Nexus Infernum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Setup
  • The Game Dice
    • Energy Dice
    • Portal Die
    • Four Sided & Six Sided Dice
  • The Nexus
  • The Breach
  • Necromancer Playmats
  • Arcane Energy and Blasphemy Tokens
• Gameplay
• The Turn
  • Beginning
  • Turn Overview
  • Manifestation of Arcane Energy
  • Necromancy
  • Summon
  • Command
  • Aggress
  • Channel
  • Transmutation
• The Path of Blasphemy
  • Invocation
  • Infernal Pacts
  • Demonic Patrons
• Shepherd of the Breach (Victory!)
• Components

Game Setup

Nexus Infernum is a game for 2-5 players.

The play area for Nexus Infernum consists of these key elements: the Nexus Infernum board, the Breach, the game dice, Arcane Energy Tokens, Blasphemy Tokens, and individual Necromancer Playmats with their corresponding Infernal Pact markers and Skeletal Minions.

The Game Dice

Energy Dice

The two Energy Dice are four-sided dice with a color assigned to each of the four sides. These dice will be used throughout the course of the game to determine which Arcane Energies manifest within the portals of the Nexus Infernum.

Portal Die

The Portal Die is a six-sided die with a portal icon on each of the six sides. This die will determine the placement of newly manifested Arcane Energy as well as Summoned Skeletal Minions within the Nexus Infernum.

Four Sided & Six Sided Dice

Throughout the course of play, players will make use of the six six-sided dice and six four-sided dice for various actions on their turns.

The Nexus

The Nexus Infernum is the ancient temple at which the Necromancers have gathered to channel Arcane Energy. Within the Nexus are six portals, each marked with one of the six symbols etched upon the Portal Die.

The Breach

Opposite the Nexus Infernum stands the Breach. Within this fissure await the legions of the Dark One, ready for their invocation. To set up the Breach, individually shuffle the three decks of demon cards (marked I, II, III). Place each deck next to the Nexus Infernum. For each tier, draw five demons and place them face up to the right of their corresponding deck.

Necromancer Playmats

Players will assume the role of one of five Necromancers delving into the Nexus Infernum. Each player will take a Necromancer Playmat, place it in front of them, and setup their eight Infernal Pact markers and six Skeletal Minions as illustrated above.

Arcane Energy and Blasphemy Tokens

Separate the five different Arcane Energy tokens and the Blasphemy Tokens into piles and place them beside the Nexus Infernum.

Once the tokens are separated, use the Energy Dice to determine the starting Arcane Energy for each portal. Choose a portal and roll the two Energy Dice, placing 2 tokens for each corresponding color at that portal. Repeat this process for each of the six portals on the board.

Gameplay

As a power-hungry Necromancer, you seek to rise in infamy as the most blasphemous in the realm.

Through command of Skeletal Minions within the Nexus, players will battle against one another in a struggle to access portals and channel the energy that manifests within them. As players channel different strains of Arcane Energy from the portals, they will enhance their powers through invoking and forging Infernal Pacts with demons gathered within the Breach. Each Infernal Pact moves a player towards victory through accumulation of Points of Blasphemy.

The first Necromancer to acquire thirteen Points of Blasphemy will stand triumphant as the master of the Nexus Infernum.

"Come forth, spawn of the void! By my hand, the Breach opens unto thee!"

The Turn

Beginning

Randomly determine who will act first. Necromancers proceed to take turns clockwise around the table.

Turn Overview

The turn is made up of the following phases, taken in order:

1. Manifest Energy: Add Energy Tokens to a Portal.
2. Summon: Create Additional Skeletons.
3. Command: Move Skeletons.
4. Aggress: Fight Skeletons.
5. Channel: Harvest Energy from Portals.
6. Transmutation: Convert Energy Tokens.
7. Invoke: Forge Pacts with Demons.

Manifestation of Arcane Energy

Arcane Energy is used by the Necromancers to bolster their powers and make demonic invocations. It accumulates at the portals within the Nexus Infernum on each player's turn. Before performing any actions, a player will roll the Portal Die and two Energy Dice. The Energy Dice will determine which energies are generated and the Portal Die will determine at which portal this Energy will manifest. For each color rolled on the Energy Dice, place two corresponding Energy Tokens at the portal designated by the Portal Die.

Necromancy

After Energy has manifested within the Nexus, a player will muster their necromantic powers and perform four types of actions with their Skeletal Minions in the following order: Summon, Command, Aggress, and Channel.

Summon

In order to gain access to the portals of the Nexus, Necromancers will summon Skeletal Minions to do their bidding. Each Necromancer will be able to summon up to six Skeletal Minions through the course of the game.

Players will attempt to summon Skeletal Minions by rolling the Portal Die with a six-sided die in an effort to beat the summoning difficulty score as indicated on their playmat. If successful, they will move a Skeletal Minion from the left-most space on their playmat and place it at the portal within the Nexus as indicated by the Portal Die.

With each Skeletal Minion that a player summons, the difficulty score to summon further Skeletons will increase. The summoning difficulty score can be found on the playmat, beneath the each Skeletal Minion.

As the difficulty increases, players will be able to use green Arcane Energy to increase their odds of a successful summoning roll. For each skeleton they have present at the Nexus, a player may spend a green Arcane Energy Token to roll an additional six sided die when making their summoning roll. From the resulting dice rolls, the player will be able to keep the highest as their summoning roll for the turn.

Regardless of the number of dice rolled for a summoning attempt on a turn, only a single Skeletal Minion can be summoned per turn.

