Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island – Mystery Tales Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Mystery Tales Character Boards and Character Cards
  • Character Card – Playable Character Side
  • Character Card – NPC Side
  • Character Boards
• Campaign Mode
  • Overview
  • Campaign Goal
  • Campaign Mode Setup
• Changes in Game
  • New Tokens and Icons
    • Madness Tokens
    • Mystical Weapon
    • Mystical Combat
    • Breakdown Token
    • Delusion Tokens
    • Stone and Additional Stone Tokens
    • Mystical Danger Tokens
  • New Cards
    • Condition Cards
    • Natives
  • Equipment Cards
• Horror Mode
  • Stone Production and Gathering
    • Reminder!
  • Horror Mode Setup
• Appendix
  • Adjusting the Game Difficulty
    • Campaign Mode
    • Horror Mode
  • Cards Clarification
    • Equipment
    • Conditions
    • Cultists
    • Characters
    • Mystery
    • Adventure
    • Events
    • Horror Mode Events

Game Components

• 1 Scenario Sheet (double-sided)
• 1 Campaign Book
• 1 Diary of Expedition Participants
• 5 Dice Stickers
• 60 New Adventure Cards: 20 Build, 20 Explore, 20 Gather
• 24 Mystery Cards: 6 Curse, 6 Mystical Beast, 6 Spell, 6 Clue
• 9 Character Cards (double-sided: Player and NPC)
• 2 Native Cards
• 82 Event Cards: 34 Event Cards for Campaign Mode, 48 Event Cards for Horror Mode
• 3 Wreckage Cards: 1 Wreckage Card for The Arrival Scenario, 2 Wreckage Cards for Horror Mode
• 8 Condition Cards
• 10 Cultist Cards
• 3 New Invention Cards
• 27 Insanity Cards: 9 Build, 9 Explore, 9 Gather
• 1 Local Guide Card (double-sided, for 2 and 3 players)
• 17 Equipment Cards
• 5 Lair Cards
• 9 Convict Cards (for use in the Scenario "Hunting Convicts" only)
• 4 Character Boards
• 10 New Tiles (double-sided)
• 3 Madness Tokens (double-sided)
• 3 New Numbers Tokens (1, 2, 3)
• 4 Discovery Tokens
• 3 Additional Stone Tokens
• 1 Breakdown Token
• 4 Defensive Painting Tokens

Before your first game using this expansion, you need to find the stickers included in the box. Every sticker with a Sanity loss icon goes on an empty side of your choice on the Wound die of the matching color. Keep the sticker with the Mystical Beast icon inside the box until the game prompts you to place it on an empty side of the Hungry Animals (red) die (see page 12).

In the future, if you wish to play a game according to the standard rules without the use of this expansion, treat any sticker side of a die as an empty side.

Mystery Tales Character Boards and Character Cards

Mystery Tales introduces a new type of character presented on standard size cards instead of the usual Character sheets. These Character cards are double-sided, with one side showing the playable character (in the horizontal position) which will be placed onto the new Character board, while the other side is a non-playable character (NPC) that will aid players with extra abilities during the game (in the vertical position). Each character also has 3 Insanity cards associated with them that are shuffled into the Adventure decks in the instance that this character goes Insane.

Character Card – Playable Character Side

1. The Character. A character is a playable person, part of the rescue mission sent after Lieutenant Colonel Percy Fawcett. On a card, players will find a name, profession, and image. When a game effect mentions a character, it always refers to a person controlled by a player.

2. Special Ability. Each character has 2 special abilities they can use at any time. As in the base game, players need to discard the specified number of Determination tokens to use their character abilities and may only use them once per round.

Character Card – NPC Side

The remaining members of the rescue team not picked to be played by a player will support them with their special abilities as NPCs.

1. Sanity track. Sanity is a new term introduced in this expansion. Both characters and NPCs can be impacted by traumatic events that affect their mental health. Players will be able to track each character's and NPC's Sanity level with a Sanity marker.

   Each NPC card has a Sanity track on which the Sanity marker will be placed. When an NPC suffers Sanity loss, the Sanity marker is moved 1 space to the right.

   If the Sanity marker reaches the last space (the Insanity icon), the NPC goes Insane and their card is removed from the game. Subsequently, shuffle all Insanity cards of this character into their corresponding Adventure decks.

   Many effects within the game can heal an NPC's Sanity. When this occurs, move the Sanity marker 1 space to the left, if possible.

2. NPC Special Ability. Each NPC has a special ability that any player may use at any time. Players will not have to discard any Determination tokens to use them. Instead, the NPC will suffer 1 Sanity loss every time that ability is used. Every NPC ability may only be used once per round. Place 1 black marker on an NPC to indicate that the ability has been used. The marker is removed at the end of the Night Phase.

Character Boards

Along with the new type of character, players will also receive Character boards with an indicated space in which to place their Character cards.

1. Character board color. Each Character board is a different color. When a player chooses a board, they also receive 2 Action pawns matching the color of the Character board.

2. Space for a Character card. When players choose a Character card, they place it in the indicated space on their Character board, with the playable character face up (horizontal position of the card). It stays there until the character dies or goes Insane.

3. Condition token(s). The Condition token(s) spaces work similarly to the Special Wound spaces from the base game, however here we do not have distinct areas for different parts of the body. Whenever a game effect tells you to get a Special Wound token of any color, place it on this space. Additionally, this is where you will be putting the Delusion token (see page 8 for more details about Delusion tokens).

4. Wound track. As in the base game, when a character suffers a Wound, the Wound marker is moved 1 space to the right after right (skip the morale arrow). When a morale arrow is skipped, the group's morale is lowered. To indicate this, move the Morale marker 1 space to the left, if possible. If the Wound marker reaches the last space (the skull icon), the character immediately dies. When a character dies in the Campaign or in Horror Mode, it is always resolved the same way, and does not necessarily mean the end of the game (see page 11).

5. Sanity track. Characters can nurture their mental health. Each time you are instructed to heal Sanity, move the Sanity marker 1 space to the left. If the Breakdown icon is skipped during this step, nothing happens. Do not remove the Breakdown token from the Night Phase space.

