Aventuria: Curse of the Desert
Aventuria: Curse of the Desert Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part One: Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter
- Game Materials
- Preparing the Adventure
- Tests
- Exploration
- Hero's Turn
- End of the Exploration
- Additional Rules
- Rules Questions and Answers
- Nedime's Rescue
- Part Two: Curse of Borbarad
- Narrative Sections
- Rules Questions and Answers (Curse of Borbarad)
- Multiplayer Version
Introduction
All rules and game materials required for this campaign are present in this box. We recommend you read all Solo Game rules in this book, even if you already know the rules of the Aventuria Multiplayer Game, as there are some significant differences.
We designed the adventures for a single hero, but you can also play them with a group of 2 to 6 heroes. See the Multiplayer section on page 32.
Rule Number One
If the text on a card contradicts the rules, the card text always takes precedence. The game effect on the card overrides only the rule that applies to that particular situation.
If a rule or game effect permits or requires something while another rule or effect prohibits it, the prohibition takes precedence.
Part One: Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter
Sultan Hasrabal ben Yakuban—also known as the Wind King, the Mage Sultan, and the Master of the Six Elements—is the absolute ruler of the Sultanate of Gorien. His enchanted palace is filled with jinn, mythical beings, and other strange creatures from the tales of the Tulamydian Nights. Only a foolish child of carelessness would dare break into the palace uninvited and risk an encounter with the Sultan or one of his dangerous servants!
This is where you come in—because Caliph Abu Dhelrumun hired you to do just that! Sultan Hasrabal kidnapped his daughter, Nedime, and she is now imprisoned in his palace. Your task is to explore the palace, find Nedime, and free her. Many other brave heroes have already tried, and none of them was ever seen again! But they were foolish and careless, while Phex, the God of Thieves, blessed you with wisdom and skill! Surely, you can succeed in your mission!
Word on the street has it that a manticore stands sentinel over the caliph's daughter, which worries you because of a terrible curse on your family that has lasted for generations. Any offspring that encounters a manticore's venom instantly transforms into a manticore themselves, condemned to serve Sultan Hasrabal for all eternity.
Thus, before you can face the manticore and free Nedime, you must first lift the Curse of the Manticore by drinking a potion brewed from Seven Sacred Herbs. According to legend, you can find all the necessary herbs in the Sultan's palace, though you will have to get past the magical beings and deadly traps that guard them.
Only after you collect all seven herbs can you brew the potion and overcome the curse; and only then can you dare to face the manticore that guards Nedime without fear of eternal damnation.
You meet a local in the Oily Olive tavern who hands you a map of the Sultan's palace. The map is inaccurate, as the palace is in constant flux, but it should at least allow you to reach the Courtyard. From there, you are on your own. The local advises you to enter the palace at night and familiarize yourself with the localities and their inhabitants as you search for the Caliph's daughter. Only then can you find out where Nedime is being held and what measures the Sultan has taken to stop anyone from freeing her.
The time is now! You pay the innkeeper, grab your gear, and sneak into the palace. You can feel the magic of Mage Sultan Hasrabal everywhere in his palace. It's a ghostly whisper in the distance, a breath of hyacinths, an electrifying tingle on your skin. Upon entering the palace, you leave behind everyday Aventuria and find yourself in the fairytale world of the Tulamydian Nights, full of terrible wonders and dangers. Space and time spin in circles, and nothing is what it seems at first glance. It will take the right mix of courage and determination to explore the palace, become a part of its stories, and eventually emerge as a worthy hero who frees the imprisoned daughter of the Caliph.
Game Materials
Hero Cards
The cards of the Tulamydian Blessed One of Phex comprise 6 Hero Cards, 6 Skill Cards, 30 Action Cards, and 18 Proficiency Stash Action Cards.
Large Cards
This box comes with 90 cards in the large Tarot format.
The Story Cards, Palace Cards, and Manticore Cards are for use with the "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter" adventure, and the Learning Cards are for use with the "Curse of Borbarad" adventure.
Palace/Tower Plan
On this fold-out plan, you can arrange the cards used in the solo adventures. One side is used with the "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter" adventure and the other one with the "Curse of Borbarad" adventure.
Dice
The box contains one 6-sided die (abbreviated as "D6" in the rules) and one 20-sided die (abbreviated as "D20" in the rules).
Life Point Wheel
Assemble the wheel with the plastic rivets, as shown in the diagram on page 4 of the booklet.
Game Tokens
- Hero Token: This token represents your hero.
- Fate Points: During the game, there are 2 Fate Points for each participating hero. They are represented by the eye symbol.
- Ability Token: This token indicates whether or not your hero has used their Special Ability.
- Life Point Tokens: These tokens are used during combat to indicate how many Life Points the enemies have lost.
- Adventure Tokens: These tokens are used for game effects on Adventure Cards.
- Time Counters: This token is used with the Time Scale.
- Doom Counters: These tokens are used with opponent cards.
- Heart Tokens: Used in the "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter" adventure.
Game Materials List
90 large cards
- 43 Palace Cards & Story Cards (No. 1-43)
- 17 Manticore Cards (No. 44-60)
- 30 Learning Cards (No. 61-90)
216 regular cards
- 1 Hero Special Rule Card (No. 91)
- 3 Hero Cards & 3 Skill Cards (No. 92-97)
- 30 Action Cards (No. 98-127)
- 18 Proficiency Stash Action Cards (No. 128-145)
- 26 Adventure Cards (No. 146-171)
- 40 Additional Cards (No. 172-211): 16 Fate Cards, 8 Hasrabal Cards, 9 Veil Dance Cards, 3 Task Cards, 4 Insight Cards
- 30 Tower Cards (No. 212-241)
- 2 Disadvantage Cards (No. 242-243)
- 63 Henchman Cards (No. 244-306)
63 tokens
- 1 Hero Token
- 1 Ability Token
- 2 Fate Point Tokens
- Life Point Tokens (2 x 20s / 4 x 5s / 20 x 1s)
- Adventure Tokens (4 x 5s / 10 x 1s)
- 1 Time Counter
- 8 Doom Counters
- 10 Heart Tokens
Additional game materials
- 1 Rules & Adventure Booklet
- 1 Palace / Tower Plan
- 1 Life Point Wheel
- 2 Dice
Hero Card
- A. Close Combat Value: The hero makes a test on this value to attack in close combat.
- B. Ranged Combat Value: The hero makes a test on this value to attack in ranged combat.
- C. Magic Value: The hero makes a test on this value to attack with their liturgical chants.
- D. Basic Equipment: Each hero begins the combat with this attack.
- E. Special Ability: Each hero has a special ability that may be used once per combat.
- F. Dodge Value: The hero makes a test on this value to dodge enemy attacks.
- G. Level: The Hero Card's level (I, II, or III).
- H. Hero Symbol: The symbol indicates which hero the card belongs to. This lets you assign Action Cards to the correct Hero Card.
- I. Hero's Name: The full name of the hero.
- J. Profession: The profession of the hero.
- K. Set & Serial Number: The symbol of the edition to which the card belongs and the card's individual serial number.
Skill Card
- A. Hero's Name: The full name of the hero.
- B. Skills: A list of the hero's 8 skills and their respective skill values.
- C. Level: The Skill Card's level (I, II, or III).
- D. Categories: This table shows which card categories a hero may own. If a category is not listed, the hero may not have any cards of that category in their deck.
Action Card
- A. Endurance Cost: This number indicates how much endurance a hero must pay to play the card.
- B. Card Title: The full name of the card.
- C. Card Category: The category of an Action Card is represented by a symbol and a word.
- D. Level: The Action Card's level (I, II, or III).
- E. Hero Symbol: The symbol shows which hero the card belongs to. This lets you assign Action Cards to the correct Hero Card.
- F. Card Effect: The card's game effect.
Adventure Cards
These cards are used for a single, specific Adventure and have the name of the Adventure to which they belong at the bottom of the card.
Adventure Card types include the Time Scale, Environment, and Leader cards.
Leader Card
- A. Name: The full name of the leader.
- B. Keywords: Identifies the exact type of opponent. They are used in conjunction with game effects.
- C. Special Rules: A grey box contains special rules that apply to this leader.
- D. Adventure Name: The name of the Adventure.
- E. Life Points: The leader's Life Points at the beginning of the combat.
- F. Dodge: The leader's Dodge Value.
- G. Armor: The leader's Armor Value.
- H. Actions: The number of actions the leader is allowed to perform during their turn.
- I. Action Table: This dice table covers all numbers from 1 to 20 and describes the game effects that the leader triggers by rolling those numbers.
Tower Cards
Are used with the "Curse of Borbarad" Adventure.
Henchman Cards
These cards represent recurring enemies your hero will encounter during the adventures.
- A. Name: The full name of the henchman.
- B. Keywords: These keywords identify the exact type of opponent, and are used in conjunction with game effects.
- C. Special Rules: A grey box contains special rules that apply to this henchman.
- D. Threat Points: These points indicate how dangerous this henchman is.
- E. Life Points: The henchman's Life Points at the beginning of the combat.
- F. Dodge: The henchman's Dodge Value.
- G. Armor: The henchman's Armor Value.
- H. Actions: The number of actions the henchman is allowed to perform when it is their turn.
- I. Action Table: This dice table covers all numbers from 1 to 20 and describes the game effects that the henchman triggers by rolling those numbers.
Additional Cards
There are 5 different types of Additional Cards (green back) in this box: the Fate Cards, Hasrabal Cards and Veil Dance Cards are for use with the "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter" adventure. The Task Cards and Insight Cards are for use with the "Curse of Borbarad" adventure. The function of these card types are explained in the corresponding adventures. The Additional Cards are distinguished by their card back.
Preparing the Adventure
This adventure takes place over the course of several successive Nights. Make the following preparations at the start of the Adventure, before the first night begins.
Palace Plan
Place the Palace/Tower Plan with the Palace side facing up in the middle of the table. This is the 4 x 6 spaces playing area.
Tokens and Dice
Take the Tokens and Dice from the game box and place them next to the Palace Plan.
Your Hero
Choose a hero for this adventure. It may be the Blessed One of Phex from this box or any other Aventuria hero of your choice.
Assemble all the hero's playing cards with the I symbol on their right above the hero symbol: the Hero Card, Skill Card, and the 30 Action Cards. Place all cards with the II and III symbol in the Proficiency Stash compartment of the game box—they are not used yet.
Place the Hero Card and Skill Card on the corresponding spaces of the Palace Plan. Place the Hero token on your Hero Card. Shuffle the Action Cards into a draw pile and place it on the "Hero Deck" space.
