Heart of Crown: Path Before Heaven Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Introduction
• Using Path Before Heaven Cards
• Support Cards
• Conditional Activation Abilities
• Player Actions
• Frequency of Use of Conditional Activation Abilities
• Combining Path Before Heaven Cards
• FAQ by Topic
  • Princess of the Ancient Dynasty Ru Li
  • The Late Emperor Hellard's Scepter
  • Archwitch Aurora
  • Connected Businessman William
  • Imperial Library of Magic
  • Imperial Treasure Vault
  • Imperial Diet
  • Private Tutor
  • Lighthouse / Prior Investment / Small Isolated Island
  • Lighthouse
  • Prior Investment
• Recommended Card Sets

Components

Box contents:

• 61 Cards
  • 1 Princess Card
  • 10 Support Cards
  • 50 Common Cards (10 Types)
• 10 Randomizer Cards
• 11 Dividers
• 1 Rulebook

Introduction

Heart of Crown: Path Before Heaven is an expansion for the Heart of Crown series. You will need Heart of Crown: Fairy Garden or the Heart of Crown Base Set in order to play.

You can of course use it in combination with any of the previous Heart of Crown sets, but in particular we recommend using it with Fairy Garden and Six City Alliance.

Using Path Before Heaven Cards

Add the new Princess of the Ancient Dynasty Ru Li to the Princess Cards from the base set (and other expansions). To use the 10 new types of Common Cards, combine them with the Common Cards from the previous sets, then pick a total of 10 types to put into the Supply Pile. See p.13 for a list of suggested combinations of Common Cards.

This set also includes 10 Support Cards, a new category of card that adds new strategy options to the game.

Support Cards

At the start of the game, Support Cards go in their own area, face up. If you are using Support Cards in the game, when a player backs a princess they have the option to pay an additional +2 Coins (on top of the 6 to back the princess for a total cost of 8). If they do, they also take 1 Support Card of their choice and add it to their Domain along with the Princess Card.

Note that you cannot pay 10 Coins to back a princess and get 2 Support Cards.

Also, once you have backed a princess you cannot buy Support Cards later. As with Princess Cards, you gain the ability of your Support Card immediately and for the rest of the game.

Conditional Activation Abilities

"Conditional Activation Abilities" are a new type of Hand Activation Abilities. They follow all of the rules for Hand Activation Abilities, except for these changes:

Conditional Activation Abilities appear on a card as "[Conditional Activation Ability: Do this first]: Get this effect."

Cards with Conditional Activation Abilities include Chivalrous Thief and Prior Investment.

You can use these cards on your turn, without using any Link Symbols, but only if you meet the listed conditions. Different cards have different activation conditions, and you can only use those abilities when you meet that particular card's activation conditions during your own turn.

Also, using a Conditional Activation Ability does not involve actually playing the card.

Player Actions

"Player Actions" are a unit of measure for resolving the effects of Conditional Activation Abilities. The following each counts as 1 Player Action:

• Play 1 Card
• Use an Activation Ability once
• Use a Hand Activation Ability once
• Use a Conditional Activation Ability once
• Buy 1 card during your Second Phase
• Set 1 Succession Card in your Domain during your Second Phase
• Back a Princess (and the related actions) during your Second Phase

Frequency of Use of Conditional Activation Abilities

You can only use one single Conditional Activation Ability once for each of the above Player Actions. If multiple cards with Conditional Activation Abilities have their activation conditions met at the same time, you still can only use one of those abilities. On the other hand, if using a Conditional Activation Ability lets you meet the activation conditions for another Conditional Activation Ability, you can of course use that one also.

Example 1: You have 3 Prior Investment cards in your hand.

• You play one Prior Investment normally and resolve its effect (which lets you acquire a card).
• Since you've met its activation condition, you then use your second Prior Investment's Conditional Activation Ability to acquire another card.
• Since you've met the activation condition again, you then use your last Prior Investment's Conditional Activation Ability.

Example 2: You have an Indulgence (from Six City Alliance), a Prior Investment, and a Small Isolated Island in your hand.

• You use the Indulgence's Hand Activation Ability (to banish the card and acquire one from the Market.)
• You have now met the activation conditions for both the Prior Investment and the Small Isolated Island, so you decide to use the Prior Investment's Conditional Activation Ability.
• Since each Player Action allows the use of only one Conditional Activation Ability, you cannot also use the Small Isolated Island's ability at this time.

Combining Path Before Heaven Cards

You can use Path Before Heaven with any of the cards and variant rules from the Heart of Crown series, but we do not recommend combining it with the following:

Cards

We do not recommend using this set with any of the following cards:

• Heart of Crown Base Set: Battering Ram, Buried Treasure, Glamour Witch, Imperial Capital, Infantry Battalion, Royal Guard, Shinobi, Stargazing Witch
• Far East Territory: Archers, Samurai, Tally

Variant Rules

• Guardians Rule: We recommend only using this rule when playing with 2 players. We especially do not recommend using it with 4 players.

FAQ by Topic

Princess of the Ancient Dynasty Ru Li

Q. When backing Princess of the Ancient Dynasty Ru Li, can I still pay a Cost of 8 and get another Support Card?

A. Yes, you can.

Q. If her effect gives me multiple Support Cards, in what order do I resolve their effects?

A. You can decide what order to use them in.

The Late Emperor Hellard's Scepter

Q. When backing First Princess Lulunasaika with The Late Emperor Hellard's Scepter, do I immediately get a +1 Succession Point counter?