   The Sanity track works similarly to the Wound track. When a character suffers Sanity loss, the Sanity marker is moved 1 space to the right (skip the Breakdown icon). When the Breakdown icon is skipped, place the Breakdown token on the Night Phase space as a reminder that during the next Night Phase, players will need to deal with a Breakdown effect. Ignore placing the Breakdown token on the Night Phase space if there is already one there (according to the normal Token and Marker Exclusivity rule).

Campaign Mode

Overview

Most of the Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island base game rules apply to the Mystery Tales Campaign Mode. There are some changes that you will find in the appropriate sections of this rulebook, as well as on the specific Scenario sheets.

In Campaign Mode, players will have the whole crew at their disposal. That means if your character dies or goes Insane, you will not lose the game, but will instead continue with another member of the crew. Once there are no more crew members when a player has to pick one to play as a new character, the Campaign is lost.

If you do not achieve the goal of a single Scenario within the time limit, you lose the entire Campaign.

Scenarios of the "Lost City of Z" Campaign shouldn't be picked randomly, as they can only be played one by one in ascending order. An entire Campaign has to be finished with the same player count as it started. You should always keep in mind the essential aspect of the Campaign, which is, that your progress is carried over from one Scenario to the next.

You should always save your game between Scenarios on the Save Game pages. You will receive those after your first successful Scenario. Additional pages are available on our website. As such, you will be able to restart the game if you lose or if you decide to take a break and resume the game another day. You do not have to finish the entire Campaign in one sitting.

Campaign Goal

To win the Campaign, you must work together to successfully finish each of the 5 Scenarios present within the Campaign Book. Each Scenario has unique goals, which will include building specific objects and exploring new areas, but will also get more complicated as the Campaign progresses. Goals are always presented on the first page of the Scenario inside the Campaign Book (see additional info about Scenarios on page 17).

Once you successfully finish a single Scenario, you can set up the game for the next one. Continue a game this way until your final victory in the 5th Scenario.

Campaign Mode Setup

The following rules describe the setup for the first Scenario "The Arrival" played with 4 players. Adaptations for 1-3 players, as well as things carried over to the setup of the next Scenarios, can be found on page 13.

1. Place the board in the middle of the table.
2. Depending on which Scenario you are playing, open the Campaign Book to the current Scenario page, and place the Round marker on the first space of the Round track.
3. Each player takes a single Character board and places it in front of them. Unused boards are returned to the box. Additionally, each player takes:
   • a. 2 Action pawns of the same color as the Character board.
   • b. 1 Wound marker, which they place on the square Start space to the left of the Wound track, with the Wound icon.
   • c. 1 Sanity marker, which they place on the square Start space to the left of the Sanity track, with the Sanity icon.
4. Each player draws a Mystery Tales Character card at random and places it on their Character board on the indicated space with the character side up. Alternatively, players can choose which character they want to play. Additionally, each player also places the 3 Insanity cards associated with their character face down next to their Character board without reading their effects.
5. All remaining Character cards should be placed next to the board within all players reach, with the NPC side up. Without reading their effects, the 3 Insanity cards associated with each NPC should be placed face down under that NPC card. Sanity markers should be placed on the square Start space to the left of their Sanity track.
6. Place a white marker on the 0 space of the Morale track on the board.
7. Place a black and a green marker on the topmost space of the Weapon level track (next to the Weapon icon which can be treated as level 0). Black represents a normal Weapon as usual, and green will represent a Mystical Weapon (see details on Mystical Weapon on page 8). The space for the Shelter and the tracks for the Roof and Palisade levels will gain black markers during the game.
8. Sort the Adventure cards from this expansion by their backs into three decks, shuffle each thoroughly, and place them face down on their respective spaces on the board together with the 3 Action dice corresponding to each deck, as seen in the image. Do not use any Adventure cards from the base game.

When setting up the next Scenario in the Campaign, keep in mind that everything is transferred and/or saved from the previous Scenario. Meaning players don't start with the Wound marker on the starting space of the Wound track, but on the space it was at the end of the last Scenario, and begin with all resources left in the previous Scenario (see page 13).

Changes in Game

New Tokens and Icons

Madness Tokens

In Mystery Tales, things get truly horrific, and that's why players will see a new icon on the Event cards and Adventure cards, called a Madness icon (brown, gray or green). If there is a Madness icon on the top of the Event card, or it shows as an effect on an Adventure card, place the Madness token on top of the Adventure deck of the same color (Brown, Gray, Green) unless it is already there, in which case this is ignored.

When there is a Madness token on an Adventure deck, and an Action of that type is taken, the player who resolves it takes 1 Sanity loss, whether or not the Action dice are rolled. If the Action dice are rolled, ignore the Madness icon result on the Wound die in this situation. After a player takes Sanity loss as the result of this Action, the Madness token is discarded. Important: You may ignore taking a Sanity loss from that token effect if you remove 1 White Paint from the Available Resources space. The Madness token is still discarded.

Mystical Weapon

There is a new type of weapon in Mystery Tales called the Mystical Weapon. The green token on the Weapon level track represents its level.

Mystical Weapons are used during encounters with two new types of enemies – Cultists and Mystical Creatures. These enemies cannot be dealt with by the use of a standard Weapon, that is why it is necessary to use mystical power.

At the start of the Campaign, players will not be able to Build Mystical Weapons, but they will be able to find them during the game on different cards and tokens. When any player acquires a Mystical Weapon, they should move the green disc on the Weapon level track by 1 to increase their Mystical Weapon level.

Apart from the standard combat with Beast cards from the base game, there is also Mystical combat, which is resolved in a similar way.

Mystical Combat

Mystical combat can commence during the Hunt Action, an Event, an Adventure, or a Mystery card. All will have a similar combat table, but with different icons that have to be resolved in order (from left to right) on the card:

1. The enemy's Mystical power is compared to the current Mystical Weapon level. If the Mystical Weapon level is lower, the resolving character suffers as many Sanity losses as the difference between the values.
2. The Mystical Weapon level (on the board) is reduced by the indicated value. If this is not possible, the resolving character suffers 1 Wound for each missing Mystical Weapon level (according to the normal Unfulfilled Demand rule).
3. If the resolving character has a Delusion token on their Character card, they must resolve the presented effect.
4. The indicated reward is placed in the Future Resources space.

Note: Some Mystical combat may have different weapon requirements (example: Warrior Cultist card). In such cases, compare your current Weapon level with the enemy's power, and lower the appropriate Weapon level afterwards. In those cases, you take regular Wounds, instead of Sanity losses.

