Tabletop Pathologic Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Number of Players
• Components
• Components Overview
• General Principles
• Setup
  • Preparing the Playing Area
  • Preparing the Players
    • Doctor Profile
  • Placement
    • Town Quarter
    • Example of Setup
• Round of Play
• Playing the Plague
  • During Another Player's Turn
  • Chronicles of the Second Outbreak
  • First Turn
  • Plague Movement into the Steppe
  • The Plague's Turn
    • Phase I: Movement
    • Phase II: Infection or Siege
      • Infection
      • Siege
        • Beginning a Siege
        • Completing a Siege
        • Interrupting a Siege
• Playing a Doctor
  • Doctor's Turn
    • Phase I: Preparation
      • Appearance of Missions
      • Recipes of the "Influence" Type
    • Phase II: Actions
      • Actions
        • Types of Actions
      • After Completing a Mission
      • Pact Token
  • Recipe Types
    • Recipes
• Arguments and Victory Conditions
  • Counting Arguments
  • Victory Conditions
• Additional Rules
  • Playing with Three Players
  • Playing with Two Players

Goal of the Game

One of the players takes the role of the deadly Plague, which seeks to destroy the Town. To do so, it is enough for the Plague to kill three Confidants: the brightest and most important of the local people. Without them the Town loses its face, becomes ordinary, and in a certain sense ceases to exist. The Plague is not merely a disease: it is so treacherous, calculating and cruel that it seems to possess a mind of its own.

The remaining players take the roles of the Doctors.

Number of Players

These rules describe a game session for four people. If there are fewer of you, adjust them using the section "Additional Rules."

Components

1 game rules 1 game board 1 Plague profile 9 Doomed cards 24 strain cards 1 Siege marker 1 Chronicles of the Second Outbreak 3 Doctor profiles 3 Doctor victory tokens 3 Doctor tokens 4 turn reminder cards 9 Confidant tokens 12 black token stands 12 white token stands 10 Bachelor recipes 10 Haruspex recipes 10 Pretender recipes 3 Pact tokens 45 resource tokens (15 of each kind) 15 mission cards

Components Overview

Game board. Most of the game board is taken up by the map of the Town, divided into fifteen quarters. Around it are additional elements: the Steppe; tracks on which the Doctors' Arguments are recorded; and the crypts and the grave, where the Plague's victims are placed.

Confidants. There is no single view on where the concept of "Confidant" comes from. Some insist it is a matter of close acquaintance with the rulers of the Town; others say these people came closer than anyone else to a perfect understanding of the world. Either way, it is hard to dispute that all of them reach for bold ideas in their own way. Each Confidant believes in the rightness of one of the Doctors. Doctors should look after their charges: when those die, the Arguments they were supporting are lost. At the start of the game each Doctor is supported by three Confidants.

Plague profile. A card that reminds the Plague which Doctor each Confidant supports and which type of resource each Confidant holds.

Doctor profiles. Cards that remind each Doctor which Doctor each Confidant supports and which type of resource each Confidant holds. The charges of the profile's owner are highlighted.

Doctor and Confidant tokens. These tokens represent the Characters who carry out the main actions in the game world. Each Doctor has its own colour and symbol; these mark both the Doctor's token and the tokens of that Doctor's Confidants. In addition, each Confidant token shows which resource that Confidant holds.

Resources. Resources are needed to complete missions. There are three kinds: coins, secrets and keys.

Mission deck. The cards in this deck describe events taking place in different quarters of the Town and their effect on the surrounding world. By taking part in these events, Doctors find the Arguments they need to win.

Token stands. Characters may be in quarantine or outside it. The colour of the stand a token is turned upside down on shows the state: black means the Character is in quarantine, white means it is not. Accordingly, before the game each token must be fitted with two stands: black on one side and white on the other.

Doomed deck. The cards in this deck show Confidants. Having drawn three such cards at the start of the game, the Plague determines whom it will hunt; in addition, each time it kills a target, it moves the corresponding card from the deck to the cemetery.

Strain deck. Strains are harmful and dangerous traces that the Plague may leave on the map of the Town.

