Mythwind: Friends & Family
Mythwind: Friends & Family Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Mythwind: Friends & Family contains several new avenues for expanding the game. If players wish to use all the parts of this expansion, they can follow the setup instructions to incorporate the expansion into the game at the start of their next game session, whether they are continuing an in-progress campaign or beginning a new one.
Furthermore, players can use only the parts of the expansion that appeal to them. For example, the new buildings, friend cards, and friend board can be easily removed while still enjoying the character interaction cards and the endless events. While we love playing Mythwind using all of our content, we encourage you to use the content that creates the complexity and the story that works best for your table.
Components
- Event Cards (9)
- Adventure Cards (11)
- Character Interaction Cards (20)
- Expedition + Gossip Cards (8)
- Friend Cards (64)
- Building Cards (17)
- Request Cards (4)
- Weather Card (1)
- Friendship Tray
- Friendship Board
- Heart Tokens (12)
- Child Dice (5)
- Party Token (1)
Setup
To set up the Mythwind: Friends & Family expansion, perform the following steps after completing the setup instructions found in the Town Charter:
-
Place Friendship Board: Place the friendship board next to the construction queue.
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Remove Buildings: Remove the following building cards from the game and place them in the game box.
- Abattoir
- Church
- Courthouse
- Fishing Ground
- Foundry
- General Store
- Guild
- Harbor
- Hotel
- Inn
- Jail
- Library
- Lumber Mill
- Monument
- Printing Press
- Tavern
- Trading Post
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Add Buildings: Add the 17 building cards from this expansion to the supply. There is a building card to replace each removed building from the previous step. Each building (except the Fishing Ground) that replaces one from the base game has a portrait of one of the friends from this expansion.
If adding the Friends & Family expansion to an in-progress game, replace any buildings from the previous step that may be on the town board (in a location or on the construction queue) with the matching building card from the expansion. If a building is added to a location on the town board in this way, place the friend card (acquaintance) that corresponds to that building in a slot on the friendship board (see "Arriving Friends" on page 9).
Basic Concepts
This section contains the basic concepts for Mythwind: Friends & Family that provide a foundation for players while learning the game.
Friends
Friends are villagers who are settling in Mythwind Valley, and they are represented by friend cards. A friend has four unique friend cards, each representing one of the four friendship statuses that the friend can have with the characters in the game: acquaintance, pal, best friend, and companion.
Each friend enters the game as an acquaintance. As the characters socialize with a friend, their relationship status can grow from acquaintance to pal, from pal to best friend, and from best friend to companion. A companion is the ultimate form of friendship. Companions provide the characters with additional abilities and may add cards to the adventure deck, possibly leading to marriage and eventually children.
A friend card's status can be determined by its heart value: 1 for acquaintances, 2 for pals, and 3 for best friends. The companion cards do not have a heart value.
Additionally, a card's friendship status is presented on the bottom of the card's back.
Friendship Board
The friendship board contains six slots to hold socially active friends. When a friend enters the game, they become active, and their acquaintance card is placed in one of the six slots. During the game, characters can socialize with active friends that are on the friendship board.
Friend Tray
The friend tray is used to store the supply of the Friends & Family components that are not currently in play. The tray has two separate areas for the friend cards. One is for the supply of friend cards that are out of play, and the other is for any away friends. An away friend has entered the game, but is not currently on the friendship board. Away friends are described in detail later.
Friend Rules
This section contains the primary rules for this expansion.
Arriving Friends
Throughout the game, friends arrive in Mythwind Valley as buildings are constructed. Each friend is connected to a specific building, which is labeled on their friend card. Additionally, the friend's portrait appears on the building that signifies their arrival. (Example: Gillard's portrait is on the General Store. They arrive in town when the General Store is built.)
After a building with a friend portrait is constructed and placed in a location on the town board, the depicted friend arrives in the valley.
When a friend arrives, the players take that friend's acquaintance card from the supply and read the text on the back of the card. Then, they place that card faceup in one of the six slots on the friendship board.
