Spire's End
Spire's End Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Navigation
Your expedition into the spire is transcribed on this deck of cards. They are in numerical order. To progress, you simply reveal the cards like pages in a book. Navigational prompts will be highlighted in RED to guide you.
Reveal: This prompt will instruct you to advance to the next indicated card number.
For example, if you are on card #10 and it states Reveal Card 20 you must advance to that card. Any card in between must be removed from the game. These cards are flashes of alternate realities that are not meant to be.
Discard Pile: This is where you place cards you HAVE experienced. You can revisit these at any time. They are your memories to hold and to reference. They may come in handy as you proceed.
Pull: On occasion you will be asked to "pull" a card. In these cases, you will reveal a card out of sequence without advancing from your current card.
If there are no advancement instructions on a card, move on to the next numerical card when it's time. You will know when.
Once your journey begins do not reveal or shuffle any cards without specific instruction to do so. Such insight into the future will drive you mad. The mind is a frail thing that cannot handle the harsh realities of a rip in the space-time continuum.
Ally Selection & Set Up
There are 7 of you now. Seven of five hundred and eighteen souls. Be it divine intervention, or fool's luck, who knows? What I do know is that each of you will serve a purpose. Follow these steps carefully.
- Shuffle the 7 Ally Cards.
- After you feel good about fate's course, Reveal 2 Allies.
Place those two in front of you. These are your starting Allies. You can only use two Allies at a time. All interactions, scenarios, combat, or anything else you encounter will be with these two characters until they die. We will cover the unpleastries of death a bit later. For now, let's take a moment to identify the different kinds of cards and components.
Components & Play Field
- A Ally Deck
- B Story Deck
- C Discard Pile
- D Action Deck
- E HP Cubes
- F AP Cubes
- G Ally #1
- H Ally #2
- I Dice (3)
- J Key Dice (4)
Play Field: Active Story Card(s) go here.
Ally Card Anatomy
- Rest & Boost Meters
- Hit Point Threshold (HP)
- Armor Point Threshold (AP)
- Hit Point Cubes
- Armor Point Cubes
- Recoup Bar
- Attack Bars
- Death Bar
- Status Effects
Hit Point & Armor Point Cubes
After drawing your 2 starting Allies, locate their Hit Point & Armor Point Thresholds. These are their starting points for HP & AP which will be represented by Cubes. Allies cannot exceed their thresholds.
Place the indicated number of Hit Points & Armor Points next to your starting Allies.
In the Ally Card above, you would place 5 HP Cubes and 2 AP Cubes.
Hit Points: are your Allies' life/energy. They are spent to perform actions. If an Ally runs out of HP, they die.
Armor Points: are your Allies' physical protection. Armor takes damage until it's depleted. If you run out of AP, damage is then taken from HP.
Step 1: Actions
An Ally's turn in combat consists of three steps: Actions, Recoup & Upkeep. Ally #1 must complete these three steps before Ally #2 does.
Actions: are options you have available during combat to deal damage, heal and perform special abilities.
In Step 1, an Ally has the option to perform 1 Action per turn. Actions are performed by spending HP (Hit Point Cubes). Actions are indicated by the red bars on the bottom half of your Ally cards. The number on the far left of each bar is the HP cost for these Actions (see example below).
Action Steps: 1) Choose an Action. 2) Pay the HP. 3) Roll 1D8 (eight sided die). 4) Perform the results.
Action Bar Example
Reading left to right: HP Cost — Back Hand (1) — Roll Numbers 4-6 → Action Result (Damage Dealt) 1 — 7 → 2 — 8 → 3 — Kickback (circled).
Example: You roll 3 — DMG: 0 Example: You roll a 5 — DMG: 1 damage to an Enemy
If any action result contains a boxed letter (A through H), it has triggered a Status Effect. (See Status Effects on Instruction Card 6).
Kickbacks
There will be times you get bonuses off lucky rolls called Kickbacks! In the action bar example above the Kickback is circled. If you had rolled an 8 you would do 3 DMG and receive 1 HP Kickback to give to an Ally.
Kickback Icons: Hit Points (drop icon) / Armor Points (shield icon) / 1 drop = 1 HP / 2 drops = 2 HP
Step 2: Recoup
Recoup: is a chance for an Ally to recover, heal or undo unwanted Status Effects after his or her Actions.
In Step 2, an Ally has the option to perform 1 Recoup roll per turn. There is no HP cost for Recoup. The Recoup bar is located directly above the red Action bars. BE AWARE, an Ally can give points gained to another Ally but they CANNOT be split up.
