Merchants Cove: The Oracle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• The Runes and the Divining Dish
• Oracle Actions
  • Twisting Fates (Cost Varies)
  • Star Charting (2 Hours)
  • Divination (1 Hour)
  • Horoscopes (2 Hours)
  • Faction Area
• Oracle Staff Actions
  • Recruit/Replace Townsfolk (Cost Varies)
  • Activate Staff (2 Hours)

Components

• This Rulebook
• 1 Oracle figure
• 1 Oracle Shop board
• 1 Oracle Staff board
• 1 3D cardboard Sale Shelf
• 1 dry-erase pen
• 1 3D cardboard Divining Dish
• 20 Oracle Goods
  • 12 small (3 each in 4 colors)
  • 8 large (2 each in 4 colors)
• 20 plastic standees
• 5 Runes
  • 1 wooden Bone
  • 1 wooden Voodoo meeple
  • 1 cardboard Coin
  • 2 D4 dice

Setup

1. Place the Oracle Shop board, Staff board, Sale Shelf, and dry-erase pen on the table in front of you.
2. Roll the 5 Runes into the Divining Dish.
   • If all 5 Runes fall on the same side of the Divining Dish, roll again.
   • Note: This rule applies only during Setup.
3. Keep the Charms (small Goods) and Tomes (large Goods) nearby ready for use.
4. Place the Oracle figure onto the Activate Staff action space.

The Runes and the Divining Dish

Each turn your choice of action space is limited by the way your Runes fall into your Divining Dish.

• 2 4-sided Dice
• A Coin (featuring one "Tree" face and one "Skull" face)
• A Bone
• A Voodoo meeple

Most of your actions require that two specific Runes lie in the same half of the Divining Dish. For example, Star Charting requires the Bone to be lying with a Die. The strength of the action often depends on the result of the Die or Coin. Thus, each turn you will have limited choices based on which Runes lie together.

You can gain bonuses during the game which allow you to manipulate the Runes. You begin the game with one of each bonus filled in, ready to use. To use a bonus, cross out a filled bubble in your Twisting Fates area. Multiple bonuses may be used on the same turn.

• ±1: Increase or decrease a die value by 1.
  • A "1" may be changed to a "4" and vice versa.
• Move 1: Move 1 Rune to the other half of the Divining Dish.
  • Die and Coin results are preserved.

Before each of your turns, gather all 5 Runes and roll them into the Divining Dish. Each turn you will have a new set of options to choose from.

• If all 5 Runes fall into the same side of the Dish, draw 1 Corruption card.
• If a Rune misses the Divining Dish entirely, place it in the half it landed closer to, without changing its value.
• If a Coin or Die lands in a way that causes it to not have a clear result, gently shake the Dish until it settles and becomes clear.

Oracle Actions

Twisting Fates (Cost Varies)

Choose and take one of the following actions. Each action requires the Coin to lie on the same side of the Divining Dish as the depicted Rune. This action always costs 1 Hour. If the Coin is showing the Skull face, also draw 1 Corruption card.

• Fill in two ±1 bubbles.
• Fill in two Move 1 bubbles.
• Immediately draw an X in either the Horoscopes or the Faction Area.

Star Charting (2 Hours)

To take this action, the Bone and at least one Die must lie on the same side of the Divining Dish. You may draw a number of lines equal to the result shown on the Die. Each line must connect two adjacent dots, orthogonally. Note: If both Dice are on the same side as the Bone, use the higher result.

Your goal when Star Charting is to enclose areas of a single color by using the lines you draw—and possibly the lines printed on the central Corruption Cross.

• When you enclose a 1×1 area, fill it in and move a Charm (small Good) of the matching color from your supply to your Sale Shelf.
• When you enclose a 2×1 area, fill it in and move a Tome (large Good) of the matching color from your supply to your Sale Shelf.
• Draw 1 Corruption card if you enclose an area using any lines from the Corruption Cross.
• You do not gain Goods for enclosing an area of any other size, or for a 2×1 area that contains 2 different colors—but you may later subdivide it to gain 2 Charms.

Divination (1 Hour)

To take this action, the Voodoo meeple and one Die must lie on the same side of the Divining Dish. If both Dice are on the same side as the Voodoo meeple, use either Die.

You are attempting to predict which Customers will come out of the Adventurer bag.

1. In the Divining Area, starting at the top-left (or next to the right-most drawn line), count a number of Customer icons equal to the Die result and draw a vertical line after the last one counted. The Customer icons in this area are called an Active Prediction.
2. Choose a color of Customer by filling in all non-matching colored bubbles in the new Active Prediction.

You may have multiple Active Predictions at once. If you run out of space in your Divining Area, you cannot take this action.

Example: You already have an active size-3 Divination in yellow. You choose to Divine with the Voodoo meeple and one of the Dice lying with it. The Die result is a "4", so you count the next four Customer icons in the sequence and draw a vertical line to enclose them. Then you choose "red", and fill in all the other colored bubbles besides the red ones on the four Customer icons.