If there is no empty slot on the friendship board when a friend arrives, read the back of the friend card, then place it in the away area in the friend tray (see "Friend Tray" on page 8).
Active and Away Friends
An active friend is any friend that has arrived in the valley and is in one of the six slots on the friendship board. When a friend is active, characters can socialize with them, which is described later.
An away friend is any friend that has arrived in the valley but is not on the friendship board. Away friends are placed in the friend tray. An away friend can move to the friendship board and become active as follows:
- If there is ever an empty slot on the friendship board, the players can choose any away friend to become active, taking their card from the friend tray and moving it to the friendship board.
- At the end of each season, the players can choose to swap any number of their away friends and active friends, choosing which friends they want to have active for the season (see "End of Season" on page 18).
Any heart tokens on an active friend that becomes an away friend are lost and returned to the supply.
Departing Friends
If a building with a friend portrait is ever removed from the town board by either being replaced or destroyed, the friend that is associated with that building departs. When a friend departs, their active or away friend card is returned to the supply. If the card had any heart tokens on it, those are removed and returned to the supply as well.
A departed friend can arrive in the town again if the building they are connected to is ever constructed again. When this happens, that friend arrives in town as an acquaintance, following the normal arrival rules.
If a married friend's building is destroyed, that friend stays with the character they are married to.
The Socialize Action
The optional socialize action allows characters and friends to socialize with each other, potentially increasing the friendship status (acquaintance, pal, best friend, and companion) of active friends. As a friend's status increases from acquaintance to companion, new abilities and story elements become available.
Socializing is a group action that characters perform together by creating and rolling an allotment of dice, the results of which can help to increase the friendship status of participating friends.
The socialize action may be performed during the daytime. After resolving town actions, a character may initiate the socialize action if they used a building that has a friend portrait on it. (Example: The Merchant uses the General Store for her town action. Since Gillard's portrait is on the General Store, the Merchant may initiate the socialize action for herself and all other characters, after all town actions are resolved.)
To perform the socialize action, a player resolves the following steps:
1. Determine Participants
Each socialize action must have at least one character participant and at least one friend participant. Participants are determined as follows:
- Characters: Any character in town may choose to participate in the socialize action. However, at least one character must have initiated the action by using a building that has a friend portrait on it.
- Friends: All friends who meet both of the following criteria become participants:
- They are active and on the friendship board.
- During the current day, at least 1 character used a building that has their portrait on it.
2. Determine Social Value
The social value is the minimum number of pips the characters must produce during their roll for the socialize action to be successful.
To determine the social value, add together the total values presented on the bottom of each participating friend's card. Make sure to use the value that corresponds to the game's character count (use the number of characters playing the game, not the number of characters participating in the socialize action). (Example: During a two-player game, a socialize action in which both Gillard and Sam are participating has a social value of 9 (3 + 6).)
3. Allocate Workers
Each participating character can allocate any of their hired workers (sprites or villagers) to the action. A character can allocate as many or as few dice as they wish. The more dice allocated, the more likely the roll will result in a success.
Each allocated die must come from a character's dice well and it cannot have been used already during the current day.
4. Roll Dice
The characters roll all the allocated dice and add the total number of pips. If the number of pips equals or exceeds the social value, the action is a success. Otherwise, the action is a failure. (Example: Each character allocated two dice and the roll resulted in 9 pips, which is greater than the social value of 9 (3 + 6). Therefore, the socialize action is a success.)
5. Place Hearts
If the socialize action was a success, place one heart token from the supply on each participating friend's card. If the action was a failure, place no heart tokens but finish all remaining steps. (Example: Because the socialize action was successful, a heart token is placed on both friend cards.)
6. Return Dice
Each die is returned to the character who allocated it to the socialize action, preserving the number of pips shown on the die. The returned dice cannot be used for any other actions for the remainder of the day. As such, the player will place these dice below the character board and return them to their dice well during dusk, along with any other used dice.
