Sellswords Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Play a Tile
  • 2. Apply Relevant Abilities
  • 3. Compare Numbers
• Other Notes
  • Flipping Tiles
  • Playing Field Size
  • Terminology
• Scoring
  • Example of Scoring
• Winning the Game
• Play Variants
  • No Terrain
  • Terrain Center
  • Terrain Tiles
    • T1. Asgard
    • T2. Ragnarök
    • T3. Yggdrasil
    • T4. Niflheim
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Tiles and Abilities
  • 1. Knight
  • 2. Archer
  • 3. Trickster
  • 4. Mage
  • 5. Thief
  • 6. Assassin
  • 7. Trader
  • 8. Necromancer
  • 9. Priest
  • 10. Bard
  • 11. Alchemist
  • 12. Wizard
  • 13. Dealer
  • 14. Squire
  • 15. Barbarian
  • 16. Conjuror
  • 17. Valkyrie
  • 18. Viking
  • 19. Siren
  • 20. Captain
  • 21. Titan
  • 22. Fool
  • 23. Dancer
  • 24. Merchant
  • 25. Pyromancer
  • 26. Changeling
  • 27. Noble
  • 28. Innkeeper
  • 29. Ranger
  • 30. Commander
  • 31. Paladin
  • 32. Fairy
  • 33. Beggar
  • 34. Monk
  • 35. Dragon
  • 36. Roc
  • 37. Tactician
  • 38. Duelist
  • 39. Seer
  • 40. Spy
  • 41. Cadenza
  • 42. Shekhtur
  • 43. Simon
  • 44. Tanis
  • 45. King Alexian XXXVII
  • 46. Hikaru
  • 47. Rukyuk
  • 48. Borneo

Components

• 50 double-sided Hero tiles
• 4 double-sided Terrain tiles
• 1 Rulebook

Setup

You will need a two foot square table in order to play.

1. Remove the Asgard, Ragnarok, Nifelheim, and Yggdrasil terrain tiles. Shuffle the remaining hero tiles and place them in a pile off to the side.
2. Decide who goes first randomly and which color they will play (either red or blue).
3. Deal 12 hero tiles to the center of the table. Players take turns choosing one of the 12 tiles to add to their hand, starting with the first player. Repeat this until all tiles have been picked. Each player should have 6 tiles.
4. Place the Asgard tile on the table. The first tile played must be adjacent to the Asgard Tile. The Asgard Tile is not the center of the board and just acts as a starting point.
5. Begin round one, with the first player placing a tile.

Gameplay

Each turn, follow these 3 steps...

1. Play a Tile

Place 1 tile from your hand onto the table adjacent to an existing tile. The new tile should be placed on your color's side. You may rotate the tile any way you like but you cannot place a tile diagonally from another tile.

2. Apply Relevant Abilities

Some tiles have optional, mandatory, continuous, or end of round abilities. If optional, you choose whether or not to use it. If the ability is mandatory, you must use the ability. If continuous, it works while the tile is on the field and does not start working until after placed. If end of round, then it happens at the end of a round (usually the round the tile was played). To use an ability, perform the effect as stated on its tile or in this rulebook. The tile has a shortened version of the extended ability in this rulebook. Abilities always preserves a tile's orientation unless stated otherwise.

3. Compare Numbers

For each opponent's tile adjacent to the tile you have just placed, check the two numbers that are touching each other. If your number is higher than the opponent's, flip the opponent's tile to your color (see "Flipping Tiles"). If your number is lower or both are equal, nothing happens. When you flip a tile, do not compare the numbers of the newly flipped tile–there are no chain reactions.

Example: a 2 faces a 2 across one edge, and a 4 faces a 3 across another edge (shown as "2v2" and "4v3"). The 4v3 comparison is won by the higher number, flipping that tile to the winning color; the 2v2 comparison is a tie, so neither tile flips.

Other Notes

Flipping Tiles

When flipping a tile, flip horizontally relative to the character artwork (look at the character right-side up and flip it horizontally). When you flip the tile correctly, the positions of its numbers will not change.