Curse of the Manticore
Take the Adventure Card "Curse of the Manticore" and place it with the A side face up in the Hasrabal area of the Palace Plan.
Life Points and Fate Points
Take the Life Point Wheel and set it to the value of 40. Additionally, place 2 Fate Points on the "Fate Point" space of the Palace Plan.
Remove Cards
From the 90 large cards, take the 30 Learning Cards and put them back in the game box. They are not used in the campaign's first adventure Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter.
Story Card Pile
Next, find the "Tales of the Tulamydian Nights" card and the 18 Story Cards with the blue title background. Assemble the Story Card Pile from these 18 cards and place it on the Story Cards Space of the Palace Plan. Then, place the "Tales of the Tulamydian Nights" card on top of this pile.
Note: You never need to shuffle the Story Card pile! Instead, the Adventure sometimes asks you to find a specific card from this pile and put it into play.
Manticore Pile
Shuffle the 17 Manticore Cards (green title background and green back) into a Manticore Pile and place it next to the Story Card Pile.
Palace Card Pile
The remaining 24 large cards with red title backgrounds are Palace Cards. The "Courtyard" card is special—every time your hero explores the palace, they enter through this card. It is identical on both sides, but otherwise counts as a normal Palace Card.
Shuffle the other 23 Palace Cards into a Palace Card Pile and place the "Courtyard" card on top of the pile. The Palace Card Pile is now ready for the first Night—place it in the middle of the Palace Plan.
Palace Guard Henchmen Pile
Assemble a pile of Henchman Cards with the "Guard (Palace)" keyword and place it on the Henchman Pile space of the Palace Plan.
Difficulty Level
Now, you must decide which difficulty level you want to play: normal or hard. Search the Adventure Cards for the "Nedime" card and place it with the corresponding side face-up on the Nedime Card space of the Palace Plan. It remains in play during all Palace Explorations until the end of the adventure.
The "Nedime" card indicates how many Heart Tokens you may place with the heart side face-up on the "Nedime" card. The total number of these tokens does not change during the entire Adventure, only which side is face-up. (Example: Nedime card on difficulty level "Normal" with 9 tokens.)
This concludes the general preparations and the first Night can begin (see page 8).
Tests
Making tests is Aventuria's most important game mechanic. All tests use the rules explained here.
Procedure
Every time the game asks you to make a test, you roll a D20. This can have one of 4 different outcomes:
- Critical Success: You rolled a 1.
- Success: You rolled a number that is equal to or lower than the relevant game value, but not a 1.
- Failure: You rolled a number that is higher than the relevant game value, but not a 20.
- Critical Failure: You rolled a 20.
Game Values
There are two types of game values. Firstly, the Attributes, represented by their relevant symbol (Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Magic, Dodge). You find the attribute values on your hero's Hero Card. Secondly the 8 Skills, which are always written in red italics (Body Control, Craft, Knowledge, Perception, Persuade, Stealth, Survival, and Willpower). You find these on your hero's Skill Card.
Special Tests: Sometimes you are asked to make a test on a value X, which is determined in many different ways, depending on the relevant game situation. Other than that, these tests use all the rules explained here.
Modifiers
If the test includes a number with a plus sign (+), raise the value of the attribute by that amount for this test (making it easier). A minus sign (-) lowers the value of the attribute by that amount (making it harder).
Example: If you make a Knowledge test +5, you add 5 to your Knowledge value and try to roll equal to or lower than that number. If you make a test -2, you subtract 2 from your value before you roll for the test.
If two or more modifiers apply to a test, add them all together. If the modified game value is reduced to 0 or lower, you don't roll the die and the test automatically counts as a Failure.
Modifiers also count if the test is rerolled (see below).
If a game value is "—", then you cannot make tests on that game value. If a test is required regardless, it automatically counts as a Failure. Modifiers don't change this outcome.
Difference between Tests and Rolls
All dice rolls during the game that are not explicitly denoted as Tests instead count as Rolls. This includes the (damage) roll and (action) roll. Rolls don't use any of the rules for tests.
Change Dice Roll Result
Many Action Cards and game effects allow you to raise or lower a dice roll result after the roll, or set it to a certain value. This takes place after the dice roll and before determining the dice roll result.
If this changes the dice roll result to a 1, it does not count as a Critical Success. If it changes the result to a 20, it does not count as a Critical Failure.
The modified dice roll result only counts for this specific dice roll. If the test is rerolled (see below), then the change is not applied to the new dice roll result!
Attribute Test Results
Attribute Tests (Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Magic, and Dodge) are usually not followed by a result table. Instead, the text only explains what happens in case of a Success or Failure. In this case, Critical Successes and Critical Failures have no specific effects and count as regular Successes or Failures instead.
Sometimes the text only says what happens in case of a Success, or only what happens in case of a Failure. In all other instances, nothing happens.
If you have a Fate Point available, you may spend it to reroll the die and use the new result. Spending Fate Points in this way may be combined with any number of other game effects that allow you a reroll or a change of the dice roll result. This also includes spending additional Fate Points for additional rerolls. Once you decide to not use any more game effects, the dice roll result is final and cannot be changed any further.
Skill Test Results
The Skill Tests on the large format cards are followed by a Result Table with the "Critical Success," "Success," "Failure," and "Critical Failure" entries. Once the test result is finalized, read the relevant entry and apply the relevant game effects.
The Failure result for most of the skill tests during this Adventure have a (fate symbol) next to them. If you suffer such a Failure result, you must Consult Your Fate by drawing a card from the Fate Pile. Depending on whether the card shows Great Fortune, Fortune, Misfortune, or Great Misfortune, the actual result of the skill test counts as a Critical Success, Success, Failure, or Critical Failure, respectively. If the Fate Card indicates a Failure, it is an actual Failure—you do not Consult Your Fate a second time.
Important: For certain skill tests, you explicitly do not Consult Your Fate when you get a Failure result. This is indicated by a (!) next to the Failure result instead of a (fate symbol).
Important: You may not use Fate Points to reroll skill tests!
After you reveal a Fate Card, place it back in the Fate Card reserve.
If you must Consult Your Fate and the Fate Pile is currently empty, you automatically suffer a Critical Failure!
Example: Hakim enters the "Storeroom" Palace Card and must attempt a Persuade test. He rolls a 17, which under normal circumstances is a Failure. However, there is a (fate symbol) next to the "Failure" entry, so he draws a card from the Fate Pile. He draws a "Great Fortune" card, which means the result is a "Critical Success," instead!
Exploration
This Adventure takes place over many consecutive nights; each night, your hero undertakes a new Exploration that takes them deeper and deeper into the palace. At the start of each exploration, the palace rooms are randomly rearranged before your hero enters to explore its secrets and face its many enemies and challenges.
Preparation
Perform the following steps at the start of each Palace Exploration.
Nedime and Hasrabal
Hasrabal is no fool; he knows brave heroes will try to free Nedime. So, he has taken many precautions—represented by the Hasrabal Cards—to make things more difficult for these sons and daughters of folly! Shuffle the Hasrabal Cards into a draw pile, then draw the number of cards corresponding to your "Nedime" card (i.e. the difficulty level you chose). These cards contain game instructions you use during the preparations described here (each card has a corresponding red box).
- Hasrabal Card "Nedime's Heart": If you draw this Hasrabal Card, implement its game effect now.
- Hasrabal Card "Extinguished Lights": If you draw this Hasrabal Card, place it on the Hasrabal Cards space of the Palace Plan. The game effect on this card applies during the entire exploration.
The Palace
Of the 24 Palace Cards, set aside the "Courtyard" card. Then remove 4 random Palace Cards without looking at them and place them in the Palace Reserve Pile of the Palace Plan. Next, shuffle 4 random cards from the Manticore Pile into the remaining Palace Cards and place them face down in 4 rows of 6 cards each on the Palace Plan. (Example Palace Setup: 24 Palace Cards; 4 on the Palace Reserve; set aside the Courtyard; shuffle in 4 Manticore Cards; place 23 cards face down.)
- Hasrabal Card "Locked Doors": If you draw this Hasrabal Card, you first place 8 random Palace Cards on the Palace Reserve space and then build the palace from 4 rows of 5 cards each, instead. (Setup: 24 Palace Cards; 8 on the Palace Reserve; set aside the Courtyard; shuffle in 4 Manticore Cards; place 19 cards face down.)
Leave one space of your choice empty, and place the "Courtyard" card there, instead. This is the point at which your hero enters the palace during the Exploration. After you place the Palace Cards, including the "Courtyard" card, turn over all cards that are in the same row (horizontally) and the same column (vertically) as the "Courtyard" card.
Exception: Manticore Cards (you can recognize them by their green card back) are not turned face up at this stage.
Less than 4 cards in the Manticore Pile: Toward the end of the adventure, the number of cards in the Manticore Pile may drop below 4. In this case, remove only as many random Palace Cards as are left in the Manticore Pile, and place the remaining Manticore Cards in the pile for a total of 24 cards (or 20 if "Locked Doors" is in play).
Locked Room (lock symbol): If you reveal a Palace Card with this symbol in the upper right corner, place an Adventure token in the upper right corner of the card. See page 10 for more information.
Then, you can pick up any card with a (swap) symbol that borders the "Courtyard" card and swap it with any other face-up Palace Card of your choice. This ensures your hero has enough room to move when the exploration starts.
If the "Study" card is adjacent to the "Courtyard" card, you may also swap it with any other face-up Palace Card.
Lingering Effect (!): A card with this symbol in the upper right corner contains a game effect that comes into play as soon as the card is revealed and remains in play for as long as the card remains in play.
The Hero Token
Now, place the Hero Token on the "Courtyard" card. During this adventure, it represents your hero.
Fate Card Reserve and Fate Pile
Sort the Fate Cards by type and place them as open piles on the corresponding spaces of the Palace Plan. There should be a total of 3 Great Fortune, 6 Fortune, 4 Misfortune, and 3 Great Misfortune cards. Then, draw one card from each pile, shuffle them into a face-down Fate Pile, and place it on the Fate Pile space of the Palace Plan.
- Hasrabal Card "Dark Fortune": If you draw this Hasrabal Card, your Fate Pile contains only one "Misfortune" card and one "Great Misfortune" card at the start of the Palace Exploration.
First Henchman in the Row of Villains
Draw 1 card from the Henchmen Pile and place it in the Row of Villains at the top of the Palace Plan.
Time Scale
Place one of the four possible "Time Scale" cards on the Time Scale space of the Palace Plan, depending on the difficulty of the adventure (see the "Nedime" card) and the Hasrabal Cards you draw. Place the Time Counter on the "Start" space.