If any of the dice show zero pips, they are rerolled at dusk until there is at least one pip, and then they are placed in the tower on the town board as normal.
7. Increase Friendship Status
During this step, if any of the participating friends have a number of hearts on their friend card that equals or exceeds their heart value (even if no hearts were added this turn), that friend can have their friendship status increased. A friend's heart value is shown on the top of their active friend card.
A friend can only increase their status once per socialize action, and the increase must follow these increments:
- An acquaintance can increase to a pal.
- A pal can increase to a best friend.
- A best friend can increase to a companion.
To increase a friend's status, the character who used a building with that friend's portrait on it must pay the friend's status cost according to the new status as shown below (This chart is also on the reference card).
| Character | Pal | Best Friend | Companion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer | 2 Tended Crops | 5 Tended Crops | 12 Tended Crops |
| Crafter | 3 Refinement, Slot 3 materials | 4 Refinement, Slot 4 materials | 5 Refinement, Slot 5 materials |
| Ranger | 2 Meat | 3 Wood | 4 Fur |
| Merchant | 5 Wine Goods | 8 Fur Goods | 11 Food Goods |
| Innkeeper | 2 Renown & 15 Coins | 4 Renown & 30 Coins | 6 Renown & 50 Coins |
Source note: the Companion cost for the Merchant is printed as 11 Food Goods on page 14 (the chart in the Socialize Action section) and as 12 Food Goods on page 24 (the summary sheet). Both are transcribed as printed; the rulebook does not say which is correct.
The cost is different for each character, and that cost increases as the status increases. After paying the cost, that friend's card as well as any heart tokens on it are returned to the supply. Then the character takes the friend card that matches its new status from the supply and reads it aloud before placing it faceup on the friendship board.
Delayed Status Increases
If a character cannot or chooses not to pay the cost to increase a friend's status, it can be increased in a future socialize action, provided it still has enough heart tokens.
Companions
Companion is the ultimate friendship status. When a friend becomes a companion, they no longer have heart and social values, and they cannot increase their status further.
Each companion has a unique companion ability at the bottom of their friend card. The rules for resolving each companion ability are presented in the "Companion Abilities" section on page 20.
When performing town actions, if a character uses a building depicting a friend who has a companion friendship status, it does not enable a socialize action. Instead, after using the building, the character can immediately resolve that friend's companion ability.
A friend's companion ability cannot be resolved if the friend is away.
Marriage
Some friends have a marriage icon on their friend card. Friends with this icon are eligible to marry one of the characters in the game.
When a marriage-eligible friend becomes a companion, their companion card instructs the players to shuffle an adventure card into the adventure deck. A character who resolves that card can marry that friend. Friends who have reached the companion level but are away can still be married.
When a character and a friend are married, that friend's companion card is removed from the friendship board or away area of the friend tray, as appropriate, and placed faceup near the character's board. Shuffle event card FF9 into the event deck.
During a character's perform worker actions step, players can use a hired villager (depending on the companion's alignment) by placing the worker on their married friend to activate their companion ability. A married friend's ability can only be activated by the character that they are married to.
Married friends do not return to the supply if their associated building is destroyed or removed. Characters can only marry one friend and cannot separate from that friend in the future.
Children
As characters settle into Mythwind Valley, they may wish to start a family and have children. Like many of the game's villagers and sprites, children are represented by dice.
When an event card allows characters who are married to have a child, that character takes one children die from the supply and places it in the dice well of their character tray. A character cannot have more than one children die.
At the beginning of the dawn phase, each character who has a children die rolls it and resolves as follows:
- Coin icon (cross on a coin): Lose 1 coin. If you have no coins, ignore this result.
- Villager icon: Treat this die as a villager during the worker action step.
- Sprite icon: Treat this die as a sprite during the worker action step.
- Blank face: No effect.
After resolving a children die effect (including using it as a sprite or villager) the character returns the die to their dice well.
