Grimslingers: The Northern Territory Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Introduction
• Getting Started
  • Is This Your First Time Playing?
  • Important Abbreviations & Terminology
• Action Cards
  • Spell Cards
    • Elements
    • Light and Dark
    • Signatures
  • Skill Cards
    • Spending Resources
    • Types of Skills
    • Passive Space
  • Discard vs Deactivate
  • Item Cards
• HP/EP Trackers and Animas
  • Anima Abilities
• Characters
  • Kipper
  • La Fleur
  • Luella
  • Nyunyo
• Target Cards
• Versus Setup
• Versus Duel
  • Versus Modes
  • Starting A Duel
• How to Duel
  • The Standoff Phase
  • The Draw Phase
  • The Aftermath Phase
  • End of Turn
• Examples and Card Clarifications
  • 1v1 Element Resolution Example
  • 3 Player Free For All Example
  • Specific Signature Spells Explained
  • Item Clarifications
• The Solo/Co-op Mode
  • The Tall Tale Campaign
  • Free Roam
  • Getting Started (Tall Tale)
    • New Characters
    • Achievement Tracker
    • Progress Tracker
    • Progress Points and Campaigns
• The Story Booklet
  • Chapters
  • Paths
  • Parts
• Area Booklet
  • Area Movement
  • Setting Up an Area
  • Bounties
• Tall Tale Game Space
• Adventure Turns
• Creature Duels
  • Creature Space Setup
  • Resolving a Creature Duel
  • Creature Duel Turn
  • End of Turn
  • End of a Creature Duel
• Items in a Tall Tale
• Defeat
  • Creature Duels (Defeat)
  • Landmark Area Tiles (Defeat)
  • Event Area Tiles (Defeat)
  • Story Parts (Defeat)
• Game Over
• Ending a Game Session
  • Continuing From a Previous Session
• Additional Tall Tale Clarifications
• Glossary
• Transcriber Notes

Components

Books & Tracker Pads

• Rule Booklet (1)
• Story Booklet (1)
• Area Booklet (1)
• Achievement Tracker Pad (1)
• Progress Tracker Pad (1)

Cards (188)

• Creature Portraits (6)
  • Angsty Goblins (1)
  • Beebopnid (1)
  • Magic Mushroom (1)
  • Nude Taur (1)
  • Soul Hunter (1)
  • Wisp (1)
• Creature Skill Cards (21)
  • Angsty Goblins (3)
  • Beebopnid (3)
  • General Creature Skill Cards (3)
  • Magic Mushroom (3)
  • Nude Taur (3)
  • Soul Hunter (3)
  • Wisp (3)
• Creature Dispositions (12)
• Creature Modifiers (10)
• Daemon Scourge (1)
• Events (20)
• Fate (56)
• Grimslinger Skill Cards (32)
  • Kipper (8)
  • La Fleur (8)
  • Luella (8)
  • Nyunyo (8)
• Grimslinger Tracker Cards (9)
  • Kipper (2)
  • La Fleur (2)

Large Cards (8)

• Character Space Mat (6)
• Creature Space Mat (1)
• Item Space Mat (1)

Introduction

Grimslingers: The Northern Territory contains two game modes: Versus Duel (a player-against-player battle for 2-6 players) and Tall Tales (a cooperative campaign for 1-4 players). Players are expected to learn the basics of the game by playing a Versus Duel at least once, either 1v1, free-for-all, or teams, before heading out into the Forgotten West on their co-op adventure.

Attention: The Northern Territory expansion requires the Grimslingers core game. This fourth edition rulebook supersedes the core game rulebook on all accounts. The Archetype cards and Level Trackers are not compatible with The Northern Territory expansion and should not be used. Unlike the core game, where various layers of the Versus Duel are optional (such as items and signature spells), a Versus Duel in the Northern Territory requires players incorporate each asset detailed under Setting Up the Versus Duel. See "Versus Duel" on pg. 17.

Getting Started

Is This Your First Time Playing?

It is recommended that players leave out character skills for their first few practice duels. It is easier to learn the game playing a 1v1 duel first, before moving on to multiplayer. For their first 1v1 game, players will utilize element spells, signature spells, items, and Anima abilities, but leave the characters skills and special resources in the box for now. We recommend first-timers ignore the following sections, skipping ahead to get right into the action:

1. Skip Skill Cards, page 8. Instead, focus on Spell cards and items.
2. Skip Characters, page 12. Character skills and resources should only be added after your first few practice games.
3. Skip Target Cards, page 14. You should start with a 1v1 duel, and introduce multiplayer once you understand the basics.
4. In Versus Setup, page 17, ignore all references to character skills and the Grimslingers' unique resources.
5. In How To Duel, page 18, players cannot take the Grimslinger Ability action during the Standoff phase for these first duels.

Important Abbreviations & Terminology

There are a few abbreviations that you should learn in order to better understand what is written in this rulebook and on the cards within this game. The most commonly used are:

• Active: Cards that are in your hand are considered active cards - ready to be played or discarded.
• DMG (Damage): DMG dealt reduces HP by the same amount. Note: Unless a card states that it does DMG, its FX are not considered to be damage. For example, "Reduce target's HP to 1" is not damage.
• EP (Energy Points): Both player and creature EP are tracked using an Energy Tracker, and are spent or reduced as a result of Action Cards or Tall Tale events.
• FX (Effects): The FX of an action card includes any text written in its FX section. Unless otherwise stated on the card, all of the FX listed on a card occur in the order they are written.
• HP (Health Points): Player and creature HP are tracked using a Health Tracker, and are reduced by taking DMG and occasionally other FX.
• Resolve: This refers to applying a card's FX to its target(s). Resolve is also a term used when completing Event cards and other parts of the Tall Tale.

Also important, but less common:

• DNC (Draw Number Cards): This refers to randomly drawing a card from the number deck, and is primarily used in the Tall Tales portion of the game. If multiple players must DNC for a card's/event's effect, they are required to reshuffle the number deck before another player draws, unless otherwise stated.

• ROLL: This is an instruction for players to roll the six sided die.

• Deactivate On Use: Cards that state, "deactivate on use" will be deactivated instead of being discarded when they are used. See "Discard vs Deactivate" on pg. 10.

• Unresolved: Any card that has been played and turned face up (revealed), but has not been resolved.

• NV (Numerical Value): NV is any number written as a numeral / typographically, as opposed to written out as a word. For example, "3" is considered an NV, but "three" is not. This does not apply to the numerical values of listed ROLL or DNC possibilities.

  Example 1: If you play a card with an FX that states, "2 DMG to any two foes of your choosing" along with a combine card that says, "+1 to the NV of the FX of any spell this card is played with," it would result in dealing 3 DMG to any two foes of your choosing, not dealing 3 DMG to any three foes of your choosing. If it were written as "2 DMG to any 2 foes of your choosing" it would then be changed to dealing 3 DMG to any 3 foes of your choosing.

  Example 2: A card reads, "Roll: 1,2,3 = Gain +3 HP, or 4,5,6 = Gain +3 EP." If that card gains +1 NV, it now reads, "Roll: 1,2,3 = Gain +4 HP, or 4,5,6 = Gain +4 EP."

Action Cards

There are three types of action cards available to a Grimslinger: Spells, Skills and Items. Action cards are cards kept in your hand or stash and played during various parts of the game.

Spell Cards

Elements

There are six elements: FIRE, WATER, EARTH, WIND, ICE and LIGHTNING. Element spells are the only cards that contain a weakness banner, which shows what elements have an advantage over one another.

Anatomy of an Element Spell (Figure 01)

1. Title Banner: The name of the element.
2. Weakness Banner: This describes which elements this card does and does not beat.
3. FX Section: These are the special effects that can happen when playing this card. If a spell's FX are ever mentioned, it is referring to what is written here.
4. Resolution Number: When cards are revealed, this number is referenced to determine in what order they are resolved. Element spells all have an RN of 9, but other spells will have a variation.
5. Target: This states who this card targets. It is either Self, Team, All, All Foes, or Single Target. Unless otherwise stated on the card, if a card targets Team, it also targets Self.

Element spells work differently than other cards you may play, in that they have special interactions with each other. The easiest way to understand these relationships is to think of the elements as two variations of Rock, Paper, Scissors. (Figure 02)

• WEAK: If your element is weak to your target's unresolved element, your element will be discarded without doing any DMG or other FX.
• NEUTRAL: If your element is neutral towards your target's element, both elements will resolve normally.
• STRONG: If your element is strong against your target's unresolved element, their element will be discarded without doing any DMG or other FX.

Note: Elemental strength and weakness is only determined when a card resolves. If your target played an element strong to yours, but that card is resolved or otherwise discarded before your card resolves, then you won't have to deal with the elemental weakness. See "Examples and Card Clarifications" on pg. 20.

Light and Dark

There are two element spells in the core game that are unlike the others - LIGHT (1) and DARK (2). These are powerful spells, typically only used at specific times during the solo/co-op mode by enemies, and are not to be used by players in that mode. Experienced players may choose to add the LIGHT and DARK elements to the signature spell deck before beginning the Versus Duel. (Figure 03)

Note: If you own the Collector's Card Pack that comes with extra DARK and LIGHT elements, you may give each player their own set of DARK and LIGHT in addition to the standard six elements. These would not count as your signature spells in this instance.

