Super Fantasy: Ugly Snouts Assault
Super Fantasy: Ugly Snouts Assault Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Idea of the Game
- Components
- Game Setup
- Flow of the Game
- Actions
- Hero and Monster Facing
- Examples of Play
- Monster Phase
- Special Abilities
- Magic Items
- Small Finds
- Traps
- Status Effects: Frozen, Poisoned, and Stunned
- Experience
- Time to Play Super Fantasy!
- Solo Mode (1 Player)
- Ugly Master Mode (2 to 7 Players)
- Arena Mode
- Quick Reference
- Credits
Idea of the Game
A game of Super Fantasy pits you against a particular Mission chosen from the Mission Manual (the second volume included in the box) — set it aside for now.
A game is made up of a variable number of turns, divided into:
- Hero Phase: in this phase you use your Heroes, explore the dungeon, and kill Monsters;
- Monster Phase: in this phase the game truly comes to life — the Monsters move, attack you, and their reinforcements arrive in the dungeon.
Every mission has an objective shared by all players. If you manage to reach the objective before the turn limit shown by the Mission, you win. Otherwise the Monsters — the Ugly Snouts — have defeated you. The first part of the rulebook contains the general rules so you can start playing right away. In the last pages you'll find all the further details.
Components
Dungeon Stuff
- 3 Corridors — like Rooms, but narrow and long.
- 18 Doors
- 11 Rooms — big and roomy enough to make a nice studio apartment.
- 3 Big Rooms — like Rooms, but bigger. So big you could get lost in one!
- 3 Mini-Corridors
- 3 Levers
- 3 Tomes
- 1 Portal (back side)
- 1 Gap — Zur'ill says it's some kind of space-thingy!
- 2 Big Portals — big groups of us come through here!
- 1 Staircase — it's like a Corridor, but it goes up or down.
- 8 Traps — Dorbak made them all, the thick-headed one! There are 2 Iron Cages, 2 Falling Boulders, 2 Spike Pits and 2 Small Portals.
- 11 Sleeping Room tiles
- 3 Devastated Wall tiles
- 5 Locks
- 2 Braziers
- 2 Buttons
- 1 Statue
- 1 Hero Turn tile
- 1 End of Game tile
Ugly Snout Stuff
- 21 Ugly Snouts — all my Ugly Snout brothers, like me! 13 Ugly Snouts, 4 Big Grunts, 4 M.U.S.O.
- 3 Bosses — our great chiefs, who are also big and cunning. From left to right: Dorbak, Zur'ill, Tatanka.
- 1 Stud — Stud is Stud and he does STUD. STUD!
- 5 Big Cubs — every horde has its fierce beasts, and we have ours! From top to bottom: 2 Spiny Grunters, 1 Running Spider, 2 Stinky Things.
- 1 Turn Track board
- 1 End of Game tile
Hero Stuff
- 6 Dice — Action Dice
- 6 Columns
- 1 Fate Die
- 10 Barrels
- 3 Muri Devastati (Devastated Walls) — this is what happens when they shoot the walls.
- 30 Magic Items — everything shiny. We usually lock these away in chests!
- 15 Small Finds — everything shiny, but less so. We usually lock these away in barrels!
- 6 Hero Boards
- 6 Heroes — the 6 wretched, wicked Heroes who always come to beat us up!
- 36 Ability tiles — the super-mega-ultra powers of the Heroes, the ones they hit hard with!
- 4 Fate tiles
Tokens (99 total)
- 1 Fortress token
- 31 Shield Die tokens
- 24 Hit Point tokens
- 18 Wound tokens
- 6 Stunned tokens
- 6 Frozen tokens
- 1 Target token
- 1 Wolf token
- 1 Mounted token
- 6 Poisoned tokens
- 4 Counterattack token
Other Components
- 8 Chests
- 54 Bases
- 24 Cylinders
Game Setup
Choose a Mission to play from the Mission Manual and rebuild the dungeon as shown on its Map. Then open the Bestiary page for the mission you chose: this page shows all the Monster statistics and must be consulted frequently during the game.
If the dungeon contains Traps, take all the Trap tiles, shuffle them, and form a face-down pile. Draw the ones you need without looking at them and place them at the points indicated on the mission map. You may put the remaining Traps back in the box without looking at them.
Once the dungeon is set up, take all the Magic Item tiles, shuffle them, and form a face-down pile that you place near the dungeon so it's easily reachable by all players. Do the same with the Small Find tiles.
Take all the Shield Die, Wound, Poisoned, Stunned, Frozen and Counterattack tokens, sort them by type, and put them near the dungeon so they're easily reachable by all players.
Take the Turn Track board and place it near the dungeon. Place the Hero Turn tile on space "1" and the End of Game tile on the space indicated by the Mission you chose.
Each player chooses one of the 6 available characters and:
- Takes the chosen Hero's board;
- Takes all Level II and Level III Ability tiles with the same name as the abilities already present on their character's board and places them face up, as shown in the example below;
- Takes 4 Cylinders and places one on the "0" of the experience bar and one on the red circle of each ability on the board;
- Takes as many Hit Point tokens as the character's life total (shown inside the heart drawn on the board) and places them on top of that heart;
- Takes their character figure and mounts it on one of the available bases.
Keep the Fate Die within reach and decide the turn order for the first Hero Phase. Line up at the entrance accordingly, placing the Heroes of the players who will go first in front and the Heroes of the last players behind. Each Hero token occupies exactly one space.
Planning
Many cursed Heroes waste time at the entrance to the dungeon. They look around, do things, study maps, argue with one another... The great chiefs say they are "planning a strategy." What this strategy actually is, I don't know, but those who use this great power usually end up destroying us, while the others never make it to the end of the dungeon. Don't use it! Please!
Flow of the Game
The game is divided into turns. Every turn begins with the Hero Phase, in which you may act and use your characters, and ends at the close of the Monster Phase.
