Sword & Sorcery: Abyssal Legends Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Abyssal Legends Rules (Rules Reference Sheet)
  • Soulrank Rules for Abyssal Legends
  • Firearms
  • Fishing
  • Nightmare Form
  • Hero Rules and Notes: Travel on the Talon's Coast
  • Legendary Powers
  • Legendary Talents
  • Soul Weapons (belonging to the previous expansions)
  • Enemy Rules and Notes
    • Abyssal Fear
    • Fighting the Abyssal Lord
• Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet
  • Location S (Rudder)
  • Location T (Cannons)
  • Location V (Lookout)
  • Location X (Storage)
  • Location Y (Anchor)
  • Location Z (Prow)
  • Ship Damages
  • Ship Enhancements Summary
  • Ship Movement
  • Ship Shooting
• 1. Component List
• 2. Legends from the Abyss
  • 2.1 Journey Map
• 3. Integrating Game Contents
  • 3.1 Cards, Figures, and Tokens
  • 3.2 Book of Secrets
  • 3.3 Heavenshine/Ancient Dungeon Site Sheet
  • 3.4 Ventures
• 4. Playing Abyssal Legends
  • 4.1 About Quest XIV
• 5. Myths, Legends, and Gameplay Notes!
  • Lesser and Greater Tentacles
  • Deep One
  • Abyssal Cultist
  • Nightgaunt
  • Abyssal Tentacle
  • Star Vampire
  • Abyssal Priestess
  • Hunting Horror
  • Abyssal Lord
• 6. Ship Maneuvers (Storybook)
• 7. Quests
  • ACT II - Quest X: The Horror in Jade
  • ACT II - Quest XI: A New Nightmare
  • ACT II - Quest XII: The Madness from the Sea
  • ACT II - Quest XIII: The Shadow Over Heavenshine
  • ACT II - Quest XIV: The Call of the Abyssal Lord
  • ACT II - Quest XV: The Dead Man's Chest
  • Survival Quest Rules (Quest XV)
  • Waypoints, Outcomes and Story Events Resolution (Quest XV)
• 8. Kingdom Map Labels
• 9. Discover the New Heroes of the Ancient Chronicles Saga

Abyssal Legends Rules (Rules Reference Sheet)

This section is the expansion's own Rules Reference Sheet, transcribed from the printed sheet.

Abyssal Legends introduces several new game rules, all described in this Reference Sheet and in the Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet. All cards related to this Sword & Sorcery expansion can be recognized by the [Abyssal Legends icon] icon and are shuffled into existing game decks (together with previous expansions) ONLY when the Heroes play the Abyssal Legends Quests (or when a custom Quest requires it). However, Emporium and Hero Power cards can be used in any Quest of the S&S saga.

Abyssal Legends adds three new decks of cards:

Soul Weapons*: The most rare and powerful Weapons in the entire kingdom! These Weapons have different attack values printed on each side and can be recognized by the Soul Weapon tags [Soul Weapon tag] in the lower-right corner.

*: These cards are not present in this expansion, but they can still be used with it.

Fate**: This deck determines the seemingly random effects of luck and destiny. Each of the four cards represents a different Cardinal Direction, represented by the [Cardinal Direction icon]. Unless otherwise indicated, reshuffle the deck each time a Fate card is drawn or discarded.

**: These cards are already present in the Northwind Tales expansion; use these only if you are not using Northwind Tales.

Phobias: Abyssal creatures and corrupted cultists threaten the Heroes' hold on their sanity. Once acquired, Phobia cards must be placed to the right of the Hero Sheet, together with the [Phobia Power icon]. These cards are Powers with particular effects (mostly negative) that do not count against the Soul Gem limits. A Hero's mind can only host so much insanity and, if instructed to take a third Phobia card, they die immediately instead.

Death is treated as usual, so the Hero retains his existing two Phobia cards, discards Fear tokens, loses Soulrank, becomes a Ghost Soul, etc.

These three decks of cards must be kept aside and used only when the game instructs players to do so.

Soulrank Rules for Abyssal Legends

The minimum Soulrank required for ACT II is V. No Hero can go below it. This means Heroes begin any ACT II Quest with a minimum Soulrank V and, even in case of death, the Soul Gem will never shift down to Soulrank IV (This means that a dead Soulrank V Hero remains V and must pay 5 [Soul Point icon] to resurrect using a Shrine).

Firearms

This new type of Weapon can only be equipped and used by Heroes with the Gunfighter talent, as indicated by the Ballistics skill rune [Ballistics rune] present on the related cards.

Once acquired, this talent unlocks the use of [Ballistics rune] Items/Weapons and provides the Ammunition counter [Ammunition icon].

Recognizable by the "Firearm" keyword, these Weapons require the Hero to discard 1 Bullet from the Ammunition counter (That is, rotate it 1/8 counterclockwise) before performing an attack. No attack can be performed that would reduce the Ammunition counter below 0. Passive effects present on an equipped Firearm remain active (when applicable) even when no Bullets remain.

Fishing

The abundance of aquatic fauna allows the Heroes to fish in practically any body of water... if they have at least one Fishing Rod/Elven Triple Hook, of course!

Fishing is a fun minigame that can be played during many Quests. If the Hero has a Pole Item (available in the Emporium or the Ship) and he is in the right spot, he can try to catch one of the different species of fish that inhabit the waters.

Fishing consists of guessing the Cardinal Direction(s) [Cardinal Direction icon] indicated by a sequence of Fate cards, within a given number of attempts.

The indicated Fate cards must be drawn face down, one at a time, with the Hero having to correctly guess each card before drawing the next. The fisherman Hero guesses a direction and reveals the card; if the revealed card matches the Hero's guess, it is left on the table (thus excluding it from possible future directions of the sequence), and the next card is drawn; otherwise, it is shuffled immediately back into the Fate deck. The game continues until the Hero has correctly guessed the number of cards indicated by the Fish Quest card or the fisherman runs out of attempts. If caught, place the Fish in the Hero's Inventory, otherwise it will swim free. A caught Fish can be stored raw to be sold at Heavenshine's Refectory or cooked and eaten for unique benefits. Each Fish (represented by five different Fish Quest cards) indicates how many Fate cards the Hero must guess correctly and how many overall attempts the Hero has.

Nightmare Form

The Winged Nightmare Phobia card allows a Hero to acquire an extraordinary power, changing his Form from Human to Nightmare. When acquired, immediately take the related Nightmare Sheet and follow the instruction listed on its back side. Also take the 2 Nightmare Power Quest cards. They are considered extra [Nightmare icon] and do not count against the Soul Gem limit.

Note: the Hero must return to Human Form and discard the Winged Nightmare Phobia card at the end of each quest or if he loses that card during the quest.

