Thunderstone Advance: Root of Corruption Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Complete Card List
• Ambusher Reprints
• New Rules
• Guardians
• Treasures
  • Treasure Card Breakdown
• Siege Rules
  • Setup
• Play
  • Visit the Village, Rest, Prepare
  • Enter the Dungeon
• The Siege
• The Wall
  • VP
• Game End
• Card Glossary
• FAQ
• Scenarios
  • Hard Choices
  • Monster Problems
  • Castle Hunt

Complete Card List

Thunderstone Advance: Root of Corruption has a total of 336 cards. As you unpack and ready them for play, you should have:

Hero Cards (84 total—12 of each hero: six level 1, four level 2, two level 3)

• Armsman
• Blademage
• Honormain
• Moonclaw
• Profaned
• Silvertongue
• Woodguard

Monster Cards (74 total—10 in each monster group plus 12 summoner thralls, 1 Thunderstone Bearer, and 1 Guardian)

• Djinnbound • Corrupted: Minion of Decay (2), Minion of Discord (2), Minion of Horror (2), Minion of Neglect (2), Minion of War (2)
• Elemental • Earth: Scree (2), Aftershock (3), Tremorfiend (2), Rockslide (1), Eruptor (2)
• Gnoll • Humanoid: Alpha Gnoll (2), Marauder Gnoll (2), Packhunter Gnoll (2), Scavenging Cur (2), Thieving Cur (2)
• Incarnate • Abyssal: Decay Incarnate (2), Discord Incarnate (2), Horror Incarnate (2), Neglect Incarnate (2), War Incarnate (2)
• Royal Guard • Corrupted: Guardsman (2), Weapons Master (2), Huntsman (2), Chiurgeon (2), Guard Captain (2)
• Summoner • Old World: Thrall Summoner (10)
• Summoned Monster Deck: Acid Spitter Thrall (1), Cyclops Thrall (1), Grayskin Thrall (1), Griffon Thrall (1), Grudgebeast Thrall (1), Kingdom Thrall (1), Pegasus Thrall (1), Red Jelly Thrall (1), Skaladak Thrall (1), Suffering Thrall (1), Unchained Thrall (1), Torrent Thrall (1)
• Guardian: Archdruid
• Thunderstone Bearer: King Caelan

Village Cards (120 total—8 each)

• Blood Debt
• Circle of Protection
• Cursed Dagger
• Debased Wizard
• Elven Waybread
• Greatsword
• Hedge Witch
• Hysterical Villager
• Labrys
• Liveoak Bow
• Maul
• Mind Control
• Rage of the Disowned
• Stablehand
• Tincture of Victims

Treasures of Dun Ordha (6 total)

• Golden Hammer (1)
• Immolation Orb (1)
• Magic Shield (2)
• Wand of Fear (2)

Special Cards

• Curse of Compromise (4)

Randomizer Cards (30 total)

Reprinted Cards (18 total)

• From Towers of Ruin: Drakeclan Ambusher (3), Plunderwing (2), Slaughterwing (2)
• From Caverns of Bane: Rot Grub (2), Mancatcher Worm (3), Troll Skullcracker (2), Darkling (2), Dusk Hunter (2)

Ambusher Reprints

The ambushers in Towers of Ruin and Caverns of Bane are cool, but it wasn't easy to see the "Ambusher" label on them. So we redesigned the presentation and reprinted all the ambushers to include the new Ambusher icon. Now you'll be able to spot ambushers quite easily… after it's too late.

New Rules

Root of Corruption includes guardians and treasures.

Guardians

The most powerful monsters in the dungeon (short of Thunderstone Bearers, of course) are Guardians. These fearless champions of evil can emerge from the dungeon hall to ravage the countryside!

Guardians are shuffled into the dungeon deck using special rules. After you have shuffled the Thunderstone Bearer into the bottom of the dungeon deck and placed those cards to form the base of the deck, take 10 cards from the remainder, and shuffle the Guardian card in with them. Place these 11 cards on top of the base.

When a Guardian card appears in the dungeon hall, it behaves like any other monster. However, Guardians are immune to any ability or effect that would cause them to leave the dungeon hall, or change their position in it, until they are defeated. This means that abilities cannot move them, and they do not retreat to the bottom of the dungeon deck if you fight them and lose.

