Hellboy: The Board Game – The Conqueror Worm
Hellboy: The Board Game – The Conqueror Worm Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Changing Minions
(Front of the first card.)
As well as constructing random Case Files, the B.P.R.D. Archives expansion can be used to tweak existing Case Files (the ones in the Hellboy boxed game, and those in other expansions). There are three ways to do this - one here, and two on the reverse of this card.
If you would like to vary the enemies you face during a Case File, you can change the cards in the Minion slots. When the Case File deck instructs you to prepare the Minion slots, ignore what is listed and use one of the following methods:
- Taking out the Abnormal Threat card, shuffle together the Threat cards from the Case File Construction deck and draw one at random. Set up the Minion slots as detailed on that card.
- Take the Enemy cards deck and remove any cards with the Boss or Fiend tag. Shuffle the remaining cards together and deal out four of them. Put these cards into the Minion slots in increasing order of Resilience (the lowest in A, the highest in D). If two or more Minions have the same Resilience, put them in order of Health; if two or more also have the same Health, randomise their order.
Sinister Birds
This card features rules for Sinister Birds. If any are placed on the board, refer to the rules on the back of this card.
(Rules on the reverse of the Sinister Birds card, which is the reverse of the second card.)
Like Frog Swarms, Sinister Birds are not enemies. They can be removed from the board by anything that would remove a Frog Swarm - for example, a Clear action or a Secure Rest action.
Agents downgrade one die on any tests for each Sinister Bird on the board.
In the Doom phase, draw a card from the Deck of Doom for each Sinister Bird on the board. (If there are no Sinister Birds on the board, draw one as normal.)
In the End phase, if there are 3 or more Sinister Birds on the board, each one is removed and replaced with a Harpy. If there are not enough Harpies, the lead Agent chooses which Sinister Birds are replaced - any others stay as they are.
Unexpected Threats
This card features rules for Unexpected Threats, a new kind of Deck of Doom card (each marked with the A icon) that bring hard-hitting enemies - even Bosses! - into play without warning. Many Case File setup cards will call for a single A card; in this case, shuffle all of the cards with that icon, then add one at random (without looking at it) to the Deck of Doom.
If one of these cards is drawn during the game, refer to the rules on the back of this card.
Adding Unexpected Threats
If you would like an additional challenge, you can shuffle up to three Unexpected Threat cards into the Deck of Doom when preparing it at the start of any Case File. These cards are all marked with the A icon.
Tweaking the Deck of Doom
When setting up the Deck of Doom at the start of a Case File, you can replace any one icon from the following list with any other icon in the list. The outlined-white cards in this set are included for this purpose.
The list shows four icons, left to right: a red icon, a green icon, an orange icon, and an outlined-white icon. (The icons are printed as coloured or outlined symbols; their glyphs are not named in the text.)
Resolving Unexpected Threat Cards
Each Unexpected Threat lists an Enemy. When the card is drawn, put the relevant Enemy card into the In Play area. If it is already in a Minion slot, do not move it.
If an Unexpected Threat card brings a Boss into play, create its Behaviour Deck by shuffling together all of the Behaviour cards with icons matching those on its Enemy card. Put this deck in the In Play area. In the Minion phase, the Boss acts as it would during the Confrontation - before any Minions are activated, a Behaviour card is drawn and resolved. Track the Boss' health using damage markers.
Otherwise, follow the instructions on the Unexpected Threat card. When it is discarded, any cards that were put into the In Play area because of it are discarded.
Scenery: Generator and Comms Array
(Rules on the reverse of the scenery card, which is the reverse of the fourth card.)
This card features rules for the new special scenery pieces included in the Conqueror Worm expansion. If the Generator or Comms Array is placed on the board, refer to the rules on the back of this card.
Generator
If the Generator is destroyed, each character in the same area suffers 4 damage and is stunned. Each other character in the same room suffers 2 damage. Roger can absorb its electrical power by Interacting with the Generator. If he does, reset his Vital Spark tracker. He can only do this once per game.
Comms Array
When this scenery is set up, put a marker cube on it. When an Agent Interacts with this scenery, they test EXAMINE (eye icon). On a score of 2 or less, they draw unwanted attention - set up a Minion B in the Starting Area. On a score of 6 or more, remove the marker cube, and then look at one face-down Encounter card before returning it face-down to its room. Once the cube has been removed, the scenery can no longer be Interacted with.
Difficulty Settings
This card features rules for changing the game's difficulty, using the Rookie Mode and Hardcore Mode cards in this set. The Rookie Mode cards carry a green icon and the Hardcore Mode cards carry a red icon. These cards are designed to replace the grey-icon cards in any Case File, making it easier or tougher. This is by popular request from people who wanted more of a challenge, or who wanted to just lay back and enjoy themselves!
When creating the Deck of Doom at the start of a Case, you can pick one of the options on the back of this card to change the difficulty.
(Options on the reverse of the Difficulty Settings card, which is the reverse of the fifth card. Icons: grey = the standard Case File cards; green = Rookie Mode; red = Hardcore Mode.)
Real Easy
Do not use any of the grey-icon cards. Instead, use all of the green-icon cards.
Pretty Easy
Randomly shuffle together 6 grey-icon cards and 6 green-icon cards.
Pretty Tough
Randomly shuffle together 6 grey-icon cards and 6 red-icon cards.
Real Tough
Do not use any of the grey-icon cards. Instead, use all of the red-icon cards.
I Mean, Who Knows?
Shuffle together all of the grey-icon, green-icon and red-icon cards, then deal out 12 at random.
Variant Agents and Center-Stage Backup Agents
This card features rules for the new Agent cards included in this set.
Variant Agents
Some Agents appear on more than one Agent Board. For example, Hellboy (as he appears in the core set) also appears as Horned Hellboy and Pancakes Hellboy. You cannot have more than one version of an Agent in a Case - if a player chooses Horned Hellboy, the other players can't choose regular Hellboy or Pancakes Hellboy.
(Of course, if you really want to... no one's gonna stop you. It's your game. Go wild. Weirder things have happened in the Mignolaverse...)
Center-Stage Backup Agents
A number of Backup Agents now also appear on Agent Boards - these are Center-Stage Backup Agents. You can tell them apart from regular Agents by the Center-Stage icon (a small Agent silhouette in a circle) next to their Threat level.
Center-Stage Backup Agents work just like regular Agents... but they're not quite as powerful. This means they provide a greater challenge than regular Agents. Use this however you like - if you want a tougher Case, all players can play as Center-Stage Backup Agents. If you've got one experienced player in a group of rookies, they can take a Center-Stage Backup Agent while the others take regular Agents.
Obviously, if a Center-Stage Backup Agent is in play, their character can't also be chosen as a Backup Agent.