Hero Rules and Notes: Travel on the Talon's Coast

Exploring the kingdom and the abyss is a strenuous experience. For this reason, the Heroes' HP, Fears, Phobias and Body Conditions are NOT healed automatically between Quests, but are instead carried through Journeys and Adventures. This means that players must keep track of the Heroes' status between Quests because, for instance, a Body Condition suffered during the Journey or perhaps still active from the previous Quest will continue to be applied in the next Quest.

The Heroes will have to worry about healing their physical and mental conditions by harnessing their powers (during the Adventures) or making use of the buildings and services of Heavenshine Abbey (during the Journey).

Legendary Powers

Legendary Powers are incredible feats acquired as standard [Powers icon] Powers (together with an additional Talent) when a Hero reaches Soulrank VII. Legendary Powers can be identified by the Legendary icon in place of the cooldown icons. These powers can be used only once per Quest. When used, leave the card face up and rotate it upside down. This means a Legendary Power never flips and is not affected by the cooldown system.

Legendary Talents

When a Hero reaches Soulrank VII, together with a Legendary Power, he also gets an additional Talent. This new Talent can be chosen from the ones available in previous S&S expansions or one of the new Soulrank VII Talents included in this expansion. While there are 3 generic [generic Talent icon] Talents, most of the new ones are related to the four Fighting Styles: [Fighting Style icons]. This means only Heroes with at least one matching fighting style can choose them.

Note: No Hero can have more than 1 Soulrank VII Talent, even by using Items or Building services.

Soul Weapons (belonging to the previous expansions)

Soul Weapons have their own deck, and Heroes can only acquire them when they are explicitly listed as rewards in the Storybook or B.o.S.. A Hero wielding one of these is destined to become a legend, but he also risks being consumed by it! In game terms, any Soul Weapon card can be used and equipped as a normal Weapon using its front side (with the [Soul Weapon icon] icon). But in addition, the owner, during his Hero Turn, can decide to spend the required Soul Points indicated to the left of the [Soul Weapon icon] icon to flip the card to its enhanced side. The Soul Weapon remains in its enhanced version until the next Time Phase or if the Weapon is no longer present in the Hero's Weapon slot, either because it was dropped or placed in Inventory. If this happens, it immediately returns to the front side. When a Hero attacks with a Soul Weapon, he must choose which of the two damage types to apply.

Note: When playing standalone Quests using Soul Weapons as starting treasure values, they must be randomly drawn, regardless of the fighting styles currently available to the Party.

Enemy Rules and Notes

Abyssal Fear

Discovering the truth behind the Abyss may crush a Hero's psyche. Despite divine aid and fate, going insane is a real possibility.

Fear tokens represent small doubts that lurk in the Hero's mind, doubts that twist and multiply as he battles the creatures of the abyss until they become uncontrollable phobias.

In game terms, a Hero (Companions and Familiars are immune) can accumulate Fear tokens (by placing them on his sheet) up to his Soulrank value -1.

When the number of Fear tokens reaches the Hero's Soulrank value, he discards all Fear tokens in his possession and takes a Phobia card.

Note: In case of death, a Hero discards all his Fear tokens but retains his Phobia cards.

Most Enemies in Abyssal Legends have an Abyssal Fear value that can be 1, 2 or 3. Each time a Hero directly attacks one of those Enemies, at the end of the attack, unless Save, he acquires the related number of Fear tokens.

Gaining the Fear tokens can be avoided if:

• The Save roll attempted at the end of the attack succeeds.
• The attack kills the Enemy. In this case no Save roll is needed.

Or Reduced, if:

• The Hero already possesses a number of Phobia cards. In this case, each possessed Phobia card subtracts 1 from the Fear tokens suffered.

Fear tokens can also be granted to Heroes as part of an Enemy's attack or power, or by game events. Even in these cases, the Hero's Phobia cards each reduce the Fear by 1 [icon] each.

Heroes do not acquire Fear tokens for Enemies struck by indirect attacks such as AoE effects.

For instance, if a Hero who already has 1 Phobia card attacks a Deep One Enemy, no Fear tokens is taken (regardless of the Save roll and the outcome of the attack) because the Abyssal Fear value of that Enemy is 1 (and it is reduced to 0 by the Phobia card, 1 - 1 = No Fear tokens).

If the same Hero attacks a Nightgaunt Enemy instead, he may gain 1 [icon] (2 -1 = 1) unless his attack kills the Enemy or he succeeds at his Save roll.

Note: In Campaign mode, Fear and Phobias are permanent, so they carry over between Quests. Heroes may need to remove them using Items or places, such as the Fireplace of the Heroes' Room or the Sanatorium of the Heavenshine Abbey.

Fighting the Abyssal Lord

The two sides of each Master Enemy scroll represent two independent versions of the Abyssal Lord that must be defeated (and then looted) separately. The Elder side is less powerful and does NOT have the "Vengeful" trait, so it doesn't use the menace token to identify the preferred victim. During the final showdown, this Enemy could gain 2 to 3 additional powers thanks to its Abyssal Lord Power Quest cards.

Each side of these cards represents a different power the Abyssal Lord may gain. These cards are always randomly drawn, while the side (I or II) is indicated by the B.o.S.

With this system, fighting the Abyssal Lord offers a different experience each time.

Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet

This section is the expansion's own Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet, transcribed from the printed sheet. Section 6 of the Storybook (Ship Maneuvers) gives the same Location rules and is not repeated.

The next Paragraphs illustrate how to govern the Heroes' ship "Rising Tide" (38A map tile). Each Location (from S to Z, skipping U and W) represents a different area with peculiar functions; read it when any Hero moves over it and wants to interact with that part of the ship.

Note: To interact with any Location on the 38A map tile, the Hero must not be engaged in combat, unless the area of the Location he wants to use is dominated by Heroes.

Location S (Rudder)

Once per Round, a Hero in this Location may spend one [activity icon] activity to Move and Rotate map tile 38A according to the rules detailed by the current Quest (see Ship Movements example box on the next page).

Once enhanced, this Location may be activated by spending an [Activity icon] activity instead of a [Activity icon] one.

Note: In order to activate this Location, the Anchor token over Location Y must be on its Raised side (See Location Y).

Location T (Cannons)

Any Hero in this location can spend one or more [Activity icon] activities to interact with the cannon. The interactions must be performed in this order: Load, Ignite, and Shoot.

1. Load the cannon: this means taking a Cannonball token that the Hero has previously picked up (usually from the Storage, Location X), and that he is carrying in its Inventory, and placing it (with the Cold side face up [Cold Cannonball icon]) over the Cannon on the map (the T Location where the Hero is located). It is now time to ignite the gunpowder!

   Note: There can be only one Cannonball token placed over each T Location. If, for any reason, a second Cannonball token should be placed in the same area, that token must be moved into an adjacent area instead.

2. Ignite the gunpowder: this means flipping the Cannonball token present in the current Hero's T Location from its Cold side [Cold Cannonball icon] to its Ignited side [Ignited Cannonball icon]. Now the cannon is ready to fire!

   Note: In each Time Phase, discard any Ignited Cannonball token on the map tile 38A (the Cannonball has fizzled out with no effect).

