Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Game Overview
• Basic Concepts
  • Dice
  • Hero Dashboard
  • Hero Card
  • Skill Card
  • Treasure Bag
  • Item Cards
  • Enemy Cards
  • Game Tiles
  • Door Cards
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Hero Phase
    • Move Action
    • Attack Action
    • Trade and Equip Action
    • Recover Action
    • Special Actions
  • 2. Enemy Phase
  • 3. Level Up Phase
  • 4. Darkness Phase
• Additional Rules
  • Shadow and Light
  • Dungeon Level
  • Bosses
  • Special Abilities
  • Condition Tokens
  • Special Tokens and Zones
  • Single Player Rules
  • Hellbreaker Challenge
  • Breaking Ties
• Hero Classes
  • Wizard
  • Paladin
  • Berserker
  • Rogue
  • Shaman
  • Ranger
• Winning Or Losing
• Credits

Game Components

• 6 Hero Dashboards
• 6 Hero Bases
• 18 Level Pegs
• 6 Hero Miniatures and Hero Cards: Gheta, Sir Ronen, Nahias, Irk, Feydra, Mathrin
• 18 Dice: Yellow Attack Die x3, Orange Attack Die x3, Blue Defense Die x5, Shadow Die x1, Enemy Die x6
• Class components:
  • Wizard: Spell Amulet Dashboard x1
  • Shaman: Elements Dashboard x1, Element Tracker x4, Frost Spirit Token x1, Flame Spirit Token x1, Spirit Reference Card x2, Shaman Effects Card x1
  • Berserker: Berserker Dashboard x1
  • Ranger: Ranger Arrow Card x14
  • Rogue: Thieving Tools Bag x1, Rogue Token x24, Rogue Effects Card x2
  • Paladin: Paladin Dashboard x1, Consecration Token x3
• 8 Double-Sided Game Tiles
• Darkness Track Board x1
• Darkness Marker x1
• Double-Sided Boss Dashboard x1
• 62 Enemy Miniatures: Fallen Angel Minion x6, Fallen Angel Leader x1, Undead Minion x6, Undead Leader x1, Satyr Minion x6, Satyr Leader x1, Demon Minion x6, Demon Leader x1, Fire Entity Minion x6, Fire Entity Leader x1, Skeleton Minion x6, Skeleton Leader x1, Infernal Imp Minion x6, Infernal Imp Leader x1, Gargoyle Minion x6, Gargoyle Leader x1, plus the Roaming Monsters/Bosses The Ghoul, Lyidan (Incubus Lord), Andra, Ytheria (Undead Queen), Archangel Michael, and The Reaper
• 78 Skill Cards: 13 Paladin, 13 Rogue, 13 Wizard, 13 Berserker, 13 Ranger, 13 Shaman
• Shadowbane Set Power Card x6
• Door Card x30
• 220 Item Cards: Item Card (Starting, Common, Rare, and Epic) x160, Mob Item Card x60
• 24 Mob Cards
• 12 Roaming Monster Cards
• Health Token x58 (4 kinds)
• Mana Token x45 (2 kinds)
• Treasure Tokens (Common, Rare, and Epic) x54
• Objective Token x5
• Level Token x6
• Bridge Token x2
• Fountain Token x4
• Loot Token x28
• Fire/Frost Token x25
• Time/Corruption Token x12
• Enemy Spawn Token x15
• Regular Portal Token x3
• Roaming Monster Portal Token x1
• Bear Trap Token x4
• Regular Chest Token x15
• Greater Chest Token x4
• Activation Token x6
• Lifebringer Token x3
• Door Token x15
• Spike Trap Token x6
• Forge Token x4
• Pillar Token x6
• Treasure Bag x1

Game Overview

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is a cooperative hack and slash dungeon-crawling game for 1–6 players, ages 14 and up, in which players take on the role of Lightbringers, chosen Heroes trained to fight the growing Darkness. Each player chooses a Hero that has unique components and asymmetric gameplay.

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is a sequel to Massive Darkness. This time, the intrepid Lightbringers will have to make their way into Hell itself in order to find the source of this Darkness, now more intense than ever. Choose a Quest, explore Dungeons, fight monsters, gear up, and end the Darkness once and for all.

In order to win the game, players must achieve the objective described in the Quest. When the winning condition is met, the game ends immediately with all players being victorious. The players lose the game if any Quest-specific losing condition is met, or if they need to spend a Lifebringer token and there are no Lifebringer tokens left.

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is played over a series of game rounds, each composed by the following 4 phases:

1. Hero Phase. Each player takes actions with their Hero: exploring the Dungeon, fighting monsters, and trading items.

2. Enemy Phase. This is the chance for Enemies to fight back and defeat the Heroes!

3. Level Up Phase. Players spend experience they gain leveling up their Heroes, increasing their stats, gathering new skills, and increasing the chance of finding better items.

4. Darkness Phase. The Darkness grows stronger, possibly bringing new Enemies into the Dungeon.

Once all phases are completed, the round ends and a new one begins, repeating until the Heroes either succeed in their objective or fall to the Darkness!

Why So Dark? Darkness is both a mysterious antagonist and an environmental ally, and it shows on the Tiles. Darkness plays a major role in the game: sooner or later, even the heirs to the Lightbringers have to hide in the shadows to play a deadly game of hide-and-seek with their dreadful foes.

Basic Concepts

Dice

There are 5 different types of dice, each designated by a different color.

• Attack dice (Yellow and Orange): Used by both Heroes and Enemies. The orange Attack dice tend to generate more damage, while the yellow Attack dice tend to generate more Mana for the attacker.
• Defense dice (Blue): Used by both Heroes and Enemies when defending against attacks.
• Shadow die (Purple): When a Hero attacks from a Shadow Zone, they also roll the purple Shadow die in addition to their usual Attack dice. The Shadow die is only used by Heroes and provides them with additional bonuses.
• Enemy dice (Black): Only used by Enemies for both attack and defense.

Dice Results

• Hit: Each Hit is 1 damage dealt by an attack. If unblocked, they generate Wounds.
• Mana: Each Mana result restores 1 Mana to the attacking Hero.
• Block: Each Block blocks 1 damage from an attack.
• Shadow: Allows a Hero to trigger their Shadow Ability.
• Wound: Each Wound result always inflicts 1 Wound to the attacking or defending Hero. Wound results cannot be blocked.
• Special: Triggers the Enemy's special abilities, as described on their card.

Hero Dashboard

Each player has their own dashboard in which they keep track of their Hero, experience, level, and all equipped items.

• Hero Slot: This slot holds the chosen Hero card.
• Items Slots: These slots hold the various items that Heroes may come across in their adventures. Only the items equipped on these slots are considered active. There are 6 slots: Head, Chest, Legs, Miscellaneous, and 2 slots for Hands. The two-handed item slot holds items that require both hands.
• Experience Track: Heroes gain experience by killing Enemies and completing Quest objectives. They spend that accumulated experience to increase their level. This track marks how much experience a Hero has accumulated.
• Level Track: All Heroes begin a Quest at level 1. When a Hero has accumulated enough experience to increase their level, that increase is marked on this track.

Hero Card

Each Hero has a miniature that matches the image displayed on its card. The Hero card shows:

• Class: Each Hero has a respective Class that affects gameplay and brings specific components into play (see Hero Classes).
• Starting Stats: The Hero's starting maximum Health and Mana. A Hero may never have more Health or Mana than their maximums, but these maximums increase as the Hero levels up.
• Hero Ability: Each Hero has a unique Hero ability described here.
• Shadow Ability: Each Hero has a unique Shadow ability that may only be triggered when the Hero rolls a Shadow result.

