The Witcher: Old World – Monster Trail Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Modes
• Manticore School Witcher
• Troll Monster
• Mutagen Cards
• Bomb Cards
  • Dimeritium Bomb
• Advanced Action Cards
  • Gray Cards
  • Passive Abilities
  • Trashing a Card as a Cost
  • Rolling Dice
  • Traveling Ability
• Witcher Unique Action Cards
• Monster Weakness and Special Attacks
  • Game Setup
  • Gameplay
    • Weakness Tokens
    • Using Weakness Tokens during the Fight
    • Clean-Up after the Fight
    • Special Monster Attacks
    • Gaining a Monster Trophy
• Monster Trail and Other Expansions

Components

• 1 Player Board
• 1 Witcher Miniature with a color base
• 1 Wooden Shield Marker
• 5 Wooden cubes
• 1 Scoring Token and 1 plastic Scoring Token
• 10 Starting Action Cards
• 4 Witcher Trophy Cards
• 11 Unique Action Cards (1 per each Witcher in the base game, the Manticore Witcher, and each Mage from the Mages Expansion)
• 28 Bomb Cards
• 15 Mutagen Cards
• 40 Advanced Action Cards
• 4 Special Monster Fight Cards
• 29 Large Monster Cards
• 18 Weakness Tokens

Troll Monster Components: 1 Troll Miniature, 1 Troll Monster card, 1 Troll Token.

Game Modes

To play this game you need The Witcher: Old World base game.

This Monster Trail Expansion consists of a few game modes that can be used separately or together. We suggest adding the game modes one by one.

Setup and gameplay remain the same except for noted changes detailed for each mode below.

Manticore School Witcher

When choosing to use this, the Manticore School Witcher is used as any other Witcher in the base game. That Witcher has their own School Location and Witcher components.

Potion Tolerance Specialty: Once per Fight: during your Fight Turn, you may discard 1 unused Potion (if level 1, discard 2 Potions) to perform your Potion Tolerance Specialty and deal Damage (and, if level 3 or higher, draw 2 cards).

Troll Monster

When choosing to use this, add the Troll Monster to the Monster pool.

The Troll Monster has a card and a token (if using the Deluxe version, it has a miniature).

Mutagen Cards

When choosing to use this, shuffle all Mutagen cards together (to form the Mutagen deck) and place them face-down near the Potion deck.

During the game, each time you reach a next Level, instead of drawing 1 or 2 cards (as shown on your Player Board), you get a new Mutagen card.

When you get a new Mutagen card, draw 3 cards from the top of the Mutagen deck, choose 1 of them and shuffle 2 remaining cards back with the deck. Put the chosen Mutagen in your play area.

When you get 2 Mutagen cards (by reaching the 4th and 5th Level), go through the steps described above two times.

Each Mutagen card has an Ability that can be used during the Fight. Each Mutagen that the Player owns, can be used once per Fight.

Bomb Cards

I have already written about potions that would send an ordinary mortal to the grave, as for the witchers - on the contrary - they allow them to endure longer in battle. However, it must be honestly admitted that all these potions are only a part of the alchemical specifics that witchers can prepare.

Bombs are of particular interest to me, although I rarely have met those who use them. They said that - yes - the right bomb on hand would not hurt, but its preparation is expensive, and requires a lot of time. Therefore, only those who knew that they had a really demanding fight ahead of them made sure they had it at hand. A pity, because it is a view to admire!

The Chronicles of Benno Kobart, a fragment of chapter XVII, Swords and Stones, or How We Made Everything a Deadly Weapon.

When choosing to use this, shuffle all Bomb cards together (to form the Bomb deck) and place them face-down near the Potion deck.

During the game, each time you draw a Potion card (from any effect for any reason) you must immediately make a choice; either:

• Draw 1 Potion from the top of the Potion deck as normal, or
• Discard 1 Potion or 1 Gold to draw the top card from the Bomb deck instead.

You can carry up to 4 Potion and Bomb cards each (i.e., 8 cards in total).

During a Fight, you may use a combined number of Potion and/or Bomb cards equal to, or lower than your Alchemy Level.

Bombs do not count as Potions (e.g., if an effect says, "discard Potions", ignore Bombs you have).

Dimeritium Bomb

This Bomb has a special ability that works only if you use the "Monster Weakness and Special Attacks" Game Mode. If you are not using that mode, put Dimeritium Bomb cards back into the game box.

