Prophecy
Prophecy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
PROPHECY is for 2 to 5 players. Each player is a hero who walks the world doing heroic deeds, improving her physical and mental strength, looking for powerful weapons and magic items, while learning fighting skills and magic. And when she feels ready, she can challenge demonic guardians from the Astral Planes to obtain the ancient artifacts.
A player's hero is represented by a card which is placed on the table before her and a playing piece which represents the hero on the game board. The character card states her characteristics (Strength and Willpower) at the beginning of the game and shows the possible direction of a character's advancement. On the character card you use red and blue cubes to represent the character's Health and magic energy (Magic).
A character's Strength equals the amount of Health she has. If the character is wounded, she loses a Health which means she becomes weaker until healed. This rule applies to Willpower, which equates to Magic, e.g. if a character casts a Spell which costs two blue cubes, her Willpower is two points weaker until her Magic is recharged.
A character can also get Gold (yellow tokens) and Experience (green tokens). Gold can buy you different Common and Rare Items. Experience allows a character to learn new usable Abilities and Spells. At the beginning of the game, a character has no special Abilities or Spells, but must learn them throughout the game. When Items and Abilities are received, they are placed next to the character card.
A player's playing piece is always present on a space of the game board. During her turn, the player may move her playing piece, however moving is not random. A player must choose which way to go and by which method: on foot, renting a horse or boat, or paying for a Magic Gate. A player can also use Spells to move or even choose not to move at all, spending her turn doing some other activity.
Often the goal of moving is to defeat a Creature or to reach an Opportunity which you want to use, e.g. the City where you might buy a magic Item, the Monastery where you can heal, the Magic Tower where you can learn a Spell, or the Gem Mine where you can find wealth. A player does not influence when and where such an Opportunity appears. At the beginning of every round, a player draws a Chance card which states what happens in the world e.g. where a new Opportunity or Creature appears. It is up to the player how a character's Abilities, Items, and Gold are used to reach the new Opportunity or Creature before opposing players.
The main goal of a character's journey is to improve herself for battle. That means to find the best weapons and Items which can help in battle but mainly to train your body and mind, i.e. to find Opportunities which allow you to permanently raise your character's Strength or Willpower. In a normal battle with a Creature, Strength is used, but some intelligent Creatures may establish mental contact and a Battle of Wills ensues. A Battle of Wills always takes precedence before a Battle of Strength when at least one participant wants to fight mentally. But establishing mental contact is not a simple task, as the one initiating a Battle of Wills must first pay some Magic, and by doing so reduces her Willpower and therefore her chances of success in the battle. It is advantageous to initiate this kind of battle when your Willpower is much higher than your opponent's.
When a character becomes powerful enough, she can attempt to enter any one of the five Astral Planes. There you must fight Guardians – the strongest Creatures in the game, and if you defeat them you earn one of five Artifacts. The winner of the game is the player to get four of the five Artifacts.
It often happens that all five Artifacts have been taken, but among several characters, with no one possessing at least four Artifacts. In this instance, the Final Battle begins – the heroes fight each other, with the losers of a battle giving up an Artifact. A player that possesses no Artifacts is immediately eliminated from the game. The strongest one gaining possession of four of the Artifacts earns the right to ascend the king's throne.
Game Set Up
PROPHECY's rules are not too difficult. At first glance, they may seem long, as they try to handle every situation, but they are written so that you can start playing immediately.
You can begin playing right now. While reading this chapter, unfold the game board, separate the different types of cards available and put them in the appropriate places.
Then deal the character cards and prepare your characters, read the chapters Beginning the Game and One Round of the Game and try to play according to them. When the first battle occurs, read the section on Battles. And once your character becomes strong enough, you may read the chapters Attack on the Astral Planes and Final Battle.
The last pages of the rules are dedicated to other variants of the game, detailed information about specific cards and other additional information, so you do not need to read this initially. You can refer to this section when a specific card requires clarification.
To learn the game you may find the summary card useful, as it covers the most important rules.
Number of Players
Although the game is for two to five players, it is best played with 2 to 4 players. Five-player games could take very long. Do not play with 5 players unless you all know the game well and have the time to finish the game! For your first game, or when introducing a new player, a 3-player game is the best option.
Game Board
Before you start reading the rules, take a look at the game board. The world in which your characters live is divided into 20 spaces. The majority of spaces are wilderness: Plains, Forests and Mountains. The spaces nearest to the center of the board are called guilds (specifically the Fortress, Thieves' Guild, Forest Camp, Magic Tower, and Monastery). The guilds together with the City and Village are called civilization spaces (these spaces are in blue). The last space is the Enchanted Wilderness.
During the game, you will encounter different Opportunities offering various adventures and dangers in the wilderness, other spaces offer special services (explained later). In the guild spaces, different Abilities appear for your character to learn, and in the City and Village, it is occasionally possible to purchase Common or Rare Items.
In some spaces there are ports or Magic Gates; in the City there are both. On the edge of the game board are 5 dark whirlpools which represent the Astral Planes.
Characters
There are 10 characters in the game. Each has its own larger character card and a playing piece with the same picture. Five stands are included. Place the characters aside for now; it is later described how to choose your character.
Cubes and Tokens
There are cubes and tokens of different colors and sizes in the game. Put those aside in a place where it will be easy to access them. You might want to put them in two places so that all players will be able to get them when needed.
Dice
The game includes two 6-sided dice, a darker one for Creatures and a lighter one for characters.
Cards
The game also includes a number of different cards which differ by the card backs. Different card types should never be shuffled together. Sort the cards by type and shuffle each deck separately.
Guardians and Artifacts. There are 5 Artifacts in the game (an orange back with a crown), 5 Greater Guardians (a purple back with crossed swords) and 5 Lesser Guardians (a pink back with crossed daggers). At the beginning of the game, randomly place face-down in each Astral Plane one Artifact card, one Greater Guardian and one Lesser Guardian.
Chance Cards. These card backs are green with a question mark. During the course of the game, these cards determine random events in the world. Shuffle these cards and place them face-down in the appropriate corner of the game board.
Adventure Cards. These card backs are yellow with a scroll and a dagger. They represent Creatures and Opportunities which your heroes will encounter. Shuffle these cards and place them face-down in the corner of the game board.
Common and Rare Item Cards. There are two types of Item cards—Common and Rare. Common Item cards have brown backs with an axe symbol, while Rare Item cards have gold backs with a sword symbol. Shuffle these cards separately and place the two decks face-down in the respective corners of the game board.
Ability Cards. There are five other types of cards – Ability cards. These are black with the different guild symbols on the back. Shuffle these cards separately and place them face-down in their respective places near the center of the game board.
Discarded Cards. Next to the stacks of Item cards, Adventure cards and Chance cards are marked places for discarded cards. When a deck has been exhausted, shuffle the discarded cards and place them face-down to start a new deck. Ability cards do not have a discard pile. When discarded, these cards should be placed face-down on the bottom of the respective deck.
Beginning the Game
Now you have the game board and cards prepared. You now need to choose your character and prepare her for the world and the adventure ahead.
Choosing Your Character
Randomly deal face-down two of the large character cards to each player. A player must choose one of those and pass the other one face-down to the player on the left. Each player takes the character passed to her, and from those two characters, she chooses one and again passes the other to the player on the left. Each player takes the character passed to her again, but this time, the players must choose the character to play with, while discarding the other one. All players then show their chosen characters.
Character Card
Place the chosen character card in front of you, with enough room around it. The heroes do not start with any special Abilities, but each character card has two guilds listed – these are guilds that the character belongs to and determine her specialization. Character may learn Abilities from any guild, but it costs Gold to learn from guilds not listed. Even a Druid can learn to pick pockets or to wield edged weapons; he just has to pay more for such skills.
A character's starting Strength and Willpower are also stated on a character card. Take the respective quantity of red and blue cubes from the bank and place them on the right side of the character card.
(The character card diagram is labeled with: Character, Starting Guilds, Experience, Gold, Spent/Lost Health and Willpower, and Starting Health and Willpower.)
Strength and Health
Red cubes represent a character's Strength, and also represent a character's Health. The cubes on the right side of a character card represent the actual level of Strength and Health of the character. If a character loses a Health, take a red cube from the right side of the card and place it on the left side of the card. From this moment forward, the character has its Strength reduced by one until healed. During the course of the game, if all Health is lost, nothing happens – the character merely has a Strength of 0. But if the character then loses another Health, she is eliminated.
