Kinfire Delve: Vainglory's Grotto Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Game Components
• Significance of Card Colors
• Health
• Setting Up
• A Player's Turn
• Attempting a Challenge
  • Anatomy of a Challenge Card
  • Step 1: Play a Skill Card as an Action (If Desired)
    • Using Your Lantern
  • Step 2: Boost the Action Up to 2 Times
  • Step 3: Roll the Dice
  • Step 4: Complete or Fail the Challenge
    • Completing a Challenge When Not Attempting It
    • Rewards and Penalties
• End of Your Turn
• Drawing New Cards and Exhaustion
  • Exhausted Card Effects
  • Running Out of Cards in Your Deck
• The Well Master
• Reaching the Bottom of the Well
• Battling the Master: The Final Gauntlet
  • Delving and Retreating During the Master's Final Gauntlet
  • Discarding Challenges During the Master's Final Gauntlet
  • Failing the Master's Challenge
  • Winning the Game
  • Losing the Game
• Achievements
  • Simple
  • Tricky
  • Difficult
  • Unlikely
• Game Variants
  • Hard Mode
  • Quick Game
• Quick Guide
  • On Your Turn
• Glossary
• Icon Reference
  • Rewards and Penalties
  • Other Icons
• Credits

Overview

Kinfire Delve: Vainglory's Grotto is a game for 1-2 players that takes around 1 hour to play. The players take on the roles of Seekers dispatched to one of the mysterious and magical Wells of Atios. Players must work together as a team to delve to the bottom of the Well and defeat its Master to prevent them from being unleashed upon the world.

Note: Add Seekers from other Kinfire Delve products to play with up to 4 players.

Game Components

Besides this rulebook, this game contains the following components:

• 3 Master cards
• 57 Well cards
• 4 Gauntlet cards
• 6 Exhausted cards
• 2 Seeker character cards
• 2 Kinfire lantern cards
• 36 Seeker skill cards
• 1 Health tracker
• 3 Skill dice
• 1 Light and Darkness die (a die with white/Light and black/Darkness faces)
• 28 1-progress tokens
• 10 3-progress tokens

Note: The back of each Seeker character card may be used as alternate character art in the Kinfire Chronicles board game.

Significance of Card Colors

Most of the cards in the game are separated into 3 colors: red, green, and blue. Each color represents a different type of skill, with red representing power, green representing finesse, and blue representing wisdom.

As you face the challenges of the Well, you may only play a skill card from your hand that matches the color of the challenge card. That is, if you're facing a red challenge card, then you may only play a red skill card.

Some skill cards have two colors and may be played as either color. A few skill cards are white, which means they may be played as any one of the three colors. You must declare a card's color when you play it if there is more than one option.

Health

All of the Seekers share the same pool of health (H). This pool is tracked by a single health tracker (10-sided die) and starts the game at either 10 (normal difficulty) or 8 (hard mode). If the Seekers' health ever drops to 0, the Seekers lose the game as a group. Be aware that while some healing exists, it's rare and the Seekers' health is never allowed to exceed its starting value for the game.

Setting Up

1. Separate the cards into their various types.

2. Shuffle the 3 Master cards, choose 1 at random and place it facedown in the center of the play area without looking at it. Return the other 2 Master cards to the box, also without looking at them.

3. Place the progress tokens and dice within easy reach of all players.

4. Each player chooses a Seeker and takes that Seeker's character card, their lantern card, and their deck of 18 skill cards.

   • A. Each player places their Seeker character card faceup in front of them, with their lantern card facedown next to it.
   • B. Each player shuffles their Seeker's skill deck and draws a hand of cards. The number of cards is determined by the number of Seekers being played:
     • 1 Seeker: 8 cards
     • 2 Seekers: 7 cards
     • 3 Seekers: 6 cards (requires an additional Delve box)
     • 4 Seekers: 5 cards (requires an additional Delve box)

5. Set the 4 gauntlet cards off to one side.

6. Shuffle the deck of 6 Exhausted cards and place it facedown within easy reach of all players.

7. Shuffle the deck of 57 Well cards. Draw the top 4 cards and place them faceup around the Master card as shown.

   • A. For your first game, look through the Well deck for the following 4 specific cards instead:
     • Crystal Caves
     • Great Stag
     • The 3 Fountains
     • The Maze

8. Discard the top 3 cards of the Well deck facedown to form a discard pile near it.

9. Set the health tracker (10-sided die) to 10 to start the game and place it near the play area. If you'd like to play on hard mode, set it to 8 instead (this isn't recommended for your first game).