Recipe decks. Recipes are unique abilities, skills and capabilities available to the Doctors. Each Doctor has its own recipe deck.

Siege marker. This marker shows the quarter in which the Plague has declared a Siege.

Pact tokens. Each Doctor has a Pact token and a victory token, marked with its symbol.

Chronicles of the Second Outbreak. A notebook in which the Plague secretly records its movements and other actions.

Turn reminder cards. A very brief version of these rules, to help you avoid getting lost in the mechanics and the order of actions.

General Principles

Recipes and strains are played from hand. If a card is still in its deck, it may not be used. The Plague and the Doctors refill their hands in different situations, described in detail below.

Doctors do not draw recipe cards from their decks blindly; they always choose them as they see fit. Accordingly, they can find the recipe most suited to the specific situation.

The Plague, by contrast, always takes new strains from its deck without looking, since the disease is, in a sense, an elemental force and cannot plan its actions in detail.

Players may talk about their own cards, in the deck or in hand, but may not show them. Telling the truth is not required.

Any player may examine the contents of any discard pile at any time.

If any game card (recipe, strain or mission card) describes events that contradict these rules, believe the card. If a strain contradicts a mission or a recipe, believe the mission and the recipe.

If the Plague is unsure where it has left its traces, it may refresh its memory by looking at the strains lying face down on the Town map. When doing so, it may not show them to the Doctors or change them.

Setup

Preparing the Playing Area

1. Lay out the game board. Make sure there is enough room for the other components.
2. Place each Doctor's victory token on position 3 of the corresponding victory track in the lower left corner of the board.
3. Shuffle the mission deck and place it face down in its designated place.
4. Set the resource tokens somewhere nearby. This is the resource bank.

A Confidant's guarantee is a persuasive Argument for the Inquisitor. That is why the Doctors begin the game already holding three Arguments: exactly as many Confidants as each of them has. On the game board this is shown by the victory token starting on position three.

Preparing the Players

Distribute the roles of the Plague and of the three Doctors among the players by any method.

THE PLAGUE RECEIVES:

• the Plague reminder card;
• the Plague profile;
• the Chronicles of the Second Outbreak;
• the Siege marker;
• the Doomed deck;
• the strain deck.

The Plague is not a Character. It is faceless and bodiless, so it has no token. It does not show its movements and actions on the Town map; instead, it records them in a notebook.

From the Doomed deck the Plague randomly draws one Confidant of each Doctor. These form its list of targets; to win, it must (and need only) kill these three. The Plague keeps its list of future victims secret from the other players.

The Plague shuffles the strain deck and places it face down beside itself.

EACH DOCTOR RECEIVES:

• the Doctor reminder card;
• the Doctor's profile;
• four Character tokens (one Doctor token and its three Confidants);
• its own Pact token;
• one unit of its starting resource;
• its own recipe deck.

From its recipe deck, each Doctor chooses one recipe and places the rest face down beside it.

The Bachelor's starting resource is coin, the Haruspex's is secret, and the Pretender's is key. (See the editor's note in the Table of Contents on the conflict with the Missions section.)

Doctor Profile

1. The Doctor's name.
2. The Doctor's symbol.
3. Turn order.
4. Shows which resource the Confidants in this column hold.
5. Shows which Doctor the Confidants in this row support. The charges of the profile's owner are highlighted.

Placement

The Bachelor begins placement: he places any available token of his choice (his own Doctor or one of his three Confidants) in any free quarter. After him, the Haruspex does the same, then the Pretender. After that, the Bachelor places a token again, and so on.

Placement continues in a circle until all Characters, both Confidants and the Doctors themselves, are on the board. They occupy twelve of the fifteen city quarters.

Characters may only be placed in empty quarters.

All of them are placed on the Town map in quarantine (black stand facing up).

Town Quarter

Each quarter has a number (5) and a name (4). Each time a new mission card is revealed, it is placed in the corresponding quarter on the special field (6).

Quarters that share a border are called adjacent. In the illustration, quarter No. 13 is adjacent to quarters No. 7 and No. 12 (8).

Quarters that border the river (1) are considered adjacent only if a bridge connects them (2).

