Tales from the Red Dragon Inn
Tales from the Red Dragon Inn Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Glossary
Ability: An ability is an effect that is carried out by a figure controlled by a player. If an ability contains multiple effects, they are carried out in order, as completely as possible. Effects that are optional will be indicated by the word "may". Abilities can be represented by Hero mats, Ability Cards and Power Tokens. Some scenarios also create special abilities for players to use. It is possible for a card or a Hero mat to include more than one ability. In this case, the abilities are separate from one another - they may be activated independently and any Cooldown Tokens put on an ability affect only that ability. Note, however, that a card with separate Charge Abilities still only holds a single pool of Charge Tokens that may be spent on any of the card's Charge Abilities.
Ability Tile: An ability tile shows what abilities the active Hero may play on the current turn. On a Hero's full turn, they will receive two Action ability tiles and one Shenanigan ability tile. On a Hero's partial turn (used in a 2-Hero game), they receive one Action ability tile. The first step to using an ability during your turn is to flip one of your ability tiles to its grey "used" side. An Action ability tile may be used to activate an Action or a Shenanigan, while a Shenanigan ability tile may only be used to activate a Shenanigan.
Action: Actions are the main ability type that Heroes will use to interact with the game. On a Hero's full turn, that Hero may activate up to two Actions and one Shenanigan. On a Hero's partial turn (used in 2-Hero games - see Partial Initiative Token), that Hero may activate up to one Action or Shenanigan. To take an Action, a player flips one of their Action ability tiles to its grey side, then chooses an Action from among their abilities that does not have any Cooldown Tokens on it. They pay the cost associated with that Action (usually either removing a Charge Token or adding some number of Cooldown Tokens), then they carry out the ability.
Ally: Allies are Heroic figures controlled by players during their turn. Most Allies are created by equipping Item cards during setup. If you equip a card that provides an Ally, then after Placing your Hero's figure on a starting space, Place your Ally figure, using a white base, on an Unoccupied space adjacent to your figure. During your full turn, if you control one or more Allies, then you may activate them before, after or between your other Actions and/or Shenanigans. (Use the Ally ability tile to track this.) When an Ally activates, it does the effects listed on its card, with you making all decisions. An Ally's activation may not interrupt an Action or a Shenanigan, nor may an Action or Shenanigan interrupt an Ally's activation. Allies may gain Power Tokens or Debuff Tokens. However, they may also spend their controlling Hero's Power Tokens as though they were their own. Each Ally has Fortitude equal to the number in the upper left of its card. If an Ally takes damage greater than or equal to its Fortitude, remove its figure from the map and put the Ally card back into the Armory - it can be used again in a later game. Allies may not enter spaces containing door tokens, and they may not activate Scenario Abilities. They may trigger Traps, however, and they take the Trap's normal damage when they do so. Allies do not act on their Hero's partial turn (used in 2-Hero games - see Partial Initiative Token).
Alternating: This Schemer Group alternates Schemes rather than rolling a Scheme Die. In the Roll Scheme Dice step of Round 1, put a Scheme Die on its top Scheme. It will use that Scheme during Round 1. During each subsequent Roll Scheme Dice step, move its Scheme Die to the other Scheme.
Archive: The Archive is the set of all cards that have been "retired" and removed from the campaign. (This typically happens when players unlock better versions of certain cards.) The Archive should be kept separate from other cards in the box.
Armory: The Armory is the set of all Item Cards that have been unlocked and are not currently in use. Over the course of the campaign, the players will unlock Items from the Vault and move them to the Armory. At the start of each game, players will access the Armory to select Items to equip.
Attack: When a figure attacks, it attempts to cause damage to one or more of its Foes. Attacks come in three types: Burst, Melee or Ranged. See those glossary entries or Appendix C (page 11) for more information.
Avert Harm: Some effects say that a figure Averts Harm. This means that that figure Ignores any Harm effect resulting from the Attack. It does not prevent the damage the figure takes from the Attack - it only prevents the resulting Harm effect. If an Attack with Harm damages multiple figures and one of those figures Averts Harm, the other Harmed figures are still affected normally. If the Attack has a Harm effect that does not use the word "target" and all affected figures Avert Harm, then the Harm effect does not happen. See also Harm.
Avoided: A figure with the keyword Avoided is treated by Schemes as though it doesn't exist. This means that Schemers will never treat an Avoided figure as a target of movement or Attacks, nor otherwise attempt to interact with it while resolving their Scheme. Schemers may not move onto or through an Avoided Foe unless that Foe is also Tiny. Schemers may still draw Line of Fire through Avoided figures. Schemers may not use Hitback Tokens against Avoided figures.
Backstab: Gerki's special ability, Backstab, allows some of his abilities to deal extra damage when his target is distracted. Gerki gets an Attack's Backstab bonus if all targets of the Attack meet one or more of the following three conditions: 1) the target is adjacent to a figure that is Friendly to Gerki, 2) the target is on a Hazard or a Difficult map space and is not Immune to its effects, or 3) the target has at least one Debuff Token. If Gerki Attacks multiple figures with an Attack that has a Backstab bonus, all attacked figures must meet at least one of the conditions, but different figures can meet different conditions. When Backstab allows Gerki to roll extra dice, those are rolled along with the rest of his Damage Dice (not separately). See Appendix A (page 8) for more information.
Berserk: This figure treats all other figures as though they were Foes, including other schemers of this figure's type. Note that Schemers without Berserk will treat other Schemers as Friends, even if those other Schemers have Berserk. However, no figure may move through a figure with Berserk unless it is Tiny.
Big Bad: If this figure would gain Debuff Tokens, it instead gains one fewer token of that type. So, for example, Weaken 2 against a figure with Big Bad would give 1 Weaken Token instead. A figure with Big Bad cannot be Stunned.
Boss: A Boss is an extra-tough Schemer that uses a Boss Mat with a Fresh and Wounded side. Bosses start off Fresh, then flip to Wounded when they take damage greater than or equal to the Fortitude listed on their Fresh side. As with Heroes, any excess damage is removed when a Boss flips to Wounded. When a Boss flips, they reroll their Scheme Die and refresh their Toughness Tokens.
Burst Attack: A Burst Attack is an Attack that can affect all Foes in the indicated burst area. The grey space on a burst template is the position of the attacker. The red spaces show the spaces which may be targeted by the Attack. You may rotate the burst area in the facing of your choice, pivoting around the grey space. You may target all Foes on the red spaces with the Attack, or you may exclude some of those Foes from the Attack if you choose. Friendly figures are never damaged by a Burst Attack. If a red space on a burst area is completely disconnected from the grey space by Impassable spaces or the Map Edge, that disconnected red space may not be used in the Attack. In other words, Burst Attacks may go around, but not through, obstacles and Walls. See Appendix C on page 11 for more information about Attacks.
Chapter: Tales from the Red Dragon Inn includes 5 Chapters, each of which contains multiple Scenarios. Chapter 1 has Scenarios 1-4, Chapter 2 has Scenarios 5-10, Chapter 3 has Scenarios 11-16, Chapter 4 has Scenarios 17-21, and Chapter 5 has Scenarios 22-25.
Charge Ability: A Charge Ability is any ability that spends a Charge Token to activate. Cards with Charge Abilities include a setup flag in the upper left of the card indicating how many Charge Tokens to put on the card at the beginning of the game. If a Charge Ability has no more Charge Tokens on its card to spend, that ability may not be activated. Charge Abilities typically do not gain Cooldown Tokens, so they can be played in succession - even multiple times on the same turn. In the rare cases where a Charge Ability does gain Cooldown Tokens (see Fatigue), you may not activate that ability until all of the Cooldown Tokens have been removed.
Charge Token: A Charge Token is a token on a card that allows one of that card's Charge Abilities to be played. When you play a Charge Ability, first discard one of its Charge Tokens. Charge Tokens typically do not replenish except through Recharge abilities. A card may never have more Charge Tokens on it than the number indicated in its setup flag in the upper left.
Combat Phase: The Combat Phase is the second Phase of each game round - the one in which most game actions will happen. In general, each Hero and each Schemer Group will take a turn during this Phase when their initiative token is drawn from the bag.
Companion: A Companion is a special figure that accompanies you in Solo Mode. It has its own initiative tokens and takes a special action on its turn, as defined by its Companion Card. See Appendix B on page 10.
Cooldown Ability: A Cooldown Ability is any ability that requires adding Cooldown Tokens to activate. To activate a Cooldown Ability, add the required number of Cooldown Tokens to that ability, as indicated on the hourglass icon on the left side of the card. If that number is zero, you may activate the ability multiple times in a turn, as long as you can spend the required Action or Shenanigan ability tile, or if the Reaction trigger condition is met. If an ability already has Cooldown Tokens on it, you may not activate it.
Cooldown Token: Cooldown Tokens prevent an ability from being activated. When you activate a Cooldown Ability you must add Cooldown Tokens to it. At the beginning of each round, a Cooldown Token will be removed from each ability that has one. It is also possible to remove Cooldown Tokens with an Invigorate ability or a Reset Token. An ability with Cooldown Tokens on it may not be activated. It is possible for Cooldown Tokens to be added to abilities that aren't Cooldown Abilities (see Fatigue). If that happens, those abilities may not be activated until all the Cooldown Tokens are removed. Cooldown Tokens may never be added to abilities on your Hero mat.
Counter Attack: Some Reactions allow you to Counter Attack. When you do this, you make an Attack against the figure that triggered the Reaction. This Attack ignores Range - it targets the triggering figure, regardless of where that figure is on the map. A Counter Attack still counts as an Attack, so, for example, its roll may include the Doom Die in certain situations, and it could enable Reactions that trigger when you Attack.
Critical Hit: An Attack roll may include one or more Critical Hits, represented by the circle with a burst around it. When you roll Critical Hits, those dice contribute 1 to the Attack, then you reroll any Critical Hit dice. If more Critical Hits are rolled, continue this process. If an Attack roll includes the Doom Die, resolve the Doom Die before rerolling Critical Hits. See Appendix C.
