Lost Ones Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Component List
• Setting Up the Game
• Objective
• Rounds
• Phases
• Actions
  • 1. Explore a New Map Tile
    • Map Tiles
    • Effects
  • 2. Move
  • 3. Complete a Story Encounter
    • Story Book
    • Adventure Book (This book)
    • Ability Cards and the Hand
  • 4. Activate a Boon Card
  • 5. Free Actions
    • Complete Ability Card Actions
    • Activate a Character's Talent
• Characters
  • Dominika
  • Fenrir
  • Kaya
  • Maeve
  • Will
• Additional Components
  • Cards
    • Bane Cards
    • Foe Cards
    • Moon Clock
  • Tokens
• Story Ending
• Symbol Reference

Component List

1. Poker cards (2.5x3.5 in)
   • A. x40 Ability
   • B. x20 Bane
   • C. x32 Boon
   • D. x12 Foe
   • E. x4 Heroes
   • F. x1 Moon Card
2. Square cards (2.5x2.5 in)
   • G. x128 Map Tiles
3. Books (6x6 in)
   • H. x1 Rulebook
   • I. x1 Storybook
4. Tokens (round, 19.5 mm)
   • J. x1 Fate
   • K. x12 Plot
   • L. x11 Locked/Unlocked
   • M. x12 Encounter 1/X
   • N. x12 Encounter 2/X
5. Standees (1.72x2.29 in)
   • O. x6 Standees + Plastic Stands

Setting Up the Game

1. Prepare the play area:
   • A. Place the Map Tile deck. Do NOT SHUFFLE this deck.
   • B. Place Map Tile 1 at the centre of the Map area. Leave ample room for more Map Tiles.
   • C. Shuffle and place the Ability, Foe, and Bane decks at the side of the Map area.
   • D. Place the Boon deck, unshuffled, next to them.
   • E. Place the Moon Clock card at the side of the Map area with the Fate token on the New Moon space on the Moon Clock card.
   • F. Place all the tokens at the side of the Map area. For additional rules, see "Tokens" on page 12.
   • G. Each player selects a Character card and places it in front of them.
   • H. Remove any additional Character cards from the game.
   • I. Open the Story Book to the Prologue and read it aloud, before you start.
2. Each player creates their Hand by drawing Ability cards from the top of the Ability deck and placing them face-up, next to their Character card. The number of cards to draw is called the Hand size and depends on the number of players. For additional rules, see "Ability Cards and the Hand" on page 9.
   • 1 player: 7 Ability cards
   • 2 players: 6 Ability cards each
   • 3 players: 5 Ability cards each
   • 4 players: 4 Ability cards each
3. Place the Character standee(s) on Map Tile 1. In the first round, the first player is the person at the table who most recently had a nightmare.

Objective

To win the game, player(s) must engage in Story Encounters to reveal part of the mystery, find a Hollows Tree, and open a Gateway to escape home. Along the way, they may be trapped in the Otherworld, in which case the Nightmare overwhelms them, and they begin on the first tile again. Each time you restart, you have gained key information to help you delve further into the realm of the Lost Ones.

Rounds

Begin each round with the first player. Players may collectively determine turn order, but if you need help with this, the first player is the one who most recently had a nightmare. A round finishes when all players have taken a turn.

Each player may complete up to three actions in their turn, and must complete at least one action before passing onto the next player. The menu of actions a player may complete are listed below. (These actions are described in detail further on in the rule book.)

• Explore a new Map Tile
• Move
• Complete a Story Encounter
• Activate a Boon card

NOTE that this is a cooperative game and players may discuss their actions openly before making their decision.

Phases

A game of Lost Ones may have up to 4 Phases that are tracked on the Moon Clock. For additional rules, see "Moon Clock" on page 11. Unlike most games, Phases are not set to a determined number of rounds. The number of rounds in a Phase vary based on effects, like Fae Rings, or choices the players make during a Story Encounter. For example, a Phase ends when a player decides to Rest in a specific Story Encounter. The game begins in the New Moon. The player(s) must escape before the end of the last Phase, by finding one of several Hollows Trees and opening a Gateway.

Actions

Each player may complete up to three actions in their turn. Players must take at least one action on their turn.

