Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• First-Time Setup
  • Central Compartment
  • Small Compartments
  • Rune Cards
• Game Setup
  • Biome Setup
  • The Annexe Board
  • The Biome Board
  • Equipment Cards vs. Blueprint Cards
• Player Setup
• Beheaded Board Overview
  • Choosing a Beheaded
  • The Beheaded Board
  • The Scroll Tracks
• Game Concept
  • Goal of the Game
  • A Run
  • Biomes
  • Your Bag
• Exploring
  • 1. Move the Group
  • 2. Flip and Reveal
  • Tile Icons
  • 3. Dead or Alive?
• Checks
  • Hand Checks
  • Deck Checks
  • After a Check
• Combat
  • Combat Setup
  • Special Placement Icons
  • The Combat Board
  • The Cards
• Combat Gameplay
  • Preparation Phase
  • Playing Combat Cards
  • Playing 3 Combat Cards
  • Playing Combat Cards Example
  • Combat Phase
  • Range
  • Combat Actions
  • Immunity
  • States
• Equipment Cards
  • Equipment in Combat
  • Companions
  • Killing a Monster
  • Round End Phase
  • Final Round and Round IV
  • End-of-Combat Upkeep
• Dying
• Finishing the Biome
• The Interbiome
  • 1. Collect Blueprint(s)
  • 2. Visit the Market
  • 3. Cleanup
  • Market Actions
• The Next Biome
• Fighting a Boss
  • The Boss Is an Enemy
  • Turns
  • Boss Instances
  • End of Boss Battle
• End of Run
  • Death
  • Success
• The Mutation Board
  • Running Out of Space
  • Saving Your Game
• Spending Your Cells
  • The Upgrade Decks
  • The Well
• Your Combat Deck
  • Purge Action
• Resetting Your Game
• Combat Example
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Serenade in Combat
  • Serenade's Combat Deck
  • Rewards (Scrolls, Vials, and Upgrades)
  • Checks (Solo)
  • The Beheaded in Combat (Solo)
  • Serenade Death
  • Serenade's Transformation
  • Serenade Player Aid
  • Resetting Your Solo Game
• Cursed Treasure Key
  • Stilt Village (B4)
  • Clock Tower (B5)
  • Forgotten Sepulcher (B6)
  • High Peak Castle (B7)
• Bell Key
  • Clock Tower (B5)
• Constraint Key
  • High Peak Castle (B7)
• Credits

Game Contents

Biomes

• 4 Double-sided Biome boards (6 Biomes and 1 Double Biome)
• 163 Biome tiles
• 4 Beheaded tokens
• 1 Group token base
• 1 Wall/Hole token
• 18 Worm tokens
• 3 Lantern tokens
• 3 Bell tokens
• 1 Envelopes

Player Boards

• 4 Beheaded boards
• 1 Serenade board (solo mode)

Cards

• 15 Separators
• 119 Upgrade cards
• 21 Well cards
• 24 Combat cards
• 115 Monster cards
• 3 Solo Combat cards
• 82 Equipment cards
• 7 Rune cards
• 5 Malaise cards
• 43 Boss cards
• 16 Secret cards

Player Markers

• 4 Green Scroll markers
• 4 Red Scroll markers
• 4 Purple Scroll markers
• 1 First Player token
• 4 Maximum Health markers
• 1 Serenade marker

Other Things

• 1 Combat Round marker
• 6 Shuriken tokens
• 2 Key tokens
• 4 Malaise tokens

Boards

• 1 Mutation board
• 1 Annexe board
• 1 Combat board

Reference Cards

• 3 Boss Reference sheets
• 4 Beheaded/Player Aids

Combat Tokens

• 30 Damage tokens
• 12 Shield tokens
• 6 Golden Shield tokens

State Tokens

• 6 Poisoned tokens
• 6 Frozen tokens
• 6 On Fire tokens
• 6 Bleeding tokens
• 6 Marked tokens

Loot

• 2 Purple Scroll tokens
• 2 Green Scroll tokens
• 2 Red Scroll tokens
• 3 Potion tokens
• 12 Cell tokens
• 4 Large Cell tokens
• 12 Gold Teeth tokens
• 4 Large Gold Teeth tokens

First-Time Setup

Open all large and small packs of cards and turn them so that the codes on the bottom right of the cards are visible. Leave the Separators aside for now.

These codes indicate how the cards should be sorted; DO NOT use the card backs or card colours as sorting references.

Separate the decks according to the graphic below, beginning with STARTING DECKS.

The code following the name of the deck indicates the number of cards in each deck. Keep all cards in numerical order.

Place the items listed below in their designated spaces.

DO NOT look at any of the cards, you'll spoil the fun surprises! Open the pack of Separators and place each Separator at the top of its appropriate deck.

Once sorted, place each deck in its designated space in the box insert.

Remove all tokens, markers, and tiles from punchboard. All Biome Tiles have a code that corresponds to their Biome; place these tiles in their appropriate compartment, along with their Biome-specific tokens, as listed below.

Place all other tokens in the Storage compartment.

Central Compartment

Beheaded Deck

• Beheaded ST (large cards 01 to 24)
• Serenade ST (large cards 25 to 27)
• Equipment ST (small cards 01 to 08)

Upgrade Decks

• Survival SV (large cards 01 to 42)
• Tactics TC (large cards 01 to 40)
• Brutality BR (large cards 01 to 37)
• Abandoned Well W (large cards 01 to 21)

Boss Decks

• Concierge C1 (large cards 01 to 15)
• Concierge Blueprints C1 (small cards 01 to 05)
• Time Keeper C2 (large cards 01 to 07)
• Time Keeper Blueprints C2 (small cards 01 to 05)
• Hand of the King C3 (large cards 01 to 21)
• Hand of the King Blueprints C3 (small cards 01 to 03)

Biome Decks

• Prisoners' Quarters B1 (large cards 01 to 13)
• Prisoners' Quarters Blueprints B1 (small cards 01 to 08)
• Toxic Sewers B2 (large cards 01 to 16)
• Toxic Sewers Blueprints B2 (small cards 01 to 09)
• Ramparts B3 (large cards 01 to 17)
• Ramparts Blueprints B3 (small cards 01 to 09)
• Stilt Village B4 (large cards 01 to 14)
• Stilt Village Blueprints B4 (small cards 01 to 09)
• Clock Tower B5 (large cards 01 to 18)
• Clock Tower Blueprints B5 (small cards 01 to 09)
• Forgotten Sepulcher B6 (large cards 01 to 17)
• Forgotten Sepulcher Blueprints B6 (small cards 01 to 08)
• High Peak Castle B7 (large cards 01 to 20)
• High Peak Castle Blueprints B7 (small cards 01 to 09)
• High Peak Castle Malaise Cards B7 (small cards 10 to 14)

Small Compartments

• Prisoners' Quarters Tiles B1 (01 to 15)
• Toxic Sewers Tiles B2 (01 to 20)
• Ramparts Tiles B3 (01 to 20)
• Stilt Village Tiles B4 (01 to 21); Worm tokens B4 (18 tokens)
• Clock Tower Tiles B5 (01 to 26); Bell tokens B5 (3 tokens)
• Forgotten Sepulcher Tiles B6 (01 to 20); Lantern tokens B6 (3 tokens)
• High Peak Castle Tiles B7 (01 to 41); Key tokens B7 (2 tokens); Malaise tokens B7 (4 tokens)

Storage: Tokens, Markers

Deck of Secrets: Secrets cards S (small cards 01 to 16)

Purged Cards (for later in the campaign!)

