Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship
Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
Collect complete color sets of professions (all 5 colors of the Monk, for instance), which you use to buy victory points (VP). The first player to reach 20 VP on his or her turn wins.
Components
- 120 profession cards (4 sets of 6 professions, each in 5 colors)
- 30 Chapter Master cards
- 30 VP cards
- 3 Master Houses
- 9 Reference cards
- 25 VP tokens
- This rulebook
Card Anatomy
Profession Card: shows the archetype icon and profession name, a color banner, the number of cards in your profession's chapter, and the card's abilities.
VP Card: shows the number of completed chapters needed to buy it, the VP value, and a card ability.
Reference Card: shows the archetype icon, and the card's name, sets, and ability text.
Setup
- Shuffle the 120 profession cards together to create a deck. Set the deck face down where everyone can reach it. Leave some space for a discard pile.
- Shuffle all of the VP cards, and deal 5 out in a line, face up, in the center of the table. This is called the center row. Set the rest of the deck face down nearby.
- Place the VP tokens in a pile where everyone can reach them.
- Deal 9 profession cards to each player. Choose a player to go first. Starting with the first player, discard as many cards as you like (in any order) and draw back up to 9 cards. Then, place 3 cards from your hand face up onto the table to your right. This is your guildhall. No cards here can be duplicates (with the same color and profession). Group cards of the same profession together. These groups are called chapters. All cards in a guildhall must be visible to all players.
- After the first player, setup proceeds in clockwise order. Each player in turn discards any number of cards, draws up to 9, and places 3 cards. This completes setup. Keep the area to your left open. This is your action area, where cards are played and held before you move them to the guildhall.
How to Play
Each turn you get 2 actions. For each action, you can do one of the following:
- Play 1 card into your action area and resolve it.
- Discard any number of cards from your hand and draw up to 6.
- Buy 1 VP card from the center row.
Play 1 Card
Play one profession card into your action area face up, and use its ability. Each card has abilities based on its profession and the number of cards of that profession's chapter already in your guildhall. If the number of cards in your chapter is below the lowest number listed, you gain no benefit from that profession card's ability.
You do not have to use a card's highest effect when you play it. You may choose to use its effect at a lower level (as if you had fewer profession cards in your chapter), or you may choose not to use the effect at all. However, you may not choose to use only part of a card's effect.
Example: You already have two Duelists in your guildhall. You play a third into your action area. This allows you to use the "2" ability on the Duelist: "Take two random cards from another player's hand and put them in the discard pile." If there are no opponents with two cards in hand or you would prefer to use the "0" ability instead to make everyone with at least one card discard a random card, you may use the "0" ability instead. However, you cannot use the "0" ability and just target one player to lose a card. You must do all of an ability at a given level or none of it.
You cannot play a card of a given chapter if that card's chapter has a card of the same color already in your guildhall. Abilities will not allow two cards of a chapter and of the same color to be placed in your guildhall.
Example: If you have a blue Duelist in your guildhall, you cannot play a blue Duelist with the "Play 1 Card" action.
I Am Altering the Rules; Pray I Don't Alter Them Further.
In basic Guildhall you cannot play more than one card of a given profession during a single turn. In Advanced Guildhall, you may not play a profession card from your hand if a card from that profession's chapter is already in your action area. This will not prevent card abilities from placing cards into your action area. If you can clear the cards out of your action area, you can play a profession card more than once in a turn. Additionally, if you can place a chapter's card into your opponent's action area, you can prevent them from playing specific chapters in their following turn.
Example: If you played a Duelist for your first action, you cannot play another Duelist for your second action that turn, unless you use a card effect to move the card out of your action area. Additionally, if another player places a Duelist into your action area, that will prevent you from playing a Duelist unless that Duelist is removed before the end of your turn.
Duplicate Dos and Don'ts
Two profession cards of the same color can never be in a single guildhall at the same time. You cannot play or place cards that duplicate a card already in your guildhall, and cannot place a duplicate card in another player's guildhall. If an ability lets you move an entire chapter to your guildhall, but one card in that chapter duplicates a card you already have in your guildhall, you cannot move the chapter.
However, you can swap two identical cards (such as two green Invokers) between your hand and guildhall or between your guildhall and another player's guildhall. You can place a given profession and color in your guildhall if that same card is already in your action area.
If for some reason you find a duplicate card in a guildhall, discard duplicates until only one of the card remains.
Discard
Discard any number of cards from your hand, placing them on the discard pile in any order. Then draw cards from the top of the deck until you have six cards in your hand. Although this always results in a hand of six cards, there is no hand limit if you gain cards some other way.
