Quests & Cannons: The Risen Islands
Quests & Cannons: The Risen Islands Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The World of Miraheim
Many renewals ago, the three great nations of Miraheim had all we needed to sustain ourselves with abundance through a mysterious force that manifested itself in our lands. We had the towering Mother Tree of the Dwunny, the ethereal song clouds and sky waterfalls of the Delves, and the mighty Kelwoloh and the Weeping Lotus Trees of the Porcs. We were always grateful to this source for the peaceful and plentiful lives we lived.
Generation after generation, though, people began to take these sources for granted, and some came to believe it was we who were creating this abundance, rather than the source. We subtly drifted away from our connection to it. Many of the seers, sages, and wise ones of our nations predicted that great devastation would come if we continued on this path.
As predicted, there came great disasters: droughts, decaying forests, mountains without minerals, and fields without crops. Hopelessness and fear set in, driving conflict between and among us.
Then, when we thought the world would fall to ruin, the islands rose up from beneath the sea, leaving us in awe. Many of our people left their homes to settle on these new islands, finding them to be plentiful in food and resources.
Strange writings were uncovered, telling of a series of clues that led to a mystical artifact that could restore balance to the world. As word traveled back, the three nations began to see these islands as vital to our survival. We assembled our greatest champions to ensure the prosperity of the island settlers, secure their resources, and search for the clues to the artifact that could save our homes. May the winds of this change carry us to salvation...
You are a champion from one of the three prominent nations, tasked with ensuring the success of the new island settlements and bringing resources and perhaps the key to ensuring the survival and prosperity of your homeland. While resources appear plentiful, tensions are high as the denizens of Miraheim struggle for survival; the Risen Islands are not without conflict, and old alliances mean nothing in this frontier land. Captaining your trusted ship, armed with cannons, clues, and cunning will you take on this quest?
Welcome to QUESTS & CANNONS!
Components
The printed component page lists the following (counts in brackets):
- Champion Tiles (12) and Champion Standees (12)
- Wooden Player Ships (6)
- Ship Dashboards (6)
- Action Point Trackers (6)
- Traveler Bonus Trackers (6)
- Cannon Tokens (24)
- Sail Tokens (18)
- Cargo Slot Covers (24)
- Hull Damage Tokens (30)
- Merchant's Lucky Coin (1)
- Traveler Dice (6)
- Ammo Dice (54)
- Clue Cards (18)
- Quest Cards (50)
- Loot Cards (48)
- Exploration Tokens (18)
- Coins (61)
- Resource Tokens (70)
- Trading Port Tiles (3)
- Tri-hex Terrain Tiles (21)
- Single-Hex Terrain Tiles (15)
- Nation Frame Pieces (6)
- Outpost Frame Pieces (6)
- Prosperity Trackers (12)
- Home Port Markers (12)
- Reference Cards (6 sets of 2)
Overview
Quests & Cannons is an adventure game of high fantasy on the high seas! Players take the role of Champions of one of three mystical nations, and compete against each other to ensure their nations' Prosperity by completing Quests, following Clues, and attacking rival Champions.
Players take turns moving their ships around the board, navigating the seas between the scattered islands. Islands offer resources and commerce, and give opportunities for players to upgrade their ships or discover valuable secrets... or gear up for a fight!
The game concludes at the end of a round in which a player or team reaches the Prosperity Goal. The team with the most Prosperity at the end of that round is the winner!
The board of Quests & Cannons is a modular hex grid. Once you're comfortable with the game, you can customize your environment to encourage specific patterns of play, or try a completely random setup!
Game Setup
Players may choose to play Quests and Cannons as teams or as a Free-for-All game. All teams must have the same number of players. (If you're playing Free-for-All, each player is considered to be a team with just one member.)
1: Build the Map
Assemble the frame and tiles to form the game map. Make sure the score counter around the edge of the frame is in order.
We recommend following the Intro Map setup on the bottom of this page for your first game.
- Assemble the board frame from the six frame pieces.
- Divide the tri-hex tiles into three sets, with one tile of each number in each set.
- Place a set of tri-hex tiles in the frame as shown in the diagram, ensuring that the orientation of the text on the tile matches the orientation of the number in this diagram.
- Repeat the pattern two more times with the other two sets of tiles.
- Fill the remaining empty spots on the map with the three Trading Port tiles.
More Maps: We recommend the Intro Map for your first time playing, and as a standard option thereafter. If you want to try something new though, check pages 23-25 for additional maps, and rules for making your own!