Damage Boost Token: A Damage Boost Token is a type of Power Token that you may use to increase the amount of damage your Attacks deal. If a hero attacks, then after determining damage (usually by rolling Damage Dice), that hero may discard any number of Damage Boost Tokens to increase the damage of the Attack by 1 for each token discarded in this way. The boosted damage total applies to all targets of the Attack. You may use Damage Boost Tokens to boost the damage of the Attacks performed by any other figures that act on your turn, including summoned figures, Allies and Pooky. (Those figures may also spend their own Damage Boost Tokens, if they have any.) Damage Boost Tokens may not be used to increase non-Attack damage such as Splash. See Appendix C.
When a Schemer attacks, it will discard all of its Damage Boost Tokens and increase the damage of the Attack by 1 for each token discarded. If a figure uses Damage Boost Tokens, and that figure also has Weaken Tokens, the Weaken Tokens apply after the Damage Boost Tokens.
Damage Die: The yellow dice are Damage Dice, used for some Attacks. Not all Attacks use dice - some deal flat damage instead. Each Attack will indicate how many Damage Dice it should include. See Appendix C (page 11).
Dangerous: A space on the map is Dangerous if it could cause damage or other penalties to figures that move onto or through it, or to figures that are standing on it later in the round. This includes Traps and Hazards, even Hazards that do not cause immediate damage and only cause damage if a figure is standing on them later in the round. A movement path is Dangerous if it contains one or more Dangerous spaces. Schemers will avoid moving through Dangerous spaces if there is any alternative path (even a longer one). See Appendix D (page 14).
Debuff Token: A Debuff Token is a token representing a temporary negative effect. This includes Weaken Tokens and Stun Tokens.
Defeated: A figure is Defeated when it takes damage greater than or equal to its Fortitude. If this happens, remove it from the map. Heroes and some bosses must be Wounded before they can be Defeated. In most scenarios, if a Hero is Defeated, the players lose the game.
Deploy: To deploy a Schemer is to add it to the map. If a figure would be deployed to a space that is already Occupied, instead put it on the space Nearest to its intended deployment space. If multiple spaces are Nearest to the intended space, then the players choose one. If you are instructed to deploy a figure, but all figures of that type are already on the map, you don't deploy that figure.
Destructible: Some map features are Destructible, which means that they can be destroyed under certain conditions. Each scenario that includes Destructible map features will define how those map features may be destroyed.
Difficult: A figure using Move must spend two points of movement rather than one to enter a Difficult Terrain space. Difficult Terrain does not affect a figure using Leap or a figure being Pulled, Pushed, Grabbed or Placed. Difficult spaces have a yellow border.
Disarm X: The affected figure must discard X Power Tokens. If that figure has fewer than X Power Tokens, they must discard all of their Power Tokens. Disarming an Ally or one of Eve's Illusions does not force its controlling Hero to discard any Power Tokens.
Discard Ability: A Discard Ability is a one-time-use ability indicated by the dissolving scroll icon. When you use a Discard Ability, put the card back in the box. You may not use it again this game, but you will be able to use it again in future games. In the rare cases where a Discard Ability gains Cooldown Tokens (see Fatigue), you may not activate that ability until all of the Cooldown Tokens have been removed.
Doom: Some Schemers include the red horned-head icon near the bottom left of their Scheme Block. If a Schemer has this icon, then all Attack rolls against that Schemer which involve one or more Damage Dice (yellow dice) must also include the Doom Die, even at Story and Veteran difficulties. If a Schemer with Doom is one of the targets in a multi-target Attack, then the Doom Die is included in the roll and affects the result of that roll for all targets.
Doom Die: The red die is the Doom Die. It has three faces with horned heads and three blank faces. When an Attack roll includes the Doom Die, roll it along with the other dice in the roll. If the Doom Die comes up blank, it has no effect. If it comes up on one of the horned heads, then the rolling player has a choice: they must either take 1 damage that cannot be avoided in any way, or they must remove a Damage Die (yellow die) of their choice from the roll. This decision must be made before rerolling any Critical Hits in that roll. However, Critical Hit rerolls do not include the Doom Die. See Appendix C (page 11).
At Legend difficulty, all Attack rolls involving yellow dice also include the Doom Die. If a Schemer has the Doom icon at Legend difficulty, you roll the Doom Die once (as normal) on Attacks against that Schemer, but avoiding the effect of a Doom "hit" costs 2 unavoidable damage instead of the usual 1.
If an Attack by Pooky rolls the Doom icon, Zot must take the unavoidable damage to avoid the effect. Similarly, if an Attack by an Illusion rolls the Doom icon, Eve must take the damage.
An Attack roll that does not include yellow dice never includes the Doom Die. This can happen when a figure Empowers a fixed-damage Attack.
Door: Many scenarios include doors, which block access to certain parts of the map. When a scenario includes doors, the scenario description will indicate where to put them and how they can be opened. In general, the map areas behind closed doors are treated as though they do not exist until a door accessing that area is opened. Schemers behind closed doors are typically not deployed until that door is opened. In the rare case where an active Schemer is behind a closed door, that Schemer may not be affected by Heroes until the appropriate door(s) are opened.
Empowered Attack: An Empowered Attack is one that includes any Epic Dice when rolling for damage. See Appendix E (page 15).
Epic Die: The black dice are called Epic Dice. An Epic Die in the Epic Pool may be used to boost Attacks or to provide defense. See Appendix E (page 15) for more information.
Epic Pool: Certain abilities and game events can add an Epic Die to the Epic Pool. Dice in the Epic Pool may be used to boost Attacks or to provide defense. See Appendix E (page 15) for more information.
Evade Token: An Evade Token is a type of Power Token allowing you to reposition after being attacked. It represents a Reaction that is activated by discarding the token, with the following effect: "Trigger: An Attack damages you. You Avert Harm, and you may Leap 2." Note that you must take damage from an Attack in order to use an Evade Token. If you prevent all of the damage with Shield or Toughness Tokens, you may not Evade. If you discard multiple Evade Tokens in response to a single Attack, the Leap values are summed into a single Leap effect. Example: Zot is damaged by an Attack. He spends 3 Evade Tokens, avoids the Harm effects of the Attack and Leaps 6 to safety.
Farthest: The Farthest figure from the current Schemer is the one that has the longest minimal Line of Fire to that Schemer. If a Schemer is moving toward the Farthest Foe, it still takes the fewest movement steps it can take to get to any space adjacent to that Foe.
Fatigue X: Add X Cooldown Tokens to a single ability you control. Cooldown Tokens may never be added to abilities on your Hero mat, Ally cards, Setup abilities, or Charge Abilities that have no remaining Charge Tokens. The ability that gains Cooldown Tokens does not necessarily need to be a Cooldown Ability. However, abilities with Cooldown Tokens on them may not be activated, even if they are not Cooldown Abilities. If you add Cooldown Tokens to a card that has multiple abilities, choose one of its abilities to get the tokens. Fatigue only affects Heroes. Other Heroic figures, such as Allies, Companions, Pooky or Illusions cannot be Fatigued.
Figure: A figure is an object on the map representing a Hero or any of their Friends or Foes.
Foe: A Foe is an enemy of the current figure. The word "Foe" in a Hero ability means "a Schemer that is an enemy to this Hero", whereas the word "Foe" in an enemy Scheme means "a Heroic figure". In general, Schemers are Foes to the Heroes and Friends to each other, but exceptions exist, as defined in scenario descriptions. (See Friend and Heroic.)
Forced Movement: Any effect that moves a figure but is controlled by one of that figure's Foes is called Forced Movement. This includes Grab, Place, Push and Pull when those effects target a Foe. Effects that cause a figure to swap spaces with a Foe or that cause a Foe to Move or Leap also count as Forced Movement.
Fortitude: A figure's hit points are called Fortitude. When a figure has taken damage greater than or equal to its Fortitude, it is Defeated. For most figures, this causes them to be removed from the map. For Fresh Heroes and certain Bosses, this causes them to become Wounded.
Fresh: Heroes, plus a few other figures, have two "health bars" instead of one. They start off Fresh, but when they take damage greater than or equal to their Fortitude, their mat or card flips over and they become Wounded. Going from Fresh to Wounded is a one-way street - healing a Wounded figure can never bring them back to Fresh.
Friend: A figure's Friend is a figure that is "on the same team" as that figure. The word "Friend" in a Hero ability means "a Heroic figure", whereas the word "Friend" in an enemy Scheme means "another Friendly Schemer". In general, Schemers are Foes to the Heroes and Friends to each other, but exceptions exist, as defined in scenario descriptions. A figure does not count as a Friend to itself. (See Foe and Heroic.)
Grab: To Grab a figure, remove it from the map, then Place it into an Unoccupied space adjacent to you. (If the Grabbed figure's previous location was adjacent to you, you may return it to the same space.) If the Grabbed figure's new location would cause something to happen to that figure, like taking damage from a Trap, resolve the effect as normal. If there are no legal spaces in which to Place the Grabbed figure, then you may not Grab that figure.
Harm: Some abilities and Schemes include Attacks with Harm effects after them. If the Attack causes one or more targets to lose Fortitude, the Harm effect happens. If all of the Attack's damage is prevented (for example, with Shield or Toughness Tokens), Harm does not trigger.
If the Harm effect includes the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens to each target that lost Fortitude and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. (Example: "Harm: Stun the target(s).") If no target lost Fortitude, the Harm effect does not happen.
If the Harm effect does not include the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens once as long as at least one target lost Fortitude and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. (Examples: "Harm: You Heal 1" or "Harm: Splash".) A Harm effect of this type does not provide multiple benefits, even if the Attack damaged multiple targets. (See also Avert Harm and Splash.)
If an Attack somehow gains multiple Harm effects, all of them apply, in the order of the players' choice.
Hazard: A Hazard is a type of Dangerous space on the map, typically with a red border. Each Hazard is defined in the scenario in which it appears. A Hazard counts as Dangerous even if it would only cause a delayed effect, such as damage to a figure standing on it during the Objective Phase.
Heal X: Remove up to X damage from the target. Healing a figure can never cause that figure to have more Fortitude than the amount printed on its Hero mat or Scheme Block. Healing a Wounded figure can never cause that figure to flip back over to Fresh.