Cubes on the left side indicate how much Health needs to be healed. Healing causes moving red cubes from the left side to the right side of the character card.
Only when a card specifically so states, a character can increase her Strength (it is one of the most valuable things in the game). In this case, take a red cube from the bank and add it to the right side of the character card. The maximum number of red cubes a character may have is 8. If a character gains additional Strength when she is already at maximum, she can heal a Health instead.
Willpower and Magic
Willpower and Magic (energy which enables a character to cast Spells) are represented by blue cubes. The system operates the same as with Strength and Health. Here the quantity of cubes on the right side of the character card represents her Willpower and Magic she has currently available. Magic is used for casting Spells, initiating a Battle of Wills and activating some magical Items.
Used Magic is represented by moving blue cubes from the right to the left of the character card (and Willpower consequently being reduced). You can move blue cubes from the left to the right of your character card by recharging your Magic throughout the course of the game. Only when a card specifically so states, a character can increase her Willpower. The maximum number of blue cubes a character may have is 10. If a character gains additional Willpower when she is already at maximum, she can recharge a Magic instead.
A character cannot pay more Magic than she has. If a character cannot pay for a Spell, she may not cast it. If a character has no Magic left, she has 0 Willpower, but there is no other effect. If a Creature takes Magic away from her later, her Willpower stays at 0.
Chance Cards
Mountains, Forests and Plains. These cards tell you to place a new Adventure card in every Mountain, Forest, or Plains space. The player who drew the Chance card draws Adventure cards from the deck and places them (without looking at them) in the appropriate spaces, starting from the space where her character is standing and continuing clockwise. If there is no card in the space yet, she turns the new card face-up. If there is a card already in the respective space, then she places the new card face-down under the other card. If there are two cards already in the space where you must place one, then no additional card is placed there. In every space, there will be one revealed card or one revealed and one face-down card (during the game, someone may reveal the second card, so it is possible to have both cards in a space revealed). If any drawn cards are left over, discard them.
Fortress, Thieves' Guild, Forest Camp, Magic Tower, Monastery, Open Training. These cards describe in which guild to place an Ability card. A player draws a card from the appropriate deck and places it face-up in the appropriate guild space. If there is already a card in this guild, place this new card across the first so that both are visible. If there are already two cards here, discard the bottom one to the bottom of respective deck and place the new card across the other. In this case, a new Ability replaces the oldest one, so there are never more than two cards available in a guild.
The card Open Training allows a player to choose where a new Ability card is revealed. The player can choose to reveal an Ability even if it is to intentionally discard the oldest Ability in a space.
City Merchant, Tradesman. These cards describe where to place new goods, either in the City or the Village. The player discards all goods which are currently in the space and draws three Common Items (Tradesman) or two Rare Items (City Merchant) from the Common or Rare Items deck, placing them in the stated space.
Peaceful Times. This allows the player who drew this card to take an additional turn. The additional turn happens in the same round, so no new Chance card is drawn.
Prophetic Dream. This reveals a card in the Astral Planes. The cards must be revealed in order, which initially means a Lesser Guardian. If this card is drawn again, then the Greater Guardian can be revealed from the same Astral Plane or the Lesser Guardian from a different one. The player must always reveal a card, as long as a Guardian or an Artifact remains face-down.
Refreshing Wind, Kindly Wind, Magical Breeze, Good Times. These cards heal Health, recharge Magic, or give Gold or Experience to all players, giving the most to the one who drew the card.
Charity. This card gives Gold, Health and Magic to the player or players who have the least in a specific category.
Example: The Druid and Mercenary have 2 Gold and the Paladin 3 Gold. The Paladin also has 1 Health and 3 Magic. The Druid has 3 Health and 2 Magic and the Mercenary 2 Health and 3 Magic. So Charity gives 3 Gold to the Druid and Mercenary, but only heals 1 Health for the Paladin and recharges only the Druid's Magic by 2.
Economic Crisis. This is the only bad Chance card. Do not try to hoard Gold, as the Economic Crisis card takes half away. Round down, so if you have only 1 Gold, this card does not affect you.
Gold and Experience
Yellow tokens represent money – smaller tokens are 1 Gold and larger tokens are 5 Gold. Experience is represented by green tokens – smaller tokens are 1 point and larger ones are 5 points.
At the beginning of the game, each player takes 3 Gold and 3 Experience from the bank and adds them to either side of her character card where indicated on the card. If a player gains more of either, she takes the tokens from the bank, and when Gold or Experience is used, the tokens are returned.
Important Note
Whenever a card states you must lose (sacrifice, pay, have stolen etc.) or add (heal, recharge etc.) Health or Magic, it is talking about moving cubes from the right to the left side of your character card or the other way, respectively. However, whenever a card states that you gain or lose Strength or Willpower, you must take cubes from the bank and add them to the right side of your character card or take cubes from the right side of your character card and put them back in the bank. For clarity, all permanent changes are written on cards in bold print.
Some Items raise your Strength or Willpower temporarily (when you use it or until the end of your turn). In this instance, do not take any cubes from the bank.
Initial Situation
To speed up the game, place some cards on the game board:
- In every guild, turn up the first Ability card.
- Find the first Forest, Mountain or Plains card from the Chance deck, draw and place an Adventure card face-up in every terrain space of that type, then shuffle the Chance cards (except the drawn card – place that one in the discard pile).
Start
Now you have your game board, cards and characters ready. You are ready to start.
Each player must take her respective playing piece, put it in its stand, and place it in the guild which is stated first on the character card, e.g. the Paladin starts in the Fortress. Each player rolls a die with the one rolling the highest starting the game.
The first player plays, with play continuing in a clockwise direction. This continues until a player wins by having possession of at least 4 of the 5 Artifacts from the Astral Planes.
One Round of the Game
Game play is summarized on a summary card. A round occurs in 3 phases:
- Draw a Chance card (what occurs in the world)
- Player's turn, occasionally multiple turns
- End of a round
Drawing a Chance Card
A player first draws a Chance card, reads it aloud, follows its instructions, then discards it. The vast majority of the cards either place other cards on the game board or help the characters.
The explanations on the previous page clarify what effect specific cards have on the game (right now, best read only about the card you have just drawn; skip the other explanations).
Players' Turns
After a Chance card is drawn, a player takes her turn: move, then fight or take advantage of an Opportunity on the space where she moves. If there is an interesting Opportunity in the space where she is, she cannot use it and then move.
Occasionally a player may have more turns (through a Spell or the card Peaceful Times). In this case, the turns all occur in the same round and no additional Chance card is drawn. Also some Abilities or Items are usable only once per round – these Abilities or Items can be used only once during those turns.
End of a Round
At the end of a round, a player must discard a character's excessive tokens or cards. A character may have a maximum of 15 Gold, 15 Experience points, 7 Items and 7 Abilities. If a character exceeds these limits, then a player must return any excessive tokens to the bank and discard any excessive cards to the respective discard piles (a player can choose which cards to keep and which ones to discard). The round then ends and play continues clockwise.
Discarding of excessive tokens and cards happens at the end of your round; if you acquired those during this turn or turns (or even during other players' rounds), you have chance to use them before discarding, e.g. sell an Item, drink a potion, spend Gold etc. However, if you have 8 red cubes or 10 blue cubes, it is prohibited to gain more.
A Player's Turn
A player's turn occurs in the following order:
- Movement
- Mandatory fight with a creature
- Non-mandatory fight with a creature
- Use of Possibilities of the space
Movement
A player may do one of the following during this phase:
a. Stay on the same space b. Walk – move one space to the left or right c. Rent a horse for 1 Gold – move two spaces to the left or right, ignoring the space in between d. Take a boat for 1 Gold – if you are on a space with a Port, you can move to the nearest Port on the left or right e. Use a Magic Gate for 2 Gold – if you are on a space with a Magic Gate, you can move to any other Magic Gate f. Use any Movement Ability or Item, e.g. Flying Carpet, the Teleportation Spell etc. g. Use another activity which states "instead of moving" – either an Ability, or Possibility of certain spaces:
- City – skilled labor: pay 1 Magic, earn 2 Gold
- Thieves' Guild – dirty labor: pay 1 Health, earn 3 Gold
- Fortress – training: pay 1 Health, gain 2 Experience points h. Attack an Astral Plane (explained later)
A character can only make one type of movement per turn and that type only once. It is prohibited to pay 2 Gold to ride a horse twice, walk to a port and then take a boat, or teleport and then move. As well, it is prohibited to use multiple abilities that are in place of movement, such as labor in the City.