2: Prepare the Decks
Separately shuffle the Quest cards, Loot cards, and Map Clue cards and place each deck on one of the Outpost frame tiles (it doesn't matter which).
Place the Sail tokens, Cannon tokens, damage tokens, coins, ammo dice, and resources in a space near the play area.
3: Pick Champions
If you're playing in teams, decide which player is on which team. Have teammates sit next to each other around the table. (Remember, if you're playing Free-for-All, each player is considered to be a team with just one member.)
Each player rolls a die. The player with the highest roll chooses their Champion first. Then, each other player in counterclockwise order chooses their Champion. If you're playing with teams, each team may only have Champions from one nation.
Each nation has a champion that specializes in one of the three victory paths in Quests & Cannons based on their ship stats:
- Quartermasters have roomy holds, and are good at completing Quests.
- Navigators have swift sails, and are good at solving Clues.
- Cannoneers have powerful guns, and are good at combat.
While all Champions can be upgraded to be more proficient in any of these paths, we recommend that less experienced players start with a Navigator for their first time playing.
The player who chose their Champion last is the Starting Player.
4: Prepare your Ship
Each player receives a ship standee, a ship player dashboard, 5 ammo dice, 3 coins, 1 traveler's die, and a set of 2 Reference Cards.
Slot your Champion tile into your player dashboard, and slot the corresponding Champion standees into your ship player piece.
Add Sails and Cannons as shown on your Champion's starting ship stats. Block your Cargo Slots with covers until only the number showing on your starting ship stats are open.
5: Home Ports
Choose a frame piece to be your team's Nation. Each player chooses a different Home Port on their Nation, and places their Home Port Marker on it. If you're playing Free-for-All, make sure there is at least one Home Port between players on the same Nation tile.
Slot your Champion Standee into your wooden player ship and place it on your Home Port.
Place your Prosperity Tracker next to the 1 space on the score track. If you're on a team, your entire team can use one tracker.
6: Exploration Tokens
Shuffle the Exploration Tokens, then place one face-down on each Risen Island.
7: Clue Cards
Finally, each player draws a Clue card. You are now ready to play!
The printed diagram on this page labels the parts of a Champion and a ship:
Your Champion
- Hearts
- Nation Ability
- Champion Ability (unique)
- Starting Stats
- Max Stats
Your Ship
- Coins
- Equip Slots (for Loot cards)
- Actions
- Traveler Bonus
- Sails
- Champion Tile
- Cannons
- Ammo
- Cargo Slots
- Cargo Covers
Key Concepts
Turns and Rounds
Each player takes a Turn in clockwise order from the Starting Player (who chose their Champion last in setup). A Round is all players' turns from the Starting Player to the last player.
Rounds matter for the end of the game. When a team reaches the Prosperity Goal, play continues until the current Round is finished, so that all players will have taken the same number of turns.
Rounds also matter for the cooperative mode; see page 16 for more details. [sic: the cooperative mode is on page 20 of the printed rulebook]
How a Turn Works
You have 3 Actions to spend on each of your turns.
During your turn, you may do as many Actions and Port Activities as you like in whatever order you like, so long as you can pay for them.
Actions and Port Activities exchange one currency for another. You can trade Actions for movement, Resources for Upgrades, Clues for Prosperity, and many others. You can continue making these trades for as long as you've got the currency to pay for them!
Refresh
At the start of your turn, refresh your Actions, Sails, and Cannons.
To refresh your Actions, set your Action tracker to 3. To refresh your Cannons and Sails, flip them to their Ready side.
Prosperity
Prosperity represents the power and prestige of your nation. You could have a reputation for being accomplished traders, learned scholars, or daring sailors.
Players earn Prosperity for their team in a variety of ways. When you gain Properity [sic], move your tracker to your team's new total.
Reaching your Prosperity Goal is how the game ends.
The Prosperity Goal changes depending on how many players are on each team:
- One Player (FREE-FOR-ALL): 15
- Two Players: 20
- Three Players: 25
See The End on page 19 for more details about the end of the game.
Currencies
- Actions are gained for free at the start of your turn. Use them to Move, Gather, Solve Clues, and Attack.
- Resources are gained by Gathering on Risen Islands. Use them to complete Quests, Upgrade your ship, Trade for Loot and Map Clue, as well as sell while doing Maintenance on your ship.
- Coins are gained from a variety of sources, but especially completing Quests and selling Resources. Exchange them for useful items by Upgrading, Trading, and doing Maintenance.
