiction between any text in the game and these cards, apply the command in these cards.

E.g.: With Violent Storm, heroes take 1 DMG for each square they enter on their Move Action, and Ranged Attacks have Range [6] (instead of [8]).

Prematch Steps

• Before Heroes are selected, Teams must agree to use one, two, or three Alternate Cards.
• Shuffle all Alternate Cards; then, draw as many as have been agreed.

In this expansion, good Hero selection goes a long way in influencing the outcome of the match. Discuss with your Team which strategy you should employ to use the alternate rules to your advantage.

Time Twist — Epic Level Campaign

The following takes place after the events of Tanares Adventures' Epic Campaign, its Epilogue, and "Adventure In the Realms of Madness" (RPG): Some of your Heroes' (or Player Characters') discoveries may be spoiled.

If you play it with a new Team, the beginning fits several endings; if you play it as a continuation of Tanares Adventures, this assumes you have Fact (93 - Ardilog) (see "Assemble your Team" text box, ahead).

You're at Fisherman's Wharf, after the Resistance Incursion in the Kemet War, in the middle of a Malrokian Curse. All is shaking and crumbling. You see a gold dragon fall, dead, on top of the mound where the Arena of Future recently stood. Beyond a pile of wreckage and benches, you see a magnificent portal, wider than any other you've ever seen.

It's the vandanamalika, a "super portal" invented by the kemet — one that can connect with any other portal in the world via penumbral plane.

With everything else falling apart around you, the only plan you can conceive is to get into that portal and survive — wherever it may take you.

Sections

This book alternates between story sections and quest instructions, each with 2 pages. Sometimes, a Quest requires you to read what in Tanares Adventures would be a "Journal Section." These are always found in the preceding page, unless you win the Quest — in which case the continuation is found in the next chapter.

You use all your strength to reach the top of the hill; several weaker survivors had the same idea, but failed in its execution and fell around you. After climbing the final pile of destroyed pillars and ruined walls, you hide in the shadows: ahead, there is a huge woman with the body of a spider.

Three women (a gloomfolk, a soulborn kemet, and a human) are around her collecting blood from the gold dragon's corpse. They paint strange symbols on the ground, performing a ritual. Then, they kneel before the woman-spider, and shout: "HAIL OUR MATRON! HAIL BELLARA, THE ARACHNE!"

She responds: "My purple witches! Sara is not here, but it doesn't matter. You three know what to do. On the other side of the portal, you'll find gateways to the past. One for each Malrokian Curse episode, for these were the moments of greatest rupture to the Tanarean Magic Field. Each of you must return to a different moment."

Something suddenly distracts the Arachne. She turns her head and looks directly at you.

Bellara glances at a dark gate behind you. A huge demon steps out of it. He passes an inch away from you, but you're ignored: his attention is entirely focused on the witch party.

You realize that the Demon is already severely injured; their fight is brief. The Arachne sends the Demon flying into a pile of ruins. It slowly changes its shape back to the size of a man: it is the Emperor!

The Arachne then lifts a large curved dagger high up and begins an incantation: "Blood from man, from the Guardian of Time, and blood from a being that is not creation divine: with this final act, may the past and present briefly unify. But not the future, for that is yet for me to write."

Bellara kills herself. As soon as her blood touches the portal, its glow changes from a bright blue to an intense red. The Arachne still has strength for a few last words: "The time has come for you to leave, my witches. Make sure that the Malrokian Curses happen, or our plan might fail. This world must end." The witches jump into the portal.

Assemble Your Team

You may use the same Heroes that completed Tanares Adventures' campaign (with all items, tokens, and cards they had at that point). Then, choose any four (Week 6) NPC Cards (they will never change).

Alternatively, you may assemble a Team of any four Heroes with different Combat Roles (except the "Special" Combat Role). If you choose this alternative, follow Tanares Adventures' Rulebook to equip your Heroes as if you were going to play a one-shot quest from Week 6.

Even though you may choose any Hero, you may find slight inconsistencies with the canon story found in Tanares RPG, Tanares Adventures, and Time Twist if one of your Heroes is Elarine, Taram, Sedura, Khloet, Catharina, Ascaran, Vanarus, Zafara — and, especially, Orthus, Avelum, or the Emperor.

Penumbral Influence Level — Your past actions produce penumbral reactions.

• Penumbral monsters will get in your way throughout the campaign. Your level of Penumbral Influence determines how intensely that happens.

• It begins at the last "Kemet Hunt" level noted in your campaign calendar.

  • Increase or decrease this level at will, according to what you find more entertaining.

• Level 0 = No effect

• Level 1 = Each hero chooses 1 Special Attack to begin the quest spent.

• Levels 2-4 = Level 1 + Place the additional villain(s) indicated in the quest map (cummulative).

• Level 5 = Effects above + Chests have no effect.

The Emperor calls you. He's barely alive. "In my youth, I saw one of those witches," he says, weakly. "The gloomfolk one. She allowed me into the vault of my brother, Torygg Addin-Zaiba, and enticed me to read the Book of Destiny that he had found in his travels".

"Rush after that purple witch; don't allow my young self to read that Book! This simple act shall prevent Arcana's demise and save the world!" You have no time to question him further. The Emperor dies. Chapter 102 begins now. Go to {102.1}

— Bellara, the Arachne

Chapter 102 — Arcana

Torygg

1 It is clear that it is impossible to survive the situation in Fisherman's Wharf, so you rush into the portal. You're immediately sucked into the well-known and always-dreadful penumbral plane, as you float countless feet above surface. You are in a platform overlooking thousands of tiny blue dots — portals — glowing down below.

Around you, portals unlike any other you have seen: they are like windows that show watercolor paintings in motion. You come closer to the one that shows a young man talking to a gloomfolk witch. His vests are exactly like the Emperor's, but he didn't wear the mask you've always seen on his face.

The image changes to show a gloomfolk crew. They're working on taking the vault into the safety of the penumbra. The purple witch is pretending to be one of them. Time seems to work differently here — the witch is much ahead of you.

You cross the portal. It hurls you East. You can feel the tension outside the walls of Arcana as countless armies get ready to break siege. You land very close to the main entrance of the vault, inside palace walls, in the Mystical Kingdom's final hours. Flip to the next pages — Epic Quest #102: "Arcana" begins NOW!

2 You snatch the key that was in possession of the fallen witch. As soon as you think about entering the vault, a ghost appears out of thin air: "The Book is mine! You must not read it!"

• Remove the Big Door. Then, read "TORYGG'S VAULT" instructions and reposition the Corrupted Zone Tiles as in the Vault's map.

GUARD 3: Soulborn Kemet (110-R) and (111-B), and Ghost Lord Boss (B2). See EVENT 3.

Ghost Lord (Ghost Lord Figure) — Boss B2

• Hit Points 280 | Defense 7 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8
• This is immune to Lullaby of Death.
• If this combatant is on a Corrupted Zone Tile and loses a +70 Token during a hero attack, put a Fatigue Cube in [1] of that hero.
• If this combatant dies on an Altar, swap its Tile's position with its closest Portal Tile. (This will help you in the future — or past.)

Blast from the Past (Primary Attack) — Range 8 squares | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 14 DMG + effect | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effect: BLAST 10.
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: This hits a target and there is another combatant in [5] of the target.
• Effect: The Fatigued combatant that is closest to Ghost Lord takes 10 R-DMG and loses its Fatigue Cube (i.e., it can take a turn again this Round).

Favorite Target: +[ ] (Blue)

As soon as all villains are dead, if the Tome Token is on a Hero Card, you win the Quest. SAVE THE STATE AND POSITION OF ALL TILES AND FIGURES (except Heroes) ON THE VAULT BEFORE SETTING THE TABLE DOWN. Then, read {103.1}.

Resume the Quest (Event 3 begins!)

Torygg's Vault — The actions you take when you travel to the past may alter the future.

At the end of Time Twist's first quests, take note of the circumstances that have changed in Torygg's Vault — you might visit it again in the future.

The map below contains all tiles and tokens that may be added during the campaign. You will return to it a few times during Time Twist.

Mark, below the Vault's Map (last page), the components added to (or removed from) the Vault during the campaign. You may "save" this information wherever else you want, also.

[Vault's Map omitted: printed map of tiles and tokens.]

Quest 102 — Arcana (Epic 1)

The Arcana War that birthed the Imperial Age is about to erupt. A Purple Witch traveled in time to make sure the soon-to-be Emperor reads the Book of Destiny before the vault where it lies is transported to the Penumbral Plane and sealed. Try to get there first.

Primary Objective

• Kill all villains; AND
  • The Tome Token is on a Hero Card = Read {103.1}

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• Kill at least one villain in [1] of a Fatigue Cube before EVENT 1, and in every Event after that.

Special Rules

Purple Witch (Boss's Special Feature)

This Gloomfolk is under powerful rituals and spells that temporarily redirects all harm into the penumbra. She is creating planar instabilities to secure maximum rupture to the Tanarean Magic Field when the Malrokian Curse happens.

• Purple Witch takes NO DMG from any source (attack, effect, terrain, etc). It cannot die before EVENT 2.
  • Redirect all DMG the Purple Witch would take to its closest Penumbral Creature (Envy, Anger, or Greed — if there is one, anywhere on the grid). Ignore this after EVENT 2 begins.
• Shuffle Fate Cards I-II-III-IV.
• [R] Draw a random Fate Card. Purple Witch RUNS until it enters the Tile of that number. Then, if she's entered a Mission Tile, replace it for a Planar Rift. Then, discard the Fate Card that was drawn.
• If she can't place a Planar Rift Tile (because there are already two on the grid or because she didn't enter a Mission Tile), her closest hero takes 30 DMG.
• If all Fate Cards have been discarded, shuffle them into a new deck.