Skill Card

• Skill Name: If it includes a Roman numeral, it is a ranked skill that can be improved as a Hero levels up. Heroes can only acquire higher ranks of a skill when they have the previous ranks. Example: Fatal Fury is a Berserker skill. It starts as Fatal Fury I. As the game progresses, it can be further upgraded to Fatal Fury II.
• Hero Class: Each Hero Class has its own set of skill cards.
• Hero Level Requirement: Every skill has a minimum Hero level requirement. If a Hero's level is lower than the level listed on the skill, that skill cannot be acquired by that Hero.
• Effect: The skill's effect is described here. Each skill has its own timing, cost, and condition to use (see Special Abilities).

Treasure Bag

Throughout their adventures, the Heroes will find a variety of items including magical weapons, armor, potions, and more, which are collectively referred to as Treasure. Each time the game or Quest rules instruct players to add Treasure tokens to the Tiles or to an Enemy card, the players randomly draw the specified number of Treasure tokens from the Treasure bag and place them where instructed. If there are no Treasure tokens left to draw, simply don't place any tokens.

There are 3 rarity levels of Treasure in Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape, each represented by Treasure tokens:

• Common Treasure is the most prevalent and, while useful, is generally the least valuable to the Heroes.
• Rare Treasure is harder to find than Common Treasure and tends to reward Heroes with impressive items.
• Epic Treasure is very special and includes items of amazing power.

Whenever a player collects a Treasure token, they draw a card from the corresponding deck of item cards. Then, the Treasure token is returned to the Treasure bag. As the game progresses, the rules instruct players to change the composition of Treasure tokens in the Treasure bag, increasing the chances of Heroes finding more powerful Treasure.

Item Cards

• Item Slot: Before a Hero can use an item, they must equip it. The item slot icon indicates the slot on the Hero dashboard where the item card must be placed in order for the Hero to have the item equipped. A two-handed item is considered to take up both hand slots. Consumables do not take up slots on the Hero's dashboard and don't need to be equipped to be used.
• Ability: If an item has a special effect, it is described here.
• Attack or Defense Dice: Many items add dice to a Hero's dice pool. Weapons usually add Attack dice, while armor usually adds Defense dice.
• Item Name / Item Image
• Unequipped items are considered to be in a Hero's Inventory. A Hero may have as many items in their Inventory as they wish. Keep any cards that belong to a Hero's Inventory close to their dashboard.
• Background Color: The background color of an item card indicates its rarity and, sometimes, its usability:
  • Green cards are Common items.
  • Blue cards are Rare items.
  • Purple cards are Epic items.
  • Beige cards are starting items and count as Common.
  • Gray cards are Consumable items and count as Common (see Consumable Items).
  • Set Items have unique colors and grant special abilities when multiple items from the same set are equipped (see Set Items). Their rarity is defined in the card's back.

Item cards are divided into 7 different decks, and the back of each item card shows which deck it belongs to. There is a deck of starting items, 1 deck for each rarity level of Treasure, and 3 decks for different levels of Mob Items, which are attached to Mobs and can be collected as reward for killing them.

Enemy Cards

As they Quest into the depths of the Dungeon, the Heroes face 3 types of Enemies: Mobs, Roaming Monsters, and Bosses. Mobs are groups of creatures consisting of a Leader and 1 or more Minions. Roaming Monsters are strong Enemies that roam the Dungeons by themselves. Bosses have unique abilities and are frequently connected to the objective of a Quest.

Mobs

• Mob Name / Image: The image shows the illustration of the Mob Leader on the left and the Minions on the right and correspond to the miniatures placed when a Mob spawns.
• Reward: The quantity of Treasure tokens that are drawn from the Treasure bag and placed on the Mob card when spawned. Treasure on Mob cards is collected by the Hero who kills the Mob Leader.
• Special Ability: Most Mobs have a special ability that can be triggered by Special results on the Enemy dice (see Mob attack).
• Health: This is the amount of Health for each miniature in the Mob, including the Leader.
• Defense: These icons represent the quantity and color of Defense dice a Mob adds to the roll when defending against an attack.
• Level: Mobs increase in power as the Dungeon Level gets higher. This range shows the Dungeon Levels in which this Mob card is used (see Dungeon Level).

Roaming Monsters

• Roaming Monster Name / Image: Each Roaming Monster has a miniature that matches the image displayed on its card.
• Reward: The quantity of Treasure tokens that are randomly drawn from the Treasure bag and placed on the Roaming Monster card when spawned. Fixed Reward is not drawn from the Treasure bag.
• Activation Pattern: Each Roaming Monster has its own set of rules that describe how it activates.
• Special Ability: Each Roaming Monster has a special ability that can be triggered by Special results on the Enemy dice.
• Attack and Defense Dice: The quantity and type of dice the Roaming Monster rolls for attack and defense.
• Level: Roaming Monsters increase in power as the Dungeon Level increases. This range shows the Dungeon Levels in which this Roaming Monster card is used (see Dungeon Level).

Treasure on Roaming Monster cards is gathered by the Hero who kills it. In addition to the regular Reward, all Roaming Monsters have a specified type and amount of Fixed Rewards shown below the regular Reward. These are not drawn from the Treasure bag nor placed on the card, but are part of that Enemy's reward.

Bosses

Bosses have unique rules, which are covered later (see Bosses). Each Boss shares the following information:

• Special Abilities: Each Boss has a number of special abilities that can be triggered by Special results on the Enemy dice.
• Actions: This is the number of actions that the Boss takes during the Enemy Phase.
• Activation Dice: This is the number of Enemy dice that the Boss rolls for each action.
• Attack and Defense Dice: The quantity and type of dice the Boss rolls for attack and defense.
• Image: Each Boss has a miniature that matches the image displayed on the card.
• Health: A Boss's total Health is based on the number of Heroes in the game.
• Combat Abilities: The effects that the Boss can apply when attacking or defending.
• Boss Name
• Boss Track: This track replaces the Darkness track once combat with the Boss begins and advances with each Darkness Phase, usually making the Boss grow in power.
• Passive Abilities: Each Boss has special abilities that are always in effect and often are connected to the Boss track.

Game Tiles

Tiles: Each Game Tile (or simply Tile) is a large board divided into 9 smaller squares called Zones.

Zones: Each of the 9 squares in a Tile is a Zone. The artwork in each Zone depicts it in either Light or Shadow. Zones with a dark appearance are Shadow Zones. A Hero standing in a Shadow Zone is considered to be in Shadow, which provides them with additional abilities. Any Zone that is not a Shadow Zone is considered a Light Zone. There is no limit to the number of miniatures that can occupy a Zone at the same time.

Corridors: Every Zone on a Tile that is not part of a Chamber is considered a corridor. There are no special rules for corridors.

Chambers: A Chamber is a group of Zones on a Tile that is surrounded on all sides by walls. Most Chambers are 2 or 3 Zones in size, but they can be larger. Heroes and Enemies can enter Chambers through doors which are marked with Door tokens. Door tokens are placed during the setup of a Quest.

Zones are adjacent if they are orthogonal to each other and not separated by walls or closed doors.

Door Cards

Each time a Hero first opens the door of a Chamber, this is the event that resolves immediately before the Enemies and Treasure tokens are placed in the Chamber.