Hero Phase
In every Hero Phase you must decide the turn order in which you'll activate your characters. Discuss among yourselves and decide who goes first. As soon as that player finishes their turn, they decide who goes second among the remaining players, and so on. The Hero Phase ends as soon as every player has taken their turn: no player may take two turns in a single Hero Phase. Turn order may change at every subsequent Hero Phase.
During their turn, each player has a Pool of 6 Action Dice with which to carry out one or more actions.
Action Dice
How do Action Dice work? They're more complicated than one of Tatanka's Traps! They have 6 faces, and each face shows a powerful glyph:
- This glyph is worth 1 (a single Sword).
- This glyph is worth 2 (a double Sword).
- This glyph represents the value of the character trait used by the action you're carrying out (a Star).
Example: you find a Door and want to break it down (Force). Confident in yourselves, you decide to roll 3 dice and get 2 Swords, 1 Sword, 1 Star. If your character is Zoe, the Star is worth 1 (Zoe has Force 1), and the roll totals 4 (2+1+1). That's a nice failure, and the Door stays where it is. If Zanvor had made the same roll, since his Force is 4, he would have gotten 7 — a success — and the Door would have burst open!
The possible actions are the following:
- Movement (page 6)
- Opening a Door (page 7)
- Breaking a Barrel (page 7)
- Picking a Chest (page 7)
- Attacking (page 8)
- Defending (page 9)
- Charging (page 9)
- Disarming Traps (page 9)
To carry out an action, the player declares which one they want to perform and how many dice from their Pool they want to roll. Once these dice are rolled they cannot be used for other actions during this turn. When there are no more dice left in a player's Pool, their turn is over. You may perform the same action multiple times in a turn, as long as you have Action Dice available.
Actions
1. Movement — Star = Speed
Moving around inside the dungeon is very simple! Roll as many dice as you want from your Pool: the result represents the maximum number of squares your Hero can move during this action. If any movement is left over at the end of your movement action, it is lost: you cannot bank movement from one action to use later. Some objects in the game block your path. During a movement action you cannot pass through:
- Doors: these must be broken down or picked before you can proceed further — you'll learn how on the next page.
- Monsters: they all have a Block Zone with which they block Heroes' movement (see below).
- Heroes: plan your movements carefully so you don't get stuck inside Rooms.
- Furniture: all the objects illustrated alongside.
- Objects: all wooden objects such as Columns, Chests, Barrels.
Everything else — Levers, skulls, pitchforks, bones and the like — does not block passage.
Monsters: Block Zones
All Ugly Snouts have a Block Zone made up of the 8 squares adjacent to them (10 squares for Big Monsters). If you pass through a Block Zone you must immediately stop your Movement, losing all remaining movement. If you're inside a Block Zone you cannot activate Movement actions to escape. Some Heroes have Special Abilities that ignore Block Zones. If the Ability is active, that character may move freely without regard for the Monsters' Block Zones.
Doors block Block Zones.
2. Opening a Door — Star = Force / Cunning
All Doors in the dungeon are locked and prevent Heroes from proceeding further. Whenever you encounter a Door you may try to open it in two ways:
- Picking it: a little cunning never hurts (the Star is worth Cunning);
- Breaking it down: a little brute force always helps (the Star is worth Force).
To open a Door you must be in one of the 4 squares directly adjacent to it — you cannot do so from a diagonal square. Declare whether you intend to pick or break it down, then choose how many dice to roll from your Pool and make a Test of Force or Cunning. If you get at least 6, the Door is open: you may take the Door and remove it from the game. You may be wondering whether you can close Doors again — the answer is no: once opened, Doors stay open. Our Heroes aren't polite (or clever) enough to close them behind themselves.
Note: picking a Door does not wake the Monsters inside the Room. Breaking a Door down, however, draws their attention and wakes them. See page 10 for details.
3. Breaking a Barrel — Star = Force
If you've been paying attention, you'll have discovered that the Ugly Snouts hide Small Finds inside barrels scattered around the dungeon. To take a Small Find you must break open the barrel containing it. Move to a square adjacent to the barrel, even diagonally, and make a Test of Force. If you get at least 6, the barrel is broken. Draw a random Small Find and place it face up inside the backpack on the character's board. The backpack can hold up to 2 Small Finds.
For full details on how Small Finds work, see page 16.
4. Picking a Chest — Star = Cunning
If you've been paying even closer attention, you'll have discovered that the Ugly Snouts hide Magic Items inside chests placed at strategic points in the dungeon.
To take Magic Items you must pick the chest containing them. It is not possible to break it open! Move to a square adjacent to the chest, even diagonally, and make a Test of Cunning. If you get at least 6, the chest is picked. Draw a random Magic Item: you may equip it, put it in your backpack if it's empty, or discard it.
For full details on how Magic Items work, see page 15.
Hero and Monster Facing
While you move Heroes and Monsters around the dungeon you must always keep track of their facing: it's important to know which sides are the back and the front of every Ugly Snout and every Hero. Of the 8 squares around them, 5 are considered frontal (in green) and 3 are behind them (in red). Some Magic Items and Special Abilities require the target to be behind the character during an attack. Every time you perform an action, the target must be inside one of your frontal squares. Turning a Hero to face a new direction is always allowed on your turn and costs no actions. When Monsters move, they always turn to face the nearest Hero, or whichever Hero they intend to attack, trying to expose their back to as few Heroes as possible.
5. Attacking — Star = Force / Aim / Magic
At last we come to combat! Obviously in Super Fantasy you can — indeed, you must — attack the Ugly Snouts. To attack any target you must:
1. Choose the weapon you're attacking with
It's important to declare which weapon you're using for the attack. The weapon type also determines the type of attack you're making and which trait you'll use as the Star. There are 3 types of attack:
- Melee Attack — All weapons with Force as their trait make melee attacks. The range shown on melee weapons is always 1.
- Ranged Attack — All weapons with Aim as their trait make ranged attacks. The range shown on ranged weapons can be 2 or 3.
- Magic Attack — All weapons with Magic as their trait make magic attacks. The range shown on magic weapons can be 1, 2 or 3.
2. Declare the target of the attack
Choose your target carefully based on your weapon's range (see Range, page 16), its Protection, and how many Action Dice you still have left in your Pool.
