Fabled: The Spirit Lands Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • The Challenge — Solo & Collective Play
• Game Overview
• Game Setup
  • Golden Rules
• General Principles
  • Locations in Spirit Land
  • Adding a Location
  • Paths on Location Cards
  • Moving to the Next Location
  • Location Cards
  • Visiting Fabled Places
    • Example — Visiting a Fabled Place
  • Books of Wisdom
  • Conversions
• Gameplay
  • Prologue, Chapters, and Epilogue
  • Prologue. Entering the Spirit Land
  • Chapter. The Beginning
    • Journey Tokens on the Time Board
  • Chapter. Player's Turn
    • Action Phase
    • Movement Phase
      • Example — Movement Phase, Stage 1
    • Oblivion Phase
      • Example — Location Leaves Play
  • Epilogue. Game End
• Game Universe
  • Allies
    • Ally Card
  • Events
    • Event Card
  • Variants (for Experienced Players)
  • Scenarios
  • Advice on Tactics
• Last Strokes of the Pen
  • Order of Resolving the Effects
  • Variant. Ally Cards Drafting
  • Variant. Short Table
  • Components. Boundaries of Infinite
    • Icons on Cards
• Ally Cards. Clarifications
• Fabled Places
  • Books of Wisdom
  • Special Fabled Places
  • Conversions and Transformations

Components

• 1 Time board
• 1 Time marker
• 1 First Player marker
• 36 Location cards: 12 Prairies, 12 Mountains, 12 Forests
• 12 Event cards
• 24 Ally cards
• 9 Journey tokens: 3 Event tokens, 2 Milestone tokens, 1 New Ally token, 2 Unlock a Feature / New Ally tokens, 1 End of Times token
• 27 Ally components: 1 Forest Giant board, 1 Forest Giant marker, 3 Master of Oblivion tokens, 3 Netherking tokens, 5 Savant Cat tokens, 3 Sky Wanderer tokens, 3 Snake Queen tokens, 5 Swamp Witch tokens, 3 Sylvan Elder tokens
• 115 Book of Wisdom tokens: Books of Prairies (×15, ×10, ×6), Books of Mountains (×12, ×5, ×3), Books of Forests (×12, ×5, ×3), Books of Sun (×12, ×5, ×3)
• 35 Sage figures (7 of each color)
• 10 Feature tokens
• 10 Reference cards (2 for each player)

All Location, Ally, Event, and Trick cards are unique. There is only one of each.

The Challenge — Solo & Collective Play

• 10 Trick cards
• 1 Fortune token
• 2 Shared Visit tokens
• 1 Escalation Journey token
• 4 Reference cards

Game Overview

In Fabled, players explore Locations — the Prairies, Mountains, and Forests. Their Sages follow paths and visit Fabled Places in order to collect and convert Books of Wisdom including the Books of Sun, the most valuable of them. Powerful Allies help Sages on their journey.

At the end of the game, the player with the most Books of Sun is victorious. Their brotherhood takes the place of the Gods, who reign over the worlds of humans and spirits, as they leave our Universe.

Game Setup

The Challenge: Game setup and rules for Solo & Collective Play are provided in The Challenge Guide (two-sided booklet).

1. Spirit Land. Leave free space in the center of the table, keeping in mind there is usually 6 to 12 Location cards placed in a row during the game. If your table is not long enough to hold that many cards in one row, see "Short Table" on p. 20.

2. Time board. Place the Time marker on the starting space (has no number) of the track on the Time board. Then, according to the number of players, place the Journey tokens into the slots on the Time board as shown in the table below. However, if you are playing the 'Favor of the Gods' introductory Scenario, use the table in its description provided on page 2 of the Scenarios Guide (two-sided booklet).

   Each numbered space of the track is connected to 1 or 2 slots. One of these slots is on the edge of the Time board, the other one (not always present) is located on the board itself. There is no gameplay difference between these 2 slots.

   Journey Tokens Setup (Spaces of the track 1–10)

   Players	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
   2	—	Event	New Ally	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally + Event	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally	Event	—	End of Times
   3	—	Event	New Ally	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally + Event	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally	Event	End of Times	—
   4–5	Event	New Ally	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally + Event	—	Unlock a Feature/New Ally	Event	End of Times	—	—

3. Scenario. Choose one of the Scenarios (see Scenarios Guide). For your first game, we highly recommend the 'Favor of the Gods' introductory Scenario. After that, feel free to try any of the other Scenarios.