3. Aim and fire: select a target area to attack. The selected area must be located between 1 and 5 areas away from the current T Location (requiring L.O.S.) and in the same direction that the mouth of the cannon is facing (see the Ship Shooting sample box on the next page). Firing into the cannon's own area is not allowed. Once aimed, the Hero must discard the Ignited cannonball token from the current T Location and roll, to determine the Accuracy of the shot, as many Dice (Blue and/or Red) as the number of areas between the cannon area and the targeted area (1-5):

   • If no [green die-face icon] are rolled, the shot hits the target area. Otherwise: the shot is redirected against an area adjacent to the originally targeted area, preferring the area containing the most Characters if possible (in case of a tie, the firing Hero chooses).
   • The Cannon's attack (Blunt) hits all the Characters in the impacted area by inflicting 10 [Damage icon] Lethal, Bash, K.O.
   • After the shot, the Cannon may be used again by following this 3-step procedure... as long as there are Cannonballs aboard!

Once enhanced, this Location allows a single reroll of each Aim and Fire Accuracy roll.

Location V (Lookout)

Once per Round, a Hero in this Location, while there is at least one Enemy in play, may spend one [Activity icon] to look at (and place back) the top card of the Encounter deck.

Once enhanced, this Location allows the drawn card to be returned to the bottom of the Encounter deck instead of its top.

Location X (Storage)

Any Hero in this Location may spend one [Activity icon] to pick up a cold Cannonball token from this area (if present). Each Cannonball token must be treated as a standard Miscellaneous Item with weight 1, so, if the Hero has enough space in his Inventory, it can be picked up, carried, and dropped on the ground as usual. The only limitations are:

• Each Hero can only carry 1 Cannonball token at a time.
• Each T Location (the Cannons) can only contain 1 Cannonball token at a time. If, for any reason, a second Cannonball token should be placed in the same area, that token must be moved into an adjacent area instead.
• At the beginning of each Quest involving the Ship (map tile 38A), all Cannonball tokens the Heroes have must be placed in the Storage Location.

Once enhanced, all Cannonballs tokens also inflict Critical when fired.

Location Y (Anchor)

Any Hero in this Location may spend a [Activity icon] activity to perform one of the following two operations:

• Raising the Anchor: of the vessel from the sea floor and hoisting it up to be stowed on board the ship. Once done, the Anchor token must be placed with its Raised side face up ([Raised Anchor icon]) and the ship (map tile 38A) can be moved using the Rudder in S Location.

  Note: At the beginning of each Quest, the Anchor token is Raised.

• Drop the Anchor: of the vessel allowing it to fall to the bed of a body of water and thereby securing the ship in place. Once done, the Anchor token must be placed with its Dropped side face up ([Dropped Anchor icon]) and the ship (map tile 38A) cannot be moved using the Rudder in S Location until someone has raised the Anchor.

Once enhanced, this Location may be activated by spending an [Activity icon] activity instead of a [Activity icon] one.

Location Z (Prow)

Any Hero in this Location may use the Ship's Fishing poles to try to catch some fish, and if so:

• In [Fishing icon]: take the Ship's Fishing Rod Quest card and go to §0.44.
• Out: Set aside this Quest card once done.
• The Ship's Fishing Rod/Ship's Triple Hook Quest card cannot be carried away from this Location, as it is bound to the ship.

Once enhanced, this Location allows the use of the Ship's Triple Hook Quest card instead of the Ship's Fishing Rod side.

Ship Damages

Normally each of the 7 ship Locations may only be used by Heroes if there is no Wooden Plank token or if the Wooden Plank token is on the repair side ([Repaired Plank icon]).

When the game requires placing a Damaged Wooden Plank ([Damaged Plank icon]) on a Location, that Location cannot be used until Repaired.

To repair any Location (i.e. flip the Damaged Wooden Plank to its Repaired side ([Repaired Plank icon])) the Hero must spend an [Activity icon] activity while in the same area, and must not be engaged in combat, unless the area is dominated by Heroes.

Note: Each Location cannot contain more than 1 Wooden token. When needed, flip it according to the Quest instructions.

Ship Enhancements Summary

• Location S (Rudder): May be activated by spending 1 [Activity icon] instead of 1 [Activity icon].
• Location T (Cannons): Reroll any Accuracy roll when firing a Cannonball.
• Location V (Lookout): The Encounter card drawn may be placed back at the bottom of the Encounter deck instead of its top.
• Location X (Storage): The Cannonballs also inflict Critical when fired.
• Location Y (Anchor): May be activated by spending 1 [Activity icon] instead of 1 [Activity icon].
• Location Z (Prow) = Fish using the Ship's Triple Hook Quest card side instead of its Ship's Fishing Rod side.

Ship Movement

Three Quests (X, XII, and XIV) allow the vessel to navigate around the map.

This means that using the Rudder Location, the Ship (map tile 38A) can be moved and rotated to be attached to other map tiles as detailed in each Quest.

For instance, in the first Quest, the ship can be attached only to Locations A, B, or C (1), while on the other two Quests, Heroes are free to attach the ship to any compatible map tile connector of any map tile in play, where the space is enough to host map tile 38A (2, 3).

In all cases, during any Quest, map tile 38A must always be attached somewhere, it cannot remain separate from the other tiles.

Ship Shooting

The L.O.S. for shooting uses the standard ranged attack rules, and must be traced starting from the [Cannon mouth icon] of the current T Location toward the target area, in the direction the mouth of the cannon is facing. A Cannon's range is {1-5}, so it may not shoot at targets in its own T Location ({0}).

The Cannon's attack (Blunt) hits all the Characters in the impacted area (the attacker decides the order) by inflicting 10 [Damage icon] Lethal, Bash, K.O.

1. Component List

Inside this Sword & Sorcery expansion you will find an extensive set of components:

• This Storybook
• 1 Book of Secrets
• 1 Rules Reference Sheet
• 1 Ship Maneuvers Sheet
• 1 Double-sided Site Sheet
• 19 Enemy Figures
• 1 Master Enemy Figure
• 1 Winged Nightmare Figure
• 17 Double-sided Map Tiles
• 2 Master Enemy Scrolls
• 1 Winged Nightmare Sheet
• 2 Winged Nightmare Power Cards
• 13 Enemy Scrolls
• 19 Enemy Cards
• 3 Enemy Power Cards
• 20 Event Cards
• 3 Trap Cards
• 4 Fate Cards
• 3 Venture Cards
• 30 Treasure Cards
• 15 Quest Cards
• 22 Emporium Cards
• 16 Phobia Cards
• 14 Heroes Power & Talent Cards
• 5 Legacy Immortal Souls Heroes Power Cards (These cards belong to the five Immortal Souls Core Set Heroes)

Tokens & Markers:

• 12 Lesser Tentacle Minions
• 6 Greater Tentacle Minions
• 2 Ammunition Counters
• 16 Fear
• 6 Cannonballs
• 1 Anchor
• 9 Damaged/Repaired Wooden Plank
• 1 Party
• 1 Gods' Shrine
• 9 Hindrances Overlays
• 1 Waypoint
• 8 Shadows
• 4 Airborne
• 10 Wounds
• 3 Holy Obelisks (Quest XIV)
• 12 Hourglasses
• 1 Menace

Each of the new Gunfighter Talents use a dedicated Ammunition Counters, which must be assembled before play, as well as all Tentacle Minions, as detailed here:

Printed illustrations of the assembly are omitted.