Lullaby of Death (Fatigue Cube)

You can revert the planar instability by killing penumbral monsters if they die in a magic-free zone. The area around you will become temporarily dense, exhausting combatants that linger nearby.

• If a hero attacks a villain that is in a Corrupted Zone, that hero gains 2 [cube icon].
  • If that villain dies that turn, put a Fatigue Cube in [1] of the attacking hero. That Cube is an Obstacle.
    • If the Cube is placed on a Planar Rift, replace that Rift for a Mission Tile.
• While in [1] of a Fatigue Cube, combatants cannot start their turn (i.e., if no effect moves it away, it may spend an entire Round without taking a turn).

[R] Remove all Fatigue Cubes from the grid.

Book of Destiny (Tome Token)

• [hand icon] + There are no villains alive: Transfer the Tome Token to the interacting hero's Card.

Lever of Destiny — Hidden Opening (Lever)

You may need to return to Torygg's vault: this creates a hidden opening to stash spare supplies and ease your way into and around the vault in the future.

• [hand icon] + Remove it: this hero gains 2 [cube icon]. Put the Hook Token on square D-7 (put it on top of the Wall — you cannot interact with it on this quest).

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place Envy (100-O), Anger (101-B), Gloomfolk (109-G), and Purple Witch Boss (B1).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★★): Greed (104-O).
• Place Heroes on Stairs. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

[R] If all Penumbral Creatures (Anger, Envy, and Greed) are dead, start EVENT 1.

Quest 102 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 2 Angers (100, 101); 2 Envies (100, 101); 2 Greeds (104, 105); 2 Gloomfolks (108, 109); 2 Soulborns (110, 111); 1 Ghost Lord Figure.
• Barriers: 2 Barricades 3x1; 2 Barricades 2x1; 1 Big Door (Red); 8 Walls 4x1; 4 Walls 3x1; 2 Walls 2x1.
• Terrains: 2 Altars; 2 Corrupted Zones; 4 Mission Tiles; 2 Planar Rifts; 4 Portals; 2 Spikes 3x1; 1 Spike 2x2; 2 Spikes 2x1; 1 Stairs.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Banner; 3 Chests; 4 Fate Cards (I - IV); 1 Lever; 4 Pillars; 1 Room 8x6; 2 Rooms 6x6; 2 Tools (Hook, Tome).

[Quest 102 map omitted: printed map of tiles and map labels for Initial Setup, Event 1, Event 2 and Event 3.]

EVENT 1

• Place Greed (105-B) and Gloomfolks (108-R) and (109-B).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★★★): Envy (101-G).

[R] If all Penumbral Creatures (Anger, Envy, and Greed) are dead, start EVENT 2.

EVENT 2

• Place Gloomfolks (108-R) and (109-G).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★): Anger (100-R).

Reminder: DMG is no longer redirected to Penumbral Creatures; the Boss can now take DMG and die.

As soon as all villains are dead, read {104.2} (to continue the Quest).

Gloomfolk Purple Witch (Female Gloomfolk Figure) — Boss B1

• Hit Points 210 | Defense 10 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8
• See Purple Witch.

Open Wounds (Primary Attack) — Range 8 squares | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 20 DMG + effects | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effects: CONTAGION — Bleeding (each hero in [2] of this gains 1 Bleeding Token).
• FLEE 3 (if this did not move this turn).
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: This hits a target that is on a Corrupted Zone.
• Effect: Deal +10 DMG.

Favorite Target: -HP (Orange)

Chapter 103 — Malrokian Kingdom

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective)

If you've accomplished the Extra Challenge, put Banner "B1" in the Vault (any hero may discard a Banner at any time to re-roll a die). Remember to mark this discard on Torygg's Vault). — Quest 102 has ended.

The vault is a magnificent room full of relics, paintings, and, above all, books and scrolls. You explore it and learn many things that, together with your journey through time, space, and penumbra, gives you a new, epic ability.

Each hero's Primary Attack hand upgrades to 4-3-2-2 (i.e., each hero may play quests with one Epic Level Attack Card). Comrade Cards (if any) upgrade to Level 8. You may set up your Heroes as if a new Journey Phase were beginning.

The ground starts shaking, and you hear an explosive thunder outside. The war has begun. The Malrokian Curse has begun. This means the soon-to-become Emperor read the Book. You were too late, and you don't know what to do next. {2}

2 The book was on an intricate pedestal, next to a desk with unfinished scrolls: studies and journals of Torygg Addin-Zaiba. His last object of study was the Book of Destiny that is now in your hand.

You skim through the papers, as if they could miraculously give you a solution. Among other things, you read:

• "It is one of the relics of the gods: it truthfully answers any question you ask."
• "After years scavenging the ruins of Malland, capital of the Malrokian Kingdom and first victim of the Curse, I finally found it — in a simple, but well-protected container that once belonged to King Malrok himself."
• "I consulted it only once. It allows three consultations, and then shuts itself for many decades. During this 'cooldown' period, the Book rewrites itself to follow the consequences of having been consulted — proving that the future cannot be entirely predetermined."
• "The Ghost of King Malrok roams the ruins of Malland and appears near the book when he senses someone may be close to opening it. He consulted it only once, and doesn't want anyone else to read it. After I promised not to consult it again, he revealed many things about the relic to me."
• "I tried to enchant it to prevent it from falling in the wrong hands — now, it opens only if it is on the magic pedestal I wrought, which is inseparable from the vault. It shall be even safer after the vault is moved into the penumbral plane."

You sense gloomfolk workers outside. Their ritual to move the vault to the penumbral plane must've begun. With trembling hands, you desperately ask the Book: "what do we do?"

The Book doesn't open (is this an invalid question? Did the Emperor consult it twice after Torygg?). You then remember that it needs to be placed on Torygg's pedestal. Put the Tome Token back on square H-1 (Vault).

You had more time to think about your question. You know that the Arachne wants the end of the world, and that you are in a unique position to prevent it.

What do you want to ask to the Book of Destiny?

• A) "What can we do for Arachne's plan to fail?" {5}
• B) "What is Arachne's plan?" {7}
• C) "How can we prevent the end of the world?" {9}

3 As if it knew you had finished reading it, the Book shuts itself tight. You hear scratching sounds, as if something new was being written inside it. You ask the Book another question, just in case, but it refuses to open.

You are sure you didn't grasp the meaning of the message to its fullest extent, but at least that's helped you think of a plan.

The Book on the pedestal has already been consulted three times: you don't know how long it will take for it to be "readable" again. But King Malrok has allegedly read it just once. If you return to the demise of the Malrokian Kingdom and snatch the Book of Destiny from King Malrok's container, Torygg will never find it in the "days of future past." If Torygg never finds it, perhaps the Emperor will never read it, and you would succeed in the attempt to change the past, as it seems to be exactly what the Arachne wants to guarantee the end of the world.

The vault begins collapsing on itself, and you feel like it is flying upward: probably a twisted way to transport it to the penumbra. Thankfully, the portal through which you came is being moved with it. You rush toward it and leave behind not just the locked Book, but was later recognized as the end of the Draconic Age. Jump to Section {6}

4 You exit the portal and run. The dragon comes crashing down, landing heavily on the ground and sliding through the wreckage of a building that is already partially destroyed. It shrieks dreadfully: it seems in pain to have left its home plane, and begins to crawl back toward it.

The situation here is worse than in Fisherman's Wharf: no one will survive much longer in this environment.

You should be probably safe back on the platform, but the dragon must not be in front of you. There's a chance you can grab the Book of Destiny and cross the portal before the dragon returns to the penumbra. Epic Quest #103: "Malrokian Kingdom" begins NOW!

5 The book opens by itself. You read: "You can do nothing. The plan does not belong to Bellara, but to her father. It is possible for it to fail if Avelum finds me, more than one hundred years after this moment." Go to {3}

6 The portal shoots you back to the platform with all the other portals that are connected with episodes of the Malrokian Curse, but you still feel connected with the vault, which now hovers in the penumbral plane.

ROOM TILES x SAVE LOG

Your Heroes will not return to Torygg's Vault for a while. Even so, their actions may change it. Moving forward, you have three options:

• A) Using Room Tiles AND the Save Log. Before beginning each Quest, consult your "Save Log" and place the Room Tiles that represent Torygg's Vault near the main board, accordingly to its last saved state. Change elements in these Room Tiles during Quests, and update its "Save Log" only at the end of Quests (or when you decide to set the table down);
• B) Using ONLY the Save Log. ALTERNATIVELY, you may NOT assemble the Vault whatsoever, and thus play ONLY with the "Save Log." In this case, IMMEDIATELY take notes whenever a component is added to (or removed from) the Vault.
• C) Using ONLY the Room Tiles (not recommended). If you never store components back in the box, the Save Log is not necessary; we nevertheless recommend you use it so you can always have a backup (in case of earthquakes, daring cats, or other possible accidents on your table).
• If you don't assemble the vault near the main board, pay special attention to the Banners earned via Extra Challenges, and immediately take note of the Banners you decide to discard to re-roll a die.

You don't know how Malland looks, but, with the destruction of Arcana, it can only be that other magnificent palace that another portal is showing. You have a weird feeling that you're being watched. After a moment of hesitation, you cross the portal. Jump to Section {8}

7 The book opens by itself. You read: "The plan does not belong to Bellara, but to her father. He plans on freeing himself from the Exile during Moonbell's Lunar Perigee, when the deaths of the Guardians of Space and Time coincide with the triangulation between Desdemona, Sindile, and Moonbell." Go to {3}

8 You fly through the penumbra over a different world, speeding your way toward mountains in the region you know of as being the Stravian Province, just as a gigantic wave crashes against the western shores and makes its way East, swallowing everything in its path. In this timeline, it is clear that the Malrokian Curse has already begun.