Playing Field Size

Eventually, a row or column will reach 5 tiles. Once this happens, the row or column is now considered "locked" and no tiles can be placed beyond that margin. This means that the final playing field will be a grid of 5x5 tiles.

Terminology

• Orientation - The position the tile is facing.
• Rotate - Changing the orientation of the card.
• Adjacent - Next to another tile (left, right, top, or bottom). This never includes diagonals.
• Ally - A tile of your color
• Enemy - A tile of your opponent's color.

Scoring

Once all 12 tiles have been placed, score each row and each column. Going across the rows, each row gives a player points based on the number of tiles of their color in the row. After scoring each row like this, score each column the same way:

Tiles	Points
0	0
1	0
2	1
3	2
4	4
5	7

After this, play Round 2. The first player in the second round is the player with fewer points. If points are tied, randomly determine first player. Repeat step 3 of setup, with each player gaining 6 new tiles and keeping the same color they had in Round 1. Continue play as normal, with the board staying the same from the previous round. At the end of the round the board should be a full 5x5 square. Score points again like at the end of Round 1.

Example of Scoring

A 5x5 board of tiles is scored row by row and column by column. In the example, Red scores 0+2+0+0 across its rows and 0+1+0+4 down its columns for a Round 1 score of 5 points; Blue scores 1+0+0+1 across its rows and 0+1+0+4 down its columns for a Round 1 score of 7 points.

Winning the Game

Once both Rounds are over and points are scored, the player with the most points total from both rounds wins! If there is a tie, remove all tiles except for terrain, shuffle them into the draft deck and play another Round. Continue Rounds until one player has more points at the end of a round.

Play Variants

In addition to the base rules, you can use these play variants to unlock new strategies and options.

No Terrain

Start the game with an empty board and no Terrain tile. The game continues as normal, with one empty space being left when the game is over. Hikaru has no ability in this mode and can be removed if desired.

Terrain Center

Start the game with the Terrain tile as the center tile on the board. This means that the edges of the board are pre-determined. Hikaru has no ability in this mode and can be removed if desired.

Terrain Tiles

You can use other terrain tiles besides the default Asgard Tile, and these can drastically alter your game. They can't flip other tiles. They don't share player colors, and don't give out points at the end of rounds. They cannot be affected by abilities or be moved in any way.

T1. Asgard

Safe Haven (Continuous)

The base game starting tile. This tile has no effect.

T2. Ragnarök

End of Days (Continuous)

Between rounds, starting with 1st player, each player removes a tile until 6 tiles are removed. This happens after scoring. At the end of Round 2 the board will not be full.

T3. Yggdrasil

World Tree (Continuous)

Play 1 round instead of 2. Instead of drafting, at the beginning of your turn, look at the top 2 deck tiles and play 1 of them. Put the second tile on the bottom of the deck.

T4. Niflheim

Mist World (Continuous)

Flipping tiles from comparing numbers causes the flipped tile to also compare numbers. (you can't re-use abilities) A tile can't compare numbers more than once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I place Baenvier on a square that is being affected by Pyromancer's Hot Spot ability?

A: No, Baenvier's effect does not happen until he is on the field and Hot Spot does not let him place there in the first place. Since it does not happen until he is on the field, this also means his ability does not affect flipping, so he could not flip Titan, for example.

Q: Can I use a tile moving ability like Tanis' Casting Call to create a situation where there is a tile that is not connected to any other tile?

A: No. Any ability that moves tiles must leave all tiles connected (not diagonally) at the end of the effect. If there is no legal space to do this, then the effect doesn't work.

Q: Does Commander's "Force Their Hand" ability allow me to choose whether or not an optional ability is used?

A: No, it just forces the opponent to play a specific tile. It does not let the player decide if the opponent has to use an ability or not.

Q: If I use Conjuror's "Summon Aid" ability, do I get to use that tile's effects?

A: Yes, the chosen tile acts as if you had just played it from your hand, so you get any relevant effects from that tile.

Q: How are Changeling's numbers positioned when it copies a tile?

A: Changeling copies numbers on a tile as if it were played straight up. If the number under a tile's text is 3, then the number under Changeling's text will also be 3, regardless of its orientation. If placed next to Baenvier, Changeling's numbers are 0. If Baenvier is placed next to it, copied numbers are kept.

