Merchants of Karanor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
  • The Draft System
• Start of the Adventure
• The Turn
• The Action Phase
  • Move
  • Harvest a Resource
  • Work
  • Build a Business
  • Interact with an Inhabitant
  • Complete a Quest
  • Examples
• The Revenue Phase
• Cards and Objects
  • Quest Cards
  • Black Market Cards
  • Business Cards
  • Badge Tiles
  • Artifact Tiles
• Special Actions
  • 1. Make a Delivery
  • 2. Recruit a Partner
  • 3. Buy a Villa
• Construction Limits
• End of the Game
• Prestige Ascension
• Trading Between Players
• Rules by Number of Players
  • Notes for 2 and 3 Players
  • Market (2 Players Only)
  • Notes for 5 and 6 Players

Components

• 50 Quest cards
• 8 Quest Sequel cards
• 40 gold coin tokens (values 1, 3 and 5)
• 6 player pawns
• 48 business pawns
• 6 prestige pawns
• 10 Story tiles
• 6 Home City tiles
• 14 Artifact tiles
• 30 Badge tiles
• 6 Partner tiles
• 34 Business cards
• 22 Black Market cards
• 7 Delivery cards
• 6 revenue tokens
• 21 inhabitant tokens
• 105 resource tokens
• 1 game board

Goal of the Game

The player with the most prestige points at the end of the game wins the game.

In case of a tie, the number of gold coins in the bank breaks the tie between the winners.

Prestige points can be earned in four different ways:

• Building new businesses
• Completing quests and services for the inhabitants
• Making resource deliveries
• Buying magnificent villas

Setup

1. Place 3 Business cards face up beside the board.

2. Place 21 inhabitant tokens on the board as shown.

3. Give each player:

   • 1 Home City tile
   • 1 Story tile
   • 3 Business cards to prepare the draft

   Feel free to share your Story tile aloud with the other players! However, we advise keeping your Business cards secret until you build them.

4. Place your player pawn and one business pawn on your Home City (the one matching the Home City tile you received).

5. Prepare X+1 Delivery cards face down, X being the number of players. Turn the first card face up. Prepare the 6 partner tokens and place them near the board.

6. All players place their prestige marker on space 0.

The Draft System

At the start of the game, each player receives 3 Business cards. They choose one card to keep and pass the remaining 2 cards to the player on their right.

With the 2 cards received, each player repeats the operation and keeps 1 of the 2, so that each player ends up with 2 Business cards in hand.

Discard the remaining cards.

Start of the Adventure

Once setup is complete, each player has in front of them a Home City tile and a Story tile. Give each player the resources, gold coins and bonuses shown on their Story tile, then place your revenue marker on your Home City tile at the level indicated.

Example: Player 1 starts the game in Kien, their home city. They place their player pawn and their first business pawn on the board, on the Kien territory. They receive a Wine resource token and a Wood resource token, plus 3 gold coins. They receive the Captain badge, as written in the text of the Story tile. They place their revenue marker at 2, as shown on their Story tile.

Once the game is set up, you are ready to set out on the adventure!

The Turn

The last player to have bargained for something starts the game. Each player's turn is divided into two main phases:

• The action phase
• The revenue phase

The Action Phase

During your turn, you may perform 4 actions from the 7 offered below. You may repeat the same action several times during your turn.

Once your 4 actions are complete, you collect your revenue and your turn ends.

You can do other things in the game besides these 7 actions, notably through Black Market or Artifact cards. Unless a card states that an action is required, you may activate these cards without using one of your 4 actions for the turn. You may also trade with the other players at any time (see Trading Between Players, page 14).

Move

The Move action allows you to move your character up to 2 territories. If you want to move across 3 territories, you will need to use 2 Move actions.

You may use the sea routes shown by white dotted lines. Territories connected by these sea routes are considered adjacent, but each crossing costs you 2 gold.

Some advantages you acquire during the game can improve your movement speed, such as Mount badges, which increase your Move action by one additional territory.