"So, too, do the fires of the void fuel the mastery of Necromancy!"

Command

A Necromancer may command a single Skeletal Minion to move between any two portals in the Nexus. Through command of their minions, players will be able to set themselves up to aggress other players' skeletons or to channel different assortments of energies present at other portals.

If a player wishes to command more than a single skeleton on their turn, they may spend a blue Arcane Energy Token for each additional skeleton beyond the first that they wish to move between portals.

Aggress

The presence of other Necromancers' skeletons within the Nexus can interfere with the channeling of energy and pose a threat to your own skeletons gathered at the portals. Through aggressing an opponent's skeletons, a Necromancer can clear a path through the Nexus.

If a player's Skeletal Minions are present at a portal with an opponent's, they may aggress them. If there are multiple opponents at this portal, the aggressor chooses a single opponent to aggress.

As the aggressor, they will proceed to roll a six-sided die for each of their own skeletons at the portal. The defending player will follow by rolling a four-sided die for each of their skeletons at that portal. Both players will choose their highest dice roll from the results. If the highest roll for either player is a four or greater, that player will proceed to remove one of the opposing skeletons from the portal. This may result in both aggressor and defender losing a Skeletal Minion if both succeed in their rolls. Destroyed skeletons return to their playmat.

If the aggressing player destroys a defending skeleton without losing one of their own, they will take a Blasphemy Token from the defender. (If the defending Necromancer has no points of Blasphemy, the aggressor does not receive any.)

If a player has a presence at more than a single portal, they may use a black Arcane Energy Token for each portal at which they have a skeleton present to initiate further acts of aggression at those portals.

Channel

The glow of Arcane Energy within the portals of the Nexus Infernum is irresistible to the Necromancers that gather there. Through influencing their Skeletal Minions to channel energy from the portals, Necromancers will be able to bolster their necromantic powers and invoke demonic minions to forge Infernal Pacts.

A player will always be able to channel Arcane Energy from a single portal at which they have a skeleton present on their turn.

To channel energy, the player will choose a portal at which they have a presence, then roll a four-sided die for each skeleton present. From the dice rolls, choose the highest score and take the resulting score's worth of energy in any combination of colors from the portal.

If a player has a presence at more than a single portal, they may pay one red Arcane Energy Token for each portal at which they have a skeleton present to continue to channel from those additional portals.

Transmutation

Purple Arcane Energy is the most raw form of the Arcane Energies. Though it will not manifest at the portals, players may transmute three of any single strain of Arcane Energy for one purple energy at any point on their turn. This chaotic purple energy can then be used as any other energy.

"Chaotic in its nature, the raw Arcana burns with the most potent essence of the void."

The Path of Blasphemy

Gathered within the Breach, the depraved heretic legions of the Dark One await their invocation. Through these invocations and subsequent forging of Infernal Pacts, the Necromancers rise in blasphemy as masters of the Nexus.

Invocation

Arcane Energy is the life force on which the demons gathered within the Breach subsist. By offering Arcane Energy corresponding to the cost of a demon present within the Breach (indicated in the orbs atop each card), a player can invoke that demon to serve by their side. Demons that are invoked through the Breach will be placed near a player's playmat. Only one demon may be invoked per turn.

Infernal Pacts

Each demon is affiliated to a single strain of Arcane Energy and will offer Infernal Pacts for invoking them from the Breach. These Infernal Pacts will bolster the Necromancer's powers based on the affiliation of the demon. For each pact forged, a Necromancer slips further down the path of blasphemy, gaining infamy for their dark deeds.

When a player has invoked a pair of demons corresponding to the same tier and color affiliation, they will form an Infernal Pact with the demons. At this point the player will reveal the corresponding pact on their playmat and receive the appropriate Points of Blasphemy for the pact forged.

Each Lesser Infernal Pact (Tier I) forged with the demons grants a player 2 Points of Blasphemy. Each Greater Infernal Pact (Tier II) forged with the demons grants a player 3 Points of Blasphemy. The demons with which the pact was forged will then be returned to the bottom of their respective decks.

Demonic Patrons

At the head of the heretic legions stand the most nefarious of the Dark One's minions. These Demonic Patrons can be invoked by the Necromancers to act as blasphemous advisors as they delve into the Nexus.

A Demonic Patron (Tier III) will grant a static power to the player which they serve and bolster their Blasphemy as long as they serve beside them. A player may only have a single patron in place at a time, but they may choose to replace their current patron as gameplay progresses. Once a Demonic Patron is replaced, it is returned to the bottom of the deck from whence it came.

No Blasphemy Tokens are taken for Demonic Patrons as they are invoked. Instead, they grant their bonus to a player's total as long as they serve beside them.

Along with the Blasphemy bonus that a Demonic Patron provides, they will also grant a player with a static point of purple Arcane Energy to be spent on a player's turn. This point is not added as a token to their energy pool, but instead counted toward their total for their turn.

Shepherd of the Breach (Victory!)

Once a Necromancer has achieved thirteen Points of Blasphemy they have claimed their status as the Shepherd of the Breach. Their Necromantic might has surpassed that of their adversaries and they rise as master of the Nexus Infernum. Gameplay immediately terminates and the lesser Necromancers are torn asunder by the black flames of the void as the abominations from the Breach feast upon their mortal essence.

Components

• 1 Nexus Infernum board
• 88 Demon Cards
• 5 Necromancer Playmats
• 30 Skeleton Tokens
• 30 Skeleton Token Bases
• 40 Infernal Pact Tokens
• 65 Blasphemy Tokens
• 5 sets of 45 Energy Tokens