9 The book opens by itself. You read: "You can do nothing. The end is coming, but it may be stalled to give the Heroes of Tanares a fighting chance if Avelum reads me and the Seal that exiles Bellara's father remains strong." Go to {3}

10 You've managed to shoo the Dragon away before it destroyed a defensive orb wrought by the Malrokian Wizards. When Torygg Addin-Zaiba explores these ruins, he will find and make a replica of it to defend his vault after the gloomfolks move it to the penumbra. Place the Red Orb on Vault square J-1.

The Dragon has momentarily desisted from crossing the portal: its frenzy is greater than its pain. You watch it, flying high above and blasting its purple psychic-penumbral breath on other parts of the doomed city. You can only see its first victim: the human witch that was in Fisherman's Wharf! You continue your quest, hoping you're not next.

• Penumbral Avatar Dragon Feature ends. Remove it from the board (it still lives, do not gain [cube icon] for it). Then, Resume the Quest!

— King Malrok

Quest 103 — Malrokian Kingdom (Epic 2)

You've traveled further into the past and landed on Malland, the capital of the soon-to-be-extinct Malrokian Kingdom, currently suffering from the first episode of what the future will call the "Malrokian Curse." Grab the Book of Destiny, so that Torygg Addin-Zaiba can never find it in the future.

Primary Objective

• All Heroes are on a Portal Tile at the end of a Round, AND
  • The Tome Token is on a Hero Card = Read {104.1}
  • (Lose Condition: The Dragon reaches the Portal)

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• The XP Token is on "5" or higher (HP Track) when you win the Quest = Put Banner "B2" in the Vault.

Special Rules

Mechanical Pillars (Standing Pillars)

The Malrokian Kingdom is revered in History books for their many discoveries and advanced inventions. One of them is their moving pillars, for quick structural changes in their cities.

• In addition to regular Pillar rules, you have the following interaction option:
  • [hand icon] + This pillar is standing: MOVE 3 this pillar (interactable multiple times. On the same turn, you may interact again to topple it, also).

The Malrokians Won't Need It (Toppled Pillars, Barricades)

Malland is already being ruined by a natural catastrophe. You might as well clear your path or send pillars to the penumbral plane. They will end up in the last place you've visited there (Torygg's Vault) and may help you in the future.

• When a Pillar is toppled, remove all other Pillars (Standing or Toppled) and Barricades in [1] of it.
  • If this effect removes a Barricade or Pillar, remove the toppled Pillar and put it Standing on a Vault square of your choice (see Room Tiles map — Chapter 102).
  • (a Barricade or Toppled Pillar) + pay 20 HP: Remove it.

Penumbral Avatar Dragon

The opening left behind by the time-traveling portals is so huge that an Avatar Dragon from the penumbral plane has come, attracted by the bloodshed caused in the Malrokian War. It is frenzied and desperate to return home, but you can't allow it to enter the portal before you flee through it.

• The Dragon is not a combatant: it does not have HP and takes no turns.
• Put the Red Boss Token on "6" (HP Track).
• Put the XP Token on "0" (HP Track).
  • Whenever a Pillar is Toppled in [1] of the Dragon, increase XP by 1.

If the XP Token is on "5" or higher, read {103.10}

• The Dragon MOVES 7 (as much as it can) toward the Portals. Meanwhile:
  • The Dragon can move through Barricades, but cannot end on them.
  • All combatants that get in [1] of the Dragon (during this movement!) are PUSHED 4 and take as much DMG as the value of the Red Boss Token.
  • Remove from the grid Pillars (Standing or Toppled) and Citizens that get in [1] of the Dragon. For each one removed this way, increase the Red Boss Token by 2.

Citizens of Malland (Prisoner, Farmer, and Lady)

These people are doomed. You may convince them to go down with a bang.

• + Remove the citizen: All villains in [5] of this Citizen take 15 R-DMG.

Malrokian Curse

The Avatar Dragon involved in the natural catastrophe gets stronger as more people are assassinated.

• When a villain's HP becomes exactly 1, you may restrain it. Apply all rules as if it had died (remove figure, gain [cube icon]).
• Whenever a villain dies and it was not restrained (e.g., its HP dropped to zero), increase the Red Boss Token by 1.

Barrel (Barrel)

The Book of Destiny is hidden in King Malrok's container.

• [hand icon]: Put the Tome Token on the interacting hero's card (it is removed from the Vault).
  • You need this to win the quest.

Lever of Destiny — Hoisting Pillars (Lever)

This saves a remote hoisting technology for future generations of researchers — Torygg will use it in Arcana.

• [hand icon] + Remove it: this hero gains 2 [cube icon]. Put a Key Token on Vault square K-9.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place Angers (100-R) and (101-B) and Taii'makus (112-O) and (113-G),
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★★): Pain (105-G), Pain (104-R), and Fear (103-B).
• Place Heroes on Stairs. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

Quest 103 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 2 Angers (100, 101); 2 Envies (100, 101); 2 Fears (102, 103); 2 Pains (104, 105); 2 Taii'Makus (112, 113).
• Barriers: 2 Barricades 4x2; 2 Barricades 3x1; 2 Barricades 2x2; 4 Barricades 2x1; 5 Walls 5x1; 9 Walls 4x1; 2 Walls 3x1; 2 Walls 2x1.
• Terrains: 4 Portals; 2 Ruins 4x2; 4 Ruins 2x2; 1 Spikes 4x2; 2 Spikes 3x3; 2 Spikes 3x1; 4 Spikes 2x2; 1 Stairs.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Vault's Map; 1 Banner; 1 Barrel; 2 Chests; 1 Farmer; 1 Lady; 3 Prisoners; 1 Lever; 1 Orb; 1 Penumbral Dragon Figure; 6 Pillars; 1 Red Boss Token; 2 Tools (Tome, Torch); 1 XP Token.

[Quest 103 map omitted: printed map of tiles and map labels for Initial Setup and Event 1.]

EVENT 1

• GUARD 3: Envy (101-G), Fear (103-B)
• GUARD 3: Envy (100-O) and Taii'maku (113-B)
• GUARD 3: Fear (102-R) and Pain (105-G)
• GUARD 3: Pain (104-R) and Taii'maku (112-O)

If the Tome Token is on a Hero Card and all Heroes are on a Portal, you win the Quest. SAVE THE STATE AND POSITION OF ALL TILES AND FIGURES ON THE VAULT BEFORE SETTING THE TABLE DOWN. Then, read {104.1}.

Chapter 104 — Reginheraht

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective) — Quest 103 has ended.

Previously (Discovered by the Heroes of Wharfugee):

• The kemet lived in two different continents and traveled back and forth between them, but the first Malrokian Curse and its Eternal Storm separated them for centuries, as it was no longer possible to navigate across the ocean.
• The kemet built the Reginheraht Tower of Magical Research in the Draconic Age and used it to build a vandanamalika (a super portal), to meet their stranded people in the continent of Darkall.
• Shortly after its construction ended, humans waged war with the kemet for control of the region where they had built one of the pylons that sustained the vandanamalika.
• Before it could all collapse in the resulting Malrokian Curse, most of the kemet decided to teleport to Darkall — an event called "The Great Kemet Exodus" — It was a one-way trip, for the vandanamalika was destroyed alongside its pylon.
• The tower was then abandoned. Centuries later, Avelum, the Wizard, discovered most (but not all) of its well-hidden secrets.

With the Book of Destiny in hand, you cross the portal and leave the end of the Malrokian Age behind you. Soon afterward, you are back in the penumbral platform that hovers countless feet above the world you are trying to save.

You realize how close to the moon you are: the Lunar Perigee is when it is closest to the surface of Tanares, after all.

Torygg can no longer find the Book in the ruins of Malland, now that you've removed it from the site. Your satisfaction is only temporary, though: observing the portal-paintings that surround you, nothing seems to have changed.

You realize you don't know what would happen after you've changed the past: would you instantly die, for you were never born? Would everything collapse around you, because the Arachne would never have been able to perform her ritual?

You ask the Book what to do next, but it doesn't open. Didn't King Malrok consult it just once? It could take a century before it could be opened again. You concentrate, trying to remember what your previous consultation said, word for word.

You decide to travel to the time and place where you're most likely to survive, whilst reinforcing the probability that Arachne's plan fails: The "Crystal Tower" survived the Malrokian Curse that happened in Reginheraht during the "Cold War." It seems like a safe place to tuck in and try to survive the catastrophe (and then live the rest of your days in the Draconic Age).

Moreover, the Book mentioned the famous wizard Avelum, who worked as chief-wizard of the "Crystal Tower" for a long time. Also, he was seen in Wharfugee, as a good and intelligent man who worked hard for the Resistance: even if, by any chance, removing the Book from Malland was not significant enough to alter the course of history, you could hide the Book of Destiny in the tower, so that, centuries later, Avelum finds it and knows what to do.

You cross the portal that leads to Reginheraht, shortly before the Great Exodus. {2}

2 As you approach the tower, the number of little bright dots multiply: there are dozens of portals inside the tower! It's probably the highest concentration of portals per square mile in the world.

The super portal is good on its promise of taking you to any other portal in the world — you have good command over your flight through the penumbra.

You choose the exit that looks most well-protected in the bowels of the tower: not only you could hide the Book in it for centuries to come, but you'd be well protected from the oncoming catastrophe.

As you come closer, another shock: the Crystal Tower once stood on an island that hovered above surface! The entire land must have crashed down in the Malrokian Curse. You see several layers of protection around the tower that must have been destroyed in the event, too. It doesn't look at all like the tower you knew.

As if it were a pond, the super portal is horizontally placed in a hole on the ground, hundreds of feet below the floating island. Dozens of kemet are jumping into it — some from the island, or even windows of the tower! {3}

3 You land in an exquisite room, with some of the most wondrous artifacts you've ever seen — it is true when people say that the Tanarean past hides marvelous secrets, most of them buried in natural catastrophes. You decide to gear up and look for ways to brace for the impending disaster.

