Guild Master Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Setup 1 - Set the Table
  • Setup 2 - Determine Starting Teams
  • Setup 3 - Choose Starting Contracts
  • Setup 4 - Finalise Setup
  • 2 or 3 Player Games
• Key Components & Concepts
  • The Board
  • Fame
  • Ties in Fame
  • Round Track
  • Builder Cost Track
  • Adventurers
    • Adventurer Ranks and Fame
  • Adventurer Skills and Skill Checks
    • Performing a Skill Check
  • Adventurer Abilities
  • Contracts
    • Contract decks & levels
    • Attempting Contracts
    • Contract Effects
  • Private Contracts
  • Upgrade Board
  • Upgrades
    • Skill Upgrades
    • Core Upgrades
  • Prestige Upgrades
  • Order Board
  • Order cards
  • Guild Screens
• Sequence of Play
  • Phases of a Round
  • Round Overview
  • Start of Round
  • Plot Phase
  • Order Phase
    • Overview
    • Raise Guild Screens
    • Assign Orders
    • End of Order Phase
    • Example of ordering
  • Action Phase
    • Overview
    • Reveal Orders
    • Resolve Orders
    • Contesting Objectives
    • Completing an Order
  • Reset Phase
    • Missing Out on Orders
    • Repeat for all Orders
• Orders in Depth
  • Hire Builders
    • Overview
    • Order Phase: Assigning the Hire Builders Order
    • Action Phase: Resolving the Hire Builders Order
    • Hire Builders Contest resolution
  • Recruit Adventurer
    • Overview
    • Recruitment Rank Prerequisites
    • Order Phase: Assigning a Recruit Adventurer Order
    • Action Phase: Resolving a Recruit Adventurer Order
    • Recruit Adventurer Contest resolution
  • Attempt Contract
    • Overview
    • Order Phase: Assigning an Attempt Contract Order
    • Action Phase: Resolving an Attempt Contract Order
    • Completing an Attempt Contract Order
    • Attempt Contract Contest resolution
      • 1. Conflictors
      • 2. Cooperators
  • Private Contracts and Wandering
    • Overview
    • When you may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander
    • Resolving an Attempt Private Contract Order
    • Resolving a Wander Order
    • Private Contract and Wander Contest resolution
• End Game
• Variants
  • Short game
• Things To Remember
• Glossary
• Dice Probability

Components

• 1 x Board
• 4 x Order Boards
• 4 x Upgrade Boards
• 4 x 13 Order Cards
• 4 x Guild Screens
• 4 x Guild Ribbons
• 4 x Fame markers
• 4 x Contest tokens
• 1 x Round marker
• 1 x Builder Cost marker
• 20 x 1 Gold tokens
• 20 x 2 Gold tokens
• 12 x 5 Gold tokens
• 4 x 20 Gold tokens
• 35 x Common Contract cards
• 30 x Heroic Contract cards
• 30 x Legendary Contract cards
• 24 x Novice Adventurer cards
• 24 x Adept Adventurer cards
• 16 x Hero Adventurer cards
• 8 x Legend Adventurer cards
• 6 x Starting Skill Upgrade tokens
• 18 x Skill Upgrade tokens
• 15 x Core Upgrade tokens
• 6 x Prestige Upgrade tokens
• 30 x Dice

Setup

Setup 1 - Set the Table

1. Place the Board in the centre of the table.
2. Each player chooses and takes a matching Order Board, Upgrade Board, Screen, Ribbon & Order Cards, then a Contest token, and 7 Gold. Place them as shown in the setup diagram.
3. Each player takes their Guild's Fame marker and places it at the 0 space of the Fame track.
4. Place the Round marker on the Round Track at space 1, with the Half Moon side face up.
5. Place the Builder Cost marker on the Builder Cost Track. a. In a 3-4 player game, place the market on the bottom space. b. In a 2 player game, place it in the space above.
6. Stack the Skill, Core, and Prestige Upgrade tokens near the Board.
7. Setup Adventurers: a. Place the Novice Adventurer cards to one side for the moment. Do NOT shuffle them. b. Shuffle the Adept Adventurer cards. i. In a 4 player game deal 8 cards face down to each Adept space A, B, & C on the Board. ii. In a 2-3 player game deal 8 cards face down to Adept space A and 8 to Adept space B on the Board. Place the remaining 8 cards back in the box. These form the Adept Adventurer decks. c. Shuffle the Hero Adventurer cards and deal 8 cards face down to each Hero space D & E on the Board to form the Hero Adventurer decks. d. Shuffle the Legend Adventurer cards and deal all 8 cards face down to the Legend space F on the Board to form the Legend Adventurer deck.
8. Setup Contracts: a. Shuffle the Common Contract cards and place them face down to the right of the Board to form the Common Contract deck. b. Shuffle the Heroic Contract cards and place them face down to the right of the Board to form the Heroic Contract deck. c. Shuffle the Legendary Contract cards and place them face down to the right of the Board to form the Legendary Contract deck.
9. Place dice and Gold tokens near the Board within reach of all players.
10. Choose Novice Adventurers and starting Skill Upgrades (See "Upgrades", page 9).
11. Choose Common Contracts and starting Private Contracts (See "Private Contracts and Wandering", page 21).

If this is your first game of Guild Master, you can use the Quickstart guide to setup the game and run your first turn from the pre-planned orders there.

Setup 2 - Determine Starting Teams

1. Arrange the 6 Starting Skill Upgrade tokens as follows. These indicate players' potential starting teams. Then determine which of these will be available this game. a. 2 players you can select any two of the three token pairs. b. 3 players you can select any two of the three token pairs. c. 4 players you can select any two sets from the three token pairs.
2. Take the available Starting Skill Upgrade tokens and randomly distribute one to each player. Return the other Starting Skill Upgrades to the box.
3. Players then take the team of 4 Novice Adventurers which match their starting team icon. Return all other Novices to the box.
4. Players then place their Starting Skill Upgrade tokens onto the Starting Skill Upgrade spot on their Upgrade Board, selecting which side to place face up (see "Skill Upgrades", page 9).

Setup 3 - Choose Starting Contracts

Contracts are placed onto the Board and gained as Private Contracts as follows:

1. Find the two Starting Common Contracts (Ambush Poachers and Identify Rebels) and place them in Contract spots 1 and 2 on the Board.
2. Deal three common Contracts to each player.
3. Each player chooses and places one of their Common Contracts face down on the next open spots on the Board. Leave any unused spaces empty. These Contracts can be attempted by any player throughout the game.
4. Each player then takes their remaining two Contracts and tucks them face down slightly under their Upgrade Board as Private Contracts (See "Private Contracts", page 11).

Setup 4 - Finalise Setup

1. Reveal all Contracts on the Board by flipping them face up.
2. Reveal all Adventurers on the Board by flipping the top card of each Adventurer deck face up.

2 or 3 Player Games

Some spaces on the Board are not used in a 2 or 3 player games. These spaces are marked with a player icon along with the required player count.

In a three player game, Adventurer spot C and Contract spot 6 are not used. Do not place any cards in these spaces during setup or throughout the game.

In a two player game, Adventurer spot C, Contract spot 5 and Contract spot 6 are not used. The Builder Cost marker starts one space above normal and always resets to that place.

Key Components & Concepts

The Board

The Board tracks each Guild's Fame, which Round it is and the current Builder cost. It also shows spaces for the various Adventurers to be recruited, and Contracts to be attempted throughout the game. These objectives are also generally arranged in the order they will be resolved (see the Order Resolution Sequence, page 13) from left to right: Hire Builders, Recruit Adventurers (A - F), then Attempt Contracts (1 - 6).

Fame

Each player has a Fame marker which starts at 0 on the Fame track around the edge of the Board. The player with the most Fame at the end of the game wins.