- "Raised Alert": For each of these Hasrabal Cards you draw, increase the alert stage for the current exploration by 1 and use the corresponding Time Scale.
Example Initial Setup: In this example, the difficulty level is "normal," and the player drew two "Raised Alert" Hasrabal Cards and one "Nedime's Heart" Hasrabal Card. The way the Palace Cards are arranged here allows the player to switch the "Study" card and the "Bedchamber" card with other face-up cards. Additionally, the lingering effect of the "Alchemical Laboratory" card (indicated by the !) is in effect from the start.
The Exploration begins!
The preparations are complete and the first round of combat starts. Draw 5 Hand cards from your Hero Deck. You may then decide to take a "Fox Hand" (mulligan), by placing any number of cards from your hand face down and replace them with new cards from your Hero Deck. The face down cards are then shuffled back into the deck.
- Hasrabal Card "Overslept": If you draw this Hasrabal Card, apply its game effect when you draw your hand cards.
Round Sequence
Each round of an Exploration consists of the following Steps:
- Move Hero
- Preparation
- Hero's Turn
- Opponents Turns
- Time Effects
- End of the Round
0 Move Hero
The first thing you do each round is move your hero. To do so, you move the Hero Token from its current Palace Card to a horizontally or vertically adjacent Palace Card. Alternatively, you may decide to keep the Hero Token on its current Palace Card—this counts as the hero moving to that card during the current round, with all associated game effects.
After the hero moves, turn all face-down Palace Cards that are directly horizontally or vertically adjacent to the hero's current Palace Card face-up.
Exception: Manticore Cards (green card back) are not turned face-up, when your hero moves to an adjacent card! Instead, you reveal them only after your hero moves onto them, and then you reveal them immediately before applying their effect.
Other game effects that allow you to reveal Palace Cards (such as the "The Dark Eye" Story Card) may also be used to reveal Manticore Cards!
(Example: The hero moves to the "Flower Garden" Palace Card. Reveal the three horizontally and vertically adjacent cards. Then, apply the "Flower Garden" card's effect. Example: The hero moves onto a face-down Manticore Card. It is only revealed after the hero entered it. Also note that after the movement, the two adjacent Palace Cards are revealed, but not the adjacent Manticore Card!)
Now you apply the game effect of the cards you turned over and the card you entered:
Locked Room (lock symbol): If you turn a Palace Card with this symbol in the upper right corner face-up, place an Adventure token on the upper right corner of the card. While the token is on the card, the hero cannot enter it. If the hero is ever forced onto or unintentionally moves onto a locked card (e.g. by the "Extinguished Light" Hasrabal Card or "The Dark Eye" Story Card), they instead remain on the original card—this counts as the hero moving to that card during the current round, with all associated game effects.
Lingering Effect (!): A card with this symbol in the upper right corner contains a game effect that comes into play as soon as the card is revealed and remains in effect as long as the card remains in play. (This symbol indicates that the Lingering Effect listed below remains in effect for as long as this card is face-up.)
"Entering": Every time the hero enters a Palace Card with this keyword, apply the corresponding game effect. You must apply this effect every time the hero enters the Palace Card; you cannot choose to ignore it. (This effect applies every time the hero enters this card.)
"First Entering": The game effect only applies when the hero enters the corresponding Palace Card for the first time during the current Palace Exploration. As before, you must apply the effect and cannot choose to ignore it. However, if your hero enters this Palace Card a second time—or any consecutive time—during the current Palace Exploration, the effects do not apply; instead, you must immediately move your Hero Token again.
"Fulfilled": To trigger this game effect, you must either meet the condition specified on this card (e.g. defeat a specific opponent or collect a certain amount of Adventure tokens on this card), or perform well enough on the required skill test. (This effect applies when the hero scores a Success or Critical Success on the skill test.) Once you do so, immediately remove the card from the game and put it back in the game box for the rest of the Adventure. Search the Story Card Pile for the card named on the Fulfilled Palace Card and place it in the space the Palace Card previously occupied. This Story Card now counts as a normal Palace Card for the rest of the adventure and replaces its predecessor in all subsequent Palace Explorations. Therefore, the total number of active Palace Cards is always 24.
Important: If you replace a Palace Card with a Story Card that contains an "Entering" keyword, do not immediately apply the "Entering" game effect during the current round.
Palace Cards without "Fulfilled" game effects remain in play; the hero can visit them again and again.
Fulfilling Manticore Cards: Once a Manticore Card is "Fulfilled," remove it from the game. It is no longer part of the Adventure, not even during later Palace Explorations! Place a randomly drawn Palace Card from the Palace Reserve Pile on the empty space.
Important: When you replace a Manticore Card with a Palace Card with an "Entering" game instruction, it is not immediately triggered during the current round.
After you completely resolved Step 0, continue the game with Step 1.
1 Preparation
This step is comprised of 3 Phases (Card Draw Phase, Endurance Phase, Ready Cards Phase).
A Card Draw Phase
Draw 2 Action Cards from your Hero Deck and place them in your hand. If there are no more cards in your Hero Deck, the current Exploration ends at the end of this round (see page 15).
If one of the cards drawn is a Disadvantage Card (see "Manticore Venom" entry on page 16), you must immediately resolve its game effect. The Disadvantage Card still counts as a regular drawn Action Card. If you draw 2 Disadvantage Cards, resolve them one after the other.
B Endurance Phase
You may play up to 2 cards face down in front of you as Endurance Cards. Place these new Endurance Cards upright on the table to show that they are not yet exhausted. The new Endurance Cards may be cards from your hand or cards that you had previously played as permanent Action Cards.
Tip: The best Endurance Cards to choose are the ones you currently need the least, because a card played as an Endurance Card can no longer be used as a normal Action Card. Its normal playing effect can no longer be used during the current exploration. You may look at your own Endurance Cards at any time.
By playing Endurance Cards each turn, you have access to more endurance, allowing you to play more powerful Action Cards. If you think that you already have enough endurance, you can decide to play one or zero cards as endurance during this phase.
C Ready Cards Phase
Ready all your exhausted Endurance Cards or previously activated Action Cards by turning them to an upright position. They are now ready to be used again this turn.
(Diagram: the 3 Phases of the Preparation Step. A: draw two cards to your hand. B: put up to two cards of your choice from your hand, or from your permanent cards in play, face down as new Endurance Cards. C: exhausted Endurance Cards are readied, i.e. turned into an upright position.)
2 Hero's Turn
First, resolve game effects that must be resolved at the start of a player's turn. If there are two or more of these effects, you may decide the order in which to resolve them.
Then you take your turn, as explained in the "Hero's Turn" chapter on page 13.
After you have resolved all your actions, your turn ends.
Game effects that must be resolved at the end of a player's turn are resolved now. If there are two or more of these effects, you may decide the order in which to resolve them. If there are no such effects, skip this step.
3 Opponents Turns
Once all heroes have taken their turns, check if there are game effects on opponents or other Adventure Cards (i.e. Environments) that are resolved at the start of the Opponents Turn. If so, then they are resolved now.
Then all opponents take their turn. They act in the order in which they are arranged in the Row of Villains, from left to right.
Each opponent card notes the number of actions that opponent takes during their turn. Roll one D20 for each action the opponent has and look up the result on the card's action table.
After making an (action) roll and before applying it on the action table, the dice roll result can be changed by playing Action Cards or applying other game effects. This cannot lower the result below 1 or raise it above 20. A result of 1 or 20 has no additional game effect.
Attacks
Many actions on an opponent card represent attacks. They indicate which kind of attack they are (Close Combat, Ranged Combat, or Magic) and how much damage they cause. The opponent makes no additional attack test; the attack is automatically considered successful. Determine the attack's damage by rolling the dice indicated in the attack entry and adding the sum of the dice to the fixed value shown (e.g. "2D6+3 damage": roll two 6-sided dice, add the results together, and then add 3).
If game effects on Adventure Cards or Opponent Cards change an opponent's damage, then these modifiers are applied now.
Target Selection
You are always automatically the target, regardless of target designation on the opponent's card. (These designations are only used in the Multiplayer Version, see page 32.)
Opponents Turns Example
In this example, the opponents resolve their turn. Baradarasch goes first. He has 6 actions, so you roll the die six times and apply the corresponding result on Baradarasch's action table. Then the two Honor Guards and the Harem Guard act. They have 1 action each, so you roll once for each of them and apply the result on their action tables.
Dodging
When you are hit by an attack, you make a Dodge test. This test uses the attribute test rules on page 7. If the test is successful, the damage is divided by 2 and rounded up. If the test fails, the damage remains unchanged. You may now use game effects to further reduce the damage.
Your hero's Life Points cannot sink below 0. If the Life Points are reduced to 0 and no game effect prevents this, the hero is knocked unconscious and the Exploration ends immediately (see page 15).
4 Time Effects
Move the Time Counter one space clockwise on the Time Scale. If it lands on a square with an enemy symbol (+1), draw a new henchman from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place it to the right of the Row of Villains. If the Henchmen Draw Pile is empty, shuffle all defeated henchmen with the "Guard (Palace)" keyword into a new draw pile. If all palace guards are still in play, do not draw a new Henchman Card—apparently, your hero has enough on their plate already.
5 End of the Round
Check to see if one of the conditions for the end of the Palace Exploration (page 15) has occurred. If not, start the next round with the hero movement (Step 0).
Hero's Turn
During your hero's turn you may perform any number of the following actions in any order you wish:
- Play an Action Card
- Activate an Action Card
- Make an Attack
Play an Action Card
Endurance Cost
To play an Action Card, you must pay the endurance cost shown at the card's upper left corner. Exhaust the necessary number of Endurance Cards (turn them sideways). (Example: an Endurance cost of 2 means 2 Endurance Cards are exhausted.)
Endurance costs of X mean that you decide how much endurance to use; X may also be 0.
After playing the card, you immediately apply its game effect, unless it has an activating condition (see "Activate an Action Card" on the next page).
Play when?
Usually, you may play Action Cards only during your own turn. However, some cards have a prerequisite in the card text as to when they may be played. You may only play such cards if the prerequisite is met, but you may also do so outside of your own turn.
You may play cards with the indication "Play this card at any time" at any time during or outside your turn.
One-Shot or Permanent?
Some cards contain the information "Then discard this card" with the Discard Symbol. After you have completely resolved the card, place it in your Discard Pile. Depending on the card, this happens immediately when you play it (e.g. Slyness) or at a later point (e.g. Sneaking up).
All Action Cards without the discard symbol count as Permanent Cards. After playing them, you place them in front of you and they remain in play. If these cards have the exhaust symbol or are marked "Activate this card [...]", you may use their effect from now on with the "Activate Action Card" action (page 14). You may also do so in the same turn in which you played the card.
