Pit Fighter: Fantasy Arena Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Cards and Card Anatomy
  • Character and Creature Card Layout
  • Play Area Layout Using the Character Card Guides
  • Action and Equipment Card Layout
  • Card Guidelines
• Game Board Layout
• Playing the Game
  • Victory Condition
  • Overview
• Game Set-Up
  • Step 1: Choosing Combatants
  • Step 2: Arming for Battle
  • Step 3: Starting Player is Determined
  • Step 4: Starting Hands are Dealt
• Order of Play
  • Phase Order
  • Equipping Phase
  • Instant Use
  • Movement Phase One
  • Attack Phase
  • Movement Phase Two
  • Check Effects Phase
  • Draw Phase
• Types of Damage
• Order of Combat
• Combat Example
• Reaching Zero Exhaustion Points
• Other Clarifications
• Symbols
• Keyword Descriptions
• Building a Deck
• Creatures in the Pit
  • Rules for Creatures Summoned Into the Pit
  • Rules for Creature Scenarios
• Damage Chart

Components

Number of players: 2+ (actually 2-163, the number of hexes on the board).

• 1 Rules Booklet
• 4 Character Cards
• 4 Character Hexes
• 2 copies of Expansion Set One
• 3 Trap Hexes
• 1 Game Board
• 2 Creature Hexes
• 1 25-page Score Pad
• 2 Six-Sided Dice (2d6)*

*You may want to use more dice. Standard size (12mm) six-siders are recommended to fit in the dice counter boxes on some cards.

Character, Trap and Creature Hexes: Use these hexes to mark the board position of characters, traps that are thrown, and any Creatures that are in play.

Cards and Card Anatomy

Pit Fighter has four primary types of cards recognizable by their color schemes: characters (purple), Equipment (green), Action (orange), and Creatures (red).

Character and Creature Card Layout

*Creature cards are similar to character cards except they do not have Flavor Text or guides for Weapon Modifiers and Armor.

The character card shows, from left to right and top to bottom: the Exhaustion Points (on the left edge of the card), the Name, the Race, and the Movement value (in the upper right corner). The card also has a Portrait, a Special Ability box, and a Starting Equipment box. The Play Area Guides on the card show where Weapon Modifiers (on the left side) and Armor (on the right side) are placed. The Set & Card Number and the Flavor Text appear along the bottom edge of the card.

Play Area Layout Using the Character Card Guides

• Starting Weapon Modifiers or Weapon replacements go to the left and align with one or both hands.
• Equipped Armor goes to the right of the character.
• All other Equipment goes below.
• Equipment cards come in Tilted (on their side).

Action and Equipment Card Layout

Action and Equipment cards differ in how they are played, but are similar in layout. Their layout elements are:

• Card Name (across the top of the card).
• Cost (the coin symbol in the upper left).
• Hand(s) (the hand symbol in the upper right).
• Art (the central picture).
• Symbol Area (the symbols along the left side, such as Range, Movement, Continuous Effect, and Damage Dice).
• Keyword Area (the keywords on the right side, such as Trap, Frost, Magic, and Equipment).
• Play Text Area (the rules text in the lower box).
• Flavor Text and Set & Card Number (along the bottom edge).

Card Guidelines

Cards follow the guidelines stated below. However, if there is a discrepancy between card text and these rules, the text on the card takes precedence.

• All card effects resolve immediately after the card is played and before anything else. If a card has a cost, the cost is paid immediately. The player must have enough gold to pay for a card and all its possible effects before he may play it. (For example - Dirt in the Eye. The player must have at least 50 gold after he has paid for the card in case he rolls a 1-2 and is forced to pay the 50 gold penalty.)
• A player may only use cards from his deck. He may never take a card or use a card from an opponent's deck, unless indicated on a card.
• Unless otherwise specified, cards affecting the damage taken or given are played during the Attack Phase.
• Keywords and Symbols are used to indicate terms or concepts that have a specific meaning or set of parameters in the game. Keywords are in bold and are defined in detail under Keyword Descriptions. The chart of Symbols is under Symbols.
• If two cards are in conflict, the card that was played first takes precedence.

