Light in the Dark Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Quests and Renown
  • How to Play and Win
• Player Hero Phase
  • Spending Movement Points
    • Move 1 Space
    • Draw and Place a Terrain Card
  • Respawning Enemies/Boss
  • Optional Actions
• Enemy Phase
• End of Round
• Combat
  • Combat with the Boss
• Game End
  • Score Table
• Variants
• Item Card Reference
• Errata
  • Player Hero Phase – Movement

Components

• 18 Terrain Cards:
  • Starting Terrain Cards (cards 00, 01, 02, 03) each show the Starting icon
  • Boss Terrain Card (card 17) shows the Boss icon
• 1 Enemy Stats Card
• 1 Player Aid Card
• 4 Hero Cards
• 4 Boss Cards
• 9 Quest Cards (3 Starting, 3 Middle, 3 End)
• 17 Item Cards
• 10 Enemy Cards
• 30 Enemy Tokens (10 Wolves, 10 Crimson Bandits, 5 Forest Giants, 5 Cultists)
• 4 Boss Tokens
• 3 Enemy Strength Stat Upgrade Tokens
• 1 Time Marker
• 1 Hero Standee
• 1 Monster Health Marker
• 4 Dice (2 Black, 2 White)
• 10 Village Tokens
• 8 Herb Tokens
• 16 Item Tokens
• 11 White cube markers

Setup

1. Choose a Hero card and place it in front of yourself.
2. Place 1 cube marker on each starting space on each of your tracks (Health, Speed, and Attack) on your Hero card. Return the remaining Hero cards to the box.

Reminder: The chosen Hero affects overall game difficulty. One Renown identifies the easiest Hero to play, and they get progressively more difficult, with three Renown being the most difficult.

3. Sort the Quest cards into three piles by type: Starting, Middle, End.

   • Shuffle each pile separately, then draw one card from each pile.
   • Place these 3 Quest cards face up in this order: Starting, Middle, then End.
   • Place the Time token on the first space on the Starting Quest.

4. Place the 2 Player aid cards next to your Hero card and place a cube marker on the 1st slot of the Player Phase.

5. Shuffle the Enemy, Item, and Boss cards to create three separate face-down decks.

6. Set the Boss Terrain card (#17) aside for now.

7. Shuffle the Starting Terrain cards together (00, 01, 02, and 03; each one of these cards shows a "Starting Spot").

   • Place 1 random Starting Terrain card at the center of the play area. Place your Hero standee (or Hero for short) on the starting space.
   • Place a matching token on each space showing an icon; the token must match the icon you place it on (Herb on Herb, Enemy on Enemy, Village on Village).

   To place an enemy token on an enemy space, draw one enemy card to determine the enemy type for that space.

8. Shuffle the 3 remaining Starting Terrain cards together with the remaining Terrain cards (but not including the Boss Terrain card) into a face-down deck.

9. Without revealing them, draw 4 Terrain cards from this deck.

   • Shuffle these 4 Terrain cards with the Boss card.

(Setup steps are numbered as printed in the rulebook: 7, 7, 8, 10, 11.)

You are now ready to begin playing.

Gameplay

Quests and Renown

Each Quest card shows quest text. You must complete it before the time tracker moves off of this Quest card. In other words, you can only attempt to complete a quest that is showing on the card that has the time tracker on it.

If the Time token enters a new Quest card, any incomplete previous quests cannot be completed anymore.

How to Play and Win

A game of Light in the Dark lasts a set number of rounds, equal to the number of spaces on the three revealed Quest cards.

To win the game, you must defeat the Boss before the Time token moves off the final Quest card.

You lose the game if: the Time token moves off the final Quest card before you defeat the Boss; or, you are defeated by losing all of your Health.

Each round consists of a Hero phase followed by an Enemy phase.

Player Hero Phase

Perform up to three Move actions. After you end each Move action, you may perform one optional action.

Use a cube marker to track which of your three move actions you are currently resolving on your aid card.

During each Move action, you have a number of Movement points to use equal to your Speed. Your Speed is tracked on your Hero card.

During each of your Move actions, you can use all or some of your Movement points, but typically, you will try to use them all during each Move action to be efficient.

Spending Movement Points

You can use Movement points to move and place new Terrain cards.

Move 1 Space

Spend 1 Movement point to Move your Hero 1 space away to a space directly connected to your space via road.

A Space is any circle or half-circle along the road. Spaces may have a printed icon or a token on them.

A Village is considered to be Sick if it has a Village token on it. You cannot move onto or through a Sick Village! You can Heal the Village as an optional action (see Optional Actions).

Draw and Place a Terrain Card

Spend 1 Movement point to draw the top Terrain card from the deck and place it adjacent to your current space in the correct reading order (Terrain cards cannot be rotated). You can only do this if your Hero is currently on a half-circle space on one of the edges of a Terrain card.

By placing a new Terrain card adjacent to your current one, a full circle space will be formed. This space is now considered a regular space for movement purposes.

When you place a new Terrain card: Place a token on each space showing an icon; the token you place must match the icon you place it on (Herb on Herb, Enemy on Enemy, Village on Village).

