Mistborn: The Siege of Luthadel
Mistborn: The Siege of Luthadel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 46 Problem cards
- 6 Vin's Journey cards
- 75 Personality cards
- 34 Rampage mini cards
- 6 House sheets
- Siege of Luthadel board overlay
- Vin pawn
- Koloss pawn
- 6 Support tokens (double-sided: Defender / Attacker)
- 152 Allegiance tokens (76 Defender & 76 Attacker)
Playing the Siege of Luthadel
In The Siege of Luthadel, the noble Houses that survived the Lord Ruler's fall are rebuilding and addressing the myriad problems of the aftermath to curry the favor of the people. In this desperate time, a new and bitter rift has developed: should a new Lord Ruler rise to power, or should the people determine their own fate? This disagreement leads to a military conflict between the Houses, and a siege of the capital city of Luthadel.
Through their actions, the leader of each House supports either the attackers at the city walls, or the city's beleaguered defenders. Their decisions win the allegiance of those who believe in their cause, and the impact of their choices will determine which faction is victorious.
Key to this burgeoning war is control of the koloss, a terrifying horde of savage brutes rampaging through the countryside, massing their spoils of war as they march towards the capital.
Vin's journey to discover the truth of the mists terrorizing the world, and the truth of the Hero of Ages, becomes a race against time as the inevitable Battle of Luthadel approaches. Will she rescue the city before it collapses beneath the weight of the siege?
This is where you come in…
What's the Same?
This expansion centers on the events of the second Mistborn novel, The Well of Ascension, yet many core features of Mistborn: House War remain…
- The noble Houses are the deciding forces of the siege. Some, like Venture and Lekal, survived the fall of the Lord Ruler, while others are new upstart factions: the Luthadel Assembly, the Church of the Survivor, and Houses Cett and Penrod. All these Houses have risen from the chaos to become central figures in this brewing conflict.
- The Houses still seek Favor and suffer Disgrace, but this time they strive to win the Favor of the people rather than the Lord Ruler.
- To gain the people's Favor, Houses must solve Problems, ranging from supply shortages to political infighting to attacks on the city.
- Houses still employ Personalities in their efforts to advance their agendas, including many new and familiar faces from the novels.
What's New?
The Siege of Luthadel adds several new elements to Mistborn: House War, representing the unique challenges faced by the noble Houses during the second Mistborn novel…
- The Siege, and deciding the ultimate fate of the capital city, form the core of this expansion. As the players solve Problems, they support either the Attackers or Defenders of the city, contributing the Impact of those Problems toward one side or the other.
- In the short term, the people's views of each House are tracked with a Support token that displays whether the House most recently aligned with the Attackers or the Defenders. The Support token can flip many times during the game, giving the House access to various benefits — particularly with new Personality cards.
- In the longer term, the people's memories of the Houses' actions are tracked with Allegiance tokens, which act as a permanent record of their choices. Like Favor tokens from the core game, Allegiance tokens are kept face down once collected. At the end of the game, they award bonus Favor for those who supported the winning side in the siege.
- The Koloss — once the Lord Ruler's elite shock troops — are now up for grabs, and any House can seize control of them as an action. This can yield a great wealth of resources, the so-called "Spoils," but it also exposes that House to unpredictable and potentially devastating effects if the Koloss go on a Rampage.
- Finally, Vin's Journey to discover ancient secrets and save the city tracks the growing tension of the story, as events inevitably escalate toward the Battle of Luthadel at the end of the game.
What's Different?
Numerous upgrades to the game, along with major upheavals in the world between The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension introduce several changes to the core rules for Mistborn: House War…
- Deals have evolved. There are new rules and options for negotiating deals, and new steps for closing a deal, to incorporate Allegiance & Support into the game.
- Eruptions work a bit differently. The people of Luthadel now judge the Houses not only on what they do, but also when they fail to act. Problem cards no longer erupt into a general discard pile, but rather erupt to an Attacker Support or Defender Support Pile, as noted on each Problem card. This is the people's interpretation of who is to blame when a Problem is left untended.
- Unrest & Destroyed Resources have been removed from the game. The former is no longer needed now that Kelsier's revolution is resolved, and the latter is handled with the new Koloss & Rampage rules. With Unrest no longer in the mix…
- Only the highest score counts for winning the game. That said, winning isn't as simple as grinding out Favor from Problems. Collecting Allegiance tokens and ensuring your favored side ultimately wins the siege are both crucial for victory!
Important Game Terms
Allegiance Tokens: These tokens come in two varieties: Attacker and Defender. When a Problem is solved, each player participating in the deal receives 1 Allegiance token matching the supported side. At the end of the game, each Allegiance token matching the winning side is worth 2 Favor, while those from the losing side are worth 0 Favor.
Impact: Each Problem has an Impact score ranging from 0 to 5, indicated by a number of stars in the new box on the right-hand side of the card. At the end of the game, the Impact of all Problems in each Support Pile is totaled to determine whether the Attackers or the Defenders win the siege.
Koloss: This pawn represents control of a powerful but dangerous army of blue-skinned humanoids. When you take the Koloss, you collect the Spoils (see below), but until you lose the Koloss you must draw and resolve Rampage cards each time a Rampage Problem is added to the board (see page 20).
Rampage Card: A card indicating the effects of the Koloss horde on the player with the Koloss pawn. These cards are drawn when a Rampage Problem is added to the board. The number of cards drawn is determined by Vin's position on the Vin's Journey track (see page 22). To avoid the (generally negative) consequences of having the Koloss, you may pay a number of resources as shown on the card (see page 21).
