Paleo: Weg der Ältesten Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview and Components
  • Card Overview
  • Introduction
• Setup
  • Card Preparation
  • Additional Setup
• The Cult Site
  • How to Use the Cult Site
  • Refilling the Display
  • New Symbols
  • Rituals and Cult Objects
  • Other Symbols
  • Altar Cards
• Night Phase
• Cult Tools
  • New Symbols
  • The Cult Tool Tokens
• New Secrets
• New Modules
  • Module V: Path of the Elders (13 cards) – Difficulty: Easy
  • Module W: Signs in the Sky (23 cards) – Difficulty: Medium
  • Module X: Revenge of the White Hands (15 cards) – Difficulty: Medium
• Cards Marked with *
  • Path of the Elders
  • Revenge of the White Hands
  • Secrets

Overview and Components

Components: 85 cards, 3 tool tokens, 1 cult night tile, 1 skull token, 6 cult tool tokens, 2 torch tokens, 1 trap token, and the Cult Site board.

• Cult Site (board): assemble it before your first game. The Cult Site is not meant to be taken apart again after that, as it fits assembled into the base game box.
• Card stands: insert the card stands all the way to their stops first, and only then press them down. The numbers 1, 2 and 3 mark the correct positions of the 3 card stands.

Card Overview

• Secret cards (22 cards): these are added to the base game's secret cards. The 9 secret cards marked with the Cult Site symbol are needed whenever you play with the Cult Site. The other secret cards are needed only for specific modules as usual.
• New base cards (12 cards): shuffle the new base cards into the other base cards, or into the base cards from "A New Beginning".
• Modules (51 cards): this expansion contains 3 new modules, V to X. If you want to start playing right away, you need only module V from this expansion. Set the other two new modules aside for now.
• Additional tokens: if you play with module W or X, add the 2 additional torch tokens and the trap token to the other tokens.

Introduction

What can I combine? As with the base game, this expansion contains modules. These are combinable with each other and with other expansions and modules. Module V is playable only together with the Cult Site and the new base cards. Modules W and X also work without the Cult Site. Some options on the cards are then not executable and must be ignored.

The Cult Site can be combined with all modules and makes Paleo a little easier. If there are levels you have not yet beaten, add the Cult Site and try again.

To play again later without the Cult Site, remove the Cult Site board, the cult tool tokens, the cult night tile, the new base cards and the secret cards marked with the Cult Site symbol from the game, and skip the additional setup.

Our level suggestions:

• Level I: Module B + Module V + Cult Site
• Level II: Module D + Module W + Cult Site
• Level III: Module I + Module X + Cult Site

More about the new modules can be found on pages 7 and 8 of the printed rulebook.

Setup

Card Preparation

As in the base game, first sort the cards by the symbol on them. Try not to look at the card fronts more than necessary, so you do not spoil the surprises.

• Additional secret cards (22 cards): these are marked with a symbol in the top-right corner. Add all new secret cards to the base game's secret cards. You need the 9 cards marked with the Cult Site symbol whenever you play with the Cult Site; the other secret cards you need only for specific modules.
• New base cards (12 cards): shuffle them together with the other base cards (or the base cards from "A New Beginning").
• Modules (51 cards): shuffle the cards of each module separately. Set aside any module you are not playing.

Additional Setup

If you play with the Cult Site, set up the game as normal with the following additions:

1. Place the Cult Site board next to the workbench.
2. Shuffle the 6 cult tool tokens. Place a stack of 2 tokens on each of the 3 visible altars on the Cult Site board, with the stone side facing up.
3. Place the additional skull token next to the night board, with the other skull tokens.
4. Place the cult night tile next to the mission cards of your chosen modules at the night board.
5. In addition to the secret cards your modules use, you need the secret cards marked with the Cult Site symbol. Shuffle them and place them face down under the stack of the other secret cards.
6. Follow step 11 of the base game setup with the following changes: shuffle all required module cards together with the base cards (this includes the 12 new base cards) into one stack. Before dealing, place the top 13 cards face down on the marked area of the Cult Site board, without changing their order. These cards form the cult deck. Then draw the top 3 cards from the cult deck, and place them unseen and face down, in order from left to right, into the 3 free spaces of the Cult Site. These 3 cards form the Cult Site display. Deal the remaining cards as usual.

