CoraQuest
CoraQuest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
- Choose an adventure and find the set up guide for it in the Quest book.
- Shuffle the Basic Dungeon cards numbered 2-13 together (for the long game, also add Basic Dungeon cards 14-17). Deal these cards into 4 equal face down piles.
- A Story Dungeon card lettered A-R will be added to each of the four piles and the piles will then be placed in a particular order to form the deck. Detailed instructions about setting up your Dungeon deck can be found in the Quest book.
- Place the Explore marker on top of the Dungeon deck.
- Choose four heroes to go on the quest. These can be any combination of heroes included in the base game and heroes you have made yourself. For your first few games we recommend you use the pre-made heroes.
- Divide the heroes between the players however best fits the people playing the game. Younger players may want to control one hero, whereas older players might feel comfortable managing two, or even three, if needed.
- Each player takes the standees, Hero cards, Hero Health dials, Countdown tokens, and Starting Equipment cards for their heroes. Starting Equipment is shown on the Hero cards. Set the Hero Health dials to match the starting health of each hero as shown on the Hero cards with their non-determined side face up.
- Gather the Enemy cards as listed in your adventure and place their standees in easy reach. Separate the cards and place them with the green "standard" banner face up.
- Place the Countdown track next to the Dungeon deck. It should just show levels 1 and 2 unless stated otherwise in your adventure setup.
- Place each hero's Countdown token next to the Countdown track. Place the Threat token on level 2 unless stated otherwise in your adventure setup.
- Shuffle the Treasure cards to form a face-down deck.
- Place the Special Item deck next to the Treasure deck.
- Place the Dungeon Entrance card, numbered 1, in the middle of the play area.
- Place the four hero standees onto separate empty squares on the Dungeon Entrance card.
- Place all the remaining components to the side of the play area; not every component is needed in every adventure.
- You are now ready to play CoraQuest! When ready, start by reading the introduction to your chosen adventure from the Quest Book.
How to Play
CoraQuest takes place over a number of rounds. Each round consists of three phases that are completed in the following order:
- Hero Phase - Each hero takes Free Actions and Full Actions.
- Enemy Phase - Each enemy Moves and/or Attacks.
- Countdown Phase - Track threats, ready heroes, and begin a new Hero Phase.
Hero Card Icons
Each Hero card shows the following information:
- Name - the hero's name.
- Starting Weapon - the weapon from the Starting Equipment deck that the hero begins the game with.
- Special Ability - an ability a hero can use by placing their Countdown token on the Countdown track.
- Determined Prompt - a reminder to flip the Hero card over to its "Determined" side.
- Attack dice - the dice that are combined with the weapon dice and rolled when a hero Attacks.
- Movement - squares a hero may Move in one action.
- Health - damage a hero can take before they are defeated.
Hero Phase
During the Hero Phase you activate your heroes. Each hero takes a complete turn before another hero's turn starts, but there is no set turn order during the Hero Phase. You may use the four heroes in any order you choose.
There are two types of actions: Free and Full. A hero may take as many Free Actions as you wish and up to two Full Actions.
| Free Actions | Full Actions |
|---|---|
| Reveal Dungeon | Move |
| Use Item card | Search |
| Swap Item | |
| Revive | |
| Attack |
Free Actions
A hero may take as many Free Actions in a turn as they wish. Free Actions can be used at any point during your turn and may interrupt Full Actions. A hero cannot use a Free Action during another hero's turn.
Reveal Dungeon (use for free)
If a hero is standing on the edge of a Dungeon card, and is next to an empty space where another card could be placed, then you may choose to Reveal the next section of the dungeon. You may Reveal multiple Dungeon cards in a turn if you wish.
If this is the first Dungeon card revealed from the deck this round, remove the Explore marker and place it in front of you. This reminds you that a Dungeon card has been revealed this round.
Take the top card of the Dungeon deck and place it adjacent to the hero. You may rotate the card as you wish, but one entire edge of the Dungeon card must line up with the card already on the table. The card must have at least one floor square (not wall square) joining orthogonally (not diagonally) onto another floor square on the Dungeon card that the revealing hero is standing on ("floor must meet floor" - the new card must join to an edge that the hero is standing on). A new Dungeon card may not be placed over the top of an existing Dungeon card in any way.
