The Pillars of the Earth: Expansion Set Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Notes
• Setup
  • Additional preparation before each round with 5 and 6 players
• The Game Board
  • 9a. Tax Collector
  • 9b. Crusades
  • 9c. France
  • 9d. Coast
  • 9e. Shiring
• The Master Builder League (only with 5 and 6 players)
• Further Rules
  • Special rule for 6 players in the sixth round
  • Additional explanations for some cards
    • The craftsmen
    • The privilege cards
    • The event cards
• Two to Four Players Without the New Board

Components

• 1 game board
• 7 master builders (3 each in orange and white, 1 in black)
• 14 small workers (7 each in orange and white)
• 2 large workers (1 each in orange and white)
• 4 wooden discs (2 each in orange and white)
• 10 building materials: stone 3, wood 3, sand 3, metal 1
• 1 building material card
• 10 privilege cards
• 2 × 3 starting craftsmen
• 6 craftsmen
• 4 event cards
• 1 card "Inspiration in Saint-Denis"
• 2 overview cards: "Sequence of a round" and "Requirements for craftsmen"

Notes

The goal of the game and the sequence of play are the same as in the base game. All changes are described below.

With five or six players the new board is always added. Even with fewer players, the new board can be used.

Setup

The game is set up as in the base game. The following changes apply:

• The new board is placed on the left side of the base game board.
• Next to France, the card "Inspiration in Saint-Denis" is placed face up.
• The privilege cards (old and new) are sorted into two stacks:
  1. 14 permanent privilege cards (romance figures; marked "permanent"): two of them are placed each round on the privilege card spaces in Kingsbridge. As before, the two final cards of the base game are placed in the sixth round after Kingsbridge.
  2. 9 privilege cards that take effect once or immediately (marked "once" and "immediate"): each round one of these cards is placed on the new board after Shiring. The new final card "Procession" comes in the sixth round after Shiring.
• The new craftsmen and new event cards are shuffled together with those of the base game.
  • Important: In a game with two to four players, one of the five craftsmen is drawn at random and placed face down out of the game each round.
• The entire metal supply is placed on the building material space "King's Ore Mines" (Erzminen des Königs).
• The black master builder is placed next to the game board.

Additional preparation before each round with 5 and 6 players

• At the start of each round, a third craftsman is added to the craftsmen display at the bottom edge of the board. The game is thus played with all 5 craftsmen: two go onto the craftsman spaces after Shiring and three into the display.
• The new building material card "Gravel Pit" (1 worker for 1 sand) is shuffled together with the building material cards of the base game at the start of each round.
• With five players, 8 building material cards are placed in the display. As before, two cards per round do not come into play.
• With six players, all 10 building material cards are always laid out.

The Game Board

The new board offers four master builder spaces, on which master builders can be placed. In addition, there are four "Crusades" spaces, on which players can place workers during Phase I to gain victory points. The master builder spaces and crusades are numbered 9a to 9e. When the master builder actions are resolved, they come after the royal court [9.] and before the craftsmen in Shiring [10.].

9a. Tax Collector

• A player who has placed a master builder at the tax collector receives tax exemption himself. In addition, the player receives gold income equal to the tax roll (the dice roll in 9).

9b. Crusades

• In Phase I of each round (when choosing building materials and craftsmen), players have the option during each turn, instead of choosing a craftsman or placing a worker on a building material space or on the wool manufactory, to place some workers for the crusades. For this they receive 2 or 1 victory points, respectively.
• Whoever places six or seven workers receives 2 victory points.
• Whoever places three or four workers receives 1 victory point.
• Each of these four options can be used only once per round.
• After the victory points are received, the players take their placed workers back for the next round.

Note: If a player does not have the matching number of workers available, he may "overpay" with the large worker. However, no change is given back ("Gewechselt" is not done).

9c. France

• A player who has placed a master builder in France receives the card "Inspiration in Saint-Denis".
• When taking the action "Cathedral" [13.], he may use it as if it were any already face-up craftsman. This may be his own craftsman (including one he has already used this round) or a craftsman of a fellow player.
• He may use the craftsman only with a capacity reduced by 1. A craftsman without capacity, or with capacity 1, therefore cannot be used.
• At the end of the round, the card is returned to France.

