Sword & Sorcery: Myths of the Arena

Expansion for Sword & Sorcery: Immortal Souls

Sword & Sorcery: Myths of the Arena Rulebook

Table of Contents

1. Component List
2. Welcome to the Arena!
3. Integrating the Game Contents
4. Building the Arena
5. Playing Myths of the Arena
Gods of the Arena Quests (ACT I)
- ACT I - Quest I: Another Glorious Day in the Arena
- ACT I - Quest II: In the Wolf's Den
Lords of Endless Pain Quests
Gods of the Arena Quests (ACT II)
- Kings of the Arena - ACT II - Quest IV: Lupus Mutat Pilum, Non Mentem
- Gods of the Arena - ACT II - Quest V: Kings of the Arena
Lords of Endless Pain Quests (ACT II)
6. Clash of the Heroes Rules
Clash of the Heroes PvP Quests
Rules Reference Sheet

1. Component List

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

1 Book of Secrets
1 Rules Reference sheet and 1 Pitfall Reference sheet
1 Double-sided Site Sheet (Coop/PvP)
2 Red Enemy figures
2 Purple Master Enemy figures
13 Double-sided map tiles
2 Master Enemy Scrolls
2 Enemy Scrolls
2 Enemy cards
20 Event cards
3 Trap cards
6 Enemy Power Quest cards
5 Invicta - Arena Blessing Quest cards
8 Reward Quest cards (hidden by 7 black reward cover cards)
6 Venture Quest cards

Tokens & Markers:

10 Pitfalls
11 Lava Hindrances
3 Difficult Hindrances
3 Deadly Hindrances
2 Pitfall Blade Tips
10 Short Walls
8 Long Walls
8 Cerberus Infernal Flame
4 Party Markers
4 Gods' Shrines
8 Traps
4 Numbered Medals
1 Gold Lock + Gold Key
1 Silver Lock + Silver Key
12 Fire
6 Magic Shields
9 Charges
6 +2/-2 Armor
10 Condition Pyramids
24 Wounds
2 Flying
2 Airborne

Note: Some quests will provide legendary rewards for those who rise as champions, BUT these reward cards must remain secret until that moment. For this reason, the 8 Reward Quest cards and 7 black reward cover cards are at the bottom of the sealed card deck included with this game box. Do not reveal the next Reward card until instructed by the Book of Secrets.

2. Welcome to the Arena!

Hail, Strangers! Myths of the Arena introduces several new game rules and effects. Most importantly, it adds three different game modes:

Gods of the Arena, a story composed of four Side-Quests across the two ACTs of any S&S saga to crown the heroes as true eternal champions.
Lords of Endless Pain, a survival game including two Quests across the two ACTs of any S&S saga to test the heroes' bravery.
Clash of the Heroes, a Player(s) versus Player(s) (PvP) competitive game mode to discover who is the real hero of the sands. (See section 6, page 28.)

This manual gives detailed instructions on how to set up any of these modes using the standard game rules from S&S: Ancient Chronicles, in addition to what is detailed here.

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 Reference Sheet, downloadable from https://sword-and-sorcery.com.

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

For instance, if Heroes want to integrate this expansion during 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.

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 Enemy and Master Enemy figures, cards, and Scrolls are treated as usual; their setup and use depends entirely on the chosen Quest.
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 of other game sets outside this expansion.
Quests. Out of all the cards included in this expansion, only the Quest cards, such as Ventures and Rewards, may be used in the S&S saga story campaign the Heroes are currently playing. How and when they are integrated will be indicated by the chosen Myths of the Arena game mode (see Section 5, page 8).
Traps. The three Trap cards included in this expansion must be used to replace the three "No Trap" cards of the chosen Core Set only when playing Myths of the Arena. When you return to play Quests of any other Core Set or expansion, revert back to the original Trap deck.

3. Integrating the Game Contents

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

3.1 Cards, Figures, and Tokens

Since Myths of the Arena can be played as Side-Quests of either of the two Sword & Sorcery sagas (Immortal Souls or Ancient Chronicles), 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 chosen game set and ACT the heroes are currently playing.

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 Sword & Sorcery 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 Arena of Aegis Site Sheet

Included in this box is a double-sided Site Sheet that illustrates the Arena and its Buildings.

The front side, called "Arena of Aegis," is used by the Gods of the Arena and the Lords of Endless Pain Quests.
The back side, called "Clash of the Heroes," is used for the Player(s) versus Player(s) competitions (PvP mode). In this second mode, all Heroes belonging to the same Team form a separate Party to fight in the arena against another Party. For instance, in a competitive game involving 3 different Teams, there will be 3 different Parties.

Regardless of the game mode, the Party marker of the preferred color can be used to keep track of the current position of a Team or Party of Heroes and to travel (i.e. move) between the different districts of the Arena, using these rules:

The Party always moves as a single entity, and no Hero Powers can affect gameplay in this moment except if they are listed as "Journey."
Heroes of the same Party can always exchange Items and Crowns while visiting the Site Sheet; they can also access their Stash Items.
Except for Clash of the Heroes mode, when the Party reaches the Site Sheet, place the Party marker in the lower part of the sheet while one player reads aloud the paragraph of the B.o.S. noted after "In" at the top of the sheet (§0.1).
The group can now visit other Paragraphs and Buildings (cards printed or placed over the Site Sheet's slots) by moving the Party token there. The Arena of Aegis is a magical location where time flows in a different way, so no Hourglass tokens (S&S: Ancient Chronicles saga only) are needed or spent when visiting this place.
When the Party enters a Building, each Hero of the Team or Party can use its effects by individually paying the cost indicated.
During each visit to the Arena, empty Building slots on the Sheet can be filled (with the agreement of all players) with Quest Building cards gained by the Heroes during their Quests, such as Guilds or other Services (limited by the number of available slots).
Except for Clash of the Heroes mode, if the Party decides to leave the Arena without beginning a Quest, it must travel out of the Sheet by following the Paragraph noted as "Out" on top of the Sheet (§0.25).

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.

4. Building the Arena

Regardless of the chosen game mode, the Arena of Aegis map is built using the following map tiles:

5 tiles labeled from 1 to 5 representing the arena's heart of sand, double-sided and marked with "D" and "N" to represent Day and Night scenarios.
4 tiles labeled from 6 to 9 representing the arena's stands, also marked with "D" and "N" sides.
4 tiles to create the arena's corners, labeled from 1 to 4 and marked with "H" to represent the Heroes' rooms (mostly used in PvP game mode) and, on the other side, "C" to represent various statues and thrones.
Various Doors, Pitfalls, Walls, and other token overlays.

Each Quest indicates how to build up the Arena before the fight.

4.1 Movement in the Arena

Areas are considered adjacent ONLY when they share at least one common edge (not just a corner). Areas separated by walls, tile edges not connected (even partially), or corners are not considered to be adjacent.

Nonadjacent areas are highlighted by red straight arrows in the printed example image.

4.2 Pitfalls

Pitfalls are deadly or benevolent effects that can appear in place of the four dragon pillar areas of the arena to make the fight even more cruel and spectacular.

In game terms, up to 4 out of 10 available Pitfall overlays can be placed at the same time on the map, as directed by the game, over the central area (the stone pillar with the S&S Dragon heads) of the map tiles 2, 3, 4, and 5, on both the Night and Day sides.

Note: in some cases, the game may require putting in play a 5th Pitfall over the 1D/N tile.

Enemies consider Pitfalls as Hindrances. This means they will move over them only if they represent the only possible walking path, their final destination, or when pushed by Heroes. However, as opposed to Difficult and Deadly terrain effects, Enemies do not ignore Pitfall effects.

Open Pitfall. Each time a Character moves over an Open Pitfall (i.e., entering its area, even accidentally), its effect must be applied to that Character (even if flying).
Closed Pitfall. A Closed Pitfall on the map has no effect.

Pitfall	Name - Effect
I	Ice – The Character suffers Slow. If the Character is on Fire: it removes all its Fire tokens.
II	Fire – The Character suffers Fire ACT. If the Character is Slowed: it removes the Slow Body Condition.
III	Holy – The Character must roll 1 Blue Die. If the rolled result shows the icon printed in the source (a small emblem that could not be read as text in the text layer; see the page 5 image): it suffers ACT HP, otherwise: it heals ACT HP.
IV	Thunder – The Character suffers Stun.
V	Sand – No effect.

*Pitfalls IX and X are special in the following ways:

They are built by two pieces, Base and Blade, that must be assembled after they have been selected for use but before placing them on the map.
When placed on the map, the Base must reside on one of the indicated stone pillars as usual, while the Blade must be oriented toward the center of the arena (the 1D/N map tile).
Their effect is applied by the Blade piece only; the Base part is harmless. This means the Blade hits the Characters when they enter its area but also when the Blade enters the Characters' area at the end of each rotation.