Game Board Layout

The game board is a hex grid surrounded by the following features:

• Damage Dice Stack: two areas, one at each end of the top of the board, where the Damage Dice Stack is built (see Types of Damage).
• Phase Order: a reference chart at the top center of the board listing the six phases of a turn.
• Start Hex (for 2 player game): one marked hex in the upper left corner and one in the lower right corner.
• Gold Per Hit Chart: a reference chart along the left and right edges of the board showing the gold earned per point of damage (see Playing the Game).

Playing the Game

Victory Condition

Be the first player to win his freedom by gaining 1000 gold.

Overview

The game is played in rounds, which are made up of turns that alternate between players. Each round ends when one player's character reaches zero Exhaustion Points and falls unconscious, or when a player reaches the 1000 gold victory condition.

Each player starts with 100 gold, one character card, and a deck of cards. The starter game comes with 2 copies of Expansion Set One.

• In this basic game, each player uses one of these sets, thus having only 20 cards each for their total deck.
• For normal play, players create and customize their own deck of cards around their choice of characters from the starter decks and expansion packs that are available for the game. The minimum deck size is 40 cards and no more than 3 copies of any one card may be used in a deck. For players that are unfamiliar with customizing decks, see the section on Building a Deck.
• A sidebar (a reserve set of cards that can be used to modify your deck) of no more than 8 cards is permitted, and may be accessed between rounds, and not before Round One.

The goal of the game is wealth. Gold is awarded to a player for every point of damage his character deals in the arena. At the beginning of the game, as the crowd takes sides without bias, each point of damage dealt earns the attacker 20 gold. Once a player has reached 400 gold, the crowd senses a possible underdog and the betting shifts. From 401 to 700 gold, 15 gold is earned per point of damage dealt. As the battle nears conclusion, the crowd avidly bets for a longer fight. From 701-1000 gold, each point of damage dealt earns just 10 gold.

If you have:	You earn:
0-400 gold	20 gold per point of damage dealt
401-700 gold	15 gold per point of damage dealt
701-1000 gold	10 gold per point of damage dealt

Game Set-Up

Step 1: Choosing Combatants

A combatant is any character or Creature fighting in the arena. A player chooses one character at the beginning of the game. This character will be their combatant for the entire game. Creatures may enter the combat through the use of cards or when defined by a specific scenario.

The character hexes are placed on the game board hexes marked START (for a two player game). For more than two combatants, choose starting places that are as equidistant and as wide-spread as possible.

Step 2: Arming for Battle

Each player chooses 50 gold worth of cards from his deck before combat begins. Gold may be spent on any type and number of cards so long as the combined cost (using the first cost amount if there are two on the card) does not exceed 50 gold. Chosen cards are not secret. Equipment cards chosen may be immediately equipped in ready state (un-Tilted). Action cards chosen will be added to the player's starting hand in addition to the five cards drawn in Step 4. This 50 gold is not taken from the player's starting pool of 100 gold, and any gold not used in this step is lost.

Step 3: Starting Player is Determined

The order of play is determined by a random die roll at the beginning of the round and remains the same throughout the round. The player with the highest die roll determines who will go first. In the case of a tie, keep rolling until the tie is resolved.

Step 4: Starting Hands are Dealt

Each player shuffles his deck and then draws five cards for his starting hand.

Order of Play

Each player's turn consists of six phases. The player currently taking his turn is considered the active player. No other combatant can move, attack, or take actions except as stated in the phase descriptions or as indicated on a card.

Phase Order

1. Equipping Phase
2. Movement Phase One
3. Attack Phase
4. Movement Phase Two
5. Check Effects Phase
6. Draw Phase

Equipping Phase

• Un-Tilt all Tilted cards.
• The active player may play any Equipment cards from his hand at the indicated cost.
• All items equipped come into play Tilted (on their side) and remain Tilted until the player's next Equipping Phase. Tilted cards are considered to be equipped, but cannot be used until they un-Tilt.
• At any time, if a player uses an equipped card and that card is neither discarded after use nor able to be used again this turn, he must Tilt the card.

Instant Use

Instant use is when an Equipment card is played from a player's hand during the Attack Phase as though it were an Action card. This allows the player to use the effects of the Equipment immediately and with the element of surprise, but often with limited effect.