Signatures

Unlike elements, signature spells are all unique, meaning the ones you choose to use will be yours exclusively. Signature spells do not have a weakness banner, but do have an energy cost indicator in the bottom right corner.

Anatomy of a Signature Spell (Figure 04)

1. Title Banner: The name of the signature spell.
2. FX Section: These are the special effects that can happen when playing this card. If a spell's FX are ever mentioned, it is referring to what is written here.
3. Resolution Number: When cards are revealed, this number is referenced to determine in what order they are resolved. The six element spells all have an RN of 9, but other spells will have numbers 1-10.
4. Target: This states who this card targets. It is either Self, Team, All, All Foes or Single Target. Unless otherwise stated in the card's FX, if a card targets Team, it also targets Self.
5. Energy Cost Indicator: Only signature spells have these. It shows how many energy points (EP) this card costs to use.

Your signature spells can be one of your greatest sources for turning the tide of a duel in your favor. A perfectly timed Hush could save you from defeat, a well placed Redirect could cripple the player in the lead, and so on. There are many signature spells that have great synergy with each other, and can foster amazing feats when paired with a teammate's signatures during a turn.

Some signatures have more involved effects than others. See "Specific Signature Spells Explained" on pg. 21.

Note: Grimslingers: The Northern Territory, and Grimslingers: Advanced Duels each contain extra signature spells that can be added to the Signature spell deck that comes with the core game.

Skill Cards

Each of the four Grimslingers in The Northern Territory expansion - Kipper, Nyunyo, La Fleur, and Luella - have a set of eight skill cards that are unique to their character. See "Characters" on pg. 12.

Note: Additional characters are available in separate character packs.

Anatomy of a Skill Card (Figure 05)

1. Title Banner: This is the name of the skill.
2. Description Banner: This is flavor text related to the skill that does not have any bearing on game play.
3. FX Section: This details the special effects that can happen when playing this card. FX can also describe special conditions for how the card is to be used, and what the associated costs are.
4. RN: If a skill card is a Standard type skill, it is played face down during the Draw phase. Like spells and items, this number is referenced to determine the order in which action cards are resolved during the Aftermath phase.
5. Target: This specifies who this card targets. Some skill cards do not have targets.
6. Type: This specifies the type of skill this is. Some skills have multiple types. Types determine when and how to use that item.

Skill cards range drastically between Grimslingers, each requiring a different resource that is unique to that character in order to use. Skill cards will specify whether they are used during the Standoff phase, the Draw phase, or the Aftermath phase.

Spending Resources

Each Grimslinger has a unique resource that is used to pay for their skills. These resources all function similar to HP and EP, with a cover card and tracker underneath. See "Characters" on pg. 12.

Attention: These rules for spending resources apply to any instance you may encounter throughout the game (such as event cards or story parts), not just action cards.

There are two main distinctions between spending resources. In either case, the resource costs associated with a card are not paid until the card resolves.

• Lose/Deduct: If a card specifies a player to lose or deduct a resource, that player lowers the associated resource by the corresponding amount. The player must reduce their resource as much as they are able (up to the amount specified) but are not penalized if they cannot subtract the full amount. In general, cards that affect the user will say deduct, and cards that affect the target will say lose. Example: If the FX of a card says "you lose 3 EP" but you only have 2 EP, reduce your EP to zero and continue play.
• Cost/Pay: If a card specifies that an FX has a cost, or that a player must pay a resource, it is a requirement that must be met in order for the rest of the card's FX to resolve. Immediately deactivate the card if a cost cannot be paid, unless otherwise stipulated on the card. Example: If the FX of a card says "costs 3 EP" but you only have 2 EP, reduce your EP to zero, and then deactivate the card without resolving the remainder of the FX.

Attention: Skill cards are only ever deactivated - never discarded. Even if an effect or ability would instruct you to discard a skill card, place it in your deactivate pile instead. See "Discard vs Deactivate" on pg. 10.

Types of Skills

• Standard: These are played during the Draw phase instead of playing a spell card.
• Combine: These action cards will instruct what type of card they can be combined with. Unless a card's FX state otherwise, you cannot play multiple combine cards together.
• Standoff: Can only be used during the Standoff phase as a Standoff action. See "The Standoff Phase" on pg. 18.
• Passive: Used when stipulated on the card, either played from your hand or kept in your passive space.

Passive Space

Passive type skills serve a multitude of functions, and can be used at different points throughout the game. The card itself will direct players how and when to use the skill. In general, there are two types of passive skills: those that stay out on the board, and those that remain in your hand. Passive skills that stay out on the board will say "keep this card in your passive space." Unless otherwise stipulated, players who have this type of skill begin the duel with the card face up in front of them, and it remains readily available throughout the battle. Otherwise, the passive cards are kept in your hand until the instructions on the card indicate that the passive skill may be played.

Note: During the Versus Duel, there is no limit to the number of passive cards you can have in your passive space at a time.

Attention: Most Legendary items found in the Tall Tale are passive type items. Passive Legendary items do not take up a slot in your passive space - but a player may only have one Legendary item in their passive space at any given time.

However, when beginning a Tall Tale, players may only have one card in their passive space, but may spend progress points to increase their passive space limit. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23.

Discard vs Deactivate

After an action card is used, it will generally end up in one of two piles:

• Discard (Face Up): Unless otherwise stated in the FX, action cards are discarded after use. Discarded items go to a common item discard pile on item space mat, while discarded spells go to a player's personal discard pile. The most common way to get discarded spells back is to use your Anima's Reload ability. Note: You only need to have the top card of your discard pile showing, but it must always be your most recent spell played. In a Versus Duel, this puts the onus on your opponents to keep track of what spells you have already played.
• Deactivate (Face Down): Deactivated cards are similar to discarded cards, but are kept in a separate pile. These cards cannot be used, and must be kept face down. During the Standoff phase, you may use a Standoff action to reactivate deactivated cards; deduct 3 EP and return six cards of your choice from your deactivated pile. Action cards can be deactivated as the result of many different things, some of which are a card's FX, the Anima Surge ability, or certain story moments during a Tall Tale. Grimslinger skill cards are always deactivated, never discarded.

Note: If an effect allows you to return cards from your discard or deactivate pile to your hand (such as the Reload or Reactivate Standoff actions), you are limited by your hand size. If your hand is full, the remaining cards enter your stash. If your stash is full, the left over cards must remain in your discard or deactivate pile. In the Versus Duel, your hand limit is 8, and your stash is limitless. In the Tall Tale, characters start with a hand limit of 5 and a stash limit of 3 - both of which can be increased by spending progress points. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23.

Item Cards

There are two types of items in Grimslingers: General items and Tall Tale items. Of the Tall Tale items, there are three categories: World items, designated by a red icon (1), Ritual items, designated by a glowing blue border (2), and Legendary items, designated by a golden frame (3). All items that are not one of the three categories of Tall Tale items are General items. (Figure 06)

See "Set up the Item Space Mat" on pg. 16 for how to setup the item deck and scavenge field for a Versus Duel, or "Tall Tale Game Space" on pg. 27 for how to setup the item deck and legendary item deck for a Tall Tale.

Anatomy of an Item (Figure 07)

1. Title Banner: The name of the item.
2. Description Banner: The flavor text related to the item that does not have any bearing on game play.
3. FX Section: This details the special effects that can happen when playing this card. FX can also describe special conditions for how the card is used.
4. RN: When cards are revealed, this number is referenced to determine the order in which they are resolved during the Aftermath phase. Some items do not have an RN.
5. Target: This specifies who this card targets. Some items do not have targets.
6. Type: This specifies the item type. Some items have multiple types. Types determine when and how to use that item.

Types of Items

• Standard: Played during the Draw phase instead of playing a spell card.
• Combine: Can be combined with another card during the Draw phase. You cannot play multiple combine cards together unless otherwise stipulated on the card itself. If the combine card stipulates a specific card (such as the WIND element spell), then it can only be played with that specific card.
• Standoff: Can only be used during the Standoff phase as a Standoff action.
• Instant: Must be resolved as soon as it is put into your hand. In Versus mode, Instant type items resolve immediately when taken from the Scavenging Field, before they are replaced.
• Passive: Follow the instructions on the card itself for when and how a passive item can be used.

Note: Refer to the Item Space mat for information about where to keep items throughout the game.

HP/EP Trackers and Animas

Players will use their Grimslinger portrait card to track their health points (HP) by placing their portrait card on top of a health tracker card. When a player takes damage (DMG) or gains health, they will adjust their HP by sliding their portrait card up, or down, on the health tracker. Likewise, players will use their Anima card to track their energy points (EP) by placing the Anima card on top of an energy tracker card. (Figure 08)

In the Versus Duel, Grimslingers start with 8 HP and 8 EP, but may go up to a max of 10 HP or EP throughout the course of the duel. In a Tall Tale, Grimslingers start with 5 HP and 5 EP, which can be increased by spending progress points. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23. During a Tall Tale, you cannot exceed your current maximum HP/EP, and at no point can a Grimslinger have more than 10 HP/EP at a time.

