Mortum: Medieval Detective
Mortum: Medieval Detective Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Time Track
The amount of time allotted for each scenario is limited and is tracked by moving a token along the time track. The track is assembled from two cards. The starting card of each scenario will tell you which space to place the TIME token on.
Advancing the Time Token
The TIME token advances along the track in several cases.
- A symbol in the upper left corner of the card. If the upper left corner of the card being played has one or more "clock" icons, move the token forward the corresponding number of hours.
- A direct instruction to advance the token. Some cards may directly indicate which space on the track to place the TIME token on.
- A decision by the players. You may simply skip hours by advancing the token, but this is not efficient, so try not to do this.
Fatigue
By continuing to act after sunset, the heroes accumulate fatigue. It is marked on the time track (at 19:00 you have one point of fatigue, at 20:00 — two, and so on). Some scenarios set a time limit after which you will be required to send the heroes to rest.
Fatigue is a borrowing of time from the next day, not a penalty. During rest you will have to get rid of every point of fatigue, and the more of it has accumulated, the later your next morning will begin. But do not be afraid to use the nighttime hours: in some scenarios they open up additional opportunities not available during the day.
When moving on to the next game day, the game will require you to get rid of all points of fatigue. This can be done in two ways:
- moving the time token forward 1 hour (the new day will thus begin later);
- discarding 1 special action token: surveillance, search, or raid.
End of Scenario
A scenario ends when the TIME token reaches a certain hour. You will learn how much time is given for the investigation in the course of play, when you draw the card with that information.
Decks
Various Decks
While preparing for each scenario, you will be instructed to separate several additional decks from the main deck.
You will not have to think about which deck to draw a given card from. If one of the additional decks is meant, the game will always state its name. If only a number is given, you should take the card from the main deck.
Main Deck
Cards in the main deck are most often two-sided (they have no card back), so try to pick them up in a way that keeps you from glimpsing the others. The reverse side of these cards is distinguished by the letter B added to the number. Sometimes the game may direct you straight to side B. In that case, do not read the text on the front side.
Additional Decks
Cards in these decks are one-sided — they always have a back bearing the deck's name, its special symbol (the symbol for search, surveillance, or raid), and the card number. You will draw cards from these decks in two cases:
- when performing the corresponding special action on your own initiative;
- when the game directly instructs you to take a card from a specific deck.
Card Structure
Any game action — whether it is a decision to visit a location, do something, or talk to someone — is always accompanied by playing a specific card. Cards can look different, but they all share a similar structure and use the same design elements.
Time Spent + Free Card Flip
Sometimes these two symbols appear next to each other, but they are two independent symbols. Read them as follows: after drawing this card, you must advance the TIME token by 1 hour, after which you may freely flip the card over and look at its back.
Free Card Flip: A flip symbol in the upper left corner of a card tells you that you may freely flip it over, spending nothing to do so.
Time Spent: This symbol means that you must advance the TIME token. The symbol triggers ONLY ONCE! If you flipped the card over and then returned to the side with this symbol, you do not need to advance the TIME token again.
Instruction in a colored block: An instruction in a colored block must be carried out. Cards often have either several such blocks, or several instructions at once within one of them. In any case, the instructions are carried out strictly in order from top to bottom. Be careful not to skip such instructions, or you will break the game's logic and will not be able to correctly finish the scenario.
Card chains. Sometimes such instructions will make you take another card, sometimes even more than one. The cards drawn may carry similar requirements. In this way, one card can trigger the drawing of a whole chain of cards. Chains are played out without interruption. This is important to keep in mind in cases where chains lead to the TIME token advancing and other events being triggered. Remember that you must first fully read and carry out all the instructions of the current chain before drawing the card for another event.
Text block: This is narrative text that reveals part of the story. Sometimes it contains instructions to do something, but in that case the text is highlighted in color.
Possible Actions
This block lists the actions you may perform if you consider it necessary. Each action is followed by a number — this is the number of the card you will draw by performing that action.