Please note that some of the game contents are stored under the plastic insert.

Rune Cards

R (small cards 01 to 07)

Place the Rune cards in their corresponding slots on the Mutation board, with the grey side (no text) facing up.

There will be empty slots; those are for later.

Game Setup

IMPORTANT: Never shuffle any decks showing the "do not shuffle" symbol. These cards must stay in the same order. If they do get mixed up, they are all identified with a letter and a number so that they can be replaced in the correct order.

1. Set up the (1a) Mutation board, the (1b) Annexe board, the (1c) Combat board, and the (1d) Biome board as shown below.
2. Place the Combat Round marker on the Combat board on the round I line.
3. Place the Damage, Shield, Tooth, Cell, and State tokens in supplies near the board.
4. Place the 3 "do not shuffle" Upgrade decks, the "do not shuffle" Well deck, and the "do not shuffle" Deck of Secrets face-down close to the Mutation board. Card 01 should be face-down on the bottom of the pile and the last (double-sided) card should be on the top, as in the image below.

Biome Setup

Your first few Runs will all start in the Prisoners' Quarters Biome (don't worry, you'll be told when you can start somewhere else).

The setup for each Biome is done on both the Annexe Board and the Biome board.

5. Prepare the Biome's components by taking all the cards (Monster cards, Elite Monster cards, and Blueprint cards) from the Prisoners' Quarters section of the central compartment, and all the tiles from the Prisoners' Quarters small compartment, as well as the Equipment card deck.

The Annexe Board

6. Shuffle and place the Monster cards on their space.
7. Shuffle and place the Elite Monster cards on their space.
8. Place the "do not shuffle" Blueprint cards on their space. Each Biome has its own Blueprint deck marked with a B followed by that Biome's number. The powerful cards in these decks will be unlocked as you play, and will be added to your Equipment deck.
9. Shuffle and place the Equipment cards on their space. These cards (marked ST-x) follow you from Biome to Biome, from Run to Run. You will gradually improve this deck with Blueprint cards as you play.

The Biome Board

10. Shuffle and place all the Prisoner's Quarters tiles face down at random on the spaces on the Biome board, according to their shape. Place all remaining tiles back in the tuckbox.
11. Place the Group token on the starting space at the far left of the Biome board.

Equipment Cards vs. Blueprint Cards

Your Equipment deck will remain a constant presence throughout your campaign, and will grow, improve, and change as you add Blueprint cards to it.

Blueprints can be imagined as plans for new Equipment. These plans are carried by the group until the end of the Biome, where (with the help of the Collector) they can actually make the piece of Equipment and equip it! If they die before the end of the Biome, they lose the plan before they can realize it.

This way, Blueprint cards become Equipment cards that will help you go further and further in your Runs.

Player Setup

1. Each player takes the Beheaded board of the Beheaded they would like to play. Return any unused Beheaded to the box.
2. Take a Scroll marker in each colour (green, purple, red) and place each one on the first scroll space of their colour, as indicated.
3. Place the Maximum Health token on the 4th Heart from the left on the Health Track. This shows that you begin the game with 3 Health Points, as indicated by the leftmost space on the green Survival track.
4. Take the deck of Combat cards for your Beheaded, shuffle it, and deal yourself 3 cards. You may look at them, but keep them hidden from the other players. Place the remainder of the cards to the left of the Beheaded board to form your Draw Pile.
5. Give each player their associated Beheaded Aid card (the Player Aid with icon descriptions is on the other side).
6. Give the First Player token to the player of your choice.

4-Player Game Setup: In a 4-Player game, you must assign 1 Damage token to two Beheaded of your choice at the start of the game.

Beheaded Board Overview

Choosing a Beheaded

Choosing what Beheaded to play is the first decision you will make in Dead Cells, but don't worry, you can choose a new Beheaded every time you play, if you like! Despite (nearly) everything resetting every time you play, the Beheaded themselves don't change, meaning you can simply choose a new one!

You can also change the number of players from one game to the next; there is no need to keep the same group of players every game. Don't be afraid to mix it up!

Each Beheaded has a different set of Skills that they can access and unlock. Let's have a look at how the Beheaded board works.

The Beheaded Board

1. Name – Your Beheaded's name, and some descriptive text about them.
2. Health Track – Your Beheaded's Health Points, where you will place Damage tokens.
3. Draw Pile – Where you place your deck of Combat cards face-down.
4. Discard Pile – Where you discard your Combat cards, face up.
5. Scroll Tracks – Where you keep track of boosts to your Beheaded's abilities during a Run.
6. Equipment Slots – Where you place Equipment cards.
7. Active Space – Where you play your Active card during Combat.

The Scroll Tracks

The Scroll Tracks are: Survival, Tactics, Brutality

Every time you earn a Scroll in the game, simply slide the Scroll marker of that colour one space to the right. This will unlock a new skill or ability.

Note: Everything to the LEFT of the Scroll marker is an active ability, and these are cumulative.

For example, The Immolated begins with 3 Health, because it is to the left of the Green Scroll marker. If they gain a Green Scroll, that marker slides one space to the right, and now The Immolated has 3 Health + 1. If it slides to the right again, the Beheaded keeps those Health boosts, and now also gains protection against Freeze attacks. Don't forget to move the Max. Health marker as well, to indicate your new maximum Health!

Each Beheaded board is described in detail in its associated Beheaded Aid.

Game Concept

Goal of the Game

You don't know why you're here, but it doesn't really matter... You've got to get out!

Your goal is to beat the Hand of the King.

The only catch is that you won't be able to do this on your first try... It will take you a number of Runs before you succeed.

A Run

You are now ready to begin a Run. A Run is a single play that ends when either someone in your Group dies, or you beat a Boss.

'Traditional' cooperative games often end when a player dies. In a Rogue-Lite game, like Dead Cells, dying is the end of the Run, but not of the game. In fact, dying is just the beginning: Each Run allows you to get stronger both individually, and as a group. We'll talk about that a little later.

Examples of a Run:

• The Group begins in the Prisoners' Quarters and one of the Group dies. This is the end of your Run.
• The Group begins in the Prisoners' Quarters, continues to the Toxic Sewers, fights the Concierge and wins (or loses)! End of Run.

