Thunderstone: Starter Set Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Complete Card List
• Components
  • Cards
  • Basic Cards
  • Village Cards
    • Anatomy of a Village Card
  • Hero Cards
    • Anatomy of a Hero Card
  • Monster Cards
    • Anatomy of a Monster Card
  • Special Cards
  • Randomizer Cards
  • Oversized Dividers
  • What You'll Also Need
• Game Setup
  • Unpacking the Components
  • Preparing the Dungeon
  • Filling the Village with Life
  • Finishing Preparations
• Game Flow
  • Overview
  • Key Concepts
    • The Golden Rule
    • Decks, Discard Piles, and Hand Cards
    • Destroying Cards
    • Abilities
    • Effects
    • Traits
• Visit the Village
  • 1. Lay Your Hand Cards Face Up
  • 2. Use Village Abilities and Trophy Effects
  • 3. Buy 1 Card
  • 4. Level Up Heroes
• Battle in the Dungeon
  • 1. Lay Your Hand Cards Face Up
  • 2. Use Dungeon Abilities, Equip Heroes with Weapons, and Apply Trophy Effects
  • 3. Choose a Monster to Fight
  • 4. Apply Battle Effects
  • 5. Determine Your Total Attack Value and Compare It to the Monster's Health
  • 6. Apply Aftermath Effects
  • 7. If You Lose the Battle...
  • 8. If You Win the Battle...
  • 9. Carry Out Spoils Effects
  • 10. Refill the Dungeon
• Prepare
• Rest
• End of Turn
• Additional Rules
  • Diseases
  • Trophies
  • Thunderstone Bearers and Guardians
• Game End and Winning
• Strategy Tips
• Turn Summary
  • Visit the Village
  • Battle in the Dungeon
  • Prepare
  • Rest
  • End of Turn

Complete Card List

Thunderstone: Starter Set contains 259 cards in total. Please check when unpacking that the following cards are in the box:

Basic Cards (50 total)

• 10x Torch
• 10x Longspear
• 30x Regular

Village Cards (80 total – 8 of each Village card)

• Poleaxe
• Insight
• Fireball
• Flowing Sparks
• Healing Potion
• Heroic Sword
• Call for Help
• Opportunist
• Rune Hammer
• Novice Mage

Hero Cards (60 total – 12 of each Hero: 6x Level 1, 4x Level 2, 2x Level 3)

• Garrison
• Cathedral
• Blackhand
• Tower
• Wildwood

Monster Cards (30 total – 10 in each monster group, plus 1 Thunderstone Bearer)

Bestial – Humanoid

• 2x Brazen Kobold
• 2x Gnoll Destroyer
• 2x Lion Shredder
• 2x Ophidian Slasher
• 2x Orc Raider

Colossal – Giant

• 2x Blue Gronek
• 2x One-Eyed Terror
• 2x Faceless Colossus
• 2x Red Gronek
• 2x Heavyweight Yeti

Virulent – Undead

• 2x Blood-Bound
• 2x Venomous Skeleton
• 2x Queen of Abomination
• 2x Vampire Thrall
• 2x Zombie Mob

Thunderstone Bearer

• 1x Wraithlyn, Dragon General

Special Cards (20 total)

• 10x Thunderstone Shard
• 10x Disease

Randomizer Cards (18 total)

• 10x Village Randomizer
• 5x Hero Randomizer
• 3x Monster Randomizer

Components

Besides this rulebook, the game contains the following components:

Cards

Thunderstone: Starter Set uses 5 types of cards for play: Basic cards, Heroes, Monsters, Village cards, and Special cards.

Basic Cards

These cards make up most of your starting deck. They represent the simplest resources available to you (Regular, Longspear, and Torch). Basic cards have differently colored borders, but they all carry the word "Basic" in the keyword line.

The two overviews "Anatomy of a Village Card" and "Anatomy of a Hero Card" show you the individual elements found on Basic cards.