Anima Abilities

Your Anima has three abilities that can be used during the Standoff phase of a duel. Each of these abilities costs one Standoff action. Although you have two Standoff actions during the Standoff phase - you can only use one Anima ability per turn. For example, you cannot Surge and then Reload in the same turn. (Figure 09)

• Reload: Pay three EP to take four spells of your choice back from your discard pile. This is the main way to get spells back into your hand if they've been discarded.
• Purge: Discard up to two spells and gain one EP per spell discarded.
• Surge: Deactivate three spell cards and flip your Anima card over to surge. While surged, the next spell you play that turn will gain +1 NV to its FX. See "Discard vs Deactivate" on pg. 10 for more details on deactivating cards.

Note: Your Anima's Surge ability mentions a "face-off," this is a feature of the Versus duel that existed in the first and second edition of Grimslingers, but has been removed. Don't worry, surge is still very useful!

Characters

There are four playable characters in The Northern Territory expansion, each with their own special resource and eight powerful skill cards. When playing a Versus Duel, each player selects four of their character's eight skill cards at the start of the game to bring into battle. See "Versus Setup" on pg. 15. When playing a Tall Tale, players must purchase their skill cards with progress points earned throughout their adventure. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23. Note that any Grimslinger from the core game not mentioned in this section should not be used. Additional Grimslingers are available via separate character packs.

Kipper

Special Resource - Durability

When a Versus Duel or Tall Tale session begins, set Catsbane's durability to 10. Throughout the battle, Kipper's skill cards will spend durability, but it will not replenish during the fight. At the end of each Aftermath phase, if Kipper has taken three or more total DMG (regardless of the number of opponents, or who dealt him the DMG) he enters Manaform - becoming a hulking abomination capable of both dishing out and taking serious pain. Flip Catsbane over when entering Manaform. While in Manaform, all of Kipper's skill cards have +1 NV and only cost a single durability. This does not affect Kipper's spells or item cards. While in Manaform, the FX of any card a foe applies to you will be reduced by 1 NV. If Kipper takes 3 or more DMG while in Manaform, he will stay in Manaform for the following turn. If he does not, he returns to normal size (flip the card back over) and continues the fight. There is no limit to the number of times you can enter Manaform in a duel.

Note: During a Tall Tale, Kipper gains 3 Durability during the Rest phase of each Adventure turn, unless you are on a numbered area tile that is a spade or a club.

Kipper Strategies and Clarifications

One of Kipper's biggest advantages is his ability to stack multiple instances of +1 NV. Manaform, Transmutation Alloy, Incessant Barking, and Alloy Amplifier all increase Kipper's NV, and, if played correctly, can all overlap with one another. Additionally, remember that "+1 NV" is itself a number value, so if a card that gives +1 NV affects another card whose FX give +1 NV, the second card now gives +2 NV. Keep your eye out for opportunities to create a chain reaction of empowering your abilities.

Recommended skills for your first duel: Alloy Amplifier, Incessant Barking, Elemental Alloy, Sword Post.

La Fleur

Special Resource - Blood

La Fleur's primary source of Blood is her Feast ability, which is found on the back of her Vampyrism card. Feast is not a skill nor a spell - it is an ability unique to La Fleur, which allows her to spend both of her Standoff actions to charge in for a bite. When you Feast, draw a card from the Fate deck, and read the corresponding effect. The possible results from Feast vary, but all of them involve you gaining some blood. La Fleur can spend blood to activate her powerful abilities, some of which give you an optional choice to stop what you're doing and go in for another bite. While in combat, La Fleur can also rely on her ursine companion to provide blood in a pinch, heal up her wounds, and empower her attacks.

La Fleur Strategies and Clarifications

One of La Fleur's most noteworthy skills is her 4-in-1 Vampyric passive, featuring Blood Rage for extra power, Vampyric Speed for lower RNs, Regenerate to heal up, and Resist to endure harmful effects. It's a powerful card that stays in your passive space as soon as it enters your arsenal (it never enters your hand, but remains in front of you throughout the game). At any point while this passive is in front of you, you have access to all four game changing abilities, each of which specify how and when they can be used. Your Vampyric abilities will quickly drain your blood however, so it is important to select your skills accordingly.

When a Versus Duel or Tall Tale session begins, set La Fleur's blood to 0. Activating La Fleur's Feast or other skills during a duel is the only way to gain blood. When playing a Tall Tale, it is important to remember that the 4-in-1 passive can be used outside of a duel (for example, using Resist in response to an event card). Note that the abilities that say Standoff require a Standoff action.

Note: When playing a Tall Tale, do not reset La Fleur's blood at the end of a duel.

Recommended skills for your first duel: Vampyric Abilities (4-in-1 passive), Bloody Friend, De L'ombre, Bonne Nuit.

Luella

Special Resource - Control

As Luella activates her skills, she begins to lose her internal struggle with the Gaia Mind, becoming less and less in control of her own body. Luella begins a Versus Duel and Tall Tale session with her control tracker in the "in control" position. Her skill cards will cause the tracker to move up, giving her new double-edged bonuses. The first time Luella loses a bit of control, she becomes "conflicted," which makes her attacks slower by increasing the RN, but increases the power of her non-DMG FX. It's worth noting that this bonus also affects any items she plays, and even cards activated during the Standoff phase (which aren't affected by RN). The next time Luella loses control, she becomes completely "overtaken." While overtaken, your cards are faster, stronger, and you take less DMG. The catch of being overtaken is three fold; you can only play spell cards during the Draw phase, that spell has to be totally random, and each time you start a new Standoff phase while overtaken you must pay 2 EP or return to in control. Aside from not being able to pay the EP upkeep, there is no other way to lower your control tracker during a duel, and you must pay 2 EP if you have it. At the end of each duel (in Tall Tales and Versus mode) reset Luella's tracker to in control.

Luella Strategies and Clarifications

When playing as Luella, you are constantly walking a fine line between precision and chaos. The control tracker only ever moves up as a result of skill cards, and rarely resets. By reading your opponent and activating Luella's skills at the right time, you can maximize the advantages of each stage of control, and minimize the penalties. Note that if your control changes during the Standoff phase, your new control level will affect the other two phases that turn. To play a random spell while overtaken, remove all items and skill cards from your hand, and shuffle your remaining spells face down. Select a spell at random, play it for the Draw phase, and then return all your cards to your hand. After randomly selecting a spell, you may still choose to use a combine type item in conjunction with that spell.

Recommended skills for your first duel: Ancient Acuity, Of Two Minds, Splinter Spark, and Triage of Protection.

Nyunyo

Special Resource - Ammo

When a Versus Duel or Tall Tale session begins, set Nyunyo's Bullet Chamber to 0, and his ammo belt to 10. Your bullet chamber can never hold more than six ammo at a time. During the Standoff phase, you may choose to load up to two bullets into your chamber - reduce the ammo belt and increase your bullets in the chamber by the amount chosen. Loading bullets into the chamber does not count as a Standoff action; however, you must remember to do so during the Standoff phase (if you choose to) and must announce it to the other players. In a Versus Duel, you will only have access to 10 ammo total - so use them wisely! While playing the Tall Tale, anytime Nyunyo would draw or gain an item, you may choose not to take that item and instead gain three bullets in your ammo belt. Shuffle that item back into the item deck instead of drawing or discarding it.

Nyunyo Strategies and Clarifications

Nyunyo has limited bullets per duel, which are consumed by his skill cards. Planning out when you want to spend bullets - and making sure you have enough - is the key to success. Nyunyo also has several cards at his disposal which do not consume bullets. These abilities range from defensive (like Nine Lives or Feline Springboard, which can keep you alive in a pinch) to offensive (like Alma's abilities, Ghost Mark, and Spirit Voyeur). It is a good idea to take a mix of these abilities into combat to make sure you have a well rounded arsenal of options.

Note: When playing a Tall Tale, do not reset your bullets (in your chamber or on your belt) at the end of a duel.

Recommended skills for your first duel: Charged Chamber, Nine Lives, Showstopper, and Ghost Mark.

Target Cards

Target cards are only used in the Versus Duel when dueling with more than two players. You may ignore Target cards for a 1v1 duel.

• Target cards are not part of a player's hand, but instead kept face down in your character space.
• The back of the Target card must match what color player you are. Your player color is determined by the color of your player board. See "Versus Setup" on pg. 15.
• When played, the front of a Target card indicates which color opponent you are targeting this turn.
• When using Target cards, you only need to have Target cards that match every other player's color on the front. For example, in a three player duel, you only need two Target cards that match the color of the other players.
• For example, in a 3 player duel, if your opponents chose blue and green as their colors, you will need two Target cards with green and blue circles on them.

See "The Draw Phase" on pg. 18 to learn more about how to use Target cards in a duel. (Figure 10)

Versus Setup

1. Take Your Player Mat
   • Randomly assign each player a colored player mat. The player mat also contains useful reminder information for the phases and steps of a duel.
2. Acquire Target Cards (3+ Players)
   • If playing a duel with three or more players, each player must take the Target cards corresponding with the color of their player mat, and remove the Target cards that do not pertain to the color of his or her opponents.
   • For example: If the other players chose black and red, and you chose blue, you will have two Target cards that have the blue skull symbol on the back with a black circle on the front of one and a red circle on the front of the other.
3. Select a Grimslinger and Anima
   • Players may freely pick the Grimslinger or Anima cards they wish to use. If two players would like to use the same Grimslinger or Anima, roll and give the card(s) to the highest roll (re-roll if tied).
   • When picking a Grimslinger, take that character's portrait, resource tracker and cover cards, and their eight special skill cards.
   • See "Characters" on pg. 12 for information on which character can be chosen.
4. Set Up Your Character Space
   • Players should arrange their character space as shown in Figure 11. Note that Target cards are only used when playing a duel with 3+ players.
   • Set your HP and EP: Each player sets their Grimslinger to 8 HP and their Anima to 8 EP. During the course of the duel, players may go up to a max of 10 HP/EP.
   • See "Characters" on pg. 12 to determine the starting value of your Grimslinger's unique resource.

