Templar: The Secret Treasures Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Set-up
• Sequence of Play
• End of the Game
• Special Rules for a 2-Player Game
• Breakdown of Card Icons
• The Cards
  • With the Following Six Character Cards, Players Move Their Player Token
    • Anselmus, Josua and Lucas: The Monks
    • Benjamin: The Novice
    • Maria: The Messenger
    • Stephanus: The Illustrator
  • With the Following Two Character Cards, Players Do Not Move Any Player Tokens
    • Porticus: The Porter
    • The Bells
  • With the Following Two Character Cards, Players Move the Non-Player Character Tokens
    • Remigius: The Abbot
    • Vitus: The Spy (There Is No Card for Vitus!)
    • Severus: The Prior

Components

• 1 game board – showing the 13 rooms of the abbey and their room numbers, a scoring track, the main portal, the side portal, the church, and boxes for signet rings, chalices, and books.
• 1 "harbor" map – with 6 storehouses on it.
• 90 harbor tiles – 13 chalices, 17 books and 60 signet rings (20 each of three types).
• 160 valuables – 5 chalices, 6 books, 21 signet rings (7 each of three types) for each player.
• 50 cards – 9 character cards and 1 "Bells" card for each player (the back sides are printed in the player colors): 3 Monks, Novice, Illustrator, Porter, Prior, Abbot, Messenger, Bells.
• 5 reference cards – 1 for each player color.
• 1 door – construct the door, which consists of 3 tiles, before each game.
• 3 wooden figures – Prior Severus, Abbot Remigius, Spy Vitus.
• 5 player tokens – 1 for each player color.
• 5 scoring markers – 1 for each player color.
• 1 linen bag.
• 1 rulebook.

Object of the Game

The players adopt the roles of Knights Templar, who are trying to collect as many of their order's valuables as possible, then hide them in the rooms of the abbey.

While moving his player token, each player seeks help from the residents to stash his valuables. Each resident has different skills: Monks assist in stashing objects, while the abbot evaluates these hidden valuables and awards victory points to players; his sister Maria can carry new valuables into the abbey, while others can move valuables or open and close doors. But beware the new Prior Severus, as he's no Knight's Templar and must not learn of the activities inside the abbey. At the end of the game, each player gains additional victory points for signet rings inside the church and for the number of rooms in which he's hidden valuables in order to keep the secrets of the Knights Templar.

Set-up

1. Place the game board in the center of the playing area, with the harbor map next to the game board.

2. Place the harbor tiles in the linen bag and mix them thoroughly. Next, equip the harbor by drawing tiles at random from the bag and placing them on the boxes of each storehouse: 3 tiles in each of the first three storehouses (starting with the storehouse bearing a ship icon) and 4 tiles in each of the remaining three storehouses.

   Each storehouse can contain only 1 chalice. If you draw a second chalice, continue drawing until you draw a legal tile, then return excess chalice tiles to the bag. After equipping the storehouses, keep the bag next to the harbor.

3. Place the door on the passage between room 9 and room 13.

4. The youngest player is the starting player. The player to his right places Abbot Remigius in any room in the abbey, then the next player to the right places Vitus in an adjoining room. Finally, the subsequent player to the right places Prior Severus in any room, whether occupied or not.

   Note: For your first game we suggest this initial placement: Prior Severus in room 13, Abbot Remigius in room 1, and the spy Vitus in front of the main portal.

5. Give each player a set of cards, the player token, the scoring marker and the valuables in the color of his choice. All players take their cards in hand.

   Note: In a 3- or 4-player game, players can agree to play without Stephanus, the Illustrator, should they want a more challenging game. In this case, they'll hold only 9 cards instead of 10.

6. All players place their player tokens in front of the main portal and their scoring markers on 0 on the scoring track.

7. Each player keeps his valuables next to the game board as a reserve.

8. Each player takes 1 signet ring tile of each type and a 2nd signet ring tile of 2 types (5 tiles total) and places them unscored side face-up in front of himself. This personal stock is visible to all and at the player's disposal for actions.