Village Cards

Village cards represent the various things you can obtain in the village. You can recognize Village cards by their green border. Among the Village cards you'll find villagers, weapons, spells, and items. The "Anatomy of a Village Card" overview shows you the individual elements found on Village cards.

Anatomy of a Village Card

Using the Rune Hammer as an example, a Village card shows: the card name (top center) and its keywords (below the name, e.g. "Weapon • Blunt"); the Gold Value (if any, top left); the Weight (below the Gold Value); the Light Value (if any, below the Weight); the Gold Cost (center); the traits, abilities, and effects (e.g. "PHYSICAL ATTACK +3"); and the Victory Points (if any, bottom right).

Hero Cards

These cards represent the heroes you recruit to fight at your side. You can recognize Heroes by their blue border. Hero cards have an Attack Value as well as further traits and abilities that help you in combat against monsters. The "Anatomy of a Hero Card" overview shows you the individual elements found on Hero cards.

Anatomy of a Hero Card

Using the Blackhand Assassin (Human • Thief • Level 3) as an example, a Hero card shows: the keywords and class icon (top left); the card name and Level (top); the Gold Value (if any) and Strength (left side); the Light Value (if any, below Strength); the Gold Cost (center); the Attack Value, traits, and abilities (e.g. "PHYSICAL ATTACK +4. DUNGEON: Additional PHYSICAL ATTACK +4 if 1 or more other Heroes are present."); the Victory Points (if any, bottom right); and the experience points needed to level up (if any, bottom).

Monster Cards

All the dangers you can meet in the dungeon are represented by Monster cards. You can recognize Monster cards by their red border. The "Anatomy of a Monster Card" overview shows you the individual elements found on Monster cards.

Anatomy of a Monster Card

Using the Brazen Kobold (Bestial • Humanoid • Level 1) as an example, a Monster card shows: the keywords (top left) and card name (top); the Health (top right); the Gold Value (left side); the Light Value — as a Trophy effect, after the monster has been defeated (if any); the traits, abilities, and effects (e.g. "BATTLE: Discard 1 weapon."); the experience points; and the Victory Points (bottom right).

Special Cards

This general category covers all playing cards that cause unusual effects, such as Disease and Thunderstone Shard. You can recognize Special cards by their brown border.

Randomizer Cards

Randomizer cards help you put together ever-new card sets for your games. There are 3 different kinds of randomizers: Village cards, Heroes, and Monsters. There are no randomizers for the Thunderstone Bearer, Special cards, or Basic cards.

The names on the front of the randomizer cards denote the respective Village cards, Hero types, or Monster groups. Additional information on the randomizers — both the values and summary texts — gives you a first idea of how the respective cards work. The 3 Monster randomizers aren't needed for now. You'll need them only once you also play with other Thunderstone releases.

Oversized Dividers

The oversized dividers help you keep the cards organized in the box. The dividers are color-coded to match the various card types. There are also 5 dividers labeled Starting Deck, which let you keep every player's starting deck pre-sorted.

What You'll Also Need

You'll need a few tokens or markers to use as experience points. With the help of these markers, you keep track of the experience points you earn during the game by fighting the dangers you encounter.

Game Setup

The first time you open the game, first unpack the components. Then you can set up the game. The complete card list can be found under Complete Card List.

Unpacking the Components

Unpack all the cards and sort the Village cards and Hero cards into individual stacks, each showing the same picture. The complete card list lists every card.

Next, sort the monsters according to their keyword line. Separate the monsters into Bestial – Humanoid, Virulent – Undead, and Colossal – Giant. Set the Thunderstone Bearer aside on its own.

Once you've laid out all the stacks, separate the randomizer cards into 3 separate stacks of Village, Hero, and Monster randomizers. You can recognize them simply by their different card backs.

Assemble the starting decks by stacking the following cards on top of each other: 6 Regulars, 2 Longspears, 2 Torches, and 2 Thunderstone Shards. This gives you 5 stacks.