2. Legends from the Abyss

Hail, adventurer! This manual gives detailed instructions on how to set up the quests for your Sword & Sorcery (S&S) Abyssal Legends expansion.

This box uses the standard game rules for S&S: Ancient Chronicles, but with additions as detailed in the Rules Reference Sheet included here and in any other expansions you own. This game expansion is also perfectly compatible with S&S: Immortal Souls, but, in this case, we strongly recommend adopting the revised rules, detailed in both the Ancient Chronicles Rulebook and Ancient Chronicles and Northwind Tales Reference Sheets, all downloadable from: https://sword-and-sorcery.com

Each quest can be played as a standalone game, or as part of the entire campaign.

• In Standalone mode, Heroes must use the Standalone Quest Values indicated for each Quest. Before each Quest begins, all Heroes may use each of the four Buildings of the Heavenshine side of the Site Sheet once, ignoring both [Building icon] and Paragraphs. Heroes may also visit the Emporium and, when specified, the Harbor {§0.5} to buy Cannonballs and enhance their Ship.
• In Campaign mode, the suggested mode of play, Heroes will play five Quests as part of the main story and they may also be able to play an additional Quest {Quest XV} if their fame and courage allow them to unlock the related Venture.

The Abyssal grounds are populated by incredible creatures, most of them hostile and very dangerous! If you want to hear more about them and their gameplay, read section 5, page 5. Otherwise, if you prefer to challenge them without spoiling the mystery, read that section later--it is on the last page of this Storybook.

2.1 Journey Map

The back of this manual illustrates the Kingdom map.

Use the party marker to keep track of the party's current position. Starting from Book of Secrets Paragraph §0.1, Heroes may freely travel from and to any Copper and Silver Label of the map without spending [Hourglass icon]. Golden Labels can be reached and resolved only by making specific choices during the Story. In this case the story starts on the related Quest page of this Storybook.

Traveling in this wild realm is a grueling experience. For this reason, the Heroes' HP and Body Conditions are NOT healed automatically between Quests but are instead carried through Journeys and Adventures. This means that players must keep track of the Heroes' status between Quests because, for instance, a Body Condition suffered during the Journey or perhaps still active from the previous Quest will continue to be applied in the next Quest. The Heroes will have to worry about healing their wounds and conditions by harnessing their powers (during the Adventures) or making use of the services of buildings and healers (during the Journey). In Campaign mode, Fear and Phobias are also permanent, so carried on between Quests. Heroes may need to remove them using Items, or places, such as the Fireplace of the Heroes' Room or the Sanatorium of the Heavenshine Abbey.

3. Integrating Game Contents

The contents related to this Sword & Sorcery expansion can be recognized by the icon [Abyssal Legends icon] and must be organized and used as detailed in the next sections.

The facts narrated in Abyssal Legends take place "chronologically" after the Darkness Falls events, so these new Quests can be played at the end of each Sword & Sorcery main saga. Consequentially after Darkness Falls for the Immortal Souls saga OR after Northwind Tales for Ancient Chronicles.

This means at least one Core Set {Immortal Souls or Ancient Chronicles} and one ACT II Campaign expansion {Darkness Falls or Northwind Tales} are required to play the six Quests included in this expansion.

3.1 Cards, Figures, and Tokens

With the exception of the cards listed below, players should use all standard cards, figures, and tokens {such as Loot, Traps, Emporium, Treasures, Enemies, etc.} belonging to the saga the Heroes have chosen and completed.

For instance, if Heroes want to integrate this expansion at the end of their Darkness Falls campaign {the ACT II Campaign of the Immortal Souls saga}, they must use at least all cards from Immortal Souls and Darkness Falls {with the optional addition of Arcane Portal and any other desired expansion} in combination with what is included here. The same things must be applied to play Abyssal Legends at the end of Ancient Chronicles and Northwind Tales saga.

Regardless of the Core Set and expansion{s} chosen, players should make the following card substitutions:

• Encounters: This expansion does not include Encounter cards, so the fifteen Encounter cards of the chosen Core Set game must be used. However, if both Immortal Souls and Ancient Chronicles are available, it is recommended to use the Ancient Chronicles Encounter deck even if you are playing the Immortal Souls campaign.
• Enemies: All elements belonging to Enemies, such as figures, cards, and scrolls, are treated as usual; their setup and use is indicated by each Quest and they must be integrated with the enemies coming from the chosen saga.
• Events: The twenty Event cards included in this set are used as a standalone deck for this game box; there is no interaction with Events from other game sets outside this expansion.
• Duplicated Elements: This expansion includes some cards and tokens already present in the previous game boxes but required to play this game. They are included to "fill the gap" if the players are missing them. The use of these elements is permitted only in that case, so duplicates cannot be used in addition to the original ones. For instance, the Soul Weapons included here are the same as those from Northwind Tales and cannot be used to double the amount of available weapons.
• Treasure: Treasure cards can be shuffled together with all other expansions of the chosen saga, or, for players who want to enjoy only the new Abyssal Legends treasures, they can be used as a standalone treasure deck in place of all others. However, this is recommended only for very experienced players, because there is only a limited number of healing items in this new deck.

3.2 Book of Secrets

The Book of Secrets manual {B.o.S.} contains all dialogue and key moments of each game mode included in this Abyssal Legends expansion.

Each entry is indicated by a unique Paragraph number {§}.

During the game, keep this booklet near all players. To maintain the mood and atmosphere of the game, the active player should read from the Book of Secrets aloud, taking care not to read upcoming Paragraphs until they have been triggered.

3.3 Heavenshine/Ancient Dungeon Site Sheet

Included in this box is a double-sided Site Sheet that illustrates the Abbey and its mysterious places. The front side, called "Heavenshine", is used as part of the initial story, while the "Ancient Dungeon" is a mysterious place that must be unlocked during the campaign.