Sides: There are two sides in the siege: Attackers and Defenders. Each time you solve or help to solve a Problem, you temporarily join the side supported in the deal (see page 15).
Spoils: A special resource supply into which 1 or more resources are discarded after each Problem is solved. The number of resources added to the Spoils is determined by Vin's position on the Vin's Journey track (see page 22). You collect the Spoils each time you take the Koloss.
Support / Supporting: A House is currently supporting the side shown on their Support token (Attackers or Defenders). Each House has a starting side at the beginning of the game. After participating in their first deal, a House's Support token always shows the side supported in the most recent deal they solved or helped to solve. The side a House currently supports can affect various Problems and Personality cards.
Support Pile: There are now two Problem discard piles — the Attacker Support Pile and the Defenders Support Pile. Each Problem naturally erupts to one of these two Support Piles unless it is solved first. When a Problem is solved, it is discarded to the Support Pile corresponding to the side supported in the deal. The total Impact of all Problems in a Support Pile determines which side wins the siege (see page 18).
Vin: This pawn represents Vin's quest to unravel the mysteries of the Terris Prophesies. Two numbers increase as the pawn advances down the Vin's Journey track: the number of resources added to the Spoils when a deal is solved, and the number of cards drawn each time a Rampage Problem is added to the board (see page 22). When Vin reaches the end of the track, the Battle of Luthadel Problem is added to the board, triggering the end of the game (see page 17).
Set Up
1. Board
Unfold the board. Take the Kelsier & Inquisitor pawns and set them aside. These will go to the first Active Player (see Step 7).
Connect the puzzle pieces to form the Siege of Luthadel board overlay and place it over the Unrest track, Problems Erupt space, Problem Discard, Destroyed Resources, and Pass the Turn spaces, covering them completely.
Place the Vin pawn on the zero (0) space of the Vin's Journey track. Place The Battle of Luthadel Problem card face up below the track. Place the Koloss pawn in the Spoils space. Shuffle the Rampage deck and place it face down near the Spoils space.
2. Personality Deck
Find the Siege of Luthadel Personality deck (indicated by the icon in the card title bar). Shuffle this deck and place it face down in the space marked on the board.
3. Favor, Disgrace, Allegiance & Ruined Tokens
Place the Favor & Disgrace scoring tokens, as well as the Attacker & Defender Allegiance tokens near the board, within easy reach of all players. These are face up until collected. Also place the Ruined tokens nearby.
4. Resource Supply & Starting Spoils
Place the following resource tokens on the Available Resources space on the board. Return the remaining tokens to the game box. They will not be used in the game.
- 3 Players: 6 Atium tokens, 8 of each other resource token
- 4 Players: 7 Atium tokens, 10 of each other resource token
- 5 Players: 8 Atium tokens, 12 of each other resource token
Take 1 Atium token from the supply and place it in the Spoils space as the starting Spoils.
5. Houses & Starting Resources
Find the Siege of Luthadel House sheets (as indicated by the icon in their title bars). Randomly deal one to each player.
All players immediately collect the resources and number of Personality cards shown along the sides of their House Sheet, as well as a Support token. Each player places their Support token near their House sheet, with the side indicated by the "At Game Start" text face up.
- Houses Supporting the Attackers at Game Start: House Cett, House Lekal, House Venture
- Houses Supporting the Defenders at Game Start: House Penrod, Luthadel Assembly, Church of Survivor
Example: A player with House Venture starts with 1 Atium, 1 Warriors, 1 Prestige, 2 Personality cards, and a Support token with the Attacker side face up.
6. Problem Deck & Starting Problems
Find the Siege of Luthadel Problem deck. Cards in this deck have an Impact box on the righthand side and an icon in the title bar. Remove all 6 Vin's Journey cards from the deck, shuffle those 6 cards, and set them aside without looking at them.
Draw 1 Problem card per player, placing each face up on the board at its starting Urgency as normal. If a card starts in a full column, move it to the right until it finds an empty space. These are the starting Problems.
Example: Column II is full. The Democracy Problem card moves to Column III.
Example: This is a 3-player game, so the bottom row is unavailable.
Draw 2 additional Problems and without looking at them place 1 each in the Attacker Support and Defender Support piles at the right end of the board.
Take the remaining Problem cards and deal them out into four roughly equal face-down piles. The length of the game is controlled by shuffling the Vin's Journey cards into some of these piles, then placing those piles on top of any remaining piles…
- Short Game (60 to 90 minutes): Shuffle 3 Vin's Journey cards into each of the top 2 piles, with 2 piles below.
- Medium Game (90 to 120 minutes): Shuffle 2 Vin's Journey cards into each of the top 3 piles, with 1 pile below.
- Long game (120 to 180 minutes): Shuffle 2 Vin's Journey cards into each of the top 2 piles, then 1 Vin's Journey card into each of the bottom 2 piles.
Place the prepared Problem deck in the space marked on the board.
7. First Active Player
The player with the House highest on this list is the Active Player and takes the Inquisitor and Kelsier pawns. They take the first turn.
- Luthadel Assembly
- House Venture
- House Cett
- House Lekal
- House Penrod
- Church of the Survivor
Unused Components: The following components from the Mistborn: House War base game are not used when playing The Siege of Luthadel. Do not combine these components with those from the expansion box.