Setup

1. Each player chooses a Hero and takes the corresponding Hero card and miniature. They take a plastic Hero dashboard and place their Hero card in the Hero card slot. Then, they take the plastic base in the color of their choice and attach it to their Hero miniature. Take a Level token and slot it into the Level slot on the dashboard. Take the set of pegs in the same color as their plastic base and insert 2 pegs, one in each '0' slot of the experience track and the last peg in the '1' spot on the level track. Each player takes 1 Rare Treasure token and 3 Epic Treasure tokens from the box and places them next to the Level token. Take an Activation token and set it near their Hero dashboard with the blue side up. Take Health and Mana tokens equal to the number shown in each Hero card. Finally, gather all other components specific to their Hero's Class (see Hero Classes).

2. Each player chooses a Level 1 skill card from their Class and places it in the appropriate location according to their Class. Set aside the other skill cards. They can be acquired later during a Level Up Phase.

3. Place all starting item cards faceup on the table. Each Hero may choose 1 starting weapon (Rusty Sword, Crude Axe, Short Bow, Wooden Staff, Dagger, Ash Wand, Tribal Spear, Magical Ocarina) then take 1 Battered Leather Armor and 1 potion (either Health or Mana). Place the chosen weapon and armor on the appropriate slots of the Hero dashboard. Place the chosen potion next to the Hero dashboard. Return any leftover starting item cards to the box.

   Note: the Battered Leather Armor has a special side to be used when playing with 5-6 Heroes.

4. Place a number of Lifebringer tokens blue side up on the table according to the number of Heroes playing:

   • 1 or 2 Heroes: 1 Lifebringer token
   • 3 or 4 Heroes: 2 Lifebringer tokens
   • 5 or 6 Heroes: 3 Lifebringer tokens

   Return any leftover Lifebringer tokens to the game box.

5. Sort the Mob cards into separate decks according to their card backs and shuffle each deck.

6. Sort the Roaming Monster cards into separate decks according to their card backs and shuffle each deck.

7. Sort the item cards into separate decks according to their card backs and shuffle each deck.

8. Sort the Mob Item cards into separate decks according to their card backs and shuffle each deck.

9. Shuffle the Door cards into a facedown deck.

10. Place all Enemy miniatures to the side of the game area.

11. As a group, players select a Quest to play. Arrange the tiles for the chosen Quest according to the Quest's instructions, forming the Dungeon.

12. Place doors and other tokens as instructed by the chosen Quest. The quantity of Loot tokens placed on each indicated Zone varies according to the number of Heroes:

    • 1 or 2 Heroes: 1 token
    • 3 or 4 Heroes: 2 tokens
    • 5 or 6 Heroes: 3 tokens

    When instructed to add Traps, Chests, and Fountain tokens facedown, do not look at their effect side. Place Portal tokens as indicated by the Quest according to the number of Heroes, when applicable.

13. Draw a card from the Levels 1-2 Mob deck for each Mob spawn icon shown on the Quest map and place the corresponding Mob miniatures: 1 Leader miniature plus a number of Minions equal to the number of Heroes.

14. Draw a card from the Levels 1-2 Mob Item deck and place it under each Mob card just spawned, so that only the bottom part of the Mob Item is visible. Draw 1 Treasure token from the bag and place it on each revealed Mob card.

15. Place all Hero miniatures in the Hero Starting Zone as shown in the Quest.

16. Create a reserve of Health, Mana, Fire, and Frost tokens. Take all the dice and place them within reach of all players.

17. Take all Common Treasure tokens and 5 Rare Treasure tokens, place them inside the Treasure bag, and shuffle them. Keep any remaining tokens in a pool close to the playing area.

18. Place the Darkness track next to the Dungeon with the side with 9 spaces facing up and the Darkness Marker on the 1st space.

Gameplay

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is played in a series of rounds. Each round is comprised of 4 phases:

• 1 - Hero Phase
• 2 - Enemy Phase
• 3 - Level Up Phase
• 4 - Darkness Phase

1. Hero Phase

In the Hero Phase, the Heroes take actions to fight Enemies, move through the Dungeon, gain items, and complete Quest objectives.

Each round, the players collectively decide the order in which the Heroes activate. When a Hero activates, they become the active Hero and take their turn by performing 3 actions of their choice, then flipping their activation token to its gray side to show they have already activated for that round. The Hero Phase ends once all Heroes have activated.

When activating, a Hero may perform 3 actions in any combination. They may choose the same action more than once. The available actions are:

• Move
• Attack
• Recover
• Trade and Equip
• Special Action

Move Action

When a Hero performs a Move action, they gain 2 movement points (MP). Each movement point can be used to do 1 of the following:

• Move to an adjacent Zone
• Open a door in their current Zone
• Interact with objects in their current Zone

All unspent MPs are lost at the end of the Move action.

Moving to an Adjacent Zone

A Hero must spend 1 movement point to move their miniature to an adjacent Zone. Heroes cannot move through walls or closed doors and they cannot move diagonally. If a Hero moves out of a Zone that contains any Enemy they suffer Reaction damage: they take 1 Wound per Enemy miniature in that Zone. Some Zones contain Trap tokens which trigger when a Hero moves into it (see Special Tokens and Zones).

A Zone may hold any number of miniatures.

Opening a Door

Chambers and corridors are connected with doors which are represented by Door tokens. Unless stated otherwise, at the start of each Quest, all doors are considered closed and Heroes and Enemies cannot move through closed doors. Closed doors also block Line of Sight (see Attack Action).

A Hero standing in a Zone with a closed Door token may spend 1 movement point to open the door by flipping the Door token to its open side. Heroes cannot close open doors. When a Hero first opens a door of a Chamber, the Chamber gets revealed.

Important: Opening doors does not end a Hero's Move action.

Revealing a Chamber

When a Chamber is revealed, follow these steps in order:

1. Draw and resolve a Door card
2. Spawn Enemies
3. Place Treasures

Draw and resolve a Door card: Door cards have an event that must be resolved before Enemies are spawned and Treasure tokens placed. Unless stated otherwise, discard the Door card after resolving it.

Note: If there are no Door cards left to draw, shuffle the discarded Door cards to form a new deck.

Spawn Enemies: Draw Mob cards according to the Dungeon Level (see Dungeon Level) for each Mob spawn icon on the Chamber and place the corresponding Mob miniatures. Mobs spawn with 1 Leader plus a number of Minions equal to the number of Heroes in the game. Draw a number of Treasure tokens from the Treasure bag as listed on the Mob card and place them on the Mob card. Mobs fight as a group using items of their own. Draw 1 card from the Mob Item deck that corresponds to the Dungeon Level and place it under the Mob card so that only the bottom part of the Mob Item is visible. The Mob Leader is the monster considered to be holding the item.

Note: If there are no Mob cards or Mob Item cards left to draw, shuffle the discarded cards from the current Dungeon Level to form a new deck. If there are no discarded Mob cards or Mob Item cards available, draw a card from 1 Dungeon Level higher (if possible).

When spawning a Mob, if the Mob card that was drawn is for an Enemy that is already in the Dungeon, do not spawn another Enemy of that type. Instead, replace the Mob's current card with the new, higher-level version and perform 1 Action with it (see Mob Activation). When replacing Enemy cards like this, do not replace or remove any Wounds, Mob Items, Conditions, or Treasure tokens that are currently on the Mob.

Note: In the rare case that the drawn card is from a lower level Enemy that is already in the Dungeon, do not replace the card, simply discard it and perform the Action.

Remove the Mob spawn token after spawning Enemies on it.

Place Treasures: For each Loot token in the revealed Chamber, draw 1 Treasure token from the Treasure bag and place it in that Zone. Discard the Loot token afterwards. Heroes may pick Treasure tokens up by interacting with them (see Interacting with Objects).

If the Hero has any leftover movement points, they may spend them after revealing the Chamber.

When a Hero picks up an item, they may immediately equip it in the corresponding slot on their Hero dashboard (see Trade and Equip Action). Any items that are not equipped are inactive and considered to be in the Hero's Inventory, placed next to their Hero dashboard.

