Thorgal: The Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Gameplay Roles
• Win and Lose
• How to Use This Manual
• Components Description
  • Cards
  • Player Markers
  • Factions
  • Markers and Boards
  • Two Decks for Each Player
• First Gameplay
  • Game Setup
• Gameplay
  • I. Gods Fate
  • II. Dawn
  • III. Journey
  • IV. Dusk
• Game End
• Brief Gameplay Description
  • I. Gods Fate – Drawing the cards and creating a resource pool
  • II. Dawn
  • III. Journey
  • IV. Dusk
  • Win and Lose
• Advanced Multiplayer Rules (3-4 Players)
  • Victory and Lose
  • Roles During the Game
  • Game Setup
  • Gameplay
    • I. Gods Fate
    • II. Dawn
    • III. Journey
    • IV. Dusk
  • Game End

Game Components

• 260 cards: 96 bane cards, 144 destiny cards, 20 double-sided land cards
• 4 sets of player boards
• 4 rulebooks
• 20 markers: 6 exhaustion markers; 2 bane player markers (used in multiplayer gameplay only); 1 destiny player marker; 1 bane player marker; X double-sided attribute markers (power, bravery, cunning)

Gameplay Roles

In the Thorgal game there are two roles that can be taken by players. Each round, one of the players is described as the destiny player who will try to complete the journey.

The second player, described as the bane player, will try at all costs to thwart their rival's plans – block the journey in order to make it unsuccessful. In each subsequent round, players switch the roles.

Win and Lose

• Players try to get 3 victory horns. When one person achieves this goal, they immediately win the game.
• A player immediately loses the game if they receive damage (skull) and are unable to destroy the required number of cards from their hand or their destiny deck.

How to Use This Manual

This manual is divided into four sections:

• Basic rules are used to learn the rules of the game as well as introduce new players. Learning this section will allow you to easily start the first 2-player game.
• Multiplayer gameplay introduces rules that enable playing the game with 3-4 players.
• Glossary of terms was made for detailed application of every aspect of the game. We recommend that you use this selectively in situations that will require additional explanation. At the end of this section, you can find rules about building your own decks too.

Note: If any term is underlined in the basic rules, it means that there is an extensive explanation in the glossary.

Components Description

Cards

There are three types of cards in the game: destiny, bane, and land.

Bane cards have a dark reverse. They form the bane decks of the individual players. Those are single-use cards, and are removed from the game after they are played and resolved.

Bane card anatomy:

1. Card name.
2. Card type indicator.
3. Cost of playing the card (expressed in points of destiny from 0 to 3).
4. Card effect.
5. Attribute symbol (Bravery, Cunning, Power).
6. Faction symbol and card number.
7. Indication of the phase when playing this card is allowed.
8. Intrigue symbol.
9. Damage symbol (skull).
10. Reverse of the bane cards.

Destiny cards have a brown reverse. They form destiny decks of the individual players. There are three types of those cards:

1. Companions represent characters known from the world of Thorgal. They have unique abilities and are placed in the player's party.
2. Supports are various types of equipment, weapons, magical artifacts, animal companions and mighty ships. All these cards provide certain benefits and are placed in the player's party.
3. Events offer various effects inspired by stories known from the world of Thorgal. They can be played only in the certain phases of the game. Those are single-use cards, and are removed from the game after they are played and resolved.

Destiny card anatomy:

1. Card name.
2. Card type indicator.
3. Card sub-type indicator (or sub-types).
4. Cost of playing the card (expressed in points of destiny from 0 to 3).
5. Card effect.
6. Condition of the companion upkeep in the party.
7. Attribute symbol (Bravery, Cunning, Power).
8. Faction symbol and card number.
9. Indication of the phase when playing this card is allowed.
10. Elements symbol.
11. Reverse of the destiny cards.

Land cards are double-sided location cards where players send their party. Land cards are not part of any deck. The front of the card (horizontal layout) presents the purpose of the journey. The back of the card (vertical layout) is revealed when the destiny player completes the journey successfully.

Land card anatomy:

1. Card name.
2. Card type indication.
3. Attributes required to accomplish the adventure successfully.
4. Subtypes of the companions that can oppose this land without spending any resources. The first symbol is also the faction symbol.
5. Victory horn symbol that symbolizes Victory Point and an effect for the destiny player.
6. Fenris wolf symbol indicating an effect for the bane player.