Outside the Town lies the Steppe (7). The Steppe borders quarters Nos. 1–7. Quarters bordering the Steppe, and those not adjacent to it, are distinguished by colour (3).

Example of Setup

The example diagram on page 14 numbers the following components:

1. The Doctor's starting resource;
2. The Doctor's Pact token;
3. The Doctors' victory tokens;
4. The mission deck;
5. The reminder card;
6. The Doctor's recipe deck and starting recipe;
7. The Doctor's profile;
8. The Chronicles of the Second Outbreak;
9. The strain deck;
10. The Siege marker;
11. The Doomed deck and the Plague's three targets;
12. The Doctor and Confidant tokens;
13. The resource bank.

Round of Play

A turn of any player (Doctor or Plague) consists of several phases. Phases may be skipped, but their order may not be changed (you may not return to a phase after skipping it). Within a single phase, the actions may be performed in any order.

The Plague always goes first. When it has completed all the phases of its turn, the Doctors take their turns. They also act in order: the Bachelor, the Haruspex, the Pretender.

A cycle that includes one turn of each player is called a round.

Playing the Plague

Before the game begins, the Plague has already drawn its list of targets. Its task now is to kill them as quickly as possible, without giving any Doctor a chance to gather the required number of Arguments. However, the Plague may also kill Confidants who are not on its target list; but every active action gives away its presence.

At every step, the Plague must choose between attack and stealth; and if it finds the right balance, these steps will lead it to victory.

The Plague records its actions in the Chronicles of the Second Outbreak.

During Another Player's Turn

Each time a new mission appears on the Town map, the Plague draws the top strain from its deck. It may examine it, but must not show it to the other players.

The Plague begins the game with no strains in reserve.

Chronicles of the Second Outbreak

Numbers in the first column (1) are the round number. In the second column (2) the Plague writes the number of the quarter where it ended up after the Movement phase. Sometimes its turn ends right there; but often, after ordinary movement, the Plague manages to take an extra step (see "Extra Step") or otherwise move unexpectedly. In that case it also fills in the third column (3), writing the number of the quarter it stepped into and where it finished its turn.

In the fourth column (4) the Plague writes the names of the Confidants killed this round and of the Doctors returned to quarantine, that is, its victims.

First Turn

The Plague's first turn differs from later ones.

On this turn the Plague chooses a starting location and records it in the Chronicles of the Second Outbreak. It may start in any empty quarter or in the Steppe.

After this, the turn passes to the Bachelor.

The Plague's remaining turns follow the scheme described below.

Plague Movement into the Steppe

Quarters Nos. 1–7 border the Steppe. Such quarters are darker than ordinary ones, and their outer border is dashed and as if torn (2).

The Plague enters and leaves the Steppe as if the Steppe were one city quarter. As with an ordinary quarter, entering and leaving the Steppe each costs one step. Even if the Plague left the Steppe in one part of the Town (3), it may re-enter it in another (1).

The Plague's Turn

Phase I: Movement

In this phase the Plague may take one step (that is, move to an adjacent quarter) or stay where it is. Within the Town, the river may be crossed only by a bridge. In addition, the Plague may move through the Steppe.

The Plague's movements are hidden from the other players. It records them not on the Town map but in the Chronicles of the Second Outbreak.

Phase II: Infection or Siege

In this phase the Plague may either infect a quarter or, if it did not move, besiege it.

By besieging a quarter, the Plague may get past quarantine and kill even a protected Confidant. This is a deadly tactic, but it takes several turns and keeps the Plague tied to one place.

Infection

The Plague may infect only the quarter where it ended up after the movement phase (that is, the one it moved into, or where it began the turn if it did not move). To infect a quarter, it is enough to be present there and declare it; no further conditions must be met.

When the Plague declares that a quarter is infected:

• all Doctors present there go into quarantine;
• all Confidants present there who are not in quarantine die;
• Confidants in quarantine are unaffected.

If as a result of the infection a Confidant died or a Doctor went into quarantine, the Plague may take an extra step into an adjacent quarter. However, even if potential victims are there too, it cannot attack them immediately: only one quarter may be infected per turn.

