Kingdom Death: Monster – Lion God Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Upgrade the Core Game
• Current Campaign
• New Campaign
• New Rules
  • ★: Monster Level
  • New Terrain Rules
  • Manipulating Terrain
• Necromancer Secret Fighting Art
• Story Events
• The Silver City
• Showdown: Lion God
  • Instinct: Mourn
  • Monster Stats
  • Showdown Setup
  • Aftermath
  • Rewards
• Necropolis
  • Ventilation Shaft – roll 1d10
  • Grand Gallery – roll 1d10
  • Catacombs – roll 1d10
  • God's Chamber – roll 1d10
  • Trapped in a Pit
• The Knowledge Worm
  • Climb the Staircase – roll 1d10
• A Gracious Host
  • Ingest – roll 1d10
• Death Reading
  • Old Blue Box
    • Comprehend the Smoke
  • Triptych
    • Trace Branches
  • Canopic Jar
    • See Red
  • Sarcophagus
    • Greet Death
  • Silver Urn
    • Invite the Dust

Upgrade the Core Game

Add the Lion God Card Divider, AI, Hit Location, Hunt, and Resource cards to the monster section of the core game box.

• Add the new disorders to the Disorders deck.
• Add the new fighting arts to the Fighting Arts deck.
• Add the new secret fighting art to the Secret Fighting Arts deck.
• Add the new gear to the game box.
• Add the new terrain to the Terrain deck.
• Add the new innovation to the innovation cards in the game box (not your settlement's deck).

Use the following story events in this book in addition to the Kingdom Death: Monster core game story events: The Silver City, Showdown: Lion God, Necropolis, The Knowledge Worm, A Gracious Host, and Death Reading.

When a story event in this book is triggered, it is denoted by a story icon preceding the event name.

Current Campaign

To add the Lion God to your current campaign, add the story icon The Silver City (a story event found in this book) to Lantern Year 13 on the timeline, or the next year on the timeline, whichever is later. When you trigger it, read the story and follow it through to the end.

New Campaign

To add the Lion God to a new campaign, add the story icon The Silver City to Lantern Year 13 on the timeline of your settlement record sheet.

New Rules

★: Monster Level

The ★ symbol on all game cards and events refers to the monster's level. For example, the Holy Utterance AI card instructs all survivors to suffer ★+3 brain damage. In a showdown against a level 2 Lion God, this would be 5 brain damage.

New Terrain Rules

The Lion God expansion includes 2 new terrain cards and 5 new terrain tiles. The Sinkhole terrain card introduces a new terrain special rule: Indestructible. A terrain that is Indestructible cannot be destroyed or removed from the showdown board for any reason until the end of the showdown.

Manipulating Terrain

Many of the Lion God's AI cards manipulate the terrain tiles on the showdown board. Most often, these AI cards instruct the Lion God to throw terrain tiles or pick them up and crush survivors with them. When terrain moves into or is placed in a space occupied by a survivor, they collide with each other. Apply normal rules for survivors colliding with terrain.

When the Lion God moves a terrain tile, the monster controller chooses its movement path the same way they would choose a monster's. The Lion God may move terrain tiles through itself if that is the most direct route between the terrain and the survivor. It may also place terrain tiles under itself.

A terrain tile being placed on the showdown board destroys and archives all previously existing terrain tiles under it as long as none have the Indestructible rule. If a terrain tile would be placed on an Indestructible terrain tile, place it in the nearest space adjacent to it instead.

Necromancer Secret Fighting Art

The Necromancer secret fighting art is gained when a survivor in your settlement ingests the Knowledge Worm – the parasite that dwells in the Lion God – and becomes its new host.

As the worm torments their mind and replaces their bone marrow with silver, the suffering they endure gives the Necromancer unique insight into the nature of death itself. They gain a bonus on the Death Reading story event and from the event's rare gear.

In order to protect itself, the Knowledge Worm alters the physical form of its host. If the Necromancer would roll on the severe injury table at any time, they instead roll on the Worm Trauma table on the back of the fighting art card. (The Worm Trauma table itself is printed on that card, not in this manual, so it is not reproduced here.) Any actions or events that instruct them to suffer a specific severe injury remain unchanged.