Each hero may choose any one Epic Item (total of 4 items gained). You may set up your Heroes as if a new Journey Phase were beginning.

4 The tower's defenses don't discriminate between authorized and unwanted people: they are evaluated on their own merit, based on the assumption that hot-headed trespassers cannot solve riddles.

• Shuffle all Fate Cards and draw one. Then, read the corresponding riddle below. If, on the Team's first attempt, any player correctly answers within 2 minutes, a Hero gains 3 [cube icon].

Riddles (Read the solution on {6}):

• I. I am so delicate that saying my name will break me. Who am I?
• II. I have two heads and a body; the more I stand, the more I run. Who am I?
• III. The longer I stand, the shorter I grow. While with life I glow, the wind is my foe. Who am I?
• IV. I have six faces and 21 eyes, yet I cannot see. Who am I?
• V. I am lighter than a feather, yet no man can hold me for long. Who am I?

5 Shuffle all Fate Cards and draw one. Then, read the corresponding riddle below. If, on the Team's first attempt, any player correctly answers within 2 minutes, HEAL 15 a Hero.

Riddles (Read the solution on {7}):

• I. I stand taller without the head. Who am I?
• II. The more you take, the more you leave behind. Who am I?
• III. You can catch me, but you cannot throw me. Who am I?
• IV. I belong to you, yet other people use me more than you do. Who am I?
• V. I am more useful when I am broken. Who am I?

6 (I - The Silence | II - An hourglass | III - A candle | IV - A die | V - The breath)

Resume the Quest (begin EVENT 1!)

7 (I - A pillow | II - Footsteps | III - A cold | IV - Your name | V - An egg)

Resume the Quest (begin EVENT 2!)

Quest 104 — Reginheraht (Epic 3)

Hide the Book of Destiny in the Crystal Tower during the Great Kemet Exodus so that Avelum can find and consult it hundreds of years later. Meanwhile, circumvent the tower's defenses and the breath of the Penumbral Dragon, who has followed you from Malland.

Primary Objective

• Kill all villains = Read {105.1}

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• No hero ever takes Penumbral Fire DMG = Put Banner "B3" in the Vault.

Special Rules

Energy Wave

Portals inside the tower are magically enhanced.

• Once per turn per hero: when the attack of a hero on a Portal Tile resolves, all villains in [1] of that hero take 10 DMG. Then, a villain [2] or more away (but still in [8]) from it takes 6 DMG.

Penumbral Fire (Penumbral Dragon)

The kemet have insulated the Crystal Tower from the penumbral plane, but the penumbral dragon has followed you and can still breathe a fire so powerful that it crosses planes and portals.

• The Penumbral Dragon cannot move through Walls (it will stay by the edge of the board).
• [R] MOVE the Penumbral Dragon so that it is horizontally aligned with as many combatants as possible (heroes and villains). Then:
  • All combatants sharing a horizontal line with the Dragon take 15 DMG.
  • If the Dragon is aligned with a Portal square:
    • Place a Lava Tile in one of the positions indicated in the Vault's map (max.: 4).
    • All combatants on the same horizontal lines of the other Portal Tile (including those on that Tile) take 15 DMG, also.

Unstable Moving Portals

The dragon's breath makes the portals seek the protection of a potential repairman. They are drawn to the strong energy emanated by those who are either healthy or close to their second wind.

• [R] (After applying Penumbral Fire's end of round effect): Remove the two Portal Tiles. Then, place them in squares occupied by no other tiles and occupied by the combatant with...
  • (Portal 1)…highest HP.
  • (Portal 2)…lowest HP.
    • If it is impossible to put the Portal under these combatants and avoid another tile, put as close to that combatant as possible.

Metamorphic Passives

The Boss's Special Passive changes according to its number of +70 HP Tokens:

+70 Tokens	Trigger	Effect
5x	A hero not in [1] hits this combatant	PULL 8 and deal 4 DMG to that hero
4x	This combatant's attack resolves	Other combatants HEAL 5 (if on odd coordinates) and take 5 DMG (even)
3x	Combatants are in [1] of this combatant at the end of Round	Penumbral Fire deals no DMG to them
2x	This combatant's attack hits	This combatant HEALS 15
1x	A villain [4] or more away from this combatant takes DMG	That DMG is R-DMG
0	This combatant is targeted by a skill, attack, or effect	This combatant takes -8 DMG (applies multiple times per turn)

Lever of Destiny — Magic Container (Lever)

You can use gadgets in the tower to absorb and store the dragon's breath. When unleashed, it empowers anything with a high concentration of the fire element.

• [hand icon] + Remove it: Put a Torch Token on Vault square K-3.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place Gloomfolks (108-O) and (109-B), Soulborns (110-O) and (111-B), and Guardian Golem Boss (B).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★): Envy (101-G).
• Place Heroes on Stairs. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

[R] If all villains are dead (exception: the Boss may be alive), read {104.4}.

EVENT 1

• Remove all Big Doors.
• Place Greeds (104-O) and (105-B), and Soulborns (110-O) and (111-G).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★★): Envy (101-G).

[R] If all villains are dead (exception: the Boss may be alive), read {104.5}.

EVENT 2

• Remove all Small Doors.
• Place Envy (100-O) and (101-G), Gloomfolk (108-O), and Soulborn (110-R).
  • (Penumbral Influence ★★★★): Pain (104-R).

As soon as all villains are dead, you win the Quest. SAVE THE STATE AND POSITION OF ALL TILES AND FIGURES ON THE VAULT BEFORE SETTING THE TABLE DOWN. Then, read {105.1}.

Guardian Golem (Guardian Golem figure) — Boss B

• Hit Points 420 | Defense 12 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8
• Range 2 squares | Targets 1 enemy

No Escape (Primary Attack)

• Damage: 15 DMG + effects | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effects: ❶ All other heroes on the grid take 3 DMG. ❷ INSTIGATE; the target cannot make a Special Attack on the instigated turn.
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• See Metamorphic Passives.

Favorite Target: +[ ] (Blue)

Quest 104 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 2 Envies (100, 101); 2 Greeds (104, 105); 2 Gloomfolks (108, 109); 2 Soulborns (110, 111); 1 Guardian Golem Figure.
• Barriers: 2 Barricades 3x1; 4 Barricades 2x1; 2 Big Doors; 4 Small Doors; 2 Walls 5x1; 9 Walls 4x1; 2 Walls 3x1; 2 Walls 2x1.
• Terrains: 2 Lava 3x1; 2 Lava 2x1; 2 Portals; 1 Stairs.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Vault's Map; 1 Banner; 2 Chests; 1 Lever; 1 Penumbral Dragon Figure; 1 Tool (Torch).

[Quest 104 map omitted: printed map of tiles and map labels for Initial Setup, Event 1 and Event 2.]

Chapter 105 — Penumbral Dragon

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective) — Quest 104 has ended.

You hear a distant explosion to the northeast, as if an entire mountain had exploded. The penumbral dragon shrieks and flies away.

After the dust settles, you recognize one of the enemies defeated: it's one of the purple witches you saw with the Arachne (in what now seems a whole other life ago...)

You feel a strong jolt in the tower. Wood cracks and metal screams all around, as if the tower itself was preparing to jump into the super portal below.

The soulborn kemet is exhausted and wincing in pain. She knows that she's past the point where she could be saved. You try to make her comfortable and ask what she knows about her business with Bellara. {2}

2 As it seems, Bellara didn't share her whole plan with the witches. "Need to know… basis," she says. The Arachne's business was accepting pacts with women: she granted them their deepest desires, and all they had to do in return was follow her strange orders. They became 'purple witches' at that time. "Most of her demands were strange, but simple. The sort of thing you wouldn't refuse to do — huge punishments for those who refused."

Also, you learn that the Arachne was an extremely ancient being. "Born right after the Great Rapture, when angels and demons were banished from Tanares to give place to the other species. She was not a creation of the gods, however — I once heard her say something of the sort."

The most important and immediate information comes right afterward: it concerns the (un)likelihood of your Team living peacefully in this time. "Each of us, witches, was supposed to cross a different portal, as quickly as possible. The penumbral dragon senses and hunts penumbral disruptions; as time-travelers, you're its favorite prey."

Also, she reveals that her "orders were to infiltrate among the soulborns who decided to linger behind in this continent, and stall the exodus of the other kemet as much as possible. I was supposed to cross the portal at the last possible second, and meet Bellara in the penumbral plane. I was supposed to survive…" The soulborn is too weak to speak after that. {3}

3 You make sure the Book is tightly secured and hidden well — but not enough that it is never found.

You hear a loud crack. Another jolt, and the island on which the tower stands begins to slowly fall. You rush back into the time portal before the falling accelerates, just in time to see the vandanamalika disappear under the feet of kemet who had already jumped into the deep hole. The island crashes down, taking several layers of protection around the tower with it. Miraculously, the tower remains standing. {4}

4 You're again in the penumbral platform. Reginheraht's time portal vanishes behind your back. Another one that was gone in your absence is Malland's. Four portals remain:

• One shows the Ubellian Fire Pits — it "turns off" just as you are studying its images.
• Another shows beautiful arches connecting mountaintops on Yama Province.
• There's the portal through which you came: Fisherman's Wharf.
• This one is the weirdest: you see buildings disappearing and then reappearing out of thin air; the situation is chaotic, to say the least.
• Finally, there's the portal of Arcana. It seems the most peaceful of all — it leads to Torygg's vault, which survived the catastrophe that originated what became known as the Wasteland.

You decided not to remain behind in the tower for two reasons: you probably wouldn't survive its fall, and you realized that the Penumbral Dragon would chase you wherever you went, so you need to face it head-on and put an end to this nightmare.

You head to Torygg's vault, where you reckon the fight can be a bit more under your control. {5}

5 You are surprised to see how different the vault is: some of it because you probably managed to change the past, and some due to the strange properties of the penumbral plane, where space and time don't seem to matter as much.