Regardless of the game mode, the Party marker included should be used to keep track of the current position of the Party of Heroes and to travel {i.e., move} between the different Labels and Building, using these rules:

• The Party always moves as a single entity, and no Hero Powers can affect gameplay in this moment unless they are listed as "Journey".
• Heroes of the Party can always exchange Items and Crowns while visiting the Site Sheet; they can also access their Stash Items.
• When the Party reaches the Site Sheet, place the Party marker in the middle of the sheet while one player reads aloud the Paragraph of the B.o.S. noted after "In" at the top of the sheet.
• Add the number of Hourglass tokens shown on the Site Sheet to the Time Reserve when the Party enters the sheet for the very first time {Left Side Value} or returns to visit it {Right Side Value} after each Quest.
• The group can now visit other Paragraphs and Buildings {cards printed or placed over the sheet slots} by spending 1 Hourglass token from the Time Reserve and moving the Party token there.
• Each time the Party visits a Building, each Hero can use the effects once by paying individually the cost indicated on the Building.
• When no Hourglasses remain in the Time Reserve {or when the Party decides to leave}, the Party must travel out of the Site Sheet by following the Paragraph noted as "Out" on the right side of the sheet Name.
• The party can choose to store unspent Hourglasses in the Time Reserve to be used {or lost, in case of bad choices} later.

Everything else is decided by the Label the Party moves onto, by the Paragraph from the Book of Secrets, or by the Quest Introduction from the Storybook. Resolving the Label is mandatory and cannot be avoided.

3.4 Ventures

By exploring the world and cities, Heroes will be able to find Venture Outposts and acquire Venture cards. Each Venture card includes a series of tasks to be completed by the entire Party. Unless otherwise indicated, each task can be achieved by any Hero over the course of multiple Quests. When a task is completed, write an "X" on the related box of the Venture card. Once all tasks are completed, the Heroes may visit the Venture Outpost present on any Site Sheet {by spending 1 Hourglass to move there and then reading the Paragraph of the Book of Secrets}, in order to claim their rewards... usually crowns, powerful treasures, or information to unlock new quests!

Note: The back of all Venture cards contains the specific rules for the game set to which it belongs.

4. Playing Abyssal Legends

The minimum Soulrank required for ACT II Quests is V.

No Hero can go below it. This means Heroes begin any Quest with a minimum Soulrank V and, even in case of death, the Soul Gem will never shift down to Soulrank IV (i.e. a dead Soulrank V Hero remains V and must pay 5 Soul Points to resurrect using a Shrine).

The maximum Soulrank reachable is VII. If any Hero sucessfully achieves it, apply the instructions detailed in the Reference Sheet included with this expansion.

To speed up your game setup and save you a bit of math, we hope you will appreciate this quick Soulrank conversion table:

Soulrank	Needed from Soulrank I (Soul Point icon)
I	0
II	4
III	13
IV	29
V	54
VI	90
VII	139

In Campaign mode, Heroes may have stored Soul Points from their previous Campaign. These points can be carried over to the Abyssal Legends Campaign up to a maximum of 10 Soul Points per Hero. The excess points must be discarded in order keep the right level of challenge during Abyssal Legends Quests.

4.1 About Quest XIV

To make your final journey more challenging and dangerous, you may simply swap the Purple Abyssal Lord Master Enemy card with the Ancient Abyssal Lord version during Quest XIV - "The Call Of The Abyssal Lord".

5. Myths, Legends, and Gameplay Notes!

This section illustrates the many perils the Heroes may encounter during their journey in the Abyssal grounds. For each Enemy, you can find a brief description and a useful gameplay reminder about their particular powers.

Only the gameplay notes are reproduced below; the flavour descriptions of each Enemy are omitted.

Lesser and Greater Tentacles

Gameplay Note: While one or a few Tentacles Minions in the same area as a Hero can produce manageable penalties (there is still only a single movement Save roll even in the presence of multiple Greater Tentacles in the same area), if they become more numerous, the wounds inflicted may become hard to manage (i.e. each Tentacle inflicts HP during the Time Phase). These Minions also count as Demons, this does not transform them into standard Enemies but allows them to exploit some powers, such as the Abyssal Cultists and Priestess abilities.

Deep One

Gameplay Note: The Fire penalty inflicted by any Fire effect lasts as long as the Fire condition exists. Fighting them from a distance and with the help of fire is a good way to stay alive!

Abyssal Cultist

Gameplay Note: During the Time Phase, the number of Demons within 2 areas of an Abyssal Cultist determines how many [icon] it has for that Round. This means that isolating an Abyssal Cultist during the Time Phase makes it weaker and so easier to defeat... but pay attention to the Tentacles he may evoke, because they count as Demons too, even if they are Minions.

Nightgaunt

Gameplay Note: The Disturbing/Elusive power of this Enemy works only when the Hero moves into the Nightgaunt's area, and not the contrary. In addition, it is important to remember that Phobia cards already possessed by the Hero reduce the amount of Fear inflicted by all Enemies.

Abyssal Tentacle

Gameplay Note: The Slimy Skin power can be very punishing if the Hero fails the save when attacking this Enemy with a [Damage-type] attack (i.e., a power with the Damage type indicated on the card). In addition, the Death Grip power is able to inflict three different Criticals if the victim Hero fails all three Save rolls.

Star Vampire

Gameplay Note: The [6/6 Star Vampire icons] Star Vampire cannot be defeated while it has at least 1 [Soul icon], because its Ethereal Bloodthirster ability saves it from death, while the [B/B/B Star Vampire icons] Star Vampire ignores the Heroes' attacks until it has obtained at least one bonus {+1 [icon] +1 [icon], stackable} from its Omnivorous ability. To defeat this Enemy, the Heroes may use items and powers that damage it without making attacks (so with no Damage Type) or they may decide to let the Star Vampire attack first and then, once the Omnivorous ability is activated, counterattack!

Abyssal Priestess

Gameplay Note: The Healing Surge power of the [6/6/6 Abyssal Priestess icons] Abyssal Priestess is able to heal all other Enemies (except herself) by 3 HP and to remove all Body Conditions. Demon Enemies are healed of 6 HP instead, leaving their Body Conditions in place. The Fear Blast power of the [B B B Abyssal Priestess icons] Abyssal Priestess can be very dangerous, in fact, if there are 3 Heroes with at least 1 [Fear token] each, and 2 Heroes with no [Fear token] yet, all of them located within 3 areas of this Enemy, this power discards 1 [Fear token] from each of three Heroes and then inflicts 3 HP to each of all five Heroes in range.

Hunting Horror

Gameplay Note: This Enemy counts as Monster and Demon at the same time, this means it may take both pros and cons of the powers that interacts with these races. Its Dark Envy power forces the victim Hero to perform an extra movement, if needed, to reach the closest Hero to him, and then perform an extra attack with his [Weapon icon] Weapon, activating as many weapon effects as possible using the results of the rolled Hit Dice.

Abyssal Lord

Gameplay Note: The two sides of each Master Enemy scroll represent two independent versions of the Abyssal Lord that must be defeated (and then looted) separately. The Elder side is less powerful and does NOT have the "Vengeful" trait, so it doesn't use the menace token to identify its preferred victim.

During the final showdown this Enemy uses several (2-3) double-sided dedicated Abyssal Lord Power Quest cards randomly assigned to the Lord based on the outcome of the previous quests -- so each final fight will be a different challenge and a different game experience!

