Temple of Horrors Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Game Contents
• Setup
• The Game in 2 Minutes
  • Turn Order & Actions
• Game Phases
  • 1. Hour Start Phase
  • 2. Initiative Phase
  • 3. Action Phase
    • Action Round
    • Heroes Exploring Actions
      • Main Actions
    • Free Actions
    • Creatures Exploring Action
  • Melee
    • Heroes Deploying
    • Hero Melee Actions
      • Main Melee Actions
• Melee Example
• Creature Stats
  • Minions & Leaders
  • Bosses
• Saving Throws
  • 4. Encounters Phase
    • Encounter check
    • There's an Encounter! Where to place it?
    • There's an Encounter! Which Creatures?
    • There's an Encounter! How many Creatures?
    • Encounter check for Dangerous Rooms
  • 5. Hour End Phase
  • Game End
• Treasures
  • Treasure check
    • Coins/Shard Procedure
    • Items Procedure
• Experience Points (XP)
  • XP by Killing Creatures
  • XP by Treasure checks
  • XP by Side Quests
  • How to use Experience points
  • Activate/Upgrade Hero Power cards
  • Increase your Hero Stats
  • Decrease your Hero Stats
• Other Elements
  • Map cards
  • Adventure tiles
  • Special Rooms
    • Holy Pool Rooms
    • Library Rooms
    • Laboratory Rooms
    • Animated Weapons Rooms
    • Dangerous Rooms
    • Trap Rooms
    • Halls
    • Clue Rooms
    • Tomb Rooms
• Special Cases
  • Rooms Modification: Create a Breach
  • Rooms Particularities
    • Rooms Capacity and Forbidden Position
    • Hero's Desperate Attack
    • Rooms & Range Attacks by Weapons: special cases
• Game Modes
  • Cooperative Mode
  • Semi-Cooperative Mode
  • PvP Mode
    • PvP Deploying
    • PvP Combat
  • Free Power Selection Mode
  • Solo Mode
• Variants
  • Multiclass Hero
  • Dice variant
  • Campaign mode
• Walls System
  • How to use the pieces
• Adventure Example
  • Hour 2

Overview

Players must venture into a dungeon where various creatures dwell. Among them, Minion Creatures (such as Goblins, Spiders, Skeletons, and Specters) are the least dangerous, but their numbers pose a challenge. Elites and Leaders are more formidable and appear when too many Minions have been alerted. Finally, Bosses represent a significant risk as they guard specific locations and possess unique and powerful abilities.

To create the Dungeon map, players place Room tiles from the Room display. The placement of these tiles is crucial. For instance, players can activate Clue Rooms and Tomb Rooms by connecting multiple Rooms of the same color. Both types of Rooms provide valuable clues that can lead to the discovery of important hidden elements, such as an Artifact, a Prison, a Treasure, and more.

Players will face additional challenges in the dungeon. Guard Posts are present, housing packs of creatures that remain dormant until the slightest noise awakens them, triggering an attack. Moreover, unexpected events like the collapse of the temple roof can block the heroes' way forward. To open the Exit in such cases, players may receive a Map card, revealing an "Inspiration path." By creating this specific path on the dungeon map, the Exit will activate and open, allowing the players to proceed.

Choose your hero from a selection of seven characters: Barbarian, Cleric, Thief, Bard, Mage, Monk, and Ranger. Each hero possesses a unique deck of cards, with each card representing a distinct power. At the beginning of the game, players start with an active card and can acquire new cards by spending their Experience Points. Additionally, each hero can equip various items. These item cards can be discovered in treasures or purchased using Mystic coins.

It's time to assemble your party of heroes, set up the game, and choose your adventure!

Game Contents

x72 Room tiles. Players place a Room tile on the table, taking it from the Room Display. The ensemble of them defines the Dungeon Map. Some Room tiles show a special symbol:

• Traps Rooms: When a Hero enters this Room, they might activate a Trap.
• Dangerous Rooms: When a Hero enters this Room they might have an Encounter with Creatures.
• Clues Rooms: This Room must be activated, then a Hero can find a Clue here.
• Tomb Rooms: This Room must be activated, then a Hero can open the Tomb. When opened, a Boss appears.
• Healing Room: In this Room, Heroes can heal their wounds.
• Library Rooms: Activating this Room, a Hero can find a Magic Shard.
• Laboratory Rooms: Activating this Room, a Hero can teleport to another Room.
• Animated Weapons Rooms: Activating this Room, a Hero can destroy a nearby Creature group.
• "+1" (or "+2"): When Creatures move in this Room, they gain an extra movement (or two extra movements with "+2").

x2 Entrance tiles. The entrance/exit of the Dungeon. They can be opened or closed (front/back). The first tile placed on the table is the Starting Room.

x4 Hall tiles. You can place them over other Room tiles to create a Hall.

x4 Hero boards (two layers). This board shows the current Hero HPs and Hero Stats (Movement, Mana & Action points, Offensive & Defensive powers).

x1 Hour board & 1 Hour marker. The Hour marker on this board shows the current game round ("Hour"), while the Side quest markers show the completed Side Quests. The Creature Hit Points (HP) track is used to track Boss's HPs.

x16 Side quest markers. Side Quests cubes mark the accomplished Side Quests in the Hour board.

x12 Movement tokens. The Movement tokens are used on Rooms to track the Creature available Movements.

56 Hero cubes (14 in each color). These are Action and Initiative cubes. Players spend Action cubes to do Actions, which must be placed in the Room where the Hero stands. The Initiative cubes are rolled to determine the Turn Order sequence.

x4 Combat boards. Players roll on the Combat board to attack and to do Saving Throws (ST) when a peril threatens them, like a Trap.

x4 Illusory Walls, x4 Barriers, x6 Breaches, x15 Status, x8 Adventure tiles. Illusory wall tiles are used to close a doorway. Barrier tiles are used to stop passage through a doorway. Breach tiles are used to open a breach in a wall. Status tokens (Deactivated/Activable faces) define the status of a Room. Adventure tiles are used in specific Adventures.

x4 Movement tokens. Movement tokens provide additional instantaneous movements.

x12 Magic Shards. Magic Shards (3 shards in 4 colors) can be found in the Dungeon and can represent an Adventure requirement. They can be used to purchase Items with a value of 3 silver coins.

x22 XP. Players gain XP tokens by killing Creatures and completing Side Quests. They are 18 (x1 value, white) and 4 (3 value, yellow).

x6 Path, x1 Treasure, x4 Guard Post, x2 Elite, x4 Miniquest tokens. Path tokens are used in specific Adventures. The Treasure token and Guard Post tokens are helpful to mark Treasure and Guard Post Rooms. Elite tokens differentiate Elite Creatures from standard Creatures. Miniquest tokens mark players' Miniquests on the table.

x3 Boss markers, x2 Initiative markers, x48 Mana cubes. Boss markers are used to track the current Boss HPs on the Hour board. Black and Red Initiative markers are rolled with the players' cubes to determine the turn order. Players use Mana cubes to attack and give "energy" to their Hero Actions: the more cubes spent, the more powerful the action. Spending a cube means moving it from your stock to your reserve.

Deck card. The Deck card is placed on the table and is used as a player Reserve: used cubes and meeples are placed on it. The card also shows the fighting style, HP, and the number of defensive slots of the Hero.

x32 Hero Stat meeples. Players gain Sword and Shield meeples by spending their XPs on Hero Stats. They provide a bonus on attack and defense.

x35 Mystic coins (8 gold, 27 silver). Players find Mystic coins during the game and use them to acquire Items. The gold coin is worth 5, and the silver coin is worth 1.

x69 Item cards. Players draw Item cards to acquire special items when they find a treasure. The backside of Item cards is used to randomize Encounters, Traps, and some Adventure elements.

x28 Boss cards. A Boss Card shows the stats and the powers of a Boss. When a Boss appears, you must draw a card and use it. Some Adventures require a specific Boss.

x20 Clue cards. The Clue Deck contains the Clues to find a specific item or place in the Dungeon map. By combining different Clues, players can identify a single Room tile. The Clues cards are used only in some Adventures.

x28 Hero translucent markers. Hero translucent markers track HP and Hero stats on the Hero board.

x16 Map cards. Maps cards show the Guard Posts and Treasure Room positions: A Boss is hidden in each Guard Post. The card also indicates the Inspiration Path structure and color, but this element is used only in some Adventures.

x77 Hero cards. There are 7 Hero decks of 11 cards each (10 Power cards and 1 Deck card). The 10 Power cards each represent a Hero's Power: Players can acquire them by paying XPs and then placing them on the table. Cards on the table can be activated by paying their activation cost in Action and/or Mana cubes. Each Power card has two sides: the first represents the basic version of the Power, while the second is the upgraded version of the first side. Cards can only be upgraded after acquiring the basic version first. When this happens, flip the card on the table.

x5 PvP cards. The PvP deck is used in the PvP mode to define which player plays as a traitor.

x7 Heroes standees. These standees represent the Heroes on the Dungeon map. Each player uses their Hero's standee. (Ranger, Cleric, Bard, Mage, Monk, Thief, Barbarian.)

x3 Bosses standees. Bosses are the most potent Creatures on the dungeon map. Use any of the available 3 standees to symbolize them. (Demon, Greater Mummy, Succubus.)

x4 Leaders standees. Leaders represent strong Creatures: Mummy, Elemental, Lich, and Spider Princess.

x40 Minions tokens. Minions tokens represent the weakest Creatures in the Dungeon: Skeletons, Goblins, Spectres, and Spiders. There are 10 copies of each Minion.

Setup

1. Place the Starting Room on the edge of playing area, leaving plenty of space to build the Dungeon map. The Dungeon map may not extend behind the Starting Room. Each player chooses a Hero and places the corresponding standees (or miniatures) in the Starting Room.
2. Put a random Laboratory and Animated Weapon Room aside and shuffle the Room tiles creating the Room pile. Place it near the game area.
3. Draw 6 Room tiles and place them face-up on the table. Add the Laboratory and Animated Weapon Room to the group. These 8 tiles represent the Room display.
4. Shuffle the Bosses, Maps, and Clues decks and place them on the table in the space behind the Starting Room. If you are using the PvP mode, take the PvP cards, keep 1 Traitor card and Hero cards, where is the players' number. Shuffle them and give 1 PvP card face down to each player. Put the remaining card(s) in the game box without looking at them.
5. Place the Hour track board on the table (side A) and put the Hour token (big disc) in the first space on the left. Keep the Side quest markers (16 red cubes) near the board.
6. Each player takes a Hero board (6a), 7 Hero board markers (seven yellow translucent cubes), a Combat board (6b), a Player aid (6c), and their Hero Power deck (6d). Place the card with your Hero image near your board. You can read your Hero specifications at the bottom of this card (starting HP, fighting style, Defensive slots, and penalties, if any). Place a Hero board marker (translucent yellow cube) on the HP track on the correct value. Place the other Hero board markers on space 0 of the other tracks.
7. Remove the card with the same front/back from the Item deck (the card n.69). Shuffle the remaining cards, draw the first 5 Item cards with coin value below 10, and place them visible above the Hour track board near card 69. This group of 6 cards represents the Item card display. Place a Breach, Barrier, and Illusory Wall tile on card 69. Then reshuffle the Item card deck and place it near the other decks.
8. Place the Initiative cubes (1 per player, 1 black cube for Creatures, 1 red cube for the Melee) in the center of the table.
9. Each player takes 1 Free movement token (a disc in their player color) and 4 Mystic coins (silver color). Then each player takes 8 Mana cubes (white) and 8 Action cubes (in their player color): Place the 8 Mana cubes and 5 Action cubes on the table in front of you (player stock) and the other 3 Actions cubes on your Hero card. The space on your Hero card represents the player reserve.

Players are now ready to begin the game!

Temple of Horrors uses the Map coordinates: The North of the Dungeon map is always in front of the Starting Room (check the Compass Rose of the image in the manual).