10. Choose a player to go first. Perhaps the player who has most recently attended a play? Play begins with that player and continues clockwise around the table.

A Player's Turn

On your turn, select one of the 4 Well cards surrounding the Master to interact with. There are two types of cards in the Well deck: events and challenges. The actions you take depend on the type of card you choose to interact with.

1. Events — When you choose an event card to interact with, simply read the instructions on the event card and perform them in order.

Note: An event card must be chosen on a player's turn in order to activate. They do not automatically activate when they enter play unless they say otherwise.

2. Challenges — When you choose a challenge card to interact with, you "attempt" that challenge, as described in the "Attempting a Challenge" section.

After completing your action, if there are fewer than 4 Well cards surrounding the Master, draw cards from the top of the Well deck and put them into play faceup until there are once again 4 Well cards.

Once the board has been refilled, your turn ends and play passes to the Seeker to your left.

Continue play until the Seekers either win or lose the game.

Attempting a Challenge

Anatomy of a Challenge Card

1. Challenge Name
2. Challenge Type — There are four types: Combat, Obstacles, Puzzles, and Traps. Some cards have special effects based on challenge types.
3. Difficulty — The amount of progress that must be placed on the challenge in order to complete it.
4. Color — The challenge's color is shown by the card border as well as the indicator below its difficulty.
5. Reward — The reward you receive for completing the challenge.
6. Penalty — The penalty you suffer each time you attempt the challenge but do not complete it.
7. Story Text — Amusing or interesting story text that has no effect on gameplay is in italics.
8. Card Abilities — Any special abilities or rules that apply to the challenge. If ability text is bolded, then that text applies globally while the challenge is in play, not just when the challenge is being attempted.

When you attempt a challenge on your turn, you are hoping to complete it by placing enough progress tokens on that challenge to meet or exceed its difficulty. Progress can be added as a result of a played skill card, the dice, and special effects. If you successfully complete a challenge, you receive the reward. But if you attempt a challenge without completing it, you fail that challenge and suffer the penalty instead.

Attempting a challenge has 4 steps:

1. Play a skill card as an action (if desired)
2. Boost the action up to 2 times
3. Roll the dice
4. Complete or fail the challenge

Step 1: Play a Skill Card as an Action (If Desired)

Anatomy of a skill card:

1. Skill Name
2. Value — A skill's value determines how much progress it adds to a challenge.
3. Color — The skill's color is shown by the card border as well as the indicator below the difficulty.
4. Story Text — Amusing or interesting story text that has no effect on gameplay is in italics.
5. Card Abilities — Any special abilities or rules that apply when the skill card is played as an action.
6. Boost Abilities — The amount of extra progress added to an action when this skill is used to boost it. Note that a skill's color as a boost may be different from its color as an action.
7. Effect Icons — Some Seekers have cards with effect icons that can trigger effects on other skill cards or Seeker abilities.

When attempting a challenge, you may play one skill card that matches the color of the challenge you are attempting. So, if you are attempting a green challenge, you may only play a green or white skill card (since white skills match all three colors). The skill card will add progress to the challenge equal to its value.

For example, Asha's "Defeat Trap" card has a value of 2 and is a red/green card, so it can be played to add 2 progress to either a red or green challenge.

Any ability text on the skill card takes effect when it is played as an action. For instance, Asha's "Defeat Trap" card gains +2 if played as an action when attempting a Trap challenge, so it would place 4 progress instead of 2.

Note: You are not forced to play an action when attempting a challenge. If you choose not to do so, skip down to step 3, since an action can't be boosted if one isn't played.

Using Your Lantern

Your lantern card begins the game facedown, but it may be charged (turning it faceup) as the result of completing a challenge (see Rewards) or playing certain skill cards. If your lantern is charged, you may use it instead of playing a skill card as an action. It acts just like a skill card, and may be boosted like any other action, but after you resolve it, turn it facedown instead of discarding it. Your lantern is an extremely powerful ability, so you should choose when to use it carefully.

Step 2: Boost the Action Up to 2 Times

If you play a skill card as an action, other Seekers have the option to help out by playing their own skill cards as boosts.

Boosts add additional progress to the challenge being attempted. A skill card's boost value and color can be found in the bar along the bottom of the card. In order for a card to be played as a boost, its boost color must match the color of the challenge being attempted.

When you play a skill card as an action, other Seekers may play up to a total of 2 boosts. In a game with 2 or more Seekers, you may not boost your own actions.