- House sheets
- Personality deck
- Problem deck
Passing the Turn
Now, when you choose to skip making a deal and pass the turn, you may take one of three actions…
- Draw 1 Personality card
- Take 1 resource of your choice from the general supply
- Take control of the Koloss, granting you their Spoils but also exposing you to their Rampages (see page 19).
Making & Closing Deals
To represent the complex political and military conditions of the siege, this expansion features a slightly more detailed process for deal-making… and new ways for you to overcome your opponents.
Making Deals
Making deals with the other Houses to solve Problems is still the main way of winning, but there's an added wrinkle — solved Problems help the city's attackers or its defenders, and ultimately determine which side prevails.
Thus, when you choose to Deal during Step 4 of your turn, before negotiations start, you must choose and place the Active Player pawn corresponding to the side you intend to support if you successfully solve the Problem. You place the Kelsier pawn if you intend to support the Defenders, or the Inquisitor pawn if you intend to support the Attackers. The side that's ultimately supported by a solved Problem can change as you negotiate with the other players, but you must clearly declare your intentions before negotiations begin so no one is surprised by the side they may end up on if you succeed.
You may also negotiate the resource(s) that will be discarded to the Spoils when the Problem is solved. For more information about this process see Closing Deals, Step 2 on page 13, as well as The Koloss on page 19.
Who "Participates" in a Deal?
A House is participating in a deal when they contribute resources out of their own supply to help solve the Problem.
A House is participating in a deal when they use Personality cards to reduce the cost of solving the Problem.
Unless one of these two conditions is met, a House is not considered to be participating in a deal — even if they use Personality cards that help solve the Problem in other ways.
Only by contributing resources or reducing the resources required may a House benefit from deal participation.
Non-participating Houses do not flip their Support token or claim an Allegiance token when a deal is solved.
Closing Deals
As you close deals and solve Problems, you throw your support behind a chosen side by discarding the Problem to either the Attacker or Defender Support Pile. Each discarded Problem adds its Impact to that pile, contributing to that side's chances of winning the siege.
All Houses participating in the deal must flip their Support token to match the supported side, and each of these Houses also collects a matching Allegiance token. Allegiance tokens matching the side that wins the siege grant bonus Favor at the end of the game.
When closing a Deal in The Siege of Luthadel, take the following steps in order.
- Pay the resource cost
- Add spent resources to the Spoils
- Apply "When Solved" effects
- Apply "Sly" Personality effects
- Award Favor
- Discard the Problem to the negotiated side's Support Pile
- Flip House Support tokens
- Collect Allegiance tokens
These steps are explained further in the following sections.
1. Pay the Resource Cost
As agreed, each player pays resources out of their House supply (see pages 16–17 of the Mistborn: House War rulebook). Do not immediately place these resources in the game supply. Keep them separate until after Step 2.
2. Add Spent Resources to the Spoils
Discard a number of resources paid to solve the Problem into the Spoils space. This number is equal to the number of "any resource" icons at the top of Vin's current space on her Journey track. The chosen resources may have been negotiated during the deal. If they were not, the Active player chooses which resources to discard to the Spoils.
Only resource tokens paid from a House supply may be discarded to the Spoils. Resources generated or costs reduced with Personality cards may not be discarded to the Spoils. If there are not enough resources paid from House supplies to discard the full amount indicated by the Vin's Journey track, discard all resources paid from House supplies to the Spoils and ignore the remainder.
After discarding resources to the Spoils, any remaining resources paid to solve the Problem are discarded to the general game supply as usual.
What does "Any Resource" Mean? The Desperate Measures Problem card has a resource cost consisting of six "any resource" icons. Each of these icons means "any 1 resource." Atium counts the same as any other resource in this case, so you could pay the resource cost of Desperate Measures with 6 Food, 6 Money, 1 of each resource in the game, or any other combination of 6 resources.
Personality cards that affect the cost of a Problem may not be played to eliminate "any resource" icons. Only actual resource tokens may be used to pay their cost.
Example: The Temptations of Power Problem is solved with Food, Food, Prestige, Prestige, Atium, and Atium. Player 1 contributes Food, Food, and Prestige, Player 2 contributes Atium, and Player 3 contributes Prestige and Atium. As negotiated by the Houses participating in the deal, one Food and one Atium are discarded to the Spoils. The remaining Food, Prestige, Prestige, and Atium are discarded to the general supply.
3. Apply "When Solved" Effects
If the words "When Solved" appear on the Problem card, apply those effects as described on page 17 of the Mistborn: House War rulebook.
4. Apply "Sly" Personality Effects
Players may now use and resolve any Sly Personalities or effects, as described on page 17 of the Mistborn: House War rulebook.
5. Award Favor
Each player participating in the deal collects the Favor they were promised, following the rules on page 17 of the Mistborn: House War rulebook.
6. Discard the Problem to the Negotiated Side's Support Pile
Discard the solved Problem face down on the appropriate Support Pile, as negotiated during the deal. If support was not negotiated, discard the Problem card on the Support Pile the Active player indicated at the start of the deal (Defender if the Kelsier pawn was used, or Attacker if the Inquisitor pawn was used).
Each Problem discarded on a Support Pile contributes its Impact toward that side's potential victory in the siege (see page 18). A Problem's Impact is equal to the number of stars in the box on the right-hand side of the card.
Until the end of the game, Problems in a Support Pile are secret information and cannot be reviewed or shown to anyone. They must remain face down in the pile until the end of the game.
Example: The Temptations of Power card is discarded to the Defender Support Pile, adding to that side's running total. No one may look at either of the Support Piles until the end of the game.