• Create the Scavenge Field.
  • Remove all Tall Tale items and return them to the box. Shuffle the regular items together and place them face down where all players can reach them.
  • Flip three item cards face up and place them in a row next to the item deck to create the scavenge field.
  • Note: As a Standoff action, players may take a single item card from the scavenge field. Combine, Standoff, and Instant type items are free to take. Standard and Passive items cost 1 EP to take from the scavenge field. When a card is taken, it is immediately replaced with the top card of the item deck. Instant type items are resolved as soon as they are picked up.
  • If an item is discarded, it will go into the shared item discard pile, which is next to the item deck.

Versus Duel

A Versus Duel is made up of turns that repeat until someone, or a team, emerges victorious. Each turn consists of three phases: The Standoff, The Draw, and The Aftermath. At the end of each Aftermath phase, if a player's HP reaches zero and they cannot immediately restore it with a card or ability, they are defeated and removed from the duel. A player or team wins when all other players have been defeated!

Versus Modes

Free For All (2+ Players)

This is your standard every man, woman, or creature for themselves duel, for those who want to throw down and hold their own.

• Victory Condition: Eliminate all opponents by bringing their HP to 0 and be the last Grimslinger standing!
• Estimated Duration: 20 Minutes for a 1v1, +10 minutes per additional player added to that.

Teams (2v2 or 3v3)

This mode has players divided into teams. It's great for those who enjoy strategizing and synergizing their actions with friends. This mode can be played with even teams of two or three.

• Victory Condition: Reduce the HP of all opposing players to 0. Only a single member of a team needs to survive for that team to be victorious.
• Estimated Duration: 30 Minutes for a 2v2, or 45 minutes for a 3v3.

Attention: Important for playing a 3+ player duel: When playing with three or more players, it is possible that multiple players will target the same person in the Draw phase. During the Aftermath phase, if more than one player is targeting the same player, the FX of all cards that are specifically targeting that player have -1 DMG to their FX. This does not apply to cards that target All or Self.

Starting A Duel

Players roll to determine who gets the first player token. The highest wins, and re-roll for ties. The first player token is the red meeple that came with the game. The first player token will be used to determine the order in which players take their actions within the Standoff phase, and the order in which cards with the same RN will resolve during the Aftermath phase. (Figure 13)

Play starts with the first player and then proceeds clockwise (meaning to the left, from the first player's perspective).

How to Duel

The following is the order of operation for resolving a single turn of a Versus Duel.

The Standoff Phase

A player may take up to two Standoff actions during each Standoff phase. The player with the first player token takes their two Standoff actions first, declaring them out loud. Players then proceed taking their Standoff actions, one at a time, in clockwise order from the first player. Below is a list of options players can do for their Standoff actions. It is not necessary to use all your Standoff actions each phase. Players may choose to use the same Standoff action twice if they wish (with the exception of your Anima abilities).

• Sacrifice Health: Sacrifice HP for EP at a 1:1 ratio.
• Action Card: Play and resolve one Standoff type action card, such as a skill or item.
• Anima Ability: Use either Reload, Purge or Surge. Can only use one per turn. See "Anima Abilities" on pg. 12.
• Grimslinger Ability: Some Grimslingers have special actions that only their character can take during the Standoff phase. See "Characters" on pg. 12. For example, La Fleur's Feast ability.
• Scavenge: Take one of the available items from the scavenge field. If that item is a Standard or Passive type item, you must deduct 1 EP to take it. There is no limit to how many items you may have total amongst your hand or stash. Replace that item in the scavenge field after it is taken. Instant type items must be resolved immediately when drawn, before being replaced.
• Reactivate: Deduct 3 EP to return up to 6 deactivated cards to your hand. See "Discard vs Deactivate" on pg. 10.

When all players have finished their Standoff actions, the Standoff phase ends and the Draw phase begins.

The Draw Phase

Step One (Skip if playing a 1v1 duel)

• Starting with the first player and then going clockwise in turn order, players now choose a Target card and play it face down.
• Once everyone has chosen a Target card, all must shout, "Ready!" Then players will reveal their cards at the same time.

Step Two

• Starting with the first player and then going clockwise in turn order, each player now chooses an action card and places it face down. Combine type cards let you play more than one action card. (Figure 14)
• If you must, or want to pass, do not play an action card on your turn. Instead declare you are passing. Gain 2 EP, and pick up your Target card (if you played one).
• Once everyone has chosen an action card (or passed), all players must shout, "Draw!" Then players will reveal their cards at the same time. This marks the end of the Draw phase, continue on to the Aftermath phase.

The Aftermath Phase

1. Check RN: Players must first check every card's RN (resolution number). The card with the lowest RN will resolve first, followed by the card with the next highest RN and so on. (Figures 15 and 16)
   • Do you have the same RN as someone else? If two or more cards have the same RN, they will be resolved clockwise from the first player marker.
   • Resolve your card: When it is time for you to resolve your card, follow the steps below. Note that at the time your card resolves, all other cards that have not yet resolved are considered "unresolved".
   • Does your card have resource costs? When resolving your card(s) you must first pay any EP or character specific resource costs it has before resolving its FX. If you do not have enough of the designated resource to cover the card's costs, you must deduct what you do have and then deactivate the card you played. See "Spending Resources" on pg. 9.
   • Apply your card's FX: Apply the effects listed on your card to whomever your card targets (Self, Team, All, All Foes, Single Target).
     • Note: A card's FX are applied in the order they are written. If the FX of a card would cause the user's HP to drop to 0, do not resolve the remainder of the FX. However, if a card's target is defeated in the middle of a card's FX, the remainder of the FX will still apply.
   • Did you play an element spell? Element spells have additional rules to follow when resolving them, which are:
     • Element Weaknesses: If your target also played an element spell, and that element beats yours, your spell will do nothing and be immediately discarded. It does not matter who your target is targeting for this effect to occur.
     • Element Neutrality: If your target played an element spell that doesn't beat the element spell you played, nor is beaten by yours, your spell will resolve normally.

End of Turn

The turn ends when all players have finished resolving their action cards. If victory conditions have not been met, pass the first player token clockwise, beginning the next turn.

Examples and Card Clarifications

1v1 Element Resolution Example

Walter (1) is ready to go all in to defeat his opponent, Caitlin (2). During the Standoff phase, Walter uses his Anima's Surge ability (3), deactivating three cards in order to empower the LIGHTNING spell (4) he is going to play that turn. Caitlin, anticipating that Walter is going for the kill, uses one of her Standoff actions to activate her Anima's Reload ability, and gets EARTH back from her discard pile. During the Draw phase, Walter plays Lightning and Caitlin plays EARTH (5), both face down. Then, they both shout, "Draw!" and reveal the cards they played. (Figure 17)

In the Aftermath phase, the first thing they check is the RN of their cards (6). Both spells have an RN of 9. Because Walter has the first player token, his spell will resolve first. Then they look for elemental strength/weakness (7). Walter played an element that is weak to his target's element, so LIGHTNING is discarded instead of resolving, and doesn't apply its FX. With LIGHTNING out of the way, EARTH is the only card left to resolve, dealing 2 DMG to Walter and healing Caitlin for 2 HP.

3 Player Free For All Example

Andrew, Ian, and Maggie are at the end of an explosive duel. During Step One of the Draw Phase, Target cards are revealed to show all three players targeting one another round robin. (Figure 18)

During step two of the Draw phase, the trio all place an action card from their hand face down. Then when everyone is ready, they shout, "Draw!" together and flip over their cards.

First, players check the RN of their cards. Magnify has an RN of 10, while the two elements have an RN of 9. Andrew is to the left of the first player token, so his spell will resolve before Maggie's. However, in this case, Andrew used WIND to target a player who is using ICE. Because WIND is weak to ICE, the spell is discarded before its FX resolves. ICE then resolves against Ian, dealing 2 DMG and reducing Ian's EP by 2. Now lacking enough EP to play his Magnify spell, Ian's card is deactivated, and his turn is rendered useless. An excellent turn for Maggie! (Figure 19)

Specific Signature Spells Explained

Bloodlust is a powerful spell that turns your opponent's offense against them. At the cost of taking a few hits, Bloodlust will power up your next attack by the amount of damage you've taken. Although Bloodlust is technically discarded after use, it is worthwhile to keep it separate from the discard pile, face up in the play space, as a reminder that your Grimslinger's offensive power is temporarily increased. The next time you resolve a spell that could potentially deal DMG to an opponent, even if it's two turns later, that spell will gain bonus DMG equal to the amount of HP you lost the turn you played Bloodlust.

While Bloodlust is face up in front of you, you can still use your Anima's Reload ability to take it back from your discard pile like a normal spell. In this event, players are expected to record or remember the bonus value pending from the previous use of Bloodlust.

