Dawn: Rise of the Occulites

Dawn: Rise of the Occulites Rulebook

Table of Contents

Exploring Dawn
Introduction to Dawn
- Contents Listing
- Contents Overview
Game Setup
Playing the Game
Your Tribe... Just Your Average Occulite
- Genetic Blueprints
- Chief Occulite
Natural Selection Deck Card Breakdowns
Natural Selection Deck Card Explanation
- Explaining Boost Cards
- Using the Card Effect on cards
Core Rules
- Player Turn
  - Start of a Player Turn
  - Activating a Figure
- Actions
Introductory Scenario: Returning from the Hunt
Advanced Rules
Occulite Tribes
- Palaudis Tribes
  - Innate Abilities
  - Palaudis Tribe Ability Pool
- Hydris Tribes
  - Innate Abilities
  - Hydris Tribe Ability Pool
Luftles
Creatures and Predators
Campaign Rules
Choosing Scenarios
Scenarios
The World's Setting
Future Expeditions

Exploring Dawn

The book is organised as follows: Introduction and Contents; Game Setup; Playing the Game; Your Tribe; Card Breakdowns; Core Rules; Introductory Scenario; Advanced Rules (Layers One to Five); Stand Alone Games; Occulite Tribes (Palaudis, Hydris); Luftles; Creatures and Predators; Campaign Rules; Scenarios; Campaign Tracker Sheet.

Throughout the book, notes, examples and important but easy to miss rules are given in semi-transparent white frames.

Introduction to Dawn

Dawn - Rise of the Occulites is a small scale, miniatures boardgame. Each player chooses an Occulite Tribe and competes against each other, recreating pivotal moments in its short history or even leading the Tribe through its evolution, watching it grow and advance over a series of games.

Contents Listing

1 Rulebook
28 figures (10 Occulites and 18 Luftles)
1 Game board
17 Terrain Overlays
1 Natural Selection Deck (108 cards)
10 Dice labelled 0 through 9 (0 counts as zero)
12 Sungems
10 Individual Player Boards
50 Pegs (25 each in Green and Blue)
2 Tribe Reference Boards
10 Tribal Tokens (5 Tokens for both Palaudis and Hydris)
18 Luftle Reference Cards
20 Luftle Health Tokens (10mm)
1 Condition Track Marker (Glass Bead)
81 Tokens
6 Nymphlet Directional Tokens (Triangular Colour Wedges)

Contents Overview

Occulite Figures: These represent the Tribe figures controlled by the players and are sometimes referred to as models.

Game board and Terrain Overlays: This is where the adventures play out. The Terrain overlays and figures are placed on this board.

Natural Selection Deck: These cards help resolve a wide array of situations, such as fights, moving through difficult terrain and using special abilities.

Individual Player Boards: Each Occulite figure has a matching player board which is used to track his or her statistics, as they change throughout a game or a campaign. Just use the pegs to track the info.

Tokens: There are a variety of tokens that you will need during your games. Not all tokens are used in every scenario. You can also use them to help create your own custom scenario if you wish.

Game Setup

Games of Dawn are set in the very early stages of Occulite Evolution. They reflect the first social groupings of Tribes and as such, there are some limitations on how they are composed. These early Tribes often had no more than five Occulites, including a Chief that would make all the important decisions that affected the Tribe. Because of this, games of Dawn are usually played with no more than five Occulites per side. However there are often opportunities to enlist the help of Luftles into your Tribe, which can help swell your Tribe's numbers.

Choose a Scenario. For your first game, we recommend you use the Introductory Scenario (see page 15). Once you're familiar with the rules, you can pick any scenario in the Scenarios section of this rulebook, an expansion or one you have downloaded. Once you are more familiar with the game, the scenarios from the Scenarios section of this rulebook, from expansions or ones you have downloaded can also be played as a campaign (see Campaign section, page 43).
Choose a Tribe. Each player chooses an Occulite Tribe, takes the corresponding figures and Player Boards, 5 Tribal Tokens, and their Tribe Board.
Prepare the Natural Selection Deck. Prepare the Natural Selection Deck as indicated by the scenario. This will usually entail adding a number of Sungem and/or Event cards then shuffling the deck. For some scenarios a more specific setup is required.
Place the Game board and follow setup instructions. Place the game board in the centre of the table, and place Terrain overlays and Tokens as indicated by the scenario.
Place the Tribes. Place the figures as indicated by the scenario.
Determine who has the Upper Hand. Each player rolls a die. The player who rolls the lowest value has the Upper Hand for the scenario and is designated 1st player. In case of tie, re-roll. In Dawn - Rise of the Occulites, rolling low is always better, with the 0 on the dice counting as zero.
Draw cards. Each player draws 7 cards from the Natural Selection Deck. If you draw Sungem or Event cards, discard them and draw replacement cards, then unless the Scenario indicated a special Natural Selection setup, shuffle the deck along with the possibly discarded cards. (For more info, see Cards section, pages 7 and 8).

Playing the Game

The game is played over a number of rounds. During a round, both players take a turn in activating some of their models and carry out actions with them. Each round is divided in 3 phases:

First player's turn. The player who has the Upper Hand for the scenario chooses a card from his hand to play and activates the number of figures that the card allows (this varies from one to four). See Player turn section, page 9.
Second player's turn. The second player then does the same.
End of round. Any effects that end or resolve at the end of a round do so now. These can include Predator movement, Events or any number of things.

Play successive rounds this way, until the objectives for the scenario have been met.

Note: In some scenarios, there are creatures or situations which are played by the game mechanics. Rules for these special scenarios are covered in the relevant scenario descriptions.

Your Tribe... Just Your Average Occulite

Genetic Blueprints

There are many different creatures living in Dawn in addition to the Occulites, each having a different set of abilities and skills. To represent these differences across species (and even Tribes), each creature is defined by five characteristics, plus possible Special Abilities.

You start the game with a tribe of five Occulites, each having the Genetic Blueprint listed below. This information can be tracked on each figure's Individual Player Boards. One Occulite in each Tribe is the Chief, and will have special skills that are only usable by him (or her).

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	6	4	4	5	None in the Core Game

Awareness (AW): How many actions the miniature may take when it is activated. This is an indication of how aware the creature is of its surroundings and how quickly it reacts.
Speed (S): How many spaces the miniature may move when taking a Move action. This is an indication of how fast and far the creature moves.
Attack (A): This is an indication of how powerful and effective the creature is when attacking.
Defence (D): This is an indication of how effective the creature is at defending itself from attacks and its environment.
Health (H): This stat can change over the course of the game as the miniature is injured by other creatures or the environment. When a figure's Health reaches zero, it usually dies and is removed from the table. This is an indication of how healthy or robust the creature is.
Special Abilities (ABILITIES): This is an indication of which, if any Special Abilities the miniature has. This can change depending on which Tribe you are playing and if you are playing a campaign or a one-off match.

Chief Occulite

The Chief Occulite starts each game with 5 Tribal Tokens. A token may be discarded at any time during the game to do one of the following things:

Change an Aggressive card to a Defensive card or a Defensive card to an Aggressive one, while keeping the same value.
Draw 3 cards from the Natural Selection Deck and choose the best for a particular situation. This may be used whenever you would normally draw 1 card from the Natural Selection Deck for a test or when Letting Nature Take Its Course (see page 9).
Give any Occulite within 12 spaces a +1 to its Awareness for that turn only (this can include the Chief itself).
Use a card effect on a card already committed to a combat.
Advance an Occulite 1 extra space on the Reborn Track (Advanced Game only).

Only one Tribal Token may be spent on each Occulite per turn. Once used, a token may not be used again until the next game. These tokens are spent by the Chief, but can be used on any Occulite in your Tribe. They may not be used on Luftles unless you have a Special Ability that states otherwise.

Note: If at any time the Chief Occulite is not on the board, any cards played to Activate figures count as one less to a minimum of 1 (so an Activate 3 card would actually count as an Activate 2. Activate 1 cards still count as Activate 1) and you may NOT use any Tribal Tokens.

Natural Selection Deck Card Breakdowns

Regular Natural Selection Deck Card

This card is the most commonly found card in the Natural Selection Deck. There are two types of these, Aggressive (Spearhead and Red number) and Defensive (Shield and Blue number).

Card value. This number is used for a range of things including resolving Combat and Breakaway actions, Hiding, Awareness Tests and interactions with Terrain Overlays.
Card type. This icon is mainly used for resolving Combat actions. It indicates if the card is an Aggressive or Defensive card.
Activate value. This number indicates how many figures a player can use on his turn.
Card Effect. Effects can be played to modify different aspects of the game. Look to the opening of the sentence to see when you can play it. The card in the example can be played "When Attacking".
Illustration. The illustration is there for flavour.

Boost Natural Selection Deck Card

This card is the second most commonly found card in the Natural Selection Deck. It is signified by the Yellow Circle behind the number in the top left corner of the card. It operates exactly the same as a Regular Natural Selection Deck Card, except that the number in the top left hand corner is the number of dice that can be added to an already played card. You can also use a Regular Natural Selection Card that is the same value as one you played in a Combat as a Boost card. For more information see Page 8.

Event Cards

These cards can be identified as they have no numbers in the top left hand corner and do not count as Aggressive, Defensive or Boost. Unlike Regular and Boost cards, Event cards are revealed and resolved immediately upon drawing them. In the Base set they come in Generic Event and Sungem varieties.

Text. This text is immediately resolved as soon as this card is drawn.
Illustration. There are eight Event Cards in this Base set that have an illustration of a Puscual on them. This image will be found on every Event card asking you to check the Scenario Description to see what happens. There are six Sungem Event Cards that have an illustration of a Sungem on them. This image will always result in a Sungem being placed immediately.

Natural Selection Deck Card Explanation

The Natural Selection Deck is used to resolve many different situations that may arise during a game of Dawn. It gives you, the player, control over your Tribe's destiny. Careful card play will give you the advantage over your opponent. The cards are split into the three categories listed below.

Regular Cards: Cards with a spearhead icon are Aggressive cards and cards with a shield icon are Defensive cards. Regular cards can also be played as Boost cards, on top of another Regular card of the same value. Regular cards also have Effects on them.
Boost Cards: Cards with a yellow circle icon are Boost cards. They can be played on top of any other Regular card and adds to its total.
Event Cards: Cards without an icon and number are Event cards. These can include generic Event Cards (with a Puscual illustration) or Sungem Event Cards (with a Hidden Sungem illustration). They are played and resolved as soon as they are drawn during the game.

Explaining Boost Cards

Boost cards appear in two different forms. You have your regular Boost cards with the yellow circle icon, but you also have the ability to play a regular card as a Boost card as well. To do this, it must be of the same value of the card you played originally. If this also matches the type of card, it is better again. Refer to the table below.

Initial Card Used	Card Used as Boost	Result	Example
Aggressive	Boost card	X+Y	Aggressive 6 + Boost 2 = 8
Defensive	Boost card	X+Y	Defensive 8 + Boost 2 = 10
Aggressive	Aggressive, same value	X+2	Aggressive 6 + 2 = 8
Aggressive	Defensive, same value	X+1	Aggressive 6 + 1 = 7
Defensive	Defensive, same value	X+2	Defensive 8 + 2 = 10
Defensive	Aggressive, same value	X+1	Defensive 8 + 1 = 9

(Per the printed examples: the initial card's value X plus Y, the value of the Boost card; or, when a Regular card of the same value is used as a Boost, +2 if it is the same type as the initial card, +1 if it is the other type.)

Using the Card Effect on cards

To be able to utilise the Effect of a card, you must be able to satisfy the trigger that is listed at the start of the Effect's description. Some triggers are 'When Attacking', 'When Defending', 'After a Combat', 'When Activated'. You may not utilise a card's Effect if the trigger is not applicable. Effects, when triggered are resolved immediately. You may only ever use one Card Effect during a Combat sequence.

You can use a Card Effect from a card already committed (by spending it for its Activation or Value) by spending a Tribal Token.

Example: You used a Boost card in combat to increase the number of dice you roll. Before rolling, you want to spend a Tribal Token to utilise the Effect on this card (as the card has already been played for the Boost value). You check the trigger and it says "HEAL - When you activate...". You cannot utilise this Effect at this time as you are currently in a combat. You could have used the trigger at the very start of that figure's activation, before taking any actions with it.

(The example card reads: Activate 3. Heal - When you Activate one of your figures, take an Awareness Test with it. If you are successful, you may Heal up to 2 lost Health from the Activated figure.)

Core Rules

The full game of Dawn: Rise of the Occulites is a thematically rich game, full of a wealth of choices each turn. We recommend that for your first few games, you use these Core rules. As the name suggests, these introduce the core concepts of Dawn: Rise of the Occulites and simplify or ignore more advanced rules. The Advanced and Campaign sections in this rulebook build on the Core rules, creating a richer gameplay experience and giving you more options each turn.

The game has been designed in layers, so peeling back a few of these layers and playing a simplified version is fine. Some players will never feel the need to delve into the advanced or campaign rules.

Player Turn

Start of a Player Turn

At the start of each turn, the player first has to either play a card from his hand or Let Nature Take its Course. Now is also the time when a player can use a Card Effect that has the Trigger "At the start of your Turn".

Play a card from the hand. The player chooses a card from his hand to play. The Activate value on the card indicates how many of his figures he can use on this turn. The other icons and values are ignored here. Example: If you play a card that had Activate 2 on it, you can use two figures this turn.

Let Nature Take Its Course. If a player has no cards in hand at the beginning of the turn, or if they don't want to play a card from their hand, the player draws and then MUST play the top card from the Natural Selection deck. The Activate value on this card indicates how many of their figures that player can use on this turn. If a player draws a Sungem or Event card, the card is resolved immediately and they then draw another card, utilising its Activate value. If it is another Sungem or Event card, resolve it and draw again.

Activating a Figure

Each figure can only be activated once per round unless an Effect or Ability states otherwise.

When activated, a figure can perform as many actions as its Awareness statistic (AW). The Awareness statistic of the figure is indicated in the Genetic Blueprint table and tracked on the Player Board. See Genetic Blueprint section, page 6. Example: A figure with an Awareness of 2, can perform 2 actions when activated.

Actions can include many things, from movement and combat, to replenishing your hand of cards or even healing to name but a few.

A figure's actions must be fully used before beginning the actions of another figure.

You may take the same action more than once as long as you have the Awareness to pay for it.

Any card with the Trigger 'When Activated' may be used once you have selected the figure to activate, but must be used before taking any actions.

Actions

Below is a list of the different actions available during your turn in the Core Rules.

Move - 1 action

Your figure may move 1 space for every 1 point in its Speed statistic (S). The Speed statistic of the figure is indicated in the Genetic Blueprint table or is tracked on the figure's Player Board. See Genetic Blueprint section, page 6.

You may move your figure in any direction. Figures are able to see in all directions around them.

You may use a Card Effect that has the Trigger "While moving" at any point during one of your figure's actual movement.

You can't Move your figure if it's adjacent to an enemy. Instead you have to Break Away (see below).

A space may contain only one Occulite or two Luftles at any time (other creatures and Predators are explained in their respective sections).

