Cadwallon: City of Thieves – The King of Ashes

Expansion for Cadwallon: City of Thieves

Cadwallon: City of Thieves – The King of Ashes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components

1 Cyclops figure – The Cyclops from Mid-Nor is represented by this new figure.
4 Character figures – The characters of the new mercenaries are represented by these figures.
1 Catacombs board – The Catacombs are a network of rooms and corridors beneath the city of Cadwallon. Access is through the secret staircases located in various parts of the city. A character leaves the Catacombs through the pentagram at the centre of the board.
21 Experience tokens – During the game a gang may earn Experience tokens. They can be spent to buy Equipment cards or to re-roll one die.
27 Exploration tokens – These tokens are placed face down in each room at the start of the game.
12 Relic tokens and 6 Stone tokens – Special tokens used in some adventure scenarios.
6 Adventure sheets – Each of the new adventures can be played separately or as a campaign, in sequence.
17 Wound tokens – Used to show that a character is wounded and needs healing.
4 Help cards – One side shows the phases of the game, the other side shows the available actions.
9 Character cards – The new militia cards Valrut and Kornak, the mercenary cards Sienne and Isabeau, four new hero cards, and the Cyclops card from Mid-Nor.
32 Arcana cards – The new Arcana cards are shuffled together with the base game's Arcana cards. Their backs are a different colour, which is used by the new militia movement rules. Although these cards differ from the base cards in appearance, their function is the same.

Setup

Set up the game following the base rules, with the following additions:

Place Catacombs board 1 on the table next to the main board.
Choose one of the new Adventure sheets (Adventures 9–14) and follow the instructions on it.
Place the Cyclops in its lair, marked A.
In addition to the Treasure tokens of the base game, place one Exploration token face down in each of the 24 locations on the game board, in random order. Unlike Treasure tokens, Exploration tokens are not turned face up.
Shuffle the base game's Arcana cards together with the Arcana cards of this expansion. Each player takes 5 Arcana cards.
Shuffle the Intrigue cards. Each player takes one Intrigue card. Keep the remaining Intrigue cards beside the game board.
Place the Wound tokens (4) and the Experience tokens (5) within reach of the players. Place the Equipment cards face up beside the game board.
Each player rolls two dice and adds the results. The player with the highest total begins the game.
Players take turns clockwise. Before the game begins, each player may replace one of his heroes with a new hero from this expansion that matches his gang's colour, or with the grey mercenary Sienne or Isabeau (see Mercenaries below).

Mercenaries

The tavern "The Lone Killer" is where cutthroats of every stripe gather: brigands, bandits and mercenaries. Here the famous Guild of Thieves also offers its services.

Mercenaries are a new class of characters in the game. At the start of the game, each player may replace one of his characters with a mercenary whose colour matches his gang's colour. Alternatively, the player may choose one of the grey mercenaries, Sienne or Isabeau, instead.

Mercenaries are chosen in turn order, starting with the first player. When a mercenary joins a gang, he replaces one of the gang's characters. At the start of the game, each gang may have only four characters. Heroes who are not used return to the box and do not take part in the adventure.

The King of Ashes Campaign

In a gathering darkness, when all the most terrible prophecies seem to be coming true, the brave and the clever can still find a way to grow rich.

The King of Ashes contains four new Adventure sheets, which can be played independently, just like the eight Adventures of the base game, or linked together into a Campaign. The expansion also contains two independent Adventures that are not part of the Campaign: "The Festival Ashes" and "A Duke's Ransom."

To play the Campaign, play Adventures 9–12 in sequence, starting with the sheet "The Awakening of Sophet Drahas." During setup and play, follow the instructions on the Adventure sheet. Any special rules printed on a sheet apply only to that game.

For greater realism during the Campaign, it is recommended that players keep the same gang of thieves throughout and replace one character from the base set with a new character from this expansion.

At the end of each game, record which player won, how many ducats each player collected, and the number of unspent Experience tokens. All other Treasures and Equipment are lost. Any character who was imprisoned or killed is available again for the next game.

The winner of each game receives a bonus at the start of the next Adventure (see the Adventure sheet). In addition, every player keeps his unspent Experience tokens from the last Adventure and may use them to buy Equipment or to re-roll a die.

After the last Adventure of the Campaign, "The Price of Pride," add up all the ducats each player has collected across the four Adventures. The player with the most ducats wins the Campaign.