3. Check the weapon's bonuses
Check the bonuses on the weapon you're using. Some weapons might give you a bonus to the Attack (example: Attack +2), or might let you recover some Action Dice. For more information on Magic Item effects, see page 15.
4. Roll the dice
Choose how many Action Dice to roll and make the Attack. To hit the Monster you must reach at least its Protection value. Every Monster has its own specific value, listed in the Bestiary of the Mission you're playing.
If you reach its Protection, you inflict 1 Wound on the Monster. If the Monster reaches 0 Hit Points, remove its token from the dungeon. Otherwise mark the Wound by placing a Wound token near the Monster. If you don't reach its Protection, your attack has failed.
6. Defending — Star = Defense
Every so often you'll also need to think about defending yourself against the Ugly Snouts' attacks. By default every Hero is automatically hit by the Ugly Snouts: if you don't defend, and have no armor or shields, every Ugly Snout attack inflicts 1 Wound. During your turn you may choose to set some of your Action Dice aside for the Monster Phase. For every die you choose to set aside for this action, take 1 Shield Die token and place it on the shield in the upper right of your character board. More information on how Defense works is on page 11.
7. Charging — Star = Magic
You may gather your inner energy to charge one of your Hero's Special Abilities. Decide how many Action Dice to use from your Pool and roll them. Increase the energy level of one Special Ability by as many spaces as your roll result. Note: you may only charge one ability at a time. If you have excess spaces because the ability has already reached its maximum charge, the extra spaces are lost! In this action too, the Star adds an extra level of charge. For more information on Special Abilities, see page 13.
8. Disarming Traps — Star = Cunning
During your explorations you might run into some Trap placed by the Ugly Snout Bosses. In these cases you have two options: trigger it (by opening the Chest, opening the Door, or stepping on it) or try to disarm it. Move to a square adjacent to the Trap and make a Test of Cunning. If you get at least 6, the Trap is disarmed. You may take the tile and discard it without applying its effects. For details on how Traps work, see page 17.
The Power of the Star
During the long summer nights, Zur'ill loves telling the story of the Power of the Star to all the little Ugly Snouts. It seems these stories entertain them a great deal (I'm talking about Zur'ill and Tatanka, not the little ones, who instead cower for hours on end in their tents, scared and alarmed).
To keep it short, you fearless Heroes have the Power of the Star, which gives energy to your super-mega powers — the ones you usually beat the stuffing out of us with.
Every time you roll a Star in any Test (Movement, Attack, Picking, etc.) you increase one of your Abilities' energy by one space. If the Stars are with you, nothing can stop you — except Tatanka, Zur'ill, or Dorbak.
So it's not a given that charging is worth it!
Examples of Play
Movement example: Luckylock is ready to move. With his roll he gets 5 and decides to move 3 squares horizontally and 1 diagonally, arriving in front of a Door. He'd like to keep moving, but the Door is in the way: he decides not to use the last point of movement he has left and stops in front of the Door.
Opening a Door example: Helena and Barka are stuck in front of a Door. Helena decides to pick it. She rolls 2 dice and gets 2 Swords and 1 Star. The total is 4 (Helena has Cunning 2) — a failure! Barka, tired of waiting, decides to break the Door down with a shoulder charge. He rolls 2 dice and gets 2 Stars, for a total of 6 (Barka has Force 3). The Door is open!
Breaking a Barrel example: Luckylock is in front of a Barrel, ready to recover a Small Find. Confident in his Force, he rolls 3 dice and gets 1 Star and 4 Swords. With Force 3, the roll totals 7. He removes the Barrel from the game and draws a Small Find, finding a very useful Healing Potion. On the other side of the Room, Yang-Ping is trying to pick a Chest. He rolls 4 dice and gets 4 Swords and 1 Star in total. With Cunning 3, the total is 7: the chest is opened. He draws a Magic Item and finds a new Magic Staff to add to his equipment.
Block Zone example: the Ugly Snout's Block Zone is highlighted in red. Zoe (GREEN) is inside it and cannot move. Helena (BROWN) can reach at most the squares marked "A", regardless of the result she gets on the dice. Yang-Ping (DARK BLUE) cannot reach the corridor: he would be stuck at "B" unless he uses his Shadow Step ability.
Attack example: Helena is in a tough spot: an Ugly Snout is fighting her in melee while a Big Grunt watches from a distance. Barka, meanwhile, has stayed in the other Room, pining over a photo of his dear mommy.
Helena has 6 dice available. She decides to use 2 of them to make an attack with her Hunting Knife, which has range 1. She rolls the dice and gets 2 Swords and 1 Star. It's a Melee Attack, so the Star is worth her Force, which is 2. The total attack is 4. The Ugly Snout has Protection 4: it takes 1 Wound and dies. Since she still has 4 Action Dice left in her Pool, Helena decides to try her luck attacking the Big Grunt, who has Protection 9, with her Composite Bow! She decides to use all her dice and gets 3 Swords total and 1 Star. It's a Ranged Attack, so the Star is worth her Aim, which is 4. The total is 7. Unfortunately she has missed the Big Grunt, and her turn is over!
Defending example: It's the Ugly Snouts' turn to attack our brave Heroes, and things are getting hot. We start with the one closest, "A", who is in melee with Barka. The Ugly Snout in this mission has an Attack of 2 and decides to use it. Barka has 3 Shield Dice for Protection and decides to use 2 to defend. He rolls and gets 2 Swords and 1 Star: a total of 5! The Ugly Snout rolls for its Attack and gets 3 Swords. Barka has parried the blow, and thanks to the Star rolled, he has also charged a Special Ability by 1 level.
We move on to Ugly Snout "B", who is not in melee. It must choose to move toward the nearest target, and the choice is simple: Barka is at distance 1 while Luckylock is at distance 2. Move the Ugly Snout's token one square toward Barka. The Ugly Snout now makes its Attack. Barka still has 1 Shield Die and uses it, but only gets 2, while the Ugly Snout gets 2 as well: Barka is hit and takes 1 Wound.