If a permanent card is neither marked "Activate [...]" nor has it an exhaust symbol, then the card effect is always active (e.g. Moonsilvertongue). This also applies to the so-called Attribute Cards, which improve a hero's attribute (e.g. Acrobatics). You do not place Attribute Cards in front of you, but place them under your Hero Card so that their bonus is visible next to the basic value.
Different Kinds of Action Cards (examples)
- A permanent card with an exhaust symbol remains in play and you may activate it by exhausting it and paying 1 Endurance.
- Attribute Cards are placed under the Hero Card, so that their bonus is visible next to the basic value.
- As indicated, you discard a one-shot card after use.
- A card may come with a prerequisite that only applies during the Opponents Turn, so you may only use it at that time.
Target of a Game Effect
Each game effect describes whom it may target:
- If the text mentions a "Hero," you may apply the effect on your hero.
- If the text mentions an "Opponent," you may apply the effect only on an opponent in the Row of Villains.
- If the text mentions a "Henchman," you may apply the effect only on Henchman Cards in the Row of Villains.
- If there is no information given, you may apply the effect only on your own hero.
Tests and Attacks
If the card text asks you to make a Test, you must now do so, applying the rules on page 7. If successful, the card's effect comes into play; if not, it doesn't.
Important: If a card indicates that it is discarded after use, you discard it without effect in the event of a failed test.
If the word "Attack" is mentioned, use the rules of the "Make an Attack" action on page 14.
Activate an Action Card
Many cards offer game effects that can be used by activating the card. This is indicated by the exhaust symbol or by a condition that starts with "Activate this card [...]" (e.g. Sidestep).
To activate a card, you must fulfill certain conditions:
- Fulfill Prerequisites: If the card text mentions a prerequisite, you must fulfill it to activate the card. For example, you may activate the card "Sidestep" once per attack against you before your Dodge test.
- Pay Endurance: A number in a circle (e.g. "1:") indicates the endurance cost you must pay every time you activate the card. Endurance costs of X mean that you decide how much endurance to use; X can also be 0.
- Exhaust Card: If the exhaust symbol appears, you must exhaust the card to activate it. Also, if the card is already exhausted, you cannot activate it.
- Make a Test: If you must make a Test, do so as explained on page 7. If the test succeeds, apply the card's effect. Otherwise, do not apply the effect.
- Make an Attack: If the word "Attack" is mentioned, use the rules of the "Make an Attack" action below.
Make an Attack
Your Basic Equipment and many Action Cards (like weapons and liturgical chants) allow you to make an "Attack." Each attack is defined by a Type, either Close Combat, Ranged Combat, or Magic.
Each turn, you may make no more than one of each type of attack. You may make one close combat, one ranged combat, and one magic attack per turn! If you have more than one card that allows the same attack type, you may only attack with one of them.
An attack sequence consists of the following steps:
- Choose target
- Meet conditions
- Make attack test
- Make damage roll
- Make dodge test
- Determine damage
- Reduce Life Points
1 Choose Target
Choose one opponent to be the target of the attack.
2 Meet Conditions
Fulfill the conditions of the attack, as specified on the card used for the attack.
3 Make Attack Test
Make a Test on the Attack Attribute (for example, if you make a ranged attack, use your hero's Ranged Attack Value). The test uses all rules for Attribute Tests on page 7. When the test's result is final, apply it on the following table:
- Success/Critical Success: You hit your opponent.
- Failure/Critical Failure: You miss the opponent. If you haven't spent any Fate Point during this test to reroll, then you may immediately take 1 Fate Point from the Palace Plan. If there are no Fate Points on the Palace Plan, skip this step.
4 Make Damage Roll
If you have hit the opponent, determine the attack's damage by rolling the dice indicated on the attack card and adding the sum of the dice to the fixed value shown (e.g. "2D6+3"). Additional game effects may further increase the damage.
5 Make Dodge Test
If the opponent has a Dodge value, you now make a dodge test for them.
If the test is successful, the damage is divided by 2 and rounded up. If the test fails, the damage remains unchanged.
If the opponent has a Dodge value of "—", you don't make a dodge test for them!
6 Determine Damage
Subtract the opponent's Armor Value from the damage. Additional game effects may further reduce the damage. This may reduce the damage to 0, but not below 0.
7 Reduce Life Points
Reduce the opponent's Life Points by the remaining damage. Show this by placing the appropriate number of Life Point tokens on the opponent's card.
An opponent's Life Points are shown on the top right of their card.
When there are Life Point tokens on an opponent's card equal to their total Life Points, then the opponent is immediately defeated. If it is a Henchman with the "Guard (Palace)" keyword, place it on the Henchmen Discard Pile. For all other opponents, remove them from the game.
For each opponent you defeat, immediately shuffle a "Fortune" card from the Fate Card Reserve into the Fate Pile. This is not just the case for your attacks, but also for all game effects of your own Action Cards (e.g. "Throwing Stars"). Opponents who leave the game without being defeated (for example by fleeing), don't gain you "Fortune" cards.
If there currently is no "Fortune" card in the Fate Card Reserve, skip this step.
Example: It is Almakirja's turn, and she decides to attack with her Khunchomer. First, she selects a target—a Tulamydian Thief. Then she makes her attack test and scores a hit. The Khunchomer causes 1D6+4 damage. Rathelia rolls a 3 and thus causes a total of 7 damage.
The thief has a Dodge value of 5. The player makes a dodge test for him and rolls a 5. The thief dodges successfully and the Khunchomer's damage is reduced to 4 (7 ÷ 2 = 3.5, rounded up to 4).
The thief has an Armor Value of 0, so the damage is not reduced further and the thief loses 4 Life Points. Since he only had 3 left, his Life Point value drops to 0 and he is defeated. The thief's Henchman Card is placed on the discard pile to the left of the Henchmen Draw Pile. Almakirja takes 1 "Fortune" card from the Fate Card Reserve and shuffles it into her Fate Pile.
End of the Exploration
An Exploration can end in one of four ways:
-
You rescue Nedime. To do this, you must meet the "Fulfilled" condition named on the "Bedchamber" Palace Card. The adventure immediately ends—read "Nedime's Rescue" on page 18.
-
The hero's Life Points drop to 0. The current Exploration ends immediately (see 3, below, for the exact procedure), and the hero is imprisoned. Sultan Hasrabal and his henchmen captured the hero and threw them into the dungeon. In all subsequent explorations, you must use the hero's alternate version—flip the hero's Hero Card and Skill Card to the other side. The Action Cards remain unchanged. The new hero benefits from their predecessor's achievements—the Palace Cards that were fulfilled and replaced with Story Cards still count as being fulfilled. However, if that hero is also imprisoned, you lose the adventure. You must start again at the beginning, at which point both heroes are available again.
-
The hero retreats. If you move your hero to the "Courtyard" card, you can decide to make a hasty retreat. The current Palace Exploration ends immediately. Shuffle all active Palace Cards—including any Story Cards that replaced Palace Cards—into a pile, from which you randomly rebuild the palace during the next exploration. Thus, the hero benefits from Palace Cards they already solved, even though the Sultan's powerful magic causes them to rearrange and change every night.
Shuffle all Manticore Cards that were not "Fulfilled" and removed from play back into their pile.
Return all other cards and piles to their original states before the next Exploration begins. This means the hero starts the next Exploration with 40 Life Points and a freshly shuffled Hero Deck, the Henchmen Draw Pile contains only palace guards, and the hero's Fate Pile contains exactly one Fate Card of each type. If you have removed the (symbol) token from your Hero Card during the Exploration, place it back on your Hero Card.
-
You draw your last Hero Deck card during the current turn. Resolve the current round. After it is over, the current Palace Exploration automatically ends. Your hero survives, but the day is dawning, which makes sneaking around in the palace too dangerous (see 3, above, for the exact procedure).
Play a Part in your Own Fate
We want you to enjoy this adventure, but sometimes a bad die roll or unfortunate card draw may seem to spoil the fun. Since this is a solo adventure, you may be tempted to simply ignore the bad roll or unfortunate card. Believe us, we have been there before; exploring the Sultan's palace is no exception.
If fate plays an especially cruel trick on you yet again, we recommend you accept it and play the game as the die rolls and cards demand. However, in return, you may place a "5 Life Point" Token on your Hero Card. Your hero begins their next exploration with 5 additional Life Points for each such token on your Hero Card! Often, simply placing the "5 Life Point" Token is enough to help your frustration.
Goal of the Adventure
The goal of the Adventure is to find Nedime and free her. To do so, you must find the "Bedchamber" Palace Card and fulfill its conditions. However, before you can do this, you must fulfill other conditions, and still others before that. Everything is revealed during the Adventure, but one thing is certain: it will take many nights and many Palace Explorations to reach your goal!
Between Explorations, you may need to interrupt your session and continue it later. If you must do so, keep a stack of all the Adventure Cards you have already obtained. Also be sure to keep the Story Card Pile and the Palace Card Pile separate so they do not get mixed together!
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Be warned! Hasrabal's palace is full of enemies, traps, and nasty surprises; if you are too hasty and attempt to overcome the Adventure the first night, you will surely fail. Do not try to take on too many powerful enemies at once… and do not rush blindly into each new challenge! It is perfectly fine to solve only a handful of Palace Cards during a single Exploration and close in on the final goal step-by-step. If an unlucky die roll or a "Great Misfortune" Fate Card drawn at the wrong moment causes difficulty, use the "Courtyard" card to retreat. Then, your hero can return the following night stronger and more experienced.
Nedime's Heart
If, at the end of an exploration, all Heart Tokens on the Nedime card show the broken-heart side, Nedime has succumbed to Mage Sultan Hasrabal's suggestions and nightly visits and no longer wishes to be freed by the hero. You lose the Adventure and must start all over again!
"Saving" the Game
You are not likely to complete the Adventure without taking a break or two between Explorations. If you have children, animals, or orderly (or clumsy) roommates in your household, we recommend you take a photo of the latest state of your game, even if it remains on the table. Doing so can save you a lot of trouble.
Additional Rules
Discard Piles
All cards that can be discarded by game effects (Action Cards, Henchmen, etc.) have their own Discard Pile.
Action Cards follow the special rule that after drawing the last card from the Hero Deck, it is spent and no more cards may be drawn from it. Drawing the last card from the Hero Deck also signals the end of the current Exploration—see page 15.
Fate Cards also follow special rules—see the "Fate Pile" entry below.
For all other cards, the following rule applies: When the game asks you to draw such a card and the corresponding Draw Pile is currently empty, pick up the Discard Pile and shuffle it into a new Draw Pile. Then draw the card.