You immediately gain Fame whenever you do any of the following:

• Build Upgrades
• Recruit Adventurers
• Complete Contracts

Fame can also be gained or lost through Adventurer Abilities and Contract Effects. When you lose Fame, it cannot drop below 0 for any reason. When gaining Fame, it's possible to go over 100 Fame. If you do, flip your scoring marker to its +100 side and continue along the track.

Ties in Fame

Certain Contract Effects and Adventurer Abilities affect Guilds with either the most or least Fame. Most and least Fame can be tied. For example, if multiple Guilds currently have the most Fame, they all have 'the most' Fame.

If Guilds are doing a task in Fame Order and Fame is tied, each affected Guild rolls a single dice, re-rolling ties until there is a highest result. The Guild with the highest result goes first.

Round Track

Guild Master is played over 9 Rounds tracked using the double sided Round marker. This starts on the Half Moon side on Round 1 and flips and moves forward to the Full Moon side in Round 2, alternating in the same way each Round.

Every third Round is a Blood Moon in addition to the moon face shown on the Round marker. In Blood Moon Rounds Guilds will receive a new Private Contract and the Board will be reset, as explained in "Reset Phase" on page 14.

The Moon face determines the minimum bid value for Adventurers each Round, and which Adventurers' abilities may be used this Round.

Builder Cost Track

The Builder Cost Track shows and tracks the increasing cost of Builders as Guilds hire them to build Upgrades each Round (see "Upgrades" on page 9).

As each Builder is hired, the Builder Cost marker is moved up a space pointing to the next Builder's hire cost. The Builder Cost Track only resets at the end of each Round (see "Hire Builders" on page 15).

Adventurers

Adventurers do the work for your Guild. They have Skills shown on the left of their card, and most have an ability shown at the bottom. Use their Skills and Abilities to carry out your Orders.

Adventurer Ranks and Fame

You start the game with 4 Novice Adventurers. Recruit increasingly powerful Adept, Hero and Legend Rank Adventurers from spaces A - F on the Board to add Fame to your Guild indicated on their Adventurer Rank shield. This Adventurer Rank reflects the Adventurers' power, and allows you to recruit the next higher Adventurer Rank (See "Recruit Adventurer" on page 16) in later Recruit Adventurer Orders.

Adventurer Skills and Skill Checks

Adventurers use six different Skills to carry out your Orders.

The number next to each Skill on an Adventurer card represents the number of Skill Dice that Adventurer can contribute to a Skill Check of that type.

Skill Checks are made by Adventurers, typically in teams, to:

• Attempt a Contract (See "Attempting Contracts" on page 8).
• Establish priority during Contested Hire Builders Orders (See "Hire Builders" on page 15).
• Establish priority during Contested Recruit Adventurer Orders (See "Recruit Adventurer Contest resolution" on page 17).
• Wander (See "Resolving a Wander Order" on page 21).

Performing a Skill Check

1. Select a skill from the Adventurer Team performing the Skill Check.
2. Add up the matching Skill values for all Adventurers in the team, up to a maximum of 10, and roll that many dice.
3. Apply any modifiers from your Adventurer Abilities, Skill Upgrades, and Contract Boons.
4. Add everything up to attain your Skill Check Result.

A Skill Check Result is then used to determine the success or failure of the Skill Check, depending on the type of Skill Check you are making.

For a Contract Skill Check, your result must be equal to or higher than the chosen Skill Check Target (see page 18).

For a Contested Skill Check, multiple Guilds perform a skill check and the highest result wins. If there is a tie, each Guild in the tie re-rolls one of their dice until one Guild has the highest result.

For a Wander Skill Check you gain certain rewards based on how high your Skill Check Result is (see page 21).

Adventurer Abilities

Most Adventurers have an ability that can be used in particular Phases of certain Rounds. The Ability Round icon indicates when an Adventurer's Ability can be used:

• Active during Half Moon Rounds.
• Active during Full Moon Rounds.
• Active during Blood Moon Rounds.
• Active every Round.

The Ability Phase shown below the Ability Round icon indicates which Phase of a Round the ability is active in, the Plot or Action Phase.

The Adventurer Ability text details what an ability does. You can use your Adventurer Abilities in any valid Round and Phase.

Unless otherwise stated, Adventurer Abilities affect your entire Guild during the relevant Rounds and Phases, regardless of whether they are on an Order Space or in your hand. You may also use Adventurer Abilities on the Round you recruit them, if able.

Adventurer Abilities override standard game rules.

TIP: Adventurer Abilities are often powerful. Try to keep track of what abilities you have available and when they can be used. Careful timing and use of Adventurer Abilities can give you an edge in certain Rounds.

Contracts

Contracts represent challenges, threats, and events that Adventurers attempt to complete to gain Gold, Fame, and special rewards.

Contract decks & levels

Contracts are arranged in 3 decks reflecting their difficulty level and rewards:

• Common (Skill Check Targets 6 - 12).
• Heroic (Skill Check Targets 13 - 20).
• Legendary (Skill Check Targets 21 - 30).

Attempting Contracts

Adventurers can be ordered to attempt the Contracts on spaces 1 - 6 on the Board. To do so they must make a Matching Skill Check dice roll against one of the Contract's Skill Check Targets. They succeed if their result equals or exceeds the Skill Check Target. If you complete a Contract successfully you gain its rewards then choose which Contract deck to replace the Contract with (See "Action Phase: Resolving an Attempt Contract Order" on page 18).

Contract Effects

There are three different types of Contract Effects: Bonuses, Boons, and Events.

• Bonus - A reward resolved when a Contract is completed, after taking the Gold and Fame reward.
• Boon - A reward that may be resolved at a later time. Keep the Contract face up near your Order Board. It may be discarded to use its effect when relevant.
• Event - Event effects are active while the Contract is face up on the Board. They become inactive when completed or discarded.

Note: Events only appear on Heroic and Legendary Contracts.

Contract Effects override standard game rules.

Private Contracts

Private Contracts are Common Contracts drawn by Guilds at the beginning of the game and at the start of each Blood Moon Round. They are kept face down and tucked slightly under your Upgrade Board. They are Contracts that your Adventurer teams may attempt when they miss out on an Order or have nothing better to do (See "Private Contracts and Wandering" on page 21).

Upgrade Board

Your Upgrade Board shows what your Guild may do each Round. Initially your Guild can issue just 2 Orders per Round (Stables I), each with at most 2 Adventurers per team (Mess Hall I). At the end of each Round you also gain 2 Gold in Income from your Bar (Bar I). You also place a Starting Skill Upgrade into your Starting Skill Upgrade slot during setup. This indicates which Skill your Guild is strongest in at the start of the game.

Upgrades

Upgrades are placed on your Upgrade board and are used to improve your Guild. You can gain Upgrades by hiring Builders, then using a number of those Builders to build the Upgrade. The number of Builders required to build each Upgrade is equal to the number of hammer symbols shown at the bottom right of each Upgrade token. As with Adventurers and Contracts, Upgrades earn you Fame as soon as you get them, with the exception of Prestige Upgrades that reward you at the end of the game.

Skill Upgrades

Skill Upgrades represent training rooms that improve your chance of success when rolling certain Skill checks. Guilds start the game with one Starting Skill Upgrade (see page 4), and can build up to three more throughout the game. Skill Upgrade tokens are double-sided and players choose which side to use when they are built. Once built, they may not be changed. Guilds can not have more than one Skill Upgrade with the same name. For example if a Guild already has an Armory, they may not build another Armory later in the game.

The two sides of each Skill Upgrade are:

• Dice fixer: You may change one dice face to a 5 after you roll a Skill Check of the type indicated.
• Re-roll: You may re-roll up to 2 dice, or 1 dice up to twice, after you roll a Skill Check of the type indicated.

TIP: Dice fixers enable you to consistently roll higher Skill Checks (up to +4), whereas re-rolls give you less certainty but higher potential (up to +10).