Exploration Tokens

Exploration tokens represent the secrets that Cadwallon hides in its shadows. When a character who is not retreating ends up in the same room as a face-down Exploration token, he must stop moving immediately and turn the token face up. There are seven types of Exploration token.

Magic Gem – A treasure found inside a locked chest. To take it, the player must either unlock or break the lock, as with an ordinary chest. Magic Gems can be exchanged for ducats in the Catacombs (see The Holy Altar, page 14).
Trap – A room with this token is a small trap. The hero who turns the token over receives one Wound (see Wounds, page 9) and his turn ends immediately. Then the Trap token is removed from the game.
Equipment – Useful items are hidden in this room. The player who turns the token over chooses one Equipment card and gives it to the character who turned the token. If the character already has an Equipment card, the player must choose one of the two and discard the other (remove it from the game). A character can have only one Equipment card. The token is then removed.
The Emblem of Cadwallon – The spirit of the city favours the thief who finds this token. The player receives one Experience token, and then the token is removed from the game.
Security – The room is protected by additional security measures. To open or break the lock of a chest in this room, one additional action must be spent. Only after the chest is opened is the Security token removed from the game.
Staircase – A secret staircase leads down into the Catacombs. The token remains in the room until the end of the game. Any character of any gang may use the staircase to go down into the Catacombs. The gang that discovers the secret staircase receives one Experience token. Note: a retreating character cannot go down into the Catacombs.
Mechanism – A thief standing in this room can use the Mechanism token to open the way for another character who is standing on a staircase into the secret treasure room, the Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas (see page 14).

Enhanced Patrols

Many months have passed since the Lower City was looted, an event that caused much ridicule among the keepers of law and order. Afterwards the Duke gave the guards new powers and ordered them to track down and imprison every thief.

Before the game, replace the guard cards "Valrut" and "Kornak" with the cards from the expansion, "Chief Valrut" and "Captain Kornak."

In the Militia Movement phase, instead of rolling a die to move a guard, the player activates the guards according to the colour of the top card of the Arcana deck.

If the card is purple, the player may move one of the guards up to 4 spaces.
If the Arcana card is blue, the guards do not move this turn.

If a guard wins a combat, he takes two ducats from the player, returns them to the bank, and the thief is thrown into prison (see The Prison, page 13).

Thieves cannot attack or wound guards. Guards cannot be thrown into prison.

Guild of Thieves, Rule Number 9: "It never pays to provoke the militia." Militiamen cannot be attacked, wounded, or thrown in prison.

Example (as printed): The current player's turn: he takes the Arcana card marked A. He looks at the colour of the card lying beneath it in the deck (he may not take or turn it over). The card marked B is purple, so he may move a guard 4 spaces. He moves Captain Kornak two spaces and attacks his rival's character, marked C. Had the card been blue, the guards could not move this turn.

Translator's note: the rule text says the guards are activated by the colour of the top card of the Arcana deck, while the printed example describes looking at the card beneath the drawn card. The source does not resolve this; the rule text is followed here.

No Mercy! – Changes to Combat

Rumours of hidden riches in the Catacombs beneath the city have revived the old rivalry in the Guild of Thieves. The rules of combat have changed in Cadwallon, and the gangs will do everything they can to get their hands on the King of Ashes' treasure.

The following changes are made to the combat rules:

Wounds

A character can be wounded in combat, by falling into a trap, or by the effects of Arcana cards.

Each time a thief is wounded, a Wound token is placed on his card.
If a character is wounded during his activation, his turn ends immediately.
A thief with one or more Wounds cannot be activated, but he can still defend himself.
At any time during his turn, the player may spend action tokens to heal his character. One action token removes one Wound token. Once all Wound tokens have been removed, the character can be activated again.

Example: Lucius has received two wounds and has two Wound tokens on his card. If the player spends one action token on his turn, he may remove one token. Spending two action tokens removes both. Until the Wound tokens are removed, Lucius cannot move or take actions.

Tie in Combat

If a combat ends in a tie, the attacker is no longer considered the winner. Instead, the players add together all the numbers rolled on their dice. Any bonuses from skills and Arcana cards are added to this sum. The player with the higher total wins. If the totals are still equal, the attacker wins.