Rotating Blades examples (printed diagrams omitted):

At the end of each Hero Turn, rotate Pitfall IX and its Blade tip 90° clockwise. There is no further effect because there are no Characters in the Blade's area after rotation.
At the end of each Hero Turn, rotate Pitfall X and its Blade tip 90° counterclockwise. In this case, Pitfall X inflicts ACT HP and Bleed ACT to the Blue Orc Warrior Enemy.

Moving into a Pitfall examples (printed diagrams omitted):

Artemis moves through the Pitfall II area to avoid the Enemies, but in this case, she suffers a Fire effect equal to the ACT of the story campaign she is currently playing.
Artemis can safely move over the central area of the 5D map tile (corresponding to the Base of Pitfall IX), but if she prefers to move into the Blade's area, then she immediately suffers a number of HP equal to the ACT of the story campaign she is currently playing.

4.2.1 Pitfall Additional Notes

Damage and effects caused by Pitfalls to Enemies are never attributed to Heroes and vice versa. For instance using a Bash effect to move a Master Enemy over a Metal Blade Pitfall will NOT affect the Menacing token.

Sometimes the game may require the players to randomly select Pitfalls; this can be easily done by drawing them from a bag or using a "D10" roll (rerolling it if the result indicates a Pitfall already in play).

4.2.2 Pitfall Placement and Rules

When a Pitfall is placed on the map (always open, unless otherwise indicated), its effects must be applied immediately to all Characters in its area AND also in adjacent areas, similarly to an AoE 1 effect.

The same rule must be applied when the Pitfall effect is activated by the activation icon (not reproducible as text here), or recalled by a game element, such as an Encounter card, an Event card, a Book of Secrets Paragraph, or an Enemy power.

Note: Pitfalls IX and X work slightly differently: when placed on the map, they immediately perform a 360° rotation, so all Characters located in the four areas the Blade enters due to the rotation suffer the Pitfall effects.

Pitfall placement and activation examples (printed diagrams omitted; the source text for these examples is not in the text layer).

4.3 Trap Tokens

Trap tokens represent the many live traps scattered on the ground of the arena. While they are ignored by Enemies, when any non-Flying Hero enters an area containing a Trap token, he must attempt a Save. If he succeeds at the Save, the Trap is avoided but remains in the area until the same or another Hero enters the area again. If he fails the Save, the trap is triggered! When this happens, the Hero must draw a Trap card and apply its effects starting from the Trap's area, then discard the Trap token.

There cannot be more than 1 Trap token per area; for this reason, ignore any effect placing a second Trap token where one is already present.

4.4 Wall Overlays

Long and Short Walls are used to change the shape of the arena as indicated by the Quest. These overlays work as standard Walls, blocking both L.O.S. and Movement Path (the different colors do not affect gameplay).

4.5 Lava Hindrance Tokens

The Lava Hindrance token represents the perpetually burning fires of a map tile's area. It can be part of the initial setup or placed on the map later, but in either case, each area cannot have more than 1 Lava token.

The inactive side of the Lava token (gray side) produces no effects but still counts as a Lava token for the area limit.
Each non-flying Character moving into an area with an active Lava token immediately suffers a Fire effect (i.e., taking the appropriate Fire token) equal to the ACT of the Quest played.
A Fire effect also occurs if a Lava token is placed in an area already containing a Character.
The Lava tokens on the map usually remain until the end of the Quest, unless a special game effect indicates differently.

When placed or activated by the activation icon (not reproducible as text here), Pitfall II inflicts a Fire ACT effect on all Characters located in its area and in the four adjacent areas.

4.6 Infernal Flames

When placed or activated by the activation icon (not reproducible as text here), Pitfall IX/X performs a 360° rotation, inflicting its effects on all Characters located in the four areas where the Blade tip enters. The Base part of the Pitfall produces no effects.

The Cerberus Master Enemy is able to spread infernal flames over the battlefield. Once placed on the map, these flames are permanent. In terms of damage effects they are considered as standard Fire I tokens by Heroes (and completely ignored by Enemies), while for Cerberus they represent a way to increase its power. In fact, when Cerberus moves into the same area as an Infernal Flame, it immediately obtains the Infernal Blessing Quest card (if it does not have it already) by discarding the Infernal Flame token.

The two Infernal Blessing Quest cards printed in this expansion read as follows (the card icons are not reproducible as text, so they are shown as "[icon]"):

Infernal Blessing (Cerberus). While affected by this power, Cerberus gains: +1 [icon] and +1 [icon]. Its [icon] and [icon] inflict [icon]: Fire ACT. At the end of the next Enemy Turn, do these in order: If this Enemy was not activated: activate it. Discard this card. This does not count against the three Quest limit.
Infernal Blessing (any Enemy). While affected by this power, this Enemy gains: +1 [icon] and +1 [icon]. Its [icon] and [icon] inflict [icon]: Fire ACT. At the end of the next Enemy Turn, do these in order: If this Enemy was not activated: activate it. Discard this card. This does not count against the three Quest limit.

Note: One of the Infernal Blessing cards is dedicated to Cerberus, while the others can be used to enhance other Enemies.

5. Playing Myths of the Arena

The next sections illustrate how to integrate this expansion into your Sword & Sorcery experience.

5.1 Gods of the Arena

Gladiators, captives, and creatures of every type are summoned to the arena from everywhere in the realms to fight for the enjoyment of the spectators. Are your Heroes brave enough and strong enough to challenge the unspeakable dangers and lethal creatures of the arena and survive the final fight against the legendary champions, Cerberus and the Nemean Lion, to finally become Gods of the Arena?

5.1.1 How to Access the Arena

Simply assign the Venture IV Quest card to the Party at any moment in their current story campaign, and when any Venture card is fulfilled (that means all Heroes have the minimum required Soulrank and are able to discard the required amount of Crowns), it will provide access to the Arena of Aegis Site Sheet (reading Paragraph §0.1 of this expansion's Book of Secrets) based on the S&S saga being played:

S&S: Ancient Chronicles saga: the Party can visit any Venture Outpost to access the Arena of Aegis.
S&S: Immortal Souls saga: the Party can access the Arena of Aegis instead of starting the next expected Immortal Souls campaign Quest. The campaign will be resumed normally after completing the Arena Quest(s).

The story of these four "trials," Side-Quests to become gladiators remembered as true Gods of the Arena, runs parallel to the main plot of the Heroes' saga(s). These Quests are accessible through the four Venture cards provided (IV and V for ACT I; VII and VIII for ACT II).

Each of these four Side-Quests can also be played as a standalone game by using the starting values provided for each Quest.

Note: Those Quests represent real challenges. Heroes must be more than prepared to face the perils of the Arena. Fighting with the minimum Soulrank required can be dangerous.

5.2 Lords of Endless Pain

Just like in the Gods of the Arena mode, Lords of Endless Pain introduces 2 new Side-Quests. The Lords of Endless Pain Quests are characterized by very challenging, almost endless waves of random Enemies. Surviving these waves allows the Heroes to achieve some mythic prizes. To play them, assign the Venture Quest cards VI (ACT I) and IX (ACT II) to the Party at any moment; these two survival Quests are playable as Side-Quests (one per ACT) during the Heroes' current campaign by satisfying the Venture requirements to prove your Heroes' bravery! Once any Venture's requirements are achieved, simply follow the instruction to access the Arena of Aegis site as detailed in the previous section, Gods of the Arena. Either Side-Quest can also be played as a standalone game by using the starting values provided with each Quest.

Note: Lords of Endless Pain Quests do not use the Book of Secrets; the paragraphs related to Waypoints and Story Events are written directly in this Storybook, just after each Quest Setup page.

5.3 Clash of the Heroes

This game mode introduces something completely new to the Sword and Sorcery game experience: a competitive contest to discover who is the best! Teams of Heroes face each other in a lethal fight.

The complete PvP Game Rules and Quests are located starting at Section 6, page 26 of this manual.

5.4 Let the Fight Begin!

Myths of the Arena runs across the two ACTs of the Story Campaign and is perfectly compatible with any Sword & Sorcery content, so:

Choose your saga and play the three ACT I Quests: Immortal Souls or Ancient Chronicles.
Complete it with a Story expansion to face the three ACT II Quests: Darkness Falls or Northwind Tales.
Add any other expansion to improve the game experience.

Note: Players having both Immortal Souls and Ancient Chronicles game sets are welcomed to use and mix them together. This would allow more variety when playing Myths of the Arena quests.