The Knowledge Worm is resilient. If the Necromancer dies, loses the Necromancer fighting art, or loses the ability to use fighting arts, it returns to the settlement and the survivors regain the Knowledge Worm innovation. This includes cases where the Necromancer is hamstrung or even frenzied.

Story Events

Story events are read in the order the campaign triggers them. Narrative prose is omitted as pure fiction and marked in italics where it sits between rules; instructions, choices and outcomes are transcribed as printed.

The Silver City

Story event. Trigger: add to Lantern Year 13 on the timeline (see Current Campaign and New Campaign).

Narrative omitted: a boy whose mother tells him tales of a silver god in a buried city, and who sets out alone in search of it.

Nominate a male survivor with less than 3 Hunt XP.

Narrative omitted: the boy's journey through the darkness to the ruins of a silver city, and his return home to tell his mother.

Sadly, she passed while he was gone. No one believed his story about the strange city or the silver god.

The nominated survivor gains the Stark Raving disorder. You may now hunt the Lion God. Add it to the Quarries list on the settlement record sheet.

Showdown: Lion God

Story event (Quarry). Flavour text omitted.

Quarry track. The quarry track is printed as a row of boxes marked E with three monster level markers (1, 2, 3). The source does not print a separate explanation of the E boxes on this page.

Instinct: Mourn

If there are no impassable terrain tiles, monster gains +1 damage token.

Otherwise, move the Lion God to the closest impassable terrain tile. If it ends its movement adjacent to the tile, archive it and all non-deaf survivors suffer ★+1 brain damage.

Blind Spot: the monster's Blind Spot is shown as a diagram on the card.

Monster Stats

The stat columns are printed as icons (B, A, L) and are given here as printed. The source does not print a text label for the B/A/L icon columns.

Level	B	A	L	Mov	Tgh	Spd	Dmg	Abilities	Tokens
1	7	7	1	8	14	-	-	Whiplash, Hollow Earth, Heft	-
2	11	8	1	9	16	+1	+1	Whiplash, Hollow Earth, Heft, Divine Prowess	+1 luck
3

Showdown Setup

Set up the following terrain tiles according to the diagram:

• 4 Stone Columns, in the green areas.
• 2 Toppled Pillars, in the orange areas.
• 2 Giant Stone Faces, in the purple areas.
• 4 Lion Statues, in the yellow areas.
• Set up the monster in the center of the board.
• Set up the survivors anywhere in the blue areas.

Legend (diagram): Survivors (blue), Monster (red), Stone Columns (green), Toppled Pillars (orange), Giant Stone Faces (purple), Lion Statues (yellow).

Aftermath

Victory

• +1 Hunt XP
• +1 Weapon Proficiency (if eligible)
• • Rewards

Defeat

The destruction can be seen all the way back at the settlement. Play Lights in the Sky during the next settlement phase instead of drawing from the Settlement Event deck.

Rewards

When the Lion God is defeated, if the settlement does not have the Knowledge Worm innovation or a Necromancer, [icon] Knowledge Worm. The group gains the following rewards:

Level	Reward
1	1 Necromancer's Eye rare gear; 8 basic resources, 1 Iron strange resource
2	1 Golden Plate rare gear; 10 basic resources, 2 Iron strange resources
3	1 Lion God Statue rare gear; 12 basic resources, 3 Iron strange resources

If the settlement has Memento Mori when they defeat the Lion God, their feelings of triumph become laced with empathy and sadness.

Any victorious survivor may spend one relic resource. Any who do, gain an additional +2 Hunt XP and +4 courage or understanding.

Necropolis

Story event. Flavour text omitted.

You dive into the Ventilation Shaft. Escape ends this event.

Ventilation Shaft – roll 1d10

• 1–3: While scrambling down the ancient shaft, the floor suddenly gives way! You plummet deep and are trapped in a pit.
• 4–7: Partway down you find cryptic symbols are thickly scratched into the stone walls. If you have 8+ Hunt XP, you plunge into the Grand Gallery. Otherwise, escape.
• 8+: The symbols in the passageway portray a kingdom of strength and majesty populated by lion-like beings. As you run your hands across a symbol, part of it loosens and comes free, revealing a cache. Gain the Old Blue Box strange resource and descend to the Grand Gallery.

