Black Rose Wars: Rebirth
Black Rose Wars: Rebirth Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 1 Power Board
- 1 Event Board
- 19 Rooms and 4 Cells
- 4 Mage Sheets
- 4 Mage Cards
- 4 Reference Cards
- 130 Damage/Instability Cubes + 3 Moon Cubes
- 19 Room Activation Tokens
- 1 Crown Token
- 1 Albedo Token (this token is used to represent the Albedo Model in the Lodge)
- 5 Power Tokens
- 8 Physical Action Tokens
- 16 Trap/Protection Tokens
- 16 Persistence Tokens
- 28 Trophy Tokens
- 216 Spell Cards
- 12 Personal Spell Cards
- 9 Forgotten Spell Cards
- 6 School Reference Cards
- 1 Forgotten Reference Card
- 18 Upgrade Cards
- 12 Jinx Cards
- 34 Evocation Cards
- 49 Quest Cards (15 First Moon, 21 Second Moon, 13 Third Moon)
- 39 Event Cards (13 First Moon, 13 Second Moon, 13 Third Moon)
Avatar Components
- 1 Avatar Card
- 7 Avatar Trophy Tokens
- 30 Avatar Command Cards
- 15 Avatar Event Cards (5 First Moon, 5 Second Moon, 5 Third Moon)
- 1 Avatar Board
Models and Bases
- Mages: Arianna, Gramigna, Rikkart, Baron Doria
- 4 Mage Bases, 1 of each player's color
- 16 Evocation Bases, 4 of each player's color
- 1 Avatar Base
- 4 Avatar Evocation Bases
- 3 Colossus
- 3 Succubus
- 8 Cadaver
- 3 Nigredo
- 9 Umbra
- 5 Totem / Mystic Totem / Ancestral Totem
Setup
Follow the steps below to set up the game:
- Place the Black Rose Room (A) at the center of the table and the Throne Room (B) adjacent to it (the side it is placed next to is irrelevant). Place the Rooms destroyed-side-up (the side showing the Instability Slots). Shuffle the remaining Rooms and randomly place them around the Black Rose Room until you have a complete board, called the Lodge. These Rooms are to be placed destroyed-side-up as well.
- Take the four Cells (C). Shuffle them face-down (so you cannot see their color) and place them randomly as shown in the picture, always keeping them face-down. Do not flip them over at this time. For a 2- or 3-players game refer to Lodge Layouts on page 42.
- Place the Power Board (D) and the Event Board (E) on opposite sides of the Lodge.
- Place the Room Activation Tokens (Z) next to the Lodge so that they are in reach of all players.
- Place the First Moon Quest Cards (F), Jinx Cards (G), Upgrade Cards (H) and Evocation Cards (I) on the Power Board. Set aside the Second and Third Moon Quest Cards.
- Place the Second Moon Cube (J) (gray cube), the Third Moon Cube (K) (yellow cube), and the Black Rose Cube (L) (black opaque cube) in the slots with the matching colored stars on the Power Board (D).
- Place the Black Rose Damage/Instability Cubes (black cubes) (M) and the First Moon Event Cards (N) on the Event Board (E). Set aside the Second and Third Moon Event Cards. The player who was last given a rose gets the Crown Token (O), becoming the Crown Holder.
- Starting with the Crown Holder and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses a color and takes the Mage Sheet, Damage/Instability Cubes, Physical Action Tokens, Trophy Tokens, Trap/Protection Tokens, Persistence Tokens, Mage Base and Evocation Bases matching that color (P). The player then chooses a Mage, and takes the matching Model, Mage Card and that Mage's three Personal Spell Cards (Q).
- Shuffle each of the 6 School of Magic decks separately and place them next to the Lodge so that they are in reach of all players. Place the School Reference Cards (R) under the Schools of Magic decks in order to distinguish the various decks, as shown in the image. These six decks form the Library (U). Shuffle the Forgotten Spells deck (V) and place it to the left of the Library with the corresponding Reference Card. This deck is not part of the Library. Place the Evocation Models within easy reach.
- Starting with the Crown Holder and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses a School of Magic that has not already been chosen by another player. They then take the School Reference Card (R) of the chosen School and select one of the two Starting Grimoires (W) indicated on it (see page 14). They search for the six cards indicated in that School deck, then add one of their Mage's Personal Spell Cards and shuffle them. This deck of seven cards is their starting Grimoire (S); place it to the left of the Mage Sheet, near the Grimoire slot, then take the first card of the deck and place it face-up near the Memories slot (T) on the right of the Mage Sheet. Set the other two Personal Spell Cards aside for later in the game.
- Flip over the Cells and place your Mage Model (C) in the one matching the color of your Mage Sheet. Players take their places around the table so that they are facing the Cell of their own color.
- Place the Mages' Power Tokens and the Black Rose Power Token on slot 0 of the Power Board (D).
You are now ready to play.
Game Turn
Warning: on all game components, such as Spells or Quests, the players are identified by the term "Mage".
A Game Turn consists of the following six Phases in the order shown below.
- Black Rose Phase
- Study Phase
- Preparation Phase
- Action Phase
- Evocation Phase
- Clean-up Phase
Warning: Golden Rule
A specific rule indicated on a game component has priority over the basic rule indicated in this manual.
Crown Token and Play Order
The Mage who has the Crown Token is referred to as the Crown Holder, and is considered the First Mage for the whole duration of a Phase. This Token may change ownership over the course of a Phase due to various game Effects. When this happens, the new Crown Holder becomes the First Mage, starting from the next Phase. Being the Crown Holder is important at the end of the game, as it awards 1 Power Point and breaks various ties.
The Crown Holder also has the final say on any ambiguous situation that may occur during the game.
Play Order: on many occasions, it is indicated to resolve something in "play order". This means resolving starting from the First Mage and proceeding clockwise.
1. Black Rose Phase
Perform the following steps as indicated:
- Shift the Events: revealed Events on the Event Board are moved one slot to the right as follows: from third slot to the Event Card Discard Pile (D), from second slot to third, and from first slot to second. When an Event is placed in the Event Card Discard Pile this way, the Black Rose gains the number of Power Points indicated in the bottom right corner of the card.
- Draw an Event: the Mage to the right of the First Mage draws an Event Card from the current deck on the Event Board. If this Event Card has the Crown symbol, the player who drew this card is given the Crown Token. When an Event Card is revealed, the Black Rose gains the number of Power Points indicated in the bottom left corner of the card. Read the text aloud and place the card in the appropriate slot, as indicated on it (A). If the slot where the card is to be placed is already occupied by another Event, move that Event to the next slot (B), possibly pushing an Event already present on that slot to its right, until no Event cards need to be moved further. In this way, it is possible that an Event on the Board is moved to the Event Card Discard Pile (this triggers the Power Point gain described in step 1). Some Events are Instant: their Effect is applied immediately and the card is discarded without placing it on the Board nor displacing any Event Card already there; the Black Rose gains the number of Power Points indicated in the bottom corners of the Instant Event Card.
- Apply Events: starting from the leftmost card, apply the Effects of each Event Card on the Event Board that must be resolved during the Black Rose Phase, ignoring others (see next page, Event Card Anatomy, point D).
- Discard a Quest (optional): each Mage, in play order, may discard one of their Active Quest Cards and place it face-down on the Event Board Quest Slot (C). The Black Rose gains Power Points based on the Moon Phase that Quest Card belongs to: 1 Power Point for the First Moon, 2 for the Second Moon and 3 for the Third Moon. Note: only Active Quest Cards discarded this way award Power Points to the Black Rose.
- Draw a Quest: in play order, each Mage with no Active Quest Cards (see page 12) must draw one from the current Moon Deck and place it in the Active Quest Slot of their Mage Sheet.
- Discard exceeding Quests: each Mage with a number of Active Quest Cards higher than their Quest Limit value discards them down to that value. Then each Mage does the same for their Completed Quest Cards.
Event Board
This board keeps track of some key game information.
Event Board Anatomy
- (A) Current Moon Event Deck
- (B) Active Events Slot; these Events will affect the Phase shown on the bottom of the card (see below)
- (C) Event Card Discard Pile
- (D) Slot to store the Black Rose's Damage/Instability Cubes
- (E) Quest Card Discard Pile
- (F) Slot to store the Trophies of Mages defeated by the Black Rose
Draw an Event Card
When an Effect requires an Event Card to be drawn, that card must be revealed and placed on the Event Board as indicated in (F) (see below). The Black Rose immediately gains the number of Power Points indicated on the bottom left of the Event Card (see E below).
Discard an Event Card
When an Effect requires an Event Card to be discarded, that card must be chosen from those revealed on the Event Board and placed in the Event Card Discard Pile. When this happens, the Black Rose does not gain the Power Points indicated in the bottom right corner of the Event Card.
Optional rule: Steady Crown
If all players participating in the game agree, they can follow the Steady Crown rule, thus ignoring the Crown symbol (B) on the Event Cards. The Crown Holder may still change due to other game Effects (such as the Throne Room Effect).
Event Cards
The Event Cards represent the influence of the Black Rose during the battle between Mages. These cards are divided into three decks, each corresponding to a Moon Phase. Their Effects can be either positive or negative, as the will of the Black Rose is unpredictable.
Event Card Anatomy
- (A) Name of the Event.
- (B) Some Event Cards feature the Crown symbol. A Mage who, for whatever reason, draws an Event Card with this symbol on it, becomes the Crown Holder.