Gods of the Arena Quests (ACT I)

Note on the Book of Secrets: the Gods of the Arena Quests (Quests I, II, IV and V) send the players to numbered paragraphs (§) of the Book of Secrets, a separate printed booklet. The Book of Secrets is not part of this storybook PDF, so its paragraph text is not transcribed here. Only the Quest setups and the rules printed in this storybook are transcribed. The Lords of Endless Pain Quests (III and VI) do not use the Book of Secrets; their Waypoints and Story Events are printed in this storybook.

ACT I - Quest I: Another Glorious Day in the Arena

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text. It ends by directing players to Paragraph §1.1 of the Book of Secrets.

Enemy Deck

Ancient Chronicles saga: Giant Spider (green) 2; Hobgremlin (green) 1*; Serpent (green) 1; Tyrant Lizard (blue) 1*; Black Dwarf (blue) 1.
Immortal Souls saga: Gremlin (green) 1; Raider (green) 1*; Orc Warrior (green) 1; Gremlin (blue) 2; Raider (blue) 1*.
* Add the second copy of each Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck (shuffle each group separately, then stack the groups in this order):

Events 18, 19 - Shuffle
Events 4, 7 - Shuffle
Events 8, 10, 17 - Shuffle
Events 15, 20 - Shuffle

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: Each Hero must choose which of the 3 Begin areas he wants to start the Quest in BEFORE revealing the Shadows in play.
Enemies: Defeated Green Enemies, Blue Enemies, and Minions don't provide any reward. This means these Enemies don't award the reward icons shown in the source (the four printed reward symbols, which are not reproducible as text here).
Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT I - Quest I Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1D, 2D, 2H, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D.
Wall Tiles: 2x Short Walls on 1C; 2x Short Walls on 4C.
Tokens on Map: 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 3x Search Area; 1x Chest; 1x Golden Magic Lock; 1x Silver Magic Lock; 4x Shadow (2+); 3x Shadow (4+); 4x Trap; 3x Waypoint (1, 2, 3).
Shadows Reserve:

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

Book of Secrets References:

Events	§	Waypoints	§
Story Event 1	1.5	Waypoint 1	1.2
Story Event 2	1.7	Waypoint 2	1.4
Day	1.6	Waypoint 3	1.8

Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 9 x Hero; Crowns: 125; Treasures: 3; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

ACT I - Quest II: In the Wolf's Den

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text. It directs players to read the Special Quest Rules and then Paragraph §2.1 of the Book of Secrets.

Enemy Deck

Ancient Chronicles saga: Giant Spider (green) 1*; Hobgremlin (green) 2; Tyrant Lizard (blue) 1*; Black Dwarf (blue) 1.
Immortal Souls saga: Raider (green) 2; Orc Shaman (green) 1*; Gremlins Pack (blue) 1; Raider (blue) 1*.
* Add the second copy of each Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck (in stack order, left to right): Events 5, 14, then 19 and 20 shuffled together, then S2, 12, S1, then 10 and 15 shuffled together.

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: Each Hero must choose which of the 4 Begin areas he wants to start the Quest in BEFORE reading Paragraph §2.1.
Enemies: Defeated Green Enemies, Blue Enemies, and Minions don't provide any reward. This means these Enemies don't award the reward icons shown in the source (the four printed reward symbols, which are not reproducible as text here).
Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT I - Quest II Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1N, 2C, 2N, 3C, 3N, 4C, 4N, 5N, 6N, 7N, 8N, 9N.
Wall Tiles: 4x Long Walls between 2N-3N, 3N-4N, 4N-5N, and 5N-2N.
Tokens on Map: 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 4x Search Area; 1x Chest; 1x Difficult Overlay; 1x Closed Shrine; 4x Trap.
Special Elements on Map: 6x Waypoint (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, X). Shuffle Waypoints 1-2-3-4-5-X and randomly place them face down as indicated by the Map setup. When a Hero moves over one of these Waypoints, flip it face up and resolve it normally.

Events	§	Waypoints	§
Story Event 1	2.5	Waypoint 1	2.2
Story Event 2	2.7	Waypoint 2	2.2
Night	2.3	Waypoint 3	2.2
		Waypoint 4	2.4
		Waypoint 5	2.6
		Waypoint X	2.9

Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 15 x Hero; Crowns: 250; Treasures: 6; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

Lords of Endless Pain Quests

ACT I - Quest III: Survival Prologue

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text. It directs players to the Survival Quest Rules on page 16 of this storybook.

Enemy Deck: Initial Decks Setup

Gather all Green / Blue / Red Enemy cards from the available ACT I game sets: Immortal Souls (except Green and Blue Gremlin Pack and Red Gremlin), Arcane Portal, Galaxy Defenders Aliens (namely Spine Critter, Aracnos, and Xeno-Beast), and Ancient Chronicles.
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)

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

Event Deck (stack order, left to right; shuffle each bracketed pair or group together):

Events 8, 9 - Shuffle
Events 7, 11 - Shuffle
Events 6, 19 - Shuffle
Events 13, 17 - Shuffle
Events 4, 5 - Shuffle

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: Each Hero must choose which of the 4 Begin areas he wants to start the Quest in BEFORE revealing the Shadows in play.
Hero Turn: At the end of each Hero Turn, the active Hero must roll 1 Die and Spawn 1 Enemy for each spawn-icon result rolled (the die face symbol, not reproducible as text here). Use a Blue Die for a NOVICE difficulty level or a Red Die for a VETERAN challenge.
Three results: Each time 3 results showing the creature icon (not reproducible as text here) are obtained in a single Dice roll (regardless of its source/nature), unless it is already in play, spawn the Red Gremlin Enemy (from Immortal Souls Core Set. If this Enemy is not available: ignore this effect.). Set it aside (the "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 all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT I - Quest III Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1D, 2H, 2D, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D.
Wall Tiles: 2x Short Walls on 6D; 2x Short Walls on 7D; 2x Short Walls on 8D; 2x Short Walls on 9D.
Tokens on Map: 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 4x Search Area; 1x Chest; 1x Silver Magic Lock; 1x Difficult Overlay; 1x Open Shrine; 2x Shadow (2+); 2x Shadow (4+); 3x Trap; 3x Waypoint (1, 2, 3).
Shadows Reserve:

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

Special Elements on Map: Pitfall VIII: Roll a Blue Die. Take Pitfall VIII and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate.
Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 32 x Hero; Crowns: 375; Treasures: 9; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

Survival Rules (Lords of Endless Pain)

Transcription note for this section: icons that do not survive text extraction are shown as "[icon]" with a description where the printed symbol could be identified from the page image; the numbered and lettered rules are otherwise as printed.

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.

Campaign Extra Rules

All Powers, Items, Crowns, Soul Points, and Soulranks belonging to the Heroes can be used, spent, and lost in this Quest; however, except for Chests and Quest Rewards, everything else gained during this Quest can only be held, spent, and used during this Quest. They must be discarded at the end of the Quest. (Items, Crowns, and Soul Points gained during the Quest can be used to replace those spent or lost during the Quest, but any excess is lost.) Only items acquired from Chests or Quest Rewards can be carried outside this Quest.

Waypoints and Story Events Resolution

Waypoint 1 - The Healing Well

A small gift to the gladiators to make the challenge more... interesting!

If this is the first time reading this Paragraph: place 1 [icon] token over this Waypoint.
While there is at least 1 [icon] over this Waypoint, any Hero on this Waypoint, and not engaged in combat, may spend 1 [potion icon] to discard 1 [icon] from this Waypoint to heal up to his maximum HP and remove all his Body Conditions.
Leave this Waypoint in play even when no more [icon] tokens remain.

Waypoint 2 - The Stash

A magical Stash containing all the items belonging to the Heroes!

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

Waypoint 3 - Pitfall of Fortune

A... Pitfall of Fortune! Who is ready to challenge fate?

Once per Round, a Hero, not engaged in combat, on this Waypoint can spend 1 [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):

Result	Blue Die	Red Die
[shield icon]	The Hero gains +1 [shield icon] until Time Phase.	The Hero can visit the Emporium.
[star icon]	The Hero removes all his Body Conditions.	The Hero gains +1 [icon] until Time Phase.
[lightning icon]	All Heroes and Enemies within 1 area heal 1 HP.	Place 1 [icon] token over Waypoint 1.
[creature icon]	Spawn 2 Enemies.	Spawn 1 Enemy with +1 [icon] from the Discard Pile.

Story Event 1

"Better to fight for something than live for nothing!"