The Cult Site

How to Use the Cult Site

The three elders at the Cult Site want you to find certain places for them, where they can perform rituals. You can interact with the Cult Site in 3 ways:

• Reveal cards with matching symbols.
• Place cult tool tokens.
• Use a help action.

The Cult Site has the following parts:

1. Cult Site display (the 3 cards in the Cult Site)
2. Forest altar
3. River altar
4. Mountain altar
5. Cult deck

Refilling the Display

Important: refilling the display. If, after resolving your card and tokens, fewer than 3 cards remain in the Cult Site display, you must refill the empty spaces with new cards. To do so, draw the top card of the cult deck one at a time, and place it unseen and face down into the empty space furthest to the left. You may not choose which spaces the cards go into. Repeat until there are 3 cards in the display. If there are no cards left in the cult deck, you do not refill the display further during this turn.

Example: Refilling the display. After resolving your card, 2 cards are missing from the display. You place the top card of the cult deck into the left space, and the next card into the right space.

New Symbols

Seek place (Ort aufsuchen): choose one of the 3 cards from the Cult Site display and place it face down, unseen, on top of your deck. If a person helps you, they may place the card on their deck instead.

Note: If you place a hazard card on your deck this way, you do not suffer any wounds.

The Cult Site also has a permanent option. Once per turn you may use a help action to perform the seek place effect. If you do, you may not use the help action for anything else during that turn.

It is often better to use a help action to seek a place than to ignore a card. Keep in mind that the day is shorter the fewer cards you have in your deck!

Example: Seeking a place. You choose the hazard card from the forest altar and place it face down on your deck. Then you refill the display.

Avoid place (Ort meiden): place the indicated number of cards face down, in unchanged order, under the cult deck at the Cult Site board. You must give up the top cards of your own deck for this (even if someone helps you). Hazard cards you put under the cult deck this way cause you no wounds.

If you do not have enough cards in your deck to give up the indicated number, you cannot perform the action, unless it is a negative action. If that is the only negative action you can perform, you give up as many cards as you can.

Venerate place (Ort verehren): if the symbol shows a forest card, there must be a forest card at the forest altar. If it shows a river card, there must be a river card at the river altar. If it shows a mountain card, there must be a mountain card at the mountain altar. If that is the case, the requirement is fulfilled.

Sometimes a card with the matching back must be placed at all three altars to fulfil the requirement.

Example: Venerating a place. You have revealed a card with the requirement "venerate place" for a forest card. You check whether there is a forest card at the forest altar. There is, so the requirement is fulfilled. You perform the action and receive 1 wood.

Rituals and Cult Objects

Perform ritual (Ritual durchführen): if the symbol shows a forest card, there must be a forest card at the forest altar. If it shows a river card, there must be a river card at the river altar. If it shows a mountain card, there must be a mountain card at the mountain altar. If that is the case, take that card from the Cult Site and place it unseen on the face-down discard pile. The requirement is considered fulfilled.

Some actions allow you to perform any of the three rituals.

Example: Performing a ritual. You have revealed a card with the requirement "perform ritual" for a mountain card. There is a mountain card at the mountain altar, so you can perform the action. You place the mountain card on the face-down discard pile and receive 1 stone as loot. Then you refill the display.

Develop cult object (Kultobjekt entwickeln): take the top cult tool token from the altar that matches the symbol (forest, river or mountain), and place it with the stone side up in your group. If there is no token left on that altar, you instead remove 1 wound token from a person in your group.

Develop cult (Kult entwickeln): as soon as someone takes the last cult tool token from the Cult Site, you may immediately flip the cult night tile to its other side. Place it on the night board, next to the skull tally track. From then on you no longer lose with 5 skull tokens, but only with 6 skull tokens. In addition, you no longer receive wounds during the night phase when the matching cards are not in the Cult Site display.