Siege

If the Plague did not move this turn, it may declare a Siege of a quarter.

A Siege takes several turns: on the first the Plague begins it, and on the last it completes it. Usually these two turns are all the process takes, but there are circumstances in which a Siege drags on and may continue indefinitely.

Beginning a Siege

The Plague may only besiege the quarter where it began its turn and stayed. Having declared its intention, it places the Siege marker on the besieged quarter. After this:

• all Doctors present there go into quarantine;
• all Confidants present there who are not in quarantine die;
• Confidants in quarantine are unaffected.

Completing a Siege

If on its previous turn the Plague began besieging a certain quarter, it may now complete the Siege. In that case:

• all Doctors present in the besieged quarter go into quarantine;
• ALL Confidants present there die.

If the Plague began besieging a quarter on its previous turn, it is not obliged to complete the Siege on the next turn. There may be circumstances in which it is wise to wait, for example if a Confidant on whom the Plague has set its sights has gained extra protection through someone's actions.

Interrupting a Siege

The Plague is not obliged to complete a Siege and may interrupt it at its own discretion. In that case no events associated with completing a Siege take place (but the events that occurred when it began remain in force). Confidants protected by quarantine do not die. The quarter where the Siege was interrupted does not become infected.

Having completed or interrupted a Siege, the Plague takes back the Siege marker and may use it later.

A Siege is automatically interrupted if the Plague leaves the quarter before it is completed.

Death of a Confidant

Confidants die only on the Plague's turn; usually this happens because the Plague has infected or besieged a quarter.

When a Confidant dies, the Plague moves its card from the Doomed deck to the cemetery. If the deceased was on the target list, the card is placed in one of the crypts; if not, it goes into the common grave.

The Doctor responsible for the dead Confidant loses one Argument (mark this immediately on the Doctor's victory track), but receives a recipe from its own deck.

If on its turn the Plague managed to kill a Confidant or put a Doctor into quarantine, it may take an extra step.

Extra Step

The Plague may take an extra step if on its turn it killed a Confidant or put a Doctor into quarantine. Effects that change the Plague's speed do not affect the extra step: it is always just one. As with ordinary movement, the Plague may step only into an adjacent quarter.

If the Plague takes an extra step during a Siege, the Siege is interrupted.

Phase III: Strains

In this phase the Plague may place one or more strains from its hand on the Town map. (How the hand is refilled is described in "During Another Player's Turn.") Strains may be left in every quarter the Plague visited this turn, including the quarter it started from and the quarter it stepped into with an extra step.

Strains are poisoned traces that the Plague leaves behind. They act as traps: they lie in the quarters and wait until someone makes a sudden movement nearby, and then they explode, harming the Characters or benefiting the Plague itself.

No more than one strain may lie in a quarter.

The Plague places strains on the Town map face down and does not show them to the Doctors.

If the Plague is unsure where it has left its traces, it may refresh its memory by looking at the strains lying on the Town map. When doing so, it may not show them to the Doctors or change them.

Revealing Strains

A Plague strain is revealed when:

• a Character performs an Action in a quarter where a strain lies;
• a Character enters (or passes through) such a quarter.

A Plague strain is not revealed when:

• a Character leaves a quarter with a strain in it;
• a Doctor uses a recipe of the "Influence" or "Reaction" type;
• a player places or moves a Pact token onto a Confidant.

Effect of Strains

A strain is always revealed by some Character.

When this happens, life in the quarter freezes. The Character that revealed the strain stops and interrupts any Actions. The strain card is turned over and what is written on it is carried out immediately. After this it goes to the discard pile.

Because of the revealed strain, an Action declared earlier may become impossible or pointless. In that case the player controlling the Character that revealed the strain is free to cancel the Action, but may not choose another Action instead; the Action is thereby wasted. If, even with the revealed strain taken into account, the Action can still be carried out, cancelling it is not required.

Playing a Doctor

Each Doctor's task is to use the required number of Arguments to prove its rightness to the Inquisitor, so that the Town is rid of the Plague by its method. Arguments are found by completing missions on the Town map. The Doctor is not obliged to do this with its own hands: its Confidants are ready to help, but with the death of each of its Confidants the Doctor loses Arguments.