7. Flip Support Tokens
Each House participating in the deal flips their Support token to match the supported side — the side matching the Support Pile where the Problem card was just discarded. Remember: only Houses participating in a deal are affected by this step (see Who "Participates" in a Deal? on page 12)!
Your Support token indicates the side you most recently supported. It tracks public opinion of your most recent actions, and gives you access to various Personality card "Support" effects (see page 28). Your Support token may also expose you to certain benefits & penalties on Problem cards.
8. Collect Allegiance Tokens
Finally, each House participating in the deal collects 1 Allegiance token for the supported side — the side matching the Support Pile where the Problem card was just discarded. Remember: only Houses participating in a deal are affected by this step (see Who "Participates" in a Deal? on page 12)!
Your collected Allegiance tokens are a lasting record of your choices. They track the people's long-term memory of your actions, and grant you bonus Favor for Allegiance tokens matching the side that wins the siege (see page 18). Allegiance tokens may never be shown to anyone, nor may they be bartered or negotiated. They must remain face down until the end of the game.
This ends your turn. Pass the Inquisitor and Kelsier pawns to the next Active Player, who takes their turn as normal.
An Example of Closing a Deal: Brandon, Peter, and Becky have just closed a deal to solve the Crumbling Morale Problem in support of the Attackers. Brandon is the Active player and Vin is on Step 2 of her track.
- Step 1: Brandon gathers the resource tokens used to pay Crumbling Morale's cost.
- Step 2: Brandon checks the Vin's Journey track. Step 2 on the track indicates that 2 resources must be discarded to the Spoils. These resources were not negotiated during the deal, so Brandon chooses 1 Prestige and 1 Atium to discard to the Spoils. This leaves the remaining resources to be discarded to the general supply.
- Step 3: Crumbling Morale indicates that when it is solved, 1 Problem is added to the board. Brandon draws the top card from the Problem deck and adds it to the board at its starting Urgency.
- Step 4: Brandon gives the other players a chance to play Sly Personalities. None do, so he moves on.
- Step 5: Favor was negotiated during the deal. Per that agreement, Brandon claims 4 of Crumbling Morale's 9 Favor, Peter claims 2, and Becky claims 3.
- Step 6: Brandon had initially placed the Inquisitor pawn on Crumbling Morale, indicating that he wanted to support the Attackers with this negotiation. Peter and Becky tried to talk Brandon into supporting the Defenders this time instead, but he stood firm and they decided not to let it scuttle the deal. Brandon discards Crumbling Morale face down into the Attackers Support Pile.
- Step 7: Since the Problem was solved in support of the Attackers, Brandon, Peter, and Becky all flip their Support tokens to the Attacker side. They are considered Attackers until their support changes.
- Step 8: Finally, Brandon, Peter, and Becky each collect an Attacker Allegiance token, as a reward for their support of the Attackers. These tokens are placed face down near each player's House sheet.
Brandon's turn now ends, and play passes to Becky.
Winning The Siege of Luthadel
With the focus of the game shifting from currying the Lord Ruler's favor to winning the hearts and minds of the people of Luthadel, several changes are made to the game's victory conditions.
No Unrest
To represent the new reality of the Final Empire, The Siege of Luthadel removes Unrest as a game mechanic. This change has a number of important effects…
- The Unrest track is replaced by Vin's Journey, which follows the heroine's progress in discovering ancient secrets as the final battle looms.
- The Vin's Journey track controls the escalation of the Spoils and Rampage as the Koloss close in on the city.
- Unrest doesn't appear on any cards in this expansion's Problem deck.
- Most importantly, the game is always won by the House with the highest final score.
Now, the key to victory is being on the right side of history. With every deal a House supports, they take a stand on one side of the siege or the other. They earn Allegiance tokens as a record of their actions, and at the game's end any tokens matching the winning side grant bonus Favor.
Juggling sides and shifting Allegiances makes this calculation a new and quite different experience for veteran players of Mistborn: House War.
The Battle of Luthadel
The game-ending Vin Problem from Mistborn: House War is replaced with The Battle of Luthadel, the climactic final conflict in The Well of Ascension. Unlike the Vin card, The Battle of Luthadel is not shuffled into the Problem deck; rather, it is set aside at the start of the game, then added to the board when Vin reaches the end of her track (see page 22).
Vin will almost always reach the end of her track as a result of a Vin's Journey card drawn from the Problem deck. As each Vin's Journey card also adds a new Problem card to the board, the final step along the track will add two Problem cards to the board at once. Draw and add 1 Problem to the board first, and then add the Battle of Luthadel card to the board after that.
Once The Battle of Luthadel card is in play, it operates like a normal Problem card, though it has its particular rules: it only leaves the board when solved or discarded — never by erupting — and its Impact is reduced every time it erupts and returns to an earlier Urgency slot. This is tracked with Ruin tokens. Each time the Problem erupts, a Ruin token is added to the card.
The Battle of Luthadel (card text): When this Problem is solved or discarded, the game ends. Add 1 Ruin token to this card, then return it to the highest possible Urgency. This Problem's Impact is reduced by the number of Ruin tokens on it. When it gains a fifth Ruin token, the game immediately ends.
Final Game Steps
Immediately after the Battle of Luthadel Problem is solved or discarded, or immediately when a fifth Ruin token is placed on the card, the game ends and scores are totaled. No further cards may be played, and no further deals may be made. Follow these steps in order to determine the winning House.
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Determine Which Side Wins the Siege: Reveal the cards in each Support Pile and total the Impact in each pile. The side with the highest Impact — Attackers or Defenders — wins the siege and claims the city.