Sequence of Play

In the first game round:

All players select one card from their hand, place them face down on the table, then simultaneously reveal them. Beginning with the starting player, then going in clockwise order, each player performs the action on his played card. The game then continues with the regular sequence of play.

Note: Only during this first round of play can players have identical cards on display.

Note: You will find a detailed description of the cards starting on page 5.

From the second game round on:

Beginning with the starting player, then taking turns in clockwise order, a player plays one card from his hand in front of him, then performs this action. Each player places his card on top of his previously played cards, thus creating a personal discard pile with only the most recently played card being visible.

Note: All players must keep the number of cards in hand visible at all times.

Important: A player cannot play a card that's visible on top of another player's discard pile. If an opponent notices an illegal play, she should announce this immediately:

• If the player who played illegally is still the active player, he must take the played card back into his hand and make a legal play. In addition, he loses 1 point on the scoring track.
• If the player who played illegally is no longer the active player – that is, someone else has started her turn – then the illegal card remains in play and the player suffers no penalty.

Continue with this sequence of play until a player triggers the end of the game.

End of the Game

The final round of the game begins as soon as one of the following two conditions is met:

• After playing a Bells card, a player cannot fully replenish the storehouses with harbor tiles.
• A player announces during his turn that he's placed at least one of his valuables (whether scored or unscored) in each of the 13 rooms.

Note: At any time, a player can check the number of harbor tiles that remain in the bag.

After either one of these conditions is met, each player – including the one who triggered the end of the game – takes one complete turn, then the game ends.

Players then hold a final scoring during which they receive additional victory points:

• Each unscored signet ring inside the church is worth 2 victory points for its owner.
• Each player receives victory points based on the number of rooms that contain his valuables, whether scored or unscored. (See the chart on the scoring track.)

The player who has the most victory points wins the game.

In case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Special Rules for a 2-Player Game

The rules remain largely unchanged, except as detailed below.

First, the players decide whether to use Stephanus in the game, removing him from their decks if not.

Set-up

After players choose their colors, remove "The Bells" card from one of the unused card sets, then shuffle these cards with another unused card set and place this deck face down next to the game board.

This deck – of either 17 or 19 cards depending on whether Stephanus is included – will be used by a third, imaginary player. Let's call him Raphael.

Remove the following harbor tiles from the game:

• 7 of each type of signet ring
• 5 books
• 4 chalices

Sequence of play

Play the first round as in a game with 3 or more players. In all subsequent game rounds, after both players have taken their turn, reveal the top card of Raphael's deck and place it on top of his display pile.

If the revealed card matches one of the top cards on a discard pile owned by one of the two players, continue revealing cards from Raphael's deck until the revealed card doesn't match either top card. During each game round, the players cannot play the card on top of Raphael's display pile (or the top card on the opponent's discard pile).

Raphael performs no other actions.

When "The Bells" is revealed from Raphael's deck, shuffle all the cards in his deck, place the deck face down, then reveal the top card.

Breakdown of Card Icons

Each card shows: the movement icon; the character to be moved and its movement range; movement of the door; new harbor tiles for the harbor; victory points (VP); affected characters; chalice, book, signet ring; or no chalice, no book, no signet ring.

The Cards

Characters move from one room to an adjoining room through an open passage. When playing a card which moves a character, the player must move that character at least one room, up to the maximum number of rooms as indicated on the card. Then, he performs that card's action. When doing so, he is not allowed to enter the same room more than once. (Exception: Benjamin, the novice)

With the Following Six Character Cards, Players Move Their Player Token

Anselmus, Josua and Lucas: The Monks

These three monks assist the players in stashing their valuables in the different rooms.

• Anselmus: The player moves his token exactly 1 room, then places up to 3 valuables from his personal stock (of the same or different types) on matching spaces in that room.
• Josua: The player moves his token up to 2 rooms, then places up to 2 valuables from his personal stock (of the same or different types) on matching spaces in that room.
• Lucas: The player moves his token up to 3 rooms, then optionally places 1 valuable from his personal stock on a matching space in that room.