In Abyssal Legends, we want to try to satisfy the different taste of all players about the degree of difficulty the game should have -- and so, we decided to include a second version of the final Master Enemy, the Ancient Abyssal Lord -- an even more terrifying variant of the Abyssal Lord, able to offer a monstrous challenge even to the most fearless players... will you be able to defeat him?

If so, simply use the Ancient Abyssal Lord Master Enemy scroll instead of the standard one.

6. Ship Maneuvers (Storybook)

Section 6 of the Storybook gives the same Location rules as the Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet above, with the same wording in substance, so it is not repeated. The Ship Movement, Ship Shooting and Ship Enhancements Summary panels appear on the printed sheet only.

7. Quests

Each Quest page below gives its setup, special rules and standalone values as printed. Introduction narrative is omitted; the Introduction's Paragraph reference is kept. The Event deck lines list the printed card numbers in the printed order. The printed Shuffle markers under the Event deck row, and the positions of tiles, Spawn Gates, Shadows and other tokens on the printed maps, are shown on the printed pages and are not reproduced as text here. Book of Secrets Paragraph text is not included.

ACT II - Quest X: The Horror in Jade

Introduction: See Paragraph §10.1.

Enemy Deck

• Immortal Souls: Raider (1*), Orc Warrior (1*), Orc Shaman (1*), Raider (1*), Orc Warrior (1*), Gremlin (1).
• Ancient Chronicles: Hobgremlin (1*), Frostguard (1*), Elf Assassin (1*), Black Dwarf (1*), Elf Witch (1*), Elder Spider (1).
• * Add the second copy of this Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck: 4, 47, 37, 3, 38, 41, 36, 39, 46, 5 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Gods Shrine: A Ghost Soul Hero may always return in the Gods Shrine's area using his Recall, even when there is no legal walking path to it.
• 39A, 40A, and 41+42 Map tiles: These tiles are not connected, they can only be reached by maneuvering the Ship (38A map tile, as detailed later in the Quest). Keep enough free space on the table to accommodate the ship.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §10.16.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 93 x Hero
• Crowns: 500
• Treasures: 20 + 1 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine

Quest X Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 38A, 39A, 40A, 41A, 42A.

• Out, keep aside: 43A.

• Wall Tiles: 1x between 42A and 41A.

• Tokens on Map: 1x Closed Spawn Gate (four tokens, each shown as Closed Spawn Gate); 3x Search Area; 1x Chest; 1x Open Shrine; 6x Shadow (2+ token); 6x Shadow (4+ token); 5x Waypoint {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.

• Shadows Reserve (by number of Heroes):

  Heroes	Enemy	2 Enemies	Champion
  2-3	1	1	4
  4-5	6	2	4

• Special Elements on Map: Place the Story Event 1 card as indicated on the map.

• Book of Secrets References:

  Events	§

ACT II - Quest XI: A New Nightmare

Introduction: See Paragraph §11.1.

Enemy Deck: Deep One (1*), Nightgaunt (1*), Star Vampire (1*), Deep One (1*), Nightgaunt (1*).

• * Add the second copy of this Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck: 5, 41, 37, 39, 36, 38, 40, 42, 47, 49 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Map Tiles Stack: [In icon] Take the nine Map Tiles named from 44A to 52A, shuffle and stack them (keeping the A side face up) in order to create a pile, then place it near the Event deck.
• Waypoints Stack: [In icon] Take the five Waypoints tokens named from 1 to 5, shuffle and stack them face down in order to create a pile, then place it near the Event deck.
• Spawn Gates Stack: [In icon] Take the four Spawn Gates tokens (shown as four Spawn Gate icons), shuffle and stack them in order to create a pile, then place it near the Event deck.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is resolved OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §11.21.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 105 x Hero
• Crowns: 550
• Treasures: 22 + 2 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine

Quest XI Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 43B.

• Out, keep aside: 38B, 41A, 44A, 45A, 46A, 47A, 48A, 49A, 50A, 51A, 52A, 53A, 54A.

• Wall Tiles: N/A.

• Tokens on Map (the printed [Out icon] marks the tokens printed with it):

  • 1x Chest
  • 1x Open Shrine
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate [Out icon]
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate [Out icon]
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate [Out icon]
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate [Out icon]
  • 4x Search Area [Out icon]
  • 1x Story Event (1) [Out icon]
  • 0x Shadow (2+ token)
  • 0x Shadow (4+ token)
  • 6x Waypoint {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, X} [Out icon]

• Shadows Reserve (by number of Heroes):

  Heroes	Citizen	Enemy	2 Enemies	Champion
  2-3	1

ACT II - Quest XII: The Madness from the Sea

Introduction: See Paragraph §12.1.

Enemy Deck: Deep One (1*), Nightgaunt (1*), Star Vampire (1*), Abyssal Priestess (1*), Deep One (1*), Nightgaunt (1*), Star Vampire (1*), Abyssal Priestess (1*).

• * Add the second copy of this Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck: 5 (In Play), 37, 38, 1, 42, 47, 2, 4, 41, 49, 39 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Broken Wood Plank: Each token prevents interaction with the Ship Location it is in, see the Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet to learn how to remove them.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is resolved OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §12.224.
• Harbor: Before starting the Quest, the Party may visit the §0.5 to buy Cannonballs and enhance their Ship once.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 118 x Hero
• Crowns: 600
• Treasures: 24 + 3 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine*
• * Harbor: Before starting the Quest, the Party may visit §0.5 to buy Cannonballs and enhance their Ship at will.

Quest XII Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 38A, 39B, 40B, 43B, 53B.

• Out, keep aside: 41B, 42B.

• Tokens on Map:

  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Closed Spawn Gate
  • 1x Closed Spawn Gate
  • 3x Search Area
  • 1x Open Shrine
  • 3x Damaged Wooden Plank
  • 3x Shadow (2+ token)
  • 3x Shadow (4+ token)
  • 3x Waypoint {1, 2, 3}

• Shadows Reserve (by number of Heroes):

  Heroes	Enemy	2 Enemies	Champion	Quest Enemy
  2-3	2	1	2	1
  4-5	5	2

ACT II - Quest XIII: The Shadow Over Heavenshine

Introduction: See Paragraph §13.1.

Enemy Deck: Nightgaunt (1*), Star Vampire (1*), Abyssal Priestess (1*), Nightgaunt (1*), Abyssal Priestess (1*).

• * Add the second copy of this Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck: 36, 46, 5, 44, 48, 42, 50 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Story Events: The three Story Event cards must be immediately resolved only if and when the Red Abyssal Cultist Enemy moves into the same area, Heroes must otherwise ignore them instead.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §13.31.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 132 x Hero
• Crowns: 650
• Treasures: 26 + 3 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine

Quest XIII Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 41B, 43A, 44B, 45B, 46B, 47B, 48B, 49B, 50B, 51B, 52B, 53B, 54B.

• Wall Tiles: 1x between 43A and 54B; 1x between 44B and 49B.