Player Markers

The destiny player marker is given to the player who is currently playing this role. This marker is also used to indicate to which land card the expedition is being undertaken.

The bane player marker is given to the player who is currently playing this role.

The remaining bane player markers (valued -1 and +1) are being used in a multiplayer gameplay.

Each player uses a set of two boards, which organize the playing area and thus facilitates the game.

Factions

There are four factions in the game: Outlaws, Visitors, Lords and Vikings.

Each card is marked with a faction symbol in the lower left corner, which allows you to easily assign them to the right deck. The card number is provided to make it easier to identify a given card, it has no impact on the gameplay.

Markers and Boards

There are several types of markers in the game:

• Exhaustion markers: their function is to mark the exhausted cards and using the effects. Those markers are used by placing them on adequate cards.
• Double-sided attribute markers (bravery, cunning, power): their function is to mark the cards that have had a possessed attribute added or removed.

Two Decks for Each Player

Each player uses both of their decks: one destiny deck and one bane deck throughout the game (assigned to the faction chosen). In every phase of the game, when players draw, play, or pay the cost of playing cards and using their effects, players always use their cards, decks, and pools.

First Gameplay

The following rules present setup and gameplay for a 2-player game. Any differences regarding 3-4-player game are described in the section: Multiplayer gameplay. It is recommended that players have played a few 2-player games before playing multiplayer.

Game Setup

1. Choosing faction and boards preparation. Each player chooses one faction that will be controlled and led by them until the end of the gameplay and receives cards assigned to it:

• 36 destiny cards
• 24 bane cards
• 5 land cards

Then they take the appropriate set of boards and place it in front of them: bane board on the right and destiny board on the left. Leave a little free space between the boards – this will be a duty area. Return all unselected faction cards and boards to the box.

2. Party preparation. Each player secretly chooses 1 or 2 companions from their destiny deck. The total cost of playing those companions into the party cannot exceed 3 destiny points. Then each player places companion card or cards (without revealing) in the marked spot in the party area.

We suggest using the recommended companions – marked with golden faction symbol (instead of white) during the first gameplay.

3. Destiny deck preparations. After selecting a party, each player shuffles their remaining destiny cards, forms a face-down destiny deck and places it on the left side of their destiny board.

4. Bane deck preparation. Each player shuffles their bane cards, forms a face-down deck and places it on the right side of their bane board.

5. Choosing lands and starting player. Each player secretly chooses 2 of their 5 land cards, and both simultaneously reveal chosen lands with the previously selected companions. Next, randomly select a destiny player – who will receive a starting player marker and will start the gameplay. Second player becomes a bane player – they receive the bane player marker. Put the remaining bane player markers into the box.

Now the bane player chooses another 2 land cards from their remaining 3 and reveals them as well. All revealed land cards (2 belonging to the destiny player and 4 belonging to the bane player) should be placed in the center of the table so that each player has easy access to them. Each player can check the content on both sides of the land cards at any time. The land cards should show a horizontal layout (of the unconquered land) before the start of the gameplay. The placement of these cards and faction affiliation do not matter.

Each player's unselected land cards are placed outside the play area – in some cases, they may be needed during the further gameplay.

6. Exhaustion marker and attribute markers. These should be placed in such a way that each player has easy access to them.

GOLDEN RULE: If a text on the card conflicts with the rules in this manual, the card always takes priority.

Gameplay

The gameplay is divided into rounds, and each round is divided into four subsequent game phases. The number of rounds is not specified: the game continues until one of the players fulfill the victory condition or losing condition.

In each phase, players complete the steps described below exactly in the order given:

1. Gods Fate – Drawing the cards and creating a resource pool.
2. Dawn – Playing and activating the cards.
3. Journey – Going on a journey; playing and activating the cards; journey resolution; return from a journey; journey end.
4. Dusk – Playing and activating the cards; companion upkeep; game area clean-up; round end.

I. Gods Fate

In this phase, players draw cards into the hand from the appropriate decks, depending on whether they are playing as the destiny or bane player. They form a resource pool also, that they will use during each phase of the current round.

Players play this phase simultaneously. Each player has 7 fate points, which they can use at their discretion to draw cards and/or build the resource pool. Unused fate points cannot be saved for another GODS FATE phase. Each card has value of 1 fate point.

STEP 1: Drawing the cards and creating a resource pool.