   Scenario Setup:

   • Place the Milestone tokens, if mentioned, into the specified slots of the Time board (in addition to the Journey tokens).
   • Take the Event deck listed in the Scenario's description. Each deck contains 4 Event cards with the same artwork on the back side. Shuffle the deck and place it next to the Time board. During the game, when you reveal a new Event card, place it into the slot on the right side of the Time board. A new Event always replaces the old one. Do not reveal an Event card during setup.

When you are instructed to receive (take) or pay (discard) a Book of Wisdom, take or return it from the general supply. You can swap out tokens of Books of the same type at any time.

6. Sage brotherhoods. Give the First Player marker to the person who has most recently read a printed book. The first player does not change during the game. Players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player.

   2+ players: Each player receives 7 Sage figures in a color of their choice, 2 Reference cards, 2 Books of Prairies, 1 Book of Mountains, and 1 Book of Forests.

   3–5 players: Additionally, the 3rd and 4th players receive 1 Book of Prairies each, the 5th player receives 2 Books of Prairies.

   5 players: Each player takes only 6 Sage figures instead of 7 (return unneeded figures to the game box).

7. Allies. Shuffle the Ally deck. (Note: The Forest Allies are not used in the 'Favor of the Gods' introductory Scenario.)

   Deal 3 Ally cards to each player. Each player chooses 1 and places it face-up in front of themselves, the other 2 cards are discarded. Shuffle discarded Ally cards back into the deck. Players take the necessary tokens that are shown on the Ally cards, if any.

The choice of your first Ally often determines your tactics for the first half of the game.

Golden Rules

Believe what you see. Text on a card or in a Scenario takes precedence over the game rules.

Tell the truth. Players have no hidden information. You can always check what your opponents have.

General Principles

Locations in Spirit Land

There are 3 Location types: Prairies, Mountains, and Forests. Each type has its own deck, and next to each deck, there are always 2 revealed Location cards.

The Spirit Land is a continuous row of Location cards — during setup, you left empty space for it in the center of the table. The players create and expand the Spirit Land through the course of the game.

When you need to add a Location to the Spirit Land, take any 1 of the 2 revealed Locations or a Location from the top of the deck. If you have taken a revealed Location, immediately replace it with the top Location card from the corresponding deck.

Discarded Locations are never shuffled back into the decks. If a Location deck runs out of cards, it is no longer available.

At the beginning of the game (during the Prologue), the first player places the first Location in the center of the table. The next player may choose to place the second Location to the left or right of the first Location, which forms a row of 2 cards.

Players may place the third and all subsequent Locations anywhere in the row. You may add a Location to the left or right of the row, or place it between any two adjacent Locations, sliding the cards in the row apart to make the necessary space.

Locations are always placed adjacent to each other, with the Location type icons at the top.

You may, but do not have to, place Locations in such a way that their paths link to each other.

Adding a Location

Example: The Spirit Land consists of 1 Mountain card and 2 Prairie cards. You are adding a Forest card.

You can add the Forest to one of the four possible places — to the right or left of the row, or between any two Locations. You decide to add it between the two Prairies.

You slide the cards of the row apart and add the Forest card.

Paths on Location Cards

There is always 1 main path in Prairies and Forests. There are always 2 paths in Mountains — a main path and a dead-end path. A main path consists of circular spaces, while the spaces of a dead-end path are hexagonal.

After you have added a Location, place 1 Sage from your reserve at the beginning of each path (space number 1) — which means, you place 1 Sage in Prairies or Forests, or 2 Sages in Mountains. This is the primary way your Sages enter the Spirit Land.

Each path consists of numbered spaces. Following a path, a Sage moves from one space to the next in ascending order of numbers shown on the spaces. The movement of a Sage to the next space is called a step.

Sages can move only forward. One space can hold any number of Sages of any players (simply place their figures close to the space). Sages never interfere with each other.

Each main path begins and ends at either the top or bottom of a Location card. If two main paths connect at either the top or bottom, the paths and their Locations are considered linked.

Main paths always begin and end at the top or bottom of a card. The exact positions may vary slightly depending on the artwork.

When a Sage on the last space of a main path takes a step, this Sage either moves to the first space of the next Location's main path, if the paths are linked, or returns to the player's reserve, if they are not.

A Sage cannot move to or from a dead-end path (in Mountains). As opposed to the main paths, dead-end paths cannot be linked in any way. A Sage enters a dead-end path when you add a Mountain card. When your Sage takes a step from the last space of a dead-end path, they return to your reserve.