Movement can be hampered by the terrain type. To keep things streamlined and to avoid disagreements, every space on a Terrain Overlay regardless of appearance has the effect of that terrain type. This is the same for both the Core and Advanced games. In the Core Game, there are only three different Terrain types:

Clear Terrain: Move 1 space for every 1 point in Speed statistic. This is represented in the game and its expansions by the Game board spaces themselves, Home Cave Terrain, Elevated Terrain, Rocky Outcrop Terrain and if you are already on The Ridge Terrain overlay.
Difficult Terrain: Move 1 space for every 2 points in Speed statistic. This is represented in the game and its expansions as Scenic Terrain, Swamps, Rivers, Shallow Water and Luftle Nest. It costs 2 points of Speed to enter The Ridge Terrain overlay.
Impassable Terrain: You may not move through this type of terrain. This is represented in the game and its expansions by Trees, Deep Water, Lava Flats and Podmothine.

Example: An Occulite with a Speed of 6 may move up to 6 spaces over Clear terrain, or 3 spaces over Difficult terrain (or 1 space over Difficult and 4 spaces over Clear, or any other combination), but may never enter Impassable Terrain in the Core Game.

Picking up or dropping Sungems during Movement. Occulites are able to pick up Sungems as part of a Move action (some other creatures can do it too and this is explained in the creature descriptions if they are able). If your figure moves into a space containing a Sungem it may stop to pick it up, but doing so ends its movement for that action.

A figure may drop a Sungem at any point during its move without having to stop.

A figure can only ever carry one Sungem at a time, unless a Special Ability states otherwise.

Break Away - 1 action

Breaking away allows your figure to move out of a space that is adjacent to an enemy.

Once the Break Away action is declared, both players involved must take a Break Away Test: both draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck (not from their hand) and add their Speed statistic to the result. Both players may use Boost cards from their own hand to improve their result.

If you score higher, move away a number of spaces equal to your Speed statistic (success).
If you score equal or lower, stay where you are (failure).
If you score lower by 4 or more, stay where you are and the other player may carry out a free Attack against you if they wish (fumble).

If you are breaking away from more than one figure, conduct the test one figure at a time, in the order of your choice. If you test successfully against all opponents, you can Break Away and move away a number of spaces equal to your Speed statistic. If you fail or fumble against one opponent, apply the test result and end the action (you don't have to test against any remaining opponents).

Example: Grublic is in a space adjacent to three Hydris Tribe members. He spends an action to try to Break Away. He tests against the first Hydris Tribe member and scores higher (successful, two to go!). He then tests against the second one and scores equal, so he doesn't move. He doesn't test against the third one.

Attack - 1 action

Your figure may attack another creature that is in an adjacent space (see Combat section).

Charging - 1 action

Your figure may alternatively perform a Charge attack. To do so, you must move the creature into a space adjacent to an opposing creature before attacking it (you can't pick up any Sungem along the way). This move must be across the shortest distance possible towards the target of your choice ensuring that no space is entered twice. The charge movement is part of the attack and doesn't cost any extra action.

If your figure moves its full Speed allowance before Attacking in this way, your figure may reroll one of its combat dice. You cannot reroll a die more than once and you must accept the new roll even if it is worse than the first.

Example: An Occulite with a Speed of 6, moves 6 spaces over Clear terrain into a space adjacent to an enemy figure. It may now reroll one of its dice during its attack. If it had only moved 4 spaces over Clear terrain into a space adjacent to an enemy figure, it could still attack, but would not benefit from the free reroll.

Ready - 1 action

To use a Ready action, it must be the last action a figure takes on its activation. It ends the figure's activation but lets you draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck when the figure is defending against any and all attacks before your next turn. There is no restriction of being forced to play this card as there normally is when players Let Nature Take Its Course.

This at first may not appear as attractive as the Replenish Natural Selection Cards action, but using it gives you extra cards to choose from instead of the 7 when defending attacks until your next turn. This can help you keep those vital cards that are already in your hand for what you really want to use them for later in the game.

Replenish Natural Selection Cards - 1 action

Draw cards from the Natural Selection Deck to replenish your hand to 7 cards. You can discard any unwanted cards before doing so.

Note: If an activated miniature is destroyed before using up all its actions, then the remaining actions are forfeited and cannot be used for anything - including Replenishing your hand.

Stand Up - 1 action or discard 2 cards

If the figure has been previously knocked Prone, it immediately stands up and no longer suffers the penalties for being Prone. To Stand Up, you can either use 1 action or discard 2 cards. Discarding 2 cards does not cost an action.

Note: A figure can become Prone due to a card effect or a Special Ability.

When a figure is Prone:

its Attack and Defence statistics are halved (rounding down to a minimum of 1)
it may not use Card Effects
it may not Move
it may not contribute to a 'Gangup' Attack
if it is carrying a Sungem, it drops it in an adjacent space chosen by the Prone player.

Combat in Dawn

To initiate a Combat, one figure has to either:

Be in an adjacent space and declare an Attack action, or
Move into a space adjacent to an enemy figure with a Charge (see Actions section).

Combat sequence is as follows:

OPTIONAL - Use a Card Effect that has the Trigger "Before a Combat".
Declare Attack, then Defence - both players play a card.
OPTIONAL - Use a Card Effect that has the Trigger "When in Combat".
Reveal cards
Select Boost cards
Reveal cards
OPTIONAL - Players can use a Card Effect that has the Trigger "When Attacking" or "When Defending".
Roll dice
Resolve Combat
OPTIONAL - If still alive, the player that played the highest value card during the Combat may play a Card Effect that has the Trigger "After a Combat".
OPTIONAL - If able, the other player may play a Card Effect that has the Trigger "After a Combat".

Combat is quite simple to conduct, but there are nuances to it that can increase its complexity. A full step by step procedure follows, and a full example of a Combat is on the next page. Whenever you get stuck, you can always follow this procedure.

Step 1. Use Card Effect - Either player may choose to use a Card Effect with the Trigger "Before a Combat". Certain Card Effects may cancel the Combat. These are selected and resolved simultaneously.

Step 2. Declare Attack - The Attacker has two options:

Declare a standard Attack, in which case he chooses a card from his hand (usually Aggressive), and places it face down on the table.
Let Nature Take Its Course.

Step 3. Declare Defense - The Defender has two options:

Declare a standard Defence, in which case he chooses a card from his hand (usually Defensive), and places it face down on the table.
Let Nature Take Its Course.

Let Nature Take Its Course (in Combat). Take the top card on the Natural Selection Deck. You must use whatever card appears. If you draw a Sungem or Event card, the card is resolved and then you draw another card, utilising its value, and place it face up on the table. In this case, Aggressive, Defensive, and Boost cards are worth their respective value, but are considered as Aggressive or Defensive, depending on the need.

Example: If you attack, choosing to Let Nature Take Its Course, and take a Boost +2 card, it counts as a regular Aggressive 2. If you then add a Boost card from your hand, it counts as normal Boost.

You can use the cards for the opposite purpose (Aggressive for Defence and Defensive for Attack), but they only count as half the value rounded down!

Step 4. Use Card Effect - Either player may choose to use a Card Effect with the Trigger "When in Combat". These are selected and resolved simultaneously.

Each player may only use one Card Effect during a Combat so choose which one you use wisely. A player can use the effect of a card already committed to combat if he spends 1 Tribal Token. Only one Effect per combat can be used.

Step 5. Reveal Cards - Both players flip and reveal their cards (except if they've Let Nature Take Its Course, in which case the card is already face up).

Step 6. Select Boost Cards - The Attacker and Defender can play a maximum of two Boost cards if they wish, and place them face down. The Attacker decides first, then the Defender. This is repeated until both players pass or have played two Boost cards each. They can play only one normal Boost card and only one Regular card used as a boost (Aggressive or Defensive with the same number as the first attack card, see Cards section). One or both cards do not actually have to be useable Boost cards and can be used just to bluff the opponent.

Step 7. Reveal Boost Cards - Once all players have played any cards face down, then all the cards are flipped. Cards that are not actually useable Boost cards, but were used to bluff are in play but do not add towards the total. A Card Effect from this card can be used in Step 8 by paying a Tribal Token.

Step 8. Use Card Effect - Both the Attacker and Defender can then use a Card Effect with the Trigger "When Attacking" (for the Attacker) or "When Defending" (for the Defender). These resolve simultaneously and so come into effect at the same time.

Step 9. Roll Dice - Both players roll as many dice as allowed by their cards (see cards section). The Attacker then checks how many rolls are successful. A roll is successful if it is equal to or below the figure's Attack statistic (A) with 0 always counting as a success. The Defender does the same, but compares their dice rolls against their figure's Defence statistic.

Step 10. Resolve Combat - Compare the number of successes that each figure rolled and refer to the table below:

Result	Effect
ATT = DEF	Nothing Happens
ATT > DEF but not x2	DEF -1 Health
ATT >x2 DEF but not x3	DEF -2 Health
ATT >x3 DEF but not x4	DEF -3 Health
ATT >x4 DEF	DEF instantly Killed
DEF > ATT but not x2	Nothing Happens
DEF >x2 ATT	ATT -1 Health

If a Defender rolls no successes, it is considered to be beaten by x4 and is instantly killed and removed from the board.

Step 11. Use Card Effect - After combat has been resolved, a Card Effect with the Trigger "After a Combat" may be utilised (if a Card Effect hasn't been already used by the player). These cards are not revealed straight away like other Card Effects, but instead are played face down, with dummy cards being able to be played in place of actual Effect card to confuse your opponent. Once both players have placed a card (or elected not to), they are both flipped. The player that played the highest value Natural Selection Card during the combat has priority in resolving these, with draws ruling in favour of the player that won the combat. Dummy cards are discarded after being revealed.

If a figure is destroyed before it uses all its available actions, any remaining actions it had available are forfeited.

Combat Example

A simple Combat between a Palaudis Occulite and a Hydris Occulite. Since this is the Core Rules, each Occulite is using the same Genetic Blueprint, meaning both figures have an Attack and Defence statistic of 4 and a Speed of 6.

It is the Palaudis player's turn and they have activated a Palaudis Tribe Member. They move this figure 1 space so that it is adjacent to the Hydris figure. This is a Charge action, but since it did not move its full 6 spaces, it does not benefit from the free reroll.
Neither player declares they are using a "Before Combat" Card Effect and so they go straight to Declaring Attack and Defense. The Palaudis player chooses a card from his hand and places it face down on the table. The Hydris player has cards that he wanted to save for his turn in his hand, so chooses to Let Nature Take Its Course and flips the top card off the Natural Selection Deck. He is lucky and it is a Defensive 8.
Neither player elects to use a "When in Combat" Card Effect and so the Palaudis player reveals their card. It is an Aggressive 6. So far, the Palaudis player will be rolling 6 dice and the Hydris player will be rolling 8 dice.
Now the players choose any Boost cards they wish to be played (up to two) from their hand. The Hydris player places a non Boost card face down in the hope that he will trick the Palaudis player into thinking that they have this Combat under control and that the Palaudis player shouldn't waste his cards. The Palaudis player is not fooled though and places two cards from his hand face down (another Aggressive 6 which counts as a +2 Boost and a 2 Boost card).
Both players reveal their Boost cards and the Hydris player must discard his as it was a bluff. So now the Palaudis player will be rolling 10 dice and the Hydris player will still be rolling 8.
The players then have the opportunity to use a "When Attacking" or "When Defending" Card Effect. The Hydris player doesn't have anything that will help them and the Palaudis player doesn't want to waste his cards. However, the Palaudis player chooses to discard a Tribal Token to use the "Opening" Card Effect from one of his already played cards. This means that each 0 rolled by the Palaudis player will count as two successes.
Both players roll their dice. The Palaudis player rolls his 10 dice and scores - 0, 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 9 for 6 successes (remember the 0 counts as 2 due to the "Opening" Card Effect). The Hydris rolls his 8 dice and scores - 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 7, 7, 8 for 3 successes. Since the Palaudis player scored double the number of successes of the Hydris player, the Hydris figure loses 2 Health and this is marked off on the Hydris figure's Player Board.
The Hydris player has the opportunity to play "After a Combat" Card Effects (the Palaudis doesn't as they already used a Card Effect during the Combat sequence). He could play "Steal" from his hand, but the Palaudis figure is not holding a Sungem.

Combat Involving Multiple Figures

Figures that are adjacent to each other are said to be in combat. Combats should be split up as evenly as possible. So if there were 2 figures from each side in a combat, it would be split into two separate combats.

If several figures are fighting a single one, the activated figure will fight and any other figures adjacent to the same enemy figure will support.

The side that has the greater numbers in the combat gets a number of Rerolls equal to the relevant statistic (Attack or Defence) of the supporting members:

If one mini fights against two minis, the fight proceeds as a normal one-on-one, but the side that has an extra figure will get a number of rerolls equal to the supporting figure's Attack or Defence.
If one figure fights against three figures, the combat proceeds as a normal one-on-one, but the side that has two extra figures will get a number of rerolls equal to the supporting figures' combined Attack or Defence and so on...

Example: A Hydris figure is already in a space adjacent to a Palaudis figure and on the Palaudis Tribe's turn, another figure declares a Charge and moves into a space adjacent to this Hydris Tribe. This creates a situation where the Palaudis has two combatants and the Hydris has one. The combat plays out as normal, but the Palaudis is awarded a number of rerolls equal to the Attack statistic of the non-active Palaudis figure. If the Hydris survived and attacked on the next turn, the Palaudis figure that would be Defending, would be awarded rerolls equal to the Defence statistic of the figure that was in contact but not attacked.

Introductory Scenario: Returning from the Hunt

Using the information you have gathered so far, you are ready to play your first game. For this game, both tribes will be identical, each with five members, one of which is the Chief. Use the Introductory Tribe boards to help you run the game.

Your Tribe has been out hunting for food and Sungems, when the Chief realises the Tribe has accidentally crossed into another Tribe's territory. Hoping that you won't be spotted, you quickly begin to make for home when you stumble across some newly formed Sungems! This is too good an opportunity to pass and the Chief orders your Tribe to gather as many as they can before heading for home. Just as your Tribe steps into the clearing, you hear a low growl. Another Tribe has had the same idea. What are you going to do? The way home is through them. Do you make a break for it? Or try and grab some Sungems on the way through?

Setup: Each player chooses one Terrain overlay and gives it to their opponent (or one of them if you are playing with expansions and 3 or 4 players), who then places it on the board. Choose two Trees or Scenic Feature overlays per player and place them on the board making sure that none of the overlays are adjacent to another. Place two Sungems per player in the centre of the board no closer than two spaces from each other and no more than five spaces from the rock formation in the centre of the board. Remove all the Event and Sungem cards from the Deck and set those aside for this scenario.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe chooses a board edge (if two players, make sure these are opposite each other). Place your Tribe members in any of the spaces along your edge.

Objectives: There are two objectives for this scenario. The primary objective is for your Tribe to collect as many Sungems as possible and exit the opposite board edge with them. The secondary objective is for your Tribe to exit the board via the board edge opposite your starting edge.

The Game Ends When: The game ends when there are either no Sungems left in play or when there are no members of one Tribe on the board. A Sungem is considered in play if it is still unclaimed out on the board or if there is an Occulite on the board holding one. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Occulite (or group of Luftles) that leaves the opposite board edge with a Sungem, gain 2 Victory Points.
For each Tribe member (or two Luftles) that exits the opposite board edge without a Sungem, gain 1 Victory Point.