1. Explore a New Map Tile

Players explore and uncover new areas in the Otherworld by placing a valid Map Tile adjacent to the current Map Tile, and then moving their Character standee to the new location. If a player wants to move to an unrevealed location, they may step off the board in the cardinal directions (orthogonally) to that spot, as long as the current Map Tile indicates there is a new Map Tile in that direction. Whenever the player moves to a new Map Tile, they must flip to the relevant page number in the Story Book, shown on the bottom right corner of the Map Tile.

Map Tiles

The Otherworld map is made up of unique regions that are divided into 121 Map Tiles. Each Map Tile has a location number on the bottom right corner and on the back, printed over a green gem. The Map Tile number links to a corresponding page in the Story Book. Several Map Tiles also have a transformed version, indicated with a red gem on the back and a letter following the Map Tile number. The Story Encounter will indicate when to transform the Map Tile. There are also numbers on each side of a Map Tile to highlight directional paths available for a player to move their character, some of which are locked pending a completed Story Encounter. For additional rules about Story Encounters, see "3. Complete a Story Encounter" on page 7.

Effects

Effect icons are shown on the bottom right corner, next to the Map Tile number, and are an immediate consequence of moving to certain Map Tiles. Effects apply every time any player moves to the Map Tile. If there are more than one Effect on a Map Tile, they resolve from left to right. A player that starts their turn on the Map Tile will not trigger an Effect. Different types of Effects include the following:

• Bane. Draw and attach a random Bane card to the Character card of each player on this Map Tile. Bane cards may be removed by some Ability and Boon cards.
• Blizzard. Each player on this Map Tile must select and discard one Ability card. The Boon Winter's Touch will provide immunity.
• Fae Rings. When the player(s) moves from this Map Tile, advance one Phase on the Moon Clock. The player(s) must escape before the end of the fourth Phase or the game is lost.
• Foe. Flip over the top card from the Foe deck. Play Ability cards that match or beat the required ability icons on the Foe card to defeat the Foe or lose the game. Reshuffle the Foe card into the deck when the Foe is defeated.
• Lava. Requires a character with Fire Walker to be on this Map Tile. Otherwise, each player must discard an Ability card from their Hand and move back to the previous Map Tile.
• Nightmare. The first time the Nightmare is revealed, place the Nightmare standee on Map Tile #1 on the board. The Nightmare may be revealed as an Effect, with the raven icon on a tile, as part of a Story Encounter, or on a Bane card. After that, when a player(s) enters a Map Tile with the Nightmare icon, move the Nightmare one Map Tile space to the nearest Character standee. If there are two players which are the same number of spaces, players may choose which one the Nightmare moves towards. The Nightmare will only move on existing Map Tiles that have been placed. It also may only move orthogonally, but ignores any restrictions to movement, like blocked or locked terrain. If the Nightmare moves to the same Map Tile as a Character standee, the game is lost.
• Underwater. Requires a character with Water Gills to be on this Map Tile. Otherwise, each player must discard an Ability card from their Hand and move back to the previous Map Tile.

NOTE Some Ability cards can be immediately used by any player on the Map Tile to counter an Effect such as Nightmare or Fae Rings. Certain Boon cards can also be activated to counter an Effect if the player that moved to the Map Tile has an available action to spend during their turn. For additional rules about Boon cards, see "4. Activate a Boon Card" on page 9.

NOTE: If the Nightmare lands on a location that the players need to enter (like a Hollow's Tree), they must draw it away before entering that tile space.

NOTE: Unlike Story Encounters, Effects on Map Tiles must be resolved immediately.

2. Move

A player must move north, south, east, or west (orthogonally) and may move as many spaces as actions available so long as there is not an effect on a Map Tile, which forces them to stop and resolve it first. Other players on the same Map Tile can also choose to "piggyback" and move together without costing any additional actions. There are advantages with moving together across dangerous terrain or when exploring a new Map Tile, but there are also risks as certain effects will apply to each player that are moving together, i.e. Bane, Blizzard, Lava and Underwater.

Moving back to an existing Map Tile is an option when the player wants to travel through to another area of the map, or return to a Story Encounter. If a Story Encounter has already been completed, the players may not complete it a second time. Encounter tokens are placed on the tile as a reminder to show which Story Encounters have already been resolved. Players may reread any completed Story Encounter as needed. In some cases, movement to an adjacent location is restricted. This can be either due to the geography of the terrain blocking the area off or because of a requirement to complete the Story Encounter first to access the new area. In the latter case, the adjacent Map Tile number will have a lock symbol next to it.