If the new Dungeon card has enemy Spawn Spots on it, place an enemy of the matching type on each of the spots. They will activate in the next Enemy Phase. If there are not enough enemy standees of a type you need, place all available standees on the Spawn Spots of your choice. Any other spots do not spawn - the heroes are probably in enough trouble as it is!
If the Dungeon card is one of the four Story Dungeon cards, indicated by a story scroll icon and a corresponding letter (A-R), immediately read out the matching passage from the Quest book and then carry out any special instructions. In all other ways Story Dungeon cards are like regular Dungeon cards.
If any newly revealed Dungeon card has open Treasure chests on it, place a Treasure chest token to cover each of the chests shown.
Use Item Card
If a hero has any Item cards (such as potions or magical items) with effects shown on them, you may use any of these cards as a Free Action, unless the card explicitly states that it takes Full Actions to use it.
A hero can carry as many items, weapons, and sets of armour as they wish. However, they may only use one weapon and one item of armour at a time. It is a Free Action to switch between them, but although you can freely exchange items in use at any time, you may never use two weapons or two sets of armour when carrying out one action.
Full Actions
Move
Heroes may Move a number of squares up to the value of the movement number on their Hero card (plus or minus any modifiers from spells, abilities, or items).
A hero may Move orthogonally or diagonally. A hero may pass through a square occupied by another hero, but must not end their movement on an occupied square. Heroes may not pass through squares occupied by enemies. A hero may not pass through walls or onto an unrevealed Dungeon card. Other images on a Dungeon card do not affect movement.
Example: Healer Cat can move up to 5 squares for 1 action and can go anywhere inside the blue boundary, except on spaces already occupied by a hero or an enemy. Healer Cat could move outside of the boundary if she Moves, Reveals a new Dungeon card, and still has remaining movement.
Search
If a hero is on or adjacent (orthogonally or diagonally) to a square with a Treasure chest token on it, you may choose to Search. Draw the top card of the Treasure deck and place it face up beside the Hero card. Remove that Treasure chest token from the Dungeon card to show that it has been searched. Each Treasure chest can only be searched once.
A hero cannot Search a Treasure chest if there is an enemy on that square.
Example: Halfling is too far from the Treasure chest to search it. Spear Woman has searched a different chest and the Treasure token has been removed.
Swap Item
You may Swap any number of Item cards with one other hero, providing they are adjacent to you (either orthogonally or diagonally). Swaps do not have to be equal, one hero may give a card to another and receive nothing in return, providing both players agree.
Example: Spear Woman found a magic ring when she drew a card from the Treasure deck. She could use a Swap Item action and give the ring to Dwarf.
Revive
Use this action to revive a Stunned adjacent hero. More details on being Stunned can be found under Status Effects, below.
Special Abilities
Each hero has a Special Ability that you may use in certain situations. This ability is printed on the Hero card. It does not take a Full Action to trigger a Special Ability unless it is specifically stated in its description.
When you use a Special Ability, place the hero's Countdown token on the Countdown track at level 2. The tokens will move down the Countdown track as described in the Countdown Phase section of these rules. A hero cannot use their Special Ability while their Countdown token is on the Countdown track. The token will come off the Countdown track after it moves down past the bottom level, at which point the hero may use their Special Ability again.
Unless stated otherwise on the Hero card, Special Abilities do not cost any actions to use.
Attack
An Attack is resolved by following these steps in order:
- Pick a Target that you wish to Attack. The hero must have a clear line of sight to the target and it must be within the range of their weapon.
- Roll the Attack dice, combining the dice shown on the Hero card plus any shown on the weapon that the hero is using for this Attack.
- Deal Damage (or Become Determined). Attacks deal one damage for each successful "splat" symbol rolled.
Line of sight. Clear line of sight is an imaginary straight line from any corner of the square the attacker is standing on, to any corner of the square the target is standing on without anything blocking the line. If any part of this straight line passes through and/or along the side of any square occupied by either another hero, an enemy, or a wall, then the line of sight is blocked.
Example: Wizard Woman's Wand has a range of up to 3 squares, so doesn't reach Goblin A. Spear Woman blocks Wizard Woman's line of sight to Goblin B. Goblin C is in Wizard Woman's line of sight and range.