Life Point Loss
Instead of causing damage to a target, some game effects cause a direct loss of Life Points. This is indicated by using the Life Point loss symbol instead of the damage symbol.
Life Point Loss effects do not count as attacks, i.e. the target cannot dodge them nor use armor or similar game effects to prevent the loss of Life Points.
Example: Almakirja attacks the Quicksand Golemid with Phex's Throwing Star and cause a loss of 1D20 Life Points. Because this is direct Life Point Loss, the Golemid may neither dodge nor defend itself with armor.
Remove from the Game
Some game effects can remove Action Cards from the game. At the end of each Exploration, return all removed cards to their original decks and draw piles.
Double-sided Adventure Cards
Most regular Adventure Cards have only one side, but some may be double-sided. These cards have an "A" or "B" in their top right corner, indicating the card's A side and B side. Such cards generally come into play with their A side face up, and are flipped at some point during play.
Healing
Certain special effects allow heroes or opponents to heal (regain) Life Points.
When a hero's Life Points are healed, adjust the Life Point Wheel accordingly. A hero's Life Points cannot exceed 40.
If an opponent is healed, remove the relevant number of Life Point tokens from their opponent card. Here, too, Life Points cannot exceed their starting value, unless a game effect explicitly says otherwise.
Manticore Venom
If your hero is poisoned by the Manticore and the "Curse of the Manticore" card is in play with the A side face-up, the hero is immediately turned into a Manticore and imprisoned (see page 15).
If the "Curse of the Manticore" card is in play with the B side face-up, the hero is protected from this horrible fate, but you must shuffle a "Manticore Venom" Disadvantage Card into your Hero Deck. The card remains in your deck until you draw it. If you do, then you must immediately apply its game effect and remove it from play afterward. If the card is in your deck at the end of the current Exploration, it remains there and you carry it into the next Exploration.
If you draw "Manticore Venom" when you draw your hand cards, you may use the Fox Hand to shuffle them back into your deck before they take effect. Any Disadvantage Cards you have in your hand after using the Fox Hand will take effect immediately in the first round.
Fate Points
During the game, you may spend Fate Points by putting them back on the Palace Plan, to gain one of the following advantages:
- Reroll an Attribute Test: You may spend 1 Fate Point to reroll a failed Attribute Test. Please note, that this is only allowed for Attribute Tests (Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Magic, and Dodge), not Skill Tests! Important: You may not spend a Fate Point you received for failing at an attack test to repeat that same attack test.
- Draw a Card: At any time during the round, you may draw 1 card from your Hero Deck for each Fate Point spent.
- Gain Endurance: At any time during the round, gain 1 additional endurance for each Fate Point spent.
Unused Endurance
If you gain endurance and don't use it, it automatically expires at the end of the current turn. Unused endurance from Endurance Cards and action cards expires at the end of the current round.
Fate Pile
During the Adventure, this pile is not replenished automatically, but you will often encounter game effects that instruct you to shuffle certain Fate Cards from the Fate Card Reserve into the Fate Pile. If there are currently no cards of that kind in the reserve, skip this step.
Some Story Cards ask you to draw a Fate Card (see example card). In such cases, draw one card from the Fate Pile, apply the corresponding effect on the Story Card, then return the Fate Card face-up to the Fate Card reserve.
If you are asked to draw a Fate Card and the Fate Pile is currently empty, then the result automatically counts as a Great Misfortune.
Special Abilities
Each hero has a special ability that you may use once per Exploration. After using the ability, remove the Ability Token from your Hero Card to indicate this.
Henchmen Keywords
Some keywords on the henchman cards have several subcategories that are listed in brackets after the keyword, e.g. Culture (Human), Guard (Palace) or Animal (Forest).
The Henchmen Keywords are relevant for certain game effects. For example, only henchmen with the "Guard (Palace)" keyword are shuffled into a new Henchmen Draw Pile.
Rules Questions and Answers
Revealing Palace Cards
Q: If an effect allows me to move to any Palace Card of my choice (e.g., "The Story of the Counsel of the Bird"), may I reveal the Palace Cards adjacent to that card after my move, just like a normal move?
A: Yes, unless the card explicitly states that you should not reveal adjacent cards (such as the "Magic Portal" card).
Courtyard
Q: Can I really choose any position for the "Courtyard" card at the start of each Palace Exploration?
A: Yes, the palace changes so much from one night to the next, its rooms are completely rearranged each time—the "Courtyard" is no exception. Feel free to experiment with different placements until you find one that best suits your strategy. Keep in mind however, that if the "Courtyard" card is on the edge or in a corner of the palace, it limits your movement options!
Sandwolves/Veil Dance
Q: If I defeat 3 out of 4 Sandwolves or collect 6 out of 7 Veils at the end of a Palace Exploration, may I take this final score into the next Exploration, or do I have to start all over again?
A: You must start again during the next Exploration. Therefore, we recommend you not try to achieve too many things at once, but instead focus your attention on a few tasks during each Exploration.
Extinguished Lights
Q: Does the "Extinguished Lights" Hasrabal Card also apply when I build the palace at the start of an Exploration, or only during the ongoing Exploration while moving?
A: The card only applies when moving during the Palace Exploration. When building the palace, you may turn over all the cards in the same row and column as the "Courtyard" card, as usual, even if the "Extinguished Lights" card is in play.
End of the Exploration, 4th Entry
Q: When I draw the last card from my Hero Deck, the Exploration is over at the end of the current round. Do I still have to try to reach the "Courtyard" to escape?
A: No, the Exploration ends automatically after this last round and the hero escapes—no matter which Palace Card the hero is on at the time.
Alchemical Laboratory
Q: If I succeed in lifting the curse, may I immediately ready all my Endurance Cards? Or must I wait until the next round?
A: You may not ready exhausted Endurance Cards at this point. The positive effect of lifting the curse only becomes apparent during the next round, when you can once again ready all your cards, as usual.
Removing Palace Cards
Q: The game effects of the "Hall of Mirrors" and "Giant Golemid" instruct me to remove Palace Cards from the game. Do I fill up the empty spaces with new cards?
A: No, these gaps in the map remain until the end of the current exploration and your hero cannot enter them.
Nedime's Heart
Q: If both the "Fight for Nedime's Heart" card and the "The Window" Manticore Card are available during a Palace Exploration, may I use both?
A: Yes, you may use both cards during the same Exploration. Keep in mind, however, that "The Window" is removed from the game for the rest of the Adventure after you use it (because it is a Manticore Card), while "Fight for Nedime's Heart" is only removed until the end of the current Palace Exploration, and is available to use again during later Explorations (if the conditions are met).
Symbols
The following new symbols are used in this adventure:
- Lingering Effect (page 10): A card with this symbol in the upper right corner contains a game effect that remains in play for as long as the card is face-up.
- Locked (page 10): The hero cannot enter a card with this symbol in the upper right corner while a token is there.
- Consult Fate (page 7): If this symbol is next to the "Failure" result of a skill test, you must Consult Your Fate when your skill test results in a Failure.
- Enemy Symbol (page 12): This symbol (+1) on the Time Scale means you must draw a new henchman and place it to the right of the Row of Villains.
Nedime's Rescue
You slay the repulsive manticore and he transforms into a scorpion, a lion, and a man before your very eyes. In the distance, an alarm bell sounds and hasty footsteps from beyond the door indicate the palace guards are close on your heels.
Without hesitation, you throw open the shutters and ask the lovely Nedime to sit next to you on your flying carpet. At your command, the shaky vehicle rises into the air and carries the two of you out the window—away from Sultan Hasrabal's palace—as the duped guards' angry shouts fade away in the distance.
Above their angry voices, you hear a man's laughter. It's cheerful and beautiful—like a bell—and you feel as though you are the only one who can hear it. It is the Mage Sultan himself, and he seems quite entertained by your brilliant performance.
You have a sudden realization: You are a great hero! You successfully freed Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter! But whatever you do, you yourself are but one of the many characters in the stories of the Tulamydian Nights—the protagonist of your own thrilling adventure, which storytellers will tell for many nights to come—with sparkling eyes and a longing look off into the distance.
You have overcome the Adventure. If another hero was imprisoned by Hasrabal during the Adventure, they are now released.
You receive 10 Adventure Points, which you may now spend to upgrade your cards (see below). If you played this Adventure with both heroes, you may decide who of them will receive the reward.
One month later a messenger hands you a scroll with the seal of Princess Sybia, the ruler of Zorgan. She invites all renowned heroes of the land to a great tournament. Your heroic undertaking to free Nedime has spread far and wide, so you, too, are on the list of invitees. All of Zorgan is looking forward to welcoming you as their honored guest, and listening to your adventurous tales from your own mouth!
Upgrade Cards
You can upgrade cards by using your hero's Proficiency Stash, which consists of the Hero Cards, Skill Cards and Action Cards with the II and III symbol above the Hero Symbol (Cards No. 128-145). The following options are available:
a) Swap one of your level I cards for the level II card of the same name. This costs 3 Adventure Points each for the Hero or Skill Card, or 1 Adventure Point each for the Action Cards. Place the level 1 card you removed back into the game box.
b) Swap one of your level II cards for the level III card of the same name from your Proficiency Stash. This costs 6 Adventure Points each for the Hero or Skill Card, or 2 Adventure Points each for the Action Cards. Place the level 1 card you removed back into the game box. (Printed as "level 1" in the source.)
The Campaign continues
The Curse of the Desert Campaign continues with the Adventure "Curse of Borbarad" on page 19.
Part Two: Curse of Borbarad
Part Two of the Aventuria Solo Campaign "Curse of the Desert"
I am walking. My lungs ache, my legs ache, but I keep walking. Sweat, blood, and tears have long since dried, and my skin burns under the Gorian Desert's hot sun. When I reach the foot of the mesa the locals call "the Nameless One," I pause briefly and look up to see a staircase carved into the stone wall. This is not a natural mesa. It is all that remains of a gargantuan, several hundred-year-old tower: Borbarad's mage tower! That is why I'm here—Borbarad's Curse. My mission is to find out what this curse is all about—and break it. I'm the only one who can do it... the only one still alive.
An image of a bloody dagger being wiped clean on a robe pops into my head. The moment happens again, and again, and again. I struggle to push the image from my mind. There is no time to lose! I run up the steep stairs to a dizzying height. Behind me, I hear the scratching and shuffling sounds of my Orc pursuers. They are tireless and merciless. I finally reach the mesa's flat top, where I can make out the former mage tower's remains. A dark hole with a staircase leads into the mountain in front of me.
Hurriedly, I light a torch, reach for my weapon, and begin to descend the steep stairs.
