The Black Rose Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Duration and Number of Players
• Round Summary
• Special Accusation Rules for a 3-Player Game
• Setup
  • Distributing Roles
  • Setting Up the Board
  • Rector Cards
  • Suspects
• Day (Lumines)
  • Investigate
  • Playing Cards
• Lying Down (Sextines)
  • Discussion
  • Accusation
• Twilight (Vespérines)
• Night (Estellines)
• Rising (Albines)
• Types of Cards
  • Clue Cards (cards whose back shows a rose)
  • Rector Cards (cards whose back shows a snowflake)
  • Glancing at Cards
  • Sharing Information About Cards
• Options
  • Option: Points Game
  • Option: Bonus Cards
  • Option: Profile Cards

Object of the Game

This is a game with 3 sides, and only one side can win. One player takes the role of the Rector, and the others are Investigators. Among the Investigators, one player is secretly designated as the Possessed Investigator.

• The Investigators win if, during the Lying Down phase (Sextines), they reveal the identities of the Rector's two Accomplices.
• The Possessed Investigator wins if both Accomplices are dead.
• The Rector wins if they play a Goal card whose conditions are all met.

Duration and Number of Players

The game is for 3 to 5 players.

A game lasts 2 to 5 Rounds. Each Round consists of 5 phases: Day, Lying Down, Twilight, Night and Rising.

With a fast pace, a game can take only 10 to 20 minutes. If the players take their time and deliberate at length, a game can last up to 30 minutes.

Round Summary

Day (Investigators): Each in turn, starting with the First Player, the Investigators:

1. May play one or more Action cards from their hand.
2. Must Investigate a Suspect, living or dead.
3. May play one or more Action cards from their hand.

Lying Down (Investigators and Rector):

1. The Investigators discuss the possible Accomplices.
2. If the Investigators reach a consensus, they make their Accusation, which the Rector confirms or denies.

Twilight (Rector):

1. Plays or discards a Rector card.
2. May discard one additional Rector card.
3. Draws until reaching a full hand (3 cards).

Night (Everyone):

1. The Rector asks all Investigators to close their eyes.
2. The Possessed Investigator may reveal themselves to the Rector and choose to kill a Suspect. They then close their eyes again.
3. The Rector may kill a Suspect.
4. The Rector turns the killed Suspects face down to their tombstone side, and shuffles their Clue cards into the Graveyard pile.

Rising (Everyone):

1. The Rector asks all Investigators to open their eyes again.
2. A new Day begins. The First Player token passes to the next Investigator clockwise.
3. The new Round begins with the new First Player.

Special Accusation Rules for a 3-Player Game

In a 3-player game, Accusations must be unanimous: both Investigators must agree on the two Suspects to Accuse. However, an Investigator may at any time reveal their Role card to force the other Investigator to do the same. If one of the players is the Possessed Investigator, that player can no longer make Accusations. Only the "real" Investigator can, without needing the agreement of the other player.

However, if both players turn out to be Investigators, they immediately lose the game for failing to cooperate to stop the Rector! (See the Accusation rules, page 11.)

Setup

Distributing Roles

Decide who plays the Rector (for example, the last person to have visited a place of worship). The Rector shuffles and deals the Role cards, face down, to the other players. Each player secretly looks at their Role.

As everyone knows the identity of the Rector, there is no Role card for the Rector.

One of the Role cards dealt to the players designates the Possessed Investigator. All the others represent "real" Investigators.

The Possessed Investigator must pretend to be an ordinary Investigator. However, their victory conditions are different. All the rules concerning Investigators apply to the Possessed Investigator except for victory conditions. Thus, the Possessed Investigator loses even if the "real" Investigators win!

• For a 5-player game, deal out all the Role cards so that there is 1 Rector, 1 Possessed Investigator and 3 Investigators.
• For a 4-player game, remove one of the "Investigator" cards so that there is 1 Rector, 1 Possessed Investigator and 2 Investigators.
• For a 3-player game, remove one of the "Investigator" cards, then deal out two Role cards while keeping the third hidden, so that there is 1 Rector, 0 or 1 Possessed Investigator and 1 or 2 Investigator(s). If nobody is the Possessed Investigator, the game proceeds normally, with only 2 sides instead of 3.

Setting Up the Board

1. Suspect card
2. Clue pile
3. Graveyard
4. Discarded Clues
5. Time token
6. First Player token
7. Player token

The board's labelled components are: the Suspect card (1), the Clue pile (2), the Graveyard (3), the Discarded Clues (4), the Time token (5), the First Player token (6) and the Player token (7). The Time token indicates which day it is. The Graveyard area holds one pile for the Graveyard Clues and one for the Clues that have been discarded. When a Suspect dies, their Suspect card is turned over.