Hero: A Hero is one of the playable characters piloted by a player. In this game, the Heroes are Deirdre, Eve, Fiona, Gerki, Gog and Zot.
Heroic: Figures with this keyword are Friends to the Heroes and to other figures with this keyword, and Foes to Schemers without this keyword. Schemers with the Heroic keyword are still Schemers, so their actions are controlled by scenario rules rather than by the players. The Heroes themselves also count as Heroic figures.
Hitback Token: A Hitback Token is a type of Power Token that allows a figure to hit back an attacker that deals damage to it. It represents a Reaction that is activated by discarding the token, with the following effect: "Trigger: An Attack damages you. You Avert Harm, and the attacker takes 1." Note that a figure must take damage from an Attack in order to use a Hitback Token. Damage from other sources like Eve's "Sleight of Mind" or Splash (even if part of an Attack) do not count. If a figure with a Hitback Token prevented all of the damage with Shield or Toughness Tokens, that figure may not hit back. A Schemer with Hitback Tokens will use all of them when they take damage from an Attack. If a figure discards multiple Hitback Tokens in response to a single Attack, the attacker takes 1 for each Hitback Token discarded as a single instance of damage. Using a Hitback Token does not count as an Attack or a Counter Attack. The attacker simply takes damage. As a result, a figure taking damage from a Hitback Token may not mitigate it with an Epic Die, an Evade Token, or a Hitback Token of their own. They may use a Shield Token or a Toughness Token to avoid the damage, however. Weaken Tokens and Damage Boost do not affect the amount of damage dealt by Hitback Tokens. If an Avoided figure attacks a Foe that has a Hitback Token, the Foe does not hit back, and it keeps its Hitback Token. If a figure with a Hitback Token takes lethal damage from an Attack, it will hit back before being Defeated. If Pooky attacks a Schemer with a Hitback Token, the Schemer does not hit back. It keeps its Hitback Token and Pooky takes no damage.
Ignore: When a figure Ignores an effect, that effect does nothing to that figure. If multiple figures are affected by an effect and one of those figures Ignores it, the rest of the figures are still affected normally. If a figure Ignores another figure, it simply acts as though the Ignored figure doesn't exist. A figure still may not move through a Foe, though, even if they are Ignoring that figure.
Illusion: Illusions are special Heroic figures that Eve can summon. Illusions have 3 Fortitude and are Friendly to Heroes. They may not take any game actions except for those specified by Eve's Abilities. They are regular figures that take up a space on the map and prevent Foes from moving through them. Enemy Schemers may target Illusions with their Schemes just like they would target any other Foes. Illusions may not gain Power Tokens or Debuff Tokens. If they would gain such tokens, nothing happens. Eve may have only a certain number of Illusions on the map at a time (this number can change when Eve becomes Wounded and as she levels up as the campaign progresses). If Eve would Place an Illusion but the maximum number are already on the map, she may first remove an Illusion that is already on the map. See Appendix A on page 8 for more information.
Immobile: A figure with Immobile never moves. If an effect would cause it to change spaces, it instead remains where it is.
Immune to [Map Feature]: This figure is unaffected by the specified map feature and can move into or through such spaces as though they were Safe. For example, a figure that is Immune to Traps can occupy or move through a space with a Trap without triggering it or taking any of its effects.
Impassable: Impassable spaces represent physical obstacles or voids, and typically have a purple border. Impassable spaces may never be entered by any figure, may not have tokens put on them (except by the scenario itself), and may not have Line of Fire for a Ranged Attack drawn through them. Lines of Fire may still be drawn around Impassable spaces.
Initiative Token: In most scenarios, turn order is randomly determined each round by drawing initiative tokens out of a bag. Each Hero and each Schemer Group will have one initiative token in the bag unless the scenario says otherwise. When a Hero or Schemer Group's initiative token is drawn from the bag during the Combat Phase, that Hero or Schemer Group takes their turn. In a 2-Hero game, each Hero adds their red-border partial initiative token to the bag in addition to their gold-border full initiative token. Certain Schemers use multiple initiative tokens, as specified by their scenario.
Inspire: Add an Epic Die to the Epic Pool. If the Epic Pool already contains all of the Epic Dice, Inspire has no effect.
Invigorate X: Remove up to X Cooldown Tokens from any combination of your abilities. You'll remove X tokens total, not X from each Cooldown Ability. Invigorate without a number after it means Invigorate 1.
Item: Item cards represent physical objects equipped by the Heroes. They provide abilities for the players to activate. There are three types of Items, indicated by the background color and the icon in the upper left - Support, Major and Masterwork. Each scenario will tell the players how many of each type they may equip from the Armory (generally one of each). Any Hero may equip any Item.
Juggernaut: This figure may not be moved except by its own Scheme. It ignores all Forced Movement effects, including Push, Pull, Grab, Place, etc.
Leap X: The figure moves up to X spaces on the map, ignoring Difficult Terrain and other figures as it moves. A figure may not Leap through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges. A leaping figure must end its movement on an Unoccupied space, as normal. If the space that a figure ends its Leap on causes something to happen (like taking damage from a Trap), that effect resolves as normal. If a space that a figure moves through during a Leap would cause something to happen, it does not happen. Exception: if a space that a Hero moves through during a Leap would cause something to happen, you may choose whether or not that effect happens (in most cases you will want to choose that it does not happen).
Line of Fire: Ranged Attacks and some other effects use Line of Fire, which is simply a contiguous path of spaces (not necessarily a straight line) drawn from one figure or map feature to another. Line of Fire may go around corners. It may go through map features or other figures. It may not go through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges. Note that this concept is more permissive than the "line of sight" rules used in some games - our heroes and their adversaries are professionals who can bend fireballs around corners, bounce arrows off the ceiling, and so forth.
Map Edge: The map edge consists of all edges of map spaces that do not adjoin another space.
Massive: When a Push/Pull X effect targets this figure, X is reduced to 1. When a Foe's Forced Movement effect causes this figure to Move X or Leap X, X is reduced to 1. This figure is unaffected by Grab or Place effects.
Melee Attack: A Melee Attack is a type of Attack that can only affect Foes that are adjacent to the attacker or Foes that share the attacker's space (see Tiny). See Appendix C on page 11 for more information about Attacks.
Move X: The figure moves up to X spaces on the map, taking all map features such as Hazards, Traps and Difficult Terrain into account. A figure may not Move through Foes, Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges. A figure may Move through Friends. The figure must end its movement on an Unoccupied space. If any space a figure moves through or onto causes something to happen (like taking damage from a Trap), resolve the appropriate effect for each space as the figure moves onto it.
Schemes involving movement will indicate a figure or map feature toward which the Schemer will move. In general, a Schemer will first choose what figure or map feature it will try to move toward, then it will get as close as it can get to that figure or map feature. See Appendix D on page 14.
Nearest: Many Schemes refer to the "Nearest" figure or space on the map. The Nearest target is the one to which the shortest Line of Fire could be drawn from that Schemer for a Ranged Attack. Such a line may not pass through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges. Ranged Attacks in Schemes always target the Nearest Foe(s) unless the Scheme specifically says otherwise. Whenever multiple possible targets count as the "Nearest", the players choose which one the Schemer will target.
Objective Phase: The Objective Phase is the last Phase of each game round. In general, Win Conditions and Objectives are checked in this Phase, but each scenario will define what steps happen in the Objective Phase.
Occupied: A space on the map is Occupied if it contains a figure without the keyword Tiny. If a space contains map features such as Traps, Hazards, doors, Difficult Terrain or other objects printed as part of the map's art, it is still Unoccupied unless it contains a figure.
Overcharge Token: An Overcharge Token is a type of Power Token that you may discard to activate any of your Charge Abilities, even one that has no remaining Charge Tokens. You still must use an Action or Shenanigan ability tile or fulfill the Reaction Trigger of that Charge Ability, as appropriate. In other words, using an Overcharge Token does not allow you to take extra actions on your turn. You may use an Overcharge Token on a Charge Ability that still has Charge Tokens that you can spend, in which case you spend the Overcharge Token rather than one of the card's Charge Tokens. You may not use an Overcharge Token on a Charge Ability that has a Cooldown Token (see Fatigue).
Overrun: This figure may enter spaces containing other figures. Each time it does so, the figure whose space was moved into is Placed on the Nearest Unoccupied space to the overrunning figure. If multiple spaces are tied for the Nearest, the players choose. If a figure with Overrun moves through multiple figures, each displacement is resolved one at a time as the figure moves. Figures with the Massive, Immobile or Juggernaut keywords block the movement of a figure with Overrun. Figures with the Tiny keyword are not moved when a figure with Overrun enters their space.
Partial Initiative Token: In a 2-Hero game, each Hero uses their partial initiative token in addition to their regular initiative token. When a Hero's partial initiative token is drawn from the bag, that Hero may take a "partial turn" consisting of one Action or Shenanigan. A Hero may not activate Allies during this partial turn, and Zot may not activate Pooky.
Phase: The game is played over a series of rounds, each of which has three Phases: the Ready Phase, the Combat Phase and the Objective Phase.
Place: To Place a figure is to move it to the specified space. The figure goes directly to that space and does not interact with any spaces in between where it was and where it is being Placed. A figure may never be Placed onto a space that it could not legally occupy, such as an Impassable space, an Occupied space, or a space on the inaccessible side of a closed door.
Pooky: Pooky is a Heroic figure controlled by Zot's player. See Appendix A (page 8) for more information. Pooky can also be used by other Heroes as a Companion in a Solo Mode game. See Appendix B (page 10) for information on Solo Mode.
Power Token: A Power Token is a token representing a one-shot positive effect. This includes Damage Boost Tokens, Evade Tokens, Hitback Tokens, Overcharge Tokens, Reset Tokens, Shield Tokens and Toughness Tokens. Allies may spend their own Power Tokens or those held by their controlling Hero. Solo Mode Companions may only spend their own Power Tokens - not their accompanying Hero's.