Finally, unpack the oversized dividers and set them up in the box. Put each stack of cards next to the matching divider. If you're not sure which cards belong to which group, you can consult the complete card list.

Now the components are unpacked and you can set up the game.

Preparing the Dungeon

The "dungeon" is a generic term for the home of the monsters. Sometimes it's a subterranean labyrinth, a lonely fortress, or a gloom-ridden swamp. The dungeon's inhabitants are represented as Monster cards in the dungeon deck, with a powerful Thunderstone Bearer near the bottom of the stack, guarding the final prize.

1. Draw 3 random monsters from the Bestial – Humanoid group and lay them face up in a row. This is the dungeon.
2. Thoroughly shuffle all the remaining monster cards.
3. Count out 10 cards without looking at them.
4. Shuffle the Thunderstone Bearer into these 10 cards, then place all 11 cards face down next to the 3 face-up monsters.
5. Place the remaining monster cards face down on top of these 11 cards. All the cards together form the dungeon deck.

Example dungeon setup: Gnoll Destroyer, Bestial • Humanoid • Level 1 (Trophy: 1 Hero gets STRENGTH +2) — Orc Raider, Bestial • Humanoid • Level 1 (Battle: Destroy 1 Regular) — Ophidian Slasher, Bestial • Humanoid • Level 1 (Trophy: PHYSICAL ATTACK +1), next to the dungeon deck.

The game is set up in 3 steps: preparing the dungeon, filling the village with life, and giving everything the final touches with the finishing preparations.

Filling the Village with Life

Now it's time to prepare the village, so you can see what resources are available to you.

1. Shuffle the Hero randomizers and reveal the top 4 cards. Find the Hero types that match the randomizer cards from the box and lay their cards out in a row beneath the dungeon. The Hero cards must be sorted within each stack, with Level 1 Heroes on top, Level 2 Heroes beneath them, and so on, so that the highest-level Heroes lie at the very bottom of the stack. To make sorting easier, each Hero's Level is shown next to the keywords, and each of these Heroes has its own name.

2. Shuffle the Village randomizers. Reveal one randomizer card after another, each time finding the matching Village cards from the box and setting them out. Repeat this process until you have determined 8 different stacks of Village cards. Place the stacks in 2 rows of 4 stacks each, below the row of Heroes.

All these Heroes and Village cards are now available to you as cards in the village.

Example village setup — Hero stacks: Cathedral Priestess (Human • Cleric • Level 2), Garrison Shieldbearer (Human • Fighter • Level 1), Tower Master (Dwarf • Sorcerer • Level 3), Wildwood Strategist (Elf • Ranger • Level 2).

Example village setup — Village card stacks: Poleaxe, Heroic Sword, Healing Potion, Insight, Opportunist, Fireball, Flowing Sparks, Call for Help.

Finishing Preparations

Finish setting up the game by placing the stack of Disease cards, as well as a few experience markers, off to the side. Neither of these belongs to the dungeon or the village.

Each player takes their own starting deck, shuffles it carefully, and places it face down in front of them. Then each player draws 6 cards from their own deck and takes them into hand.

Now you're ready for the game!

Game Flow

Overview

Choose a starting player, who begins with the first turn. After that, the players take turns clockwise, each carrying out their own turn. When it's a player's turn, they are called the active player.

Unlike other card games, cards you gain do not stay in play. Instead, they end up in your deck. What's more, on your turn you don't just play 1 card and then discard it.

On a normal turn you lay out all your hand cards face up in front of you and, as you wish, carry out some or all of the card effects. You then place all the cards on your discard pile and draw new cards from your deck, which you take into your hand for your next turn.

On each turn, you choose one of the following 4 options:

1. Visit the Village: You buy new cards for your deck.
2. Battle in the Dungeon: You fight 1 monster.
3. Prepare: You try to improve your hand cards for your next turn.
4. Rest: You may destroy 1 unwanted hand card.

Each of these 4 options helps you refine the makeup of your deck and change the selection of cards you can draw in the following turns.