- (C) Description of the Effect that applies at the start of the indicated Phase (see D below) or for the duration of the indicated Phase.
- (D) The Phase in which the card's Effect is resolved (in the example, the Black Rose Phase).
- (E) The number of Power Points earned by the Black Rose when the Event is revealed.
- (F) The area of the Event Board where the card is placed face-up (moving, if present, any card to the right).
- (G) Number of Power Points earned by the Black Rose when the Event Card is placed in the discard pile of the Event Board.
Quest Cards
Quest Cards are divided into three Moon Decks, each of which contains the challenges that Mages must overcome in order to earn the rewards from the Black Rose and prove themselves worthy successors of the Grand Magister. Quests become increasingly difficult to complete as the Moon progresses, while rewards improve.
Each Quest Card specifies a Task (B) specified after its name (A). Tasks are specific and peculiar requirements a Mage must fulfill to complete the Quest.
Quests owned by a Mage are called Active Quests and are placed in the Active Quests Slot of their Mage Sheet. Whenever a Mage fulfills the requirement of a Task on one of their Active Quest cards, they reveal that card (unless already revealed). If the Quest Card has cube slots (E), the Mage places one of their cubes on the leftmost empty slot on the Quest Card.
A Quest is Completed either when its Task is fulfilled, or when all its cube slots are filled; when this happens, the Mage places the card face-up in the Completed/Solved Quest Slot. The Quest Card is now considered Completed, but not Solved. Some Effects can complete a Quest even if it is not Active.
A Mage can have any number of Active Quests at the same time; nevertheless, during the Black Rose Phase (step 6), they must discard them down to their Quest Limit value. The same limit applies to their Completed Quests (see page 23, point O); the Mage does not score any Power Points for a discarded Completed Quest.
During a Mage's Activation (see page 24), either before or after resolving their first or second Action, the Mage can activate, one at a time, the Effects (C) of their Completed Quests.
Once the Effect of a Quest is resolved (see page 16, What is an Effect), that Quest becomes Solved. Some Effects can solve a Quest even if it is not Active or Completed. When a Quest becomes Solved, the owner gains the Power Point Reward (D) indicated on the card, and turns the card face-down (but keeps it in the Completed/Solved Quest Slot).
At the end of the game, Solved Quest Cards will be essential for gaining additional Power Points!
Draw a Quest Card
When an Effect requires a Mage to draw a Quest Card, it must be placed next to the Mage Sheet, in the Active Quest Slot (see page 23, point N).
When an Effect requires the Black Rose to draw a Quest Card, that card must be placed face-down in the Quest Card Discard Pile (see top of page 11, point E); then, the Black Rose gains Power Points as described on page 10, step 4 (1 for the First Moon, 2 for the Second Moon and 3 for the Third Moon).
Discard a Quest Card
When an Effect requires a Quest Card to be discarded, that card must be placed in the Quest Card Discard Pile on the Event Board; the Black Rose does not gain any Power Points.
Quest Card Anatomy
- (A) The title of the Quest
- (B) The Task to be completed
- (C) Quest Effect
- (D) Power Points Reward
- (E) Cube slots
Power Board
This board keeps track of some key game information.
Power Board Anatomy
- (A) First Moon. Each Mage, as well as the Black Rose, will place their Power Token onto this slot. Whenever Power Points are earned, move the appropriate Token along the track.
- (B) Quest Card Deck
- (C) Evocation Card Deck
- (D) Jinx Card Deck
- (E) Upgrade Card Deck
- (F) Second Moon trigger and Second Moon Cube
- (G) Third Moon trigger and Third Moon Cube
- (H) End Game trigger and Black Rose Moon Cube
When the Second Moon Cube or the Third Moon Cube is reached or surpassed by any Power Token for the first time, increase the Moon Phase accordingly. As soon as a Power Token reaches the Black Rose Moon Cube, the end of the game begins.
Power Points and Moons
The game pace is set by the passing of the three Moon Phases. The current Moon is indicated by the Power Token farthest ahead on the Power Board, whether it belongs to a Mage or to the Black Rose.
Based on the current Moon, the decks of Event Cards and Quest Cards change, moving from the First Moon to the Second, and finally to the Third Moon.
The First Moon Phase affects the game until a Power Token reaches the Second Moon Cube (in a standard game, when 6 Power Points are reached).
The Second Moon Phase begins when a Power Token reaches the Second Moon Cube. When this happens, do the following:
- Replace the Quest and Event Decks with those of the Second Moon.
- Each Mage adds to their Hand one of the Personal Spells put aside during the Setup.
The Third Moon Phase begins when a Power Token reaches the Third Moon Cube (at 18 Power Points in a standard setup). When this happens:
- Replace the Quest and Event Decks with those of the Third Moon.
- Each Mage adds to their Hand one of the Personal Spells put aside during the Setup.
If, due to a loss of Power Points, a Token moves backwards on the Power Board, the Moon Phase does not change, and rules for the highest Moon Phase reached still apply.
Note: Event Cards currently face-up on the Event Board stay in play until they move to the far right, even if their Moon Phase has ended.
For the End Game trigger, see page 32.
Example: Moon Phase Changing
Gramigna resolves the Effect of her Personal Spell "Evil Eye" which awards her 1 Power Point, bringing her total to 6, enough to trigger the Second Moon Phase. The Quest and the Event decks of the First Moon are replaced with the ones of the Second Moon, and each Mage adds a Personal Spell to their Hand. Immediately afterwards, Arianna uses her Physical Action to move inside the Pleasures Room and activates it. By resolving the Effect of the Room, Arianna draws one Quest from the Second Moon deck.
Optional rule: Changing Moon Positions
Once you become familiar with the standard game, you can experiment by placing the Moon Cubes in different slots during the game setup. Doing so changes the duration of each Moon Phase and of the game as well.
2. Study Phase
During this Phase a Mage draws Spells from their Grimoire and from the Library.
- Each Mage draws 2 Spell Cards from their Grimoire and adds them directly to their Hand.
- Each Mage, starting with the First Mage, draws 4 Spell Cards, each one from any School of Magic of your choice in the Library (remember: the Forgotten Spell deck is not a School of Magic and is not part of the Library) without adding them to their Hand. The Mage looks at and chooses 2 of these Spell Cards and adds them to their Hand; then they place the other 2 Spell Cards face-up in the Discard Pile corresponding to the chosen School of Magic.
At the end of this Phase, each Mage should have added four Spell Cards to their Hand, two from their Grimoire and two from the Library.
At any time during the Study Phase, a Mage may discard one (and one only) Spell Card from their Hand to the corresponding School of Magic Discard Pile. Doing this allows players to thin their Grimoire and make it more efficient.
Before the end of this Phase, if a Mage has more Spell Cards in Hand than their Hand value, they must discard Spell Cards to their Memories (Discard Pile) down to their Hand value.
Grimoire, Hand and Memories
Each player has their own Grimoire, which is placed face-down to the left of the Grimoire slot of their Mage Sheet. Available Spells are drawn from the Grimoire (along with new Spells which are drawn from the Library, see below) and placed in the Mage's Hand (a Mage's Hand size limit is shown on their Mage Card). Whenever a Spell is to be discarded (from the Mage Sheet or Hand) it is placed face-up in the owner's Memories, and forms a discard pile to the right of the Memories slot of their Mage Sheet. Whenever a Mage is to draw a card while their Grimoire is empty, that Mage first shuffles their Memories back into the Grimoire.
See page 23 for a detailed explanation of the Mage Sheet and the Mage Card.
School Reference Card Anatomy
- (A) School of Magic's Name
- (B) Special Rules and Keywords of the School
- (C) Elements found in the Spell Cards of the School of Magic
- (D) School of Magic's Symbol
- (E) Starting Grimoires
- (F) Type, Element and Target of each Spell Card present in the relevant starting Grimoire (Dark Side and Light Side)
Example: Hand Card Limit
Baron Doria is in the Study Phase. Currently, he has 5 Spell Cards in Hand. First, he draws 2 Spell Cards from his Grimoire, bringing his Hand to a total of 7 Spell Cards. Then, he draws 4 Spell Cards from the Library, 3 from the School of Nightmare and 1 from the School of Technomancy. He chooses and adds 2 of them to his Hand and discards the other 2 to their respective School of Magic Discard Piles. His Hand is now made up of 9 Spell Cards.
Baron Doria's Hand value is 8, but now he has 9 Spell Cards in his Hand. He decides to discard 1 Spell Card from his Hand to its corresponding School of Magic Discard Pile instead of being forced to discard one Spell Card to his Memories.
He now has 8 Spell Cards in his Hand and he is not forced to discard any card to his Memories.
Spell Cards
There are three types of Spell Cards: School Spell Cards, Personal Spell Cards and Forgotten Spell Cards.
School Spell Cards: each School of Magic is a deck composed of 36 School Spell Cards (12 different Spell Cards, 3 copies each). Six such decks form the Library.
Personal Spell Cards (see page 16): each Mage has 3 copies of their Personal Spell Cards; refer to the Setup (see page 9) to learn how to assign them.
Forgotten Spell Cards (see page 16): these Spell Cards do not form a School of Magic and are not part of the Library; a Mage may draw them using the Effect of the Black Rose Room.
Spell Card Anatomy
- (A) Spell name.
- (B) School icon.