Afterwards, discard the card unless stated otherwise.

Breakdown Token

The Breakdown token is used when a character suffers Sanity loss, and a Breakdown icon is skipped on the Sanity track, or when a card effect tells players to get a Breakdown token. The token should always be placed on the Night Phase space and resolved during the next Night Phase. If there is already a Breakdown token on the Night Phase space and players are instructed to place another, ignore this effect (Token and Marker Exclusivity).

When there is a Breakdown token on the Night Phase space, during the Night Phase, one of the characters in the Camp has a mental breakdown and lashes out. Players have to decide before feeding anyone, which 2 resources and/or tokens to remove from the Available Resources space. If there are no resources or tokens to be discarded from the Available Resources space, all players suffer 1 Wound for each resource/token that they cannot remove (Unfulfilled Demand). After resolving the Breakdown effect, remove it from the Night Phase space.

Delusion Tokens

Some effects in the game might cause a character to become delusional, which means this character starts to feel like they are being watched by something dreadful, and their perception of reality is blurred. When a character is instructed to gain a Delusion token, that player places a Delusion token on their Character board. The Delusion token stays there until another effect lets the player remove it, or the character dies/goes Insane.

A character with a Delusion token is more susceptible to horrifying events, meaning this character will go Insane faster. When an effect causes a player with a Delusion token on their Character card to gain another Delusion token, that player should ignore this effect.

Beware: Only certain effects allow players to remove these tokens from their characters.

Stone and Additional Stone Tokens

Stone is a new resource presented in this expansion, which will be used to Build, among other effects. The additional stone token, similarly to the additional wood token, will work differently depending on where it is placed.

If the additional stone token is on the Build Action space, the next time a Build Action is planned which requires stone, it must be assigned 1 additional stone. Place the token with the Action pawns and the extra stone as a reminder. If the Action is successful, discard the token. If the Action is unsuccessful, return the token to the Build Action space.

Exception: If the Action with the additional stone token is unsuccessful, and another Build Action requiring stone is successful in the same round, the effect of the token is applied to that Action, discard 1 extra stone and then discard that token.

If the additional stone token is on an Island tile, it produces 1 additional stone, but only if the corresponding source has not been exhausted (covered with a marker). If the extra resource token is on the same tile as the Camp, you gain an additional stone in the Production Phase. If it is on another tile, you gain it after performing a successful Gather Action on a source with the additional stone token.

Note: in order to gather the extra stone, you must gather the appropriate resource. The token is not discarded from the Island tile after a successful Gather Action.

Mystical Danger Tokens

Mystical Danger tokens are similar to the Greater Danger tokens, and work differently depending on where they are placed.

If this token is on the Hunt Action space, the enemy's Mystical power is increased by 1 during the next Mystical combat resolved against a Cultist card. The token is discarded after the Mystical combat is resolved.

If this token is on an Island tile/space (other than the Camp), the Mystical Weapon level must be at least 1 for all Actions planned there or the Character planning the Action suffers 1 Sanity loss when placing the Action pawn (if a stack of pawns is placed, only the character on top suffers). The token is not discarded in this case.

If this token is on the Island tile with the Camp, any character performing an Action in the Camp (the Build, Arrange Camp, and Rest Actions) suffers 1 Sanity loss for each Action unless the Mystical Weapon level is at least 1. The token is not discarded in this case either.

Note: When there is both a Greater Danger and a Mystical Danger token on the Hunt Action space, each affects their respective type of combat and will be discarded afterwards. Meaning if the combat uses regular power, a Greater Danger token will influence that enemy's strength and a Mystical Danger token will be ignored until Mystical combat occurs. The same way, if the combat uses the Mystical power, a Mystical Danger token will influence that enemy's Mystical power, and a Greater Danger token will be ignored.

Example: Mike is resolving a Hunt Action while both a Greater Danger token and a Mystical Danger token are present on the Hunt Action space. He draws a card from the top of the Hunting deck, a Warrior Cultist, which is a special kind of Cultist that uses regular power. In this case, the Greater Danger token will increase the power of this Cultist by 1 and will be discarded afterwards. The Mystical Danger token will be ignored until combat that uses mystical power occurs.

New Cards

Condition Cards

Some game effects might cause a character to receive a Condition card. These Conditions are harmful to characters. Players should try to avoid getting one or at least try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Each character may only have 1 Condition card assigned to them. If a player is instructed to take a Condition card and their character already has one, that player ignores this effect.

When a Condition card is discarded due to a character's death, going Insane, or a game effect, shuffle that card back into the Condition deck.

Natives

During the game, it is possible to come across Natives of the island that may help you in your adventure. When a game effect tells you to gain one of those cards, you should place it next to the remaining NPC cards and put the Sanity marker on the first space from the left on the Sanity track. From now on, treat this character like any other NPC card, except that it cannot be chosen as a playable character if your character dies or goes Insane (See details on page 11).

In Horror Mode, we recommend using these cards to make the game easier.

Equipment Cards

These cards will support characters during the Campaign, and can be acquired only during the first Scenario. Keep this in mind as these cards can be very helpful on your journey.

Once an Equipment card is acquired, players should place it on one of the spaces in the available Inventions area of the board. All players may use the Equipment cards at any moment (unless stated otherwise). If an Equipment card has a Usage track on it, players should put an Equipment marker on the highest value. The track represents how many times that Equipment may be used. When a player decides to use the Equipment, they must adjust the Equipment marker on that card right away. If the Equipment marker is on the last space, and the Equipment is used, remove the Equipment marker and discard the card (unless stated otherwise). Equipment cards without a Usage track provide ongoing passive effects and stay with players until instructed otherwise.

Example of using an Equipment card: Amanda decided to use the Revolver during combat with a Beast to temporarily increase Weapon level by 3. The Revolver has only 1 Usage left, but there is also a full Ammo card available. It does not matter if she moves the Equipment marker on the Ammo card or Revolver card. She decides to spend the Usage on the Revolver card and removes the Equipment marker from it. The card stays in play according to its description, and can still be used in the future by using the Ammo.