Finally, the Big Grunt "C" is undecided: Barka or Zoe? Both are at the same distance. Roll the Fate Die, but the result is black: neither Hero is that color. Check the Big Grunt's Behavior and discover it prefers to attack innocent young girls: from left to right, green (Zoe) comes before red (Barka). Move the Big Grunt into melee with Zoe, who has no Shield Dice! The blow lands: 1 Wound for Zoe.
Special Ability example: It's Barka's turn and things in the dungeon are heating up. The Warrior decides to use his War Cry on the Big Grunt in the Room to force it to attack him. He discharges the ability's energy level down to the red circle (yellow arrow). Then he uses 1 die to move and get closer to the M.U.S.O. He rolls a Star! He moves and charges his Brutal Assault ability by one level (green arrow) — exactly what he needed to be able to use it. He discharges the Brutal Assault ability (blue arrow) to finish his movement adjacent to the M.U.S.O. and attack it with a bonus of +3 to the Attack. He rolls the Action Dice and gets a total of 4+3=7, but it isn't enough!
Monster Phase
Once all players have carried out their actions, it's time for the Ugly Snouts to enter the scene!
The Monster Phase is made up of 4 steps carried out in order:
- Wake the Rooms — check whether Sleeping Rooms activate.
- New Monsters Appear — reinforcements arrive from the Portals.
- Movement and Attack — the Monsters move and attack.
- Clean Up Tokens — remove tokens that are no longer useful.
1. Wake the Rooms
Sleeping Rooms
Zzzzz... Eh! What? Heroes? Where? I was WIDE awake! Sleeping Rooms? Simple! Not all the Rooms in the dungeon are active. Standing there waiting for you makes us sleepy, and we usually doze off. All Rooms marked with a Sleeping token are not considered in play. The Monsters in these Rooms do not act during the Monster Phase — they're asleep: try not to wake them all at once!
Normally, at the start of the game almost all the dungeon's Rooms are asleep. A Sleeping Room is activated FOR CERTAIN if at least one Hero has entered the Room, if the Heroes broke down one of the Room's Doors during the previous phase, or if Luckylock broke through one of the Room's walls with his Special Ability. The noise of combat in nearby Rooms MAY wake a Room: roll the Fate Die for every adjacent Sleeping Room communicating with a Room where you wounded at least one Monster during the previous Hero Phase. If the symbol rolled on the die matches the Wake-Up icon of at least one Monster inside the Room, remove the Sleeping Room token: all Monsters present are now considered active.
Big Monsters
All Big Cubs, Studs and Bosses are so big they take up a lot of space: a full 2 squares! To move, they must always have a corridor of at least two free squares. They also have a wider Block Zone (10 squares), and therefore a wider front and back, as shown in the example below.
2. New Monsters Appear
In all Super Fantasy dungeons there are Ugly-Snout-Journey Portals like the one pictured alongside. You must check how many reinforcements will arrive for the Ugly Snouts: for each Portal, roll the Fate Die and compare the result to the table for the Mission you're playing. The number represents how many Ugly Snouts appear from the Portal. Take the Ugly Snouts and place them on the Portal starting from the top-left square and continuing clockwise. If there are no Ugly Snouts available (i.e. they're all already in the dungeon) or the Portal is full, no further reinforcements appear.
Ugly Snouts that emerge from the Portal are considered asleep only if they're inside Sleeping Rooms. If an active Monster enters a Sleeping Room, it wakes it immediately.
The Fate Die
Many times, while moving quickly through the dungeons, we find ourselves facing terrible dilemmas. Better to go right and face the big, tough one, or turn left and attack that harmless little girl? Many of us have died from indecision. But Zur'ill found the solution and gave us a quick tool for choosing where to go: the mighty Fate Die! Whenever you're unsure which Hero to attack or which Hero to move toward, roll the Fate Die and compare the color of the result to our possible targets. If the color rolled matches one of the Heroes, we'll move toward/attack that target. If instead the color doesn't match any of the Heroes, refer to our Behavior: we'll strike whichever is furthest to the left.
Reading a Monster Card
- Initiative: if several Monsters are the same distance away, they activate in ascending order of Initiative.
- Doors: indicates whether Doors block this Monster's movement.
- Wake-Up: this is the symbol that must come up on the Fate Die to wake the Monster.
- Behavior: the order of target preference for the Monster.
- Attack: how many Action Dice are rolled for the Monster.
- Protection: the Monster's total Protection.
- Star: the value of the Star when rolling the Monster's Action Dice.
- Life: how many Wounds the Monster can take.
- Steps: how many squares the Monster moves.
3. Movement and Attack
Every Monster present in an active Room moves the number of squares shown in its Movement value, using the shortest possible path. The Monsters closest to the Heroes move first, then the furthest ones. In case of a tie in distance, the Monster with the lowest Initiative value moves first. How do you choose the shortest path? Nothing easier! Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of the Monster you're moving, as if it were your own character, and try to bring it as close as possible to its target (the nearest Hero). If the Monster is the same distance from more than one target Hero, rely on the Fate Die to choose which Hero it will move toward. If the die is also inconclusive, follow the Monster's Behavior. If, after moving, the Monster has at least one Hero in its Block Zone, it attacks. All Monsters attack at range 1.
If the target Hero has no Shield Die tokens on their board: the attack is an automatic success. The player controlling the target Hero loses 1 Hit Point.
If the target Hero has at least 1 Shield Die token on their board: the player controlling the Hero must decide how many tokens to discard. Each discarded token corresponds to 1 Action Die the player may roll to defend. Having decided how many Action Dice to roll, the player makes the roll (the Star counts as Defense) and gets their Protection against this attack. Then the Monster's Action Dice are rolled to get its Attack value. If the Attack value equals or exceeds the Hero's Protection, the Hero is hit and loses 1 Hit Point (unless the Monster has particular Abilities). Otherwise the Hero has parried the blow.
An Appeal...