Two types of spaces can be found both on main and dead-end paths. The first type is neutral spaces. Nothing special happens here.

The second type is Landmarks. Each Landmark is connected to 1 or 2 Fabled Places that Sages seek to visit during their travels.

Moving to the Next Location

These paths are linked. By taking a step, the Sage moves to the next Location.

These paths are not linked. By taking a step, the Sage returns to the player's reserve.

Sages cannot move to or from a dead-end path. By taking a step, each of these Sages returns to the player's reserve.

The Sage is at the end of the Spirit Land (the rightmost Location). By taking a step, this Sage returns to the player's reserve.

Location Cards

1. Location type icons. Locations are placed in the Spirit Land with the Location type icon at the top.
2. Main paths consist of round spaces. The arrows at the beginning and end of each main path remind you that a Sage can move both to and from this path (provided the paths are linked).
3. Dead-end paths (in Mountains only) consist of hexagonal spaces. They can never be linked. A Sage cannot move to this path from an adjacent Location. When leaving a dead-end path, a Sage returns to the player's reserve.
4. Landmarks are active spaces. They are connected to Fabled Places.

Visiting Fabled Places

Fabled Places are mysterious structures along the paths, and each is connected to a Landmark.

Whenever your Sage takes a step and enters a Landmark space, you may decide to immediately move them to the connected Fabled Place. Place the Sage figure on the Fabled Place, and if they have any unspent steps, they are wasted.

Moving a Sage from a Landmark to a Fabled Place does not require any additional steps. If there are 2 Fabled Places connected to a Landmark, choose one of them (your Sage cannot visit both at once). Decide whether to move your Sage to a Fabled Place or not, immediately after they enter a Landmark space. Otherwise, they stay on the path and continue moving if they have unspent steps remaining.

A Sage on the Fabled Place must visit it. This must be done immediately after any other effects are resolved and before the turn continues.

First, return your Sage to the Landmark where they moved from. Second, resolve the effect of the Fabled Place.

The process of returning a Sage to the Landmark and resolving the Fabled Place effect is called visiting a Fabled Place.

In the case of 2 or more of your Sages simultaneously stand on the same and/or different Fabled Places, they visit these Fabled Places one by one in any order of your choice. Choose the first Sage, return them to the Landmark and resolve the effect of the visited Fabled Place. Then, choose the second Sage... and so on.

Moving a Sage from a Fabled Place to a Landmark does not require any additional steps. Always return the Sage to the Landmark first, and only then resolve the effect of the Fabled Place. You must complete visiting the Fabled Place before proceeding to anything else in the game (except for certain Ally Powers and Features activated during the visit).

SUBSTITUTION. You perform a Substitution if you cannot or do not want to resolve the effect of a Fabled Place. Instead of resolving the effect, take 2 Books of Prairies. The Sage enjoyed a conversation with the inhabitants which imparted some wisdom but declined to enter to receive the full benefit of the place.

You may substitute the effect of any Fabled Place. When you perform a Substitution, it is considered that your Sage visits a Fabled Place with no specific name. This is important for some Ally and Event effects that trigger when visiting specific Fabled Places. Some Fabled Places, like Universal Academy or Menhirs, allow you a number of things such as Conversions or steps. You may use less, but if you choose none, you must choose Substitution instead.

See descriptions of Fabled Places on the last page of this booklet.

Example — Visiting a Fabled Place

1. Your Sage enters a Landmark space, decides to go to the connected House of Winds Fabled Place, and immediately moves there.
2. The Sage visits the House of Winds. First, they move back to the Landmark space. Then they resolve the House of Winds effect — receive 3 Books of Prairies.

Books of Wisdom

Your Sages visit Fabled Places with the main purpose to receive and convert Books of Wisdom. There are 4 types of these Books.

• Book of Prairies — Tier 1
• Book of Mountains — Tier 2
• Book of Forests — Tier 3
• Book of Sun — Tier 4

Conversions

Conversions allow players to exchange Books of Wisdom in two directions:

• Up a Tier: 2 identical Books for 1 Book of the next tier. For example, you discard 2 Books of Mountains (tier 2) and take 1 Book of Forests (tier 3).
• Down a Tier: 1 Book for 2 identical Books of the previous tier. For example, you discard 1 Book of Mountains (tier 2) and take 2 Books of Prairies (tier 1).

EXAMPLE. You want to exchange 4 Books of Prairies for 1 Book of Forests. To do this, you need to perform 3 Conversions: exchange 2 Books of Prairies for 1 Book of Mountains twice, and then exchange the 2 Books of Mountains for 1 Book of Forests.