Penalties: None

Advances: If your Tribe killed an opponent's Occulite (or at least three Luftles) during the match, you may gain a +1 to the Attack statistic of one of your figures OR you can award up to 2 Defence points to your Tribe. These may be divided however you like. One figure could get both or two figures could get one each. If you lost, gain +1 Speed to one figure in your Tribe.

Please note that while the Rewards section is used to determine the winner of the scenario, the Penalties, Advances and the section below are only used if this Scenario is played during a Campaign. If you are playing a one off game, ignore these sections.

Each player may choose one Learned Ability to give one of their models (remembering that all models must have at least one ability before a model may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend total.

Advanced Rules

Once you have played a few games with the Core rules, you might start to become curious about taking the game further. This could include creating your own Tribe, investigating some of the Advanced rules that the game contains or maybe even trying out a Campaign. Since the game is designed in layers, you can simply choose which layers from the Advanced Rules you'd like to use. Just add in the layers that interest you until you are happy with the complexity level.

Layer One - Advanced Combat Table and Dynamic Defence

Compatible with all Layers. Requires none.

Advanced Combat Table

The Advanced Combat Table is a bit different from the one in the Core game. The biggest addition is the concept of a dynamic Defence statistic. Some hits are so powerful that it does not only injure your characters, but can also affect their ability to defend themselves from future attacks. This layer also adds a bit more hand management for the Defender and can create more decision points in the game.

It should be noted that even though the result for the Defender doubling or tripling the Attacker sounds tough, the loss of cards that the Defender will experience will likely force it to waste an action to 'Replenish Natural Selection Cards'. Otherwise it may be quite low on cards for defending any further attacks that turn or for attacking on its turn. The balance of risk and hand management this option brings can introduce many tough decisions.

Result	Effect
ATT = DEF	Nothing Happens
ATT > DEF but not x2	DEF -1 Health
ATT >x2 DEF but not x3	DEF -2 Health
ATT >x3 DEF but not x4	DEF -3 Health, or -2 Health and -1 Defence
ATT >x4 DEF	DEF -2 Defence and is Killed. Remove DEF from the board.
DEF > ATT but not x2	Nothing Happens
DEF >x2 ATT	DEF may discard a card to force the ATT to -1 Health or -1 Defence
DEF >x3 ATT	DEF may discard up to 3 cards to force the ATT to -1 Health or -1 Defence per card.

When there is an option between losing Health or Defence the Attacker always decides. Defence can never be reduced below 1.

Dynamic Defence

If you use the Advanced Combat Table or the Heal action (from Advanced Actions), there is a chance your figure's Defence statistic will change during the game. These Defence losses as a result of combat and Healing are permanent. If used in a campaign, you may spend Victory Points on a 1:1 basis to replenish your characters' Defence statistic up to what it was prior to the game. Defence bonuses are also gained through Scenario Victory Conditions as well. This is discussed in more detail in the Campaign section.

Layer Two - Advanced Actions and Mechanics

Compatible with all Layers. Some aspects (Heal Action) require Layer One.

Advanced Actions

The Advanced Actions listed below add to the complexity of the game by increasing your wealth of choices. This expansion of choices however, also brings much more depth and decision making to the game. These are listed in alphabetical order.

Ability - ? action/s. Some creatures possess Special Abilities and others can be earned by your figures over the course of a campaign. The cost of using these Special Abilities varies, but the most common cost is 1 action. Special Abilities is a catch all category that includes: Innate Abilities, Learned Abilities and Situational or Scenario Abilities. Some examples of Special Abilities are Eyebeam, Pouch, Leap, Aquatic Charge, and Pheromones, but there are many more available.

Climb - 1 action. If your Occulite is in a space adjacent to a Tree Terrain overlay, it may Climb the Tree for one action. An Occulite cannot Climb a tree unless it was in a space adjacent to the Tree at the start of its current action (unless a special ability allows you to). Before Climbing, flip a Natural Selection Card. If it is a Boost card, then you lose your action as you wait for your claws to grow. When an Occulite has Climbed a tree, place it on any one of the Tree spaces to show this. There can be a number of figures equal to the number of spaces the tree takes up (7), in an individual tree at any one time. Luftles cannot Climb unless allowed by a Scenario or Special Ability.

Modifications for using Climb with Core Terrain Rules: Trees are no longer impassable. Each space costs 2 Speed to move into. If your figure loses a Health while in a Tree, it is placed back on the main board adjacent to the Tree and then -1 additional Health for the fall.

Heal - Minimum 2 actions. An Occulite figure can spend actions to Heal. There are two ways in which this can occur.

Spend 2 actions and reduce the figure's Defence. For each 1 point you reduce that figure's Defence, you can give the figure +2 Health. This can never take the figure's Health above what it was at the start of the Scenario. You may never choose to lower your Defence below 1.
Spend all the figure's actions for the turn doing nothing while in a Home Cave space to return the Occulite's Health back to the value it was at the start of the Scenario unless the Scenario states otherwise.

Luftles may never Heal during a Scenario unless an Ability states otherwise.

Hide - 1 action. Spend your figure's last action whilst in a Terrain with a Hide score printed on it (or one specified by a Scenario or Special Ability) you can try and Hide. Each such Terrain overlay has a difficulty score assigned to it, which is listed on the Feature. The higher the difficulty, the trickier it is to Hide in. You must discard cards with values totalling equal to or higher than that number to successfully Hide. If you do so successfully place a Hidden Token on the player board matching that figure. The figure stays hidden until it is spotted by an Awareness Test (see Awareness Tests) or it chooses to use an action to do something else. A Hidden figure cannot be attacked or affected by another figure unless an Ability states otherwise.

For example, Grublic tries to Hide in amongst a Rocky Outcrop with a difficulty score of 10. He discards a value 6 card, and two value 2 cards from his hand for a total of 10 and he successfully Hides, placing a Hidden Token on his matching player board. Other players will need to pass an Awareness Test to spot him.

Pass - 1 action. If your active figure is holding a Sungem and is in a space adjacent to a friendly Tribe member, then it may pass the Sungem to the Tribe member for one action. If two Luftles are holding a Sungem and are in a space adjacent to an Occulite or another group of two Luftles, then they may also pass the Sungem for one action.

Pry Sungem - 1 action. For one action, an Occulite or two Luftles, may attempt to pry off a Sungem to steal from a Podmothine body or cave wall. The figure(s) need to be in a space either:

A. Adjacent to a Cave or Home Cave space that has a transparent black border, or B. Adjacent to the Podmothine Terrain Overlay.

To find out how difficult this is, roll a number of dice dictated by the location you are trying to pry it from.

Cave Wall - Roll 3d10. The highest number rolled is the value that must be discarded in cards from your hand to successfully pry the Sungem off.
Podmothine - Roll a number of d10 equal to the number of Podmothine tentacles on the Podmothine Terrain Overlay +1. The highest number rolled is the value that must be discarded in cards from your hand to successfully pry the Sungem off. If there are no Podmothine Tentacles on the Podmothine, you may pry the Sungem off without discarding cards. The same goes for if you roll all 0s.

Example: If there were currently 4 Podmothine Tentacles on the Podmothine Terrain Overlay, you would roll 4 dice + 1 additional die. Let's say you roll a 3, 3, 5, 7 and 8. The 8 is the highest value, so you would need to discard cards with a value totalling 8 or higher, their type doesn't matter. You could discard a 7 and a 2, OR a single 8, OR a 3, 4 and a 1 etc...

Reborn - All actions. This action is only available to certain models and even then only in certain circumstances. The most common of these is an Occulite when its Home Cave is on the board. Other situations with other models will be described in the relevant section. When a figure or Token is on the Reborn Track, it can give up all its actions and move one space along. When it reaches space 0, it can be placed back in its Home Cave and counts as having used all its actions for the turn. The model must be activated to move on the Reborn Track.

Sneak - 1 action. You may move your activated figure up to half its Speed statistic (rounded down) in spaces to:

Force any Activation roll taken by a Podmothine Tentacle to fail on any roll of 4+ regardless of the number it would normally Activate on.

Advanced Mechanics

When using the Advanced Actions that Dawn offers, there are a couple of new mechanics that come into the game - Awareness Tests and The Reborn Track.

Awareness Tests. In some situations, you may need to carry out an Awareness Test with one or more of your figures. This does not require an action to do. Gameplay stops while the test is performed. Awareness Tests are used to spot Hidden figures (which cannot be attacked until spotted), Sungems, some Objectives and to outsmart Predators. You may never take two Awareness Tests in a row. An action or the end of the figure's activation must always separate your attempts.

To resolve an Awareness Test draw a number of cards equal to the Awareness statistic of the figure taking the test. If any of the cards are individually worth 8+ you pass. You may use up to two Boost cards as normal from your hand to add to the total.

Example: Grublic is trying to spot a Hidden figure so that he can Attack it. With his first action, Grublic Moves into a space that would normally be able to see the Hidden figure. He then takes an Awareness Test to see if he can spot the figure. If he succeeds, his second action can be to Charge the figure. If he fails the Awareness Test, he will most likely take another Move action away from the area (so he isn't ambushed) or will engage a different enemy as you cannot take two Awareness Tests in a row.

The Reborn Track. In the base game, The Reborn Track is something only ever used by the Occulites and by Podmothine Tentacles. In future expansions, there may be other Creatures or mechanics that use this. The Reborn Track is found along the side of the board.

If a killed Occulite's Home Cave is on the board, take note of how many wounds past 0 they took when they died. Then add 2 to the result. Place the Occulite on that number of the Reborn Track. Even if a figure would be placed on a space higher than 5, it cannot be. The 5 space is the maximum.

Example: Grublic had 1 Health left and lost 2 Health, he would have taken 1 wound past 0, plus the 2 for actually dying, which would equal 3. He would then be placed on space number 3 on the Reborn Track.

If an Occulite figure is quadrupled in Combat and killed instantly, then it would be placed on space number 5 on the Reborn Track.

Whenever an Occulite is brought back into the game by the Reborn Track they will come back a little bit weaker than before. To determine what happens:

Flip a card from the Natural Selection Deck for each statistic on the model's profile. You can use Boost cards from your hand to influence these results.
The statistic whose assigned card comes up the lowest, is the statistic that is lowered by 1. If two or more statistics have equally low cards, then you lose 1 point off each. This can never reduce a statistic to less than 1. If the lowest card flipped is assigned to a statistic that is already on 1, then you have been lucky and avoid any further penalties (it does not default to the next lowest).
If the card for Special Ability is the lowest, the Occulite loses one of its Special Abilities. Remember you can never lose your Tribe's starting abilities as they are Innate.

Having a Home Cave on the board is required to use the Reborn Track, but doesn't mean that the Occulite will necessarily come back onto the board during the game. When playing a campaign, Occulites that don't have a Home Cave on the board or that don't come back onto the board before the game is over will still be Reborn. It will just take place after the game. They will still come back weakened in the same way as mentioned above.

When an Occulite is Reborn in their Home Cave, they are placed on the Tunnel space that is located on the Home Cave. A figure cannot move through a hex side that has a faded black border. This represents the cave wall.

You can also, with the agreement of your opponent allow Occulites to be Reborn during any Scenario regardless of whether your Home Cave is there or not. If you both agree, when an Occulite is placed on the Reborn Track, just place them one space further away than what you normally would. Once Reborn, you may then place your Occulite on any empty space adjacent to your board edge, but not adjacent to another figure.

Layer Three - Advanced Tribe Creation

Compatible with all Layers. Does not require Layer One and Layer Two, but these are recommended.

Advanced Tribe Creation - Not Just Your Average Occulite

Once you have played several games using the Core rules, you may want to delve into the game a bit further and create your own Tribe. The choice in how you run your Tribe is up to you.

By reading the Core rules, we know that all Occulites start life out with an identical Genetic Blueprint before their environment and experiences shape them. When creating your own Tribe, you can change the Genetic Blueprint of its members to suit your needs. You do this by performing Evolutionary Adjustments.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	6	4	4	5	None unless also using Layer 5

Evolutionary Adjustments

To represent the variety of Occulites in your Tribe, you may make up to 5 Evolutionary Adjustments. Remember that this is completely optional and you are not forced to make any of these if you wish not to.

To make an Evolutionary Adjustment you simply take 1 point away from any one statistic belonging to one Occulite and add it to the same statistic of another Occulite. This cannot bring a statistic to a number lower than 1.

Tracking this information is made easy by using each figure's Individual Player Board. Continue to ignore the Abilities listed on the Individual Player Board unless you are also using Layer Five.

Example: Pronflub was involved in 4 of the 5 Evolutionary Adjustments available to his Tribe. First he gave one of his Speed to Grublic, then took an Attack from Mipny, gave a Defence and took a Health away from Froog to get the Genetic Blueprint marked on Pronflub's Individual Player Board. He has been setup as a front line Attacker. His Defence is lower than normal, but he can take an additional hit by having 6 Health. You can setup your Tribe Members however you like by following the guidelines.

Once you have done this, you should check that your Genetic Blueprints add up correctly:

Awareness should add up to 10
Speed should add up to 30
Attack should add up to 20
Defence should add up to 20
Health should add up to 25*

*Nimbus Tribe's Health should add up to 27 if using Layer 5, as the Nimbus Chief has a score of 7.

Using Layer 5 in addition to this Layer works really well to further customise your Tribes. It allows you to select a Tribe Type and have access to their Innate Abilities which are listed on each figure's Individual Player Board. Details on how to do this are contained within Layer 5, with additional Tribe Types available in Expansion Booklets.

Layer Four - Advanced Terrain

Compatible with all Layers. Requires Layer Two. Layer Three is recommended.

Advanced Terrain - A More Complex and Detailed Landscape

The Advanced Terrain rules here provides a more in depth way for your figures to interact with their environment. The type of terrain the Tribes are exposed to will affect the way they move or act. If creatures are able to Hide in a particular type of terrain, the target number for this will be given under the Hide heading of each terrain. The mechanics for doing this are given in the Advanced Actions section (Hide).

Elevated Terrain

Hide: Not Applicable - you cannot hide in Elevated Terrain.
Rules: There is no special rules for Elevated Terrain for most of the tribes. Nimbus Tribes however can benefit from moving from an Elevated Terrain position. This is detailed in their Tribe Booklet.

Lava Flats

Hide: Not Applicable - you cannot hide in Lava Flats
Rules: For each Lava Flat space that your figure moves through, draw a Natural Selection Card. Any Boost cards count as a possible wound, which would cause the creature to lose a Health. For each Boost card drawn, roll one die. If you roll equal to or lower than the figure's Defence then you cancel that possible wound. Each one that you don't cancel counts as -1 Health (do not refer to the combat table for this). If all are Boost cards, then the figure has tripped and is burnt alive. If the figure's Home Cave is on the table, place it on position 4 on the Reborn Track.

Rocky Outcrop

Hide: 10
Rules: When activating a figure on a Rocky Outcrop, it does not trigger any actions from a Podmothine, but will allow a Predator or Sentry within 12 spaces to reroll one die to activate.

