Gloomholdin' Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Character HP Card
• Character Ability Cards
• Monster Cards
  • The Item Section of a Monster Card Includes:
  • The Monster Section of a Monster Card Includes:
• Monster HP Card
  • Rolling
• Range Tracker Card
• Scenario Tracker Card
• Map Cards
• Scenario Colors
• Scenario Setup
• Optional On-Table Setup
• The King Needs Your Item
• Scenario Page
• Types of Map Tiles
• Scenario Level
• Round Overview
  • Non-Combat Rounds
  • Combat Rounds
  • Card Selection
  • Resting
  • Determining Initiative
• Character Turn
  • Move
  • Revealing a Room
  • Attack
  • Advantage and Disadvantage
• Attack Effects
• Conditions
• Lasting Effects
• Elemental Infusions
• Bonuses
• Special Actions
• Character Damage
• Exhaustion
• Items
• Monster Turn
  • Order of Action
  • Examples of Monster Turns
• End of Round
• Entering and Completing Combat
  • Monster Mid and Max Ranges
  • Entering Combat
  • Revealing the Monster Card for Combat
  • Completing Combat
• Finishing a Scenario
  • Updating the Scenario Tracker Card
• Leveling Up Your Character
• Visiting Gloomholdin'
• Advanced Game Variant: Hindrances
  • How Many Hindrances Are in Your Combat?
  • Types of Hindrances
  • Hindrances and Flying/Jumping
  • Hindrances and Push/Pull
  • If There Are Multiple Types of Hindrances
  • Hindrance Examples

Character HP Card

The character HP card includes:

(a) Your character's current HP.

(b) The current Character Attack Modifier Table.

(c) Red arrows to track character location on the map.

(d) Maximum HP for every Character Level.

(e) The Red Rolling line for rolls (see the Monster HP Card section).

The Character HP card sits on top of the Deck. The Deck is the main stack of cards held in your left hand. You will flip and/or rotate the Character HP card to track your character's HP, orienting the card so your current HP is on top. You'll just need to remember which of the big white numbers is your current HP.

Note that as you flip and rotate the Character HP card, the active Character Attack Modifier Table will change. This table has different values for each card orientation.

After every attack action your character takes, you must roll for an attack modifier, consulting the results of your roll on this table. This is explained in more detail later in the section explaining attacking in this rulebook.

Character Ability Cards

Playing ability cards is what allows you to perform actions in a scenario. Each round, you choose two ability cards and use the top action of one card and the bottom action of the other card, resulting in two actions on your turn.

Note that ability cards have two halves, a Level 1 version of the card and a Level 2 version of the card. Only one half of an ability card is active at one time. The right half is the active half. It is visible until discarded or lost, and the left half is covered up by other cards and is not active.

An ability card includes:

(a) The name of the ability card.

(b) An initiative number. The initiative number of the leading card played determines whether you or the monster you are in combat with goes first. Initiative is not relevant unless in combat.

(c) The level of the card. THIS WORKS DIFFERENTLY THAN GLOOMHAVEN. You start with all 4 of your ability cards at Level 1. As you progress through the campaign, you will have the opportunity to upgrade ability cards to Level 2. Upgrading an ability card means it is permanently rotated 180 degrees, allowing you to use the Level 2 half of the card rather than the Level 1 half.

(d) An A-side and B-side indicator. At the start of the scenario and after each time you rest, your available ability cards will all start with their A sides facing up. When an A-side ability card is played, it is discarded by flipping it to the card's B side. When a B-side ability card is played, it is discarded by sliding it behind an active ability card so it is no longer visible.

(e) A top action and a bottom action (f). When the two ability cards are played on your turn, one is used for the top action and the other for the bottom action. Note that a single action can contain several separate abilities (g).

(h) One or more elements. Some abilities and items either require consuming elements in order to use them, or may have abilities that are boosted by consuming elements.

Monster Cards

Monster cards have a lot of information on them and are multi-purpose. They include both monsters and items. Each half of each side of a monster card gives you the stats of a different monster as well as a different item.

Since there is so much information on a monster card, we'll look at the monster section and the item section separately.

The Item Section of a Monster Card Includes:

(a) The item name.

(b) The item effect.

(c) The item image.

(d) The equip slot icon. You may own a maximum of 2 items. Every item you own is always equipped. You may not own more than one item of the same equip slot icon, with the exception of one-handed and small items of which you may own up to two of the same equip slot icon if desired.

(e) Item cost. You spend gold to buy items in between scenarios. You may also sell items for gold equal to half the item cost rounded down.

(f) The Use Cost. This is what happens to the item when it is used. Some items must be consumed when used, meaning they may only be used once per scenario. Other items must be spent after use, but are refreshed after every Long Rest. When you consume or spend an item, slide it behind the card in front of it so it is no longer visible. All items are refreshed between scenarios. Some items do not have a consume or spend icon. You can use these items as many times as desired, without spending or consuming them.

The Monster Section of a Monster Card Includes:

(a) The monster's HP. HP is the amount of damage a monster must take to be killed. Health of Normal monsters are on the left half of the heart in white, and Elite monsters are on the right half in gold.

(b) Monster traits. Traits are permanent and persist from round to round. These traits may include things like flying, shield and retaliate. Monsters use these traits no matter the behavior set they roll.

Some monster will have different traits for Normal and Elite versions of the monster. In these cases, there will be traits with number values in White and Gold respectively. Most often, however, normal and elite monsters have the same traits. In these cases, the traits are just listed once, and with white text for the numbers--but these traits apply to both Normal and Elite monsters.

(c) Monster behavior table. A monster has 3 behavior sets (A, B, and C). Normal monsters use the left half of the table and elite monsters use the right half. When determining a monster's behavior for their turn, consult the actions in the column of the behavior set you rolled. For example, if you rolled "B" for this Frost Demon's behavior, it would take its turn at initiative 38, be able to move up to 3, and attack for 2 with a range of 1. Dashes are used to show zero movement and zero attack, as well as melee range (range 1).

Note that the healing icon may be in any of the bottom 3 rows of this table. Healing actions replace the standard action for that row. For example, if the Frost Demon rolled for behavior set A, it would heal for 3 HP on its turn, and would not attack.

(d) Monster actions. There are 4 rows in the monster behavior table, each corresponding to a different monster action. These are (from top to bottom) Initiative, Move, Attack, Range.

(e) Initiative. This determines whether the monster will take its turn before or after you in the round.

(f) Move. This is the maximum amount a monster can move on its turn.

(g) Attack. This is the base amount of damage the monster does with an attack action.

(h) Range. This is how far the monster can reach to attack you. A "-" value (a dash) indicates it is a melee attack with a range of 1.

(i) If the monster's behavior set inflicts any conditions on you, or has any attack effects, they will be depicted here, on the bottom edge of the monster behavior table. Conditions and attack effects relate to one of the behavior set columns—unlike traits, which apply no matter which behavior set is rolled.

(j) The monster's name.