If this is the first time resolving this Event:
- Roll a Blue Die. Randomly draw 1 Pitfall and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate that does not already contain a Pitfall (reroll if needed).
- Keep aside all Enemy cards in the discard pile ([Out icon]); 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:
  - Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 4-5-7-8 Blue Enemy cards) from the Blue Enemy Reserve. ([In icon])
  - Randomly take Red Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 1-1-2-2 Red Enemy cards) from the Red Enemy Reserve. ([In icon])
  - 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, take and resolve Story Event 2 as explained in the Survival rules of page 16. ([In icon])
Otherwise: all non-engaged Heroes can visit the Emporium.

Story Event 2

"It's only after you have lost everything that you are free to fight anyone."

If this is the first time resolving this Event:
- Roll a Blue Die. Randomly draw 1 Pitfall and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate that does not already contain a Pitfall (reroll if needed).
- 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 [pick-up 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 [icon]. If done: discard both Magic Lock and Key, then open the corresponding Chest without drawing a Trap card.
- Keep aside all Enemy cards in the discard pile ([Out icon]); 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:
  - Randomly take Green Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 2-3-5-6 Green Enemy cards) from the Green Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Green Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the "Wave I Enemy discard pile." ([In icon])
  - Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 2-3-5-6 Blue Enemy cards) from the Blue Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Blue Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the "Wave II Enemy discard pile." ([In icon])
  - Take the Red Nemean Lion Enemy card. ([In icon])
  - 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, take and resolve Story Event 3 as explained in the Survival rules of page 16. ([In icon])
Otherwise: place 1 [icon] token over Waypoint 1.

Story Event 3

The calm elicited by the death of all enemies is brutally interrupted by the roar of the crowd, driven delirious by the spectacle of blood. The heroes now as a team of gladiators rising up as champions of the arena thanks to the blood of their defeated opponents. Deeds truly deserving of avatars of the Gods!

The Party obtains the following Quest Rewards (which can be carried outside this Quest in Campaign Mode):
- The Champions of the Arena and Elders' Lesser Gift Quest cards (both hidden by the Black "Lords of Endless Pain Quest III Reward" cover card), 3 [gem icon] per Hero, plus 100 [coin icon] per Hero.
If there are no Heroes in Ghost Soul Form at the end of this Quest: go to Grand Finale.
Otherwise: go to Ending.

Grand Finale

"You have overcome all perils and defeated endless enemies by staying united until the end, showing courage, cohesion, and extreme skill... this is the right reward for your deeds!"

The Party obtains the following additional Quest Reward (which can be carried outside this Quest in Campaign Mode):
- The Endless Agony Quest card (hidden by the Black "Lords of Endless Pain Quest III Special Reward" cover card).
Go to Ending.

Ending

"The names of the gladiators who survived today will live forever!"

The used Venture VI card must be removed from the current Campaign.
The Party must:
- (Ancient Chronicles saga) Return to their last Venture Outpost they visited.
- (Immortal Souls saga) Proceed to the next expected campaign Quest.

Gods of the Arena Quests (ACT II)

Kings of the Arena - ACT II - Quest IV: Lupus Mutat Pilum, Non Mentem

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text and gives no rule pointer; the Quest is run from the Special Quest Rules, the Map Setup, and the Book of Secrets paragraphs that follow.

Enemy Deck

Ancient Chronicles saga: Hobgremlin (green) 1; Elder Spider (red) 1; Drakendwarf (blue) 2; Elf Witch (blue) 1*; Frostguard (green) 1*; Dryad (green) 1.
Immortal Souls saga: Gremlins Pack (blue) 1; Orc Shaman (blue) 1; Gremlin (red) 1; Dark Raider (green) 1*; Dark Raider (blue) 1*; Succubus (green) 1; Succubus (blue) 1.
* Add the second copy of each Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Colour note: the colour of each Enemy is read from its card as printed on this page (green, blue, or red); the Special Quest Rules name the Blue Dark Raider and the Green Frostguard specifically.

Event Deck (stack order, left to right): Event S1; Events 4 and 8 shuffled together; Event 10; Event S2; Event 12; Events 5 and 18 shuffled together; Events 6 and 19 shuffled together.

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: Each Hero must choose which of the 3 Begin areas he wants to start the Quest in BEFORE revealing the Shadows in play.
Event Phase: Ignore the Enemy spawn of all Event cards other than Night (Event 4) and Story Events I, II, and III.
Enemies: Defeated Green Enemies, Blue Enemies, and Minions don't provide any reward. This means these Enemies don't award the reward icons shown in the source (the four printed reward symbols, which are not reproducible as text here).
Red Enemies: When any Red Enemy except Cerberus dies, remove it from the Quest.
Blue Dark Raider and Green Frostguard Enemies: The first time one of these Enemies dies, place a 1 [icon] token in its area. This token does not act as a normal 1 [icon] token; its only function is to keep track of the area where the Enemy died.
Golden Magic Key: Any hero in the same area as the Golden Magic Key can pick it up spending 1 Action; it is treated as a standard Miscellaneous Item with 0 Weight (i.e., it does not occupy space in the Inventory).
Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT II - Quest IV Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1H, 1N, 2H, 2D, 3C, 3D, 4H, 4D, 5D, 6N, 7N, 8N, 9N.
Wall Tiles: 4x Long Walls between 2D-3D, 3D-4D, 4D-5D, and 5D-2D.
Tokens on Map: 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 1x Closed Spawn Gate; 3x Search Area; 1x Chest; 1x Golden Magic Key; 1x Open Shrine; 2x Shadow (2+); 2x Shadow (4+); 5x Trap; 4x Waypoint (1, 2, 3, X).
Shadows Reserve:

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

Special Elements on Map: Shuffle Waypoints 1, 2, 3, X and randomly place them face down as indicated by the Map setup (see image above). When a Hero moves over one of these Waypoints, flip it face up and resolve it normally.

Events	§	Waypoints	§
Story Event 1	4.1	Waypoint 1	4.2
Story Event 2	4.14	Waypoint 2	4.3
Story Event 3	4.18	Waypoint 3	4.4
Night	4.20	Waypoint X	4.5

Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 44 x Hero; Crowns: 500; Treasures: 13; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

Gods of the Arena - ACT II - Quest V: Kings of the Arena

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text. It directs players to Paragraph §5.1 of the Book of Secrets.

Enemy Deck

Ancient Chronicles saga: Northern Warg (green) 1*; White Yeren (blue) 1*; Nemean Lion (In Play, Charging Stance side) 1.
Immortal Souls saga: Werewolf (green) 1*; Werewolf (blue) 1*; Nemean Lion (In Play, Charging Stance side) 1.
* Add the second copy of each Enemy if there are more than 3 Heroes.

Event Deck (stack order, left to right): Events 5 and 19 shuffled together; Event 6; Event 14; Event S1; Event 4; Events 15 and 17 shuffled together.

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: At least 1 Hero must be placed in the Begin area of the 4N map tile. Each other Hero must choose which of the 2 Begin areas he wants to start in, with the restriction that no more than half of the Heroes may reside over the Begin area of the 4N map tile. The Heroes' positioning must happen BEFORE revealing the Shadows in play.
Enemies: Defeated Green Enemies, Blue Enemies, and Minions don't provide any reward. This means these Enemies don't award the reward icons shown in the source (the four printed reward symbols, which are not reproducible as text here).
Starting Areas (as printed; the label is repeated in the source for this rule, which concerns Lava): Each time the Nemean Lion enters any area containing a Lava Hindrance token, roll a Blue Die. If the rolled result shows the fire icon shown in the source: this Enemy suffers Fire I (instead of Fire II), otherwise: the Lava is ignored.
Note: Heroes moving across an area containing a Lava token suffer Fire II (even when indirectly moved, for instance due to the Hook Power of the Nemean Lion).
Quest Fail: The Quest fails if the last Event card is discarded OR all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT II - Quest V Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1N, 2C, 2N, 3H, 3N, 4C, 4N, 5N, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D.
Tokens on Map: 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 1x Open Spawn Gate; 4x Search Area; 2x Chest; 8x Lava Hindrance; 1x Open Shrine; 1x Shadow (2+); 1x Shadow (4+); 1x Trap; 6x Waypoint (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, X).
Shadows Reserve:

Heroes	2 Enemies	Champion
2-3	1	0
4-5	1	1

Special Elements on Map: Take Waypoints 4 and 5 and randomly place them face down over the areas indicated above. When a Hero moves over one of these Waypoints, flip it face up and resolve it normally.