- (C) Spell Cards have two different Effects, one on the Light Side (straight) and the other on the Dark Side (reverse). A Mage must choose which of the two Effects to use during the Preparation Phase.
- (D) Spell Type: Combat, Contingency, Protection, Trap (see next page).
- (E) Elements: the Element of a Spell is used in specific situations that may occur during the game, and are: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Sacred, Profane, Magic, all Elements (if needed, the caster chooses any of the Elements).
- (F) The Target Type and the Range of the Spell (see page 26).
- (G) Instability: the casting Mage places an Instability Cube of their color in the Room they are in. Instability must be placed before resolving the Effect of the Spell.
Trap/Protection Spell Card Structure
Protection and Trap Spell cards have an additional section that explains their Trigger Condition (or simply "Trigger") (H). Some Trap Spells only have one Side (I). Trap Spells that trigger when a Mage enters a specific Room only have the Light Side (straight).
The six Schools of Magic are: Agony, Alchemy, Hex, Shamanic, Technomancy, Nightmare.
What is an Effect?
The game often refers to Effects. Most game components of the game and each Physical Action have Effects, which are composed of one or more icons and/or sentences that allow you to influence the game. Each sentence that makes up an Effect must be applied in full, beginning with the first and proceeding in order. If a phrase cannot be applied in full, the parts that cannot be applied (even all of them) are skipped and you continue with the next phrase. An Effect is considered resolved when an attempt has been made to apply all the phrases that make up the Effect, even if none of them could be applied.
Event Cards (see page 11)
- (A) Passing of the Crown: this Effect is to be read as "Get the Crown.", referring to the Mage reading the Event Card.
- (B) Effect: The Effect of the Event Card.
Quest Cards (see page 12)
- (A) Effect: The Effect of the Quest Card.
- (B) Power Points: this Effect is to be read as "Gain N Power Points.", referring to the Mage who has just resolved the Quest Card.
Spell Cards (see page 15)
- (A) Place Instability: this Effect is to be read as "Place 1 Instability Cube in a Room.", referring to the Mage who just revealed the Spell Card.
- (B) Light Side Effect: one of the Spell Card Effects (also known as the Straight Effect).
- (C) Dark Side Effect: one of the Spell Card Effects (also known as the Reverse Effect).
Physical Actions
Physical Actions allow you to perform a series of different Effects (see page 24).
Personal Spells
Each Mage has three copies of their Personal Spell Card. The Illustration shows the Mage they are associated to.
As previously mentioned, a Mage adds one Personal Spell Card to their Grimoire at the beginning of the game, and an additional one to their Hand each time the Moon Phase changes.
Forgotten Spells
Forgotten Spells are particularly powerful spells from ancient times. These Spells Cards have a unique graphic that distinguishes them and can be drawn exclusively by Effects like the Black Rose Room's.
The Forgotten Spells Deck is not a School of Magic and its cards can never be added to a player's Hand during the Study Phase.
Spell Types
The leftmost icon under a Spell Card's name indicates its Type:
- (A) Combat — These Spells deal Damage to other Mages and to their Evocations.
- (B) Contingency — These Spells have peculiar and unique Effects.
- (C) Protection — Spells that, once cast, are Active (see below) and may be triggered to aid the Mage when they are targeted by an enemy Effect.
- (D) Trap — Spells that, once cast, are Active (see below) and may be triggered when the conditions of the Spell are met (for instance, when a target enters a Room of a specific color or performs a certain action).
Warning: To better understand the rules from this point up to page 21 you may want to first read Chapter 3. Preparation Phase, and 4. Action Phase.
Trap/Protection Spells
Trap and Protection Spells can only be triggered if they are Active (see below) and if the Trigger Condition is met.
The Trigger Condition displays the required condition for the Spell's Effect to be applied. Even if the trigger condition occurs, revealing a Trap/Protection Spell to apply its Effects is not mandatory, and can be saved for later in the Phase or ignored entirely.
During the Clean-up Phase, Active (see below) Trap and Protection Spells on the Mage Sheet can be taken back into Hand or discarded into Memories by their respective owners.
Protection: When a Mage casts a Protection, they must not reveal it. Instead, they place a Protection Token (A) on the back of the card. The Protection Spell is now considered Active.
Each Protection Effect specifies the Trigger Condition (B) to be met in order to apply the Spell Effect (for example, the Active Protection Spell's owner is defeated). When the Trigger Condition occurs (and only then), the Protection owner may choose to reveal and resolve the Protection Effect. Once Revealed, Spells are not considered Active anymore.
Trap: When a Mage casts a Trap, they must not reveal it. Instead, they place a Trap Token (C) on the back of the card. The Trap Spell is now considered Active.
Each Trap Effect specifies the Trigger Condition (D) to be met in order to apply the Spell Effect (for example, a Model entering a specific Room or performing a particular Action). When the Trigger Condition occurs (and only then) the Trap owner may choose to reveal and resolve the Trap Effect. Once Revealed, Spells are not considered Active anymore.
Trap/Protection Spells Timing and Resolution
In most cases, when a Trap or Protection Spell is triggered, a game Effect will still be in progress (such as the Effects of a Spell or Quest, or one of the Effects of a Physical Action). The Trap/Protection therefore temporarily interrupts the Effect that triggered it.
If the Trap/Protection interrupts the Effect of a Spell, Quest, or Room, the interrupted Effect is resolved until the next period (.) on its text is reached, at which point the Effect of the Trap/Protection is resolved; then the previously interrupted Effect resumes resolving.
If the Trap/Protection interrupts a Physical Action, the current Effect of the Physical Action is resolved until the next period (.) on its text is reached (see Actions p. 24), at which point the Effect of the triggered Trap/Protection is resolved; then, if the Mage who was performing the Physical Action has not been defeated, they continue to resolve the interrupted Effect and/or the other Effects of the Physical Action. If instead they have been defeated, the remaining Effects are lost (and the defeat must be resolved, see p. 28).
Resolving an Effect of a Trap/Protection could trigger other Traps/Protections, in which case, the above happens, interrupting the current Effects as needed, and then resuming to resolve the interrupted Effects up to the one that triggered the whole process.
The Effect of a Spell or Quest, or the remaining Effects of a Physical Action that was interrupted, once its resolution is resumed, could trigger new Traps/Protections.
It is also possible that the same Effect or Physical Action triggers more than one Trap/Protection at the same time. All players who have declared that their Trap or Protection has been triggered will have to resolve these Effects by following these steps:
- If the triggered Traps/Protections all belong to the same player, they decide in what order to resolve them (one at a time) before the interrupted Effect or Physical Action is resolved.
- If the Traps/Protections which triggered at the same time belong to different players, their Effects are resolved in play order. In this case it is possible that whoever resolves the Trap/Protection second or third will not be able to fully apply its Effect.
Warning: Defeat and Resolution
The defeat of a Mage is always resolved once the next period (.) in the sentence of the Effect that caused the last damage on that Mage's Health Bar is reached (see p. 28).
When an Effect causes that Mage's immediate defeat, it will be resolved regardless of the number of Damage Cubes on their Health Bar. Once the defeat is resolved, resume resolving the rest of the Effect, starting from where you left off.
Example: Trap/Protection vs Spell Effects
- In this example the Active Mage, Rikkart, casts Grim Torment. He applies the first part of the Effect, up to the period, inflicting 3 Damage to his target, Gramigna.
- Gramigna has an Active Protection Spell that she may trigger. She decides to do so and reveals it by (temporarily) interrupting the resolution of Rikkart's Spell.
- Once Gramigna's Protection Spell Effect is completely resolved, the sentences not yet resolved in Rikkart's Spell are resolved from where it was interrupted.
Example: Trap/Protection vs Physical Action
- In this example the active Mage, Baron Doria, uses his Physical Action to perform the Explore Action. This Action is composed of the following three Effects: Move 1. Move 1. Activate a Room.
- The first "Move 1." allows Baron Doria to enter the Sanctuary. Gramigna has an Active Trap Spell, Cerebral Worm, that she may trigger. She decides to do so and reveals it by (temporarily) interrupting Baron Doria's Physical Action.
- Due to the Damage inflicted by the Trap Effect, Baron Doria is defeated; unlike Spells, the interrupted Physical Actions of a Mage who is defeated do not resume resolving. Baron Doria thus loses the remaining Effects of his Physical Action ("Move 1." and "Activate a Room."), and instead is sent to his Cell (see page 28).
Example: Chains of Traps and Protections
- Just like with all Spells, Traps and Protections can be interrupted as well. Baron Doria uses his Physical Action to perform the Explore Action. This Action is composed of the following three Effects: Move 1. Move 1. Activate a Room.
- The first "Move 1." allows Baron Doria to enter the Arena. Gramigna has an Active Trap Spell, Cerebral Worm, that she may trigger. She decides to do so and reveals it by (temporarily) interrupting Baron Doria's Physical Action.
- Gramigna resolves the first two sentences of the Effect of the triggered Trap, up to assigning the Vulnerability Jinx to the target. Baron Doria has an active Protection Spell, Persecution, that he may trigger. He decides to do so and reveals it, (temporarily) interrupting Cerebral Worm's resolution.
- Thanks to Persecution's Effect he ignores up to 3 Damage and inflicts to Gramigna Damage equal to those ignored (2 Damage).