Cards from the Destiny Deck can be used in two ways: draw them into hand so that you can play them to your party in the Dawn phase or allocate them to the resource pool – with these cards the player will pay the cost of putting a companion or equipment into the party. The player decides, sight unseen, whether the top card of the deck goes into the hand or the resource pool – without looking at it!

The destiny player decides what they want to do with the top card of the destiny deck – whether it goes into their hand or to the destiny pool.

• If the player decides to draw it into his hand, they can read it, but does not reveal it to the opponent.
• If the player decides to place it in the destiny pool, they put it face down on the right place on the player's board, thus creating the destiny pool.

The bane player performs the same actions using their bane deck.

Fate points are spent first on drawing cards into the hand, and only afterwards on creating a resource pool. These steps cannot be performed alternately! This means that if a player has placed a card in the resource pool, they can no longer draw cards into the hand during this phase.

Example: The destiny player decides to spend 3 destiny points to draw 3 cards from their destiny deck. The destiny player decides to use 4 remaining gods fate points to create a destiny resource pool.

II. Dawn

In this phase the destiny player plays the cards, thus creating their party. By introducing the companions and by equipping them, they prepare to undertake the journey in the next phase. The bane player will be playing the cards in this phase, to hinder the journey undertaking by the destiny player.

During the gameplay, only one copy of a unique card with the same name may be held by each player at one time. This means that, for example: Thorgal Aegirsson may be in each party at the same time, but two copies of Thorgal Aegirsson cannot be in the same party at the same time.

More information about building your own decks and mixing factions can be found in the chapter: Multiplayer gameplay.

In all phases the destiny player always has the priority of playing and activating the cards. Players take one action alternately.

STEP 1: Playing the cards and activating the effects of the cards in play.

These are the types of actions that are crucial to the course of the game. Players can now alternately: play the cards or activate the effects of the cards in play.

Actions available:

• Destiny player:
  • Playing the companion and support cards to their party.
  • Playing the event cards.
  • Activating the effects of the cards in the party.
  • Passing.
• Bane player:
  • Playing the bane cards.
  • Activating the effects of the land cards (Fenris wolf effects).
  • Passing.

To play a card from the hand to the party, the destiny player must pay its cost, by moving from the fate supply to the fate discard pile a number of face-down cards equal to the card cost and placing it in the party area. Companion and support cards played remain in the party.

If any effect in the game allows or directs a player to put a card in play, it means that they may do it without paying the cost.

To play an event card in this phase, the destiny player must make sure first, that the phase indicated on the card coincides with the current phase of the game (in this case: Dawn). Next, they must pay the card cost. Event card is resolved in a following order:

1. Symbols on the bar located on the left side of the card (one at a time, starting from the top of the card).
2. Card effect.

Event card effect is instant – resolved immediately after playing the card. Once resolved, the event card is immediately destroyed, that means it is placed face-up on top of the destiny player's pile of destroyed cards.

To play a bane card in this phase, the bane player must make sure first, that the phase indicated on the card coincides with the current phase of the game (in this case: Dawn). Next, they must pay the card cost, by moving from the bane pool to the bane discard pile a number of bane cards equal to the given card cost. Bane card is resolved in a following order:

1. Symbols on the bar located on the left side of the card (one at a time, starting from the top of the card).
2. Card effect.

Bane card effect is instant – resolved immediately after playing the card. Once resolved, the bane card is immediately destroyed, that means it is placed face-up on top of the destroyed bane card pile.

Resolving card effects applies to the cards in the destiny player's party. The card effects in the party are divided into two categories:

• permanent,
• activated (preceded by the activation symbol).

A permanent effect has an uninterrupted influence on the game as long as the card is in play, and (in some cases) the phase indicated on the card coincides with the current phase of the game.

Effects preceded by the activation symbol can be activated. To do this, the player must make sure first that the phase indicated on the card coincides with the current phase of the game (in this case: Dawn). Next, player can exhaust the card by placing the exhaustion marker on it. Once this has been done the effect begins to work and has influence on the gameplay to the end of the current phase.

You cannot activate an effect if the card requires exhaustion and there is already at least 1 exhaustion marker on it.

If player is unwilling or unable to play or activate subsequent cards, they must pass.

Passing is one of the actions available in the game. However, it does not end the player's turn! After passing, the opponent's action takes place, after which the player can perform an action again.

If both players pass (one after the other) the phase (in this case: Dawn) ends and next phase follows.

Example: The destiny player spends 2 resources from their destiny pool, moving two face down cards into the destiny discard pile and thus pays the cost of playing the card "Improvised Weapon". The card played is a support card, so it is placed in the destiny player's party.