IMPORTANT: If you start another action (for example, harvesting a resource) or play a card (for example, playing a Black Market card), your Move action ends. It therefore sometimes happens that you use a Move action to cross a single territory.

Harvest a Resource

During your travels, you may harvest the resources offered by the world of Karanor. There are 7 of them, and the place where each one is harvested is shown on the board by the corresponding resource symbol.

When you are on a territory where a resource is present, use the Harvest a Resource action and receive 2 tokens of the corresponding resource.

If the supply pile of a resource is exhausted, that resource can no longer be harvested until the supply is refilled.

The 7 resources of Karanor: Wood, Ore, Cloth, Wine, Meat, Fruit, Diamond.

Work

Wherever you are, spend an action to receive 1 gold coin.

"Working is a rather uninteresting activity, but sometimes necessary." — Katia Trouvor, renowned innkeeper

Build a Business

In your role as a merchant, one of your objectives is to make your trading activities flourish in the great cities of Karanor.

To build a new business, you must:

• Be in a city and respect its construction limit (see page 13)
• Use the Build a Business action
• Pay the construction costs shown in the upper frame of your Business cards

Once built, place a business pawn on the city you are in.

Then choose 1 new Business card from the 3 cards displayed face up beside the board, or at random from the Business card deck (see Setup, page 4). Replace the chosen card with a card from the deck.

There are 7 cities, represented by the territories with a name in capital letters on the map: the 6 home cities and the Perlance trading post.

Optional bonus: When you build a business (and only at that moment), you may choose to pay the extra cost shown in the centre of the card to receive the associated reward. This is not mandatory: the business may be built without the bonus. It is up to you to decide how best to invest your money!

Reward on opening this business:

• Increase your revenue by 1
• Mark 1 prestige point

Example card, Popular Inn (Auberge Populaire): The player who owns this Business card must pay 6 gold coins, 1 Fruit token, 1 Meat token and 1 Cloth token to build the Popular Inn.

• Optional bonus: When building, the player may pay 3 additional gold coins to receive the associated reward, the Stables (Écuries). The Stables give a Mount badge (Movement +1).
• Reward on opening: increase your revenue by 1 and gain 1 prestige point.

Interact with an Inhabitant

The inhabitants of Karanor are colourful characters who may bring you help, advice and interesting business opportunities.

They are represented by the inhabitant tokens placed on the board at the start of the game (see Setup, page 4).

When you are on a territory that has an inhabitant token, use the Interact action and draw a Quest card. You thus receive a quest to complete whenever you wish. Keep the card until you have fulfilled the objective written in its lower frame. Once your Quest card is drawn, remove the inhabitant token from the board.

You may read the text of your quest aloud to share your encounter with the other players, or keep your objective secret until it is fulfilled. This depends on whether you prefer to play for immersion or for competition.

Complete a Quest

Completing a quest costs one action, in addition to meeting the conditions needed to fulfil it (see Cards and Objects, page 10).

A player may not have more than 3 Quest cards in hand. If they receive a 4th, they must discard a card of their choice.

Examples

Example 1

• Action 1: I move 1 territory.
• Action 2: I harvest 2 Fruit tokens. As I have started a new action, my first Move action has ended, even though I only moved one territory.
• Action 3: I move 2 territories. I pay 2 gold coins for the sea crossing.
• Action 4: I interact with an inhabitant. I remove the token from the territory and draw a Quest card.

Example 2

• Action 1: I work. I gain 1 gold coin.
• Action 2: I build a business. I pay the cost shown in the upper frame of my Business card and place my business pawn in Kien. I advance on the prestige track and/or the revenue track depending on the business built.
• Action 3: I move 2 territories.
• Action 4: I buy the villa available at the Tour des Mages. It costs me 8 gold coins, and I place a business pawn to show that the villa belongs to me (see Special Actions, page 12). I advance 1 space on the prestige track thanks to the purchase of my villa.

Once my 4 actions are complete, my turn ends and I move on to the revenue phase.

The Revenue Phase

Once your 4 actions are complete, you collect your well-earned revenue. Add your revenue, shown by the purse on your revenue track, to the earnings from your partners.