If a Guardian reaches rank 1 of the dungeon hall, it emerges from the dungeon to attack the village. Move the Guardian away from the dungeon hall, creating a new "rank 0" space. Refill the hall as normal.

Only a Guardian can enter the rank 0 space. If the Guardian is defeated, the rank 0 space ceases to exist. Any player can attack a Guardian in rank 0, and Darkness there is 0.

No player can fight the Thunderstone Bearer as long as the Guardian remains in rank 0. However, if the Thunderstone Bearer moves into rank 1, the game still ends, even if there is still a Guardian in rank 0.

If a Guardian is already in rank 0 and another enters rank 1, the second Guardian also moves to rank 0, and both Guardians share the rank. There is no limit to the number of Guardians that can occupy rank 0. However a player choosing to enter the dungeon still selects only one monster to fight, regardless of how many are in the rank.

Thunderstone Bearers also have the Guardian keyword. You may use Thunderstone Bearers from previous sets as normal Guardians.

Treasures

Cards with a gold frame are treasures. You gain these extra rewards for defeating certain monsters, but you'll have to work hard for them!

You can choose to include treasures because the randomizer tells you to, a scenario calls for them, or just because you just want to. When you include treasures in a game, shuffle the treasure cards of the indicated groups into the dungeon deck. Use only one treasure group in a game.

When you reveal a treasure card while refilling the hall, place the treasure card in the open rank farthest from the deck just like normal, and then reveal another card from the dungeon deck. If it is another treasure, stack it on top of the treasure you just put out and reveal another card. Repeat this until you reveal a monster. Once you reveal a monster, put it on top of the treasure card(s). The treasure is now part of that monster's hoard, and the monster uses it in combat against you!

When fighting that monster in the dungeon, treat trait text, Battle effects and Aftermath effects above the bold line as though they were printed on the monster card itself. If a monster gets two or more treasure cards, they are all considered part of the monster card.

If you defeat the monster, place it and all of its treasure into your discard pile. You have claimed your prize! When you draw the treasure into your hand, use the text and abilities below the line—the power of the treasure is now yours.

If you do not defeat the monster, or if the monster leaves the hall for any other reason, remove the treasure from the game. It becomes lost, a mysterious legend told in darkened taverns for years to come.

Treasure Card Breakdown

The treasure card diagram labels these parts:

• Card Name
• Gold Value (if any)
• Weight (for weapons)
• Light (if any)
• Keywords
• Battle effects and Aftermath effects when controlled by a monster
• Traits, Abilities, and Effects when played from your hand
• Victory Points (if any)

Siege Rules

This Thunderstone expansion presents a new way to play: siege.

Siege rules are cooperative play for 3-5 players. Work together to save the city of Dun Ordha from waves of besieging monsters, driven by an unknown force. You must protect the walls of the town and the people within. Win by defeating monsters and protecting the integrity of the city walls from the pressing hordes.

Setup

Unfold the siege poster and lay it so that the edge with the crenelated walls overlaps the dungeon section of the game board. You won't need the regular dungeon spaces to play siege.

The dungeon deck is comprised of 45 total monsters: 15 level 1 monsters, 15 level 2 monsters, and 15 level 3 monsters, drawn from two groups each. Shuffle the level 1 and level 2 monsters together. Put the level 3 monsters on the bottom of the dungeon deck.

Shuffle a Guardian card into the bottom 5 cards of the deck.

The dungeon is set up in ranks and files. Each rank has its regular dungeon Darkness. Normally, ranks run alongside the village. In siege play, ranks run away from the village, with rank 3 placed farthest from the village.

Each rank contains several additional slots extending parallel to the village. These slots create files.

A 3-player game has 4 files in each rank, creating space for 12 monsters total.

A 4- or 5-player game has 5 files in each rank, creating space for 15 monsters total.

Place 5 XP tokens at the head of each file, where rank 1 meets the village. These tokens represent the town wall.

Deal one monster face down into each file of rank 3. Set up the village and basic cards as in the normal game.

Play

Players take turns normally. A few additional rules apply.

Visit the Village, Rest, Prepare

These actions work like they do in the normal game except that any time a player takes a rest action, that player may put 1 monster card present into a defeated besiegers pile in addition to destroying a card, thus thinning the deck.