When a Hero picks up items they may give any of those items to other Heroes sharing the same Zone. These items may be immediately equipped (but Heroes cannot equip other items in this case).

Interacting with Objects

Many Zones feature objects that Heroes can choose to interact with. Examples include opening a chest, drinking from a fountain, or picking up items. A Hero can interact with 1 object in their current Zone for each movement point they spend, provided that there are no Enemies in that Zone.

If a Hero interacts with a Treasure token, they pick up the Treasure. Draw 1 item card from the item deck that matches the Treasure token (Common, Rare, or Epic). Keep the card and return the Treasure token to the Treasure bag.

Attack Action

The Dungeon is inhabited by all sorts of monsters and they're all hell-bent on destroying the Heroes. Monsters can't be reasoned with. They must be killed!

The Hero performing the Attack action is the attacker and their target is the defender. For game effect purposes, both attacker and defender are considered to be in Combat.

To perform an Attack action, a Hero needs a weapon and a target. Each weapon has at least 1 attack type. There are 3 types of attacks:

• Melee: The attacker and the defender must both be in the same Zone.
• Magic: The attacker can be in the same Zone as the defender or 1 Zone away. If the defender is 1 Zone away, the attacker must also have Line of Sight (see below).
• Ranged: The attacker must be 1 or more Zones away from the defender and the attacker must have Line of Sight. Ranged attacks cannot be performed against targets in the same Zone as the attacker.

Like movement, attacks are orthogonal. Heroes and Enemies can never attack diagonally.

Line of Sight

Attackers must have Line of Sight (LoS) to their targets. An attacker has Line of Sight to a defender as long as there are no walls or closed doors between the attacker and the defender in a straight line. Other Heroes and Enemies do not block Line of Sight.

Assembling the Dice Pool

To assemble the dice pool, perform the following steps:

1. Gather the quantity and type of dice shown on the attacker's weapon and add them to the pool. Note that some weapons have more than one attack type (ranged and melee, for example), so be sure to gather dice for the correct attack type. If the attacker is a Hero using 2 weapons that share the same attack type, add their dice together.
2. If the attacker is a Hero in Shadow, add the Shadow die to the pool.
3. Gather all of the defender's Defense dice and add them to the pool.
4. If a Mob is in Combat, add 1 Enemy die for each Minion in the Mob.
5. Gather any applicable bonus dice and add them to the pool. Some skills, abilities, or items can add Attack dice in specific situations and may be used when assembling the dice pool or when resolving the attack, so it can be wise for Heroes to save some bonuses for later.

Important: A dice roll can include up to 3 Attack dice of each color, 5 blue Defense dice, 1 Shadow die, and 6 Enemy dice. Any exceeding amount is lost.

Resolving the Attack

After the dice pool has been assembled, the attack is resolved by performing the following steps, in order. All 3 steps must be completed:

1. Roll all dice in the dice pool: Gather all Attack dice from the attacker, Defense dice from the defender, any Enemy dice, and roll them together. Remember to include the Shadow die if the attacking Hero is in Shadow.
2. Apply abilities and effects: Many abilities and effects can be applied during combat (and are generally stated as such). When applying abilities and effects, the player who rolls the dice must resolve all dice results but can choose the order in which they are resolved. After a player decides to resolve an effect from a die (such as Hit, Mana, Block, or Wound) they may not reroll, modify, or change the facing of that die.
3. Add up Hits and subtract Blocks: Once the player has applied all abilities and effects, add together all Hits. Then, for each Block remove 1 Hit. The amount of Hits left is dealt as Wounds to the target, in addition to any Wounds generated by other abilities and effects. Place 1 Health token next to the miniature for each Wound it takes.

Important: Heroes always take Wounds from Wound results, even if the defending Enemy does not have range to attack the Hero.

After these steps are resolved, if an Enemy has Wounds equal to its Health, it has been killed and is removed from the Dungeon. For each Enemy miniature killed, the attacking Hero gains 1 experience. If the killed miniature is a Mob Leader or a Roaming Monster, all Heroes gain additional experience: 2 for Mob Leaders and 4 for Roaming Monsters.

When attacking Mobs, treat all miniatures from the same Mob as 1 defender. If the attack results in more Wounds than 1 Mob's Health, kill 1 miniature and then continue to add Wounds to the next, and so forth until all Wounds have been assigned. Minions always protect their leader: The Mob Leader can only take Wounds after all the Minions in its Mob have been killed, even if this happens during the same attack.

When Heroes kill a Mob Leader or a Roaming Monster, the Hero who dealt the killing blow checks the Treasure tokens on the Enemy card and draws an item card from the item deck that matches each Treasure token (Common, Rare, or Epic). For Roaming Monsters, also check the Fixed Rewards listed on the card and draw matching item cards. The Hero keeps the cards and returns any Treasure tokens to the Treasure bag. If a Mob Leader was killed, the Hero also gets the item the Mob Leader was carrying. Discard the Enemy card, forming separate discard piles for Mobs and Roaming Monster cards. After resolving the attack, the Attack action ends, regardless if the Enemy was killed or not.

Note: If an Enemy miniature is killed by an ability or effect that is not an Attack, the Hero who triggered it gains the experience. If no Hero triggered it, the players may choose a Hero to gain the experience.

Important: A Hero does not need to be in the same Zone as the Enemy to receive items and rewards. Just like when picking up items, the Hero who just received an item may immediately equip it or give it to an ally in the same Zone.

Trade and Equip Action

By spending 1 action, a Hero may activate their Zone for trading. All Heroes standing in the trading Zone may freely trade and equip items. Any items not equipped are considered to be in the Hero's Inventory and are set aside near the Hero dashboard. If the Heroes in a Zone simply want to equip items from their Inventory without trading, 1 Hero in the Zone must still perform a Trade and Equip action.

Recover Action

Heroes may spend an action to recover. If they decide to do so, the Hero who takes the Recover action may gain up to 2 Health or Mana in any combination (either 2 Health, 2 Mana, or 1 of each).

Special Actions

Some skills, abilities, and items provide additional actions for the Heroes. If a card has Action written on it, it means the Hero may spend 1 of their actions to trigger the listed effect.

Set Items

Items denoted with the word Set are part of a magical set of gear. Each part of a set has a shared title noted on its front, such as 'Shadowbane Set'. Set items can be equipped individually like any other item, but the true power of a set comes from equipping multiple pieces at the same time. Each Set has 1 item that is exclusive to each Class, while the rest of the Set are item cards that any Class can use. When a Hero has at least 2 Set Items from the same set equipped, they receive the corresponding Set Power card for their specific Class and can use that card's Minor power for as long as the Hero keeps at least 2 Set items equipped. If a Hero has 4 or more Set items, they gain access to the Greater power listed on the Set Power card. If a Hero at any time decides to remove a Set item leaving them with less than the required amount, they lose access to the corresponding Set power. The Hellscape Core Box comes with 1 item Set: Shadowbane.

Note: If a Hero draws a Set item from a Class that is not in play, they may discard that card and draw another one of the same tier.

Consumable Items

Consumable items, such as potions, are denoted by the gray background color on their cards as well as their Consumable icon. They are not placed on item slots but are instead placed next to the Hero dashboard. Consumables can be used at any moment before or after an action (even during the Enemy Phase). Some Consumables may add dice during combat (these Consumables can only be used during combat). Once a Consumable is used, it is discarded.

Heroes may remove items that are equipped on any slot of their dashboard and place them in their Inventory at any moment they wish.