Example: Here, the player from Port-Féral receives:

• 5 gold coins for their revenue
• 1 Meat for their first partner
• 1 gold coin for their second partner (flipped)

Cards and Objects

Quest Cards

When you use the Interact action with an inhabitant, draw a Quest card. To carry out your quest, fulfil the conditions shown in the lower frame. Completing a quest also costs an action (the Complete a Quest action).

Once your quest is successful, receive the promised reward and the associated prestige points, shown next to the blue crown.

Two-part quests: Some quests take place in two parts, as indicated in the title with the mention 1/2 and 2/2. Once the first part is validated, go and find the matching continuation in the Quest Sequel deck.

In general, longer quests offer rarer treasures!

Example, Campfire (Feu de Camp):

• Story text: the encounter with the inhabitant
• Card that helps you find the location in question
• Prestige gained on completing the quest
• Conditions for completion and rewards
• Choice 1: Sell 2 Diamonds for 8 gold coins.
• Choice 2: Buy them an artifact for 10 gold coins.
• You must choose between option 1 and option 2 for these quests.

Example, The Cemetery 2/2 (Le Cimetière 2/2): This card offers an immediate choice. Immediate choice 1: Flee. Immediate choice 2: Push open the vault door. Take the Salanche Curse badge (Movement -1, can no longer work) and receive an artifact.

Immediate choice: Some quests will offer you a choice. This choice must be made immediately after drawing the Quest card, and it costs you no action! (In that case, ignore the Complete a Quest action.)

Designers' note: You may read the text aloud to share your encounter with the other players, or keep your objective secret until it is fulfilled. This depends on whether you prefer to play for immersion or for competition.

Black Market Cards

In the dark alleys of Karanor's cities lies a parallel market, where you can find all sorts of services without worrying about whether they are legal.

Black Market cards are generally meant to hinder the progress of the other players. They may be played at any time, even when it is not your turn! You only need to respect the usage condition printed on the card.

Example, Pickpocketing (Vol à la tire): To be used when you are on the same territory as another player. Take 3 gold coins from them.

Using a Black Market card costs no actions, unless the card states otherwise.

Business Cards

You will always have 2 Business cards in hand. They correspond to the new businesses you may build.

Until they are built, you do not benefit from their effects.

Once you have built a business, place a business pawn on the matching space in the city you are in. Then choose 1 new Business card from the 3 cards displayed face up beside the board, or at random from the deck. Replace the chosen card with a card from the deck.

When you build a business (and only at that moment), you may pay the extra cost shown in the centre of the card to receive the optional reward. This is not mandatory: the business may be built without the bonus.

Badge Tiles

Badges represent the various bonuses, pieces of equipment or titles you may receive during the game. When you must receive a badge (following a completed quest or a built business), take the badge corresponding to the one indicated.

You may own several badges with the same name (for example, 2 Captain badges or 2 Mounts). Their bonuses then stack.

Artifact Tiles

Artifacts are priceless objects that bear witness to the rich history of Karanor. These powerful bonuses will prove extremely useful in your adventure. They may be obtained by completing certain quests or by opening certain businesses.

When you must receive an artifact, draw two Artifact tiles and choose one of the two. Then discard the one you did not choose. You will do this every time you must receive an artifact.

Special Actions

There are 3 special actions, detailed on this page and summarised at the bottom right of the board:

1. Make a delivery
2. Recruit a partner
3. Buy a villa

1. Make a Delivery

The delivery to make is shown by the card face up at the bottom right of the board. To make a delivery, bring the requested resources to the city concerned.

When you are in the indicated city, hand over the resources required for the delivery and use 1 action. You receive the gold coins and prestige points associated with the card. When a player completes a delivery, that card is discarded, and you turn up a new Delivery card to announce the next objective.

Example: For this Delivery card, players must bring 3 Wood tokens to the Cité de l'Unisson. When one of them arrives in the city, they must use 1 action and give the 3 Wood tokens. The first player to complete this objective gains 1 prestige point and 4 gold coins. The card is discarded and a new one is turned face up.