Other Symbols

Get any tool (Beliebiges Werkzeug erhalten): take a tool of your choice from the supply or from the workbench. Cult tool tokens may not be chosen.

Give any tool (Beliebiges Werkzeug abgeben): give up a tool token of your choice from your group. Cult tool tokens that are already in your group also count as tools and may be chosen, regardless of which side they are on.

Discard hazard card (Gefahrenkarte ablegen): you may place any card with a red back and no effects from your deck on the face-down discard pile.

Altar Cards

Altar cards always show at least one of the following requirements and rewards:

• Perform ritual (forest, river or mountain)
• Develop cult object (forest, river or mountain)

Night Phase

Addition to the sequence: if you play with the Cult Site, or with module W or X, it is especially important to keep the exact order of the different steps of the night phase (see base game rulebook, page 5).

With the Cult Site, step 4 of the night phase is supplemented by the following rules:

Before you shuffle the cards of the two discard piles together for the next day phase, check whether the Cult Site display consists of cards that match their altars. The left card must be a forest card, the middle card a river card, and the right card a mountain card. For each card that does not meet this (and for each space in the display where there is no card), you receive 1 wound token. You may freely decide which people you spread the wounds across. You may also prevent them as usual.

Example: All cards match the altars. In the night phase, a forest card is at the forest altar, a river card at the river altar, and a mountain card at the mountain altar. You suffer no wounds.

Example: Not all cards match the altars. In the night phase, a river card is at the forest altar, a river card is at the river altar, and a footprint card is at the mountain altar. Since both the forest altar and the mountain altar have a wrong card, you suffer 2 wounds.

After that, place the cult deck and all cards from the Cult Site display unseen on the face-down discard pile. Then shuffle it together with the open discard pile as usual.

Before you deal the shuffled cards, place the top 13 cards face down on the Cult Site board and form a new display from the top 3, as in step 11 of the setup. Only then deal the cards and begin a new day phase.

Cult Tools

You obtain the new cult tool tokens through the effect develop cult object. They let you interact with the Cult Site more easily and offer further advantages.

When you use a cult tool for the first time, you must flip the token. When you use it a second time, you must give it up. So you can use each cult tool up to 2 times. You may use each cult tool only once per turn.

New Symbols

Flip the token (arrow): this arrow means that you must flip the cult tool token to its other side to use its ability or effect.

Venerate place and flip the token: to use the effect on this token, the corresponding altar must have a forest, river or mountain card, depending on what is shown (see venerate place). You must also flip the token.

Help and give up cult token: to use the effect on this token, you must use a help action. If you do, you may not use the help action for anything else during that turn. In addition, you must give up the token.

The Cult Tool Tokens

Crow: the first time you use the crow, you receive 2 eye symbols in this turn. If you use it in a later turn again, you receive 1 eye symbol.

Drum: the first time you use the drum, you must place 2 cards face down under the cult deck. If you use it in a later turn again, you place 1 card face down under the cult deck. The same rules apply as for avoid place.

Horn: the first time you use the horn, you must perform the effect seek place 2 times in a row during this turn. Do not refill the display in between. If you use the horn in a later turn again, you perform the effect seek place 1 time in this turn.

Mask, statuette and amulet: the first time you use one of these tools, you receive 1 wood, 1 food or 1 stone, respectively. If you use it in a later turn again, take the top secret card marked with the secret symbol from the stack, flip it over, and resolve it.

New Secrets

Identical backs: some of the new secret cards have identical backs. For these, an additional rule applies: when an action asks you to search the secret deck on the night board for a secret card with the given number (or the given symbol), you must reveal the next secret card with the given number (or symbol). If more of these secret cards remain in the deck, do not reveal them; leave them in the deck for now. Resolve the revealed secret card as usual.