Enter the Dungeon

When a player enters the dungeon, that player can select any face-up monster to fight. Players cannot select a face-down monster to fight.

Abilities and effects that refer to the dungeon hall affect monsters in a single rank or file. When abilities and effects come from a player's hand, the player chooses which rank or file it affects. When effects are outside of a player's control (such as a Battle effect on a besieging monster), use whichever interpretation is more disadvantageous to the players.

When a player defeats a monster (or otherwise moves it to a discard pile, such as by using the Greatsword Dungeon ability), do not refill its slot with a new monster. Leave a hole where it existed in the rank and file. It will be filled in later when the monsters advance (see below).

If a player fights a monster and does not defeat it, the monster remains in the hall—it does not go to the bottom of the dungeon deck. Monsters can be moved and removed by other abilities, but they are always replaced as normal.

The Siege

After each player's turn, flip any one monster face up. When all monsters in rank 3 are face up, take one more turn. After that player's turn, all files advance to rank 2. Then fill rank 3 again with face-down monsters. Thus, every 5 or 6 turns (depending on number of players), monsters advance.

When a monster advances, it pushes forward any monster that occupies the rank it is moving into. That monster might also push another monster forward. If a monster advances into a hole, it does not push monsters further in front of it. Monsters only advance when pushed from behind.

Late in the game, when you have exhausted most of the dungeon deck, you are likely to have an uneven number of cards to fill in rank 3. When that happens, place as many cards as you can in rank 3, left to right and resume play. When you must turn a monster face up but cannot, instead place 1 XP token in the empty slot as a placeholder.

If a monster in rank 1 is pushed forward, it assaults the wall.

The Wall

The town has a wall around it, represented by five tokens at the head of each file. If a monster advances from rank 1, place the monster into the successful besiegers pile (there's a spot for it on the board) and discard 1 wall token.

If you defeat (or otherwise remove) all monsters in rank 1 before they advance, you push the ladders off the wall, and buy yourself time to rebuild the battered wall. Place 1 wall token back onto any wall space that has taken damage.

If 3 or more monsters advance from rank 1, they overrun the walls. Remove 1 token from each wall space, even if that file did not contain a monster.

If a full rank of monsters advances from rank 1, remove 2 wall tokens.

VP

Defeated monsters go into the discard pile of the player who defeated the monster, as normal. If you defeat a monster with negative VP, you must put it in one player's discard piles.

Monsters that removed a wall token are placed in the successful besieger pile.

In this example, all monsters in rank 3 are face up. The players have been fighting steadily, and put a dent in the siege. But it looks like they're about to take some damage.

Now Abigail takes her turn. Bad news: She's had a poor draw, and can't fight. So she visits the village and buys a hero to add to her hitting power later in the game.

When Abigail ends her turn, she checks the hall. Since all monsters in rank 3 are already face up, they begin a new advance. Each file pushes the monsters in front toward the wall, and then Abigail refills rank 3 with 5 new face-down monsters from the dungeon deck. The holes in files A, C, and D mean that monsters won't break through the wall. Any hole in a file is good enough to buy the players some time.

Unfortunately, files B and E are completely full, so the monsters push down and break through the wall. The rank 3 monster in file C has nothing to push, but it closes the hole behind the monster in rank 1.

The rank 1 monsters in files B and E are placed in the successful besiegers pile, and 1 wall token is discarded from each of those files as well.

At the end of the advance, the board looks like this: (board illustration omitted)

Game End

If a monster advances from rank 1 and no wall tokens remain in that file, the players lose. The monsters found the weak point in the defenses, and stream in, overrunning the town.

If the players survive the siege, total the VP in the successful besieger pile and add 3 points for each missing wall token from the wall. Compare that total to the total VP in the defeated besiegers pile and in the players' decks.

• If the besiegers have more VP, the players managed a pyrrhic victory. The town stands, but is ruined from monsters killing and looting inside the walls.
• If the players have more VP, the players have an unqualified win. They successfully defended the town from the siege, and are hailed as heroes!

Card Glossary

Blademage: You can still use all of the other spell abilities. It is still a spell. It's just that the spell is also now treated as an equipped weapon, and should be treated as though it had the weapon keyword.

Circle of Protection: If you have more than one copy of this card in front of you, you only need to destroy one for each cancellation.