Cultist Cards

New cards with the same backs as Beast cards, but with characters on the front, are called Cultist cards. When a player encounters one of these, they have to Fight them by commencing Mystical combat (see page 8). These cards are placed separately from the standard Beast cards on a special Cultist tile to distinguish them, but some game effects will instruct players to shuffle one of these into the Hunting deck. Players will not be able to distinguish between Beast cards and Cultist cards when they want to Hunt. This can spoil plans to Hunt for food or pelts when they end up meeting Cultists instead. This is when the new Scout Hunt Action option described on page 12 comes into play.

New Mystery Card Types

There are 4 new types of Mystery cards included in this expansion that will be used in addition to the 3 from the base game. New game effects may instruct players to draw these new types of Mystery cards. When this happens, players keep revealing new Mystery cards until they have drawn a Mystery card of the specified type. The new types include:

• Mystical Beasts. In some cases, players that will encounter one of these will end up resolving Mystical combat. In others, they will roll the Hungry Animals (red) die to determine what occurs.
• Curse. These dangerous game effects cause a lot of distress to characters. It is best to avoid these at any cost.
• Spells. Powerful, single-use abilities. When players receive these, they will put them in the Future Resources space unless stated otherwise. Once they become available, any player may use it at any time, but be careful! Powerful magic often comes at a price.
• Clues. Used in specific Scenarios. These will help players reveal hidden knowledge.

Changes to the Game Mechanics and New Rules

A game round is still comprised of the same 6 Phases, resolved in the same order:

1. Event Phase
2. Morale Phase
3. Production Phase
4. Action Phase
5. Weather Phase
6. Night Phase

IMPORTANT! Excluding the first Scenario (more on the Scenario sheet), the Event Phase is not skipped in the first round.

Character's Death, Going Insane & Losing the Game

The Mystery Tales Campaign is filled with things that might kill your characters or drive them Insane. On a positive note, the rescue expedition has many members who will not give up easily. This means that the game is not lost when a character dies or goes Insane. The expedition will push forward as long as there are enough members!

A character dying or going Insane are resolved similarly. Once a Wound marker reaches the last space on the Character board Wound track, the character dies and that player must resolve the following steps:

1. Remove the current Character card, along with its Insanity cards, and place them in the box. It will no longer be used in this Campaign.
2. If this character had any Condition card assigned to it, shuffle it back into the Condition deck, and discard any tokens assigned to that character (Determination, Delusion, Special Wounds etc.).
3. Choose one of the available NPC's to use as your character. Its current Sanity level will not affect you, meaning it is sometimes useful to choose an NPC that is lower on the Sanity track, to make sure it will not go Insane, and deplete your future NPC pool too fast. It is okay to check the playable side of a Character card to learn their Special Abilities, but make sure to put the Sanity marker back in the same position on the Sanity track if you decide not to choose it.
4. Place the chosen character on the indicated Character space on your Character board, return this NPC's Sanity marker to the token pool, place its Insanity cards next to your Character board, reset both Wound and Sanity tracks to their starting values (the leftmost spaces on the tracks).
5. Move the Morale marker 2 spaces to the left, if possible.

Once a Sanity marker reaches the last space on the player's Sanity track, a character goes Insane. That player must resolve the same steps as with death, but with two exceptions. Instead of placing the character's Insanity cards into the box, shuffle them into the appropriate Adventure decks. Those cards represent the roaming mad characters that will try to stop your expedition from succeeding. Additionally, the 5th step is ignored and the Morale marker stays where it is.

NPC might go Insane as well. When that happens, remove the NPC Character card and place it back in the box along with the Sanity marker and shuffle its Insanity cards into the appropriate Adventure decks.

Whenever any Adventure card is resolved it should be placed in a separate discard pile (this will make it easier to draw an Insanity card during that Scenario), but they are always shuffled back into their appropriate decks when preparing the next Scenario. Any Insanity Cards in the Adventure decks stay there until the end of the Campaign.

Characters may die or go Insane in many situations, during different round phases. But if this happens during the Action Phase, finish that phase as if that character is still alive, ignoring any further Wounds and Sanity losses received in that phase, as well as all effects that would let you heal any Wounds or Sanity for that character. When that Action Phase is over, resolve the character death or going Insane.

If any character dies or goes Insane when there are no more NPCs available to pick from, then the expedition has failed and the game is lost.

Diary of Expedition Participants

Within the Diary of Expedition Participants, players will find many paragraphs describing events, situations, and places that the expedition encountered during the Campaign. Some game effects will ask you to read a number coded paragraph. At that time, reach for the Diary of Expedition Participants and look for a specific paragraph.

Each entry should be read out loud by the player that triggered that game effect. If it was automatic (for example: triggered in the Event phase), then the First Player should read it. Alternatively, you can choose a player that enjoys setting the mood to read all of the paragraphs out loud.

Sometimes a paragraph will have a decision presented at the end. Players may discuss among themselves which option should be picked, but the final decision is up to the player who triggered that effect or the First Player if it was triggered automatically. This is also the player that is impacted by any effects.

Note: Be sure to decipher paragraph codes correctly. For example, if the paragraph is coded 2X, more detailed information explaining that even if the number of the Island tile has two digits it is still fully transferred to the code.

Note: X can be a single-digit or double-digit value, depending on the Island tile. Try not to look at the other paragraphs to avoid any spoilers.

New Tiles – Temple and City

Included in the expansion is a new set of double-sided tiles to be used in the Campaign. The Scenario sheet will instruct you which side (Temple or City) to use. The tiles with the standard Island artwork are referred to as Temple tiles, while the sides with the red themed artwork and a set of 3 symbols on their faces are referred to as City tiles.

New Effects on Dice

Losing Sanity

Each Wound die now has at least one side with a Sanity loss sticker. This means that players may be exposed to some horrific visions that will haunt them, even while performing mundane tasks.

When a Sanity loss appears as a result of an Action dice roll, the resolving player must lose 1 Sanity. The Sanity marker should be moved on their Character board 1 space to the right on the Sanity track.

Important: You may ignore taking a Sanity loss during the dice roll if you remove 1 White Paint from the Available Resources space.

Exception: Ignore the Sanity loss result from a Wound die if there is a Madness token on top of the Adventure Deck of the same type as the Action you performed, since you will be taking 1 Sanity loss already. You can also remove 1 White Paint from the Available Resources to negate the effects of, and discard, the Madness token.