Respawning Enemies/Boss

When you place a new Terrain card with any spaces showing enemy icons, draw the top Enemy card for each Enemy icon separately, place the matching Enemy token covering the space with the Enemy icon, and discard the card.

If the Enemy deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new Enemy deck. Enemies also respawn when the respawn icon is reached on the turn tracker (see End of Round).

When the Boss Terrain card is revealed, draw a random Boss card and place the matching Boss token on the Boss icon (on the Terrain card), then resolve the Boss Spawn Effect.

After a Boss spawns, treat it as a normal Enemy regarding its movement and how you conduct Combat with it.

Boss Spawn Effect: As soon as the Boss card is revealed, lose 1 Strength, Life, or Movement, or discard any one of your Item cards depending on the Boss card drawn. (For example, the icons on a Boss card may tell you to lose 1 Speed.)

If you cannot lose the required stat or discard a card, lose any stat of your choice; but if you need to do this, and all of your stats are currently at "1", then you must lose Health, and thus you immediately lose the game.

Optional Actions

The following Optional actions require you to END your Move action to perform them. They require no Movement points to spend, but you forfeit any Movement points that you have not already spent this Move action.

Take a Herb: If you end a Move action on a Herb token, pick it up and put it in your inventory. Collect Herb tokens to cure Sick Villages.

Heal a Village: If you end a Move action adjacent to a Village token, you may discard 1 of your Herb tokens (if you have one) to remove the Village token from the board. A Village space without a Village token on it no longer blocks movement, so you may move onto it or through it.

Take an Item: If you end a Move action on an Item token: you may discard the Item token and draw 1 Item card from the top of the Item deck. You have a 2 Item card limit; if you obtain a 3rd Item card, immediately discard any 1 Item card. All Item cards are detailed in the Item Card Reference.

Attack an Enemy/Boss: If you move on a space adjacent to an Enemy/Boss token, you must end your Movement and immediately engage in Combat (see Combat).

Important! If you happen to move on a space that is adjacent to two or more enemies, you must engage in combat with all of them. You choose which enemy to fight first.

Enemy Phase

After you perform three move actions, and up to one optional action after each, if there are any Enemy/Boss tokens on the Terrain cards, proceed to the Enemy phase.

During the Enemy Phase all Enemy/Boss tokens move towards the Hero.

Move Enemies/Boss in the order displayed on their Enemy Stats Card (Cultists move first, followed by Giants, Bandits, Wolves). Move all Enemies of a single type before moving Enemies of the next type. If there is more than one Enemy of a type present, you (the Hero) choose which one of those tokens moves first.

Each Enemy moves up to a number of spaces equal to its Speed. For example, Wolves move 1 space each.

An Enemy cannot end movement on a space with another Enemy token. Enemies may move through spaces occupied by other Enemies.

Enemies always move towards the Hero along the shortest possible path.

Enemies cannot move onto or through a Village token!

Enemies ignore Herb and Item tokens: they treat a space with one of these tokens as a normal space and do not remove or take the token. They can end movement on one of these tokens.

Enemies never reveal new Terrain cards; they treat a Waypoint space as a normal space.

An Enemy immediately stops moving when it enters a space adjacent to your Hero. You are now Engaged with this Enemy: immediately proceed to Combat.

Enemies on a card with no possible movement that would ever reach the Hero do not move.

End of Round

Move the Round tracker forward 1 space on the current Quest card, possibly triggering icons. If you move the tracker onto an icon, perform the following effect:

Enemy Strength modifier: Place 1 Enemy Strength modifier beside the Monster Stat card, next to the Cultists column, adjacent to the strength box. All Enemies have +1 Strength until the end of the game. Enemy Strength modifiers are cumulative. For example, if they already have one, replace it with a +2 Modifier, then a +3.

Enemy respawn: Place 1 Enemy token on each empty Enemy location on all Terrain cards, following standard rules (drawing an Enemy card for each placement, see Respawning Enemies/Boss). Empty means it has no token or Hero on it. If a certain type of Enemy is no longer available, place the next weaker one. If none of this type are left either, no Enemy is placed.

Combat

Whenever the Hero ends movement adjacent to an Enemy (or an Enemy moves adjacent to the Hero) they immediately engage in combat. Perform the following steps:

1. Mark the Enemy's starting Health with the Enemy Health token. For example, when engaged with a Giant or Cultist, you place the marker on "3". Use the Enemy Health track to track the remaining Health of the Enemy/Boss you are fighting.

2. Roll all four dice (two white Hero dice and two black Enemy dice). If the Hero or Enemy/Boss rolls a double, their combat Strength increases by +1.

3. You may use up to one Item.

4. Calculate the Enemy Strength by adding up all of the following:

   • Sum of both black Enemy dice (+1 if doubles are rolled); plus
   • The Enemy's Strength (as indicated on your aid card); plus
   • Any Enemy Strength Modifiers (those placed by the Quest cards, if any); plus
   • The Terrain's Strength (if any).