3. Complete a Story Encounter

Players are introduced to Story Encounters when reading the Introduction section in the Story Book. On their turn they may try to complete an available Story Encounter. To complete a Story Encounter, a player will need to have the necessary items listed next to a choice. These items are abilities, which are found on Ability cards, Boon cards, and Character cards. Note that completing a Story Encounter by activating a Boon card will take more than one action.

Ability cards played from the Hand must have ability icons that match or beat the cost of a Story Encounter to accomplish it. When multiple players are on the same Map Tile, they may help each other by sharing Ability cards from their Hands. Helping another player does not count towards the helper's actions.

Players may also activate Boon cards or their Character Talent by turning it sideways to use their ability. Remember that Boon cards cost an additional action, but Character Talents are a free action. Also, some Story Encounters will have an additional requirement listed below it (highlighted in yellow). Once a Story Encounter is complete, it cannot be repeated. A numbered Encounter token is placed on the tile to keep track of which Story Encounter was taken. For more about Encounter tokens, read "Tokens" on page 12.

Story Book

The Story Book contains background content in the Prologue, Story Encounters that players will face while exploring the Otherworld and all Story Endings. Whenever a player moves their character standee to a new Map Tile, they flip to the corresponding Map Tile Number in the Story Book. Each Story Encounter has the following sections:

1. Map Tile Number. Located in the top left corner and links to a matching Map Tile.
2. Directional Path Number. Displays adjacent Map Tiles where the player(s) can move to next. Player(s) may move after reading the Introduction. They may complete a Story Encounter or choose to return to the Story Encounter at a later time. Certain adjacent tiles may have a Lock Symbol that prevents travel to that adjacent Map Tile. In this case, a Lock token should be placed on the Map Tile with the closed lock face-up.
3. Story Title. The name of the Story Encounter.
4. Effect Icon(s). Resolve these before reading the introduction. See "Effects" on page 7.
5. Introduction. Describes the area that the player(s) has just entered and introduces the Story Encounter.
6. Available Story Encounters. One or more types of choices may be listed after the Introduction section in the Story Encounter. Each choice has a cost in ability icons. There are 5 types of ability icons: Search, Solve, Talk, Evade, Challenge.
7. Choices. Tiles will give you a choice of one, or two Story Encounters. Some of the Encounters with two will let you complete both choices, while others will make you decide between one or the other. The Story Encounters where you must choose one or the other are indicated by an "Or" next to the two paths. Choosing one of these choices will prevent completing the other one during this game play.
8. Unlock Symbol. If there is a lock symbol on one or several sides of a tile, you will need to complete the relevant Story Encounter. It will allow travel to the adjacent Map Tile with a Lock Symbol. To keep track of new unlocked paths, place a Lock token with the unlock side face-up on that tile.

Adventure Book (This book)

The Adventure Book has the rules (which you are reading right now) in the front, and also the results of chosen Story Encounters at the back. Do not read these choices; they are out of order and meant to be uncovered as you resolve each Story Encounter.

Ability Cards and the Hand

Rewards for successfully completing a Story Encounter include: learning valuable information on where to go next, discovering how to overcome an obstacle and gaining Boon cards that grant magical powers. If players help each other by sharing Ability cards to complete a Story Encounter with a reward (such as drawing new Ability cards or a Boon card), the player who was performing the action can choose who gets the reward.

Any negative outcome from completing a Story Encounter will affect those players that contributed to performing the Encounter.

NOTE: The type of actions taken and choices made will change the character, the story, the ending, and even the landscape of certain tiles.

Ability cards represent the physical and mental reserves a character has while traveling through the Otherworld. During game setup, players will draw their Hand limit, which depends on the number of people playing, and is the maximum Hand size. Players cannot hold more Ability cards than their Hand size, although certain Boon and Bane cards can change this. Ability cards determine what choices you can take in a Story Encounter, or when you draw a Bane or Foe card. Once you play an Ability card, place it in your personal discard pile. As you use Ability cards, your choices become more limited. Unlike many games, players do not draw back up to their Hand limit at the end of their turn. Instead, they must rely on Story Encounters, and directions on the Ability cards themselves to either redraw from the deck, or delve into their discard pile to restore their Hand limit. Ability cards in the Hand also represent the health of the character. If all the cards in a player's Hand are used up, the game is lost.