• Against a Monster: after the Monster uses its Special Passive Ability - use it to neglect the effect.
• Against a Witcher: use before creating the Life Pool. Temporarily, during this Fight only, your opponent's Specialty level is lowered to 1.

Advanced Action Cards

[...] I will not say that I am a combat or fencing master, because I had the sword in my hand only once... when I was asked to take it to the armorer. But I saw 'things' in my life. I was, among other things, a witness of a tavern murder, in which the witcher from the Viper school took a powerful punch on the ribs with his chair leg, and a moment later, he was in a battle trance and knocked down four biggies before the others even realized who had hit them! I do not hesitate to say, that among the top ten warriors on the continent, at least seven are adepts from one of the witcher schools. What a well-trained witcher can do in combat is indescribable. I wish you, reader, to see for yourself one day - but not feel on your own skin at the same time!

The Chronicles of Benno Kobart, excerpt from Chapter XVI, What is a Witcher?

There are 10 different types of Advanced Action cards in the game, 4 copies of each.

When choosing to use this, you may immediately add all 40 Advanced Action cards at once, or do it gradually. If you choose to add them gradually, choose what types of cards to add, then add all 4 cards of each of the chosen types.

All chosen cards are shuffled with the main Action deck, before the Action card pool is prepared on the main board.

Before you shuffle the cards together, you may want to explain each new Action card to all players at the table.

All Advanced Action cards have text explanations on the bottom of the card.

Gray Cards

Some of the Advanced Action cards have a gray color. It is a new card color, so it doesn't match the color of any Combo Extensions.

Each gray card has a Wild Terrain symbol.

Passive Abilities

Some of the Advanced Action cards (Retaliation and Evasion) have a passive ability that is triggered during the Fight. The passive ability is triggered if the card is discarded as a result of Damage taken - either from the deck or Player's hand.

Trashing a Card as a Cost

Some cards require you to trash a card (from your hand) as part of the cost to purchase it. When purchasing such a card, the Player chooses 1 card from their hand and trashes it. When gaining this card, ignore +1 / -1 symbols on the Main Board. Trashing a card is the only cost.

You can not choose a card with a trash cost from the Vengerberg Location Action, or any effect telling you to take a 0, 1, or 2-cost card.

However, when told to gain any card from the pool, you can choose a card with a trash cost (and you do not have to trash a card in this case to take it).

Rolling Dice

Cards may tell you to roll dice; depending on the result, the effect changes.

Traveling Ability

The Endurance Action card has an ability that is usable during Phase I (of the Player's Turn). It has no additional abilities during a Fight.

Travel: when using this card in Phase I, you may perform two Movements (ignoring the first Location Action).

Witcher Unique Action Cards

[...] they don't like each other, what can I say. But it is no wonder that the leather sellers from one marketplace do not embrace each other in the evenings, when they spend all day stealing clients from one another.

Interesting things, however, result from witcher animosity. You can get the impression that each school wants to stand out, and shine from the rest. From an early age, they prepare students in their own ways, believing that their ideas will bring the best results. Who's right? I am not the one to judge.

The Chronicles of Benno Kobart, excerpt from Chapter XVI, What is a Witcher?

When choosing to use this, add the Unique card to each Witcher staring deck.

Each card has the Witcher's art depicted on it, so you can quickly determine which deck to add it to.

Each Player now begins the game with 11 cards in their starting deck.

When also using Mages: Each Mage starting deck also gets 1 Unique Action card. Each card has the Mage's art depicted on it, so you can quickly determine which deck to add it to.

Monster Weakness and Special Attacks

Game Setup

When choosing to use this, use the large Monster cards (instead of the regular-sized ones), both during game setup and when new Monsters are spawned.

The regular-sized Monster cards are kept in a pile near the Game Board; they are still used as Trophies after a player kills a Monster.

Instead of keeping the three Monster cards on the Game Board, Players should keep them near it.

The large Monster cards have two sides and Players should keep the side with Special Attacks face-up. Players may look at both of the sides of the large Monster cards at any time.

There are three sets of Monster Weakness Tokens, each set contains 6 tokens (for a total of 18 tokens). Shuffle and keep them face-down and separate from the Location Tokens.

After the three starting Monsters are placed on the Game Board, Players draw 1 Location Token of a corresponding Terrain Type for each Monster, and place a random face-down Weakness Token on that Location. If there are 1 (or more) Witchers at that Location, discard this token and draw another Location Token instead. These steps are repeated - if needed - until a Weakness Token is placed on a Location containing no Witchers.