Grand Gallery – roll 1d10

• 1–2: The hall leading to the gallery is in disrepair. Sprinting through it, you are taken by darkness and trapped in a pit.
• 3–5: A fresco covers the ceiling, depicting creatures with the appearance of men, but filled with something sinister. Staring upwards, you slip into a Ventilation Shaft.
• 6–9: Giant stone buildings jut out through gold smoke. Gain the Triptych strange resource. If the Lion God is Level 2+, descend to the Catacombs. Otherwise, you escape.
• 10: Gain 1 Broken Lantern basic resource and descend to the Catacombs.

Catacombs – roll 1d10

• 1–6: In a vast chamber, golden sarcophagi are strewn about like rubble. As you navigate the dead, the smell of incense and flesh makes you feel sick. You black out, only to awaken trapped in a pit. If insane, gain the Canopic Jar strange resource.
• 7+: Metallic bloodstains can be seen against deep gashes in the floor. Gain the Silver Urn strange resource. If the Lion God is Level 3+, you recognize this sad place as a monument to loss and descend to the God's Chamber. Otherwise, you escape.

God's Chamber – roll 1d10

• 1–5: Staggering amounts of gold and steel take on twisted forms and bear the marks of the Lion God's frustration. Gain 1 Iron strange resource. You may escape now or suffer a random brain trauma and roll again on this table.
• 6+: Nearly everything in the crowded room is mauled beyond recognition by tooth and claw. Only a sarcophagus in the center remains untouched. Gain the Sarcophagus strange resource and escape.

Trapped in a Pit

Gain 1 bleeding token. A survivor adjacent to the Sinkhole must spend 1 survival to save you. If they do, you escape. If they do not, or if you are the last survivor on the showdown board, you die.

Narrative text omitted: survivors see a bulge move from the Lion God's chest up through its neck, and a worm the size of a small child is regurgitated.

Nominate a victorious survivor to Climb the Staircase.

The Knowledge Worm

Story event. Flavour text omitted: the survivors approach the defeated Lion God as a massive worm slithers from its mouth.

Climb the Staircase – roll 1d10

• 1–4: A deathly voice rings clear. Compelled by the worm, the victorious survivors fight each other like animals. If there are more than one victorious survivors, each rolls 1d10. The lowest-rolling survivor is killed. The highest-rolling gains the Ruthless fighting art and carries the worm back to the settlement.

  Gain the Knowledge Worm innovation.

• 5+: As they walk up the steps, the survivor is disarmed by a vibration in the air. Horrified as they are by the sight of it, the closer they get, the more overcome they are by pity for this bizarre, yet helpless, creature. The others waiting below are nauseated at first when the survivor picks up the worm and holds it in their arms as if it were their own offspring. However, it doesn't take long for the spell to take root in them after the worm is carried back down the steps. Nobody can say why, but everyone agrees the worm is important. Together, they carry it back to the settlement.

  Gain the Knowledge Worm innovation.

If the settlement has Accepted Darkness, violence follows the worm everywhere the survivors take it. In addition to the normal 1-2 result, play Skull Eater next settlement phase instead of drawing from the deck. The survivor with Ruthless also gains the following ability:

Marrow Hunger: When the Murder or Skull Eater settlement events are drawn, this survivor is nominated.

A Gracious Host

Story event. Flavour text omitted.

Narrative omitted: the worm arrives in the settlement, and the survivor is drawn to it in a hypnotic state, keeping it secret until too late.

Nominate the survivor with the highest insanity (randomize in the case of ties) to Ingest.

Ingest – roll 1d10

• 1–2: Your eyes bulge as the worm's toxins course through you. Your veins burst, emptying out into a pool of silver. You are dead. Add 2 Broken Lantern resources to the settlement's storage.

• 3–6: Just as you are about to eat the worm, you hesitate as if snapping out of a trance. Your mind clear, you suddenly find yourself face-to-face with the horrific parasite. Screaming, you cast it to the ground. As it slithers away, you wonder why you didn't kill it.