Specific Story Encounters allow characters on that Map Tile to Rest and refill their Hand back up to the maximum size. This is done by drawing cards from the top of the Ability deck. Resting will also advance a Moon Phase so it is important for players to decide when to perform this type of Story Action. Only characters on the tile may Rest.

4. Activate a Boon Card

As the player(s) explores and progresses through Story Encounters in the Otherworld, they may gain Boon cards that represent Fae-like powers or magical items. Acquired Boon cards are placed face-up next to the Character card. Boon cards may have a persistent effect that is always on to help the player. Many Boon cards also have a special effect that can be activated by spending an action during the player's turn. This means a player may not use this effect during another player's turn to help. The special effect only gives a benefit once per Moon Phase, e.g. add ability icons to complete a Story Action. Once a Boon card's special effect has been activated, turn the card sideways until the next Moon Phase.

NOTE: Persistent effects on Boon cards will still be on, even after a special effect has been activated.

5. Free Actions

In addition to the three actions that you may perform on your turn in a Round, there are several additional actions you may complete.

Complete Ability Card Actions

While Ability cards may have ability icons, they may have additional directions which do not cost an action. These include things like drawing new Ability cards, and preventing a Bane Effect from happening on a tile.

Activate a Character's Talent

A character's unique Talent is found on their Character card. There are five playable characters in the core game. Each Character card has a unique Talent that can be used whenever a certain condition is met, without costing any actions. These special traits can add, improve or alter Ability cards played by whoever is controlling that character. Talents may be used to help another player.

Characters

Meet the characters you'll be playing in Lost Ones.

Dominika

Dominika was born and raised in a high caste family, where she frequented the Dragovan courts. Keenly intelligent, she quickly showed a great aptitude for solving puzzles and reading other people's motivations. Dominika was up late reading an old book of lore when she heard weird scratching sounds at her window. When she went to investigate, everything went black.

Fenrir

An orphan from Tyr, Fenrir was taken in by a band of hunters and has only known a secluded life on the fringes of civilization. He holds on to bitter-sweet memories of his parents and tends to prefer the quiet solitude of hunting in the Wilds. While on one of his solo trips, he came across unusual tracks in the snow. The trail eventually led Fenrir to a giant tree with a hollow opening at its base. Before he could do anything else, several clawed hands reached out from the shadows and grabbed him.

Kaya

Kaya, the only daughter in her family, could trace her lineage back generations of her mother's ancestry as healers and storytellers. It was a great joy to her family when her talents to see into the past began to manifest. She was meditating one night, and through her travels in the dream world, she saw a light. She approached it, and saw it came from a great tree unlike any she had ever seen in her desert home. Curious she moved ever closer, until it pulled her through to the land of the Fae.

Maeve

The eldest child, Maeve is a clanswoman of Eriu. She always wanted to travel and see the rest of the world, dreaming of one day becoming an explorer of ancient ruins. Filled with such wanderlust, Maeve would sneak away from her family any chance she could get to go on a foraging expedition. It was on one of these expeditions that she accidentally stepped into a Fae Ring and fell asleep, only to wake up as a prisoner.

Will

The youngest in his family, Will comes from a humble background. Raised in the idyllic countryside as a farmer, his life suddenly changed one night when a couple of his friends showed up outside his bedroom window. Once lured to come out, they changed shape into otherworldly creatures and took him away. Though traumatized by the experience, it has awakened an inner strength within him along with a resolve to escape.

Additional Components

Description of components not as of yet described.

Cards

The following cards cover the wide variety of foes and challenges you can face in your adventure. Failure to overcome these challenges will result in all players losing the game.

Bane Cards

Banes are a negative status that will hinder your actions. A player will need to draw a Bane card if they are on a tile that has this Effect's icon, or during certain Story Encounters. To learn more about negative effects during Story Encounters, see "Effects" on page 7. When directed, a Bane card is drawn from the deck and attached to the character by placing the Bane card face-up next to the Character card. The effects of a Bane persist until the card is discarded. A Bane card may specify a condition that must occur to discard the card. In addition, there are Ability cards and Boon cards that allow a character to remove a Bane card. When a Bane card is discarded, place it face-up in a pile next to the Bane deck.

Foe Cards

When traveling to a Map Tile with a Foe Effect, combat immediately begins against an enemy that is hunting the characters. The player(s) must flip over the top card from the Foe deck to determine which enemy they will face. All players on the Map Tile can work together and share Ability cards in their Hands to match or beat what is listed on the Foe card. Doing so will defeat the Foe and the card is reshuffled back into the Foe deck. If the player(s) can't meet the required ability icons, then all players lose the game.