Place the Graveyard Board in the centre of the table. The Graveyard Clues and the Discarded Clues are placed on the Graveyard Board. At the start of the game, the Graveyard and Discard piles are empty.

Rector Cards

Shuffle the Rector cards, which form the Rector's draw pile. The Rector then draws a hand of 3 cards from the Rector Pile. The Rector cards have a back showing a snowflake; the snowflake is also found on the front, at the top left.

(The example Rector card shown on the rulebook page is titled "Sermon". Its text reads: "Until the next Lying Down, the Investigators may not play the cards "Parler à" (Speak to), "Déduction" (Deduction) and "Réseau" (Network).")

Suspects

Arrange the seven Suspects in an arc around the Graveyard Board.

The game consists of the Investigators investigating the Suspects in order to acquire Clue cards (cards whose back shows a rose).

Secretly, the Rector removes two Proof cards from the Clue pile. The removed cards represent the Rector's Accomplices. The Accomplices will only be revealed at the very end of the game, but the Rector is allowed to refresh their memory at any time during the game.

Once the cards are shuffled, the Rector divides the Clue pile into 7 piles, which they place directly in front of the 7 Suspects. In a 4-player game, before dividing the Clues, remove from the Clue pile all cards bearing the number "5". In a 3-player game, remove all Clue cards bearing the numbers "4" and "5".

The First Player token is assigned to the Investigator on the Rector's left. The game begins with the First Player and continues clockwise.

Day (Lumines)

During the Day, the Investigators must gather Clues, each in turn. Two actions are then possible: Investigate and Play cards.

Investigate

The Investigators may Investigate a Suspect (living or dead) of their choice. To Investigate, an Investigator places their pawn on a Suspect card and adds to their hand the first card of the associated Clue pile. Two Investigators may not Investigate the same Suspect during the same Round. If the Suspect is dead, the Investigator draws the first card of the Graveyard pile.

Playing Cards

The cards in an Investigator's hand may be kept for later, played immediately, or played both before and after Investigating. An Investigator may play as many cards as they wish, but may only play them during their own turn.

When all the Investigators have played, the Lying Down phase begins.

Lying Down (Sextines)

First Round only: The Investigators may not make an Accusation. Skip the Lying Down phase.

Discussion

Using the information they have gathered, the Investigators may now discuss the Suspects and try to identify the Rector's two Accomplices. The Investigators may no longer play cards.

Accusation

The Investigators collectively designate two Suspects (dead or alive) whom they wish to denounce as the Rector's Accomplices. In a 5-player game, at least 3 Investigators must agree on the two Suspects to designate. With 4 players, the minimum is 2. With 3 players, both Investigators must agree (see the box on the special Accusation rules for a 3-player game).

If the Investigators cannot agree, no Accusation takes place and the Twilight phase begins.

If the players reach a consensus, the Rector answers "Correct" (Exact) or "Incorrect" (Inexact), as described below. The Rector must not provide any other information.

• Correct: Both Accomplices have been denounced.
• Incorrect: At least one of the accused is Innocent.

If the Investigators guessed right, the game ends: they have won! If they were wrong, the game continues and the Twilight phase begins.

Twilight (Vespérines)

The Rector plays a single card from their hand and follows its effects. They may then discard a card from their hand. If the Rector cannot or does not want to play a card, they may choose to discard two cards instead of one.

Cards the Rector discards (now or at another time) are placed face down on the Rector's Discard pile. The Rector then draws cards from the Rector Pile until they are back to a hand of 3 cards.

Darkness then falls and the Night phase begins.

Night (Estellines)

First Round only: No Suspect may be killed. Skip the Night phase.

Each night, between zero and two Suspects may be killed.

The Rector checks that the Investigators are asleep (they must close their eyes and take their elbows off the table). The Rector then asks whether the Possessed Investigator wishes to make themselves known by opening their eyes. If they reveal themselves, the Possessed Investigator may then kill a Suspect:

The Rector runs a finger over the living Suspects, stopping at each one until the Possessed Investigator nods to indicate that they eliminate that Suspect. The Rector makes sure they have understood the Possessed Investigator's choice, then asks them to fall asleep again.

The Rector may then, if they wish, also kill a Suspect. The cards of eliminated Suspects are turned over to show a tombstone. The Clue cards associated with the dead Suspects are shuffled and placed face down in the Graveyard pile. The Rector shuffles the Graveyard pile each time the Clue cards of a killed Suspect are added to it.