Mystical Beast Encounter

During the Campaign, you will also be instructed to put a sticker with the Mystical Beast icon on the Hungry Animals (red) die. When this happens, for the rest of the Campaign this die side is treated as encountering a Mystical Beast with a Mystical power of 3, but instead of the usual Mystical combat, you have to compare Mystical Weapon level against it. If it is lower than 3, each player takes 1 Sanity loss for every missing point.

All game effects that require you to roll the Hungry Animals (red) die to resolve effects, for example Mystery cards or Setting up the Traps (described in section to the right), does not include this new side. During those rolls, always treat the Mystical Beast side as if it were empty.

Note: Whenever you play a game without the use of this expansion, treat the Mystical Beast side as empty. Additionally, when you play the Campaign or choose to play Horror Mode, treat this side as specified according to the selected difficulty (see page 16).

Additional Scout Hunt Action

The new Hunt tile covering the Hunt Action provides players with the new option: Scout Hunt (three pawns). If players assign 3 pawns stacked on top of each other, the character owning the topmost Action pawn will resolve the standard Hunt Action with an additional effect: instead of drawing the topmost Beast card from the Hunting deck and commencing the combat, a player draws the 2 topmost cards and decides which card to face during this Action. The other card is either shuffled back to the Hunting deck or discarded – the resolving player decides.

Setting Up the Traps

At the beginning of the Campaign, characters will need to learn how to set up traps in the new environment or they could face starvation, unless they manage to find some other food source.

The Traps tile placed above the Gather Action space shows two sources of food: the fish and the parrot icons. At the beginning of the Campaign, these spaces will be covered with white markers, meaning they are unavailable. Every food source on the island of the same type as the ones unavailable on the Traps tile should also be covered with white markers. While placing a new tile (even during the game setup), check the food sources on it and determine if they are unavailable. While the source is covered with a white marker, it does not produce any food, but players may perform Gather Action on it.

To unlock an unavailable food source, players must learn how to set up traps. The Weapon level must be at least 1 or higher, and a player must perform a Gather Action on one of the unavailable food sources to try to learn how to set up traps for that specific type of food source. Each type is unlocked separately but in the same way.

Important: If the Camp is on a tile with an unavailable food source, you can perform a Gather Action to learn how to set traps on this source. You do not produce from this source until you learn how to set the traps.

Once a player performs a successful Gather Action on either an unavailable fish or parrot food source, that player takes one Hungry Animals (red) die to check the trap's efficiency. Roll the die and check the result:

• The traps are perfect! Get 1 food, place it in the Future Resources space, then remove the white marker from the resource type on the Traps tile and all Island tiles on the board. That type of the food is available from now on.
• The trap backfired. Get 1 Wound.
• The trap was a failure. Get -1 (skull icon, as printed: see the note below).
• No sign of anything. Nothing happens.

A player may reroll the Hungry Animals (red) die if the result was not satisfactory. A single reroll costs 1 Determination token and may be repeated multiple times, as long as 1 Determination token is discarded for each reroll. A player should keep in mind which results were rolled because ultimately, this player will decide a single effect to be resolved, chosen from all rolls during that action.

Transcription note: The printed "trap was a failure" result shows a skull icon with crossed bones next to "Get -1". Its meaning is not spelled out in the text layer of this rulebook; it is transcribed as printed rather than interpreted.

Progressing to Another Scenario

Important: When setting up the next Scenario (especially after a break), you will need to continue from where you left off at the end of the previous Scenario. Use the save game sheet, received after the first successful scenario, to note all of the data and positions. At the beginning of the next Scenario, the game setup should look the way it did after completing the previously mentioned post-Scenario instructions. Then, any special setup rules presented in the Scenario should be applied.

If the Scenario was a failure, restart the Campaign or proceed from the last save point, if one has been created. If you finished the Scenario successfully, and it wasn't the last Scenario in the Campaign Book, you have go through the following steps before you setup the next Scenario or decide to save the game. Players have to clear the board following these instructions:

• If there is a Hunting deck on the board that contains both Beasts and Cultists, separate those cards and return them to the appropriate decks.
• Move the Morale marker back to 0 if it is on any other number.
• Remove all tokens and markers from Island tiles, Action spaces, and Action decks.
• Gather all Island tiles from the board and those still remaining in the stack. Shuffle them together, and place them next to the board.
• All Special Discovery tokens should be returned to the Discovery tokens pool, even if players did not use them.
• Discard all Special Wounds tokens if any are placed on any Character board.
• Any Event cards (and shuffled in Adventure cards) remaining in the Event deck and on the Threat spaces should be removed from the board and separated. The Adventure cards will be shuffled into their corresponding decks, along with any Adventure cards discarded during the game. The Event cards will either be reused (if repeating the Scenario) or the payers will move onto the next Scenario, and use the next pre-constructed deck.

Everything else will be transferred to the next Scenario, so keep this in mind when setting up. The following will continue just as it was at the end of the last Scenario:

• All resources and tokens in the Available Resources space.
• All tokens and cards assigned to the players, like Determination tokens, etc.
• Wound and Sanity markers on Character boards remain at their current positions.
• Sanity markers on NPC cards remain at their current positions.
• All the remaining cards available to the players, along with their markers, remain at their current positions (Starting Equipment cards, Equipment cards, Treasures, etc.)
• Current Weapon and Mystical Weapon levels.
• Shelter marker, if it was already built.
• Current Roof and Palisade levels.

Note: When saving a game – remember to write down if the character died or went Insane to make sure you shuffle back the insanity cards into the appropriate decks. If you can't recall which character died or went Insane during the current Scenario, just check the box to see if there is only a Character card there, or the Insanity cards are there as well.

2-3 Player Game

During the 2 and 3 player game, players should use the additional character: the Local Guide. When setting up the game, place the Local Guide card on the appropriate side marked with the number of players and place on it the appropriate amount of white Action pawns (depending on the side of the card and player count). During the Campaign, in the first Scenario, place the Wound marker on the Starting space on the Wound track. In the following Scenarios, if the Local Guide is still alive, continue with the Wound marker on the space it was upon completing the Scenario. The Local Guide works the same way as Friday from the base game, with one additional rule – if during the Local Guide's Action, a Sanity loss is rolled on the Wound die, he suffers a Wound instead.

