Torches & Pitchforks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Order of Play
  • 1. Draw
  • 2. Attack!
  • 3. Hunt!
  • 4. Recoup
  • 5. Discard
  • A Sample Turn
  • A Quick Note on Playing Cards
    • Playing Action Cards
    • Canceling
• Keeping Score
• Winning the Game
• Combat
  • Fighting
  • Fleeing
  • Dead Townsfolk
  • Reshuffling
  • A Sample Combat
• Types of Cards
  • The Monster Deck
    • Monster
    • Event
  • The Townsfolk Deck
  • The Mob Deck
    • Action
    • Defense
    • Enhancement
    • Townsfolk
• Card List
  • Monster Deck
  • Mob Deck
  • Townsfolk Deck

Object of the Game

You score points for defeating monsters. The first player to score 30 points saves the town and wins the game!

Setup

There are two decks: the Monster deck and the Mob deck. You will need room for both decks, their discard piles, and the Moor, and each player will need room for his Mob and any cards played on his Mob. You will also need at least one six-sided die.

1. There are 30 Townsfolk cards. Deal 6 Townsfolk cards to each player, and set any extra Townsfolk cards aside. Each player places these 6 Townsfolk in front of them, and they represent that player's Mob. In a 5-player game, there should be no extra Townsfolk.

2. Shuffle the Mob deck and deal 5 cards to each player. Then place the Mob deck face down in the middle of the table. The five cards you hold are called your Hand.

3. Shuffle the Monster deck, and place it in the middle of the table near the Mob deck. Leave room for a discard pile for each deck, as well as space between the two decks for the Moor.

The Moor is a separate pile from the Monster deck's discard pile. If a Monster is neutralized without defeating it in Combat (with certain Action cards, Defense cards, or by Fleeing, all described later), that Monster is placed in the Moor.

4. Determine who goes first however you choose.

Note: Both the Monster deck and Mob deck have their own discard piles. Whenever these rules or a card refer to "the discard pile," assume that it means the discard pile for the appropriate type of card.

[Setup diagram: four player positions (Player 1 through Player 4) around the table, with the Mob Deck, Mob Deck Discard Pile, Monster Deck, Monster Deck Discard Pile, and The Moor in the centre.]

Order of Play

Each player's turn consists of 5 phases: Draw, Attack!, Hunt!, Recoup, and Discard.

1. Draw

Draw cards from the Mob deck until you have 5 cards in your hand. You may never have more than 5 cards in your hand, unless you have a card in play that states otherwise. If, for some reason, you ever have more than 5 cards in your hand, you must immediately discard down to 5.

If the Mob deck ever runs out of cards, simply reshuffle the Mob deck's discard pile and start a new Mob deck.

2. Attack!

Flip over the top card from the Monster deck. If it is a Monster card, you must either Fight it, or Flee (see Combat). If you kill the Monster by Fighting it, that Monster card is placed in your Score Pile. If you successfully Flee from the monster, or it is otherwise avoided (by the use of some Action cards or Defense cards), it is placed in the Moor.

The choice to Fight a monster or Flee from it must be made before any cards are played. Once you have chosen to Fight a monster, you may not attempt to Flee from it, and once you have chosen to Flee, you may not go back and attempt to Fight.

If you Fight a Monster during your Attack! phase, you may not go Hunting during your Hunt! phase.

If the card flipped over is an Event card, immediately do what the card says, then place that card into the Monster deck's discard pile.

3. Hunt!

If the card you flipped over during your Attack! phase was not a Monster, or you flipped over a Monster and either successfully Fled (see Fleeing, described later) or the Monster was otherwise neutralized without combat, then you may choose to go Hunting for a Monster.

To go Hunting for a Monster, shuffle all of the Monsters in the Moor, and take one at random. You then fight this Monster just as though you had flipped it during the Attack! phase.

If you go Hunting for a Monster, you may not attempt to Flee. You MUST Fight the Monster, unless you have a card that specifically allows you to do otherwise.

4. Recoup

During the Recoup phase, one of your Townsfolk that was killed in Combat (see Combat) is flipped face up. You regain Townsfolk at a rate of 1 per turn, during your Recoup phase.