Every player only ever carries out 1 of these actions, so you usually don't have to wait long for your next turn.

Visit the Village is covered in full starting on page 10. Battle in the Dungeon is covered in full starting on page 12. Prepare and Rest are covered starting on page 16.

Key Concepts

There are a few fundamental concepts in Thunderstone. Please keep the following points in mind as you continue reading the rulebook.

The Golden Rule

Thunderstone consists of dozens of different cards, many of which seemingly contradict the following rules. If a card's text conflicts with a rule in this rulebook or changes it, the card's text always takes priority.

Decks, Discard Piles, and Hand Cards

All players start the game with an identical starting deck of 12 cards. During the game, you'll change your deck however you like. Your deck always lies face down in front of you.

You also have your own discard pile. Whenever you gain new cards, you first place them face up on your discard pile. Your discard pile always lies face up.

When your deck is completely used up, leave it empty for the time being. As soon as you need cards from the empty deck, shuffle your discard pile and set it down face down as your new deck. This can also happen in the middle of your turn.

Hand cards are all the cards that you have drawn during a turn, laid out in front of you, and neither discarded nor destroyed. All hand cards count as present. All discarded or destroyed cards are not in your hand and therefore count as not present.

Destroying Cards

Some effects in the game destroy a card. When a card is destroyed, it comes out of the game and you put it back in the box. Exceptions apply to destroying Diseases and Basic cards.

• Destroyed Diseases are placed back under the Disease card stack, since there is an unlimited supply of these cards.
• Destroyed Basic cards (Torch, Longspear, and Regular) are placed face up on their own stacks in the village. Once there, they count as Village cards and any player may buy them.

Abilities

Many cards have special abilities described on them. You can recognize them by the keywords VILLAGE, DUNGEON, or SPOILS followed by a colon. You may only use these abilities in the stated locations or at the stated time. You always have the choice of whether to use the abilities and in which order you apply them.

• VILLAGE: These abilities give you extra gold, more cards, or other benefits when you visit the village.
• DUNGEON: These abilities strengthen your band of heroes in combat against the monsters.
• SPOILS: These abilities grant you bonuses when you defeat a monster in combat.

The abilities may each be used only once per turn.

Effects

Many cards (including almost all Monster cards) have effects. Effects follow the same rules as abilities, except that you must apply them. When an effect is carried out, it takes effect immediately and lasts until the end of the turn. Only the cards that were in play at that point are affected.

• AFTERMATH: This effect takes effect as soon as you have finished the battle against a monster, regardless of who wins the battle.
• BATTLE: This effect takes effect when you have chosen a monster to fight, but before the battle is carried out.
• TROPHY: This effect takes effect when the monster is in your hand.

Traits

Some cards also have traits. Traits are all the text that doesn't carry one of the keywords for abilities or effects named above. So Heroes normally have certain traits, such as PHYSICAL ATTACK +1 or MAGIC ATTACK +2.

Trait text is always active and always applies. If your laid-out cards change, the trait adjusts immediately and may change its effect.

Visit the Village

When you visit the village, you seek out additional help in the form of other adventurers, better equipment, or spells previously unknown to you. Carry out the following steps in the order given. Some of the steps are optional; you don't have to carry out all of them.

1. Lay your hand cards face up in front of you (mandatory).
2. Use Village abilities and Trophy effects (see below).
3. Add up the Gold Values of the laid-out cards and buy 1 Hero or 1 Village card (optional).
4. Level up laid-out Heroes with your collected experience markers. You may level up as many Heroes as you like, as long as you can spend enough experience markers. Each Hero may only be leveled up once per turn (optional).

Afterward, end your turn (see End of Turn).

1. Lay Your Hand Cards Face Up

You must lay out all your hand cards and thus bring them along on your village visit, even if doing so is to your disadvantage.

2. Use Village Abilities and Trophy Effects

You may use the Village abilities and Trophy effects of your hand cards in any order you like. For instance, you may use one Village effect first, then activate 2 Trophy effects, and finally use another Village effect. However, you must finish using all the abilities and effects you want in this step.