III. Journey

For the destiny player journey is a way to earn victory horns that determine victory. The bane player will try to thwart their opponent's plans by using bane cards.

The phase is divided into five steps, which should always be carried out in the following order:

STEP 1: Journey undertaking and opposing.

The destiny player chooses the land card as the destination of the Journey. It can be any of the cards chosen during the gameplay preparation and still unconquered – even those from the opponent's faction. The player places their marker on the land after choosing it. Unconquered lands are laid in the landscape orientation, with their attribute symbols visible.

The bane player decides whether they will oppose this journey. To oppose, they choose a companion card from their party and places it under the land card in such a way that the companion's attributes remain visible.

Opposing cost:

• If the subtype of the companion card (the symbol in the upper right corner of the card) matches at least one of the subtypes on the land card, the opposing is free.
• Otherwise, the player must spend as many cards from his bane pool as the cost of playing the opposing companion.

Adding a companion to a land increases the journey difficulty. This is the only situation when the bane player uses his destiny cards during the round.

Example: The bane player chooses "Thorgal Aegirsson", one of their minions, who will be opposing during this journey. One of "Thorgal Aegirsson's" subtypes matches one of the land's subtypes. That land is the "Fortified Port", destination of the journey, which means that the player does not have to pay any opposing costs.

STEP 2: Playing and activating the cards.

Available actions:

• Destiny player (actions are performed in the same way as in the Dawn phase):
  • Playing event cards.
  • Activating the effects of the cards in the party.
• Bane player:
  • Playing bane cards.
  • Activating the effects of the land cards.

Adding event cards and bane cards to the land: Any event and bane card played during this phase that has at least 1 (any) attribute symbol (after its effect has been resolved) is attached to the land card that is the target of this journey. Attached event cards increase the party strength and bane cards increase the journey difficulty. The remaining event cards and bane cards (without attribute symbols) are immediately destroyed after resolving.

Receiving damage: The player who takes damage (skull) must immediately destroy as many of their cards as they took damage (from the hand, from the top of their deck or both – as they wish). The destroyed cards are placed (face-up) on top of its owner's destroyed destiny card pile.

Bane cards are never destroyed due to the damage received.

Apart from skull symbols on cards, the source of damage are card effects as well as conditions of keeping-up the companions.

When the destiny player takes damage and has no card (in hand or in the deck) that they could destroy, the destiny player loses the game.

Symbols featured on event and bane cards:

• Intrigue – the bane player may instantly place 1 exhaustion marker on any card (also on the one that the exhaustion marker already exists).
• Elements – Destiny player may instantly remove 1 exhaustion marker from any card.
• Damage – the destiny player receives damage instantly.

Example: The bane player plays the "Stun" bane card. This card has a resource cost of 0, so the bane player does not move any cards from the bane pool to the bane discard pile. The bane player first resolves the symbols on the side of the card, in this case there is 2 damage (skull) for the destiny player, then the card effect (in this case the card has no effect). The destiny player destroys two cards from his destiny deck and places them face-up in his pile of destroyed destiny cards. The "Stun" bane card has no attribute symbols. It is destroyed after resolving.

Example: The destiny player plays the "Unknown Powers" event card. This card has a cost of 0 resources, so the destiny player does not move any cards from the destiny pool to the destiny discard pile. The destiny player first resolves the symbols on the side of the card (in this case none) and then a card effect that says the destiny player receives 2 damage, which he must resolve immediately (see: Receiving damage). After resolving the effect of the "Unknown Powers" card, the destiny player attaches this card to the land that is the journey destination, because "Unknown Powers" has at least 1 symbol of any attribute.

STEP 3: Journey resolution.

To resolve a journey, players must determine:

• Party strength,
• Journey difficulty.

The destiny player counts all attributes of companions, supports, and event cards attached to the land to determine their party strength. This is the way to determine the strength of the party based on 3 attributes: Bravery, Cunning and Power.

The bane player counts all attributes of the bane cards attached to the land and adds the attributes of the land and an opposing companion (if played) to determine the journey difficulty. This is the way to determine the difficulty of the journey based on 3 attributes: Bravery, Cunning and Power.

Comparison of the party strength with the journey difficulty in each of the 3 attributes: the party strength must be equal to or greater than the journey difficulty in each attribute for the journey to be successful.