The cost for Instant Use cards is indicated by the second number of the double coin symbol. Only cards with that double coin have the option to be played as an Instant Use.

A card with the hand symbol must always be played as the attacker and never as the defender, even if played as an Instant Use.

Movement Phase One

• A character may move in ONLY ONE of the two Movement Phases unless allowed by a specific card or character ability.
• The character may move any or all of his movement as indicated on his character card during the phase.
• When movement is modified by a circumstance during game play, all numbers are rounded down.

Attack Phase

• Each character gets 2 hand actions per turn. Hand actions may be used for attacks or cards that require hands to use. Cards that require hands will have the hand symbol displayed on the card with the number of hands required to use the item. Equipment listed on the character cards will also indicate how many hands are required. For example - a character attacking with a two-handed Weapon will use both hand actions for his attack. A character using a one-handed Weapon will have a hand action remaining for another one-handed action (for example - another one-handed Weapon, a bandage, etc.). The handedness of a card is applicable only when the card is used, which is not always when the card is played. For example - Sprocket plays Bandages during his Equipping Phase, but applying a bandage uses a hand and, so he must do that in a future Attack Phase (after the card un-Tilts). For cards with a continuous effect, the handedness is applicable only for the initial use unless stated on the card.
• Each attack is declared and resolved separately following the rules under Order of Combat.
• The same one-handed Weapon may never be used twice in one Attack Phase unless specifically allowed by a card or character ability.
• Unless specified, cards affecting the damage taken or given are used only during the Attack Phase.
• A character's fists are considered Melee. Fists add +0d6 to the Damage Dice Stack. Each fist takes one hand action.
• Attacks within the same turn do not need to be against the same combatant.

Movement Phase Two

See rules under Movement Phase One.

Check Effects Phase

Turn down the value of the die counter on any continuous effect in play or discard the effect if it has expired. This includes any continuous effect that was brought into play this turn. Continuous effects do not incur an additional cost or use hands to maintain unless stated on the card or ability for that effect. Range only applies for the initial use of a card or ability with a continuous effect.

Draw Phase

• The active player draws two cards from his deck.
• The player may pay 40 gold to draw an additional card during this phase, but may only ever draw 2 additional cards per round in this manner.
• If the player has no more cards in his deck, he will not be able to draw any more cards for any reason this round. Discarded cards are never shuffled back into the draw pile unless indicated by a specific card or character ability until the start of a new round.
• At the end of the player's Draw Phase, he discards down to his maximum hand size, which is eight unless changed by a card effect or character ability.

Types of Damage

There are two kinds of damage in Pit Fighter: the Damage Dice Stack and immediate damage.

The Damage Dice Stack begins when an attack involves a dice amount with a +/- or the Damage Dice Symbol. These dice are placed in the Damage Dice Stack area on the board. As cards and abilities are used, dice are added to and subtracted from the Damage Dice Stack. The final result is the number of dice rolled to determine the damage dealt in that attack. The Damage Dice Stack always starts at zero and can go into negative numbers.

Immediate damage (without a +/- or with the Immediate Damage Symbol) is not added to the Damage Dice Stack and cannot be increased or decreased by any card effect.

For example - Steel's 2H Axe does +3d6 damage, so 3d6 is added to the Damage Dice Stack once he declares an attack. But, when Sprocket throws a Grenade, 2d6 of damage is immediately rolled and taken by the target.