(k) Condition and attack effect descriptions. There is not enough space to put additional information about these in the behavior set table, so this information is included here, next to the monster name. Here you will find things like damage values and range if the conditions or attack effects require these stats.

For example, if the Frost Demon has rolled behavior set C, it has the Pierce attack effect as indicated by the icon on the bottom edge of the monster behavior table. We then consult the attack effect description next to the monster's name to learn it can Pierce up to 3.

Monster HP Card

The monster HP card is held in your right hand. It has the following information on it:

(a) The Ruler for rolling. Rolling will be explained below.

(b) The active monster attack modifier table. After every attack action it takes, you will roll to see how the monster's attack will be modified before applying it. There are different monster attack modifier tables on each side and half of the monster HP card. The monster attack modifier table that is face up and on the top half of the monster HP card currently is considered the active modifier table. As the monster's HP changes, the active monster attack modifier table also changes, providing a variety of potential modifiers throughout the combat.

(c) The monster's current HP. Rotate and flip the monster HP card so the monster's current HP is face up and on the top half of the card. You will just need to remember which of the white numbers on the top half of the card is the current one. This can be accomplished by leaving your right thumb resting on the correct number.

Rolling

Rolling in Gloomholdin' is accomplished with the ruler edges on the Monster HP card. Notice that the values on the vertical edges of the Monster HP card have A, B and C values all the way across. This is called the Ruler. The Monster HP card is held in your right hand during play, and the Character HP card will rest on top of the deck in your left hand. When anything in the game requires you to Roll, simply place the top edge (the Ruler edge) of the Monster HP card on the Character HP card at about a 45-degree angle, so that the Ruler edge of the Monster HP card intersects at some point with the red line across the middle of the Character HP card. The point at which the red line and the Ruler intersects will tell you the value you rolled—A, B or C.

In the example, you would have rolled a "C" because that's where the ruler on the Monster HP card and the red line on the Character HP card intersect.

Range Tracker Card

The Range Tracker card is on the back of the Scenario Tracker card. The Range Tracker card is used during combat with monsters to track Distance. Distance is a unit of measure in Gloomholdin'. It tells you the number of hexes between you and the monster.

When you are in combat, movement does not change your position, or the monster's position, on the map. Instead, movement simply increases or decreases Distance, and is tracked by the Range Tracker card.

Normally, a movement value of 1 allows you to increase or decrease Distance by 1. A movement value of 2 allows you to increase or decrease Distance by 2, and so on. If you choose to play with the Hindrances rules, the movement cost for changing Distance can sometimes be higher. See the Hindrances section later in this rulebook for more details.

For example, say on the turn you enter combat, you are 1 hex away from the monster (adjacent to the monster tile). After your turn, the monster moves 1 Distance away from you. To track this, you slide the Range Tracker card downward, revealing the "2". As mentioned above, you do not move on the map when you are in combat; you simply increase or decrease Distance on the Range Tracker card to reflect monster and character movement.

The maximum Distance you can be from a monster during combat is 7, as you can see on the Range Tracker card.

Distance during combat tells you the range needed to attack, for both you and the monster. For example, if you are currently at Distance 2, you would need an attack action with at least Range 2 in order to attack. Unless, of course, you first use a move action to decrease the Distance to 1, in which case you could use a melee attack (melee attacks are Range 1).

Scenario Tracker Card

The Scenario Tracker card is on the back of the Range Tracker card. Use a pencil to update the information on this card between scenarios. This is what is on the card:

(a) Write the name of your character here. Be creative!

(b) Character level tracking. You start the game on level 1. When you reach level 2, check the "2" box, and so on.

(c) Upgrades. Each time you increase your character level, you get to upgrade one of your ability cards. Upgrading ability cards means rotating them 180 degrees to the Level 2 half of the card. Keep track of which ability cards you have upgraded in this section.

(d) Achievements. When you receive achievements, check the corresponding box in this section.

(e) Gold and Items. In this section, make notes to remember how much gold you have, and which items you own.

(f) Scenarios. Track your progress in the campaign here. When you unlock a scenario, fill in the star next to the unlocked scenario number. When you complete a scenario, fill in the square. When you play a scenario that blocks another scenario, fill in the circle of the blocked scenario.

When you start a new campaign, fill in the star by the first scenario. It is unlocked at the start of the campaign.

Every three scenarios you complete, your character levels up (so after completing your third, sixth, ninth, etc.).

Map Cards

(a) Scenario number and name.

(b) Scenario color, orange or blue.

(c) The starting hex. The starting hex for your scenario will have the arrow pointing upwards.

Scenario Colors

There will be monster tiles on every map card. These will be explained in more detail later. For now, we'll just go through how to tell which monsters are active for the scenario you are playing.

All map cards will be used twice in the campaign. You'll notice there are two scenarios on each map card. When you play scenario #2, you'll rotate this map card 180 degrees and play it upside-down from when you played scenario #1.

Sometimes there will be monsters that are active for one scenario on a card, but not the other. To determine which monsters are active for your current scenario, look at your scenario's color. Scenarios are either Orange or Blue. Then find all monster tiles on the map that have the matching color dot. Monster tiles that do not have color dots are active for both scenarios on the card.

It doesn't matter if the image of the monster is upside-down—sometimes you will end up facing monsters that are upside-down. Just trust the color dots (or lack of color dots).

Color dots also apply to money tiles and treasure tiles in the same way.

For example, if scenario #1 has an orange scenario color, monster and money tiles with an orange dot apply to you when playing scenario #1. Tiles with no color dots on them are active for that scenario as well. A tile with a blue dot on it is not active for scenario #1 (but will be active for scenario #2). When playing scenario #1, treat a blue-dotted tile as a normal tile, as if it wasn't there.

Scenario Setup

1. Find the cards you need for the scenario and set them aside. This includes the appropriate map card, any items you own, the range tracker card, the monster HP card and the character HP card. Consult the scenario guide to determine which monsters you'll be facing and set aside the card or cards for those monsters. (If you own an item that is on the same card as a monster you will be facing, consult the "The King Needs…" section). Finally, set aside your 4 ability cards.

2. Take the remaining unused cards and put them in a stack in your left hand. This is the beginning of the deck. Set the back card of the deck on the table for now. Find the third card from the front of the deck and slide it upwards so it sticks out about 3 mm above the top of the deck.

3. Put your 4 ability cards at the back of the deck, rotated horizontally and sticking out the right side. Fan them out just far enough that the actions on each card are visible. Now take the unused card from step 2 and put it behind your ability cards, but oriented vertically like the rest of the deck. Note that you start the game with all ability cards set to Level 1, and with the "A" side facing up.

4. Put the monster card or cards you'll need on top of the deck, and put the character HP card on top of those. Orient the character HP card so your starting HP is on the top half of the card.

5. Slide the Range Tracker card into the deck from the bottom. It should be just in front of your ability cards and behind the main part of the deck. The Range Tracker card should be oriented vertically, showing just the "1" at the bottom of the card.

6. Now equip all items you own. You can either hold them with your ability cards (sticking out further to the right) or slide them in behind the range tracker card so they show below it. You can own/equip a maximum of 2 items at a time.