On the other hand, it has on its side the Pact token and unique recipes that give each Doctor special advantages.

Doctor's Turn

Phase I: Preparation

During this phase new missions appear on the Town map, and Doctors may use recipes of the "Influence" type.

Appearance of Missions

Events are constantly taking place in the Town; mission cards describe them. There are fifteen missions in total, one for each quarter, but no more than four may lie on the Town map at the same time.

If at the start of a Doctor's turn there are fewer than four active missions on the Town map, it must draw the top card of the corresponding deck.

On the first turn of the game, the first Doctor draws from the mission deck and places not one but two cards on the Town map.

Having drawn a mission card, the Doctor reads out its effect and determines its type. There are four types, marked with symbols:

• ↑ the effect triggers as soon as the mission becomes active;
• ✕ the effect triggers when the mission is completed;
• ⌛ the effect applies at all times while the mission is active (that is, it lies face up on the Town map);
• ? an additional condition for completing this mission.

After this it is necessary to:

• place the mission card face up in the corresponding quarter on the Town map;
• look at which resource is drawn on the mission card next to the symbol of the Doctor who drew it from the deck. If the example card above was drawn by the Bachelor, the required resource is secret; if the Haruspex, coin; if the Pretender, key;
• take the corresponding resource from the bank and place it on the mission card (which is already on the Town map). To complete the mission, exactly that resource will be needed.

The type of resource required to complete a mission depends on which Doctor drew it from the deck. In different game sessions the same mission may be linked to different resources.

The mission is now considered active, and it may be completed.

Each time a new mission appears on the Town map, the Plague draws the top strain from its deck. It may examine it, but must not show it to the other players.

Mission card anatomy (page 23):

1. The number and name of the quarter in which the mission appears;
2. The name;
3. The mission type;
4. The effect;
5. The Doctor symbols and the resources corresponding to them.

Recipes of the "Influence" Type

"Influence" may be used at any moment of your own turn and even during another Doctor's turn (but only in its preparation phase). No Actions are spent on this.

If several Doctors use "Influence" recipes, the effects resolve in the order in which the cards were played.

Phase II: Actions

In this phase a player may perform two Actions and certain steps that require no Actions, such as binding a Confidant with a Pact token, or using recipes of the "Influence" and "Reaction" types.

Actions

Each player has two Actions per turn. They may be performed by the player's own Doctor and by all living Confidants (both its own and others'), unless they are bound by a Pact token to someone else. However, one Character may perform only one Action per turn.

A single Character may not perform both Actions! This means, for example, that a Confidant cannot arrive in a quarter and then complete a mission there in the same turn, nor can it be released from quarantine and then sent somewhere else.

Types of Actions

Leave Quarantine Available to all Characters in quarantine.

Turn the Character's token upside down, showing the white stand. Outside quarantine, Characters may move and complete missions, but they become more vulnerable to the Plague.

Quarantine is lifted once and for all: it is impossible to return to it of one's own will. The exceptions are attacks by the Plague on Doctors and the special effects of some cards.

Move Available to all Characters outside quarantine.

With one Action each Character may take up to two steps (one step means moving into an adjacent quarter). A river may be crossed only by a bridge, and the Steppe may not be entered.

Entering quarters where someone already is, and ending the turn there, IS allowed.

Use a Recipe of the "Action" Type Available to Doctors, in quarantine and outside it.

Find in your hand the recipe you wish to use, read out the effect it produces, and then place the used recipe in the discard pile face up.

Take a Resource from the Bank Available to Doctors, in quarantine and outside it.

Take the required resource from the bank and place it on your Doctor's profile.

When a Doctor takes a resource from the bank itself, rather than asking a Confidant, a Doctor's Action is spent; so, for example, it can no longer complete a mission. Keep a close eye on who is the source of resources!

Pass a Resource to a Doctor Available to Confidants, in quarantine and outside it.