...from a poor Ugly Snout to brave Heroes such as yourselves. When the Monster Phase arrives, please don't switch off your brain like you do when you're watching a bad Movie at the cinema! We have our dignity too! Try to use us to the fullest: we'd rather move diagonally than in a Zig-Zag, and we love throwing ourselves into melee with as many Heroes as possible. If we're active, we like to run straight into the action and not stay alone in the dark corners of the dungeon. Put yourselves in our shoes: the better you play us, the more fun your game will be.
If a Hero Reaches 0 Hit Points
Have they died? No! Heroes never die: they simply take a break. Still, it's a point in favor of the Ugly Snouts. Move the End of Game token back one space on the Turn Track: now you have less time to finish your mission! Lay the Hero's figure down flat: this Hero is no longer a valid target for this Monster Phase.
4. Clean Up Tokens
Once all Monsters have moved, it's time to tidy up the tokens that are no longer needed. All players discard from their board any Shield Die tokens that went unused. Also discard the following tokens: Fortress, Wolf, Target, and all Monster Status tokens. All characters laid down during this Monster Phase stand back up and are ready for action: recharge all their Hit Points.
The Monster Phase is complete. You're ready to begin a new Hero Phase: move the Hero Turn token one space forward on the Turn Track. You have a little less time left to complete your mission.
Special Abilities
As we've seen, our Heroes have a set of Special Abilities they can use to gain bonuses during the mission. Every Hero starts with 3 basic Special Abilities described on their character board. Special Abilities can be activated during the Hero's turn only if the Ability's power level is at maximum — that is, if the token has reached the circle containing the Star. To activate it, discharge the Ability by moving the Cylinder back to the first level of power (the red one) and enjoy the described bonuses. All Special Abilities must be used before making the test/roll they grant a bonus to. You can use a Special Ability that doesn't require spending Action Dice even if you've exhausted your Pool (e.g. Instant Teleport).
Special Abilities charge passively during the game (every Star rolled on any dice roll raises the energy of one Special Ability of your choice by one level) or actively by using the Charging action. If a Special Ability refers to the Room you're in, use the dungeon tile you're currently on.
Below you'll find further details on the Special Abilities in case any doubts arise during the game.
Barka's Abilities (Warrior)
Brutal Assault — Barka assails an enemy with unbridled violence: this movement is free and does not require using Action Dice. Barka must Attack immediately after moving, but gets a bonus to the Attack.
War Cry — Barka lets out his battle cry: a mix between a roar and a string of insults about the Ugly Snouts' mothers. Gain Shield Die tokens for the next Monster Phase. At Level I, it forces a single Monster in the Room to attack him. During the Monster Phase, the target ignores the normal movement/attack rules, getting as close as possible to Barka and, if it can, attacking him. At Levels II and III the effect applies to every Monster present in the Room. Additionally, every Wound inflicted on Barka by a Monster under the effect of War Cry grants the Hero 1 Experience Point. Note: this only affects Monsters present in the Room when the Ability is used, not any new reinforcements.
Catapult Move — Thanks to his mechanical arm and powerful throwing strength, Barka can hurl Monsters across the Room, moving them up to 3 squares. Depending on the Ability's level, the Monster may destroy some objects it encounters along its path. If Chests or Barrels are smashed, Barka may draw the associated item. Every object destroyed this way is removed from the game.
Helena's Abilities (Hunter)
Spectral Wolf — Helena sends her faithful wolf to harass the target. As they say, a wolf latched onto your arm makes fighting harder! Mark a Monster up to 3 squares away with the Wolf token. During the next Monster Phase, that Monster suffers a penalty to its Attack. At Level III it also freezes the target (for statuses, see page 17). This Ability lasts until the end of the Monster Phase. Then the token is discarded.
Unerring Aim — Helena is able to focus all her attention on a single target. Mark a Monster up to 3 squares away with the Target token. As long as the Monster is marked, Helena gets a bonus to all Attacks made against that target during the Hero Phase. This Ability lasts until the end of the Monster Phase, when the token is discarded.
Elven Step — No one can move as nimbly and gracefully as an elf — well, sometimes Helena can too! Activate this Ability, and Helena may ignore Block Zones until the end of the turn. Furthermore, at Levels II and III she gets a bonus to Aim if she ends her movement outside any Block Zone. At Level III, she also recovers an Action Die: take back an already-used die and add it to your Pool for this Hero Phase.
Zanvor's Abilities (Duelist)
Blunt Bazooka — Zanvor may use his Blunt Bazooka if he's in melee with a single enemy. His next Melee Attack gains a bonus.
Dwarven Leap — Zanvor lunges at the enemy to engage in violent melee. The movement must end inside a Monster's Block Zone. At Levels II and III, the Hero gains a bonus to all attacks made against that Monster during the current Hero Phase.
No Tomorrow — Zanvor hurls himself at the enemy with homicidal fury and dwarven momentum. If his first attack hits, the enemy is so staggered that Zanvor may immediately make a second, free attack! The dice shown on the tile are extra: you may add other Action Dice or bonuses to this second attack.
Zoe's Abilities (Enchantress)
Arcane Power — Zoe can summon the ancient magic that surrounds the world around her. Using this Ability grants a bonus to the Attack she's making. At Level III it stuns the target (for statuses, see page 17).
Instant Teleport — Count to three, poof! We're somewhere else. Zoe can use this Ability to move around inside the Room. This movement does not count as Movement and ignores any Block Zone. At Levels II and III, the move may reach a Room adjacent to the one Zoe is in — in that case you may place the target wherever you like within the new Room.
Dark Knowledge — Dealing with magic means getting your hands dirty every now and then. Zoe can tap into dark knowledge to make it flow, automatically casting the spells contained in Tomes. When you activate this Ability at Level II, roll the Fate Die and you may recover an Action Die already used this turn and add it to your Pool for this Hero Phase. At Level III, besides recovering a die, you may also recover 1 lost Hit Point.
