Realm Lord Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The King's Rules
• Realms (Thorn Border)
• Lords (Red Border)
• Heroes (Brown Border)
• Quests (Green Border)
• Events (Blue Border)
• Treasures (Purple Border)
• Game Setup
• Exhausted And Readied
• Visiting A Realm
• Moving Heroes
• Banishment
• Turn Sequence
• Player Actions
  • Play A Card
  • Travel A Hero
  • Use A Treasure
  • Go On A Quest
• Completing A Quest

The King's Rules

There are two rules that take precedence over all others. The rules are as follows:

1. When a card contradicts this rules sheet, the card is always right.
2. If a card states you cannot do some effect, you cannot do the effect even if another card says you can.

Realms (Thorn Border)

The Realm cards represent locations in the world of Ghezeran. Together, the six different Realm cards make up the game surface. Each Realm is different and affects heroes who quest there in different ways.

1. Realm Card Name

Lords (Red Border)

Lord cards represent you the player in the game. They give you a special ability that gives you a distinct advantage over the other players. In addition, the Lord card tells you your Homeland (the Realm your Lord is from). Lords are considered to be a hero in every way so you may select your Lord when a card says to select a hero.

1. Lord Card Name
2. Lord's Homeland
3. Lord's Valor
4. Lord's Might
5. Lord's Craft
6. Lord's Magic
7. Lord's Special Ability

Example card: Thraken The Deceiver. Homeland: Darkthorn. Special ability: "When another player's hero fails to complete a quest, that player loses one Hope Stone."

Heroes (Brown Border)

Hero cards represent lesser characters in the world of Ghezeran that join you in your quest for Hope Stones. They will help you complete quests and thwart the efforts of the other Lords.

1. Hero Card Name
2. Hero's Valor
3. Hero's Might
4. Hero's Craft
5. Hero's Magic
6. Hero's Special Ability

Example card: Dirk. Special ability: "If Dirk is banished, each other player's heroes in this Realm are banished."

Quests (Green Border)

Quests represent tasks that heroes must perform in order to gather Hope Stones. You will gain more Hope Stones for completing more difficult quests.

1. Quest Card Name
2. Quest's Type And Difficulty
3. Quest's Hope Stone Value
4. Quest's Location
5. Quest's Special Ability

Example card: Riddle Of Song, location Mysteria. Special ability: "While in play, you must discard a card when one of your heroes goes on this quest."

Events (Blue Border)

Event cards represent random phenomena that occur in the land of Ghezeran. These cards can dramatically alter the game when they are played.

1. Event Card Name
2. Event's Special Ability

Example card: Pitfalls Of Blackdoil. Special ability: "Each player with a hero in Blackboil loses their next turn."

Treasures (Purple Border)

Treasure cards represent artifacts and magical items used by your heroes to help them gather Hope Stones.

1. Treasure Card Name
2. Treasure's Special Ability

Example card: Tome Of Knowledge. Special ability: "Use: Draw a card."

Game Setup

At the beginning of the game, place each of the Realm cards on the playing surface as shown below. The order the cards are placed does not matter. Each player is dealt a Lord card face down and at random. Set the unused Lord cards to the side, for they will not be used during this game. Each player then reveals their Lord card and places it at the card's Homeland. Shuffle the deck and each player draws five cards. Finally, determine randomly which player will take the first turn.

Exhausted And Readied

During the game, cards can become 'exhausted' or 'readied'. When a card is exhausted, rotate the card 90 degrees clockwise so that it is lying on its side. When a card is readied, rotate the card 90 degrees counterclockwise so that the card is in its upright position.

Visiting A Realm

When a Hero or Lord card is located at a Realm card, the Hero or Lord card is considered visiting the Realm and is affected by any card that affects 'this Realm'. Any number of cards can visit a Realm. Simply keep the visiting cards stacked on your side of the table at the Realm card in a vertical column. In the example below, three heroes are visiting Darkthorn.

Moving Heroes

Heroes will need to move from one Realm to another in order to gain Hope Stones throughout Ghezeran. When an effect says to move a card to a Realm, simply place the card at the Realm the card is being moved to. When a Hero card or Lord card is moved, any Treasure cards attached to the moving card are moved as well and remain attached.

Banishment

Often times during the game of Realm Lord, a hero is banished. When a Hero card is banished, place the Hero card and any attached Treasure cards in the discard pile. When a Lord is banished, place the Lord at the Lord's Homeland exhausted and then place any attached Treasure cards in the discard pile.

Turn Sequence

Realm Lord is played as each player takes a turn. Play proceeds clockwise with players taking turns until a player wins the game. When it is a player's turn, these are the phases that should be followed.

1. Ready - Each exhausted card you have in play is readied.
2. Draw - Draw two cards. If you have more than eight cards in hand, discard down to eight cards.
3. Action - Perform up to three actions.

Player Actions

These are the actions you can perform during your turn:

Play A Card

You may play a card from your hand. The type of card you play determines how the card is played.

• Playing an Event Card - Resolve the Event card's effect and then place it in the discard pile.
• Playing a Hero Card - Place the Hero card in play at your Lord's Homeland. When you bring the hero into play, if you have more than five heroes in play, you must choose one of your Hero cards that is in play and place it in the discard pile. Note: Playing a Hero card at your Homeland is not considered moving the hero.
• Playing a Treasure Card - Attach the Treasure card to one of your ready heroes in play and then discard any other Treasure card attached to the hero.
• Playing a Quest Card - Attach the Quest card to its specified Realm. You may not attach a Quest card to a Realm that already has a Quest card attached.

Travel A Hero

Select one of your ready heroes and move the hero to another Realm. The hero is then exhausted.

Use A Treasure

Select one of your ready heroes that have a ready Treasure card attached. Exhaust the Treasure card and resolve its effect which follows the word 'Use:'.

Go On A Quest

Select a ready hero that is at the same Realm as a Quest card. Exhaust the hero who then goes on the quest (See Completing A Quest).

Completing A Quest

When a hero goes on a quest, determine the type of the quest listed on the Quest card. Roll a die and then add the hero's attribute (which is the same as the quest type) to the die roll. This combined value is the hero's Quest Score. If the Quest Score is equal to or greater than the quest's difficulty, the quest is completed. If a natural six is rolled, the quest is completed regardless of the score. If a natural one is rolled, the quest is a failure regardless of the score. If the quest is completed you gain Hope Stones equal to the Hope Stone value of the Quest card and the Quest card is placed in the discard pile. If the hero fails to complete the quest, the Quest card remains attached to the Realm and the hero who tried the quest is placed in his Lord's Homeland. Note: This is not considered being moved.