The Game in 2 Minutes

Read the adventure description to understand your objective. You have 18 Hours to complete it. Each Hour consists of several Rounds, and you can perform one action per Round.

Turn Order & Actions

Roll for Initiative to determine the turn order for the current Hour. On your turn, perform one action by spending an Action Cube of your color and placing it in your current Room. The main actions are:

• Move your Hero to an adjacent Room.
• Activate the Room you are in. Only Rooms with a black symbol can be activated. The effect depends on the Room type.
• Ranged Attack: Perform an attack against a visible enemy not engaging you.
• Use a Power: Activate one of your available Power cards. Read the card to determine the effect.
• Pass: Do nothing.

Once all players have acted, a new Round begins. Continue until all players have chosen to Pass.

If there are Creatures on the map, include their Initiative in the turn order. Creatures typically move toward the nearest player. If Creatures and Heroes occupy the same Room, use Melee Initiative to resolve close-quarters combat.

Game Phases

The game is played in Hours and ends at the conclusion of the 18th Hour or when the Game End conditions are met. Each Hour is divided into five phases, played in the following order:

1. Hour Start Phase: Move the Hour token along the track and apply any Period conditions.
2. Initiative Phase: Roll for Initiative to determine the turn order.
3. Actions Phase: This phase consists of several Action Rounds until the end conditions are met. In each Round, Heroes and Creatures may perform one Action and any number of Free Actions.
4. Encounters Phase: Perform an Encounter check and place new Creatures on the map.
5. Hour End Phase: Complete the Game Recovery procedures.

1. Hour Start Phase

The Lead Player moves the Hour token one space to the right on the Hour track. If the new space contains the Item-refresh icon, discard all cards from the Item display and replace them with 5 new cards drawn from the Item deck. Then, refill the Item tiles on card n. 69: ensure there is one tile of each type (Barrier, Breach, and Illusory Wall), provided they are available in the game reserve.

2. Initiative Phase

The Lead Player rolls all Initiative cubes at once. There is one Initiative cube for each player (Hero color), one for Creatures (black), and one for Melee (red).

Based on the Dungeon Map coordinates, the Lead Player sorts the rolled cubes by their position from North to South and arranges them in a line. Each cube in the line represents an Initiative Segment: Heroes act during their respective segments, proceeding from left (North) to right (South). Creatures act during the black cube's segment, and Melee Actions are performed during the red cube's segment.

Example: The Lead Player rolls the Initiative cubes and arranges them in a line following the North-South order. The resulting turn order for the Hour is (from left to right): the Blue player, followed by Melee Actions, the Yellow player, the Creatures, and finally the Orange and Green players.

3. Action Phase

This phase consists of several Action Rounds and continues until the Actions Phase End conditions are met.

Action Round

During every Action Round, Heroes and Creatures perform Exploring Actions or, if they are in Melee, one Melee Action.

1. Exploring Actions occur during the specific Hero's or Creature's Initiative segment (colored cube).
2. Melee Actions take place during the Melee Initiative segment (red cube).

Are you in Melee? A Hero or Creature is in Melee when one or more opponents are in the same Room.

Heroes Exploring Actions

During every Action Round, players may perform one Main Action and any number of Free Actions. Each action has a cost that must be paid using Action and/or Mana cubes from your stock.

Main Actions

The available Hero Main actions are:

Action	Effect
Move	move your Hero (or charge)
Map	change Room tiles
Search	find coins and magic shards
Find a secret passage	place a Hall tile
Ranged Attack	attack opponents
Activate a Room	activate the Room effect
Use Powers	use a Hero power
Create a Breach	dig a Breach in a wall
Make noise	make noise in your Room

Move. Putting 1 Action cube in the current Room, you can move your Hero by 1 Room. Each movement must be done to an adjacent and connected Room tile or an unexplored space.

Example: Room tile A is adjacent to all other tiles, but it's connected only to C and E. From A, you can move to C and E, but also to an unexplored space (F).

If your Hero moves to an unexplored space, you must place a new Room tile there. In this case, you must take a new Room tile from the Room display or draw one from the Room pile. Place the new tile in any correct orientation: walls must align with walls, and doorways must align with doorways.

If you take a tile from the Room pile and it is not compatible in the selected position, place it in the discard pile and immediately draw a new tile from the Room pile to replace it. Repeat this procedure until you find a compatible tile. Shuffle the discard pile to make a new Room pile if the Room pile runs out.

Special cases:

• If your Hero moves into a Room occupied by Creatures, any remaining movement is immediately lost. From that moment on, your Hero is considered in Melee and can only perform Melee Actions. Additionally, your Hero must act during the Melee Initiative segment instead of their own Initiative.
• If your Hero moves into a Room where there are only creatures, this movement is considered a Charge and you will gain some bonus in the Combat (see the "Melee" section).

Example: Marco plays in the first Initiative segment. He places an Action cube on the Room tile and charges the opponents. Now the Cleric is in Melee.

Map. Place 1 Action cube in the Room to discard all Room tiles in the Room display, and replace them with 8 new tiles from the Room pile.

Search. This action is available if your Hero is in a Room with a black symbol (see Library, Laboratory, Holy Pool, Animated Weapons Room, Tomb, or Clue Room in the Room Description section) and the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token. Place 1 Action cube in the Room and do a Treasure check for coins (see the "Treasures" section). Then place a Deactivated Status token in the Room (Status tokens have two faces: Activable and Deactivated).

Find a secret passage. This action is only available if your hero is in a room that, together with at least 3 adjacent rooms, forms a 2x2 grid. Place 1 action cube in the room, then select a Hall tile (cross-shaped) from those available in the game reserve and place it at the center of the 2x2 area. The Hall tile converts the 4 adjacent rooms into rooms of the Hall's color. Refer to the Hall description in the "Special Rooms" section on page 25.

Example: the Cleric places a yellow Hall tile at the center of the 4 rooms (2x2), converting them into 4 yellow rooms.

Ranged Attack. Place 1 Action cube in your Hero's location and make a Ranged attack. A Hero can make a Ranged attack with Combat or by using Hero powers. In the first case, use the rolling cubes on the Combat board rules (see "Melee Actions, Covered: Ranged attack" section). Ranged Powers use rules described on the Hero power card which you are using. There are some requirements:

• A direct sight line is required, and the Rooms line must be uninterrupted by Walls and Barriers. A single empty space between the Rooms is allowed, but there is no line of sight if there are 2 or more empty spaces between the rooms. Lines of sight must be orthogonal to Hero's location.
• You can make a Ranged attack through a Barrier, but only if your Hero is located in the Room where the Barrier is.

Heroes shoot in a direct sight line: You can see opponents through 1 empty space, but not through 2 or more. A Hero's sight line is orthogonal. In the manual's example, the Ranger can shoot the Lich only.

Activate a Room. This action is available only if your Hero is in a Room with a black symbol (Library, Laboratory, Holy Pool, Animated Weapons Room, Tomb, or Clue Room) and the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token. Place 1 Action cube in the Room and activate it. Check the Room description for the activation effects. Then place a Deactivated Status token on the Room.

Use Powers. You can use your Hero's Power as an Exploring main action if it costs 1 or more Action cubes. In this case, place the Action cubes spent in the Hero's Room. If they don't have any Action cubes cost, you can use them as Free action instead (see "Free Action" section). Read the Hero power card description for info about the effects.

Make Noise. Place 1 Action cube in your current Room to attract Creatures.

Free Actions

In addition to the main action, you can do any number of Free actions. Free actions can be done before and/or after the main action. They are:

Free Action	Effect
Free Movement	spend a Free Movement token
Buy an Item	buy item cards or item tile
Use an Item	use an Item card or Item tile
Exchange	exchange Adventure tiles
Interact	take/use Adventure elements
Use Powers	use a Hero Power without Action cost
Use XP tokens	spend XP to increase Hero stats/powers

Free Movement. Place the Free Movement token (disc) in the Hero's current Room. The Hero immediately moves one Room. This movement can be performed before or after the other Hero's action and is in addition to any "Move" Action.

Barriers. Place a Barrier tile (showing "1" or "2", depending on the price paid) across a doorway in the hero's current Room. This action doesn't have any action cube cost.

• Creatures cannot move through a Barrier tile (any value).
• A Hero cannot move through a Barrier tile (any value) but may remove it from their Room as a free action by spending 1 Mana cube (value 1) or 2 Mana cubes (value 2): Return the Barrier tile to the game reserve. You cannot place a Barrier tile over a wall or Illusory Wall.
• At the Hour's end, if there are Creatures in either Room adjacent to the Barrier, remove the Barrier tile (value 1) or flip the tile (value 2 to value 1).
• If you placed a Barrier over a Breach, when you remove the Barrier, keep the Breach tile.

Breaches. Place 1 Breach tile in a wall of the Hero's Room. This tile placement doesn't have any cube cost. A Breach creates a doorway between two adjacent Rooms, connecting them, or adds a doorway on a Room tile you are placing.

• A Breach cannot be removed.
• Placing a Breach over an Illusory Wall or Barrier tile is not allowed.
• Players can place a Breach tile by completing the Action "Create a Breach" (see "Special Cases" section) or by buying it from the Item display.

Illusory Wall. Place 1 Illusory Wall tile across a doorway of the Hero's Room. The Illusory Wall stops line of sight and noise, like a standard wall. This tile placement doesn't have any cube cost.

• Creatures consider Illusory Wall a standard wall, regardless of whether the Hero was visible when it was placed. Heroes must consider it a wall, but only if they didn't see it placed (PvP Mode).
• The Hero who placed the Illusory Wall and any Heroes who saw it placed can move through it freely and/or remove it.
• Illusory Walls expire at Hour end: return them to the game reserve.
• It's possible to place an Illusory Wall over a Breach or a Barrier. Restore the Breach or the Barrier tile functionality when removing the Illusory Wall.

Buy an Item (card or tile). Heroes can purchase Items using their coins and/or Magic Shards (each worth 3 coins).

• Item cards: Available cards are on the Item display. Each card has a cost in coins. Pay the cost to the game reserve and take the card from the display. Do not replace it.
• Item tiles: Available tiles are on card 69, located near the Item display. Pay 1 coin to take an Item tile. Do not replace it. Immediately place the tile in your current Room. If the tile is a Barrier, you can spend 1 or 2 coins to choose a Barrier value of 1 or 2. Use the correct tile face accordingly.

Use an Item (card or tile).

• Item cards. A symbol in the bottom right corner indicates whether an Item card is single-use and must be discarded after use, or if it can be used multiple times by deactivating it (rotating it 90 degrees after use). Deactivated cards are reactivated at the end of the Hour. Place discarded Item cards in the Item card discard pile. Item cards show when they can be used (for example Before/After Rolling or Powers use). Read the card text to learn its effect (for example: "Discard this card to deal 4 damage points. Make additional 4."). Item cards can be obtained from Treasures and/or purchased from the Item card display.
• Item tiles. There are Barriers, Breaches, and Illusory Walls. Players can purchase them from card 69 in the Item display. These tiles must be placed immediately on the Room tile where the Hero is located.

Exchange. Heroes in the same Room may exchange Adventure tiles/elements. It's not allowed to exchange Mystic coins, Magic Shards or Item cards.

Interact. A Hero can interact with Adventure elements. For example, your Hero may use the Interact action to collect an Artifact or a Magic Shard in the Room. If more than one Hero wants to interact with the same element, the Hero earliest in the Initiative order takes priority.

Use Powers. You can use your Hero Powers, which don't have any Action cube cost, as Free Action.

Use XP tokens. If you are not in Melee, you can use your Hero XP tokens to improve your Hero Stats and Powers (see the "Experience Points, XP" section).

Creatures Exploring Action

Each Action Round Creatures move by spending 1 Movement token. Movement tokens (black cubes) are added to the Room with Creatures and used to register their movement capacity. They are refilled at the Hour's end.