You don't have to announce your use of the abilities in advance, and you don't have to use all the abilities. You must use all Trophy effects of your laid-out hand cards, but Trophy effects have no effect in the village in Thunderstone: Starter Set.

Some general rules for using Village abilities:

• You may only use each Village ability once per turn.
• If you have to discard a card due to a Village ability, place it immediately on your discard pile.
• If a card is destroyed by a Village ability, remove it from the game immediately.
• You may not use the Village ability of a card whose Village ability you have already used.
• You may not destroy a card whose Village ability you have already used, except when the affected card destroys itself through its own Village ability.
• You may discard a card whose Village ability you have already used.

Example: You have an Opportunist in hand and visit the village.

The Opportunist has the following two Village abilities:

VILLAGE: Destroy 1 Regular or 1 Torch or 1 Longspear to gain 2 gold. Discard this card.

VILLAGE: Destroy this card to gain 1 experience point.

For the first Village ability, you choose 1 Regular in your hand, which you destroy to gain the additional 2 gold. Afterward, you decide to also use the second Village effect to destroy the Opportunist as well, gaining 1 experience point.

3. Buy 1 Card

Add up the Gold Values of all your hand cards still laid out in front of you. Add or subtract any Gold Values you gained or lost through Village abilities and Trophy effects. You may spend this total amount of gold in the village this turn.

You may buy 1 card in the village: either 1 Hero card or 1 Village card. The Gold Cost of the card must be less than or equal to your total gold. Unused gold is lost at the end of your turn — presumably your band of heroes spends it in the tavern on a round of mead, or to pry mysterious information about the dungeon out of some beggars.

You may only buy the top card of a Village stack or Hero stack. This means you must first buy Level 1 Heroes, until they've all been taken by the players. Only then may you buy Level 2 Heroes, and so on. Each stack consists of a limited number of cards. As soon as a stack is empty, you can no longer buy the corresponding cards.

You place every card you buy on your discard pile.

4. Level Up Heroes

To level up a Hero, choose a laid-out Hero card from your hand. You pay the stated experience points and level up the Hero.

Destroy the old Hero card before you get the corresponding Hero card of the next-higher Level from the Hero stack. Place the new Hero card on your discard pile.

If there's no longer a card of the next-higher Level in the Hero stack, you may not level up the Hero! You may not skip a Level, and you may not level up a Hero twice in one turn (once leveled up the first time, the new Hero card goes to the discard pile and no longer counts as one of your hand cards).

As you can tell from the blue card border, Regulars count as Heroes. Regulars are Level 0 Heroes, so you need 2 experience points to level up a Regular into any Level 1 Hero available in the village.

You may level up as many Heroes as you like on your turn, as long as you have enough experience points to pay the cost and meet all the conditions listed above. You don't have to level up any Hero, and you may forgo this option entirely.

Battle in the Dungeon

When you enter the dungeon, your band of heroes helps you defeat 1 monster using the spells, weapons, and items in your hand. Carry out the following steps in the order given. Some of the steps are optional; you don't have to carry out all of them.

1. Lay your hand cards face up in front of you (mandatory).
2. Use any number of Dungeon abilities (optional), equip your Heroes with weapons from your hand (optional), and use all Trophy effects (mandatory).
3. Choose one of the monsters in the dungeon to fight (mandatory).
4. Apply Battle effects (mandatory, if any).
5. Determine your Total Attack Value and compare it to the monster's Health. The higher value wins the battle (mandatory).
6. Apply Aftermath effects (mandatory, if any).
7. If you don't defeat the monster, place the Monster card face down under the dungeon deck (mandatory).
8. If you defeat the monster, place the Monster card on your discard pile and take the experience points (mandatory).
9. Carry out any applicable Spoils effects (optional).
10. Shift the Monster cards and refill the dungeon (mandatory).

Afterward, end your turn (see End of Turn).