Scenic Feature

Hide: Pile of Rocks (10), Bushes (7)
Rules: Scenic Features cost 2 Speed per space for figures to move through.

Swampy Ground

Hide: 8
Rules: Each Swampy Ground space costs 2 Speed to move into. After declaring your Move, but before physically moving your figure through or from a Swampy Ground space, draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck. Add your Attack value to this card. If your total is 10+ you move through or out of the space fine. If your total is less than 10, you get stuck as soon as your figure enters the Swampy Ground (or in the space it is in if it started its turn on a Swampy Ground space) and cannot move any further with the action you just spent. If you get stuck in the same space 3 times in a row, the creature gets sucked under the mud and is killed. If it is an Occulite and its Home Cave is on the board, place it on position 1 of the Reborn Track. Only 1 Boost card can be used to influence this result. This test is only taken once per Move Action (not once per space).

Tree

Hide: Not applicable, you cannot Hide in a Tree.
Rules: Trees must be Climbed using the Climb action explained above. There are two states when it comes to climbing trees - on the ground or in the tree. It takes 1 full movement to Climb down a tree safely.

You can make your figure jump from the tree to get down faster. Flip a card off the top of the Natural Selection Deck, if it is an Aggressive card, then the Occulite loses 1 Health and is placed Prone in a space adjacent to the tree, ending its turn no matter how many actions it had left. If it is any other card, it is not injured, and can move its full Speed away from the Tree.

When in a tree, a figure can only be attacked by Attacks with the Ranged keyword or by other figures in the tree. Occulites benefit from a +2 to their Defence from Ranged Attacks if they are in a Leafy tree, +1 to its Defence from Ranged Attacks if the tree is a Bare Habitat Tree. Some Scenarios will designate Leafy Trees as being Dense. While in a Dense Tree a figure cannot be targeted by Ranged Attacks at all.

When a figure that is in a tree Attacks another figure that is in the same tree, any card effect that would move the figure out of a Tree space or causes it to become Prone, will knock it out of the tree. Place it Prone in a space adjacent to the Tree. The figure immediately loses 1 Health in addition to any other damage sustained by the Combat.

Luftles cannot climb Trees unless a Scenario or Special Ability allows them to.

Trees can be very dangerous places to hang around in, so don't stay up there too long... Each new turn, draw a Natural Selection Card for each figure in a Tree and refer to the Arboreal Terrors table below:

Card drawn	Result
Defensive Card	Nothing Happens
Event Card	A small insect lands near the Occulite. It is distracted and cannot perform any Ranged Attacks this turn.
Aggressive Card	The Occulite's claws retract and it cannot hold onto the tree any longer. Place the Occulite prone in a space adjacent to the tree's trunk.
Boost Card	The tree is alive! Branches and vines wrap around your Occulite until it cannot be seen anymore. It is killed instantly, remove it from the board. If its Home Cave is on the board, place the Occulite on position 2 of the Reborn Track.

Water - Shallow Lake

Hide: Not applicable, you cannot Hide in Water.
Rules: Speed is normal. Each time a Creature takes a Move, Charge or Attack action in Shallow Water or uses a Move action to cross it during their turn, draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck. If you draw a 2, 3 or 4 the creature slips and falls. Place the creature Prone either where they started if already in Shallow Water or at the edge they entered from if they tried to move through it on their turn. If Tripped in Shallow Water, there are no additional effects.

Water - Regular Lake. Sometimes a scenario will dictate that the Water Terrain Overlays used are 'Regular Lakes'. When this happens, use these rules instead of any other Water rules.

Hide: Not applicable, you cannot Hide in Water.
Rules: Each Regular Lake space costs 2 Speed to move into. In addition to this, figure's Attack and Defence statistics are reduced by 1 whilst in the water. If Tripped or placed Prone for any reason in Regular Lakes, the Creature loses 1 Health in addition to any other effects and then stands again for free.

Water - Deep Lake

Hide: Not Applicable, you cannot Hide in Deep Lakes
Rules: Each Deep Lake space costs 2 Speed to move into. Each Move action taken in or through Deep Lakes forces your figure to test to see if it has Tired. To do this, draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck, which can be modified by Boost cards in your hand. If the card value is higher than your figure's Speed statistic, then the figure loses 1 Health and is not moved for that action. If the result is equal to or lower your figure's Speed statistic, then may Move as described above. Figures cannot perform Charge or Attack actions whilst in a Deep Lake space. If they are attacked by another creature, their Defence is temporarily reduced by 3 (to a minimum of 1) and they are only allowed to play 1 Boost card. They also may not play Effects. If Tripped in a Deep Lake, a creature loses a Health and then must test to see if it has Tired again. Luftles use the same rules as Occulites do.

Water - River

Hide: Not Applicable, you cannot Hide in Rivers.
Rules: When entering a River Water Terrain feature, draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck. If this card's value is less than your figure's Speed statistic, move the Occulite this many spaces downstream towards the edge of the board. If the card is higher than your Speed statistic, the figure can move at a cost of 2 Speed per space through the Terrain Overlay. You may play a Boost card from your hand to modify the card drawn. If Tripped or placed Prone for any reason in River, draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck and check the number. The creature moves downstream that number of spaces towards the edge of the board. If that takes it off the edge of the board, it is considered to be killed instantly. If it is an Occulite and its Home Cave is on the board, place it on position 3.
Additional Terrain Placing Rules: When placing a River as your chosen Terrain Overlay, you may place both River A and River B. River A must be placed so that it lines up with the edge of the board. River B then matches up next to River A. Downstream is always considered to be from River B to River A.

Layer Five - Tribal Types

Compatible with all Layers. Requires Layer One and Layer Two. Layer Three and Campaign rules are recommended.

Tribal Types - Evolving to Adapt to your Tribe's Environment

The Tribal Types rules allows you to further define your Tribe by allocating it a type. In the base game, this could be either Palaudis or Hydris, but with expansions, your options grow. By allocating a Tribal Type your figures will gain a set of Innate Abilities which can never be lost and a set of unique Learned Abilities that can be gained through experience.

You can select your Tribal Type from the Occulite Tribes section of the book, or from an expansion booklet. Learned Abilities can be gained through Campaign play, or by selecting them in a Stand Alone game by taking a more advanced Tribe. In a Campaign, Learned Abilities can be lost through different circumstances, but Innate Abilities are never lost.

Stand Alone Games

Dawn: Rise of the Occulites shines in campaign play, however Stand Alone games can be just as fun, especially when you are getting used to the new advanced mechanics that the layers bring. Because of this, we included the following rules to allow you to play Stand Alone games while still having the option of dabbling in some of the exciting options available to you in campaign mode.

To play a Stand Alone game, you must first select your Tribe type from the Occulite Tribes section or from an expansion and perform any Evolutionary Adjustments you would like to use.

Then, decide on how advanced you would like your Tribe to be. This will decide how many points both players can spend on gaining Learned Abilities for your Tribe members. Every figure needs to have at least one Learned Ability before any can have a second one assigned. Learned Abilities can be taken from the Occulite Tribe section, Campaign Section or an expansion booklet. They can be selected from the General Abilities or from the selected Tribe's Abilities. Please refer to the Campaign Maximum Statistics Table to ensure that your Tribes' statistics are balanced. You can then select any Scenario to play!

New Tribe: Just basic Genetic Blueprints.
Young Tribe: 2 points to spend on Learned Abilities.
Experienced Tribe: +3 Speed points allocated anywhere you choose; +2 Attack points allocated anywhere you choose; +2 Defence points allocated anywhere you choose; +3 Health points allocated anywhere you choose; 5 points to spend on Learned Abilities.
Veteran Tribe: +5 Speed points allocated anywhere you choose; +4 Attack points allocated anywhere you choose; +4 Defence points allocated anywhere you choose; +5 Health points allocated anywhere you choose; 8 points to spend on Learned Abilities.
Legendary Tribe: +7 Speed points allocated anywhere you choose; +6 Attack points allocated anywhere you choose; +6 Defence points allocated anywhere you choose; +7 Health points allocated anywhere you choose; 11 points to spend on Learned Abilities.

Occulite Tribes

In the base game of Dawn - Rise of the Occulites, there are two available Occulite Tribes to choose from - Palaudis and Hydris. Expansions will bring additional Tribes to the game for you to select. Each Occulite Tribe has a unique play style which is determined by the Innate Abilities that it starts with and the Learned Abilities that are available to it over the course of a Campaign.

Using specific Occulite Tribes is a fun way to add additional options to your games. They can be added to Stand Alone games or used in a Campaign to watch them advance and grow over time.

All the information required for an Occulite Tribal Type is given in the one spot, including the Tribe's scientific background, Innate Abilities and Learned Abilities.

(Note: the printed Tribe sections also contain extended natural-history/lore text (Description, Habitat, Diet, Behaviour, Warfare, Tribal Chiefs, Historical Notes) which is flavour only and is not reproduced here.)

Palaudis Tribes

Frog-like Swamp Dwellers of the Occulite World. Scientific name: Unumluscus palude (Palaudis Occulite, Swamp Occulite).

Innate Abilities

All Palaudis Tribes start with the following Innate Abilities. When you choose a Palaudis Tribe, all figures in the Tribe automatically come with the following ability which cannot be lost.

Swampwise. Palaudis Occulites figures suffer no penalties for moving through Swampy Ground and instead treat it as Clear Terrain. When checking to see if they get stuck, Palaudis Occulite figures may draw 2 cards and choose the best one to use. Figures with Swampwise may attempt to Hide in any Swampy Ground space as if it was difficulty 5.

All Palaudis Tribe Chiefs start with the following Innate Abilities which cannot be lost.

Friend of the Luftles. A Palaudis Tribe Chief may use his Tribal Tokens on any Luftle in his Tribe. In addition to this, recruiting any type of Luftle during a Campaign costs -1 Victory Point to a minimum of 1.

Luftle Advisor. A Palaudis Chief gains an automatic reroll of one failed die during every combat sequence he is involved in. A Palaudis Tribe will always count as having a Luftle in the Tribe as long as the Chief is in play.

Palaudis Tribe Ability Pool

Palaudis Tribe Occulites continue to evolve in the swamps, bogs and billabongs of Crepusculum. The Learned Abilities below are only available to them.

Leap - 1VP. When conducting a Move action, this figure may choose three spaces that are adjacent to each other and in a straight line. Ignore any terrain, tokens or figures that are on these spaces when moving through them. The figure can do this without taking a Break Away Test if it started the Move action adjacent to an opposing figure. These three spaces must not cause the total number of spaces moved with that action to exceed the figure's Speed.

Protector of the Luftles - 1VP. This Tribe member may discard a Boost card to swap places with any Luftle figures in one adjacent space when they are attacked by an opponent.

Sticky Tongue - 2VPs. This figure does not need to stop when picking up a Sungem during a Move action.

Intimidating Croak - 3VPs. You may interrupt an opponent's Attack to give them up to three Boost cards from your hand. If they accept them, they cannot Attack this turn. If they do not accept them, the Attack is carried out as normal, but your figure gains 1 extra reroll. Note: Only one Tribe member may take this ability.

Thunder Leap - 4VPs. To learn this ability, the figure must already have taken the Learned Ability Leap. This is considered a Charge Attack, but the player may discard any number of Boost cards from his or her hand to raise the figure's Attack value by 1 per card (up to a maximum of 7 Attack), for this Attack only. Any Boost cards discarded that would raise the figure's Attack value beyond 7, count as one reroll per card instead.

Hydris Tribes

Aquatic Entities of the Occulite World. Scientific name: Unumluscus fluvius (Hydris Occulite, Water Occulite).

Innate Abilities

All Hydris Tribes start with the following Innate Ability. When you choose a Hydris Tribe, all figures in the Tribe automatically come with the following ability which cannot be lost.

Waterwise. Hydris Occulites suffer no movement penalties for moving through water except for River Water. They may also attack and defend with no penalties when in the water.

The Hydris Netter always has the Innate Ability Hunting Net.

Hunting Net - 1 Action. This net can be used during the game for one action by the Hydris Netter. Once used, it must be retrieved before being able to be used again as long as it is not damaged in the process. To use a Hunting Net the Hydris Netter cannot be in base contact with an enemy figure as it needs room to swing. The Hydris Netter may throw it at any opposing figure within 5 spaces. Treat this as a regular Attack (but with 2 free rerolls) that needs to be defended against normally. This means that even if that figure is adjacent to another figure (friend or foe), it can still be targeted.

Refer to the Hunting Net Combat table when resolving this attack.

Result	Effect
ATT = DEF	Nothing Happens. Net can be pulled back for free.
ATT > DEF but not x2	DEF is Prone. Net can be pulled back for 1 action.
ATT >x2 DEF but not x3	DEF is Prone and -1 Health. Net can be pulled back for 1 action.
ATT >x3 DEF but not x4	DEF is Prone and -2 Health. Net can be pulled back for 1 action.
ATT >x4 DEF	DEF is Prone and -2 Health. Net can be pulled back for free.
DEF > ATT but not x2	Nothing Happens. Net can be pulled back for 1 action.
DEF >x2 ATT	Net Tangles. Net can be pulled back for 2 actions.
DEF >x3 ATT	ATT is Prone. Net is destroyed and cannot be used again this scenario.

A model that has thrown a Net, must stay within 5 spaces of the victim to be able to pull it back in. If the model ever moves further away than this, the Net is considered dropped and will be destroyed by the Hydris' opponent.

All Hydris Tribe Chiefs start with the following Innate Ability which cannot be lost.

Healing Mucus. The Chief may spend a Tribal Token to gain +1 Health. This may not take him above his starting value.

Hydris Tribe Ability Pool

Hydris Tribe Occulites continue to evolve in the rivers, lakes, creeks and seas of Crepusculum. The Learned Abilities below are only available to them.

Retractable Dorsal Fin - 1VP. This Hydris Tribe Occulite may Hide in any Water Terrain space except for Shallow and River Water. Regular Lakes have a Hide of 9 and Deep Lakes have a Hide of 6.

Aquatic Charge - 1VP. When conducting a Charge action that sees your figure begin its movement in a Water space, you may force your opponent to reroll one of its successes in the ensuing combat.

Slippery When Wet - 2VP. When taking a Break Away Test, this figure may draw 3 cards and choose the best one to play. The other two cards are then discarded.

Rearguard - 3VP. If this Hydris Tribe Occulite is in a space adjacent to a friendly Occulite that is in combat with an enemy, he contributes rerolls as if he were actually part of the combat. He does not need to also be adjacent to the enemy to do this.

Poison - 4VP. To learn this ability, the chosen figure must have already gained the Slippery When Wet Learned Ability. Any time this Hydris Tribe Occulite wins a Combat, its player may discard a number of Boost cards from his hand to cause additional damage equal to the number of Boost cards discarded. The affected model may discard a number of Boost cards from his hand to cancel each additional damage on a 1:1 basis.

Luftles

Plant-like bulbous helper creatures of Crepusculum. Scientific name: Bulbus auxilium (Luftle, Bulba, Gumnut). Luftles are one of the smaller creatures in Crepusculum, standing between 30 - 70 centimeters. (The printed section also contains extended lore text on description, habitat, diet, behaviour, warfare and Chiefs, which is flavour only and not reproduced here. It names the castes: Grunts, Scouts, Guards/Drummers and the rare, clever Luftle Chiefs.)