Example: if a character is in the Village space, the player has several options. She may stay in the same space. She may move one space to the Mountains or the Plains. If she has some Gold, she may pay one to rent a horse and move two spaces to the Magic Tower or Thieves' Guild. For one Gold, she may also rent a boat and move to the Plains near the Forest between the Monastery and the Magic Tower, or to the Mountains near the Forest Camp.
Battle with Creatures
If you arrive in a space where there is a face-down Adventure card, first flip the card face-up (if a face-down Adventure card is in a space where you start the turn, only flip up that card if you decide to stay there).
Adventure cards are either a Creature or an Opportunity. In the case of a Creature, a character must do battle with it. It is also possible that more than one Creature is in a single space. In this case, a character may choose which one to fight first. Battles are described later – for now, the only thing you need to know is that the character can either win, lose or draw.
If character loses or draws, the player's turn ends. It is not possible to fight another Creature or character, nor to use an Opportunity in the space.
If character wins, she earns a reward (explained later). If there is another Creature in the space, she must fight it now.
Battles with Other Characters
If there were no Creatures in the space or you defeated them, and if there is another character in the same space, then you can attack her. Each turn, you can attack only one other character – if there are more characters in the same space, you can choose which one to do battle with. You do not have to attack another character.
Battles are explained later. As opposed to a battle with a Creature, if the character draws or loses a battle with another character, her turn does not end – she can use a Possibility in the space regardless of the outcome of the battle.
In the Monastery, Forest Camp, or if you paid for lodging in the Village, your character is safe – it is not possible for other characters to attack you (on the game board there is a white dove here). These safe zones do not apply to characters who have an Artifact – a character walking in the world with these legendary Artifacts is never safe.
Using Possibilities
When there are no Creatures in the space (or were defeated), the character can use the Possibility in the space. The character can use more Possibilities if available, and in any order she wishes. Each Possibility can be used multiple times, unless stated otherwise. The Possibilities of specific spaces are described below.
Possibilities
Forests, Mountains and Plains – Opportunities
Some Adventure cards represent Opportunities. There are various usable things which you can encounter – some are free and others you must pay for. A player has the choice whether or not to use an Opportunity (if there are two in the space then she can choose in which order to use them). An Opportunity card is for one-time use only and is then discarded. A player cannot use the card just to discard it, e.g. use an Opportunity for healing when her character is at full Health.
Guilds – Training
In guild spaces you can find different Abilities. Upon visiting a guild, a character may learn an Ability which lies there. Every Ability has a cost which is stated in the upper right-hand corner of the card – this is the amount of Experience that must be paid. If the guild is not stated on your character card, then the character does not belong to this guild, so the character must pay not only the Experience, but also an equal amount of Gold. If you learn an Ability, place its card near your Character card and keep it for the rest of the game.
Civilization – Item Repair
Some Items (mainly throwing weapons and shields) can be damaged during the game. Damaged cards should be turned face-down and may not be used. In a Civilization space (a blue space: any guild, the City or the Village), it is possible to repair an Item. For each repaired Item you must pay 1 Gold.
The City and Village – Purchase and Sale of Items
There can be Items in the City or Village spaces which you can buy. A character must pay the price stated on the Item card. It is also possible to sell Items – the price is half, rounded up, e.g. if an Item costs 5 Gold, you receive 3. You must repair damaged Items before selling them. Sold Items do not stay on the same space – they are discarded.
Monastery and Forest Camp – Healing
In the Monastery, a character can heal 1 Health for free, but only once per turn. In the Forest Camp, a character can heal as much Health as she wants, but they cost 1 Gold each.
Magic Wilderness and the Magic Tower – Recharging Magic
In the Magic Wilderness, a character can recharge 3 Magic for free, but only once per turn. In the Magic Tower, a character can recharge as much Magic as she wants, but pays 1 Gold for every 2 Magic.
The Village – Lodging
In the Village it is possible to stay overnight. A character must pay 1 Gold, and heals 1 Health and recharges 1 Magic and is safe until her next turn (if she does not have an Artifact).
Taking Artifacts
If there is an Artifact in the space (where another character has left it upon dying), then you can take it.
Example: Spellblade is standing in the City. There is also a beautiful Great Sword lying in the space, and she would like to buy it to replace her common Sword. But Spellblade only has 5 Gold, and the price of the Great Sword is 13. She stays in the City and uses the Possibility instead of movement (she pays one Magic and takes two Gold). Now she has 7 Gold. Her next turn she stays in the City again and gets another two Gold for another Magic, and she also sells her Sword (its price is 7 Gold, so she gets 4 when she sells it)—now she has 13 Gold in total and at last she buys the Great Sword. Now she has no Gold and she is missing two Magic (she now has two blue cubes on the left side of her character card). She decides to stay in the City for a third turn and she earns another two Gold for one Magic. In the fourth turn, she uses the Magic Gate (for two Gold) to move into the Enchanted Wilderness, where she recharges all three missing Magic (returning them to the right side of her character card).
Battles of Strength & Wills
In the game there are two types of battles – a Battle of Strength, where both opponents fight physically with weapons, fists, claws etc., and a Battle of Wills, where both opponents have mental contact and use their mind to defeat the other. A Battle of Wills always takes precedence, but creating a mental connection is not easy – the one choosing this type of battle must pay Magic at the beginning of a battle.
Battle with Creatures
Every Creature has its own Strength, Willpower or both, this number representing various weapons, magic or abilities that the Creature has. Here are the possibilities when fighting with Creatures:
a. If a Creature only has Strength, then it means that it is not intelligent and it is therefore not possible to fight with Willpower. The Creature attacks the character and the player must accept the challenge – a Battle of Strength occurs.
b. If a Creature has Strength stated first, then Willpower, it means that it attacks the character with Strength, but it is also capable of fighting with Willpower. The player can decide either to accept a Battle of Strength or to pay 2 Magic, moving blue cubes from the right to the left side of her character card to initiate a Battle of Wills. Note that initiating a Battle of Wills actually lowers a character's Willpower by 2 – a Battle of Wills therefore gives an upper hand to the character only when her Willpower is much higher than Creature's Willpower before the battle.
c. If a Creature only has Willpower, then it attacks the character with it. As a Battle of Wills takes precedence, the player has no other choice than accept this type of battle. The Creature initiated this Battle of Wills, so the player does not pay anything. The amount the creature paid for initiating the battle is not important in this case (it is already counted in that Creature's Willpower).
d. If some other case occurs, e.g. a Creature has Willpower stated first then Strength, then the Creature has specific rules which are described on its card. If you do not understand these specific rules, look at the Appendix at the end of this rulebook.
Then the player decides which Items, Spells or Abilities she uses in battle, counts appropriate bonuses and adds them to her Strength or Willpower. Do not forget that only the cubes on the right side of the character card count, so if the character is missing some Health or Magic, she is also weaker in battle.
The player must then roll both dice at the same time. The lighter die represents the character, and the darker one represents the Creature. Add your total to the number rolled on your die and the Creature's Strength or Willpower to the number rolled on its die. Whoever has the highest total wins. If the totals are the same, it is a draw.
Example: the Druid has a current Strength of 3 and Willpower of 6. He enters a space where the Old Pirate lurks. Luckily there is no port, so the Old Pirate has both Strength and Willpower of 3. The Old Pirate attacks the Druid with Strength. The Druid might accept the Battle of Strength (the odds would be 3 to 3), but he decides to initiate a Battle of Wills. He pays two Magic (moves two blue cubes from the right side to the left side of his character card), so his Willpower is now only 4, one more than the Old Pirate. He rolls both dice, rolling a "4" on the lighter die and a "6" on the darker one. This means that he loses (8 to 10). Because there is no text denoted by an X on the Old Pirate card, the Druid loses one Health (he moves one red cube from the right side to the left side of his character card). The next turn he decides to not move away and fight again. Now he has a Strength of 2 and Willpower of 4. In both types of battles he would be weaker by one point, but he decides to initiate a Battle of Wills again, because he is interested in gaining the Old Pirate's treasure as promised by the text after the check mark. He pays two Magic and rolls the dice. Now he rolls a "3" on the lighter die and a "2" on the darker one. That means a draw—nothing further happens and the Druid's turn ends.