• Tokens on Map:

  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Closed Spawn Gate
  • 1x Closed Spawn Gate
  • 4x Search Area
  • 1x Chest
  • 1x Closed Shrine
  • 1x Locked Door
  • 3x Difficult Overlay
  • 5x Shadow (2+ token)
  • 3x Shadow (4+ token)
  • 4x Waypoint {1, 2, 3, X}

• Shadows Reserve (by number of Heroes):

  Heroes	Citizen	Enemy	2 Enemies	Champion
  2-3	1	3	1

ACT II - Quest XIV: The Call of the Abyssal Lord

Introduction: See Paragraph §14.1.

Enemy Deck: Deep One (1*), Deep One (1*), Nightgaunt (1*).

• * Add the second copy of this Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck: 36, 1, 37, 38, 42, 41, 50, 44, 46, 47, 49 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Begin Area: Once per Round, a single Hero, not engaged in combat, may spend 1 [red activity icon] + 1 [yellow activity icon] activities to acquire 1 card from the Stash.
• Locations D to H: These Locations are considered small underwater cave areas; the Purple Abyssal Lord can't move into or across these areas. There is no L.O.S. between the Abyssal Lord and any Heroes located in these five areas, so they can't target/attack each other (unless the L.O.S. is explicitly ignored by the chosen effect). In addition, in each Time Phase, any Hero located in any of these five areas suffers 1 HP + as many HP as its own [icon] value (min 0).
• Heroes' Ship (38A map tile): The Ship tile can be moved and rotated (see Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet) to be attached to any compatible map tile connector of any map tile in play (where there is enough space to host the 38A map tile).
• Treasure Chest and Search Areas: when a [icon] would be obtained from these objects, the Hero may choose to gain 1 Cannonball token (Cold Side) instead.
• Abyssal Lord Master Enemy: If the Heroes want to fight an even more terrifying variant of the Abyssal Lord, simply use the Ancient Abyssal Lord Master Enemy scroll instead of the standard one.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if there are 7 Damaged Wooden Plank tokens on map tile 38A, OR if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §14.13.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 142 x Hero*
• Crowns: 700
• Treasures: 28 + 4 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine**
• * Phobias: Before starting the Quest, each Hero of the Party must draw and acquire 1 Phobia card. If the Winged Nightmare is drawn, place it back into the deck (it may be acquired later during the Quest) and draw a new Phobia card.
• ** Harbor: Before starting the Quest, the Party may visit §0.5 to buy Cannonballs and enhance their Ship at will.

Quest XIV Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 38A, 39B, 40B, 43B, 44A, 45A, 46A, 47A, 48A, 49A, 50A, 51A, 52A.

• Wall Tiles: 1x between 45A and 47A; 1x between 46A and 51A.

• Tokens on Map:

  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 3x Search Area
  • 2x Chest
  • 1x Open Shrine
  • 0x Shadow (2+ token)
  • 0x Shadow (4+ token)
  • 5x Difficult Overlay

• Shadows Reserve: None.

• Special Elements on Map: None.

• Book of Secrets References:

  Events	§	Miscellaneous	§
  Story Event 1	14.2	Obelisk I	14.3

ACT II - Quest XV: The Dead Man's Chest

Introduction: See Survival Quest Rules, page 20.

Enemy Deck: Initial Decks Setup

• Gather all Green/Blue/Red Enemy cards from the available ACT II game sets: Darkness Falls, Vastaryous' Lair, Galaxy Defenders Aliens (namely Flying Critter, Diggers, and Crimson Nightmare), Northwind Tales, and Abyssal Legends [Out icon] keep aside the Red Abyssal Tentacle and the Red Hunting Horror.
• Shuffle these cards together by color to create 3 different decks, called the Green/Blue/Red Enemy Reserves, containing all Enemy cards of the matching color.
• Also prepare the related Enemy Scroll cards.

Wave I: (Initial Enemy Deck)

• [In icon] Randomly take Green Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 = 4-5-7-8) from the Green Enemy Reserve.
• [In icon] Randomly take 1 Red Enemy card from the Red Enemy Reserve.
• Shuffle all gathered cards together to form the Wave I Enemy deck.

Event Deck: 43, 48, 38, 44, 36, 41, 42, 39, 40, 4, 5 (Shuffle markers as printed).

Special Quest Rules

• Map Tile 38A: Each enemy that remains alone over the Heroes' ship will damage the vessel. So, in each Time Phase, place a Damaged Wooden Plank token in any area of map tile 38A that contains at least one Enemy not engaged in combat (or if already there, into any closest area of the ship that does not contain that token already).
• Hero Turn: At the end of each Hero Turn, the active Hero must roll 1 Die and Spawn 1 Enemy for each [spawn die-face icon] rolled (use Blue Die for a NOVICE difficulty level or Red Die for a VETERAN challenge).
• Three [green die-face icon] results: Each time 3 [green die-face icon] results are obtained in a single Dice roll (regardless of its source/nature), [In icon] unless it is already in play, spawn the Red Abyssal Tentacle Enemy. Set it aside [Out icon] once defeated.
• Event Phases: Each Event card must be immediately discarded after its resolution. This means in each Event Phase, a new Event card must be drawn and resolved.
  • Day (Event 4): When it enters play, leave it in play and shuffle the Event deck with its discard pile (including Night, if already in play).
  • Night (Event 5): When it enters play, leave it in play and shuffle the Event deck with its discard pile (including Day, if already in play).
  • Note: Thanks to Day and Night Event cards, the Event deck unpredictably reshuffles without end.
• Quest Fail: The Quest fails if there are 7 Damaged Wooden Plank tokens on map tile 38A OR, all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Tragic Ending, the last Paragraph of this Quest.

Standalone Quest Values

• Soul Points: 142 x Hero
• Crowns: 900
• Treasures: 30 + 5 Soul Weapon
• Site Sheet: Heavenshine*
• * Harbor: Before starting the Quest, the Party may visit §0.5 to buy Cannonballs and enhance their Ship at will.

Quest XV Map Setup

• Map Tiles: 38A, 39A, 40B, 44A, 45A, 46A, 47A, 48A, 49A, 50A, 51A, 52A, 53A, 54A.