The Bloodlust FX counts even if you prevent the DMG actually being dealt to you. Bloodlust tallies the potential DMG you would have taken from all the action cards targeting you, even if you are completely protected by another ability - such as the FX of an ally's Exalt spell. However, spells like Evert, which turn DMG into healing, do not trigger Bloodlust's FX. In this case the DMG isn't being prevented or negated, the FX are being completely changed to healing.

Equilibrium can be extremely volatile, despite its name. Equilibrium has an RN of 3, making it one of the faster spells in the game. When Equilibrium resolves, all other cards that are unresolved are subject to be changed by Equilibrium. The player who used Equilibrium may choose one of those unresolved spells to "copy" - at which point, all of the unresolved spells, and Equilibrium, will resolve as if they were the chosen card. Equilibrium can lead to some pretty wacky scenarios, and could result in players all taking a lot of DMG, or no one taking any. For example, if Equilibrium turns everyone's spell into Redirect, there would be no real FX to redirect, and the turn would essentially become a wash. However, if Equilibrium turned everyone's spell into LIGHTNING, all players would end up taking serious DMG.

Redirect is a favorite among underhanded Grimslingers, Redirect allows you to completely rearrange the direction of all other unresolved action cards on the battlefield. Redirect may be used to change the target of every other unresolved card that turn. When choosing a new target for another player's card, you do not need to look for another Target card, but may simply declare who you want the redirected card to target. You may have an opponent who was targeting you use their card on another player, or you can force that player to target themselves! Only cards with a single target may be affected by Redirect.

Example: Erica and Miles each target Kevin. Erica uses LIGHTNING, and Miles uses FIRE. The combined 5 DMG would be more than enough to defeat Kevin; however, Kevin played Redirect. In the Aftermath phase, Kevin's Redirect has the lowest RN, and thus resolves first. He uses Redirect to force Erica's spell to target Miles, and forces Miles's spell to target himself! The resulting 5 DMG is sufficient to defeat Miles, leaving the rest of the duel down to just Kevin and Erica.

Resurrect allows a player to avoid defeat. Resurrect cannot be used like a normal spell - meaning you cannot play it during the Draw phase, nor use it to target an opponent. Instead, Resurrect sits in your hand until your darkest hour. While Resurrect is in your hand, whenever you would be defeated (reduced to 0 HP), Resurrect is immediately activated and played from your hand. When played, you may choose to spend any amount of your remaining EP, and return to life with that much HP. Meaning if you spent 3 EP, you'd Resurrect with 3 HP. After being activated, Resurrect is placed in your discard pile like a normal spell, and may be returned to your hand with your Anima's Reload ability.

Note: If you forget to resolve Resurrect when your HP reaches 0, you will not be able to retroactively do it.

Scourge is a slow and painful death. Scourge will damage its target a little bit every turn that it's left around. Scourge deals no DMG initially, but is played during the Draw phase like a normal spell, and must have a target. If Scourge successfully hits its target, place Scourge face up in that target's play space instead of discarding it like a normal spell. For as long as Scourge is in that player's space, that player will lose 1 HP at the beginning of every Standoff phase. As soon as that player gains any amount of HP after Scourge has been applied to them, Scourge is removed and sent to its owner's discard pile. While Scourge is face up in another player's space, it is not considered a spell in your discard pile and cannot be returned to your hand via your Anima's Reload ability. However, after Scourge is removed from its target's space and returned to your discard pile, it may be reloaded like a normal spell.

Note: Scourge causes its target to lose HP, not take DMG. If an FX causes a player to lose HP, that HP loss cannot be mitigated by an ability that prevents DMG. For example, the signature spell Barrier cannot be used to prevent the loss of HP from Scourge.

Specter is similar to the Resurrect spell, but with a few key differences. Like Resurrect, Specter is not played during the Draw phase, but instead kept in your hand until your HP reaches 0. Specter can only be activated at the end of the Aftermath phase in which your HP was reduced to 0. In order for Specter to work, you must have 2 EP to pay. If Specter successfully resolves, you'll be temporarily returned to the game with 4 HP. On the following turn, you must successfully deal 3 DMG to a single target (it does not have to be the same target who previously reduced your HP to 0). If you deal 3 DMG (actually reduce a target's HP by 3, not just play a spell that could potentially deal 3 DMG), the HP you gained from Specter will be permanent, and you'll be back in the game for real. If you do not deal 3 DMG, you return to 0 HP at the end of that Aftermath phase.

If you do not deal 3 DMG, but still deal sufficient DMG to defeat your opponent when your action card resolves, you will win the duel despite not meeting the requirements to keep your Specter HP. So even though you're both technically dead at the end of the fight, the duel is not considered a tie because your opponent was defeated before you were.

Item Clarifications

Revive Juju is the only passive type item in the core game. The Revive Juju stays in your hand, and gets played immediately when your HP reaches 0, preventing you from being defeated and instead reviving you with 1 HP. Using a Revive Juju will allow you to avoid being defeated in a Tall Tales campaign. Since a card's FX are all applied in the order they are written, if a player holding the Revive Juju is defeated by WIND, they may activate the Revive Juju before deactivating cards as a result of WIND's FX.

Unstable Dynamite picking up a stick of dynamite typically goes one of two ways; either it blows up in your face, or you blow off the dust and carefully place it in your stash. The dynamite item in Grimslingers happens in two steps; when the item is first drawn, it is an instant type item - you roll to see if it explodes immediately. If it does explode, you take DMG and then discard the item. If not, it becomes a regular standard type item, and is no longer considered instant.

Treasure Map Pieces & Hex Fragments: When you collect three of either item, you may then discard the three cards into the shared item discard pile, at any point in the game (except when resolving a story part), and draw what is stipulated on the card.

The Solo/Co-op Mode

The solo/co-op mode of Grimslingers is also called a Tall Tale, an experience in which players progress through a narrative campaign while also exploring, leveling up, collecting loot, and dueling creatures.

The Tall Tale Campaign

Follow the campaign booklets, beginning with the Valley of Death campaign and proceeding to the Child of Light campaign. When continuing from a previous session, players should begin where they left off. See "Continuing from a previous session" on pg. 35. When starting a chapter, place your characters as indicated in the campaign. Players may also perform any of the features of Free Roam mode while playing a campaign.

Note: Players may choose to follow the Valley of Death campaign using only the components found the core game. However, it is recommended that players proceed through the Valley of Death campaign using the new Area Booklet and Area Tile system, along with character skills, resources, and progress points found in The Northern Territory expansion. When following the Valley of Death campaign in the new system, ignore any reference to gaining levels, as these have been replaced with progress points on the Achievement Tracker. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23.

Free Roam

Players are free to explore the Forgotten West without following a campaign booklet. In this mode, players are adventuring out into the Forgotten West on their own, looking to gain progress points, complete bounties, and discover more secrets. If you are beginning a Free Roam session without continuing from a previous game session, begin on the Valley Haven Landmark in the Valley of Death. Otherwise, see "Continuing from a previous session" on pg. 35.

Getting Started (Tall Tale)

To begin your adventure, assign each player a Grimslinger from The Northern Territory expansion or subsequent character pack. If players cannot decide, randomly assign characters. Then, give each player an Achievement Tracker and Progress Tracker. The Northern Territory contains 25 copies of each tracker, but extra copies can be printed out at www.greenbriergames.com/grimslingers. Players should set up their space according to the set up graphic in the Versus Duel. See "Versus Duel" on pg. 17.

Once the Tall Tale player space is set up, and each player has their character ready, open the campaign story book of your choice, and begin reading for instructions on your adventure and objectives. See "Tall Tale Game Space" on pg. 27. Then begin resolving Adventure turns. See "Adventure Turns" on pg. 28.

New Characters

All characters begin with a starting max of five HP and EP, and all six element spells. Characters start with a max hand size of five (meaning they cannot yet hold all six element spells in hand), a max stash size of three, and a max passive space size of one. When players create a character, they gain 20PP to spend. See "Progress Tracker" on pg. 23.

Achievement Tracker

A player's Achievement Tracker is used to mark their personal and group accomplishments throughout a campaign, which rewards them with progress points to be spent in the Progress Tracker. If an achievement says a number of points followed by "/all" (for example 4PP/all) it is a group achievement, which all players should check off when completed, and then mark the progress points gained. If it does not say "/all" the achievement is personal, and refers only to you. An achievement can only be completed once per campaign. For example, players only receive progress points the first time they beat a new creature, not every time.

Progress Tracker

The Progress Tracker is used to spend the progress points that were earned from the Achievement Tracker. Players should keep track of the progress points they have waiting to be spent, and have already spent, using the fields on the Progress Tracker and the notes section on the back of the page. It is recommended to use erasable pencil. Progress points can only be allocated while on a Landmark area tile, during the Rest phase of the Adventure turn. See "Progress Points and Campaigns" on pg. 23. When progress points are spent, the reward is gained immediately. When players gain a new skill card, it can be added to either their stash or their hand, if they have room.

Note: Changes to your max values do not change your current values. For example, if you gain +1 Max HP, you aren't healed 1 HP at the same time, you can just now reach a maximum value of one greater than before.

Progress Points and Campaigns

When choosing a character for a new campaign, whether it is the Valley of Death or the Child of Light, players begin the Tall Tale with 20 progress points to spend. Progress points do not reset between sessions (such as when starting a new chapter). If you play the Valley of Death campaign, and wish to proceed with the same characters to the Child of Light campaign, keep your progress points the same and continue on with the story.