After 3 different Weakness Tokens are placed face-down on the map, all Location Tokens revealed during this step are shuffled back together.

There are 4 Special Attack cards in this Expansion.

Players shuffle the regular 20 Monster Fight cards and draw 4 of them - those cards are placed face-down back in the game box and are not used.

Another 4 regular Monster Fight cards are placed face-down near the large Monster cards. Those will appear in the game later.

The remaining 12 Monster Fight cards are shuffled together with the 4 Special Attack cards to create a 16-card Monster Attack Deck. When fighting with a Monster, Players draw an appropriate number of cards from that deck. After the Monster Fight, all the 16 cards are shuffled back together.

When a Level 3 Monster appears in the game for the first time, the 4 Monster Fight cards, that were placed aside before, are added to the deck. At this point it should include 20 cards and remains that way for the remainder of the game.

Gameplay

Weakness Tokens

Entering a Location with a Weakness Token: When the Player enters a Location with a Weakness Token, they reveal it immediately and place it next to the Player Board.

Then, the Player reads the paragraph on the large Monster card that occupies the same Terrain Type as the token revealed - the number on the token shows which paragraph to read.

The first part of the text (1) is a thematic description, and the second part (2) describes the special ability that Player gets when fighting against a particular Monster.

The Player keeps the revealed Weakness Token face-up on their Player Board. A Player may have multiple Weakness Tokens at any given time - either of the same or different types.

After reading the paragraph, a new Weakness Token, with the same Terrain Type, is placed on the Game Board. In order to do so, a Location Token (with the same Terrain Type) is drawn, and the Weakness Token is placed there face-down.

If there is a Witcher in that Location, a new Location Token is drawn. These steps are repeated - if needed - until a Weakness Token is placed on a Location containing no Witchers. Then, all Location Tokens revealed during this step are shuffled back together. In other words - there should always be 3 different Weakness Tokens face-down on the Game Board.

If there is no Location token with the same Terrain Type in the pool, the Player to the right of the Active Player chooses any Location of that Terrain Type, and the Weakness Token is placed there.

The only exception to the above rule is a situation, when all 6 Weakness Tokens have been collected already. In this situation, a new Weakness Token is not placed on the Game Board.

Using Weakness Tokens during the Fight

When a Player begins the Fight with a Monster, before it begins, they may use all of their Weakness Tokens for that particular Monster. The Player does not discard used Weakness Tokens, unless the text on Monster's card says to do it.

The Player may decide to use only some of their Weakness Tokens in the Fight.

Clean-Up after the Fight

If the Monster remains on the Game Board after the Fight, the Player keeps their Weakness Tokens.

If the Monster was killed or driven away, all Players must give back the Weakness Tokens related to that Monster back to the pool. Then, all 6 Weakness Tokens are shuffled together face-down.

After a new Monster is placed on the Game Board, Players place 1 Weakness token, following the steps in the Game Setup of that Mode.

Special Monster Attacks

While you play the game with this Mode, you use large Monster cards.

Each card shows Life Pool and a Monster Ability that is exactly the same as on their regular Monster cards.

The card also has a description of 4 Special Attacks and a Passive Attack Ability.

In the Monster Life Pool there will most likely be one or more Special Monster Attacks.

1. If the Special Monster Attack card is revealed during the Monster Attack, the Special Attack is activated, regardless if "Charge" or "Bite" was chosen. An appropriate description from the large Monster card is read and the effect is applied.

2. The Special Monster Attack card may also be revealed as a Result of Damage dealt by the Player. If that happens, the Player controlling the Monster Life Pool stops discarding any further cards. The Special Passive Ability is read, and the effect applied. Then, if any additional Damage was supposed to be dealt, the Player continues to discard the cards.

It is possible to activate a Passive Ability more than once during the same Fight Turn.

Gaining a Monster Trophy

If the Player defeats the Monster they gain the Trophy of that Monster. They search through the pile of regular Monster cards to find it and place it face up below their Player Board. The large Monster card of that Monster is put back into the box.

Monster Trail and Other Expansions

The Monster Trail may be combined with some other Expansions. During the first game with this Expansion, we suggest not to use any other Expansion. When Players are familiar with this Expansion, they may use the Monster Trail Expansion with:

• Mages Expansion
• Legendary Hunt Expansion
• Adventure Pack Expansion
• Skellige Expansion
• Wild Hunt Expansion

If you combine Monster Trail and Wild Hunt Expansions, keep in mind that the gameplay may be more difficult or easier depending on the game modes you use.