- Gramigna has an active Protection Spell, Baleful Curse, that she may trigger. She decides to do so, reveals it and deals 2 Damage to Baron Doria in addition to assigning the Slowness Jinx to him. At this point you need to resume resolving the interrupted Effects in reverse order. Baron Doria's Persecution was completely resolved before Baleful Curse triggered, so you go one step further back to Gramigna's Cerebral Worm. This Trap still has some unresolved sentences in its Effect, so you resume their resolution from where you left off. Gramigna places 1 Instability Cube in a Room from Baron Doria for each Jinx assigned to him, for a total of 2 cubes (one for Vulnerability and one for Slowness). At this point, Baron Doria resolves the remaining Effects of his previously interrupted Physical Action, since he has not been defeated during the chain of Traps/Protections resolutions.
Persistents
Persistent are a type of Spell Effects that remain active for the duration of the Turn.
Persistent Effects apply whenever the condition required in their text is met.
To show that one of these Effects is active, the Mage who cast the Spell featuring it places on the target their Persistent Token corresponding to the Spell Slot (Quick, I, II or III) in which that Spell is located. If the target is a Mage (including themselves), they place the Persistent Token on their Mage Sheet; if it is an Evocation, they place it on their Evocation Card; if it is a Room, they place it in the Room.
The Persistent Effect ends when the Spell Card is removed from the Mage Sheet for any reason; when that happens, the Mage regains their Persistence Tokens.
Resolution of a Persistent Effect uses the same rules as those described in Timing and Resolution of Traps/Protections on page 18.
A Mage who is in the Cell may also resolve a Persistent Effect of a Revealed Card whenever the required condition occurs.
Summon Evocations
A Mage can summon an Evocation in different ways, through Spell, Room, Quest or Event Effects.
A Mage who resolves an Effect which summons an Evocation takes that Evocation's Model and places it in the Lodge, following the Effect's instructions. They then take that Evocation's Card and place it in one of the three Evocation Slots at the bottom of their Mage Sheet. They take the Evocation Base with the same number of dots indicated on the chosen Evocation Slot and clip it to the Model's base (see page 9). This will help associate a Model with the corresponding Evocation Card. Also, if a Mage has two or more identical Models among their Evocations, the number of dots helps distinguish the two when they are targeted by Effects.
A Mage can own a maximum of one Evocation with a large base at a time, so they only have one Evocation Base for large Models.
If a Mage summons an Evocation when all of their Evocation Slots are occupied, they may choose one of their Evocations already present in the Lodge and replace it with the newly summoned one. The replaced Evocation is not considered removed. To do so, discard the Evocation Card of the replaced Evocation and replace it with that of the newly summoned Evocation; then place the Model of the replaced Evocation in the reserve, and place the Model of the newly summoned Evocation in the Room indicated by the Effect that summoned it.
If there are no available Models of a specific Evocation (because they are all in the Lodge), the Mage can still resolve the Effect that summons it, but they do not place any Evocation in the Lodge.
Evocations' Owner and Controller
Whenever a Mage summons an Evocation, they are considered that Evocation's Owner for as long as that Model is clipped to an Evocation Base of the same color as the Mage Base. The ownership of a Model never changes.
The controller of an Evocation is the Mage that takes any decision regarding that Evocation. By default, the owner of an Evocation is its controller.
During the course of the game, the controller of an Evocation may change due to various Effects. In that case, its ownership does not change and the new controller takes all the decisions regarding the Evocation, other than those which specifically require the Owner to take any decision or perform any Action. An Evocation that deals damage or places instability always places Cubes of its controller's color.
Warning: Summoned and Assigned
Most of the game Effects allow players to summon Evocations; the Mage who does so places an Evocation Model in the Lodge following the steps described above.
Some Effects (mainly from the Nightmare School, see the School Reference Card) instead Assign Evocations. Assigned Evocations are paired with a Mage against their will, and follow specific rules, indicated on the School Reference Card of the School whose Spells cause this Effect. Assigned Evocations, generally, cause negative Effects on the paired Mage.
Evocation Cards
This set, consisting of 33 cards, is used to define the features of the Evocations.
Evocation Card Anatomy
- (A) Name.
- (B) Archetype: Evocations have an Archetype that allows you to target them with specific Effects. These Effects are more powerful as they have a more specific target.
- (C) Evocation Skills.
- (D) Speed value: the Evocation can perform a number of consecutive "Move 1." Effects equal to this value.
- (E) Strength value: Evocations inflict damage equal to this value when attacking a target. An Evocation attack is considered a Physical Attack. When an Evocation inflicts Damage, place Damage Cubes of its controller's Color on the target Mage Sheet or Evocation Card; this Damage is considered as dealt by the Evocation Model.
- (F) Health value: When an Evocation has a number of Damage Cubes on its card equal to its Health value, it is defeated. Remove its Model from the Lodge, place its Evocation Card in the Evocation Card Deck. The owner takes back the Evocation Base attached to the defeated Model.
Some game Effects allow you to remove an Evocation from the Lodge. When a Mage (or the Black Rose) resolves one of these Effects they must comply with these points:
- A non-Forgotten Spell cannot remove another Mage's Forgotten Evocation.
- A non-Forgotten Spell cannot remove another Mage's Evocation with a Health value greater than 3. Note that some Effects may change the Health value of an Evocation from that printed on the Evocation Card.
- An Effect that removes your own Evocation allows the Mage to ignore the previous points; therefore you can remove your Evocation with any Health value even if it is a Forgotten Evocation.
- A Forgotten Spell that removes an Evocation ignores the previous points; therefore you can remove one of your own (or another Mages's) Evocation with any Health value even if it is a Forgotten Evocation.
3. Preparation Phase
In this Phase, each player plans their strategy for the next phase, the Action Phase, by arranging their Spell cards and placing them face-down on their Mage Sheet. Each player must place a minimum of two, up to a maximum of four, Spell Cards on their Mage Sheet.
Each Spell has two different Effects (Light Side Effect and Dark Side Effect). Place the cards face-down, aligned to the Effect you want to use. Place the side of the Effect you want to use towards the bottom of your Mage Sheet, so that when the card is flipped vertically, the text of the Effect you want to use is upright (i.e. not upside-down).
Spells placed on the Mage Sheet and not yet Revealed are called Ready Spells.
Spells placed on the Mage Sheet and not yet Revealed with a Trap or Protection Token on them are called Active Spells.
Each Mage may place a Spell Card in the Quick Spell Slot while the rest of the Spell Cards are placed in the slots numbered from 1 to 3 (in Roman numerals). The Preparation Phase ends when all Mages have placed the desired Spell Cards (at least 2) on their Mage Sheet.
When the Preparation Phase is over, you may no longer change the orientation or position of the Spells.
This Phase is crucial because by placing Spell Cards in the I, II, and III slots, you will determine the order in which your Spells will be activated during the next Phase.
The Quick Spell can be cast at any time during a Mage's Activation, whereas Spells on slots I, II, and III can only be cast in ascending order, from left to right (see page 24).
Each Mage should try to anticipate their opponents' moves by, for example, activating a Trap Spell before a Mage moves into a specific Room.
A Mage can always look at the Ready Spells on their own Mage Sheet, making sure not to flip or rotate them.
Example: Preparation Phase
Rikkart secretly prepared a Protection as his first Spell (1), two Combat Spells as his second (2) and third (3), and Visceral Fire as his Quick Spell. As a result, he can cast the Quick Spell at any time during his Action Phase.
The Mage
Each Mage has a Card and a Sheet.
Mage Card
- (A) Name of the Mage.
- (B) Health value: the maximum number of Damage Cubes a Mage can have in the Health Bar before being defeated (see page 28). The Cube Slot on the Health Bar representing the Mage's defeat is indicated by an arrow.
- (C) Hand value: the maximum number of Spell Cards a Mage can hold in their Hand (see page 14).
- (D) Strength value: the amount of Damage a Mage deals when performing Physical Attacks (see next page).
- (E) Speed value: the number of "Move 1." Effects the Mage can use with a single Explore Physical Action (see next page).
- (F) Maximum Quest value: the maximum number of Active Quests and the maximum number of Completed Quest Cards the Mage can have at the end of the Black Rose Phase (see page 10).
- (G) Trophy Tokens Slot.
- (H) Physical Action Tokens Slots.
Mage Sheet
- (I) Health Bar.
- (L) Quick Spell Card Slot.
- (M) Spell Cards Slots I, II, III.
- (N) Active Quest Cards Slot.
- (O) Completed/Solved Quest Cards Slot.
- (P) Grimoire Slot (draw deck for Spell Cards).
- (Q) Memories Slot (Spell Cards discard pile).
- (R) Evocation Cards Slots (one dot, two dots, three dots).
Place the Mage Card on the Mage Sheet.
4. Action Phase
During this Phase, the Spells that you prepared and your two Physical Action Tokens will help you gain Power Points, deal Damage to other Mages, place Instability and resolve Active Quests.
The first thing to do in this Phase is to check the Events placed on the Event Board and apply the "Action Phase" Effects.
Then, in play order, each Mage performs their Activation.
In an Activation, the Mage must perform one or two Actions, chosen from those listed in the box on the right. A Mage must perform at least one Action as long as they can, and, after they have performed one or two Actions, the Mage on their left performs their Activation. Continuing clockwise, each Mage performs Actions until all Mages cannot perform any more Actions.
Normally, a Mage may perform a maximum of six Actions per Action Phase (up to four Spells and two Physical Actions). Some Effects or rules may allow a Mage to perform more Actions.