Range. Each weapon has a range, shown on the right-hand side of the Item card. To measure range, count the number of squares between the attacker and the target, counting the target's square, but not the attacker's. If the number of squares is less than or equal to the range of the weapon, then the target is considered to be within range.
Damage
Heroes and enemies both start with a certain amount of health, as shown on their respective cards. Heroes and Big Bosses (enemies with a health over 5) use a Health dial. In setup, or when a Big Boss spawns, set the dial to show the starting health. Attacks will deal damage; for each damage dealt reduce the number on the Health dial by one. Should the dial reach '0' the hero or enemy is defeated. Normal enemies do not have Health dials, instead, for each damage dealt to them they gain a Damage token. Place this either next to, or under, their standee.
If an enemy has Damage tokens equal to or greater than their health, they are defeated. Defeated enemies are removed from the game.
If a hero or enemy heals, increase the Health dial or remove Damage tokens equal to the amount healed. A hero or enemy can never exceed its starting health.
If a hero rolls no successes during an Attack action, the hero will Become Determined. Flip over the Hero card to the "Determined" side. Whilst they are Determined, heroes roll an extra White dice when they Attack. The next time that hero rolls a success, the Hero card must be flipped back to its normal side.
About Actions
Full Actions cannot interrupt each other. For example, a hero cannot use part of a Move action, do an Attack action, and then use the rest of that same Move action.
Free Actions can interrupt Full Actions. For example, a hero can use part of a Move action, do a Reveal Dungeon action, and then use the remainder of that same Move action.
A hero may take the same Free or Full action more than once and may take actions in any order.
A hero does not have to use all their Full Actions if you do not wish them to do so; however a hero cannot save actions between turns or rounds.
Once a hero has taken all of their actions, "exhaust" their Hero card (by rotating it sideways) to show that they have completed their turn.
Once all the heroes have completed a turn, proceed to the Enemy Phase.
Enemy Phase
During the Enemy Phase, each of the enemies activate. You may choose in which order they activate; each enemy in the dungeon must perform all of its actions, if possible.
All enemies have two Full Actions in each Enemy Phase. Each enemy has two types of Full Action available to them: Attack and Move. The same action may be used more than once (e.g. enemies can Move twice or Attack twice). Enemies do not take any Free Actions.
Enemies must use their actions in a specific way. If they can Attack a hero, they do so; if not, they Move in order to be able to Attack.
Attack
An enemy must Attack a hero if they are in range and they have line of sight. If there are multiple potential targets, the enemy will Attack the closest one. If there is a tie for which target hero is closer, the players may choose which target the enemy attacks.
Example: The orc will attack the Dwarf as he is the closest hero.
An enemy may Attack a hero who is within range and within line of sight. The range and line-of-sight rules for enemies are the same as those for heroes (see the Attack section above).
Roll the Attack dice listed on the Enemy card. Each success rolled deals one damage to the target hero. Enemies do not become determined if they do not roll any successes.
Some Big Boss enemies also cause special status effects when they Attack (see Status Effects, below).
If the hero is wearing armour, they are able to make an armour roll to avoid some, or all, of the damage taken. Roll the dice shown on the armour Item card. For each success that is rolled, deduct one damage from the total damage dealt by the enemy.
REMEMBER: If any hero ever reaches zero health, you immediately lose the game!
Move
If an enemy is unable to Attack any hero, then it will Move towards the closest hero, using the most direct route. It will continue until it first comes within range and has line of sight for an Attack. It then stops moving and may use any remaining Full Actions to Attack. If there is a tie for which hero is closer, the players may choose which hero the enemy moves towards.
Example: The players can choose if the troll moves and attacks Spear Woman or Wizard Woman as they are an equal distance away.
Enemies may Move a number of squares up to the value of their movement number shown on their Enemy card. The movement rules for enemies are the same as those for heroes, except that they can move through squares occupied by other enemies but not heroes.
Enemy Card Icons
Each Enemy card shows the following information:
- Name - the enemy's name.
- Difficulty banner - a green "standard" banner shows that you are using the standard version. An orange banner with the word "tough" is a more challenging opponent!
- Range - how many squares away the enemy can reach with its attack.
- Attack dice - the dice that the enemy rolls when it attacks.