7. Slide the map card into the deck from the top edge, in front of the card you left sticking out the top of the deck in step 2. Slide the map card left/right, up/down until one of the red arrows on the character HP card points to the scenario's starting hex.

8. Pick up the Monster HP card with your right hand. Orient it vertically, so the Ruler edge is ready to roll.

You're all set up! The Monster HP card on the table will be held in your right hand.

Optional On-Table Setup

If you would rather play on the table instead of in your hand, use the included On-Table Tracker Card and set up the scenario accordingly. You will need 4 cubes. Three of them will be on the On-Table Tracker Card and will track your character HP, money looted and monster HP. The fourth cube is for tracking your location on the map card.

Remember to still flip and rotate the character and HP tracker cards so the current HP values are on top. This ensures you are using the correct attack modifier tables.

Use a six-sided die to roll.

• 1-2 = A
• 3-4 = B
• 5-6 = C

The King Needs Your Item

If when setting up a scenario you realize one or more of the monsters you'll be facing is on the same card as an item you own, you have encountered a group of city guards led by a representative of the king! You are informed that the king is in need of your item and you must give it up. But the good news is, the king is willing to compensate you the full cost of the item in gold.

Every scenario includes a "The King Needs Your…" section in the scenario book that lists the items you must give up to play the scenario. If you find one or more of the items you own on the king's list, gain an amount of gold equal to these items' full cost. Set aside these cards because you'll need them for the scenario as monsters.

Now you may immediately buy a new item or items to replace the ones the king took. You may buy and sell items as normal at this time. As always, you may only own and equip up to 2 items at a time.

Scenario Page

A scenario page includes:

• The number and name of the scenario.
• Any achievements required to play the scenario.
• The victory conditions.
• Any scenarios that are blocked if you choose to play this scenario. Blocked scenarios cannot be played in this campaign.
• Introductory text to be read before starting the scenario and conclusion text to be read after completing it.
• Special rules for the scenario, if any.
• The monsters you'll face in the scenario.
• Items the king needs (see The King Needs section earlier in the rulebook).
• Any scenarios that are unlocked by completing the scenario, and any other rewards earned by completing the scenario.
• An image of the scenario's map card.

Types of Map Tiles

A scenario map card consists of different types of hexagonal tiles (also referred to as hexes). The default is a normal tile that costs 1 movement to enter, but you'll encounter other tile types:

• Doors. A door acts as a separation between two rooms. A door is considered closed until you move onto the door tile. Doors do not hinder your movement at all, but they act as a wall for any monsters in the next room. You cannot attack or be attacked through closed doors.

• Traps. A trap is sprung when you enter its hex. Flying and Jump movements are unaffected by traps. When a trap is sprung, it inflicts damage to you equal to 2+L, where L is the scenario level. Traps can only be sprung once per scenario. You can disarm traps with a Disarm Trap ability.

• Hazardous terrain. If you enter a hex with hazardous terrain, each hex will inflict half the damage of a trap (rounded down). Flying and Jump movements are unaffected by hazardous terrain. Unlike traps, hazardous terrain damages you every time you enter the hex. Starting a turn on or exiting these hexes does not cause additional damage.

• Difficult terrain. It requires two normal movement points to enter a hex with difficult terrain. Flying and Jump movements are unaffected by difficult terrain.

• Obstacles. Obstacles have varying artwork, but they all have the same function: You cannot move through obstacles with a normal movement, but can move through them with a Flying or Jump movement. You can never end movement on an obstacle.

• Treasure and Money Tokens. You can loot treasure tiles for a variety of effects. There are two types of treasure tiles: "goal" tiles and normal tiles. Goal tiles are important for the completion of a scenario, and the rules for looting them will be specified by the scenario. "Goal" tiles are reset every time a scenario is played. Normal treasure tiles can provide a number of different benefits. When one is looted, the looting player should immediately reference the treasure index in the back of the scenario book to discover what was looted. If a specific item name is listed, find this item and immediately equip it, selling other items if necessary per your item limit. Normal treasure tiles can only be looted once. Only treasure tiles that have no color dot or have your scenario's color dot are active in the current scenario. There are also sometimes map tiles that contain money tokens. You can loot these for 1 money token. Only money tokens with your scenario's color dot, or no color dot, can be looted in the scenario.

• Monsters. You will be entering into combat with monsters to achieve the goal of most scenarios. Monster tiles have either Red or Yellow borders. Red-bordered monsters are Normal, and Yellow-bordered monsters are Elite (a harder version of the monster).

Scenario Level

You may play scenarios on one of four difficulty settings, called Scenario Levels. Normal difficulty is Level 1, but you can play on an easier setting at Level 0. Levels 2 and 3 provide a greater challenge.

It doesn't matter what level your character is. Every scenario is balanced so that playing on Scenario Level 1 is normal difficulty. You don't have to play the whole campaign on the same difficulty level, but it is a good place to start. If, for example, the first time you play a scenario on Level 1 you find it too difficult, you could retry it on Level 0.

The default difficulty setting is 1. For other Scenario Levels, make the following adjustments:

• Use the appropriate monster combat modifier level in the monster combat modifier table on the monster HP card. Use the row that corresponds to the Scenario Level.
• Increase or decrease the amount of damage traps deal for every scenario level by 1.
• Increase or decrease every monster's HP by 1 for every Scenario Level.

Round Overview

A scenario consists of a series of rounds that are played until you either meet the victory conditions of the scenario or fail the scenario. You fail a scenario either by death (having your HP reduced to zero) or by exhaustion (running out of ability cards).

There are two types of rounds: Combat Rounds and Non-combat Rounds.

Non-Combat Rounds

In Non-combat Rounds, you only need to worry about your own turn. If you are not in combat with a monster, you are completing Non-combat rounds.

Non-combat Rounds consist of the following steps:

1. Card selection: Either select two ability cards from your hand to play or perform a long rest action (see Resting).
2. Character turn: Act out your turn, performing the actions on your cards, possibly modified by items.
3. Cleanup: Some cleanup may be required at the end of the round.

Combat Rounds

Combat Rounds consist of the following steps:

1. Card selection: Either select two ability cards from your hand to play or perform a long rest action for the round.
2. Determining initiative: Compare your initiative to the monster's initiative. The party with the lowest (fastest) initiative goes first.
3. Character and monster turns: Starting with the party with the lowest initiative, you and the monster will act out your turns. You will perform the actions on your cards, possibly modified by character item cards. Monsters will act out the behavior in their Behavior Set.
4. Cleanup: Some cleanup may be required at the end of the round.

The following sections will explain each step in more detail. Remember that you can skip Determining Initiative and Monster Turns in Non-Combat Rounds.

Card Selection

At the beginning of all rounds, select two cards from your hand (your hand consists of the active ability cards sticking out the right side of the deck). Tilt your two chosen cards slightly upward to indicate which you have chosen. Of the two cards chosen, select one to be the leading card. The initiative value on this card will be used when determining initiative in Combat Rounds.