Any single Action must be resolved in order to perform another Action.
Physical Action Tokens
When a Mage performs a Physical Action (see box) they must flip one of their two Available Tokens to the Exhausted side.
- (A) Available Physical Action Token.
- (B) Exhausted Physical Action Token.
Actions
During their Activation, a Mage must perform one or two Actions described in this box.
To perform a Physical Action, the Mage must Exhaust (i.e. flip, see box on the left) one of their Available Physical Action Tokens. A Physical Action is considered a group of separate and different Effects, which are resolved in whichever order the Mage prefers; a Mage may also choose to ignore some or all of those Effects.
Explore (Physical Action)
- Move 1. You can perform this Effect a number of times equal to your Speed value. Each single Move, separated by a period (.), is a different Effect, and you can use all or part of them, but you cannot use different Effects between them. Unused Move Effects are lost.
- Activate a Room.
I.e.: You can move to an adjacent Room, then move to another adjacent Room and then Activate the Room you are in. Or, you can move to an adjacent Room and Activate the Room you are in. Or, you can Activate the Room you are in and then move, but you cannot move to an adjacent Room, Activate it and then move to another adjacent Room.
Fight (Physical Action)
- Perform a Physical Attack on a Model (a Physical Attack inflicts Damage equal to your Mage's Strength value to the target).
- Activate a Room.
I.e.: You can perform a Physical Attack and then Activate the Room you are in. Or, you can Activate the Room you are in, and then perform a Physical Attack.
Command (Physical Action)
Choose one of your Evocations, it activates.
Cast a Spell
Reveal one of your Ready Spells (or Activate it if it is a Trap or Protection Spell). You are considered the caster of that Spell.
If you reveal a Spell and there is an Instability icon in the middle of the Spell Card, place 1 Instability Cube in a Room, then resolve the Effects of the Spell Card according to the orientation chosen in the Preparation Phase (see page 26 for targets and Range and page 17 for Traps and Protections).
You may cast the Quick Spell or the Spell placed in the lowest numbered Slot (I, II, III) that has not already been cast.
Momentum
Choose one of your Ready Spells and discard it to your Memories. When you do, you may Move 1.
Warning: Entering a Room
Regardless of the way a Model is placed in a Room (Movement, Summoning, placement, or otherwise), it is considered to have entered the Room.
Warning: Casting a Spell - Limitations
A Mage can perform the "Cast a Spell" Action twice in the same Activation, using both of their Actions, as long as one of the two Actions is used to cast the Quick Spell.
The Lodge
Cells (4)
The Cell is a special Room assigned to each Mage at the beginning of the game, matching their color. A Cell has the following characteristics:
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The Model of the Mage is placed in the Cell of the same color as their Mage Base at the start of the game and any time they are defeated (see page 28).
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The Cell is considered a safe place; when a Mage is inside their Cell they are not considered to be in the Lodge and cannot be targeted or influenced by any means, other than Effects of the Black Rose's Event Cards and Effects which specify to be applied on a Mage in their Cell.
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If a Mage is placed in a Cell while they are resolving an Effect, they can continue to resolve that Effect once they are placed in the Cell. A Mage in a Cell may exclusively perform the following:
- Reveal and resolve Effects of their own Trap/Protection Spells if triggered.
- Resolve the Persistent Effect of a their Revealed Spell.
- Activate their own Evocations during the Evocation Phase.
- Perform any Physical Action (or Momentum) that allows them to move (or place) to exit the Cell.
When a Mage begins their activation in a Cell, or if they are placed in the Cell during their Activation, they must perform one of their Actions to exit the Cell if they can do so. If they have no other Actions available, they remain in the Cell.
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You cannot move your Mage or another Mage into a Cell, however some Game Effects may place a Mage into their Cell.
Rooms and Activation Tokens (19)
Each Room of the Lodge is represented by a hexagonal Tile.
At the start of the game, each Room shows its Destroyed Side and its Effect. During the game, a Room can be Rebuilt. When a Room shows its Rebuilt Side, the corresponding Room Activation Token must be placed on its tile (see below).
Room Anatomy
Rooms are double-sided hexagonal Tiles. One face shows the image of the destroyed Room, along with a banner at the top edge indicating:
- (A) Room name, color (Black Rose Room, Throne Room, Grey Room, Red Room, Blue Room, Purple Room, Yellow Room, Green Room) and Effect. In the base game there are 3 different Rooms in each color, except for one black Room.
- (B) Power Points gained by Mages who participate in the rebuilding of the Room by placing Instability Cubes in its Instability Slots (see page 27).
- (C) Instability Slots used for the Instability Cubes. These slots indicate the Room's Instability Resistance. A Room where all Instability Slots are filled with Instability Cubes will be rebuilt during the Clean-up Phase and will be flipped to its other side (see page 31). Note that a destroyed Room's printed Effect may be used more than once each Turn, even by the same Mage as long as they use separate Actions for each activation.
- (D) A rebuilt Room, with its color icon and name on it. Place the corresponding Room Activation Token (E) Available side up on top of the Room's name, near the top edge of the Tile. The Room Effect is now Available and it is described on the Token. When a rebuilt Room is Activated, flip the Room Activation Token to the opposite side (F), where the red X indicates that the Room has been used. A reconstructed Room's Effect cannot be Activated again until the Room Activation Token is flipped back to its available side during the Clean-up Phase.
Effects' Targets
The target of any game Effect (whether it is on a Room Activation Token, on a Quest Card or on any other game component) indicates which Models or Rooms it can affect, and within what range. The Mage who resolves an Effect is considered the caster of that Effect and must choose a legal target for it.
The icon shows the type of target (Self, Model, Mage Model, Evocation Model, Area), while the number next to it shows the maximum distance (expressed in Rooms) a target may be from the caster (the Effect's possible range).
A range 0 means "in the same Room". A range of a star means "at any distance".
The types of targets are:
- (A) Self — The Effect targets the Mage who resolves it. Must be read as "yourself".
- (B) Model — Any Model other than yourself. I.e.: "Model 2" must be read as "Model in a Room within 2".
- (C) Mage Model — A single opposing Mage. You cannot target yourself. I.e.: "Mage Model 1" must be read as "Mage Model in a Room within 1".
- (D) Evocation Model — A single Evocation. I.e.: "Evocation Model 0" must be read as "Evocation Model in a Room within 0".
- (E) Area — A Room in the Lodge. The Effect is applied to the target Room and, if necessary, to all the Models in it at the same time. The only target of this kind of Effect is the Room, regardless of how many Models are affected. I.e.: "Area 3" must be read as "Room within 3".
- (F) Special — No specific target. The Effect text indicates which game elements are affected (for example the Events Board, the Library, the entire Lodge).
Line of Sight, Range and Dummy Target
Effects with a range number need line of sight between the caster and the target. Effects with a star Range do not. Line of sight is an imaginary straight line between the center of the caster's Room and the center of the target's Room. This line must always run along a row of Room Tiles, and it may never run along a Room's edge.
The target of an Effect must always be within its range. A number next to or inside the target icon always indicates the range of the Effect.
When the range is indicated with a star, you can target any Room or applicable Model in the entire Lodge, with no line of sight requirement.
It is possible to choose a Dummy Target as the target of an Effect that targets Models. The Dummy Target counts as a Model, even if it is not physically in the Lodge; the purpose of choosing it as a target is to allow Mages to cast a Spell and resolve as much of its Effect as possible, even when there are no Models available as targets.
The Dummy Target has the following characteristics:
- It has no archetype, so it cannot be chosen as the target of Effects that require a specific archetype.
- It ignores Effects that inflict Damage, steal Power Points or involve components owned by a Mage (such as Trophies).
- It is not represented by a Model, so it cannot be moved, cannot be removed and is never considered to have entered a Room.
- It has no values; any Effect that refers to a Dummy Target value is ignored.
- It is not possible to choose a Dummy Model as the target of a Physical Attack.
Example: Icon Reading 1
"Model 1": A Model in a Room within range 1.
Example: Icon Reading 2
"All Models 1": All Models in a Room within range 1. The Effect resolved by Rikkart affects all models at a distance of 0 and 1 from him.
Move a Model in the Lodge
When a Model performs a "Move," its controller moves it to an adjacent Room; they repeat this operation a number of times equal to the number indicated after the word "Move."
Place a Model in the Lodge
When a Model places itself (or is placed) in a Lodge Room, if it is not already in the Lodge, it is taken from the reserve. If that Model is already in the Lodge its position changes from the Room it was in directly to the Room in which it is placed, without passing through other Rooms.
Instability
Spells with the Instability symbol in the center of the card are so powerful that they create Instability in the Rooms they are cast from.
A Mage who reveals one of these Spells must first resolve this Effect: "Place 1 Instability Cube in a Room". The Mage places one Instability Cube of their color in the Instability Slot of the Room they are in. If no Slots are available, Instability Cubes are not placed.
Some Effects place Instability Cubes at range 1 or higher in a Target Room. In this case, use the standard rules for line of sight and distance.
Some Effects convert Instability Cubes of another color into your own color. To convert Instability, choose a number of opponent Instability Cubes equal to that indicated by the Effect from among those placed in the target Room(s). Replace the chosen Cubes with the same number of Cubes of your own color. You can choose any combination of Instability Cube colors to replace.
A Room where all Instability Slots are filled with Instability Cubes will be rebuilt during the Clean-up Phase and will be flipped to its other side (see page 31).