Biomes

In Dead Cells, a Biome is a zone that the Group must move through and discover. It's made up of spaces occupied by Encounters, Treasure chests, Doors, and Merchants. The first Biome in the game is the Prisoners' Quarters.

You have finished the Biome when you reach one of the Exit doors.

After every two Biomes you'll meet a Boss, who you'll have to fight and beat in order to go further on your next Run!

Your Bag

As you move through the Biomes, you'll collect many wonderous objects. Your Bag is where you keep your most valuable stuff. All Gold Teeth, Potions, and Cells go into your Bag.

Exploring

As your Group moves through each Biome, you will follow 3 simple steps. These are:

1. MOVE – Progress through the Biome, one space at a time.
2. FLIP AND REVEAL the tile on that new space, and carry out its effects.
3. DEAD OR ALIVE? Check the status of your Group to see if you can continue or not.

1. Move the Group

This step consists of doing the following, in this order:

• CHOOSE a path to move along, following the Movement Rules listed below
• VERIFY you have the correct Runes to pass through the corridor (see Runes, below)
• PERFORM Checks, if any (see Checks, p. 8)
• PLACE the Group token in the new space

Movement Rules:

• The group can only move from their space into a space connected by a corridor
• The group can only ever move along these corridors in the directions of the arrows on the corridor
• The group cannot skip over any spaces

The First Player makes the final decision, after discussion, of which route to take.

Runes

• If there is a Rune symbol blocking a corridor, the group must possess that Rune (its card must be flipped to its 'active' side on the Mutation board) in order to pass through that corridor. If they do not, they must find another path.

2. Flip and Reveal

Once you have moved your Group token to a new space, you must flip the tile on that space, and carry out its effects. All the tiles you will come across in the game are listed below.

Treasure and Cursed Treasure Tiles:

• Treasure Tile (a): Flip the tile and collect the reward(s).
• Cursed Treasure Tile (b): Flip the tile, collect the reward(s) and suffer the consequences (see Cursed Treasure Key, p. 20)!

Merchant Tiles:

Each Merchant tile indicates 3 things: a) What can be bought b) How much it costs c) How many times the Group may do this.

See Visit the Market, p. 13, for all the details.

Encounter and Elite Encounter Tiles

Flipping an Encounter (a) or Elite Encounter (b) tile is the first step in the Combat phase of the game. These tiles show you what you will be facing in this Combat, and how to set it up. (see Combat Setup p.8)

Door Tile

Discover new places; meet interesting new 'people'!

Teleportation Tile

Appears in later Biomes... And you can't access them. Yet.

Tile Icons

FIRST PLAYER — Why is everyone looking at me...? When this icon is attached to any other icon, it means that it is only meant for the First Player. It may be something good, or something bad... whatever it is, it can't be assigned to another player.

CHANGE FIRST PLAYER — Long live me: The new King! As soon as this icon is revealed, the First Player token passes to the next player in clockwise order. It is always the first action to take place.

EITHER / OR — You can't have it all, you know. When you see this line, you have to choose ONE of the items listed. If one of the choices is a Check, you MUST be able to pass it, or you cannot choose it.

EQUIPMENT — Ahh, I knew we came here for a reason. Take the top card of the Equipment deck and give it to a Beheaded to equip (see Equipment cards, p. 12).

BLUEPRINTS — More cool stuff for our collection! Take 1 Blueprint card from the bottom of the Blueprint deck and place it on the Collector space on the Mutations board. This will be available during the Interbiome phase (see p.13).

GOLD TOOTH — Eww... but still: Gold! Take 1 Gold Tooth token per icon and place it into the Group's Bag.

SCROLL — What terrible handwriting. Move 1 Scroll of the colour indicated one space to the right on 1 player's Beheaded board.

VIAL — Down the hatch! Immediately remove 1 Damage token from the Health Track of a Beheaded.

CELL — Feel the power! Take 1 Cell token per icon and place it into the Group's Bag.

POTION — Good for what ails ya. Take 1 Potion token and place it in the Group's Bag. This can be spent to remove ALL Damage tokens from one Beheaded during Combat Round 0 or instead of a Loot Action.

RUNE — What a strange glow... Flip over the corresponding Rune card on the Mutation board. The Rune's use is written on the card, and it stays with you forever (see Mutation board, p. 14).

CHECK — Hmm, this is going to be tough. Perform a Check (see next page).

3. Dead or Alive?

• If everyone in your Group is still alive, repeat steps 1 - 3.
• If someone in your Group is dead, it is the end of this Run; Go to End of Run, p. 14.

Checks

Performing a Check means putting your Survival, Brutality, or Tactics skills to the test. Passing can allow you to take the route you want, or give you bonuses, while failing can block your progress or even do you damage.

There are two types of Check you will have to perform: Hand Checks and Deck Checks. They both work in very similar ways.

Hand Checks

Whenever you see any of these symbols (Survival, Tactics, Brutality), you will need to perform a Hand Check.

If the First Player is able to discard a Combat card from their hand with the required symbol, the group has passed the Check.

If that Check was in a corridor of the Biome board, the Group may move through that corridor.

If they don't have a card with that symbol, the group has failed the Check.

If that Check was in a corridor of the Biome board, the Group cannot move through that corridor, and must choose another route.

Deck Checks

Whenever you see this symbol, you will need to perform a Deck Check.

The First Player draws the top card of their Combat deck. If it shows one of the indicated icons, they gain the associated reward. If it does not show an icon, they do not gain anything. That card is discarded.

A Deck Check failure in a corridor of the Biome board does not affect whether you can move through that corridor.

After a Check

Players refill their hand to 3 cards after performing Checks. If there are no more cards in your draw pile before or after your Check, simply shuffle your discard pile, place it face down on the Draw space and draw a card from there.

Combat

Who are we fighting, anyway?

The Group will be fighting Enemies. This term encompasses Monsters, Elites, Bosses, and any minions that Bosses might conjure up.

Be careful! Individual terms matter. Certain equipment or attacks may target specific Enemies (Elites only, for instance).

Combat Setup

Once you have flipped the Encounter tile, follow the icons on it from top to bottom.

1. Place Enemies

Draw a card from the Monster (or Elite Monster) deck for each icon of that type on the Encounter tile. Place the cards face up, one at a time, onto the Combat board in the same order as they appear on the Encounter tile.

Always start on the "attack arrows" space.

Example A: Draw the top card from the Monster deck and place it face up on the "attack arrows" space. Draw another card from the Monster deck and place it face up on the "attack arrows" space.

2. Place Loot (if present on tile)

Place the indicated token(s) on the Group space on the Combat board. If it is an Equipment card, draw a card from the Equipment deck and place it face up on the Group space. If it is a Blueprint, draw a Blueprint card from the bottom of the Blueprint deck and place it face up on the Group space.