When starting a new chapter, players may choose to reset their progress points in order to "remake" their character. To do so, first make sure you have an accurate count of all the progress points you've earned thus far by referencing your Achievement Tracker. Then, return all cards obtained via the Progress Tracker, and reset all stats to their starting value. You may now redistribute the points you've earned, choosing new upgrades.

Note: Archetype cards and Level Trackers from the core game are not compatible with The Northern Territory expansion. They are replaced by character skills and the progress point system, which can be used to play the original Valley of Death campaign. If you do so, ignore any instructions to gain levels.

The Story Booklet

The story booklet will be your guide through a Tall Tale. There are several chapters, each progressing the story while also providing new and increasingly difficult challenges for players to overcome. The story booklet also contains information for each Landmark area tile, which provide information about a specific place and actions players can perform there.

Chapters

A Tall Tale campaign is broken down into chapters, each of which is broken down into paths and parts. Each chapter progresses the story, but also introduces new challenges and rules. These story-specific challenges and rules are detailed within the story booklets themselves. Players are encouraged to play through the chapters in proper succession, though it is not required to play all the chapters in one play session. Each chapter is designed to last 60 - 90 minutes. The start of each chapter explains how to set up your character if you are starting a new play session or continuing from another chapter in the same session. At the end of each chapter, players return all discarded and deactivated cards back to their hand, along with any other cards instructed by the story booklet. See "Ending a Game Session" on pg. 35.

Paths

The Child of Light campaign introduces diverging story paths. When indicated to choose a path in the story booklet, players should mark down what path they've selected in their campaign notes. Players may be able to complete the objectives of more than one path before moving onto the next chapter or story part. As players progress through a path, they'll receive the corresponding story marker to designate their accomplishments. Players will need to replay the campaign in order to experience every aspect of the different story paths.

Parts

Prerequisites: Each part of a story has a prerequisite that must be met before that part can be read and resolved. These prerequisites could be such things as needing a certain item or items, or being on a specific area tile.

Prerequisite: Must have successfully completed "Part Five - I Hate Cultists" on page 5.

Actions: As you resolve parts, they will detail actions players must take, or options they must choose.

Action: All players return to max EP.

Objectives: Typically, at the end of each part, is an objective. Objectives detail what players should do in order to meet the prerequisites of the next part. Objectives can also offer helpful tips.

Objective: Travel to The King's Altar map node. Make sure you're ready for a fight when you get there!

Area Booklet

An area is an explorable map created by placing a mix of cards from the Fate deck face down or face up based on a predetermined layout. All of the areas for the Valley of Death and Child of Light campaigns are contained in the Northern Territories Area booklet.

Fate cards, when laid out for an area, are called "area tiles." Area tiles are divided into specific outcomes, which are as follows:

• Ace = Attack

• King = Landmark

• Queen = Treasure chest or key

• Jack = Special event

• Wild = Entrances and exits between areas called "Portals"

• Numbers = Diamonds and hearts are events, spades and clubs are nothing (continue with no effect).

• Ace: Represents an attack. Players must perform an attack roll and fight the creature listed for the number rolled, applying modifiers to it as stipulated by the area. Attack roll outcomes are listed in that area's section of The Northern Territory area booklet.

• King: Represents a Landmark. These cards are always placed face up, as opposed to face down and are never randomly encountered. Thus players may plan their route throughout the area around knowing where these Landmarks are and, over time, learning their specific features. When players land on this type of card, they must look it up in the current area's section of The Northern Territory area booklet and resolve the entry for that specific face and suit. Landmarks are also where players can distribute their progress points.

• Queen: Represents a found chest or key. A chest cannot be "opened" unless players have found a key with the corresponding color. Each chest is colored black or white, which corresponds to a black or white key. A chest can only be opened if the character piece is on that tile and players had previously found the correspondingly colored key within the area. When a chest is opened, players get to draw a single random legendary item from the legendary item deck, as a group.

Attention: If you are playing the Valley of Death campaign using the area system from The Northern Territory expansion, any reference to "map nodes" in the Valley of Death story booklet should be considered area tiles instead.

Area Movement

During the movement phase of the Adventure turn, the group will decide which direction they'd like to move the party. To move, turn over an area tile card that is adjacent to the location of the character piece. Then, move the character piece to that card, and resolve the card that was turned over. If players wish to move to a card that has already been turned over, they must resolve it again unless it is a special event. For example, moving onto an Attack tile that is already face up will trigger another semi-random creature duel, based on your current area.

Note: Players may only move orthogonally (up-down or left-right). You may not move diagonally (corner to corner).

Note: No backtracking! Players may not move onto the area tile they were on during the previous Adventure turn, unless otherwise stipulated by the Area booklet or Story booklet.

Setting Up an Area

When entering a new area, begin by laying out the area tiles according to the graphic shown in the Area booklet. Then, create the event deck by finding the designated event cards. Shuffle those cards together to form the event deck for that area, and place the remaining cards back in the box. Do the same for the creature modifier deck, and follow any instructions in the story booklet.

Bounties

Bounties are one of the main focuses of Free Roam mode, but can be completed during any Tall Tale game mode. To complete a bounty, turn to the bounty section of the specific area you are currently exploring in the Area booklet. If the prerequisites are met, you may begin the bounty. Follow the instructions listed in the Area booklet, which supersede any rules written in this booklet.

The activities required to complete a bounty vary. Once a bounty has begun, players cannot complete any more story parts until either completing or abandoning that bounty. If players abandon a bounty, they may choose to begin again if prerequisites are met. If you are defeated during a bounty, refer to the defeat section that most closely resembles the activity you were doing. In most cases, this will either be defeat during a creature duel or an event area tile. See "Defeat" on pg. 34.

During the tile resolution phase, players may choose to resolve a bounty (if they meet the prerequisites) instead of resolving the area tile as normal. If players choose to resolve a bounty while on a legendary chest or key area tile, the tile may be resolved before (and in addition to) a bounty. Bounties offer a variety of rewards. In addition to any loot described in the bounty itself, be sure to check the bounty off on your character's achievement tracker. See "Achievement Tracker" on pg. 23.

Tall Tale Game Space

(Figure 24)

Note: In figure 24, white bubbles refer to components from the core game, black from this expansion, and grey a mix of both.

1. Area Layout: This space is used for creating the areas as specified by the Area Booklet. Each area is comprised of cards from the Fate deck, and takes up a variable amount of space.
2. Core Creatures: These are the creatures found in the core game: Bandits, Chupacabra, Dune Wurm, Jackalope, Peyote Scorpion, and Specter. They can be encountered throughout both the Valley of Death and the Child of Light campaigns.
3. Creature Dispositions: Similar to creature modifiers, dispositions alter how a creature behaves during a duel. Dispositions offer alternative strategies for defeating a creature. All of the dispositions should be included, regardless of your current area. (Figure 25)
4. Creature Modifiers: These cards alter the difficulty level of the creature you are facing, and create new rules for that duel. The types of modifiers currently in the deck, as well as the number of modifiers drawn, are determined by the area you are exploring.
5. Creature Space: This space is used for setting up and keeping track of the creature you are facing in a duel. The creature space mat should be kept in plain view of all players, with the HP and EP trackers (found in the core game) on either side. (Figure 26)
6. Die: A six-sided die used for determining which creature to face on Attack area tiles, as well as certain event cards, Landmarks, story parts, and some creature/player action cards. If an effect says to roll, it is referring to this die.
7. Event Deck & Discard: Random events encountered when a Diamond or Heart suit card is flipped during area movement. The types of event cards that are in the event deck is determined by the area you are currently exploring.
8. Expansion Creatures: These are the creatures found in The Northern Territory expansion: Angsty Goblins, Beebopnid, Magic Mushroom, Nude Taur, Daemon Hunter, and Wisp. They can be encountered throughout the Child of Light campaign, and the Valley of Death campaign if you are using the new area system.

Adventure Turns

In both Campaign mode or Free Roam mode, a Tall Tale game session proceeds in repeated Adventure turns until either the campaign's objective has been met (such as the end of a chapter) or players wish to stop. See "Ending a Game Session" on pg. 35. An Adventure Turn is broken into four phases: Movement, Narrative, Tile Resolution, and Rest.

Movement Phase

• Players decide as a group which adjacent tile to move onto. If the tile is face down, flip it face up before placing the character piece. Players may not move into a space if there is no area tile there. See "Area Movement" on pg. 26.

Narrative Phase (skip if free-roaming)

• Check the campaign story booklet to determine if you've met the prerequisites for a story part. If so, read that story part and follow instructions. If not, continue with the Adventure turn.

Tile Resolution Phase

• Resolve the area tile that the party just moved onto. Refer to the area booklet for specifics on each tile in your current area. See "Area Booklet" on pg. 25.

Rest Phase

• Each player may take a Standoff phase, in which they may perform two Standoff actions - just like a normal Standoff phase in a duel.

Creature Duels

A creature duel is made up of turns that repeat until either the players, or a creature, emerge victorious. A creature is defeated when either its HP or its EP reach 0.