NOTE: The Nightmare is a special Foe that is hunting down the playable characters and has a standee that comes into play when an Effect or card calls for the Nightmare to move to the nearest character. For additional rules about the Nightmare, see "Effects" on page 7.

Moon Clock

The Moon Clock tracks Phases in the game. The game begins in the New Moon and ends when another New Moon is reached. The player(s) must escape before the end of the 4th Phase or lose the game. Besides running out of time, players need to watch out for the Nightmare hunting them. At the beginning of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Phases, the Nightmare standee will move towards the nearest Character standee.

• 1st Phase (New Moon): The game begins.
• 2nd Phase (Waxing Half-Moon): Move Nightmare 1 Map Tile to the nearest Character standee.
• 3rd Phase (Full Moon): Move Nightmare 2 Map Tiles to the nearest Character standee.
• 4th Phase (Waning Half-Moon): Move Nightmare 3 Map Tiles to the nearest Character standee.
• 5th Phase (New Moon): The game ends at the start of this Phase.

Tokens

A token is usually either placed on a Map Tile as part of a Story Encounter or placed next to a Character card as a result of a player's action.

List of Tokens:

• Fate. The Fate token is used to track whenever the player is directed to advance a Phase on the Moon Clock.
• Plot. Performing certain actions or making specific choices will result in the player gaining a Plot token. Each token has a number on the face-up side that corresponds to a Story Ending in the Story Book. In the core game there are 12 Plot tokens. You may find more than one during your adventure. When you finish the game, win or lose, you may read them all to learn more about the Otherworld.
• Lock. Whenever a player moves to a Map Tile that has a Lock Symbol on one of the sides, place this token on the Map Tile with the closed lock face-up. Players cannot move to an adjacent location with a lock symbol until they fulfill whatever is required in the Story Encounter to make movement there available. When this happens, flip this token over so the unlock side is face-up. Players can now freely move from this tile to adjacent locations that were previously locked.
• Encounter. When a player completes a Story Encounter, a matching numbered token should be placed on the Map Tile. Encounter tokens help the player keep track of what Story Encounters they have completed, and what are still available. If you complete only the first Story Encounter, place an Encounter token with the number 1 showing. If you completed only the second Story Encounter, place an Encounter token with the number 2 showing. If you completed both Story Encounters, place an Encounter token with the letter X showing.

Story Ending

Players must find a Hollows Tree and open a Gateway to escape home and win the game. So long as one character opens a Gateway, all players win the game. If you win, you will be told to turn to a particular page in the Story Book that will detail the end of your adventure. In addition to the ending, players who acquire numbered Plot token(s) may read from the matching Story Ending(s) to find out more about the fate of the 4 Kingdoms and Otherworld. We recommend you do not read the other Story Endings until you have found them playing the game during another adventure.

All players lose the game if:

• A player runs out of Ability cards in their Hand.
• A character is caught by the Nightmare.
• A character enters battle with a Foe, but cannot defeat it.
• A Story Encounter specifies that a character loses the game.
• All characters become trapped in a Story Encounter, where they are prevented from moving (all directions are locked), but cannot complete the Story Action to unlock a path out.
• The 5th Phase on the Moon Clock finishes before a Gateway is opened.

If you lose the game, read page 129 in the Adventure Guide.

Whether you have escaped the clutches of the Otherworld, or are trapped once again, the Nightmare placing you in a loop of cautions exploration, you are forever changed. Once you return to the 4 Kingdoms, there will be no true happy ending if what you have discovered here is true…

Here ends the Rule Book portion of the Adventure Guide.

Going forth, you will find the Adventure Encounter Choices section. To unlock their secrets, place your character on the map, and begin exploring the Otherworld.

TO READ FURTHER NOW IS MADNESS.

Symbol Reference

The final page of the Adventure Guide is an icon-only Symbol Reference. Its printed labels are: Action 1 Token, Action 2 Token, Activate Symbol, Bane, Blizzard, Challenge Ability, Evade Ability, Fae Rings, Fate Token, Foe, Lava, Locked/Unlocked Token, Nightmare, Plot 1 Token, Plot 12 Token, Rest, Search Ability, Solve Ability, Talk Ability, Underwater.