Conversions require spending actions or are performed by other means. When a Fabled Place allows a Conversion, you can choose either direction. In most cases, it is beneficial to convert Books to higher tiers.

You may always perform fewer Conversions than allowed, or even none at all (unless stated otherwise).

There are also Transformations in the game. They provide players with specific ways of exchanging Books and are not considered Conversions. Transformations are performed in the three Universal Fabled Places: the Tower, Temple, and Library.

Gameplay

Prologue, Chapters, and Epilogue

Like a true book, a game of Fabled consists of a Prologue, Chapters, and an Epilogue.

In the Prologue, each player, in turn order, adds one Location to the Spirit Land. Then, the first Chapter begins.

Chapters are game rounds. At the beginning of each Chapter, the first player advances the Time marker 1 space along the track on the Time board. At this point, players get new Allies and new Events are revealed. Next, each player, in turn order, takes 1 turn consisting of 3 Phases: Action Phase, Movement Phase, and Oblivion Phase. Then the next Chapter begins.

When the Time marker reaches the End of Times token, this signifies the beginning of the last Chapter. After the last Chapter ends, the players proceed to the Epilogue and the winner is determined.

Prologue. Entering the Spirit Land

The world of spirits stretches as far as the eye can see. Bewitching mysteries are waiting the Sages ahead.

The Prologue begins after setup. Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player adds 1 Location to the Spirit Land. Do the following:

1. Pay the price. Discard 1 Book of Wisdom corresponding to the type of the Location you want to add.

Adding a Location in the Prologue: Pay 1 Book of Prairies to add a Prairie card. Pay 1 Book of Mountains to add a Mountain card. Pay 1 Book of Forests to add a Forest card.

2. Choose 1 Location and add it to the Spirit Land (see "Locations in Spirit Land" on p. 7).

3. Place 1 Sage from your reserve at the beginning of each path on the added Location.

There are no Action and Movement Phases in the Prologue, and Ally Powers are inactive.

The Prologue ends after each player has added a Location. Then, the first Chapter begins.

Example of the Spirit Land at the end of the Prologue in a 3-player game.

Chapter. The Beginning

By the will of the Gods, powerful beings are eager to join the Sages, even those who have not been friendly to humans before. The very fabric of the Universe helps the Sages in their wanderings. Still the Sages have no delusions about the difficulties waiting for them ahead.

At the beginning of each Chapter (including the first one), the first player advances the Time marker one space along the track. There can be 0 to 2 Journey tokens connected to this space on the Time board.

Resolve each of the connected Journey tokens, if any, following the order listed below in "Journey Tokens on the Time Board".

Each Journey token is resolved only once during the game.

Journey Tokens on the Time Board

New Event. Reveal an Event card. The icon on the Journey token specifies what half of the new Event is active. (See "Events" on p. 18.)

Milestone. These Journey tokens are used in some Scenarios. (See description of the chosen Scenario.)

New Ally. Each player draws 3 cards from the top of the Ally deck, chooses 1 of them and discards the other 2. After each player has made their choice, shuffle the discarded cards back into the deck. (See "Allies" in Game Setup on p. 6.)

Unlock a Feature / New Ally. Each player chooses one of the following:

• Take 1 new Ally (see above).
• Unlock a Feature for 1 of their Allies (see "Allies" on p. 17).

If you already have 3 Allies, you can only choose to unlock a Feature.

In 4- and 5-player games, if there are not enough Ally cards in the deck for each player who wants to draw 3 cards, choose Allies in turn order, starting with the first player, and reshuffle the deck each time it runs out.

End of Times. The last Chapter begins. After it ends, it is time for the Epilogue.

Chapter. Player's Turn

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player takes 1 turn. A turn consists of the Action Phase, Movement Phase, and Oblivion Phase. When each player has finished their turn, the Chapter ends.

Action Phase

Much is subject to human will when it comes to wisdom. Ordinary people would perish in the depths of the spirit world without a trace, while those who possess great knowledge may control matter and magic.

In the Action Phase, you must take 1 of 4 actions:

A. Take 2 Books of Prairies from the general supply.

B. Perform 1 or 2 Conversions (see "Conversions" on p. 11).

C. Take 1 step with any 1 of your Sages. If your Sage steps on a Landmark space, they may immediately move to the connected Fabled Place and visit it (see "Visiting Fabled Places" on p. 10).