In the rare event that Impact is tied between Support Piles, the pile where the Battle of Luthadel was discarded is the winning side. If the Battle of Luthadel was not discarded to a Support Pile, there is no winning side and all Allegiance tokens are worth 0 Favor (see next step).
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Reveal Allegiance Tokens: Each player reveals their collected Allegiance tokens, gaining 2 Favor for each token that matches the winning side. Tokens matching the losing side are worth no Favor and are ignored. There is no penalty for having Allegiance tokens matching the losing side.
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Reveal Scoring Tokens & Determine Final Score: Each player reveals their collected scoring tokens. Favor is added to their running score from Step 2, and Disgrace is subtracted from this total.
Any players with face down Personality cards in front of them reveal those now. These cards generally affect the owner's final score.
The player with the highest total score has won the hearts and minds of the people and their House emerges as the most powerful and influential guiding force in the capital.
Breaking a Tie: If two or more players have the same final score — including revealed Personalities and Allegiance tokens — the player with the most Allegiance tokens matching the winning side is the winner. Their House is recognized as the prevailing force on the side controlling the city.
If tied players also have the same number of winning Allegiance tokens, they share the victory. Together they rule Luthadel and jointly build a future for the New Empire.
Example of Final Scoring when Defenders win the siege:
- Peter: 4 Defender Allegiance tokens (8 Favor) + 21 Favor - 9 Disgrace = 20
- Becky: 12 Defender Allegiance tokens (24 Favor) + 7 Favor - 4 Disgrace = 27
- Brandon: 8 Defender Allegiance tokens (16 Favor) + 17 Favor + 6 (Demoux Personality Card) - 1 Disgrace = 38
Brandon wins! If there had been a tie between Brandon & Becky, Becky would have won because she had more Defender Allegiance tokens.
The Koloss
For centuries, the blue-skinned hulks known as Koloss were the Final Empire's most dangerous fighting force. The Lord Ruler used these beasts as weapons of mass destruction, deploying them to lay waste to rebel armies and upstart kings alike. Between assaults, they were kept at the outskirts of the Empire, far from civilization, where they could at least partly be contained. Now, with the Lord Ruler gone, control of the Koloss is up for grabs, but which House is strong or foolhardy enough to claim them?
In The Siege of Luthadel, these monsters are represented by the Koloss pawn. Taking control of this pawn earns you the spoils of war, but also exposes you to great collateral damage if the beasts' uncontrollable rage is unleashed.
You may claim the Koloss pawn by Passing the Turn (see page 11), or through card and game effects. When you claim the Koloss pawn, place it in front of you and collect all resources in the Spoils space. Add these resources to your House supply. You may not choose to leave resources in the Spoils.
Important Note: You may not claim the Koloss pawn if you already have it! This means that even if a rule says you take the Koloss when you already have it, you do not gain any new resources that have accumulated in the Spoils.
The Spoils
The Spoils is a special supply, separate from the general game supply and all House supplies. Resources in the Spoils do not count as being in the general supply or a House supply, and so they cannot be taken, traded, or stolen in any way other than by taking the Koloss pawn when you do not already have it. Even when the resources you would normally get at the start of your turn are unavailable in the general supply or another House supply, you may not claim them from the Spoils.
Resources are added to the Spoils as players solve Problems. The number of resources added when a Problem is solved is shown along the top of the Vin's Journey track. As the Vin pawn proceeds along this track, the number of resources added grows higher.
The resources added to the Spoils must be actual tokens used to pay the Problem's cost. The specific resources added to the Spoils may be negotiated, and if left undecided they are chosen by the Active Player.
Example: Vin is on Step 1 of her track when Becky solves the Democracy Problem on her turn. Vin's position indicates that 1 resource is added to the Spoils, so Becky chooses 1 Money from the tokens spent to solve the Problem and discards it to the Spoils space.
Example: Later in the same game, Peter solves the Rogue Koloss Problem. Vin is now on Step 4 of her track, which means that 2 resources must be added to the Spoils. As the Active player, Peter would normally choose these resources, but the participating Houses negotiated which tokens would be discarded to the Spoils. Per the agreement, both Skaa tokens are moved to the Spoils space.
Rampage
Having the Koloss pawn for too long can be dangerous. The army of brutes is prone to fits of murderous rage, lashing out against everything around them — including their masters.
Each time a Problem card with the Rampage trait enters or returns to play — that is, each time such a card is added to the board or returned to the board — the player with the Koloss pawn must immediately draw & resolve one or more Rampage cards. The number of cards drawn is shown along the bottom of the Vin's Journey track. As the Vin pawn proceeds along this track, the number of cards drawn grows higher.
Rampage Cards
Rampage cards represent the various detrimental effects a House can suffer while in control of an army of battle-crazed, perpetually-bleeding rage-monsters. These effects range from political backlash to the destruction of valuable resources to indiscriminate violence against House forces and allies. Sometimes the other Houses benefit from the chaos instead, seizing the opportunity to get ahead in the struggle for Luthadel.
When you control the Koloss and a Problem card with the Rampage trait is added to or returns to the board, draw a number of Rampage cards indicated on the Vin's Journey track (see page 22).
Each Rampage card has an effect, a quote, and a resource cost. For each Rampage card drawn, you must either pay the resource cost or suffer the card's effect. Resources spent to avoid a Rampage card's effect are discarded to the general game supply.
Example Rampage card: "The Active Player discards 2 resources from your House supply to the Spoils." (Quote: "They pillaged the House stores!")