Follow these rules:

• The Creatures in the same Room represent a Creature Pack (or Creature group) and move together. If they are of different types, use the movement of the fastest Creature of the group.
• If there is more than 1 Creature Pack in the Dungeon map, the Lead player chooses the order in which each Creature's Pack moves.
• Spectres have a +1 bonus on Movement: if a Pack contains at least 1 Spectre, the Pack will move 1 additional Room movement. Note that even with 2 or more Spectres, the movement bonus is still +1.
• If a Pack of Creatures enters a Room with a +1 or +2 symbol, they immediately gain +1 or +2 Room movements.
• If a Pack of Creatures reaches a Hero, they stop and, as they are now in Melee, will fight in the Melee Initiative segment (see "Melee" section).

The Lead Player removes 1 Movement token from the Creature Room and moves all the Creatures in the Room up to 2 Room Movements (or to 1 Room Movement if the Creature group is wandering, see below).

• Move any residual Movement tokens to the destination Room.

Example: The Lead player chooses to move first the group (A). Remove the Movement token there and move the Creature Pack of 3 Movements (2+1, as there is a Spectre): They reach the Heroes! Then they move group B, which has 2 Movements, and can only get to the Blue Room.

To determine how the Creatures move and where, use the Detection rules. You have to verify the Detection rules after every single Room movement.

1. They see you! Creatures move toward a Hero in their direct line of sight. To see a Hero, the Creatures must have a direct line of sight, which must be uninterrupted by walls, Illusory walls, or full Rooms. 1 single empty space along the line of sight is allowed, while 2+ empty spaces stop the line of sight. Creatures move toward the nearest Hero if more than 1 Hero is visible. In case of a tie, the Lead player chooses. If a Barrier stops the Creatures, they stay there waiting for the Barrier's removal.

2. They hear you! If no Heroes are visible to the Creatures and there are Action cubes on Room tiles, Creatures can hear them. Action cubes on Room tiles are called Noise cubes. When Creatures reach them, move them to the corner of the tile: they become Detected cubes and are no longer heard by Creatures. Creatures move towards the nearest Noise cube. Measure the distance by connected Rooms and/or empty spaces, considering Illusory walls as standard walls. The maximum distance at which Creatures can hear a Noise cube depends on their Perception value: 3-5 Rooms for Minions, 5 Rooms for Leaders, or 4-9 Rooms for Bosses. If different Creatures are in the same Room, use the highest Perception value among them. If a Barrier stops the Creatures' movement, they stay there waiting for the Barrier's removal. In case of a tie on distance, Creatures move towards the Room with the most Noise cubes. In case of a further tie, the Lead player chooses.

3. Wandering. If neither 1 nor 2 is possible, the Creature Pack is wandering and moves only 1 Room towards the nearest Hero within their Perception value+1. In case of a tie, the Lead player chooses. Measure the distance by connected Rooms and/or empty spaces, considering Illusory walls like standard walls. If no Heroes are within their Perception value+1, the wandering Creature pack moves back towards the Room where it appeared or, in case of an Encounter, to the nearest Guard Post. If Creatures are mixed, they move as the strongest (HPs) Creature does. When the Creatures pack reaches this Room (or if it cannot get it; for example, it is surrounded by walls), it stands waiting to detect a Hero until the end of the Hour, and if this doesn't happen, it is removed. In this case, do not assign any XP or Treasure and reset the situation as it was before:

   • (Encounters) remove the corresponding token from the Encounter line.
   • (Tombs and Guard Posts) make the Room activable again.

Example: The Lead player uses a Movement cube and moves first the Creature (A). It's a Spectre with 3 Movements. The Creature has no Heroes in its visual but can hear the cube in (G). So it moves. After the 1st movement, the Lead player rechecks: no Heroes are visible, but it still hears the cube in (G); the Spectre is now in a +1 Room, so it gains 1 bonus Movement. After the 2nd movement: no Hero is visible, but it still hears the cube in (G). At the third movement, the Creature can see the Heroes in (F) and (D). They are at the same distance, so both directions are possible targets. The Lead Player chooses to move it to (D). Then Lead player moves the Creatures (B) spending their cube: They are Skeletons with 2 Movements: They see the Hero (E) and move directly towards there. Then the Lead Player moves the Spiders in (C) spending their cube: They don't have Heroes in their line of sight and cannot hear any cube, so they move 1 Room toward the nearest Hero.

When a Creature Pack must move to an unexplored space, or when there is a new Encounter to place in an empty map space, you must place a new Room tile. You can take the Room tile from the Room display or draw it from the Room pile. In both cases, the tile must be compatible with the position. "Compatible" means that the new Room tile fits the selected space correctly, considering adjacent tiles. In addition, the tile must allow the Creatures to reach their target by covering the minimum number of Room tiles. So you have to choose the right tile and orient it correctly. For example, you cannot place a turn-right tile to lengthen the distance to Heroes; nor can you orient a three-doorway tile to put a wall between Creatures and Heroes. If there are no tiles of this kind in the Room display, you must draw a tile from the pile. If the new tile does not allow the Creatures to reach their target within the minimum distance, discard it, and draw a new one until one is drawn. Detection rules determine the target.

Example: The Creature in (A) cannot see the Hero in (B) but can hear it, so the Creature must move into an unexplored space. The yellow way is shorter, so the Lead player must place a compatible tile in (C); between the two tiles shown, the one on the right is correct.

Special situations:

• If a Creature Pack (A) moves and reaches another Creature Pack (B), the two groups join and sum their residual Movement tokens. Complete the movement of A; then, they will move as a new, combined Creature Pack in the next round.
• Players must reach an agreement on how to deploy their Heroes (see Advanced Rules if this does not happen).

Melee

A Hero is in Melee when they are in the same Room with 1 or more opponents. Melee Actions are all done during the Melee Initiative segment (red cube).

Heroes in Melee can do 1 Melee Action and any number of Free Actions. Important: Heroes' and Creatures' Melee actions are simultaneous, and all effects must always be applied, even if whoever is doing them is killed.

Follow these steps in each Action Round:

1. Heroes Deploying
2. Heroes Melee Action
3. Creature Melee Action

Heroes Deploying

Players must deploy their Heroes against the opponents and determine which Creatures and Heroes are in hand-to-hand combat. When a Hero and a Creature are in hand-to-hand combat, they are engaged with each other: the Hero is engaged by the Creature, and the Creature is engaged by the Hero. A Hero can engage 1 to 3 opponents simultaneously, depending on their number of defensive slots: this number is shown on the Hero card. For example, the Barbarian has 3 slots and can defend against up to 3 Creatures at once, the Cleric has 2, and the Mage has only 1. Heroes defend against all engaged Creatures but can attack only one of them.

If there are fewer Creatures than the total available defensive slots among all Heroes, some Heroes may avoid engagement entirely and remain covered. This status allows them to take special actions, such as performing a Ranged attack.

Examples:

• A Cleric and a Barbarian are in Melee, facing 6 Skeletons. The Barbarian (3 defensive slots) engages 3 Skeletons and attacks one of them. The Cleric (2 defensive slots) engages 2 Skeletons and attacks one of them. The remaining Skeleton is undefended and will deal automatic damage to the Cleric.
• A Barbarian and a Cleric are in Melee, facing 4 Creatures. The Barbarian (3 defensive slots) engages the Elemental and two Goblins. The Cleric (2 defensive slots) engages the Elemental and one Goblin. The Barbarian will attack the Elemental, while the Cleric targets a Goblin.
• A Mage and a Barbarian are in Melee with 1 Skeleton. If the Barbarian engages the Skeleton, the Mage can choose either to engage it as well or to remain covered, staying out of hand-to-hand combat.
• A Cleric, a Barbarian, and a Mage are in Melee, facing 4 Skeletons. The Barbarian (3 defensive slots) engages 2 Skeletons and attacks one of them. The Cleric (2 defensive slots) engages 2 Skeletons and attacks one of them. The Mage is covered and will make a Ranged attack.

Two or more Heroes can engage the same Creature - this commonly happens when players join forces to fight a Boss. In such cases, the Creature splits the damage among all engaged Heroes and all Heroes can attack him.

Room capacity example: In a 2-player game, 2 Heroes are in Melee with 4 Skeletons in the (B) Room. The two Goblins in A move into (B). The Room Capacity is 7 (5+2 players=7), so the Room is full when 1 Goblin moves inside. As the Room is full and there is a Creature in the adjacent Room, the 4 Skeletons and the Goblin inside the Room gain a +1 HP bonus.

Hero Melee Actions

Heroes can do 1 main Melee Action and any number of Melee Free Actions in every Action Round, and all actions work simultaneously with any opponent's actions.

Players can choose the order to act if there is more than 1 Hero in the same Melee Combat. If there is no agreement between players, use the Initiative order. In any case, their Heroes act simultaneously. Important: Players can wait until their turn to choose what to do.

Main Melee Actions

1. Engaged: Hand to hand attack with Weapons
2. Covered: Ranged attack (Weapons or Powers)
3. Covered or Engaged: Flee
4. Use a Power
5. Do nothing

1. Engaged: Hand to hand attack with Weapons

If 1 or more opponents engage your Hero, you must fight hand-to-hand and pay 1 Action cube, placing it in the Room where your Hero is (Blade cost).

• A Hero can attack 1 of their engaged opponents and defend from all engaged opponents.
• You cannot make a Ranged attack if you are engaged.
• Heroes are considered equipped with weapons. Weapon Item cards represent special magical items that make your attack more potent but they are not required to attack.
• Each Hero knows a single Weapon style (Ranged or Melee), except the Thief, who knows both. Available styles are shown on the Hero card with the symbols (Hand to hand) and (Ranged). You can still fight if you don't know a specific style, but you will be penalized for recovering elements from the Combat Board (see the "Elements recovering after rolling" section).

To attack hand-to-hand with a weapon, you must roll, throw, or place-and-flick Mana cubes from your stock to land them in a specific colored area of the Combat board. There are 5 colored areas. From top to bottom: The black area (critical hit) inflicts 5 damage points, the red area (3 damage points), the orange area (1 damage point), the yellow area (1 dodge point, 1 damage point), the green area (2 dodge points), and the sky blue area (fumble).

Symbol note: the PDF shows damage points (a drop icon) and dodge points (a shield icon) as icons; they are rendered here as words. The manual's text prints the yellow area as "1 dodge point, 1 [icon]"; per its own examples and the Damage/Dodge Points rules below, yellow gives 1 dodge point and orange 1 damage point.

Rolling rules. You can roll Mana cubes as you prefer: You can throw cubes or place them on the board and flick them with your finger one by one. You can also throw a cube to try to push another one to move it. For example, you can roll 1 cube, check the result, and, if needed, roll another cube or 3 cubes simultaneously. There is only a rolling rule: When moving your hand, your fingers cannot pass the red dotted line on the Combat board (if you want to place a cube on the board and flick it, it must be placed behind the dotted line).

You may choose when to end your rolling either because you are satisfied with the results or you are finished your available cubes. Declare it and follow this procedure in the following order:

1. Check if more than 1 cube touches the Red area. If that happens, remove all cubes touching it and put them in your reserve.
2. Next, move any cubes touching two areas to the area you prefer, except those touching the sky-blue area (fumble); move them inside the sky-blue area, as they count as fumble only. At this stage, the results of the cubes are "natural".
3. After completing step 2, apply any to hit modifications.
4. Finally, place any cube in the white area or off the board in your reserve. A cube touching the game table and the Combat board is considered off the Combat board.

Example: Marco rolls 6 cubes. Three cubes touch the red area (A), and one cube (B) falls off the board: Marco removes them and places them in his reserve. The remaining cubes are in the orange and yellow area for 1 damage point inflicted and 1 dodge point acquired.

Example: Michele rolled 5 cubes. 1) He checks if 2+ cubes touch the red area: He moves the (A) cubes to his reserve. 2) He moves the cube touching yellow-orange area to the yellow area. 3) He applies any hit modification (there are no hit modifications to apply). 4) Finally, Michele checks if any cube has fallen off the board (no) or was in the white area (cube B): He moves cube B to his reserve. The final result is 5 damage points inflicted and 1 dodge point acquired.