- Sails, Cannons, and Cargo Slots are gained by Upgrading. Use them to augment your Move and Attack actions, and to carry more Resources.
- Ammo dice can be purchased at Ports. Spend them to fire your Cannons! You may have up to 9 Ammo dice at a time.
Exchanging with Teammates
Teammates may give any number of their resources, coins, ammo, unequipped Loot cards, and unsolved Clue cards to each other while they share a space.
Your Hand
Players have a hand of Loot, Quest, and Clue cards. Keep your hand secret from players who aren't on your team.
Your hand can hold up to three of each type of card. If you have more than three cards of a type at the end of your turn, discard until you have only three.
Cards that are face up on the table, like solved Clues and equipped Loot cards, aren't part of your hand.
Empty Decks
If a deck of cards ever runs out, shuffle its discard pile to form a new deck.
Actions
Move
"Unfurl the sails! The wind's at our backs and adventure awaits!"
On your turn, you may spend an Action to Move your ship 1 space in any direction.
Sails: Movement can be extended by using Sails. To use a sail, flip it from its Ready face to its Spent face. Each Sail used this way allows you to move an additional space as part of that Move action. Sails can't be used to start moving.
Landing: A player has landed on an island or port if their ship is on the island's space while they're not in the middle of a Move action.
The Sea: Each hexagonal space on the board counts as one or more spaces when moving your ship.
- Calm Seas, Risen Islands, and all types of Ports are all one space.
- Players can't move onto Impassible Sea spaces under any circumstances.
- Stormy Seas count as two spaces; you'll need two spaces' worth of movement to move onto a Stormy Sea tile.
- Treacherous Seas are one space. In addition, they have a chaotic effect that can help or harm the player. When you move onto a Treacherous Sea, roll the Traveler Die:
- On a result of 1-3, take 1 damage, end your Move action, and add 1 to your Traveler Bonus.
- On a result of 4-6, you may move to any adjacent space for free.
Traveler Bonus: You may spend all or part of your Traveler Bonus whenever you roll the Traveler Die to add that much to your roll. Keep an eye out for other effects that use this die - you can spend your Bonus on these, too!
Ports of Interest
Workshop Ports are outposts of industry staffed by skilled shipwrights. While landed here, you can Maintenance and Upgrade.
Trading Ports are trading posts established by the nations to direct the flow of goods. While landed here, you can Maintenance and Trade.
Home Ports are the nations' main shipyards, where Champions can regroup and deposit their findings. Each player starts at a Home Port. While landed here, you can Maintenance and Deposit Clues.
Safe Harbor
Players can't be attacked on Workshop and Home Ports. Look for rocky coves to indicate safe harbors! In addition, only players from your team may move onto your Home Port.
Sample Movement
Kerris is on the Calm Sea space on the left, but she wants to get to the Trading Port on the right. To do so, she'll need to move through some Stormy and Treacherous Seas.
- Kerris spends an Action to Move, giving her 1 space of movement. That's not enough to move into the Stormy Seas, so she uses a Sail to give herself an extra space of movement. That's enough to move into the Stormy Seas.
- Her Move is still in progress, so she spends another Sail to move to the Treacherous Seas.
- This causes her to roll the Traveler Die, and she gets a 3. Fortunately, she has a point of Traveler Bonus from a previous turn, which she spends to increase her roll to 4. That lets her move a space without spending an Action or Sail! It was lucky she had that Traveler bonus; if she didn't, her Move action would have ended and she would have taken damage. She uses the movement from the Treacherous Seas to move to her ultimate destination: the Trading Port. She declares that her move action is over, so she's now landed at the Trading Port. Since she's landed, she can now use the Port Activities here.
Risen Islands
Risen Islands are unexplored territories rich in adventure and natural resources. Whenever you land at a Risen Island, draw a Quest card. While landed here, you can Gather the resource available on that island.
Exploring Risen Islands
When the game begins, each Risen Island has an Exploration token on it face-down (with its Resource hidden). The first player who lands at a Risen Island gets a coin and flips the Exploration token face-up.
Gather
"Fill the hold! We'll make the most of these islands!"
On your turn, you may spend an Action to Gather Resources while landed on a Risen Island.
Risen Islands contain the resource on the face of their Exploration token. While landed at a Risen Island, you may spend an Action Point to take any number of resources of that type from the supply and place them in your Cargo slots.
If you already have a resource in a slot, you may discard it to make room for the ones you're gathering.
Quest Cards
Quest cards are tasks that Champions can perform to increase the power and prestige of their nations.