The solo adventure "Curse of Borbarad" is the second and concluding part of the Curse of the Desert campaign. You play it with the hero who rescued "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter" and was awarded with Adventure Points to spend on upgrading their Hero Deck.
"Curse of Borbarad" uses the same rules as "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter," but with a couple of deviations, which we will explain on the following pages. This includes new "Preparing the Adventure" and "Tower Exploration" entries.
After familiarizing yourself with these new rules, you can start the Adventure. Will you succeed in uncovering the secret of Borbarad's Curse and saving southern Aventuria from a terrible catastrophe?
The tower's traps and guards are so deadly, your hero will die many times. But in the cursed mage tower of Borbarad, death is not the end, it is only a new beginning. Thus, your hero still has a chance to emerge victorious.
Preparing the Adventure "Curse of Borbarad"
This Adventure takes place over the course of several successive Days. Make the following preparations at the start of the Adventure, before the first day begins.
Tower Plan
Place the Palace/Tower Plan with the Tower side facing up in the middle of the table. It is your game board for the entire adventure and keeps track of important game effects.
Tokens and Dice
Take the Tokens and Dice from the game box and place them next to the Tower Plan.
Your Hero
You play this Adventure with the same hero as in the Adventure "Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter." Take all of that hero's playing cards, including the upgraded cards you gained at the end of the previous adventure.
Place the Hero Card and Skill Card on the corresponding spaces of the Tower Plan. Place the Ability Token on your Hero Card. Shuffle the Action Cards into a draw pile and place it on the "Hero Deck" space.
Life Points and Fate Points
Take the Life Point Wheel and set it to the value of 40. Additionally, place 2 Fate Points on the "Fate Point" space of the Tower Plan.
Difficulty Level and Time Scale
Now, you must decide which difficulty level you want to play: normal or difficult. Find the corresponding "Time Scale" card (important: not the "Group Time Scale"!) in the Adventure Cards and place it on the Tower Plan's designated space. Place the Time Counter on the space of the Time Row according to the instructions on the Time Scale card.
Please note that the "Time Scale" card instructions that refer to the Orc Shaman do not apply to the first couple Tower Explorations (i.e., you may ignore this step for now).
Tower Cards
The Tower Cards show the individual rooms in Borbarad's tower. During the game, you lay out cards in a rectangle on the Tower Plan and move the Hero Token from card to card, which represents your hero walking through the tower.
Floor Colors: Borbarad's tower is divided into four floors, which are sorted by color for easy identification: Upper Floor (green), Middle Floor (blue), Spaceship (yellow), and Basement (red).
From the 30 Tower Cards, take the "Entrance Stairs" card and the 5 cards with the "Upper Floor" label on the back. Shuffle those cards face-down (the "Entrance Stairs" card is intentionally identical on both sides) and place them face-down in 2 rows of 3 cards on the Tower Plan. Then, place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Later in the Adventure, your hero finds hidden entrances to the lower levels of Borbarad's tower, which puts additional Tower Cards into play. We explain this in detail in the corresponding sections of the Adventure; however, the basic procedure remains the same as above.
Remove Large Cards
From the 90 large cards, take only the 30 Learning Cards and put the remaining large cards back in the game box. They are not used in the Curse of Borbarad adventure.
Learning Cards
Place the pile of 30 Learning Cards on the space labeled "The Unknown" on the left side of the Tower Plan. You do not need to shuffle this pile—it is not a draw pile. For quick access, sort the cards face-down, by color, in the following order (from top to bottom): Upper Floor (green), Middle Floor (blue), Spaceship (yellow), and Basement (red).
Experience Levels and Bonuses
The entries for experience levels are on the left side of the Tower Plan. These are divided into the four different tower floors and numbered from 0 to 10. Place one Experience token on each "0" square. This represents that your hero has not yet had any experience with the tower's dangers.
Henchman Pile and Starting Henchmen
Compile a deck of all Henchman Cards in this box with the "Orc" keyword. This is the regular Henchmen Draw Pile for the Tower Exploration. Place the Henchman Pile in the designated space in the upper left corner of the Tower Plan.
Draw 2 henchmen from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains at the top of the Tower Plan.
Leatherman Henchman Pile
Besides the regular Henchman Pile, also assemble a pile of all Henchman Cards in this box with the "Leatherman" keyword. Place this Leatherman Henchman Pile in the space to the right of the regular Henchmen Draw Pile, where the words "Leatherman Henchman Pile" are written to help you differentiate the piles.
The Leatherman Henchman Pile comes with its own discard pile (next to the Tower Plan). Every time a Leatherman is defeated, place it on that pile.
Death's Candidate
Borbarad's tower is a horrifying place full of dangerous enemies and traps, and death is your hero's constant companion. This is represented by the "Death's Candidate" Adventure Cards, which indicate the Adventure's progress and show the hero's current goal. You can identify each "Death's Candidate" card by its symbol.
Place the "Death's Candidate" card in the corresponding Tower Plan space.
The Exploration begins!
This concludes the preparations, and you can start the first round of your first Tower Exploration.
Example Initial Setup: In this example, the difficulty level is "normal." The player has placed the 6 Upper Floor Tower Cards, and the Entrance Stairs appeared in the lower right, so the hero starts their tower exploration there. The starting henchmen are two Orc Bandits. All experience levels are at 0 and all Learning Cards are in the space labeled "The Unknown." (Plan areas shown: Time Row, Time Scale Reserve, Death's Candidate Card, Henchmen Pile, Leatherman Henchman Pile.)
Tower Exploration
This Adventure takes place over many consecutive Tower Explorations. During each Exploration, your hero enters Borbarad's tower to discover its secrets and face the many enemies and challenges.
Every Tower Exploration uses all regular rules, as explained on page 8-16, expanded by the special rules explained in this section.
Preparations
Ignore the "Preparation" entry on pages 8 and 9. Instead, make the following preparations:
Draw 5 hand cards from your Hero Deck. You may then decide to take a "Fox Hand" (mulligan), by placing any number of cards from your hand face down and replace them with new cards from your Hero Deck. The face down cards are then shuffled back into the deck.
Round Sequence
The sequence is the same as explained on pages 10 to 12, but you ignore the instructions for Step 0 "Move Hero" and Step 4 "Time Effects," and instead follow the instructions on this page.
Step 0 in the Tower
During this step you must move your hero. To do so, move the Hero Token from its current Tower Card to a horizontally or vertically adjacent Tower Card. Alternatively, you may decide to keep the Hero Token on its current Tower Card—this counts as the hero moving to that card during the current round, with all associated game effects.
If the Tower Card the hero has moved to is face down, flip it face up now.
Important: In contrast to the Palace Cards of the Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter adventure, face-down Tower Cards are only revealed when the hero moves onto them! In other words, the hero always steps into the unknown, unless they manage to turn a card face-up prematurely through some other game effect.
Next, apply the game effects of the Tower Card to which the hero moved. The procedure depends on whether you already have the corresponding Learning Card in your possession.
- If you do not have the Learning Card with the same title as the current Tower Card, you must first apply the game effect on the Tower Card and then take the corresponding Learning Card.
- If you do have the Learning Card in your possession, ignore the game effect on the Tower Card and apply the more advantageous game effect on the Learning Card, instead.
Important: Some game effects allow you to uncover Tower Cards without your hero entering them. In such cases, you may not take the corresponding Learning Card! The hero must enter each Tower Card at least once and deal with its effects before gaining the corresponding Learning Card.
"Entering" and "First Entering"
Each Tower Card (and corresponding Learning Card) falls into one of the following two categories, indicated by the corresponding keyword(s):
- Entering: Every time the hero enters the corresponding Card, apply the corresponding game effect. You must apply this effect every time the hero enters the Card; you cannot choose to ignore it unless the card specifically says otherwise.
- First Entering: The game effect only applies when the hero enters the corresponding Tower Card for the first time during an ongoing Exploration. As before, you must apply the effect and cannot choose to ignore it. However, if your hero enters this Tower Card a second time—or any consecutive time—during the current Tower Exploration, the effects do not apply; instead, you must immediately move the hero again.
Permanent Effect
Some Tower Cards have a permanent effect listed in a box at the bottom of the card. This effect remains valid for as long as the corresponding Tower Card is face-up in play.
Step 4 in the Tower
Move the Time Token in the Time Row one space to the left. If it is already in the "0" space, don't move it.
If a time effect on the Time Scale corresponds to the current number of Time Tokens on the card, apply it now. If the Time Token is in the "0" space, apply the "0" time effect. This also applies in all following rounds.
Experience Levels, Floor Bonus, Hunger, and Thirst
Use Experience tokens to keep track of these game stats on the left side of the Tower Plan.
Your hero has an experience level ranging from 0 to 10 for each floor of the tower. These levels change at the end of each Tower Exploration, as explained in the corresponding Adventure text.
In the space above each experience level is a floor bonus between 0 and 4. This bonus is often used in connection with Learning Cards (see below).
The Tower Plan itself explains the rules for "Hunger" and "Thirst."
Learning Cards
Each Tower Card has a corresponding Learning Card with the same title.
A Learning Card comes into play when your hero enters its associated Tower Card while exploring the tower (see Step 0: Move Hero). Search the pile in "The Unknown" space of the Tower Plan for the corresponding Learning Card and place it in the "Treasure of Knowledge" space on the right side of the Tower Plan. Keep in mind the Learning Card does not yet apply on the turn you receive it! Instead, you must apply the game effects on the Tower Card. If your hero dies because of these effects, the Exploration ends—but you keep the Learning Card.
Once you place a Learning Card in the "Treasure of Knowledge," it remains there for the rest of the Adventure; you do not discard it at the end of a Tower Exploration! Instead, each time your hero enters the corresponding Tower Card again, you ignore the game effects of the Tower Card and apply the game effects from the Learning Card. The effects on the Learning Card are more advantageous compared to those on the Tower Card, because your hero learned from their previous experiences with this room.
You may read Learning Cards in your "Treasure of Knowledge" at any time, even immediately after you receive them.
Many Learning Card effects refer to your hero's floor bonus in the corresponding floor (see above). The higher the floor bonus, the better. Record the hero's current experience levels and corresponding floor bonuses on the left side of the Tower Plan.
Insight Cards
Once your hero gains a high enough experience level in a floor to reach or cross the square with the lightning symbol, you may—at the beginning of each new Tower Exploration—take the Insight Card for that floor and place it in your "Treasure of Knowledge" to use once during the Exploration. Discard any unused Insight Cards at the end of each Tower Exploration.
The Upper Floor, Middle Floor, and Spaceship lightning symbols are located at experience level 5; the Basement lightning symbol is located at experience level 3.