If the journey is successful, the opposing companion is destroyed. If the journey fails, they return to their team.

Example: The destiny player determines the party strength in three categories:

• Bravery 5 – Sigwald the Burnt 3, Kriss De Valnor 1, Improvised Weapon 1 (as a result of activating this card's effect).
• Cunning 3 – Kriss De Valnor 1, Improvised Weapon 2 (due to activation of this card's effect).
• Power 3 – Unknown Powers 3.

The bane player sets the journey difficulty in three categories:

• Bravery 5 – land Fortified Port 4, Thorgal opposing 1.
• Cunning 1 – Thorgal Aegirsson opposing 1.
• Power 1 – Thorgal opposing 1.

In each category the strength of the destiny player's party is equal to or greater than the journey difficulty, so the journey is successful.

STEP 4: Return from a journey.

The destiny player removes their marker from the land card. All event and bane cards that were attached to the land card are destroyed and placed in the relevant piles: Niflheim – a pile of destroyed bane cards, and Valhalla – a pile of destroyed fate cards.

Attention! Attribute and exhaustion markers remain on the cards.

Destroyed and discarded card: There is a key difference between destroyed and discarded cards (besides being placed in separate piles): destroyed cards do not return to play. At some point, discarded cards will be placed under the relevant deck, so there is a chance they will come back into play.

STEP 5: Journey end.

If the journey ended in a failure, no additional activities are performed in this step. The land has not been conquered and may be selected again as a destination for the next journeys.

If the journey was successful, the destiny player earns a victory horn. The player places the card in the center of the playing area, between the players – with the horn symbol facing their side.

The land, to which the journey was successful, is considered conquered. Some card effects may refer to this term.

The game ends immediately with the victory of the destiny player if they have just won the 3rd victory horn. If not, the destiny player may use the special effect of the land card they just gained. The land effect is located next to the victory horn symbol and is usable only by the destiny player who has successfully completed the journey to this land. This is the only time this ability can be used by the destiny player. If the player declines it, they will not be able to activate it later.

Each time the destiny player successfully completes a journey, the bane player in return gains access to the effect of the land conquered by the opponent. The rule for this effect is found on the captured land card next to the Fenris wolf symbol. It is only available to that player in the round who was the bane player. The land effect can be used multiple times, however, only once per round of the bane player, if the card content has not stated otherwise. The more horns one of the players has, the more tools their opponent has, to block further successes.

Example: The expedition was a success, and the land card "Fortified Port" is captured by the destiny player. The card is flipped over and the destiny player can use a special capture effect of this land instantly.

IV. Dusk

In this phase the destiny player will decide which companions will remain in their party for the next rounds. Both players will decide what they are going to do with the unused cards that will remain in their hands.

STEP 1: Playing and activating the cards.

Actions are performed in the same way as in the Dawn phase.

Actions available:

• Destiny player: playing the event cards; activating the effects of the cards in the party; passing.
• Bane player: playing the bane cards; activating the effects of the land cards (Fenris wolf effects); passing.

Once both players have passed, proceed to step 2.

STEP 2: Companions upkeep.

The destiny player must check one by one and meet the upkeep condition for any companions in their party. The player must meet the upkeep condition, if possible. If a player cannot meet the upkeep condition, the destiny player decides whether they would rather destroy that companion's card or take 2 damage. The player decides in what order they are upkeeping the companions – this is crucial in a situation where the player is unable to upkeep all of them.

Upkeep condition: All companion cards have a coin purse symbol visible, followed by a condition that the player must meet to keep that companion in their party. Most often, the condition for upkeep is having or not having cards of specific subtypes in your party. The upkeep condition must always be met in full.

In some upkeep conditions, the most important is the action we need to perform, not the state of the game after performing this action, as explained by the following examples:

• Example 1. Varth. Upkeep condition: discard all the cards in your destiny pool. Player has no cards in the destiny pool, so is not able to perform the action of discarding cards that allow to upkeep Varth. If there was at least 1 card in the destiny pool, then the player would have to discard it, and thus fulfil its upkeep condition.
• Example 2. Aricia. Upkeep condition: place all the cards from your hand to the bottom of your destiny deck. The player has 1 card in their hand that must be placed to the bottom of the deck, thus fulfilling the upkeep condition. If the player had no cards in hand, they would not be able to perform the action to keep Aricia and therefore the condition would not be met.
• Example 3. Galathorn. Upkeep condition: you have no other Lords in your party. In addition to Galathorn, the party also includes Veronar, whose maintenance condition is: You have at least 1 Outlaw in your party. Both companions do not meet the upkeep condition – since Veronar has the Lords symbol, it excludes Galathorn's upkeep condition; the party also does not have an Outlaw, which is required to meet the upkeep condition of Veronar. The player decides the order in which the upkeep condition is resolved. They may therefore resolve Veronar's upkeep condition first and destroy this companion. Then moves on to Galathorn – after Veronar's destruction, Galathorn's upkeep condition is met. The player could keep Veronar at the cost of 2 damage, but then he would not meet Galathorn's upkeep condition. The player would have to destroy Galathorn or take another 2 damage. In the above example, to upkeep both minions, the player would have to take 4 damage in total.

STEP 3: Game area clean-up.

At the end of the Dawn phase [sic], if destiny player has any cards in their hand, they must decide (for each card individually) whether to place the card on top of their destiny pool (to use them to pay the cost in the next turns when they play the role of the destiny player) or on top of the destiny deck (to draw them back into the hand on their next turn when they play the role of the destiny player). Next the destiny player places the destiny discard pile to the bottom of their destiny deck.

The bane player makes a similar decision – whether to place the remaining cards from their hand on top of their bane pool (to use them to pay the cost in the next turns when they play the role of the bane player) or on top of the bane deck (to draw them back into the hand on their next turn when will play the role of the bane player). Then, the bane player slides the bane discard pile to the bottom of their bane deck.

Destiny and bane pools of both players are carried over to the next rounds of the game and will be available to use when the players resume their respective roles.

Finally, from all cards all attribute markers are removed. One exhaustion marker is removed from each card of the present destiny player and from the land cards used by the present bane player.

Example: The destiny player slides the discard pile under the destiny deck and removes one exhaustion marker from each of their destiny cards. The destiny player decides to put the "Archers" card on top of the destiny deck instead of into the destiny pool.

STEP 4: Switching roles and round end.

In the next round the present destiny player becomes the bane player, and the present bane player becomes the destiny player. This means that in the next round, each player will use a different deck of their faction. Players pass their markers to each other. Then a new round of the game begins (see Gods Fate).

Game End

The game ends immediately when one of the players meets the victory condition or losing condition during the round.

Brief Gameplay Description

I. Gods Fate – Drawing the cards and creating a resource pool

Players receive 7 fate points, which they use at their discretion to draw destiny cards (destiny player) or bane cards (bane player) and/or create the destiny or bane resource pool.

II. Dawn

Playing and activating the cards.

• Destiny player: playing the companion and support cards to their party (this action is only available at the Dawn phase); playing the event cards; activating the effects of the cards in the party; passing.
• Bane player: playing the bane cards; activating the effects of the land cards; passing.

III. Journey

• Journey undertaking and opposing. The destiny player chooses the land card as the destination of the Journey and places their marker on it. The bane player decides whether they will oppose this journey.
• Playing and activating the cards. Bane player: playing the bane cards; activating the effects of the land cards; passing. Destiny player: playing the event cards; activating the effects of the cards in the party; passing.
• Journey resolution. Determination of the party strength; determination of the journey difficulty; comparison of the party strength with the journey difficulty in each of the 3 attributes (Bravery, Cunning, Power); if the journey is successful, the opposing companion is destroyed.
• Return from a journey. The destiny player removes their marker from the land card. All event and bane cards that were attached to the land card are destroyed.
• Journey end. If the journey was successful, the destiny player earns a victory horn. The destiny player may use the special effect of the land card they just gained.

IV. Dusk

• Playing and activating the cards (event cards / party effects for the destiny player; bane cards / land effects for the bane player; passing).
• Companion upkeep. The destiny player must check one by one and meet the upkeep condition for any companions in their party.
• Game area clean-up. If players have any cards in their hands, they must decide for each card individually whether to place the card on top of their appropriate decks or pools. The players slide discard piles to the bottom of designated decks. From all the cards all attribute markers are removed. One exhaustion marker is removed from the cards of the present destiny player and from the land cards used by the present bane player.
• Switching roles and round end. Players pass their markers to each other. Then a new round of the game begins.

Win and Lose

• Players try to get 3 victory horns. When one person achieves this goal, they immediately win the game.
• A player immediately loses the game if they receive damage and are unable to destroy the required number of cards from their hand or their destiny deck.