Power Tree: Each Hero has their own Power Tree, an oversize card with spaces showing one or more Power Tokens. During scenario setup, the scenario book will indicate how many steps each Hero takes on their Power Tree. To take steps on your Power Tree, start by choosing one of the bottom two spaces on the tree. Each subsequent step must either be a) the other bottom space or b) a space that is connected via a line to an already-chosen space. You may not choose the same space more than once. Cover each chosen space with the Power Tokens that space grants to keep track of this. Spaces that give more than one Power Token still count as one step. When you have finished taking the specified number of steps on your Power Tree, take all of the Power Tokens granted and put your Power Tree back in the box. You will not need it again until your next game.
Note that you may choose a completely different loadout of steps on your Power Tree from one game to the next. The choices you make for one scenario can be completely different from the choices you make for the next one!
Pull X: Move the target X spaces closer to the pulling figure. The target moves from one Unoccupied space to the next, interacting with each of those spaces. Each space entered must be one space closer to the pulling figure, as determined by Nearest range (see Nearest). The Pull continues until one of three conditions occurs: 1) all X points of Pull have been used, or 2) the target is adjacent to the pulling figure, or 3) there is no available Unoccupied space that is one space closer to the pulling figure.
If a Hero Pulls a figure through or onto spaces that cause something to happen (like taking damage from a Trap), then resolve the appropriate effect for each space as the target moves through it. If a Schemer Pulls a Foe, the players decide the path it takes, as long as that path adheres to the rules described above. Any Traps or Hazards moved through will take effect.
Pull is not affected by Difficult Terrain. A figure may be pulled through Difficult Terrain just like normal spaces. A figure may never be pulled through other figures (Friends or Foes). A figure may never be Pulled through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges.
If a Schemer is Pulling a figure and there are multiple legal paths along which the target could be Pulled, the players may choose any of them, even if their choice could cause the Pull to stop before X steps have occurred. However, at each step, the Pulled figure must move one space closer to the Pulling figure if possible.
Push X: Move the target X spaces farther away from the pushing figure. The target moves from one Unoccupied space to the next, interacting with each of those spaces. Each space moved to must be one space farther away from the pushing figure, as determined by Nearest range (see Nearest). The Push continues until one of two conditions occurs: 1) all X points of Push have been used, or 2) there is no available Unoccupied space that is one space farther away from the pushing figure.
If a Hero Pushes a figure through or onto spaces that cause something to happen (like taking damage from a Trap), then resolve the appropriate effect for each space as the target moves through it. If a Schemer Pushes a Foe, the players decide the path it takes, as long as that path adheres to the rules described above. Any Traps or Hazards moved through will take effect.
Push is not affected by Difficult Terrain. A figure may be pushed through Difficult Terrain just like normal spaces. A figure may never be pushed through other figures (Friends or Foes). A figure may never be Pushed through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges.
If a Schemer is Pushing a figure and there are multiple legal paths along which the target could be Pushed, the players may choose any of them, even if their choice could cause the Push to stop before X steps have occurred. However, at each step, the Pushed figure must move one space farther away from the Pushing figure if possible.
Range X: A map space is within Range X of another space if you can draw a legal Line of Fire to it in X or fewer steps.
Ranged Attack: A Ranged Attack is a type of Attack that can affect Foes that are up to the specified distance away. When a Hero makes a Ranged Attack, they may target any Foe within the specified range. When a Schemer makes a Ranged Attack, it always targets the Nearest Foe unless the Scheme specifically says otherwise. If multiple Foes are tied for Nearest to the attacking Schemer, the players choose the target from among them.
Line of Fire for Ranged Attacks may go around corners. It may go through map features or other figures. If a Ranged Attack goes through other figures, those figures are unaffected. Line of Fire for a Ranged Attack may not go through Impassable spaces, Walls, closed doors or Map Edges.
There is no penalty for making a Ranged Attack against a Foe in an adjacent space. See Appendix C on page 11 for more information about Attacks.
Reaction: A Reaction is a type of ability that a Hero may play in response to something that happens during a game. Reactions have the format "Trigger: [game event]. [Effect in response]." You may activate a Reaction whenever the specified Trigger happens, even if that interrupts some other effect, and even if it is not your turn. You must be able to pay the cost of activating a Reaction, however, by either adding Cooldown Tokens, removing a Charge Token or discarding the Reaction Card, as appropriate. As with any ability, you may not activate a Reaction if that ability has Cooldown Tokens on it. If a Reaction is a Charge Ability that has multiple Charge Tokens, you may activate it multiple times in response to the same trigger event.
Ready Phase: The Ready Phase is the first Phase of each game round. In general, you will Invigorate all of your Abilities, roll Scheme Dice and prepare the Initiative Bag during this Phase. Some scenarios will specify additional steps that happen during the Ready Phase.
Recharge X: Put X Charge Tokens on any combination of your cards that have Charge Abilities on them. A card may never have more Charge Tokens on it than the number indicated in the setup flag in the upper left of that card.
Reinforce: Many scenarios instruct you to Reinforce by adding new figures to the board. This often happens in response to game events such as Defeating a certain Foe or revealing a new part of the map by opening a door. If a figure would be deployed to a space that is already Occupied, instead put it on the space Nearest to its intended deployment space. If multiple spaces are Nearest to the intended space, then the players choose one. If you are instructed to deploy a figure, but all figures of that type are already on the map, you don't deploy that figure. If you Reinforce during the Combat Phase, check whether any of the newly-added Schemers belong to a Schemer Group which has not acted yet this round and whose initiative token is not in the bag. If this happens, add the group's initiative token to the bag and roll a Scheme Die for that group. If any newly-added Schemers are part of the Schemer Group that is currently taking their turn, then the ones with a later initiative number than the Schemer currently acting (and only those) will act this turn. If any newly-added Schemers are part of a Schemer Group that has already acted this round, then those Schemers will not act until the next round.
Reset Token: A Reset Token is a type of Power Token that allows you to accelerate a cooldown. On your turn, you may discard a Reset Token to remove up to three Cooldown Tokens from any one of your Cooldown Abilities. You may not use a Reset Token to take Cooldown Tokens off multiple abilities, but you may use multiple Reset Tokens on your turn if you have them.
Resistant: As long as this figure has a Shield Token or a Toughness Token, it does not trigger Traps and treats them as though they were Safe spaces. If this figure is on a Trap when it loses its last Shield/Toughness Token, it immediately triggers that Trap.
Safe: A space is Safe for a figure if it is not Dangerous to that figure. A movement path is Safe if it contains only Safe spaces. (See Dangerous.)
Scenario: A scenario is an individual game setting in the campaign. This game has 25 scenarios, divided into 5 Chapters.
Scenario Ability: A Scenario Ability is an ability that Heroes can use which is specified by the rules of the scenario rather than by a card or Hero mat.
Scheme: Schemes are the equivalent of abilities for scenario-controlled figures. Each Schemer Group has a Scheme Block printed on the map that determines what those Schemers can do. During the Ready Phase, each Schemer Group will have a Scheme Die rolled for it, which is kept on that group's Scheme Block. When a Schemer Group's initiative token is drawn from the bag during the Combat Phase, those Schemers will each carry out their rolled Scheme one at a time, in the initiative order given by the numbers on their figures. See Appendices C and D for more information on how to resolve effects in a Scheme.
Scheme Block: Each Schemer Group defined in a scenario has a Scheme Block on that scenario's map. The Scheme Block defines important details like the Schemer Group's name, keywords, Fortitude, and which standees, bases and damage tracker cards to use.
Scheme Die: The purple dice, plus Pooky's white die, are called Scheme Dice. These are rolled during the Ready Phase and determine which Scheme a Schemer Group or Pooky will use when they act during the Combat Phase. When you roll the purple Scheme Dice, roll them one at a time for each Schemer Group that currently has at least one figure on the map, then put that die on that group's Scheme Block.
Schemer: A Schemer is any figure whose actions are controlled by the game rather than by a player. See Appendices C and D for more information about how to determine a Schemer's actions.
Schemer Group: A Schemer Group is all of the Schemers of the same type that are currently on the map. They use the same standee art and the same color base. When a Schemer Group's initiative token is drawn from the bag during the Combat Phase, those Schemers will each carry out their Scheme one at a time, in the initiative order given by the numbers on their figures.
Setup Flag: Some Hero and Item Cards have a drop-down flag in their upper left. This is a Setup Flag. During scenario setup, take the indicated tokens. If the Setup Flag has a Charge icon, put that many Charge tokens onto the card. If the Setup Flag gives Power Tokens, add those Power Tokens to your supply near your Hero mat.
Shenanigan: A Shenanigan is a "minor action" that is on many Hero Cards, Items and Hero mats. On a Hero's full turn, that Hero may activate up to two Actions and one Shenanigan. On a Hero's partial turn (used in 2-Hero games - see Partial Initiative Token), that Hero may activate up to one Action or one Shenanigan. Whenever a Hero could activate an Action, they may choose to activate a Shenanigan instead. To activate a Shenanigan, a player flips one of their Action or Shenanigan ability tiles to its grey side, then chooses a Shenanigan from among their abilities that does not have any Cooldown Tokens on it. They pay the cost associated with that Shenanigan (usually either removing a Charge Token or adding some number of Cooldown Tokens), then they carry out the ability.
Shield Token: A Shield Token is a Power Token which can be used to reduce any instance of damage by 1. If spending Shield Tokens causes the damage from an Attack to be reduced to 0 or less, it prevents Harm effects from triggering. When a Schemer would be dealt damage from any source, it discards Shield Tokens until it has reduced the damage received to 0 or less, or until it has run out of Shield Tokens. If a Schemer would be dealt damage, and that figure has both Toughness Tokens and Shield Tokens, it discards a Toughness Token and keeps its Shield Tokens.
When a player-controlled figure would be dealt damage, that figure's owner may choose to discard any number of Shield Tokens to reduce the damage. You may use Shield Tokens to protect any figures you control, including summoned figures and Allies. (Those figures may also spend their own Shield Tokens, if they have any.)