2. Enemy Phase

Each Mob and Roaming Monster in the Dungeon activates separately. The players choose the order of Enemy activations.

Note that Mobs and Roaming Monsters behave differently and are explained below in their own sections.

Mob Activation

Each time a Mob activates, it performs 2 actions. With each action, the Mob attacks a target within its range, if possible. If it cannot attack, it moves.

Mob Attack

Mobs try to attack Heroes and perform this action whenever possible. The Mob targets the closest Hero within its attack range (and within its Line of Sight if the Mob uses a Ranged or Magic attack). If the Mob has multiple targets available in the same distance, players choose who will be the defending Hero.

Mobs carry weapons, as shown by the Mob Item card attached to them, which determines the attack type (melee, ranged, or magic) and type and quantity of dice rolled. Many Mob items have more than one attack type (for example, a Melee attack and a Ranged attack), and the Mob always uses the most effective attack for its current range. Melee attacks require the Mob to be in the same Zone as the target Hero. Magic attacks require the Mob to be in the same Zone, or an adjacent Zone to the target Hero. Ranged attacks require the Mob to have Line of Sight to the target Hero and not to be in the same Zone as the target Hero.

Note: If any game effect removes the Mob Leader's item, the Mob is considered to have a Melee attack (that rolls only Enemy dice) and the Leader adds +1 Hit to the attack if possible.

All miniatures in a Mob attack as a group. The attack is resolved following the same steps as a Hero attack with the following alterations:

• The Hero is now the defender and the Mob is the attacker.
• Enemies do not gain experience.
• Enemies don't roll the Shadow Die.
• Heroes discard 1 Health token for each Wound they take (as opposed to Enemies who accumulate Health tokens as they take Wounds).

Mob Movement

Mobs only move if they cannot attack. They don't get movement points and can only move to 1 adjacent Zone per action. When a Mob moves, it takes the shortest possible path to reach a Hero. If the Mob has multiple Heroes in the same distance, players choose which Hero the Mob moves toward. Mobs cannot open doors or interact with objects, and they do not trigger traps.

Roaming Monster Activation

Roaming Monsters are powerful Enemies with unique abilities and are usually spawned in the Darkness Phase (see Darkness Phase), but can also spawn through Door cards and Quest rules. When they activate, they follow a set of instructions listed on their cards.

• First, check the first condition, and if it is met, execute the first effect, then end the Roaming Monster's activation.
• Otherwise, check the second condition, and if it is met, execute the second effect, then end the Roaming Monster's activation.

In case both conditions are not met, the Roaming Monster activates like a regular Mob, being granted 2 actions.

Roaming Monsters' attacks resolve the same as Mob attacks except that Roaming Monsters don't use Mob Item cards: their Attack and Enemy dice is listed on their cards.

After all Enemies have activated, the Enemy Phase ends.

Knocked Out

When a Hero has suffered enough Wounds that they have no Health tokens remaining, they are Knocked Out (KO'd). Tip their miniature on its side and discard all Condition tokens from them. At the start of each round, if a Hero is Knocked Out, the players must spend a Lifebringer token by flipping it to its gray side to bring the Knocked Out Hero back up (doing so does not cost an action). The Hero stands back up with 3 Health and however much Mana they had and continue the Quest as usual. However, if there are no Lifebringer tokens remaining when the Heroes need to spend one, the Quest ends immediately in defeat.

Note: If a Hero suffers Wounds that would KO them during their own attack, the attack is still resolved to its completion before the Hero is KO'd.

A Knocked Out Hero cannot perform any actions or be targeted by Enemy attacks or abilities until they are brought back up in the following round. If all Heroes are Knocked Out in the Dungeon, Enemies do not activate. Once a Lifebringer token has been spent, all Heroes are able to benefit from its spent effect until the end of the game. This effect is Combat: +1 Hit, and it is a cumulative effect.

3. Level Up Phase

During the Level Up Phase, Heroes must spend their accumulated experience (XP) to increase their level, as many times as possible. The amount of XP required to level up increases, as shown below and on the Level token:

Important: Leveling up is not optional. If a Hero can level up, they must do so.

• Increasing from level 1 to level 2 requires spending 5 XP.
• Increasing from level 2 to level 3 requires spending 10 XP.
• Increasing from level 3 to level 4 requires spending 12 XP.
• Increasing from level 4 to level 5 requires spending 18 XP.

When your Hero levels up, perform the following steps, in order:

1. Decrease the total accumulated XP by the amount required to increase your level (see above).
2. Move the Level peg on the Hero dashboard to the next level.
3. Increase the maximum Mana or Health as indicated on the Level token and gain the equivalent amount of Mana or Health tokens from the supply.
4. Add the quantity and type of Treasure tokens to the Treasure bag as specified on the Level token from the ones set aside next to the Level token.
5. Gain a new skill.

Gaining Skills

Each time a Hero levels up, they receive a new skill which is chosen from their available Class skills. The new skill must have a level requirement equal to or less than the Hero's new level.

Many skills are ranked, which means they can increase in power as the Hero increases in level. Ranked skills have Roman numerals, such as the Rogue's Shadowform I and Shadowform II. Ranked skills must be acquired in order and each higher ranked skill replaces the previous ranked skill (so, a Hero cannot have the same skill with different ranks at the same time).

4. Darkness Phase

The menace inside the Dungeon increases each round. If the Heroes don't achieve the objectives of their Quest, they will eventually be overwhelmed by the forces of evil.

Every Darkness Phase advances the Darkness track by 1 space. When the track reaches a Mob Spawn space, spawn a Mob (see Revealing a Chamber) in every Zone that has any Portal. When the Darkness track reaches a Roaming Monster Spawn space, spawn a Roaming Monster on the Roaming Monster Portal Zone. When the track reaches a Common or Rare Treasure space, add 1 Treasure token of the corresponding type to the Treasure bag.

When the Darkness Marker advances beyond space 9, flip the Darkness track to its backside and place the Darkness marker on the first space. The Darkness track remains on this side for the remainder of the game. When it advances beyond space 4, place the Darkness Marker back on the first space of this side of the track.

Spawning Roaming Monsters

• Draw a Roaming Monster card according to the Dungeon Level (see Dungeon Level).
• Draw a number of Treasure tokens from the Treasure bag as listed on the Roaming Monster card and place them on the card (do not draw tokens for the fixed Rewards).
• Then, place the corresponding Enemy in the Roaming Monster Portal Zone.
• As with Mobs, if a Roaming Monster needs to be spawned but there are no cards remaining in the deck, shuffle the discarded cards from the current Dungeon Level to form a new deck. If there are no discarded Roaming Monster cards available, draw a card from 1 Dungeon Level higher (if possible). If the Roaming Monster card that was drawn is for an Enemy that is already in the Dungeon, do not spawn another Enemy of that type. Instead, replace the Roaming Monster's current card with the new, higher-level version and perform 1 Action with it (see Roaming Monster Activation). When replacing Enemy cards like this, do not replace or remove any Wounds, Conditions, or Treasure tokens that are currently on the Enemy.

When the Darkness Phase is completed, flip all Heroes' activation token blue side up.

Additional Rules

Shadow and Light

Any miniature standing in a Shadow Zone is considered to be in Shadow. Some skills and abilities can only be used when in Shadow. Additionally, being in Shadow presents an advantage for Heroes.

Lightbringers are adventurers trained specifically to fight in the Darkness. When attacking in Shadow, add the Shadow die to the dice pool. The Shadow die is a source of Hit or Mana, but even better, the Shadow die triggers the Hero's Shadow Ability whenever it rolls the Shadow result.

Any miniature standing in a Light Zone is considered to be in Light. Some skills and abilities can only be used when in Light.