9d. Coast

• A player who has placed a master builder on the coast may sell any number of building materials there. The prices obtained there are one gold per building material higher than on the building material market in Kingsbridge.
• However, no building materials can be bought on the coast.
• To sell stones, a stonemason is also needed on the coast (see "Requirements for craftsmen").

9e. Shiring

• A player who has placed a master builder in Shiring receives the privilege card lying there.

The Master Builder League (only with 5 and 6 players)

With five and six players, each player puts only 2 master builders into the bag. The third master builder of each player is placed next to the master builder league at the top edge of the new board.

• The first player who places a master builder drawn from the bag on a master builder space must immediately place his third master builder on the space "6" of the master builder league in a six-player game, or on the space "5" in a five-player game.
• If the player passes, the third master builder is not yet placed on the master builder league.
• The other players proceed by the same principle: whoever places his first master builder on a master builder space places his third master builder on the next free space of the master builder league. So in a six-player game, after the 6 comes the 5, then the fourth space, and so on.
• After the bag is empty, the master builders for which a player has passed are placed as usual from the cost track.
• Then the master builders from the master builder league are placed. Each player has one figure there. The player whose master builder stands on the first (leftmost) space of the league begins, and the other players follow in order.
  • This means that a player who placed a master builder first now has the disadvantage of also placing last.

Note: If the event card from the base game is revealed in which each player may place only 2 master builders in the next round, then the second master builder drawn by a player is placed next to the board without effect.

Further Rules

Special rule for 6 players in the sixth round

In the last round, there are some master builder spaces where it does not make sense to place a master builder (for example "Start Player" or "Castle"). Therefore, in a six-player game (and only here), the following exception applies:

• In the last (sixth) round, a player may forgo the action of one or more of his placed master builders and receives 1 victory point for each one.
• So in the last round it can make sense, for example, to place a master builder in the castle anyway.

Additional explanations for some cards

Most of the new craftsmen, privilege cards and event cards are self-explanatory. Some are explained here.

The craftsmen

• The Brickmaker (Ziegelbrenner) converts 1 sand into 1 stone each time it is used. Capacity 2.
• The Helper (Gehilfe) increases the capacity of one of the player's own craftsmen by 1. This can be a different craftsman each round. A craftsman who processes metal cannot be helped by the Helper.

The privilege cards

• William Hamleigh: The player who receives this privilege card gets the black master builder. This figure is thrown into the bag with the others at the start of each new round.
  • If it is drawn from the bag, the player places it, free of cost, as a placeholder on an empty master builder space. The cost marker is not moved in this case.
  • The next master builder that this player draws must be placed on this reserved master builder space. To do so, he pays the current cost according to the cost track, and in exchange takes the black master builder back in front of him.
  • If the player passes, he must take the black master builder off the board and release the space again. The same applies if he wants to place his drawn master builder on another space.
  • As a rule, the black master builder must always be replaced by the next master builder that its owner may place on a master builder space. Depending on the situation, this can be a drawn master builder, one that was already placed for a pass, or a master builder on the master builder league.
  • The black master builder may also be thrown back into the bag by the start player.
  • Note: Depending on when the black master builder is drawn from the bag, it is differently strong. In games with two to four players it can happen that it has no effect in a round.
• Queen Mathilde Clears Kingsbridge of Market Rights: The player may buy or sell as many building materials as he likes from the building material spaces, at the prices that apply on the building material market. Metal cannot be bought with this card.

The event cards

• Shiring recruits master builders for the construction of its own cathedral! The player who has placed a master builder as bishop may, of course, waive the protection and take one building material from the market. Afterwards, however, he must remove one of his other master builders from the plan.

Two to Four Players Without the New Board

With two to four players, the game can also be played without the new board. Then only the new privilege cards, event cards and craftsmen are played, according to the rules of the base game. At the start of the game, surplus cards are drawn at random and placed face down out of the game.