1. Lay Your Hand Cards Face Up

You must lay out all your hand cards and take them with you into the dungeon for the fight, even if doing so is to your disadvantage.

2. Use Dungeon Abilities, Equip Heroes with Weapons, and Apply Trophy Effects

You may use the Dungeon abilities and Trophy effects of your cards, and equip Heroes with weapons, in any order you like. For instance, you may first use a Trophy effect, then a Dungeon ability, then equip a weapon, and finally use another Dungeon ability. However, you must finish using all the abilities and effects you want in this step.

Using Dungeon Abilities

Most Dungeon abilities strengthen your attack, let you discard unwanted cards, or give you more Light. You may activate the Dungeon abilities on your laid-out hand cards in whatever order you like. You don't have to announce your use of the abilities in advance, and you don't have to use all of them.

Some general rules for using Dungeon abilities:

• You may only use each Dungeon ability once per turn.
• If you have to discard a card due to a Dungeon ability, place it immediately on your discard pile.
• If a card is destroyed by a Dungeon ability, remove it from the game immediately.
• You may not use the Dungeon ability of a card whose Dungeon ability you have already used or that has already been discarded or destroyed.
• You may not destroy a card whose Dungeon ability you have already used, except when the affected card destroys itself through its own Dungeon ability.
• You may discard a card whose Dungeon ability you have already used.

Equip Heroes with Weapons

Weapons belong to a special card type. A weapon only helps you in battle if you equip a Hero with it. For a Hero to be equipped with a weapon, that Hero's Strength must be greater than or equal to the weapon's Weight. Please note that Strength is different from Attack. A Hero can carry a weapon using their Strength, but you defeat monsters with the weapon's Attack.

Each Hero may only be equipped with one weapon per turn. Once a Hero has been equipped with a weapon, you may not equip that Hero with a different weapon in the same turn, even if the first weapon is destroyed or you have to discard it.

If a weapon is destroyed in battle against a monster, you lose its Attack Values, but not any of the abilities or traits you already applied beforehand. If a Hero equipped with a weapon is destroyed, you may not equip any other Hero with that weapon in the same turn.

All other cards (items, spells, etc.) contribute their effects to the battle automatically. You don't need to equip a Hero with them. You don't even need to have a single Hero in your hand to use these cards in battle!

Apply Trophy Effects

You must apply all Trophy effects of your laid-out hand cards. The Attack penalty from Diseases is a Trophy effect, so you must apply it in this step.

3. Choose a Monster to Fight

Choose one of the 3 monsters in the dungeon to fight. The monster's position and the darkness there can make some fights harder.

Rank in the Dungeon

There are always 3 cards lying face up next to the dungeon deck. These are the monsters you can fight after entering the dungeon. Each monster occupies a rank.

The ranks these monsters occupy make up the dungeon. Farthest from the dungeon deck lies rank 1 — the entrance to the dungeon. Each rank closer to the dungeon deck is 1 higher (rank 2, then rank 3). The higher a monster's rank, the farther you must advance into the dungeon to fight it, and the more oppressive the darkness becomes.

You should factor in these effects before you choose a monster to fight.

Darkness

The gloom in the dungeon has a negative effect on your attack. In Thunderstone this is called Darkness, and the value of the Darkness equals the monster's rank.

• Rank 1 — Darkness 1 — Attack penalty -2
• Rank 2 — Darkness 2 — Attack penalty -4
• Rank 3 — Darkness 3 — Attack penalty -6

Fortunately, you can reduce Darkness with Light. Add up the Light Values of all your laid-out hand cards — these are the values shown in the lantern symbols on the cards. Subtract the total value of your Light from the Darkness value of the rank of the monster you're attacking.

• If the Light eliminates the Darkness (if the result is zero or less), you suffer no penalty and may use your Total Attack Value in the battle. You get no bonus for excess Light.
• If the Light is not enough and there's still Darkness remaining, you reduce your Total Attack Value by 2 per remaining point of Darkness.