Tiles and Abilities

Heroes have ability reminders, shown by text at the bottom of the tile. The bottom left has a number that corresponds to the numbers in this section. The top right has a sun or moon to indicate red or blue color. On the right next to the name, an icon indicates the type of effect the tile has. Effects on tiles that say "may" are a reminder that the ability is optional.

The four effect-type icons used on the tiles are: Optional (a question mark), Mandatory (a download-style arrow), Continuous (a circular arrow), and End of Round (a star).

1. Knight

Battle Ready (Mandatory)

No ability, but is a very well-rounded tile in terms of numbers.

2. Archer

Longshot (Mandatory)

Instead of comparing its numbers with adjacent tiles, the Archer can only compare numbers on tiles that are 2 tiles away.

3. Trickster

Befuddle (Optional)

When you play Trickster, you may rotate 1 adjacent tile of any color in 90 degree increments as many times as you want.

4. Mage

Magic Spark (Optional)

In 1 direction, Mage compares numbers with any 1 tile in that direction rather than the adjacent tile in that direction (ignoring gaps). You still compare other numbers normally.

5. Thief

Pickpocket (Optional)

When you play Thief, you may take a tile in your hand and switch it with a tile in your opponent's hand of your choice.

6. Assassin

Assassinate (Optional)

When you play Assassin, you may switch places with an adjacent enemy tile, maintaining orientation. After this, the Assassin compares numbers in the new position.

7. Trader

Swap Meet (Optional)

When you play Trader, switch the positions of any 2 adjacent tiles of any color while maintaining their orientation (if only 1 adjacent tile, you can't use this ability).

8. Necromancer

Enfeeble (Continuous)

While this tile is on the playing field, all numbers on adjacent tiles of any color are reduced by 1 (numbers cannot go below 0).

9. Priest

Sanctuary (Continuous)

This tile cannot be affected by any ability, including Baenvier's.

10. Bard

Rousing Performance (Optional)

Choose 1 tile Bard flips after comparing numbers. Use that new tile to compare numbers and flip again, ignoring abilities of the new tile.

11. Alchemist

Equivalent Exchange (Mandatory)

When comparing numbers upon playing this tile, flip on equal numbers instead of having a higher number.

12. Wizard

Cantrip (Optional)

If this tile flips another tile, you may move that tile to an empty space adjacent to the Magician. You may only move 1 tile that the Wizard flips.

13. Dealer

Supply (End of Round)

At the end of the round in which this tile is played, gain one extra point for each adjacent allied tile.

14. Squire

Serve and Protect (Optional)

When you play Squire, switch places with an adjacent ally tile, maintaining orientation. After this, the Squire compares numbers in the new position.

15. Barbarian

Primal Rage (Mandatory)

Can only flip one tile.

16. Conjuror

Summon Aid (Optional)

Look at the top 3 cards of the draft deck, and play one of those in Conjuror's place. Put the other two at the bottom of the deck, in any order. Discard Conjuror afterwards.

17. Valkyrie

Chosen Ones (End of Round)

At the end of the round in which Valkyrie is played, tiles adjacent to Valkyrie give one additional point to that tile's controller.

18. Viking

Loot and Plunder (Optional)

When comparing numbers upon playing Viking, enemy tiles get -1 to their numbers.

19. Siren

Melodic Demise (Optional)

When you play Siren, pull one tile any number of spaces in a row or column next to Siren, you can ignore other tiles and gaps.

20. Captain

By Your Powers Combined (Continuous)

Captain gets +1 to all numbers for each adjacent ally tile.

21. Titan

Unflippable (Continuous)

Titan cannot be flipped by any means.

22. Fool

Flippant (Mandatory)

The Fool doesn't compare numbers. When played, randomly choose an adjacent tile. This tile is flipped, regardless of color.

23. Dancer

Spin Me Right Round (Optional)

Rotate a tile 2 tiles away, ignoring gaps. You may compare numbers with that tile this turn instead of normally in that direction. You still compare other numbers normally.