During your character turn, your two played cards will be used to perform actions and then are either discarded or lost, depending on the actions that were taken. Actions require the card to be discarded when played, unless it requires the card to be lost (it will include the icon shown).

As explained in the Character Ability Cards section earlier in this rulebook, ability cards have an A-side and a B-side. Start with the A sides facing up. When an A-side card must be discarded, flip the card to the B-side and return it to your available ability cards. The B-side of the card is now able to be played on future turns. When a B-side card must be discarded, slide the card behind the ability cards so it is no longer visible. Note that you may have to change the position of the card relative to the other abilities so you can slide it behind a different ability card.

Discarded cards can be returned to your hand through resting (see below). If the performed action from the card contains a lost symbol, the card is Lost instead of discarded. Lost cards are removed from your hand (the right side of the deck) and placed in your Lost Pile at the back of the deck, oriented vertically like the main part of the deck. Lost cards can only be returned to your hand during a scenario by using a special recover action.

You must either play two cards from your hand or take a long rest action at the beginning of every round. If you only have one card or no cards in your hand, you must rest—performing a short rest if you are in combat and performing a long rest if you are outside combat. If you are unable to complete a rest because you have only one card or no cards discarded, you are considered exhausted and the scenario is lost.

Resting

Resting is the main way you can return discarded cards back into your hand of available cards. You have two options when resting: a short rest or a long rest. In both cases, the rest action can only be taken if you have two or more cards discarded. A rest action always results in losing one of the discarded cards.

• Short rest: During the cleanup step of a round, you may perform a short rest. Shuffle your discarded cards and randomly place one in the lost pile. Return the rest of the discarded cards into your hand, on their A-sides. If you want to keep the card that was randomly lost, you can choose to suffer 1 damage and randomly lose a different discarded card. This can only be done once per rest.
• Long rest: A long rest can only be taken in Non-Combat Rounds. The long rest is declared during the card selection step of the round and constitutes the entire turn. When you long rest, you must choose a discarded card to lose, returning the rest of your discarded cards to your hand on their A-sides. You also perform a "Heal 2" action (gaining 2 HP), and refresh all of your spent item cards.

Determining Initiative

Initiative is only important during combat. If you are not in combat, or don't think you'll be entering combat this round, you can ignore initiative.

For Combat Rounds, after you select your two action cards (and choose one to be your leading card), roll to determine how the monster will behave this round. Consult the monster's behavior table to find which column (behavior set) corresponds to your roll (A, B or C). The top row in that column is the monster's initiative for the round. Be sure to use the correct half (left or right half) of the table based on whether the monster is normal or elite. Whoever had the lowest initiative number takes their turn first.

For example, if Homebrew has been chosen as the leading card, giving an initiative of 33, and a roll confirms behavior set A for the monster, the monster will take its turn first since it has an initiative of 18.

Character Turn

On your turn, you will perform the top action of one of the two ability cards you played and the bottom action of the other. The leading card designation used to determine initiative is no longer significant. Either card can be played first for its top action or bottom action. When playing a card's action, the abilities of the action must be done in the order written and can't be interrupted by the action on the other card. As soon as the action of a card is completed, it is immediately discarded, or lost if indicated on the card. You are typically free to choose not to perform any part of the action on a card. However, you must perform any part that will cause a negative effect (e.g. reduce hit points, lose cards, or cause a negative condition) on yourself.

You can also use any card you play as an "Attack 2" action on the top half or a "Move 2" action on the bottom. If a card is used this way, it is always discarded, regardless of what is printed on the card. On your turn, you can use any number of equipped items at any time.

Move

A "Move X" ability allows you to move up to X hexes. You move by sliding the map around until one of the 3 red arrows on the Character HP card points to the hex to which you moved. You can use the red arrows interchangeably; they are there to help you remember your location. You cannot move through living enemies (but you can move through dead ones) or obstacles. Traps and other terrain effects of hexes must be resolved when you enter them. You can never move through walls.

Some Move abilities are specified as "Jump". Move X (Jump) allows you to ignore all figures and terrain effects during movement. However, the last hex of a jump is still considered a normal movement, and must obey the normal movement rules.

Some monsters may have the "Flying" special trait. Flying is only relevant for monsters if you are playing with the Hindrances advanced rules (see the end of this rulebook). Flying monsters can ignore any negative effects from Hindrances in the combat, including increased movement costs and damage dealt from Hindrances.

Revealing a Room

Door tiles behave like a wall until they are opened. You open a door by entering a door tile. Before doing so, you cannot attack, be attacked, or loot through the door. You do not have to pause your movement as you pass through a door. You can just finish your movement as you wish.

Attack

An "Attack X" ability allows you to do a base X amount of damage to an enemy within your range. There are two types of attacks: ranged and melee.

Ranged attacks are accompanied by a "Range Y" value, meaning any enemy within Y hexes can be targeted. Any ranged attack targeting an adjacent enemy gains Disadvantage against that target (see the Advantage and Disadvantage section).

Melee attacks have a default range of 1 hex, meaning they typically target adjacent enemies.

Line-of-sight: All ranged and melee attacks can only be performed against enemies where there is line-of-sight, which means that a line can be drawn from any corner of the attacker's hex to any corner of the defender's hex without touching any part of a wall (the line edge of a map tile or the entire area of any partial hex along the edge of a map tile, unless covered by an overlay tile, such as an obstacle). Only walls block line-of-sight. In addition, any ability which specifies a range can only be performed on a figure within line-of-sight. If a non-attack ability does not specify a range, then line-of-sight is not required. Also note that two hexes separated by a wall line are not considered adjacent, and range cannot be counted through walls.

When attacking, the base attack value written on the card can be modified by three types of values in the following order.

• An attacker's attack bonuses and penalties (if any) are applied first. These modifiers include bonuses and penalties from active ability cards, items, and other sources.
• Next, an attack modifier is rolled from the attacker's attack modifier table. For monsters, this table is located on the Monster HP card (use the value from the row corresponding to your current scenario level). For your character, this table is located on the Character HP card (use the value from the row corresponding to your current character level).
• Lastly, the defender's defensive bonuses are applied. This reduces the incoming attack value for each individual enemy targeted based on each defender's own shield modifier or other defensive bonuses.
• If there are multiple modifiers in any single step of this process, you choose the order in which they are applied.

Example: You perform an "Attack 3" ability on an adjacent elite Bandit Guard. You add a +2 attack bonus because of specific conditions set by the card. You add the +2, bringing the total attack up to 5. You then roll an attack modifier of "-1", so the attack is reduced to 4. Finally, the Bandit Guard has a shield value of 1, so the attack value is reduced to 3 and the bandit suffers 3 damage.

Damage suffered by a monster is tracked on the Monster HP card. Flip and/or rotate the card until the monster's new HP value is oriented on top (note that if the monster suffers exactly 4 or 8 damage, the card will remain as it was). When a monster is brought to zero or fewer hit points by an attack or any source of damage, that monster immediately dies and the combat is over. Any additional effects of an attack are not applied once a monster dies.