There are, however, some monsters that are immune to certain kinds of attack. If a monster is immune to Magic Attack, for example, you must ignore all Attack Values of that kind and determine your Total Attack Value only from your remaining attacks. If you only have the type of attack the monster is immune to available, you may still attack the monster, but you cannot defeat it.

Subtract from the total any Attack penalties you suffer from Diseases or Darkness. The result is finally your Total Attack Value.

Compare your Total Attack Value to the Health of the monster you attacked (the value on the shield symbol in the upper right corner of the Monster card). If your Total Attack Value is equal to or higher than the monster's Health, you're victorious! If not, you lose the battle.

4. Apply Battle Effects

If the monster has a Battle effect (the text begins with the word BATTLE), you must now apply this effect. Only if it has no effect may you ignore it. You do not apply Battle effects of defeated Monster cards in your hand — those monsters have long since been defeated!

5. Determine Your Total Attack Value and Compare It to the Monster's Health

Add up all the Attack Values of your laid-out hand cards: Heroes, equipped weapons, spells, villagers, Trophies... simply everything.

Also add the bonuses from Physical and Magic Attacks — both types of attack count toward your attack. To do this, determine the Attack Values of both attack types separately before adding their totals to your Total Attack Value. You receive both kinds of attack from cards, abilities, and Trophy effects that you lay out before the battle. Some cards even give you multiple bonuses.

6. Apply Aftermath Effects

If the monster has an Aftermath effect (the text begins with the word AFTERMATH), you must now apply all these effects. Even if you already know whether you've defeated the monster or lost against it, the monster can still land one last, fatal blow against you. You may only ignore it if the Aftermath effect has no effect.

7. If You Lose the Battle...

If you haven't defeated the attacked monster, it withdraws from the dungeon. Place the Monster card face down under the dungeon deck. You suffer no negative consequences from this defeat, but you also can't gain any Victory Points this round.

8. If You Win the Battle...

Place the defeated monster on your discard pile. The defeated monster may give you gold, Light, and/or further Trophy effects in later turns. Also take the experience points from the general supply according to the value shown on the Monster card and place them in front of you.

9. Carry Out Spoils Effects

At the end of a successful battle, you may now carry out the Spoils effects of all your laid-out cards (the text begins with the word SPOILS).

10. Refill the Dungeon

Regardless of the outcome of the battle, one rank in the dungeon is now empty. Shift all Monster cards from higher ranks toward rank 1 until the gap is closed, and refill the highest rank with the top card of the dungeon deck.

Prepare

Sometimes you have a selection of hand cards that you can't do much with. Prepare gives you the chance to swap out your hand cards for your next turn.

Don't lay out your hand cards! Instead, place as many of your hand cards as you like back on top of your deck. You may choose the order of the cards freely. You will draw these chosen cards again directly at the end of the turn and take them back into your hand. You may not do anything more than that, but this action sets you up better for your next turn. Then end your turn.

Rest

Through Rest, you may destroy 1 card that you no longer need in your deck.

Don't lay out your hand cards! Instead, choose 1 hand card and destroy it. That's the whole of Rest. Then end your turn.

End of Turn

As long as the Thunderstone Bearer has not reached rank 1 in the dungeon or has not been defeated, place all your hand cards on your discard pile, draw 6 new cards from your deck, and take them into your hand. All abilities and effects activated during your turn end now. Now the player to your left continues the game with their turn.

Additional Rules

Diseases

Some monsters cause you to suffer one or more Disease cards. You take these Diseases from the open Disease card stack and place them on your discard pile.

Diseases cause you an Attack penalty. You may deduct this Attack penalty from either your Physical Attack or your Magic Attack. The chosen kind of attack may not fall below zero, and you may not choose an attack type you don't have laid out.

You can get rid of Diseases when you choose the Rest action and destroy a Disease. Some Heroes and Village cards also allow you to destroy these cards.

Diseases never leave the game when you destroy them. Instead, a destroyed Disease card is always placed back under the stack of Disease cards.