Using Luftles in your Games

You cannot create an all Luftle Tribe... yet, but during a Campaign, you may spend Victory Points to recruit Luftles to your Tribe. The Genetic Blueprints of each different caste of Luftle currently known, their cost to recruit, their abilities and how they work within the game system follow.

Recruiting Luftles to Your Tribe

Luftles are additions to your Tribe that can be recruited during a Campaign or for a Stand Alone game by spending Victory Points (VPs). They have some common rules associated with them which are listed below:

Occulite Chiefs may never spend Tribal Tokens on a Luftle unless an Ability states otherwise
Individual Luftles do not gain skills or statistic increases. The exception is Luftle Chiefs which can only gain Abilities.
When a Luftle is killed during a Scenario, it is removed from your Tribe. These can be replaced with new Luftles by spending VPs to recruit them after any Scenario.
You can track the wounds on your Luftles by using the Luftle cards and the Wound tokens.
You can track which Luftle is yours by checking the lettering on the base of your Luftle and matching it up to the letter on your Luftle's reference card.

Luftle Caste Types

Listed below are the different Luftle Caste Types that are available to be recruited to your Tribe, how much they cost, how many you can recruit and their statistics and abilities.

Luftle Grunt. You may recruit up to two at the end of a scenario for 2VP each. You may never have more than three Luftle Grunts in your Tribe at any one time.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	7	1	2	2	Diminutive, Slave, Swarm, Teamwork

Luftle Scout. You may recruit one at the end of a scenario for 3VP. You may never have more than two Luftle Scouts in your Tribe at any one time.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	9	1	2	2	Diminutive, Slave, Swarm, Teamwork

Luftle Guard. You may recruit one at the end of a scenario for 3VP. You may never have more than two Luftle Guards in your Tribe at any one time.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	7	2	3	2	Diminutive, Slave, Swarm, Teamwork

Luftle Drummer. You may recruit one at the end of a scenario for 3VP. You may never have more than one Luftle Drummer in your Tribe at any one time.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	6	1	2	2	Diminutive, Drumbeat, Slave, Swarm, Teamwork

Luftle Chief. You may recruit one at the end of a scenario for 5VP. A Luftle Chief comes with 2 Tribal Tokens that can only be spent on Luftles. You may never have more than one Luftle Chief in your Tribe at any one time. If he is ever the only Luftle left in your Tribe, he runs off and is removed from your Tribe immediately, along with any Abilities he has gained.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
2	7	3	3	4	Diminutive, Slave, Surge Forth!, Swarm, Teamwork

Luftle Innate Abilities

These abilities are present in certain castes of Luftles and can never be lost for any reason.

Diminutive. Up to two Luftles may occupy the same space at any one time. They count as being adjacent to each other for rules purposes. For example, if there were two Luftles in the same space and an opposing figure attacked one of them, the second Luftle would contribute as a 'Gangup' and allow the attacked Luftle to reroll dice equal to its Defense. If the card effect Trip was played on one of the Luftles, only the one Luftle would be placed Prone. This would mean the other figure would need to take a Break-away test to move away from the lone standing Luftle.

Drumbeat. A Luftle Drummer gives a free reroll to all Luftles within 6 spaces that are in combat.

Slave. An Occulite Chief may never spend Tribal Tokens during Luftle's activation unless another Ability states otherwise.

Surge Forth! When activating models, you may activate 2 Luftles for each 1 that you normally would. For example, if you play an Activate 2 card, you may activate 4 Luftles, rather than just 2.

Swarm. When conducting a combat that includes more than one Luftle, instead of giving the Attacking or Defending Luftle rerolls for the additional Luftles, you may increase their Attack or Defence by 1 for each additional Luftle involved in the combat.

Teamwork. Single Luftles cannot carry a Sungem on their own, they need to have two Luftles in the same space as the Sungem to be able to carry it. While carrying a Sungem, the Luftles count as one model and can be activated as such. They do not have to use their actions to carry the Sungem though and can drop it and do other things if they wish. If they are attacked while carrying a Sungem, the Sungem is automatically dropped and placed in an adjacent space by the Luftles' owner. There must be two Luftles carrying the Sungem at all times, otherwise it will be dropped.

Luftle Chief Ability Pool

Luftles continue to evolve at a slower rate than Occulites across Crepusculum. Luftle Chiefs can however help them still improve their skills over time. These Learned Abilities below are only available to them. Your Luftle Chief may purchase an ability instead of one of your Occulites without the restriction of every Occulite having an ability before another one. These abilities can only be purchased for a Luftle Chief and are lost immediately if the Luftle Chief is ever killed or leaves your Tribe for any reason.

Nimble - 1VP. Luftles do not have to take Break Away Tests and can move away from opposing figure's freely.

Camouflage - 1VP. Luftles -2 from the Hide Difficulty Score when attempting to Hide.

Exceptional Camouflage - 1VP. To learn this Ability the Luftle Chief must already have the Learned Ability Camouflage. Awareness Tests taken to spot Luftles in your Tribe must be taken at least at 11+ (unless it would be higher due to another effect).

Carry Twice the Weight - 2VPs. Luftle Scouts and Guards in your Tribe may carry a Sungem on their own. When doing this, their Speed is reduced by 2.

Creatures and Predators

Encounters in the wild lands of Crepusculum.

You will find these Creatures and Predators listed in the following section as well as Expansion booklets and future downloads, but they all follow some basic rules which are given below.

Resolving Combats Involving Creature and Predators

Unless stated otherwise, whenever a Creature or Predator is attacking or defending in combat, you flip the top card off the Natural Selection Deck to find out what value card they will play in the combat. If a Boost card is flipped, save it and draw another card. The Boost card will count towards its Attack.
If an Event or Sungem card is drawn, it is shuffled back into the deck unless stated otherwise.
When the Creature or Predator attacks, it will use the Aggressive option on the card it draws. When it is defending, it will use the Defensive option on the card it draws. For example, if a Creature or Predator was attacking and flipped a Defensive 7, it would use the Aggressive option of that card, half rounded down, which is 3.
Other players may play Boost cards onto the Creature's or Predator's Attack to strengthen it further, as long as it does not already have two Boost cards played on it.
Creatures and Predators may never have their Defence statistic reduced unless it states so in their description.

Nymphlets

Creature. Nymphlets are small, dragonfly-like insects that inhabit the world of Crepusculum. They are around the length of an Occulite's arm.

Nymphlets activate at the beginning of each round. They have become semi-predictable in nature, so they have a special way in which they are activated.

At the start of each round, use one of the Directional Hexes printed on the side of the board. Take the six coloured wedges and place them next to the hex.

Taking it in turns, each player chooses a colour wedge and then places it on the Directional Hex, making sure not to place a colour wedge on top of any other. Once all the colours have been placed, the Nymphlets all Move in the direction that matches the colour they are.

Look at the Directional Hex. Visualise the token is on the space where the Nymphlets are. The Nymphlets will Move a number of spaces equal to their Speed in the direction that matches the hex edge of their colour on the Directional Hex.

(Illustration: in the pictured example the Colour Wedges have been placed and then each colour is resolved one at a time. All the Blue Nymphlets would move in the indicated direction a number of spaces equal to their Speed statistic. If the Nymphlet shown was instead Green, then it would move in a North direction.)

A Nymphlet ignores all figures and terrain that it moves through. There can be any number of Nymphlets in a space at any one time. If a Nymphlet would end its move in a space with an Occulite, Luftle or another Creature or Predator, it continues to Move in the same direction until it ends up in a space without one.

A Nymphlet will NEVER attack another figure.

To catch a Nymphlet, a figure needs to move into the same space as the Nymphlet and conduct an Attack. Any damage caused to the Nymphlet is automatically cancelled and instead, place the Nymphlet on the Player Board or Reference Card of the figure that successfully attacked. It now counts as being caught. A Luftle can only carry up to 2 Nymphlets, but an Occulite can carry an unlimited amount.

If a Nymphlet successfully defends an Attack, move it one space away in the direction matching their colour for that round.

If a creature that is holding Nymphlets is knocked Prone, the Nymphlets he is holding will scatter one space in the direction matching their colour for that round.

A Nymphlet has the following genetic blueprint.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	5	0	6	-	Invulnerable, Tricky

Invulnerable. Any damage caused to a Nymphlet for any reason is always cancelled.

Tricky. When defending, a Nymphlet gains rerolls equal to the number of spaces the figure had to Move to Attack it.

Podmothine

Creature. The Podmothine is made up of two distinct game pieces, the Body and the Tentacles. The Body is represented by a seven hex large Terrain Overlay and the Tentacles are represented by Tokens. The Podmothine's body will not move at any point during a Scenario. If a creature finds themselves adjacent to the Podmothine's body, they can utilise the action Pry Sungem.

There are six Podmothine Tentacles that start each scenario on the six outer spaces of the Podmothine body unless a scenario description states otherwise. They are triggered by actions taken.

Every time an activation is used from a Natural Selection card, but before taking any actions, roll a die for each tentacle to see if they can activate.

If you roll a 0, 1 or 2, that tentacle will act as follows:

It will Move towards the figure you activated and try to Attack it. This counts as a Charge. Unless...
There is a figure holding a Sungem, or a dropped Sungem, then the Podmothine Tentacle will Move towards that figure and try to Attack it. These movements always count as a Charge. Or...
If the Podmothine Tentacle is holding a Sungem, it will Move directly towards the Podmothine's body. If it moves into a space occupied by the body whilst holding a Sungem, the Sungem is stuffed back into the vegetative folds of the Podmothine's body. It will need to be pried loose again to regain it.

When an Event card is revealed during a scenario with a Podmothine in play first resolve any other effects that it may have, then it is placed to one side of the board. For each Event card revealed, add +1 to the number that the Podmothine Tentacles will activate on. So as the scenario advances, it becomes harder and harder to steal Sungems. For example, if you had two events cards revealed, when rolling to activate the tentacles, they would successfully activate on a 0,1,2,3 or 4.

If multiple Podmothine Tentacles are in an adjacent space to a particularly unlucky figure, then as long as one of those Podmothine Tentacles are activated and Attacks that model, the inactive Podmothine Tentacles will award the attacking Podmothine Tentacle rerolls as normal.

A Podmothine Tentacle can move no further than 10 spaces away from the Podmothine's body. If one Moves into a space adjacent to a tree that also contains one or more figures, it can reach those figures and counts as being adjacent to them. Terrain has no effect on the Podmothine Tentacles, with the exception of Lava Flats. Podmothine Tentacles, can never enter Lava Flats and must move the shortest route around them.

A Podmothine Tentacle can only hold one Sungem at a time, but this can be stolen back from them by playing a Steal card effect.

A Podmothine Tentacle has the following genetic blueprint:

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	7	4	4	2	Agile, Hardy, Nimble, Reborn (Podmothine), Victorious Steal

Agile. This creature can never be placed Prone and therefore cannot be Tripped.

Nimble. Podmothine Tentacles never need to take Break Away Tests.

Reborn (Podmothine). Podmothine Tentacles use the Reborn Track in the same way that the Occulites use it, but instead of replacing the figure in a Home Cave, it is replaced in the centre space of the Podmothine's body. It also does not suffer any reduction in statistics. When a Podmothine Tentacle is destroyed, place it on the Reborn Track using the same rules as when you would place an Occulite on it. When a Podmothine Tentacle is reborn in this way, it comes back with its standard genetic blueprint.

Victorious Steal. If a Podmothine Tentacle wins a combat with an opposing figure that is holding a Sungem, it immediately steals the Sungem.

(The Podmothine blueprint lists the ability "Hardy", which is not described in the printed Podmothine section.)

Puscual

Predator. Puscuals are large, scaly, lizard-like predators that hunt Occulites across Crepusculum. They are a bit bigger than a regular Occulite.

Each Puscual activates at the end of each player's turn. To resolve this activation follow these steps:

1a. If the Puscual begins its turn with all Occulites and Luftles on the board in Hiding, then it will take an Awareness Test to spot the closest one. If it successfully spots the figure, then go to 1b or 1c.
1b. If the Puscual is adjacent to an Occulite or Luftle figure, then it will Attack. It will always target the figure with the lowest Health. It then ends its activation.
1c. If the Puscual is NOT adjacent to an Occulite or Luftle figure, then reveal and discard a card off the top of the Natural Selection Deck, then go to 2a or 2b.
2a. If the card revealed is an Event card, resolve it and then move the Puscual up to 5 spaces towards the closest Scenic Feature, then it will end its activation.
2b. If the card revealed was a one with a value, the Puscual will move a number of spaces equal to the value of the revealed card towards the closest visible Occulite or Luftle then go to 3a or 3b.
3a. If the Puscual's move takes it into a space adjacent to an Occulite or Luftle, it counts as a Charge and will Attack. It will always target the figure with the lowest Health. Then it ends its activation.
3b. If the Puscual is still NOT adjacent to an Occulite or Luftle and the number of spaces moved was equal to or less than 4, it may then resolve this sequence again starting with 1C. If it moved more than 4 then it ends its activation.

A Puscual has the following genetic blueprint.

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	*	5	4	6	Brutal, Colourblind, Nimble, Sense of Smell

Brutal. When defending, if the Puscual doubles its opponent's successes, reveal and discard the top card of the Natural Selection Deck. If it is an Aggressive card, the opposing figure loses 1 Health or Defence (their choice) in addition to all other effects. If the Puscual triples its opponent's successes, reveal and discard three cards off the top of the Natural Selection Deck. For each Aggressive card, the opposing figure loses 1 Health or Defence (their choice) in addition to all other effects. When attacking, if the Puscual triples its opponent's successes, then it will instantly destroy the figure. If the figure has its Home Cave on the board, place it on position 4 of the Reborn Track.

Colourblind. When attacking or defending, the type of the card revealed and discarded does not matter. So a Defensive 8 in Attack, would still allow the Puscual to roll 8 dice in Attack (instead of the 4 a normal creature or predator would).

Nimble. The Puscual never needs to take a Break Away Test.

Sense of Smell. Puscuals get a +2 bonus to any card drawn for Awareness Tests.

Wild Luftles

Creatures. Wild Luftle Nests are represented by the Wild Luftle Nest Terrain Overlays. Wild Luftles are represented by tokens and enter and exit the Luftle Nest via the entrance space shown on the tile.

Any scenario with the Luftle Nest will determine which Wild Luftles burst forth from the Nest and how they do so. Wild Luftles will react at the end of each round. Draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck for each type of Wild Luftle present on the board. If you draw a:

Defensive card: They will carry out their Defensive programmed actions.
Aggressive card: They will carry out their Aggressive programmed actions.
Boost cards: They will default to the Wild Luftle's preferred programmed actions.
Event or Sungem card: Resolve the card and then redraw.

Luftle Grunt - Default Programmed Action: Defensive

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	7	1	1	1	Pile On

Luftle Scout - Default Programmed Action: Defensive

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	9	1	1	1	Pile On

Luftle Guard - Default Programmed Action: Aggressive

AW	S	A	D	H	Abilities
1	9	1	1	1	Pile On

Innate Abilities

All Wild Luftles have the following Ability.