(Example: the lightning symbol indicates that once you have an Upper Floor experience level of 5 or higher, you may take the Upper Floor Insight Card at the beginning of each exploration.)
Task Cards
Task Cards come into play in a late stage of the Adventure; we explain them in the corresponding Adventure text. At the start of an Exploration, place these cards on the "Reserve" space of the Tower Plan. During the Exploration, you gain a Task Card when you fulfill certain conditions. You may then place the corresponding card in your "Treasure of Knowledge" and use its game effects. At the end of the Exploration, put all Task Cards back on the "Reserve" space.
Defeated Opponents
Every time you defeat an opponent during the Tower Exploration, you may take 1 Fate Point from the Tower Plan as a reward. If there currently are no Fate Points on the Tower Plan, skip this step.
Fate Points
During the "Curse of Borbarad" Adventure, you may spend Fate Points to reroll all kinds of tests, including skill tests.
Tower Exploration End
Ignore all rules on page 15 for the end of the Exploration, and apply the following rules instead:
If your hero's life points ever drop to 0 during a Tower Exploration, they are overwhelmed by the dangers of the tower and die. However, in Borbarad's tower, death is not the end—it is only a new beginning!
During each Tower Exploration, a "Death's Candidate" card is in play, which shows one of several symbols (see example card). Each time your hero dies, you open the adventure booklet to the page with this symbol as a header. There, you will find a narrative section that explains what happens after your hero's death, followed by step-by-step instructions on how to conclude the current Tower Exploration and prepare for the next.
Important: The death of your hero is the sole trigger for many "Death's Candidate" cards; however, some might have other conditions, as well. Therefore, we recommend you thoroughly read the current "Death's Candidate" card at the start of each Tower Exploration and keep it in mind during the Exploration!
The goal of the Adventure is to find out what Borbarad's Curse is, and then attempt to break it. However, before that happens, your hero must complete other tasks they uncover during the Adventure. One thing is certain: reaching your goal will take many attempts and many Tower Explorations!
Stop!
The following pages contain narrative texts and additional game instructions, which the corresponding "Death's Candidate" card triggers at the end of a Tower Exploration. Each section has a symbol that matches its corresponding "Death Candidate" card symbol.
You are now familiar with all special rules and may now start your first Tower Exploration.
Narrative Sections
Transcription note: in the printed booklet each of the following sections is headed by a rune symbol that matches a "Death's Candidate" card (the symbols also appear inside the instructions where a "Death's Candidate" card is named). These glyphs cannot be reproduced here, so the sections are labelled by their order in the booklet (Section 1 to Section 7) and each "Death's Candidate" card is described by its relation to the section ("the card with this section's symbol", "the next card"). Also, the long first-person story passages that open each section (narrative fiction with no game instructions) are omitted; only the rule instructions, the headings that are in text, and the story beats that the instructions reference are kept. Where a printed section says "this section's symbol" it refers to the rune heading of that section.
Section 1 (first rune section, page 24)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero looks up from the magic mirror of the stranger Rohezal from the Anvil; the Tower Exploration just played was a vision of a possible future in the mirror, and the world in the mirror is not identical to the hero's own.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Discard the "Death's Candidate" card with this section's symbol and replace it with the next "Death's Candidate" card. If you completed the Tower Exploration's Objective, take 1 Fate Point from the Tower Plan.
If at least 3 Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the Upper Floor experience level on the Tower Plan by 1. If all 6 Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2.
Example: Here, the hero has uncovered 5 of the 6 Upper Floor Tower Cards, increasing the Upper Floor experience level by 1. The hero's Upper Floor bonus also increases from 0 to 1.
Collect the 6 Tower Cards in front of you and add the 6 "Middle Floor" Tower Cards. Shuffle the 12 cards and lay them out face-down in 3 rows of 4 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card. (Example Tower Card Setup: 3 rows of 4 face-down cards.)
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start a new Tower Exploration.
Section 2 (page 25)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero recalls the group's journey to the oasis Anchopal and the Orc night attack in which companions Rachel and Turan died; Rohezal tells the hero that somewhere in the passageway there is a secret door that leads deeper into the tower, and that it must be found.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Discard the "Death's Candidate" card with this section's symbol and replace it with the next "Death's Candidate" card. If you completed the Tower Exploration's Objective, take 1 Fate Point from the Tower Plan.
If at least 3 Upper Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the Upper Floor experience level on the Tower Plan by 1. If all 6 Upper Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2.
If at least 3 Middle Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the Middle Floor experience level on the Tower Plan by 1. If all 6 Middle Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2.
Example: Here, the hero uncovered all 6 Upper Floor Tower Cards, so the player raises the Upper Floor experience level 2 points—from 1 to 3. Only 4 of the 6 Middle Floor Tower Cards are uncovered, though, so the player only raises their Middle Floor experience level by 1 point—from 0 to 1.
Collect the 12 Tower Cards in front of you, shuffle them, and lay them out face-down in 3 rows of 4 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start a new Tower Exploration.
Section 3 (page 26)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero recalls the tournament at Zorgan, the fire-writing on the palace wall ("Help! If the Curse of Borbarad is fulfilled, it will bring death and destruction to Zheta and Oron."), the black mage Borbarad of the Age of Mages whose mage tower is a mesa in the Gorian Desert, and the eleven adventurers sent by Princess Sybia, of whom the hero is the only one left alive, pursued by Orcs and their mysterious leader with a feather headdress. Rohezal calls the leader an Orc Shaman.
Place the "Orc Shaman" card in the "Environments" space on the Tower Plan and apply its effects. It remains in the game for the rest of the Adventure—do not discard it at the end of a Tower Exploration!
If you completed the Tower Exploration's Objective, continue with "Iron Maiden" below. If you did not complete the Objective, follow the instructions on page 25 (using the current "Death's Candidate" card) and start a new Tower Exploration.
Iron Maiden
Your predecessor in the mirror found a secret passage behind the Iron Maiden in Borbarad's torture chamber, which leads deeper into the tower. Unfortunately, the other you died a short time later. Still, the efforts of the former you were not in vain; you can now explore an additional floor of the Mage Tower. This brings many new possibilities… and new dangers.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Discard the "Death's Candidate" card with this section's symbol and replace it with the next "Death's Candidate" card.
Place the "Hurry up!" card in the "Environments" section of the Tower Plan and apply its effects. It remains in the game for the rest of the Adventure—do not discard it at the end of a Tower Exploration, unless the game instructs you to do so!
If at least 3 Upper Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the Upper Floor experience level on the Tower Plan by 1. If all 6 Upper Floor Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2. Do the same for the Middle Floor.
Collect the 12 Tower Cards in front of you and add the 8 "Spaceship" Tower Cards. Shuffle the 20 cards and lay them out face-down in 4 rows of 5 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start a new Tower Exploration.
Section 4 (page 27)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero recalls how the eleven companions died one after another on the way, and that the hero, in a moment of clarity, was able to prevent the death of one friend.
Place the "Eleven Friends" card in the "Environments" section of the Tower Plan and apply its effects. This card remains in the game for the rest of the Adventure; do not discard it at the end of a Tower Exploration!
If you completed the Tower Exploration's Objective and there are at least 11 tokens on the "Death's Candidate" card, continue with "The Mission of the Brain" on page 28.
If you did not complete the Objective, go to "Communication Problems," below.
Communication Problems
During my previous exploration of Borbarad's tower, I found strange rooms with metal walls, filled with confusing devices whose functions were unknown. I attempted to decipher their meaning, and—in some cases—I succeeded. In the end, however, my trial and error led one of the machines to consider me an interesting life form that should be preserved. Before I could react, a glass tube descended on me and a sticky, transparent substance enveloped me to preserve my body for all eternity—like an insect encased in amber. Unfortunately, I met my death during this procedure.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Remove all tokens from the "Death's Candidate" card!
If at least half a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the experience level of that floor by 1. If all a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2. A floor's experience level may not exceed the maximum of 10!
Collect the 20 Tower Cards in front of you, shuffle them, and lay them out face-down in 4 rows of 5 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start a new Tower Exploration.
The Mission of the Brain (page 28)
Story summary (omitted fiction): in the metal rooms of the tower the hero (in the mirror vision) found a huge transparent sphere holding a large brain, the "control brain" of a spaceship built by inhabitants of Rigel VII, which Borbarad seized and built his tower around. Borbarad's experiments with the ship's reactor have caused it to slowly overload, and the control brain used the last remote-controlled laser to write the call for help on the wall of the Royal Palace of Zorgan. According to the brain, the spaceship is still fully functional; the only things necessary to regain control are to fix the on-board computer, flip a switch in the arboretum, and find a magnetic key somewhere in the depths of Borbarad's tower. The Orcs have grown much stronger; their mysterious leader himself has started to make an appearance.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Discard the "Death's Candidate" card with the previous symbol and replace it with the next "Death's Candidate" card.
Place "The Vagabond" opponent card to the left of the Row of Villains on the Tower Plan. All the usual rules for Leaders apply to this card.
If at least half a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the experience level of that floor by 1. If all a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2. A floor's experience level may not exceed the maximum of 10!
Collect the 20 Tower Cards in front of you and remove the following cards (and their corresponding Learning Cards) from the game: "Verminous Bunks," "Teleportation Amulet," "Golden Miniature," "Confusing Staircase," "Cocoons on the Ceiling," and "Rockworms." These cards are no longer used for the remainder of the Adventure!
Add the 10 "Basement" Tower Cards, shuffle the 24 cards, and lay them out face-down in 4 rows of 6 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Remove the "Hurry up!" card and replace it with the "Endeavor" card. This card remains in play for the rest of the Adventure; do not discard it at the end of a Tower Exploration!
Place the Task Cards "Magnetic Key," "Trap Door," and "Analytical Engine" on the "Reserve" space on the Tower Plan. From now on, your hero can acquire and use these cards (see "Task Cards" on page 23).
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start a new Tower Exploration.
Important: Remember to place 1 token on the "Eleven Friends" card and the "Orc Shaman" card at the start of each Tower Exploration! This is written on the cards, but it is often overlooked.
Section 5 (page 29)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero succeeded in helping the control brain, but Rohezal reveals himself as Liscom of Fasar, the "Defiler of Time," who intends to bring Borbarad back and who needed the spaceship's energy source; he kills the hero. The hero then looks up from the mirror again, realizes Liscom did not notice what had happened in the mirror, shatters the mirror, and explains that the only alternative is to help the spaceship's control brain return to Rigel VII immediately. Liscom says he will fix the mirror in a few hours and that if anything happens to the hero in the meantime, the death will be final. The hero sends the friends out of the tower, but Rachel and Turan insist on staying. This is the hero's last attempt.