D. Add 1 new Location if you have the required Books of Wisdom and enough Sages in your reserve (Mountains require 2 Sages). The rules for adding Locations are the same as in the Prologue, but with an important difference. You must additionally pay 1 Book of Prairies for each Location of the same type in the Spirit Land.

Adding a Location during a Chapter: Pay 1 Book of Prairies to add a Prairie card. Pay 1 Book of Mountains to add a Mountain card. Pay 1 Book of Forests to add a Forest card.

Additional payment: Pay as many Books of Prairies as the number of other Locations of the same type in the Spirit Land.

Example: There are 2 Mountains in the Spirit Land and you add one more. It costs 1 Book of Mountains plus 2 Books of Prairies — equal to the number of Mountains already in the Spirit Land.

Movement Phase

The paths wind and turn, beaten under worn boots. While each step brings the seekers of knowledge closer to their destiny, they are brought closer as well to the imminent End of Times. They must hurry, before the worlds collapse and are reborn.

After the Action Phase, it is time for the Movement Phase. It consists of 2 Stages.

STAGE 1. Declare any 1 Location type: Prairies, Mountains, or Forests. All your Sages in all Locations of this type must take 2 steps each, and all Sages of your opponents — 1 step each.

These steps are mandatory for all Sages in all Locations of the declared type, even if this is not beneficial for them. If a Sage enters a Landmark space, they may move to the connected Fabled Place and any remaining steps are wasted.

As usual, when a Sage on the last space of a path takes a step, they either move to the next path (if these are linked main paths) or return to the player's reserve. If a Sage moves to the next Location (of any type) and has unspent steps, they continue moving until they have spent all their steps.

At this Stage, each Sage must take all steps (unless they move to a Fabled Place). In all other situations, taking all or any of the steps is at the player's discretion, unless stated otherwise.

STAGE 2. The Sages visit the Fabled Places (see "Visiting Fabled Places" on p. 10). One by one, return the Sages back to the respective Landmark spaces and resolve the effects of the Fabled Places.

To save time, all players may visit the Fabled Places simultaneously, except when a Location may be repositioned from one place in the Spirit Land to another — in this case, the players visit the Fabled Places in turn order, starting with the active player.

Example — Movement Phase, Stage 1

Blue player declares movement in Forests. All their Sages in all Forests must take 2 steps each, and all opponents' Sages in all Forests must take 1 step each.

1. Blue Sage (2 steps) moves to the next Location.
2. Green Sage (1 step) enters a Landmark and decides to go to the Universal Academy Fabled Place.
3. Blue Sage (2 steps) enters a Landmark with the first step and moves to the House of Stones Fabled Place (the other step is wasted).
4. Green Sage simply takes 1 step.
5. Blue Sage (2 steps) decides not to visit the Fairy Inn Fabled Place and passes it by.
6. Red Sage (1 step) returns to the red player's reserve as the paths are not linked.

Oblivion Phase

The Sages do not stay in one place for long in their travels for knowledge. When a Sage no longer remains in a Location, it not only leaves their sight — it is erased from their memory by the power of Gods, as they prefer to keep the worlds of humans and spirits separated.

After the Movement Phase, all Locations with no Sages leave play (discarded). Place the discarded Location cards to the side (Location decks are never reshuffled). Slide the remaining Location cards in the Spirit Land together to make the row continuous again.

Locations with no Sages leave play only in the Oblivion Phase.

Example — Location Leaves Play

In the Oblivion Phase, there are no Sages in this Forest Location — the card leaves play.

Epilogue. Game End

The last Chapter begins when the Time marker reaches the space connected to the End of Times token. Play the last Chapter to the end. Then comes the Epilogue: the player with the most Books of Sun wins. Their Sage brotherhood has gained great wisdom and is ready to take the place of the Gods!

In case of a tie, the player with the most Books of Forests wins. If there is still a tie, the most Books of Mountains, and finally the most Books of Prairies. In a rare situation when there is still a tie, the worlds of humans and spirits will be under the tense reign of the two brotherhoods!

No Ally Powers or Features and no Events are active during the Epilogue.

Game Universe

Allies

Allies are your companions in the world of spirits. They possess special Powers and can help your Sages in their quest for wisdom. Players keep their Ally cards face-up. Each Ally has a Power and a Feature.

Ally Power (top text of the card) is inactive in the Prologue and Epilogue. You get your first Ally during setup (not after the Prologue), to be able to plan your strategy ahead. With the beginning of the first Chapter, the Power of your Ally becomes active. Later, when you get new Allies during the game, their Powers are active immediately.