Secret cards marked with the secret symbol are mostly obtained through the mask, the statuette or the amulet. These secrets always give you an advantage. Let yourself be surprised by the latest discoveries of the elders.

New Modules

Module V: Path of the Elders (13 cards) – Difficulty: Easy

The elders want us to seek out cursed places and subject them to a ritual cleansing. With so many rituals, outsiders might soon think we are founding a cult.

Components: mission card V, secret cards 31, 32 and 33 (×3), 1 die.

Shuffle the secrets with the 33 before you add them to the other secrets.

Mission card: if, in step 2 of the night phase, each of the 3 altars has a matching card in place, you may destroy the mission card "Path of the Elders" and reveal and resolve secret card 32.

Card backs: some of the card backs in this module are marked in an unusual way. They still count as cards of their type.

Module W: Signs in the Sky (23 cards) – Difficulty: Medium

Nightly dangers rob us of sleep. But if we are awake anyway, we can set out and solve the riddle of the stars, which have recently begun to behave rather strangely.

Components: mission card W, secret card 34, 12 star cards, 2 dice.

Additional setup: take the 12 star cards from this module and place them face down as a stack next to the sun-over-horizon symbol. You only need these cards in the night phase.

Mission card: if you do not have enough torches, you give up only as many as you can. If you cannot give up any torches, nothing happens.

Night phase addition: the sequence of the night phase is extended by one step, which you must resolve before step 1 (as soon as everyone has gone to sleep):

• First, shuffle the star card deck at the sun-over-horizon symbol. Then decide together on one of the top 3 cards of the deck and reveal it. Leave the other two cards on the deck in unchanged order. Resolve the revealed card together.

While you are in the night phase (that is, while resolving a star card), you automatically help each other. The same rules apply as if you were helping each other with a help action. You thus mentally join your groups and resolve the star card together.

Note: since you are already helping each other, you cannot "help one card" (see page 12 of the base game rulebook) while you resolve star cards.

After you have resolved a star card, place it face down at the stacked-discs symbol. You never place star cards on either of the 2 usual discard piles. During the day phase, cards from your decks may end up in the star card deck (see "Prepare card for the night"), but never the other way around. There is only one (face-down) discard pile for star cards, at the stacked-discs symbol.

You must keep revealing and resolving one of the top 3 cards of the star card deck until you can no longer reveal a star card. If the star card deck has fewer than 3 cards, you must choose one of the remaining cards.

Once all star cards are at the stacked-discs symbol, take them and place them as a face-down stack back at the sun-over-horizon symbol, and then carry out the usual steps of the night phase. Keep in mind that the star cards still give you the chance to gather food before your people are fed.

New symbols and actions:

• Night actions: many cards in this module show blue actions. During the day phase, you may resolve one of the options on your card as usual, but not the blue action. During the night phase (that is, when resolving star cards), you may resolve only blue or negative actions, so none of the other options.
• Prepare card for the night: the card that shows this symbol is from now on a star card. Place it face down on top of the star card deck at the sun-over-horizon symbol.
• Give up star card: you must give up the indicated number of cards from the star card deck. Place them face down on top of the star card discard pile at the stacked-discs symbol. All other rules are the same as for the usual giving up of cards.

Module X: Revenge of the White Hands (15 cards) – Difficulty: Medium

Uninvited visitors are spreading through our camp: the White Hands are back! This time they come in the name of their leader. Now we face the final choice of whether to submit to them or to defend ourselves.

Components: mission card X, secret cards 7, 8, 35, 36, 37, 38 (×2) and 66 (×2), 1 die.

Shuffle the secrets with the 38 and the secrets with the 66 independently of each other, before you add them to the other secrets.

Additional setup: find the card "Trap (Falle)" among the idea cards and place it face up in an empty space on the workbench. Place the trap tokens in the cutout in front of it, and shuffle the remaining ideas back into the deck.

Mission card: some cards in this module show a white-hand symbol in the top left. Whenever a white-hand symbol is mentioned in a text, it refers to such cards.

New symbol:

• Discard card: discard this card from your group to the open discard pile.