Steps: 1) Choose a Recoup. 2) Roll 1D8. 3) Perform results.
Recoup Bar Example
Reading left to right: Heal — Roll Numbers 4-6 → 1, 7 → 2, 8 → 3 — Cleanse (5-8, circled).
Example: You roll a 7 — Heal: +2 HP to an Ally Example: You roll 6 — Remove 1 Status Effect
Rest & Boost Meters
Rest: is an option to get more HP out of your Recoup roll. If you skip your Action you can elect to Rest. During Recoup/Heal, Rest will add +1 HP (first turn), +2 HP (second turn), +3 HP (third turn) to your Recoup/Heal result. Keep track of your consecutive Rest count with the Rest Meter (top right of the Ally Card).
The Rest Meter resets if you perform an Action, or after 3 Rests. Be Warned! If you roll a 1, Rest fails and the meter is cleared.
Boost: During Recoup, you may receive more Hit/Armor Points than you can use due to the threshold limit. In these cases, place the extra HP or AP Point Trackers in the Boost Meter, also located at the top right of the Ally Card. Once you have the meter filled you can spend it for Strength (1 turn).
Meter - Powering Up: the meter has 3 slots. It fills left to right as Boost points are added; once full (all 3 slots filled) it can be spent for Strength.
Step 3: Upkeep
During combat you can be stunned, burned, or healed, to name a few. All of these affect you differently. At the end of each Ally's turn, you keep track of these effects with Cubes.
Upkeep: managing Status Effects on an Ally.
To understand Upkeep, you will need to learn the basics of Status Effects.
Status Effects: are temporary modifiers on a character.
Status Effects Example
Status Effects can affect you positively or negatively. Let's look at the Status Effects Glossary. Keep this card close during combat for reference.
Pull Instruction Card 11
Here are 2 common examples that come into play often.
Regen (circled clock icon) — Effect: +1 HP on target. Bleed (three circled clock icons) — Effect: -1 HP on target.
Notice that both Status Effects above have this icon (circled clock) listed after them. This tells you how many subsequent turns the effect lasts. If the icon is not listed the effect is triggered immediately. If it's listed once it occurs the next turn.
If you suffer Bleed (three clocks), you will place 3 Cubes on that Ally. That character will have Bleed for 3 turns.
During Upkeep, remove 1 Cube per turn. Since Bleed's effect is -1 HP on your target, you will remove 1 HP from that Ally. This will continue until all the Cubes have been removed. In this case, the effect lasts three turns. If you suffer Bleed again and you still have previous Bleed Cubes, add the new ones to the existing amount.
There is no limit to the number of Status Effects you can have. All Status Effects are removed once the fight has ended.
Enemy Combat
Step 1: Action
Your Enemies will follow the same 3 steps: Action, Recoup, Upkeep. You will act for the enemy during their turn.
At the same time as the attack roll there must also be a Selection Roll (1D8) to determine WHO they attack. Use the Selection Roll any time you need to determine which Ally is affected during the course of the story.
Roll 1-4: Attack Ally 1 Roll 5-8: Attack Ally 2
Once this is determined, select an Action Card. It will determine what action they perform.
For example: If you reveal an Action Card with a 1, the Enemy performs Action Bar 1.
Proceed with this attack like you would an Ally's attack, but BE WARNED! Enemies DO NOT spend HP to perform attacks.
Step 2 & 3: Recoup/Status Effects
Recoup & Status Effects are performed the same as they are for Allies. Roll for Recoup, then tally up any Status Effects.
Damage and Healing Distribution
Damage taken goes through Armor Points, THEN Hit Points.
For example: If the Enemy hits an Ally for 5 DMG, and that Ally has 5 AP / 2 HP, the Ally would be left with 0 AP / 2 HP.
BE AWARE! You cannot split up HP, AP or DMG. If a character does 4 DMG, it goes to a single target. If a character heals, rests or rebuilds armor, those points apply to a single target as well.
Combat Review & Icons
Combat Round: Consists of Ally 1, Ally 2, and the Enemy completing their turns. The rounds continue until the Enemy dies, or all 7 of your Allies do.
Combat Round Flow
- Ally 1: Action → Recoup → Upkeep
- Ally 2: Action → Recoup → Upkeep
- Enemy: Selection Roll → Action → Recoup → Upkeep
There are a number of important icons associated with combat. Be sure to learn what each of them means.
Combat Icon Legend
- (!) This attack/ability is performed twice during one action.
- (cross/plus) This attack/ability affects all opposing targets in play.