So as not to give the Investigators a sound clue, it is advised that the Rector turn over the Suspect cards and move the Clues of all the Suspects killed that night at the same time, after the Possessed Investigator has closed their eyes again. It is also advised that the Rector pretend to talk with a Possessed Investigator if there is none, in order to muddy the waters.

Rising (Albines)

The Rector wakes the Investigators (they may open their eyes again).

The Investigators take back their pawns, and the First Player token passes to the next Investigator clockwise. A new Round begins with the new First Player.

Types of Cards

Clue Cards (cards whose back shows a rose)

Clue cards are gathered during the Day by Investigating Suspects. There are 3 types of Clue cards:

Action: Action cards make up the majority of the cards in the Clue pile. These cards grant single-use abilities. They may be played as soon as they are drawn, or kept for later. Once played and resolved, they are placed face up in the Discard pile.

Example card (from the rulebook): "Conflit" (Conflict) — Choose an Investigator or a living Suspect. Shuffle their Clue cards and take one at random.

Proof: Proof cards go into the player's hand like any other Clue card, but they cannot be played. These cards indicate that a Suspect is Innocent, and they are the Investigators' main source of information.

Trap: Traps are marked by red text and a red dot at the top left. If a player comes across a Trap card while Investigating or while taking a card from a Suspect, they must reveal it and resolve its effects immediately. The card is then placed face up in the Discard pile.

Example card (from the rulebook): "Serment" (Oath) — The Rector may Glance at the Clue pile of any living Suspect and reorder it as they wish.

Rector Cards (cards whose back shows a snowflake)

There are two types of Rector cards: Events and Goals. At Twilight, the Rector may play one of these cards from their hand. Certain Traps may also allow them to play more of them.

Events: Event cards grant single-use abilities. Once played and resolved, they are placed face down in the Rector's Discard pile.

Example card (from the rulebook): "Profanation" (Desecration) — At Rising, Glance at all the Clue cards in the Graveyard pile. You may then shuffle them.

Goals: Goals are marked by blue text and two snowflakes at the top left. To win the game, the Rector must play one of the two Goal cards in the Rector's pile. Goal cards may only be played if the conditions on the card are met. It is not possible to play a card and then meet its conditions afterwards.

Example card (from the rulebook): "Mac Snòr" — May only be played if at least 3 Innocent Suspects are dead. At Rising, if no one else has won, you win.

Glancing at Cards

Certain situations allow players to Glance at cards. These cards may not be kept and used, but they may be read in detail. Once the glance is over, the cards must be put back in the same order and may not be revealed to the other players. Traps are only activated when they are drawn, and not when they are glanced at.

Sharing Information About Cards

You may not show the cards in your hand to the other players, but you may talk about them... without being obliged to tell them the truth! You may exchange information even when it is not your turn. Players may not communicate information without the knowledge of the others.

When players talk about cards in their hand or cards they have Glanced at, they may use generic terms, but may not name the card directly. They may give hints such as "Don't draw that card, it's a Trap.", "That's no good.", "That's a card that will benefit the Rector.", "Go there.", "There's a Proof there.", "That card will be useful later.", etc.

You may declare that you are certain of a Suspect's innocence, and may even lie about it. However, you may not indicate where the card that led you to that conclusion came from (that is, whether it is in your hand or in a specific pile).

Options

Option: Points Game

If you play several games in a row, you may declare an overall winner rather than a winner for each game. To do so, change the Rector between each game and award the winning Player (or team) a number of points equal to the Round number on which they won. Thus, the later the victory, the more points are gained.

Option: Bonus Cards

This game includes bonus cards. These bonus cards are indicated by a symbol in a corner instead of a number. Using these cards varies the games.

If you play with these bonus cards, make sure to remove the Proof cards before creating the new Clue pile, then shuffle the Proof cards back into the pile. There must always be 7 Proof cards before the Rector removes 2 of them to designate their Accomplices.

If you want to make the game more random, you may shuffle bonus cards into the Clue pile, then remove the same number of cards before including the Proof cards and dealing them out.

If you want to change the balance of the game, add specific bonus cards. Cards marked with an "I" favour the Investigators, "P" cards favour the Possessed Investigator, and "R" cards favour the Rector. If you find that one side is too favoured, remove one or more of these cards and replace them with other bonus cards.

Option: Profile Cards

This optional rule lets you play the characters of the Shadows of Esteren universe. The aim is to improve the atmosphere of a game of The Black Rose. To do so, each Profile gives you details about the personality of your Investigator.

At the start of a game, the Players deal out (at random or not) the Profile cards, which give them indications on how to behave during the game. These Profile cards do not change the rules of the game or how it unfolds; their sole purpose is to optimise the atmosphere and bring a more theatrical dimension to play.