To hit modifications.

• Heroes can have bonuses/penalties to hit: They are shown a +1, +2, +3 to hit when they are bonuses and -1, -2, -3 to hit when they are penalties.
• "+1 to hit" means that you can move 1 cube to an upper area (from yellow to orange, from orange to red, or from red to black area). In the same way, "+2 to hit" means that you can move 2 cubes or 1 cube two times.
• "-1 to hit" means you must move your best result cube to the lower area (from black to red, from orange to yellow; or remove it, if in the yellow area); "-2 to hit" means you must move/remove your two best results.

Example: Michele has -1 to hit. He removes the two cubes in the Red area (A) and then the cube (B), which is his best result. He inflicts 1 damage point and gains 1 dodge point.

Damage points and Dodge Points. After rolling, the players calculate the number of damage points inflicted and the number of dodge points acquired.

• Damage points inflicted. Each cube in the black, red, and orange area provides 5, 3, and 1 points, respectively. Calculate the number of points scored, then apply the Hero bonus or penalty to the result, if any. For example, Mage and Bard have a -2 penalty for the damage points inflicted, or a magic item can provide a +1, +2, or +3 damage bonus. If the total is lower than zero, consider it as zero. The Hero inflicts many damage points equal to the value scored. If the damage points inflicted are equal or higher than the opponent's HP value, the opponent dies.
• Dodge points. Each cube in the yellow and green provides 1 and 2 points, respectively. Calculate the number of points scored, then apply the Hero bonus or penalty to the result, if any. For example, Mage has a -2 penalty to the dodge points acquired, Bard and Thief -1; magic items or Hero powers can provide a bonus, etc. If the total is lower than zero, consider it as zero. The Hero gains many dodge points equal to the value scored.
• Fumble. Apply a penalty of -2 for each fumble result to either damage or dodge points scored, your choice. If the damage or dodge result is negative, your Hero will suffer 1 damage. For example, Michele rolls 5 cubes: 1 cube touches the red area (3 damage points), 1 the orange area (1 damage point), and 1 cube the blue area (fumble). He could apply the fumble penalty -2 to his damage points reducing the damage inflicted to 2, or his dodge points, keeping 4 damage inflicted to his opponent, but suffering 1 damage too.

Elements recovering after rolling.

• If the Hero uses a known Weapon style (for example, a Monk fights hand-to-hand in Melee), all cubes on the Combat board return to the player stock (also the fumbles).
• If the Hero uses an unknown Weapon style (for example, a Cleric is making Ranged attacks), all cubes on the Combat board go to the player reserve. For example, the Mage makes a Ranged attack with 4 cubes inflicting 4 damage and killing a Creature: the 4 cubes go to the player reserve.
• All other used elements (meeples) go to the player reserve.

2. Covered: Ranged Attack

You can make a Ranged Attack with weapons or powers if your Hero is covered. If you use weapons, Ranged Attacks work like a hand to hand attack, but you only consider damage points, ignoring dodge points.

See the card description to know how a Ranged Power attack works. Used Action cubes must be placed in your Room. Otherwise, a Power without an Action cube cost, is a free action (see "Melee Free Actions" section).

Example: Marco rolls for a Ranged attack. He must remove two red cubes (A) as they both touch the red area, so for now the result is 5 damage inflicted and 3 dodge gained. He has +2 to hit, so he moves two cubes (B) by 1 step to the upper area: The final result is 7 damage done and 0 dodge.

3. Covered or Engaged: Flee

To flee a Melee, you must place 1 Action cube in the Room where your Hero is standing and:

• If you were engaged, roll to defend from the opponent (ignore your inflicted damage). Any indefensible opponent will automatically damage you. After the rolling procedure, remove the cube with the best score, and then verify the opponent attacks result. If your Hero survives, you can move immediately to an adjacent-connected Room.
• If you were covered, you can move freely.

4. Use a Power

Some powers can be used as Melee's main action to do a hand to hand attack or another special action. See the Hero card description to know how the Power works. Used Action cubes must be placed in the Room. Otherwise, a Power without any Action cube cost is a free action (see "Melee Free Actions" section).

Example (Step of the Wind 1/2: "Put 1 Action in the Room and pay X Mana: Jump in an adjacent-connected Room without taking any Melee attack from Minions and Leaders in your Room and the receiving Room. X depends on the number of opponents in both Rooms: 1 for every Minion + 2 for every Leader."): Marco's Hero, a Monk, is in Melee with 4 Skeletons. He pays 1 Action and 4 Mana cubes to use his Hero Power and jump into the adjacent Room.

5. Do nothing

You do nothing in this Action Round.

Free Melee Actions

In addition to the main action, you can do any number of Free actions, which can be done before or after the main action.

1. Use a Power without Action cube cost
2. Use an Item

1. Use a Power without an Action cube cost. You can use your Hero's Powers as free Action if they cost Mana cubes only. See the Hero card description.

Example (Double Strike 1/2: "Pay 2 Mana to repeat a Melee roll. Add half of second roll to the first one (rounded up). The two rolls are part of a single attack. In the second roll, you can use only the cubes of the first roll still on the Combat board."): Marco makes a Melee attack with his Monk. After the roll, he pays 2 Mana cubes and activates his Double Strike Monk Power: He rolls again and adds 50% of the new damage points to the first roll.

2. Use Item cards. Heroes can use their Item cards. Depending on the card selected, the Item can be used once, and then the card is discarded (for example, a Potion), or 1 time per Hour. In the second case, rotate the card to remind you that you have already used it.

Creatures Melee Actions

Creatures in Melee have only 1 action available: Attack.

• If the Creature is indefensible, automatically apply damage to the target Hero. The number of damage points caused by Creature attacks depends on the Creature type (see "Creatures stats" section): For example, Skeletons, Spectres, and Goblins deal 2; Spiders deal 3; Bosses deal a variable number of damage points.
• If the Creature is in a Hero defensive slot, apply the Creature attack damage points minus the dodge points gained by the engaged Hero. If a Hero is defending against 2+ Creatures the Hero may split his dodge points between the Creatures as the Hero wishes. For Example, Michele rolls and gains 5 dodge points. He is fighting a Lich and a Spectre. The Lich causes 4, while the Spectre 2. Michele applies 4 to the Lich and 1 to a Spectre, and he takes 1 from the Spectre.
• Mark the damage points taken on the Hero board, moving the HP marker. If the Hero reaches 0 or less HPs, the Hero dies (see "Killed: Heroes" section).
• If more than 1 Hero engages the same Creature, the damage points done by the Creature are evenly divided between the Heroes (rounded up).
• If the Hero charges and the engaged Creature is a Minion (Spectre, Goblin, Skeleton, Spider, standard or Elite), the Creature's attack isn't resolved. The charge effect works for 1 Action Round only.

Melee Procedure Summary

During each Action Round in Initiative order, Creatures and Heroes not in Melee do their Exploring actions. During the Initiative Melee, all Heroes/Creatures in Melee follow this procedure:

A. Deploy Heroes vs. Creatures. B. Then for each Hero:

1. The player declares a target among the engaged opponents.
2. Roll.
3. Determine the number of dodge points acquired and the number of damage points done. C. Then for every Creature: (for Minions: if the Hero is not Charging) Subtract the dodge points applied by the Hero from the number of damage points caused by the Creature, and the result is the damage suffered by the Hero. Mark the damage by moving the HP marker on the Hero board.

Kill Creatures

When a Creature takes damage points equal to or higher than its HP, the Creature dies. Return killed Creatures to the game reserve. Important: Creatures don't take wounds (unless Hero Powers are applied), so Heroes must inflict all the required damage before the end of the round. All Heroes, even at different Initiatives, can participate to reach the Creature's HP.

Killing Creatures provides Heroes Experience Points (see "Experience Points" section) and can provide Treasures (see "Treasures" section).

D. Apply the damage points done by the Hero to the Creature.

E. Apply the damage effects:

• If the Hero reaches 0 or less HPs, the Hero dies.
• The Creature dies if takes the same or more damage points than its Hit Point (HP) value. Important: All damage dealt within a round is cumulative, so multiple Heroes can combine their damage to defeat a Creature.

F. All wounded Creatures return to their starting HP value unless Heroes use a Power to inflict permanent wounds.

How to track a Creature current HPs

When Heroes fight strong Creatures (like Leaders or Bosses), players can use the Creature HP track on the Hour board to show the current Creature's HP. Use two translucent cube markers from the game reserve to track maximum and current Creature HPs.

For example, a Barbarian and a Monk are in Melee with a Boss with 18 HPs, and a Ranger shoots from a distance. The Barbarian deals 5 damage points at the Melee Initiative, and the Monk deals 6 damage points. The Lead player updates the current Boss HPs on the track. In the same Round in the following Initiative segment, the Ranger shoots. The track shows that the Boss has 7 HPs remaining. If the Ranger deals 7+ damage points, the Boss is killed.

Killed Heroes: Death or Back to life?

The Hero dies when a Hero reaches HPs 0 or less.

When a Hero dies, and the Game Period is Green or Yellow and at least another Hero is alive, the Hero respawns at the following Hour start: Place the Hero miniature in the same Room as another Hero that is not in Melee. If all Heroes are in Melee, the Hero must wait for the next Hour a Hero is not in Melee. In the Orange and Red Periods, the Hero's death is final.

• If respawned, set the Hero at starting stats as explained in the game setup.
• If a Hero dies permanently, update the (per-player count icon) value in the adventure. Any uncompleted Miniquest (see "Miniquest" section in Adventures Booklet) is transferred to another playing Hero (Lead Player chooses).

In both cases, if the killed Hero was carrying an Adventure tile, place it in the Room where they died, while any other elements return to the respective supplies (coins, items, etc.).

• In a PvP game, the Back to life rule is not applied.

Action Round End

After all Initiative segments have been completed, the Action Round ends. All wounded Creatures restore their HP to the starting value, unless the Heroes used a Power to cause permanent wounds.

If a Combat is in progress, a new Round begins. If no Combat is in progress, check whether the Action Phase End conditions are met. If so, the Action Phase End. If not, a new Round begins.

Action Phase End Conditions. The Phase ends if:

• All players have passed, and
• The Creatures have run out of Movement cubes or are dead.

Action Phase End

The 4. Encounter phase begins (see page 24).

Melee Example

The Marco's Cleric is facing 3 Spectres in Melee. A Spectre has 5 HP and causes 2 damage points.

Marco attacks with a weapon: He places 1 Action cube on the Room (Blade cost) and decides to roll 5 Mana cubes. With this roll, the Cleric gains 2 dodge points and deals 5 damage points. The (A) cubes are touching two areas: Marco can choose to use them in any of the two areas. He chooses to use a cube in the orange area (1 damage point) and another in the yellow area (1 dodge point). This way, Marco can kill a Spectre (5 HP) and apply 2 dodge points to a Spectre dodging it. The other Spectre and the indefensible one deals 4 damage points to the Cleric. Marco moves the HP marker on his Hero board accordingly: from 6 to 2 HPs.

A new Action Round starts. Marco pays 1 Action cube (Blade cost) and places it in the Room. Then attacks, this time chooses to use 6 cubes. The Cleric gains 3 dodge points and inflicts 5 damage points. The Cleric kills a Spectre, dodges a Spectre, and suffers 1 damage point from the other Spectre. One cube (A) is out of the board, and Marco places it in his reserve. The Cleric now has only 1 HP.

Then the last Action Round starts. The Cleric pays another Action cube to act (Blade cost). Marco rolls again. With this Roll, the Cleric inflicts 5 damage points (5+2=7, -2 points for the fumble = 5) and gains 2 dodge points. She kills the last Spectre.

The Melee ends. Marco can continue to play in the current Hour, for example moving to the next Room.

Creature Stats

Minions & Leaders

	Minions	Elite	Leader
Movement tokens	2	2	2
HP	5	5+2 per player	6+3 per player
Size	1	1	1
Perception	3	4	5
Damage	2	3	4

Note: place an Elite token under the Minion Elite miniature to identify it. For any game procedure, consider them as Minions. The Elite additional abilities are listed below.