Place the Room Tiles that represent Torygg's Vault ON the main board, as they were at the end of the previous quest (consult your notes, if needed).

Then, jump to Section {9}

6 You prepare to the best of your abilities, searching for information in the vault and taking some time to realize how much you've learned and experienced in this journey.

Each hero can use an Epic Skill Card. Comrade Cards (if any) upgrade to Level 9. You may set up your Heroes as if a new Journey Phase were beginning.

Using Epic Skill Cards

The Penumbral Collection comes with one Skill Card for each Combat Role in the game.

Each card has two sides, each with a different, "Epic Level" skill.

When you set up your Hero, choose which side you want to leave face-up, and put the card next to your Skill Pad.

This skill may be available in Quests, if you assign a Level 3 Skill Token to it.

Remove the Corrupted Zone Tiles from the Vault's Room Tiles. {7}

7 You talk about what you've observed and learned from the penumbral dragon.

Read the Penumbral Dragon's Boss cards. Then, assign one Quest Item to each Hero.

The last moments are the most tense. All you can hear is your own heavy breathing. {8}

8 You hear the Dragon before you can see it. You can't help but remember the traumatizing memories recently lived near that beast, which is most definitely not a regular dragon. When you see it, you think of a million things that would make you better prepared — but there is time for none.

The dragon comes fast and furious — its patience ran out after your multiple encounters. It crashes into the vault and partially destroys it!

• Remove the two 3x1 Walls that occupy squares F-7 and K-7!

Epic Quest #105: "Penumbral Dragon" begins NOW!

9 In Torygg's vast collection, you search for books related to what the soulborn kemet had said. What fragment do you want to read?

• A) Religious Archaeology — Volume "S": Sindile and other Sacred Scriptures Sites. {10}
• B) Evolutionism in depth, Part 1.1: the creation of Disciples and Spirits. {11}
• C) Evolutionism in depth, Part 1.2: the Age of Angels and Demons. {12}
• D) Evolutionism in depth, Part 1.3: the Great Rapture. {13}
• E) The difference between Tanarean Magic Field and Penumbral Plane, and why penumbral monsters don't pour out of portals. {14}
• F) You are done reading — prepare for the fight. {6}

10 "Something not human lived in Tanares before the dawn of Man, Elf, and Dwarf. The most preserved vestiges that make this claim undeniable are remnants of arches found on top of the mountains of Yama, home of the Archangels (Angels from the Arches), according to the Sacred Scriptures." Return to {9}

11 "Evolutionists explain that the Gods Tamera and Bauron desired to create beings that could learn and evolve until such a point was reached that they'd become as divine as their creators. At first, they were proud, and sculpted their own creatures: Tamera made the entirely-orderly Disciples that lived in the Tamerian Plane, and Bauron created the entirely-chaotic Spirits that lived in the Bauronian Plane. The experiment failed." Return to {9}

12 "Weaker versions of the Disciples and Spirits were sent to this new world called Tanares — Tamera's creatures were called Angels, and Bauron's creatures, Demons. The hope was that, by dwelling on the same plane, they could watch each others' flaws and virtues, and thus, evolve. The experiment failed: they became each others' mortal enemies and built kingdoms as far apart from each other as they could." Return to {9}

13 "When it became clear that they would never evolve, the Gods accepted that perhaps they should build weaker creatures, together — that is, born with varying degrees of chaos and order in them: humans and all other species that currently dwell in Tanares. But before they could repopulate the world, they needed to vacate it from its former occupants: Angels were banished to the Tamerian Plane through a portal in Sindile, and Demons to the Bauronian Plane through Desdemona." Return to {9}

14 "The Tanarean Magic Field is a subtle and invisible layer of protection, a weave that pervades all that exists in this world. It filters all magic that originates in other realms and planes of existence. The Penumbral Plane, on the other hand, is a wider realm that must be physically crossed if one were to actually travel between planes. It also pervades Tanares (even underground), but we don't see it, thanks to the protection the Tanarean Magic Field provides. When this protection is fractured (such as in Malrokian Curse episodes), all sorts of nasty things that roam the penumbra may come into this world.

Portals are an incredible invention because they tap into the penumbral plane's ability to bend the laws of space and physics (thus taking a shortcut between two points) without damaging the Tanarean Magic Field." Return to {9}

Quest 105 — Penumbral Dragon (Epic 4)

The Penumbral Dragon won't stop chasing the disruptive time-travelers (that is, you) through the penumbra. You need to put an end to it, lest the damage becomes irreversible.

Primary Objective

• Kill the Penumbral Dragon (Boss) = Read {106.1}

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• On the turn each Body Part is maimed, it takes only Power of Will skill DMG = Put Banner "B4" in the Vault.

Special Rules

Penumbral Dragon (Boss)

You appear through small dense portals opened in the physical plane so that the dragon cannot block them, but this Boss can still move freely through the penumbra.

• The Penumbral Dragon can move through Obstacles and Barriers (but cannot end on one of their squares), and is immune to all Terrain effects.
  • It can never block a Portal square.

Power of Will

Some of your skills might gain Preserved Tokens (see Boss Cards). With the future (and past) of Tanares on the line, you put everything you have into the fight.

• A hero may remove a Preserved Token assigned to one of its skills to use that skill for free (i.e., spending no [cube icon] — other requirements still apply, including the maximum of one skill per turn).
  • Preserved Tokens gained by Comrades must be assigned to a skill of their closest non-Comrade hero anywhere, instead.

Torygg's Orb of Vault Defense (Red and Blue Orbs)

An additional defensive mechanism for the rare chance someone found this vault in the penumbra.

• [hand icon] + Remove the orb: MOVE 2 the Penumbral Dragon. Then, deal 15 DMG to one of its Parts (ignoring vision and range). If not Fatigued, that Part must Retaliate next turn, even if another Part is attacked this turn.

Avatar's Frenzy

• Put the Time Token on "7" (HP Track).
• [R] (After checking if Penumbral Influence applies): Reduce Time by 1. Then, apply the effect that corresponds to its new value:

Time	Effect
6	PULL 5 the two heroes farthest from the Boss. Then, PUSH 5 the other two Heroes.
5	MOVE all combatants on OR in [2] of each Altar to their closest free square and exactly [3] away from any Altar square. Then, place the Boss as close to the center of an Altar Tile (players' choice).
4 and 3	Apply the effect above, but on Portals instead of Altars, and place the Boss in [1] of its farthest Portal Tile (or as close to it as possible).
2 and 1	The Boss RUNS to its farthest hero and THROWS it.
0	You lose the quest.

Tools of the Past (Tool Tokens)

Some of your actions in past quests reverberate in the present.

• [hand icon] (only if the Token is on the grid): Put this Tool Token on the interacting hero's card. Each hero can carry only one at a time.
• [R] Heroes carrying a Tool gain 1 [cube icon] OR reassign one Skill Token (not a Preserved Token).
• On its turn, a hero with a Tool Token may discard it to apply its respective effect:

Tool	Effect
Hook (Secret Passage/Stash)	Transfer your figure to a Portal Tile; then, you HEAL 20.
Key (Remote Hoisting)	All "Toppled" Pillars return to "Standing" (in one of the squares they now occupy).
Torch (Dragon Breath Magic Container)	For each Lava square under the Boss, deal 5 DMG to all its Body Parts.

Penumbral Influence

Your material actions produce penumbral reactions.

Apply the following cumulative effects, according to your Penumbral Influence level:

Level	Effect
0	Nothing.
1	Two heroes choose one of their Special Attacks to begin the quest spent.
2	The other two heroes choose one of their Special Attacks to begin the quest spent.
3	[R] If three or more heroes are outside OR inside the Vault (Room Tiles), the hero with lowest HP takes… 10 DMG.
4	(same as Level 3) … 20 DMG (instead of 10).
5	(same as Level 3) … 30 DMG (instead of 20).

Note: the effects for Levels 3-5 can be avoided if, at the end of round, there are exactly two heroes inside the Vault. Consider squares of death as if they were heroes.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place the Penumbral Dragon, as in the map.
• Place Heroes on Stairs. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

As soon as all Body Parts are maimed, you win the quest and read {106.1}.

Quest 105 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 1 Penumbral Dragon.
• Barriers: 8 Walls 4x1; 2 Walls 3x1; 2 Walls 2x1.
• Terrains: 3 Portals; 2 Stairs; 1 Lava 4x2; 1 Lava 3x3; 3 Lava 2x2.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Vault's Map; 1 Banner; 2 Chests; 1 Orb; 2 Pillars; 4 Quest Items; 1 Rooms 8x6; 2 Rooms 6x6; 1 Time Token.

[Quest 105 map omitted: printed map of tiles for Initial Setup.]

Chapter 106 — Sindile

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective).

Quest 105 has ended. You take a time to heal and see what else Torygg's vault has to provide, but all that you could learn from it was already obtained in your first visit. You may set up your Heroes as if a new Journey Phase were beginning.

All of a sudden, you hear a loud, long shriek: it pervades the penumbra around you and seems to come from far away and from inside your head at the same time. It then says:

"You don't know what you have done. The seals are now broken. May the world dreamed by the gods end, as the age of hordes and ungods begins."

You see three flashes of an intense light: it's as if a blue star was born and then died on Sindile, to the southeast; then a red star on Desdemona, to the southwest, and then a purple star, much closer to you, on Moonbell — the flying island that orbits the shattered moon whose white light shines near you.

You hear a different, deeper voice coming from the third flash. Even though it's distorted as it crosses the penumbra, it is so frightening and powerful that your knees weaken and you almost faint just from hearing it: "My daughter has finally found a way to eliminate the Guardian of Space, but its seal is still strong; the opening is tight. Send the small one first, to loosen the breach."

You then hear a thundering shriek, followed by loud bangs and shatters, as if a giant were punching a thick window that is about to break.