  If the settlement innovated Sacrifice, you face your fate without hesitation. Proceed to Death's Embrace!

• 7–10: Death's Embrace. You feel your jaw dislocate, and the blood vessels in your throat and chest cavity burst as the gigantic worm somehow forces its way into your body. Your veins burn as if being replaced by currents of white-hot silver. Through the agony, you suddenly understand the source of the Lion God's immortality... and madness.

  The settlement loses The Knowledge Worm innovation. Archive it and gain the Necromancer secret fighting art!

Death Reading

Story event. Flavour text omitted: a ritual deciphering of ancient artifacts.

Nominate a survivor and follow the instructions corresponding with the strange resource used to trigger this event. When instructed to roll a d10, Necromancers may choose their result without rolling.

Old Blue Box

The old blue box contains dry, painted bones wrapped in medicinal gauze and adornments. Some of the bones are fossilized. When heated, the others billow thick gold smoke into the air. The smoke's tendrils surround you, immersing you in visions. Gain the Ancient Lion Claw rare gear and roll 1d10. On a 4+, you comprehend the smoke. Otherwise, you are dead.

Comprehend the Smoke

You cough uncontrollably as the smoke fills the room until nothing can be seen but the glow of the heated lantern. Disoriented, you sense a hostile presence just before it strikes. Dodging a flurry of claw-like blades, you focus on the lantern light and feel as if you are able to predict your assailant's movements. With a heavy vibration, the lantern light transforms into a symbol. By keeping your eyes closed, you are able to copy the symbol down after the smoke clears. Gain the Lantern Mehndi rare gear.

Triptych

When opened, you look upon a three-panel painting of a beautiful, desolate landscape. While staring at it, you begin to daydream. You wander in it for weeks, until you come to a clearing with a tree. Gaze upon it and roll 1d10.

On a 3+, you trace branches. Otherwise, your fellow survivors enter your chamber after waiting outside for several hours. They find only the closed triptych and one of your teeth, still wet with saliva. You are dead.

Trace Branches

The tree's branches are arranged in an oddly familiar symbol. Suddenly, it shakes as if roused from slumber. With a creak resembling a sigh, piles of human bones slide out from between its roots. Suddenly, you snap out of the daydream and find only a few moments have passed. In the center of the triptych is the tree in your dream and the symbol. Gain the Glyph of Solitude rare gear.

Canopic Jar

The jar is filled with a red-black fluid that doesn't resemble any blood you've ever seen before. Entrails bob and swim through it like hungry fish. Upend the jar on your head and roll 1d10. The blood sticks to your skin, spreading when you try to rub it off.

You panic. On a 4+, you see red. Otherwise, the blood boils, separating flesh from bone. You die screaming.

See Red

The harder you try, the more it spreads and the angrier you become. After a moment, your whole body is covered and your mind sees only visions of rage. You black out for hours, raging in the room until everything in it is reduced to splinters and powder. When you are finally done, you come to and see a symbol on the wall written in blood. Gain the Butcher's Blood rare gear.

Sarcophagus

You stare into the unblinking eyes of an enormous mummified lion head. Without warning, a gigantic insect springs forth from one of its eye sockets and stings your hand! Your vision dims as the venom courses through your veins. Greet Death.

Greet Death

Feverish and bedridden for days, you hallucinate terrifying men who possess beautiful armor and the claws of beasts. When the fever breaks, you find that all of your hair has been torn out and a strangely shaped scar has taken root on your forehead. Gain the Death Mehndi rare gear.

Silver Urn

The urn is heavier than expected, and the ashes inside are warm despite the urn's coolness. As you bend your head towards them, they swirl and take on a tentacled form. Startled, you inhale deeply and roll 1d10. On a 3+, you invite the dust. Otherwise, your head fills with immense pressure, forcing your eyes out of your skull. Suffer the blind severe head injury twice.

Invite the Dust

The urn's contents overwhelm your senses. In the haze, you are surrounded by painted figures who teeter on the edge of life and death. As they moan, the insides of your head begin to feel sharp. You scream and pass out. When you awaken, the urn's ashes are gathered on the floor in a distinct pattern that you quickly copy down. Gain the Bone Witch Mehndi rare gear.