Ally Feature (bottom text of the card) cannot be used until you unlock it. You may unlock a Feature of one of your Allies when the Time marker reaches the Journey token with the Unlock a Feature/New Ally icon. After unlocking a Feature, take a Feature token and place at the upper-left edge of the Ally card.

Once unlocked, the Features are active until the Epilogue, but some may be used only once (either immediately or when you decide to). Once you have used a one-time Feature, turn the Feature token colorless side up. You cannot unlock the same Feature again.

You cannot have more than 3 Allies. In addition to your first Ally chosen during setup, you have only 3 opportunities to get a new Ally or unlock a Feature of an existing one. This means, by the end of the game you can either have 3 Allies, one of those with an unlocked Feature, or 2 Allies both with unlocked Features (this may only change due to certain Events or Scenario rules).

Some Ally tokens are placed directly on Location cards. An Ally can have no more than 1 token on a Location card (but there may be tokens of several Allies on the same Location).

Unless an Ally Power states otherwise, you can freely place the Ally tokens from your reserve on Locations in the Action Phase of your turn. You do not have to place all tokens in one turn, or place any if you do not want to.

However, you are not allowed to take an Ally token back from a Location or move it to another one. A token returns to your reserve only when its Location leaves play in the Oblivion Phase, and then you may place it again during a later turn.

Ally Card

1. Ally name. Most Allies are the native inhabitants of the world of spirits. Some are also exceptional humans who know secret ways to travel between the two worlds.
2. Location type icon. Shows the origin of the Ally, and often it is the Location type this Ally interacts best with. There are 8 Prairie, 8 Mountain, and 8 Forest Allies in the game. The Location icon also plays a special role in The Challenge.
3. Additional components. Some Allies have their own tokens. When you get a new Ally, take these components from the supply.
4. Ally Power. Active from the moment you get an Ally until the end of the game (except during the Prologue and Epilogue).
5. Ally Feature. Active from the moment you unlock it (until the Epilogue).

Example Ally card — Master of Oblivion: When Master of Oblivion joins you, take any 1 of his 3 tokens. Each time a Location of the type shown on the token leaves play, exchange 1 Book of Prairies for 1 Book of Mountains. After unlocking: Take 1 more Master of Oblivion token of your choice.

Players use Powers and/or Features of their Allies when they choose to. For instance, you may choose not to use the Herald of the Lands' Power to declare the second Movement Phase. You may use less Conversions and steps than your Ally allows, or even none. See clarifications for some Allies on p. 21–22.

Events

The 'In the World of Spirits' and 'At the Crossroads' Event decks are used in all Scenarios except for 'Favor of the Gods' (which has no Events) and 'Wrath of the Winds' (which has its own Event deck).

In Scenarios 1–3 you may choose any of these two Event decks. You may also play with no Events if you want to, unless the Scenario explicitly specifies that an Event deck is required.

Event Decks: In the World of Spirits (standard), At the Crossroads (standard), Wrath of the Winds (scenario).

The 'In the World of Spirits' deck is best suited for your first games.

The first Event card is revealed when the Time marker reaches the space next to the first Event Journey token. It remains active until the second Event is revealed. This happens when the Time marker reaches the second Event Journey token. Finally, the third Event replaces the second one when the Time marker reaches the third Event Journey token and remains active until the Epilogue.

Most Event cards are divided into 2 halves. Only the top or bottom half of these Events is active — this is determined by the icon on the Journey token that caused an Event to be revealed. Ignore the other half of this Event card during this game.

You may use less or even none of the Conversions or steps than the Event allows (unless otherwise specified). If the text of an Event says, "during the Action Phase", this always refers to your Action Phase.

Event Card

1. Event title.
2. Event icon shows what deck this Event card belongs to.
3. Top half of the Event card is active if the icon on the Journey token that revealed this Event matches an icon shown below the Event title, in this example.
4. Bottom half can be found on many Event cards and follows the same rules as the top half. In this example, the bottom half of the card becomes active if the icon on the Journey token that revealed this Event matches.

Example Event card — "All Paths Are Open": Additional payment for adding a Location is 1 Book of Prairies less. Once per turn during your Action Phase, you may return 1 of your Sages from the Spirit Land to your reserve and perform 1 Conversion. Ally Powers and Features cannot be used.

Variants (for Experienced Players)

VARIANT 1. PREDICTABILITY. During setup, reveal the 3 Events in the order that will take place during the game. The players will know in advance what Events await them and when each of them becomes active.