Winning a Battle with a Creature
Discard the Creature which has been defeated in battle. The player takes the appropriate amount of Experience from the bank, which is denoted on the upper right-hand corner of the Creature card. Most Creatures also have a treasure, which is denoted on the card by a check mark. The treasure may be Gold (take this from the bank), a Common or Rare Item (draw the appropriate card), or in some cases an increase in Strength or Willpower (take a cube from the bank). If a strong Creature has no treasure, you typically receive more Experience.
Losing a Battle with a Creature
If a character loses, the Creature stays in the space and the player's turn ends immediately. Also, the character loses 1 Health (move a red cube from the right to the left side of your character card). Some Creatures do something worse to you instead – they can take multiple Health, drain Magic, or steal Gold or Items. This is denoted by an X. If a Creature takes more Magic than a character has, nothing further usually happens, but if it takes more Health than the character has, tough luck, the character is eliminated from the game (explained later).
Creature Battle that Ends in a Draw
Nothing happens when a battle ends in a draw. The character is unharmed, and the Creature remains in the same space. As with a loss, the player's turn ends.
Bands of Creatures – 3 Lives
Some Creatures have 3 lives, which is denoted by a 3 symbol. When fighting these Creatures, the player is fighting a single battle in which she must roll the dice three times consecutively. To defeat the Creature, the player must win all three rolls. When any roll ends in draw or loss, then the battle is drawn or lost (no need to roll any further). In the next battle, the Creature has 3 lives again.
During a battle, you may not change the type of battle or any weapons. It is possible, though, to influence the outcome of each roll, e.g. by throwing a weapon, casting spells like Concentration, Prayer, Turn Back Time etc., but these effects affect only one roll. If the player paid Magic to initiate a Battle of Wills, the payment is made only once (at the beginning of battle) and Willpower is used for all three rolls.
Special Rules for Creatures
Some Creatures have special rules. These rules are denoted by an exclamation point (if they are mandatory) or by a question mark (if they are optional).
Battles with Other Characters
A battle with another character is similar to a battle with a Creature. An attacking character first announces the battle to the defending character, and then if she is attacking with Strength or Willpower. If a Battle of Wills is paid for, then the defender must accept it. If a Battle of Strength is announced, then the defender can either accept it or announce that she wants to fight with Willpower (and pay for it). Once a type of battle is determined, the battle commences.
In a Battle of Wills, the player (attacker or defender) initiating it must pay 2 Magic plus 1 extra Magic for each Artifact that the opponent has (Artifacts protect their owner from being attacked with Willpower).
The type of battle is now set. Now it is back on the attacker, who must announce which weapons and Items she is using, and if she is going to use any Spells. Then the defender announces the same. Both players now add the characteristic used in the battle (Strength or Willpower) and all bonuses from weapons, Items, Abilities or Spells. Both players now roll a die and add the outcome to their total. Whoever has the higher total wins the battle. If the totals are the same, then it is a draw and nothing happens. (To prevent any conflict, the attacker rolls the lighter die and the defender the darker one.)
Winning a Battle with a Character
Regardless of the type of battle, the results are the same. The losing player can choose what happens to her character. She can either lose 1 Health, or she offers her Items to the winner, who can take any one Item (including an Artifact). If the loser decides to offer an Item, she cannot change her mind when she sees which Item she will lose. If the losing player has no Items, then she must lose a Health.
Usually it is not such an advantage to attack another character, because the loser will choose to lose Health instead of an Item. An exception to this is if an opponent is seriously wounded and cannot afford to lose any Health, or while using some Abilities from Thieves' Guild. Otherwise, it typically does not make sense to attack other characters in the early stages of the game. Battles between characters are much more useful during the Final Battle (explained later).
Death of a Character
When a character loses more Health than she has, the character is eliminated from the game. If this happens due to a battle with another character, then the winner of that battle gets all Gold and Items, including Artifacts (even though the winner will typically have to discard lots of this stuff at the end of her round due to the maximum limit).
If, however, a character dies in a battle with a Creature or for another reason, her Items and Gold are taken by local inhabitants – split those by type and discarded to the bank or the respective discard piles. Abilities are returned to the bottom of the respective guild decks (in random order).
If a character is eliminated and has at least one Artifact (and if the character was not eliminated in a battle with another character), then those Artifacts remain on the space where the character was eliminated. Other characters have the possibility to take them, although they must first defeat all Creatures which reside in that space. It can also happen that the character is eliminated when attacking the Astral Planes. In this case, all the lost Artifacts are added to the one in the respective Astral Plane, and whoever defeats the Greater Guardian in that Astral Plane gets all the Artifacts.
A New Character
If a player's character dies early, the player may take another character (if she wishes so). Shuffle all unused characters (except the ones that have already been eliminated from the game) and draw one at random. The character is readied as at the beginning of the game. At the beginning of the player's round, the new character is placed on its normal starting space (the first guild stated on the character card) and then 1 Health and 2 Magic are moved to the left of the character card – these are lost on the trip. Then the player begins play as normal.
If the Final Battle has already begun, it is of course not possible to take another character. Also, if the Final Battle is coming near, with only several Artifacts still in the Astral Planes, then taking a new character makes less sense, as it is difficult to quickly reach a competitive level with a new and inexperienced character.
Items and Abilities
The rules describing the use of Items and Abilities which your character typically takes and keeps, are stated on their respective cards. It should be quite obvious that you cannot use a Great Sword and a shield at the same time or a Healing Potion that says, "use anytime except in battle" in a fight. Of course, if your character has no Items or Abilities, then you can skip this chapter. Come back when you start finding these things.
Potions and Scrolls
All potions (elixirs etc.) and scrolls are used once only. After using one of these Items, discard it.
Weapons and Shields
A character can possess many Items, but it is necessary to state which ones are used in a battle. A character only has two hands and one head which restrict the number of Items which she can use.
A character can have up to two Items in her hands, including a weapon, shield and/or other Item which clearly states so, i.e. a wand. Only one of these Items can be a weapon and only one can be a shield. If a weapon is two-handed, then it is not possible to use another handheld Item or shield at the same time.
For example, it is possible to hold the Cutlass and the Cape, a wand and a shield, or even two wands, but not possible to hold the Cutlass and the Javelin, two shields, the Great Sword and a shield, or the Great Sword and a wand.
A character can of course only count the bonuses for Items that are actually used in a respective battle. During a battle it is not possible to change the Items being used (even when the battle consists of several rolls). But it is possible to change Items between battles (before another battle with a different Creature or a Guardian or before a battle with a character). Keep in mind that a bonus for throwing a weapon counts only for one roll of the dice. If you fight the Flock of Harpies with three lives and you throw your Axe on the first roll of the battle, the other two rolls are fought without the weapon (it is often better to throw the weapon during the last roll rather than the first).
Crowns and Circlets
At any time a character may only use one Item which states that it is worn on the head.
Example: the Mercenary has gained some Strength and Willpower during the game and now has a Strength of 6 and Willpower of 4. In addition, he has some useful Items: the Cedar Staff, Ivory Wand, Ruby Circlet, Axe and Spiked Shield.
He decides to calm down the Angry Mob, and chooses to use Willpower. The Cedar Staff is a two-handed weapon, so he may not use it together with the Ivory Wand. No matter if he uses the Staff or Wand, he gains +1. He gains another +1 for the Ruby Circlet. For initiating a Battle of Wills he must pay two Magic, giving him a total of 4 (2+1+1), i.e. two points more than the Mob. He rolls the dice. He rolls a "3" on the lighter die and a "3" on the darker die too. He wins the first roll. He rolls a second time (not paying any additional Magic) so he still has two more than the Angry Mob. This time he rolls a "4" on the lighter die and a "6" on the darker die. The Angry Mob has rolled two higher, resulting in a draw. The battle ends. The next turn the Mercenary fights again, but this time with Strength. He might use his Cedar Staff, which gives him +1, but he decides for the Axe and Spiked Shield, which gives him +1 too, but the Axe may be thrown for an additional bonus. He is one point stronger than the Angry Mob. He rolls a "5" and a "2". He wins. Then a "1" and a "1". He wins again. He decides to throw the Axe on the last roll, so he is now two points stronger than the Angry Mob. This time he rolls a "5" and a "6". The Axe becomes damaged (he turns the card face-down and may not use it again), but it has been worth it, because he has won the battle and receives 7 Experience.