- (circled dot) This attack/ability persists and is not removed until the end of an encounter or by other means (such as Cleanse).
- (circled clock) Represents how many subsequent turns the effect lasts. Example: Bleed with three clock icons indicates bleed lasts 3 turns.
- (star) Represents the number you roll. For example, if an attack does: DMG [star], and you roll 5, it would inflict 5 DMG.
Loot
During your adventures you may find items you can use. Some may bring good fortune; others may not.
Items are listed in black strips at the bottom of the story cards. When you get an item, choose an Ally to give it to. Then place the item under the Ally card, making sure the black strip is visible at the bottom.
Example: Millicent: The Silkweaver receives "The Cursed Key" ("Equip this Card, Reveal Card 12"), which is placed under her Ally card with the black strip ("Cursed Key") visible at the bottom.
Loot Types & Limitations
There are 2 types of loot items: Combat Items & Story Items. They can give you new actions and abilites during your journey. Story Items may have abilities, but they can also trigger events outside of combat.
Loot Limits (per Ally): Combat Items: 3 / Story Items: Unlimited
Each Ally can hold up to 3 Combat Items. Story Items are unlimited. If you have more Combat Items than your two Allies can use, set them aside. You still have these items. They may come into play outside of combat; you just can't use them in encounters.
BE WARNED! You cannot swap out Combat Items during encounters. Upon death, Items are passed on to the next Ally unless stated otherwise.
Death & Quick Start
Death. It happens to us all. When an Ally comes to their dramatic end, they will trigger a Death Move before you discard them.
Death Move: when an Ally dies they perform a Death Move indicated by a black action bar on the Ally card.
Death Bar Example
Death Move: Strength (three circled clock icons) on chosen target
In the example above, you would cast Strength (for 3 turns).
If an Ally dies during an encounter (and they will) a new Ally must take their place until all Allies have perished. Remember there are only 7 of you. Preserve yourselves as much as possible. Fate is not on your side.
Your journey ends when all of your Allies die or when your story comes to its natural conclusion (there are many). Most of them are grim.
Your progression is based on your choices. What you do matters. When your journey ends, have the courage to play it out again. Perhaps different choices will garner better results?
Quick Start
To quickly start a new game after your first playthrough follow these steps:
- Shuffle the Ally Cards then draw 2 Allies.
- Place the HP/AP Cubes for starting Allies.
- Start at Card 5...and you're off!
Co-Op
Try playing with someone else. During a 2 player game, each player controls an Ally. Take turns rolling for the enemy actions. You can also add a 3rd player to read the story and roll for the enemy.
It's time to head back to the Story Deck!
Status Effects Glossary
(Referenced from the Upkeep instructions above — Pull Instruction Card 11 to consult this glossary during combat.)
Positive Effects
- Bubble: +3 armor on target / Ignore ally armor threshold / Remove after the enemy's turn
- Encore: If an action misses, roll again / If you have (!!) only one missed roll can be rerolled
- Encourage: +1 attack DMG / If you have (!!) +1 on the highest roll
- Chant: Take 0 DMG from all attacks
- Cleanse: Remove 1 status effect on a target
- Luck: On an action, roll twice / Pick best roll / If you have (!!) roll three / Pick best two
- Pierce: Ignore armor on a target
- Rebuild: +1 armor
- Regen: +1 HP
- Strength: +1 on action roll / If you have (!!) +1 on the highest roll
- Surge: Additional 1 Action
Negative Effects
- Bleed: -1 HP per turn
- Confusion: Character attacks themself / 2 Action (no HP cost for action)
- Cripple: DMG output 50% less (round down)
- Dwindle: -1 attack DMG / If you have (!!) -1 on the highest roll
- Exhaustion: No recoup or rest / Clear rest meter
- Harvest: Take 1 HP from a target
- Hinder: -1 DMG per hinder amount, per turn (this effect persists until cleansed)
- Impaired Vision: -1 on next action roll / If you have (!!) -1 on the highest roll
- Intimidate: Force a 1 Action next turn
- Seduce: Take 1 armor from a target
- Snuff: -1 recoup roll
- Stun: No action next turn (can still perform recoup or rest)
- Turncoat: Force an ally to attack another ally, 2 Action (no HP cost for action)
Status Effects Tracker
If you are overwhelmed, you can use the Status Effects Tracker (Card 12). Assign a cube color to an Ally and mark the effect they have. There is room on each meter for both Allies and one Enemy.
Alternatively, you can track the status effect turns for a single character.