Trophies

While most monsters give you Victory Points and a little gold, some of them also have additional Trophy effects that enter your deck after a successful battle.

You may only use Trophy effects in Thunderstone: Starter Set while in the dungeon. If you gain, say, an Attack bonus through a Trophy effect, it doesn't help you when visiting the village.

You must always carry out Trophy effects when you hold the corresponding cards in hand and are in the dungeon. Trophy effects don't require a Hero, and you don't need to equip a Hero with them. You may not use Trophy effects when you choose the Prepare or Rest actions.

Trophy effects only take effect if you have the corresponding card in your hand. For monsters still in the dungeon, this effect is not yet active — you must defeat the monster first.

Thunderstone Bearers and Guardians

The most powerful monster in the dungeon deck is the Thunderstone Bearer. It has significantly greater power than the other monsters and is the evil master in possession of the Thunderstone. It also counts as a Guardian, as noted in the keyword line.

A Guardian is immune to all abilities or effects that would remove a monster from the dungeon without a fight, or that would force it to change position, until it loses a battle against you. The Guardian does not retreat if it wins a battle against you, and is therefore never placed back under the dungeon deck. There is only one way to get rid of it: you must defeat the Thunderstone Bearer!

Game End and Winning

The game ends when the Thunderstone Bearer reaches rank 1 in the dungeon or is defeated by a player.

Each player now counts the Victory Points of all their cards in their deck, in hand, and on their discard pile. Look for the blue jewel in the bottom right corner of your cards — that's where the Victory Points are shown.

Whoever among you has the most Victory Points wins the game! If several players are tied, whoever among them defeated the Thunderstone Bearer wins. If none of the tied players defeated it, whoever among them still has the most experience points wins.

Strategy Tips

• At the start of the game, you should try to raise the Gold Values in your deck. This lets you buy more expensive (and thus more powerful) Village cards. Look for cards that are both strong in the dungeon and give you more gold. Once you have more gold available, it becomes easier to recruit more Heroes.

• A strong strategy can be to get rid of as many of your Basic cards as possible. In general, over the course of the game you should try to remove your weaker Basic cards from your deck, so that you draw your more powerful cards more often. There are the following options for getting rid of Basic cards:

  • Destroy them through the Rest action.
  • Use a card like the Opportunist to get rid of cards with a Village ability.
  • Level up Regulars using experience points.

• Each Hero stack only has 2 Level 3 Heroes. You should try to get hold of several of them before the other players manage to, since Level 3 Heroes are normally the most powerful cards in the game. You won't get all of them, but aim to get as many as possible.

• Remember that a monster is removed from the dungeon by a battle even if you don't defeat it. If you have the most Victory Points, try to speed up the game by fighting monsters even when you have no chance of winning, in order to deny them to the other players and bring the Thunderstone Bearer into the dungeon faster.

Turn Summary

Visit the Village

1. Lay your hand cards face up in front of you.
2. Use any Village abilities and apply all Trophy effects.
3. Buy 1 Hero or 1 Village card.
4. Level up laid-out Heroes.

Battle in the Dungeon

1. Lay your hand cards face up in front of you.
2. Use any Dungeon abilities, equip your Heroes with weapons, and apply all Trophy effects.
3. Choose one of the monsters to fight.
4. Apply Battle effects.
5. Determine your Total Attack Value and see who wins the battle.
6. Apply Aftermath effects.
7. If you don't defeat the monster, place the Monster card face down under the dungeon deck.
8. If you defeat the monster, place the Monster card on your discard pile and take the experience points.
9. Carry out any applicable Spoils effects.
10. Shift the Monster cards and refill the dungeon.

Prepare

Place as many of your hand cards as you like back on top of your deck.

Rest

Destroy 1 hand card.

End of Turn

If the Thunderstone Bearer has not reached rank 1 in the dungeon or has not been defeated by you, discard your hand cards and draw 6 new cards. All abilities and effects activated during your turn end now.

Now the player to your left continues the game with their turn.