If you need to draw a card from the deck and it is empty, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down to form a new deck. Draw the remaining cards from the new deck.
Buy 1 VP Card
Discard completed chapters (see below) in any order from your guildhall to buy one VP card from the center row.
The big number on the VP card is the number of VP it is worth at the end of the game. The number of chapter icons shown on the top of the card is the number of your completed chapters you must discard to buy that VP card.
Place the VP card into your action area face up. Some VP cards have abilities that take place immediately when they are bought. As with abilities on profession cards, you may choose not to use them.
When you buy a VP card, immediately place the top card of the VP card deck into the center row. There are always five VP cards available to buy in the center row.
Completed Chapters
When all five colors of a single profession are in your guildhall, you have completed the chapter. Immediately turn them all face down in a stack (even if it's not your turn). They now exist only as a completed chapter. They no longer affect or are affected by other cards. You may use completed chapters only to buy VP cards. You may look at your completed chapters and spend them as you choose.
You can have a maximum of 3 completed chapters in your guildhall at once. If you ever have 4 or more completed chapters, you must discard chapters until you have only 3.
Timing
If you complete a chapter during your turn, you may play a card of the profession you just completed, since there are no longer any duplicate cards in your guildhall.
Example: You have a red, blue, yellow, and green Monk in your guildhall, and a red Monk in your hand. Since you have a red Monk in your guildhall already, you cannot play another one. However, if you play a blue Bard and take a purple Monk from the discard pile and place it into your guildhall, you immediately complete the Monk chapter, and turn them face down. With no Monk in your guildhall, you may play the red Monk on your next action (even if it's on the same turn) to start a new Monk chapter.
End of Turn
When all of your actions and card abilities are resolved, move all cards from the action area to your guildhall. If this would move a duplicate card (i.e., same color and profession) into your guildhall, discard the duplicate card instead. Then arrange your cards into chapters by profession. Score your points. All players must be able to see your total VP. If you have fewer than 20 VP, play passes clockwise.
If you have 20 VP or more, the game ends.
End of Game
If you reach 20 VP or more at the end of your turn, you win the game! You can only win on your turn.
Other Rules
VP Tokens
These tokens can be gained by card abilities. There are 1 VP tokens and 5 VP tokens. Trade in your 1 VP tokens for 5 VP tokens when you can. The number of tokens is not limited to those provided in this set. If you need more, use some other counter to keep track. Place VP tokens in your guildhall. If a card discards a VP token, return that token to the pile of VP tokens.
Smaller Games
If you have 2 or 3 players, remove two 5-point VP cards and one of each other VP card. This will help the game move a little more smoothly.
Public Knowledge vs. Hidden Information
Generally, in Guildhall, you may not use an ability to place a chapter's card into a guildhall that duplicates a color already in the chapter.
Hidden Information
Hidden cards are not considered to be 'known' by the players, even if they know by way of a card effect what is in one of those locations. This means that players may knowingly play abilities that will cause a conflict between the colors of the cards enter the guildhall from a hidden location and the cards in the guildhall itself. This includes inspecting or looking at "hidden" cards with an ability. You may intentionally create a conflict of colors with such an ability. When a card in a guildhall conflicts with a card entering the guildhall, the card entering the guildhall is discarded.
The following play-locations are considered "hidden" and not known by the players in general:
- Cards in, or on top of, the deck
- Cards in, or on top of, the VP deck
- Cards in the discard pile (except for the top card)
- Cards in the VP discard pile (except for the top card)
- An opponent's hand
Discard Pile
Only the top card of the discard pile is public knowledge. You can only look through the discard pile if a card's ability allows it. You cannot rearrange the discard pile when searching it.
Player's Hands
Players are considered to 'know' what cards are in their own hands, but the information in their opponent's hands (even if they have looked at an opponent's hand) is considered hidden.
Public Knowledge
Players may not use an ability that moves a known card from an open location to a Guildhall if it would create a conflict. The exception is the action area.
The following play-locations are considered public knowledge and known at all times by the players in general:
- The top card of the discard pile
- The top card of the VP discard pile.
- The VP row
- Any guildhall
Action Areas
The action area is an exception to the public knowledge and hidden information rules. The cards in the action area are open and known to all players, but effects may purposely create conflicts between the action area and the guildhall, which will cause the conflicting cards to be discarded when the cards are moved from the action area to the guildhall.
Creating Your Own Custom Guildhall Experience
Provided below are some guidelines to creating your own profession and VP decks and an alternate mode where all three sets can be combined.