Example: Shaana attacks Isabeau in a dark alley. Isabeau plays the Arcana card "Powerful Blow" to defend herself. Shaana rolls three combat dice, and Isabeau rolls two. Shaana's highest die is 4. Isabeau's highest die is 3, and the "Powerful Blow" card adds +1 to it, which also makes 4 – a tie. The players add up the numbers rolled: Shaana totals 7, while Isabeau totals 5 plus the 1 from her Arcana card, giving 6. Shaana wins the combat and takes the treasure.

Translator's note: the dice faces in this example are shown as pip symbols in the source; the values above are those given by the printed totals and the tie.

Furious Combat

Players are no longer limited to playing a single Arcana card in a combat. A player may play any number of cards. The attacker still plays his cards first.

Improved Qualification

The Guild of Thieves trains its members to work together more effectively. As a result, a character may now pass through spaces occupied by members of his own gang. He may not end his movement on such a space.

When characters meet in this way, they may exchange the Treasures and Equipment they are carrying. After an exchange, neither character may hold more than three Treasures or more than one Equipment card.

Guild of Thieves, Rule Number 8: "It's not your numbers that matter." A gang always begins with four thieves.

Experience

When a character attacks, his gang may gain one Experience token for each 6 rolled on the combat dice. Only the attacking player can earn Experience tokens in a combat; the defending player cannot.

Experience tokens can be spent in two ways:

The player may spend one token to re-roll one die. A die may be re-rolled only once, and the player must accept the result of the re-roll.
For two Experience tokens, on his turn the player may buy an Equipment card and give it to any member of his gang. A character can have only one Equipment card, so if he would have more than one, he must discard the extra card.

Example: Sienne attacks Lucius in a corridor in the Catacombs. Her combat value is 3, so she rolls three dice and gets two 6s and a lower result. Her gang immediately receives 2 Experience tokens. Because Lucius is defending, his gang cannot receive Experience tokens, even if he rolls a 6 on his combat dice.

Equipment Cards

Equipment cards give bonuses to characters in combat, in movement, when picking locks, or in other important thieving tasks.

Each character may have only one Equipment card. If a character receives a second one, the player must choose one of the two to keep and remove the other from the game.
Most Equipment cards can be used an unlimited number of times. If a card says "Discard after one use," it is removed from the game immediately after it is used.

Card layout: A is the card's name and B is its effect.

Intrigue Cards

Intrigue cards are secondary secret missions that a gang may complete. They are kept secret from the other players until they are completed.

An Intrigue card lists a task (conditions) and a reward. When the gang has met all the conditions on the card, the player reveals the card to the other players, takes the reward, and then discards the card. The card is removed from the game.
Be careful: some Intrigue cards impose a penalty at the end of the game if the task printed on the card is not completed.
If a card says "Play this card at the end of the game," the player must meet all of its conditions before the game ends, or he loses ducats.

Card layout: A is the conditions, B is the reward, and C is the penalty.

A player may spend one action token to take one Intrigue card if he has a character in one of the following locations: The Guardroom, The Treasury, The Library, The Magician's Chamber, The Dormitory, or The Laboratory. A player may hold no more than three Intrigue cards at the same time.

Guild of Thieves, Rule Number 10: "Don't trust rumours." A player may hold no more than three Intrigue cards at once.

The Catacombs of Cadwallon

Entering and Leaving the Catacombs

During movement, a character who is in a room where a secret staircase has been found may, with one action, go down into the Catacombs, into any of the Catacomb rooms. However, to enter the Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas (the secret treasury), another thief from the same gang must be in a room with a Mechanism token.

A character who enters the Catacombs ends his turn.

The rooms of the Catacombs are marked with green arrows. Movement is possible only in the directions the arrows indicate.

If a character reaches the pentagram at the centre of the Catacombs, he MUST, by spending one action, move to any free pentagram on the main board. If all the pentagrams are occupied, place the character on a free space next to any pentagram. After moving to the surface, the character may continue his movement.

Example: Iraem starts his turn in a room where a staircase token has been found. He spends one movement action and goes down into the Catacombs, straight into The Holy Altar (A). His turn then ends. On his next turn he spends one action to move along the green arrow to the pentagram (B), and with one more action he moves up to the surface (C), where he may continue his movement.