Special Placement Icons

If the Monster card has the "left arrows" icon, place it to the left of the Group. (Example: Scorpion)

If the Monster card has the "far-right arrows" icon, place it in the far-right space on the Combat board. (Example: Buzzcutter)

NOTE: If an Enemy with a special placement icon is drawn and there is already an Enemy in that space, place that second Enemy as you would place an Enemy without a special placement icon.

Example B:

1. The Elite Archer was drawn first, but its special placement icon indicates that it must be placed on the far-right space.
2. The second Monster drawn is a Zombie, who is placed, as usual, in the "attack arrows" space.

The Combat Board

The Combat Board is where Combat takes place. Obviously.

1. Combat Round Marker – This is used to keep track of Combat rounds.
2. Group space – This represents the Group's physical location in relation to the Monsters involved in the Combat. This is also where Loot is placed.
3. Enemy spaces – This is where Monster cards are placed, as specified on the Encounter tiles and on the Monster cards themselves.
4. Wall/Hole space – This is where you will place the Wall/Hole token when required in certain Combats. Some Equipment cards (like the Rapier, for example) and other game elements have an influence on gameplay when a Wall or Hole is present in Combat.
5. Round End space – This shows the actions that take place at the end of each Combat Round.

The Cards

Combat Card Anatomy

1. Check Symbol – This symbol is used when players are performing a Check (see p. 8).
2. Beheaded/Card Name – This shows either the Beheaded this card belongs to or describes its type of attack.
3. Round Numbers – These indicate the Combat Round in which each Action takes place.
4. Actions – The Actions that take place during that round.
5. Range icon – The Range of the action; that is, what Enemies are affected by the attack, or if it is a Group action. (see p.11)

Monster Card Anatomy

1. Health – The number in the heart icon indicates how much damage must be done to a Monster to kill it.
2. Name – This is the name of the Monster.
3. Elite icon – If the Monster is an Elite, there will be a star symbol here.
4. Round Numbers – These indicate the round in which each Action takes place.
5. Actions – The Actions that take place during that round.
6. Round IV icon – This Action takes place at the end of Combat if the Monster is still alive.
7. Death – This indicates the Group's reward (or penalty!) for killing the Monster.

Combat Gameplay

Once you've set up the Combat board according to the directions on the Encounter tile, you're ready to fight!

Preparation Phase

Before each Combat, there is a brief Preparation Phase in which players outline their overall strategy. There are 3 rules for this discussion period:

• When we say this discussion should be brief, we mean BRIEF. Less than a minute. Don't forget, YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK. This is not the time for chit-chat, you are about to be disembowelled.
• Players are allowed to discuss priorities, such as which Enemies should be focused on, and what to watch out for.
• Players cannot discuss what icons they have on their cards.

For full example of Combat Gameplay, see p. 16.

Playing Combat Cards

Once this discussion is finished, Players will play Combat cards from their hand. Regardless of the number of players, each player will always play at least one card, for a total of 3 Combat cards played. See 'Playing 3 Combat Cards' for how to play cards depending on your player count.

Starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, all players must:

1. Choose one Combat card from their hand
2. Announce ONE Action on that card that they will perform, and what Combat Round it will take place in. (e.g. "I will do Damage in Round 2," or "I will Loot in Round 3.").

The possible Actions a Beheaded can take in a Combat Round are:

• Do Damage
• Block
• Loot
• Perform a Skill
• Assign a State
• Heal

3. Place that card face down on the Active Space on their Beheaded board.

Once all 3 Combat cards have been played in this way, Players reveal the card they have played.

Combat can now begin!

Playing 3 Combat Cards

2-Player Game: First Player plays 2 cards, then the other Player plays 1 card. Any effects applied to the First Player affect only their first-played Combat card. When discarding Combat cards at the end of combat, the first card is discarded, and the second one is discarded on top of that.

3-Player Game: All Players play 1 card

4-Player Game: Only 3 Combat cards may be played; the Players discuss who will play cards, and which Player will pass. The First Player must take part in Combat and cannot pass.

Once it is decided, playing cards takes place as usual, until the turn of the Passing Player.

The Passing Player

When it's the turn of the passing Player, instead of playing a Combat card, they reveal the top card of their Combat deck. If it has a Survival, Tactics, or Brutality symbol, they advance the Scroll of that colour 1 space on their Beheaded board. If there are 2 symbols, you may choose which Scroll track to upgrade. The revealed card is discarded, whether it had a symbol or not.

The Player who passed may now discard as many cards as they wish from their hand and re-draw to that many cards from their deck.

The Player who passed does not take part in this Combat, and therefore does not suffer Damage, get States, or benefit from Looting.

Playing Combat Cards Example

For a 4-player game. Example B continued from p. 8

1. After their discussion, Dina plays a card face down in the Active Space on her Beheaded board, saying, "I will do a Poison attack in Round 2".
2. Carrie places a card on her Beheaded's board, and says, "I will do a Skill action in Round 1".
3. Morgan chooses to pass, and announces this to the others. He doesn't play a card, but instead draws a card from the top of his Combat deck. He luckily draws a card with a Tactics symbol allowing him to advance his Purple Scroll one space on his scroll track. He then discards that card. He also decides to discard 1 card from his hand, and draws 1 card from his Combat deck to replace it.
4. Gabriel plays his card, and says, "I will Loot in Round 3".

Combat Phase

Combat Rounds I, II, III

A Combat Round consists of all Beheaded and Enemies performing the Action indicated in that Round's space on their Combat/Monster card (or Equipment), beginning with Round I.

For the Group, Actions are performed starting with the First Player and continuing clockwise around the table.

For the Monsters, their Actions are performed from left to right across the Combat board.

GOLDEN RULE OF COMBAT: Combat always takes place from left to right on the Combat board. This means that if there is an Enemy in the leftmost space, they perform their Action first. Once this is done (or if there is no Enemy present) play moves to the Group, and then to each subsequent Enemy, continuing to the right. All Combat card and Monster Actions must be played, if possible.

Round 0

• Round 0 is a special Combat Round that comes before Round I, and is only triggered if Equipment, Skills, or Monsters with the Round 0 icon are in play. The Golden Rule of Combat (left to right) is followed in Round 0, as usual, and Players may perform as many Round 0 Actions as they have, in turn order.
• Round 0 is also the moment when the Group can use Potions. Simply discard a Potion token, and remove all Damage tokens from one Beheaded.

Range

This icon next to the Action on your Combat card tells you what Enemies you can hit with your attacks: All white spaces are valid targets for your attack, but unless specified in the attack itself, only one Enemy is targeted at a time.

In the first icon above, only the Enemy in the far-right space can be targeted with that attack. In the second, any one enemy to the right of the Group may be targeted.

If an Enemy is killed, and their card is removed from the Combat board, attacks targeting this space have no effect.

