Horror in the Library Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Aim of the game
• Box Contents
• Setting up the game
  • Setting out the library room tiles
  • The library bookcase
  • Page cards
  • Blessings and curses cards
  • Bag of blessings and curses
  • Character tokens
  • Monster tokens
  • Player boards
  • Secret tokens
  • Getting players ready
  • First player
  • Character token placement
• Starting the game
• Moving
• Searching
  • Searching drawers
  • Searching bookcases
  • Matching pages to secrets
  • Exchanging page cards
  • Looking
  • Blessings & curses
    • The curses
    • The blessings
• Managing fortitude
• Summoning monsters from the other realm!
  • Damage to fortitude
  • Entering rooms occupied by monsters
  • Will more monsters appear in the room?
  • Attacking Monsters
  • Losing a monster attack
• Winning the game
  • Monsters in the portal
• Horror in the library advanced rules
  • Advanced blessings and curses
  • Monster abilities
• Example game play

Aim of the game

Players compete to be the first to collect all the pages they need, enter the Mad Professor's study and escape the Horror in the Library!

Box Contents

• 1 Library Bookcase screen
• 4 Player boards (Fortitude, Search meter, Secrets rack and Page card area).
• 8 Library room tiles
• 8 Handles*
• 1 Green Portal tile (needs no handle)
• 1 Bag
• 10 Blessings cards
• 10 Curses cards
• 60 Page cards
• 60 Secret tokens
• 4 Character tokens
• 4 Action markers
• 24 Search markers
• 8 Monster tokens
• 8 Blessings coins
• 8 Curses coins
• 12 Character & Monster stands
• 4 Cubes for the Search meter
• 4 Counters for the Fortitude meter
• 2 Dice (yellow and white)

* Handles need to be unscrewed, threaded through the centre hole of the Library tiles and screwed back up to allow the tiles to be rotated.

Setting up the game

Setting out the library room tiles

Arrange the Library room tiles randomly around the green Portal room tile. Use your imagination.

The library bookcase

Place the folded Bookcase screen at the end of the table where everyone can see it. This will be used when players wish to search the bookcases in the Library.

Page cards

Sort out the Page cards into red, yellow, green, blue, white and black decks and give them a good shuffle. Then place each deck face down in front of the Bookcase screen.

Blessings and curses cards

Sort the Blessings and Curses cards into two separate decks. Give them both a good shuffle. Then place each deck face down.

Bag of blessings and curses

Put the Blessings and Curses coins into the red bag and give them a good mix. Place the bag near to the Blessings and Curses decks.

Character tokens

Put the clear plastic stands onto the Character tokens.

Monster tokens

Put the clear plastic Monster token stands onto the Monster tokens and group these together.

Player boards

Each player now chooses a Player board and corresponding Character token, Search & Action markers. Each player also needs 1 counter and 1 cube. For the classic game, please place the Player boards with 'Advanced Game' facing down. The advanced rules are in a separate section in this book.

Secret tokens

Set the Secret tokens marked R, G, Y, B, W and K letter side up and group them by their letter.

Each player should take one Secret token of each letter up to the agreed number, i.e. for a two Page game select two different lettered Secret tokens. The tokens should then be placed picture face down on the numbered squares named SECRETS on the Player board.

Getting players ready

There are a few things to do before play commences:

Player board: Place one counter on the Fortitude meter at 0, where the white needle sits. Place the set of Search and Action markers on the Player board as indicated. Add one cube to the [ ] position on the Search Meter.

Note: the printed text leaves the Search meter position as an empty bracket "[ ]"; the position is shown in the printed diagram of the Player board and is not named in the text.

Deciding how long you want to play: Horror in The Library can last as long or as short as you wish. You can control the duration by deciding how many Secrets need to be found, up to a maximum of six. The agreed number of Secrets show players what Pages they need to recover from the bookcases in the Library to be able to enter the Portal and win the game.

First player

Roll one die to see who goes first. Highest roll starts.

Character token placement

Players place their Character token on a Library room tile of their choice to start. They can place the character on any tile except for the green Portal. More than one player can occupy a room both at the start and during play.

