Godforsaken Scavengers
Godforsaken Scavengers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
To survive, you must cross several different Areas and complete the Final Area. Scavenge for resources during your turn. Venture as far as you dare while trying to gather enough food and avoid omnipresent Peril. Manage the risks, use your cards to mitigate chance and possibly work with others to make your way home. It will be far from easy in this darkness...
Scenarios
You can play in different ways depending on the Scenario you choose. Scenarios differ in length, difficulty, level of cooperation, and additional rules.
On the reverse of every Scenario, there is an Area for the last round that you will need to complete. If the Area doesn't specify a win condition, just complete it to win.
All Scenarios can be played with 2-6 players except for Mad Prophet, which is for 1 player only. Try starting with Daring Retreat or Lost Expedition.
Card Types
The cards are divided into the following types: the Draw deck (1st, 2nd and 3rd Tier), Areas, Afflictions and Characters.
Setup
Pack and prepare to embark on this deadly journey. Hive is the destination and the leader is the boldest of the bold.
Form the Draw deck by shuffling all 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier cards together. Shuffle Areas to form the Area deck and Afflictions to form the Affliction deck.
Keep as many face down Areas as the chosen Scenario specifies and remove the other Areas from the game. Place the Final Area on the bottom of the Area deck.
To set up the 3-5 areas of Wicked Few, first, shuffle Final Area with 2 Areas and then add 3 other Areas on top.
Deal each player the cards specified by the chosen Scenario. If any of these cards do not have a number in the top left, discard them and draw again. Then shuffle any discarded cards back into the Draw deck.
Choose the starting player and give them the Banner - it is passed clockwise every round and marks the first player.
Areas
After what happened, a lot was forgotten. We sense the way, yet none can guess what lies on the way to our salvation.
Each round is represented by an Area you need to cross. Each Area also has a passive effect on all players and a cost (in the top left).
Areas with lower costs tend to have unfavorable effects while those with higher costs actually help the players.
Once the Final Area is revealed, replace it with the Area on the reverse of the chosen Scenario. This allows you to check what you need for the last round. In the case of Wicked Few it allows for randomization.
The Final Area always marks the last round of the game.
Overview
The game uses the following zones:
- Discard pile
- Affliction deck
- Area deck
- Scavenge piles - communal zone from which the players scavenge
- Scavenged cards - communal zone for cards anyone has scavenged
- Personal Zone - private zone for player's Banner, Afflictions and harvested cards
Round
- The first player reveals the top Area and divides Draw deck into 3 temporary scavenge piles of roughly the same number of cards.
- Players play their turns in a clockwise order starting with the first player.
- When it would be the first player's turn again, Feeding is resolved.
- The first player briefly shuffles the scavenge piles and any remaining scavenged cards together. The next player takes the Banner.
Cards in your hand can be played at any time. The hand limit at any time is 5 cards. To take another card, you must play, trade, or discard one first.
Turn
1. Scavenge
Choose 1 scavenge pile. Scavenge it by drawing 1 card and placing it face up on the table. You may scavenge the chosen pile repeatedly until you decide to Collect, or until a scavenged Peril gains you an Affliction. Except for Perils and Anomaly, don't resolve the effect of scavenged cards just yet.
2. Collect
You may take any scavenged cards into your hand during this phase. Any leftover scavenged cards stay on the table and are available for the next player(s) this round. During both phases, you are the active player.
Important notes: Unless otherwise stated, you cannot immediately use or purposefully discard scavenged cards — you must first collect them in order to use them. Also, cards with "Scavenge" and "Take" instructions ignore turn phases and Area/Affliction limitations. Take advantage of this!
Example: Tim starts his turn. As 2 of the 3 Scavenge piles are of the 3rd tier, he decides to play Scout to flip the top cards face up. The first pile looks good.
He scavenges Hunt. Inspired by his success, he scavenges again and draws Rest. A third attempt proves reckless as it reveals a Peril. Unable to avoid an Affliction, Tim plays Hide to save the scavenged cards Hunt and Rest from being discarded. Gaining an Affliction triggers the end of the scavenge phase.
Tim collects the saved cards and plays Hunt, hoping to get a better card. He looks at the top 5 cards and happily scavenges Instinct. As he can still collect, he takes Instinct and ends his turn.
Feeding
Friends. Sanity. Our very souls. All sacrificed for a rotting piece of flesh, day after day in a never-ending nightmare from which we cannot awake.
At the end of each round, each player either feeds or starves. To feed, harvest (discard) enough cards to match or exceed the current Area's cost with the value of your cards. Should you starve, gain an Affliction and discard 1 of your cards. When you harvest more than the Area's cost, you may freely share the surplus with other players. You can even fully feed another player this way.
Some effects result in harvesting card(s) before Feeding. Such cards are placed in the Personal Zone and are consumed during the next Feeding.
Sometimes it is better to starve, and save cards for the next round than harvest your entire hand and start the next round with nothing.
Cards
The reverse of every card in the Draw deck shows a head with 1-3 spears, indicating the tier of the card. The higher the tier, the higher the value, and the greater the threat of danger!
Once revealed, the cards are further divided into three groups by the symbol in the top left:
- A skull indicates a Peril (next page)
- A pouch indicates an Opportunity (next page)
- A numerical value indicates an Action
Actions have 2 uses. You can either play the card from your hand to resolve its effect or you can harvest it during Feeding. As both of these uses require you to discard the card, choose wisely.