Minions abilities:

• Skeleton (undead): 6 HP. Immune to Paralysis, Poison, and Terror.
• Spectre (undead): +1 Movement. Immune to Fire, Lighting, Paralysis, Poison and Terror.
• Spider: Damage: 3
• Elite Skeleton (undead): When it is destroyed, check if, at the end of the current Action round, there is another Skeleton alive: If so, this Skeleton becomes an Elite Skeleton.
• Elite Goblin: At the Round start, it causes 1 damage point to all Heroes in the Room or, if there are not any, to all Heroes in a Room in its line of sight. This power is addition to the Goblin attack.
• Elite Spider: At Round start, it throws its web, and engaged Heroes must make a Saving Throw (ST) 3 or pay 1 additional Mana cube as a Blade cost (see the "Saving Throw" section).
• Elite Spectre (undead): At Round start, each engaged Hero must do a ST vs. 3 or Flee (fear). Immune to Fire, Lighting, Paralysis, Poison, and Terror.

Leaders abilities:

• Elemental: It has 7+4 per player HPs. Immune to Paralysis and Terror. For example, in a 3-player game, the Elemental has 19 HPs.
• Lich (undead): At Round start, all engaged Heroes must make a Saving Throw 4 or be Paralyzed for 2 Action rounds. If Paralyzed, the Hero will not be able to do any Actions. Immune to Lighting, Paralysis, Poison and Terror. If the Lich remains alone with a Paralyzed Hero, it hits the Hero with a +4 damage bonus.
• Spider Princess: At Round start, all engaged Heroes must make a ST 4 or be Poisoned for 2 damage points.
• Mummy (undead): At Round start, each Hero in the Mummy Room loses 1 Action cube: Move it from their stock and place it in their reserve. Immune to Paralysis, Poison and Terror.

Killing all the Minions Creatures (standard and/or elite) from an Encounter provides 1 XP. Killing a Leader allows 1 Treasure check and provides 1 XP.

Bosses

The Bosses stats are shown on the Boss card.

Boss card layout (example: Shadow, Undead): Name; Period (shield color); Stats (HPs, Damage done, Perception value and if it's an undead); Powers description; XP value; Treasure. The example Shadow card reads: "Attack: If the Shadow hits, the Hero must do a ST 4 (curse) or permanently lose 1 HP. Place a cube from the reserve on the player board HP track as a reminder. Note: Ignore Barriers. Immune to Lighting, Fireball, Paralysis, Poison and Terror."; stats "6 per player +10 HP, +6 per player damage, Perception 6"; XP value 2, Treasure 1.

"6 (per-player) +10 HP, +6 (per-player) damage, 6 Perception" on the card means in a 3-player game: 6x3=18+10=28 HP, 3+6=9 damage, Perception 6.

• Powers Description. It shows the special Boss' Powers.
• XP value. The number of XPs gained killing the Boss.
• Treasure. The number of Treasure checks, if you kill it.
• All Bosses share these stats: Movement tokens: 3 -- Size: 2.
• Period. The shield color on the Boss card indicates the game Period it belongs to, which determines when it can be spawned (see the "Map cards" section).

Killing a Boss provides the XP and Treasures shown on the Boss card, and, if applicable, 1 Clue card.

Note: the example card line is partly icon-based in the PDF; the "+6 per-player damage" reading follows the manual's worked 3-player example (3+6=9 damage).

Saving Throws

Creature abilities (and also traps, some Powers, and Adventure events) can require you to succeed in a Saving Throw (ST) to avoid damage or a game penalty. STs have a difficulty class value (DC). You succeed if you score ST points equal to or greater than the DC. If not, you must take the penalty associated with the ST, which depends on the ST type.

You must roll cubes on the Combat board using the standard combat rolling rules as in a known style. Apply your bonuses and powers as desired. You score 1 ST for every pair of damage and dodge points scored; for example a black result (5 damage points) and two green results (4 dodge points), provide 4 ST points.

Example: A Lich hits Marco's Hero. Lich attacks require a ST vs. 3 to avoid two rounds of Paralysis. Marco rolls: the result is 2 damage points and 4 dodge points, so 2 ST points: this ST failed and Marco Hero will stay Paralyzed for two rounds.

4. Encounters Phase

At the start of this Phase, do an Encounter check.

Encounter check

Verify which Hero placed the most cubes on the Map. The location of this Hero is Position Zero, and the number of cubes is the Cube value.

• The Cube value cannot be lower than 1.
• If two or more Heroes have the same cube number, the Lead player chooses one of them.

Then follow this procedure:

1. Discard the top card from the Item deck. Then, draw X cards, where X is equal to the Cube value plus the Encounter Risk value. The Encounter Risk is determined by the color of the current Hour on the Hour board:

Hour color	green	yellow	orange	red
Encounter Risk value	0	0	+1	+2

For example, Marco's Hero placed 3 cubes on the map, the current Hour is orange. Marco discards the first card of the Item deck and then draws 4 cards (3 cubes +1 risk).

2. Check the back of the drawn cards looking for the Creature symbol. If there is a card with this symbol, an Encounter takes place. If they are 2+ cards, only the first card is used. Continue the procedure with the "There's an Encounter! Where to place it?" section.

For example, the current Hour is Red and the Encounter Risk value is 2. The Hero who used the most cubes on the map is the Cleric (2 cubes; cube value=2). The Lead player discards the first card of the Item deck, checks the back of the following 4 cards (cube value 2 + encounter risk 2 = 2+2 = 4), and finds 2 Creature symbols: They must arrange an Encounter considering the first card drawn!

The same example is above, but the current Hour is Green (Encounter Risk value 0). The Lead player draws 2 cards (Cube value 2 + Encounter Risk 0 = 2+0 = 2). No cards show a Creature symbol, so nothing happens!

The back of the Item card anatomy:

• Position coordinates. This value determines where the Encounter will appear, in respect to Position Zero.
• Creature Symbol. When this symbol appears in an Encounter check, the Encounter is positive and new Creatures will be placed.
• Other card types (the back also shows other symbols).

There's an Encounter! Where to place it?

Evaluate the Position coordinates shown on the card. The letter used: E, W, N, and S means East, West, North, or South, using the Compass Rose of the Dungeon map. The number indicates the distance from Position Zero.

For example, consider the card with Position Coordinates "W1" and Position Zero in (A). Place the Creatures in (B).

Verify the target Room:

• If 2+ players used the same number of cubes, the Lead player chooses one of them for Position Zero.
• If there is no Room tile in the space selected, take a Room tile from the Room display (or draw a new Room tile from the Room pile). The Room tile must be compatible with the space. "Compatible" means that the new Room tile fits the selected space correctly considering adjacent tiles and allows the Creatures to reach their target (a Hero) by covering as little distance possible. Detection rules determine which Hero is the target. If more than one tile orientation is possible (for example, there are two potential Hero targets), the Lead player chooses the nearest or, if they are at the same distance, one of them.
• If the selected space is out of the game table, use the opposite direction: for example, N3 becomes S3.

There's an Encounter! Which Creatures?

The Room color defines the Creature type: place Spectres, Spiders, Skeletons, and Goblins, respectively, for a yellow, green, red, and blue Room.

Following the previous example, the Room is red, so the Lead player places skeletons there.

There's an Encounter! How many Creatures?

Over the Hour board, there is the line of the Encounters. This line allows players to track the Encounters type that happened during the game. When you have to place an Encounter, check how many Encounter tokens of the same color are on the Encounter line:

• 0: The number of Creatures (Minions) to place equals the number of players.
• 1: The number of Creatures (Minions) to place equals the number of players + 1 Elite Minion Creature of the same type. Use the Elite token to mark it. For example, in a 3-player game, if the Room is red and there is 1 Skeleton in the Encounters line: You must place 3 Skeletons + 1 Elite Skeleton.
• 2: The number of Creatures (Minions) to place equals the number of players + 1 Leader. The Leaders are the Mummy, the Lich, the Spider Princess, and the Elemental, respectively, for Skeletons, Spectres, Spider, and Goblins Minions Encounters. Place the Leader miniature in the Room.
• 3+: The number of Creatures (Minions) to place equals the number of players + 1 Boss. Draw 3 cards from the Boss deck and select a Boss of the color corresponding to the current Hour color; use the same procedure to choose Bosses of the Guard Posts (see "Map cards" section). Use any Boss miniature to represent it.

Then add to the Room 2 Creature Movement tokens (or 3 if there is a Boss) and place a Creature token of the type selected on the Encounter line.

Example: Following the example above, the Lead player adds a Skeleton token on the Encounter line, and now there are two. In a 2-player game, an Encounter check is positive; the Lead Player has to place a Creature pack in the red Room (B): the Room is Red, so they are Skeletons. The Lead player verifies there are 2 Skeleton tokens in the Encounter line: so they place 2 Skeletons and 1 Leader (Mummy) in the Room. Then they add a Skeleton token in the Encounter line.

Are the Miniatures available? If you have to place a miniature in a Room that is unavailable in the game reserve, you can use any substitute token/miniature to represent it.

Encounter check for Dangerous Rooms

This specific Encounter check must be done when a Hero enters a Dangerous Room (see the "Special Rooms" section). Discard the first card from the Item deck, draw 3 cards, and verify if the Encounter check is positive: If so, Creatures will be placed directly in the Dangerous Room (see "Special Rooms" section). Also in this case, you must place a Creature token of the type selected on the Encounter line.

5. Hour End Phase

Perform these steps in the given order:

1. Return all Action cubes on the map to the respective players' reserves.
2. All players recover up to 3 elements of their color (cubes and/or meeples), moving them from their reserve to their stock. In this step, it is possible to move 2 white elements (cubes and/or meeples) instead of 1 colored element. For example, Marco moves 3 Mana cubes, 1 white Sword meeple and 1 Action cube from his reserve to his stock.
3. All players ready all their rotated cards.
4. For every Barrier tile on the map: If there are Creatures in an adjacent Room, remove the Barrier tile (for value 1) or flip the tile (for value 2) to value 1. Remove any Illusory Wall tiles.
5. Each Creature pack must have 2 Movement tokens (or 3 tokens if there is a Boss). Refill them, if required.

Then start a new Hour.

Game End

The game ends when:

• If all characters die.
• If the Heroes or Traitor wins (the Adventure description explains the Victory conditions).
• The last Hour finished. In this case, the players lose the game.

Treasures

When a Boss or Leader is defeated, they may drop loot, and a Search action can yield coins and Magic Shards. To determine the reward, players must perform a Treasure check. For loot dropped by a defeated creature, the Treasure check can only be made if the Hero/Heroes are in the same Room as the fallen creature. If the check is not performed immediately, place an Adventure token in the Room as a reminder.

Treasure check

The Treasure check is divided into two parts: the Coins/Shards procedure and the Items procedure. The Coins/Shards procedure grants coins, XP, and Magic Shards, while the Items procedure allows Heroes to obtain magic items. Defeating Creatures (such as Leaders or Bosses) rewards players with both types of Treasure checks. A Search action, on the other hand, only grants the Coins/Shards procedure.

Coins/Shard Procedure

The Lead player discards the first card of the Item deck, then draws 3 Item cards and checks their backside. Count Coins, XPs, and Magic Shard symbols found (ignore other symbols):

• XP symbol (star): Each Hero immediately gains many Experience Points equal to the number of XP symbols found. No matter if they fought or not or were in the Room of the Search action. For example, the Lead Player does a Treasure check after killing a Leader. The Cleric and the Barbarian participated in the fight while the Thief was exploring the Dungeon map. The Lead player checks the back side of the drawn cards and finds 1 XP symbol: all three Heroes immediately gain 1 XPs each.
• Coin symbol (coin): Each Hero who participated in the Combat with the Creature, that has dropped Treasure (or the Hero who did the Search action) gains Mystic coins equal to 2 + the amount of coins on the drawn item cards from the game reserve. A Hero participates in Combat when they cause some damage to the Creature, suffer damage from the Creature, or have been in Melee with the Creature. For example, continuing the previous example, the Lead player found 1 card with a symbol showing 2 coins and 1 card with a symbol showing 1 coin. The Cleric and the Barbarian gain 5 Mystic coins each from the game reserve (3+2 coins bonus), and the Thief nothing.
• Magic Shard symbol: Place 1 Magic Shard tile of the Room color in the current Room. A player can take it with the Interact Action: If 2 or more players want it, remember you have to follow the Initiative order.