When a monster dies, you may now enter or move through the dead monster tile. The dead monster tile now contains a money token, which can be looted.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Some attacks may have either Advantage or Disadvantage.

• An attacker with Advantage will roll twice for their attack modifier, and chooses the better of the two values rolled.
• An attacker with Disadvantage will roll twice for their attack modifier, and choose the worse of the two values rolled.

Instances of Advantage and Disadvantage are mostly gained by specific character or monster abilities. However, any ranged attack targeting an adjacent enemy also gains Disadvantage. Instances of Advantage or Disadvantage don't stack, and if an attack has instances of both Advantage and Disadvantage, they cancel each other out and the attack is performed normally.

Attack Effects

Attack abilities will often have effects that increase their power. If an attack effect is listed on an ability card after an attack, the target of the attack is subject to the additional effect as well, after damage from the attack is resolved. Attack effects are applied regardless of whether the corresponding attack does damage. These effects are optional and can be skipped. Some character actions may include an effect without a corresponding attack. In these cases, this ability must be accompanied by an attack action of some kind, even if that attack action is on the other card played this turn.

PUSH X - Distance is increased by X.

PULL X - Distance is decreased by X. If you are playing with the Hindrances variant: If the target is pulled into Distance 1 and there is an active Trap or Hazardous Terrain Hindrance, the target suffers the damage of the Hindrance.

PIERCE X - Up to X points of the target's Shield are ignored for the attack. Unlike other effects, PIERCE is applied while calculating the accompanying attack damage instead of afterwards.

Example: An Attack 3 PIERCE 2 ability used on a monster with Shield 3 would ignore two of the monster's Shield points and inflict 2 damage (modified by an attack modifier roll).

Conditions

Certain abilities may apply conditions to their targets. When a condition is applied to you or a monster, that condition is active until it has a chance to activate once, unless otherwise specified by the ability. Only one condition type may be applied to a figure (you or the monster) at a time.

Example: A monster takes its turn second in a round. The monster's behavior set includes an Immobilize condition, so that condition applies to your character. Because the monster went second in the round, the Immobilize condition applies to you the next time you take your turn, which happens to be the second turn in the round.

The following are negative conditions. If an ability has one of these icons contained within it, then the condition is applied after the main effect of the ability is applied. Conditions are applied whether or not the corresponding attack does damage.

IMMOBILIZE - If a figure is immobilized, it cannot perform any move abilities on its next turn.

DISARM - If a figure is disarmed, it cannot perform any attack abilities on its next turn.

STUN - If a figure is stunned, it cannot perform any abilities or use item on its next turn except to perform a short rest (in the case of your character). You must still play two cards or rest on your turn, and if you play two cards while stunned, the actions played are not used, and the cards are simply discarded.

MUDDLE - If a figure is muddled, it gains Disadvantage on all of its attacks next turn.

The following are positive conditions. Figures can apply positive conditions to themselves through specific actions.

INVISIBLE - If a figure is invisible, it cannot be targeted by an enemy on the enemy's next turn. Some abilities allow INVISIBLE to last 2 turns, which means the INVISIBLE condition lasts for two of the enemy's turns.

STRENGTHEN - If a figure is strengthened, it gains Advantage on all of its attacks on its next turn.

Lasting Effects

By default, conditions and bonuses last until one of the following things happens, whichever happens first:

• The condition or bonus has had the opportunity to activate.
• The end of the next round.

If the effect or ability does not have a Lasting Effect icon with it, the bonus or condition it applies will follow the above rules for when it is removed. Having the opportunity to activate means the condition or bonus has had a chance to have an effect on either you or the monster, whichever it is intended to affect.

For example, if you have already taken your turn in a Combat Round, and now the monster applies the Immobilize condition based on its rolled behavior set, the Immobilize condition will stay on you until after your next turn, in the next round. This way it has had the chance to affect you.

As another example, if you use an ability that applies the Strengthen bonus, the turn in which you use it is that condition's opportunity to activate. Even if you don't execute an attack action this turn, you could have, and that means the Strengthen bonus has been removed from you at the end of the turn in which it was applied.

Some conditions or bonuses, however, have Lasting Effects. Lasting Effects cause a bonus, condition or other game effect (such as Hindrances) to be removed after a specific period of time. There are three types of Lasting Effects icons.

Round Lasting Effects are removed at the end of the current round.

Combat Lasting Effects are removed at the end of the current combat.

Scenario Lasting Effects last for the remainder of the current scenario.

If you use an ability that has a lasting effect, it does not automatically need to be set aside. Simply discard the card as normal. If, however, there is a Lost icon along with the lasting effect, the card is considered Lost the moment it is played, and must be set aside for the remainder of the scenario. Slot the card behind the Range Tracker Card. Leave it sticking out the bottom until the effect is completed. Then place it immediately in the back of the game, with the rest of your Lost cards.

Elemental Infusions

Some abilities have an elemental affinity associated with them (base Gloomholdin contains only Dark and Fire). If any of these symbols are visible on an ability card, it means that the element is currently infused in the battlefield. The infusion lasts as long as that ability card is visible.

For example, when using the Homebrew ability, the Dark element visible on the top action area means Dark is infused in the battlefield as long as Homebrew is active. Elemental infusions can be used to augment the effects of certain abilities. This augment is represented by an elemental symbol covered with a red symbol, followed by a colon and how the ability is augmented if the element is consumed. If an ability is used that consumes an element, that element icon is considered inert for the remainder of the turn. In other words, you cannot consume the same element icon twice; each visible element icon can be used only once per turn. Some abilities require consumption of multiple element icons, or even multiple types of elements. You must consume all needed icons in order to complete the augment.

For example, the top action of the Healing Waters ability card includes a "Heal 4" ability that can be augmented with a "+3 Heal" ability if both a Dark and a Fire element are consumed. If you are able to consume the needed elements, this action will heal for a total of 7.

Bonuses

Some abilities give you bonus effects. Monsters may also have bonuses that affect their behavior.

SHIELD - A "Shield X" bonus ability gives the recipient a defender's bonus that reduces any incoming attack value by X. Multiple shield bonuses stack with one another and can be applied in any order. A shield bonus only applies to damage caused by an attack.

RETALIATE - A "Retaliate X" bonus ability causes the recipient to inflict X points of damage on figures who attack it from an adjacent hex for each attack made. A retaliate bonus can also be accompanied by a "Range Y" value, which means that the retaliate damage is applied to any attacker within Y hexes. A retaliate takes effect after the attack that initiated it. If the retaliating figure is killed or exhausted by the attack, then the retaliate does not activate. Multiple retaliate bonuses stack with one another, and retaliate itself is not an attack or even a targeted effect.

Special Actions

Special actions are simply actions that are not Move or Attack actions that have a unique icon to indicate what they allow you to do.

HEAL - A "Heal X" ability allows a figure to return X HP to either themselves or one ally within the ability's range.

Sometimes abilities or other effects cause you to suffer damage. This is written as "-X" where X is the amount of damage suffered.