Combat Actions

There are some Actions that can be performed by both Beheaded and Enemies:

DAMAGE

Beheaded Action: Assign 1 Damage token onto targeted Enemy. If the number of Damage tokens on the card equals or is greater than the Enemy's health, that Enemy has been killed (see p. 12).

Enemy Action: Assign 1 Damage token onto the Health Track of the Beheaded (or Companion! See p. 12) of your choice, with First Player having final word. If all the spaces to the left of the Maximum Health marker are filled with Damage tokens, that Beheaded has been killed.

See Player Aid for a detailed list of all types of Damage.

BLOCK

Beheaded Action: Place 1 Shield token on the Beheaded's board. Each Shield token on a Beheaded board blocks a single Damage; simply discard a Shield token to cancel a Damage instead of assigning it.

Enemy Action: Place 1 Shield token on the Enemy's card. The Shield's effect is the same as described above.

Note:

• Beheaded and Enemies may have multiple Shield tokens.
• Shields do not block States (Poisoned, Frozen, etc.).
• Any attack triggered by a character sustaining a Damage is cancelled if blocked with a Shield.

See Player Aid for a detailed list of all types of Block Action.

There are other Actions that are only performed by Beheaded:

SKILL

Activate any one Skill on your Beheaded's board (to the left of the Scroll) or on any Equipment you are carrying.

• The Skill's description is either on the Beheaded board or on the Equipment card.
• Performing a Skill Action is never mandatory.
• If you activate more than one Skill icon, they may be used to activate different Skills or the same Skill multiple times
• Skill Actions on Scroll tracks can only be activated once per Combat Round.

LOOT

Take all of one type of item on the Group space on the Combat Board and place them in the Group's Bag.

For example, if there are two Gold Teeth and one Cell, the Player must decide whether to take the Teeth or the Cell.

• Looted Scrolls and Equipment will be assigned to Beheaded at the end of Combat (see End of Combat Upkeep, p.12).

OR

You may use your Loot action to assign a Potion to a Beheaded in your Group. Simply discard a Potion token, and remove all Damage tokens from one Beheaded.

Immunity

Some Beheaded and Enemies may be (or become) Immune to certain States. This means that that token is not assigned and thus it has no effect. You can give States to Beheaded that are Immune so that their effect is cancelled.

States

All States function the same way for Beheaded and Enemies: Simply place one token of the appropriate type on the Enemy card or Beheaded board.

• POISONED: Apply 1 Damage token per Poisoned token on the Beheaded or Enemy during the Round End Phase of every Combat Round (see p. 12).
• BLEEDING: Any Beheaded or Enemy with a Bleeding token after Combat Round III dies.
• ON FIRE: The first On Fire token on any Beheaded or Enemy has no effect. As soon as a Beheaded or Enemy has two On Fire tokens on them, they die immediately.
• FROZEN: This token is placed on the next Combat Line (I, II, or III) of the Beheaded or Enemy's card that contains an Action (not an empty line). All actions in this round are not performed by the Frozen character. (Ex. If a Frozen attack is played by a Beheaded in Round I they may place a Frozen token on an Enemy to cancel their Round I action, if they have one).
• MARKED: Any Beheaded or Enemy with a Marked token will suffer +1 Damage to any Damage they receive for the rest of the Combat, per token.

Equipment Cards

These are important elements of your Group's arsenal.

Equipment Slots: Each Beheaded begins the game with ONE available Equipment slot. This means they can only have one piece of Equipment until more slots are liberated.

Equipping Yourself:

• When gaining an Equipment card, you must either equip it by placing it on the first available slot to the left on the bottom of your Beheaded board, or discard it.
• You may discard as many Equipment cards as you like when equipping an Equipment card
• Once Equipped, an Equipment card cannot be traded or given to another Beheaded during that Run.
• Equipment cards may be discarded during the Interbiome

Equipment in Combat

There are 3 main types of Equipment card:

Timed Equipment

These items are used in specific Combat rounds, and fall into 2 categories:

/ : You Must Choose

These have the / symbol to show that they can be used in the indicated round, but instead of the Action on the Beheaded's Combat card.

Example: The Beginner's Bow can be used to do 1 Damage to an Enemy in the indicated Range spaces in Combat Round I instead of a Combat Card action.

+ : More!!

These have the + symbol to show that they can be used in the indicated Combat round, but if there is an Action in that round on the Beheaded's Combat card, it adds to that Action.

Example: The Broadsword does 1 Damage (in the indicated Range) in Round III. If the Beheaded has an Action there, it adds this to that Action.

Only 1 Timed Equipment card may be used per Combat card in a Combat Round. You cannot use the same Timed Equipment card twice in a Combat round (on two different cards, in a 2-player game, for example).

Always Active Equipment

These have effects that are automatically triggered during Combat.

Example: The Knockback Shield automatically does 1 Damage to an Enemy in Range every time a Shield is spent

You may use Always Active Equipment as many times as it is triggered.

Skill Equipment

You can activate a Skill item using a Skill Action. The item's effect is described on the card.

Example: The Cleaver can be activated with a Skill Action to place 1 Bleeding token on any Enemy in the indicated Range.

You may only use Skill Equipment as many times as you have Skill actions.

Companions

You never know who or what you may come across in this place!

• Companions are equipped like Equipment (they require an available slot).
• They have Health points, and can sustain Damage.
• When they are 'killed' (Damage equal to or greater than their Health) they are discarded into the Equipment discard pile.
• They cannot receive any type of Shield, they cannot receive States, and they cannot be healed.

Killing a Monster

Congratulations, you've killed a Monster. Well, that's one fewer enemy after your head... so to speak.

• When you've killed a Monster, immediately take its Death Bonus, which is all the items indicated in the Death space at the bottom of the Monster card. Place these items in the Group's Bag. If there is a Damage icon, that Damage must be assigned to a Beheaded as usual.
• Once this is done, remove the card from the Combat board and place it in the Monster discard pile on the Annexe board. The space occupied by the killed Monster remains empty until the Round End phase (see below).
• If all Monsters have been killed, Combat is not over. Just because all the Monsters are dead doesn't mean you're not still Poisoned or Bleeding! You must play through all Combat Rounds until the end of Combat. This means that all States still have their effects. This also means that Beheadeds may also perform their Loot actions. Skill actions may be skipped, as mentioned above.

Round End Phase

When the final Monster has performed its Action for the Combat Round, gameplay continues to the right, where the Round End space is located.

The final Actions of the Combat Round will now be performed, as always, from left to right:

• Assign 1 Damage token per Poison token (2 Poison tokens = 2 Damage) on all Beheaded boards and Monster cards.
• If there are any empty spaces to the right of the Group space, move Monsters toward the group to fill those spaces. An Enemy in the far right space may move two spaces to the left if they are both empty.

Note: Do not move Enemies past the group into the space behind it.