The Mega-Saga
If you wish to play a Guildhall game using one or more decks without increasing the play time, we have placed archetype symbols on the Professions that represent the thematic roles that the profession plays within a party.
When playing a Mega-Saga, treat all cards with a given symbol as the same profession. So, when triggering an ability, you would count all Clerics, Druids, and Shamans in your guildhall as members of the same profession and place them in the same chapter.
Further, you may only play one of a Archetype, such a Priest, per turn.
Example: the Cleric reads: "Draw a number of cards equal to the number of Clerics in your guildhall. Then take another action." When playing a Cleric, draw a number of cards equal to the number of Clerics plus Invokers, plus Druids, plus Shamans in your Priest chapter and draw a number of cards equal to that total. All four of those professions are placed in the same chapter.
The Archetypes
- Acrobats are light-footed, agile adventurers.
- Leaders are the adventurers that coordinate the party.
- Mages are adventurers who have mastered the arcane arts.
- Mystics are introspective and specialized adventurers.
- Priests are your religious and divinely-powered adventurers.
- Warriors are your hard-hitting, physical adventurers.
Guildhall Set Symbols and Older Sets
The Guildhall Fantasy sets are: Fellowship, Alliance, Coalition, and The Gathering. The original Guildhall sets are: Old World Economy, Job Faire, and New Empire.
Old Worlde Economy: Cleric (A.K.A. the Dancer), Fighter (A.K.A. the Assassin), Marshal (A.K.A. the Farmer), Monk (A.K.A. the Weaver), Rogue (A.K.A. the Trader), Wizard (A.K.A. the Historian).
New Empire: Assassin, Barbarian, Druid, Paladin, Psion, Sorcerer.
Job Faire: Artificer (A.K.A. the Scholar), Bard (A.K.A. the Hunter), Spellblade (A.K.A. the Peddler), Ranger (A.K.A. the Tax Collector), Shaman (A.K.A. the Bricklayer), Warlock (A.K.A. the Robber).
The Super-Sized-Saga
You could shuffle two or more editions of Guildhall Fantasy together to create a Super-Sized-Saga using a double- or triple-sized VP deck and a double- or triple-sized professions deck (though the game will take much longer).
Please note: Super-Sized-Sagas and Mega-Sagas can be a little challenging to get used to. As such, we recommend only attempting them when you have truly mastered all 4 editions of Guildhall.
Old Worlde Economy and Job Faire
Guildhall had two previous releases, Old Worlde Economy and Job Faire. Players that collect Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship, Alliance, and Coalition can recreate those sets as well as an all new set comprised of the new cards added to Guildhall. Fans of the original version of Guildhall can recreate those decks by combining the cards listed above and using the VP deck from the Fellowship set.
Building Your Own Professions Deck
There are now a total of 4 sets of Guildhall and 24 professions and 6 chapter masters that can be played. While you should feel free to combine any decks you want, we have found that a few guidelines are helpful.
Games which include at least 1 of each archetype will prove more well-rounded, while games that eliminate an archetype or stack up on an archetype will provide a more focused experience. If you are using cards with abilities that take cards from the discard pile, we do recommend that you include one or more professions with abilities that add cards to the discard pile.
Building Your Own VP Deck
While you can mix up the cards however you like, as all cards are generally balanced against one another and of an equal play value, the following VP cards are universal to all of the sets and make a good foundation for a VP deck.
- Three copies of the 3-point card which allows you to place any number of cards from your hand into your Guildhall.
- Three copies of the 4-point card which grants an extra action.
- Three copies of the 4-point card which allows you to draw 5 cards.
- Six copies of the 5-point card.
- Three copies of the 7-point card which grants two extra actions.
- Three copies of the 9-point card.
Also include 3 copies of a 2-point, 3-point, and 4-point card. Remember to remove cards for smaller games (see Smaller Games, above).
If you include a VP card that interacts with the discard pile, we recommend your profession deck include a profession card with an ability that places cards in the discard pile. If you include a VP card that steals VP points, we suggest your profession deck include a profession in your profession deck with an ability that generates VP tokens.
Chapter Master Card Anatomy
Chapter Master Profession Card: shows the archetype icon and Chapter Master name, the number of cards in your profession's chapter, and the card's abilities. Note: Chapter Masters do not have a color banner.
Chapter Master Reference Card: shows the Chapter Master's name and sets, a rules brief, the archetype icon and Chapter Master name, more abilities, and card ability text.
Master House Card Anatomy
Master House Card: shows the card's name and sets, and the related Archetype on each side. Master Houses are placed in the VP row in any order with one of the VP cards from the VP row placed on each Master House.