Core Upgrades

Core Upgrades increase your:

• Available Order Spaces (Stables),
• Team Size (Mess Hall) and
• Income (Bar).

Each Guild can Upgrade their Stables I, Mess Hall I and Bar I to level II. However, only one level III Core Upgrade of each type is available per game.

Prestige Upgrades

Guilds are each allowed to build just one Prestige Upgrade per game.

At the end of the game, each of the unique Prestige Upgrades reward the Guild who built them with a variable amount of Fame based on how well they achieved certain objectives. Examples of each scoring system can be found on the reverse side of each token.

Order Board

Your Order Board is used to issue Orders (in Order Spaces 1 - 4) to your Adventurer Teams, and to store Gold (in your Treasury).

You will use your available Order Spaces (initially 2 as defined by your Stables level I) to form Adventurers into Teams and assign them Orders to attempt various objectives on the Board.

These Order Spaces set the sequence you and your rivals' teams will attempt their Orders in. In the Action Phase all Guilds' first Orders will be resolved before all Guilds' second Orders and so on (see "Action Phase" on page 13).

Order cards

Use your thirteen Order Cards to assign objectives to your Adventurer Teams in your available Order Spaces. Each Order Card corresponds to a space on the Board where various objectives such as Builders, Adventurers (A - F) and Contracts (1 - 6) are found.

Guild Screens

Use your Guild Screen to hide the Orders you plan in the Order Phase. It also contains valuable information on the back side, including an image of each Upgrade token so you don't have to look at the token piles near the Board when planning your Orders.

Sequence of Play

Guild Master is played over 9 Rounds, each with 5 phases.

Phases of a Round

1. Start of Round (Skip on Round 1) a. Announce Events b. Draw Private Contracts (Only on Blood Moon Rounds: 3, 6, and 9)
2. Plot Phase (Skip on Round 1) a. Use Plot Phase Abilities b. Announce Gold totals
3. Order Phase a. Raise Guild Screens b. Assign Orders
4. Action Phase a. Reveal Orders b. Resolve Orders
5. Reset Phase a. Clear Order Boards b. Gain Income c. Reset Builder Cost Track d. Blood Moon Reset (Only on Blood Moon Rounds: 3, 6, and 9) e. Reveal Adventurers and Contracts f. Move and Flip Round marker

Round Overview

Each Round, Guilds will first check for and resolve any special Start of Round effects. Then in the Plot Phase they may use some of their Adventurers' Plot Phase Abilities. In the Order Phase they secretly plan and assign various Orders to teams of their Adventurers they want to send to objectives on the Board. During the Action Phase Guilds resolve their Orders collectively, in an Order Resolution Sequence, sometimes getting what they planned for, perhaps contesting some objectives with rival Guilds, or missing out on some Orders and Attempting Private Contracts or Wandering instead. Finally, each Guilds' Adventurers return back to their Guild, Guilds gain their income for the Round, and the Board is reset.

Start of Round

Announce Events. Check the Board for any Event Contract cards, and read each one out aloud. Note that these only appear on Heroic and Legendary Contracts.

Some of these have effects that may occur before Guilds do anything. Resolve these effects in sequence from Contract 1 to Contract 6, then proceed to the Plot Phase.

Draw Private Contracts. If it is a Blood Moon Round (See page 6): In descending Fame Order each Guild draws a Private Common Contract, if they are able. Place the Private Contract face down under your Upgrade Board (See "Private Contracts" on page 9).

Plot Phase

Use Plot Phase Abilities. Adventurers with a Plot Phase Ability (see "Adventurer Abilities" on page 8) active in this Round's moon may use their ability now. Guilds resolve their Plot Phase Abilities in descending Fame Order.

Some Plot Phase Abilities allow Guilds to affect other Guilds in some way. Guilds may lobby and negotiate for effects to be applied in any way they like, and may offer Gold from their Treasury or promises to sweeten the deal.

Announce Gold Totals. Once all Plot Phase Abilities have been resolved each Guild must announce their current Gold totals.

Order Phase

Overview

During the Order Phase, Guilds secretly and simultaneously decide on their objectives for the Round from the various options on the Board. Guilds then form Adventurer Teams and assign them Orders to complete these objectives. They may assign their teams Orders to Hire Builders, Recruit an Adventurer, Attempt a Contract on the board, or simply have them Attempt a Private Contract or Wander. See "Orders in Depth" on page 15 for details on how specific Orders work.

Raise Guild Screens

Place your Guild Screens upright to surround your Order Board to keep your Orders hidden. Keep your Upgrade Board visible to all players, as shown in the game setup diagram. You are now ready to begin secretly issuing Orders.

While your Orders are kept secret from rival Guilds, you may openly discuss your plans during the Order Phase as part of other negotiations. You may also secretly show Order Cards of where you plan to go to other Guilds, and you may lie about any of your plans.

Assign Orders

Assign Orders to each of your available Order Spaces (initially just 2 as indicated by your Stables I) as follows:

1. Form an Adventurer Team, with a number of Adventurers up to your maximum Team Size (initially 2 as indicated by your Mess Hall I), onto an available Order Space on your Order Board.
2. Place an Order Card matching one of the 13 objectives on the Board on that team, or leave it without an Order Card to indicate that you plan to Attempt a Private Contract or Wander.
3. Place any Gold required to Hire Builders or Recruit Adventurers on that team.

IMPORTANT: Prioritise your Orders. Because Orders 1, 2, 3 & 4 are resolved sequentially, it is possible to miss out on a later Order if a rival completes your objective in an earlier Order Space.

TIP: Consider asking rivals to coordinate orders with you (you can show them the Order card matching the objective in private), to cooperatively attempt more difficult contracts for bigger rewards (see "Cooperators" on page 20.)

End of Order Phase

Check that all of your Orders are correct and valid. Then, announce that you are ready to proceed by hanging your Guild Ribbon over the front of your Guild Screens. You may still check and change your Orders until all players agree they are ready to proceed to the Action Phase.

Example of ordering

In this Round 6 Order Phase example the Phoenix Flight Guild has planned their 4 Orders as follows:

1st Order Space: Kim (Phoenix Flight) assigns a team of Pablé and Nuri. They have a total of 6 Logic Skill Dice, and are issued with an Order to Hire Builders, taking 7 Gold with them. Hopefully that is enough to hire 2 Builders. If a rival also attempts to Hire Builders in their 1st Order Space, Cyrus and Nuri's 6 combined Logic dice might help them win a contested Skill Check to gain priority. This would allow them to hire 2 Builders first, at the cheapest rates.

2nd Order Space: Kim orders Tymon to attempt to recruit the Hero Vatsana in space E on the Board. He wants to save 3 Gold for the next Round, and hopes the minimum bid of 7 Gold will be enough to hire Vatsana. However, he could have assigned more than 7 Gold on that Order, in case he needs to outbid a rival attempting the same Order at the same time.

Upgraded 3rd Order Space: Kim sends Gwala and Ansel out in a team to Attempt Contract 5, with a Charm Skill Check target of 17. Their combined total of 7 Charm dice gives them a solid chance, assuming a rival Guild doesn't complete Contract 5 in their 1st or 2nd Order Space.

Upgraded 4th Order Space: Kim assigns no Order card to Lydia. She will attempt a Private Contract with her 3 Guile dice vs a Skill Check Target of 6. With her ability to fix any dice to a 4, she cannot fail this roll.

Action Phase

Overview

During the Action Phase, all Guilds reveal their Order Boards. Then each Guild resolves their first Order, starting with Hire Builders, then Recruit Adventurers, Attempt Contracts, and finally Private Contracts and Wandering Orders. Then Guilds do the same for their second Orders and so on. This is the Order Resolution Sequence.

Depending on how Guilds sequence their Orders, each player will resolve each of their Orders alone, in Contest with other Guilds, or may miss out on an Order and have to Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.