Shield Tokens only reduce damage to the figure discarding the tokens. If the source of damage is targeting more than one figure, the other figures do not have their damage reduced unless they spend Shield Tokens of their own.
Splash: Some Attacks include Splash, either as a Harm effect or as an additional effect after the Attack. To Splash, deal damage to each Foe that is adjacent to the target(s) of the Attack and was not itself a target of the Attack. Splash does not cause "friendly fire" - Friends of the Attacker do not take any Splash damage, even if they are adjacent to one of the Attack's targets. If a Harm effect includes Splash, the Splash affects all Foes adjacent to a target that lost Fortitude and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. If the target of an Attack with Splash moves in response to the Attack with an Evade Token, and the Splash was not a Harm effect, then Splash targets are determined from where the target was when they were attacked, not where they ended up. If an Attack has multiple instances of Splash, they resolve separately.
Stun: To Stun a figure, give that figure a Stun Token.
Stun Token: A Stun Token is a kind of Debuff Token that causes a figure to skip part or all of their next turn. If a Schemer or a Solo Mode Companion has a Stun Token when their turn begins, they skip their turn and discard all of their Stun Tokens. If a Hero has a Stun Token when their full initiative token is drawn, they flip one of their Action ability tiles to its grey side without taking an Action and discard all of their Stun Tokens. If a Hero has a Stun Token when their partial initiative token is drawn (used in a 2-Hero game), they skip their turn and discard all of their Stun Tokens. If an Ally has a Stun Token, then on its Hero's next full turn, that Hero flips the Ally ability tile to its grey side without activating the Ally and discards all of the Ally's Stun Tokens. Multiple Stun Tokens on a single figure are redundant. If a figure gets a Stun Token during its own turn, that Stun Token applies to the figure's next turn. The figure's current turn is unaffected.
Tiny: A figure with the Tiny keyword may share a space on the map with another figure. Other figures may pass through or occupy a Tiny figure's space freely. Similarly, a Tiny figure may pass through any other figure's space and end its turn sharing the space with another figure. A space with only Tiny figures in it counts as Unoccupied. If a Tiny figure shares a space with another figure, those figures are considered adjacent. So, for example, a Tiny figure may attack a Foe in the space it occupies. If a figure with Tiny uses a Push or Grab ability, then the figure occupying its space is a legal target for that ability. If a figure with Tiny uses a Pull ability, it may Pull the target figure either to its own space or to an adjacent one. If a Schemer moves toward a Tiny Foe (one without the Avoided keyword), it will consider spaces on and adjacent to the Foe and move to the one requiring the least movement.
Toughness Token: A Toughness Token is a Power Token which can be used to completely prevent one instance of damage. When a Schemer would be dealt damage from any source, it discards a Toughness Token if it has one. If a Schemer would be dealt damage, and that figure has both Toughness Tokens and Shield Tokens, it discards a Toughness Token and keeps its Shield Tokens.
When a player-controlled figure would be dealt damage, that figure's player may choose to discard a Toughness Token to prevent the damage.
Toughness Tokens prevent only one instance of damage, so, for example, if a Hero is being attacked by multiple Schemers in the same Schemer Group, a Toughness Token can only prevent damage from one of those Attacks.
Spending a Toughness Token prevents Harm effects from triggering on that figure.
Toughness Tokens only prevent damage to the figure discarding the token. If the source of damage is targeting more than one figure, the other figures do not have their damage prevented unless they spend Toughness Tokens of their own.
Trap: Traps are Dangerous and will deal damage to figures who Move onto or through them. This includes figures who are Pulled or Pushed onto or through them and figures that are Grabbed or Placed onto them. Leaping figures are only affected by a Trap if they end their movement on it or choose to trigger it as they Leap over it.
When a Trap is put onto the map, the effect that creates it will also specify how many damage tokens to put onto it. When a figure Moves or is forced onto or through one of these spaces, or if a Trap is put onto a figure's space directly, remove the Trap and all damage tokens on it from the map, and assign those damage tokens to that figure. If the figure is moving, this process does not end the figure's movement.
Trap tokens may never be put onto Impassable map features or on a space that already contains a Trap token or a Wizard Fire token. They may be put onto Hazardous spaces. In the unlikely event that you run out of Trap tokens, use some other object as a substitute.
Trigger: All Reactions begin with "Trigger: [game event]". The Trigger tells you the game event that the Reaction can respond to.
Unoccupied: A space on the map is Unoccupied if it does not contain a figure, or if it contains only a figure with the keyword Tiny. If a space contains map features such as Traps, Hazards, doors, Difficult Terrain or other objects printed as part of the map's art, it is still Unoccupied unless it contains a figure.
Unpredictable: Do not roll this Schemer Group's Scheme Die during the Roll Scheme Dice step. Instead, roll it immediately after drawing this Schemer Group's initiative token. If this group uses multiple initiative tokens, roll its Scheme Die each time one of its tokens is drawn.
Vault: The Vault is the set of cards that the players may not access (yet). Cards in the Vault are numbered, and players should not look at the faces of cards in the Vault until instructed to do so. Over the course of the campaign, the players will unlock cards from the Vault and move them to the Armory or to each character's specific set of cards.
Wall: Walls separate adjacent spaces from one another. They are represented by art on the map, but also with purple edges on map spaces. Figures may not be moved through such an edge, and Lines of Fire and burst templates may not be drawn over such an edge.
Weaken X: Give the target figure X Weaken Tokens.
Weaken Token: A Weaken Token is a kind of Debuff Token that causes a figure to attack for less damage. When a figure with Weaken Tokens makes an Attack, that figure calculates all damage (including rolling Damage Dice, adding bonus damage and spending Damage Boost Tokens), then discards all of their Weaken Tokens and subtracts 1 for each token discarded in this way, down to a minimum of 0. The attacking figure always discards all of their Weaken Tokens after the Attack, even if they had more tokens than damage that their Attack would have dealt. If a figure with Weaken Tokens does not attack on its turn, it keeps its Weaken Tokens. See Appendix C (page 11).
Wizard Fire: Zot can put Wizard Fire tokens on the board. These are special tokens that are Dangerous to Zot's Foes. Whenever one of Zot's Foes shares a space with a Wizard Fire token, and that figure isn't in the midst of a Leap, it takes damage and the Wizard Fire token is removed from the map. Wizard Fire may not be put onto a space that already contains Wizard Fire or a Trap. If Zot would create Wizard Fire tokens beyond his allowed maximum, he may first remove one or more Wizard Fire tokens from the map. Wizard Fire tokens are neither Traps nor Hazards, so they affect Foes that are Immune to such map features. See Appendix A for more information.
Wounded: Heroes, plus a few other figures, have two "health bars" instead of one. They start off Fresh, but when they take damage greater than or equal to their Fortitude, their mat or card flips over and they become Wounded. When a figure becomes Wounded, they Ignore any excess damage from the Attack or effect that Wounded them. That excess damage does not spill over onto their Wounded side. Going from Fresh to Wounded is a one-way street - healing a Wounded figure can never bring them back to Fresh. If a figure becomes Wounded during the resolution of an ability or Scheme, pause that ability or Scheme until their mat or card flips and any Reaction that Triggers on becoming Wounded is resolved. If multiple Heroes would be Wounded at the same time, follow these steps: first, flip all of the damaged Heroes to their Wounded side. Then, resolve any Wounded Reactions in the order of the players' choice. This means, for example, that if Deirdre and Gog would both become Wounded by the same Attack, Deirdre may not resolve her Wounded Reaction to give Shield Tokens to Gog before he becomes Wounded.
Appendix A - Character Mechanics
Eve's Illusions
Some of Eve's Abilities allow her to summon an Illusion. An Illusion is a Friendly figure that can act as a convenient distraction for the bad guys. Illusions are Heroic figures controlled by Eve and potentially targeted by Schemers.
Illusions do not have initiative tokens of their own. An Illusion can only do something when one of Eve's abilities specifically says that it can.
Eve's Illusion reminder card specifies the maximum number of Illusions that Eve can have on the map at the same time. Eve's special ability when she becomes Wounded increases the number of Illusions she can have on the map by one. If an ability would Place an Illusion beyond the allowed maximum, she may first remove an Illusion from the map. This could, for example, allow her to remove a damaged Illusion and Place a fresh one instead!
When Eve Places an Illusion, put one of the numbered Illusion figures (with a white base) onto an Unoccupied space on the map that is within the Range specified by the ability placing the Illusion. An Illusion occupies that space and prevents Foes from moving through it.
Illusions have 3 Fortitude. Keep the purple tracker cards near Eve's Hero mat to track each Illusion's damage. When an Illusion is Defeated, remove it from the map. An Illusion that is removed from the map may be reused by a later Illusion-placing ability.
Illusions do not trigger Traps and are not affected by Hazards.
Eve may spend her own Power Tokens to defend her Illusions or augment their Attacks. Illusions may not gain Power Tokens or Debuff Tokens themselves. If they would gain such tokens, nothing happens.
Example: Eve has Placed an Illusion close to the Gizmoblin. When the Gizmoblin's Scheme tells it to move toward a Foe and attack, it will move toward the Illusion and attack it rather than attacking Eve herself!
Gerki's Backstab
Some of Gerki's Attacks include a Backstab bonus. This bonus is active if all targets of Gerki's Attack meet at least one of the Backstab conditions, which are:
- The target is adjacent to a figure that is Friendly to Gerki. (This includes Pooky.)
- The target is on a Hazard or a Difficult space and is not Immune to its effects.
- The target has one or more Debuff Tokens.
If Gerki is attacking multiple targets with an Attack with Backstab, then Backstab only applies if all targets meet at least one of the conditions. However, different targets may meet different conditions. When Backstab allows Gerki to roll extra dice, they are rolled with the rest of his Damage Dice (i.e., not separately). An Attack may not get its Backstab bonus multiple times, even if the targets happen to each meet multiple Backstab conditions.
Zot's Wizard Fire
Starting in Scenario 2, some of Zot's abilities allow him to create Wizard Fire tokens. If Zot equips any abilities that allow him to do this, he should put his Wizard Fire reminder card near his Hero mat. The reminder card defines both the maximum number of Wizard Fire tokens that can be on the map and the amount of damage Wizard Fire does to a Foe.