You may also play any Defense, Enhancement, and Townsfolk cards in your hand during your Recoup phase.

5. Discard

You may now discard as many or as few cards as you wish from your hand. Then, your turn ends and play proceeds clockwise.

A Sample Turn

Nicole begins her turn with only two cards in her hand. In phase 1 (Draw) she draws three cards from the Mob Deck, bringing her hand up to 5. In phase 2 (Attack!) she flips over the top card of the Monster Deck and reveals a Terror Toy. She decides to fight (see Combat) but loses the battle and two of her townsfolk are killed. These are flipped over so the card backs are face up. Since Nicole fought a monster in phase 2, she cannot also go hunting, so she skips phase 3 (probably for the best, since her mob is down two townsfolk anyway). In phase 4 (Recoup), she gets one of her slain townsfolk back, flipping it back over. She also chooses to play a pistol (an enhancement card) on one of her townsfolk, to make her mob tougher. She moves on to phase 5 (Discard), but opts to keep all of the cards currently in her hand.

Her turn is now over and the player on her left takes his turn.

A Quick Note on Playing Cards

Unless a card states otherwise, any card can be played on any player or Mob. This does not change when or how a card can be played.

Playing Action Cards

Action cards (see Types of Cards) may be played at any time, on any player's turn, even during Combat on a player's Attack! or Hunt! phase. When playing an Action card, simply play the card, do what it says, and then place the card in the discard pile. If there is ever a conflict regarding multiple players wishing to play Action cards, the player whose turn it is always gets to play first.

Canceling

Certain Action cards can Cancel other cards as they are being played. A Canceled card is discarded with no effect.

To Cancel a card as it is being played, you must play the Canceling card before that player plays another card. Also, whenever you play a card, you must give the other players an opportunity to Cancel it if they wish. Use your own judgment to determine what is fair.

Keeping Score

Each time a player kills a Monster by defeating it in Combat, place that Monster card into that player's Score Pile. Each Monster is worth a number of points equal to the Power value printed on the card (excluding any bonuses during combat). The total point value of all of the Monsters in a player's Score Pile is that player's Score.

For example, Nicole has defeated three monsters, a Giant Ape (Power 9), a Killer Bug (Power 5), and a Giant Rat (Power 4). Her current is thus 9+5+4=18. If she scores 12 more points, she'll win the game.

Winning the Game

The first person whose Score reaches 30 points wins the game. This number can be adjusted to taste. 20 makes for a quick game, while 40 makes the fun last longer.

Combat

Combat ensues whenever you choose to fight a Monster that you either a) flipped over from the Monster deck during your Attack! phase or b) pulled from the Moor during your Hunt! phase.

As soon as the Monster is revealed, you must decide whether to Fight the Monster or Flee from it before any cards are played to alter the Combat. You cannot begin fighting the Monster, then Flee when things don't go your way.

Fighting

In order to defeat the Monster in Combat, the total Strength of your Mob (the number of Townsfolk cards you have in play, plus the total of all bonuses from Enhancement or Action cards) must exceed the Power of the Monster. If your total Strength is equal to the Monster's Power, the Monster wins the fight.

Keep in mind that other players can play Action cards during your Combat, and this could drastically alter the situation (most likely NOT in your favor). Be careful!

If your Mob is powerful enough to defeat the Monster, that Monster is killed, and the Monster card is placed in your Score Pile.

If your Mob is too weak, and fails to defeat the Monster, the Monster will kill a number of your Townsfolk equal to its Kill rating (see Dead Townsfolk, below). You choose the Townsfolk that die, unless the Monster card or another card states otherwise. That Monster is then placed in the Moor.

If the Monster is otherwise neutralized without defeating it in Combat (with certain Action cards, Defense cards, or by Fleeing), that Monster is placed in the Moor.

Fleeing

To attempt to Flee from a Monster, you must roll a 6 sided die. After rolling the die, you must discard a number of cards from your hand equal to the die roll. If you do so successfully, you Flee the Monster. No combat occurs, and the Monster is placed in the Moor.

If you cannot discard enough cards from your hand, your attempt to Flee fails, and you must fight the Monster. Certain cards can alter your attempts to flee, as well. If your attempt to flee fails (i.e., you don't have enough cards in your hand to discard), you are not required to discard any cards.