Mystic coins & Magic Shards. Mystic coins and Magic shards are permanently assigned to those who take them: Heroes cannot share them. You can use Mystic coins and/or Shards to buy items from the Great Merchant, a powerful ghost that wanders the dungeon. You can buy items cards in the Item display or from the Item deck. Use the Action "Buy an Item" to summon the ghost to your Room and buy an Item card. If you want to buy an Item tile, you can choose from those available on the card n.69 in the Item display.

Items Procedure

After the Coins/Shards procedure, check the front side of the same cards and discard some cards:

• Loot from a Leader: Discard all cards costing 6+ coins.
• Loot from a Boss: Discard all cards costing 8/10/12/14+ coins from a Green/Yellow/Orange/Red boss.

Place discarded cards in the discard pile. Each Hero who participates in the Combat can gain 1 magic Item: In Initiative order, each player checks the remaining cards and takes 1 card, if available. When all players have done the procedure, discard any remaining cards. Taking a card is not mandatory.

Card Item anatomy (example card: a sword, "If you are engaged in Melee: +1 to hit and +2 damage to one of your attacks."):

• Card cost. To acquire the card from the display or the Ghost Merchant, you must pay the cost shown in the top-left corner.
• Miniquest. The modifier to apply to Miniquests (see "Miniquest" section in Adventures Booklet).
• Sequence. If the item influences Combat, this note explains if the card can be used "before" or "after" the cubes rolling/power use.
• Item description. It explains the effect of the Item.
• Use type. This symbol shows if the card is 1-time use only and must be discarded after the use, or if the card can be used 1 time per Hour: rotate the card by 90 degrees after the use and put it straight again at the Hour end.
• Card number.

Limits:

• Each Hero can own a maximum of 6 magic Items (between cards and tiles). You can discard Item cards, if you want.
• It is not possible to use have two magic Items of the same type (for example, two swords/daggers or two magic wands) except for Potions and Rings. Note: bows and crossbows are considered items of the same type.
• Heroes cannot exchange Item cards.

Experience Points (XP)

Heroes gain XPs killing Creatures, finding Treasure, completing Side Quests, or accomplishing Adventure achievements. Take the corresponding value in XP tokens from the game reserve and give them to each player: The yellow XP tokens value is 3 XPs, and the white XP tokens value is 1 XP.

XP by Killing Creatures

Heroes gain 1 XP by killing all the Minions of a specific type (Goblins, Spectres, Skeletons, or Spiders) of an Encounter (or, if the adventure calls for them, of a Room), 1 XP killing a Leader and a variable number of XP killing a Boss (the XP number is shown on the Boss card). All Heroes gain these XPs, regardless of whether they participated in the Combat.

XP by Treasure checks

Each star symbol in a Treasure check for coins/shards provides 1 XP to all Heroes.

XP by Side Quests

Side Quests are shown on the Hour Track board and divided into four groups. Whenever Heroes accomplish 1 Side Quest, place a Quest cube as a reminder on the corresponding space.

The first and third groups require that players activate specific Rooms. The second group refers to the length and width of the Dungeon map: So 9/5 means that the distance from Starting Room to the northernmost connected-face up Room there are 9 Rooms (as the crow flies), and from the easternmost to the westernmost connected-visible Room there are 5 Rooms (as the crow flies). The fourth group is to kill the Creature type and an Elite (any).

For each group, completing Side Quests can provide XP and Magic Shards, as shown on the board's key (these XP/shards are cumulative).

For example, a Hero moves into a Dangerous Room and activates it: He adds an Encounter in the Room, and the player places a cube in the third row of the first group. After some rounds, a Hero activates a Clue Room: He puts a cube in the last row of the first group. As two Side Quests of the same group have been completed, all the Heroes gain 1 XP each.

How to use Experience points

XP tokens can be spent as a free action to acquire Hero New Power cards, upgrade existing Power cards and/or increase Hero stats. Place XP tokens spent in the game reserve.

• You can spend XPs only if your Hero is not in Melee.
• XPs use is irreversible. Once spent, you cannot go back.
• Once used, return the XP tokens to the game reserve.

Activate/Upgrade Hero Power cards

You can spend your XPs to acquire a new Hero card or upgrade one of your current cards to the next level. In the first case, you place the first card of your Power deck on the table, while in the second, you flip a card already on the table to the other side.

Each Hero owns a Hero card deck. The cards in this deck represent their Powers. Each Hero starts the game with a Power card with the red star in the top-left corner. Other Power cards are purchasable in the order they appear in the deck (unless Free Power Selection Mode is applied, see "Game Modes" section).

Hero card anatomy (example: Paralysis 1/2, "Put 1 Action in the Room and pay 1+X Mana: As a Ranged attack, paralyze 1 opponent in your Room (Minion or a Leader). The opponent can save by drawing an Item card with a number higher than 50 (Minion), 45 (Elite), 40 (Leader). 60+ always save. Increase this number by 5 for every additional Mana spent. Paralyzed Creature cannot do any actions for 2 rounds, +1 to hit them."):

• Total XPs used. Considering current and previous levels, it shows the number of XPs you have spent on this card.
• Card name. The name of the card.
• Hero symbol. It shows which Hero deck is part of.
• Current level/Available levels. It shows the current level of the card and its maximum level. Hero cards have two levels (front and back of the same card).
• Power description; card activation cost; next level activation cost.

Increase your Hero Stats

You can move your Stat marker by 1 space to the right in a specific track, spending 1 XP token for the first 5 advancements and 2 XP tokens for the last one.

• Movement stat. If your marker reaches the "+1 Movement" symbol, when you do the "Move" action, you can do 1 extra Movement by spending 1 Mana cube. Max 1 extra movement. Place the Mana cube in your reserve. If your marker reaches the last track space symbol, you can recover 1 element in your color from your reserve at the end of every Hour (or 2 white elements). Example: Marco spends 3 XPs to increase the Movement stat and moves the marker by 3 spaces on the right.
• HP stat. If your marker reaches the symbol "+1 HP", your Hero increases the current and maximum HPs by 1. Move the HP marker to the new value. If it gets the symbol "+2 HP", increase the HPs by 2.
• Action stat. If your marker gets the "+1 Action" symbol, you permanently gain 1 Action cube from the game reserve. Add it to your stock. If you get the "+2 Action" symbol, you can add 2 cubes.
• Mana stat. If your marker gets the "+1 Mana" symbol, you permanently gain 1 Mana cube from the game reserve permanently. Add it your stock. If you get the "+2 Mana" symbol, you can add 2 cubes.
• Offensive rolling stat. If your marker gets a depicted symbol, take the corresponding meeple token from the game reserve and place it in your stock. The sword meeples can be used to improve an attack or ST result:
  • White sword meeple: Before rolling, place a sword meeple near the Combat board corresponding to a colored area (black, red, or orange). Then roll: If you get one or more cubes in the selected area, one of them of your choice has its value doubled. You can place as many meeples as you wish, even placing multiple meeples in an area. If you place multiple meeples in an area, each must affect a different cube in that area. For example, you place a Sword meeple near the red area. Rolling, you get 1 cube in the red area and 2 cubes in the orange area. You score 8 damage points (2 for the two orange area cubes and 6 for the red area cube). After the activation or at the end of the Round, place used meeples in your reserve.
  • Colored sword meeple: Before rolling, place the colored sword meeple in your reserve: all of your white sword meeples in all areas triple the effect of one cube instead of doubling it.

Decrease your Hero Stats

If you have to decrease your Hero Stat and lose a stat improvement, you must remove the corresponding power. For example, if you drop your Action stat from space 2 to 1, you must return an action cube to the game reserve.

Other Elements

Map cards

A Guard Post represents a Room guarded by a particular Creature, and a Treasure Room represents a Room where a Search Action reveals 1 Treasure.

During the Setup, draw a Map card to define their positions on the game table. Take a random Room tile from the Room pile and place it face-down on the table in the position shown by the Guard Post and Treasure symbols on the card. Add a Guard Post or Treasure token over the tile. Note that the Map card also shows the Inspiration Path structure and color. This Adventure element is explained in the Adventures Booklet and used only in selected adventures. Refer to the description of your adventure.

Guard Post activation. A Guard Post can be activated by a Hero or by a Creature. As soon as a Hero arrives in a Room adjacent to a Guard Post (any of the surrounding Rooms), flip the Guard Post Room tile, placing it in a compatible orientation. "Compatible" means that the Room tile fits the selected space correctly considering adjacent tiles and allows the Creatures to reach a Hero covering as little distance as possible. Detection rules determine the Hero targeted. If the Room tile is incompatible, replace it with a new one from the Room pile.

If a Creature moves inside an inactive Guard Post tile, the Guard Post activates, but it does not activate if it moves in a tile adjacent to a Guard Post. Then apply this rule:

1. Draw 3 cards from the Boss deck and verify if a Boss card is the same color as the current Hour color. If so, place the Boss and 3 movement cubes in the Room and apply the Boss stats shown on the card. Note: If there are 2+ cards of the selected Hour color, choose one of them.
2. If 1. is not possible, choose between the three drawn cards, a Boss card from the previous color. If the actual color is Green, place a Leader of the Room color instead (and 2 movement cubes). For example, if the current Hour color is Orange, and you drew Green, Yellow, and Red Boss cards, as the Orange Boss card is unavailable, the Lead player must select the Yellow Boss card.
3. If 2. is not possible, choose between the three drawn cards, a Boss card from the immediate pre-previous Hour color. Place a Leader (and 2 movement cubes) of the Room color if the actual Hour is Yellow. For example, if the current Hour is Orange, the Lead player must select the Green Boss if they drew Green and 2 Red Boss cards.
4. If 3. is not possible, use the Boss card with the highest card number from the 3 cards drawn.

Note: If the specific Boss miniature or standee does not exist, use any of them to represent it.

Treasure Room activation. A Hero may additionally activate this Room as a Treasure Room. This allows them to perform 1 Treasure check (including both Coins/Shards and Item procedures), by discarding Item cards with a total value of: 8+ if the current Hour color is Green, 10+ if Yellow, 12+ if Orange, 14+ if Red.

After the check, flip the Treasure Room token. Note: If the Room allows it (for example the Treasure Room is a Holy Pool), other activations can be performed before or after the Treasure activation.

Adventure tiles

The game includes adventure tiles depicting an item, man, child, etc. Use them when required by a specific Adventure.

Special Rooms

The game includes some special Rooms, which can be placed in the Dungeon map as other Room tiles but can have remarkable effects. Special Rooms are:

Holy Pool Rooms

They show the cross symbol. If the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token, you can spend 1 Action cube to activate it and heal all Heroes' wounds in the Room. Then place a Deactivated Status token in the Room.

Library Rooms

They show the Library symbol. If the Room has no Deactivated Status token, you can spend 1 Action Cube to activate it and place a Magic Shard of the Room color. After Room activation, place a Deactivated Status token.

Laboratory Rooms

They show the Laboratory symbol. If the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token, you can spend 1 Action cube to activate it and teleport yourself to any Room within a distance of 4 (except the Starting Room) or another Laboratory Room. The destination Laboratory Room can be at any distance and with any status (Active or Deactivated). The target Room tile must be already on the table, face up, but connection or visibility is not required. All Creatures/Heroes in the Room are teleported. After Room activation, place a Deactivated Status token.