Once the Round End Phase has finished, begin the next Combat Round at the far left of the Combat board.

Final Round and Round IV

If you reach the end of Round III and there are still Monsters on the Combat Board, perform the following actions, as indicated in the Round End space at the end of Round III.

• Assign 1 Damage token per Poison token as at the end of every round, as described above.
• Any Monster or Beheaded that is Bleeding (with a Blood token on it) is killed and removed from the board.
• Any Monster still on the board with a Round IV icon performs its action for Round IV.

End-of-Combat Upkeep

Once a Combat is finished, do the following:

• Assign looted Scrolls, and Equipment stored in the Group's Bag to Beheaded who were involved in the Combat. Looted Blueprints are placed on the Collector space on the Mutation board. Players who passed cannot receive Loot for their Beheaded.
• Discard any un-killed Monsters
• Discard any un-looted Loot (unlooted Blueprints are placed on the bottom of the Blueprint deck)
• Discard all Shield and State tokens on Beheaded boards
• Discard the Beheaded's Active card
• Draw a Combat card to fill your hand to 3
• IF THERE ARE NO CARDS IN YOUR DRAW PILE - Simply shuffle your discard pile, and place it face down into your deck space, and draw a card from there.

For full example of Combat Gameplay, see p. 16.

Dying

If, at any time the Health Track of any member of your Group is filled with Damage tokens (to the left of the Maximum Health marker) that Beheaded is dead, and your Run is over; go to the End of Run section on p. 14.

• Don't forget, if a Beheaded dies during Combat, you must still finish the Combat.

Finishing the Biome

Did you survive all your Combats and make it to one of the two Exits?! Congratulations! You've made it through the Biome! You can now move on to the Interbiome, and then: The next Biome (or Boss!) awaits...

The Interbiome

Welcome to the Interbiome, a place where you can catch your breath! Please perform the following steps in order:

1. Collect Blueprint(s)

If the Group placed any Blueprints on the Collector space, they must now place these Blueprints on top of the Equipment deck for free. Don't forget, this Blueprint is now permanently in your Equipment deck; don't return it to the Blueprint deck after your Run!

2. Visit the Market

Each character in the Interbiome section provides the Group with different items that they may purchase. What can be purchased (a), for how much (b), and how many times (c) is indicated on each Character, like on the Merchant tiles. See Market Actions below for instructions on how to purchase cards

3. Cleanup

Once purchases have been made, any remaining Equipment cards are discarded, and any remaining Blueprint cards are placed on the bottom of the Blueprint deck.

Market Actions

Market actions are performed from left to right, in this order:

• THE HEALER: The Group may pay the indicated number of Gold Teeth to remove 1 Damage token from a Beheaded board of their choice. They may do this as many times as is indicated.
• THE MERCHANT: Draw as many cards from the top of the Equipment deck as indicated (1 for the Lev. 0 Merchant, for instance), and purchase as many of them for the cost indicated, and equip them immediately to the Beheaded of your choice.
• THE COLLECTOR: Draw as many cards from the bottom of the Blueprint deck as indicated (1 for the Lev. 0 Collector, for instance), and purchase as many of them for the cost indicated, and place them on top of the Equipment deck in the order you wish.

Note: Cells may not be spent in the Interbiome phase.

The Next Biome

You must now take down the Biome your Group just finished and set up the Biome (or Boss) indicated on the Exit your Group passed through.

1. Return all Biome tiles, Monster cards (including Elite), and Blueprints of the Biome you just finished to their section in the box. The Equipment cards remain where they are.
2. Follow the same setup for your next Biome as normal, using the components for the Biome you will be playing.

Fighting a Boss

If you have passed through a door leading to a Boss, take the Boss Reference sheet and follow the Setup instructions. All information on how to fight the Boss is explained on that sheet, but the following are common for all Boss Combats:

The Boss Is an Enemy

The Boss is an Enemy, not a Monster. Therefore, all effects concerning Enemies are performed, and all effects concerning Monsters or Elites are ignored. This means that the Boss does not automatically move towards the Beheaded at the end of the Combat round.

Turns

Boss Combats take place over a number of Turns. A Turn is all Combat Rounds, from I to IV. Round 0 is only played at the beginning of the Combat and at the beginning of each new instance of the Boss (Ex. Concierge, Angry Concierge).

Once you reach the end of round III or IV, begin a new turn by:

1. Drawing a new Combat Card from your deck to fill your hand to 3 cards,
2. Giving the First Player token to the following player in turn order, and
3. Playing new Combat cards face-down in front of you.

It will probably take you a number of turns to beat a Boss.

PASSING

In a 4-Player game, a different Player must pass every Turn. Once every Player has passed, you may change the order of Passing Players. The Passing Player does not perform a Deck Check, but may discard and re-draw a card.

Boss Instances

Each Boss has at least 2 'Instances', represented by the 2 sides of the Boss card. The Boss Reference Sheet will tell you which side to start Combat with.

When the first Instance of a Boss is defeated:

1. The current Turn ends immediately
2. All States and Shields are removed from the Boss
3. All States and Shields are removed from the Beheaded
4. Flip the Boss card (as indicated in its Death Bonus text)
5. Discard all Beheaded's Active cards, and draw a new Combat card
6. Combat begins again with the new Instance of the Boss, from Round 0

Note: All other elements remain on the Combat board (Fire Strikes, Shurikens, etc.).

End of Boss Battle

The Boss Battle can end in 2 ways:

One or more Beheaded dies: If this happens, you have lost, and the Battle ends at the end of the current Turn (all Combat rounds). Go to 'End of Run: Death', below.

The Boss dies: The Boss Battle ends immediately when the final instance of the Boss dies. When this happens you've won, and your Run is over! Go to 'End of Run: Success', below.

Note: All Beheaded must be alive when the Boss dies to count as a Victory.

Good luck! (even though luck probably won't help much...)

End of Run

Death

So, you've died. We would feel sorry for you, but we know better; your journey has just begun! You now get to spend Cells to become even stronger!

Unfortunately, death does have its price. Your Group must:

1. Discard all items in the Group's Bag except Cells. Equipment cards in the Bag are shuffled back into the Equipment deck, and Blueprint cards in the Bag are put back on the bottom of the Blueprint deck.
2. Place any Blueprints on the Collector space of the Mutation board on the bottom of the Blueprint deck.
3. Discard all equipped Equipment cards, and shuffle the discard pile into the Equipment deck. That's right, Equipment you acquired as Blueprints during this Run are now permanently incorporated into your Equipment deck!
4. Remove all States, Shields, and Damage from the Beheaded boards, and reset all Scrolls and Max Health markers to their starting spaces.

Success

Wait... You managed to kill a Boss??

Congratulations! Read the 'Victory' section on the Boss Reference Sheet to see what you've won! Now follow steps 1-4 in the 'Death' section, above.