While you have any Active Predictions, follow these steps every time an Adventurer is pulled from the Adventurer bag by any player:

• Check the color of the drawn Adventurer against each of your Active Predictions. This may cause multiple Predictions to succeed and/or fail.
• If the Adventurer does not match the color of an Active Prediction, cross out one Customer icon within it.
• If the Adventurer matches the color of an Active Prediction, your Divination was a success, and you gain a bonus. Circle any Customer icons within it that are not crossed out, then select a bonus based on the quantity circled.
  • 3+: Move 1 Tome of any color from your supply to your Sale Shelf, or select a single bonus from a lower tier.
  • 2+: Move 1 Charm of any color from your supply to your Sale Shelf, or select a single bonus from a lower tier.
  • 1+: Draw a Market icon in the Faction Area or draw an X in a Horoscope sequence or Faction Area.

Customer icons that are crossed out or circled are no longer considered part of an Active Divination.

Example: A red Customer is drawn from the bag. The Divination in yellow is incorrect, so you cross out one Customer icon in that Divination. But the Divination in red is correct. Circle the whole Divination and gain either a Tome or one of the rewards from a lower tier.

Note: In a 1, 2, or 3-player game, it is possible for two Adventurers to be drawn at once. In this case, resolve both of them, in either order you wish.

Horoscopes (2 Hours)

This action has no Rune combination requirement, but will be more efficient if both Dice lie together in the same side of the Divining Dish.

Select one side of the Divining Dish, then for each Die in the chosen half of the Dish, write that Die's result into the leftmost empty box on either Horoscope line.

• In the top sequence, the numbers in each subsequent box must be exactly 1 higher than the previous box. After a 4, the sequence must reset to a 1 or X.
• In the bottom sequence, the numbers in each subsequent box must be exactly 1 lower than the previous box. After a 1, the sequence must reset to a 4 or X.
• Any number, or an X, may begin either sequence.
• Any number, or an X, may follow an X in either sequence.

When you gain an X bonus (from this action or another), you may write an X in the leftmost open box on either Horoscope sequence. An X may follow any number, and any number may follow an X.

When a box is filled that has a bonus above or below it, immediately gain that bonus:

• Move 1 Charm matching one of the two shown colors from your supply to your Sale Shelf.
• Move 1 Tome matching one of the two shown colors from your supply to your Sale Shelf.
• Draw an X in either the Horoscope or Faction Area.
• Draw a Market icon in the Faction Area.
• Choose and discard 1 Corruption card from your supply.

Faction Area

The Faction Area contains two Sponsorship Icons for each Faction. These are activated by Xs and Market Icons gained by other actions.

• When drawing an X, gain Immediate Sponsorship from the matching Faction Hall.
• For each Market Icon drawn, you will gain a Market Phase Sponsorship from the matching Faction Hall.

Note: If you have difficulty drawing a Market icon, draw a simple triangle instead.

Example: If your Divining Dish looks like this, here are some of the actions you can choose from:

• Star Charting: Draw 2 lines on your Star Chart.
• Divination: Start an Active Divination with 2 Customer icons.
• Horoscopes: Write either "2" or "3" into one of your sequences.
• Twisting Fates: Draw an X in Horoscopes or Faction Area, and draw 1 Corruption card due to the Skull face.

If you had one of each Twisting Fate bonus bubbles filled in, you could use them to increase the "3" to a "4" and move it to the other side of the dish, creating these new options:

• Star Charting: Draw 4 lines on your Star Chart.
• Divination: Start an Active Divination with 4 Customer icons.
• Horoscopes: Write "2" and "4" into either of your sequences.

Oracle Staff Actions

Recruit/Replace Townsfolk (Cost Varies)

Recruit Townsfolk from the Town Square, gaining their ability. Then, slide the card behind your Staff board to assign them to a Staff Ability. Most Townsfolk have Faction icons which give you Gold during Final Scoring.

Activate Staff (2 Hours)

You may activate each Staff Ability that has a Townsfolk assigned to it—in any order you wish.

Before each of your turns, gather all 5 Runes and roll them into the Divining Dish. If all 5 fall into the same side of the Dish, draw 1 Corruption card.

Staff Abilities (the Townsfolk assigned to each ability):

• Exorcist: Draw an X in the Horoscopes or Faction Area.
• Astrologist: Draw 2 lines on your Star Chart.
• Palm Reader: Fill in 2 Twisting Fates bubbles (±1, Move 1, or 1 of each).
• Security: Choose and discard 1 Corruption card from your supply.

Staff Board effects (the printed effect on each Staff Board row):

• Draw a number of lines equal to the Die result.
  • If you enclose a 1×1, gain 1 Charm (small Good).
  • If you enclose a 2×1, gain 1 Tome (large Good).
• Record the Die results into your Horoscope sequence(s). When a box is filled gain the bonus next to it.
• Choose a color and section off a number of Customers equal to the Die result. When Customers are drawn from the bag, check each of your Active Divinations.
• Fill in two ±1 bubbles.
• Fill in two Move 1 bubbles.
• Draw an X in either the Horoscope or Faction Area.
• Draw an X in either the Faction Area to gain immediate Sponsorship, or Horoscopes to reset either sequence.
• Draw a Market icon to gain Market Phase Sponsorship from the matching Faction Hall.