Order of Combat

1. Active player declares an attack by stating the target and Weapon that will be used. The Weapon must be already equipped (either Starting Equipment or an un-Tilted equipped card), a Spell card, or an Instant use of a Melee or Missile card. The attack must be within the following guidelines:
   • Attacks can only be made against combatants within range of the stated Weapon. (Unless specified, all Melee have a range of the adjacent hex only.)
   • All attacks must have Line of Sight in order to be performed. See Line of Sight rules under Other Clarifications.
2. The active player's character attacks. All hits are automatic and the number of damage dice wielded by the attacker (as determined by the Weapon and any designated attachments) are either rolled (in the case of immediate damage) or added to the Damage Dice Stack and now threaten the defender. If the attacker is wearing Armor or has other cards in effect that reduce the amount of damage he can do, those damage dice are taken off in this step. If all damage rolled was in the form of immediate damage, proceed directly to Step 7 unless further actions are allowed by a character ability or card effect.
3. The defender has his first opportunity to act. If he has Armor equipped, he must apply any Armor-related reductions (unless stated on the card) before taking any other action. If no equipped Armor can be applied, he may play an appropriate card from his hand or apply an appropriate non-Armor equipped card.
4. The attacker may play an appropriate card from his hand or apply an appropriate equipped card.
5. Cards may continue to be played or used in alternation until both players pass. Once a player passes he cannot play or use a card later during the same attack.
6. Damage dice (if any remain) are rolled.
7. The rolled amount is subtracted from the defender's Exhaustion Point total, which cannot fall below zero.
8. The attacker receives an amount of gold per point inflicted upon the defender (see table under the Playing the Game section). Damage beyond the defender's remaining Exhaustion Points is not counted.
9. If the defender's Exhaustion Points reach zero, he falls unconscious. If the defender is a player's character, the round ends. See section on Reaching Zero Exhaustion Points.

Combat Example

Steel vs. Sprocket

During his Attack Phase, Sprocket uses his first hand action to throw a Grenade on Steel's hex. A Grenade is immediate damage, and so he rolls 2d6 for a total of 8, which Steel takes from his Exhaustion Points. Assuming Sprocket has less than 401 gold before the attack, he receives 160 gold for the damage dealt.

With his other hand action, Sprocket throws a Frost Trap into the same hex as Steel.

Sprocket draws and ends his turn.

After his Equipping Phase, Steel moves 1 hex closer to Sprocket, which releases the Frost Trap. The Trap does 1d6 Frost damage, which is immediate damage, however, Steel has 1d6 of Frost resistance. Sprocket rolls a 4 on a 1d6 for the damage, Steel rolls a 2 on a 1d6 for the resistance and so takes 2 points of damage. Sprocket receives 40 gold.

The Frost Trap reduces Steel's remaining movement by half (rounded down). Since he had 3 movement points left, his movement is now 1. With his last movement point, Steel moves 1 hex closer to Sprocket. He's still two hexes away, but he has a Chain Weapon card equipped to his 2H Axe, giving it a +1 range. Steel uses both hand actions to attack Sprocket with his 2H Axe. 3d6 for the axe's damage is added into the Damage Dice Stack.

Sprocket has his first opportunity to act. He must use his Armor before playing any cards, so he Tilts his Buckler to remove 1d6 from the Damage Dice Stack, bringing it down to 2d6.

Steel plays a Just Barely card. This adds 1d6 to the Damage Dice Stack, bringing it back to 3d6.

Sprocket passes.

Steel still has cards to play. He adds a Solid Hit (+3d6) and a Firm Hit (+2d6) to bring the Damage Dice Stack to 8d6. He then also passes, which completes the Damage Dice Stack. Steel rolls the 8d6 for 28 points of damage! Sprocket reduces his Exhaustion Points by 28 and Steel gains 560 gold (assuming he was under 401 gold before he attacked).

Reaching Zero Exhaustion Points

If a player's character reaches zero Exhaustion Points and the victory conditions have not been met, the game then resets and starts a new round. All combatants are healed to full Exhaustion Points and all cards (including equipped and discarded cards) are reshuffled back into their decks. If a player has less than 100 gold at the end of the round, he starts the new round with 100 gold - call it a Pity Bet!

Unless playing the basic game, each player has the option to switch out up to 8 cards in his deck from a pre-established sidebar. Play then starts at Game Set-Up Step 2.

Other Clarifications

Facing: Facing is irrelevant in the basic game. Characters always face their opponents. Character and Creature hexes have a green line along one of their edges to indicate the front should players wish to develop advanced play using facing.

Legal Hexes: A legal hex is any hex a combatant can occupy. The hex cannot be occupied by an obstacle or another combatant, and must be one of the light colored, entire hexes on the board. If an action forces a combatant into an occupied hex, the result of the movement is ignored, but the remaining effects on the card still take place.