Each Confidant has access to one kind of resource (marked on its card and token). By spending an Action, it passes one unit of this resource to a Doctor, even if they are in different quarters. A Doctor may draw on the goodwill of all Confidants (both its own and others'), unless they are bound by a Pact token to someone else.

Take the required resource from the bank and place it on your Doctor's profile.

Complete a Mission Available to all Characters outside quarantine.

Both Doctors and Confidants may complete missions, but this happens somewhat differently.

To complete a mission, a Doctor must be in the corresponding quarter and have in reserve all the resources required. Having returned the resources to the bank, it completes the mission.

If a Doctor stands in a quarter with an active mission but lacks the resource required to complete it, it may ask a Confidant for help: the Confidant will hand over the needed item, spending an Action in doing so. If the Doctor has not yet reached the required quarter, the strategy may have to be stretched over several turns.

If all the Confidants holding the required resource are dead, the Doctor cannot take that route either, since it will have to obtain the resource from the bank itself.

Without extra effort, Confidants may complete only those missions that require a resource available to them (the resource is indicated on the Confidant's card and token). If a Confidant is in the corresponding quarter, it may declare the mission completed. In that case the resource is considered to be always at hand, so spending an Action to obtain the resource (and immediately return it to the bank) is not required.

Confidants may also complete missions that require a resource they do NOT hold (not the one shown on their card and token), but this is more difficult. For this trick it is necessary to:

• have in reserve all the resources required;
• spend two Actions: one by the Doctor and one by this Confidant.

First the Doctor, at the cost of one Action, passes the missing resources to the Confidant (in any quantity). Then the Confidant immediately completes the mission, at the cost of the second Action. This sequence may not be split across two turns: Confidants do not know how to keep resources.

When a Confidant completes a mission, the reward goes to the player who directed the process, not to the player whose Doctor that Confidant supports!

After Completing a Mission

If a mission is marked with the ✕ symbol, the effect described on the card takes effect immediately after it is completed. The resource lying on the mission card must be returned to the bank, and the card itself is left on the playing field, turned face down. This way players will not forget that there will be no more missions in this quarter.

The player who directed the completion of the mission takes one recipe from its own deck into hand.

Spending one Action, one may...

A Confidant in quarantine:

• leave quarantine;
• pass a resource to a Doctor.

A Doctor in quarantine:

• leave quarantine;
• take a resource from the bank;
• use a recipe of the "Action" type;
• pass a resource to a Confidant for immediate completion of a mission.

A Confidant outside quarantine:

• move;
• pass a resource to a Doctor;
• complete a mission.

A Doctor outside quarantine:

• move;
• take a resource from the bank;
• use a recipe of the "Action" type;
• complete a mission;
• pass a resource to a Confidant for immediate completion of a mission.

Without spending a Character's Action, a player may...

• use a recipe of the "Influence" type;
• use a recipe of the "Reaction" type;
• place or move a Pact token onto one of the Confidants.

Moreover, the Doctor who directed the completion of the mission finds new Arguments:

• one Argument if the mission was completed by the Doctor itself or by another Doctor's Confidant;
• two Arguments if the mission was completed by a Confidant of this Doctor.

Pact Token

The Pact token may be used during the second phase as well, at any moment, because no Actions are spent on it.

The Pact token shows that one of the Confidants has entered into an alliance with your Doctor and will not help other Doctors until you release it from its obligations. A Pact token may be placed on any Confidant (both its own and others'), if that Confidant:

• is in a quarter with an active mission;
• is not bound by a Pact token to someone else.

While a Confidant is bound by a Pact token to one of the Doctors, the other Doctors cannot perform any Actions with it: they cannot move it, complete missions with it, receive resources from it, or even lift its quarantine.

Each Doctor has only one Pact token. It returns to its owner Doctor only if the Confidant it is bound to dies. It is not possible simply to break the Pact with a Confidant and return the token to hand; the token may only be moved onto someone else.

Even if a Confidant ceases to meet the requirements for entering a Pact with a Doctor, that is, it is no longer standing in a quarter with an active mission, the Pact is not automatically broken.