Advanced Multiplayer Rules (3-4 Players)

The following section is transcribed from the separate official "Multiplayer Gameplay" rulebook.

The basic rules of the game are based on a 2-player gameplay (which we recommend for beginners) and can be found in the Basic Rules. However, Thorgal: The Card Game can be also played with 3 or 4 players. In most aspects, the gameplay is the same as a 2-player game – the differences in setup and gameplay are described below.

Victory and Lose

• Players try to obtain 2 victory horns. When one person achieves this goal, wins the game immediately.
• A player immediately loses and is out of the game if they receive damage and are unable to destroy enough cards from their hand or destiny deck. If there are at least 2 players left in the game, the game continues. All destiny and bane cards of the person who was eliminated are removed from the game (the conquered land card returns to the land pool and can be selected again as a quest destination), and the bane players go through the remaining phases of the game (following all the indicated steps). If there is only one player left in the game, that person wins the game.

Roles During the Game

In each round, one of the players is referred to as destiny player, while the remaining players are referred to as bane players. In each subsequent round, a different person will be the destiny player.

Game Setup

It is the same as in a 2-player game, except for point 5. Choosing lands and starting player.

Each player secretly chooses 1 of their 5 land cards. Then, the game participants randomly select a destiny player – who receives a destiny player marker and will start the game. The remaining players become bane players and receive appropriate markers (of the bane player). The bane player to the left of the destiny player receives a -1 marker. Then, depending on the number of players:

• 3 players: the next bane player receives a +1 marker (a marker with a value of 0 is returned to the box).
• 4 players: the next bane player receives a 0 marker. The last bane player gets a +1 marker.

Then, all bane players choose 1 land card from the remaining 4 and add it to the previously selected ones. The number of land cards used in the game depends on the number of players:

• 3 players: 5 land cards.
• 4 players: 7 land cards.

Gameplay

In all phases, the destiny player always has priority in playing the cards and activating the cards in play. Players perform one action at a time, in clockwise order, starting with the destiny player. If all players pass one by one, the step ends.

I. Gods Fate

Players play this phase simultaneously. Each bane player creates their hand and a separate bane pool. Depending on the number of players, different fate point values apply:

• 3 players: destiny player – 8 fate points, each bane player – 6 fate points.
• 4 players: destiny player – 9 fate points, each bane player – 5 fate points.

II. Dawn

Is the same as in a 2-player game.

III. Journey

STEP 1: Journey undertaking and opposing. The bane player to the left of the destiny player is the first to decide whether they will oppose this journey. If they do not choose this option, the opportunity to oppose passes to the next bane player. The step ends when an opposing player is chosen or when none of the bane players decides to oppose.

STEP 2: Playing and activating the cards. Bane players always cooperate in hindering the destiny player's journey. The bane cards they play and attach to the land create one pool of cards that increase the journey difficulty.

STEP 3: Journey resolution. Is the same as in a 2-player game.

STEP 4: Return from a journey. Important: Each bane player must destroy their bane cards and place them in their Niflheim.

STEP 5: Journey end. If the journey was successful, the destiny player gains the victory horn. The player turns the card over and places it next to their playing area – with the horn symbol facing this player.

If the current destiny player has just obtained the 2nd victory horn, the game immediately ends, and this person wins the game.

Whenever a destiny player completes a journey successfully, all bane players (in return) gain access to the effect of the land that was conquered by the opponent. This effect is described on the conquered land card, next to Fenrir's wolf symbol. It can be used by any bane player, but only in the round when the person who conquered this land card is the destiny player.

IV. Dusk

STEP 1: Playing and activating the cards. Is the same as in a 2-player game.

STEP 2: Companions upkeep. Is the same as in a 2-player game.

STEP 3: Game area clean-up. The destiny player and the bane player who has a -1 marker will clean up the game area just like in a 2-player game. The remaining bane players do not do anything related to the cards in their hands or the cards in the individual piles in this step. They will still be bane players in the upcoming round and will be using those cards and piles.

STEP 4: Switching roles and round end. Each player passes their markers to the person on their left. The player who will receive the destiny marker will be playing in the next round as the destiny player.

When a player receives a +1 bane marker, immediately receives 1 resource (moves the top card of the bane deck into their bane pool).

When a player receives a -1 bane marker, immediately loses 1 resource (moves the top card of the bane pool to the bane discard pile).

Game End

The game ends immediately when one of the players meets the victory condition during the round or when only 1 player remains in the game.