DISARM TRAP - Disarming a trap means turning the Trap hex into a normal hex, eliminating the need for you or a monster to take damage from it when entering the hex. The default range for a Disarm Trap action is 1, so if there is not a range specified, you must be adjacent to the Trap tile to disarm it.

LOOT - A "Loot X" ability allows you to pick up every money token and treasure tile within range X. Remember that dead monster tiles count as a money token. The Loot action is unaffected by the positions of monsters or obstacles, but note this is considered a ranged ability for the purposes of line-of-sight. You will need to mentally remember how many money tokens you have looted until the end of the scenario. If a treasure tile is looted, immediately refer to the treasure index in the back of the scenario book, which will tell you what was found. If the treasure is an item, you must wait until after the scenario to add it to your item inventory.

Money tokens are always worth 2 gold, no matter what Scenario Level you are playing on.

End-of-Turn Looting - In addition to specific loot abilities, you must also loot any money tokens or treasure tiles present in the hex you occupy at the end of your turn.

Character Damage

Whenever any damage is dealt to you, you have two options:

• Suffer the damage and flip/rotate the Character HP card to the appropriate number, or…
• Choose one discarded card to lose or discard 2 cards from your hand to negate the damage (any additional effects of the attack are still applied). Note that before you act in a round, the two cards chosen at the beginning of the round are neither in your hand, lost or discarded, and so cannot be lost to negate damage.

Whenever you are healed, flip/rotate the Character HP card up to the appropriate number. You cannot increase your HP above your maximum HP value for your character level. The maximum HP for each character level is included on the Character HP card for reference.

Exhaustion

You can become exhausted in one of two ways:

• If you ever drop below one HP, or…
• If, at the beginning of a round, you cannot play two cards from your hand (because you have one card or no cards in your hand) and also cannot rest (because you have one card or no cards in your discard pile). Exhaustion due to insufficient cards does not affect your current HP total.

In either case, the scenario is lost.

Items

You can use items at any time, considering any constraints written on the item, including in the middle of a card ability. However, if an item affects an attack (e.g., adds a bonus, an effect, advantage, or disadvantage), it has to be used before you roll for an attack modifier. If an effect is added to an attack, it functions exactly as if it had been written on the action card being used for the attack. There is no limit to the number of items you can use on your turn or even during a specific ability. Any instance of applying the effects of an item card to a situation is considered a use.

Monster Turn

Monster's actions are controlled by the monster behavior table on the monster card. The behavior set (A, B or C) rolled will determine what the monster does on its turn. Monsters will perform the actions in their behavior set in the order that is most beneficial to them. They will not move or attack unless these items are listed in their behavior set.

Also note that each type of monster can be one of two ranks: normal and elite. Normal monster tiles have a red border and elite monster tiles have a gold border on the scenario map. On the monster cards, the normal monster behavior table and HP section have a white background, and the elite monster behavior table and HP section have a gold background.

Order of Action

As mentioned above, monsters perform the actions in their behavior set in the order most beneficial to them. Monsters have 2 main actions in their behavior set: move and attack. These are in the middle two rows of the monster behavior table. They will carry out both actions on their turn, if the action is beneficial to them. Use your judgement to determine which order of actions will benefit the monster the most.

If the monster behavior set includes any attack effects, conditions or bonuses, these icons will be present along the bottom edge of the monster behavior table. These icons correspond to a specific behavior set, and will be in the appropriate column. Be sure to check the monster's image on the monster card for any ongoing traits (such as flying), or bonuses (such as retaliate). These ongoing effects always apply.

The bottom row of the monster behavior set shows you the range for the monster's attack. If the range shows a value of "-", it is a melee attack (Range 1). Monsters will always choose to move the minimum distance required to ensure they are in range, and to try to avoid Disadvantage.

Monsters are not smart enough to move after their attack for the sake of trying to throw off your plans. For example, if you do not have any ranged ability cards (only melee attacks), the monster will not move as far away as it can (increasing Distance as much as it can) after it attacks to try and keep you out of range.

If there is a dash for the value of the monster's move or attack, they will not move or attack this round.

Examples of Monster Turns

Example 1: You have chosen your two cards for the Combat Round, with a leading card that has initiative 14. You now roll for the monster's behavior set for the round, and get behavior set "A". This gives the monster initiative 35, which means you will take your turn first in the round. You started the round at Distance 3, so you use your move action to move to Distance 1 and then carry out a melee attack (remember to roll for your attack modifier). Now it is the monster's turn. In its behavior set, it has Move 2, Attack 3, and Range 3. Since you are at Distance 1, the monster would have Disadvantage on its attack since it is a ranged attack. So the monster uses its Move action first to avoid disadvantage. Since monsters move the minimum distance required to avoid Disadvantage, the monster moves 1 distance to increase the Range Tracker card to Distance 2. Then the monster carries out its ranged attack.

Example 2: You have chosen your two cards for the Combat Round, with a leading card that has initiative 40. You roll for the monster's behavior set for the round, and get behavior set "C". This gives the monster initiative 25, which means the monster will take its turn first this round. In its behavior set, the monster has Move "-" (move zero), Attack 2, Range "-" (range 1). You and the monster are currently at Distance 2. The monster would have moved closer to decrease the Distance to 1 in order to be in range to attack, but since it has a move value of zero, it cannot move. The monster, fortunately for you, is not in range to attack and is unable to move, so it does nothing this round, and it is on to your turn.

End of Round

In Combat Rounds, the round ends once both you and the monster have taken your turns. You may short rest at this time if you are able. You cannot long rest while in combat.

In Non-Combat Rounds, the round ends after you have taken your turn. You may short rest or long rest at this time.

Entering and Completing Combat

As explained earlier, all rounds in a scenario are either Combat or Non-Combat rounds.

Monster Mid and Max Ranges

To understand the next sections, it is important to know what a monster's mid and max ranges means. For each behavior set (in their behavior table) there is an associated range in the bottom row. The highest of these ranges is the monster's max range and the second-highest is their mid range.

Entering Combat

There are two ways to enter combat:

• Move into a tile that is within range of a monster's mid range.
• Attack a monster. This always initiates combat, even if you are outside the monster's max range.

If you are in a Non-Combat Round and move into a tile that is within the monster's mid range, the monster will initiate combat whether you want to or not. You can always finish your movement completely, even when moving into range of a monster. If the movement was your final action of your turn, the monster will then initiate combat (since you are within its mid range) and will take its turn in the round. In this case, the moment the monster began its turn, the round became a Combat Round. Until one of you is defeated, the ensuing rounds will be Combat Rounds.

If you move into a monster's mid range and the movement was not your final action and you have another action you wish to complete, such as an attack or a heal, the monster has a chance to interrupt your turn. You must immediately roll for the monster's behavior set. If the rolled behavior set has an initiative faster than the leading card you had chosen for the round, the monster interrupts your turn and takes an entire turn, completing the actions in its behavior set as normal. Once the monster has completed its turn, you can finish your turn, taking any remaining actions. Once done, you move onto the next round, which will be a normal Combat Round.

