Return to Dark Tower: Alliances
Return to Dark Tower: Alliances Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 2 hero boards
- 2 hero figures and bases
- 4 battlement tokens
- 4 heroic action overlays
- 4 guild boards
- 4 guild flags
- 4 guild markers
- 6 virtue tiles
- 12 companion cards
- 20 treasure cards
- 1 quest marker
- 32 power skulls (8 blight skulls, 8 omen skulls, 8 fire skulls, 8 frost skulls)
- 1 influence vessel
- 25 influence tokens
- 1 skull bag
Game Setup
Follow the base game setup with the following changes:
- Heroic Action Overlays: Give each player an overlay to place over the heroic actions section of their hero board.
- Guild Boards: Decide whether to use the easier "A" side or harder "B" side for each guild board (you may use a mix of "A" and "B" sides). Then randomly assign one to each kingdom.
- Guild Markers: Place a guild marker on the "rank 1" space of each guild board.
- Guild Flags: Each guild has its guild hall in a different building. For each guild, insert their flag into the specified building in the kingdom where the guild is located.
| Guild | Building |
|---|---|
| Arcane Scouts | Citadel |
| Paladins Order | Sanctuary |
| Druids Circle | Village |
| Thieves Guild | Bazaar |
- Companions: Each guild has 3 associated companions. For each guild, shuffle these companions and randomly place them face up in the rank 2, rank 3, and rank 4 card slots below the guild board.
- Treasures: Shuffle the 20 new treasure cards into the treasure deck. When you create the treasure market, reveal 4 cards (instead of 3).
- Influence: Add the influence tokens to the general supply. Take 8 influence from the general supply and place them on the influence vessel to form the heroes' influence pool.
- Skulls: Put the 24 regular skulls into the skull bag. The app will tell you to replace some with power skulls, based on the selected adversary and foes. Return all unused skulls to the game box.
(The setup diagram shows the Haunted Recluse hero board with the heroic action overlay, the guild boards in their kingdoms, the starting hero influence pool, and the skull bag.)
Overview
Alliances is an expansion for Return to Dark Tower that makes the cooperative game more challenging. Sway the guilds and battle apocalyptic forces of blight, omen, fire, and frost.
Heroes
There are two new playable heroes, the Archwright and the Haunted Recluse. These new heroes can be intermingled with the base game heroes, in any combination, whether or not this expansion is in play.
Treasures
There are 20 new treasures that are shuffled into the treasure deck. There is one extra treasure in the treasure market at all times. In the base game, you can only use your items on your own turn. However, many of these new treasures have passive effects that trigger at other times, like the end of the month.
Influence
There is a new resource known as influence that you use to return the guilds to your side. Unlike warriors and spirit, which each hero keeps in their personal inventory, influence goes in a single pool shared by all heroes.
Keep the shared pool on the influence vessel. When you gain influence, take it from the supply and add it to the vessel. When you spend influence, return it from the vessel to the supply.
At the end of the month, the heroes gain influence equal to the number of buildings without skulls. The app will remind you to do this when the month ends.
Influence is unlimited, so use a proxy if the supply runs out.
Influence Action
While you are at a guild hall, you can gain two influence by taking the new heroic action: Influence. Because this is a heroic action, you also gain two spirit after you take the action.
Power Skulls
There are four new types of skulls, known collectively as power skulls, with additional effects that hinder the heroes as they move around the four kingdoms. During setup, the app will tell you how many power skulls of each type to use.
The supply of skulls is now kept in the skull bag to ensure randomness. When you are required to take a skull from the supply, draw a random one from the bag.
When you enter a space with a power skull, whether through normal movement or some other means, resolve the skull effect. Skull effects cause you to lose resources or items. If you cannot fully resolve the losses from a skull effect, gain a corruption.
| Skull Type | Skull Effect |
|---|---|
| Blight (green) | Lose 1 item when you enter a space with a blight skull. |
| Omen (purple) | Lose 1 influence when you enter a space with an omen skull. |
| Fire (red) | Lose 4 warriors when you enter a space with a fire skull. |
| Frost (blue) | Lose 1 spirit when you enter a space with a frost skull. |
When you enter a space with multiple power skulls, resolve each skull's effect, one at a time, in the order of your choice. This can result in gaining multiple corruptions from entering a single space.
If a power skull is placed on a building in the space where your hero is already located, do not resolve its effect.
Example: You (Haunted Recluse) move into the Howling Desert. There are three skulls on the citadel here: one regular skull, one blight skull, and one fire skull. The blight skull forces you to lose one item, so you give up Brass Talismans. The fire skull forces you to lose 4 warriors, but you only have 2 warriors, so you lose them and gain a corruption.
Guilds
Guild Ranks
Each guild has four guild ranks (1-4). All guilds start the game at rank 1. Their ranks can be increased or decreased by actions the heroes take and by other game effects, like quest outcomes. When a guild's rank increases or decreases, move the guild marker up or down by one rank accordingly.
You can increase a guild's rank by taking the Reinforce action at the corresponding guild hall and spending five influence. You do not gain the building's normal reinforce effect (e.g., gaining a gear or treasure at a bazaar). However, this still counts as the Reinforce action, so you may roll the haggle die first as well as receive other benefits from items, virtues, and companions.
If a guild's rank would increase above rank 4, the rank stays the same, but every hero who is in that guild's kingdom gains two spirit. If a guild's rank would ever decrease below rank 1, the rank stays the same, but every hero who is in that guild's kingdom loses two spirit (and gains a corruption if they cannot fully resolve the loss).
If a guild hall is destroyed, discard all remaining companions there, then set the guild marker to rank 1. The guild's rank cannot ever be increased, but it can still be decreased by other game effects, like quest outcomes.
Guild Effects
Each guild has an ongoing guild effect that applies to all heroes while they are in that guild's kingdom. The guild effect varies as the guild's rank changes. Lower ranks cause negative effects, while higher ranks grant positive effects.
Example: You (Archwright) are in the west kingdom, which is where the guild hall of the Paladins Order is located. The guild is currently at rank 2. You decide to take the Cleanse action to remove skulls from the village in that kingdom. However, in order to do that, you must first spend 1 spirit because of the guild effect.
Guild Companions
Each guild has three guild companions that the heroes can recruit. At the start of the game, each guild's companions are assigned randomly to the card slots below the guild board.
When you increase a guild's rank, if there is a companion in the card slot below the new rank, you immediately recruit them. Place the companion card next to your hero board. Press the guild companion button in the app and indicate which companion you have just recruited so that the app knows to activate their events.
If a guild's rank is decreased and then later increased again to a rank that has an empty card slot, no companion is recruited. Only three companions can be recruited from each guild: one at rank 2, one at rank 3, and one at rank 4.
Example: You are at the guild hall of the Arcane Scouts. You use your Reinforce action and spend 5 influence to increase the guild from rank 1 to rank 2. The companion in the card slot at that rank is Oola the Nomad, so you recruit that companion. Take the card and press the guild companion button to tell the app. You now benefit from Oola's abilities and events.
Guild Quests
Each month, there is a guild quest available, in addition to the companion quest and adversary quest. If you complete the guild quest before the month ends, you will gain a reward. But if you do not complete the guild quest, you will suffer a penalty, which often results in a decrease in rank for the associated guild.
Example: At the end of the third month, a failed quest causes the rank of the Druids Circle to decrease. The guild is currently at rank 1, so its rank cannot decrease further. As a result, the Brutal Warlord and Orphaned Scion, who are both in that guild's kingdom, must each lose 2 spirit. But the Orphaned Scion has 0 spirit, so she gains a corruption.