Whenever you land at a Risen Island, draw a Quest card. Each Quest card has a goal and a reward. Upon fulfilling a Quest's goal, immediately take the reward.
Most Quests ask you to deliver Resources to a specific location. When you deliver a Resource, discard it.
Keep completed Quest cards on the table in front of you as a record of your travels.
Some quests are harder to fulfill than others, but offer even better rewards. Hard Quests have a red-tinted, battle-damaged card frame.
Solve a Clue
"This is the place on the map, all right... Search everywhere! We're one step closer to finding the artifact"
Clues are hints to the mystery of the Risen Islands. Each is a fragment of a map that points to a specific island.
On your turn, you may spend an Action to Solve a Clue while landed on that Clue's island.
When you solve a Clue, either gain 1 Prosperity or draw a Loot card. Then place the Clue face up in front of you on the table, and draw a new Clue from the deck.
Delivering Clues
"There's more to this, I'm sure. Maybe the archivists back at the library can make sense of it."
On your turn, you may deliver a solved Clue while landed on one of your team's Home Ports to gain 1 Prosperity.
When you deliver a Clue, return it to the box; don't put it in Clue discard pile.
Finding More Clues
In addition to the Clue you gain from solving, you can also purchase new clues at Trading Ports; see page 17 for more details.
Attack
"Arm the cannons and prepare for battle"
On your turn, you may spend an Action to Attack an enemy ship in the same space as your ship.
To attack:
- Spend any number of Cannons by flipping them to their Fired side.
- Roll an Ammo die from your stock for each Cannon you spent. Count the number of dots that appear.
- Deal 1 damage to your target for every 4 dots you rolled. If you caused any damage to your target, gain 1 Prosperity.
- Discard the Ammo dice you spent.
Damage & Sinking
"We're hit! Quickly, to the lifeboats!"
When you receive damage, mark one of the hearts on your player board with a damage token. If all of your hearts are damaged, your ship sinks!
When your ship sinks, do the following:
- Place your ship token on your Home Port. If you're playing in teams, you may instead place your ship on any Home Port on that frame tile.
- Discard all Resources, solved Clues, and Ammo you were carrying. Then take 5 Ammo.
- Discard all but one equipped Loot card. (Don't discard any Loot cards in your hand!)
- Discard half your Coins, rounded up.
- Remove all of your damage tokens.
- If you were sunk by a rival's effect, they gain 3 Prosperity and take the Coins you just discarded. If you were sunk by a Marauder, do nothing in this step. If anything else sunk you, you lose 3 Prosperity.
Sample Combat
Valkyr begins her turn and decides to attack Quaeth. She uses her first action to move into Quaeth's space, since she needs to share his space to Attack him. Then, she uses her second action to Attack.
She has 3 ready Cannons and 4 Ammo dice, so she can fire up to three of her cannons. She chooses to fire all three. She rolls the dice and gets a 1, a 3, and a 5, for a total of 9.
Attacks deal 1 damage for every 4 dots, so this attack will deal 2 damage to Quaeth. Quaeth marks two of his Hearts with Damage tokens. Because Valkyr successfully caused damage to Quaeth, she gans [sic] 1 Prosperity.
Port Activities
Maintenance
"Get those holes patched up! Batten down those cannonballs! If we run into the enemy again out there, I want to be prepared!"
While landed at a port that allows Maintenance, you can do any of the following activities:
- Buy Ammo: Pay 1 coin to gain 2 Ammo.
- Repair: Pay 3 coins to restore 1 damage. The printed page also shows two resource exchanges for repair, given as icons with no further text: Canvas, Metal, or Lumber restores 1 damage; Spice or Gems restores 2 damage.
- Sell: Pay a Resource, Loot, or unsolved Clue to gain coins. See above for the selling prices on each item. (The printed page gives the coin price only for Loot or Clue: 3 coins. No separate coin price for Resources is printed on this page.)
Upgrade
"She was top-of-the-line in her prime. A fresh coat of paint and some new sails, and she'll be the envy of the fleet once more!"
While landed at a port that allows Upgrading, you can do any of the following activities:
- Buy a new Sail: Pay 1 Canvas and 3 Coins to gain a new Sail.
- Buy a new Cannon: Pay 1 Metal and 3 Coins to gain a new Cannon.
- Buy a new Cargo Slot: Pay 1 Lumber and 3 Coins to gain a new Cargo Slot (remove the box covering the slot you gain).
Ship Upgrades
Upgrades are placed in the corresponding slot on the player-ship dashboard. You can't have more of a type of upgrade than what is stated on your Champion's max upgrade stat.