Example: Frank (blue) plays Josua and moves his token into the adjoining room (forgoing the possibility of moving an additional room), then stashes 2 signet rings from his personal stock. Because a signet ring is already in this area (table), he must place rings of the same type.

Stashing signet rings/books/chalices: Each type of valuables has its own hiding place. When stashing valuables, players place them on an empty, matching space with their unscored side face up. All signet rings in the same area must be of the same type (but may belong to different players, of course). A room can have multiple areas for signet rings.

Benjamin: The Novice

Being just a novice, Benjamin is not watched closely and thus can pick up signet rings and stash them in other places.

• Benjamin: The player moves his token up to 3 rooms. While moving, he can pick up 1 unscored signet ring from any room he starts in or passes through (no matter who owns it). He must stash this ring in another room in accordance to the stashing rules (see above). With Benjamin, a player can enter the same room twice during his turn.

During the final game round, players may pick up only their own signet rings.

Example: Ani (yellow) plays Benjamin and first moves her token to the adjoining room (1). There, she picks up the unscored ring of Frank (blue) (2) and carries it to the next room, stashing it there (3). Then she moves into the next room (4).

Note: Benjamin cannot pick up or stash a signet ring in the room where Severus is located, but he may cross that room while carrying a signet ring.

Maria: The Messenger

Maria, the sister of Abbot Remigius, is allowed to visit her brother and thus can smuggle valuables that she's collected in the harbor into the abbey.

• Maria: The player moves his token to any storehouse in the harbor and takes all the harbor tiles inside this storehouse. For each harbor tile collected, he takes the matching valuable in his player color from the reserve and adds it to his personal stock, with the unscored side face up. He then removes these harbor tiles from the game, placing them in the game box. At the start of that player's next turn, he places his player token next to the main portal or the side portal, then takes his turn like normal.

Example: Alex (red) plays Maria and moves his token to the second storehouse in the harbor. He takes the valuables of his player color as shown on the 3 harbor tiles from the reserve and adds them to his personal stock. Subsequently, he removes these 3 harbor tiles from the game. Before his next turn, Alex must place his player token in front of the main portal or the side portal.

Stephanus: The Illustrator

Stephanus tries to attract as many admirers of his illustrations as possible.

• Stephanus: The player moves his token up to 2 rooms, then scores as many victory points as the number of other characters in that room, whether Remigius, Severus, Vitus, or other players' tokens.

Note: Stephanus must be used in a 5-player game, but if the players agree, he can be removed when playing with fewer than 5 for a more challenging game with fewer opportunities to score.

Example: Ani (yellow) plays Stephanus and moves her token into the adjoining room. She scores 3 VPs because three other characters are inside that room: Frank (blue), Severus (gray) and Remigius (white).

With the Following Two Character Cards, Players Do Not Move Any Player Tokens

Important: If the current player's token is in a storehouse, he must place it next to one of the portals when playing Porticus or The Bells – even though it won't move this turn.

Porticus: The Porter

Porticus is the holder of all keys and can open and close all doors.

• Porticus: After playing Porticus, the player moves the door from its current location to any other passage, thus unlocking and opening one door while closing and locking another. In addition, the player scores 1 VP immediately.

The door locks the passage between two adjoining rooms. Neither a player token nor Remigius or Severus can pass through this door. Only Vitus has keys of his own and can pass through a locked door.

Example: Frank (blue) plays Porticus and moves the door token to a passage in the room where Ani (yellow) is located, scoring 1 VP and recording it on the scoring track. Now Ani cannot use the passage to the adjoining room to the right. She must use another passage or (if possible) wait until the door is moved again.

The Bells

Whenever the bells ring, the church residents gather to deliver their prayers, while at the harbor new valuables are prepared for transport to the abbey.

• The Bells: The player picks up all of his played cards – including The Bells – to refill his hand, but before doing so, new valuables arrive at the harbor (see below).

New valuables at the harbor: After a player plays The Bells, look at the number in the top right corner of the card he played on the previous turn. This number indicates how many tiles are added to the harbor.