Animated Weapons Rooms

They show the Animated Weapons symbol. If the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token, you can spend 1 Action cube in this Room to select a connected Room within distance 3 and roll 1 cube for every Minions and Leader which is there: For each black cube result, you can kill a Leader, an Elite, or a Minion; for each red result, you can kill an Elite or a Minion, while for each Orange result, you can kill a Minion. These Creatures provide XPs and work for Side Quests. Then place a Deactivated Status token.

Dangerous Rooms

They show the skull symbol. When a Hero enters this Room with no Deactivated Status token, do an Encounter check for Dangerous Rooms. Follow this procedure:

Discard the first card of the Item deck. Then draw 3 cards and verify if, on the back, there is a Creature symbol. If you find a Creature symbol, place an Encounter in the Room (see page 25 "There's an Encounter! How many Creatures?"). If Creatures was already in the Room, add the Encounter to them. Then place a Deactivated Status token in the Room and a Creature token of the type selected in the Encounter on the Encounter line. If you don't find any Creature symbol, nothing happens, and place a Deactivated Status token there.

Trap Rooms

They show the Trap symbol. When a Hero enters a Trap Room without a Deactivated Status tokens, do a Trap check. Follow this procedure:

Discard the first card of the Item deck. Then draw 3 cards and verify if, on the back, there is a Trap symbol. If you find a trap symbol, you must make a Saving Throw (ST) with the difficulty class (DC) value shown on the card. If you find 2+ Trap symbols, use the first drawn. Verify the current Traps maximum difficulty value of the current Hour color on the Hour board: If it's lower than the DC value of the card, apply it instead.

Hour color	green	yellow	orange	red
Traps maximum difficulty	3	4	5	---

If a player fails the ST, they will suffer damage points equal to the difference between the roll and the DC.

If Creatures are in the Room, first do the procedure above, then the combat. Note that Creatures are immune to Traps. Then place a Deactivated Status token in the Room.

If you don't find any trap symbol, nothing happens, and place a Deactivated Status token there.

For example, Marco moves his Hero into a Trap Room. He does a Trap check: He discards the Item deck's first card and checks the back of the following cards: the first is card (A), and nothing happens. The second is card (B), a Trap with DC 5! The current Hour is Green: the Traps maximum difficult value is 3. Marco does the ST vs. 3 and makes 2 ST points: His Hero takes 1 damage point.

Halls

They have a cross shape and are available in the game reserve. Hall tiles can only be placed over 4 adjacent Rooms (2x2). No matter if the 4 Rooms are connected or not. This action creates a Hall of 4 Rooms:

• You cannot place a Hall over any space of another Hall.
• Remove any barrier, breach, or illusory wall tiles placed on the internal walls of the Hall and return them to the game reserve.
• Ignore the previous 4 Rooms' internal wall distribution: they now have four doorways.
• Ignore previous Room colors: The 4 Rooms now have the same color as the Hall tile.
• Nothing changes in Combats as they refer to Rooms, not to Halls, but Ranged attacks inside the Hall have a line of sight to all the other Hall Rooms.
• The original Rooms' powers remain active (Dangerous Room, Trap Room, Clue Room, etc.). Trigger these Powers when a Hero enters the specific Room. A Hall can be, for example, a Trap (NW Room), Clue (NE Room), and Library Room (SW Room) at the same time; if a Hero enters the NW Room, they must do a ST for the Trap.

Example: Michele places a Hall from the game reserve over four adjacent Rooms. This way, the four Rooms (1 green and 3 red) change color and become all yellow. Note that moving from (A) to (B) takes four movements, as normal.

Two Rooms types (Clue and Tomb Rooms) have a dotted-circle symbol and work with the "Room group" size, which is the number of rooms of the same color connected to the Special Room and each other.

Clue Rooms

They show the Clue symbol. If the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token and it's part of a group of (number of players)+4 Rooms, the Room is activable: You can spend 1 Action to draw a Clue card (only if the Adventure uses Clues, see "Clues" section in the Adventures Booklet) OR gain 1 XP. Then, place a Deactivated Status token there.

Clues cards description:

1. A Room with 1 doorway.
2. A Room with 2 doorways.
3. A Room with 3 doorways.
4. A Room with 4 doorways.
5. A group of 3+ red Rooms.
6. A group of 3+ green Rooms.
7. A group of 3+ blue Rooms.
8. A group of 3+ yellow Rooms.
9. A Room adjacent to a Trap Room, if there are at least 2 Trap Rooms in the Dungeon.
10. A Room adjacent to a Clue Room, if there are at least 2 Clue Rooms in the Dungeon.
11. A Room adjacent to a Tomb Room, if there are at least 2 Tomb Rooms in the Dungeon.
12. A Room adjacent to a Dangerous Room, if there are at least 2 Dangerous Rooms in the Dungeon.
13. A Room without Creatures. 14-19. A Room in the green zone, as shown on the card.
14. A Room adjacent to a Library or Weapons Room, if there are at least 2 Rooms of this kind in the Dungeon.

Tomb Rooms

They show the Tomb symbol. If the Room doesn't have a Deactivated Status token and it's part of a group of (number of players)+1 Rooms, the Room is activable: you can spend 1 Action cube in this Room to open it and place a Boss there. To determine the Boss type use the Guard Post activation procedure (see "Map Cards" section). If the current Adventure allows it, killing the Boss provides a Clue card (see "Clues" section in the Adventures Booklet). Then place a Deactivated Status token there.

Hour Board: Growing Difficulty

The 18 game Hours are divided into four colors: Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. These color groups are called Periods. Each Period represents a different difficulty level, which increases as the game progresses.

The current Hour color determines the color of the Boss the Heroes will face, the risk of triggering an Encounter, and the difficulty of traps.

Hour color	green	yellow	orange	red
Encounter Risk value	0	0	+1	+2
Traps maximum difficulty	3	4	5	---

For example, the Lead Player moves the Hour token from the third Hour (Green) to the fourth Hour (Yellow). As a result, the current color becomes Yellow, increasing the game's difficulty.

Special Cases

These rules cover specific aspects of the game and may be ignored during your first session to keep the initial complexity low.

Rooms Modification: Create a Breach

Place 1 Action cube on a Breach tile already under construction in your Room, or on a new Breach tile taken from the game reserve. When 3 cubes are on the tile, flip it: the Breach has been created and works as a doorway (see the "Breaches" section). Multiple Heroes can contribute cubes to the same Breach tile to speed up the work. (The back side of a Breach tile shows it under construction.)

Note: You can buy a Breach tile from the Item display and place it as a free action over a Wall (see "Use an Item card or Item tile" Action). This way, you can create a Breach in a wall without spending any Action cube.

Rooms Particularities

Rooms Capacity and Forbidden Position

• Rooms have a maximum capacity of 5+(number of players) spaces. Heroes, Minions, and Leaders occupy 1 space, while Bosses occupy 2. Once all spaces are occupied, the Room is Full. Your Hero cannot move into a Full Room.
• Moving in a Full Room. Heroes cannot enter a Full Room. If a Creature Pack moves into an occupied Room, the Lead Player adds Creatures up to the Room's capacity, prioritizing Bosses, then Leaders, Elites, and finally Minions. Any remaining Creatures stay in the adjacent Room. If a Full Room also contains Heroes, each Creature inside gains a +1 Hit Point (HP) bonus for each adjacent connected Room that contains Creatures (see "Creature Stats" section).
• Placing in an occupied Room. If you must place an Encounter in an occupied Room, place only the Creatures needed to fill the Room space available, starting from the strongest to the weakest. Ignore the rest.
• Forbidden positioning. The Dungeon map cannot extend behind the Starting Room. Any doorway on the starting line that points South is considered a solid wall. You cannot place Rooms behind the Starting Room.

Hero's Desperate Attack

If you are out of Action or Mana cubes in your stock and wish to attack an opponent, you may recover 2 cubes from your reserve for every X HP lost. The value of X is specific to each character and is equal to their defensive slots value. The recovered cubes can be of any combination of types.

Example: The Barbarian has a defensive slots value of 3. If he runs out of Action cubes, he can lose 3 HP to recover 2 cubes (Action or Mana) or 6 HP to recover 4 cubes.

This Free Action can only be performed once per Hour at the start of your turn.

Rooms & Range Attacks by Weapons: special cases

• Through occupied Rooms. You may shoot through Rooms occupied by Heroes and/or Creatures. However, you suffer a -1 To Hit penalty if 50% or more of the target Room's capacity is occupied.
• Max Room distance. You can shoot at any distance, but you suffer a -1 To Hit penalty if the target is 4 or more Rooms away (see the "Hero Melee" section).

Game Modes

Cooperative Mode

In this mode, all players join their efforts to reach the Adventure aim. If a single Hero completes the Adventure, all players win. Do not use the PvP deck for this mode.

Semi-Cooperative Mode

In this mode, all players join their efforts to reach the Adventure aim, but only those who complete it win. If 2+ Heroes end the Adventure, there is a shared victory. In other cases, a single Hero wins. Do not use the PvP deck for this mode.

Players must reach an agreement on how to deploy their Heroes. Example when players do not agree on deploying: The Initiative order is Cleric, Barbarian, Creatures, Melee, and Mage. The Melee starts, and the Barbarian declares to deploy against 1 Goblin; then the Cleric declares the same. The Elemental and the remaining Goblin are unassigned. Following the initiative order, the Elemental is assigned to the Cleric and the Goblin to the Barbarian. The Barbarian can attack one of the two Goblins; the Cleric can attack the Elemental or other Goblin.

PvP Mode

A player may be the Traitor and act against other players. The Traitor role is secret, so players do not know if there is a Traitor and who it is. It's also possible that no Traitor will be in the game, as the PvP deck contains as many Hero cards as the amount of players +1 traitor card.

• Back to life rule is not used.
• Players cannot reveal their PvP card until the game end. If their hero dies, they still have to keep it hidden.
• The Traitor wins alone. Traitor-winning conditions are explained in each Adventure description.
• No-Traitor players play in a Semi-Cooperative mode.
• A Hero can attack and kill another Hero. At the end of the game, it should be considered that a loyal Hero can only kill the Traitor: if he kills another loyal Hero, he has lost the game. The Traitor Hero can kill anyone instead.

In PvP mode, players interact with each other almost as if in a role-playing game. There are no game elements that allow a player to uncover a traitor, except through their behavior and way of speaking. This mode is designed for those who enjoy interaction and a touch of theatricality. It increases the game difficulty, so consider it when choosing the adventure.

PvP Deploying

In PvP games, players, in Initiative order, declare how to assign the defensive slots of their Hero to opponents. After the defensive slots assignment, each player declares who they attack among the opponents with their slot assigned. After declarations, any unassigned Creature must be assigned starting with the one with the most HPs (if there is a tie, assign first Bosses, Leaders, Elite, and then Minions), 1 Creature per time, in Initiative order to Heroes, which have defensive slots available. If there are still Creatures to assign and all defensive slots are filled, continue the procedure in Initiative order setting 1 Creature to any Hero, 1 per time.

PvP Combat

When a Hero attacks another Hero with Weapons (Melee or Ranged), each Hero rolls. Apply damage points done and reduce the damage points suffered by the dodge points gained. Do the same in a Ranged attack, but apply damage only to the Hero receiving the attack in this case.

Example I: A Thief attacks in Melee a Cleric; both Heroes roll and the results are: 7 damage and 0 dodge (Thief) and 4 dodge and 3 damage (Cleric). The Cleric takes 3 damage (7-4=3) and inflicts 3 on the Thief (3-0=3).

Example II: A Ranger performs a Ranged attack against a Barbarian; both Heroes roll: 6 damage and 2 dodge (Ranger) and 2 damage and 3 dodge (Barbarian). The Barbarian takes 3 damage (6-3=3).

If there are also creatures in a Hero vs. Hero combat, you must consider how the player deploys. Let's give some examples:

Example A. A Cleric and a Barbarian are in a Room with 3 Goblins. The Initiative order is Barbarian, Cleric, Creatures. The Barbarian declares to deploy against the 3 Goblins, and the Cleric declares to deploy against the Barbarian. During the Melee, the Cleric attacks the Barbarian, which is undefended!