Adventurer Abilities and Contract Boon effects may be used as appropriate throughout the Action Phase.

Reveal Orders

At the beginning of the Action Phase, reveal your Order Board by removing your Guild Screen and placing it to the side of the play area. Then check that all Guilds' Orders are valid based on Stables and Mess Hall limits, with correct Order Cards, and that Gold is placed on any Hire Builders and Recruit Adventurers Orders.

If you have made a mistake in an Order Space, check if the intended Order is the same as any other player's Order on any space (even later Orders). If it is not, you may correct the Order cards in that Order Space. Otherwise, remove the Order Card to indicate that the team on that Order Space will Wander.

Guilds announce their Orders to each other and identify where there are likely to be Contested Orders.

Resolve Orders

All Guilds resolve their first Orders in sequence from left to right through the objective spaces across the Board (lettered and numbered) as follows:

1. Hire Builders (see page 15).
2. Recruit Adventurer (see page 16).
3. Attempt Contract (see page 18).
4. Attempt a Private Contract or Wander (see page 21).

Orders are always resolved in the sequence shown by the path indicated in the diagram on the Board.

If a player's Orders are not the same as any other Guild's in the same Order Space, they resolve the Order alone as normal (see "Orders in Depth" on page 15). If multiple Guilds have the same Order in the same Order Space, those Guilds are Contesting that objective (see "Contesting Objectives" below).

Before resolving any Order, whether Contested or not, Guilds may decide not to carry out the Order and instead Attempt a Private Contract or Wander with the assigned team.

Example of Order Resolution Sequence: Chris' first Order is to Attempt Contract 3. Kim's first Order is to Hire Builders. Morgan's first Order is to Attempt Contract 2. Silvia's first Order is to Recruit Adventurer B. These are resolved in the following order: Kim hires Builders first. Silvia recruits Adventurer B. Morgan attempts Contract 2. Chris attempts Contract 3.

Contesting Objectives

If multiple Guilds assign the same Order Card to the same Order Space (and choose to carry it out instead of Attempting a Private Contract or Wandering), they are Contesting that objective. Each type of Contested Order is resolved differently:

• Hire Builders Contest resolution, see page 16.
• Recruit Adventurer Contest resolution, see page 17.
• Attempt Contract Contest resolution, see page 19.

Multiple Guilds can Attempt a Private Contract or Wander independently on the same Order Space, so there is no Contest resolution for Wandering.

Completing an Order

Once an Order has been resolved, flip the Order Card on that space (if applicable) face down to show that the Order has been completed.

Reset Phase

Once all Orders are resolved, Guilds gain their Income and the Board is reset in preparation for the next Round.

Complete the steps below:

1. Clear Order Boards. Move any Gold left on Orders to your Treasury, and then take all your Order cards and Adventurers back into your hand.

2. Gain Income. Gain the amount of Gold indicated by your Bar on your Upgrade Board.

3. Reset Builder Cost Track. Move the Builder Cost marker back to its starting position.

IMPORTANT: This will vary depending on the number of players.

4. Blood Moon Reset. In each Blood Moon Round (Rounds 3, 6, and 9):

1. Discard all face up Adventurers and Contracts on the Board. Leave any face down cards in place.
2. Draw and place a Common Contract face down onto every empty Contract space on the Board. If no Common Contracts can be drawn, draw and place Heroic Contracts instead.

5. Reveal Adventurers and Contracts. Flip all face down Adventurer and Contract cards on the board face up.

6. Move and Flip Round Marker. Move the Round marker down one space and flip it over to its other face, so Rounds alternate between Half and Full Moons. If it is already Round 9, the game ends, and Guilds calculate their total Fame (see "End Game" on page 21).

Missing Out on Orders

If one of your later objectives has already been resolved by another Guild, you miss out on that Order. When you miss out on an order you may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander with the team assigned to that Order instead (see "Private Contracts and Wandering" on page 21).

Repeat for all Orders

Once all Guilds' first Orders are resolved, players move on to resolve all their second Orders in the same way. Then any subsequent Orders, until all Orders are resolved.

Orders in Depth

Guild Master has 4 different Order types; Hire Builders, Recruit Adventurer, Attempt Contract and Attempt Private Contract / Wander. These are all planned and resolved differently.

Hire Builders

Overview

Hire Builders to place Skill, Core, and Prestige Upgrade tokens on your Upgrade Board (see "Upgrades" on page 9) to improve your Skill Checks, and to increase your Orders, team size and income, and earn extra Fame.

Order Phase: Assigning the Hire Builders Order

Place each of the following onto an available Order Space.

1. A team of Adventurers to go and Hire some Builders.
2. The Hire Builders Order Card.
3. As much Gold as you wish.

TIP: Builder costs can increase throughout the Round so it's worth assigning all spare Gold to your Hire Builders Order. You will get to keep any Gold you don't spend after resolving the Hire Builders Order.

Action Phase: Resolving the Hire Builders Order

Hiring Builders. The Builder Cost marker on the Builder Cost Track points upwards to the current cost to hire a Builder.

Hire Builders as follows:

1. Check whether any other Guilds are Hiring Builders in the same order space. If so, first resolve who had priority, see Hire Builders Contest resolution (See page 16).
2. Hire a Builder by paying the cost indicated by the Builder Cost marker with Gold from your Hire Builders Order.
3. Move the Builder Cost marker up one space, covering the previous cost.
4. Hire additional Builders as needed by repeating steps 2 & 3. You may only hire as many Builders as you can use (see Building Upgrades below).
5. Return any unused Gold to your Treasury.

You may then use the Builders you have hired to build Upgrades (see below).

Example: Kim has 7 Gold on the Hire Builder Order in his first Order Space. When resolving this Order, he hires one Builder, pays 2 Gold, and slides the Builder Cost marker on the Board up 1 space to indicate the next Builder costs 3 Gold. Then he hires another Builder, for 3 Gold, and slides the cost marker up again. The third Builder also costs 3 Gold, but Kim only has 2 Gold left so cannot afford to hire them. He returns his 2 remaining Gold to his Treasury and considers what to build with the 2 hired Builders.

Building Upgrades. When you have finished hiring Builders, you must immediately use them to build Upgrades. To do this spend the amount of Builders shown on the upgrade, then take the Upgrade from the supply and place it on your Upgrade Board. You then gain the Fame the Upgrade earns you.

You may use your Builders to do one of the following:

• Build 1 Skill Upgrade and / or 1 Core Upgrade, or
• Build 1 Prestige Upgrade

Placing Upgrade tokens. Place Skill Upgrades onto one of the remaining spaces on the right side of your Upgrade Board (see page 9), with the chosen side face up. Skill Upgrades are immediately active. You may not build a second Skill Upgrade with the same name as a Skill Upgrade already on your Upgrade Board.

Place Core Upgrades over their matching Upgrade space on your Upgrade Board. You must build a level II Upgrade before building the matching level III Upgrade. When you build a level III Upgrade, return the level II Upgrade to the supply.

Place Prestige Upgrades at the top of your Upgrade Board, but remember, you don't gain Fame for it until the End of the Game.

Immediately gain Fame for each Skill and Core Upgrade you build.

Example continued: Kim now has 2 Builders to use. He uses the first Builder to build a Library, a Logic Skill Upgrade worth 1 Fame, and places it on an open Skill Upgrade space on his Upgrade Board. He uses the other Builder to build the Mess Hall II Core Upgrade, worth 2 Fame, placing it on his Upgrade Board on the Mess Hall I. He immediately gains a total of 3 Fame.

TIP: Try to build Upgrades you can make good use of. In order to make use of an upgraded Stables you should have enough Adventurers to make the most of another Order Space. In order to make good use of an upgraded Mess Hall you should have enough Adventurers with overlapping Skills to form a larger team.