The upgrade track shown beside this text lists, for each upgrade type, a start and a max value: Sails 2 start, 3 max; Cannons 1 start, 2 max; Cargo Slots 2 start, 5 max.
Trade
"Tropical melons! Silks from the far lands! A whole cord of stout logs! Come on, doesn't anyone want this junk?"
While landed at a port that allows Trading, you can do any of the following activities:
- Buy Resources: Pay 2 resources to gain 1 resource of your choice.
- Buy an Artifact: Pay 1 Gem and 3 Coins to draw a Loot card.
- Buy Information: Pay 1 Spice and 3 Coins to draw a Clue card.
Cards and Abilities
Loot Cards
"Careful now! Those runes are worth a year of your wages, so look lively!"
Loot cards are rare treasures that can be received from completing Quests, solving Clues, or bought at Trading Ports. They have powerful effects that can turn the tide in your favor!
Each Loot card will tell you what it does and when you can use it. You may use as many of them each turn as you like.
Equipping Loot Cards
Loot cards with gears in their upper left corner can be equipped to your ship on your turn. To equip a card, pay the cost and place it in an Equip slot on your ship. While that card is equipped, you may use any actions or effects written on it. You don't need to pay the equip cost again once it's already equipped!
Ships have only two Equip slots. If you equip a third card, discard one of the cards you already had equipped to your ship.
The printed page shows the Loot card Greedy Sextant as an example of an equippable card.
Champion Abilities
"You're clever, but I'll bet my boots you won't be expecting THIS!"
Each Champion has two special abilities written on their board.
The first ability is common to all Champions from the same Nation; all Dwunnies will have Dwunny Luck, for instance. These actions can be used at any time stated in their text by discarding Loot cards.
- Dwunny Luck: Once per your turn, you may discard a Loot card to change any die you just rolled to a 6.
- Mend Ship: Once per turn, you may spend 1 Gem or 1 Lumber to repair 1 damage on your ship, or on a teammate's ship that shares a space with you.
The second ability is unique to that Champion. Every Champion is different; try them all to see which one fits best with your style of play!
Quest Cards & Clue Cards
Quest cards are explained on page 14.
Clue cards are explained on page 15.
The End
"...and that's how we did it. What a story, eh?"
When any player reaches the Prosperity Goal, the game will end at the end of the current round.
Prosperity Goal
The Prosperity Goal changes depending on how many players are on each team:
- One Player (FREE-FOR-ALL): 15
- Two Players: 20
- Three Players: 25
At the end of the round, the player or team with the most prosperity is the winner! In the case of a tie, the player or team with the most Coins wins the game.
Cooperative Mode
"We don't know who they are. They could be people or demons. All we know is that they must be stopped... and soon!"
Quests & Cannons played cooperatively against a team of game-controlled Marauders. One, two, or three players can play using this mode. All players are on the same team, using Champions from the same nation.
To defeat the Marauders and win the game, players must complete their personal Mission and reach the Prosperity Goal within 15 rounds. Use an unused character's Home Port marker to keep track of how many rounds you have played.
Setup
To set up a cooperative game, perform the following setup steps before setting up the game normally:
Select Difficulty: Choose how difficult you want the game to be. You can mix and match difficulty options to customize your experience.
Board Setup
- Easy: Use the Quickplay setup layout.
- Hard: Use the 2v2v2 setup layout.
Number of Marauders
- Easy: 3 ships.
- Hard: 4 ships. (Not available in 3-player games.)
Marauder Captains: Marauders are game-controlled enemy ships. Treat them like players in all of your actions and effects. Use unused Champion tiles to represent the ships of the Marauder fleet. Marauders have 5 Health and 2 Cannons. Place the Cannon tokens over the Champion Abilities.
For each Marauder you're playing with, draw a Clue, then place an enemy ship on each of those Clues' islands. If you draw a Clue whose island is within 2 spaces of a Home Port, discard it and draw a new one.
When you've finished this step, shuffle all Clues back into the deck.
Marauder Actions
"They're waiting there, on those islands. See, in the distance? If you get too close, they'll be on you in an instant."
Moving: At the end of your turn, if you're within range of a Marauder ship, that ship moves to your space and attacks! Marauders can move up to the number of Ready Cannons they have, and treat all spaces as Calm Seas. A player is within range of a Marauder if it can reach the player's space in a single move.
Attacking: Marauders attack using the same process as players. They spend all Ready Cannons when attacking, and have infinite Ammo dice.