5. Calculate your Hero's Strength by adding up all of the following:

   • Sum of both white Hero dice (+1 if doubles are rolled); plus
   • The Hero's Strength as tracked on your card (for example, a Hero whose current Strength is 2);
   • Specialty Strength modifiers from the Hero card (for example, a Hero with +1 Strength when fighting Crimson Bandits);
   • Strength modifiers from Item cards (for example, an item that gives you +2 Strength).

6. Compare Enemy and Hero Strength:

   • If the Enemy has lower Strength: The Enemy loses 1 Health: move their Health tracker down 1 space.
   • If there is a tie between the Hero and the Enemy: Reduce the Enemy's Health by 1 (the Hero wins ties).

An Example of a Cultist: A Cultist has a starting Health of 3, a Speed of 4, and a Strength of 3. When you defeat a Cultist, you gain a reward of your choice (+1 Health, Speed, or Strength).

Combat with the Boss

A Boss uses the Strength of the basic Enemy showing on the card, but every Boss always has a Starting Health and Speed of 5. Proceed with Combat exactly as you would with any other Enemy.

For example: a Boss has a starting Health of 5, a Speed of 5, and a Strength of 3.

Game End

After the Hero is defeated or defeats the Boss, the game ends.

If the Hero is defeated (either by the Enemies or the Boss), the player loses all Renown gained and the game is over.

If you win, gain additional Renown equal to your Hero Difficulty Level (the number of Renown Crowns showing on your Hero card); and gain Renown for each remaining round on your Quest-card tracks. For example: If the entire game is 20 rounds, and you win on round 18, you gain 2 additional Renown.

After scoring your total Renown, compare it to the scoring tables. The difficulty of a game is determined by the total Renown possible from all the Quests you play during a single game.

Score Table

Difficulty	Easy	Moderate	Hard
Total Quest Renown	from 10 to 15	from 16 to 21	from 22 to 24

Player Score	Easy	Moderate	Hard
Try again...	6	10	16
Not bad	8	13	18
OK	10	18	20
Getting good	13	20	22
Plague doctor	17+	22+	24+

Variants

Choose your Destiny: On setup, instead of drawing Quest cards at random for each part of the Quest (Starting, Middle, End), choose your own difficulty level by choosing the Quest cards.

Campaign: On setup, instead of drawing Quest cards at random for each part of the Quest (Starting, Middle, End), start with the easiest difficulty setup for the Quest cards. Then each next game, increase the difficulty by changing the quest cards to match.

Item Card Reference

There are 3 Item types:

• Single-use Item: Use the ability once, then discard the card.
• Ongoing-use Item: Cards showing an Infinity sign are always in effect.
• Multi-use Item: Can be used a specific number of times before you must discard it. When you get one of these cards, place a cube marker on the highest number: this is to track how many times you have used the card. For example, an item marked 2 can be used 2 times before you must discard it.

Dragon Shield (1x card): When you use this, choose one option: Cancel/negate 1 damage you receive when fighting an Enemy or Boss; or, push an Enemy away 3 spaces. Each space you move the Enemy must be farther away from where they started (you cannot push in a loop, for example). If the full length is not possible (because the Terrain card ends, or an Enemy/Village is blocking the way) the Enemy dies! In that case, do not roll combat dice. You cannot do this to kill a Boss!

Adrenaline Shot (3x cards): Increase your Strength by 1 (move your Strength tracker up once if able).

Torch Wand (1x card): Reroll the Hero's dice.

Greater Torch Wand (1x card): Reroll the Hero's dice.

Firesword (1x card): Provides 2 Strength that can be used during each and every Combat.

Basic Shield (2x cards): Cancel/negate 1 damage you receive when fighting an Enemy/Boss.

Plantipore Poison (2x cards): The Enemy/Boss only rolls a single combat die this round of combat.

Herb Mix (3x cards): When you use this, choose 1 option: Gain up to 2 Health (move your Health tracker up once or twice); or, gain 1 Herb token (from the supply).

Warcharm (1x card): After rolling, count the value of the higher die rolled twice (and ignore the value of the smaller die). For example: If you roll a 2 and a 4, your rolled total will be 8.

Greater Warcharm (1x card): After rolling, count the value of the higher die rolled twice (and ignore the value of the smaller die). For example: If you roll a 2 and a 4, your rolled total will be 8.

Boots of Speed (1x card): Choose one option: Increase your Speed by 1; or, while moving, 'skip over' an Enemy or Village token. (In other words, use a Movement Point when adjacent to an Enemy/Boss or Village token to move directly to the space adjacent to that same token on the other side of them.) This does not trigger combat unless you end this Move action still adjacent to the Enemy/Boss. You do not need to spend a Herb token.

Errata

From the official Archona Games errata sheet.

Player Hero Phase – Movement

If during the Player Hero phase, you are unable to move your Hero because of:

a) Your only viable roads forward are being blocked by Sick Villages and you don't have any Herbs tokens or Herb mix cards left in your supply;

b) There are no viable roads through which you can move and explore another Terrain card;

Then, reduce one of your stats (Health, Speed or Attack) on your Hero card by 1. Then place a new Terrain card on any free adjacent side to your current Terrain card, place your Hero on any edge space on the new Terrain card and continue your adventure. Your Player Hero phase immediately ends — finish playing out the Enemy phase of this round.