Solo Game

The solo game uses the same rules as the 2-player game. Additionally, the sole character also has the Dog available alongside the Local Guide. The Dog's card is placed next to the board and the purple Action pawn placed on it.

In the solo game, whenever your Local Guide dies, place the Breakdown token onto the Night Phase space, reset his wound track, and place one of his used Action pawns on the space of the Round track 2 rounds away (for example if he died during the 3rd round, put his Action pawn on the 5th round space). If he died on the second to last, or the last round, simply set it aside for the rest of this Scenario. That Action pawn isn't available until you begin the round upon which it is placed, making your Guide weaker. This means that the Local Guide can never die in a Solo Game, but he can waste your supplies and be a drain on your expedition at crucial moments, so be careful!

The costs for building the Shelter, Roof, and Palisade in the solo game are equal to those in the 2-player game.

The sole character is always the First Player (neither the Local Guide nor the Dog can be the First Player).

Additionally, morale is increased by 1 at the start of each Morale Phase, before the effect is resolved. The character is simply happy to be alive.

Horror Mode

The smell of smoke wakes you. It's easy to ignore at first in the fog of sleep, but as you become more alert you realize where the smell must be coming from. You jump to your feet and run towards the beach. The scene ahead horrifies you! The woodpile you spent days gathering to signal a passing ship is burning to ashes. How did this happen? You took precautions to prevent this very situation! You rush closer, thinking there may still be a way to save the woodpile, but freeze instantly upon noticing a dark figure next to the flames, with hands raised high up in the air as if in worship.

This is not possible. You checked the island thoroughly and you were certain that you were the only one here. There was no one else! Suddenly you notice the figure is not alone. Something is sitting nearby. Something that you cannot begin to describe. Something that only belongs in horrors and nightmares. When the figure notices your presence, it utters a command in a language you don't understand, and the thing begins to charge your way. You cannot move. You stand there and you close your eyes hoping, this is just another nightmare!

New challenges await you in Horror Mode! With the use of the components from this expansion, you can play your favorite Scenarios in a new, exciting way. The game will play according to the standard rules of the base game in addition to the new rules presented in the Campaign Mode above regarding new characters, affects, cards, etc. Additionally, there is one more rule about stones and how to acquire them.

Stone Production and Gathering

You are able to Gather stones as the resource from Mountain type Island tiles by placing an Action pawn(s) above the mountain icon on the Island tile. When you assign an Action pawn(s) this way, you may use any effects that affect Gathering as usual.

If the Camp is located on a Mountain Island tile, the stone is produced in the Production Phase.

If a player is instructed to exhaust a source while resolving an Adventure card during a Gather Action on a Mountain tile, the player covers that icon with a black token as usual. Meaning that players lose the stone source, as well as access to that terrain type (unless it is available on another Island tile).

Reminder!

As in Campaign Mode, your game does not end with a single character dying or going Insane. You will simply replace them with one of the available NPCs in the same way as in Campaign Mode. If you require a new NPC and there are none left, the game is lost.

Horror Mode Setup

The following rules describe the setup for 4 players. Adaptations for 1, 2 and 3 players can be found on page 13.

1. Place the board in the middle of the table.

2. Depending on which Scenario you play, place the Scenario sheet next to the board and then place the Round marker on the first space of the Round track.

3. Each player takes a single Character board and places it in front of them along with 2 Action pawns of the same color as the Character board. Unused Character boards are returned to the box. Additionally, each player takes:

   • a. 1 Wound marker, which they place on the square Start space to the left of the Wound track, with the Wound icon.
   • b. 1 Sanity marker, which they place on the square Start space to the left of the Sanity track, with the Sanity icon.

4. Each player draws a Mystery Tales Character card at random and places it on their Character board in the indicated space with the playable character side up. Alternatively, players can choose which character they want to play. Additionally, each player also places the 3 Insanity cards associated with their character face down next to their Character board without reading their effects.

5. From the remaining Mystery Tales Character cards, choose 2 and place them somewhere next to the board within all players reach, NPC side up. Place the 3 Insanity cards associated with those NPCs under the NPC cards without reading their effects. Place 1 Sanity marker on the square Start space to the left of their Sanity track.

   Note: The Heir cannot be chosen as one of the NPCs.

6. Take all of the Invention cards.

   • a. Gather the 9 default Invention cards (identifiable by two arrows and the lighter background behind their name) and 3 Mystery Tales Invention cards: Stone Amulet, Mystical Spear, and White Paint. Place them Invention side up, in no specific order, on the available Inventions area of the board.
   • b. Shuffle the remaining Invention cards and place them next to the board, Invention side up, as the Invention deck.

Appendix

Adjusting the Game Difficulty

If you feel the gameplay is too difficult or too simple, you may adjust the difficulty accordingly. It is up to you how many changes you choose to use in your game. You may choose only one of the options below or you may use all of them.

Campaign Mode

Adjusting to a simpler gameplay:

• During the setup of every Scenario, choose any Wreckage Event card and place it on the Threat space. Avoid the Event Phase in the first round.
• Use the Dog card.
• Use the Local Guide card on any side of your choosing.
• Take more Starting Equipment cards at the beginning of the Campaign.
• Treat the Mystical Beast side on the Hungry Animals (red) die as if it were blank.

Adjusting to a more difficult gameplay:

• Take only one Starting Equipment card at the beginning of the Campaign, or do not take any.
• Start your Campaign with less NPCs in play.
• During 2-player mode or solo, use the Local Guide card on a 3-player side, meaning that he will only have 1 white Action pawn that can be used.

Horror Mode

Adjusting to a simpler gameplay:

• Choose more NPCs to take into the game. With each additional NPC you have more abilities available, but your death capacity is also increased by 1.
• Use the Dog card.
• Use the Local Guide card on any side of your choice.
• Take more Starting Equipment cards.
• Shuffle less Cultist cards into the Beast deck.
• Treat the Mystical Beast side on the Hungry Animals (red) die as if it were blank.
• Choose one of the available Horror Mode Wreckage cards and place it in the right Threat space. Skip the Event Phase during the first round.

Adjusting to a more difficult gameplay:

• Take only one Starting Equipment card or do not take any.
• Do not use any NPCs cards.
• During 2-player mode or solo, use the Local Guide card on a 3-player side, meaning that he will only have 1 white Action pawn that can be used.
• Shuffle more Cultist cards into the Beast deck.