Only Actions can be taken into hand, unless a card specifically instructs otherwise (e.g Dire Hound and Pathfinder).
Peril
Worms, traps, demons, and many more untold ways to die. One way to live. Run.
Peril represents the dangers lurking in the depths. When scavenged, a Peril always discards all scavenged cards (even if defeated, or if Salvation is played!) and attempts to punish the active player with an Affliction. Some Perils can be defeated by discarding cards to gain a reward!
A Peril is resolved immediately. Only Actions with the keyword Reaction (green) can intervene. Once resolved, the Peril is discarded. Your scavenge ends only if the Peril gains you an Affliction!
Affliction
Doomed for eternity are those who make it out. The less fortunate end up as a grim feast.
Afflictions represent injuries and growing insanity that immediately apply a permanent negative effect. Keep them in your Personal zone.
Unless the chosen Scenario states otherwise, when you have 3 Afflictions you die and lose. A dead player discards all cards and shuffles their Afflictions back into the Affliction deck.
When healed, shuffle the Affliction back into the Affliction deck. When face down, the Affliction effect is ignored, but it still counts towards dying.
Opportunity
Is there any hope left in this Godforsaken place?
As long as it stays scavenged, Opportunity provides the active player an optional sidequest that may be completed during any phase of their turn for immediate effect. Discard it once completed.
Anomaly
Time slows, awareness fades, and the air pulses.
A player who scavenges or discards the Anomaly immediately chooses a Scavenge pile and shuffles the discard pile back into the chosen Scavenge pile. The Anomaly is then placed face down on the bottom of that pile.
If a scavenge pile is depleted it is not automatically refilled, nor do you automatically switch to a different pile. Card effects can't interact with depleted piles.
Caravan
We are not alone in this quest. Another group has joined, hoping for help and protection. They are skilled, but the way they look at us makes me shiver.
The Caravan is an optional rule that can be used in any Scenario. It makes the game slightly more challenging and results in more cards to choose from, which can be useful (e.g. 2-player or solo games). If you wish to use it, place the Caravan on the table near the Area deck.
When an Area is revealed, place X cards from the Draw deck under the Caravan, where X is the Area's current cost. Any player may harvest X food at any time to feed the Caravan and immediately take the cards underneath it, discarding any Peril and Opportunity.
These cards can be given or traded to other players before you take them into your hand. Any leftover food harvested to feed Caravan is forfeit.
Caravan must be fed every round or ALL players lose the game.
If more than one player wishes to feed the Caravan at the same time, priority is given to the first player or the player closest to them in clockwise order.
Characters
The awakening was brutal. We had no idea who we were. Perhaps for the best.
Characters are an optional extension to the game that make it a more personal and variable experience.
At the start of the game, each player draws 2 Characters and chooses 1 or draws 1 Character at random, for a more thematic experience. Place the Character face down, Survivor side up.
While face down, the Character is unusable and even weakens you! You can flip the Survivor back to the Character side by playing Salvation or being a target of either Rest or Relief.
While your Character is face up you can use its power. It can either be a passive effect (active at all times) or a one-time action. Some powerful actions require you to flip your Character face down to use the effect. Beware! There are 2 copies of Black Mist, a Peril that can flip ALL Characters face down.
Last Hunt
In this scenario, all players play simultaneously under a merciless time limit. Should time run out, the round instantly ends and Feeding begins.
Scavenge piles are shared among all players as usual. Multiple players may scavenge from any scavenge pile at any time until their personal scavenge ends.
Unlike scavenge piles, scavenged cards are not in a communal area, but in a private area in front of each player in which the other players cannot interact. Move, Relief and Rush can be played on any player, as they are all active.
A scavenged Peril interrupts scavenge of all players and it must be resolved before players may continue scavenging.
Survival is optional. See Campaign Booklet for details. Each round, players have 3 minutes to play simultaneously.
Deals
I hear cries in the distance. Comrades I was supposed to save. This place made me realize they are not worth it. No one is. I alone must survive.
At any time, players can make binding deals and give or trade cards from their hands. However, should you break a promise given to another player, they can choose to punish you with an Affliction - no exceptions.
When you are resolving a Peril, you can't give any cards to other players, though they can still give cards to you, possibly helping you deal with it.
Tips
- Don't get discouraged by the difficulty. You'll learn how to survive.
- You can find a list of all cards and their tier distribution in the other booklet.
- Play the game a few times before trying Caravan, Characters or Campaign.
- You can't avoid bad situations. Try to prepare for them to minimize losses.
- Not only are there more Perils in higher-tier cards, they are also worse!
- The more Perils are discarded, the safer the Scavenge is. And vice versa.
- Don't just harvest the cards, play them to gain an advantage.
- Smart trading can help you gain an advantage or even save your life.
- Playing cards to prevent an Affliction is not always worth it.
- There is one Affliction that, when resolved, immediately heals itself!
- Compare the risks and possible gain when scavenging many cards.
- Card effects sometimes reference the card's own name, so watch out.
- Enjoy the lore and try to role-play for the best experience possible.
- Anticipate other players' turns. Keep in mind you can play cards anytime.
- Still too difficult? Or easy? Try adjusting the Area count.