Reloading: At the end of each round, each Marauder Readies two of their Cannons.
Sinking a Marauder: If you sink a Marauder, gain Coins equal to that ship's Cannons (both Ready and Spent).
Reinforcement: "They're devilishly persistent. Sink one, and another comes back even stronger."
Sunk Marauders Reinforce at the end of a round. All Marauders Reinforce at the end of rounds 5 and 10.
To Reinforce a Marauder, draw a Clue card and place that Marauder's ship there. Then that Marauder gains a Cannon, up to a maximum of 4. If a Reinforced Marauder was sunk, remove all damage from it. Put the Clue card you drew on the bottom of the deck.
Marauder Ships in Multiplayer
Marauder ships can be added to regular multiplayer games. Set up Marauder Captains exactly as you would for a co-op game. Marauders have the same behaviors as the co-op game, with the following exceptions:
- Players don't need to complete Missions to win the game.
- Marauders' Cannons are always Ready.
- Marauders can't Attack if they Reinforced at the end of the last round.
Missions
In addition to the usual Prosperity goal, each Champion has a Mission they must complete in order for their team to win.
Naval Mission: "I'll take out their flagships. Without leaders, we'll be able to outflank them." Cannoneers must sink two unique Marauders. Take the Home Port token of each Marauder you sink to track which unique Marauders you've sunk.
Aid Mission: "I'll rally the people. We'll need all the help we can get when they arrive." Quartermasters must complete 3 hard Quests.
Research Mission: "I'll gather clues. Maybe there's something out there that can turn the tide in our favor." Navigators must deposit 6 solved Clues.
More Map Layouts
Quests & Cannons uses an interchangeable tile system for creating its board layouts, allowing for a wide variety of maps.
The tri-hex terrain tiles in Quests & Cannons are grouped into 7 different types, with each type numbered 1-7. Sort the terrain tiles into 3 groups, with one of each of the 7 types in each group. This should create 3 piles with 7 tiles in each pile. We use a tile by number system for making layouts so this will help speed up that process.
Tile Placement
You can add some strategy to the layout of the board by placing tiles intentionally rather than randomly. To do this, turn all tiles face-down (with their Impassible Sea side up) and shuffle them before building the map. Then set aside at least one Trading Post.
Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player reveals a tri-hex tile and may place it either face-up or face-down (see below) anywhere on the map. When all of the tri-hex tiles have been placed, repeat this process with the single hex tiles. Fill the last empty single hex spaces with the Trading Posts you set aside instead of single hex tiles.
Tiles placed must satisfy the following conditions:
- They must touch the frame of the board or a previously placed tile on at least two of their sides.
- They can't make any part of the map inaccessible.
Exploration Tokens
You can add some strategy to the placement of Exploration tokens by placing them intentionally rather than randomly.
If you choose to do this, evenly divide the Exploration tokens face-down (with their ? side up) among all of the players after you've built the map. Players may look at the Exploration tokens they've received. Keep any tokens that couldn't be evenly divided aside.
Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, players may take turns placing an Exploration token on a Risen Island of their choice. When all players have placed all of their tokens, place the remaining tokens randomly.
Removing Islands
You can create smaller maps by flipping over tiles with Risen Islands to the side with Impassible Seas. If you do, find the Clue card that corresponds to its island before the game begins and remove it from the deck. Try to make sure that each player has the same number of Risen Islands close to them!
The printed pages 23-25 contain layout diagrams for Team Play (3 vs 3, 2 vs 2 vs 2, 2 vs 2) and Free for All (2 to 6 players). These are pictures of tile arrangements and are not reproduced as text here; see the printed rulebook for them.
Glossary
Ability (p. 18): Special instructions on a card. Champions and Loot cards have abilities.
Action (p. 12): Something you do on your turn. You have 3 Actions per turn, and may spend them to Move, Attack, Gather, or Solve Clues. Actions refresh at the beginning of your turn.
Ammo (p. 16): Ammo and Cannons are spent to use the Attack action. Spent ammo is discarded after the attack. You may have up to 9 Ammo at a time.
Attack (p. 16): An Action that fires your Cannons at another ship in your space, with the intent to cause Damage to that ship.
Calm Sea (p. 12): A type of Space with no special rules. It counts as one space for movement.
Cannon (p. 16): Cannons and Ammo are spent to use the Attack action. Cannons Refresh at the beginning of your turn. Upgrade your ship to get more Cannons.
Cargo Slot (p. 14): A slot in your ship board that can store a Resource. Upgrade your ship to get more Cargo Slots.