Yang-Ping's Abilities (Shadow)
Sneak Attack — Yang-Ping is as skilled a hunter as a cat (one time out of three). When you activate this power while behind an opponent, you get a bonus to the Attack. At Level III, his attack inflicts 2 Wounds instead of 1. As you might be wondering: if Yang-Ping is equipped with a Magic Item able to inflict an additional Wound and activates this power, that's 3 Wounds total.
Shadow Step — His demonic half lets him become invisible for brief moments. By default, this Ability lets him move while ignoring Block Zones. At Levels II and III, he may also pass through squares occupied by Heroes, Monsters, and Doors.
Dance of Blades — Thanks to his human half, descended from an ancient line of ninjas, Yang-Ping can perform a dance of deadly strikes. All bonuses granted by this Ability are active as long as Yang-Ping remains adjacent to two or more Monsters. For example, if you're in melee with two Monsters and kill one of them, the bonuses are lost.
Luckylock's Abilities (Gunslinger)
Bullet Time — When things get dicey, time around Luckylock slows down, letting him move at breakneck speed and pull off incredible acrobatics. Luckylock moves several squares: this movement is free and does not require using Action Dice. If, at the end of the movement, Luckylock is not inside any Block Zone, he gains Shield Die tokens for the next Monster Phase. At Level III he also gets a bonus to Aim.
Relentless Barrage — Luckylock unleashes a barrage of shots throughout the Room (though the first one is just to get his bearings). All Attacks beyond the first gain a bonus. At Level III, Luckylock may choose to unload the entire barrage into a wall of the Room. If you choose this option, take a Devastated Wall tile (3 are available) and place it on a wall dividing the Room from an adjacent one. And there you go — so much for Doors!
Double Fire — Luckylock can fire with both pistols simultaneously. You may choose to hit a single Monster with a bonus to the Attack, or to attack two targets simultaneously. In this case, there is only one Attack roll: decide how many Action Dice to use and roll them. Apply any bonuses and compare the Attack result against the Protection of both your targets.
Magic Items
We've talked about how the game works, about Special Abilities, about the characters, about the Ugly Snouts... but we're still missing the Magic Items!
By picking chests, you can draw items to equip your character with. Every Magic Item tile is placed on one of the three equipment spaces on the Hero's board. You may hold at most 2 items in hand and 1 armor worn. If the space where you want to place the new Magic Item already holds another tile, you must discard the old one or move it temporarily into the backpack: the backpack can only hold a single Magic Item, and only if it's empty.
At the end of your turn you may freely swap the positions of your equipment, discard any of it, or pass a Magic Item to other Heroes present in your Room.
Base Items drawn on the character board are never lost, even when they become unusable because they're covered by a Magic Item.
There are three categories of Magic Items: Weapons, Armor/Shields, and Tomes.
Weapons
A weapon adds power to your attack and is characterized by a Position, a Trait, a Special Bonus, and a Range (see next page).
Armor/Shields
Armor and shields help your Hero protect themselves from attacks without spending Action Dice. The number shown on the Magic Item's shield icon represents how many Shield Die tokens to add to your board at the end of the turn. The difference between shields and armor is simple: the former take up a hand slot, the latter are worn.
Tomes
Tomes hold ancient and powerful spells. To use a Tome you must make a Test of Magic (the Star is worth Magic). Decide how many Action Dice to use and make the roll: if you get more than 6, the spell has been cast and you get the described Effects. The Tome's target must be within a maximum of three squares from the Hero, or the Hero themself.
Warning: Bonuses to Traits
Pay attention to Magic Items that grant bonuses to Traits. +1 to Force doesn't mean +1 to your Attack — it means your Force is worth 1 point more: the bonus becomes useful as soon as you roll a Star on the dice.
Reading a Magic Item — Weapons
- Trait: indicates the type of Attack (see page 8).
- Range: indicates the weapon's range.
- Position: indicates which equipment space the item will occupy on the board once equipped.
- Special Bonus: indicates any Special Bonuses you'll get by using this weapon in an Attack.
Reading a Magic Item — Armor/Shields
- Position: indicates which equipment space the item will occupy on the board once equipped.
- Special Bonus: indicates any Special Bonuses you'll get while wearing the armor.
- Shield Dice: indicates how many Shield Die tokens you may add to your board at the end of the Hero Phase.
Reading a Magic Item — Tomes
- Position: indicates which equipment space the item will occupy on the board once equipped.
- Effects: describes the effect the Tome will have once used.
Range — the Great Unknown
Every weapon in Super Fantasy has a Range value, which can be 1, 2, or 3. Depending on Range, the squares you can hit change, as shown in the example alongside. A Range-1 weapon can hit ONLY blue squares, a Range-2 weapon can hit ONLY yellow squares, and a Range-3 weapon can hit ONLY green squares.
To hit a Monster, you must have a valid path between your Hero and the target. A path is valid if it starts from your Hero's square and ends on the target's square, proceeding toward the target without doubling back, moving from range-band to range-band up to the target's range-band.
Let's use a Range-3 example: the first square must belong to Range 1, the second must belong to Range 2, and the third must belong to Range 3. The path may only be blocked by Doors and walls, while it may pass through Heroes, Monsters, Barrels, Chests, and any other furniture.
Magic Item Restrictions
Some Magic Items have particular restrictions. We list them here for convenience with a detailed description.
"X or more on the Attack" — the bonus activates only if the total result of your Attack is equal to X or higher.
"[Class Name]" — the bonus applies only if your Hero's class is the one indicated.
"X★ or more on the Attack" — the bonus applies only if there are at least X Stars in the roll.
"Magic Test" — the Effect activates only after successfully making a Magic Test. All Tomes have this restriction.
"Attack from Behind" — the bonus applies only if you're making your attack from behind the target (page 8).
"If you're in the Block Zone of a single Monster" — the bonus applies only if you're in the Block Zone of one Monster, i.e. if you're not adjacent to 2 or more Monsters.
Small Finds
Scattered throughout the dungeon's barrels, the Ugly Snouts are in the habit of hiding Small Finds. But what are they?
Small Finds are little accessories that may come in handy during your Mission. Once drawn from the pile, you may keep up to 2 of them in your Backpack. During your turn you may choose to discard a Small Find to get the effect described. Once discarded, the Small Find is no longer available and may be put back in the game's box.