Events	§	Waypoints	§
Story Event 1	5.6	Waypoint 1	5.2
		Waypoint 2	5.3
		Waypoint 3	5.5
		Waypoint 4	5.7
		Waypoint 5	5.8
		Waypoint X	5.4

Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 75 x Hero; Crowns: 600; Treasures: 19 + 1 Soul Weapon; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

Lords of Endless Pain Quests (ACT II)

ACT II - Quest VI: Survival Epilogue

Introduction. The printed introduction is flavour text. It directs players to the Survival Quest Rules on page 24 of this storybook.

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.
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)

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

Event Deck (stack order, left to right; shuffle each bracketed pair or group together):

Events 8, 9 - Shuffle
Events 7, 11 - Shuffle
Events 6, 19 - Shuffle
Events 13, 17 - Shuffle
Events 4, 5 - Shuffle

Special Quest Rules

Starting Areas: Each Hero must choose which of the 4 Begin areas he wants to start the Quest in BEFORE revealing the Shadows in play.
Hero Turn: At the end of each Hero Turn, the active Hero must roll 1 Die and Spawn 1 Enemy for each spawn-icon result rolled (the die face symbol, not reproducible as text here). Use a Blue Die for a NOVICE difficulty level or a Red Die for a VETERAN challenge.
Three results: Each time 3 results showing the creature icon (not reproducible as text here) are obtained in a single Dice roll (regardless of its source/nature), unless it is already in play, spawn the Red Gremlin Enemy (from Immortal Souls Core Set. If this Enemy is not available: ignore this effect.). Set it aside (the "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 all Heroes are Ghost Souls, see Paragraph §0.0.

ACT II - Quest VI Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1N, 2C, 2N, 3H, 3N, 4C, 4N, 5N, 6N, 7N, 8N, 9N.
Wall Tiles: 4x Long Wall on 6N, 7N, 8N, and 9N.
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 Golden Magic Lock; 1x Golden Magic Key; 1x Silver Magic Lock; 1x Difficult Overlay; 1x Lava Hindrance; 1x Open Shrine; 4x Shadow (2+); 2x Shadow (4+); 2x Trap; 3x Waypoint (1, 2, 3).
Shadows Reserve:

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

Special Elements on Map: Pitfall VIII: Roll a Blue Die. Take Pitfall VIII and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate.
Standalone Quest Values: Soul Points: 90 x Hero; Crowns: 900; Treasures: 20 + 2 Soul Weapons; Site Sheet: Arena of Aegis.

Survival Rules (Lords of Endless Pain, ACT II)

Each Wave ends if there are no Enemies in play AND the Enemy deck is empty.

Each Story Event provides instructions on how to proceed to the next Wave of the Quest.

Campaign Extra Rules (Quest VI)

Waypoints and Story Events Resolution (Quest VI)

Waypoint 1 - The Healing Well

A small gift to the gladiators to make the challenge more... interesting!

If this is the first time reading this Paragraph: place 1 [icon] token over this Waypoint.
While there is at least 1 [icon] over this Waypoint, any Hero on this Waypoint, and not engaged in combat, may spend 1 [potion icon] to discard 1 [icon] from this Waypoint to heal up to his maximum HP and remove all his Body Conditions.
Leave this Waypoint in play even when no more [icon] tokens remain.

Waypoint 2 - The Stash

A magical Stash containing all the items belonging to the Heroes!

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

Waypoint 3 - Pitfall of Fortune

A... Pitfall of Fortune! Who is ready to challenge fate?

Once per Round, a Hero, not engaged in combat, on this Waypoint can spend 1 [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):

Result	Blue Die	Red Die
[shield icon]	The Hero gains +1 [shield icon] until Time Phase.	The Hero can visit the Emporium.
[star icon]	The Hero removes all his Body Conditions.	The Hero gains +1 [icon] until Time Phase.
[lightning icon]	All Heroes and Enemies within 1 area heal 1 HP.	Place 1 [icon] token over Waypoint 1.
[creature icon]	Spawn 2 Enemies.	Spawn 1 Enemy with +1 [icon] from the Discard Pile.

Story Event 1

"The good fighters put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then wait for an opportunity of defeating their enemies."

If this is the first time resolving this Event:
- Roll a Blue Die. Randomly draw 1 Pitfall and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate that does not already contain a Pitfall (reroll if needed).
- Keep aside all the Enemy cards in the discard pile ([Out icon]); 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:
  - Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 4-5-7-8 Blue Enemy cards) from the Blue Enemy Reserve. ([In icon])
  - Randomly take Red Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 1-1-2-2 Red Enemy cards) from the Red Enemy Reserve. ([In icon])
  - 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, take and resolve Story Event 2 as explained in the Survival rules of page 24. ([In icon])
Otherwise: all non-engaged Heroes can visit the Emporium.

Story Event 2

"It is easier to find gladiators who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience."

If this is the first time resolving this Event:
- Roll a Blue Die. Randomly draw 1 Pitfall and place it on the closest Location (A-D) to the rolled Spawn Gate that does not already contain a Pitfall (reroll if needed).
- 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 [pick-up 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 [icon]. If done: discard both Magic Lock and Key, then open the corresponding Chest without drawing a Trap card.
- Keep aside all the Enemy cards in the discard pile ([Out icon]); 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:
  - Randomly take Green Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 2-3-5-6 Green Enemy cards) from the Green Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Green Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the "Wave I Enemy discard pile." ([In icon])
  - Randomly take Blue Enemy cards based on the number of Heroes (2-3-4-5 Heroes = 2-3-5-6 Blue Enemy cards) from the Blue Enemy Reserve. If there are not enough Blue Enemy cards, randomly take the amount needed from the "Wave II Enemy discard pile." ([In icon])
  - Take the Red Cerberus Enemy card. ([In icon])
  - 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, take and resolve Story Event 3 as explained in the Survival rules of page 24. ([In icon])
Otherwise: place 1 [icon] token over Waypoint 1.

Story Event 3

No more clashes of steel, warcries, or laments on the battlefield, because only the bravest have survived, the ones who won over all others... the lords of the endless pain!

The Party obtains the following Quest Rewards (which can be carried outside this Quest in Campaign Mode):
- The Gods of the Arena and Elders' Greater Gift Quest cards (both located on the back side of the cards hidden by the Black "Lords of Endless Pain Quest III Reward" cover card), 9 [gem icon] per Hero, plus 100 [coin icon] per Hero.
If there are no Heroes in Ghost Soul Form at the end of this Quest: go to Grand Finale.
Otherwise: go to Ending.

Grand Finale

The voice of the Elders echoes again in the arena: "United you have been standing until the end. Be proud and claim what you have conquered... fame, glory, and rewards!"

The Party obtains the following additional Quest Reward (which can be carried outside this Quest in Campaign Mode): The Blade of Agony Quest card (hidden by the Black "Lords of Endless Pain Quest VI Special Reward" cover card).
Go to Ending.

Ending

"Neverending were the hordes of enemies and endless has been the blood spilled... but now, at the end of what has been, the true champions have prevailed!"

The used Venture IX card must be removed from the current Campaign.
The Party must:
- (Ancient Chronicles saga) Return to their last Venture Outpost they visited.
- (Immortal Souls saga) Proceed to the next expected campaign Quest.

6. Clash of the Heroes Rules

Each contest requires 2 to 4 players to form at least two opposing Teams (with a limit of four different Teams), each one composed of 1 to 4 Heroes. This means from a minimum of 2 Heroes (1 per Team) to a maximum of 16 Heroes (4 per Team) belonging to 2 to 4 Teams may compete in the arena. (Additional Hero Packs may be required depending on the total number of Heroes.) The Teams will fight each other until the Quest objective has been reached... and a winner is crowned!

Note: This game mode is completely independent from any story campaign. You can use the same Heroes as your active campaign, but anything that happens here remains here! Clash of the Heroes must be treated as a standalone game sharing the same rules (except for what is detailed here), with no consequences for the S&S saga being played.

6.1 Tiebreaker Procedure

In Clash of the Heroes, the order of play for the Teams, and any tie situations related to them, must be established/resolved as follows:

Each Team rolls 4 Red Dice and takes note of how many [icon] results are rolled. Teams then create a ranked list based on who has rolled the most results (tied Teams roll again to determine their relative ranks), from First to Last Team.
The sorted list just created is then used to establish priority and resolve the situation or complete the step involved.
Four Medal tokens are provided to keep track of the order of play.