Cards Clarification

Equipment

• Cooking Utensil – You can only use perishable food when resolving the effect of this card.
• First Aid Kit – You must assign an Action pawn to this card in the Action Phase to use it. A single Action pawn can use the Equipment only once, but more Action pawns may be assigned to this card during a single round. The resolving player is the only one that may be healed.
• Ammo – Players can use this card whenever they use any gun-icon Equipment, meaning it can be used even in the same round with different types of gun-icon Equipment.
• Whiskey – Any player may use a Determination token from the Available Resources space at any time.
• Survival Kit 1 & 2 – These cards only provide icons used by another game effect, and do NOT provide you with the actual Inventions or their benefits as if they are Built.
• Tent – It can provide shelter to two different players during each Night Phase.

Conditions

• Analysis Paralysis – When a game effect allows you to remove this condition, remove the white marker from your special ability as well. It is available again.
• Self-Mutilation – No matter how many Sanity losses you get, you always get only 1 Wound.
• Hematophobia – No matter how many Wounds you get, you always discard only 1 Determination token. If you do not have any Determination tokens, take 1 Wound instead (Unfulfilled Demand).

Cultists

• Shaman – If a player resolving this Mystical Combat has a Delusion token, this player must also draw 1 Mystery card (only resolve 1 Curse). When defeated put 1 Stone Amulet on the Future Resources space.
• Sorceress – If a player resolving this Mystical Combat has a Delusion token, this player must also take and assign a Condition card to their character. When defeated draw 1 Mystery card (only resolve Spell).
• Warrior – If a player resolving this Mystical Combat has a Delusion token, this player must also discard 1 Determination token. If the player does not have any Determination tokens, they suffer 1 Wound (Unfulfilled Demand). Additionally, the Warrior is using a standard Weapon, so even though it is considered Mystical combat you must use, and lower, your standard Weapon level. When defeated put 1 Stone on the Future Resource space.
• Child – If a player resolving this Mystical Combat has a Delusion token, this player must also suffer 2 Sanity losses. When defeated, put 1 Stone on the Future Resources space.
• Fanatic – If a player resolving this Mystical Combat has a Delusion token, then a Breakdown token must be placed on the Night Phase space. When defeated, put 1 Stone on the Future Resources space.

Characters

• Antiques Dealer (NPC side) – Valuable Knowledge – When placing an Invention card on the board, place it Invention side up. The other is discarded to an Invention card discard pile. If players run out of Invention cards, reshuffle the discard pile and use it as the new Invention deck.
• Heir (NPC side) – Hidden Supply – Can be used on a gun-icon Equipment card that doesn't have any usage left. When that happens, place an Equipment marker back on that card.

Mystery

• Secret Instructions (Defensive Paintings) – When you are instructed to reduce your Weapon/Mystical Weapon by more than 1 level, reduce it by one less.

Adventure

• Parrots – If there is no parrot or fish source on the tile you are Gathering from, nothing happens.
• White Valley – Lower the level of the Mystical Weapon even if the Action failed.

Events

• Breakdown – Players cannot use the special ability of the unavailable NPC and game effects don't affect that NPC. If at the end of the Scenario, the NPC is still unavailable, place that NPC card along with its Insanity Cards back into the box without resolving death or going Insane effects.
• Extinction – If the tile with the Camp is adjacent to less than 3 tiles, then just choose and cover a single source on each of the adjacent tiles.
• Thick Fog – If the tile with the Camp is adjacent to less than 3 tiles, then put the figure token (icon as printed, a grey figure silhouette) on each of the adjacent tiles.

Horror Mode Events

• Gift – Every player may participate in decreasing the total number of cards drawn by discarding 1 Determination token per card.

Campaign

1. The Arrival

To reach this Scenario goal, players must search for the villages and Explore them to find clues about Colonel Percy Fawcett. Once players discover 3 different tiles with the idol icon and Explore them in ascending order, they win the game.

Special Token: Nest with Eggs. This token must be discarded immediately at the end of the Action Phase to place 1 food in the Available Resources space.

Special Action: Unpack the Boxes of Cargo. Since the special Build Action is performed on a tile representing the ship, it can be performed as usual when the Camp is on a tile adjacent to the ship tile. Once the Camp is moved further away, players need to remember that it will require more Action pawns in the same way as Gathering Resources & Exploring on tiles not adjacent to the Camp.

2. In Search of a Mysterious Temple

In this Scenario, players have to complete two goals to win the game. The first isn't all that complicated – players have to Build 5 torches and have them in the Available Resources space. The second is a bit trickier – players have to recreate a specific tile scheme on board, meaning they must recreate the late Colonel Percy Fawcett's path. It doesn't matter in what order they place the required tiles on the board, as long as they are all connected in a particular sequence in the end: Mountains adjacent to another Mountain tile, the second Mountains adjacent to Hills, and finally, those Hills adjacent to Plains. The special Actions available in this Scenario can be helpful in achieving this goal. Once both goals are completed, you win the game at the end of that round.

Special Invention: Torch. This Item can be Built repeatedly, including multiple times in the same round.

3. The Temple Grounds

In this Scenario, you must find the 3 pieces of a map, which are represented by Clue (magnifying glass) Mystery cards. They are shuffled with other cards into special Temple decks at the beginning of the Scenario. Players must first Explore to find the Temple tiles (introduced in this Scenario) containing the totem icon. After that, thanks to a special Action called Examining the Ruins, you can search through those Temple decks. Once you successfully find 3 pieces of the map, you win the game at the end of that round.

Setup Changes. Whenever you Explore and draw a new Temple tile, draw the one beneath the cover Island tile and place it with the correct side up. Put the cover Island tile back on the stack afterward.

Special Rule: Darkness. The cost icon doesn't affect Actions performed in the Camp when you move it onto a Temple tile with any of the cost icons. Only the Actions performed directly on the Temple tiles require the extra cost (Gather and special Action Examining the Ruins).