- Movement - squares the enemy can move in one action.
- Health - damage the enemy can take before it is defeated. Big Boss enemies have a special power icon and cause special status effects when they attack.
Countdown Phase
The Countdown Phase is carried out in three steps:
- Reset all Hero cards (turn the cards upright again).
- Move all hero Countdown tokens that are on the Countdown track down one level. If this moves a token off the bottom of the Countdown track, the hero may use their Special Ability again next round.
- If the Explore marker is in front of a player, return it to the top of the Dungeon deck. If the Explore marker is still on top of the Dungeon deck or the deck is empty, move the Threat token down one level on the Countdown track.
If the Threat token moves off the bottom of the Countdown track, giant spiders start coming out of their webs! Put a Spider token in the central square of every Dungeon card with a web on it. If the central square is already occupied, put the Spider token into an empty adjacent square of your choice.
Note: The Dungeon Entrance card also has a web on it.
Once the spiders are in the dungeon they act like all other enemies, moving towards and attacking the heroes in the Enemy Phase. Each spider will remain in play until it is defeated by the heroes.
Once you have put out all the spider tokens, place the Threat token back on level 2 of the Countdown track.
Every round ends with a Countdown Phase, even when the final Dungeon card has been revealed. The threat of more spiders spawning remains until all the end game conditions for the adventure have been met.
At the end of the Countdown Phase, the round is over. The next round starts with a Hero Phase.
Example: Crossbow Dude's Countdown token has moved down to level 1. Halfling's Countdown token has moved down from level 1, off the Countdown track and so they will be able to use their special ability next turn.
Example: The heroes have not revealed a Dungeon card this round and the Threat token moves off the bottom of the Countdown track. Spiders now spawn on the centre square of each Dungeon card with a web on it, and the Threat token is then put back on level 2.
End of the Game
- Each adventure has different winning and losing conditions. Refer to your chosen Quest if needed.
- There is text in the Quest book to read out at the end of the game, depending on the outcome.
- Remember - if any hero is defeated, you lose, regardless of the adventure you are playing.
Game Options
These suggested changes can be used to tailor CoraQuest to better fit your players.
Difficulty Level
CoraQuest is designed to be challenging, but allows for players to sometimes make unwise or rash choices. If you are finding that CoraQuest is either too easy or too difficult then you are able to change the difficulty level.
To make CoraQuest easier
Instead of the game ending as soon as any hero is defeated, you can make the game easier by using the Second-Wind token. With this optional rule, if a hero is defeated then one of two things happens:
- If the Second-Wind token has not been used already in this game, flip it over to the empty side. Remove all status effects from the hero and set their Health dial to 4.
- If the Second-Wind token has been used already in this game (i.e. it has been flipped to the empty side), then the hero has been defeated and the players lose the game.
A hero on zero health cannot be healed in any way, other than by using the Second-Wind token.
To make CoraQuest more difficult
Each enemy card has a "standard" and a "tough" side. To increase the difficulty level play with one or more "tough" versions of the enemies. The more tough versions you include, the more challenging the game.
Be Creative!
Feel free to make up your own variant rules for CoraQuest. For example, if there are five people who want to play then you could try one person being a "Dungeon Keeper" and controlling the spawned monsters and making all their decisions.
This copy of CoraQuest is yours and you can do whatever you want with it!
Check out the Character Creator App
Available at coraquest.com
Status Effects
Some special attacks or events may have an effect on the heroes.
Stunned
If a hero becomes stunned, lay the standee on its side. Stunned heroes are unable to take any actions during the Hero Phase, including using Special Abilities.
Enemies ignore stunned heroes. They will not Attack them, and they do not count when determining where the enemy moves if there is no hero in range. Stunned heroes no longer block enemy movement, however heroes and enemies cannot end their movement on a square containing a stunned hero.
Stunned heroes can only become un-stunned if an adjacent hero spends one Full Action to Revive them. The stunned hero standee is placed upright and the hero can take all their actions in that Hero Phase as normal.
Stinky
If a hero or enemy is stinky, then they smell so bad that no other hero wants to stand next to them.
If a hero starts their action in a square adjacent to a stinky hero or enemy (orthogonally or diagonally), they must first use a Move action to move at least one square away. No hero is allowed to finish a movement action in a square that is adjacent to a stinky hero or enemy.