Exception: In a 1-Seeker game, you may boost your own actions with up to 2 boosts.

Ignore the ability text on any cards used as boosts. The card text does not normally apply unless the card is played as an action on your turn.

For example, when played as a boost, Asha's "Defeat Trap" card gives a +1 bonus to an action played on a challenge of any color (since its boost ability is white), or +3 when played on a Trap challenge of any color.

Tip: Using too many cards as boosts is inefficient and will likely get you into trouble. Use boosts with care if you want to win the game.

Step 3: Roll the Dice

After the action card (if any) and any boosts have been played, roll all 4 of the dice. For each die result that matches the color of the challenge being attempted, add 1 extra progress. A white result matches all three colors, while a black result matches none of them.

For example, if you are attempting a red challenge and roll 2 reds, a green, and a white, you will add 3 extra progress to the challenge (+2 for the 2 reds, and +1 for the white).

You must roll all 4 of the dice each turn unless a card or ability tells you not to roll this turn. If a card or ability grants you the option to re-roll, you must re-roll all 4 dice.

Step 4: Complete or Fail the Challenge

Add up the total progress earned this turn from your action, any boosts played, and any additional progress from the dice. Place the appropriate number of progress tokens on the challenge card you are attempting.

For example, if you play a 2-value card as an action, receive 2 boosts from other Seekers (a +1 and a +2), and you roll 2 dice that match the color of the challenge, you would add 7 progress (2+1+2+2) to that challenge.

Once all of the earned progress has been added, you must now check to see whether you have completed or failed the challenge.

If the progress on the challenge (including any leftover progress from previous turns) is equal to or greater than its difficulty, you have completed it. You receive the reward (if any) shown in the reward section of the challenge. Then, return all progress on this challenge to the supply and flip the card facedown into the completed challenge pile (do not add it to the Well discard pile).

If the progress on the challenge is less than its difficulty, you have failed it. You suffer the penalty (if any) shown in the penalty section of the challenge. This challenge stays in play and any progress on it remains.

Completing a Challenge When Not Attempting It

Some abilities and actions allow you to add progress to challenges when not attempting them. If a challenge ever has progress on it equal to or greater than its difficulty, it is completed even if no one is currently attempting it. The Seeker whose turn it is collects its reward and places it in the completed pile as usual.

Rewards and Penalties

Refer to the back of this rulebook (Icon Reference) to learn of the rewards and penalties that you may receive after completing or failing a challenge.

End of Your Turn

Discard any skill cards you played this turn faceup to a discard pile next to your skill deck. If any other Seekers played cards as boosts on your turn, they also discard those cards to their own discard piles.

Play then continues to the Seeker on your left.

Drawing New Cards and Exhaustion

Unlike many other games, you do not draw new cards at the start or end of your turn. Instead, in order to draw more cards, you may choose to exhaust yourself at the start of your turn. In fact, if your hand is empty, you MUST exhaust yourself and draw a new hand of cards.

To exhaust yourself, discard the remaining cards in your hand, and then draw the top card of the exhausted deck and put it into play faceup near the play area. Afterwards, draw a new hand of cards, based on how many Seekers are being played, and then take your turn as normal.

• 1 Seeker: 8 cards
• 2 Seekers: 7 cards
• 3 Seekers: 6 cards
• 4 Seekers: 5 cards

You do not skip your turn when you exhaust yourself.

Exhausted Card Effects

While an Exhausted card is in play, its card text takes effect. Sometimes this can hinder you, and sometimes this can even lose the game for you under certain circumstances, but Exhausted cards are always bad.

Once an Exhausted card is in play, it remains in play unless a card or ability allows you to discard it, at which point it gets shuffled back into the Exhausted deck.

Running Out of Cards in Your Deck

Whenever you draw a card, if your skill deck is out of cards, shuffle your discard pile to form a new skill deck, then draw any remaining cards you need. If your deck and your discard pile are both empty (i.e. you have your entire deck in your hand), then you cannot draw more cards at that time.

The Well Master

To reach the Master for the final gauntlet, you'll need to make your way through the Well deck. Until you reach the bottom of the Well deck, the Master card remains facedown and its ability remains in effect.

Whenever a card effect instructs you to attach a card to the Master, place the card beneath the Master card. Cards attached to the Master may trigger an effect during the final gauntlet.