VARIANT 2. VARIETY. Shuffle the 'In the World of Spirits' and 'At the Crossroads' decks together into a single Event deck. You may reveal new Events from the bottom of this deck so you cannot see which deck the next Event belongs to.

Scenarios

During setup, choose one of the Scenarios (see Scenarios Guide). For your first game, we recommend the 'Favor of the Gods' introductory Scenario. Scenario 1 'Cornerstones of the Universe' follows the standard flow of the game. Scenarios 2–5 introduce a variety of gameplay changes.

Before the game, read the story and rules of the Scenario. Note that some Scenarios have Milestone Journey tokens on the Time board. When the Time marker reaches the Milestone, a Scenario special rule is executed and/or the previous persistent rule is cancelled.

Advice on Tactics

The cost of a Location corresponds to its value. Forests are the most expensive as they provide the most benefits. Also, the longer the path (or paths) in a Location, the greater the benefits of the Fabled Places located there.

When a player adds a valuable Location, their opponents often seek to bring their Sages there. The advantage of the player who adds the Location is they choose where to position the card in the Spirit Land and their Sages may visit the Fabled Places there earlier than their opponents' Sages. In addition, this player's Sage enters the first space of the path without spending a step.

The best time for Conversions is the second half of the game. It is generally better not to use your valuable actions to perform Conversions, but instead to visit Universal Fabled Places, and make the best use of your Allies and Events.

Other advice. Allies are truly beneficial when you build your strategy based on their Powers and Features. Make sure you always (except for the last rounds) have some Books of Prairies in reserve to be able to add Locations. It is best to have most or all your Sages in the Spirit Land. Being frugal with Books when adding Locations is not always the best course of action, even if it seems expensive.

Last Strokes of the Pen

Order of Resolving the Effects

Always completely resolve an Ally, Event, or Fabled Place effect before proceeding to the next one.

Powers and Features of many Allies are triggered during your Sage's visit to a Fabled Place or right after. In the first case, you may use the Power or Feature at the same time when you resolve the Fabled Place effect. In the second case — immediately after your Sage has finished their visit.

If the Powers and/or Features of 2 Allies are triggered at the same time, use them in any order of your choice.

In Fabled, you can create amazing combinations of dozens of effects. To play them correctly, do not forget to place your Sages on the Fabled Places during movement and visit them one by one (see "Visiting Fabled Places" on p. 10).

Variant. Ally Cards Drafting

During setup, deal 4 Ally cards to each player. Each player keeps 1 card for themselves (without showing to the others) and passes the remaining 3 cards to the next player clockwise. Repeat this process until all Ally cards have been distributed with each player having 4 cards. Shuffle the remaining Ally cards and place the deck aside — it will only be used for certain Events.

During the game, when you get a new Ally, take 1 of those you chose during setup.

Ally Cards Drafting Variant should not be used in The Challenge.

Variant. Short Table

Regardless of the number of players, the Spirit Land may include up to 10–12 Location cards, or in rare cases even more. If the table is not long enough, you may place the Locations in 2 rows. In this case, it is considered that the last card of the top row is adjacent to the first card of the bottom row.

Components. Boundaries of Infinite

The number of Book of Wisdom tokens is unlimited. Use any substitutes if necessary. All other components have a limited number — if they run out, they are no longer available.

Icons on Cards

• Book(s) of Prairies
• Book(s) of Mountains
• Book(s) of Forests
• Book(s) of Sun
• Sage(s)
• Step(s)
• Conversion(s)

Ally Cards. Clarifications

Allies are listed in alphabetical order. Explanations are given only for cases where questions might arise.

Forest Giant

Power. If the Forest Giant marker is at the end of the track, do not advance it when a Location leaves play.

Guiding Spirit

Power and Feature. If Guiding Spirit is discarded due to certain Events or Scenario rules, return the Forest cards she has to the bottom of the Forest deck in a random order.

Herald of the Lands

Power. Herald of the Lands allows you to perform 2 Movement Phases instead of 1, which are performed one after the other. The Powers of Sorcerer, Rock Titan, and Turnskin are active during each of these 2 Movement Phases. In the second Movement Phase, you must declare a different Location type. Your Sages take only 1 step instead of 2 in your second Movement Phase. The movement is obligatory for the Sages of all players in each of the two Phases. The Oblivion Phase takes place after the second Movement Phase is completed.

Nature Warden

Power. When you add a Prairie or Mountain using the Nature Warden's Power, you do not pay additional Books of Prairies for the Locations of the same type in the Spirit Land. This Prairie or Mountain does not trigger Ally and Event effects related to adding Locations, like Firebird's Power.