As when spending resources to solve Problems, you may spend any 2 resources as any 1 other resource (see the Mistborn: House War rulebook, page 16). You may also play Personality cards to modify or eliminate a Rampage card's resource cost. Unlike a deal, however, other players may not contribute resources, play cards, or otherwise assist or hinder this process in any way.
When you draw multiple Rampage cards at the same time, you may spend resources to avoid the effects of some, and accept the effects of others. You may resolve the cards in any order you wish, so long as every Rampage card's effect is applied or you have spent the resources required to avoid it.
Example: Vin is on Step 3 in her track when Brandon draws the Fear in the Streets Problem, which has the Rampage trait. Vin's position indicates that Brandon must immediately draw & resolve 2 Rampage cards. He draws the two cards pictured below.
- First card: "Discard 1 of your Personalities from play or your hand." Resource cost: 1 Food.
- Second card: "The player to your left may steal 1 of your Personalities in play or from your hand." Resource cost: 2 Warriors.
Brandon has 1 Prestige, 1 Money, and 1 Skaa in his House supply. He needs his Skaa for a Problem he intends to solve later, so he spends his Prestige and Money together as 1 Food to avoid the effects of the first Rampage card. He suffers the effect of the remaining card. The player to his left steals one of his Personalities in play or from his hand.
What if the Effect has no Effect? Sometimes suffering a Rampage card's effect has no consequence for a player. For instance, a player without Money doesn't care if they have to discard all Money from their House supply. In these cases it may seem wisest to choose the effect over paying the Rampage card's resource cost, and that's entirely allowed. Cunning Houses know which battles to pick, and when they're on the winning side of a situation.
Vin's Journey
The Vin's Journey Track replaces the Unrest track in The Siege of Luthadel. It follows Vin's progress as she uncovers the truth about the mysterious events plaguing the Final Empire during The Well of Ascension.
Problem cards and other game effects advance the Vin pawn down the track. With each step the pawn takes, the Koloss grow more aggressive, increasing the resources added to the Spoils after each deal and the number of Rampage cards drawn when the creatures inevitably run amok.
Problem Cards
When Vin reaches Step 6 of the track, the climactic Battle of Luthadel Problem is added to the board, signaling the impending end of the game (see page 17).
The Siege of Luthadel uses a new Problem deck, representing many of the unique challenges the noble Houses face in the second Mistborn novel. These challenges include popular discontent, noble intrigue, and petty crime, as well as starvation, herds of aimless koloss, military brinksmanship, and the unleashed terror of the Deepness. You can identify Problem cards from this set by the Siege of Luthadel icon on the right side of each card's title bar.
New Problem Card Features
Cards in the Siege of Luthadel Problem deck have the following new features.
- New Traits: This expansion includes two new Problem traits: RAMPAGE and SKAA.
- Impact: Most Problem cards have an Impact score ranging from 1 to 5, which measures the Problem's influence on the siege threatening the city.
Example card (Escalating Tensions, starting Urgency II, Impact 3): Traits RAMPAGE • SKAA. "When solved, gain 1 Prestige and give 1 Prestige to another House. Each House adds 2 of their resources to the Spoils." Eruption: Attacker Support Pile. Flavor quote: "I tried overtures of peace, but nobody listens unless you have money or an army."
New Problem Card Rules & Eruption Effects
These rules and eruption effects are new to The Siege of Luthadel.
Skaa Trait
The SKAA trait operates much like the Steel Ministry trait in the base game, triggering and interacting with rules on House sheets, Personality cards, and other parts of the game but having no effect on its own.
Rampage Trait
The RAMPAGE trait indicates the House controlling the Koloss is exposed to their unchecked frenzy. Each time a Problem card with this trait is added to or returned to the board, the player with the Koloss pawn must draw & resolve one or more Rampage cards (see page 20).
Impact
As Problems are solved, they are now discarded to either the Attacker Support Pile or the Defender Support Pile (see page 14).
When the Houses fail to solve Problems, they are not just absolved of their responsibility; the citizens of Luthadel assign blame on their own. When a Problem erupts, it is automatically discarded to the Support Pile shown to the right of the eruption arrow icon in the eruption line.
Problem cards may still have other eruption effects in addition to the Support Pile where they are automatically discarded. These effects are resolved immediately before the card is removed from the board.
At the end of the game, the Impact scores of all cards in each Support Pile are added together, and the highest total determines which side wins the siege. This directly affects end game scoring (see page 18).
Timing of Multi-Player Effects
Some Problem card effects ask multiple players to make a choice. When this happens, if there's a concern about which player must choose first, the Active Player chooses first (if they're affected), and then players make choices in clockwise order around the table.
Defenders & Attackers
Some Problem card effects refer to Attackers or Defenders. These cards affect players based on the sides their Support tokens currently display.
Example: On the Stalemate Problem, the eruption effect says that "Each Attacker discards 1 Personality card." If this Problem erupts in a three-player game when Brandon's Support token is on the Defender side, and Peter & Becky's tokens are on the Attacker side, both Peter & Becky would have to discard a Personality card. Brandon would be unaffected.
Add a Ruin Token to this Card
Certain Problems, like The Battle of Luthadel, accumulate tokens when they erupt, tracking effects over time. These Problems do not leave play, and do not lose these tokens when they erupt.
A Problem with a token on it cannot be targeted by a Soother or the Breeze Personality card.
Problem Effects
Add Resources to the Spoils
These resources are chosen by the player(s) affected, and come from their House supply. When a player does not have sufficient resources in their House supply, they add as much as they can and ignore the remainder.