Starting the game

The first player can now begin play. A player can play up to three actions per turn and play them in any order:

• Move – move between rooms or rotate rooms.
• Search – search drawers or bookcases
• Look – look at mirrors or pictures

A player may choose to play three of one action type or any combination of the three. Players can keep track of actions using the Action marker.

As the game progresses, players can also:

• Exchange – exchange Page cards for a card needed by a player at a bookcase.
• Play bonus actions - in addition to a player's three actions, they may:
  • Use a Blessings or Curses card
  • Attack Monsters

There is no limit to the number of bonus actions a player can make during their turn.

Moving

Players can move around the room they are in without it counting as a Move action. Actions start when they wish to:

• Move to another room through a door – Room tiles must have aligned doors to enable a player to move to an adjacent room. Players can use an open or closed door to move between rooms. Moving through an open door uses no Fortitude. Moving through a closed door decreases Fortitude by -1. Only the door of the room you are in determines whether you lose Fortitude or not when moving to another room.
• Rotate a room – Players can rotate either a room they are in or an adjacent room 90 degrees per action in any direction by using the handle in the centre of the tile. An adjacent room cannot be diagonal. A room can be rotated whether occupied or not.

Players may not enter the Portal unless they have all their Page cards.

Searching

Players search drawers to find Blessings and Curses cards and bookcases to find Page cards. A player can only search if their Fortitude is 0 or above. If a player wants to look through a bookcase or a drawer, they first need to place a coloured Search marker onto the bookcase or drawer that they wish to search. Players must use the Search markers in numerical order and record each search on their Search meter on their Player board using their coloured cube.

Each player can only have one Search marker on a drawer or bookcase at any time.

When all their Search markers have been placed on the room tiles and the player wishes to continue searching, they re-use marker number 1 and move the cube back to 1 on the Search meter. They would then re-use marker number 2 and so on.

Searching drawers

To search a drawer, a player places a Search marker and then picks a coin from the Blessings and Curses bag. This coin is removed from the bag and not replaced until the bag is empty and then all the coins are put back into the bag.

Now that the player knows whether they have found a blessing or a curse, they can draw a card from the relevant Blessings or Curses card deck. Please refer to 'Blessings and Curses' to see what types of cards are available and how to play them.

Searching bookcases

To search a bookcase in a room, players place their Search marker on the bookcase and then throw the two dice. These are used in conjunction with the Library Bookcase screen to find out what colour Page card they have found. The yellow die represents the numbers going along the top and bottom (x axis) of the coloured grid of books on the screen and the white die represents the numbers that go up and down on the left and right (y axis) side of the screen.

Note: the coloured grid of books that the two dice are read against is printed on the Bookcase screen as a graphic and is not reproduced in the text of the rulebook.

Players then draw a Page card from the top of the deck of cards matching the colour on the Bookcase screen.

Matching pages to secrets

If the Page card matches a Secret token on their Player board, they place that card on their board in the picture frame marked PAGES. They can then turn over the corresponding Secret Token. This Page card cannot be stolen by another player (see Blessings & Curses). If the Page card does not match any of their Secret tokens, the player keeps the card to one side face up and can then exchange it later. This card can be stolen by another player.

Exchanging page cards

Players can use the bookcases in rooms to exchange unwanted Page cards. This uses a Search marker and counts as an action. A player can only exchange one set of cards at each bookcase. A set of cards consists of either two Page cards of the same colour or three different coloured Page cards. Players choose one card they need from any of the coloured Page decks and replace the unwanted cards in the appropriate deck.

Looking

Mirrors: When a player looks at a mirror, they are transported to any other room with a mirror in. This action reduces their Fortitude by -2.

Pictures: When a player looks at a picture, their Fortitude is increased. The player throws one die and adjusts their Fortitude according to the number thrown:

• 1-2 increases Fortitude by +1
• 3-4 increases Fortitude by +2
• 5-6 increases Fortitude by +3

Looking in a mirror or picture does not require a Search marker to be placed but does count as an action.

Blessings & curses

Some Blessings and Curses cards must be played immediately, i.e. Canker Spider, Nihilism, Rotting Waif, Devil's Fingertrap, Ritual Dagger and Unresolved Business. The other cards can be saved face down in front of the player to be used later.

Playing a Blessings or Curses card is a bonus action and does not use any of the player's actions. Once played, the card is returned to the bottom of the appropriate deck.