Wizard Fire tokens are special tokens that are Dangerous to Zot's Foes. They have no effect on Zot's Friends. Whenever one of Zot's Foes shares a space with a Wizard Fire token, and that figure isn't in the midst of a Leap, it takes the damage specified on the reminder card. When this happens, remove the Wizard Fire token from the map.
Wizard Fire may not be put onto a space that already contains Wizard Fire or a Trap. If Zot would create Wizard Fire tokens beyond his allowed maximum, he may first remove one or more Wizard Fire tokens from the map. Wizard Fire tokens are neither Traps nor Hazards, so they affect Foes that are Immune to such map features.
Pooky
Zot also brings his rabbit familiar Pooky to the battle! Pooky is a Heroic figure who is Friendly to the Heroes.
When setting up as Zot, put the Pooky Mat, the Pooky reminder card, the white Pooky Die and the Pooky ability tile near Zot's Hero mat. Put Pooky's figure on the same space as Zot.
Tiny: Pooky is Tiny, which means that he can share a space with other figures - Friends or Foes. Pooky can move onto or through other figures, and other figures can move onto or through Pooky.
Avoided: Pooky also has the Avoided keyword, which means that Schemers will ignore him, focusing instead on other Heroic figures.
Pooky has a Scheme Die of his own (the white die). During the Ready Phase of each turn, you will roll Pooky's die to determine which of his Schemes he will use. On each of Zot's full initiative turns, take the Pooky ability tile in addition to the two Action and one Shenanigan ability tiles. Resolve Pooky's Scheme before, after or between Zot's own Actions and/or Shenanigans. You control Pooky's actions and make all decisions regarding his activation. When you use Pooky's Scheme, flip over the Pooky ability tile to its grey side to indicate that Pooky has acted. Activating Pooky on Zot's turn is mandatory. Pooky may not interrupt one of Zot's Actions or Shenanigans, nor may one of Zot's Actions or Shenanigans interrupt Pooky's Scheme. In a 2-Hero game, Pooky does not act on Zot's partial initiative turn.
Pooky does not have Fortitude and cannot take damage. He does not trigger Traps. He cannot open doors or enter spaces containing door tokens. (However, in some scenarios where you can remove "doors" by attacking them, Pooky may do so with "Pooky's in a foul mood".)
Scheme Notes:
- Pooky summons Zot: The ability that Places Zot is not optional. If Zot cannot be Placed on or adjacent to Pooky (because all spaces are Occupied or Impassable), Place him on the Nearest Unoccupied space to Pooky instead. If multiple spaces are tied for Nearest, the Zot player chooses one.
- Pooky's on a rampage: If Pooky starts this movement while standing on a Foe, that Foe does not take damage unless Pooky backtracks over that Foe during his Leap.
- Pooky's in a foul mood: The Pull and Attack effects are optional. When Pooky Pulls a figure, the Pull can be either to Pooky's own space, or to a space adjacent to Pooky. When Pooky attacks, a Foe in Pooky's own space is a legal target.
Appendix B - Solo Mode
If you've decided to tackle the game by yourself, you have two choices:
Multi-Hero Mode: In this mode, you play two or more Heroes on your own, making all choices for all of them. There are no rules differences between this mode and a regular 2-, 3- or 4-Hero game.
Solo Mode: In this mode, you play a single Hero, but have a versatile Companion to accompany you. Solo Mode is described here.
If you wish to play Solo Mode, we recommend reading through page 16 of the Walkthrough before reading this Appendix. In addition, if you have not done so already, open the 5-card Solo Mode pack, which contains 1 Pooky card and 4 Otto cards. In Solo Mode, you'll choose a Companion from these cards to accompany you on your adventure!
Solo Mode - Additional Setup
During the "Heroes" section of setup for each scenario, follow these additional steps:
- If the scenario allows you to equip any Support Items, you may equip an extra one. This could be two copies of the same Item, if available.
- If you are playing Scenario 5 or later, you may equip an extra Hero Card, for a total of 5. If you are playing Scenario 17 or later, you may equip two extra Hero Cards, for a total of 6. You may never equip two Hero Cards with the same title. Remember to resolve Setup Flags for your extra Support Item and your extra Hero Card(s)!
- Choose a Companion and put it near your Hero mat. If you choose one of the Otto cards, put it with the "Otto" side face-up (not the "Recovery Mode" side). If you choose Pooky, put it with the "Pooky" side face-up (not the "Pooky's on Break" side).
- Take your Hero's gold-border initiative token, the gold Solo Hero initiative token and both Companion initiative tokens and put them near your Hero mat.
- Put your Companion's figure on an Unoccupied Hero start space on the map.
Solo Mode uses the following rule changes:
Two Full Turns Per Round: Your Hero takes a full turn (i.e. two Actions and a Shenanigan) whenever either their initiative token or the gold "Solo Hero" initiative token are drawn. This full turn includes activation of your additional figures such as Allies.
Companion Counts as a Hero: Whenever rules or a scenario refer to a Hero, that includes both your Hero and your Companion, unless scenario rules say otherwise.
Companion Turn: When either of your Companion's two initiative tokens are drawn, it will take the "Companion" actions printed on its card with you making all decisions. All Companion actions are optional. A Companion's effects don't require Charge Tokens, Cooldown Tokens or any other costs - they just happen each time the Companion's initiative is drawn.
Schemers and Companions: Since all Companions count as Heroes, Schemers will treat Companions as Foes unless they have the keyword "Avoided". Pooky's "on break" mode and Otto's "Recovery Mode" have "Avoided," which means that Schemers ignore them and focus on your Hero instead. Avoided figures still exist on the map, though, and count for abilities like Gerki's Backstab.
Power Tokens: Your Companion's Power Tokens are separate from your Hero's. You may not spend your Hero's Power Tokens to help your Companion, nor may you have your Companion spend its Power Tokens to help your Hero. You make all decisions about when and whether your Companion spends Power Tokens.
Allies and Companions: Some Support Items give you an Ally - an extra figure that acts on your turn. It is possible to have a Companion and up to two Allies in Solo Mode. The Allies will act on each of your Hero's turns, while the Companion will act on its own turns. Allies may spend your Hero's Power Tokens, but Companions may not - they may only spend their own. You may not use an Ally and a Companion together in a game if both use the same physical standee or miniature. Allies never count as Heroes, although they are Heroic.
Interacting with the Map: Companions interact with most map features just as a Hero would. They can trigger Traps and Hazards, they can open doors, etc. (This includes Companion Pooky.) Companions may not activate Scenario Abilities, except for Otto the Utilitybot, which specifically includes this in its card text. For Otto the Utilitybot to activate a Scenario Ability, he must be located in a space on the map that would allow this.
Epic Dice: You may spend dice from the Epic Pool to Empower your Companion's Attacks or their Defense.
Choosing a Companion
Here are the Companions you may choose from:
Otto: There are four different variations of Otto for you to choose from, each having different abilities. Otto is ready to help you fight and to tank damage for you! When Otto takes damage, track it on or near his Companion card. If Otto would be Defeated, instead remove all damage from him and flip his card over. He is now in "Recovery Mode". In Recovery Mode, he can't take damage and is Avoided, which means Schemers Ignore him. He is also Tiny, which means he may share a space with another figure. While Otto is in Recovery Mode, he Moves 2 and works on "repairing himself" by adding Repair Tokens. After a few turns, he flips back over, fully healed and ready to fight again! If Otto is sharing a space with another figure when he loses the Tiny keyword, he moves to the Nearest Unoccupied space. Recovery Mode Otto triggers Traps and Hazards, and may open doors.
Pooky: Pooky can fight and take damage, but he also has the Tiny keyword, which means that he can share a space on the map with another figure.
At the beginning of the round, when you roll Scheme Dice, roll Pooky's die as well. This determines which ability Pooky will use on his first turn that round. After Pooky's first turn in a round, roll his die again. This determines which ability Pooky will use on his second turn in the round.
When Pooky takes damage, track it on or near his Companion card. If Pooky would be Defeated, instead remove all damage from him and flip his card over. Pooky is now "on break". This works similarly to Otto's "Recovery Mode" - he can't take damage and is Avoided. Do not roll Pooky's die when he's on break. Instead, you add Pooky Tokens to Pooky's card. (The Pooky Tokens are on the reverse side of Otto's Repair Tokens.) When he has enough tokens, he flips back over, fully healed and ready to fight! When this happens, Place Pooky on your Hero's space on the map. In the unlikely event that your Hero isn't on the map, leave Pooky where he is.
Unlike regular Pooky (i.e. Zot's sidekick), Companion Pooky triggers Traps and Hazards, and may open doors.
Zot may not choose Pooky as his Solo Mode Companion, since Pooky is already accompanying Zot by default. Zot's own version of Pooky will act on each of Zot's full turns in Solo Mode. At the end of Zot's first turn, reroll Pooky's die.
Appendix C - Attacks
All Attacks are written as follows: "[Type]: Attack [Damage] [Target]". When a figure makes an Attack, it follows these steps:
- Choose target(s) for the Attack.
- Determine damage.
- Deal damage.
- Resolve Harm effects.
- Remove Defeated figures.
This Appendix gives more detail about each of these steps, first for Attacks made by player-controlled figures, then for Attacks made by Schemers.
Player-Controlled Attacks
1. Choose the target(s) for the Attack.
You start by choosing target(s) for your Attack. If you have no legal targets for an Attack, you may not make that Attack. If an effect would change the number of targets you would choose for an Attack, resolve it now.
The targets you may choose depend on the type of the Attack. In the descriptions below, X is the number of Foes specified in the [Target] clause at the end of the Attack effect.
Melee: You may target up to X adjacent Foes.
Example: Fiona's "Cleave" ability allows her to make a Melee Attack against two Foes. She chooses the two Gizmoblins adjacent to her. She cannot reach the Robogre with a Melee Attack.