Rest action: the game day always ends with the group going to rest. Actions that allow you to do this always carry the note "Available from 18:00."
Missing number: if a card with that number is not present in the deck (for example, it was drawn earlier or the game required it to be removed), then performing the action is considered impossible.
Several possible actions: if a card offers several possible actions, then after performing one of them the card is NOT discarded. You may (if you wish, and if you have enough game time) perform all the actions, not just one.
Conditions for performing an action: to perform some actions, you must fulfill a requirement written before it. This may be spending a particular token or something else. The action can only be performed once all its conditions have been met.
Possible night actions: actions given in such a block may only be performed after the rest action has been played. The game itself will offer you the chance to perform a night action at that time. These actions may not be performed at any other time. Performing such an action always increases the group's fatigue by 1.
Hero Card
A hero card shows the hero's portrait, as well as the set of special-action tokens you will receive when the game tells you to take them (at the start of the scenario). These and other tokens acquired during play form the group's supply. A reminder of the rules for using and restoring special-action tokens is given on the back of the hero cards.
Card with a Keyword
Having drawn a card with a keyword, keep it together with your hero cards. These cards carry over from scenario to scenario. If you are unsure whether a card is a keyword card, simply treat it as one and keep it until the end of the last scenario, to avoid confusion.
Keyword cards are not kept if you replay a scenario from the beginning.
Location Card
This is an illustration showing a map of an area, with individual locations on it. These locations almost always have a unique number. It is needed to perform special actions (search, surveillance, or raid) in the locations, and it points to the number of the card in the corresponding deck that you must draw.
Moving between locations: the game does not require you to specify exactly where the heroes are at any given moment. Players do not need to spend time moving between locations.
A location with no number means that no special actions may be performed there.
Example: the players use an OBSERVATION token to perform a surveillance action at location 1, "The Ruins." When the action is complete, they must draw and read card 1 from the surveillance deck.
Special Actions
Tokens
Most of the tokens you hold represent the ability to perform one action or another. The decision to use them is yours to make on your own. After the introductory part of the first scenario, you will not encounter any further reminders that you can spend tokens to perform search, surveillance, or raid actions.
The phrase "spend a token" means removing it from the group's supply. The token may be returned to the box, or it may be placed at the location where the action was performed, for clarity.
Surveillance and Search Tokens
These actions involve covertly watching a location or thoroughly searching it. The action takes 3 hours and requires the following steps:
- place your available token on the chosen location;
- take another token from the box and place it on the space of the time track three hours later than the current time;
- when the TIME token reaches the token placed on the track, return that token to the box and draw the card with the location's number from the corresponding deck;
- before reading this card, finish reading the chain that triggered the advance of the TIME token;
- the token lying at the location remains there for the rest of the game, so that it is easier for you to keep track of which special actions you have already performed, and where.
Simultaneous performance: surveillance and search may be carried out at the same time, if these actions are indicated on the cards of two different characters. The locations where these actions are carried out must also be different. But this does not mean that search and surveillance cannot be performed at the same location. You may keep watch on a location where a search was previously carried out, and vice versa.
Blocking a location: until a special action is complete, the location is considered unavailable for any other actions (including actions given in "Possible Actions" blocks that involve visiting that location).
Important!
- If you go to rest before the TIME token reaches the token placed on the track, the action is still completed and you draw the corresponding card before restoring all your tokens.
- Sometimes the game instructs you to take a token from the box and place it at a location. This means that the corresponding action can no longer be performed at that location, and having placed this token, you should not draw a card from the corresponding deck.
Raid Tokens
This action means that the heroes burst into a location, tie up everyone present, interrogate them, and thoroughly search the location. To perform a raid, all members of the group must be present (surveillance or search actions must not be in progress). To perform a raid, do the following:
- place your available token at the chosen location;
- immediately after this, draw the card with the location's number from the raid deck.