Advance Vin
Move the Vin pawn the indicated number of spaces to the right on the Vin's Journey track. This typically increases the resources discarded to the Spoils when a Problem is solved, and the number of Rampage cards drawn when the Koloss are triggered (see pages 13 and 20, respectively). If Vin reaches Step 6 on this track, add the Battle of Luthadel Problem to the board (see page 17).
Discard to the Game Box
Anything discarded to the game box is entirely removed from play and may not return to the game through any means.
Discard to a Support Pile
Some Problems let you discard a Problem card from the deck or in play to a Support Pile. When a Problem card from the deck is discarded into a Support Pile, it is in addition to the erupting Problem card. Also, Problems added to a Support Pile in this way award no Allegiance tokens.
Draw & Resolve a Rampage Card
The affected player(s) draw a card from the Rampage deck, paying the resource cost or accepting the effect as if they control the Koloss (see page 20). When multiple players must draw Rampage cards, resolve the cards in clockwise order, starting with the Active Player.
Gain a Resource and Give a Resource to another House
Collect any 1 resource from the general supply, and then give any 1 resource from the general supply to another player. If the general supply does not have sufficient resources, you may steal them from other players as normal.
"Reveal the top Problem card…"
The revealed card is shown to everyone at the table. It does not become private information. Sometimes a revealed card will be discarded, in which case the effect that revealed the card will tell you where to discard the Problem card. If the Problem card is not discarded, it is returned to the top of the deck, face down.
Reveal Allegiance Tokens
The affected House(s) may permanently reveal any number of the noted type of Allegiance tokens to gain the listed benefit. Once revealed, these tokens may not be hidden again, though they may be swapped, stolen, or discarded through Personalities and other game effects.
Swap House Sheet
The Active Player chooses any 1 player, who must discard their current House sheet for any unused House sheet in the game box of the Active Player's choice. The Active Player may choose to swap their own House sheet if they wish. This has no effect on the chosen player's collected tokens, their Personality cards (in hand or in play), their Support token, or the position of the Koloss pawn.
Take the Koloss
The indicated player takes the Koloss pawn and immediately collects the Spoils (see page 19).
"The cost to solve Problems costing at least [X] increases by [X][X]"
Problems such as Raw Recruits and Counterfeiting increase the cost of solving other Problems while they are in play. When a Problem with this effect is on the board, the cost to solve all other Problems that normally cost 1 or more of the listed resource are increased by 2 of that resource.
Personality cards and other game effects that reduce costs first target a Problem card's original resource cost. If this reduces an original cost to 0 or less, the increased cost from this effect is no longer applied.
Example: The Swindled Problem has a cost of 2 Prestige and 2 Atium. If the Corruption Problem is in play at the same time as Swindled, the Swindled Problem would instead cost 4 Prestige and 2 Atium.
Example: Both Corruption and Swindled are in play. Brandon plays a Tineye to reduce the Swindled card's cost by 2 Prestige. This eliminates the Problem's original Prestige cost, so the effects of Corruption no longer apply. In this case, the resource cost to solve Swindled is 2 Atium.
Worsen a Problem
Choose a Problem on the board and increase its Urgency by 1, as if it had been affected by a Rioter Personality. If this increases the Problem's Urgency above IV, the Problem immediately erupts.
A single Problem may only be worsened once each time this effect is applied. If an effect requires you to worsen 2 Problems, you must worsen 2 different Problems, rather than the same Problem twice.
Vin's Journey Cards
Six "Vin's Journey" cards are added to the Problem deck at the start of the game (see Set Up, page 10). These cards represent important moments in Vin's story as she searches for answers about the Deepness, the Well of Ascension, and the Hero of Ages.
When you draw a Vin's Journey card, take the following steps in order. These steps are also summarized on each Vin's Journey card.
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Advance Vin 1 Step: Move the Vin pawn 1 step to the right on the Vin's Journey track. This typically increases the resources discarded to the Spoils when a Problem is solved, and the number of Rampage cards drawn when the Koloss are triggered (see pages 13 and 20, respectively).
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Resolve the Card's Effect: Each Vin's Journey card has a unique effect. Most affect the Houses based on their current side: either Attacker or Defender, as shown on their Support token.
When a card effect refers to a "majority," look at all players' Support tokens. If more players support one side than the other, they are in the majority and the effect is applied to them. If the sides are even, the Active Player chooses which side is in the majority.
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Add 1 Problem to the Board: Add 1 Problem to the board. Then, if Vin reached Step 6 on the track, add the Battle of Luthadel Problem to the board immediately afterward (see page 17).
After these steps, discard the Vin's Journey card to the game box. Though Vin's Journey cards are added to the Problem deck, they are not Problems and are never added to the game board.
Personality Cards
The Siege of Luthadel uses a new Personality deck, introducing characters from the second Mistborn novel along with a variety of ways to manipulate the new rules found in this expansion. You can identify these cards by the Siege of Luthadel icon on the right side of each card's title bar.
Supporting Personalities
Several Personalities seek a particular outcome in the siege. Elend, Vin, and the rest of Kelsier's crew hope to protect the people they've liberated, while Ashweather Cett, Straff Venture, and others hope to conquer the capital for themselves. These Personalities offer great assistance to Houses who share their goals, as indicated by the "Supporting" tag on their cards.
Every Supporting Personality card has a second effect preceded by one of the following…
- Supporting Alternative: This means you may choose to gain the listed Supporting effect instead of the rest of the Personality card's effects.