Feature. After performing the Conversions, you should have the necessary Books of Wisdom in your reserve to add a Forest. Otherwise, you cannot use this Feature.

Netherking

Power. Netherking is the only Ally whose Power is active starting with the Prologue. Netherking's Power is triggered no matter how your Sage leaves the Location with the Netherking token.

Feature. In the rare case when there are less than 3 Locations in the Spirit Land and each contains a Netherking token, put the third token in your reserve and use it later according to the Netherking's Power.

Rock Titan

Feature. It is considered that your Sage visits a Fabled Place with no specific name. Whenever you use the Rock Titan's Feature, you may turn his Feature token colorless side up as a reminder, and turn it back over at the beginning of the next Chapter.

Savant Cat

Power. Your Sage must directly visit the Fabled Place shown on a Savant Cat token to activate his Power. Substitution, Tree Serpent Fabled Place, and Rock Titan's Feature do not activate it.

Sky Wanderer

Power and Feature. Sky Wanderer is the only Ally whose tokens are placed on paths. Place the Sky Wanderer token so that the circle with a number covers a space with the same number on a main path (her tokens cannot be placed on dead-end paths). Similar to other Allies, you cannot place more than 1 Sky Wanderer token on a Location card.

The Sky Wanderer's Fabled Places have no differences from other Fabled Places. However, their effects cannot be substituted.

The Challenge. The Sky Wanderer's Fabled Places have the lowest priority for the Spirits. Other players treat the Sky Wanderer tokens as non-existent.

Soothseer

Power. Return the Location you did not choose to the top of the deck face-down. Do not show it to other players.

Swamp Witch

Power. The artwork of Menhirs, House of Winds, and House of Stones differs depending on how many steps or Books they allow. Swamp Witch tokens refer to any kind of Menhirs, Houses of Winds, and Houses of Stones.

Your Sage must directly visit the Fabled Place shown on a Swamp Witch token to activate her Power. Substitution, Tree Serpent Fabled Place, and Rock Titan's Feature do not activate it.

Windbugler

Power. It is triggered whenever your Sage enters a new path, including moving between Locations, adding a new Location, and the Hermitage Fabled Place effect.

Fabled Places

Books of Wisdom

House of Winds. Take 3 or 4 (as shown) Books of Prairies.

House of Stones. Take 1 or 2 (as shown) Books of Mountains.

House of Roots. Take 1 Book of Forests.

Fairy Inn. Take as many Books of Prairies as there are Locations with your Sages in the Spirit Land (regardless how many Sages are in each Location).

Special Fabled Places

Menhirs. Your Sages take a total of 3–6 steps (as shown) or less, distributed among them. For example, you are allowed 3 steps. You can move 1 Sage 3 spaces forward, or 1 Sage 2 spaces and another 1 Sage 1 space, or 3 Sages 1 space each, or even just 1 Sage 1 space.

Terrain Portal. Reposition any 1 Location card from one place in the Spirit Land to another, provided there is at least 1 of your Sages on it. Similar rules to adding a Location — choose a Location card and put it in any other place of the row.

Hermitage. A Sage from your reserve enters the beginning of the main path in the next Location (to the right).

Tree Serpent. Copy the effect of any Fabled Place in any other Location in the Spirit Land. Copying is considered visiting the Tree Serpent (not the Fabled Place it copies). The Tree Serpent cannot copy another Tree Serpent. When copying the Hermitage, place your Sage on the Location next to the Tree Serpent (to the right).

Conversions and Transformations

These 4 Fabled Places are collectively called the Universal Fabled Places.

Universal Academy. Perform 4 Conversions (or less).

Universal Tower. Transform 1 Book into 1 Book of the next tier. Possible options: 1 Book of Prairies → 1 Book of Mountains; 1 Book of Mountains → 1 Book of Forests; 1 Book of Forests → 1 Book of Sun.

Universal Temple. Transform 3 Books into 2 Books of the next tier. Possible options: 3 Books of Prairies → 2 Books of Mountains; 3 Books of Mountains → 2 Books of Forests; 3 Books of Forests → 2 Books of Sun.

Universal Library. Transform 2 Books into 1 Book two tiers up. Possible options: 2 Books of Prairies → 1 Book of Forests; 2 Books of Mountains → 1 Book of Sun.

SUBSTITUTION. Take 2 Books of Prairies instead of the Fabled Place effect. Substitution is considered visiting a Fabled Place with no specific name.