With sudden inspiration brought forth by your survival instinct, you toss Torygg's books and scrolls on the ground, searching for anything "Moonbell." {2}

2 What fragment do you want to read?

• A) Tanares through the Ages: From the birth of Moonbell to the death of Arcana. {3}
• B) Moonbell's Lunar Perigee. {4}
• C) Doomsday Cultists and Evolutionists are one Versicle away: the Moonbell Theory. {5}
• D) The Laws of Physics are mere Theories in the Penumbra: Returning to Moonbell. {6}
• E) Sum it up and move on. {7}

3 "It is said that the Ancient Age ended when a meteor pierced through the moon and then crashed in the region of Coldvalley's Crater, extinguishing all complex forms of life. Fragments of the shattered moon began to orbit it. Collectively, they are called nimbus. The greatest of pieces, which covers an estimated area of several thousand square miles, has its own name: Moonbell." Return to {2}

4 "It is said that flying creatures, with some effort, would be able to reach it on 'Moonbell's Lunar Perigee,' when both the Moon and Moonbell are at the lower point of their orbits — in other words, they are both the closest they can get to the surface of Tanares." Return to {2}

5 This one seems to have been written by Torygg himself — it's a heavily scribbled and incomplete draft. This is what you can understand:

"The Scriptures say the gods abundantly intervened on day-to-day life at the time of Angels and Demons: why don't they do this now? Evolutionists claim that the Malrokian Curse is their way of doing it, but there's a small sect that interprets the texts differently (…) if the Magic Field didn't exist back then, the emotions of the much-more-powerful angels and demons could have birthed overpowered versions of (…) to rival the power of the gods themselves, since they were not creations of the gods (…) drastic solution of sealing everyone — god, not god (or ungod?), creature (…)." Return to {2}

6 This one seems to have been written by Torygg himself — it's a heavily scribbled and incomplete draft. This is what you can understand:

"If the ancients discovered a way to manipulate the Penumbral Plane to bend the laws of traveling through Space, why can't we do the same, but with Time? (…) It is said that Time didn't exist before The Great Rapture: the gods, being eternal, had no use for it, and the Moon stood still in the sky. (…) I studied this all my life, but there's some energy in the Moon that blocks it. It's obviously impossible to go to the Moon — the closest I could get to it was through a moonstone (…) I enchanted the stone in such a way that, in theory, I could travel to any point since the dawn of time; problem is, I still need to figure out how to make a portal such as the one that once existed in Reginheraht (much more powerful than a common portal), and it would need to be located in a specific spot, where there is almost no protection from the Tanarean Magic Field (…)"

The scroll comes with schematics about how to use the moonstone. Return to {2}

7 Moonbell, humans, and even the Arachne seem to have been born at the dawn of time, when Angels and Demons were extinguished (or banned) from Tanarean existence. By coincidence, a Malrokian Curse happened thousands of years later near Sindile, presumed site of the Angels' Rapture — where, earlier, you saw that flash of light.

You search Torygg's Vault and find his moonstone. His journal says that it's possible to travel to the dawn of Time with the moonstone and a super portal located in a place where the Tanarean Magic Field is damaged.

You decide to go back thousands of years and get to the bottom of everything; besides, the farther back you go, the greater the chance something significant will change in the future. {8}

[Moonstone image omitted.]

8 You return to the penumbral platform with time portals and, in possession of the moonstone, cross the portal to Sindile. Following Torygg's instructions, you successfully go back in time, farther and farther behind.

The shattered moon is suddenly whole again. There's a huge black stain with purple veins in its surface, as if it suffered from a nasty infection.

You're in the middle of a chaotic doomsday scenario: the sky abruptly changes colors and puts everything under a different shade: it was green; now it is an intense orange, almost red. The sky is fractured, as if it had permanent lightnings. Now and then, you see an armored archangel flying.

Torygg's instructions were clear: you had to stop the process before you went back too far, but you're too distracted by the scene. All of a sudden, the moonstone in your hand breaks and becomes dust. You went too far: the portal spits you and splits itself!

• From now on, pay extraordinary attention to the difference between Portal TILES and Portal FIGURES. Go to {9}

9 You hear a shout: "Trespassers! Not demons! What is our instruction?" You expected to see an Angel, but you see a Cirrus instead.

"All sentient creatures must be expunged or exterminated," another Cirrus replies. "Call the Mother!"

There's a chance you can reassemble the super portal and return home. Meanwhile, though, you must survive the assault they've launched at you.

Epic Quest #106: "Sindile" begins NOW!

10 A Cirrus flies up high and removes its mask. Its voice is surprisingly loud: "Angels and Demons that want to survive: this is your last call! Return to the home of your Creator! The portals in Sindile and Desdemona are about to seal!"

You hear a loud roar coming from Coldvalley's Crater in the North. A gigantic land mass leaves the soil and is hurled at impressive speed against the black stain on the Moon!

"This land shall be inhabited by lower creatures; may their path be guided by relics that represent the body, mind, and spirit of all existence! The Mind shall remain with the gods of Chaos and Order, sealed in their respective planes and manifested in the oncoming new creatures, who'll have varying degrees of chaos and order in themselves!

"The Spirit consists of Consciousness and Emotion — may their Guardians be bodiless agents of change, whose identities shall never be known or seen on this land!

"The Body consists of Space and Time — may their Guardians have a Body, and guarantee its integrity! May the Guardian of Time be forever young, and hibernate near the entrance of the Plane of Exile! May the Guardian of Space be forever observant, keeper of the Seals and the Tanarean Magic Field!"

A Cirrus that is much closer to you yells: "Demon incoming! Destroy that big portal before others escape!"

Read the "Super Portal — Save Log" instructions below; then, resume the Quest (EVENT 1 begins!)

These four Room Tiles are the "Super Portal." THEY WILL REMAIN ON THE BOARD UNTIL THE CAMPAIGN ENDS. Just like Torygg's Vault, you must track its changes during Quests. If you have Extra Challenge Banners that haven't been discarded, you may transfer them from the Vault to this map. (Banners are Obstacles.)

[Super Portal map omitted: printed Room Tile layout (rows C–N, columns 7–18) with Portal, Lava and Save Log markers.]

Quest 106 — Sindile (Epic 5)

Assemble a "super" portal during the Rapture of the Archangels.

Primary Objective

• End EVENT 1 = Read {107.1}

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• Remove all Terrain Tiles.

Special Rules

Mountain Peaks (Room Tiles, Lava Tiles and Ruins Tiles)

The city of archangels consists of moving platforms carved on mountain peaks, and fragile arcs that connect them.

• All squares outside Room and Terrain Tiles are Abyss: they block movement but not vision.

Assembling the Gateway (Room Tiles)

Get rid of the burning or ruined arcs to bring the Rooms close together. Meanwhile, put together the fragments of the Super Portal.

• If two squares of a Portal (Figure or Tile) become orthogonally adjacent to two squares of a Lava or Ruins Tile, remove that Lava/Ruins Tile from the grid.
  • All combatants (except Boss) on the removed Tile take 10 DMG and are transferred to their closest free square on a Room or Terrain Tile.
  • If a Lava Tile 2x2 was removed and there was a villain in it, a hero gains 2 [cube icon], then place this Lava Tile at the center of the nearest Room Tile without Lava.

If a hero is on a Room Tile and spends [cube icon] to pay a skill cost (i.e., not Mana Power), that hero may choose one of the following effects (if you spend multiple [cube icon], you do not need to alternate between effects; one (or both) may be applied multiple times and in any order):

• A) MOVE 1 this hero's Room Tile, to squares occupied by no other tile.
  • Combatants and Tiles on this Room change their coordinates (but don't change the Room square they occupy).
• B) SLIDE the Portal Tile in this hero's Room, in a horizontal straight line and through combatants. It stops only when it meets the edge of its Room. Then, slide the Portal Figure in the opposite direction.
  • If a Portal ends underneath a combatant, MOVE this combatant to its closest valid square off the Portal.

Exceptional Rule: Comrades — If a hero uses a Comrade's [cube icon] to pay a Skill cost, this Feature will affect the Comrade (as if it was the Comrade using the skill — consider the Room where the Comrade is).

Divine Surge

At this time and age, Tamera and Bauron can still intervene in favor of their creatures — if only they can briefly stop fighting to pray.

• If, even after Dark Surge, a villain can't declare a valid target on its turn, a hero anywhere takes 20 DMG.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place Anger (100-R) and (101-B), Fear (102-O) and (103-B), and Mother Cirrus Boss (B1).
• [shield icon] GUARD 3: Pain (104-R) and Cirrus (107-G).
• [shield icon] GUARD 3: Pain (105-G) and Cirrus (106-O).
• Place each Hero on a different Portal Tile. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

This Event ends when all Portal Tiles (not Portal Figures) are in [1] of each other, forming a 4x4 Portal. As soon as the turn when this happens ends, read {106.10} (to continue the Quest).

Mother Cirrus (Female Cirrus Figure, with wings) — Boss B1

• Hit Points 420 | Defense 10 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8
• All DMG against this combatant is R-DMG. It cannot die.
• This combatant flies and ignores Mountain Peaks Feature.
• When this combatant loses a +70 Token, all heroes gain 2 [cube icon] instead of 1.

Holy Cleansing (Primary Attack) — Range 8 squares | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 15 DMG + effect | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effect: [1] FLEE 3 (if this combatant did not move this turn).
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: There is no other Cirrus on the grid (active or Guard) when this combatant's attack hits.
• Effect: Place a Green or Orange Cirrus in [1] of the target (players' choice, if both are available).