As with Magic Items, at the end of your turn you may pass one or more Small Finds to other Heroes present in your Room.
Reading a Small Find
- Effects: describes the effect the Small Find will have once used.
Example — Thief's Glove: Add 4 to your next Picking roll.
Traps
An Ugly Snout dungeon isn't complete unless it's littered with dangerous Traps. During Mission setup you're asked to place the Trap tiles face down in the dungeon, usually beneath chests and Doors. If you open the Door or pick the chest without first disarming the Trap, it triggers: flip the Trap tile over and apply the described Effects. You may remove Traps through the Disarm Traps action (see page 9).
Iron Cage — As soon as it triggers, a giant metal cage drops from the ceiling to trap you. Place the Trap tile under the Hero who triggered it. This Hero can no longer move until they free themselves with a successful Test of Force (6 or higher). Other Heroes adjacent to the cage can make a Force Test to free the unlucky Hero. Zoe's Instant Teleport frees the Hero immediately without making a test.
Falling Boulder — Ugly Snouts love boulders falling from the ceiling, and Tatanka likes to scatter them all over the dungeons. If you have Action Dice available in your Pool you may use them to avoid the boulder with a Test of Speed. If you get 6 or more, the boulder is avoided and the Trap has no effect. Otherwise, roll the Fate Die: with Lightning nothing happens to your Hero, with Drop the Hero takes 2 Wounds, and with Skull the Hero takes 3 Wounds.
Small Portal — Zur'ill lent a hand inventing this Trap. If it triggers, place it on a free square adjacent to the Hero and place an Ugly Snout on top of it (if one is available). If possible, place it adjacent to more than one Hero. This Small Portal summons an Ugly Snout during the Monster Phase, exactly as the other Small Portals.
Spike Pit — A nice pit full of spears opens up beneath the unlucky Hero — nothing simpler! Place the Trap under the Hero. That character takes 1 Wound and falls into the pit. They cannot move until they climb out by rolling a Speed Test (at least 6 to get out). Anyone who passes through or is pushed into an open Spike Pit suffers the same effects. Remember: Monsters aren't stupid. They won't spontaneously walk onto open Spike Pits (treat them as movement obstacles), and if they have Special Abilities that can push you, they'll always try to throw you into a Spike Pit.
Status Effects: Frozen, Poisoned, and Stunned
Browsing through Special Abilities, Magic Items, and Small Finds you'll surely have come across the words Frozen, Poisoned, and Stunned. These are statuses that affect a target and can be inflicted on both Monsters and Heroes. If you inflict a negative status on a Monster, place the matching token near the Monster's figure. If a Hero suffers a negative status, place the token on the heart of the Hero's board.
Monster Statuses
Stunned — During the next Monster Phase, this Monster attacks with 1 fewer die and moves 1 fewer square. Remove the token at the end of the Monster Phase.
Frozen — During the next Monster Phase, this Monster suffers -4 to Protection and moves 2 fewer squares. Remove the token at the end of the Monster Phase.
Hero Statuses
Stunned — During the next Hero Phase, the Hero has only 3 Action Dice available instead of 6. Remove the token at the end of the Hero Phase.
Frozen — The Hero is trapped inside an iceberg and cannot move! To free themselves they must make a Test of Force and get at least 6. Other Heroes adjacent to them may make the Test to break the iceberg and free their companion. Once destroyed, remove the Frozen token.
Poisoned — The Hero is Poisoned. At the start of that player's turn, roll the Fate Die: with Lightning nothing happens, with Drop the Hero takes 1 Wound, with Skull the Hero is healed and you may remove the Poisoned token.
Experience
We saved the most important part of the manual for last: Experience! Naturally, our Heroes will earn Experience Points by killing Monsters and exploring the dungeon, which they'll use to improve their Special Abilities and increase their power.
The bar at the top of your character board represents your Experience, and the token on it shows your current level. All Heroes start at level "0" and aim to reach, if possible, level "6".
Every time you succeed at one of the following actions, you gain 1 Experience Point, i.e. you move the token forward one space:
- Wounding a Monster: 1 Experience Point per attack that causes at least one Wound, regardless of the total number of Wounds inflicted by the attack.
- Picking a Door or a Chest.
When the token reaches a number on the Experience bar, you level up and your Special Abilities improve! Choose a Special Ability of the next level above the one you already have. At your first level-up you'll necessarily choose a Level II Ability, but at the second you could choose to upgrade the same one to Level III, or upgrade a different Ability to Level II.
To upgrade a Special Ability, take the new tile and place it over the board to cover the old text. Do not touch the Ability's energy level: leveling up neither discharges nor charges your Ability!
Time to Play Super Fantasy!
You're ready to face your first Mission in Super Fantasy.
We recommend playing the Missions from the Mission Manual in order from first to last: they have increasing difficulty and are connected to one another by a story.
If you finished a Mission easily on Normal difficulty, you can try it again in Heroic or Epic mode (for further details see the Mission Manual, page 1).
Solo Mode (1 Player)
You can play Super Fantasy solo. The game proceeds normally as any standard game: choose the Mission you want to play and use the Heroes indicated for that Mission's SOLO mode. As for setup and rules, treat it as if you were playing a game with a number of players equal to the number of Heroes + 1.
Ugly Master Mode (2 to 7 Players)
In Ugly Master mode (UM), one player takes on the role of the Lord of the Ugly Snouts and commands the Monster forces. Choose a Mission and set up the game as usual, but place the End of Game token 2 spaces further ahead than indicated by the Mission. Players carry out the Hero Phase as in a standard game. The Monster Phase, however, is no longer controlled by the game: steps 1, 2, and 3 of the Monster Phase are replaced by the Ugly Master's Turn. If the Heroes fail to complete the mission within the allotted time, victory goes to the UM.