- Supporting Bonus: This means you gain the listed Supporting effect in addition to the rest of the Personality card's effects.
- Supporting Special: This type of Supporting Personality card has an effect that doesn't cleanly fall into either of the previous categories — commonly because it has one initial effect that can later be replaced by another effect. For example, Demoux can be played face down to gain Favor at the end of the game, but he can be discarded earlier to discard a SKAA Problem to a chosen Support Pile.
Supporting effects sometimes have specific timing, which is presented in italics. When timing is present, the Supporting effect may only be gained if the additional timing requirement is met.
Example: Zane has an Alternative Attacker effect, and either effect is available at any time. Zane has the effect "Play at any time. Anyone can use him like a Mistborn from the base game, lowering 1 Problem's resource cost by any 2 resources." An Attacker could play Zane for this effect OR they could play him to discard a Lasting Personality that's already in play. Attacker or not, no one could play Zane for both of these effects at the same time.
Example: Elend Venture lets you draw an additional Personality card every time you collect House sheet cards. Unlike Advisors, which immediately grant a resource when played, Elend immediately grants 1 Favor. When a player who's currently Supporting Defenders plays Elend, however, they immediately draw a card in addition to claiming 1 Favor.
Example: The Demoux Personality has a Special Supporting ability that is both an extension and an elimination of the card's primary effect. Demoux is always played face down, but you can reveal him at your choice of two different times: either at the end of the game for bonus Favor from any SKAA Problems in the winning Support Pile, or at any earlier point in the game to discard a SKAA Problem into the Support Pile of your choice. Revealing Demoux early for the second ability leaves you without him at the end of the game.
New Personality Card Effects
This section covers new and altered rules for Personality cards in this expansion.
"Choose and add [X] spent resources to the Spoils."
These resource(s) must be actual resource tokens, and must be chosen from those spent to solve the Problem, just as resources discarded to satisfy the icons at the top of the Vin's Journey track (see page 13).
Advance Vin
Move the Vin pawn the indicated number of spaces to the right on the Vin's Journey track. This typically increases the number of Rampage cards drawn when the Koloss are triggered, and the resources discarded to the Spoils when a Problem is solved (see pages 13 and 20, respectively). If Vin reaches Step 6 on this track, add the Battle of Luthadel Problem to the board (see page 17).
Collect the Spoils
The indicated player collects the Spoils, just as if they'd taken the Koloss (see page 19). However, they do not also take the Koloss! This card does not change who controls the Koloss.
Heirs
With Unrest removed, Heirs offer only bonus Favor for collected resources. All other effects are unchanged.
Lurchers
With no Destroyed Resources space, Lurchers can now steal a resource from the Spoils space. Other than taking the Koloss and the Straff Venture card, this is the only way to take resources from the Spoils.
Majority Supported Side
When a card effect refers to a "majority supported side," look at all players' Support tokens. If more players support one side than the other, they are in the majority and the effect is applied to them. If the sides are even, the Active Player chooses which side is in the majority.
"Reveal and Discard this Personality"
Certain Lasting Personalities that are played face down, such as Bodyguards and the Demoux Personality, grant special effects when they are revealed and discarded. You may only use these abilities when the Personality is already in play. Refer to each card for the exact timing and effects of revealing and discarding it. For example, the Bodyguard can be revealed and discarded to prevent another player from discarding or stealing one of your other Lasting Personalities.
Soothers (and Breeze)
Soothers, and named Soothers like Breeze, have a new restriction: they may not be used on Problem cards with a token on them (see page 24). This is mentioned in the card text.
Take the Koloss
The indicated player takes the Koloss pawn and immediately collects the Spoils (see page 19).
Reference
Deals in the Siege
Starting a Deal: During Step 4 of your turn, choose and place the Active Player pawn corresponding to the side you wish to support:
- Kelsier to support the Defenders
- Steel Inquisitor to support the Attackers
Subsequent negotiations may change the side ultimately supported by the deal.
Closing a Deal:
- Pay the resource cost: These resources do not immediately go into the general game supply.
- Add spent resources to the Spoils: Discard resources to the Spoils as shown at the top of the Vin's Journey track, and as negotiated during the deal. Discard any remaining resources to the general game supply.
- Apply "When Solved" effects: The Active Player chooses the effect's target, if any.
- Apply "Sly" Personality effects: The player controlling the card chooses the effect's target, if any.
- Award Favor: Each player involved in the deal collects the Favor they were promised, as agreed. Add these tokens to each player's scoring pile, face down.
- Discard the Problem to the negotiated side's Support Pile: Attacker Support Pile or Defender Support Pile, as negotiated. If not negotiated, discard per the chosen Active Player pawn.
- Flip House Support tokens: Each participating House flips their Support token to the negotiated or indicated side.
- Collect Allegiance tokens: Each participating House gains 1 Allegiance token matching the negotiated or indicated side.
Winning the Siege
The game ends when the Battle of Luthadel Problem card is solved or discarded, or when a fifth Ruin token is added to the card.
When this happens, no further cards may be played and no further deals may be made.
- Determine which side wins the siege: Reveal Problem cards in Support Piles. The highest total Impact wins the siege.
- Reveal Allegiance tokens: Tokens for the winning side are worth 2 Favor each.
- Total your score: Add Favor from Step 2 to Favor from scoring tokens. Subtract Disgrace. Reveal any face down cards that affect your score now.
If tied, the player with the most Allegiance tokens from the winning side is the winner. Further ties share the victory.