Favorite Target: +[ ] (Green)

EVENT 1

• Assembling the Gateway ends.
• Remove all combatants from the grid, including Mother Cirrus.
• Place Fear (102-O), Pain (105-G), Cirrus (106-R) and (107-G), and the Demon Boss (B2).
  • (Penumbral Influence): Anger (★★ 100-R), Anger (★★★ 101-B), and Fear (★★★★ 103-B).
• As soon as the Demon dies, EVENT 1 ends and you win the quest. When this happens, remove any chests on the grid, then SAVE THE STATE AND POSITION OF ALL TILES AND FIGURES ON THE FOUR ROOM TILES (except chests and combatants) BEFORE SETTING THE TABLE DOWN (or leave them on the board).
  • Then, read {107.1}

Demon of the Ancient Age (Imperial Demon Figure) — Boss B2

• Hit Points 280 | Defense 11 | Movement 7 | Reaction 8
• This combatant ignores Mountain Peaks Feature.
• This combatant can never occupy a Portal square.

Rewind (Primary Attack) — Range 2 squares | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 14 DMG + effect | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effect: [1] DOUBLE ATTACK (If this is this combatant's first attack of the turn, it makes another attack after this one resolves — It regains its Move Action and checks its Favorite Target again).
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: This hits an attack for the first time this turn.
• Effect: All heroes in the same row (numerical coordinate) as this combatant take 10 DMG.

Favorite Target: +[ ] (Blue)

Quest 106 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 2 Angers (100, 101); 2 Fears (102, 103); 2 Pains (104, 105); 2 Cirrus (106, 107); 1 Female Cirrus Figure with Wings; 1 Imperial Demon Figure.
• Barriers: 2 Walls 5x1; 2 Walls 2x1.
• Terrains: 4 Portals; 4 Portal Figures; 2 Lava 4x2; 2 Lava 3x3; 2 Lava 3x1; 4 Lava 2x2; 2 Lava 2x1; 2 Ruins 4x2; 4 Ruins 2x2.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Banner; 3 Chests; 4 Rooms 6x6.

[Quest 106 map omitted: printed map of tiles and map labels for Initial Setup and Event 1.]

Chapter 107 — Cursed Wharf

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective). If you've accomplished the Extra Challenge, put Banner "E5" in the Super Portal (any hero may discard a Banner at any time to re-roll a die). — Quest 106 has ended.

Countless fragments of the Moon are still slowly blasting away from its core; the future will name this mass of floating rocks "nimbus." The Moon will begin to move, and time will be counted according to its position in the sky. You can already discern the biggest of its pieces, a floating island called "Moonbell."

You see three big, almost blinding flashes — similar to the ones you saw from the floating penumbral platform. The one from Sindile lights up really close to you — even though it is on the other side of the mountain, you shrink before its overwhelming magnitude. {2}

2 You take some time to scour the halls of the angels. They are impressive: you feel like you're in the future, not the Ancient Age.

Each hero may choose any one Epic Item (total of 4 items gained). You may set up your Heroes as if a new Journey Phase were beginning.

All is very quiet and still; you take a minute to behold the beautiful, but empty world below, and how epic this journey has been, through the most important moments in the History of Tanares.

That's when you hear it. A whisper, but loud enough for the entire world to hear — if only there were other people here to hear it.

It begins in a foul dialect that you can't recognize: you feel a cold chill, and your first instinct is to run back to the portal and flee from it. It's like an ancient dark spell; a ritual of sorts. Then, you see an explosion in the Moon, and a black dot begins to fall: it will land somewhere in the West.

You are sure the whisper is still speaking in a language you've never learned, but, somehow, now, you understand what it says:

"My daughter. In your egg, I've put a spark of my intelligence; a glimpse of my powers. Hide in the most obscure depths of Penumbral UnderTanares, where not even the gods would dare look. Spread your webs in silence, discreetly influence events in the New World. Discover how to break the Seal to the newly-created Plane of Exile. My siblings and I are waiting."

The egg disappears beyond the horizon line, far from your sight. {3}

3 The mountain — no, the entire world — begins to shake, violently. You see a nearby hall crumble. The first thing you see before stepping into the super portal is a thunder of dragons, coming out of nowhere and spreading through the land: hundreds, perhaps thousands of dragons, of all sizes and colors.

You return to the familiar room and your heart drops: there are no more time portals — they have all "turned off." Below, you see the flight of dragons, and a world in change. To make matters worse, you're stuck at a time when no portals have been built, yet: you can only teleport back to Sindile, where your chances of surviving what is happening are close to null.

Suddenly, another portal opens up. It connects with Fisherman's Wharf: the city is barely recognizable, but the worst of the Malrokian Curse seems to be over. There's a pile of rubble where the Arena of Future once stood. With no better choice, you return "home." {4}

4 The biggest Arena in History would never host an official fight. Still, you doubt any other stadium has ever seen such a chaotic battlefield: the corpse of a Giant—the Kemet Titan—lies close by, and farther ahead, a huge black mass: the Arachne!

Multiple cloaked shadows approach; some of them whisper and point to the rubble pile where the Emperor's corpse rests. You hide before they can see you, just as they gently carry the Arachne's body away.

One voice, ahead of the pack, fanatically exclaims: "Rejoice, my fellow cultists! The return of the Ungods was always unavoidable; a matter of time. The Shadow Wing is playing its part, and the rewards we'll reap are beyond our imagination! Many will fall, to our left and right, before the might and anger of the new rulers of the world — but not us! We'll stand tall and proud as their humble servants, recipients of their gratitude, for we are the ones who will help release them from the Exile to which they've been confined since the dawn of Time! Their return is imminent: All hail the Ungods!"

"HAIL THE UNGODS!" All the others respond, in unison. {5}

5 While some cultists escort Arachne's corpse away from the battlefield, others bring three grand-looking Cirrus to the tallest pile of debris around; Saezz Skyborn is at the middle; he solemnly removes his mask.

His voice resounds incredibly loud; you wonder whether the entire world is hearing this, much like when the Malrokian Curse decree, according to legend, echoed throughout the world (you must've missed that by yourself — it actually happened thousands of years ago for this world):

"For thousands of years, generations of Cirrus have watched over you, Gods' creatures, in your stagnant, fruitless path toward a never-coming Evolution. My fathers and their ancestors all struggled to balance the duty to merely guide with the will to directly intervene. To them, I say enough!

We are taking matters into our own hands, now. Human, Dwarf, Elf, Taii'maku, Kemet, Gloomfolk, Halfling: you've all failed! The time has come for you to return and claim their sacred land. Space and Time are no longer guarded, no longer imprisoned: they can run free again.

Those who wish to fight: you will give up as soon as you see what is coming. Those who wish to flee: you will be found. Those who wish to serve: if you're useful, your lives may be spared."

Saezz Skyborn puts his mask back on and jumps into the portal without another word. The other two Cirrus remain behind. {6}

6 "Sir! The ritual is finished!" One of the cultists shouts. "We're bringing the protector in!"

Ten strong men struggle with long metal rods, all of them attached to the neck of the biggest zombie you've ever seen.

"Good," their leader replies. "It is imperative that no one disturbs the integrity of this portal, it is already too fragile. Now, let us all head to Moonbell and welcome our masters! You (he points to the Cirrus) — we are grateful for your additional protection. We shall return soon."

The cultists of the Shadow Wing all jump into the super portal.

Place the Room Tiles that represent the Super Portal ON the main board, as they were at the end of the previous quest (consult your notes, if needed). In addition, assemble the rest of the map. Then, go to {7}

7 You're not quite sure whether all that you've done and accomplished in past historic moments of Tanares had any effect: other than the placated catastrophe and destroyed Arena, it all seems to be exactly as you've left it.

You realize that you know nothing about time traveling. Even Torygg — perhaps the person who theorized about it in greatest depth — seems to have only scratched the surface of this complicated subject.

Maybe traveling to the past splits timelines, so there are multiple concurrent ones, each in a different point in history, and there's nothing you can do to change the fate of this one, for its past is unchangeable?

This seems the most intuitive explanation for you, because of a simple paradox: if changing the past changes everything that comes after it, the present in which you jump into the portal would never exist. In other words, if you traveled to the past and killed Bellara, you would have never met her, or jumped into her time portal. Right?

At the same time, though, that seems wrong. Why would Bellara kill herself, or tell her witches to jump into the portal? Maybe the Ungods affect all timelines at the same time, and could be released in either one of them?

But one thing gives you some solace: the Ungods aren't here yet, are they? The way things are going, you, and everyone you love, will soon die. So you decide to go down with a bang. You will destroy this portal once and for all. Epic Quest #107: "Cursed Wharf" begins NOW!

8 The cultists were seemingly prepared: the ritual fights back.

• Ebitan HEALS 30 (ignoring max HP; this may grant him a +70 Token; you do not gain [cube icon] if such a Token is lost).
• Place Skeleton Lord Boss on the Red Mission Tile (you need to kill it to complete the Extra Challenge, but not to win the Quest).

[R] If the XP Token is at "0" and Ebitan's HP Token is at "1," Ebitan dies and you win the Quest. SAVE THE STATE AND POSITION OF ALL TILES AND FIGURES ON THE FOUR ROOM TILES (except chests and combatants) BEFORE SETTING THE TABLE DOWN (or leave the Super Portal on the board). Then, read {108.1}

[Saezz Skyborn, Skeleton Lord and Ebitan miniature images omitted.]

Quest 107 — Cursed Wharf (Epic 6)

You want to close the vandanamalika to prevent Bellara's plan to come to fruition, but first you must get rid of the powerful protector raised by the Cult of the Shadow Wing: Ebitan, the undying zombie.

Primary Objective

• Kill Ebitan = Read {108.1}

If you lose: Retry (suggestion: reduce Penumbral Influence by 1).

Extra Challenge

• No hero steps on a Portal Tile, AND kill the Skeleton Lord = Put Banner "E6" in the Super Portal.

Special Rules

Eternal Ebitan, Ephemeral Scenery

Strange Stones (Quest Items) are responsible for chaotic spells that change the scene when Ebitan weakens. You may use them yourself to materialize penumbral vibrations from the past.