Dungeon Level

The Dungeon Level influences the type of Enemies and items that spawn during a Quest. The Dungeon Level is equal to the level of the Hero with the highest level. For example, if 3 Heroes are each level 2 and a 4th Hero is level 3, the Dungeon Level is 3.

Bosses

Bosses are unique Enemies featured in some Quests (in those, killing them usually is the winning condition). The Quests indicate a Chamber where the Boss is placed during setup, this is the Boss Chamber. Bosses do not move, activate, or have any effects until the Boss Fight begins, which starts when specific conditions of the Quest are met.

When the Boss Fight begins perform the following steps:

• All Heroes are moved into the Boss Chamber, in the Zones indicated by the Quest. If there is more than 1 indicated Zone, players choose where to move.
• Heroes recover all Health and Mana to their maximum values.
• Perform a Level Up Phase.
• Remove all Tiles that are not part of the Boss Chamber, including all components placed on them.
• Remove the Darkness Track and place the Boss Dashboard next to the Dungeon with the Darkness Marker on the leftmost space of the Boss track.
• Start a new Hero Phase.

Boss Fights have particular rules that must be observed. Bosses change how the Enemy Phase works. Instead of taking place after the Hero Phase, after each Hero's turn, the Boss gets an Enemy Phase. For each action that the Boss has, roll their Activation dice and resolve the Special ability listed on the Boss dashboard that matches the exact amount of Special results (ignore Wound results for this roll). Bosses resolve a single Special ability with each action.

During the Darkness Phase, increase the Boss Track by 1. As soon as the marker reaches a space with an effect, it gets resolved. If the Boss Track cannot progress any further, do not advance it in the Darkness Phase.

Note: Some Quests spawn Enemies that are tied to Quest Objectives. When spawning an Enemy this way, if the card that was drawn is for an Enemy that is already in the Dungeon, replace the Enemy's current card with the new, higher-level version and perform 1 Action with it as usual. However, after resolving that card, draw a new card for the Spawn. Repeat this process as many times as needed until an Enemy is spawned. In the rare case where there are no Enemies left to be spawned for that Objective, the game immediately ends in defeat.

Special Abilities

Heroes, Enemies, items, and skills can all feature special abilities with a variety of game effects. These abilities all have some common formatting to make them easier to understand. The basic format is as follows:

[Type/Timing Condition/Cost/Requirement]: [Effect]

Some abilities have timing conditions, others do not. Most abilities have some kind of cost such as spending Mana or certain dice results. The most common timing conditions, costs, requirements, and effects are described below.

Important: Unless a specific timing condition lists otherwise, abilities can be used at any moment during a Hero's turn before or after an action.

Timing Conditions

• Attack: The ability can only be triggered by the attacker once per combat.
• (Type) Attack: This ability can only be triggered by the attacker once per combat, with an attack of the listed type.
• Defense: The ability can only be triggered by the defender once per combat.
• Combat: The ability can be triggered by the attacker or defender once per combat.
• Move: The ability can only be triggered once per Move action.
• Anytime: The ability can be triggered even if it is not the Hero's turn, before or after an action.

Costs or Requirements

• Action: The Hero must spend 1 of their actions to trigger the ability.
• Shadow: The ability can only be triggered when the Hero or Enemy is in Shadow.
• Light: The ability can only be triggered when the Hero or Enemy is in Light.
• X Mana: The Hero must discard X Mana tokens to trigger the ability.
• (Take X Wounds): The Hero must take X Wounds to trigger the ability. The Hero must have at least X Health to trigger this ability.
• (Wounded X): In order to trigger this ability, the Hero must currently have taken at least X Wounds.
• (Dual Wield): This ability can only be triggered when a Hero is using 2 weapons to attack.
• X Special: The Enemy must have X Special results in their dice results to trigger the combat ability.

Important: Unlike Hero abilities, Enemy combat abilities may be triggered multiple times in a single roll.

Components Limitation

Players are limited to the components in this box. If there are not enough tokens (or other components), do not add substitutes for the missing components. Health and Mana are not limited, so players can use substitutes for them if needed.

Effects

• +X Hit: Adds X Hit results to the Hero's or Enemy's total for the attack.
• +X Block: Adds X Block results to the Hero's or Enemy's total for the defense.
• +X Mana: The Hero gains X Mana tokens, up to their maximum.
• +X Attack/Defense/Enemy die: Adds X dice of the type shown to the dice pool.
• +X Fire: Adds X Fire tokens next to the target's miniature.
• +X Frost: Adds X Frost tokens next to the target's miniature.
• Reroll X: Allows to reroll X dice. Each reroll is resolved separately and may be applied to the same die multiple times. This can be any dice in the current pool, even the ones added by Enemies.
• Reroll X Enemy: Allows to reroll X Enemy dice. Each reroll is resolved separately and may be applied to the same die multiple times.
• +X MP: Gives the Hero additional movement points when they perform a Move action.
• –X Block: Removes X Block results from the Hero's or Enemy's total for the defense.
• Ignore X: Ignore X of the corresponding dice or dice result from the roll.
• Heal X: The Enemy or Hero recovers Health equal to the indicated value. When triggered by a Hero, they may choose to apply the entirety of this effect to another Hero in the same Zone instead. When healing, the Hero may choose to remove 1 Wound token for each healed point instead of recovering Wounds. When triggered by a Mob, it cannot bring back killed Minions.
• (∞): Allows an ability to be triggered more than once during the same action.
• (once per round) / (once per combat): The ability can only be triggered once each round / combat, respectively.

Condition Tokens

Some abilities and attacks place Condition tokens on a target Hero or Enemy.

• Fire: As soon as a Hero or Enemy activates, if it has 1 or more Fire tokens, remove 1 token and roll 1 Enemy die. The Hero or Enemy takes 1 Wound for each Hit result. Repeat this until there are no more Fire tokens on that Hero or Enemy. They take Wounds from multiple Fire tokens all at once. If an Enemy miniature is killed by fire, players may choose 1 Hero to receive both the experience and any other rewards.
• Frost: If a Hero or Mob would perform an action and has any Frost token, remove 1 Frost token from them instead. If a Roaming Monster would activate and has 2 or more Frost tokens, remove 2 Frost tokens from them instead and they lose their entire activation. If a Roaming Monster activates and has only 1 Frost token, remove the token without effect. Bosses take Frost tokens, but when they activate, they remove all Frost tokens without effect.

Special Tokens and Zones

Quests may place tokens on Zones that can be triggered in specific moments or be interacted with.