When a Mage (or the Black Rose) places Instability they must place cubes on the vacant slots starting from the left.
Damages
Damage and Defeat
When a Mage suffers Damage, place an amount of Damage Cubes of the attacking Mage's color (or the Black Rose's Cubes if the Damage is inflicted by her) equal to the Damage dealt in the Health Bar of the damaged Mage starting from the leftmost empty Cube Slot (see the example on the next page).
Some Effects convert Damage of another color into your own color. To convert Damage, choose a number of opponent Damage Cubes equal to that indicated by the Effect from among those assigned to the target Model(s). Replace the chosen Cubes with an equal number of Cubes of your own color. You may choose any combination of Damage Cube colors to replace.
When the Damage Cubes on the Health Bar reach the Mage's Health value, the Mage is defeated. Damage Cubes exceeding the Mage's Health value are not placed.
Some Effects defeat a Mage regardless of the number of Damage Cubes in their possession; when this happens, resolve the defeat normally (see below) taking into account only the Damage Cubes in its possession at the time it is defeated.
Damage is placed the same way on Evocation Cards. When an Evocation is defeated (the Model has taken Damage equal to or higher than their Health value) it is removed from the Lodge (return its Evocation Card to the Evocation deck as well).
Some Effects Heal the Damage that has been inflicted on a model. When Healing Damage the Mage chooses a number of Damage Cubes equal to or less than the amount indicated by the Effect, among those inflicted on the target Model (or Models). Healed Damage Cubes must be returned to their owners. You can choose any color combination of Damage Cubes to Heal from those assigned to the target. When an Avatar Heals Damage on themselves or another Mage they choose the Damage cubes placed on the target's Mage Sheet starting from the right.
Resolve the Defeat of a Mage
When a Mage is defeated, the Effect that defeated the them is resolved up to the period (.) of the sentence being resolved, at which point it is interrupted and the Mage's defeat must be resolved (see below). Once the defeat is resolved, the interrupted Effect resumes resolving from the period (.) where it was interrupted.
When a Mage is defeated, perform the following steps in order:
- If a defeated Mage has any Active Trap/Protection Spells that can trigger, they can have them trigger and resolve their Effects. If the Mage has ignored the Damage that defeated them, or healed some of their Damage due to these Effects, they are no longer defeated (skip the other steps). Effects that defeat the Mage regardless of the amount of Damage on their Mage Sheet can be avoided only if the Trap/Protection Effect they trigger indicates that they are no longer defeated.
- If more than one Mage is defeated, resolve their defeats in play order.
- Remove all the Evocations assigned to the defeated Mage from the Lodge (like Umbras, see the Nightmare School Reference Card), and resolve any Effects related to removing them.
- Place the Mage Model in their Cell.
- The Mage (or the Black Rose) who inflicted the Damage that caused the Mage to be defeated (or who resolved the Effect that automatically defeated the Mage) gains 1 Trophy Token of the defeated Mage. Gaining Trophy Tokens is important, because these grant additional Power Points at the end of the game.
- Count the Damage Cubes on the defeated Mage's Health Bar for each color and assign Power Points as follows:
- 5 Power Points: to the Mage (or the Black Rose) if they inflicted all the Damage (proceed to step 7).
- 4 Power Points: to the Mage (or the Black Rose) who inflicted the most, but not the only, Damage.
- 2 Power Points: to the Mage (or the Black Rose) who inflicted the most Damage besides the first-rank Mage(s) (see example).
- 1 Power Point: to all the remaining Mages (or the Black Rose) who inflicted at least one Damage.
- Tie: In the event that multiple Mages (or the Black Rose) have inflicted the same number of Damage, those Mages gain the corresponding amount of Power Points reduced by 1. In the case of 1 Power Point or less, this amount is not reduced.
- All Damage Cubes on the defeated Mage Sheet are removed and returned to their respective players.
Keep in mind that a Mage must leave their Cell either with a Physical Action or by using the Momentum Action (see page 24) during their Activation; if they cannot perform either Action, they will remain in the Cell until the next Turn.
A Mage can end their Action Phase inside their own Cell only if they have used all their Physical Action Tokens and have no Ready Spells to perform the Momentum Action.
Immunity
Unless specified by the Effect, a Mage and the Evocations they control ignore all Damage inflicted or converted by any Effect resolved by that Mage.
An Evocation does not inflict Damage on the Mage that controls it or the Evocations controlled by that Mage (see page 20 control an Evocation).
Warning: Resource Management
Mages should use their Cubes wisely, because once they run out, they will not be able to perform Effects that require placing Cubes. Whenever an Effect requires a Mage to use more Cubes than they have left, resolve the Effect using all the available Cubes.
If an Effect causes a Mage to place an amount of Cubes greater than the number of available Cubes in that Mage's pool, the Mage may use all their available Cubes as they prefer (for example, if a Spell deals 3 Damage to two Models each, and the caster only has 4 Cubes available, they may distribute those 4 Cubes as they prefer between the two Models).
Example: Damage and Defeat
- Rikkart casts Shared Torture targeting Gramigna. This Spell inflicts 4 Damage on the target, defeating Gramigna.
- The resolution of the Shared Torture Effect is interrupted, in order to resolve the defeat of Gramigna, according to the rules on page 28.
- Shared Torture resumes resolving from where it left off: Rikkart converts 1 Damage to Gramigna, but since she is now in her Cell, she is not affected by game Effects (other than Event Cards Effects). Moreover, Gramigna has no Damage Cubes in her Health Bar after being defeated. As a result, Rikkart does not apply that part of the Effect and moves on.
- The last sentence of the Spell, Pain 3 (see the Agony reference card), causes the Black Rose to inflict 3 Damage to Rikkart. Due to this damage, Rikkart is also defeated.
- The defeat of Rikkart is then resolved according to the rules on page 28.
Rikkart was defeated! Scoring for Rikkart's defeat:
- Tied for the most Damage inflicted: obtains a Trophy Token (for placing the final Damage), but gains 1 Power Point less for the tie.
- Tied for the most Damage inflicted: gains 1 Power Point less for the tie.
- Second most Damage inflicted.
- Inflicted at least one Damage.
5. Evocation Phase
During this Phase all the Evocations in the Lodge can activate. First, all the Evocations owned by the Black Rose activate. Then, in play order, each Mage activates all their Evocations, one at a time, in any order. When all the Evocations of a Mage have been activated, the Mage on their left activates their Evocations in the same way. Proceed clockwise until all Evocations have been activated.
Activation of an Evocation
When an Evocation activates, its controller can have it perform a number of "Move 1." Effects equal to the Evocation's Speed value. Each single Move, separated by periods (.), is a different Effect, and the Evocation can use either all or some of them, but it cannot use different Effects between them. Unused Move Effects are lost.
Before or after the Move Effects, the Evocation can perform a Physical Attack against a Model within range 0; a Physical Attack inflicts Damage equal to the Evocation's Strength value.
Some Evocations follow different rules, which are shown on their card, and have priority over what is stated in this rulebook.
Optional rule: Crown of the Summoner
If all players agree, you can use the following variant to mitigate the power of the Crown regarding the order of the Evocations' activation. Each Mage, in play order, chooses one of their available Evocations, and this Evocation activates. At the end of that activation, the Mage rotates the card of the chosen Evocation by 90° to show that it has already been activated in this Evocation Phase (make sure to keep all the Damage Cubes on the card). If a Mage has no Evocations in the Lodge or they have already activated all their Evocations, they must pass for the rest of the Evocation Phase.
After activating their chosen Evocation, the Mage on their left does the same. Continue clockwise, with each Mage activating only one of their Evocations in turn, until all the Evocations in the Lodge have been activated.
6. Clean-up Phase
This is the final Phase of the Game Turn.
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All Mages discard all Spell Cards from their Mage Sheet to their Memories. If one or more Activated (not Revealed) Trap or Protection Spells are to be discarded this way, the Mage may choose to return them to their Hand instead. All Revealed Forgotten Spells are removed from the game. All Mages then discard each Persistent Token on their Mage Sheet and retrieve those assigned to other players. If the optional Crown of the Summoner rule is used, each Mage rotates all their Evocation Cards horizontally. Each Mage flips their Physical Action Tokens to their Available sides.
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In play order, each Mage performs their Effects that trigger in the Clean-Up Phase. If one or more Effects from the same Mage trigger at the same time, that Mage chooses the order in which they resolve (this point does not apply in the base game but it is crucial for the game expansions' mechanics).
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Check if there are any Rooms in the Lodge that must be Rebuilt (see page 27).
- For each Room that must be Rebuilt, count the Instability Cubes of each color and assign Power Points as described below and based on the quantities indicated by the banner of the Rebuilt Room:
- If there are only Instability Cubes of one color, the Mage (or the Black Rose) of that color gains Power Points equal to the amount indicated by the leftmost banner increased by 1.
- The Mage (or the Black Rose) who has placed the greatest number of Instability Cubes gains Power Points equal to the quantity indicated by the leftmost banner.
- The Mage (or the Black Rose) who placed the second highest number of Instability Cubes gains Power Points equal to the quantity indicated by the central banner.
- Every other Mage (or the Black Rose) who has placed at least one Instability cube gains Power Points equal to the amount indicated by the rightmost banner.