A. Yes, you do.

Q. When backing a princess with The Late Emperor Hellard's Scepter, do I get a +1 Succession Point counter for moving the Imperial Capital?

A. Yes, you do.

Archwitch Aurora

Q. How does Archwitch Aurora's effect work?

A. When you back a Princess and choose Archwitch Aurora as your Support card, all of the other players must reveal all of their cards—in their hands, their draw piles, their discard piles, and any cards kept in their Domains. Then, each opponent must banish the card they revealed that has the highest cost and acquire 1 card from the Market that has a cost less than or equal to 2 less than the card they banished. Finally, the player who controls Aurora gets to acquire 1 card from the Market with a cost less than or equal to 1 less than that of the most expensive card banished.

Q. When Archwitch Aurora's effect banishes an opponent's card, what happens if there are multiple cards tied for highest cost?

A. Leaving out Rare Cards, your opponent selects which of their tied cards gets banished.

Q. Can Archwitch Aurora's effect banish Oasis City Nefertili (from Six City Alliance)?

A. Oasis City Nefertili is considered a Rare Card, and thus is not a valid target.

Connected Businessman William

Q. If I buy multiple cards in one turn, can I use Connected Businessman William's effect to acquire multiple cards?

A. No, you cannot.

Imperial Library of Magic

Q. For this card's effect, can I pick a card that I played during the Main Phase of the same turn?

A. No, you cannot. Since the effect happens at the start of your Cleanup Phase, cards that you played during your Main Phase will still be in your Field.

Q. For this card's effect, can I pick a card that I bought during the Second Phase of the same turn?

A. Yes, you can. Cards that you buy during your Second Phase go directly to your discard pile, and thus are already in your discard pile at the start of your Cleanup Phase.

Imperial Treasure Vault

Q. What is the effect of the part that says "Also, if a card effect lets you put a Coin in your Coin Area, you can ignore the limit on how many Coin Counters you can place there"?

A. Cards that give you Coin Counters, such as the Brownie (from Fairy Garden) and Chivalrous Thief, have a limit on how many Coin Counters you can have in your Coin Area, and this effect ignores that limit. However, keep in mind that it does not change how many Coin Counters you can place at a time.

Imperial Diet

Q. If I have the Imperial Diet, where does the Senator or Duke that I get to set in my Domain each turn come from?

A. You can set 1 Senator or Duke card from your hand into your Domain during your Main Phase.

Private Tutor

Q. Is "Place a Succession Card in your Domain" different from playing a card there?

A. Placing a Succession Card in your Domain refers to any time the card comes from another location (your hand, the Market, etc.) and goes into your Domain, which also includes "playing" a card there during your Second Phase.

Q. Can I use this card's Conditional Activation Ability when I back a princess and move a Territory or Succession card into my Domain?

A. You can, yes. However, backing a princess and everything related to it is considered to be a single Player Action, so you can only use one Conditional Activation Ability from that entire action.

Lighthouse / Prior Investment / Small Isolated Island

Q. The activation conditions for Lighthouse, Prior Investment, and Small Isolated Island all say "Through the effect of a Common Card," so does that mean I can't activate them from using a Princess Card's Activation Ability?

A. That's correct, you cannot use them that way.

Lighthouse

Q. If a Lighthouse is among the cards I added to my hand through a card effect, can I then use the Conditional Activation Ability of the Lighthouse card I just added to my hand?

A. Yes, you can.

Prior Investment

Q. If I acquire multiple cards using a Peddler (from Fairy Garden), can I use Prior Investment's Conditional Activation Ability multiple times?

A. No, you cannot. This counts as using a single Player Action to acquire multiple cards, so when using a Conditional Activation Ability, it must key off of one of those cards of your choosing.

Q. If I use the effect of a Chief Maid card (from Fairy Garden) to acquire a Royal Maid during my Second Phase, can I then use Prior Investment's Conditional Activation Ability?

A. Yes, you can. Since you met the activation conditions during your turn, you can then use the Conditional Activation Ability.

Recommended Card Sets

Good Travels

• Path Before Heaven: Caravan, Chivalrous Thief, Lighthouse, Prior Investment
• Fairy Garden: Brownie, Crossbow Regiment, Fairy of the Spring Breeze, Messenger, Star Reader Oracle, Trading City

High Risk, High Return

• Path Before Heaven: Kung Fu Master, Prior Investment, Small Isolated Island, Witch Doctor
• Fairy Garden: Chief Maid, Hearth Spirit, Icy Snow Spirit, Peddler, Pilgrim, Traveling Entertainer

War and Strife

• Path Before Heaven: Hopping Vampire, Lighthouse, Private Tutor, Small Isolated Island, Wealthy Daughter, Witch Doctor
• Fairy Garden: Messenger, Surveyor, Templar, Trading City

Silk Road

• Path Before Heaven: Caravan, Chivalrous Thief, Prior Investment, Small Isolated Island, Witch Doctor
• Six City Alliance: Indulgence, Magic Lamp, Mischievous Fairy
• Fairy Garden: Hearth Spirit, Leaf Fairy

Knowledge is Power

• Path Before Heaven: Caravan, Kung Fu Master, Private Tutor, Small Isolated Island, Wealthy Daughter
• Six City Alliance: Independent City
• Fairy Garden: Fairy of the Spring Breeze, Harvest Festival, Magistrate, Pilgrim

The Stars Will Light My Way

• Path Before Heaven: Caravan, Chivalrous Thief, Lighthouse, Prior Investment, Small Isolated Island
• Six City Alliance: Independent City, Secret Stash
• Fairy Garden: Hearth Spirit, Spy, Star Reader Oracle