Special Rules of the Catacombs

Guards cannot enter the Catacombs.
If a character uses a staircase to move into a room occupied by the Cyclops, he must spend one action to attack it. (See Cyclops, page 14.)
If a character uses a staircase to move into a room occupied by a thief from another gang, he must attack that thief, spending one action token. The battle takes place before the Cyclops moves.
After a battle in the Catacombs, the loser is sent to prison, and the winner takes one Treasure from him or, if the loser has no Treasure, two ducats.

Catacomb Rooms

The Catacombs board has eight rooms:

A – The Holy Altar
B – The Lair
C – The Tunnel
D – The Prison
E – The Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas
F – The Pentacle
G – The Scriptorium
H – The Torture Chamber

The Lair (The Lair) – In the half-dark of this room you can make out a straw bed stained with blood and bones scattered everywhere. The Cyclops starts the game in the Lair. When the Cyclops loses a battle, it returns to the Lair. Characters cannot enter the Lair.

The Prison (The Prison) – A dark, dusty cell carved out of natural stone, where wretched, wounded, forgotten prisoners of Cadwallon rot away their lives.

A character may be sent to prison if he loses a battle or through the effect of an Arcana card. Move the character's figure into this room.

While a character is in prison, he cannot move or take any other action, except escape attempts. Any number of characters may be in the prison at the same time, but they cannot attack one another.

When a thief in prison is activated, he may spend one action on an escape attempt. He rolls one die:

On a 1, 2 or 3 – The escape fails. The character can do nothing else this turn and remains in prison until the next round.
On a 4, 5 or 6 – The escape succeeds. The character may immediately move to the room with the Pentacle and, by spending one action token, get up to the surface.

For each Bunch of Keys token the character has, he may re-roll one die once.

After a successful escape, once on the surface, the character may use his remaining movement points and other basic actions. Additional actions are not available to him this turn.

The Tunnel (The Tunnel) – The tunnels were dug by the founders of Cadwallon as a quick way out of the district. But the tangled labyrinth of forgotten mine shafts confuses even the most nimble thief.

After the alarm has been raised, a character may leave the district quickly through the Tunnels with a single action. There is a risk of getting lost, however, so roll one die:

On a 1 – The character gets lost in the abandoned corridors and cannot find his way out. Remove his figure from the game, along with all his Treasures and Equipment. His gang also loses three ducats.
On a 2 or 3 – The character slips out of the district, but loses two of his Treasures (chosen by the player).
On a 4, 5 or 6 – The character finds the road and leaves the district successfully with all his loot.

The Torture Chamber (The Torture Chamber) – Horrible instruments of torture scattered all over this place can strike fear into the hearts of even the most steadfast thieves.

If a character is in the Torture Chamber, he may spend one action point to steal one Treasure of his choice from any thief sitting in prison.

The Scriptorium (The Scriptorium) – In this old, dusty archive are kept the forbidden tomes of the reptilian creatures, the Serpent-Mages, who once wished to destroy Cadwallon.

A thief who has made his way here may spend one action token and try to read the forbidden books. The player rolls one die:

If the result is less than or equal to the character's Mental ability – He may take three Arcana cards from the discard pile into his hand, and his gang gains one Experience token.
If the result is higher than the character's Mental ability – He draws two Arcana cards from the common deck.

For each Scroll token the character has, he may re-roll one die once.

The forbidden tomes are very well guarded, and a thief may not linger. He must leave the Catacombs and return to the Scriptorium before he can read them again.

The Holy Altar (The Holy Altar) – To withstand the magical power of the Mages' Guild in the coming conflict, the Guild of Thieves must seek out magical, precious crystals.

In this room, a character may, for one action token, exchange any number of crystals for ducats. The player receives 6 ducats from the bank for each Magic Gem. After the exchange, the Magic Gem tokens are removed from the game.

The Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas (The Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas) – Immense riches, protected by diabolical traps, lie hidden in the depths of the Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas. It is not enough to find the way there: to grow rich one must be very experienced and, if lucky, find the way out again.

A thief who comes from the room with the Staircase token may enter the Treasure Room only if another member of his gang is in the room with the Mechanism token.

If a character has entered the Treasure Room, he may spend one action point and try to plunder the King's treasure. The player rolls three dice:

If two or three of the dice show the same result – The thief dies from the magical traps and is removed from the game, together with his Treasures and Equipment.
If all the dice show different results – Add the values of all the dice together, and take that many ducats from the bank.

For each Bracelet token the character has, the player may re-roll one of the dice once.