Expansion Rules
Chapter Masters
Chapter Masters are a unique type of profession card. Chapter Masters may be played as any color of a chapter card. There should be a Chapter Master for each archetype and five copies of each Chapter Master. Chapter Masters can be combined with any set of Guildhall or used when playing Mega Saga rules. However, they should not be used in a deck that includes duplicated archetypes as separate chapters, e.g. a deck using a Fighter and Spellblade (both warrior archetypes) and Monk, Artificer, Psion, and Alchemist (mystic archetypes).
A Chapter Master's ability activates just like a basic profession card's ability. If you do not have enough cards in their given chapter, their ability will not activate.
The color of a Chapter Master changes as needed after being played; the card has no memory of what color it was played as. Multiple Chapter Masters may be put into a Guildhall, each as a separate color.
Example: You play a Seeker into your guildhall as a red card, since being that you had the other four colors of the Mystic chapter in play. Through card effects you lose your blue Mystic. The color of the Seeker changes as needed which means you would be allowed to play a red mystic from your hand without creating a duplicate, because Chapter Masters do not retain their color.
Master Houses
To set up the Master Houses, before placing the VP cards in the VP row from the VP deck, place the three Master Houses in the VP row. Three of the five VP cards in VP row are placed on top of the Master Houses.
When buying a VP card with a completed chapter, if you purchase the VP card on top of a Master House and the archetype of one or more of the completed chapters being used to buy the VP card match the Archetypes on the Master House, the ability on the Master House resolves after any ability on the VP card is resolved (or the player has chosen to forego the ability on the VP card). Like the ability on a profession card or VP card, a player may choose to not activate a Master House ability.
Example: When using a completed chapter of the Leader or Warrior archetype to purchase a VP card from the Journeyman House, after resolving any effects of the VP card, you may use the Journeyman House to cause another player to lose a VP token.
Notes About Card Effects and the Card Decks
Whenever you inspect a deck with a card's ability, shuffle the deck when you are done with the deck. Whenever you inspect the subset of cards from the top of the deck with a card's ability, they may be returned in any order. When the discard pile or VP discard pile is inspected, the cards should be returned in the original order.
If a card's ability allows you to look at more cards than are in the deck, do not shuffle the discard pile into a new deck. Just look at the cards that are available. The number of cards remaining in the deck are not public knowledge.
If a card's ability causes one or more VP cards to be discarded, create a VP card discard pile next to the VP deck. When you discard a VP card from the VP row, immediately replace the VP card with the top card of the VP deck. If you run out of VP cards, shuffle the VP discard pile to form a new VP deck.
More Guildhall!
There are three previous editions of Guildhall Fantasy: Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship, Guildhall Fantasy: Alliance, and Guildhall Fantasy: Coalition. Each one is compatible with the cards in Guildhall Fantasy: The Gathering. You can combine specific cards from any of the four sets to make your own play experience, or you can smash one or more of them up and play the Mega Saga version of the game.
Buy all four editions of Guildhall Fantasy at your local game store!
The Ability Icons
The reference cards use icons to represent locations and actions:
- Your Guildhall
- Other Player's Guildhall
- Any Player's Guildhall
- Your Hand
- Other Player's Hand
- Any Player's Hand
- Your Action Area
- Other Player's Action Area
- Any Player's Action Area
- The VP Deck
- The VP Row
- The VP Discard Pile
- The Draw Deck
- The Discard Pile
- "and then" (Card)
- Chapter
- Completed Chapter
- VP Card
- Victory Point Token
- Look Through or Inspect
- Another Action
- From one location to another
- Swap between locations
Credits
Design: Hope S. Hwang
Development: Jeff Quick and Erik-Jason Yaple
Art Direction: Erik-Jason Yaple
Game Art: Gunship Revolution Studios
Graphic Design: Joeseph Comacho, John Goodenough, Thomas Kohler, and AJ Murray
Writing: Jeff Quick and Erik-Jason Yaple
Editing: Christopher Bodan and Mark Harbison
Proofing: Nicolas Bongiu, Mark Harbison, and Mark Wootton
Layout and Typesetting: Erik-Jason Yaple
Production: David Lepore
Head of Quality Assurance: Kaz Nyborg-Andersen
© 2016 Alderac Entertainment Group. Guildhall, Guildhall Fantasy Fellowship, Guildhall Fantasy Alliance, Guildhall Fantasy Coalition, Guildhall Fantasy: The Gathering and all related marks are ™ and © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc. 4045 E. Guasti Road #210, Ontario, CA 91761 USA. All rights reserved. Printed in China. © 2016 Copyright Wednesday Games, All Rights Reserved.