Each turn of the duel consists of three phases: The Standoff, The Draw, and The Aftermath. Setting up and resolving a creature duel will generally be the same throughout the Tall Tale, though there are some unique situations and rules introduced by Landmarks and story parts. These Landmarks and story parts will stipulate how to alter the basic setup and rules of a creature duel. (Figure 28)

Creature Space Setup

1. Draw Modifier: Modifiers go adjacent to the creature portrait card, and add new rules for that duel. Always use creature modifiers when fighting creatures for an Attack area tile, using the types and amounts specified within that area. When fighting creatures as a result of a story part, event card, or Landmark tile, only use creature modifiers when specified.
2. Place Portrait Card: Take the creature portrait card, the card that depicts the creature itself, and place it, and the drawn modifier(s) as shown.
3. Place and Set HP and EP Trackers: Set its HP and EP to the amounts listed for the appropriate player count on the back of the creature portrait card, and place them as shown. Creature HP and EP tracker cards are rotated and/or flipped over to the correct number as the duel progresses. The front of the trackers are for numbers 1-20, while the back of the trackers are for numbers 21-40. Note that you will need enough space around the trackers to rotate them.
4. Draw Dispositions: Shuffle the disposition deck and draw two cards for the creature. Dispositions offer new strategic openings that can be exploited to help defeat a creature. When the requirements of a disposition are met, apply the bonus, then discard that card and draw a replacement. Always use dispositions when fighting creatures on Attack area tiles, event cards, or Landmarks. Dispositions are only used for fighting creatures in story parts when specified via the Story booklet.
5. Create and Place the Creature Skill Deck: Shuffle the generic creature skill deck and randomly draw three generic creature skills to mix with the skill deck of whatever creature is being dueled. Place the new deck face down as shown. Cards in this deck are considered active and the creature's hand. When fighting creatures for story parts, typically all generic skills are used.
6. Played Creature Card: During the Draw phase of a creature duel, creature skill cards will be placed here.
7. Discard and Deactivate Piles: Discarded and deactivated creature skill cards will be placed in the positions shown.

Resolving a Creature Duel

Important notes to review before you begin:

• Victory Condition: Reduce the HP or EP of the creature to 0.

• First Player Token: The creature is always considered to be the first player. The first player token is not used in the Tall Tales (it is being used as the character piece), but the creature is considered the first player in instances where resolution order and other tie-breakers are needed.

  Example: Thomas, Becca, and Erin are in a duel against some Bandits. The duel begins, and the Bandits play a Bandit skill card (as opposed to a general creature skill) face down. Knowing this, the group decides to use Paralyze to stop the Bandit's tricks, followed by two more powerful signature spells, Pierce and Amnesia. All three cards have an RN of 4. (Figure 29)

  When the Aftermath phase begins, the Bandit card is flipped, revealing Berate (which also has an RN of 4). Because the creature is automatically the first player, their card will resolve first in the case of an RN tie. Berate resolves, which renders the upcoming Paralyze useless. Berate resolving first however does result in Pierce and Amnesia gaining +1 NV (part of Berate's FX) before they resolve.

• Creature Actions: If a card requires the creature to perform an action, such as discarding an active card, or playing a card from their hand during the Draw phase, a player (any player) must do this on the creature's behalf.

  Example 1: In the previous example for the first player token, Becca successfully hit Bandits with Amnesia, which also had +1 NV. Becca's improved spell resolves, and the Bandits are forced to randomly discard four active cards. To do this, Becca will take all of the creature's active cards, shuffle them and then randomly choose four active cards on the creature's behalf. After Becca has put four random cards face up into the creature's discard pile, she will put the remaining cards back into the creature's active card pile.

  Example 2: When a creature runs out of active cards, a player must reload and reactivate that creature's skill cards on their behalf. The duel with Becca has progressed and it is now the Standoff phase. The Bandits only have 6 EP left, and all six of their skill cards are in their discard pile - meaning they must attempt to reload them this phase. To do this, Becca lowers the Bandits' EP by 5 leaving them with 1 EP (because a creature will never lower their own EP to 0 in order to reload cards). Becca then shuffles the creature's discard pile, takes five random cards and places them face down in the creature's active card pile. See "Resolving a Creature Duel" on pg. 30.

Creature Duel Turn

The following is the order of phases in which a creature duel turn resolves. Follow these steps when you are ready to begin a duel.

The Standoff

1. Creature Actions: Creatures, of course, do not make choices during the Standoff phase. However, they will attempt to reactivate their cards if certain criteria are met.
   • Reload: When a creature has run out of active cards, it must spend EP to reload discarded cards, at the cost of 1 EP per card. A creature will not reduce its own EP below 1, therefore it will reload as many cards as it can until it has reloaded all discarded cards or until it has only 1 EP left. When a creature reloads discarded cards, it also reactivates all deactivated cards for free (meaning the deactivated cards cost no EP to get back). When discarded cards are reloaded, they are chosen at random, and then shuffled before placing them back in the creature's active pile.
   • Pass: If all of a creature's cards are deactivated, and it has no active or discarded cards, it must pass this turn. If a creature cannot afford to reactivate any discarded skill cards, it will also pass this turn.
2. Player Actions: Each player is allowed to perform two actions during this phase, after the creature has performed theirs (if any). The order in which players resolve their actions is up to the players. It is recommended that players coordinate their actions and tell their teammates what they are doing. Below is a list of options players have for their two Standoff actions:
   • Sacrifice Health: Sacrifice HP for EP at a 1:1 ratio.
   • Action Card: Play and resolve one Standoff type action card, such as a skill or item.
   • Anima Ability: Use either Reload, Purge or Surge. Can only use one Anima ability per turn.
   • Grimslinger Unique Resource: Some Grimslingers have special actions, like La Fleur's Feast, that only their character can take during the Standoff phase. See "Characters" on pg. 12.

The Draw

Follow this sequence of events:

1. Creature Action: A player must take the top card from the creature skill deck and place it face down in the "played creature skill card" position of the creature space.
   • If a creature must pass, because they have no active skill cards, they will immediately gain 2 EP and reactivate all deactivated cards. They do not get discarded cards back this way.
2. Player Action: Each player may now choose and play an action card face up (combine type cards will let you play more than one action card).
   • If you must pass, do not play an action card, but instead declare you are passing and immediately gain 2 EP.
3. Reveal: Once all players and the creature have either passed or played an action card(s), reveal the creature card and continue to the next phase.

The Aftermath Phase

1. Check RN: Players must first check every card's RN. The card with the lowest RN will resolve first, followed by the card with the next highest RN and so on.

   • Do you have the same RN as someone else? If any cards have the same RN, resolve them clockwise from the creature.

   • Resolve your card: Follow these steps. (Figure 30)

     • Does your card have costs? When resolving your card(s) you must first pay any resource costs it has before resolving its FX. If you do not have enough EP or character specific special resource to cover the card's costs, you must deduct what you do have and then deactivate the card you played.
     • Apply your card's FX: Apply the effects listed on your card to whomever your card targets (Self, Team, All, All Foes, Single Target). Note that unless otherwise stated, all of a card's FX are applied in the order they are written. If your target is defeated before your card finishes resolving, the rest of the FX still take place.
     • Discard/Deactivate: Discard your action card(s) once they have been resolved, unless the card states to deactivate it on use, or to not discard it. If your card says "do not discard," return it to your hand. Skip this step if your card(s) have already been discarded/deactivated by the FX of another card.
       • Resolved creature cards must be put into the creature's discard pile, unless the card was discarded/deactivated before it could resolve.
     • Were you defeated before your card resolved? If your HP reaches 0 before it is your card's turn to resolve, that card will be deactivated instead of resolving.

End of Turn

The turn ends when all players and the creature have finished resolving their action cards.

1. Did you fulfill a disposition? If you met the requirements of a creature disposition card that is in play, resolve the FX on that card. Afterwards, discard the resolved card and draw a replacement from the disposition deck.
2. Start a new turn: If neither the players nor the creature have been defeated, start a new turn.
3. If the creature is defeated: Gain the rewards listed on the back of the creature portrait card. If that creature's specific ritual item (for instance "Chupa Guts") is in the item discard pile, you may still put it in your hand. Players must decide as a group who will get what items gained. If any modifiers have extra rewards stipulated, acquire those as well.
   • Note: If a card, event or story part does not say for "each player" to draw, then rewards are drawn for the whole group and must be divvied up at the players' discretion. If it is your first time defeating that type of creature for this campaign, check off the associated box on the Achievement Tracker and make note of your new progress points.
4. If players are defeated: See "Defeat" on pg. 34.

End of a Creature Duel

If the duel has ended, follow these steps:

1. Clean Up: Return all the cards within the creature space to their respective locations in the Tall Tale game space, before the duel had started. See "Tall Tale Game Space" on pg. 27. Reshuffle the creature modifier and disposition decks. All deactivated and discarded cards a player may have will stay deactivated and discarded.
2. Continue the Adventure turn: If you are on a Landmark tile, or the duel was a result of a story part, finish resolving the narrative elements. Then, proceed to the Rest phase of the Adventure turn.

Items in a Tall Tale

Getting items works a bit differently in a Tall Tale than it does in the Versus Duel. Unlike the Versus Duel, there is no scavenging field. Typically, items are only gained as a reward for defeating creatures, or given by certain Landmark tiles, event cards, or story moments. The discard pile of the item deck should only be reshuffled when the item deck runs out.