Source note: the page 16 children-die faces are printed as icons with no numbers; the faces are listed above in the order the rulebook shows them.
Additional Rules
This section contains additional rules for this expansion.
Interaction Cards
Friends & Family introduces interaction cards that allow characters to purchase goods and services from each other. Each character has a unique interaction card for each other character.
Each interaction card has an owner and a visitor. The owner's portrait is displayed at the top of the card, and the visitor's portrait is at the bottom. The visitor is the character who can use that card to interact with the owner.
During setup, each character passes the interaction cards they own to the appropriate visitors. Then, as a daytime town action, a visitor can perform an interact action by placing their miniature on one of their visitor cards. Their alignment for that action is displayed at the top of the card.
To resolve an interaction card, the visitor must pay a cost to the owner. This cost is displayed at the top of the card and is a direct exchange between the two characters. In return, the owner provides a good or service to the visitor that can offer them a variety of rewards. (Example: The Farmer is the owner of this Roadside Table card. The Crafter can visit this Roadside Table to interact with the Farmer.)
Each character has a unique style of interaction cards. For example, the Farmer sells crops to visitors that they can spend for rewards, and the Merchant sells goods that can increase the town's resources. The Ranger has character-specific expeditions to resolve, and the Crafter has character-specific requests. These expeditions and requests have a portrait of the visitor on them.
Each interaction card has its own unique rules and resolutions, which are described on the back of the card.
Endless Event Cards
This expansion includes four endless events, made up of eight event cards. These events ensure that there is always an event in the event deck.
If the event deck is ever depleted, shuffle in events FF1, FF3, FF5, and FF7 to use them to create and use them to create a new event deck.
Source note: the printed sentence reads "to use them to create and use them to create a new event deck" (a repeated phrase in the source); it is transcribed as printed.
Alternatively, players can simply shuffle the endless event cards into the event deck at any time.
End of Season
When playing with the Friends portion of this expansion, an additional step is added to the End of Season. That is the "Change Active Friends" step.
- Resolve End-of-Season Actions
- Resolve Goal Cards
- Reset Weather Deck
- Change Season Tile
- Change Characters
- Change Active Friends
During the change active friends step, the players can place any of the active friends on the friendship board into the friend tray, changing those friends from active to away. This can create space for new friend arrivals. However, if any friend cards have heart tokens on them, those hearts are lost and returned to supply.
Additionally, the players can place any of their away friends onto the friendship board, making them active so they can participate in socialize actions or providing access to their companion abilities if they have reached the companion status.
Hired Workers
Some building and companion abilities require hired workers to be rolled. In order to perform these abilities, a character must have the appropriate hired worker (villager or sprite) to perform the ability. Once the hired worker has been rolled, it can not perform further actions during the game day. At dusk, it will either be returned to the character's dice well or to the tower if the die shows zero pips.
Upgrading Skills
The Foundry has an example of a new icon in this expansion: upgrade skill. The upgrade skill icon allows players to discard any skill in their character tray to gain another level higher or equal to the discarded skill, regardless of what sprite is in play. For example, the Farmer could discard the level 1 skill Green Thumb and add the level 2 skill Cowboy to a skill slot on the character tray. The Farmer would not have to pay the crops required to gain the Cowboy skill by doing this action.
The character may also rearrange their other skills at this time.
Saving the Game
When saving a game of Friends & Family, if a character has gained a children die, it remains in their dice well. Any hearts that have been placed on friend cards remain, and any interaction cards that are in play can be placed back in the character tray and set up again during the next session.
Place the friendship board on top of the Friends & Family tray and then place the lid on top.
Ability Appendix
This section contains descriptions for companion abilities and Friends & Family buildings.
Companion Abilities
- Aidan (He/him): You may resolve an event card. If you do not, gain 1 Culture.
- Alex (He/him): A character may give up to 10 of their coins to one other character.
- Billie (She/Her): If the discover land action was performed during the current day, gain 1 Production.