Ranged: You may target up to X Foes that are within the specified Range. There is no penalty for making a Ranged Attack against an adjacent Foe. Range is determined by drawing a Line of Fire to each target. A Line of Fire may twist and turn, including going around corners. A Line of Fire is only blocked by Impassable spaces and Walls. You may freely draw the Line of Fire through other figures (Friend or Foe) without targeting them.
Example: Eve is using "Flim-Flamstrike", which is a Ranged Attack targeting one Foe within a Range of 5. She may target any of the Gizmoblins, so she chooses to target the one the farthest away from her. She may draw her Line of Fire around the Impassable pillar in the center of the room. Her Attack does not affect either of the other Gizmoblins, nor does it affect Fiona.
Burst: You may target any number of Foes that lie in the Attack's burst template. Your figure is marked as the grey space on the burst template. Your Attack may target all Foes on the red spaces. You may freely rotate the template around to any orientation so long as your figure is still in the grey space. You may choose not to target certain Foes in the burst template, if you wish. Friends in the burst template are not affected by your Attack. If a red space on a burst area is completely disconnected from the grey space by Impassable spaces or the Map Edge, that disconnected red space may not be used in the Attack. In other words, Burst Attacks may go around, but not through, obstacles and Walls.
Example: Deirdre uses "Take hope! We shall prevail!" to attack both Gizmoblins in the arc in front of her. Fiona is not affected by Deirdre's Attack even though she is in its burst template.
2. Determine damage.
Follow these steps in order:
a. If an effect would alter the number of Damage Dice you would roll (such as Gerki's Backstab), resolve that first. b. Take the appropriate number of Damage Dice. For fixed-damage Attacks, that number of dice will be zero. c. If you took any yellow Damage Dice, then at Legend difficulty, or if the Attack targets a Foe with the Doom icon, take the Doom Die as well. d. If the Epic Pool contains Epic Dice, you may add any number of those dice to Empower your Attack. e. Roll the dice simultaneously. f. If the roll included the Doom Die, and that Doom Die shows a Doom icon, you must either remove a yellow Damage Die from the roll or take 1 damage that may not be avoided or prevented in any way. (If you are playing at Legend difficulty and your Attack targets a Foe with the Doom icon, you must take 2 instead.) After making this choice, remove the Doom Die from the roll. g. For each Critical Hit, add 1 to your total damage and roll that die again, repeating for any further Critical Hits. h. If the roll did not include any Epic Dice, and the number of Inspire icons showing on all Damage Dice is greater than the number of Epic Dice in the Epic Pool, then add one Epic Die to the Epic Pool. i. Your Attack's damage is the total number of damage icons you rolled, plus any fixed damage specified by the Attack effect you used. j. If you have Damage Boost Tokens, you may discard any number of them to add 1 to your Attack's damage for each token discarded. k. If you have Weaken Tokens, reduce the total damage of your Attack by the number of Weaken Tokens you have, down to a minimum of 0. Then discard all of your Weaken Tokens (even if you have more tokens than the damage you would have dealt).
3. Deal damage.
Deal the full damage calculated above to each target of your Attack. An attacked Schemer will automatically use a Toughness Token to prevent the damage, if they have one. If an attacked Schemer doesn't have Toughness Tokens but has Shield Tokens, it will spend Shield Tokens to prevent 1 damage per token until it has either prevented all of the damage or has run out of Shield Tokens. Each attacked Schemer will use these tokens independently. If one Schemer prevents damage to itself, that does not prevent damage to any other attacked Schemers. Damage taken by each Schemer is tracked on that Schemer's tracker card.
4. Resolve Harm effects.
If any target of your Attack took damage, and your Attack includes a Harm effect, resolve that effect. If the Harm effect includes the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens to each target that took damage and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. If the Harm effect does not include the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens once as long as at least one target took damage and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. A Harm effect of this type does not provide multiple benefits, even if the Attack damaged multiple targets.
If all damage to all targets was prevented by Toughness and/or Shield Tokens, your Harm effect does not happen.
5. Remove Defeated figures.
If any figure's accumulated damage on its tracker card is greater than or equal to its Fortitude, that figure is Defeated. Remove it from the map. (Note that this happens after your Harm effect resolves.)
Schemer Attacks
1. Choose the target(s) for the Attack.
An attacking Schemer chooses targets as described below. If a Schemer's Attack has no legal targets, it does not attack. In the description below, X is the number of Foes specified in the [Target] clause at the end of the Attack effect.
Melee: The Schemer will target up to X adjacent Foes. If the Schemer has more than X adjacent Foes, the players choose which X Foes the Schemer will attack.
Ranged: The Schemer will target the X Nearest Foes that are within the specified Range. If the Attack targets more than one Foe, then the Schemer targets the next Nearest Foe and continues adding additional targets until the specified number of Foes are targeted or there are no more available Foes in Range. As with player-controlled figures, there is no penalty for making a Ranged Attack against an adjacent Foe, and a Schemer's Line of Fire may go around corners.
Example: This Gizmoblin is executing the Scheme "Range 3: Attack 2 Foes". It must target Fiona, since she is the Nearest Foe to the Gizmoblin. However, since Eve and Gog are both at Range 3 from the Gizmoblin, the players choose whether the Attack's second target is Eve or Gog.
2. Determine damage.
Follow these steps in order:
a. The Attack's base damage is specified in the Attack effect itself. b. If the Schemer has Damage Boost Tokens, it discards all of them and adds 1 to the Attack's damage for each token discarded. c. If the Schemer has Weaken Tokens, it discards all of them and subtracts 1 from the Attack's damage for each token discarded, down to a minimum of 0.
3. Deal damage.
The attacking Schemer deals the full damage calculated above to each target of its Attack.
If a target is controlled by a player, that player decides whether to spend Toughness Tokens or Shield Tokens to prevent any or all of the damage.
If a Schemer targets another Schemer with an attack, then the attacked Schemer will automatically use a Toughness Token to prevent the damage, if it has one. If the attacked Schemer doesn't have Toughness Tokens but has Shield Tokens, it will spend Shield Tokens to prevent 1 damage per token until it has either prevented all of the damage or run out of Shield Tokens.
If any target spends Toughness Tokens or Shield Tokens, damage is only prevented to that target - not to any other targets of the Attack.
4. Resolve Harm effects.
If any target of the Attack took damage, and the Attack includes a Harm effect, resolve that effect. If the Harm effect includes the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens to each target that took damage and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. If the Harm effect does not include the word "target" or "target(s)", then the effect happens once as long as at least one target took damage and did not Ignore the Harm with an Avert Harm effect. A Harm effect of this type does not provide multiple benefits, even if the Attack damaged multiple targets.
If all damage to all targets was prevented by Toughness and/or Shield Tokens, the Harm effect does not happen.
If an Attack's damage causes a figure to become Wounded, that figure still takes the Attack's Harm effect.
5. Remove Defeated figures.
If any figure's accumulated damage is greater than or equal to its Fortitude, that figure is Wounded (in the case of Fresh Heroes) or Defeated. Remove any Defeated figures from the map. In most scenarios, if a Hero is Defeated, the players lose.
Appendix D - Schemer Movement
Depending on what's happening on the map, a simple Move or Leap by a Schemer can get complex. This Appendix explains all the details to handle those complex situations. There are always three main steps to follow when a Schemer is moving:
- Determine all possible target spaces that meet the Schemer's requirements. For example, if a Schemer is moving toward a Foe, the target spaces are all spaces adjacent to a Foe that the Schemer either could occupy or is currently occupying.
- Determine which of the target spaces requires the least amount of movement along a Safe path, or along a Dangerous path if no Safe path exists. A Schemer will always attempt to get to a target space by taking the fewest possible Safe steps. If multiple target spaces require the same minimum number of equally Safe steps, the players pick one.
- Move the Schemer as close to the final target space as possible. If it can't get all the way there, it will take as many steps as it can.
Below is more explanation on each of those three steps:
1. Determine all possible target spaces that meet the Schemer's requirements.
a. Each movement effect will indicate a target that the Schemer is trying to move toward. This is the part of the movement effect after the arrow. Examples include "Move 3 → Foe" and "Leap 4 → Orb of Power". Schemers will frequently move toward a Foe, but other figures or map features may be specified. If the target is a figure, the Schemer will attempt to move adjacent to that figure. For enterable map features, the Schemer will attempt to occupy one of that map feature's spaces. For Impassable map features, the Schemer will attempt to move adjacent to that map feature.
b. If the Scheme's target contains an "or", there are two cases:
- If the Scheme uses "or... if", then the targeting considers only one requirement or the other. Example: the clause "Wounded Foe, or if no Foe is Wounded, then the Foe with the least remaining Fortitude" only considers the Foe(s) with the least remaining Fortitude if there are no Wounded Foes on the map.
- Otherwise, both parts of the "or" clause are considered together. Example: "Shop or Foe" considers all spaces that are either in a shop or adjacent to a Foe. The Schemer will consider all spaces in the combined set.
c. If the Schemer is already in a valid target space (for example, if it wants to move toward a Foe but it is already adjacent to one), it does not move.
d. If the Schemer is not in a valid target space, then it will consider all Unoccupied Safe spaces that meet the requirements and that the Schemer could get to if its current movement effect had infinite steps. Be sure to consider all possible target spaces in this step, since the space requiring the least movement to get to may be counterintuitive.
e. If the above steps result in no possible target spaces, repeat the above steps, but consider Unoccupied Dangerous spaces as well.
f. If the above steps still result in no possible target spaces, repeat the steps, now considering Unoccupied Safe spaces that are one space away from the previously-considered target spaces. If that still results in no possible target spaces, repeat again, considering Unoccupied Dangerous spaces that are one space away. If necessary, repeat this step to expand the search (two spaces away, three spaces away, etc.) until either a legal target space is found or until there are no more spaces to consider.