Hire Builders Contest resolution

When multiple Guilds attempt to Hire Builders on the same Order space, resolve the Contest as follows:

1. Contesting Guilds carry out a Contested Skill Check together (See "Performing a Skill Check" on page 7), each using any one Skill from their assigned team.
2. The Guild that wins the Skill Check may Hire Builders and build Upgrades first.
3. The Guild with the next highest Skill Check result may Hire Builders and build Upgrades next, and so on. Guilds may choose not to Hire Builders, return their Gold to their Treasury and Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.

Example: But what if Chris also ordered his team to Hire Builders in Order Space 1? If so it would be a Contested Hire Builders Order. Chris' team has a total of 3 Might and 6 Gold, and Kim's team has a total of 6 Logic and 7 Gold. They make a Contested Skill Check of 3 Might dice vs 6 Logic dice. Chris' Skill Check Result is 11, while Kim's result is 19. Kim hires 1 Builder first, pays 2 Gold, then slides the Builder Cost marker up 1 space to indicate the next Builder costs 3 Gold. He then pays 3 Gold and moves the Builder Cost marker up another space, pointing to the final 3 cost. He has paid 5 of his 7 Gold so cannot afford to buy a third builder. He passes and builds a Stables II upgrade using up both of his hired Builders. He immediately gains 3 Fame, and returns the 2 unused Gold to his Treasury. Chris then pays 3 Gold to Hire 1 Builder, and slides the Builder Cost marker up 1 space to indicate the next Builder costs 4 Gold to hire. He only has 3 gold left, so he passes and builds a Mess Hall II upgrade with his 1 Builder, immediately gains 2 Fame, and returns his remaining 3 Gold to his Treasury.

Recruit Adventurer

Overview

Recruit Adventurers from the Board to add their Skills and abilities to your Guild (see "Adventurers" on page 7), and gain Fame.

Recruitment Rank Prerequisites

You may recruit Adventurers from up to one Rank higher than your current highest ranked Adventurer.

You start with just Novice Adventurers, so you may initially only recruit Adept Adventurers. You may only recruit Hero Adventurers if you already have an Adept Adventurer, and Legend Adventurers if you already have a Hero Adventurer. These Adventurer Rank prerequisites are indicated on the Recruit Adventurer Order Cards as a reminder, and are checked as each order is resolved.

The minimum bid required for each Adventurer on the Board is shown below their objective icon, and varies between Half Moon and Full Moon Rounds as indicated by the current Round marker.

Order Phase: Assigning a Recruit Adventurer Order

Place each of the following onto an available Order Space:

1. A team of Adventurers to go and Recruit an Adventurer.
2. The Recruit Adventurer Order Card which matches the letter of the Adventurer objective you would like to recruit.
3. At least as much Gold as the minimum bid required for the Adventurer you wish to recruit. You may bid more to increase your chance of success (See Recruit Adventurer Contest resolution below, page 17).

TIP: You must spend all Gold from this space when successfully resolving the Order. So carefully consider how much you are really willing to pay to have that Adventurer join your Guild rather than a rival's.

Action Phase: Resolving a Recruit Adventurer Order

1. Check if you can Recruit the Adventurer as follows. If any of these requirements are not met, return all Gold assigned to this Order to your Treasury, then your team may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander. a. The Adventurer you wish to Recruit must still be face up. b. Your Guild must meet the Recruitment Rank Prerequisites for the Adventurer (see above). c. The Gold placed on your Order Space must meet or exceed the minimum bid for the Adventurer this Round (see above). d. Check whether any other Guilds are Recruiting the same adventurer in the same order space. If so, see Recruit Adventurer Contest Resolution (see below).
2. If you can recruit the Adventurer, pay all Gold from your Recruit Adventurer Order to the supply, even if you have more than the minimum bid.
3. Take the recruited face up Adventurer card and add them to your Guild, leaving the next card on the deck face down.
4. Immediately receive the Fame shown on the top right of the Adventurer card.
5. You may use Adventurer Abilities, as applicable, once you have recruited them. However, you cannot assign these Adventurers to Orders until your next Order Phase.

Example: In her first Order, Sylvia orders Jariya and Eiji to recruit Cixi from objective space B on the Board. She assigns 5 Gold to the Order, 1 more than the minimum bid required this Full Moon turn. When resolving the Order in the Action Phase, no rivals attempt to recruit Cixi in their first Order so her Recruit Adventurer Order is not Contested. Sylvia pays the full 5 Gold assigned and takes Cixi into her Guild. Sylvia immediately gains 3 Fame, and Cixi's daily ability is now available for the remainder of this and subsequent rounds.

Recruit Adventurer Contest resolution

If multiple Guilds attempt to recruit a particular Adventurer in the same Order Space, resolve the Contest as follows:

1. If one of the Contesting Guilds has bid more Gold than the others, that Guild recruits the Adventurer. Other contesting Guilds return their Gold to their Treasury and may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.
2. If there is a tie in the Gold bid, tied Guilds carry out a Contested Skill Check together (See "Performing a Skill Check" on page 7), each using any one Skill from their assigned team.
3. The Guild with the highest Skill Check Result recruits the Adventurer.
4. The other Guilds each then return their Gold to their Treasury and may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.

Example: But what if Chris also assigned a team with 6 Gold to recruit Cixi from objective Space B as their first Order? If so there would be a Recruit Adventurer Contest in the Action Phase. Sylvia assigned her team just 5 Gold, whereas Chris assigned his team 6 Gold, 2 more than the minimum required. Having bid the most Gold, Chris wins the Contest. He pays the full 6 Gold assigned to his team, takes Cixi into his Guild, and gains 3 Fame. Having missed out, Sylvia's team returns the Gold assigned to that Order to their Treasury and may now Attempt a Private Contract or Wander.

TIP: Remember that after you recruit an Adventurer you may use their abilities, when applicable, even in later Orders of the same Round.

Attempt Contract

Overview

Complete Contracts to earn Gold, Fame, and other rewards (see "Contracts" on page 8). But be prepared to cooperate or conflict with rival teams attempting the same Contract.

Order Phase: Assigning an Attempt Contract Order

Place each of the following onto an available Order Space:

1. A team of Adventurers to go and attempt the Contract. They should have enough Skill dice matching one of the Skill types on the Contract you wish to attempt to give you a reasonable chance of success.
2. The Attempt Contract Order Card which matches the number of the Contract you wish to attempt.

Example: Chris' team has 4 Might in total, and are assigned to attempt Contract 3: Confront Blasphemers, with a Skill Check Target of 6. He rolls 4 Skill Dice and totals them into a Skill Check Result of 13 and compares it to the Skill Check Target of 6, Success!

Action Phase: Resolving an Attempt Contract Order

1. Check the Contract you wish to attempt is still face up. If it is not, your team may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.
2. Check whether any other Guilds are attempting the same contract in the same Order Space. If so see Attempt Contract Contest resolution (page 19).
3. From your assigned Adventurer Team, select a Skill that matches one of the Skill Check Targets on the Contract you are attempting.
4. Perform a Skill Check for that Skill by adding up the matching skill values for all Adventurers in the team attempting the Contract, up to a maximum of 10, and rolling that many dice.
5. In any order, use Adventurer Abilities, Skill Upgrades, and Contract Boons you have available to add dice, change dice faces or re-roll dice.
6. Total your dice rolls to obtain a Skill Check Result and compare it to the Skill Check Target. If your Skill Check Result equals or exceeds the Skill Check Target, you complete the Contract and gain its rewards (see below). If your Skill Check Result is below the Skill Check Target you fail the Contract and receive nothing.

Don't forget, you may roll a maximum of 10 dice for a Skill Check, but may add in dice from effects afterwards if able.

TIP: Attempt Contracts you have a reasonable chance to complete. Assemble teams with higher Skill scores and / or build Skill Upgrades to improve your Skill Checks and reduce your risk of failure. (See "Skill Upgrades" on page 9 and "Dice Probability" on page 24.)