Die Roll Modifications
Some Spells and Items change the way you roll the dice – rolling a die more times and choosing the best or worst die roll. Note that a player always rolls both dice in a battle, the lighter die representing the player's roll and the darker representing a Creature's. In the case that one side needs multiple dice, the respective die is re-rolled, for example, the Spell Prayer (use before you roll a die – roll twice and keep the result you want) applies only to the lighter die; the player should roll both dice, and then re-roll the lighter die, choosing the best of the two lighter dice rolls.
These effects can also be combined, especially in a battle between two characters.
Abilities
Abilities can be used immediately in the turn upon purchase. Some Abilities are always active and there is no need to specifically state that you are using them, e.g. bonus against demons with Exorcism, and some must be activated (by saying, "I am using this Ability.") You must announce that before the roll of the dice or before a battle; you may not say after a battle, "Oops, I lost by only one point, I will use Blessed Weapon and it is a draw!"
Abilities stay with a character until the end of the game. The only case this does not apply is when a character has more than seven, in which case any excess Abilities must be discarded and returned to the bottom of the respective guild pile.
Spells
Some Abilities are called Spells (mostly from the Magic Tower, but even thieves and warriors have access to some Spells). Spells are Abilities which are activated by paying one or two Magic – the cost is stated on the card below its name. The effect of a Spell on the game is treated the same as other Abilities. Spells are usually usable more times during one turn, but cannot be used in the same moment for the same goal. It is not, for example, possible to use Blessed Weapon on the same weapon twice or use Berserk twice in the same battle.
The use of a magic Item is not classified as a Spell, even if it requires paying Magic to activate it.
Once-a-Round Effects
Some Items and Abilities can only be used only once a round (Time Loop once every two rounds). This applies regardless of how many turns you have in a round, e.g. when you draw Peaceful Times, you may still use Counterfeiting only once, or you may cast only one Spell cheaper by means of the Ring of Magical Forces.
Effects Usable During Your Turn
Many Items (mainly scrolls and potions) and some Abilities and Spells may be used only during your turn. This is especially important near the end of the game when an attacker has an advantage, because she can use these things while her opponent cannot.
Non-Battle Effects
A number of Items (some scrolls, all potions) and some Abilities and Spells are not usable during battle. This means they may not be used after choosing the type of the battle. When a Creature (especially a Guardian) does something to you before a battle, such non-battle effects may no longer be used afterwards.
For example, you may not heal Health or recharge Magic which you lost to the Master of Pain until the battle ends. It is also not possible to pay Magic for a Battle of Wills and then recharge it with a potion or with Mass Decay, as the battle has already begun. These non-battle effects may not be used even in battle that consists of several rolls of the dice (Vampires, Creatures with three lives).
However, these non-battle effects may be used between different battles (even when the enemy was already revealed). For example, when a character enters a space and reveals a previously hidden Creature, she can drink a potion to heal herself before fighting it. If she wins the battle and there is another Creature to fight, she may again use any non-battle effects. And if she wins again and decides to fight another character that is in that space, she can use yet another non-battle effect... This also applies between battles with Lesser and Greater Guardians from the Astral Planes.
Attack on the Astral Planes
An attack on the Astral Planes can be led from one of two spaces which is adjacent to that Astral Plane, e.g. to the Astral Plane closest to the Monastery, it is possible to attack it from the adjacent Forest or the City. If you are in one of these spaces, instead of moving, you must say, "I am attacking the Astral Plane." You do not encounter any of the cards in the space where you are, as the next battle you will fight will be within the Astral Plane itself.
Battle in the Astral Planes
The difference between an average space, where you can choose your opponent, and the Planes is you must fight the Guardians in order. First reveal the Lesser Guardian (if it was not already revealed) and you must fight it in the same way you would fight a normal Creature. If you lose or draw with the Guardian, you return to the space where you attacked from and your turn ends. The Guardian stays revealed. However, if you win, you first collect the reward (all Lesser Guardians offer wondrous treasures) and then you must continue. You must then reveal the Greater Guardian and fight with it. If you lose or draw with it, your turn ends as with a Lesser Guardian, but if you win, you get the most valuable treasure – an Artifact, which the Guardian protected.
If a character defeats the Lesser Guardian only, the revealed Greater Guardian remains alone. From now on, to get the Artifact, only the Greater Guardian must be defeated. Once a player earns an Artifact, the Astral Plane becomes closed and no other player may enter it.
Artifacts
Artifacts are the most powerful Items in the game. Artifacts count towards the total number of Items a character has, so often it is necessary to discard an Item after exiting the Planes (you cannot have more than seven Items). Artifacts cannot, however, be discarded, sold, damaged or destroyed nor can a Creature take one from you. The only others interested in Artifacts are the other players. As long as there are Artifacts in the Astral Planes, their power is not fully awakened, so during a battle with other characters, they are treated as any other Item – the loser chooses whether to lose a Health or an Item, and if she chooses an Item, she will likely lose an Artifact. But once the last Artifact has been taken from the Astral Planes, then those rules change (described below).
Do not forget, that it is more difficult to make mental contact with the owner of an Artifact: for every Artifact that a character has, an opponent must pay an additional 1 Magic to initiate a Battle of Wills.
Final Battle
The game ends as soon as a character possesses 4 of the 5 Artifacts. Their power is so strong, that the carrier of the fifth Artifact is drawn to the new ruler of the world (even when the carrier is a Greater Guardian) and accepts her rule. But it often happens that even when the last Artifact is claimed from the Astral Planes, the Artifacts are divided between the characters so that no one has four. In this case, any character possessing an Artifact is a Champion and gathers with other Champions to a final test of strength, a Final Battle, to determine who will be crowned King!
Champions
Only when all Artifacts are in the possession of characters does the Final Battle begin and the Final Battle only includes those who possess at least one Artifact. For the other players the game ends – remove their playing pieces from the board. This rule applies throughout the Final Battle – whoever loses her last Artifact is eliminated from the game.
The Battleground
The Champion possessing the Royal Cape determines where the Final Battle will take place. She may choose any of the 25 spaces on the board (not the Astral Planes). This choice is very important because the Champions cannot move away from that space. All Champions may benefit from the terrain or from the inherent possibilities of that space: because once a space is chosen for the Final Battle, all cards are removed from that space and all Champions (characters with at least one Artifact) are moved there and prepare for battle. All Champions heal all their Health, replenish all their Magic, and repair all their broken items.
Final Battle Begins
The Champion to the left of the player that collected the fifth Artifact begins the Final Battle and play continues clockwise until one Champion possesses at least 4 of the 5 Artifacts.
A round of the Final Battle is similar to a normal round, with these exceptions:
- No Chance card is drawn. The player is, however, allowed to use the Banner of Hope, if she possesses it.
- Champions are not allowed to move or in anyway leave the space chosen for the Final Battle by any means. The Champion can use skills, Items or the space's possibilities that are done "instead of movement".
- Champions must attack another Champion on their turn. Follow the usual rules for battles between characters. In case of a tie, nothing happens. However, if one of the Champions win, the loser has only one option: she must give one of her Artifacts to the winner. If it was her last Artifact, she is eliminated from the Final Battle (and the game).
The actions are performed in the usual order. So the Banner of Hope comes first, then a chance to use an "instead of movement" action, then non-battle actions (like drinking a potion), then one mandatory battle with another Champion and then a chance use the space's possibilities.
Example: There are three players playing, in this order: Ranger, Illusionist and Scout. Ranger just gained the fifth Artifact. Now Ranger has two, Illusionist has two, and Scout has only one – the Banner of Hope. Illusionist has the Royal Cape, so she can decide where to fight. She chooses the Magic Tower, because she has more Gold than her opponents, and in the Magic Tower she can use it to replenish her Magic and to repair items. Moreover, Ranger cannot benefit from her Forest Wisdom skill there.