• Tokens on Map:

  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 1x Open Spawn Gate
  • 4x Search Area
  • 2x Chest
  • 1x Open Shrine
  • 1x Silver Magic Lock
  • 1x Golden Magic Lock
  • 3x Shadow (2+ token)
  • 3x Shadow (4+ token)
  • 3x Waypoint {1, 2, 3}

• Shadows Reserve (by number of Heroes):

  Heroes	Enemy	2 Enemies	Champion
  2-3	2	1	2
  4-5	2	2

Survival Quest Rules (Quest XV)

• There are three Waves in this Quest. The Heroes' objective is to survive every Wave consecutively, each time fighting until the Enemy deck is empty and all remaining Enemies have been killed. You must NOT reshuffle the Enemy discard pile, and further Enemy spawns are ignored once the Enemy deck is empty (except for spawn effects using the discard pile as a source).
• Each Wave ends if there are no Enemies in play AND the Enemy deck is empty.
• As soon as these two conditions are met, the Heroes progress to the next Wave, keeping everything unchanged, including the Event and Encounter decks, their current map positions, Items, Powers, Body Conditions, and wounds. The game flow continues normally (with no Enemies in play) until the next Event Phase, when the Story Event matching the completed Wave (i.e., Story Event 1 for Wave I, Story Event 2 for Wave II, and Story Event 3 for Wave III) must be immediately brought into play [In icon] and resolved in place of the next standard Event card.
• Each Story Event provides instructions on how to proceed to the next Wave of the Quest.
• To summarize, at the beginning of the Quest, start playing immediately with Wave I, and continue until it is cleared; then, in the next Event Phase, take and resolve the Story Event 1 card as explained above.

Note: This Quest can be very challenging, and completing it can be really time consuming, so if needed, consider pausing it after completing each Wave by taking note of the game state and resuming from the same point in the next gaming session.

Waypoints, Outcomes and Story Events Resolution (Quest XV)

Waypoint 1

• If this is the first time reading this Paragraph: place 2 Cannonball tokens over this Waypoint. They can be fired from the ship's cannons (Locations T), see Ship Maneuvers Reference Sheet.
• Leave this Waypoint in play even when no more Cannonball tokens remain.

Waypoint 2

• Any Hero, not engaged in combat, over this Waypoint can spend 1 [activity icon] to gain up to three cards from the Stash deck.

Waypoint 3

• Once per Round, a Hero, not engaged in combat, on this Waypoint can spend 1 [activity icon] to choose and roll 1 Blue or 1 Red Die and apply the matching result (this roll cannot be rerolled or modified in any way):
  • Blue Die, [shield icon]: The Hero gains +1 [shield icon] until Time Phase.
  • Blue Die, [star icon]: The Hero removes all his Body Conditions.
  • Blue Die, [lightning icon]: All Heroes and Enemies within 1 area heal 1 HP.
  • Blue Die, [beast icon]: Spawn 2 Enemies.
  • Red Die, [lightning icon]: The Hero can visit the Emporium.
  • Red Die, [star icon]: The Hero gains +1 [icon] until Time Phase.
  • Red Die, [S-shaped icon]: Place 1 [token icon] token over Waypoint 1.
  • Red Die, [beast icon]: Spawn 1 Enemy with +1 [icon] from the Discard Pile.

Story Event 1

• If this is the first time resolving this Event:
  • Roll a Blue Die. [In icon] Place the Silver Magic Key over the rolled Spawn Gate. Any hero in the same area can pick up the Silver Magic Key as a [Action icon] Action; it is treated as a standard Miscellaneous Item with 0 Weight. The Hero carrying the Silver Magic Key can open the Silver Magic Lock by spending 1 [activity icon]. If done: discard both Magic Lock and Key, then open the corresponding Chest without drawing a Trap card.
  • [Out icon] Keep aside all the Enemy cards in the discard pile; these cards become the "Wave I Enemy discard pile."
  • Heroes pass immediately to the next Wave, keeping everything unchanged, including the Event and Encounter decks, their current map positions, Items, Body Conditions, and wounds.
  • Prepare the Enemy deck for Wave II as follows:
    • [In icon] Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 = 4-5-7-8) from the Blue Enemy Reserve.
    • [In icon] Randomly take Red Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 = 1-1-2-2) from the Red Enemy Reserve.
    • Shuffle all gathered cards together to form the Wave II Enemy deck.
  • Resume play starting immediately with Wave II and continue until it is cleared; then, in the next Event Phase, [In icon] take and resolve Story Event 2 as explained in the Survival rules of page 20.
• Otherwise: all non-engaged Heroes can visit the Emporium.

Story Event 2

• If this is the first time resolving this Event:
  • Roll a Blue Die. [In icon] Place the Golden Magic Key over the rolled Spawn Gate. Any hero in the same area can pick up the Golden Magic Key as a [Action icon] Action; it is treated as a standard Miscellaneous Item with 0 Weight. The Hero carrying the Golden Magic Key can open the Golden Magic Lock by spending 1 [activity icon]. If done: discard both Magic Lock and Key, then open the corresponding Chest without drawing a Trap card.
  • [Out icon] Keep aside all the Enemy cards in the discard pile; these cards become the "Wave II Enemy discard pile."
  • Heroes pass immediately to the next Wave, keeping everything unchanged, including the Event and Encounter decks, their current map positions, Items, Body Conditions, and wounds.
  • Prepare the Enemy deck for Wave III as follows:
    • [In icon] Randomly take Green Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 = 2-3-5-6) from the Green Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Green Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the [Out icon] "Wave I Enemy discard pile."
    • [In icon] Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 = 2-3-5-6) from the Blue Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Blue Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the [Out icon] "Wave II Enemy discard pile."
    • [In icon] Take the Red Hunting Horror Enemy card.
    • Shuffle all gathered cards together to form the Wave III Enemy deck.
  • Resume play starting immediately with Wave III and continue until it is cleared; then, in the next Event Phase, [In icon] take and resolve Story Event 3 as explained in the Survival rules of page 20.
• Otherwise: place 1 [token icon] over Waypoint 1.

Story Event 3

• If there are no Heroes in Ghost Soul Form at the end of this Quest: go to Grand Finale.
• Otherwise: This challenging Journey ends here... Lord Protectors of the Sea!

Grand Finale

• This challenging Journey ends here... Lord Protectors of the Sea!

Tragic Ending

• Travel in the Kingdom map (back of the Storybook) to any Bronze or Silver Label the Party desires. However, All the paragraphs of Heavenshine must be ignored now, only the Site Sheet Buildings can be used (by spending [Hourglass icon] as usual.)
• This Quest can be attempted again, even if the requirements of the Venture card XV are no longer satisfied.

8. Kingdom Map Labels

The back of the Storybook shows the Kingdom map. Its printed Labels, with the Paragraph or Quest each one names, are:

• Begin: An Unexpected Journey, §0.1
• Coffer, §0.2
• Fireplace, §0.3
• Bed, §0.4
• Harbor, §0.5
• Heavenshine Abbey, §0.6
• Pirates Hell: Quest XV
• Skull Rock: Quest X
• Abyssal Awakening: Quest XIV
• Path of the Stars: Quest XIII
• R'lyeh: Quest XII
• The Nightmare: Quest XI
• Grand Finale, §0.999

9. Discover the New Heroes of the Ancient Chronicles Saga

The Storybook's descriptions of these Heroes are omitted; the rule each one carries is kept.

• Abraham can be played as either a Gunslinger or an Occultist.
• Asteria can be played as either an Amazon or a Gunslinger.
• Arthur can be played as either a King or an Emperor.
• Merlin can be played as either a Battlemage or a Spellword.