Completing an Attempt Contract Order

When you complete a Contract, you immediately gain its rewards in the following order:

1. Gain the Gold and Fame shown at the top right of the Contract card.
2. Resolve any Bonus effects. Then do the following:
3. Place the completed Contract near your Order Board. If it has a Boon effect place it face up, otherwise place it face down.
4. Replace the Contract (if it was on the board) by drawing a new Contract card from either the Common, Heroic, or Legendary Contract deck and place it face down on the vacated Contract spot on the Board. Completed Private Contracts are not replaced in this way.

Lobby for Contract rewards. Some Contract rewards allow Guilds to affect other Guilds in some way. Guilds may lobby and negotiate for effects to be applied in any way they like, and may offer to pay Gold from their Treasury or make promises to sweeten the deal.

TIP: Use every opportunity to bargain your way into getting more Gold or Fame from other Guilds in exchange for favours. Likewise, if someone makes an offer for something, consider making a counter offer of your own.

Attempt Contract Contest resolution

If multiple Guilds attempt to complete a particular Contract they must decide whether to cooperate with the other Guilds to complete it together, sharing the rewards, or conflict with them against a higher Skill Check Target in an attempt to take it all.

Resolve the Contest as follows:

1. Negotiate reward split (optional).
2. Choose Contest Stance (cooperate / conflict).
3. Resolve the Attempt Contract Contest.

Negotiate reward split. If Guilds cooperate and are successful, they will each receive the full Fame reward, but split all other rewards. Guilds may openly negotiate the division of these other rewards before deciding on their Contest Stance.

The following rewards can be negotiated:

• How the Gold reward will be split.
• Who receives the Contract Bonus effect, and how it will be applied.
• Who will keep the Contract card and draw the replacement Contract.

If all participating Guilds cooperate, all negotiated agreements are binding. If a Guild conflicts however, the agreements are not binding.

If Guilds cannot reach an agreement on how to split the rewards, they are shared according to the Default reward split.

Default reward split. If Guilds cooperate and any of the above rewards are not negotiated then rewards are shared as follows:

1. Gold is split as evenly as possible, with any extra going to the Guild who rolled the highest Skill Check Result.
2. All other rewards are given to the Guild who rolled the highest Skill Check Result.

TIP: Consider what you need to offer other Guilds while negotiating the reward split, to ensure their cooperation. If they have a much stronger team they are more likely to conflict, even if it increases their chance of failure. So, consider offering more of the splittable rewards so that at least you get something along with the full Fame.

Choose Contest Stance. All participating Guilds take a Contest token and secretly choose the green cooperate side, or the red conflict side. They secretly place the token on the table with the chosen side face up, covering it with their hand. Once all Contesting Guilds have chosen a Contest Stance, they all reveal their Contest tokens at once.

Guilds who chose the green side are cooperators and Guilds who chose the red side are conflictors.

Resolving an Attempt Contract Contest. After Guilds have chosen to cooperate or conflict, attempt the Contract as follows:

1. Conflictors attempt the Contract first, with a Skill Check Penalty.
2. Then, if the Contract is still available, the cooperators may attempt it. If it has been completed they may each Attempt a Private Contract or Wander instead.

1. Conflictors

Each conflictor attempts the Contract separately, but with a Skill Check Penalty. This penalty increases all Skill Check Targets on the Contract card for each conflictor, by the number of dice they use to attempt it. This is their conflicting Skill Check Target.

If only one conflictor completes their Skill Check successfully, they complete the Contract and gain all its rewards. If multiple conflictors complete their Skill Check, the one who completed it by the highest margin over their conflicting Skill Check Target gains the rewards. Ties are resolved like they are in Contested Skill Checks (See "Performing a Skill Check" on page 7) by choosing and rerolling 1 dice each until there is a winner. Conflictors who didn't complete the contract get nothing.

Example: Kim (4 Guile & 3 Might) and Chris (6 Might) are conflictors at a Contract with Skill Check Targets of 10 Might / 10 Guile. Because they are conflicting, Kim receives a Skill Check Penalty of 4 for his team's 4 Guile dice. Kim now needs 14 to succeed. Chris has a penalty of 6 for his team's 6 Guile dice and needs 16 to succeed. After using some Adventurer and Skill Upgrade Abilities to boost his results, Kim's Skill Check Result is 15, 1 over his conflicting Skill Check Target. Chris' Skill Check Result is 16, just equal to his target. Kim scores 1 over his conflicting Skill Check Target compared to Chris' 0. Kim wins the Contract, gains all its rewards, takes the Contract and replaces it with a new Contract from the rank of his choosing. Chris gets nothing.

2. Cooperators

If the Contract has already been completed by a conflictor, any cooperators may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander. Otherwise, cooperators attempt the Contract together. If there is only one cooperator attempting a Contract, they attempt the Contract as normal.

If there are multiple cooperators they may form a combined team to attempt a single Matching Skill Check, using the best Adventurers from each Guild. This typically results in combined teams rolling more dice and increasing their chance of success.

However, if the Contract has multiple Skill Check Targets, cooperating teams may choose to attempt the Contract separately on any valid Skill Check Targets. Sometimes this may improve the chance of success.

Unlike conflictors, cooperators receive no Skill Check Penalty, no matter how they choose to attempt the Contract.

Combined team. When cooperating Guilds attempt a Contract on the same Skill Check Target, they must combine their Adventurers to form a new combined team. This combined team's maximum size is dictated by the highest level Mess Hall amongst the cooperating Guilds, or by the number of Guilds participating, whichever is greater. Each cooperating Guild must contribute at least one Adventurer to the combined team, ideally combining their most Skilled Adventurers to increase their Skill Dice total and improve their chance of success.

Each Guild rolls dice for their participating Adventurer(s), up to a maximum of 10 dice in total for the combined team.

The Contract is then resolved as normal (see "Completing an Attempt Contract Order" on page 19). If the combined team's Skill Check equals or exceeds the Skill Check target, the Contract is completed. Each cooperating Guild gains the Contract's full Fame reward, and splits the other rewards as negotiated (see "Negotiate reward split" on page 19).

If the combined team fails their combined Skill Check, the Contract is not completed and the Cooperators receive no rewards.

Example: Kim (4 Guile & 3 Might) and Chris (6 Might) are cooperators at a Contract with Skill Check Targets of 10 Might / 10 Guile. They decide to attempt the Contract's Might Skill Check Target together. Chris' 3 Adventurers total 6 Might dice, but the weakest has just 1 Might. Kim's 3 Might Adventurer joins a team with Chris' 2 Adventurers with 2 and 3 Might respectively, for a total of 8 Might. Kim rolls 3 dice giving a result of 7, and Chris' 5 dice total 14, giving a combined Might Skill Check total of 21 vs a Skill Check Target of 10, success! Both Guilds gain the Contract's full Fame reward, and split the Gold and Bonus effect as agreed. Chris' Adventurers rolled the highest so he takes the Contract card and replaces it with a new Contract from the rank of his choosing.

Separate teams. When cooperating Guilds choose to attempt a Contract on different Skill Check Targets, each team makes a separate Skill Check against their chosen Skill Check Target.

If at least one team succeeds in their Skill Check, all cooperating Guilds complete the Contract. Each cooperating Guild then gains the Contract's full Fame reward, and splits the other rewards as negotiated (see "Negotiate reward split" on page 19).

If no cooperating Guilds pass their Skill Check, the Contract is not completed and no rewards are gained.