Line of Sight (LOS): Any attack or action performed must have LOS to the target hex or combatant. LOS is drawn from hex center to hex center. Any obstacle that will block LOS will be stated on the card. If LOS tracks along the edge of a hex that has an obstacle, then LOS is not disrupted. Characters and Creatures are not considered obstacles.

Starting Equipment: Items in the Starting Equipment section of the character card are often similar, if not identical to, available Equipment cards. These items do not count toward the maximum of 3 copies of a card per deck. Players are free to determine how they will track when the item is used, although using a die counter is recommended.

Symbols

Most cards in the game use a variety of symbols to indicate how the card works. Many of the symbols will have a specific value on them that tells you exactly how that aspect is affected. An "X" on a symbol means that the card affects that symbol's aspect (movement, range, etc.), but the exact value is variable. The play text box at the bottom of the card will describe how that variable applies as well as give any additional conditions or explanations needed to play the card.

• Cost Symbol - the cost of the card to play from a player's hand. The first number is the cost to equip the card during the Equipping Phase. The second number is the cost to play the card as an Instant Use during the Attack Phase. See section on Instant Use for details.
• Hand Symbol - the number of hands required to use the card when applied by the active player during his Attack Phase. See the Attack Phase description for details.
• Range Symbol - the minimum and maximum range at which the card can be used unless altered by another card or character ability.
• Movement Symbol - the effect the card has on the target's base movement.
• Continuous Effect Symbol - how long the effect of the card lasts. Continuous effects are checked at each Check Effects Phase on the player's turn.
• Area of Effect Symbol - the effect of the card is more than a single hex. Usually, the area of effect will be one or two target hexes and the hexes surrounding, but the exact area will be indicated either on the card or in the rules.
• Die Counter Symbol - use to track items or effects of the card that have multiple uses or last for a number of turns. Place a die in the box with the number of items or turns to be counted and turn it down a value each time the count reduces.
• Damage Dice Symbol - the amount and type of damage dice that are added to the Damage Dice Stack. See section on Types of Damage.
• Immediate Damage Symbol - the amount of damage a character takes immediately before any other effects of that card take place. See section on Types of Damage.

Keyword Descriptions

Action: May only be played during the Attack Phase of a turn, unless otherwise specified on the card.

Animal: Any non-Monster, non-player Creature.

Armor: A character can only have one piece of any Armor that covers the same body part. Body Parts are noted on the Armor cards in the play text. This rule applies to Armor that is both equipped and played as an Instant Use. For example - if Grotas has Plate Armor equipped, he could not equip Leather Armor or play Leather Armor as an Instant Use.

• Any equipped piece of Armor can be discarded in the player's Equipping Phase.
• Armor effects Spell casting. When using any Armor, a caster must roll a 3 or higher on a 1d6 or the Spell fails to be cast. Gold used to play the Spell card is lost and no Spell effect occurs. Subtract 1 from the number rolled for each -1d6 of Armor that the caster has equipped. For example - a caster wearing Plate Armor, which brushes off -3d6 damage, would subtract 3. As such, he would need to roll a 6 on the 1d6 to successfully cast the Spell.

Creature: Any non-player combatants in the form of Animals and Monsters. Creatures are not under the control of any character, unless indicated by a card. See the Creatures in the Pit section for more specific rules on playing with Creatures.

Equipment: Must be played during the Equipping Phase of a player's turn, unless otherwise specified on the card, or unless it can be played as an Instant Use.

Fire: Any effect that uses Fire as a base. Damage done from cards or abilities with the Fire keyword is considered Fire damage.

Frost: Any effect that uses Frost as a base. Damage done from cards or abilities with the Frost keyword is considered Frost damage.

Magic: Any Equipment or Action having magical properties. All characters have access to items with the Magic keyword.

Melee: A type of Weapon that has no inherent range effects.

Missile: A type of Weapon that is useable from a distance.

Monster: Any non-Animal, non-player Creature.

Spell: A specific type of Action card. Spells incorporate both Magic and Action keywords.

• Only characters with the Spell keyword can use Spells.
• Once the effect of a Spell is completed, the card is discarded, unless otherwise specified on the card.

Trap: Traps are set by being thrown into a hex. The Trap is released when an opponent moves into an affected hex.