If a monster tries to interrupt but rolls an initiative slower than that of your chosen leading card, the monster fails to interrupt. Once you have completed your remaining actions, the monster will take its turn. In this case, the monster's turn was the final turn in this round.

If you initiate combat with a monster (that is, you attack a monster in what started as a Non-Combat round), the monster always has a chance to interrupt before you complete the attack action—it doesn't matter if you are within the monster's max range or not. The moment the monster tried to interrupt your turn (whether successful or not), the round turned from a Non-Combat Round to a Combat Round.

If you move into a tile that puts you within the mid range of more than one monster, you can choose which monster you enter combat with. If you are able to attack multiple monsters, you must prioritize which monsters you enter combat in first, prioritizing 1) monsters you are within the mid range of, and then 2) monsters you are in the max range of. If there are multiple monsters at the same range, you can choose which to enter combat with first.

If you go first in the round and kill the monster, the round ends immediately. If there is another monster within Mid Range of you, you and the new monster begin combat at the start of the next round.

Revealing the Monster Card for Combat

Remember that during combat, movement does not take place on the map, rather it is tracked by increasing or decreasing Distance on the Range Tracker card, which indicates the distance between you and the monster. When you enter combat, keep the map in the same position at which it started. When combat is complete, no matter what movement took place during combat, you will begin the next round on the tile where you were located when combat started.

When you enter combat, slide the Character HP card down to reveal the top half of the monster card below. Rotate or flip the monster card as necessary so the appropriate monster is on top. Occasionally, you may need to change which monster card is on the top of the deck. Most monster cards have all the monsters you need for any given scenario. Sliding the Character HP card downward does not make you lose your spot on the map.

Completing Combat

The moment a monster is killed, the combat is complete. If you have no remaining actions, the round is over, and the next round will be a Non-Combat round. If after killing the monster you have a remaining action, such as move, you may take the remaining action (the round changes from a Combat Round to a Non-Combat round).

When combat is complete, slide the Character HP card upward, back into position on top of the deck. Your character is on the same hex as it was when combat first began.

Finishing a Scenario

A scenario can end in one of two ways: success or failure. Once a scenario's success or failure conditions are triggered, the remainder of the round is played out, and then the scenario ends.

Whether the scenario ended in success or failure, tally up the money tokens you looted during the scenario and convert them into gold. Each money token is worth 2 gold, no matter the Scenario Level. Anything not looted during the scenario is not collected. You also recover all lost and discarded ability cards, refresh all spent and exhausted item cards, and return your HP to maximum for your character level so you can start fresh in a future scenario.

Updating the Scenario Tracker Card

If you successfully complete the scenario:

• Read the conclusion text and collect any rewards detailed.
• Check the square box in the Scenarios section for the successfully completed scenario number.
• Check the star(s) of any new scenarios unlocked as detailed by the New Locations section.
• Check the circle(s) of any scenarios that were blocked by playing the scenario.
• Check the Achievements section for any achievements earned.
• Make notes in the Gold & Items section of any gold you earned, as well as any changes to items you own (more on this in the Visiting Gloomholdin' section later in this rulebook).
• Update your character level if the number of scenarios you have completed so far in the campaign is a multiple of 3.

Leveling Up Your Character

You get to level up your character after every 3 scenarios you have completed. You do this in between scenarios, when visiting Gloomholdin'. You start on character Level 1 and will reach Level 5 by the end of the campaign. So after completing your third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth scenarios you will level up.

Leveling up your character improves two things:

• Your ability cards.
• Your maximum HP.

When you level up, choose one of your ability cards to permanently rotate to Level 2 (remember that all of your ability cards started on Level 1). Check the box on the Scenario Tracker Card to remember which ability card you leveled up. Also be sure to consult the Character HP card to find your new maximum HP.

Visiting Gloomholdin'

After every scenario, whether it was a success or failure, you have the choice to either return to Gloomholdin' or to immediately travel to a new scenario.

If you immediately travel to a new scenario, simply find the new scenario in the scenario book, set it up and begin playing. The new scenario chosen to play must be one that is unlocked. You can choose to immediately replay the same scenario you just played if it ended in failure.

If you choose to visit Gloomholdin', you may buy or sell items. You can buy item cards by spending the gold you've collected. You can also sell back any item for half the item's price, rounded down. Every item you own is always considered equipped. You can own a maximum of two items (unless a special effect in the game says otherwise).

Locked Items - All items are available for purchase from the start of the game, with the exception of locked items, which have the lock icon next to the item name. You must wait for an effect in the game to tell you when an item is unlocked and available for purchase.

Advanced Game Variant: Hindrances

Hindrances are an advanced variant for Gloomholdin'. You may ignore Hindrances if you want to. The game will still be balanced if you do. Advanced players may find that Hindrances add more strategic depth to combat, but some players may prefer a more straightforward experience—and that is ok.

Hindrances are Obstacles, Traps, Difficult Terrain, and Hazardous Terrain tiles that are between you and the monster during combat. They increase the movement cost for you and the monster to change (increase or decrease) Distance. Hindrances are tiles that would have prevented you from taking the fastest possible route to move into the monster tile if you were to try to do so. Obstacles, Traps, Difficult Terrain and Hazardous Terrain can all be considered Hindrances in the right situation.

It is possible to have zero, one or up to two Hindrances in a combat. There can be no more than 2 Hindrances in a combat. For every Hindrance in a combat, increase the movement cost of changing Distance by 1 for that entire combat, to a maximum of 3 movement cost per change in Distance. You determine the number of Hindrances that apply to the entire combat on the first round you enter the combat. The number of Hindrances in a combat does not change for the duration of the combat. Determine the number of Hindrances before either party (you or the monster) takes any actions in the combat.

It's important to remember at this point that movement during combat only increases or decreases Distance, as tracked by the Range Tracker card. Movement during combat does not move you on the map. Normally, a movement value of 1 allows you to increase or decrease Distance by 1. Hindrances change this cost ratio. As mentioned above, for every Hindrance in the combat, increase the movement cost during this combat by 1. For example, if there is 1 Hindrance in a combat, for that entire combat it will require 2 movement to increase or decrease Distance by 1. This applies to both parties (both you and the monster).

How Many Hindrances Are in Your Combat?

You can use the steps below to calculate the number of Hindrances in a combat. To do this, you'll be looking at the map and determining the fastest routes to move into the monster's hex. Note that you are never allowed to actually move into the same hex as a monster, even outside of combat. You are only mentally/theoretically doing so to determine the number of Hindrances in a combat.