Since the Illusionist plays after Ranger, she starts the Final Battle. She does not move and has no "instead of movement" actions, so she attacks Scout. Scout is stronger, so Illusionist decides for a Battle of Wills. She has to pay 3 Magic for it (2 + number of the Artifacts opponent possesses). They both roll the dice and Illusionist wins the fight using her Flaming Staff. Opponent must give her one Artifact. Scout has no other choice than to give her the Banner of Hope – and since he has no more Artifacts, he is eliminated from the game. Illusionist can then use the space's possibilities – she replenishes her Magic for 2 Gold and repairs her Flaming Staff for one Gold.
As Scout is out of the game, now it is Ranger's turn. She does not use any "instead of movement" actions and attacks Illusionist. She attacks with her Strength. Illusionist would have to pay 4 Magic to change it to a Battle of Wills, as Ranger has two Artifacts. She decides not to do it. Instead, Illusionist uses some spells to increase her chances, and throws her Thor's Hammer at the opponent. But after the dice are rolled, it turns out to be a draw.
Now it is again the Illusionist's turn. She uses the Banner of Hope she won during her last turn. She rolls a "1", so she has +1 to a battle for the entire turn. However, her Thor's Hammer is damaged, and she cannot repair it now (possibilities of the space can be used after combat). She decides to use her "Sacrifice of Blood" skill – instead of moving, she loses one Health and replenishes the Magic she spent last round. Then she drinks a Potion of Concentration to gain +3 Willpower this turn (note she could not do it when Ranger was attacking her, as most of the potions and scrolls can only be used on their controller's turn and not during combat). And finally, she pays 4 Magic to challenge Ranger in a Battle of Wills. If she wins this battle, Ranger would have to give her one of her Artifacts and Illusionist wins the game.
Game Variants
No Final Battle Variant
PROPHECY can be played faster when the goal is to possess two Artifacts. The first character to possess two Artifacts at any time wins the game. There is no Final Battle in this variant.
Apocalypse Variant
This variant is a longer version of the standard game. As in the standard game, the game ends as soon as a character possesses 4 of the 5 Artifacts. The Final Battle begins when the fifth Artifact is claimed and no one has 4 of them. A character not in possession of an Artifact at any point is removed from the game.
At the beginning of the Final Battle, the world becomes unstable. The power of the Artifacts trying to get together again is enormous. Accept their will or the whole world will suffer.
When the fifth Artifact is taken from the Astral Planes, shuffle the entire deck of Chance cards, including the discarded cards. The game continues by the same rules (i.e. characters move about the board fighting Creatures and characters and using opportunities, and the Royal Cape owner does not choose a battleground), except the deck now counts down the time towards the Apocalypse. You must try to finish the game before the Apocalypse starts, otherwise terrible things will start to happen.
If the Chance deck is exhausted and the game remains undecided, then the deck is not reshuffled – instead the Apocalypse begins. During the Apocalypse, you do not draw a Chance card. Instead, at the beginning of every round, all characters lose 1 Health and 1 Magic (if five players are playing, each character will lose a total of 5 Health and 5 Magic at the start of her next round). The Apocalypse ends when a player gets 4 Artifacts or at the moment when the last player is eliminated. In the latter case, the game ends without a winner.
Team Play Variant
In this four-player variant, two play together as a team. They represent a pair joined by a heroic friendship – each helps the other and each is willing to risk her life to save her comrade. Certainly you can think of many examples of such a pair in fantasy books, films, or television series. Players on the same team should sit opposite each other so that each team gets an alternate turn (i.e. the order will look like this: Player A - Team 1 goes first then Player A - Team 2 then Player B - Team 1 then Player C - Team 2).
The game is played like the Standard Game with the rule variants below. The goal of each pair is for one of them to become King. It does not matter which one. If one becomes King, both of them win.
It is up to you to decide whether each will go her own way and then transfer the Artifacts at the end or if one character will give her Items to the other to make it easier to attack the Astral Planes. (But don't forget that you can only give away Items and Gold – see Trading Between Players below).
Of course, it is possible to use Races and the Dragon Realm while playing in teams (see future expansions).
Trading Between Players
If you would like, you can allow players to trade between each other. It is only possible to trade Gold and Items and never Abilities, Experience or other advantages, e.g. the Forgotten Chapel.
A player can announce that she is trading when standing in the same space as another character. The players can then agree to trade Gold and/or Items, which they can do freely. Both players must agree to any trades done, and a player cannot force the other to trade, nor can a player cheat (not pay the other player for something agreed upon etc.).
In each turn, a player can trade with only one other character and only instead of moving. The movement is lost only in the case that a trade is actually completed.
Both players should try to trade so that both players mutually benefit such as "I need Gold to pay the Exotic Merchant, and I have both the Sword and the Cutlass. As I may not use two weapons at once, I will sell the Cutlass to a player who has the Edged Weapons Ability and desperately needs such a weapon." Do not haggle too much, as it slows down the game.
It is also prohibited to trade just to strengthen another player ("Since I can't win, you take everything so that you can win."). This is unfair and ruins the game for the other players.
Appendix
You do not have to read this Appendix before you start playing. It solves specific problems regarding specific cards. If you run into a specific card which is unclear, then look for it here. Cards are listed by type: Items, Abilities, Creatures, Guardians, and Opportunities.
Items
Weapons
Inexpensive Weapons – Rapier, Axe, Hammer, Javelin
- These only add a bonus in battle with specific Creatures.
- Even if the weapon does not offer any bonus, it can still be used, so you can use Abilities like Edged Weapons, Crushing Weapons or Long Weapons.
- It is possible to cast a Spell such as Flaming Weapon or Blessed Weapon on a weapon which offers no bonus.
- If you throw the Axe against demons or the Javelin against animals you get +2.
Thrown Weapons
- You must announce you are throwing a weapon before rolling the dice.
- Against Creatures with multiple lives, throwing a weapon gives you a bonus to a single dice roll only.
- All bonuses are added together, e.g. Thor's Hammer thrown against undead gives you +4.
- Thrown weapons are still weapons of their respective type, e.g. if you have the Ability Crushing Weapons, you get +1 for using the Boomerang, even when you do not throw it.
Sword of Smiting, Ritual Dagger
- You have to announce and pay for extra bonuses before you roll the dice. Extra bonuses apply only for a single roll.
Berserker's Axe
- If you lose a battle, you lose 1 additional Health, so be careful that you are not on your last Health.
Shields
- Shields only work when you use them in battle, e.g. a shield can't save you if you fight with a two-handed weapon.
- The Artifact Mirrored Shield also works in a Battle of Wills (but you may not use it if you are using a staff, for example).
Scrolls and Potions
All potions and scrolls are for one-time use only. You must discard one after use.
Potions of Healing and Magic
- You can only use these during your turn. So when you expect your opponent to attack you, it is better to heal and recharge your Health and Magic during your turn.
- If a potion heals more Health or recharges more Magic than a character has been weakened by, then the rest of the potion is lost.
- You cannot use a potion in the midst of a battle!
Scroll of Deep Prayer, Scroll of Divine Will
- If the players use these in a battle against each other, the attacker uses hers first, then the defender. In this case, the defender's scroll will override (partially) the effect of attacker's scroll.
Scroll of Altered Reality
- If you roll the die multiple times and choose the best/worst result, use of this scroll causes a re-roll of only one of these dice (the user of the scroll chooses which one).
- It is even possible to re-roll a die roll that was not actually rolled at all, such as being set by usage of another scroll.
Potions of Strength and Concentration
- You get a bonus only for a single turn, not for the whole round, e.g. from Peaceful Times.
Scroll of Stealing, Scroll of Decay
- You can use these before a battle, after a battle or even when you do not want to fight with a character.
Other Items
Crown of Power, Crown of the Ancient Kings and Gauntlets of Strength
- These Items have their own bonuses – do not take any additional cubes from the bank. It is however convenient to place these cards near to the respective characteristic so you don't forget about the bonuses.
- These Items do not give you additional Health or Magic!
- It is possible with these cards to exceed the maximum Strength of 8 and Willpower of 10 (there is only a limit to the number of cubes you may have).