Reaching the Bottom of the Well

If at any point you need to draw a Well card to refill the board and there are none left in the Well deck, you have reached the bottom of the Well. All that's left is to confront the Well Master, win or lose.

Remove any remaining Well cards surrounding the Master from play, discarding any progress on them, then flip the Master card faceup. Retrieve the 4 gauntlet cards and place them faceup around the Master with one adjacent to each of the four sides of the Master's card.

Battling the Master: The Final Gauntlet

The Master card has been turned faceup and revealed, and it is surrounded by the 4 gauntlet cards, all faceup.

In order to defeat the Well Master and win the game, you must complete the challenge on the Master card. The Master card itself is a black challenge card, meaning that it is invulnerable to all three colors (including white). As long as the four gauntlet cards are faceup, the Master's challenge card may not be attempted.

When a gauntlet card is completed, instead of being discarded, it is flipped facedown. Flipping over a gauntlet card may reveal one of the Master's vulnerabilities (though not always). Once the Master is vulnerable to a particular color, it may be attempted using that color.

For example, if you complete a gauntlet card's challenge and flip it facedown, it might say that the "Master is now vulnerable to green actions." At this point, you may attempt the Master's challenge as though it were green.

Should the Master become vulnerable to more than one color, you must declare one of these colors before using your turn to attempt the Master challenge card. For example, if the Master is vulnerable to both red and blue, and you declare "red," any skill card, boosts, or dice rolled must be red in order to add progress to the Master.

Delving and Retreating During the Master's Final Gauntlet

Once you've begun the battle with the Master, ignore any further game effects that would cause you to delve downwards (>) or retreat upwards (<). There's no escaping the final level of the Well until you've won or lost the battle.

Discarding Challenges During the Master's Final Gauntlet

Unless a gauntlet card says otherwise, it may be discarded through game effects like any other challenge. If this happens, turn the gauntlet card facedown as though you'd completed it. The Master card, however, may not be discarded by a game effect. You may only complete it the normal way. Nice try, though!

Failing the Master's Challenge

When you attempt the challenge on the Master's card and fail to complete it, you don't always suffer its penalty. For most Master cards, you only suffer their penalty if you also roll black (Darkness) on the Light and Darkness die during the attempt. Each Master card is unique, however, so be sure to read the card text carefully.

Winning the Game

Once the challenge on the Master's card is completed, you win the game! The Master is defeated and you return to Guildmaster Leera in triumph. The threat from this Well has been averted…for now.

Losing the Game

If the Seekers are ever reduced to 0 H, they immediately lose the game. In addition, some game effects (usually found in the Exhausted deck) may also cause the Seekers to lose the game under certain conditions. Smart players will conserve their health and cards as much as possible in order to avoid tempting fate.

Achievements

If you want an extra challenge, you can try the following achievements. If you manage to accomplish any of them, check them off. Only the truly dedicated (and lucky) will accomplish them all.

Simple

• 'Tis But a Scratch — Suffer 5 or more damage in a single turn.
• Vainglory's Puppet — Lose the game by having 3 "Consumed" cards in play at once.
• Go Big or Go Home — Complete "The Faded Way" with at least 10 progress on it.

Tricky

• Intermission — Discard "Vainglory's Symphony" when it has 3 progress on it.
• Just a Flesh Wound — Suffer 5 or more damage in a single turn - but not from "The Beast's Riddle".
• Livin' on the Edge — Win the game with 1 health left.

Difficult

• Sea of Nightmares — Defeat Vainglory's "Sea of Dreams" form when there were at least 3 cards attached to it.
• Fortune Favors the Bold — Defeat Vainglory's "Dreadweaver" form when its difficulty is 30 or more.
• No Stone Unturned — Defeat Vainglory's "Danse Macabre" form with all gauntlet cards facedown.

Unlikely

• Speedrunner — Lose the game on the first turn.
• 3 Coins in the Fountain — Complete "The 3 Fountains" with all 3 copies in play.
• Maze Master — Complete 4 copies of "The Maze" all at once.

Game Variants

Hard Mode

For a greater challenge, start the game with 8 H instead of 10 H.

Quick Game

For a shorter game, discard 13 cards instead of 3 from the Well deck during setup, then suffer 2 D (Damage) and 1 E (Exhaustion) to begin the game.

Quick Guide

On Your Turn

Select one of the 4 Well cards surrounding the Master to interact with. There are two types of cards in the Well deck: events and challenges. The actions you take depend on the type of card you choose to interact with.

Events — If you choose an event card to interact with, read the instructions on the event card and perform them in order.