4. Knocking on the City Gates

In this Scenario, you need to perform a successful Explore Action on tile no. 24 (to find the entrance to the Lost City of Z). But first, you need to make your way there through the standard rules of Exploring tiles and spaces. Mark a successful Explore Action on tile no. 24 in any suitable way (for example with a white marker). Additionally, you need to Build at least 4 different special Inventions presented in this Scenario and/or the ones on the Clue (magnifying glass) Mystery cards. Special Inventions are locked at the start of the Scenario, and will start to become available after reading the paragraphs provided by the Together with the Natives rule. Once both goals are met, players will still need to complete all 6 rounds.

Secret Instructions. If you Build any Secret Instruction in the previous Scenario already, it counts towards this Scenario goal.

Special Action: Searching for the Lair. This special Explore Action can be performed on any City tile. You should continue to use this Action (and pay any cost if there is one printed on a tile) to find the Lair, and to build a Sacred Circle. Because Lair cards that don't match the symbols on the tile are shuffled back into the stack and new Liar [sic] cards are drawn, it is possible to find the Lair on a tile on which you previously failed to do so.

Special Action: Dialogue with the Natives. When you assign an Action pawn(s) to this Action, place them on the numbered token on the tile. This Action can help you find the Lair faster by revealing Lair cards. Whenever you are asked to reveal a Lair card, choose one of the three cards which are face down (if there are any left). If you reveal the last Lair card this way, immediately place a Lair token on the City tile with the same set of symbols as on the cards. Otherwise, you must search for the City tile by Exploring the board and adding new tiles to it, once the City tile with that set of symbols is revealed, place a Lair token on it.

Note: The game effect that tells you to place 1 Mystical Danger token on the Hunt Action space for every incorrect symbol means that the more you search, the more Cultists get upset, and the more dangerous they will be during the next combat.

5. Ritual

In this Scenario, you must Build a special Invention called Sacred Circle on the tile with the Mindsponger Lair, that must first be located. You may try to find the Lair thanks to the special Action called Searching for the Lair. Once the Sacred Circle is Built, you will read paragraph 58, which is the climax of the entire Campaign, the final encounter. Beware, surviving the content of this paragraph is crucial. Make sure you are well prepared!

Setup Changes. Whenever you Explore and draw a new City tile, draw the one beneath the Island tile covering the stack, and place it with the correct side up.

Cultists grow stronger. Whenever resolving combat, apply all of the tokens (Mystical Danger and Greater Danger) of the same combat type, that are on the Hunt Action space. Tiles [sic] of the same combat type will increase the strength or Mystical strength of a Cultist or a Beast by 1 for every token. Discard all of the tokens of the same combat type, after that combat is resolved.

Hunt! Fighting a Cultist in the Night Phase space still counts as standard combat and will provide the rewards. All Mystical Danger or Greater Danger tokens placed on the Hunt Action space apply to this combat (depending on the Cultist combat type), and will be discarded afterwards.

Special Invention: Sacred Circle. It can be Built only on a tile with a Lair token, meaning when you have the Camp on this tile or adjacent to the City tile with the Lair, you can assign 1 or 2 Action pawns to it as usual. But if your Camp is further away from the Lair, it will require more Action Pawns in the same way as Gathering Resources & Exploring on tiles not adjacent to the Camp.

Stand Alone Scenarios

Scenario no. 12 – Hunting Convicts

In this Scenario, you must survive 11 days (rounds) while apprehending and/or killing dangerous convicts. But you must find them first! They can be found throughout the island, and so you will have to explore quite a bit. You win the game after the Night Phase of the 11th round if all Convict spaces hold tokens.

Feeding Convicts. If a convict dies of starvation remember to change the blue token to a black marker to mark that he/she isn't alive anymore.

Special Invention: Torches. Once built, it will allow players to ignore one card every time they resolve a number token on a tile with both a Totem and a Tent.

Convict card. Dead Thug – Do not resolve any effect (such as when killed or starved).

Totems and Tile no. 2. Tile no. 2 has both a Totem and a Tent, meaning that when it is revealed players should place two number tokens onto the tile (choose freely which number token will be resolved as the Totem and which will be resolved as the Tent).

Scenario no. 13 – In the Belly of the Beast (Horror Mode only)

In this Scenario, you will be looking for Lairs in which you will Fight Cultists and Mystical Beasts. Once you destroy 5 Lairs you immediately win the game. But beware, the creatures you will be Fighting in order to destroy the Lairs are quite deadly!

Special Invention: Hammer of the Witches. Once built, it allows players to ignore one of the die symbols every time they resolve a Mystical Beast card. When resolving another Mystical Beast card they can choose a different symbol to ignore.

Special Action: Defeat the Cultists. The Special Explore Action is performed on a tile with the number token on it.

Special Action: Destroying Lair. The Special Explore Action is performed on the Lair Space. After resolving 1 Mystical Beast, return the number token to the box or keep them beside the board in a separate space to be able to track the number of destroyed Lairs. Once the 5th Lair is destroyed, you win the game!

Icons and Symbols

New Resource

• Stone – source of stones, produces stone (in Horror Mode treat the mountain also as a source of stones)

New Inventions

• Stone Amulet
• White Paint – allows you to cancel the Sanity loss effect on Wound dice or Madness token
• Torch

Sanity

• Sanity marker
• Lose 1 Sanity
• Heal 1 Sanity
• Breakdown

Dice

• Icon indicating to lose 1 Sanity on the Wound dice (treat as empty while playing the base game)
• Combat against a strength 3 Mystical Beast (treat as empty while playing the base game)

Cultist

• Cultist card
• Mystical Danger token (+1 to Mystical strength of Cultist)
• Resolve the specified effect if the character Fighting has a Delusion token
• Treasure received after the character defeats the Cultist

Mystical Weapon

• Mystical Weapon marker
• Mystical strength of Cultist
• Mystical Weapon (Mystical Weapon level) +/- 1 – increase/decrease Mystical Weapon level by 1

Rest

• Delusion token
• Madness tokens
• Additional Number tokens
• Additional stone token
• Token used while playing the Lost City of Z Campaign
• Equipment marker

New Mystery Cards

• Mystical Beast card
• Curse card
• Spell card
• Clue card (used while playing the Lost City of Z Campaign)

Card Backs

• Condition cards
• Equipment cards
• Cultist cards have the same back as the Beast cards – to distinguish them put the stack of Cultist cards onto the Cultist tile
• Lair cards (used while playing the Lost City of Z Campaign)
• Convict cards (used while playing the Hunting the Convicts Scenario)
• Native cards (additional NPCs)