• Put a Quest Item on square K-5 (you may interact with it; check its power on the table ahead).
• Put the XP Token on "60" (HP Track).

[R] ONE (THIS END-OF-ROUND EFFECT APPLIES BEFORE ALL OTHERS):

If Ebitan's HP is "1", apply the following, in order:

1. All heroes gain 1 [cube icon].
2. Move Ebitan's HP Token to the same slot of the XP Token.
3. Reduce XP by 10.
4. If there's a Quest Item on the grid, remove it.
5. Remove all villains still on the grid (except Ebitan). For each one removed this way, each hero takes 15 DMG. Then…

If the XP dropped to:	6 - Put a Quest Item on…	7 - PLACE, on Mission Tiles of their color:
"50"	square D-20	Greed (104-O) and (105-B)
"40"	square D-5	Fear (103-G) and Tai'maku (112-R) and (113-B). • (Penumbral Influence): Fear (★★★★★ 103-B)
"30"	square K-20	Anger (100-R) and (101-B)
"20"	square J-10	Cirrus (107-B) and Tai'Maku (113-G) • (Penumbral Influence): Greed (★★ 105-B)
"10"	square O-15	READ {107.8}

Vandanamalika (Portal Tiles)

The super gateway pulses strongly, to pull and to expel. Its powers become stronger the more you injure Ebitan.

• Whenever a hero steps on a Portal TILE (NOT Figure), it is expelled. Apply:

(XP value)	Effects
50+	1. Transfer that hero to any valid Mission Tile square. It takes 10 DMG. 2. Ebitan HEALS 10 (ignoring Max HP; this may grant him a +70 Token; you do not gain [cube icon] if such a Token is lost).
40-	Apply the effects above, but, instead, deal 15 DMG and HEAL 15.

[R] TWO: The Portal pulls you. Apply:

(XP value)	Effect
30+	PULL 3 all Heroes, to their closest Portal Tile square.
20-	PULL 4 all Heroes, to their closest Portal Tile square.

Strange Stones (Quest Items)

• When the quest begins, there's a Quest Item on square K-5.

If XP is at…	[hand icon] + Remove the Quest Item to:
"60"	Put a Planar Rift on squares C13-D14. This hero may charge 2 Skill Tokens.
"50"	Put a Pillar on square E-9, and deal 5 DMG to this hero's closest combatant anywhere.
"40"	Put a Planar Rift on squares M11-N12. Any hero may charge and/or uncharge 2 Skill Tokens.
"30"	Put a Hook Token on square I-7. MOVE 5 any combatant on the grid.
"20"	Put a Pillar on square L-16. Deal 5 DMG to this hero's closest combatant anywhere.
"10"	Put a Tome Token on square C-16. Any hero gains 1 [cube icon].

INITIAL PLACEMENT

• Place Greed (105-B), Cirrus (106-O) and (107-B), and Ebitan Boss (B).
  • (Penumbral Influence): Anger (★★★ 100-R).
• Place each Hero on a different Portal Figure. Each may reassign two Skill Tokens. Then, take the first turn!

Ebitan (Ebitan Figure) — Boss B

• Hit Points 70 | Defense 7 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8
• All DMG this combatant takes is R-DMG; it cannot die.
• You do not gain [cube icon] when this combatant loses a +70 Token.

Com'eeeeere (Primary Attack) — Range 2 squares | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 13 DMG + effect | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effect: [1] MOVE 1 the target toward this combatant.
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: the target is not Fatigued when this combatant hits its attack.
• Effect: INSTIGATE the target; it is Slowed and cannot take its Move Action on the instigated turn.

Favorite Target: +[ ] (Blue)

Skeleton Lord (Skeleton Lord Figure)

• Hit Points 100 | Defense 7 | Movement 5 | Reaction 8

Death Spread (Primary Attack) — Range 1 square | Targets 1 enemy

• Damage: 15 DMG + effect | Miss: 12 R-DMG
• Benefit: +3 to attack roll and Blessed.
• Effect: [1] All heroes in [1] of a combatant take 5 DMG.
• Unprovoked / Crit: +5 DMG.

Special Passive

• Trigger: this combatant's farthest hero is [5] or more away when this combatant hits its attack.
• Effect: PULL 8 that farthest hero.

Favorite Target: +HP (Red)

Quest 107 — components (Villain Kits; Barriers; Terrains; Miscellaneum)

• Villain Kits: 2 Angers (100, 101); 2 Fears (102, 103); 2 Greeds (104, 105); 2 Cirrus (106, 107); 2 Taii'makus (112, 113); 1 Ebitan Figure; 1 Skeleton Lord Figure.
• Barriers: 4 Barricades 2x1; 8 Walls 4x1.
• Terrains: 2 Lava 4x2; 2 Lava 3x1; 2 Lava 2x1; 4 Mission Tiles; 4 Portal Figures; 4 Portal Tiles; 2 Planar Rifts.
• Miscellaneum: 1 Super Portal's Map; 1 Banner; 2 Chests; 2 Pillars; 1 Quest Item; 2 Tools (Hook, Tome); 4 Rooms 6x6; 1 XP Token.

[Quest 107 map omitted: printed map of tiles for Initial Setup.]

[Chapter 108 — Dread, the Ungod, and Quest 108 (book pages 30–33) are omitted here: they belong to the separate Scenario Pack entry for Dread, the First Ungod.]

Chapter 109 — The End

1 (Read this only if you've accomplished the Primary Objective).

When the Ungod's massive body falls, you hear the manic yell of otherworldly beings on the other side of the Gateway to Exile, who begin to strike against the portal. If you weren't already stretched on the ground, too weak to react, you'd flinch and cower under their uttered profanities.

It is morning, but the star-spangled sky is pitch-black. You realize that you can't breathe. Your last residue of strength is spent crawling back to your salvation: the super portal. {2}

2 Orthus welcomes you back in Fisherman's Wharf. His own wounds are better tended, now.

"Congratulations!" He exclaims. "You've bought the world a difficult, but much-appreciated time. Tanares begins an Age of Darkness. Angels and Demons shall begin to pour into this world. But it's an Age of Hope, also. May Human and Dwarf and Elf, and even Kemet, unite, reconcile their differences. Otherwise, we won't stand a chance."

Fulfilling his promise, Orthus grabs a scroll in his pocket: it contains schematics related to the timeline and what happened in the past. Orthus goes through it with you, explaining point by point. Consult Orthus's scroll in the next page while reading the following.

• (A) Normal Timeline. The unaltered, immaculate, original thread of Time is a continually-growing straight line in which the past precedes the future. It is a logical conclusion that the past determines the present, and what you do in the present determines the future. Traveling to a point of the timeline that hasn't yet been formed (i.e., the Future) is impossible.
• (B) Golgöggoth dwells outside the timeline. The Guardian of Space couldn't be restricted by the confines of Time; the Augur's powers of foresight considerably increased when the timeline bent backward, but that didn't make him omniscient.
• (C) Bellara creates the first time portal. Bellara figured out, a bit too late, that she had to break the Seals during Moon-Skybell Lunar Perigee. She sends her purple witches back to the past, intending to make sure that, next time around, her plan would be mature enough to succeed, and that the Augur would die at the same time as Isendden, during this perigee.
• (D) You return to the past, too. The purple witches die and can't tell past-Bellara about their future plans. You leave them a note and the Book of Destiny (a divine relic). Avelum learns there has been a time travel. Everything in this "new timeline" is happening at the split-second when the time portal in the original timeline was crossed.
• (E) In the new timeline, Avelum kills Bellara, but fails to prevent the kemet from winning the war. Golgöggoth's plan of eliminating free will from the world comes to fruition; Avelum survives and, decades later, awakens Isendden during another Lunar Perigee. Avelum changes his name to Orthus. They decide to kill Golgöggoth.
• (F) What happens to the thread of time when you travel to the past: The Time Loop. Isendden explains to Orthus that the timeline can never break or split. Therefore, it is impossible to go back in time and kill your grandfather — who would be killing him, if you were never born? If you travel to the past to change something, only two options are possible:
  • A Simple Time Loop — you don't actually change anything. ; or

You point out that it's difficult to understand how the exact same conditions of the first time travel could be created when Orthus wasn't around the first time Bellara opened the super portal. But Orthus laughs, and replies that he was. He always was. And there is no such thing as 'first' time travel.

"Since Bellara didn't meet any time-travelers, she believed she was in the immaculate timeline, not in a loop. And I certainly didn't cut any corners, to make sure she was none the wiser. If she knew she was in a loop, it is possible she would have made things differently — to the point where multiple 'sub-loops' could be created and we'd be eternally trapped, waiting for the conditions of the original time travel to be recreated."

"Our minds crave for lists. For a step-by-step, where one thing comes after the other. For cause-and-consequence. But this entire thousand-year loop happened at the same split second! Although I look older, I wasn't born 'before' you; I saw a world decades after the Kemet War: that is in your future, and, at the same time, in my past. Yet, we are both here, side by side, in the present!"

"In better words, up until now, there was no past and future: only different points of a Time Twist, with no beginning and no end."

(K) What Comes Next?

• The events of Arena: the Contest and Tanares Adventures all happened in a split-second.
• That second has passed. You are out of the Time Loop.
• The Guardians of Space and Time are no more.
• The Seals of the Forbidden Planes are broken.
• There can be no more time travels:
• There is one life. One timeline. One chance.
• The Kemet War and the Imperial Age are no more.
• The Fate of the World is back in the hands of its people, and Heroes.
• You have bought the world some time, but its doom is imminent.
• Note: For an alternate beginning, mark whether you've accomplished Quest 108's Extra Challenge.

[The time-loop diagram (points A–K, with star markers for "Teams that faced Golgöggoth") is a printed graphic and is omitted. The book's closing product teaser and website text are also omitted.]