Enemies are used to smelly things, so the rules about being adjacent to stinky heroes and enemies do not affect them.
Poisoned
If a hero becomes poisoned, place a Poison token on the Hero card. While a hero is poisoned they take one damage at the start of every Hero Phase.
Knocked Back
If a hero is knocked back then they move 3 squares, in a straight line, away from the source of the effect. If they hit another hero or enemy before moving a total of 3 squares, they stop moving and both take 1 damage. If the hero hits a wall before moving a total of 3 squares, they take 2 damage.
F.A.Q.
Do you have to choose to use Halfling and Wizard Woman's Special Abilities before the dice are rolled? No, you can choose to use their Special Abilities after the dice are rolled.
Can a healing potion give a hero more health than they started with? No, a healing potion cannot take a hero's health above their starting health on their Hero card.
Can a hero Attack with two weapons at the same time? No, a hero can only use one weapon per Attack action.
Do the effects of armour "stack" with each other? So can a hero use leather armour and the shield at the same time? No, you may only defend with one item of armour at a time.
Does the Threat marker still move down on the Countdown track if you can't take a Reveal Dungeon action as there are no cards left in the Dungeon deck? Yes, if you have run out of Dungeon cards to draw, the Threat marker will move down one space on the Countdown track during every Countdown Phase.
Is there any limit to how many items a hero can carry? No, there is no limit to the number of Item cards a hero may have.
When you reveal a Story Dungeon card and the instructions tell you to take a Special Item card, does the hero need to be standing on that Story Dungeon card to take it? No, the revealing hero does not need to be standing on the Story Dungeon card to take the Special Item card.
Can a hero Reveal a Dungeon card diagonally if they are standing on a corner? No, a Dungeon card can only be revealed if it joins up with the card the revealing hero is standing on.
What are the coins on the Item cards for? The coins are used in some of the adventures. They do not have any in-game effects unless it is otherwise stated in the adventure you are playing.
Does Healer Cat's Bodyguard Cat have its own standee? No, the rules for the Bodyguard Cat are the same as for all normal weapons. Healer Cat tells it who to Attack and it runs off and hits them (it never likes to be too far from Healer Cat's side however).
Why are the Spider tokens a different colour on each side? If you are using the "tough" version of the spiders, you can flip the token, from the orange tough side to the grey standard side, to show that the spider has taken one point of damage.
Summary
1. Hero Phase
Each hero takes up to two Full Actions and as many Free Actions as they want per turn.
Free Actions
- Reveal Dungeon - Remove Explore marker from Dungeon deck, if present. Place new Dungeon card into the Dungeon, spawn enemies and place treasure onto the symbols. If it is a Story Dungeon card, read its entry in the Quest, and carry out any instructions.
- Use item
Full Actions
- Move - Move up to the value of the movement number on the Hero card, either orthogonally or diagonally.
- Search - Search a Treasure chest and draw a Treasure Item card.
- Revive - Wake up an adjacent "stunned" hero.
- Swap Item - Swap any number of items with one adjacent hero.
- Attack - Pick a target within range and line of sight. Roll the dice listed on the Hero card plus the weapon's Item card. Every success rolled is one damage to the enemy. If you roll no successes, flip the Hero card to the Determined side.
2. Enemy Phase
Each enemy takes two actions every turn. Actions available are Attack and Move.
- Attack - An enemy will Attack if there is a hero within range and line of sight. If there is a tie, then players choose which hero is attacked. Enemies roll all the dice listed on their Enemy card. Every success rolled equals one damage to the hero.
- Move - If an enemy does not have a hero in range and line of sight, then it will move up to its movement value towards the nearest hero until it does have range and line of sight.
3. Countdown Phase
Refresh all heroes.
Move the Hero Countdown tokens down one level on the Countdown track.
If the Explore marker is still on top of the Dungeon deck then move the Threat token down one level on the Countdown track.
If the Threat Token moves off the bottom of the Countdown track then spawn spiders. Then put the Threat token back on level 2.
Winning and Losing
You win the game if you meet the criteria listed in the adventure you are playing.
You lose the game if any of your heroes are defeated (i.e. take more damage than their health).
© 2021 Dan Hughes & Gary King