Example B. Same as above, but the Barbarian suspects the Cleric, so he deploys 1 defensive slot against the Cleric and 2 defensive slots against the two Goblins. The Cleric declares 1 slot against the Goblin and 1 against the Barbarian. The third Goblin deploys against the Hero with defensive slots available, but none have some, so it deploys on the first in the Initiative order: The Barbarian. In the end, the Cleric will fight against 1 Goblin and the Barbarian, while the Barbarian will fight against 2 Goblins, the Cleric, and will be undefended against the last Goblin.

Free Power Selection Mode

In this mode, you can choose any Power card to purchase from your Hero deck without following the deck order.

Solo Mode

The solo game is playable with standard rules, but the player starts the game with 9 mystic coins instead of 4. Use Easy or Super-Easy game difficulty (see the Adventures Booklet).

Variants

Multiclass Hero

Skilled players can play with a character combining two Heroes' characteristics. It's possible to start a game with a multiclass Hero or add the second Hero type later. Use these special rules:

• Use both Heroes decks, but only 1 starting Power card (choose).
• Use the average HPs value (round down). For example, a Mage-Cleric (3 HPs and 6 HPs = 4.5 HPs) starts with 4 HPs.
• Keep any to hit or dodge penalty of both Hero classes.
• Choose a Combat style and defensive Slots of one of the two Heroes and use their Hero card over the other. If the other class has it, you can acquire the other Combat style, spending 4 XPs.
• Every time you activate a new Hero power, you must spend 1 additional XP point. Note: This extra XP is paid for the card space on the table, not for the card level. For example, if you activated two new Hero cards, you had to pay 2 additional XPs, while to activate one new Hero card and then to upgrade it to level two, 1 additional XP only. If the card cost is zero (red star), you still have to pay 1 XP.
• If you started with a regular Hero and want to add the characteristics of a second Hero, you must have the additional XPs available to pay the new Hero card spaces.

Dice variant

We strongly suggest using cubes rolling as the ToH game has been created with this idea. Anyway, as an alternative, you can use this variant, which uses dice. Proceed in this way:

Phase 1, roll. Roll a d12 for each Mana cube you want to use for this roll. You can roll a die per time or all together: place 1 Mana cube on the corresponding result of the Combat board for each die rolled.

Die	Effect
1	fumble
2	2 dodge points
3-5	1 dodge point
6-8	1 damage point
9-10	3 damage points
11	5 damage points

With a 12 value result, discard the die and place the Mana cube in your reserve. When you want, you can stop dice rolling and go to Phase 2.

Phase 2, reroll. Pay 1 Mana cube from your stock to reroll one die. Place it in your reserve. You can reroll the same die multiple times or reroll different dice. When you finish this phase because you choose this way or are out of Mana cubes, verify the position of the cubes on the board: They represent your result.

For example, you roll 4 dice; you get 1, 2, 11, and 12 dice results. They correspond to 1 Fumble, 2 dodge points, 5 damage points, and 1 die discarded. You reroll the Fumble result, paying 1 Mana cube and making a 3. The final result is: 3 dodge points, 5 damage points, and two Mana cubes spent.

Campaign mode

You can use the same Hero for more than a single Adventure! You can do it with any Adventures if they are not written to be played in sequence.

• Back to life rule is not used.
• If your Hero survives, count your XP (the XP value of your cards and Stats) and coins value (your coins + the value in coins of your items): Divide these numbers by 2 (rounded down): these are your scores for the Next Play. "Survive" means that your Hero exited the Dungeon. Then reset your Hero: discard or downgrade your Power cards and Stats to fit the Next Play XP number. Discard your items or coins to match the Next Play coins number (you can sell your Items in this process). Then discard any Magic Shards and start the next Adventure at full HPs.
• If your Hero dies and a Hero of another player survives, and you want to continue the Campaign, you can re-use your Hero in the next adventure with half the XP of the Hero that survived and 1 coin.

If you succeed in an Adventure, you have to increase the next Adventure difficulty by 1 (see the "Introduction" in the Adventures Booklet).

Walls System

The Walls system is a unique game addon that includes several plastic pieces. You can buy it in the best Game board shops or on the Giochix.it website. Walls System helps players identify the Dungeon map's Rooms and make the game table look great! The Walls system set contains 24 Walls, 18 Open walls, 4 Breaches, 4 Barriers, and 4 Illusory Wall miniatures.

How to use the pieces

• Open Walls. Place Open Wall miniatures only on the perimeter of the Dungeon map. When a new Room is placed, remove the Open Walls that are not on the perimeter anymore and/or add new pieces, if required.
• Walls. Place Wall miniatures on any walls of the Dungeon map, both on the perimeter walls and the internal Dungeon map walls. Remove internal Wall miniatures when a Hall is placed.
• Illusory walls, Breaches, and Barriers replace the correspondent Item tile of the game. Remove the Item tiles and place them in the game box.

Adventure Example

Princess Marianna gave the explorer "fast foot" Grusniuk some compromising letters. The mission was to bring them secretly to her lover. Grusniuk has taken the way of the Dungeon as a shortcut to exit from the other part of the mountain, but he disappeared in the attempt. Marianna knows he was killed there and now must recover her letters.

"Love Letters" is an entry-level adventure. Players must create a Room Group of at least (number of players)+3 Rooms containing a Library: The "lost letters" will be in the Library Room: Search there, take the letters, and leave the Dungeon from the entrance.

Modifications to apply to the Guard Post nearest to the entrance: Instead of a Boss, place there a Leader + Minions.

In this example, we will play the first 2 Hours of a 2-player cooperative game, Normal difficulty level. The players are Marco (the Barbarian, orange; Lead player) and Michele (the Mage, blue).

They do the game Setup: a Map card shows the Guard Posts and Treasure Room position, and players place random Room tiles to mark them (face-down). The game begins and they roll the Initiative order, which results in Black, Orange, Blue, and Red (Melee).

There are no Creatures, so the Black initiative segment expires without actions. At Orange initiative, Marco spends his Free Movement token (the disk) moving the Barbarian by 1 Movement in an unexplored space. He takes a Blue Room from the Display, places it on the table, and immediately refills the Display. Then he spends 1 Action cube to do the Move Action moving his Barbarian by 1 movement in another empty space. He fills the empty space with another Blue Room. This Room has the Trap symbol. Marco does the Trap procedure: Draws a first, a second, and a third card from the Item deck, checking for the trap symbol on the back sides of the card backs. Luckily no trap symbols are found, so nothing happens. Marco places a Deactivated Status token on the Room covering the trap symbol.

Finally, as Marco has spent the initial XPs on his Movement Stat, Marco can do a second Movement with his Move Action, spending 1 Mana cube. He does so and places another Blue Room.

At the Blue Initiative, Michele places 1 Action cube in the Room to move by 1 Room Movement.

The Melee is the last initiative turn: no Melee is in progress, so the first Action Round ends.

A second Action round takes place with the same Initiative order. Marco and Michele pass, and the Actions Phase ends. Marco does the Encounter check: Both players used 1 cube only, so Marco has to check 1 card only. Luckily, he didn't find any Creature symbol, so nothing happens. Finally, the Hour ends: Each player recovers the cubes and Free Movement tokens from the Dungeon map, placing them on their reserve, and then moves 3 colored elements from their reserve to their stock. Marco recovers 2 Action cubes and the Free Movement token, while Michele recovers 3 Action cubes.

Hour 2

A new Hour starts: Marco moves the marker on the Hour track and rolls a new Initiative. The order is Blue, Red (Melee), Black, and Orange. Michele spends an Action cube to Move: He moves to the adjacent Blue Room.

Marco spends the Free Movement token to move to the adjacent unexplored space to the east: He places a Red Room. As the Barbarian is adjacent to the Guard Post, it activates: Marco flips the tile, and it's red. Typically Guard Posts contain a Boss, but in this Adventure, the first Guard Post has 2 Minions (Skeletons) plus a Leader (the Red Leader is a Mummy). Marco adds to the tile two black Creatures Movement cubes. Finally, Marco places 1 Action cube in the Room and Charges the Creatures!

A new Action Round starts with the same Initiative order. At Blue Initiative, Michele uses the Free Movement disks, moves closer, and then does the "Use a Power" action: He spends 1 Action cube, placing it on the Room, and activates Magic Missiles Power with 6 Mana cubes. Magic Missiles Power (level 1) ("Put 1 Action in the Room and pay X Mana: As a Ranged attack, hit a visible opponent within a distance of 2 dealing 1 damage for every Mana spent. Alternatively, pay 1 Mana to make a Ranged attack rolling 3 cubes from the game reserve (Magic bolt). Do not apply rolling Mage penalties.") deals 1 damage point for every Mana cube spent. So he does six damage points to a Skeleton, killing it.

The Orange Initiative is not played, as the Barbarian is in Melee. The same happens for the Black Initiative, as the Creatures are in Melee.

At Red Initiative, the Melee takes place. First, Mummy power activates, and the Barbarian must place an Action cube in his reserve. Then the combat occurs: Marco attacks, placing an Action cube in the Room (Blade cost) and rolls. The cubes make 5+3+1=9 damage points and 1 dodge point. The Mummy has 12 HPs. Marco activates his Brutal Attack Power ("Pay X Mana: Your hand-to-hand attack gains +1 damage for every Mana spent.") (Free action) spending 3 Mana cubes gaining 3 damage points and killing the Mummy. The Mummy deals 4 damage points, so Marco takes 4-1 dodge = 3 damage points. The Skeleton doesn't attack as the Barbarian charged.

At blue Initiative, Michele chooses to make a Ranged attack. He places a blue cube in the Room and chooses the Skeleton as a target. The Mage knows the Melee Weapon style only. All rolled cubes will go in the reserve if he uses a Ranged attack. Considering this point, Michele wants to use as few cubes as possible, and he chooses to roll 1 cube per time. The first cube goes off of the Combat board, so Michele places it in his reserve. The other two luckily produce a great hit! He does 8 damage - 2 (Mage penalty) = 6 damage points killing the Skeleton. Michele places the cubes rolled in his reserve.

All Creatures have been defeated, so the Combat ends: Marco places a token on the Skeleton space of Side quests. Then both players gain 2 Experience Points (XPs): 1 XP for Skeletons and 1 XP for the Mummy.

Then Marco does a Treasure check for the Mummy: He discards the first Item card and checks the back of 3 other cards: there are 2 Mystic coins symbols and no XP symbol: Michele and Marco take 4 Mystic coins each from the game reserve (2+2=4).

Then Marco flips these 3 cards (front side: a potion with "Make additional 4 damage", a Sword costing 16 with "If you are engaged in Melee: +1 to hit and +2 damage to one of your attacks.", and a Healing potion "Heal up to 2 of your HP"). The cards with 6+ coins cost must be discarded (Leader Treasure), so Marco places the Sword in the Item discard pile. Following the Initiative order, Michele takes the yellow potion, while Marco takes the Healing potion.

As the last action, Marco does a Search in the Room: He places an Action cube in the Room, draws 3 cards, and finds 1 coin symbol. He gains 3 coins from the game reserve.

Then both players pass, and the Actions Phase ends. Marco does the Encounter check: He discards the deck's first card and draws 3 cards as Marco used 3 cubes. The back of the second card shows a Creature symbol with the coordinates N2. Marco used most cubes, so Position Zero is on the Barbarian. He chooses to place a Library room from the Room Display. Marco places the Room tile at N2 and adds there 2 Goblins miniatures. The orientation of the tile must allow Creatures to reach Heroes with the shortest path, and so Marco places the tile with the opening towards the Barbarian.

Then Marco places 1 Goblin token in the Encounter line: The next Goblin Encounter will also include a Goblin Elite! Finally, the Hour ends: Each player recovers the elements from the Dungeon map, puts them on their reserve, and takes 3 elements to their stock.

Then a new Hour starts ...