• Spike Trap: Unless stated otherwise, Spike Traps are always placed facedown (blue side up). When a Hero moves into a Zone with a Spike Trap token, they immediately flip the token and suffer the number of Wounds indicated. In case it is blank, they suffer no Wounds. Remove the token after it is revealed.
• Bear Trap: Unless stated otherwise, Bear Traps are always placed facedown (blue side up). When a Hero moves into a Zone with a Bear Trap token, they immediately flip the token. If 'Lose 1 Action' is shown, they immediately end their current Move action and lose 1 action for this turn. In case it is blank, they suffer no consequences. Remove the token after it is revealed.
• Pillar: Pillars do not block LoS, but hinder Ranged and Magic attacks. When attacking through or into a Zone containing a Pillar token from another Zone, the attacker rolls 1 less Hit (if the attack has no Hit, nothing happens).
• Fountain: Fountain tokens are always placed facedown (effect side down). Heroes may interact with a Fountain token (spending 1 MP as usual) to flip the token and immediately Heal the listed amount. Remove the token after it is revealed.
• Chests: Chest tokens are placed facedown (icon side down). Heroes may interact with a Regular Chest token (spending 1 MP as usual) to flip the token and gain 2 items of the same rarity shown. Remove the token after it is revealed. Heroes may interact with a Greater Chest token (spending 1 MP as usual) to flip the token and gain 3 items of the same rarity shown. Remove the token after it is revealed.
• Forge: Heroes may interact with a Forge token (spending 1 MP as usual) to perform a single craft in the Forge: They may discard 3 item cards, then draw 1 item card 1 tier higher than that of the lowest tier of the discarded cards (Common > Rare > Epic). For example, if a Hero discards 1 Epic and 2 Rare cards, they then draw an Epic card. For Forge purposes, Starting items and Consumables are considered Common. Heroes may spend multiple movement points in 1 action to craft multiple times.
• Bridges: Bridges are tokens that function as an extra Zone. Bridges are placed adjacent to 1 of the Tile's Zones as shown on each Quest setup. Bridges are Shadow Zones, and count as a separate Tile for game effects.
• Abyss: Some Zones do not show ground: these are abyss Zones. Abyss Zones are impassible; neither Heroes nor Enemies can enter abyss Zones.

Single Player Rules

If playing a single player game, the player must choose only 1 Hero, but treats all other rules as if playing with 2 Heroes, such as Roaming Monster's Health and quantity of Minions on Mobs. The Hero has 4 actions per turn instead of the usual 3.

Hellbreaker Challenge

Players may choose to increase any Quest's difficulty by reducing the number of available Lifebringer tokens by 1.

Breaking Ties

Unless stated otherwise, when a game effect has more than one valid option, the players choose which option to resolve.

Hero Classes

Each Class comes with a unique set of components that changes gameplay and creates an exclusive experience.

Classes come with 13 skill cards. During Setup, take all skill cards from your respective Class and place them next to your Hero dashboard.

Wizard

Wizards are powerful spell casters who can twist the flow of magic to smite enemies with fire or frost, increase their defense, and even bend the fabric of time and space to their advantage.

The Wizard uses a Spell Amulet to cast spells. The Amulet is divided into 4 quadrants, with each quadrant representing a different basic spell. The Wizard's skill cards are spells that go on the Amulet upgrading previous spells as the Wizard levels up.

Setup: Take the Spell Amulet and place it near the Hero dashboard. Make sure that the Ready marker is attached to the Spell Amulet by the plastic connector. Rotate the Ready marker to point at any quadrant of the Wizard's choosing. Choose a Level 1 Wizard's skill card and place it in one of the quadrants of the Spell Amulet (replacing a basic spell).

Gameplay: The Wizard's spells cannot be cast in rapid succession without a great expenditure of Mana. The Wizard can only cast the spell that the Ready marker on his Amulet is pointing to. As soon as that spell is cast, the Ready marker rotates to the next quadrant clockwise. The Wizard can force the Ready marker to rotate anytime by spending 1 Mana for each quadrant rotation (which must be clockwise as well).

All of the Wizard's skills are upgrades to 1 of their 4 basic spells. Each time the Wizard gains a new skill, place the skill card in a quadrant of the Wizard's choice, replacing any previous spell that was there.

Attack Spells: Spells that are triggered during an attack are attack spells. To receive the benefits of an attack spell, the Wizard must be equipped with a weapon that has a Magic attack.

Example: At the start of his turn, Mathrin's Ready marker is pointing to Fire Course I. He uses his first action to perform an attack against a Mob of Undead and spends 2 Mana to trigger the attack spell, which adds 2 Hit to the dice results and places a Fire token on his target. Mathrin must then rotate the Ready marker to the next quadrant clockwise, pointing it at the Dark Magic I spell. After the attack, Mathrin casts the Dark Magic spell on himself, taking 2 Wounds and spending 1 Mana to deal 3 Wounds to another Enemy. This is not an action. He again rotates the Ready marker to the next quadrant clockwise, pointing it at his basic Combat spell. Mathrin wants to attack the Mob of Undead again, so before taking the next action he spends 2 Mana to rotate the Ready marker 2 more quadrants so it's pointing at his attack spell. Then, he spends his second action on the attack and uses 2 Mana to trigger Fire Course I during the attack.

Paladin

Paladins are holy warriors that can boost their allies and themselves by consecrating Zones and granting blessings. They are flexible Heroes who can serve as both a front-line fighter and a support character.

Setup: Take the Paladin's dashboard and the 3 Consecration tokens and place them in the designated slots. After choosing a Level 1 skill, place it under any column on the Paladin dashboard.

Gameplay: All 3 Consecration tokens have an initial ability described on the dashboard. Whenever the Paladin gains a new skill, they may place it under any 1 of the Consecration columns of the dashboard. These effects will add to the Consecration effects currently present. The Paladin may have more than 1 skill allocated to the same Consecration column.

During their turn, before or after an action, the Paladin may spend 1 Mana to place a Consecration token in any Zone in their Line of Sight. This does not cost the Paladin an action.

Heroes standing in the Consecrated Zone receive all the benefits of the skills associated with that token. A Zone can only have 1 Consecration at a time. The Paladin can remove a Consecration token from a Zone at any time at no cost, placing it back on the Paladin's dashboard.

At the start of each round, the Paladin may also bless their skills to temporarily increase their power by flipping 1 of their skill cards. The Paladin can only have 1 Blessed skill at any given moment and blessed skills are flipped back at the end of the round.

Berserker

Berserkers are fighters who use their Rage to their advantage, disregarding their own safety. They benefit from being wounded and the more damage they take, the more powerful they become. The Berserker has 3 different stances that they can switch between in order to gain different benefits. The Blood Rage stance increases attack power, the Reckless stance gives them more mobility, and the Provoke stance punishes Enemies for attacking them. Most of the Berserker's skills improve the benefits they receive from a particular stance.

Setup: Place the Berserker's dashboard next to their Hero dashboard and place the Stance token on the stance in which they wish to start. After choosing their Level 1 skill, place its card below its corresponding stance. Note that some skills can be placed under any stance.

Gameplay: Every time the Berserker takes Wounds, they may move any lost Health tokens to the Rage Pool on the Berserker dashboard. Health tokens on the Rage Pool are Rage tokens. The Rage Pool can hold up to 7 tokens (any excess is discarded). Some abilities cost Rage tokens to be used. To trigger them, the Berserker must pay each cost separately.

Each stance begins with an ability that requires the Berserker to spend 1 Rage token to trigger. The Berserker may only trigger the abilities and skills under their current stance and can change their stance during their turn by spending 1 Rage token before or after an action.

Note: Some game effects allow the Berserker to add tokens to the Rage Pool without suffering any Wounds. In such cases, take Health tokens from the general supply and add them to the Rage Pool.

Example: At the start of her turn, Gheta has 4 tokens in her Rage Pool and she is in her Blood Rage stance. She spends 1 token from her Rage Pool to switch her stance to Reckless. Then, she takes a Move action and spends another token to gain +1 movement point. She moves a total of 3 Zones to a group of Enemies. Before taking the next action, she spends a 3rd token from her Rage Pool to switch her stance back to Blood Rage. She then performs an Attack action and spends her 4th and final token in her Rage Pool to trigger Fatal Fury I and get +1 Hit for that attack.

Rogue

Rogues are cunning combatants equipped with a literal bag of tools and tricks that can give them a wide variety of bonuses. They can be very powerful but also unpredictable.

Setup: Take the Rogue Effects cards and Thieving Tools bag and add the 9 starting Rogue tokens to it (starting Rogue tokens have a black background). Choose a Level 1 skill and place the indicated Rogue tokens in the bag. Leave the other Rogue tokens aside. They may be added to the Thieving Tools bag later depending on the skills chosen.