6.2 PvP Quest Setup

This Storybook provides three PvP Challenge Quests (pages 30, 31, and 32). Each one includes the Setup page(s) that provide the following instructions to customize the fight based on your needs (the "X" indicates the possible applicable choices, and each setting must be applied equally to all Teams):

The Introduction: Flavor text to introduce the game.
The ACT: I or II, used to set the game values and available Treasures, as for normal Quests.
The number of opposing Teams: From 2 to 4.
The number of Heroes forming each Team: From 1 to 4.
The Soulrank to set for each Hero: From I to VI.
The Day (Event 4) / Night (Event 5) Cycle: If enabled, the two Event cards alternate each Round with no effects; they exist only to permit consequences based on their presence, such as activating Hero or Enemy powers.
The number of Resurrections allowed for each Team: Assign to each Team a number of [icon] tokens based on this value. Each token can be spent to resurrect a Hero using any of the available Shrines.
The amount of Crowns available for each Team: These can be spent by each Team in the Arena of Aegis Site Sheet before the fight (or during the fight as needed to activate items or powers).
The Victory Condition: The main goal of the game.
The Special Quest Rules: Indicating any special rule to apply to the game. These supersede any other rule.
The Arena Map Setup: The tiles and required tokens used to set up the battlefield. If needed, change the Map structure by flipping the corner map tiles (1-4C/H map tiles) so that each Team has at least one corner room with an open Shrine, as detailed in the example box.

In addition to the different settings listed in each Challenge Quest, players are welcome to experiment with variants and mods. The Sword & Sorcery website already offers new Challenge Quests and some variants, but we hope to increase them with your help. So, if you have created your own variant, please share it with us. We will publish the best ones!

Arena Map Customization Example (printed diagram omitted):

Unless using particular custom Special Quest Rules, we strongly suggest building the arena map using one "H" corner map tile per Team. Simply flip as many "C" corner map tiles to their "H" side as needed to match the number of Teams and place an open Shrine in the central area of each of these map tiles, as shown.

6.3 PvP Hero Preparation

Once all Setup instructions have been read and applied, each Team must choose a Party Marker of the preferred color and place it in the middle of the Arena Site Sheet (Clash of the Heroes side) to proceed with the Preparation of the gladiators.

During the Preparation:

Each Team moves, at the same time, its own Party Marker from the middle of the Arena Site Sheet to one of the Buildings printed on the Site Sheet and follows the instructions detailed there. If more than one Team chooses the same Building at the same time, use the Tiebreaker Procedure (section 6.1, page 26) to define in which order the competing Teams will use that Building.
Once all Teams have used their chosen Building, return the Party Markers to the middle of the Site Sheet.

Repeat these two steps until all Teams have recruited the chosen number of Heroes and agree to conclude the Preparation (Teams who complete this requirement early simply wait for the others) in order to proceed to deploying the Heroes into the arena.

Note: There are no restrictions on the order or the usage of the Buildings for the acquisition of the cards. This means that it is possible to acquire cards before recruiting the Heroes or to acquire cards that can't be used by the recruited Heroes (in order to deny them to another team).

Hero Preparation Example (printed diagram omitted):

In the first run, Team 1 and Team 2 move at the same time to the Heroes' Hall Building to recruit their Heroes; they need to apply the Tiebreaker Procedure to establish who will go first. Team 1 rolls the 4 Red Dice and obtains 3 [icon] results, while Team 2 obtains just 2 [icon] results rolling the four Dice, so Team 1 chooses first which Hero to recruit, and then Team 2 chooses among the remaining Heroes. Meanwhile, Team 3 prefers to visit the Talents Guild to gain its preferred Talent card. Now all Teams return their Markers to the middle of the Site Sheet, ready for a second run.

Note: Since the amount of Talent Power cards is limited, it is suggested to use both Immortal Souls and Ancient Chronicles cards when playing with a large number of Heroes; otherwise, it may happen that one or more Heroes will not have a Talent during the fight.

6.4 PvP Hero Deployment

At the beginning of the Quest, before the fight begins, Teams must deploy their Heroes to the battlefield in this way:

As a first step, each Team must choose a Shrine's area and claim it by placing their Party Marker near it. Resolve any tie with the Tiebreaker Procedure (the Team winning the tie claims the desired corner, and the losing Team must choose a different, unclaimed corner).
Then, the order of play for the Teams must be established using a fresh Tiebreaker Procedure.
Following the ranked list created, the first Team places one of their Heroes on the map within 2 areas of the chosen Shrine. Then, the second Team places a Hero (using the same placement rules for their chosen Shrine), then the third Team (if present), and so on, repeating the cycle between Teams, with the same order, until all Heroes of all Teams have been placed on the map. When this has happened, the fight begins, following the game flow detailed in the next section!

Note: Except for the initial deployment, there are no restrictions on Shrine use based on which Team claimed the Shrine; Heroes from any Team can enter any corner area and use its Shrine. With the standard game rules, the initial Shrine claim is used just to keep the Heroes' starting positions separated by Team.

Hero Deployment Example (printed diagram omitted):

Team Purple claims the left corner and Team Red the right one. The order established using the Tiebreaker Procedure allows Team Red to deploy first and Purple second. Team Red places Artemis (1) 2 areas away from its Shrine. Team Purple prefers to play defensively and places Shae (2) inside its tile's corner. Then, Team Red places Thorgren (3) over the stone pillar's area... dwarves don't fear Pitfalls! Lastly, Team Purple places Thorgar (4) in front of the Shrine, ready to protect Shae... Let the fight begin!

6.5 PvP Game Rules

The standard Sword & Sorcery rules still apply in this game mode, with the following exceptions:

The words "Hero/Heroes" must be translated to "Heroes and Companions belonging to your Team only."
The words "Enemy/Enemies" must be translated to "Heroes and Companions belonging to all opposing Teams."
The death of a Hero does not decrease his Soulrank. Upon death, the Hero becomes a Ghost Soul as usual but keeps his current Soulrank.
A dead Hero may play his Hero Turns using the Ghost Soul abilities as usual. (Contrary to what happens in the base game, a dead Hero may keep the Items in his Inventory.) He can be resurrected during the Time Phase by spending one of his Team's Resurrection tokens or during the Battle Phase by using items or powers of other Heroes on his Team.
Soul Points are not used in this game mode; they can't be gained or spent in any way. Any power or effect based on spending/gaining must be translated to losing/gaining HP by the owner.
Whenever a Hero moves through, or leaves, an area not dominated by his own Team and containing one or more Opponents (i.e., Heroes belonging to opposing Teams), he must make an Evade. That means he first receives a Reaction Attack (made with an equipped weapon only; this means no activities other than can enhance this attack) from each Opponent in the current area before moving from the current area to the adjacent area. Once all reaction attacks are resolved, the Hero's movement may continue, if he is able.
Items and powers based on activation can be used anytime inside or outside a Hero's Turn as usual. In case of multiple items/powers activated at the same time or affecting the same situation, regardless of the source, the Tiebreaker Procedure must be used to establish the activation order. Once the order is established, each effect must be completely resolved before applying the next one.
When a Bash effect is activated, the attacker always decides where to move the defender.

The game flow is slightly changed as well:

At the beginning of the Battle Phase of each Round, the order of play for the Teams must be established using the Tiebreaker Procedure, as described above.
Following the ranked list created, the first Team plays a Hero Turn (choosing to activate a single Hero belonging to the Team not activated yet in this Round). Then, the second Team plays a Hero Turn, then the third Team (if present) and finally the fourth Team (if present), repeating the cycle between Teams, with the same order, until all Heroes of all Teams have been activated once (use the Hero Bookmarks to keep track of the activations). When this happens, the game passes to the Event Phase.
There are no Enemy Turns, just Hero Turns played based on the order established at the beginning of each Battle Phase.
The Event Phase exists only to permit effects based on its presence, so unless Special Quest Rules indicate differently, no Event Cards are used except Day and Night (if enabled during the Setup).
The game cycles Round after Round until the Victory Condition is satisfied, then the game ends immediately.

Battle Phase Example, Round 1 (printed diagram omitted):

Team Purple wins the Tiebreaker Procedure for the first Battle Phase, so as this Team's first move, Thorgar is activated (1). The dwarf moves 2 areas and enters Artemis's area. At this moment, Artemis wants to use her Guard power to attack Thorgar immediately! But Thorgar wants to use his Protection Sphere power too! So both Heroes must apply the Tiebreaker Procedure to determine the order of the effects... Thorgar rolls more than Artemis, so the Protection Sphere is applied first, reducing the [icon] caused by Artemis' Guard attack. Each power momentarily suspends Thorgar's Hero Turn just for the time needed to apply the effect (any other reaction played by anyone will be resolved after the completion of this one). Then Thorgar resumes his Turn and performs an attack against Artemis. Now Team Red must activate one of their Heroes.

Team Red activates Artemis (2). The elf summons Dharma in her area; now she dominates the area, so she is free to Evade without triggering Thorgar's Reaction Attack. Artemis leaves Dharma as is for now, and she moves into Shae's area to kill her with a very lucky attack! (Shae keeps the Item cards in her Inventory.) Team Purple activates their last Hero for this Round, Shae (3). Since Shae is in Ghost Soul Form, she uses the Recall activity to move into the Red Corner's Shrine area (the one closest to her comrade).