Champion: A captain of a ship, sailing the seas of Miraheim in search of Prosperity for their nation. Each player controls a Champion.
Clue (p. 15): A hint at the mystery of the world. Clues are cards that point to specific Risen Islands. They can be Solved on their islands, and Deposited at Home Ports once solved.
Coin (p. 11): Precious metals used for barter. Coins are a currency that is used to pay for a variety of Port Activities.
Currency (p. 11): Anything that you can gain or spend in Quests and Cannons: coins, resources, cards, and so on.
Damage (p. 16): Harm inflicted upon your ship. When you receive damage, mark one of your Hearts with a damage token. If all of your Hearts are marked, you sink!
Deliver (p. 14, 15): To give something away to those in need. When you deliver something, discard it. You can deliver Resources to complete Quests, and solved Clues to your Home Port.
Delf: A race of mystics and artists, who built breathtaking floating citadels in their mist-shrouded basin homeland.
Discard: To get rid of something. To discard a card, place it in a discard pile. To discard anything else, return it to its supply.
Draw: To gain a card. To draw, take the top card of the deck and put it in your hand.
Dwunny: A race of gardeners and inventors, whose underground burrows are protected by their towering mother-tree.
Equip (p. 18): To attach a Loot card to one of the two Equip Slots on your ship. While Equipped, the Loot Card's ability may be used.
Exploration Token (p. 14): Risen Islands begin the game unexplored. If you land on an unexplored Risen Island, flip the Exploration Token over and gain a Coin. This reveals the Resource that island contains.
Free-For-All: A game type in which each player is fighting for their own victory, with no teammates.
Gather (p. 14): An Action that collects Resources from a Risen Island.
Gems: Glittering treasures from the earth. A type of Resource.
Hand (p. 11): Your private collection of cards. You may have up to three of each type of card in your hand; if you have more at the end of your turn, discard until you have 3 again. Cards in play (like equipped Loot cards and solved Clues) aren't in your hand.
Heart (p. 16): The integrity of your ship. If all your Hearts are marked with damage tokens, you sink!
Home Port (p. 8, 13): A safe haven in dangerous waters. Enemy ships may not enter your Home Port.
Impassible Sea (p. 12): A type of Space that's too rough to navigate; players can't move to or from it.
Kelwoloh: The massive caravan creatures that the Porcs make their homes on top of. Each Kelwoloh herd is akin to a Porc city.
Land (p. 12): To stop moving on a Port or Island. You are considered to have Landed on a space if you're no longer performing a Move action there. While landed, you can Gather or use Port Activities.
Loot (p. 18): Extraordinary artifacts, cursed and otherwise. Loot cards have powerful abilities. Some can be Equipped to your ship.
Lumber: Stout logs and flexible branches. A type of Resource.
Maintenance (p. 17): A type of Port Activity common to all Ports that allows you to repair and resupply your ship.
Marauder (p. 20): An enemy vessel in the cooperative game mode.
Metal: Ingots of iron and steel. A type of Resource.
Miraheim: The world of Quests and Cannons! Miraheim was threatened by a loss of energy, but the Risen Islands may offer a solution...
Mission (p. 21): An additional objective in the cooperative mode. Each Champion on a team has a different Mission they must complete, in addition to the Prosperity goal.
Move (p. 12): An Action that moves your Ship from one space to another. Sails can increase the number of spaces you move, and some spaces count as more than one space.
Nation: One of the great civilizations of Miraheim. Champions each hail from one of these nations, and all members of a team are from the same Nation.
Outpost: A settlement between two Nations. Most Quests will ask you to deliver Resources to an Outpost.
Player: It's you! Each player controls a Champion and their ship.
Porc: A race of nomads and mystics, who build their homes atop giant creatures called Kelwoloh.
Port Activity (p. 17): Ports allow one or more Port Activities while you're landed at them. Port Activities allow you to exchange specific types of currencies, without spending Actions.
Prosperity (p. 10): The envy of any nation, and the object of the game. When a player reaches the Prosperity Goal, the game will end at the end of the current round. The player or team with the most Prosperity wins.
Quest (p. 14): A task for the people of Miraheim. Quests have a goal and a reward; fulfilling the goal gives you the Reward.
Ready (p. 10): Sails and Cannons have a Ready and Spent side. Ready objects can be spent to use Actions by flipping them to their Spent side.
Refresh (p. 10): To restore your renewable currencies. Your Actions, Sails, and Cannons are all refreshed at the beginning of your turn. Set your Action tracker to 3, and flip your Sails and Cannons to their Ready side.