Challenges — If you choose a challenge card to interact with, attempt that challenge by taking the following steps:

1. Play a skill card as an action (optional; if no action is placed, skip to step 3).
2. Boost the action up to 2 times (remember that a card's ability text is ignored when playing it as a boost).
3. Roll the dice.
4. Complete or fail the challenge.

Glossary

• Action: When you play a skill card on your turn while interacting with a challenge card, it is considered an action.
• Attach: When attaching a card to another card, simply tuck it underneath. Attached cards may trigger certain effects, especially in the final gauntlet.
• Boost: When you use a skill card from your hand to increase the progress added by another player's action, it is considered a boost. Only the very bottom part of the card applies when it is used as a boost - ignore any ability text on the card.
• Challenge: A challenge card is a type of Well card that represents some sort of challenge for the Seekers to overcome.
• Challenge Type: There are 4 types of challenges - Combat, Obstacle, Puzzle, and Trap. The challenge type of a card has no inherent effect, but it may trigger effects on other cards.
• Event: An event card is a type of Well card that automatically triggers when a player chooses to interact with it on their turn.
• Exhausted: In order to draw more cards, you must become exhausted at the start of your turn. You discard any remaining cards in your hand, draw a card from the Exhausted deck and put it into play, and then draw a new hand of cards.
• Final Gauntlet: The final phase of the game in which the Master card is turned up and surrounded by its 4 gauntlet cards. If the Seekers complete the Master's challenge, they win the game.
• Kinfire Lantern: A magical device unique to each Seeker that provides an ability suited to their skills and can only be used when charged (faceup).
• Master: The malevolent ruler and creator of this Well is represented by the Master card at the center of the play area, which must be defeated during the final gauntlet in order to win the game.
• Progress: A measure of how close you are to completing a challenge.
• Seeker: A member of the Seekers' Guild, denoted by their possession of a kinfire lantern. In this game, each player takes on the role of one of these heroic characters.
• Vulnerable: A card that is vulnerable to a color may be attempted with skill cards of that color.
• Well: The magical area controlled by and shaped to the whims of the Well Master is represented by the Well deck.

Icon Reference

Rewards and Penalties

• X> Delve Downwards: Discard X cards from the top of the Well facedown into the Well discard pile. This moves you closer to the bottom of the Well and completing the game.
• X< Retreat Upwards: Return X cards from the top of the Well discard pile to the bottom of the Well deck. This moves you further away from the bottom of the Well and completing the game.
• Xx Draw Cards: Draw X cards from your Seeker's skill deck.
• -Xx Discard Cards: Discard X cards of your choice from your hand. If you don't have enough cards to discard, simply discard the remainder of your hand.
• XH Regain Health: Increase your health by X, not to exceed your starting health.
• XD Suffer Damage: Reduce your health by X. If you are ever reduced to 0 health or less, the Seekers immediately lose the game.
• -1 E Recover Exhaustion: Choose and discard 1 Exhausted card from play, shuffling it back into the Exhausted deck.
• X E Suffer Exhaustion: Draw X cards from the Exhausted deck and put them into play.
• Charge Your Lantern: Flip your lantern card faceup. See "Using Your Lantern" for lantern use.
• Special: Refer to the card text to see what the challenge's reward or penalty is.

Other Icons

• Seeker Effect Icons: Some Seekers have special icons that may trigger specific effects or abilities on their skill cards and Seeker character card. Refer to the card text in which these icons appear to see what they do.
• Light and Darkness (white/black): Rolling these icons on the Light and Darkness die may trigger certain effects.

Beware! Some challenges may offer you "rewards" that are usually considered penalties. Keep your eyes peeled for such trickery!

Credits

Game Design: Kevin Wilson

Art Director: Katarzyna Redesiuk

Graphic Design & DTP: Ines Możdżyńska

Concept Art & Illustration: Katarzyna 'Ulvar' Bekus, Sandra 'Razuri' Chlewińska, W. Kozyra (RonKoza), Katarzyna Redesiuk

Copy Editor: Cathy Bock

Marketing & Community: Nate St. Pierre, Risa Petrone

Project Management & Operations: Kris Green

Finance & Strategy: Robert Hunt

Incredible Dream: Jamie Seltzer, Jane Chung Hoffacker, Tucker Roberts

Copyright © 2023 Incredible Dream Studios Inc. Kinfire, Incredible Dream, and the D logo are trademarks of Incredible Dream Studios Inc. All rights reserved.