Tie: in the event that multiple Mages (or the Black Rose) have placed the same number of Instability Cubes, those Mages gain the corresponding amount of Power Points reduced by 1. In the case of 1 Power Point or less this amount is not reduced.
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All Room Activation Tokens on Rebuilt Rooms must be flipped to show the active side (the one without the red X).
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Check if a Mage's or the Black Rose's Power Token has reached or surpassed the Black Rose Moon Cube on the Power Board. If so, the game ends immediately. Count all points from the Power Board, along with additional end-game Power Points (see page 32), to determine who will be the new Grand Magister. If no one has reached or surpassed the Black Rose Moon Cube, the game continues with a new Game Turn.
Each Mage keeps all the cards they have in their Hand at the beginning of each new Game Turn.
Example: The Bibliotheca is Rebuilt!
The blue Mage placed the greatest number of Instability Cubes and gains 3 Power Points; the red Mage placed the second highest number and gains 1 Power Point. The Room is then flipped to its Rebuilt side and its Room Activation Token is placed on it.
End of the Game
When the game ends, all Mages count their Power Points to determine the new Grand Magister of the Order of the Black Rose! If the Black Rose is the winner, she decrees that no participating Mage is worthy of this title. In addition to the Power Points indicated on the Power Board, each Mage adds the following bonus Power Points related to Quests, Trophies and the Crown Token.
If a Mage or the Black Rose exceeds 35 Power Points, turn their Power Token to the side showing the +35 value and move it to the beginning of the Power Board's Power Points track.
Solved Quests
Each Mage counts the number of Solved Quests they own. Then check the following table to find out how many additional bonus Power Points they gain.
Most Solved Quests
- 4 Power Points: 1st place (Mage with the most Solved Quests)
- 2 Power Points: 2nd place
- 1 Power Point: Participation (any other Mage with one or more Solved Quests)
Tie: in the case in which multiple Mages (or the Black Rose) have the same number of Solved Quests, those Mages gain the indicated amount of Power Points reduced by 1. In the case of 1 Power Point or less this amount is not reduced.
Trophy Tokens
Each Mage and the Black Rose count the number of Trophy Tokens they gained by defeating other Mages. It does not matter whose Mage the Tokens are, just the total amount of Trophy Tokens they obtained. Then check the following table to find out how many additional Bonus Points they gain.
Most Trophies Obtained
- 4 Power Points: 1st place (Mage or Black Rose with the most Trophies obtained)
- 2 Power Points: 2nd place
- 1 Power Point: Participation (any other Mage or Black Rose with one or more Trophies obtained)
Tie: in the case in which multiple Mages (or the Black Rose) have the same number of Trophies obtained, those Mages gain the indicated amount of Power Points reduced by 1. In the case of 1 Power Point or less this amount is not reduced.
Crown Holder
The Crown Token grants the owner 1 Power Point at the end of the game.
Example: Final Power Points Tiebreakers
If there is a tie for first place, the Mage who has the most solved Quests wins the game.
If the tie persists, the Mage with the most Trophy Tokens wins, and if still tied, the First Mage declares the winner among the tied Mages.
In the example on the right, the red and blue Mages are tied for first place with 44 Power Points each, after all Bonus Points are applied to the totals. Both Mages solved the same number of Quests (5), but the red Mage has more Trophies than the blue Mage (8 vs 5). The red Mage is thus declared the winner!
Avatar
The Avatar is the personification of the Black Rose's will in a physical body. They wander around the Lodge enacting the plots woven by the Rose and acting as her hand, bestowing power on those they deem worthy, and punishing those who oppose the will of their mistress.
Over time, many entities have played the role of Avatar for the Black Rose: mechanical knights born from the powers of alchemy, divine entities or those reputed to come from the most distant lands. Even spirits of the most ancient legends in the world were servants of the Black Rose, and, when she deems it necessary, she can call them back to her service.
In the era of the rebirth, while the Lodge of the Black Rose calls forth the mages to return to their ancient glory, someone unexpected has been chosen as Avatar...
The Avatar is an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) that can be used in any game of Black Rose Wars: Rebirth replacing a human player or making the Black Rose a more challenging rival.
The Avatar rule set can also be used to play the game in solo mode.
The Avatar behaves exactly like a Mage, following most of the regular rules. They have a place at the table and follow the play order as if they were a virtual player.
The Possessed
The Possessed is the Avatar provided in the core game box of Black Rose Wars: Rebirth. This mysterious figure represents one of the Mages who arrived in the ruins of the Lodge and who is possessed by the Black Rose herself to become her puppet and put the other Mages to the test.
The Possessed does not have their own Model, but is represented in the Lodge by one of the Mage Models that are not in the game.
Warning: Avatar Model
The Possessed Avatar, the only one provided in the core game box, requires the use of the Model of one of the Mages not participating in the game; if you do not have Mages from game expansions, the maximum number of players is thus limited by the four mage Models provided in this box, allowing a maximum of three human players plus the Avatar in a game.
Avatar Setup
The Avatar is considered an additional player. You can therefore add the Avatar to a game with any number of players (including a single player versus the Avatar, i.e. solo mode).
The Avatar is a Mage, just like those controlled by the players. They participate in the game exactly like an additional Mage, but are also considered an extension of the Black Rose, and all the Black Rose symbols in the game also refer to them. The Avatar uses the Black Rose's Power Token to indicate their Power Points on the Power Board.
To use the Avatar in a game of Black Rose Wars: Rebirth, apply the following rules and changes:
- Once the normal Game Setup has been carried out (see page 9, keeping in mind that the Avatar counts as a player), take all the Avatar components: Model, Avatar Board, Avatar Card, Avatar Event Cards, Avatar Command Cards (divided into decks for the First, Second and Third Moon Phases), 1 black Base to identify the Avatar Model, 3 black Bases to identify the Avatar Evocations, and a large black Base to identify the Avatar's large-sized Evocations. Some Avatars (from game expansions) may have additional components to include during the Game Setup. The Avatar uses the Black Rose's Damage/Instability Cubes (black Cubes).
- You will now have one of the revealed Cells that is not matched with a Mage; replace this Cell with the Avatar Board (A).
- Consult the Possessed Setup box for specific rules (or the selected Avatar Setup box should you decide to use one from an expansion).
- Place the Avatar Card in the appropriate slot on the Avatar Board so that the front can be read by all players (D).
- Place the First Moon Avatar Command Card Deck in the appropriate slot on the Avatar Board (E).
- Replace the Event Card Decks for the three Moon Phases with the corresponding Avatar Event Card Decks (F).
- Choose a difficulty level that will define the Avatar's power (see below). For a balanced challenge, choose the Apprentice level.
- The game is now ready to begin.
Avatar Difficulty Level
- Apprentice: 3 Avatar Command Cards per Action Phase
- Master: 4 Avatar Command Cards per Action Phase
Possessed Setup
Apply the following steps during Point 3 of the Avatar Setup:
- Select a Model of a Mage not in use by players; that Model is the Possessed.
- Clip the Avatar Base to the chosen Model.
- Place the Possessed Model in the Black Rose Room.
Avatar Game Turn
The Avatar behaves as detailed below during the various Phases of the Game Turn. The Avatar is considered to be controlled by a fictional player sitting between the two players in charge of the Mages assigned to the Cells on the left and right sides of the Avatar Board.
Avatar and Moon Phases
Moving from the First Moon to the Second Moon and from the Second Moon to the Third Moon, as stated on page 13 regarding Event Cards and Quest Cards, requires changing the Avatar Event Card (B) Deck and the Command Card (A) Deck to correspond to the current Moon Phase.
1. Black Rose Phase / 2. Study Phase / 3. Preparation Phase
These Phases are resolved normally and the Avatar does nothing unless otherwise indicated on its material or specific rules.
4. Action Phase
The Avatar performs their Activation like any other Mage.
When the Avatar activates, the Mage to their right reveals the top Card of the Avatar Command Card Deck and puts it onto the Avatar's Memories. They then resolve the Power Point and Physical Action Effects of the card one at a time, from top to bottom. When all the Effects are resolved, the Avatar's Activation ends.
During each activation, the Avatar activates, reveals and resolves a single Command Card, then ends their Activation. They activate again after all the other Mages (following the play order) and resolve another single Command Card until they have resolved the number of Command Cards indicated in the difficulty level chosen during the game setup: 3 for the Apprentice level, 4 for the Master level. They activate even if all other Mages have no actions left to perform.
Avatar in Their Cell
The rules for Mages in Cells apply to the Avatar as well. When the Avatar begins their Activation in their Cell, follow the rules of their Dominion Skill (see page 40).
Avatar's Quests
The Avatar does not draw and resolve Quest Cards like players' Mages do.
The Avatar may only reveal and resolve Quests through Effects. When the Avatar resolves a Quest, they gain the Power Points provided on that Card, but do not resolve any of the Quest Effects. Once an Avatar's Quest is resolved, place it in the Avatar's Solved Quest Cards slot.
At the End of the Game, when calculating the Most Solved Quest points, the Avatar scores as other Mages by counting Quest Cards in the Avatar's Solved Quest Cards slot.
Avatar Board Anatomy
- (A) Health Tracker
- (B) Avatar Card slot
- (C) Avatar's Grimoire/Hand slot
- (D) Avatar's Memories slot
- (E) Avatar's Cell
- (F) Avatar's Evocation Cards slot
- (G) Avatar's Solved Quest Cards slot
Avatar Card Anatomy
- (A) Name and Skills (see page 40).