Draw harbor tiles at random from the bag, one by one. Place the first drawn tile on an empty box in the storehouse with the ship icon, the second drawn tile in the next storehouse in clockwise order, etc. Skip any storehouse that is filled. Continue placing tiles in clockwise order until the appropriate number of tiles have been placed or all storehouses are filled.

Each storehouse can hold only 1 chalice. If during replenishment a second chalice would be placed in a storehouse, place this chalice in the next storehouse in clockwise order that doesn't hold a chalice. If all storehouses contain a chalice, remove this tile (and any subsequently drawn chalices) from the game.

Note: If you skip storehouses while placing a chalice tile, place the next drawn harbor tile in the next storehouse in clockwise order from where the chalice tile was placed.

After replenishment, if a player's token is in a storehouse, he receives all of the newly placed harbor tiles, swapping them for his matching valuables from the reserve.

Note: Because The Bells is never on top of a discard pile, it's impossible that a player can't legally play a card. This card can always be played!

Example: Ani (yellow) plays The Bells. Her previously played card was Anselmus, so 3 new valuables arrive at the harbor. Because the first and second storehouses are filled, she places the first drawn tile in the third storehouse. The second drawn tile is a chalice, and because the fourth storehouse already holds a chalice, it's placed in the fifth storehouse. She places the third drawn tile in the sixth storehouse. Lucky Frank (blue) removes the harbor tile from the game and takes a chalice from the reserve. Ani then picks up all of her cards.

With the Following Two Character Cards, Players Move the Non-Player Character Tokens

Important: If the current player's token is in a storehouse, he must place it next to one of the portals when playing Remigius or Severus – even though it won't move this turn.

Remigius: The Abbot

Remigius keeps track of all valuables and rewards the players who brought them to the abbey.

• Remigius: The player moves Remigius up to 2 rooms. Remigius cannot enter the room where Vitus is located. Remigius awards victory points (VPs) for any unscored valuables stashed in the room where he ends his movement.

Note: If Remigius ends up in the same room as Severus, he does not award any VPs. If no other passage is available (due to a locked door), Remigius will cross the room in which Vitus is located; Remigius cannot stop in this room.

Scoring a room: All players earn victory points for their unscored valuables in the room where Remigius ends his movement:

• Each unscored signet ring yields 2 VPs for its owner
• Each unscored book yields 3 VPs for its owner
• Each unscored chalice yields 5 VPs for its owner

After all players have recorded their VPs on the scoring track, they flip their chalice and book tiles in this room to their scored sides. In addition, they flip exactly 1 of their signet rings in this room to its scored side, leaving all of their other signet rings with the unscored side face up. (If Remigius returns to this room, they'll score once again.)

Example: Ani (yellow) plays Remigius, moves him two rooms, then scores that room. Ani gains 7 VPs: 3 for her book and 2 for each signet ring. Frank (blue) owns an unscored signet ring in this room and gains 2 VPs. Alex (red) has a chalice in this room that scored earlier, so he gains 0 VPs. Ani then flips her book and one of her signet rings to their scored side, while Frank does the same with his signet ring.

Vitus: The Spy (There Is No Card for Vitus!)

It is Vitus' task to control the work of Remigius. He follows Remigius on all his ways and prevents him from returning to where he just came from. Vitus always follows Remigius. After Remigius has moved to a different room, Vitus automatically moves to the room from which Remigius started his movement. Vitus owns his own set of keys and can move through a locked door.

Severus: The Prior

Severus, the Prior, is no Knight Templar and thus cannot be trusted.

• Severus: The player moves Severus up to 3 rooms and scores 1 VP immediately. Because Severus must not see any valuables, no actions concerning valuables (whether stashing them via monk, relocating them via Benjaminus, or scoring them via Remigius) can be performed in the room where Severus is located.

Despite that restriction, all character tokens can enter, pass through, or end their movement in this room.

Example: Ani (yellow) plays Severus, moves him to the next room and gains 1 VP. By doing this, Ani prevents this room from being scored. Frank (blue) is not happy about this as he had planned to move Remigius to this room on his next turn, then score it. Time for plan B, Frank!