Note: if a character died in this room, his gang does not lose the three ducats at the end of the game for failing to leave the district.

Magic in the Treasure Room is dangerous, so after a plundering attempt the thief must leave the Catacombs and return to the Treasure Room if he wants to rob the King's treasure again.

The Cyclops of Mid-Nor

The gloomy rooms of the Catacombs are roamed by a Cyclops, which guards the treasures lying there. This monster gives little hope of survival to anyone who unwisely crosses its path.

The Cyclops is alarmed by noise and reacts each time a character enters the Catacombs. The Cyclops does not move if a thief enters the room where the Cyclops is.

Moving the Cyclops. When a character goes down into the Catacombs into a room where there is no Cyclops, the player must roll one die to move the Cyclops:

1 – Move the Cyclops figure to The Holy Altar.
2 – Move the Cyclops figure to The Tunnel.
3 – Move the Cyclops figure to The Torture Chamber.
4 – Move the Cyclops figure to The Scriptorium.
5 – Move the Cyclops figure to The Treasure Room of Sophet Drahas.
6 – The Cyclops is distracted and does not move.

The Cyclops is placed directly in its new location, without passing through other rooms of the Catacombs. Experience tokens may be used to re-roll this die.

If the Cyclops moves into a room where a character is standing, it immediately attacks that character. If a character enters a room where the Cyclops is, he must spend one action token and attack the Cyclops himself. The player who is not taking part in this confrontation rolls the dice for the Cyclops.

Battles with the Cyclops. The Cyclops is strong, and it is not easy to defeat:

If the Cyclops wins the battle, the thief is sent to prison.
If the Cyclops loses the battle, a second battle begins immediately.
If the Cyclops wins the second battle, the thief is sent to prison.
If the Cyclops also loses the second battle, it immediately returns to the Lair.

The player may play Arcana cards in any battle against the Cyclops, but their effect applies only to the current battle: cards played in the first battle have no effect in the second. Arcana cards cannot be used to help the Cyclops. The Cyclops cannot be wounded or sent to prison.

Old City, New Tricks – Playing the Base Game's Adventures

The rules of this expansion can be used to play the eight Adventures of the base game, with the changes below. It is recommended not to use the Catacombs in these Adventures.

Guards – Use the cards from the base game for these characters, and move them according to the base game rules.
Mercenaries – Ignore the skills printed on these characters' cards.
Remove these Arcana cards from the game: Subtle Watchman, Breakout, Private Security, Spiked Grog.
Remove these Equipment cards from the game: Axe, Lantern.
Remove these Intrigue cards from the game: Map the Catacombs, Find a Safe Place to Hide, Claim a Bounty, Enlist a Magician's Aid, Take Your Share, Acquire Useful Potions, Escape a Slaver's Clutches, Slay the Cyclops.
Exploration tokens – Remove the Magic Gem, Mechanism and Staircase tokens from the game. Shuffle the remaining Exploration tokens face down. Then, in turn order, each player takes one token without turning it over and places it in any room of his choice. Only one token may be placed in each room.

Adventures

The following changes apply when playing Adventures 2 and 3 of the base game with this expansion.

The Ring of Assassins

For the character Isabeau, the base card must be used, and this character cannot be taken as a mercenary.

Night of the Long Cutlasses

Sienne and Isabeau cannot be chosen as mercenaries in this Adventure.

Source layout note: the following entry has no heading in the source's layout. It sits directly under the Night of the Long Cutlasses entry and is kept there.

The Jewelers guild must use the base cards for Sienne, Isabeau, Kornak and Valrut.
Kornak and Valrut do not use the Arcana deck for movement. See the instructions on the Adventure sheet.

Additional Rules

The Inn

This optional rule allows players to start the game with Equipment cards, but the gangs must pay for them out of their loot.

During setup, before the characters are placed on the board, each player may choose two Equipment cards:

Place all the Equipment cards face up on the table.
Each player, starting with the first player and going clockwise, chooses one card.
When the last player has taken his card, he immediately takes a second card. Then, in reverse order (anticlockwise), the other players each take a second card.

A player is not obliged to take Equipment cards: he may take only one card, or none at all.

At the end of the game, before the winner is determined, every player must pay his debt: two ducats for each Equipment card he took at the start of the game.

All Equipment cards taken at the start must be paid for, even if they were not used during the game.