Team Red activates Thorgren, who performs a ranged attack against Thorgar with his Trident and maintains his position, ending this Battle Phase.

During the Event Phase, nothing happens because these Heroes do not apply any effects from the Day / Night cycle, so a new Round begins!

During the Time Phase, Team Purple will spend a Resurrection token to bring Shae back to life, and then a new Tiebreaker Procedure will be used to establish the activation order for the next Battle Phase. The fight is not over yet!

Clash of the Heroes PvP Quests

The three PvP Challenge Quests below each print a setup grid. In these grids an "x" marks an allowed choice (shown here as [x]) and an empty box marks a choice that is not allowed (shown as [ ]), as described in section 6.2. The grid's asterisk row is transcribed as printed; the printed key does not spell out in words what it scales. The printed Customizable Quest Sheet on page 33 is a blank template with the same fields and is not transcribed further.

Clash of the Heroes - PVP Quest I: There Can Be Only One!

Introduction. "United or divided, the choice is yours... what matters is that you will have to fight until just one color dominates the sand of the arena!"

Setup options

ACT: I [x]; II [x].
Teams: 2 [x]; 3 [x]; 4 [x].
Heroes for Team: 1 [x]; 2 [x]; 3 [x]; 4 [x]; 5 [ ]; 6 [ ]; ... [ ].
Soulrank: I [x]; II [x]; III [x]; IV [x]; V [x]; VI [x]; VII [ ].
Day / Night Cycle: Yes [ ]; No [ ]; Optional [x]; Day only [ ]; Night only [ ].
Resurrections for Team: 0 [ ]; 1 [x]; 2 [x]; 3 [x]; 4 [ ]; 5 [ ]; ∞ [ ].
Crowns to each Team: 100 (crown icon). Asterisk row: * Soulrank [x]; * Team [ ]; * Hero [ ].
Victory Condition: All Teams but one are defeated (i.e. all Heroes of those Teams are in Ghost Soul Form with no Resurrection tokens available).

Special Quest Rules

Pitfalls: During the first Time Phase, randomly draw 4 Pitfalls and place one over each Location, from A to D.
Alliances: If four Teams are involved, one or two pairs of Teams can make an alliance before the fight begins; in this case, the Victory Condition is shared between the two allied Teams. Heroes of allied Teams may target each other as Heroes belonging to the same Team. All Heroes belonging to the two opposite Teams must be considered Enemies.

PVP Quest I Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1D, 1H, 2D, 2H, 3D, 3H, 4D, 4H, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D.
Tokens on Map: 4x Open Shrine.
Customization Objects: 1x Chest*; 1x Difficult Overlay*; 1x Fire 2*; 1x Trap*; 1x Trap*; 1x Open Pitfall of your choice over Location E; 1x Short Wall*; 1x Long Wall*.
* any areas except all H map tiles.
Note (printed): Wall Objects cannot be positioned to completely isolate an area from the rest of the Arena.

Clash of the Heroes - PVP Quest II: First Blood

Introduction. "The one who falls first will drink from the bitter cup of defeat!"

Setup options

ACT: I [x]; II [x].
Teams: 2 [x]; 3 [ ]; 4 [ ].
Heroes for Team: 1 [x]; 2 [x]; 3 [ ]; 4 [ ]; 5 [ ]; 6 [ ]; ... [ ].
Soulrank: I [x]; II [x]; III [x]; IV [x]; V [x]; VI [x]; VII [ ].
Day / Night Cycle: Yes [ ]; No [ ]; Optional [x]; Day only [ ]; Night only [ ].
Resurrections for Team: 0 [x]; 1 [ ]; 2 [ ]; 3 [ ]; 4 [ ]; 5 [ ]; ∞ [ ].
Crowns to each Team: 300 (crown icon). Asterisk row: * Soulrank [ ]; * Team [x]; * Hero [ ].
Victory Condition: The first Team who kills a Hero of the opposite Team wins.

Special Quest Rules: None.

PVP Quest II Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1N, 2N, 2H, 3N, 3H, 4C, 4N, 5N, 6N, 7N, 8N, 9N.
Wall Tiles: 4x Long Walls between tiles 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N.
Tokens on Map: 2x Open Shrine; 1x Pitfall IX; 1x Pitfall X.
Customization Objects: 1x Chest*; 1x Chest*; 1x Trap*; 1x Trap*; 1x Open Pitfall of your choice over Location A.
* any areas except all H map tiles.

Clash of the Heroes - PVP Quest III: Infernal Deathmatch

Introduction. "You will fight as long as you have the strength, waiting for the one who will prevail over all others."

Setup options

ACT: I [x]; II [x].
Teams: 2 [x]; 3 [x]; 4 [x].
Heroes for Team: 1 [x]; 2 [x]; 3 [x]; 4 [ ]; 5 [ ]; 6 [ ]; ... [ ].
Soulrank: I [x]; II [x]; III [x]; IV [x]; V [x]; VI [x]; VII [ ].
Day / Night Cycle: Yes [ ]; No [ ]; Optional [x]; Day only [ ]; Night only [ ].
Resurrections for Team: 1 [ ]; 2 [ ]; 3 [ ]; 4 [ ]; 5 [ ]; 6 [ ]; ∞ [x].
Crowns to each Team: 100 (crown icon). Asterisk row: * Soulrank [ ]; * Team [ ]; * Hero [x].
Victory Condition: All Teams must agree on the number of kills needed to win. Each time a Hero kills an opponent (i.e., dealing the last wound), that Hero gains 1 Kill Coin (place a Kill Coin token over his Hero Sheet to keep track of it). The first Hero to achieve the agreed-upon number of Kill Coins brings victory to his Team.

Special Quest Rules

Resurrections: There is no limit to the number of times a Hero can resurrect (during Time Phases, at no cost); the fight continues until one Hero achieves the Victory Condition.
Spawn Gates Teleport: Each Hero in the same area as a Spawn Gate can spend 1 [icon] to teleport himself (does not count as a Hero Movement) to a Spawn Gate determined by rolling a Blue Die (reroll if the result is equal to the Spawn Gate where the Hero started). If the teleport brings the Hero to a Spawn Gate area containing opponents, those opponents suffer Soulrank HP.

PVP Quest III Map Setup

Map Tiles: 1C, 1D, 2C, 2D, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4D, 5D, 6N, 7N, 8N, 9N.
Tokens on Map: 4x Open Shrine; 1x Pitfall VIII; 4x Open Spawn Gate; 8x Lava Hindrance.
Customization Objects: 1x Chest*; 1x Difficult Overlay*; 1x Deadly Overlay*; 1x Trap*; 2x Open Pitfall of your choice over Location A-C; 2x Open Pitfall of your choice over Location B-D; 1x Short Wall.
* any area except Shrine Areas.

Rules Reference Sheet

This is the Rules Reference Sheet printed in this expansion's box (two pages, "V1.0"). It restates the Sword & Sorcery base rules that the expansion plays with. Icons are not reproducible as text here and are shown as [icon] with a description where the printed symbol is identifiable.

Golden Rules

All rules detailed on cards take priority over the manuals.
Dice can only be rerolled once, no matter what effects you use.
Except for the Event deck, any other deck or token pile must be reshuffled with its discard pile at the end of each Quest or when it runs out of cards or tokens and the game requires to draw from it.
A Character cannot gain the same bonus/penalty from the same effect's source (i.e. the very same card name or power name) twice.
The term "suffer" means the effect cannot be avoided in any way.
All calculations are rounded up.

Game Sequence

I: Time Phase

Effects Cleanup (apply damage first, and then other effects).
Powers Refresh (flip all used powers which have the refresh icon on top).
Powers Cooldown (rotate each used power 90° clockwise).
Soul Enhancements/Resurrection (a Hero cannot enhance his Soulrank further if there is another Hero in the Party with a lower Soulrank).