• A Trap's area of effect is a 2 hex area and all adjacent hexes. Only one of the 2 hex center area needs to be within the range limit of the Trap. A Trap's area of effect must be designated when the Trap is set.
• The character who sets the Trap may always pass through the affected hexes without releasing it, however; when the Trap is released, it affects all combatants in the Trap radius.
• Traps may be placed in the same hex as an opponent.
• The effects of the Trap, once released, take place immediately.
• Overlapping areas of effect stack. For example - a hex that is in range of two Grease Traps would cost 4 movement points to enter.
• Once a Trap has been set, the card has been used. However, the player may opt to keep the card in view (but out of his play area) for reference until the Trap's effect is no longer in play.
• If more than one Trap is released at the same time, they release in the order that they were set.

Weapon: A Weapon is any Equipment or Action that initiates damage; primarily Melee, Missile, and Spells.

Building a Deck

If you are not familiar with the concept of deck building, Pit Fighter is a great way to start. Using cards from the Expansion Sets (including the two in this starter game), choose a character or theme to guide your deck. For example - you could be a heavy melee (close-in) fighter looking to deal and withstand a lot of damage, or you may focus on long-range attacks and staying away from your opponent. Once you get started on ideas, you'll find that there is almost no limit to the type and variation of decks you can create. Have fun!

A few tips to remember:

• The number of copies of each card (3 maximum) and the size of your deck (40 cards minimum) will affect how likely you are to get the cards you need.
• You will want to focus on your theme, one deck can't effectively be all things at once.
• You can accommodate different opponents by using your 8-card sidebar.

Creatures in the Pit

Creatures can enter the Pit either by being summoned by characters or when playing a Creature scenario.

Rules for Creatures Summoned Into the Pit

The Creature has two phases: Movement and Attack. Its turn is immediately following the character's turn that summoned it. This turn order is unchanged until the Creature is killed or the round ends.

1. Movement

• Creatures will target the closest combatant to them within their movement limitations and within Line of Sight. If the distance is equal, then a die is rolled.
• The Creature moves in the most direct line possible to a hex adjacent to its target. If two equal paths are available, the Creature will avoid anything that blocks Line of Sight. If no combatant can be targeted, the Creature will move in a random direction to the extent of its movement in a direct path, and stop at any illegal space or anything that blocks Line of Sight.
• If the Creature can move within range of two combatants, it will.

2. Attack

• The Creature attacks using the Equipment and Special Abilities indicated on its Creature card. Rolls for the Creature are made by an uninvolved player.
• If two or more combatants are within range, roll to determine the order of the Creature's attacks and, if necessary, to determine who will be the target of multiple attacks.
• Unless otherwise specified by a card or ability, damage done by Creatures cannot be increased, but can be reduced.

3. Gold

• The summoner of the Creature gets no gold for damaging the Creature, however, he will receive 5 gold for every point of damage the Creature does to an opponent. If he controls the Creature, he receives 10 gold per point of damage. (Note: charming a Creature is not the same as controlling.)
• Players other than the summoner receive 10 gold per point of damage they do to the Creature. They also receive 5 gold per point of damage that the Creature does to the summoner.

Rules for Creature Scenarios

Instead of normal game play, players may choose to team up against a Creature. Most of the rules for summoned Creatures remain in effect, with the following changes:

• The Creature goes first.
• Players not being attacked by or not currently attacking the Creature can play cards for the Creature at half the cost of the card rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5. This means that the damage done by and to the Creature can now be affected using the normal rules under Order of Combat.
• Characters cannot attack each other.
• Gold is received according to normal game play rules (against both Creatures and characters).
• The scenario ends either when both players or the Creature have reached zero Exhaustion Points. At that point, the player with the highest gold wins, even if that is a player with zero Exhaustion Points.
• The killing blow to the Creature gives the attacking player an additional 100 gold.

Additional Creatures and Creature scenarios will be introduced in the tournament program, through expansions, and on the website at www.cheeseweasel.net.

Damage Chart

Dmg	x20	x15	x10	Dmg	x20	x15	x10	Dmg	x20	x15	x10
1	20	15	10	16	320	240	160	31	620	465	310
2	40	30	20	17	340	255	170