The curses

• Canker Spider - lose -2 Fortitude
• Nihilism - Set your Fortitude to 0
• Ritual Dagger - reduce your Fortitude to -5. Then you can only use your actions to move near a player and stab them to reduce their Fortitude by -2. You can then choose a card you need from one of the 6 Page decks.
• Ice Pick - inflict -2 Fortitude on a player in the same room and steal an available card from them.
• Revolver - shoot a player in the same room and inflict -3 Fortitude on them to then steal an available card.
• Blunderbuss - whilst in the same room as another player, you may roll 1d6 to attack. See card for details.
• Aqua Tofana - poison and inflict -4 Fortitude on a player in the same room and steal an available card from them.
• Rotting Waif - lose -2 Fortitude.
• Devil's Fingertrap - you can't do anything until you get free, spend an Action to roll 1d6. Roll 5+ to break free. This is active until you break the curse.
• Unresolved Business - stay in the room for the rest of this turn and all of the next. Any other action is allowed except to move from the room.

The blessings

• Restorative Tincture - restores +3 Fortitude.
• Mysterious Mirror - use the hand mirror to travel to any mirror of your choosing without using an action or losing Fortitude.
• Blessed Book - provides protection from shooting or can be used to modify a dice roll +/- 2.
• Blessed Locket - provides protection against any form of attack, including Monsters.
• Third Eye - protection against stabbing or shooting.
• Sturdy Corset - protection against stabbing.
• Antidote - protection against poisoning.
• Lockpicks - pass through any closed door without losing Fortitude.
• Suspicious Dice - can be used to modify any dice roll by +/- 1, even out of your turn.

Managing fortitude

Fortitude is a measure of how well players can endure their adversities.

The Fortitude meter measures from a minimum of -5 to a maximum of +5. Players with a Fortitude below 0 have become overwhelmed by events and can only move through doors, rotate rooms and look at the mirrors and pictures. Even if the meter reaches -5, players can continue to perform these actions.

Players cannot die in the Library!

Bookcases and drawers cannot be searched by players with negative Fortitude.

Summoning monsters from the other realm!

Monsters are summoned to a room based on the number of players in the game and the number of Search markers in the room:

• 2–3 Players – 3 markers in the room
• 4+ Players – 4 markers in the room

The level of Monster summoned starts at level 1. When all level 1 Monsters are in play, the level 2 Monsters are then used.

Monsters cannot be removed from the Library, but they can be moved. The maximum number of Monsters that can occupy a room at one time is 4. This includes the Portal.

Damage to fortitude

When a Monster is placed on a room tile, damage to Fortitude is immediately applied to all the players in that room including the player that summoned the Monster:

• Level 1 Monster inflicts -1 Fortitude
• Level 2 Monster inflicts -2 Fortitude

Damage is subsequently applied to any players' Fortitude if they are in a room with a Monster at the start of their turn. If there is more than one Monster in a room, each Monster causes damage.

Entering rooms occupied by monsters

A room can be entered even if a Monster is present, but it will reduce the player's Fortitude by the number on the Monster token. Even if a player passes through a room with a Monster as part of their turn, they must apply the damage to Fortitude.

Will more monsters appear in the room?

If there are already 4 Search markers in a room (or 3 markers in a 2-3 player game), a Monster will have already appeared. Adding more Search markers to the existing ones will not summon a new Monster. However, if a player removes a marker from the room and reduces the Search marker count to 3 (or 2 for a 2-3 player game), and another player adds a new marker, taking the count back to 4 (or 3 for a 2-3 player game), a new Monster will appear.

Attacking Monsters

An attack is a bonus action and does not use any of the player's actions. It can played at any time during a player's turn, including when a Monster has just been summoned.

The attack starts by the player rolling both dice. If the player rolls a combined score of 6 or higher, they increase their Fortitude by the number on the Monster token. They can then move the Monster to another room in the Library, including the Portal (to a maximum of 4 Monsters per room). The Monster immediately inflicts damage to Fortitude on any players in the room that it has been moved to.

If there are multiple Monsters in a room, a player can attempt a 'chain attack'. If the player attacks and defeats the first Monster, they can then attack the second Monster and so on until either the room is cleared of Monsters or the player loses.