After a raid: the location is blocked and becomes unavailable. No actions (including actions given in "Possible Actions" blocks that involve visiting that location) may be performed there any longer. The location is NOT blocked if the raid could not be carried out and the players had to return the spent raid token.
Combat Tokens
These tokens are spent during combat encounters. If a card's text requires spending a certain number of combat tokens, the players must do so. For each missing combat token, the group receives a wound token.
If a card's text offers the option to spend some number of combat tokens in order to perform an action, players may only do so if the group's supply holds the required number of these tokens.
Wound Tokens
Each wound token counts as an additional point of fatigue and forces the heroes to spend more time resting.
Mental Power Tokens
Magic allows contact with the spirits of the dead and finding solutions that would normally take hours or even days to discover. You may use these tokens whenever the game offers you the chance to do so.
Coin Tokens
Coins let you obtain items and information without engaging in conflict. If a card's text offers the option to spend some number of coins to perform an action, players may only do so if the group's supply holds the required number of coins.
Restoring Tokens
Surveillance and search tokens are restored every morning, so do not be sparing with their use.
Raid, combat, and mental power tokens are refreshed only at the start of the next scenario.
Coin tokens are given out once for the whole game. The supply of coins is not restored.
Wound tokens remain with the group until the end of the scenario.
Frequently Asked Questions and Common Mistakes
Mistake: Players spend game time moving between locations.
Explanation: There is no movement on the map in this game. The settlements where the action takes place are not so large, so only advance the time token when the cards being played require it.
Mistake: When replaying a scenario, players keep the keyword cards obtained during the first playthrough.
Explanation: Keyword cards define the decisions and events that happened to your characters during the current playthrough. If your story unfolded differently on a replay and you did NOT receive a card you received previously, you should not take it. Otherwise you will run into inconsistent in-game events.
Mistake: The game required flipping a card to side B, and having done so, players consider side A to no longer be accessible.
Explanation: Players always have access to information and cards they have already read. Thus, side A remains accessible to them if they read it earlier. There is an important nuance here: in rare cases, players may gain access directly to side B. In that rare case, side A remains inaccessible.
Mistake: Players carry out a raid on a location, and afterward perform actions connected to it (for example, going to talk at the farm after placing a raid token there).
Explanation: A raid token excludes any possibility for players to carry out any actions whatsoever at that location.
Mistake: Players use a raid without waiting for the search or surveillance special actions to finish.
Explanation: To carry out a raid, all of the players' characters must be available. In other words, it cannot be played in parallel with any other actions.
Mistake: Players choose and act on behalf of one particular character, assuming that it is specifically that character performing the actions on the cards.
Explanation: All players play together as the whole group of agents. If one of the possible actions is carried out, it is understood that the whole group is undertaking it (except for characters who have split off to perform surveillance or a search).
Question: Some cards have a night-action option involving a raid on a location. Do you need to spend a raid token for such an action?
Answer: No. If an action is offered to you by a card and its text does not state that a token must be spent, then you do not spend one.
Question: A card offers a possible action at the location where surveillance or a search is being carried out right now. Can this action be performed?
Answer: No, it cannot, until the special action is complete.
Question: Can special actions be performed at locations that have not yet been visited?
Answer: Yes.
Question: How can the group start growing fatigued as early as 7 in the evening? Isn't going to rest at 6 in the evening and sleeping until 7 in the morning too much for experienced agents and fighters?
Answer: The division of time into waking hours and rest in the game is somewhat of a convention. Rest does not mean only sleep. It includes all the time the heroes spend preparing food (both in the evening and in the morning), cleaning and maintaining their equipment, discussing and laying out plans for further action, and so on.
Question: Can you skip time if there are no available actions right now?
Answer: Yes, you can.
Credits
- Game Designer: Sergey Minevich
- Creative Director: Denis Plastinin
- Artists: Igor Kozlov, Igor Savchenko, Maxim Kozlov
- Designer: Alisa Argat
- Project Manager: Roman Shamolin