Example: Kim (4 Guile & 3 Might) and Chris (6 Might) are cooperators at a Contract with Skill Check Targets of 10 Might / 10 Guile. They decide to attempt the Contract's Might and Guile Skills target separately. Kim's 4 dice Guile Skill Check roll totals 9, 1 under his Skill Check Target of 10. If not cooperating that would be a fail, but Chris' Skill Check Result is 16, so both cooperators succeed. Each player gains the Contract's full Fame reward, and splits the Gold and Bonus reward as agreed. As Chris rolled highest over his target he takes the Contract card and replaces it with a new Contract of any level, his choice.

Fame is always gained in full by each Guild completing the Contract.

Tip: There are great times to cooperate to boost your chances of success, and times you really should consider taking on risk of conflicting to catch up to a leader rather than share the spoils with them. But consider your rival's strengths and how they are likely to be thinking when you negotiate, and when you decide whether to conflict or cooperate.

Private Contracts and Wandering

Overview

Since Orders resolve in sequence, you may find one of your later objectives has already been resolved by the time you attempt it, or perhaps there are no other Orders you wish to attempt on the Board. When this happens, your Adventurers may attempt one of their Private Contracts, or Wander.

When you may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander

You may Attempt a Private Contract or Wander:

1. In an Order Space where you don't have a valid Order.
2. Instead of resolving one of your assigned Orders.
3. When you miss out on an assigned Order because a rival completed it in a previous Order Space or contest.

You may also intentionally assign an Attempt Private Contract or Wander Order as follows:

1. Place a team of Adventurers on one of your available Order Spaces.
2. Do not place an Order card or any Gold on the Order Space.

Attempt Private Contract and Wander Orders are resolved last in the Order Resolution Sequence of their Order Space when assigned this way.

TIP: You are more likely to miss out on your later Orders. Consider assigning Adventurers that can attempt one of your Private Contracts in a later Order Space so you can still achieve a secondary objective if you miss out on your Order.

Resolving an Attempt Private Contract Order

Check whether your team has the Skills required to attempt one of your Private Contracts. If so, you may attempt that Private Contract following the normal rules for resolving an Attempt Contract Order (See page 18), but without replacing the Private Contract if it is completed.

If you fail your attempt to complete a Private Contract, you may keep it and attempt it again later.

Example: Chris' team misses out on their 2nd Order because a rival Guild completed it as their first Order. Luckily the team that missed out has 5 Guile and Chris has a Private Contract named Steal Battle Plans, which requires a Skill Check Result of 12 in Guile to complete. Chris rolls 5 dice and gets a Skill Check Result of 21, easily enough to complete it. He gains the contract's 3 Gold and 3 Fame and puts it with his other completed contracts.

Resolving a Wander Order

Alternatively, your team may simply Wander by making a Skill Check, gaining rewards based on the result as follows:

Wander Result	Reward
10 or less	1 Gold
10 - 19	1 Gold & 1 Fame
20 - 29	2 Gold & 2 Fame
30 - 39	3 Gold & 3 Fame
x0 - x9	x Gold & x Fame

Example: Chris has missed out on one of his Orders and does not have a Private Contract he can attempt, so his team Wanders. He rolls 6 dice with a Skill Check Total of 21, gaining 2 Gold and 2 Fame.

Private Contract and Wander Contest resolution

There is no Contest resolution for Wandering. All Guilds Wander independently, even if on the same Order space.

End Game

The game ends at the conclusion of Round 9, after Income is earned. Guilds then gain additional Fame as follows:

• 1 Fame for every 5 Gold they own, rounded down.
• Fame from any Prestige Upgrade they built during the game. Examples of scoring can be found on the backs of each Prestige Upgrade token.

The Guild with the highest Fame is declared the winner. If Guilds' Fame totals are tied, those Guilds share a joint victory.

Variants

Short game

A short game can be played for 6 Rounds instead of 9. A short game is played identically to a regular game except Prestige Upgrades are left in the box and cannot be purchased.

Things To Remember

• The following information about each Guild is considered public and may be requested at any time by any player.
  • Gold total (this is also announced during the Start of Round phase).
  • Upgrades built (and all information about their effects).
  • Adventurers recruited (and all information about their Skills and abilities).
  • Contracts completed (and all information about their effects).
• Any effect that lets you hire a Builder (even for free) still moves the Builder Cost marker up and potentially increases the cost of subsequent Builders.
• When Guilds receive anything at the same time, the Guild with the most Fame goes first. If there is still a tie each Guild rolls a single dice and the highest roll goes first.
• When Guilds do a conflicting Skill Check and there is a tie, each Guild must re-roll one of their dice until there is a winner.
• You cannot recruit Heroes or Legends until you have recruited an Adventurer of the level lower than them.
• Gain Fame each time you build Upgrades, recruit Adventurers or complete Contracts.
• When you complete a Contract, gain the Gold and Fame before any Bonus effect.
• Every 3rd Round is a Blood Moon Round. Guilds each get a Private Contract in the Start of Round Phase (see page 11), and all face up cards on the Board will be replaced in the Reset Phase (see page 14).
• Look out for Events on Contracts in the Start of Round phase after Heroic and Legendary Contracts are revealed – they add new options and challenges.

Glossary

Adept – A Rank of Adventurer that may be recruited by any Guild from the beginning of the game.

Adventurer – The characters who work for Guilds. Adventurers carry out a Guild's Orders. They have Skills, Ranks (Novice, Adept, Hero, Legend) and abilities. Recruit more powerful Adventurers throughout the game to complete more difficult Contracts.

Adventurer Ability – Some Adventurers have abilities which their Guilds' use in the Plot or Action phases of certain Rounds, e.g. in a Half Moon Round's Plot Phase.

Assign Order – During the Order Phase, place an Adventurer team, and an Order card, with any Gold required, in an Order Space on your Order Board to assign an Order.

Attempt Contract – A type of Order you use to try to complete Contracts (objectives 1 to 6 on the Board). Assign a Team on an Order Space the Attempt Contract Order with an Attempt Contract Order Card.

Bar – A type of Core Upgrade which gives you Income (Gold) in the Reset Phase each Round. You must upgrade to Bar II before you upgrade to Bar III.

Blood Moon Round – Every third Round is a Blood Moon Round. At the start of each Blood Moon Round, deal each player a Private Contract. During the Reset Phase of these rounds, discard all face up cards from the Board. Certain Adventurer Abilities may only be resolved during Blood Moon Rounds.

Board – The main board containing the Fame track, Round track, Builder cost track, 6 Adventurer spaces and 6 Contract spaces.

Boon – A type of Contract Effect you may resolve anytime it is permitted.

Builder – Hire Builders to build Upgrades. The cost of each Builder is marked on the Builder Cost Track, which increases each time a Builder is hired for any reason (including Adventurer Abilities and Contract Effects).

Builder Cost marker – The token used to identify the current cost to hire a Builder on the Builder Cost track on the Board.

Builder Cost Track – The track on the Board used to track the current cost to hire a Builder.

Bonus – A type of Contract Effect you must resolve when you complete that contract.

Conflict / Conflictors / Conflicting – When Guilds are contesting a Contract, those that choose the Conflict stance with their Contest token are Conflictors. Conflictors make a skill check before Cooperators, but with a skill check penalty against the Contract's Skill Check Target. They compare their Skill Check Result against other Conflictors to determine a winner.

Contest / Contested / Contesting – Guilds that are competing to carry out the same Order on the same Order Space are Contesting.

Contest token – The token players use to declare their Contest Stance during a Contract Contest, ie whether they Cooperate or Conflict.

Contested Skill Check – A skill check Guilds make to establish priority during Hire Builder or Recruit Adventurer contests.

Contract – A job that rewards Guilds with Gold and Fame if completed. Contracts come at 3 levels of difficulty; Common, Heroic and Legendary.

Contract Effects – Contracts may have Bonus, Boon or Event effects.

Cooperate / Cooperators / Cooperating – When Guilds are contesting a Contract, those that choose the Cooperate stance with their Contest token are Cooperators. Cooperators attempt the Contract together, but only after any Conflictors have already attempted it.