Pile On. When conducting a combat that includes more than one Wild Luftle with this ability, instead of giving the Attacking or Defending Wild Luftles rerolls for the additional Wild Luftles, you MUST increase their Attack or Defence by 1 for each additional Wild Luftle involved in the combat.

Programmed Actions

The way each Wild Luftle acts in different situations is listed below. Each type of Wild Luftle has a Defensive and Aggressive reaction which determines their actions. These are basically the Wild Luftles AI.

Wild Luftle Grunt Defensive Programmed Actions. Move towards the Luftle Nest entrance. Remove the Wild Luftle from the board if it reaches it. It will not attack an enemy in an adjacent space after its move unless another Luftle is adjacent that same enemy.

Wild Luftle Grunt Aggressive Programmed Actions. Move towards the closest enemy. It will not attack an enemy in an adjacent space after its move unless another Luftle is adjacent that same enemy.

Wild Luftle Scout Defensive Programmed Actions. Move towards the closest Terrain Overlay on the board, stopping if they enter a space of one. Will try to avoid ending in an adjacent space to an enemy, but will Attack this enemy if it does.

Wild Luftle Scout Aggressive Programmed Actions. Move towards the closest enemy with preference given to one that is in an adjacent space to a Wild Luftle. Will try to end in a space with another Wild Luftle. Then it will Attack any adjacent enemy figure.

Wild Luftle Guard Defensive Programmed Actions. Move towards the closest space containing a single Wild Luftle. If it ends its move in a space adjacent to an enemy, it will Attack that enemy figure.

Wild Luftle Guard Aggressive Programmed Actions. Move towards the closest enemy with preference given to one that is in a space adjacent to a Wild Luftle. Will try to end its move in a space with another Wild Luftle. Then it will Attack an enemy in an adjacent space.

Campaign Rules

Guiding your Tribe through a full Sungem Season.

Once you and your friends have played a few one off games and have added in some of the Layers, you might be interested in trying to run a full Campaign. This involves leading your Tribe through a full Sungem Season, from the Dawn of the Light, to the Dusk before the Long Dark. It sees your Tribe advance in skill and ability as they collect Sungems to keep them safe and warm during the cold of the Long Dark. Your decisions will matter and the games you play will determine how successfully your Tribe hibernates at the end of the campaign.

A full Sungem Season is broken down into 10 timeslots. Each timeslot is played out through a scenario, with the Victory Points and Sungems you collect being totalled up as you go. This information is tracked on a Campaign Sheet which is found at the end of this book and can be photocopied or downloaded and printed out.

Victory Points and Sungems

Victory Points are tracked throughout a Campaign in two different ways and Sungems in just one.

Total Victory Points. Your Total Victory Points tracks all the Victory Points that you receive over the course of the campaign. When you receive Victory Points during a Campaign they are added to this total. This total is NOT reduced when you spend Victory Points so it will continue to increase each game.

Available Spend Total. Your Available Spend Total tracks how many Victory Points you have available to spend. When you gain Victory Points during a Campaign they also get added to your Available Spend Total. When you spend Victory Points to recruit Luftles and buy Learned Abilities, the cost comes off this number. There are several things that you can spend Victory Points on during the course of a campaign. Each will help you in different ways, but all are beneficial to your Tribe.

Sungems. Sungems are a finite source. If your Home Cave is raided and some Sungems are stolen from you, they are removed from your Sungem Total and added to the Tribe that stole them.

At the end of a campaign, your Tribe will have participated in 10 scenarios - depicting what their Sungem Season looked like. It is at this point that each Tribe plays out the 'Long Dark' (see Completing the Campaign) to see which Tribe wins the Campaign.

Spending Victory Points

There are several things that you can spend Victory Points on during the course of a campaign. Each will help you in different ways, but all are beneficial to your Tribe.

Regaining Lost Defence Points. You may spend Victory Points from your Available Spend Total on a 1:1 basis at the end of a scenario to replenish your figures' Defence statistic up to what it was prior to the game just played.

Recruiting Luftle Grunts. You may recruit up to 2 Luftle Grunts at the end of each scenario. They cost 2 Victory Points each. These Luftles may not gain Learned Abilities and are not replaced if killed during a game - new ones must be recruited instead. All rules for Luftle Grunts, Guards, Scouts, Drummers and Chiefs are found in the Luftles section.

Recruiting Luftle Guards, Scouts or Drummers. You may recruit up to 1 of each of these types of Luftles at the end of each scenario. They cost 3 Victory Points each. These Luftles may not gain any Learned Abilities and are not replaced if killed during a game - new ones must be recruited instead.

Recruiting a Luftle Chief. You may recruit 1 Luftle Chief at the end of any scenario that sees your Tribe still have Luftles remaining alive. You may only ever have 1 Luftle Chief in your Tribe. If at any point you have no other Luftle figures in your Tribe, the Luftle Chief will leave. They cost 5 Victory Points. These Luftles may gain any Learned Abilities from those listed in the Luftle Chief section. Luftle Chiefs are not replaced if killed during a game - new ones must be recruited instead. If killed, they will lose all their Learned Abilities.

Gaining Learned Abilities. You may spend Victory Points to gain Learned Abilities for your Tribe members. The number of Victory Points needed to be spent depends on the ability chosen. Remember that all Tribe members must have at least one Learned Ability before any can gain a second. Then all Tribe members must have a second Learned Ability before gaining a third and so on.

Having some control of your Fate in a Campaign. You may spend a Victory Point to redraw a scenario token when selecting which scenario you'll play during a campaign. This Victory Point is then lost forever and is also removed off your Victory Point Total - such is the price of trying to control nature.

Losing Figures in a Scenario

Occulites are never lost if killed during a scenario. They are always reborn in their Home Cave and will be available for the next scenario. Due to the difficult nature of being Reborn though, they will unfortunately come back a little bit weaker than before. To determine what happens, flip a card from the Natural Selection Deck for each statistic and one for the Ability slot on the figure's profile. Whichever card comes up lowest is the statistic that is lowered by 1. If two or more statistics have equally low cards, then you lose 1 point off each. This can never reduce a statistic to less than 1. If the lowest card flipped is for a statistic that is already on 1, then you have been lucky and avoid any further penalties (it does not default to the next lowest).

If your lowest flipped card is for the figure's Ability slot, then the figure loses one of its Learned Abilities. A model can never lose an Innate Ability.

Maximum Statistics During a Campaign

During a Campaign, you will be awarded bonuses and penalties for your Genetic Blueprints that can be spent on members of your Tribe. Occulites are always evolving, but everything has its limitations. The following limitations have been imposed on Occulites for the purpose of game balance and fun.

AW	S	A	D	H
3	8	7	7	10

Abilities in a Campaign

There are several different types of Abilities that are available to Occulites during a Campaign.

Innate Abilities. When you first create your Tribe, you have the option of selecting a Tribe Type. Each Tribe Type grants members of that Tribe certain Innate Abilities. These are abilities that the Occulites either have from birth or are so ingrained in their way of life, that they have become second nature. Selecting a Tribe Type also gives the Tribal Chief some extra Innate Abilities specifically for them. Innate Abilities cannot be lost in any way.

Learned Abilities. As you progress through the campaign, your Tribe is able to advance by learning abilities that it may use during scenarios. These Learned Abilities can be drawn from the General Ability Pool of abilities or your Tribe's specific pool of abilities found in their relevant Tribe section. By looking at the Advances section of the scenario you are playing, you will see that most of the time you are able to select one Learned Ability for one of your Tribe members. Remember that each Tribe member must have at least one ability before any of them can have a second one. When selecting Learned Abilities, you may select any General Learned Ability from the General Ability Pool for the Victory Points listed, or you may pay Victory Points to choose a more specific ability from your Tribe's Ability Pool. Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total. Most abilities are modifications of existing actions, but if an ability warrants its own action, it will be listed after the ability's name.

Scenario or Situational Abilities. There are also a range of abilities that are gained from scenarios or situational effects and are often a result of your Tribe's actions within a scenario. If you are instructed to gain an ability from this list, it is mandatory and must be taken. Some of these abilities help your tribe, others hinder it. But don't worry, there is usually a way to get rid of these abilities if you don't want them anymore and this is listed after the ability itself.

All General Learned Abilities and Scenario or Situational Abilities are listed over the next few pages.

General Ability Pool

These abilities are available to any figure of any Tribe.

Lightning Reflexes - 1 VP. This creature always counts as having performed a Ready action at the end of its action.

Low Centre of Gravity - 1 VP. If this creature would be knocked Prone, instead discard one Boost card from your hand to keep the figure standing.

Lucky - 1 VP. This creature may use rerolls to reroll any of their dice (even if they have already been rerolled) up to the total allowed for that situation. Exception: Immediately lose this ability instead of any statistic reduction when the model is killed... it is no longer Lucky.

Pouch - 1 VP. An Occulite with this ability may carry up to 2 Sungems at any one time. If knocked prone during the game whilst holding just one Sungem, the player may discard a Boost card to avoid dropping the Sungem. If the Occulite is holding 2 Sungems when it is knocked prone, it will only ever drop one. Players playing a Steal Effect may only ever steal one Sungem per Steal Effect played.

Provoke (1 action) - 1 VP. During any scenario that includes a Predator or Creature of Crepusculum, you may use this ability. It allows you to try and trick a Creature or Predator model into going after the provoking figure rather than one that it may usually go for. To attempt this, your figure must not be Hiding. When the Predator or Creature of Crepusculum would normally be activated, choose a Tribe member and draw a card from the Natural Selection Deck. If it is a Defensive card, the Predator or Creature of Crepusculum will move toward the selected Tribe member in preference to anything else. If you draw any other card, the situation plays out without any change. You may discard a Boost card from your hand to redraw a new card and resolve the situation using it instead. You may do this any number of times until you get the desired outcome or you run out of Boost cards. Exceptions: Every member of the Tribe, instead of just one member gets this ability if you choose it. If one figure loses it, they all do.

Throw Stone; Ranged (1 action) - 1 VP. A creature with this ability may spend one action whilst on or adjacent to a Scenic Feature to make a Ranged Attack against an enemy within 5 spaces. Your Attack value for this attack counts as 2 instead of the regular value (rocks aren't as dangerous as your normal weapons). No effects can be played by either side to modify this Attack and it can never benefit from any rerolls.

Quick Hands - 1 VP. When conducting a Pass action, it does not cost 1 action as it normally would. Resolve this action for free.

Scenario and Situational Ability Pool

These abilities are gained through the actions of your Tribe during certain scenarios. There is no way to purchase these abilities and because of this, they have no cost. Each has a way in which the ability can be or will be removed in addition to the chance of losing abilities when being Reborn.

Eagle Eyed. When taking Awareness Tests, you may draw one extra card, plus one card per card you discard from your hand. Removed by: The Eagle Eyed ability is lost when the Occulite that gained it is killed.

Eyebeam; Ranged (1 action). Having Eyebeam allows you to Attack a model that is within 7 spaces in a straight line from your model. This Attack is conducted as a normal Attack, however no effects can be utilised and the Defender cannot use any rerolls. Exceptions: This can only be gained by an Occulite and when gained through a situation, it is only retained for one scenario, after which the energy has been discharged.

Hasty. When participating in a Gangup Attack, your opponent is entitled to the same number of rerolls you are for having superior numbers. This represents a fast, instinctive attack that has just as much chance of hurting your fellow Tribe member as it does the opponent's. Also, once per game, you may spend a Tribal Token to move any one friendly Occulite figure up to its Speed value in spaces as long as they are within 12 spaces of your Chief at the start of their Move. You do not need to take a Break Away Test if you are in a space adjacent to an enemy. This move interrupts the course of play and takes precedence over everything else. Exceptions: Every member of the Tribe, instead of just one member gets this ability if you gain it. If one figure loses it, they all do. Removed by: You may remove the Hasty ability from your Tribe by returning two of your opponent's Tribal Tokens that he has spent this scenario back to his hand. This represents your Tribe taking time to regroup.

Treacherous. During any scenario where there is a penalty for injuring opposing Tribes, this penalty is ignored by your opponent. Think of this as the other Tribes not trusting you to remain reliable and so betray you before you betray them. You may also spend a Tribal Token to increase the damage you inflict in a combat by 1. You may only use this if you caused the Defender to already lose a Health with the Attack and only once per scenario. Removed by: You may remove the Treacherous ability from your Tribe by discarding three Tribal Tokens during a scenario and returning one of your opponent's tokens that he has spent this scenario to his hand. This represents an apology on the Tribe's behalf and renews honour in your Tribe.

Sentry. When guarding a certain location or being unaware of hidden Attackers, models may be assigned this situational ability by a scenario. When a figure is given this ability, it is either not aware of what is going on around it or is not fully alert. A figure with this ability is subject to facing in the space they are in and must be placed so that it is clear which hex side it is facing. The figure has a view of all the hexes in its front arc of three hexes, extending outwards. This field of vision does not allow a Sentry to see opposing figures in or behind a space containing terrain.

When activated, they may be moved one space and faced in any direction.

If a figure moves into its arc of vision, the Sentry must take an immediate Awareness Test. If passed, the opposing figure will be seen by the Sentry who will then be alerted, immediately losing the Sentry situational ability. If it fails the Awareness Test, it is not alerted and play continues.

An Awareness Test is not required if the opposing figure is within 5 spaces of it and in its Line of Sight or if it is Attacked by another figure. The Sentry will be immediately alerted, therefore losing the Sentry situational ability.

(Diagram: the Hydris Sentry faces a hex side and can see all spaces in its front arc, but cannot see spaces behind terrain.)

Exceptions: This is only given to a figure by a scenario setup condition and is immediately lost when the figure is alerted.

Choosing Scenarios

A foray into the world of Crepusculum.

There are many scenarios that you are able to play out as a Stand Alone game or during a Dawn: Rise of the Occulites campaign. Depending on the time of the year, certain scenarios are more likely than others. You have some control over what presents itself, but as in life, sometimes you will come across situations that you and your Tribe may find difficult. How you handle these situations will help shape your Tribe.

Scenarios can be found in the Scenarios section as well as in Expansion Booklets and as downloads in the future. They can be used in Stand Alone games or during a campaign. The higher the Encounter number, the more likely they will occur during each time of the season. To play through a campaign, you will need the opaque bag and a set of Tribal Tokens for each player.

Choosing a Scenario

You and your opponents each select one scenario that you'd like to play.
Add a number of your Tribal Tokens equal to that determined by the time of year and the scenario you chose, to the opaque bag.
Shake it up and then elect a player to draw a token. You will play the Scenario which was selected by the player whose Tribal Token is drawn.
You may spend a Victory Point from your total to redraw from the bag if you wish. This Victory Point is considered not only spent, but removed from your Victory Point Total as well as your Available Spend Total. Such is the price of trying to control nature.

As future scenarios are released or become available for download online they will contain information on how to include them in your campaigns. So everything in the future will be compatible with what is laid out here.

A campaign season is broken down into sections of action. These sections are when the scenarios play out. Remember that in Crepusculum, a day lasts a whole season, so they start at Dawn and move through Morning, Midday, Afternoon and then lastly into Dusk, before the season ends.