1. Determine what would be the fastest route for you to (theoretically) move into the monster's hex. If nothing blocks you from taking that route, there are zero Hindrances in your combat. You can proceed with the first turn of the combat, with the normal movement cost of 1 for increasing or decreasing Distance by 1. If you would not have been able to take the fastest route, move to step 2.
2. Find what would have been the second-fastest route for you to move into the monster's hex. If that route is not blocked by anything, you can proceed with combat. There is 1 Hindrance in your combat, so each 1 change in Distance costs 2 movement for this combat. If you would not have been able to take the second-fastest route, move to step 3.
3. If you are unable to take the second-fastest route to move into the monster's hex, you have 2 Hindrances in your combat, which is the maximum number of Hindrances for a combat. Each 1 change in Distance in this combat costs 3 movement. There is no need to check for the third-fastest route.

Types of Hindrances

As mentioned above, Obstacles, Traps, Difficult Terrain and Hazardous Terrain tiles can all be Hindrances. Each of these is considered a different type of Hindrance. The Hindrance type can affect your calculation of the fastest routes into the monster tile. Some Hindrance types also cause damage to you or the monster in certain situations.

Some effects or abilities in the game can create or destroy (sometimes temporarily) Hindrances. These abilities will be written as something like, "+1 X", where X is the symbol for the type of Hindrance, meaning this ability creates one Hindrance of that type.

Obstacle Hindrances. When an Obstacle Hindrance blocks the fastest route into the monster's hex, you must go around it when calculating the second-fastest route. This is important to note because it is what contrasts Obstacle Hindrances from the other Hindrance types explained below.

Difficult Terrain Hindrances. Since, unlike obstacles, you can move through difficult terrain, you can "go through" them when calculating your second-fastest route into the monster's hex.

For example, if a difficult terrain tile is in the way of the fastest route into the monster's hex, that is 1 Hindrance. If moving through that Difficult Terrain Hindrance would be the second-fastest route, that is permissible as your second-fastest route. You only need to have the 1 Hindrance in your combat in that case. If, however, you would have had to move through two Difficult Terrain tiles to move into the monster's hex on your second-fastest route, that would count as 2 Hindrances for the combat.

Trap and Hazardous Terrain Hindrances. Trap and Hazardous Terrain Hindrances behave just like Difficult Terrain Hindrances in that you can "move through" them when determining your second-fastest route into the monster hex. But unlike Difficult Terrain Hindrances, Trap and Hazardous Terrain Hindrances can cause you or the monster to take damage in the right situation. If there is a Trap or Hazardous Terrain Hindrance in your combat, the first party (you or the monster) to move into Distance 1 in the combat must take damage from the Hindrance. You or the monster must take the same amount of damage as you would have taken from a Trap or a Hazardous Terrain tile if you entered one of those tiles outside of combat. The Trap or Hazardous Terrain Hindrance only deals damage once per combat. After that, there is no damage penalty for either party to move into Distance 1. The increased movement cost from the Hindrance or Hindrances persists as normal throughout the entire combat, even after the Hindrance has dealt damage.

Once either you or the monster have taken damage after moving into Distance 1, no more damage can be dealt from any Hindrances this combat, no matter how many there are. If a push or pull ability forces a party into Distance 1, that party is the one that triggers the Trap or Hazardous Terrain Hindrance and suffers the damage.

Any Type Hindrance. If an effect or ability in the game uses the symbol for Any Type, it is referring to any type of Hindrance.

For example, if you have an ability that allows you to remove 1 Hindrance of any type from the combat, it doesn't matter what type of Hindrance is in the combat, you may remove it. If there are multiple hindrances in the combat, you may choose which to remove.

Hindrances and Flying/Jumping

Flying or jumping monster or character actions can ignore hindrances. These actions have the standard cost of 1 movement for 1 change in Distance.

Hindrances and Push/Pull

Push and Pull effects are unaffected by Hindrances. One push/pull always equals 1 change in Distance. If there is a Trap Hindrance and a monster or player is pulled into Distance 1, the trap triggers and the party must take the trap's damage.

If There Are Multiple Types of Hindrances

If there is more than one type of Hindrance in a combat, include the characteristics of the most penalizing type.

For example, if your fastest route into the monster hex is blocked by an Obstacle, that's your first hindrance. If your second-fastest route is blocked by a Trap, that is your second Hindrance. Since a Trap is one of the Hindrances in your combat, the damage the Trap Hindrance deals when a party moves into Distance 1 applies as normal.

If you have two equally efficient choices of path for your fastest or second-fastest routes, choose the one you prefer.

For example, imagine you are looking for your second-fastest route into the monster hex (there was an Obstacle Hindrance blocking the fastest route). There is a route that goes through a trap that would get you into the monster's hex in 3 moves, but there is also a route that goes through a Difficult Terrain tile that would get you there equally as quickly—3 moves. You are free to choose the Difficult Terrain route as your second-fastest route, and the Difficult Terrain tile would become your second Hindrance.

Note that it doesn't matter what size a Hindrance is; it is the number of tiles it covers that counts. For example, if there is an obstacle on the board that is a tree that covers 3 hexes, treat each individual hex as its own Hindrance.

If you are ever unsure of what to do with Hindrances, give yourself the benefit of the doubt. We're all here to have fun.

Hindrance Examples

The following are examples of Hindrances to get you more familiar with how they work.

A. If you were on a hex entering combat with the wolf, the yellow route would be the fastest possible way to move into the wolf's hex, but it is blocked by an obstacle. That obstacle, for this combat, is an Obstacle Hindrance. So you look for the second-fastest route to see if there are any more Hindrances for this combat. The blue route would be your second-fastest route, and there is nothing blocking you. Therefore you have a total of 1 Hindrance, and it will require 2 movement for every 1 change in Distance, for both you and the wolf.

B. If you were on a hex entering combat with the Wind Demon, the yellow route would be your fastest route into the Wind Demon's hex, but it is blocked by an Obstacle Hindrance. The blue route would be the second-fastest possible route. It would require going through a Trap, so the Trap is your second Hindrance of the combat (you cannot have more than 2 Hindrances in a combat). You have a total of 2 Hindrances in this combat, so each change in Distance will require 3 movement, for both you and the monster, for the duration of the combat. In addition, since a Trap Hindrance is one of your Hindrances, you must deal with the Trap Hindrance's effect of dealing damage to the party (you or the monster) who is the first to move into Distance 1. Once the Trap Hindrance has dealt damage in this combat, it will deal no additional damage for the rest of the combat, but your movement cost is still 3 because you still have 2 Hindrances in your combat.

C. If you enter combat while on a certain hex, your fastest route would be the yellow route. Since this route would require you to pass through 2 Difficult Terrain tiles, you have 2 Difficult Terrain Hindrances in this combat. Therefore, for the entirety of this combat, it will cost you and the monster 3 movement to increase or decrease Distance by 1.

D. If you entered combat while on a certain hex, the yellow route would be the fastest route into the Bear's hex. Since that route is blocked by an Obstacle Hindrance, you move on to check what the second-fastest route would be. The second-fastest route would be the blue route, and unfortunately that route is also blocked by an Obstacle Hindrance. Since you cannot have more than 2 Hindrances in a combat, you do not have to check for the third-fastest route. You have 2 Hindrances for this combat, which means it will cost both you and the Bear 3 movement for every 1 change (increase or decrease) in Distance for the duration of this combat.