24. Merchant

Demand (End of Round)

At the end of the round in which this tile is played, its controller gains one extra point for each adjacent enemy tile.

25. Pyromancer

Hot Spot (Optional)

When played, pick an adjacent empty space. Tiles can't be placed here on your or your opponent's next turn. If the opponent has 1 tile left, they may place in this space.

26. Changeling

Mimic (Continuous)

When you play Changeling, choose an adjacent tile, regardless of color. This tiles' numbers become the same as that tiles' current ones.

27. Noble

Deep Pockets (End of Round)

Noble is worth 2 points at the end of the round in which this tile is played for its controller.

28. Innkeeper

Room for Rent (Optional)

When Innkeeper is played, moves any adjacent tile to an empty space adjacent to Innkeeper.

29. Ranger

Loner (Continuous)

Ranger gets -1 to all numbers for each adjacent tile, regardless of color. This includes terrain tiles.

30. Commander

Force Their Hand (Optional)

When you play Commander, choose a tile from your opponent's hand of your choice. They have to play that tile on the next turn.

31. Paladin

Bolster (Continuous)

While this tile is on the playing field, all numbers on adjacent tiles of any color are increased by 1.

32. Fairy

Diminuitive (Continuous)

When numbers are compared against Fairy, reduce that number by 2 during comparing.

33. Beggar

Got Some Change? (End of Round)

At the end of round in which Beggar is played, the controller's opponent gets -2 points.

34. Monk

Hardy (Continuous)

When numbers are compared against Monk, increase Monk's numbers by 2 during comparing.

35. Dragon

Terrorize (Optional)

When you play Dragon, all tiles adjacent to Dragon are moved clockwise into a new space, maintaining orientation.

36. Roc

Divebomb (Optional)

When you play Roc, choose any enemy tile and flip it. Roc does not compare numbers.

37. Tactician

Restructure (Optional)

When you play Tactician, choose any other ally tile in play. Move it adjacent to any tile, maintaining orientation. All tiles must be connected after this ability resolves.

38. Duelist

Spinning Slash (Optional)

When you play Duelist, rotate all adjacent tiles to Duelist 90 degrees either all clockwise or all counter-clockwise.

39. Seer

Visionary (Optional)

When you play Seer, choose any other enemy tile in play. Move it adjacent to any tile, maintaining orientation. All tiles must be connected after this resolves.

40. Spy

Cloak and Dagger (Optional)

When you play Spy, swap the places of Spy and another ally tile, maintaining orientation.

41. Cadenza

Stun Immunity (Continuous)

Cadenza cannot be moved. This includes pushing, pulling, and switching.

42. Shekhtur

Unleashed Dash (Optional)

When a tile is played adjacent to Shekhtur, you may move Shekhtur to an adjacent open space next to a tile. This happens before numbers are compared.

43. Simon

The Butler Did It (Mandatory)

Simon does not compare numbers as normal. When you place Simon, flip all tiles adjacent to Simon, regardless of color.

44. Tanis

Casting Call (Optional)

When you play Tanis, choose any other tile in play. Move it adjacent to any other tile, in any orientation. All tiles must be connected after this ability resolves.

45. King Alexian XXXVII

Good to be King (Mandatory)

After comparing numbers upon playing King Alexian, flip King Alexian.

46. Hikaru

Elemental Clash (Optional)

When you play Hikaru, move the terrain tile adjacent to any other tile. This bypasses the normal Terrain rules. All tiles must be connected after this ability resolves.

47. Rukyuk

Double Tap (Optional)

In one direction you may compare your number with the first 2 tiles in that direction rather than just the first tile. Skip the comparing numbers step.

48. Borneo

Penguin Power (Optional)

When you play Borneo, choose any tile and flip it. Your opponent does the same after you but can't pick the tile you chose. Skip the comparing numbers step.

49. Baenvier

Skill Drain (Continuous)

Tiles adjacent to Baenvier lose abilities. This also works for on placement abilities if you place next to Baenvier, but not when placing him. This ability is always in effect.

50. Khadath

Gate Trap (Optional)

Choose a blank space adjacent to Khadath, your opponent must play there on their next turn.