II: Battle Phase (repeat steps FOR EACH HERO)

Hero Turn
- 1 Movement Activity (can be intermingled with Actions and Free Actions but not Combat). [movement icon]
- X Combat Activities (if engaged, can only attack Enemies in his area). [combat icon]
- X Action Activities: [action icon]
  - Pray (once per Quest, if in an open Shrine area and not engaged) – discard ACT and roll 3 Red Dice. If the rolled result shows the Shrine's icon: obtain the Lesser Gods' Blessing Quest card of the related Soul Nature.
  - Dash (once per Round) – gain 1 extra movement OR stand up after K.O.
  - Focus (once per Round, before HIT Roll) – add +1 to the attack.
  - Bash Chest/Locked Door (if not engaged) – open a Chest OR a Locked Door (remember to draw a Trap card in any case).
  - Reorganize Equipped Items (if not engaged) – change equipped Items.
  - Exchange an Item (if not engaged) – pass/receive one Item and/or Crowns (the Hero receiving the item can directly equip it, if his relative slot is empty).
  - Search (if over a Search Area token and not engaged) – flip the Search Area token and roll a Red Die. Apply and remove the token.
- Unlimited Free Actions: [free-action icon]
  - Open Normal doors – open a non-locked Door (draw a Trap card).
  - Pick up/Drop an Item (if not engaged) – pick up/drop any number of Items or Crowns.
  - Evade (if Heroes are not dominating the area: receive an attack from each Enemy before move) – move out of an area containing Enemies during movement.
Enemy Turn

III: Event Phase

If the top Event card is unrevealed: draw & resolve the card, then place it revealed on top of the deck (Night and Day Events must be placed beside the Event deck once resolved). Otherwise: discard the top revealed card.

Enemies

Enemy Assignment: Always distribute Enemy cards evenly amongst players clockwise from active player. Duplicated Enemies (same Name and Rank) go to owning players.
Enemy Activation: Enemy activation is based on 3 steps:
1. Choosing the Behavior rule to apply. By searching the first matching range rule containing Heroes in L.O.S. If no rule is found, choose the + rule, which still requires a legal movement path but ignores L.O.S.
2. Selecting the Victim, between all possible targets. Giving priority to the Preferred Victim and/or using Priority Rules, from the top down:
  - The most wounded.
  - The one with the fewest HP remaining.
  - The closest (if the behavior rule has multiple ranges).
  - If there is still a tie between possible targets, the controlling player chooses.
3. Execute all sentences (separated by the printed brace separator) of the selected Behavior. Using the selected victim as the main target even if some conditions change in the middle of the activation. Treat a Hidden Character as if they don't exist except for AoE or similar effects.

Note: Enemy activations can also be triggered by the Otherwise condition of the Encounter cards or directly by the Book of Secrets. In these cases, the Behavior rules may be superseded by the provided instructions.

Combat System

Moving into an area with one or more Enemies makes the Hero Engaged in combat and he may only target and attack Enemies in this area, regardless of the range of his Weapons, Items or powers.

HIT Stage

Rolling Dice (Heroes without equipped Weapons roll 1 Blue Die).
Use any Item, power, or activity to enhance the attack, add +1 [icon] if the attacking faction is dominating the target's area (Domination bonus).
Calculate total Hits ([icon]).

DEF Stage

Check for Resistances & Weaknesses, and apply [shield icon] effects.
Magic Shields ([icon]) must be spent to block [icon] (starting with Lethal Hits, that must be resolved first).
Armor value ([icon]) reduces the [icon] UNLESS the defender is K.O.ed OR the [icon] are Lethal.
Roll 1 Blue Die for each remaining [icon] (excluding Lethal [icon]), up to maximum allowed for defender.
Use any Item, power, or activity to enhance the defense.
Calculate Shields, subtract [icon] and suffer damage (HP).

Special Game Effects I

AoE x [icon]: It allows an attack or effect to affect not only the primary target, but all other targets of the same faction (Heroes or Enemies) in the same area and adjacent areas (connected by a legal movement path, ignoring L.O.S.), depending on the numeric range following the AoE. AoE 0 affects only the target's area. AoE 1 affects the target area and adjacent areas, and so on.
Bash: Forces the defender to move back 1 area for each Bash.
Break: Each Break token ([icon]) permanently reduces the Armor Value by 1. If this Value is 0, because already broken or because the defender's Armor offers no Armor Value at all, the Character suffers 1 HP instead for each Break.

Special Game Effects II

Drain: Heals the attacker for 1 HP for each wound inflicted on a defender up to the Drain Value. Cannot bring the attacker above Full Health.
Lethal: When an attack includes Lethal Hits, they must be resolved before normal Hits. Each Lethal Hit skips steps 3 and 4 of the DEF Stage: the Armor Value is ignored and Blue Dice are NOT rolled against Lethal.
Critical: The Critical is applied before the DEF stage, it can be prevented only by ignoring the attack.

Battlefield

Controlling an area: a faction (Heroes or Enemies) controls an area when it has numerical superiority, in terms of figures, over the opposing faction.
Dominating an area: a faction dominates an area when it has at least twice the number of figures, compared to the opposing faction. Dominating the area grants the Domination bonus (+1 [icon]) to the attacking faction and counts also as controlling it.
Line Of Sight (L.O.S.): To obtain a L.O.S. trace a straight line from the Sight Mark inside the source area to the Sight Mark of the destination area without crossing:
- a blocking terrain/element,
- an external map tile edge (not connected to another tile),
- areas with Enemy figures, aside from the target's area (only if the source Character is a Hero).

Architectural - Wall

Wall: A thick and dark blue/black wall pattern may not be crossed and blocks L.O.S. for any Character.

Hindrance Overlays (ignored by Characters with the matching icon)

Barrier: It blocks the movement path only in one direction, from the edge of the area where the overlay is placed to the adjacent area. The Barrier does not block L.O.S.
Difficult: Hero movement into or through this area costs 2 movement points instead of 1. Ignored by Enemies.
Deadly: Hero movement into or through this area causes the Hero to suffer 1 HP. Ignored by Enemies.

Area Elements

Door: It blocks movement path and L.O.S. A Free Action ([icon]) is required to open it. Draw and resolve a Trap card once opened, then remove the token.
Locked Door: A Locked Door counts as a Door but requires an Action ([icon]) to open it.
Chest: Requires an Action ([icon]) to open it. Draw and resolve a Trap card once opened, gain the listed Treasures/Crowns, and then remove the token.
Magic Lock: Applied to Doors and Chests. It can be removed only by following the dedicated Quest rules.
Search Area: Can be exploited by a Hero in the area by spending an Action ([icon]). Flip the Search Area token and roll a Red Die, apply the result if matching, and then remove the token either way.

Body Conditions

General Rules

Unless ignored, Conditions are applied regardless of the inflicted/suffered damage.
When a Character suffers a second Body Condition that shares the same Pyramid-token/Name (except Fire) of one it already has, apply as follows:
- If the new Rank is greater: the new Condition replaces the previous one.
- Otherwise: the new Condition is ignored, and the Character suffers 1 HP instead.

Health Conditions (Black Side Pyramid token. Discard it at the end of the Hero Turn / Enemy activation.)

Rank I - Slowed
- Heroes: Only 1 movement, Action, or Combat activity is allowed during the Hero Turn (single Activity, see the Hero Turn icons above).
- Enemies: Apply the chosen behavior rule only up to the first sentence separator (the separator printed as a brace pair). There are no restrictions about Reaction attacks.
Rank II - Blinded
- Heroes: Require a successful Save before EACH Activity, otherwise the Activity is wasted. Consumable Items involved are discarded and powers attempted go in cooldown, regardless of the Save roll.
- Enemies: Before the activation, roll a Blue Die. If the rolled result shows the icon printed in the source (not reproducible as text here): the Enemy acts as usual, otherwise: the activation is wasted. This also applies to Reaction attacks.
Rank III - Stunned
- Heroes: No Activities are allowed.
- Enemies: Completely skip Activation. No Reaction attacks allowed.

Special Conditions (dedicated tokens and rules)

Bleed Rank I/II
- Inflicts 1 HP before each Hero Activity / Enemy Activation.
- Time Phase: Discard each Rank I token and then decrease (flip) each Rank II token to Rank I.
Fire Rank I/II
- Inflicts 1 HP and then place one Fire token of the matching Rank side on the Character card. Fire effects stack, so multiple tokens are allowed and each counts as a single Body Condition.
- Time Phase: Inflicts 1 HP per Token (regardless of Rank). Discard each Rank I token and then decrease (flip) each Rank II token to Rank I.
K.O. (lying figure on Map, ignored by Characters)
- Reduces Armor and Figure Count (for control/domination) to 0.
- Prevents the Character from performing attacks / Reaction attacks.
- Requires a Dash ([icon]) / 1 Point of movement (Heroes) OR an activation (Enemies) to be removed.
Poison Rank I/II
- Time Phase: Inflicts 1 HP per Rank, then a Hero may roll a Save (discard Poison if the Save roll succeeds).
Red Critical
- Affects the Character with the limitation indicated by the Critical token drawn until the end of the Quest, until removed (as a Body Condition), or until death. Different Red Criticals can affect a single target.