- Caz (She/Her): Perform a socialize action with any other villager friend. All characters may participate.
- Emmie (She/Her): If the sprite action space has no sprite die, rotate the current sprite to an unlocked sprite of your choosing and perform that sprite's action (at no cost).
- Gillard (They/Them): Roll a hired villager die and resolve it as follows:
- 0-1: Gain 3 coins.
- 2: Gain a Production.
- 3: Perform an adventure action. Your alignment is based on the General Store.
- Kiki (She/Her): Immediately resolve a level one skill.
- Louis (He/Him): If there are more sprites than villagers at the tower, gain either 1 Culture or 1 Food.
- Mar (They/Them): You may decrease all villagers at the tower. For each villager that you decrease, you may advance 1 building in the construction queue.
- Olivia (She/Her): If there are more villagers than sprites at the tower, gain either a Production or Income.
Building Abilities
Each entry gives the building name, its prerequisite character in parentheses, its level, and its action.
- Abattoir (Vince), Level II: Increase all villagers at the tower, then hire 1 villager. At the end of the season, gain 1 food.
- Church (Emmie), Level II: If you perform Em's socialize action, you may decrease a hired sprite to do a 2nd socialize action with any other villager friend. At the end of the season, gain 1 culture.
- Courthouse (Tara), Level III: Spend 10 coins to add 1 heart token to an active friend card.
- Fishing Ground, Level I: Perform a socialize action with any friend on the friendship board. You may spend 1 coin to reroll all allocated workers once.
- Foundry (Mar), Level III: Do not take a character action during the current day. You may pay 10 coins to upgrade a skill for free, regardless of what sprite is in the current action space. Ex. Level I to level II.
- General Store (Gillard), Level I: Spend 3 coins to perform 1 additional character action during the current day.
- Guild (Alex), Level II: Roll a hired villager die and resolve it as follows: (0-1) increase all villagers at tower; (2) hire 1 villager at no cost; (3) gain 1 income and hire 1 villager at no cost.
- Harbor (Louis), Level III: If you perform Louis's socialize action, you may decrease a hired villager to do a 2nd socialize action with any other villager friend. At the end of the season, if the seasonal goal was successful, gain 1 income and each character gains 3 coins.
- Hotel (Sam), Level II: Roll a hired sprite die and resolve it as follows: (0-1) increase all sprites at tower. (2) hire 1 sprite at no cost. (3) gain 1 culture and hire 1 sprite at no cost.
Quick Reference
Socialize
- Determine Participants: Initiator, plus any number of other characters, plus depicted friends.
- Determine Social Value: Sum of all participating friends.
- Allocate Workers: Any number of unused hired workers.
- Roll Dice: Results equal to or greater than social value for success.
- Place Hearts: If successful, one heart on each participating friend.
- Return Dice: Cannot be used for the remainder of the day.
- Increase Friendship Status: Remove all hearts and pay costs according to the new status:
| Character | Pal | Best Friend | Companion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer | 2 Tended Crops | 5 Tended Crops | 12 Tended Crops |
| Crafter | 3 Refinement, Slot 3 materials | 4 Refinement, Slot 4 materials | 5 Refinement, Slot 5 materials |
| Ranger | 2 Meat | 3 Wood | 4 Fur |
| Merchant | 5 Wine Goods | 8 Fur Goods | 12 Food Goods |
| Innkeeper | 2 Renown & 15 Coins | 4 Renown & 30 Coins | 6 Renown & 50 Coins |
Source note: this summary prints the Merchant Companion cost as 12 Food Goods; the Socialize Action section prints 11 Food Goods. Both are transcribed as printed.
End of Season
- Resolve End-of-Season Actions
- Resolve Goal Cards
- Reset Weather Deck
- Change Season Tile
- Change Characters
- Change Active Friends
New Icons
- Socialize
- Roll Sprite or Villager Dice
- Dice Value
- Roll Child Dice
- Place Heart Token
- Upgrade Skill