- (B) Health value: the maximum number of Damage Cubes the Avatar can have in their Health Tracker (see above) before being defeated (see page 28). Note: To represent this value, use a cube of one of the colors not used by the players. Place it in the slot to the right of that value so that when the other cubes reach it, you will know the Avatar has been defeated.
- (C) Strength value: the amount of Damage the Avatar deals when performing a Physical Attack.
- (D) Speed value: the number of "Move 1." Effects the Avatar can use with a single Physical Action which allows them to move. Each single Move, separated by periods (.), is a different Effect, and the Avatar can use all or part of them, but they cannot use different Effects between them. Unused Move Effects are lost.
- (E) Avatar Effect or lore text.
- (F) Priority (see page 40).
Avatar Command Cards
The deck of Avatar Command Cards, placed on the Avatar Board, counts as both the Avatar's Grimoire and Hand.
Therefore, all Effects that refer to the Grimoire or Hand and target the Avatar affect the Avatar Command Card Deck on the Avatar Board.
A Mage cannot take an Avatar Command Card even if an Effect would allow it; therefore that part of the Effect must be ignored.
Instability: when an Effect of a Command Card that shows the Instability symbol in a drape on the left side of the card is to be resolved, before resolving the Effect, the Avatar immediately performs this Effect: "place 1 Instability Cube in a Room".
Effects: a Command Card can have one or two Effects, usually a Physical Action and a Spell.
Avatar Physical Actions resolve like normal Physical Actions but apply the Effect described on the Command Card. Avatar Spells resolve like a normal Spell.
The order in which the two Effects are listed is important, since the card is resolved from top to bottom, thus applying the topmost Effect first and then the ones below.
Some Command Cards include a Trap/Protection Effect that does not Activate except under specific conditions (see the box below).
Priority: the Effects of the Command Cards indicate Priorities shown on the Avatar Card for choosing the target of an Effect (see page 33). Most Effects on Command Cards have diamond icons matching a priority sequence on the Avatar Card (see page 40).
Trap/Protection: A Trap or Protection Token icon can be found on the back of some Command Cards. If the back of the topmost card in the Avatar's Grimoire shows one of these symbols, the Avatar is considered to have an Active Trap Spell or Protection Spell. The Trap/Protection will trigger according to the symbol inside the Token icon:
- The Trap/Protection triggers if the Avatar is targeted by a Combat Spell.
- The Trap/Protection triggers if the Avatar takes at least one Damage.
When the Trap/Protection triggers, the Command Card is immediately revealed, and only the Trap/Protection Effect on it is resolved (following regular rules); then place the card in the Avatar's Memories. This Command Card counts towards the limit of cards the Avatar can resolve within a single Action Phase.
Additional Card: some Command Card Effects contain the "+1 Command Card" icon, which indicates that once the Effect is resolved, a second Command Card must be revealed and resolved during the same Avatar Activation. This Command Card does not count towards the limit of Command Cards the Avatar can resolve within a single Action Phase.
Read a Command Card
Even if not specified, the subject of each Effect on a Command Card is always the Avatar Name. The case highlighted above must be read as: "The Possessed Gets 1 Trophy Token of the Mage who inflicted Damage to it".
Avatar Command Card Anatomy
- (A) Name.
- (B) Instability: this Effect must be read as "the Black Rose places 1 Instability Cube in a Room.", and must be resolved before the Spell Effect indicated under it.
- (C) Spell: the Effect of a Spell the Avatar has cast.
- (D) Physical Action: the Effects of a Physical Action performed by the Avatar.
- (E) Trap/Protection Spell: the Effect of a Trap or Protection Spell the Avatar has triggered.
- (F) Active Trap/Protection Spell: indicates that the Avatar has an Active Trap or Protection Spell.
Avatar: 5. Evocation Phase
The Evocations of the Avatar activate as for a human-controlled Mage, but they will do it in order, from the one-dot Evocation, to the two-dot and then to the three-dot.
Follow the instruction in the Evocation A.I. (box on the right) during the Evocation Phase.
If one of the Avatar's Evocations activates due to an Effect on a Command Card, use the Priority instruction on the next page.
Evocation A.I.: Criteria for Choosing an Evocation's Target
Can the Evocation attack a Mage by moving or by staying where it is?
- YES: The target is the closest Mage. Is there more than one valid target? → The target is the closest Mage with the most Damage. Is there still more than one valid target? → The target is the closest Mage with the most Damage and the most Power Points.
- NO: The target is the closest Evocation. Is there more than one valid target? → The target is the closest Evocation with the most Damage. Is there still more than one valid target? → The target is the closest Evocation with the most Damage and owned by the Mage with the most Power Points.
Is there still more than one valid target or no valid targets? → The "Choice of the Crown" applies. See page 40.
Avatar: 6. Clean-up Phase
Follow these points during Step 1 of the Clean-up Phase:
- If the Avatar has Jinx Cards assigned, they place one of their own Cubes on each of them.
- If the Avatar has Evocations assigned (such as the Umbras) they remove one of them; the Choice of the Crown applies.
- All Command Cards revealed during the current Turn are shuffled and placed under the Command Card deck they belong to (matching the Moon Phases).
Warning: Avatar Additional Rules
Some rules of the game affect the Avatar in a slightly different way than they do a Mage.
Avatars and Event Cards
The Avatar ignores all Effects of Event Cards that relate to or target Mages.
Avatar and Black Rose Damage
The Avatar never takes Damage from the Black Rose.
Avatar and Assigned Evocations
The Avatar can have Evocations assigned (such as the Umbra). These apply their standard Effects, but if they deal Black Rose Damage, the Avatar does not suffer it.
Artificial Intelligence of the Avatar
To act in the game, the Avatar follows the rules of their A.I. Nonetheless, Black Rose Wars: Rebirth is a game that can present a variety of complicated situations. There will be times when the A.I. will struggle to make a clear conclusion. When this possibility becomes apparent, the Choice of the Crown applies.
Choice of the Crown: the owner of the Crown chooses on behalf of the A.I. among the possible choices and/or the possible tied situations.
Crown Token: under no circumstances can the Avatar gain control of the Crown Token. Ignore all Effects that would allow that.
The Avatar must choose a target for one of the Effects of a Command Card: they follow priority as written in the Effect. If they cannot choose a target due to Priority, the Choice of the Crown applies.
The Avatar must assign Damage to multiple Models: they first assign Damage to the Mage with the most Damage inflicted by the Black Rose, then assign Damage to the Mage with the most Damage. Then, if they have other Damage Cubes to assign, they assign those to other Mages. If they have even more, they assign them to Evocations. In all other cases, the Choice of the Crown applies.
The Avatar must convert Damage/Instability: they convert Damage/Instability starting from the rightmost Cube on the Mage Sheet/Room.
The Avatar must resolve an Effect that allows one of their Evocations to activate, or to activate an Evocation of another Mage under their control: unless an Effect states otherwise, this Activation follows the same rules of the Evocation A.I. (see previous page).
Priority and Skill of the Possessed
Priority: Mage Model, +Damage, -Area, +Power Points.
The Avatar chooses among the targetable Models:
- +Damage: the Mage with the most Damage, if tied...
- -Area: the Mage in the nearest Room, if tied...
- +Power Points: the Mage with the most Power Points, if tied, the Choice of the Crown applies.
Priority: Mage Model, -Area, +Power Points, +Trophies.
The Avatar chooses among the targetable Models:
- -Area: the Mage in the nearest Room, if tied...
- +Power Points: the Mage with the most Power Points, if tied...
- +Trophies: the Mage with the most Trophy Tokens, if tied, the Choice of the Crown applies.
Priority: Area, +Mage Models, +Models, +Instability.
The Avatar chooses among the targetable Rooms:
- +Mage Models: the Room with the most Mages inside, if tied...
- +Models: the Room with the most Models inside, if tied...
- +Instability: the Room with the most Instability Cubes placed on it, if tied, the Choice of the Crown applies.
Avatar Skill - Possessed
Dominion
If the Possessed has to activate when he is in a Cell, he does not activate and places himself in the Black Rose Room.
Example: The Avatar Must Choose a Target for the Effect of a Command Card
The Command Card has a Priority, so target the Mage in the nearest Room first; if tied, target the Mage with the most Power Points among those selectable by the previous criteria. If the tie persists, target the Mage with the most Trophies among those selectable by the previous criteria. If the tie persists, the Crown's Choice applies, which must choose a target from those selectable by all the Priority criteria.
Example 1: In this first example, Rikkart and Gramigna are at an equal distance from the Possessed, who will target Rikkart since he has more Power Points.
Example 2: In this example, Rikkart and Gramigna are at an equal distance from the Possessed. They have the same amount of Power Points and Trophies. The Choice of the Crown applies; Rikkart, being the Crown Holder, will choose the target for the Possessed, in this case Gramigna.
Lodge Layouts
The rulebook shows two diagrams for reduced player counts: the 2-player game Lodge layout and the 3-player game Lodge layout. In both diagrams the symbols used are:
- Mage Cell
- Throne Room
- Black Rose Room
In each layout the Black Rose Room sits at the centre of the Lodge with the Throne Room adjacent to it, the remaining Room tiles are arranged around them in the shape shown, and the Mage Cells are attached to the outer edge of the Lodge at positions opposite one another (two Cells for the 2-player layout, three Cells for the 3-player layout).