Ring of Magical Forces
- This works exactly like the Ability Effective Spellcasting (see Abilities – Magic Tower).
Ring of Concentration
- This recharges Magic once a round (even if you have multiple turns) and only if you did not cast any Spells.
- It recharges Magic even if you initiated a Battle of Wills or paid Magic to activate a magic Item.
Abilities
Weapon Abilities
Specialization of specific types of weapons works when you are using that specific type of weapon. The Abilities are cumulative. For example, if you are using the Cedar Staff in a battle, you can add bonuses for the Abilities Two-Handed Combat (from the Fortress), Long Weapons (from the Forest Camp) or Staff Skill (from the Magic Tower). If you have the Ability Ambidexterity (from the Fortress), Edged Weapons (from the Fortress) and Thrown Weapons (from the Thieves' Guild), then if you use the Cutlass and the Dagger and you throw both, you count the bonuses for Edged Weapons and Thrown Weapons twice.
Fortress
Ambidexterity
- You may cast Spells on a weapon (Blessed Weapon, Flaming Weapon) twice – once on each weapon.
- If a Creature damages or destroys the weapon you are using, it affects both weapons.
Berserker Rage
- If you lose a battle, you lose 1 additional Health, so be careful that you are not on your last Health.
Two-Handed Combat
- When fighting without a weapon, you get +1 only if you have both hands empty.
Thieves' Guild
Pickpocketing
- You always steal 2 Gold even when your opponent has more lives, e.g. the Steppe Raiders. If you defeat a character that has one or no Gold, you steal whatever she has.
Stealth
- You can use multiple Possibilities both before or after a battle, e.g. in the Magic Tower, you can recharge your Magic and buy one Ability, and then attack another character (and then buy another Ability and recharge your Magic again).
Wharf Rat
- In combination with Nautical Rites (from the Monastery), you can swim to any port and earn 1 Gold.
Haggling
- This Ability only works when buying or selling in the City or Village (or the Black Market).
Counterfeiting
- It is possible to use this only once when paying for something, e.g. if you repair a weapon in the Village, buy the Dagger and buy the Hammer, you can use this skill in only one of these occasions.
- Repairing more Items or purchasing multiple Magic or Health counts as one payment, e.g. if you heal 5 Health in the Forest Camp, you pay only 2 Gold.
- The rest of your payment is lost, e.g. when you rent a horse you pay nothing, but the additional 2 Gold is lost.
Fleet of Foot
- You can combine non-traditional ways of moving, although you must always pay for the service, e.g. with the Spell Spirits of Forest Trails you move to a forest, then with the Flying Carpet you can fly 3 more spaces.
- The second move can be an attack on an Astral Plane, e.g. you can arrive in the City with a boat then attack the Plane.
- You must combine movements only – you cannot use an action that requires you to do "instead of moving", e.g. use Miracle Healing twice or move to the Thieves' Guild and then work there.
- It is not possible to cast this multiple times within one move, e.g. for 2 Magic moving three times.
Thievery
- You can use this only when you are the attacker (whether you attack with Strength or Willpower).
Forest Camp
Healing Arts
- Does not heal any other loss of Health other than damage done in a battle, e.g. does not heal a Health lost from using the Ability Berserk.
- When you lose more than one Health at once, it is only possible to use Healing Arts once and to heal only one Health.
Mountain Lore, Forest Wisdom
- You get a bonus whenever you attack an Astral Plane, but only to the first roll of the dice in the first combat (if you defeat the Lesser Guardian, you get no bonus against the Greater Guardian – unless you do not defeat the Greater Guardian and decide to attack the Plane again in a subsequent turn).
Magic Tower
Mass Decay
- This spell is useful in destroying those Items you hold over the limit of 7 at the end of your round.
Turn Back Time
- It does not count as a new battle, so all the same bonuses, spells and Scrolls (with the exception of the Scroll of Altered Reality, which does not set the conditions of the battle, but rather adjusts them) apply again. The only thing that happens is that time returns to the moment right before you rolled the dice.
- Note that if you are fighting a Battle of Wills, you have been weakened by 1 point, as you must pay 1 Magic to activate this Spell.
Flaming Weapon
- It is possible to use in combination with thrown weapons which would be damaged anyway.
- It is even possible to use this on the Flaming Staff.
Power Drain
- The battle starts with this Spell, so you cannot use a potion after casting it.
- You can use this only once during any single Battle of Wills.
- When an opposing character has one or no Magic available, you can only weaken one or no Magic, respectively.
- You cannot reduce a Creature's Willpower to less than 0.
Effective Spellcasting
- This does not work with Magic which is used to activate Items (Flying Carpet or Sword of Smiting, for example).
- Spells which cost 1 Magic to cast cost 0, but only once for your entire round, even when you have more turns in the same round.
- It doesn't have to be your first Spell which you cast, e.g. you may cast a Spell, then recharge your Magic with a potion, and then cast a Spell using Effective Spellcasting.
- If you also have the Ring of Magical Forces, then you can discount Spells twice a round, but you may not use both Abilities at once, i.e. casting a Spell that costs 2 Magic for 0.
Time Loop
- It is possible to combine this with other cards, e.g. if you draw the Peaceful Times, you can cast the Time Loop in one turn to take a total of three turns. You may never use this twice in a single round nor in two consecutive rounds.
Monastery
Nautical Rites
- In combination with the Wharf Rat (from the Thieves' Guild), you can swim to any Port and earn 1 Gold.
Fanaticism
- This counts as a new battle, so all Spells and other bonuses from the first battle do not apply. If the Creature does something bad to you before the battle, it does it again.
- Even if a battle results in a draw due to a shield, the Ability Resistance etc., you may use this Ability.
Prayer
- In a battle which consists of several dice rolls, this applies only to a single roll, and you may cast it again before other rolls as well.
Creatures
Humanoids
Highwayman
- Being newly revealed means that it was placed on the game board this round or it was already on the board, but revealed this round.
- You must give him an Item of your choice (except an Artifact). If you do not have any Items, then lose a Health.
- The Items which he steals are placed under his card. Whoever defeats him gets the Items.
Band of Brigands
- If you have less than 5 Gold, they take all of it and 1 Health as well.
- The Gold which they steal is placed on the card. Whoever defeats them gets the Gold.
Animals
Poisonous Snake, Giant Scorpion
- This is a reason why you shouldn't reveal unknown cards when you have only one Health left.
Noble Lion
- The Beastmaster is only a title – it carries no special powers.
Horde of Bats
- You can use any non-magical Abilities and magic Items, but no Spells.
Undead
Vampire
- You must first fight a Battle of Wills and then a Battle of Strength. If you lose or tie the Battle of Wills, then the battle ends and you do not continue the fight.
- This counts as a single battle, so you cannot change Items. If you use the Ivory Wand in the Battle of Wills, you may not use a two-handed weapon nor a weapon and a shield in the Battle of Strength.
- If you want to cast a Spell in the Strength battle, e.g. Blessed Weapon, then you can wait until the Battle of Wills resolves.
Mummy
- The curse does not affect any game rules, but it works nonetheless. You will roll poorly, draw bad cards etc. With such bad luck you have to play exceptionally well to win.
- If you don't want its Item, then discard it. If you take it, you fall under the curse, even if you discard it later.
- After the game ends, your bad luck goes away.
Demons
Succubus, Incubus
- The gender of the character, not the player, is the determining factor.
Imp
- If you have more than one Item with the same highest value, you can choose which one you discard.
Alter Ego
- It is true that the stronger you are, the more difficult it is to defeat it. The chances are better for the wounded or the weak if they have good weapons. However, the rewards are worth it.
- You have the best chance to defeat it when you have 0 Health, but it is risky, for if you lose the battle, your character dies.
Guardians of the Astral Planes
Lesser Guardians
Vampire Lord
- The same rules as for the Vampire apply, but this one is stronger.
Sphinx
- You lose half of your Health immediately after the battle (before you pay for the Berserker's Axe, Berserk, etc).
Fire-Breathing Dragon
- You can use any non-magical Abilities and magic Items, but no Spells.
- Choose an Item before you see which Guardian awaits you next.
Greater Guardians
Scaled Monster
- It really destroys your weapon! No matter the results of the battle, discard the weapon you use.
Shapeless Things
- If you have less than 4 Magic, you cannot initiate a Strength battle.