2. Recruit a Partner

You may recruit partners who will help you in your adventure. Use the Recruit a Partner action and pay 5 gold coins. You may choose a partner among those not yet recruited. There is no limit on the number of partners per player.

A partner will either provide the resource drawn on it, or 1 additional gold coin during the revenue phase.

When you recruit a partner, place it resource side up. There is one partner for each resource, except the Diamond.

Once during the game, you may reassign your partner. It is then "promoted" and gives you 1 gold coin per turn rather than a resource. This promotion is permanent, costs no action, and you may no longer reassign that partner to its resource.

Know that this will also make them very happy.

3. Buy a Villa

In Karanor, you may buy magnificent villas to display your wealth to the other players. To do so, go to the territory where the villa is located, use 1 action and pay 8 gold coins.

You may place a business pawn on the villa's symbol to show that it belongs to you, and you gain 1 prestige point. It is then no longer available for sale to the other players.

Construction Limits

A single player may not build more than one business per city. A city may hold an unlimited number of businesses, but only one from each player.

End of the Game

The first player to reach 10 prestige points triggers the end of the game. Play continues until the start of the turn of the player who began the game, so that everyone has played the same number of turns.

As explained under Trading Between Players, as soon as a player reaches the maximum number of prestige points, all trades between players are forbidden. Everyone finishes with what they have.

At the end of the last turn, the player with the most prestige points wins the game. Points may end above or below 10.

In case of a prestige tie, the amount of gold coins owned breaks the tie between the most prestigious merchants.

Prestige Ascension

Fame attracts attention and covetousness! To symbolise this, as soon as a player reaches 3 and then 6 prestige points, they receive a Black Market card. You can never be too careful!

If a player loses prestige points and then reaches the 3rd or 6th prestige point a second time, they do not receive a second Black Market card.

Trading Between Players

You are a sharp-eyed expert in trade, a seasoned diplomat, and every word you say directly touches your audience's purse.

In Merchants of Karanor, you may exchange, sell and buy anything you like from the other players. You may negotiate or barter anything: money, resources, partners, mounts, artifacts... Only your integrity is not (entirely) for sale.

These exchanges are not considered actions and may be carried out whenever you wish, even when it is not your turn.

Designers' note: Trade is an important part of the game. You will quickly notice that there are many resources, that they are far away, or that you lack the money to reach your objectives. All players will always need something, so it is up to you to start the business discussions and try to get the best out of your negotiations!

Only 3 constraints, written in the legendary merchant's code of honour, must be scrupulously respected:

• A trade never takes priority over another action or card (for example, you cannot hastily trade a resource that is being stolen from you by a Black Market card).
• You may not trade your cards (Quest, Business or Black Market cards) nor your prestige points.
• As soon as a player reaches the maximum number of prestige points, all trades become forbidden until the game ends (see End of the Game, page 13).

Rules by Number of Players

Notes for 2 and 3 Players

Some Quest, Black Market or Artifact cards bear the mention 4+. Simply remove them from the game before starting: they will only be interesting in games of 4 players or more.

Market (2 Players Only)

With 2 players, direct negotiations are scarce, so to compensate, you may play with the 2-player Market tile.

At the start of the game, place one token of each resource on the dedicated spaces, except the Diamond.

Accessing the Market costs 1 action. When you access it, you must choose one of the following:

1. Buy 1 or 2 available resources
2. Sell 1 or 2 of your resources
3. Buy 1 resource and sell 1 of your resources

Prices:

• 3 gold coins to buy
• 1 gold coin to sell

The Market cannot hold more than 3 tokens of each resource.

Price variance:

• If the pile of the resource concerned is empty, selling the 1st resource of the pile earns 2 gold coins.
• If the pile of the resource concerned is full (3 tokens), buying the 1st resource costs 2 gold coins.

Notes for 5 and 6 Players

5 players: The end of the game is triggered when a player reaches 9 prestige points (and not 10).

6 players: The end of the game is triggered when a player reaches 8 prestige points (and not 10).