The current Tower Exploration is over. Reset your hero's Life Points to 40 and return all Fate Points to the Tower Plan. If you used your hero's special ability, put the Ability Token back on the Hero Card. Place all Action Cards into your Discard Pile and shuffle them into a new Hero Deck. Shuffle all Henchman Cards back into their respective piles.
Move the Time Counter back to the initial space of the Time Row. Discard the "Death's Candidate" card with the previous symbol and replace it with the combined "Death's Candidate" card showing two symbols (one for failure, one for success; see Sections 6 and 7 below).
If you removed "The Vagabond" opponent card from play (either by defeating it or by applying the effect of the "Bull Skull Shrine"), bring "The Vagabond" back into the game.
Put all Task Cards you gained during the Exploration back in the "Reserve" space of the Tower Plan. Reduce the number of tokens on the "Eleven Friends" to 2.
If at least half a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase the experience level of that floor by 1. If all a floor's Tower Cards are face-up in play, increase it by 2. A floor's experience level may not exceed the maximum of 10!
Collect the 24 Tower Cards in front of you, shuffle them, and lay them out face-down in 4 rows of 6 cards each. Place the Hero Token on the "Entrance Stairs" card.
Draw 2 cards from the Henchmen Draw Pile and place them in the Row of Villains.
Start one last Tower Exploration.
Important: Your hero has only one Tower Exploration to complete the Objective on the "Death's Candidate" card with the two symbols! If they fail, you lose the Adventure (Section 6, the first symbol shown on the card). If they succeed, the Adventure ends successfully in Section 7 (the second symbol shown on the card).
Section 6: The Adventure is lost (page 30)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero looks up from the mirror, relieved that the person who failed was not them, and wonders whether there are infinite versions of this story with infinite protagonists; the hero shakes off these whispers of the Nameless One and vows to defeat it.
Your hero failed the Adventure; you may now replay the Adventure from the beginning. Remove all cards and tokens obtained during the Adventure from the game, but keep your Hero Card, Skill Card, and Hero Deck. The Adventure starts fresh on page 19.
Section 7: The Adventure is won (page 30)
Story summary (omitted fiction): the hero again contacts the control brain, fulfils the necessary tasks to save the reactor from a meltdown, and warns it to launch the spaceship at once before the mage in the tower strikes. The tower's Mesa is melted down in the launch, but the control brain teleports the hero aboard at the last moment and invites the hero to Rigel VII. The scene then ends with the revelation that it was all seen in a magic mirror in the Caravansary of the Mada Basari.
You have overcome the Adventure and the "Curse of the Desert" campaign. As a reward, you receive the Player Title card "Truth in the Mirror" (No. 165). This card is not tied to any specific hero but to you. Every time you play Aventuria, you may place this card next to your Hero Card at the start of an Adventure and profit from its effect during the Adventure.
Rules Questions and Answers (Curse of Borbarad)
Death's Candidate
Q: Some "Death's Candidate" cards say the current Tower Exploration only ends with the death of the hero. Does this mean that during such Explorations, you always play until you die?
A: Yes, that is correct.
Entrance Stairs
Q: Do I receive the "Entrance Stairs" Learning Card automatically at the start of the first Tower Exploration, or do I have to actively enter it first?
A: As with all other Tower Cards, your hero must actively enter the "Entrance Stairs" at least once before they learn from the experiences there. So, you do not automatically get the Learning Card at the start of the first exploration; your hero must stop on the "Entrance Stairs" or use a move action to enter them later.
Defeating Opponents with Learning Cards
Q: If I use a Learning Card to defeat one or more opponents, do I receive Fate Points for them as if I had defeated them in combat?
A: No, you do not receive Fate Points for such opponents, unless the card says otherwise.
Henchmen Attacks
Q: The henchmen the hero encounters in Borbarad's tower have a variety of criteria that determine their attack targets. When using them in the solo adventure with only one hero, that hero is always affected, right?
A: That is correct. Since the solo hero is the only valid target, the henchmen's actions always affect them.
Cocoons on the Ceiling
Q: The game includes 2 Drugone cards. If the "Cocoons on the Ceiling" Learning Card asks me to place another Drugone, but both are already in play, what should I do?
A: In this case, your hero is lucky and no additional Drugone appears.
Endeavor
Q: This card allows me to discard any number of Fate Points and Endurance Cards to make the same number of additional moves. Do I have to discard all the Fate Points and Endurance Cards before I move the hero, or can I expend them one after the other while I move the hero accordingly?
A: You may expend 1 Fate Point or Endurance Card at a time, perform the movement, and then decide whether to expend 1 additional Fate Point or Endurance Card for another movement, and so on.
The Vagabond
Q: "The Vagabond" reduces the damage Orc henchman suffer from Learning Cards by 2. Does this also help henchmen defeated by Learning Card effects?
A: No. When your hero directly defeats an Orc henchman with such an effect, "The Vagabond's" ability does not apply.
Bull Skull Shrine
Q: The Critical Success result mentions, among other things, that I should no longer use the normal Orc Henchmen Pile. May I also discard all Orc henchmen currently in the Row of Villains?
A: No. Orc henchmen already in play remain in the Row of Villains. However, no additional Orcs arrive after this moment.
Doubler
Q: Am I interpreting this Henchman Card correctly…? I cannot defeat the "Doubler" henchman normally in combat because it multiplies even more?
A: Yes, that is correct. This is a reference to the original The Dark Eye adventure Curse of Borbarad, which—we suspect—was probably a reference to the Tribbles from Star Trek.
Ship's Computer
Q: I don't understand how to use the "Ship's Computer" Learning Card to gain the "Analytic Engine" Task Card. Please explain it to me in detail!
A: The exact procedure is as follows:
First, use the various Learning Cards in the game to collect at least 10 tokens on the "Death's Candidate" card. You may use different Tower Cards to achieve this, including the "Ship's Computer" Tower Card itself.
Once you collect at least 10 tokens, you must make one more successful roll on the "Ship's Computer" Tower Card to gain 1 more token (increasing the total to 11 tokens, or more). In doing so, you achieve the Objective and gain the "Analytical Engine" Task Card.
Multiplayer Version
We designed Curse of the Desert for a single hero, but you can also play the campaign with a group of heroes. To do so, however, you need the Aventuria Box "Chalices of Power" for its multiplayer rules, game materials, and additional heroes.
Nedime, the Caliph's Daughter (Multiplayer)
To play this adventure as part of a Multiplayer Campaign, make the following adjustments:
- Less Time: At the start of the Adventure, remove 2 Heart tokens from the Nedime card.
- Reduced Maximum Life Points: The heroes have reduced maximum Life Points, depending on the number of heroes.
| Number of Heroes | Maximum Life Points |
|---|---|
| 2 | 30 |
| 3 | 25 |
| 4-6 | 20 |
Each hero starts each Exploration with this number of Life Points and can only be healed up to this number of Life Points.
- Hero Group: The Hero Token on the Palace Plan represents the entire group. The group cannot be split up.
- Starting Hero: Use the Starting Hero Token and pass it along at the end of each round as usual. The attacks of Leaders and other effects that would affect the solo hero, are aimed at the current Starting Hero instead.
- Step 0: In this step, starting with the current starting hero, each hero performs a movement and fully resolves its effect before the next hero's turn. The game effects of Palace, Story and Manticore Cards triggered by this movement only apply to the hero who performed the movement! In a group of 4-6 heroes, only the first three heroes perform a movement.
- More Dangerous Leaders: Increase the number of actions shown on the "Baradarasch," "Engrit Sila," and "The Singing Manticore" cards (after applying modifiers from Story Cards if applicable) by the number of additional heroes and the Life Points by the number of additional heroes x 10. For example, with 3 heroes, their actions would increase by 2 and their Life Points by 20.
- Henchmen: At the beginning of each Exploration and every time reinforcements arrive according to the Time Scale (+1), you do not draw 1 henchman, but as many henchmen as there are heroes. The heroes do not receive Fate Cards for eliminated henchmen, but the usual Fate Points. (Wording of this last sentence reproduced as printed; the icons were rendered as images.)
- Unconscious Hero: If at least one hero has 0 Life Points at the end of a round, the current Exploration ends immediately with the heroes' retreat.
- End of an Exploration: In the multiplayer version, an Exploration ends when Nedime is freed or the heroes decide to retreat, or if one of the heroes has drawn the last card from their Hero Deck. It also ends if a hero is unconscious at the end of a round—see above.
- Finishing the Adventure: Once you have overcome the Adventure, each hero receives the rewards mentioned in the corresponding section.
Curse of Borbarad (Multiplayer)
To play this adventure as part of a Multiplayer Campaign, make the following adjustments:
- Fellowship of Pain: Be warned: the regular Solo version of this adventure is a harrowing experience for the protagonist, and in the multiplayer version this experience is multiplied.
- Reduced Maximum Life Points: The heroes have reduced maximum Life Points, depending on the number of heroes.
| Number of Heroes | Maximum Life Points |
|---|---|
| 2 | 30 |
| 3 | 25 |
| 4-6 | 20 |
Each hero starts each Tower Exploration with this number of Life Points and can only be healed up to this number of Life Points.
- Hero Group: The Hero Token on the Tower Plan represents the entire group. The group cannot be split up.
- Starting Hero: Use the Starting Hero Token and pass it along at the end of each round as usual. The attacks of Leaders and other effects that would affect the solo hero, are aimed at the current Starting Hero instead.
- Group Time Scale: Use the Group Time Scale (No. 158) instead of the regular Time Scale.
- Orc Henchmen: Add all Henchman Cards with the "Orc" keyword from the "Chalices of Power" box to the Henchmen Draw Pile.
- Starting Henchmen: At the beginning of each Tower Exploration, you do not draw 2 henchmen, but (number of heroes x 2) henchmen.
- Step 0: In this step, only the starting hero makes a move and fully resolves its effect. The game effects triggered by this movement only apply to the starting hero!
- Learning Cards and Permanent Effects: The Learning Cards and experience levels apply to all heroes in the group, regardless of which hero gained the Learning Card. Permanent effects listed in a box also apply to all heroes, and when there are tokens on the "Hunger" or "Thirst" space of the Tower Plan, they apply to all heroes as well.
- More Dangerous Leader: Increase the number of actions shown on the "The Vagabond" card by the number of additional heroes and the Life Points by the number of additional heroes x 10. For example, with 3 heroes, the actions would increase by 2 and the Life Points by 20.
- Dying Heroes: Every time a hero becomes unconscious, they count as dead and cannot be revived in any way during the current Tower Exploration. They only return in the following exploration.