Recipe Types

Recipes

Recipes represent the special skills and capabilities of the Doctors. Each Doctor has its own. Using recipes, Doctors may break the natural course of events and build unexpected strategies.

Recipe card anatomy:

1. The name;
2. The symbol and name of the Doctor whose deck the recipe belongs to;
3. The recipe's effect;
4. The recipe type.

Influence "Influence" may be used at any moment of your own turn, and in the preparation phase of another Doctor's turn. No Actions are spent on it.

Action "Action" recipes are used in the action phase and cost an Action.

Reaction The "Reaction" card states the circumstances under which it may be played. "Reaction" recipes require no Action and may be used at any moment, including during another player's turn.

Obtaining Recipes

Doctors do not draw recipe cards from their decks blindly; they always choose them as they see fit. Accordingly, they can find the recipe most suited to the specific situation (see "General Principles").

A Doctor takes one recipe:

• at the start of the game;
• each time a mission is completed on its turn;
• after the death of each of its Confidants.

...But only for as long as there are recipes left in the deck. If the recipes run out, there is nowhere to get new ones.

Used recipes are placed in the discard pile, and any player may examine the discard pile at any time.

If you wish, you may talk about your own cards, in the deck or in hand, but you may not show them.

Arguments and Victory Conditions

Counting Arguments

A Doctor gains:

• three Arguments at the start of the game;
• two Arguments if the mission was completed on its turn by its own Confidant;
• one Argument if the mission was completed on its turn by the Doctor itself or by another Doctor's Confidant.

Some effects grant additional Arguments.

A Doctor loses one Argument (but receives one recipe) whenever a Confidant supporting it dies.

However, a Doctor's victory track may not be reduced to zero or below; the minimum number of Arguments a Doctor can have is one.

Victory Conditions

A Doctor wins by gathering eight Arguments.

The Plague wins if:

• it has killed the three Confidants on its target list;
• the mission deck is empty, all missions on the Town map have been completed, and none of the Doctors has managed to gather the required number of Arguments.

If a Doctor and the Plague fulfil their victory conditions at the same time, the Plague wins.

If several Doctors fulfil the victory conditions at the same time, the one on whose turn it happened wins.

Additional Rules

Playing with Three Players

The Pretender drops out of the game. Put its profile, token and recipe deck back in the box.

However, the Pretender's Confidants do not leave the Town. During placement, the Bachelor and the Haruspex first place their tokens on the Town map, and then, in turn, the Pretender's Confidants.

In doing so:

• the Plague compiles its list of targets so that it includes one Confidant of each of the Doctors, including the absent Pretender;
• the resource required to complete a mission is determined as usual;
• the Doctors' interaction with the Pretender's Confidants proceeds as if the Pretender were present in the game.

The death of the Pretender's Confidants does not give anyone recipes or affect the number of Arguments of the Bachelor and the Haruspex.

Playing with Two Players

The game becomes a duel between the Plague and one Doctor. Choose any Doctor; the other two drop out of the game. Put their profiles and tokens back in the box.

In the duel, the Doctor uses a special recipe deck that includes the skills and techniques of all three heroes:

• "Paralysis" and "Blockade" of the Bachelor;
• "Gifts of the Earth" and "Time Waits for No One" of the Haruspex;
• "No!" and "You Shall Not Fear!" of the Pretender.

Accordingly, this deck contains twelve cards.

At the start of the game the Doctor places its victory token on the track of the chosen Character, but thereafter, each turn, it moves the token down one row (from the Bachelor to the Haruspex, from the Haruspex to the Pretender, and from the Pretender back to the Bachelor).

The resource required to complete a mission depends on which track the victory token is on. For example, if at the start of the turn the token is on the Bachelor's track, then the resource required for the mission will be the one marked with the Bachelor's sign.

In doing so:

• at the start of the game the Doctor places its token on the Town map, along with all nine of its Confidants, according to the usual rules;
• according to the usual rules, the Doctor may perform Actions with all of them;
• the Plague compiles its list of targets so that it includes one Confidant of each of the three Doctors.

The death of the Confidants of the other Doctors does not affect the number of Arguments of the chosen Doctor and does not give it recipes.