Time of the Season Table

The Time of the Season Table contains the probabilities of each Scenario occurring throughout a regular Sungem Season. For your first game of the Campaign, you will look at the first column '1', for your second game in the Campaign you would look at '2' and so on.

When designing your own scenarios, you need to think about whether or not that Scenario would be a common occurrence during a campaign or not. When would this type of scenario be likely to happen? The more likely to happen, the higher the Encounter number should be (with 5 being a maximum and 0 being a minimum).

For example: Looking at the Time of the Season table, let's say the time of the season is '4'. This will be the players' fourth game of the season. Player A wants to play 'The Ridge', so he would take 5 Tribal Tokens in their colour (Green). Player B wants to have a crack at the 'Cave Raid' scenario, so they take 3 Tribal Tokens of their colour (Blue). All tokens are placed in an opaque bag and shaken, with one being drawn out. The blue token is drawn out, meaning that the 'Cave Raid' scenario will be played out.

Scenario \ Time of the Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Returning from the Hunt	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	3	2	1
Unexpected Skirmish	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3

Completing the Campaign

So you have completed the campaign, darkness has finally settled across the land of Crepusculum. It is time to see if all your Tribe's preparation has paid off. Good luck during the Long Dark! May your Tribe survive to evolve another day...

At the end of the campaign, your Tribe must go through The Long Dark. After this, the winner is the player with the most Victory Points.

The Long Dark. The Sungems you collected will keep your Tribe warm, the Victory Points your Tribe earned indicate how adaptable they are.

Count up all your Sungems and roll a die for each one at a time. (You may choose to spend 1 VP to reroll a die, remembering that you can only reroll each die once) You may do this as many times as you want, but each VP comes off your Total Victory Points as well as your Available Spend Total.
Add up the total of all your final dice rolls this is the amount of Heat your Sungems created. For your Tribe to survive the Long Dark, they need to get at least 75 Heat. If not, your Tribe instantly loses.
After totalling up all your Heat, for every 2 Heat above 75 your Tribe is awarded 2 VPs for being prepared.
Total this bonus VPs with your Total Victory Points. Whoever has the highest VP total is the winner of the campaign. Well done!

Scenarios

Snapshots in Time of the Occulite World.

Explaining a Scenario's Structure

Along the top of each Scenario are several icons:

The number on the Yellow Boost Icon tells you which Scenario number it is. As more and more Scenarios are released, this is a great way to keep track of in what order they were released.
The number on the Black Occulite Eyestalk tells you how many players the Scenario has been designed for.
The numbers on the Sungem card and Event card indicates how many Sungem and Event cards are shuffled into the Natural Selection Deck. Normally when the Natural Selection Deck runs out and is reshuffled, Sungem and Event cards are removed before it is reshuffled. If either number has an asterisk next to it (e.g. 2*) then you need to make sure you include those cards in any reshuffle.

(In the headers below the four icons are given in that order: scenario number / players / Sungem cards / Event cards.)

There will often be flavour text that will explain how your Tribe came to be in this situation and what the situation actually is. It has no game effect, but can help set the scene.

Setup: This section tells you how to setup the board. It will include instructions for placing terrain and other items. You can modify existing scenarios by adding more Trees and/or Scenic Features if you agree with your opponent, but we recommend only placing the number of Terrain pieces that the scenario indicates as play has been balanced using these totals. It is important to note that when placing rivers, they should always be placed first before anything else as they require to be placed adjacent to a board edge.
Natural Selection Deck Modification: This section is not always listed in a Scenario description. Normally you just shuffle in the required number of Sungem and Event cards and leave it at that. This will indicate whether there are any modifications to the normal Natural Selection Deck setup. This could be for balance in a three or four player game, or due to the mechanics of the Scenario. Follow these instructions carefully.
Tribal placement: This section will tell you where you can place your Tribe figures and if there are any special exceptions for doing that in the scenario.
Objectives: This section will tell you what you want to be achieving during the scenario. Often there is more than one objective for you to choose to aim for.
The Game Ends When: This section tells you how the game will end and how the winner is determined.
Rewards: This section indicates which rewards are on offer for you and your opponent's figures. These rewards are often tied directly to the objectives, but can be tied to other major feats or accomplishments during the scenario.
Penalties: This section indicates what penalties are imposed if certain things happen during a scenario. These are NOT optional.
Advances: This section will indicate what advances your Tribe members are able to take. These are often statistic boosts or downgrades depending on your Tribe's performance, but can also include the gaining of Situational abilities. It will also indicate how many Learned Abilities can be given to your figures and will remind you to deduct any Victory Points spent, from your Available Spend Total. These do NOT come off your Total Victory Points unless indicated.

Scenario 2: Unexpected Skirmish

(Scenario 2 / 2-4 players / 3 Sungem cards / 0 Event cards.)

Your Tribe has been out patrolling its territory, when you come across another Tribe. Have you accidentally strayed onto their territory? Or have they strayed onto yours? It doesn't matter now, a skirmish has started. The Tribes are scattered, cries rise from both sides as they call for their members to regroup and help.

Setup: Each player chooses one terrain type and gives it to an opponent, who then places it on the board. The centre of the board should be fairly clear. Add in two Trees or Scenic Features per player.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe chooses a board edge (if two players, make sure these are opposite each other). Place your Chief anywhere on the edge of the board. The rest of your Tribe is still making their way to the skirmish. To find out when they arrive, at the start of every turn after the first, you have 5 dice to roll. You must allocate a number of dice of your choosing to the figures that have not arrived yet, until you have allocated all 5. You may choose to allocate 3 dice to one figure, and then 1 to two others, or one to three figures and 2 to another. Roll the allocated dice one group at a time. If any of the allocated dice come up a 0-2, then place that model anywhere on your board edge. If you have Luftles in your Tribe, they can be successfully placed on a roll of 0-5 instead.

Objectives: There are two objectives for this scenario. The primary objective is for your Tribe to defeat its opponent. The secondary objective is for your Tribe to collect any Sungems that may appear during the game.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after 8 rounds. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each wound inflicted on your enemy, gain 1 Victory Point.
For each Tribe member (or two Luftles) that is holding a Sungem at the end of the 8 rounds, gains 2 Victory Points.

Penalties: None

Advances:

If your Tribe's Chief is still alive after 8 rounds, you may give 1 Awareness to any one model in your Tribe.
The winner gains 2 Defence points to allocate however they see fit.
The loser gains 1 Attack point to allocate however they see fit.
The Tribe that has the most Sungems at the end of this scenario may allocate 1 Speed to any one of their figures.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend total.

Scenario 3: The Ridge

(Scenario 3 / 2-4 players / 3 Sungem cards / 3 Event cards.)

Upon exploring just outside of your territory, you come across a ridge which sits high above the surrounding lands. It is a perfect location to set up camp or possibly even build a Home Cave. But as you approach, you see another Tribe moving towards the Ridge as well! There is the menacing rumble of thunder. As a fierce storm builds, will your Tribe secure the Ridge in time?

Setup: Place the Ridge terrain piece in the centre of the board. Each player can then select one terrain piece that can be placed anywhere on the board as long as they're not adjacent to The Ridge. Place two Trees or Scenic Features per player.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe chooses a board edge (if two players, make sure these are opposite each other). Place your Tribe anywhere in a space adjacent to the edge of the board.

Objectives: The object is to have the most Tribe members on the Ridge at the end of the scenario.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the sixth turn. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most figures on the Ridge.

Special Rules: To get onto the Ridge, Occulites and Luftles must Climb to do so. This is not a Tree, so Floris Tribe Occulites do not get any bonuses or advantages and must Climb like everyone else. Luftles, who do not normally Climb, may do so for this scenario only. If a figure is pushed off the Ridge through the use of an Effect or other ability, then treat it as if falling out of a Tree.

When an Event card is drawn, the Storm that is building becomes worse. The rain gets heavier, lightning splits the sky as the thunder rumbles menacingly. Place it next to the board so all can see it. Then roll a d10 for each figure on the Ridge. The highest rolling figure is hit by Lightning and is removed from the scenario. If the highest roller was a Luftle that was sharing a space with another Luftle, then they are both hit by Lightning and removed from the scenario. If two or more figures all have the highest roll, then the Lightning arcs and hits all of these figures.

For each Event card revealed, your models get a -1 to their Speed to a minimum of 1 during the game to represent the wind, rain and soaked ground.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Occulite or group of Luftles that is holding a Sungem at the end of the game, gain 1 Victory Point.
For each Occulite figure or three Luftles that are on the Ridge at the end of the scenario gains 1 Victory Point.
The side with the most figures (two Luftles count as one) on the Ridge at the end of the scenario gains an additional 1 Victory Point.

Penalties: If one or more of your figures was hit by Lightning, they are available in the next scenario, but come back weaker as explained in the Campaign rules. Luftles hit by Lightning are killed as usual and can only be replaced by paying to recruit more.

Advances:

The loser is able to gain +2 Defence which can be given to any figure it wishes.
The winner is able to gain +1 Defence which can be given to any figure it wishes.
An Occulite that is struck by Lightning may gain the Eyebeam Situational Ability for the next scenario only.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability in addition to Scenario or Situational Abilities to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 4: Tactical Strike

(Scenario 4 / 2 players / 0 Sungem cards / 3 Event cards.)

After a few tussles with a rival Tribe, you decide that the best way to deal with them is a tactical strike against their Chief. It might be just enough to disrupt their organisation, giving you time to establish your Tribe as the dominant one in the area. You have tracked your opponent's Chief to a clearing and the time has come to strike! Just don't let him see you coming...

Setup: The player that chose this scenario is the Attacker and will not place any of his or her figures on the board at the start of the game. The other player becomes the Defender and may place up to three pieces of terrain from those available on the board, then the Attacker may place one. Terrain pieces may not be adjacent to each other.

Tribal placement: The only figure placed on the board at the start of the game is the Defender's Chief. This figure is placed in the centre of the board and gains the Sentry Situational Ability until it is alerted.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to destroy your opponent's Chief.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the sixth turn. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: The Attacker's figures start off the board and may move on from any board edge a number of spaces equal to their Speed when activated. The Defender's figures cannot come onto the board until the Chief is alerted. After this time, the Defender may act as normal, bringing their figures onto the board one figure per activation, starting with the model who has the highest Speed who is able to reach the Chief first.

When the first Event card is revealed, the Chief is automatically alerted.

When any other Event card is revealed after the first, either one of the Defender's Occulites or three of his Luftles may immediately move onto the board a number of spaces equal to their Speed. This interrupts play and takes precedence over everything else. They may not use this movement to Attack.

No figures may leave the board during the game.

No Chief may use the Heal card Effect for this scenario, but they can use the Heal action or an Ability that allows Healing.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

The Attacker receives 1 Victory Point for each wound inflicted on their opponent's Chief.
For each remaining Health the Defender's Chief has, he or she receives 2 Victory Points.

Penalties: If either Chief is destroyed during the game, do not follow the regular steps for weakened Occulites. Instead, it starts the next scenario with -2 Health in addition to only being able to hold 1 less card in your hand (for just that scenario - not permanently).

Advances:

If the Defender's Chief is killed, the Attacker may increase the figure with the lowest Attack's Attack statistic by 1.
If the Defender's Chief survives, it may gain 1 Awareness which it can give any one figure on its Tribe. The Chief also increases his Health by 1.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 5: The Hunted

(Scenario 5 / 2-4 players / 6 Sungem cards / 0 Event cards.)

Your Tribe had been out exploring when it was ambushed by Predators. As the Chief you called a hasty retreat, but the Predators gave chase. It was too late when you realised that the whole thing was a trap. You have been hunted like Nymphlets. But your Tribe aren't the only ones. You survey your surroundings - your Tribe and your enemy is scattered and surrounded by several vicious Puscuals. Is it time to band together? Or a good opportunity to rid yourself of a rival Tribe? As the Puscuals lunge towards you, the decision is yours.

Setup: Roll a d10 and take turns with your opponent selecting Terrain pieces, Scenic Terrain pieces or Trees to place until a number equal to the d10 roll have been placed. Place two Puscuals per player on the edge of the board. There must be at least one on each board edge.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe member is placed by an opposing player. No figure may be placed within six spaces of another friendly figure (four spaces for Luftles - although two may be placed in the same space). You may not place any figures within six spaces of a Puscual. You may not place figures on a Terrain space.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to destroy the Predators that are hunting you.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the eighth turn or when all the Puscuals have been destroyed, whichever comes first. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: This scenario utilises the Puscual from the Creatures and Predators section.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each wound your Tribe causes a predator, score 1 Victory Point.
For each Occulite figure or three Luftle figures killed in a combat involving a Predator, every player loses 1 Victory Point.
For each Sungem one of your figures is holding at the end of the scenario, score 1 Victory Point.

Penalties: Any figure killed by a Puscual, starts the next scenario with -1 Health which is replenished at the end of that scenario in addition to the normal process for Occulites coming back weakened.

Advances:

The winner of this scenario gains +1 Speed which can be given to any figure in the Tribe.
The loser of this scenario gains +1 Awareness which is given to the figure with the lowest Awareness. The Tribe won't be caught off guard again!
Each player may choose up to two Learned Abilities to give their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 6: Scavenging for Sungems

(Scenario 6 / 2-4 players / 0 Sungem cards / 2 Event cards.)*

Sungems have mysteriously become scarce in your lands. They no longer just grow out in the open, but are more common within sections of rough ground or terrain - out of sight of prying eyes. This has forced your Tribe to look more carefully for Sungems, putting them in ever more danger as they focus more on searching than looking out for Predators or other Tribes.

Setup: Each player chooses one terrain type and gives it to an opponent, who then places it on the board. Three Trees or Scenic Features are then chosen by each player and placed anywhere on the board. Each player must ensure that they don't place their Scenic Features within ten spaces of another one that they have already placed. Take a number of Search Tokens equal to the number of players x3. Please ensure that one of every three tokens should depict a Sungem hidden amongst reeds. Mix them up face down and place one face down on each Scenic Feature.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe chooses a corner (if two players, make sure these are opposite each other). Place your Tribe anywhere within four spaces of the corner.

Objectives: You must try and find the hidden Sungems and leave the board via the opposite corner with as many as you can.

The Game Ends When: There are no members of one of the Tribes left on the board, or when 8 turns have passed. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: When an Event card is revealed, the Occulite or Luftle that drew the card has become too engrossed in searching for Sungems and has been attacked by an unknown Predator. They are knocked Prone (dropping any Sungems they were holding) and lose 2 Health.

When a figure is adjacent to a Scenic Feature space that contains a Search Token, it may take an Awareness Test to search the immediate area. If you fail, your action is wasted and nothing happens. If you succeed, you may take the Search Token and look at it secretly before placing it on Individual Player Board of the figure that took the Awareness Test. This is the same as when a figure is holding a Sungem. No one else will know if it is a Sungem or not, though. When you leave the board with a figure, you do not have to reveal the Search Token.

Other players may play the 'Steal' Card Effect against a figure with a Search Token. The player simply gives the token to the other player (who can look at it). No other players in the game (if playing with 3 or 4) will know if they stole a Sungem or if it was a Dummy Search Token. You may drop a Dummy Search Token at any time as if it were a Sungem.