Cards Marked with *

Path of the Elders

• Cultist (Kultistin): you may use a help action to perform the action. Pay 1 food, then place any card from your deck unseen and face down on top of the cult deck next to the Cult Site board. If someone helps you with the action, you must decide together which of you places a card on the cult deck.
• Dance Spectacle (Tanzspektakel): it does not matter whether the horn or the drum is still in your groups or has already been flipped. All that matters is that you have obtained them during the game.
• Dream Interpretation (Traumdeutung): to perform the action, someone else must have revealed a dream card. That person may still help you as usual with a help action. They do not need to give up their dream card.

Note: in the solo variant you can only perform the help action.

Revenge of the White Hands

Spoiled Hunt, Wellness Bath, Midday Nap and Traitor (Verdorbene Pirsch, Wohlfühlbad, Mittagsschlaf und Verräter): to perform some of the actions, there must be no "footprint card" in your deck (or in the deck of a person helping you). If you have at least 1 footprint card in your deck, you may not perform this action.

If you perform the negative action, first discard the revealed card as usual, and then immediately reveal the top footprint card from your deck. You must resolve this card by the usual rules. If you have no footprint card in your deck, nothing happens.

• Gilga's Son (Gilgas Sohn): the card "Jhula" must be in your group or in the group of a person who helps you. In the night phase you must give up 2 food (or 1 food if you no longer have 2). If you cannot give up any food, nothing happens (you do not receive a skull).
• Gilga's Quack (Gilgas Quacksalber): you may use a help action to resolve the top action. In the night phase, one of your people suffers 2 wounds. You may not divide the wound tokens among several people.
• Gilga's Admirer (Gilgas Bewunderer): you may use a help action to give up 2 eye symbols and receive 1 stone. As with other cards, someone may also help you with it. In the night phase you receive 1 stone if the card "Gilga the Great" lies face up at the sun-over-horizon symbol. Otherwise you must give up 1 food and discard this card.

Secrets

• Cult (Kult): when you reveal this card in step 2 of the night phase and place it at the sun-over-horizon symbol, you must immediately resolve the area under the moon symbol. If all 3 altars have a matching card, you receive 1 person. Otherwise you receive 1 skull token. Once no cult tool tokens remain on the Cult Site during the day phase (see develop cult object), you may destroy this card and receive 1 victory token. Likewise, flip the cult night tile as usual and place it on the night board.
• Gilga's Wrath (Gilgas Zorn): place this card at the sun-over-horizon symbol. All people who use a help action may jointly help this card to fulfil its requirements. If you reveal secret 66, you must resolve it immediately. If you have already revealed both secrets 66, you receive 1 skull token instead.
• Gilga the Great (Gilga der Große): when you reveal this card in step 2 of the night phase and place it at the sun-over-horizon symbol, you must immediately resolve the area under the moon symbol. If you reveal secret 38, you must also resolve this card immediately. If you have already revealed both secrets 38, you receive 1 skull token instead. As soon as you reveal the card "Resistance Fighter (Widerständler)", you may use the action on the card "Gilga the Great" during the day phase, instead of one of the other actions on the card "Resistance Fighter". The card "Gilga the Great" itself does not have this option.
• Primal Mother (Urmutter): place the "Primal Mother" in your group. She functions like any other person: she must be fed and can suffer wounds. In addition, she brings 1 food once and even has 2 abilities. However, she has only 1 health point.
• Blood Sacrifice (Blutopfer): alongside your action, you may additionally use this effect to suffer 1 wound and place any card from the face-down discard pile, unseen and face down, on top of the cult deck beside the Cult Site board. You may use this effect as often as you like in a day phase, but only once per turn.
• Taboo Broken (Tabubruch): through this action, you may swap 2 cards in the Cult Site display with each other, unseen. After you have chosen an option on this card (or ignored it), you must place it on the open discard pile. It is then shuffled together with all other cards at the end of the day. Because of its special back, it is much easier to find this card again later.