The Mutation Board

The Mutation Board is where you will put cards bought with Cells at the end of your Run. It is also the way the Group's progress is saved from one Run to another. Cards here are permanent and are not lost when your Group dies at the end of a Run.

1. Runes – Your Group may gain Runes over the course of a Run. If you discover a Rune, simply flip over the card with the associated Rune symbol on the Mutation board to reveal its coloured side. The Group now possesses that Rune for all future Runs.
2. Start of Game – Cards in these slots give the Group permanent advantages for future Runs before the Run begins. Make sure, when starting a new Run, to give your Group these boosts!
3. During Game – Cards here give the Group permanent advantages during a Run. These should be kept in mind when you are making your way through the Biomes or confronting Bosses!
4. Skill – Your Group may only have 1 Skill card at any time. These cards explain what must be done if you wish to replace an existing Skill.
5. Boss Cells – Kill the Hand of the King to discover what this space does...

Running Out of Space

You may, after a while, run out of empty spaces on the Mutation board in which to place cards. If this happens, simply either remove one of the cards on your Mutation board (you will, of course, lose any ability if gives the Group), or do not place the new card into a space.

The card that was removed (or not placed) should be put into the Beheaded tuckbox. You may choose to place that card back into your Mutation board in future Runs, if you wish.

Saving Your Game

When you are done playing, leave all cards in their slots on the Mutation board, and fold it shut. This will keep your game saved and your improvements in place for future plays.

Spending Your Cells

There are two ways in which you can spend your Cells at the end of a Run: Upgrades or The Well. Important: Cells cannot be carried over from one Run to another. Any unspent Cells are discarded and lost.

The Upgrade Decks

These three decks (Survival, Tactics, Brutality) offer the Group opportunities to improve their chances in future Runs. They are divided into the same three abilities as the Scroll Tracks on your Beheaded board and will give you improvements that will help you in those three areas.

You may spend the Cells from your bag to purchase as many Upgrades as you like. At the beginning of the game each Upgrade card costs 2 Cells, and as indicated on the top card of each deck, you will get the bottom card of the deck when you spend your 2 Cells.

There are, generally speaking, 3 types of Upgrade card:

1. Permanent Mutations: These cards are to be slid into a slot in the Mutation board and will constitute a permanent effect for the group.
2. Improved Combat cards: These are to be given to Beheaded of your choice to incorporate into their Combat card decks. These cards must be used in all future runs (unless they are Purged - see Purge Action, this page).
   • Improved Combat cards may be reassigned to any Beheaded participating in a Run; feel free to experiment!
3. Instruction cards: Simply follow the instructions written on these cards. What could be easier?
4. Feat cards: If you draw a Feat card, place it into the space on the Mutation board according to the instructions on the card. This card is an optional task for you to perform as you move through your Runs. Once you have met its requirements, perform the actions outlined on the bottom of the card.

The Well

Players can choose to throw 1 Cell into the mysterious Well. Who knows what might happen? Players can do this as many times as they want.

Your Combat Deck

Your Beheaded's Combat Deck starts with 6 cards marked ST, but as you add Improved Combat cards, it will grow bigger. Your Combat deck has no maximum size, but it can never contain fewer than 6 cards.

You cannot permanently remove any cards (including ST cards) from your Beheaded decks unless a game element allows you to perform a Purge Action.

Purge Action

Purging is when you slide a card into the slot in the tray to remove it permanently from the game. When no specific deck is mentioned, you can choose any card from the Equipment deck, any Beheaded deck, and Serenade's deck (including ST cards).

Resetting Your Game

If you would like to reset your game back to its original state (to lend to friends, or to restart with newcomers) just follow these simple steps:

Remember to organize your cards according to the code on the bottom right, and not by the backs of the cards. see p. 3 for all card codes

1. Purge

• Remove the box insert, take back all Purged cards and sort them into their corresponding Upgrade decks.

2. Mutation Board

• Flip all Rune cards to their inactive, grey, text-less side.
• Remove all other cards from the Mutation Board and sort them into their corresponding Upgrade decks.

3. Beheaded Decks

• Remove all ST cards, place them in the box insert, and sort all others into their corresponding Upgrade decks.

4. Equipment/Blueprint Cards

• Remove all ST cards and place them in the box insert.
• Sort all others according to their Biome code (B1-B7), or Deck of Secrets (S).

5. Biomes

• Take Biome 1 cards from the box, separate all (B1) Monster/Elite cards, and sort all others into their corresponding Upgrade decks.
• Place (B1) Monster/Elite cards back into the box along with (B1) Blueprint cards.
• Do this for all 7 Biomes

Remember to keep all cards in numerical order!

Now you're ready to start your adventure all over again!

Combat Example

Example B continued from p. 10.

Here are the cards each player placed into the Active Space on their Beheaded board: Dina — The Poisoned (ST-04); Carrie — The Flayed (ST-18); Gabriel — The Immolated (ST-08).

Round I

1. Players check their Beheaded boards to see if any of them has access to a Round 0 Action; nobody does. There is no Monster in the far left space, so the Group will start Combat.
2. Dina has no action in Round I, so play moves to Carrie.
3. Carrie performs the Skill Action for The Flayed, which is to gain a Shield token, which she takes and places on her Beheaded board.
4. It's Gabriel's turn now, but he has no Round I action. This is the end of the Group's Round I Actions; now it's the Monsters' turn.
5. The Zombie is in the "attack arrows" space to the right of the Group, so it goes first. It has no Action for Round I, so play passes to the Elite Archer
6. The Elite Archer does 1 Damage to 2 different Beheaded. The Group decides that The Flayed will take the first Damage and lose its Shield Token (6a), and that The Immolated will take the other Damage (6b).
7. Finally, the Round End Space is consulted: Nobody has been assigned Poison tokens, but the Elite Archer moves one space to the left towards the Group (7a).

Round II

1. Dina performs a Poison Action and because the Range icon allows it, she places a Poison token on the Elite Archer (1a). There is NO immediate effect; the Poison will cause damage at the end of the Combat round.
2. Carrie does 1 Damage, and gives a Damage token to the Zombie (2a) because it's the only enemy her Range allows her to hit.
3. Gabriel does 1 Damage and puts a Damage token on the Zombie (3a), which is immediately removed from the Combat board because it has been killed (it has as many Damage tokens as it has Health).
4. According to the Zombie's Death space, it gives 1 Cell when it dies, so the Group places 1 Cell into their Bag (4a) and discards the Zombie into the Monster Discard space.
5. Play moves to the Elite Archer, who does nothing in Round II.
6. Now the Round End Space is consulted, which tells us that the Elite Archer must take 1 Damage because it has been Poisoned; a Damage token is placed on its card (6a). Finally, The Elite Archer is moved into the newly vacated space beside the Group (6b).