Core Upgrade – Your Stables, Mess Hall and Bar Upgrades. You may upgrade them to level II, and then unique level III versions.

Discard – Remove an Adventurer or Contract from the Board, or your completed Contracts area and place it in its matching discard pile.

Event – A type of Contract effect which affects all Guilds while the Contract is on the Board.

Fame – A Guild's score. The Guild with the most Fame at the end of the game wins.

Fame Order – The Order in which certain tasks are completed by Guilds, typically descending Fame order (ie highest to lowest), unless otherwise specified.

Fame marker – The token Guilds use to track their Fame on the Fame track.

Full Moon Round – Rounds alternate between half and full moons – the 2 sides of the Round marker. Adventurers' minimum bid requirements vary between these Rounds. Certain Adventurer abilities only be used during Full Moon Rounds.

Gold – Currency which comes in the following denominations; 1, 2, 5 and 20. Each 5 Gold is worth 1 Fame at the end of the game.

Guild – A player, their Adventurers, Upgrades and Gold in their Treasury.

Guild Ribbons – Players hang their Guild Ribbon over the front of their Guild screens to indicate whether they have finished planning their Orders in the Order phase.

Guild Screens – Players use their Guild Screens to hide the Orders they assign during the Order Phase.

Half Moon Round – Rounds alternate between half and full moons, the 2 sides of the Round tracker. Adventurer costs vary between these Rounds. Certain Adventurer abilities only be used during Half Moon Rounds.

Hero – A Rank of Adventurer that may only be recruited once you have at least one Adept, Hero or Legend Adventurer in your Guild.

Hire Builders – A type of Order you use to Hire Builders to Upgrade your Guild. Assign a Team on an Order Space the Hire Builders Order with a Hire Builders Order Card and some Gold.

Income – The amount of Gold you gain during the Reset Phase. Your Income is shown on your Bar Upgrade.

Legend – A Rank of Adventurer that may only be recruited once you have at least one Hero or Legend Adventurer in your Guild.

Matching Skill Check – A Skill Check made with the Skill that matches one of a Contract's Skill Check Targets.

Mess Hall – A type of Core Upgrade which indicates the maximum number of Adventurers you may use to form a team in each Order Space, i.e. your Team Size. You must upgrade to Mess Hall II before you upgrade to Mess Hall III.

Obtain a Contract – Obtain Contracts when you complete them by placing the Contract near your Order Board, face down. However, if it contains a Boon reward keep it face up to remind you and other players that you may use it at a later time.

Open Team – A team that has fewer Adventurers than your Guild's maximum Team Size, as defined by your Mess Hall.

Order – An Adventurer team, and an Order card, with any Gold required, placed in an Order Space on your Order Board during the Order Phase.

Order Board – Contains your Treasury and 4 Order Spaces, only two of which are usable at the start of the game.

Order cards – The set of 13 small cards Guilds each use to assign Orders to their Adventurer teams. They consist of 3 types: Hire Builders Order card, Recruit Adventurers Order cards (A – F) and Attempt Contract Order cards (1 – 6).

Order Resolution Sequence – The sequence all Orders are resolved in during the Action Phase, within each Order Space. Guilds' first Orders are resolved sequentially from left to right across the Board. ie Hire Builders, then Adventurers A then B, C, D, E & F, then Contracts 1, then 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 in that order. This is repeated for each Guild's second Order, and any later Orders.

Order Space – The 4 Order Spaces on your Order Board. Assign Teams of Adventurers, Order Cards and potentially Gold to them while Assigning Orders during the Orders Phase. The number of available Order Spaces you may use each Round is determined by your Stables, a Core Upgrade.

Phase – Each Round has 5 phases; Start of Round, Plot, Orders, Action & Reset. Some Adventurer Abilities and Contract Effects may be triggered in certain Phases.

Prestige Upgrade – A type of unique Upgrade that earns you Fame at the end of the game. Each Guild may only build one of these per game. Check its reverse side for a scoring example.

Private Contract – Guilds receive Common Contracts as Private Contracts during setup, and at the start of the 3rd, 6th and 9th Rounds in the game. Guilds may attempt their own Private Contracts instead of other Orders, or when they miss out on other Orders.

Recruit Adventurer – A type of Order you use to Recruit Adventurers (objectives A to F on the Board) into your Guild. Assign a Team on an Order Space, the Recruit Adventurer Card and the minimum Gold bid for that Adventurer this Round.

Replace a Contract – After a Contract on the Board is completed, the player who obtained the Contract replaces it by drawing a new one from the Contract deck of their choice.

Round – Guild Master is played over 9 Rounds, each of which has 5 Phases. Track Rounds on the Board with the Round marker. Rounds alternate between Half & Full Moon Rounds, and Rounds 3, 6 and 9 are also Blood Moon Rounds.

Skill – Adventurers use one of 6 Skills to perform Skill Checks; Might, Arcane, Guile, Logic, Charm & Spirit.

Skill Check – Add all Adventurer Skill Dice in a particular Skill, up to a maximum of 10, and roll them. Adjust the roll with Upgrade and Adventurer Abilities, to get a Skill Check Result.

Skill Dice – The number of dice an Adventurer Team rolls when performing a Skill Check.

Skill Check Result – The total of a Skill Check roll, after modifications are applied.

Skill Check Target – The number a Skill Check needs to meet or exceed in order to succeed.

Skill Check Penalty – The penalty applied to Conflictor's Skill Check Targets during Contract Contests. It is equal to their Adventurer team's total dice (not including any added by effects) in the Skill they are using.

Skill Upgrade – A 2-sided Upgrade that allows you to modify or reroll dice during Skill Checks.

Stables – A type of Core Upgrade which indicates how many Orders you may assign in the Order Phase. You must upgrade to Stables II before you upgrade to Stables III.

Starting Skill Upgrade – The Skill Upgrade that comes with your Team of Novice Adventurers.

Team – 1 or more Adventurers assigned to an Order Space.

Maximum Team Size – the maximum number of Adventurers you may place in a team, as per your Mess Hall level.

Treasury – Where Gold is stored on your Order Board.

Upgrade – Skill, Core, and Prestige Upgrades which you construct with Builders you hire.

Unassigned – An Adventurer in its controlling player's hand, not on any Order Space.

Upgrade Board – Guilds each have an Upgrade Board containing their starting Core and Skill Upgrades. They may add Upgrades throughout the game with the Hire Builders Order and through Adventurer Abilities and Contract effects.

Wander – Miscellaneous work that earns your Guild small amounts of Gold and Fame. Your teams can Wander when they miss out on their Orders or have nothing better to do.

Dice Probability

When rolling dice you may use this table to roughly calculate your odds of success. Any re-roll, or fixer abilities further improve your odds. You can get a more accurate reading of their effect by decreasing the target by 3 or 4 for each dice fixer, and increasing the number of dice being rolled by 1 for each re-roll ability.

Don't forget that when conflicting, the Skill Check Penalty increases the Skill Check Target by the number of dice being rolled.

Approximate chance of a Skill Check Result meeting or exceeding the Target, by number of dice rolled (2 to 10):

Target	2 dice	3 dice	4 dice	5 dice	6 dice	7 dice	8 dice	9 dice	10 dice
6	72%	95%
7	58%	91%
8	42%	84%	>95%
9	28%	74%	95%
10	<20%	63%	90%
11		50%	84%	>95%
12		38%	76%	94%
13		26%	66%	90%
14		<20%	56%	85%	>95%
15			44%	78%	94%
16			34%	69%	90%
17			24%	60%	86%	>95%
18			<20%	50%	79%	94%
19				40%	72%	91%
20				30%	64%	86%	>95%
21				22%	55%	81%	94%
22

Skill Check Targets of 31 - 40 are only required when a Conflict penalty is applied during the resolution of a contested Legendary Contract Order.