2. Determine which of the target spaces requires the least amount of movement along a Safe path, or along a Dangerous path if no Safe path exists.
a. In the unlikely event that step 1 resulted in no legal target spaces, the Schemer does not move.
b. For each possible target space found in step 1, determine the minimum number of steps that the Schemer's current movement type (Move or Leap) could travel along a Safe path to get to that space. Remember that a Safe path is one that avoids or Leaps over Traps and Hazards, even Hazards that have a delayed effect (such as Acid Pools that only deal damage during the Objective Phase, for example). If the Schemer is Leaping, then only the safety of the target space is considered - the Schemer ignores whether or not the intervening spaces are Safe. Remember also that a figure may always Move through its Friends on its way to an Unoccupied space.
c. If no target space has a Safe path that the Schemer could take, it considers the Dangerous path(s) that result in the Schemer taking the least total damage from Traps and Hazards. In this case, the Schemer prioritizes minimizing damage over minimizing the number of movement steps.
d. If no target space has any Safe or Dangerous path to it (typically because the Schemer is activating a Move effect and is blocked by Foes somewhere along its path), then target spaces are considered as though the Schemer were activating a Leap effect. In this case, however, the Schemer's actual movement in step 3 will still be a Move rather than a Leap.
e. The target space that minimizes damage taken, then minimizes the number of steps taken is the final target space. If multiple target spaces are tied for minimizing both damage and number of steps, then the players pick one of those spaces to be the final target space.
3. Move the Schemer as close to the final target space as possible.
a. If the Schemer is already on the final target space, it doesn't move.
b. If the Schemer's current movement effect could move it all the way to the final target space, it goes there. If the only legal paths to the final target space are Dangerous, the Schemer takes a path that minimizes damage taken.
c. If the Schemer cannot move all the way to the final target space, but it can move closer to the final target space than it currently is, it moves to the space Nearest to the final target space that it can get to with its current movement effect, minimizing damage taken. If there is a tie for the spaces that meet this condition, then the players pick one of those spaces for the Schemer to move to. In this step, the Schemer prioritizes using its entire movement effect over minimizing damage.
Example: Gizmoblin #1 is activating "Move 2 → Foe". However, because both Fiona and Zot are surrounded, it cannot get adjacent to either of them. It therefore considers Unoccupied Safe spaces that are one space away from the spaces adjacent to the Heroes. There are two such spaces. The Gizmoblin moves to the one that takes it fewer movement steps to get to (two steps vs. three).
Example: In this example, one of the possible target spaces is now Dangerous due to the presence of a Trap. In this case, the Gizmoblin will move toward the Safe space that is two spaces away from Fiona. Since its Move 2 ability does not allow it to move all the way there, it moves as far as it can, onto the Difficult space.
Example: In this final example, both of the spaces that are two away from our Heroes have Traps. In this case, the Gizmoblin will go to the first space again, triggering the Trap. Both spaces are equally Dangerous and equally close to a Foe, so the Schemer chooses the one that requires the fewest movement steps.
Appendix E - The Epic Pool
The Epic Pool is a shared resource that Heroes may use to increase the damage of their Attacks or reduce the damage dealt by Foes. Each time you roll yellow Damage Dice, there's a chance you'll add an Epic Die to the Epic Pool. If your damage roll did not include any Epic Dice, count the total number of Inspire icons you rolled. If the number of Inspire icons rolled exceeds the number of Epic Dice currently in the Epic Pool, add one Epic Die to the pool before dealing damage to the target(s) of your Attack.
Dice in the Epic Pool may be used to Empower your Attack or Empower your Defense:
Empower your Attack: When you Attack, before determining damage, you may take any number of dice from the Epic Pool and add them to your roll. Epic Dice hit harder than normal Damage Dice, but they otherwise behave like the yellow dice.
You may not generate new Epic Dice for the Pool with an Empowered Attack. Any Inspire icons you roll for an Empowered Attack are ignored.
You may Empower Attacks that deal a fixed amount of damage and don't normally roll Damage Dice. If you do, roll only the Epic Dice and add their resulting damage to the fixed damage of your Attack.
You may Empower the Attacks of any figure you control, including Pooky, Eve's Illusions, Allies, or Solo Mode Companions.
Epic Dice cannot be removed from a roll by the Doom Die.
Empower your Defense: Before a Schemer deals damage with an Attack, you may discard any number of dice from the Epic Pool to reduce that damage. For each Epic Die discarded in this way, reduce the amount of damage the Attack deals to all targets by 2. This means that if two or more figures are the targets of a Schemer's Attack, then each target gets this reduction.
Appendix F - Power Trees
Each character has a Power Tree card that they will use at the start of most scenarios to get Power Tokens. The "Heroes" section of each scenario will tell you how many spaces each Hero will claim on their Power Tree. Each space you claim on the tree must be either one of the two gold-border spaces at the bottom of the card, or it must be connected by a silver line to a space you've already claimed.
When you claim a space, mark it by putting the indicated Power Token(s) on top of that space. (Note that higher up on your Power Tree are spaces that give you two Power Tokens for one claimed space!)
When you have finished claiming spaces on your Power Tree, transfer all of the Power Tokens from your tree to the supply near your Hero mat, then put your Power Tree card back in the box. You'll use it again when setting up for your next game.
The choices you make on your Power Tree are not permanent and can be different every game! You are encouraged to change your choices in each scenario to adjust your Hero to the challenges of that scenario. Sometimes you'll focus on one particular path on your Power Tree, while other times you might take both starting spots and move up multiple branches at the same time.
Power Trees and Game Difficulty: The Power Trees give you an opportunity to fine tune a scenario's difficulty level. If you find a scenario too easy, you may play it again, but with each Hero taking fewer spaces on their Power Tree than the scenario introduction suggests. Similarly, if a scenario is too difficult, try taking more spaces on the Power Tree instead.
Appendix G - Character Levels
Each Chapter in Tales is balanced for characters of that level. If you play through the campaign normally, you will level as you go by unlocking new cards from the Vault. However, there may be times when you want to "level down" to replay one or more scenarios. In addition, future content for Tales will include recommendations for character levels for a balanced play experience. The following chart shows all of the cards each character should have at each level, as well as the cards the Armory should contain at that level.
Note that the cards at each level consist of the loadout that the players have on the last scenario of that Chapter. This table assumes that the players unlocked all conditional rewards throughout the campaign.
| Level | Character | Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Deirdre | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 1-2 |
| Level 1 | Eve | Start Cards 1-3, Vault 3-4 |
| Level 1 | Fiona | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 5-6 |
| Level 1 | Gerki | Start Cards 1-3, Vault 7-8 |
| Level 1 | Gog | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 9-10 |
| Level 1 | Zot | Start Cards 1, 2, 4, Vault 11-13 |
| Level 1 | Armory | All Start Card Items, Vault 18-27 |
| Level 1 | Archive | None |
| Level 2 | Deirdre | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 1-2, 34-35 |
| Level 2 | Eve | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 3-4, 36-38 |
| Level 2 | Fiona | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 5-6, 39-40 |
| Level 2 | Gerki | Start Cards 1-3, Vault 7-8, 41-42 |
| Level 2 | Gog | Start Cards 1-2, Vault 9-10, 43-44 |
| Level 2 | Zot | Start Cards 1, 2, 4, Vault 11-12, 45-47 |
| Level 2 | Armory | All Start Card Items, Vault 18-26, 28-33, 48-57 |
| Level 2 | Archive | Eve Start Card 3, Vault 13-17, 27 |
| Level 3 | Deirdre | Start Card 2, Vault 1-2, 35, 60-62 |
| Level 3 | Eve | Vault 3-4, 36-38, 63-65 |
| Level 3 | Fiona | Start Card 2, Vault 5-6, 39, 66-68 |
| Level 3 | Gerki | Start Card 3, Vault 7-8, 41-42, 69-71 |
| Level 3 | Gog | Start Card 2, Vault 9, 43-44, 72-74 |
| Level 3 | Zot | Start Cards 1, 4, Vault 11, 45-47, 75-77 |
| Level 3 | Armory | All Start Card Items, Vault 28-33, 48, 50-58, 78-96 |
| Level 3 | Archive | Deirdre Start Card 1, Eve Start Cards 1-3, Fiona Start Card 1, Gerki Start Cards 1-2, Gog Start Card 1, Zot Start Card 2, Vault 10, 12-27, 34, 40, 49, 59 |
| Level 4 | Deirdre | Vault 1, 35, 60-62, 99-101 |
| Level 4 | Eve | Vault 4, 38, 63-65, 102-105, 122 |
| Level 4 | Fiona | Vault 5, 39, 66-68, 106-108 |
| Level 4 | Gerki | Start Card 3, Vault 8, 42, 69-71, 109-111 |
| Level 4 | Gog | Vault 43-44, 72-74, 112-114 |
| Level 4 | Zot | Start Cards 1, 4, Vault 47, 75-77, 115-118, 123 |
| Level 4 | Armory | All Start Card Items, Vault 29, 50, 52-58, 78-81, 83-98, 119-121, 124-132 |
| Level 4 | Archive | Deirdre Start Cards 1-2, Eve Start Cards 1-3, Fiona Start Cards 1-2, Gerki Start Cards 1-2, Gog Start Cards 1-2, Zot Start Card 2, Vault 2-3, 6-7, 9-11, 12-28, 30-34, 36-37, 40-41, 45-46, 48-49, 51, 59, 82 |
| Level 5 | Deirdre | Vault 60-62, 99-101, 136-138 |
| Level 5 | Eve | Vault 63-65, 102-105, 122, 139-141 |
| Level 5 | Fiona | Vault 66-68, 106-108, 142-144 |
| Level 5 | Gerki | Start Card 3, Vault 69-71, 109-111, 145-147 |
| Level 5 | Gog | Vault 72-74, 112-114, 148-150 |
| Level 5 | Zot | Start Card 4, Vault 75-77, 115-118, 123, 151-153 |
| Level 5 | Armory | All Start Card Items, Vault 29, 50, 52, 55-56, 58, 78-81, 83-84, 86-98, 119-121, 124-135, 154-159 |
| Level 5 | Archive | Deirdre Start Cards 1-2, Eve Start Cards 1-3, Fiona Start Cards 1-2, Gerki Start Cards 1-2, Gog Start Cards 1-2, Zot Start Cards 1-2, Vault 1-28, 30-49, 51, 53-54, 57, 59, 82, 85 |