- If you have less than 2 Health, you cannot fight a Battle of Wills. If you have exactly 2 Health, then it is preferable not to fight, because if you lose, your character dies.
Shadow of Death
- You fight a normal Battle of Strength, but use Willpower instead of Strength, e.g. the Crown of Power, the Potion of Concentration or the Great Sword will help you here, but the Gauntlets of Strength, Potion of Strength, Ruby Circlet or Crystal Skull will not.
Master of Pain
- Choose a weapon and Items which you use. Then count your Strength, Willpower and all other bonuses for Battles of Strength and Wills which you have (Items giving bonuses both in a Battle of Strength and a Battle of Wills, like the Cedar Staff, give you both bonuses). Roll and hope for the best.
- Note that bonuses for Exorcism or Staff Skill are only counted once.
Opportunities
Alchemist
- Discard to the bank one blue or red cube (from the right side of your character card) and you receive a new red or three blue cubes (on the right), respectively.
- You may not use his services if you have no appropriate cube available on the right side of your character card.
- Remember that it is easier to gain Willpower than Strength, so both options are useful.
Ancient Scroll
- This is discarded if you use it regardless if you reap its benefit or not, just like every other Opportunity.
Cleansing Fire
- This is discarded if you use it regardless if you reap its benefit or not, just like every other Opportunity.
Ruin
- Shuffle the Adventure card deck after searching for a Creature.
- If you find a Creature and do not destroy it, leave it in place of the Ruin.
Master Wizard
- It is like you actually get another turn this round – you can immediately fight and use Opportunities in the space where you move.
Forgotten Chapel
- This applies to your next battle and only to the first roll of the dice. If you forget to use it, you cannot keep it – discard it.
Hermit
- An Artifact is priceless – count its cost as 0. A damaged Item is counted normally.
- You can discard freely any quantity of Items and return to the bank any amount of Gold so you have the least.
- If you do not want to discard enough to have the least, do not bother the Hermit.
Golden Fish
- You gain Willpower or Strength only if you alone have the least of all players (count the total number of relevant cubes on both sides of your character card).
- You may take a Rare Item only if you alone have less than all other players. Count Artifacts as Rare Items.
- It is only a small fish, so it can only grant you one wish, not three.
Clover Meadow
- This is arguably the best card in the game. It does not change the rules, but you will start rolling better numbers and drawing better cards. Don't ask why and just believe that it works.
- Although you can now count on better luck, do not blindly take risks. It is only a four-leaf clover with a little bit of luck…
- If you don't win because of this card, do not be sad. Perhaps it will bring you good luck in real life.
A Sample Turn
Here is a sample turn between the Wandering Monk and the Enchantress. The Wandering Monk is wearing a Crown of Power giving him a bonus of +1 to his Willpower and initiating a Battle of Wills costs 1 Magic less. He also has a Prayer spell, a damaged War Axe, and the Blessed Weapon spell. The Enchantress is wielding an Oaken Staff, carries a Potion of Healing, possesses the Staff Skill ability and has the spell Stamina. Both characters have their full Strength/Health and Willpower/Magic.
The Enchantress is in the Magic Wilderness as she draws a Chance card for the turn: the card is Mountains so every Mountain with less than two cards gets a card. In the Mountains next to the Forest Camp a face-down card is placed since the space has a revealed Opportunity, the Master Wizard. The Enchantress pays one Magic (moving a blue cube from the right side of her card to the left) to activate the Stamina and walks 3 spaces, through the Forest and the Forest Camp (avoiding any cards in both spaces) and stopping in the Mountains. The face-down card is then turned face-up and is revealed to be a Ghost.
The Enchantress must battle the Ghost before deciding to use the Master Wizard. Since the Ghost only has a Willpower characteristic the battle must be a Battle of Wills (at no cost to the Enchantress). The Enchantress's Willpower/Magic is at 5 and while her Oaken Staff is better in a Battle of Strength, the Staff Skill ability gives the Staff a +1 in a Battle of Wills, bringing her Willpower characteristic to 6 in this battle. The Enchantress rolls both dice and the white die rolls a "4" and the black die rolls a "2": the Enchantress wins the battle 10-6 (4+6 Willpower). She gets 2 Experience and 3 Gold for defeating the Ghost.
Now the Enchantress is free to use the Master Wizard and she does, spending 2 Gold to teleport herself to the Mountain space next to the Village. Since the Master Wizard states that the space in which a character teleports must be treated as if they just entered that space, the Enchantress has to fight any Creatures therein - which happens to be an Undead Warrior. They fight a Battle of Strength, with the Enchantress having 5 Strength (3+1+1 - adding the bonuses of the Oaken Staff and the Staff Skill ability) and the Undead Warrior with a 4 Strength. The Enchantress rolls the dice and her die comes up a "1" and the Warrior's a "5"! The Warrior wins. The Enchantress loses 1 Health and her turn ends immediately: next turn she can use the Potion of Healing to get that Health back.
It is now the Monk's turn and he is in the Monastery where he acquired the Blessed Weapon for 5 Experience last turn (had he not been linked to the Monastery guild he would have also had to pay 5 Gold).
The Monk draws the chance card, Peaceful Times, giving him an extra turn. So for his first turn, he walks to the City. Waiting for him there are two Rare Items, one of which he purchases for 9 Gold – the Ritual Dagger (in a Battle of Strength add +1. In a Battle of Wills, you may pay 1 Health to get a bonus of +2 on one roll or 2 Health for a bonus of +4). While at the City he also pays 1 Magic to earn 2 Gold (as indicated by the icons on the space). Finally, he spends 1 Gold to repair the War Axe. He ends that turn and begins another due to the Peaceful Times.
For the second turn, no new Chance card is drawn. The Monk pays 1 Gold to use the Port and sails to Plains next to the Magic Wilderness. On the Plains are two Creatures: A Golem Guardian and a Rock Giant. Since there are two Creatures in that space he can choose which one to fight first: he chooses the Golem.
It is a Battle of Strength and the Monk chooses to use the War Axe to give himself a +2 modifier to his roll. He also decides to use the Blessed Weapon spell for 1 Magic to solidify his lead (he's now ahead 7-4 before the die rolls). He rolls both dice and rolls a "3" for himself and a "1" for the Golem: an easy win. Although the War Axe gets damaged (he turns it face-down), he gets 3 Experience and gets the special reward as indicated by the check mark. Before he rolls, he pays 1 Magic to use the Prayer spell to roll twice. He rolls a "3" the first time and then a "5" – he chooses the "5" and therefore receives a Rare Item. He draws a Ring of Concentration.
Now it is on to the Rock Giant. The Monk decides to initiate a Battle of Wills (the Rock Giant has both characteristics so this is allowed) by spending 1 Magic to initiate the battle (remember the Crown of Power bonus reduction), and bringing himself to a Willpower value of 1 (although he spent 4 Magic up to this point the Crown also gives him a +1 bonus to his Willpower – indeed it is a wondrous Item this Crown).
Before the die rolls are made, the Monk activates the Ritual Dagger, spending two Health for a bonus of +4 on his die roll. So the Monk is now at 5 Willpower and the Rock Giant at 4 Willpower. The Monk rolls both dice now and the white die comes up a "2" and the black die comes up a "3": it is a draw. Nothing happens and the Monk's turn is over.
Credits
Game design: Vlaada Chvátil Box art: Milan Vavron Logo: Jana Souflova Game board: Jana Zizkova Color illustrations: Jana Zizkova Black and white illustrations: Michal Vondracek Editing: Jirina Vorlova Typography and design: ALTAR
© 2004 Vlaada Chvátil © 2004 ALTAR
Playtesters: Medvedi, Rumun, Zuzka, Marcela, Peta, Budul, JR, Izmi, Hochy, Citron, Hac, Milos, Karolina, Linda, Sansom, Jersey, Scolex, Amarth, Jarda s Evou, Jackal, Stambi, Sabina, Jitka, Martin, Ladin, Jezevec, Daffy, Gavin, Trpaslik, klub Kapsa and others.
English Edition © Z-Man Games, Inc. 6 Alan Drive, Mahopac, NY 10541 [email protected] www.zmangames.com
Second edition redesign: Peter Gifford (www.universalhead.com) Item colorization: Cristian Saksida