Round III

1. Dina starts by doing 1 Damage and applies a Damage token to the Elite Archer (1a).
2. Carrie has no Round III Action so play moves to Gabriel.
3. Gabriel performs a Loot action, and takes the Green Scroll token from the Group space (3a) and places it into the Group's Bag (3b).
4. It is the Elite Archer's turn now, and it does 1 Damage to the First Player, so Dina places a Damage token onto her (The Poisoned) Beheaded board.
5. Now the Round End Space is consulted. Finally, the Round End Space indicates that 1 Damage must be assigned to the Elite Archer because it has been Poisoned. This third Damage token (5a) means this Monster is dead, so it is removed from the Combat board. The Monster's Death space indicates that it gives a Equipment card when it dies, so the top card of the Equipment deck is drawn and placed face up in the Group's Bag (5b).
6. The Combat is now over. Note: If the Zombie had still been alive at the end of Combat, it would have done 1 Damage as the final Combat Action, in Round IV.

END OF COMBAT UPKEEP — The Players divide the Loot amongst the Characters involved in the Combat: The Equipment card is given to The Immolated, so Gabriel places it into his empty Equipment slot, and the Green Scroll token is given to The Poisoned, so Dina discards the token and slides her Green Scroll marker one space to the right on The Poisoned's Character board, and then slides her Maximum Health token one space to the right. The Cell is left in the Bag.

Solo Mode

Setup

Choose a Beheaded and proceed as though it were a multi-player game.

Serenade Board

1. Place the Serenade board 'POWER' side up, to the right of your Beheaded's board, leaving a space large enough for the Combat card discard pile.
2. Place the Serenade Scroll on the first Scroll space.
3. Shuffle the 3 Serenade Combat cards and place them in a face-down pile on the Serenade board.
4. Give the First Player token to the Beheaded, but Serenade can take the role of First Player during the course of your Run.

Note: Serenade does not have any Equipment slots, and so cannot be assigned Equipment cards.

Serenade in Combat

1. The Beheaded starts Combat by playing their cards, then flips over the top card of Serenade's deck; it will perform its Combat actions according to this card.
2. In addition to this, Serenade also activates powers that depend upon the symbol on the top card on the Beheaded's Combat card discard pile, in the indicated round. (1 additional Damage to any Monster in Round III, Freeze in Round 0, Target in Round 0). If there is no card in the discard, Serenade cannot perform its special power. If a card in the discard has more than one symbol, the Player may choose which one to use. If there is no symbol, Serenade does nothing.
3. At the end of Combat, discard the top card of Serenade's deck face down to the right of its board, and discard the Beheaded's cards in the order they were played (first card discarded first, second card discarded on top of that one).
4. Serenade can be assigned Damage tokens here. It only has 4 Health points, so assign your Damage wisely!

Serenade can be assigned States and any other effects that can be assigned to a Beheaded.

If Serenade's Combat deck runs out, you must use the actions printed on its board for all subsequent Combats in that Biome.

Serenade's discard may only be shuffled and reset during the Interbiome.

Serenade's Combat Deck

You may add Improved Combat cards to Serenade's deck, and you may Purge cards out of it.

The minimum size of Serenade's Combat deck is 3, but there is no maximum size.

Rewards (Scrolls, Vials, and Upgrades)

If the Player wishes:

1. Serenade can collect a Scroll obtained during the game (unless it is specifically destined for the Player). Regardless of the Scroll's colour, the Serenade Scroll advances one space.
2. Serenade can be healed with a Vial if the game allows it.
3. Serenade may be assigned Upgrade cards to integrate into its Combat deck during the Upgrade phase at the end of a run, like a Beheaded.

Checks (Solo)

Before performing a Check (of any kind), The Prisoner takes back the First Player token if they don't have it.

The Beheaded in Combat (Solo)

The Beheaded always plays two cards (like the First Player in a 2-player game).

Serenade Death

Serenade is treated like a Beheaded; if it dies, the Run is over.

Serenade's Transformation

As soon as the Serenade Scroll passes the Power Up space, Serenade transforms. The Serenade board is flipped to its MELEE side, Serenade is completely healed, its Combat cards are placed in the same order as they were (and the discard remains the same), and the Serenade Scroll is placed on the first space of the new Scroll Track.

Serenade Player Aid

Power Scroll Track

1. Immediately gain 2 Gold Teeth
2. Immediately gain 1 Vial
3. Transformation!

Melee Scroll Track

1. Give a Shield to the Beheaded in Round 0
2. The Beheaded can perform a Skill Action in Round 0.
3. Serenade heals 1 Damage from the Beheaded in Combat Round 0.

Resetting Your Solo Game

To put your Solo game back to its original state, follow the instructions on p. 15 for Resetting your Game, and also remove all but the 3 (ST) cards from the Serenade deck and sort them into their respective Upgrade decks.

Cursed Treasure Key

These are the effects of the number symbols on the Cursed Treasures in each Biome.

Stilt Village (B4)

• I — Discard all Potions
• II — All Beheaded take Damage until each only has 1 Health remaining

Clock Tower (B5)

• I — Discard all Potions
• II — All Beheaded discard 1 equipped Equipment card

Forgotten Sepulcher (B6)

• I — Players may not communicate during Combat preparation
• II — Flip all lit Lanterns to their unlit side

High Peak Castle (B7)

• I — Discard all Gold Teeth
• II — Cannot use Runes until end of Biome

Bell Key

These are the effects of the icons on the Bell tokens.

Clock Tower (B5)

• First player takes 2 Damage
• First Player loses 1 Scroll upgrade of their choice.
• First player discards 1 Equipment

Constraint Key

These are the effects of the number symbols on the Constraint tiles.

High Peak Castle (B7)

• I — First Player cannot perform their Action in Combat Round I.
• II — You must have 2 Shields to Block 1 Damage.
• III — Potions cannot be used.
• IV — Skill Action cannot be used.

Credits

Head of Studio: Manuel Sanchez Development: Olivier Lamontagne, Christian Lemay, Manuel Sanchez Project Manager: Olivier Lamontagne Illustrators: Laure de Chateaubourg, Naïade, Robin Lagofun, Paul Vérité 3D Sculptor: Thomas Choux Art Direction: Sébastien Bizos Graphic Design: Sébastien Bizos, Simon G Lalonde-Boisvert, Karine Tremblay Brand Director: Joëlle Bouhnik Head Writer and Editing: Matthew Legault Proofreading: Tina Wayland

Designed by Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, Théo Rivière.

45 minutes · Ages 14+ · 1-4 players

We at Scorpion Masqué would like to express our deepest gratitude for everyone who believed in this project, who followed our campaign, and who generously supported us on Kickstarter. We would also like to thank our incredible team of playtesters for their many hours spent over various iterations of our game, and for their invaluable feedback. Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game could never have seen the light of day without these two groups of fantastic people!

© 2024 Le Scorpion Masqué inc.