On their turn, the Ugly Master rolls all 6 of their Action Dice (the Star counts as the number of players) and lays them out visibly in front of them. These dice form the Ugly Master's Pool and can be used as follows:
- Wake a Room: Use one or more dice from the Pool to get a value equal to or higher than the Hit Points of the Monster with the most Hit Points present in the Room. From this point on, all Monsters in the Room are no longer asleep. Unlike the base game, Rooms wake up only by performing this action. Portal Rooms in this mode are always active.
- Move a Monster: Use one or more dice from the Pool to get a value equal to or higher than the total Hit Points of the (non-asleep) Monster you want to move. Move it up to the Monster's Movement value.
- Summon a Reinforcement: Use one or more dice from the Pool to get a value equal to or higher than the Hit Points of the Monster you want to summon. You may summon any Monster used in the Mission you chose, as long as at least one figure is still available. You cannot re-summon Bosses. Take the chosen Monster and place it on any available square of a Portal of your choice.
When the UM has used all their dice, all Monsters in melee with a Hero make an attack. The UM chooses the targets, the order of attacks, and rolls the dice. If they cause at least one Wound to a Hero, they must cackle loudly.
It might seem like the Ugly Master moves fewer Monsters than the game would move in a standard game. That's true, but remember that the normal rules for Movement and Behavior no longer apply. The Ugly Master may move the Monsters as they wish (always respecting their Special Abilities), may set ambushes inside Rooms, may pass through the Heroes' ranks to strike the weakest Hero (Heroes have no Block Zones), and may be nastier than Dorbak and craftier than Zur'ill.
Arena Mode
Super Fantasy can also be played in player-versus-player mode thanks to the Arena scenarios found in the Mission Manual. These scenarios are designed to let you play all-against-all in a battle with a single winner. Consult the rules for these scenarios in the Mission Manual.
- Big Game Hunt (2 to 4 players): It's time to see who's the strongest among the Heroes. Each of you controls one in a race inside a large Arena. The more Monsters you kill, the more points you score. Who will be the Hero with the most notches on their weapon?
- Tome in Hand (4 or 6 players): This is the most popular sport among the members of the Fantasy Sports Federation. Two teams face off to carry a Tome of Power from the center of the arena to their own base. Tackles, shoves, Tome throws: whoever has the most wins the best team!
Quick Reference
The Game
Hero Phase — Carry out your whole game turn using your Pool of Action Dice.
Monster Phase
- Wake the Rooms (page 10) — Wake the Rooms you entered, whose Door you broke down, or whose wall you broke. If you wounded at least one Monster, roll the Fate Die to wake adjacent, communicating Rooms.
- New Monsters Appear (page 10) — Roll the Fate Die for every Portal in the dungeon and summon more Ugly Snouts!
- Movement and Attack (page 11) — Move and attack with the Monsters: remember to play them intelligently.
- Clean Up Tokens (page 12) — Remove all Shield Die tokens, Wolf, Target, Fortress tokens, and all Monster statuses.
The Actions
- Movement — Star = Speed (page 6)
- Opening a Door (page 7) — Breaking it down: Force Test 6+. Picking it: Cunning Test 6+.
- Breaking a Barrel — Force Test 6+ (page 7)
- Picking a Chest — Cunning Test 6+ (page 7)
- Attacking (page 8) — Melee: Star = Force. Ranged: Star = Aim. Magic: Star = Magic.
- Defending — Star = Defense (page 9)
- Charging — Star = Magic (page 9)
- Disarming Traps — Cunning Test 6+ (page 9)
Statuses (page 17)
Monsters
- Stunned — The Monster attacks with 1 fewer die and -1 Movement.
- Frozen — The Monster suffers -4 to Protection and -2 Movement.
Heroes
- Stunned — During the next Hero Phase, the Hero has only 3 Action Dice in their Pool.
- Frozen — The Hero cannot move. To free themselves (or free another Hero): Force Test 6+.
- Poisoned — At the start of the Hero's turn, roll the Fate Die: Lightning — nothing happens; Drop — takes 1 Wound; Skull — the Poison is removed.
Traps (page 17)
- Iron Cage — The Hero cannot move. Force Test 6+ to free them (or to free someone else).
- Falling Boulder — Speed Test 6+ to dodge it. If you fail, roll the Fate Die: Lightning — 1 Wound; Drop — 2 Wounds; Skull — 3 Wounds.
- Small Portal — When it triggers, it already has an Ugly Snout on it.
- Spike Pit — 1 Wound when you fall in. Speed Test 6+ to climb out.
Credits
A Red Glove Edizioni production — 2013.
Red Glove di Dumas Federico — Via Carriona 259b, 54033 Carrara (MS), Italy.
Game Designer: Marco Valtriani Illustrations: Guido Favaro Layout: Federico Dumas Text Editing: Mario Cortese
Editing Support: Sollenda Cacini, Giacomo Maltagliati, Claudio de Simone, Fabio San Pietro, Andrea Evangelista, Giovanni Scalabrini, Francesco Velotto, Mirco Veschi.
Playtesters: Iacopo Benigni, Marco Bertini, Carlo Bombonati, Dennis Cogo, Simone Ferrari, Millo Franzoni, Iacopo Frigerio, Pietro Galiazzo, Simone Giovannozzi, Paolo Guccione, Alex Isabelle, Davide Losito, Francesco Pelosi, Evelin Pettigli, Matteo Turini, Riccardo Zulian, Valentina Consolo, Federico Bianchi.
Blind Testing by: Margherita Cagnola, Davide Cavagnuolo, Arianna Bigi, Luigi Andrea Giusti.
The author, Marco Valtriani, thanks: Francesca and Gabriel Valtriani; Diego Cerreti, Francesco Giovo and BGDItalia; Maresa Bertolo; David Brevik; Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman; and all the players and playtesters.
The production would like to note that during the making of this game and throughout playtesting, no Ugly Snout was harmed, mistreated, or held in captivity. Grosuk and Poncha are stage names chosen by the two protagonists so as not to be recognized by their Clan. We thank Dorbak's tribe for kindly lending Red Glove Edizioni the dungeon used to make the game. The weapons, traps, and special equipment are the intellectual property of Zur'ill.