Reinforce (p. 21): To replace and empower a Marauder ship in the cooperative mode.
Risen Island (p. 14): An island newly risen from Miraheim's mysterious seas. Landing at a Risen Island allows you to take a Quest and Gather its Resources.
Round (p. 10): A set of turns for all the players. A round begins with the starting player's turn, and ends when the last player's turn ends.
Sail (p. 12): Sails are spent to extend Move Actions. Each Sail you spend increases the number of spaces moved by 1. Sails refresh at the beginning of your turn. Upgrade your ship to get more Sails.
Ship (p. 12): Your trusty vessel. Each player's Ship occupies a Space on the board. Moving your ship to a different Space allows you to do different things.
Sink (p. 16): An unfortunate trip to the bottom of the ocean. When all of your Hearts have damage tokens on them, you Sink: you lose most of your currency and return to your Home Port.
Solve (p. 15): An Action that solves a Clue at the Risen Island depicted on its card. Solved Clues can be delivered to your Home Port for an extra reward.
Spend (p. 11): To use a currency to pay for something. When you spend something, discard it.
Spice: Aromatic oils and pungent powders. A type of Resource.
Stormy Sea (p. 12): A type of Space that counts as two spaces when attempting to move into it.
Team: A collection of players working towards a common goal. Teams are all from the same Nation, share a Prosperity goal, and may give currencies to each other when their Ships share a space.
Terrain Tile: A collection of three hexagonal Spaces, assembled together during setup. Each tile has a number that's used to identify where it goes.
Trade (p. 17): A type of Port Activity at Trading Ports that allows you to exchange your Resources and buy cards.
Trading Port (p. 13): One of Miraheim's bustling commercial ports. A space that allows the Maintenance and Trade Port Activities while you've landed at it.
Traveler Bonus (p. 12): Whenever you fail a roll for Treacherous Seas, you gain a Traveler Bonus point. You may spend these points to add to any roll you make with the Traveler Die.
Traveler Die (p. 12): A six-sided die, rolled whenever an outcome is left to chance.
Treacherous Sea (p. 12): A type of Space with unpredictable currents. It counts as one space for movement. Upon entering Treacherous Seas, roll the Traveler Die. On a 1-3, stop moving and take Damage; on a 4-6, move a space for free.
Turn (p. 10): A player's opportunity to play. Turns are taken in clockwise order. During your turn, you may do as many things as you can pay for!
Upgrade (p. 17): A type of Port Activity at Workshop Ports that enhances the capabilities of your ship.
Workshop Port (p. 13): A hub of invention where you can improve your ship. A space that allows the Maintenance and Upgrade Port Activities while you've landed at it.
FAQ
My map layout doesn't look like the diagrams, or doesn't seem symmetrical. Make sure the numbers on the terrain tiles are oriented in the same direction as the numbers on the map guides. The numbers on the tiles should be facing the same direction as the text below the Risen Islands.
We made the map layouts so that Risen Islands always have a space between them, except for the three islands in the center of some maps.
Can I use my Sails to start moving? No. Sails may only be used to extend movement that was started with some other effect (such as a Move action or Delvish Mobility).
Do I have to keep rolling until I succeed when I fail Treacherous Seas? No. Failing your roll just stops your current movement and deals damage to you. Once your roll is complete, you can continue moving in any direction by spending Actions normally.
Can the same event trigger multiple effects? For instance, if I sink, can I use two Tomes of Retribution? Yes. If multiple effects have the same trigger, you may use all of them as long as you still have a valid target. You can't Buoy Mine after you Buoy Lantern.
Can I use Dwunny Luck or Monster Repellent after seeing what I rolled for Treacherous Seas? Yes you can!
Do I count Stormy Seas as one space or two with Delvish Mobility? Two. Stormy Seas always counts as 2 spaces. You'd need to use all of Delvish Mobility's spaces to move into it.
Can I use my movement from Delvish Mobility if I succeed at Treacherous Sea? Yes. Beware though: if you fail your roll, it halts your movement from Delvish mobility too!
Do I lose prosperity if I sink because of my own Song of Daring or Gale Wand, or my teammate's Tome of Retribution? Yes. In all these cases you sank because of something that wasn't controlled by a rival or Marauder, so you would lose 3 prosperity.
If I sink someone with damage from a Loot card, do I get their coins and the Prosperity reward? Yes. Any effect you control that causes a rival to sink will give you your rewards.