Unless stated otherwise, items are always drawn at random. For example, the creature modifier "Hoarding" states that players will gain additional items when they defeat that creature; by default these items are drawn at random. When your group is rewarded a specific item, always search for that specific item in the item deck and then shuffle the item deck before dealing out any additional random items. When specific items are given to the group, it is up to the group to decide who will get them. If players cannot agree, all players must roll a die - the highest result gets the item, reroll in the event of a tie.

• If told to draw a specific item that is already in the item discard pile (such as a ritual item), players will still get to take the item by drawing it from the discard pile. However, if told to gain a specific item that is already owned by another player, nothing will be drawn, and ownership of that item will not change.
• During a Tall Tale, certain actions for story parts, Landmarks and events may instruct players to discard item cards. Discarding cards may be done from a player's hand, stash, or deactivate pile. Players may reorganize their hand and stash during the Rest phase of the Adventure turn.

Note: Most Legendary items are kept in a player's passive space, though they do not count as a slot towards that player's passive limit. However, a player may only have one Legendary item in their passive space at one time.

Attention: Items (including Legendary items) are not kept between game sessions. If you are playing multiple chapters in one game session, keep your items with your character. When ending a game session, return all items to the item decks during clean up.

Defeat

When a player's HP reaches 0 and they are unable to, or do not immediately restore it (for example using the Revive Juju item), they are considered defeated. Your group has maximum defeats equal to the number of players plus one. For example, if you are playing with three players, you may reach a total of four defeats, and on the fifth defeat it is game over. Certain story parts will also indicate that it is game over. See "Game Over" on pg. 34.

Any time a player is defeated and it is not game over, they will revive to 3 HP and 3 EP. When players revive, the special resource unique to that Grimslinger does not change. When players revive they automatically reactivate any deactivated cards they have.

Creature Duels (Defeat)

Players can enter into a creature duel either by moving to an Attack area tile, resolving a particular Landmark, or as an action when resolving part of the story.

• If a player is defeated, but at least one of their teammates is not (and the team hasn't used up all of their allowed defeats), the team will lose an allowed defeat. Then, the defeated player will be revived at the end of the current turn (after the Aftermath phase) or at the end of the current Adventure turn phase if the duel has ended. If all members of a team are defeated during a duel, the duel is over. Lose one allowed defeat per player, and then continue on with the current Adventure turn.

Landmark Area Tiles (Defeat)

Some Landmarks have challenges that could result in a player being defeated.

• If all players are defeated, and haven't used up all of their allowed defeats, they must lose allowed defeats equal to the amount of players defeated, and then be revived. Defeated players will not gain any rewards from their Landmark choice, unless stated otherwise. If at least one player is not defeated, they may continue to resolve their Landmark choice as normal. Once all players have resolved their Landmark choices, any defeated players are then revived.

Event Area Tiles (Defeat)

Some events have challenges that could result in a player being defeated.

• If at least one player is undefeated, they may continue to resolve the event as normal. If all players are defeated, immediately discard the event card. After the event, lose allowed defeats equal to the number of players defeated, and then all players will be revived. Afterwards, continue to the Rest phase of the Adventure turn.

Story Parts (Defeat)

If all players are defeated or being defeated when resolving an action as part of the story, it usually means game over. These actions will specifically state whether or not defeat means game over.

Game Over

When players have run out of allowed defeats, or told that it is game over by the story booklet, the game immediately ends. Players should make notes regarding what area the defeat occurred in and their current place in the story booklet (including any story markers earned) if playing campaign mode. Players do not lose progress points that have been recorded on their Achievement Tracker or their Progress Tracker. Discard all items, and reshuffle the item deck and legendary item deck. Players may choose to reset and respend their progress points if they wish. See "Progress Points and Campaigns" on pg. 23. If players wish to continue, they may do so from where they left off (but only after acknowledging the shame of their failure). If players wish to try again later, they may end their current game session. See "Ending a Game Session" on pg. 35.

Ending a Game Session

It is recommended for players to end a session after completing a chapter when in campaign mode. If players are exploring in free roam mode, they may end their session whenever they wish. Players should perform the following steps when they wish to end their current game session.

• Review the Achievement Tracker and mark off any achievements you may have missed.
• Double check that all progress points are accounted for on your Progress Tracker, and that any unspent progress points have been noted.
• Make a note of what area you are ending in, and which portal you entered that area through. If you are playing campaign mode, also note what chapter and story part you are ending on, and if any story markers that have been acquired.
• Return all cards to the game box(es). Though it may be helpful to keep the skill cards and signature spells you have purchased with your character for easy set up during the next game session, all of those cards have been recorded in your progress tracker and so can be put away in whatever fashion is most convenient.

Note: Item cards are not kept between game sessions, and should be returned to the box (including legendary items).

Continuing From a Previous Session

When sitting down to continue playing from a previous game session, first review your Progress Trackers and set up your character space accordingly. Then, review your notes regarding where your previous game session ended. Set up the area you left off in according to the instructions in the Area booklet as if it were your first time entering that area. Place the character piece on the portal through which you most recently entered that area - unless you are continuing in the Valley of Death, in which case place the character piece on the Valley Haven Landmark.

Additional Tall Tale Clarifications

Creature Skill Example 1: The Witch King has played the Elemental Catalyst skill against you. "Oh no!" you exclaim, looking at your hand full of elements, realizing you're in for a lot of hurt. Following the instructions on Elemental Catalyst, you use your Anima's Purge ability to discard LIGHTNING and FIRE - two spells you really don't want to get attacked by. This leaves WIND, ICE, WATER, and EARTH to get discarded by Elemental Catalyst. The spells all resolve simultaneously. EARTH's healing and DMG cancel each other out. WATER's EP gain and ICE's EP penalty cancel each other out. What's left resolves all at once: You take 5 DMG, and must also deactivate three cards from the FX of WIND, ICE and WATER. Unfortunately, the elements that are resolving against you are not active cards in your hand, so being hit by your own WIND will not reduce the amount of elements resolving against you from Elemental Catalyst.

Creature Skill Example 2: You're going toe-to-toe against one of the more heinous of creatures, the Specter. Hoping to burn through the creature's deck, you start the duel by playing your WIND spell. The Specter reveals its skill, Engulf. With an RN of 5, Engulf will resolve first. Engulf gives its target(s) three options: Take 5 DMG, pay 3 EP, or discard your WIND spell. In this case, you may choose to do any of the three options. Even though your WIND spell is not in your hand, Engulf does not specify that it must be an active WIND card, meaning you have the option to discard the WIND you played that turn. Whichever option you choose, Engulf is going to be discarded after resolving. If you choose to take DMG or pay EP, then your WIND spell will resolve as normal. (Figure 32)

Event Example: If an event asks you to discard cards, and one of those cards says "deactivate on use" or "do not discard," you must deactivate that card instead of discarding it. For example, in the event "Behemoth Be Comin'," players must choose to either flee the beast, or blast it to hell by discarding cards. You discard a few elements from your hand, but realize you'll have to use your trusty Arcane Hand Cannon item to reach the right amount of DMG. The Arcane Hand Cannon adds 1 DMG to your total, and then gets deactivated instead of discarded. The other spells will still be discarded. (Figure 33)

Magic Mushroom: Whenever you duel these precocious little mutants, be it on an Attack area tile, or as a result of an Event, Landmark, or story part, you must set up an additional element deck on the creature's behalf. First, set up the creature skill deck as normal (randomly draw three generic creature skills and mix them with the Magic Mushroom creature skills). Then, create a separate face down element deck for the creature, consisting of one copy of each of the six main elements. Do not include the LIGHT or DARK spells in with the Mushroom. The Magic Mushroom's skill cards will require you to draw a random element spell from its element deck. Do not reshuffle the creature's element deck unless it runs out of cards. (Figure 34)

Glossary

1. Action Card: A card that is either an item, skill or spell.
2. Active: Any action card that is in your hand.
3. Adventure Turn: Playing a Tall Tale proceeds in a series of Adventure turns. An Adventure turn is broken down into phases; Movement, Narrative, Tile Resolution, and Rest, in that order.
4. Ammo: Nyunyo's special resource, used to activate his skill cards.
5. Area: A location in the Forgotten West, visited while adventuring during a Tall Tale. Areas are made up of cards from the Fate deck, arranged as specified by the Area booklet.
6. Area Tiles: When cards from the Fate deck are laid out to form an area (regardless of whether they are face up or face down) they are considered an area tile. Players move between area tiles during the Movement phase of an Adventure turn.
7. Blood: La Fleur's special Grimslinger resource, used to activate her skill cards.
8. Bounties: Side objectives that are tangential to the main objective of the campaign. Bounties are found in the Area booklet, and can be completed in either campaign or free roam mode. You may start bounties during the narrative phase of the adventure turn, before or after you resolve a story part (if you have one to resolve).
9. Chapter: A Tall Tale is broken into chapters. Chapters are made of parts, with each having its own objective.
10. Control: Luella's special resource, which is increased as a result of activating her skill cards.

Transcriber Notes

Transcriber's note: the printed rulebook's Credits page (designers, staff, copyright and publisher details) is omitted. A few obvious typos in the printed text are corrected here so the rules read cleanly: "Vampyirc" to "Vampyric", "opponent's chose" to "opponents chose", "Berrate's" to "Berate's", "Mile's" to "Miles's", and "a an effect" to "an effect". Printed page references are kept as printed.