Greatsword: Discarding both weapon and hero are required. If you can't discard the hero, you can't use this effect.

Mind Control: If the monster under Mind Control's effect cannot be selected to fight for some reason, the player may choose to enter the dungeon and fight a monster in the hall.

Silvertongue: Village cards are any card with a green border. Giving a card away is different than discarding or destroying it.

Thrall Summoner: When this card is selected to fight, set this card aside, and replace it with the top card of the summoner deck in the same rank. The player must now fight the summoned thrall monster instead of the summoner card. Thrall monsters have between Health 5-8 and varying abilities, but you don't know what you're facing ahead of time. If you do not defeat the thrall monster, place it on the bottom of the summoner deck instead of the dungeon deck. Return the summoner to its original place in the hall. If you do defeat it, place both the thrall monster and the summoner in your discard pile.

Wand of Fear: If there are multiple heroes at the highest level, keep them all. Only discard heroes that are lower in level than the heroes with the highest level.

FAQ

What does it mean to "select a monster to fight"?

In the steps of an action to enter the dungeon, step 2 is "Select a monster to fight." This comes after a player has used Dungeon abilities, Trophy effects, and equipped weapons. If a monster's card text does not allow it to be chosen under the conditions at that point, the player cannot choose that monster for combat.

What's a "Trophy Dungeon"?

This special Trophy effect only applies in the Dungeon. Its effect does not happen in the village, only when a player has chosen the enter the dungeon action.

What does "Ignore" mean?

When a card tells you to ignore [something] it means that the [something] cannot contribute to the combat in any way, providing no Attack, Light, Dungeon abilities, or any other benefit. However, the [something] is still present and can be affected by Battle and Aftermath effects. An ignored [something] can contribute Spoils abilities, since those occur after the monster has been defeated.

Scenarios

These scenarios represent the battle inside the capital city of Dun Ordha. The cards in the setups are mostly drawn from City of Corruption, but a few, denoted by (ToR), are from the Towers of Ruin set.

Hard Choices

The djinn were defeated, but their horrible legacy lives in these Incarnates. These demons are curses given form by Doom's power. The price of harboring our sins for so long is made manifest, and claiming common folk for their own. Some say the only way out is to go deeper down. Our pact with Bandia is broken... maybe they're right.

—Steafan, Acolyte of Bandia

Use the Dungeon side of the game board.

• Heroes: Honormain, Profaned, Silvertongue, Whetmage (ToR)
• Village: Blood Debt, Cursed Dagger, Debased Wizard, Hedge Witch, Pike (ToR), Rage of the Disowned, Royal Summons (ToR), Tincture of Victims
• Monsters: Djinnbound • Corrupted, Burnmarked • Fire (ToR), Incarnate • Abyssal, King Caelan (Thunderstone Bearer)

Monster Problems

Doom has given some of these truth-crossed summoners minions from another world. The newcomers say they recognize them. They look like abominations to me. Meanwhile, the archdruid's gone mad and stirred up trouble against us. There's no rest in the city, and none outside the walls either.

—Saundra Willowstalk

Use the Wilderness side of the game board.

• Heroes: Armsman, Moonclaw, Thundermage (ToR), Veilminder (ToR)
• Village: Hedge Witch, Labrys, Liveoak Bow, Maul, Mind Control, Moonstone (ToR), Ranger's Wilderness Map (ToR), Stablehand
• Monsters: Summoner • Old World, Gnoll • Humanoid, Elemental • Earth, Archdruid (Guardian), Orseg (ToR) (Thunderstone Bearer)

Castle Hunt

"The king has fallen to the same madness that has infected the rest of Dun Ordha. We few remain untainted. We might not see forgiveness for what we now do. But duty is a grim mistress. We must kill our king to save our nation."

—Sir Niven, Honormain Gallant

Use the Dungeon side of the game board.

• Heroes: Blademage, Honormain, Deepstrider (ToR), Woodguard
• Village: Battle-scarred Soldier (ToR), Circle of Protection, Elven Waybread, Filigree Amulet (ToR), Greatsword, Hysterical Villager, Maul, Rage of the Disowned
• Monsters: Djinnbound • Corrupted, Royal Guard • Corrupted, Undead • Treefolk (ToR), King Caelan (Thunderstone Bearer)
• Additional Cards: Treasures of Dun Ordha