Gameplay: Rogue actions are connected to the Rogue tokens. The amount of actions they have is based on the amount of tokens drawn. At the start of each round, draw 3 tokens from the Thieving Tools bag and place them faceup on the table (used side down). Each time the Rogue performs an action, they must select 1 token and flip it to its used side. Red tokens are connected to Attack actions, Blue tokens are connected to Move actions, and Green tokens are connected to all actions. If the token matches the current action being taken, the Rogue receives a benefit to that action (such as +1 MP for a Move action or extra dice for Attack actions). If the token does not match the current action, the action still takes place as usual (but with no benefit from the token). If the Rogue draws more tokens during their turn, they may keep performing actions until all tokens have been used. Unused Rogue tokens are flipped to their used side at the end of the turn. If the Rogue loses an action, they must flip an unused token to its used side. If the Rogue gains an action by other means, they perform it without needing to flip a token.

Note: In Single Player, the Rogue draws 4 tokens from the bag each round instead of 3.

At the end of the turn set aside all flipped tokens in a discard pile near the Thieving Tools bag. If the Rogue must draw tokens and there aren't enough in the Bag, return all of the discarded Rogue tokens to the bag and continue drawing. In the rare case when there are no tokens in the bag and no tokens in the discard pile, do not draw any additional tokens.

• Poison Tokens: When a Poison token is used to perform an attack, place the Poison token next to the target Enemy. Every time the Poisoned Enemy begins its activation, it suffers the effects of the poison, which are specified on Rogue skill cards. When a Poisoned Enemy is killed, return the Poison token to the Thieving Tools bag. An Enemy can only have 1 Poison token at a time.
• Shadow Token: When a Shadow token is used to perform an attack, the Rogue is considered to be in Shadow for that action even if they are standing in a Light Zone.

Example: At the start of a new round, Feydra draws 3 Rogue tokens from her Thieving Tools bag. She chooses to perform a Move action and flips 1 of her +1MP tokens to receive a total of 3 MP for that action. Then, she chooses an Attack action and flips the token that grants her +1 Hit for that attack. She rolls all the dice she would usually roll for that attack plus an additional Hit die from the Rogue token. For her 3rd action, Feydra decides to attack again even though she won't receive any benefit from the Rogue token since it is not connected to an Attack action. She is still required to flip the token to perform the action.

Shaman

Shamans are deeply attuned to nature and the more connected they are to each basic element, the closer they are to tapping into its maximum possibilities.

Setup: Take the Shaman Effects card, the Elements dashboard, and the 4 Element trackers and place each tracker faceup (beige side up) on the respective starting (bottommost) slot. After choosing a Level 1 skill, place it next to the Elements dashboard.

Gameplay: Whenever a Shaman would gain Mana, they may instead increase any Element track by 1 for each Mana they would have gained. Note that Shamans can't spend Mana that is already in their pool to increase Element tracks.

Elements are spent to trigger Shaman abilities, which is done by moving the corresponding Element tracker down by the required amount on the track. Once an Element reaches the 'Max' slot of its track, the Shaman may spend all of that specific Element to flip that Element tracker and gain the passive ability indicated on the top of their Track for the rest of the Quest (this can only be done once per tracker per Quest).

Flame and Frost Spirits: The Flame and the Frost Spirits are allies that the Shaman can conjure through the Spirit skill cards. Each has their own characteristics listed on their reference cards. The Shaman can have 1 Spirit of each type on the Dungeon, represented by their tokens. While in the Dungeon, the Flame and the Frost Spirits count as Heroes for the purpose of targeting miniatures (but not for the number of Minions in Mobs, Roaming Monsters' Health, etc.)

During the Shaman's turn, they may activate each Spirit once (the first activation does not cost an action) and may spend actions to activate them again. When activated, the Spirits can perform Attack or Move actions. When performing a Move action, each Spirit has 2 movement points just like any other Hero. However, Spirits can't Interact, Open Doors, Recover, or carry any items. They also do not roll the Shadow die when attacking in Shadow. Whenever a Spirit kills an Enemy miniature, the Shaman gains that experience.

To attack or defend, refer to the information listed on the Spirit reference card. When the Flame or Frost Spirit is killed, return the token to the Shaman (they may be summoned again by paying their cost).

Ranger

Rangers are fighters specially trained to shoot down Enemies with precision and cleverness. These survivalists are deadly with ranged weapons and can strike fear into the hearts of the agents of Darkness. They carefully weigh how much chance they put behind each shot.

Setup: Take the 14 Ranger Arrow cards, shuffle them, and place them facedown forming the Arrows deck next to the Hero dashboard. Choose a Level 1 skill and place its card close to the Hero dashboard.

Gameplay: The Ranger's Arrows deck represents the Ranger's careful aim and sense of timing. Whenever the Ranger performs a Ranged Attack, they reveal cards from the Arrows deck, 1 by 1, forming a line next to the deck until they decide to stop or until 7 or more Hits are seen in the revealed cards.

After stopping, the Ranger applies effects to the attack based on how many Hits are present in the revealed cards:

• If less than 7 Hits: A quick shot, the Ranger decided to stop revealing cards and applies the central effect of all revealed cards, shown in the beige bars.
• If more than 7 Hits: Overload! The Ranger took too long or pushed their luck too far and must apply the bottom effect of all the revealed cards, shown in the red bars.
• If exactly 7 Hits: Bullseye! The Ranger hit precisely where they aimed and applies the top effect of all the revealed cards, shown in the white bars.

After the attack is resolved, discard all revealed Arrow cards. If the Arrow deck runs empty, shuffle the discarded Arrow cards to form a new Arrows deck. At the end of the Ranger's turn, they must shuffle all their discarded Arrow cards with the Arrows deck.

Winning Or Losing

In order to win the game, players must achieve the objective specified in each Quest. When the winning conditions are met, the game ends immediately with the players being victorious.

Players lose if any losing condition is met or if they have to spend a Lifebringer token and none remain (see Knocked Out).

Credits

Game Design: Alex Olteanu (lead) and Marco Portugal. Based on Original Design by: Raphael Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien, and Nicolas Raoult. Development: Fábio Cury (lead). Rules: Michael John Hurley. Production: Guilherme Goulart (lead), Raquel Fukuda (lead), Thiago Aranha, Marcela Fabreti, Rebecca Ho, Isadora Leite, Shafiq Rizwan, Kenneth Tan, Thiago Meyer, and Greg Varghese. Art Director: Mathieu Harlaut. Art: Edouard Guiton (lead), Nolhan Colombani, Nicolas Fructus, Mark Gibbons, Giorgia Lanza, Stefano Moroni, and Prosper Tipaldi. Graphic Design: Louise Combal (lead), Marc Brouillon, Fabio de Castro. Miniatures Photography: Jean-Baptiste Guiton. Sculpting: Juan Navarro, Studio McVey, BigChild Creatives, Aragorn Marks, Thierry Masson, Alejandro Muñoz, Natalia Romero, and Raúl Fernandez. Sculpt Engineering: Vincent Fontaine. Rendering: Edgar Ramos. Writing: Eric Kelley. Publisher: David Preti. Proofreading: Jason Koepp and Robert Fulkerson. Playtesting: Paulo Andrade, Rodrigo Denicol, Felipe Galeno, Remo Turchetti, Euclides Ribeiro, Theresa Smalley, Michael Smalley, Fernando Costa (in memoriam), Chase du Pont, Michael Boone, Caio Quinta, Fabio Bisconsini, Daniel Bischoff, Mark Rupp, and João José Gois.