No tribe may leave the board until they have retrieved at least one Search Token.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Occulite or group of Luftles that leaves via a board edge with a Sungem, gain 3 Victory Points.
For killing at least one enemy Occulite or 4 enemy Luftles, gain 2 Victory Points.

Penalties: If your Tribe left the board with nothing but Dummy Search Tokens, your Tribe gains the Scenario Ability 'Hasty'.

Advances:

If you were able to successfully leave the board with a Sungem, the figure(s) that did so will gain the Scenario Ability 'Eagle Eyed'.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability in addition to Scenario or Situational Abilities to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 7: The Podmothine

(Scenario 7 / 2-4 players / 0 Sungem cards / 6 Event cards.)

With Sungems becoming more and more scarce in your lands, your Tribe is forced to explore beyond its borders. It isn't long until you come upon a clearing in a small valley - and in its centre is a huge plant-like seedpod. It has vine-like tentacles resting at its base, but even more curious, its body is dotted with Sungems of all shapes and sizes... a Podmothine! This creature is a sentient plant that draws the minerals from the ground, aiding it to sprout Sungems on its body, which will keep it warm over the Long Dark. Your Tribe watches as a small creature approaches it, cautiously sniffing the air, it moves closer, before a tentacle lashes out and snatches the creature, stuffing it between the folds of vegetation. The Podmothine might be more than your Tribe could handle on its own... but with a temporary ally or two...

Setup: Each player chooses one Terrain Overlay or two Scenic Features or two Trees and gives them to an opponent, who then places them on the board. The centre of the board should be fairly clear. The board represents a small valley and as such starts higher on the edges, dipping a bit towards the centre. The centre space is the lowest on the board. Every space leading out from this is higher than the last (this is important for any Nimbus figures). Place the Podmothine in the centre of the board, with its six vine-like tentacle tokens on the outside spaces of its body.

Natural Selection Deck Modification: If playing with three or four players, only shuffle in 3 Event cards at the beginning. Once the deck is exhausted, add in the second lot of 3 Event cards when you reshuffle the discard pile.

Tribal placement: Each Tribe chooses a board edge (if two players, make sure these are opposite each other). Place your Tribe anywhere in base contact with the edge.

Objectives: There is but one objective for this scenario. Collect as many Sungems as possible and exit any board edge with them.

The Game Ends When: There are no members of one of the Tribes left on the board, or when two turns have passed after all six event cards are revealed. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: This scenario utilises the Podmothine from the Creatures and Predators section. Occulites and Luftles cannot leave the board unless they are in possession of a Sungem.

Rewards: For each Occulite (or group of Luftles) that leaves via a board edge with a Sungem, gain 3 Victory Points.

Penalties:

For killing an opponent's figure, lose 1 Victory Point per Occulite killed and 1 Victory Point per 2 Luftles killed.
If you killed an opposing Tribe's figure, your Tribe gains the Scenario Ability 'Treacherous'.

Advances:

If you were able to successfully leave the board with a Sungem, reset all your Occulite's Defence that has a value lower than it started the campaign with, to its starting value.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability in addition to Scenario or Situational Abilities to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 8: Home Cave Raid

(Scenario 8 / 2 players / 0 Sungem cards / 3 Event cards.)

You have seen how many Sungems the Tribe over the hill has been hoarding and have decided that you will conduct a raid. You have scouted ahead and ensured that the cave will be unattended, but as you approach, you see a lone defender standing in the cave's mouth. It is not as empty as first thought, but your Tribe needs those Sungems. You and your Tribe continue to creep towards the cave mouth, hoping that no one will be spotted.

Setup: The player that chose this scenario becomes the Attacker. The other player is the Defender and places the Home Cave terrain tile on the board, leaving one row of blank spaces between it and one of the board edges. The Defender then may place two terrain pieces and up to four Trees or Scenic Terrains and the Attacker may place up to two Trees or Scenic Terrains of their choice.

Natural Selection Deck Modification: Split the deck in half and then shuffle three Event cards into the top half of the deck.

Tribal placement: The Attacker does not place their figures on the board to start with, except for one, which can be placed on any terrain tile of their choosing. The Defender places one figure (not the Chief) adjacent to the Home Cave entrance. This figure starts the game with the Sentry Situational Ability. Players may bring their figures onto the board using their Activations as normal, with the Attacker's figures coming in from any board edge except the one closest to the Home Cave. The Defender's figures enter from the tunnel space on the Home Cave using their Activations as normal once the Sentry has been alerted.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to steal Sungems from your opponent's Home Cave.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the eighth turn. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: When an Event card is drawn, it means a trap has been triggered by the player that drew it. Whichever figure used the action to draw the card loses 1 Health and is immediately placed Prone. If the Defender draws an Event card, nothing happens.

Figures cannot move through a hex side that has a faded black border as this represents the wall of the cave. Attackers may try to Pry Sungems off the Home Cave walls by using the Pry Sungem action whilst on any space on the Home Cave tile that shares a faded black hex edge. Defenders may replace Sungems to the cave by using a Pass action when on any space of the Home Cave with a faded black hex edge.

Once a Sungem has been carried off the board, it is stashed safely away by the Attacker and cannot be regained by the Defender. Once the figure has finished stashing the Sungem, it may come back into play by discarding cards worth a total of 15 or more.

Each Occulite figure that leaves the board reduces your hand limit by 1.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Sungem carried off the board by the Attacker, score 3 Victory Points.
For each of the Attacker's Occulite figures or three Luftle figures killed, the Defender gains 1 Victory Point.
For each Sungem regained and placed back in the Home Cave, the Defender gains 1 Victory Point.

Penalties: Any Sungems carried off the board are removed from the Defender's Campaign Sungem Total.

Advances:

If the Defender loses, then they have the right to choose the next scenario without drawing tokens.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 9: The Luftle Nest

(Scenario 9 / 2 players / 2 Sungem cards / 4 Event cards.)

On a recent patrol, your Tribe has stumbled across a Luftle Nest containing a strong colony of Wild Luftles. Careful scouting has revealed that your Tribe is not the only one who has found the Nest. You will need to be quick to get back there first. What are your Tribe's intentions though? To protect the Nest? Or raid it?

Setup: Place the Luftle Nest Terrain Overlay in the centre of the board. Each player then chooses up to three Scenic Terrain pieces to place six spaces away from the Nest. Take turns placing one Wild Luftle Scout Token on one space in each terrain piece. Place the rest of the Wild Luftle Tokens next to the board to use during the game.

Tribal placement: Players set up their Tribes on opposite board edges, no further than two spaces in from their edge. Each Occulite Tribe (not Palaudis) places one Reed Bag Token two spaces in from their board edge.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to collect (or protect if you are a Palaudis Tribe) Wild Luftles to be your Tribe's slaves for the Long Dark.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the eighth turn. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: This scenario uses the Luftle Nest special rules found in the Creatures and Predators section (Wild Luftles). If you are running a Palaudis Tribe, then your figures will be considered friendly to the Wild Luftles unless you attack them. Palaudis Tribes may attack Wild Luftles, but they will then instantly be declared as enemies and no longer count as friendly to the Wild Luftles. All other Tribes are considered enemies to the Wild Luftles and as such any Luftles belonging to that Tribe will not take part in this scenario.

Each time an Event card is drawn, 2 Wild Luftle Guards and 4 Wild Luftle Grunts will emerge from the Luftle Nest. This activation interrupts all other actions. All Wild Luftles that emerge in this manner will count as Aggressive until the end of the round when cards are drawn again to determine their movements.

When a Wild Luftle is 'killed', you may choose to capture it instead. The Wild Luftle is placed on the Individual Player Board of the figure that captured it and counts as being carried like a Sungem. Only one Wild Luftle can be carried at a time as it will still be struggling. A Wild Luftle can be placed in the Tribe's bag for 1 action when in an adjacent space. It will count towards the Tribe's total.

A Palaudis Occulite or 2 Luftles may move into an adjacent space to the bag and spend 2 actions to release all the Wild Luftles within it. To do this, there must be no opposing Tribe's Occulites in any space adjacent to the figure(s) releasing the Luftles. The Wild Luftles will immediately act Defensively and this action interrupts all others.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Luftle caught or in a Tribe's Reed Bag at the end of the game, score 1 Victory Point.
For each Luftle released by a Palaudis Tribe during the game, score 1 Victory Point.
The side that catches or releases the most Wild Luftles gains an additional 2 Victory Points.

Penalties: If a Palaudis Tribe Occulite attacks a Wild Luftle, then all the Luftles in its Tribe run away and are immediately removed from the Tribe.

Advances:

For any Tribe that caught Wild Luftles (or if Palaudis, released Wild Luftles), you may recruit Luftles of any kind at 1 less Victory Point after this Scenario only.
The winner of the scenario may recruit one additional Luftle of any type for free (except a Luftle Chief).
No other advances are available for this scenario.

Scenario 10: Nymphlet Season

(Scenario 10 / 2-4 players / 3 Sungem cards / 2 Event cards.)*

The sky is becoming darker and darker and Crepusculum is cooling down. The Long Dark is coming. It is during this time of twilight, as dusk approaches that the Nymphlets begin to spawn. Nymphlets from everywhere congregate in traditional locations to lay their eggs to hibernate during the Long Dark. It is during this time that Occulites from everywhere converge on these locations to catch them en masse for either eating or pollination for the next season. The Nimbus Tribe Occulites catch them to help pollinate vegetation for the next season high up in their mountainous homes. Every other Tribe consider them a tremendous delicacy and will feast on them to increase their fat stores before going into hibernation over the Long Dark. This is your Tribe's opportunity to set yourselves up well for the coming dark... how fast are your reflexes?

Setup: Each player chooses one Terrain Overlay that their opponents place onto the board. No Terrain Overlay can be adjacent to another Terrain Overlay. Also take turns placing a total of four Scenic Terrain pieces and two Trees onto the board.

Each player may then take one Nymphlet of each colour to place. This means that there will be six Nymphlets (one of each colour) per player. Each one must be placed in or adjacent to a terrain or Scenic Feature space on the board. Players may not place Nymphlets in the same space as another Nymphlet during this setup.

Take the Nymphlet Colour Tokens and place them next to the board. You will use one set of the Directional Hexes on the edge of the board for this scenario.

Tribal placement: You may place your figures on any space adjacent to the edge of the board. This can be adjacent to another player's figure, but may not be placed in a space with a Nymphlet.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to catch the most Nymphlets.

The Game Ends When: The game ends after the sixth turn. The winner of the scenario is the player with the most Victory Points.

Special Rules: This scenario uses the Nymphlet rules found in the Creatures and Predators section. When an Event card is drawn from the deck, the Nymphlet Colour Tokens are repositioned in any way on the Directional Hex by the player that drew it and then the Nymphlets will immediately move 3 spaces. If at any time a Nymphlet cannot move due to being on the edge of the board, then it moves along the edge of the board the remaining number of spaces in a direction chosen by the player who placed the colour.

Rewards: The following rewards are on offer:

For each Nymphlet caught, score 1 Victory point.
The side that catches the most Nymphlets gains an additional 2 Victory points.
For killing an opposing Tribe member, you lose 2 Victory points.

Penalties:

If your Tribe caught no Nymphlets, then all of your Tribe members start the next game with -1 Health.
If you killed an opposing Tribe's model, your Tribe gains the Scenario Ability 'Treacherous'.

Advances:

If you caught at least one Nymphlet, you may increase one of your Tribe member's Speed by 1.
Each player may choose one Learned Ability in addition to Scenario or Situational Abilities to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

Scenario 11: Siege at the Cave Mouth

(Scenario 11 / 2 players / 3 Sungem cards / 2 Event cards.)*

Your Home Cave has been good to you this past season, but scouting the area has revealed an even better Home Cave not far from where you are. The only problem is that it belongs to another Tribe. After much deliberation, you decide to try and take the Home Cave by force! A risky decision that will have consequences either way, whether it be because the Long Dark or a terrible thunderstorm is approaching! Have you left your run too late? Only time will tell.

Setup: The Home Cave tile is placed in the centre of the board, with the entrance facing any direction, chosen by the Defender. The Defender then selects three Terrain Overlays and places one of them anywhere on the board. The other two are placed anywhere on the board by the Attacker. Both players may place up to 4 Trees or Scenic Terrain Overlays each. Use the Conditions Track on the edge of the board and its matching token. Place the token on position 9.

Tribal placement: The player with the least Sungems will be the Attacker and will set up their Tribe within four spaces of any board edge. The Defender will place their Tribe within 2 spaces of their Home Cave Terrain Overlay.

Objectives: The objective of this scenario is to either take your opponent's Home Cave by force if you are the Attacker, or defend it from the Attacker if you are the Defender.

The Game Ends When: The game ends when one whole Tribe is no longer on the board or when it becomes too dark or too stormy to fight on (the token reaches 0 on the conditions board). The winner of the scenario is the player that has the most figures within the Home Cave (in a space within the faded black outline) at the end of the game.

Special Rules: After winning a combat, you can either spend a Tribal Token or Cancel -1 Health inflicted by one of your figures during that combat to use one of the following Effects:

Swing: Move your opponent's figure to any space adjacent to another figure that was involved in the combat.
Tussle: Swap spaces with one of your opponents' figures from this combat.
Repel: Move the losing figure/s one space directly away from your active Attacker.

At the end of each player's turn, both players roll one ten-sided die, plus an additional ten-sided die for each enemy Occulite or two Luftles that have been killed during the game. For each 0 or 1 rolled, move the Conditions Token one space towards 0. If it ever reaches 0, the game ends immediately and a winner is decided. If you draw an Event card, immediately move the Conditions Token one space towards 0.

Rewards:

If the Attacker successfully takes their opponent's Home Cave, then the Attacker now owns the opponent's Home Cave and gets all the Sungems that Tribe has garnered over the course of the campaign. The Defender slinks off and takes the empty Home Cave of the Attacker, gaining all the Sungems that Tribe had garnered over the course of the campaign (Essentially both Tribes swap Sungem totals).
If the Defender successfully keeps their Home Cave, the Attacker slinks back to their own Home Cave and there is no change in the Sungem totals, but they lose 3 VPs as the Tribe nurses its pride.

Penalties: None.

Advances: Each player may choose one Learned Ability to give one of their figures (remembering that all figures must have at least one ability before a figure may get a second). Any Victory Point cost must be paid in full and is deducted from your Available Spend Total.

The World's Setting

Crepusculum (Latin: partial light; dusk; twilight) is a vast, ancient world; a day lasts around one hundred Earth days, as does a night, so that during the nights it grows bitterly cold and all living things must find shelter. Sungems form from a mineral called Rhaydiatrum and capture light and heat during the day, releasing it at night; if taken to a sheltered area (usually a cave) they provide light and heat that last the duration of the Long Dark. Occulites live in Home Caves, and when an Occulite dies some of its life force can return to the cave so that it is reborn, often a little weaker than before. (The printed section continues with extended setting lore on Plantlife, Home Caves and the Windows through which Professor Darwin observes Crepusculum; it contains no game rules and is not reproduced here.)

Future Expeditions

Darwin's story is available on the Darwin Games website and the Rise of the Occulites blog. Dawn: Rise of the Occulites is the first game in the Rise of the Occulites Saga.