Losing a monster attack

If the player loses an attack, they must deduct a further -1 or -2 Fortitude depending on the level of the Monster. The player can then use any remaining actions in the usual way. If the player is still in the room with the Monster at the start of their next turn, they must deduct further fortitude.

If the player wants to attack the Monster again in the same turn, they must use their remaining actions to leave the room and re-enter.

Winning the game

When a player has all the Page cards needed, they make their way to the green Portal in the Mad Professor's Library.

A player's Fortitude must be 0 or more after entering the green Portal. For example, if a player has 0 Fortitude and the door to the Portal is closed, they cannot enter the Portal as their Fortitude would be -1 once they had passed through the locked door. If there are no Monsters in the Portal the player has won.

Monsters in the portal

Any Monsters in the Portal do not inflict damage when the player enters. However, the player must attack each Monster in turn and defeat them to win the game. The player can decide which Monster to attack first if there is more than one.

If at any time the player loses their Monster attack, they must reduce their Fortitude by the number on the Monster token and leave the Portal returning to any room with a connected door. They can re-enter the Portal on the same turn if they have enough actions and fortitude.

When all the Monsters are defeated the player wins the game.

Horror in the library advanced rules

To play the advanced rules of Horror in the Library, turn the player boards over so that the Advanced Game side is visible. The Advanced game has two features: Advanced Abilities and Monster Abilities.

These add a little more complexity to the game and can be used together or separately when playing.

Advanced blessings and curses

When playing with this feature, characters have special abilities and penalties when they reach the maximum +5 or minimum -5 scores of their Fortitude.

• Betty Sizzle, at +5 Fortitude uses 'Encore', and can rotate one Room tile up to two times per action. At -5 Fortitude, she is overcome with 'Hysteria' and must ask another player to act on her behalf and take one of her actions for her. For example, moving Betty to another room.
• Mr Eldred Lindon is 'Bookish' at +5 Fortitude and can search a bookcase and a drawer as one action. He must however place two Search markers, one on the bookcase and one on the drawer. At -5 Fortitude, he is seized by 'Idiocy' and is unable to use any Blessings or Curses. He can still collect them.
• Lady Hermione Elderoy has 'Elegance' at +5 Fortitude and can move through closed doors without losing Fortitude. However, at -5 Fortitude she becomes 'Besotted' with a player of her choosing and must give them 1 card per turn. The chosen player can change each turn.
• Capt. Rufus Deckford, is a 'Veteran' at +5 Fortitude and may attack a player with a dice duel using a 1 d6 die per player. If he wins with the highest roll, he can take a card from his victim.

No additional Fortitude is given. At -5 Fortitude, he becomes a 'Coward' and cannot fight any Monster or player.

Source note: the printed page has this paragraph in the right-hand column with no bullet or name of its own. It is placed here as a continuation of the Capt. Rufus Deckford entry, because his entry has no -5 effect and the paragraph's 'he' is otherwise unattached.

Monster abilities

When players collect the object Page card shown as their Monster Ability on their Player boards, they each gain an advantage against Monsters. However, these Page cards are vulnerable (unless they are in the PAGES picture frame on the Player board). They can be stolen by other players and the Monster Abilities are then lost.

Figure: the page 13 diagram of the Advanced Game Player board (labelled Actions, the character-specific Curses and Blessings, Monster abilities, and the -5 and +5 Fortitude markers) is a graphic and is not reproduced in the text.

• If Betty Sizzle finds the oriental hand fan, she can add +2 to her Monster attack roll score.
• When Lady Hermione Elderoy finds the hand mirror, she gains an extra +2 Fortitude when defeating a Monster.
• The pistol and ammunition card enables Capt. Rufus Deckford to attack 2 Monsters at once per attack. If he wins, follow the usual rules. If he loses, he only loses Fortitude from one of the Monsters, not both. If the Monsters have different levels, the higher one is used to deduct their Fortitude.
• When Mr Eldred Lindon finds the Egyptian Canopic jar, Monsters no longer reduce his Fortitude when they appear in a room.

Example game play

Figure: the page 16 example game play photograph labels the Monster Tokens, Player Board, Book Case Screen, Room Tiles, Page Cards, Secret Tokens and Player's Blessings and Curses Cards. The photograph itself is not reproduced in the text.