Dead Townsfolk

If you fight a Monster (during either your Attack! or Hunt! phases), and you fail to defeat it, that monster will kill a number of Townsfolk equal to its Kill rating.

Dead Townsfolk are flipped face down, and any Enhancement cards attached to them are discarded. Dead Townsfolk are then flipped face up again during your Recoup phase (to represent new Townsfolk joining your Mob) at a rate of 1 per turn. It is possible, with certain cards, for Townsfolk to be killed out of turn.

Dead Townsfolk do not add any bonuses to the Strength of your Mob during Combat, you may not play Enhancement cards on dead Townsfolk, and if you are forced to place any of your Townsfolk in the discard pile, you may not choose a Dead Townsfolk.

Reshuffling

If, for some reason, the Monster deck runs out of cards before someone wins the game, simply reshuffle the Monster deck's discard pile and the Moor back together, and start a new Monster deck.

A Sample Combat

Nicole has six townsfolk. She has played two enhancement cards on Heidi, one of her townsfolk, making her a sheriff and arming her with a sword. On Nicole's turn, she is attacked by a vampire (Power 9, Kill 1). Since the current Strength of her Mob is 10 (6 for her townsfolk, +1 for the sheriff, +3 for the sword), she decides to fight the vampire. However, Jess, one of her crafty opponents, is not going to stand still while Nicole scores 9 points! He plays an action card, Heck-spawn, that adds +2 to the Power of the vampire. Now the vampire's Power is 11 and the Strength of Nicole's Mob is only 10. She looks at her hand, hoping to find an action card of her own to play but she doesn't have an appropriate card. The vampire thus defeats her Mob.

The vampire's Kill rating is 1, which isn't so bad under normal circumstances (since the Recoup phase is coming up next). However, the vampire's special ability is that he kills the townsfolk with the most attached enhancements. Normally, Nicole would be allowed to choose which townsfolk got killed, but the vampire's ability overrides this rule. Unfortunately for Nicole, the vampire's choice is clear. He kills Heidi, the townsfolk with two enhancement cards (sheriff and sword). While the dead townsfolk will be replaced in the Recoup phase, the two enhancements are gone forever. Nicole vows bloody vengeance on Jess and the game goes on!

Types of Cards

The Monster Deck

The Monster deck contains 2 types of cards: Monsters and Events.

Monster

Monster cards represent the Monsters terrorizing your town. Monster cards have 2 stats: Power and Kill. A Monster's Power is the number your Mob's total Strength must exceed in order to defeat that Monster in Combat. A Monster's Kill rating is the number of your Townsfolk that monster kills if it defeats your Mob in Combat.

Event

Event cards have certain stated effects. Some affect one player, and some affect multiple players. When an Event card is Flipped during a player's Attack! phase, simply do what the card says, then place the card into the Monster Deck's discard pile.

The Townsfolk Deck

Townsfolk are the members of your Mob, and the defenders of your Town. Each Townsfolk card in your Mob adds +1 Strength to your Mob when fighting Monsters.

You start the game with 6 Townsfolk in your Mob, and you can get more during the game. You may only play Townsfolk cards from your hand during your Recoup phase. You can never have fewer than 6 Townsfolk in play (though some of those may be Dead).

The Mob Deck

The Mob deck contains 4 types of cards: Action, Defense, Enhancement, and Townsfolk.

Action

Action cards have many different effects that vary widely. The effects of Action cards will be clearly stated on each card. When you play an Action card, simply do what it says, then place the card in the Mob deck's discard pile. Generally, Action cards are played and immediately discarded, unless stated otherwise on the card.

Action cards may be played at any time, on any player. There is no limit to the number of Action cards a player may play in 1 turn.

Defense

Defense cards defend your town against a particular type of Monster. Defense cards are played during your Recoup phase, and are placed next to your Mob. If you have a Defense card in front of you, and a Monster of the type specified on that Defense card is flipped over during your Attack! phase, that Monster flees. Place the Monster directly into the Moor without combat, and continue with your turn as normal.

You may also play Defense cards as Action cards, but only during your Attack! phase. You may even play Defense cards in this fashion after Combat has begun. If you do so, place the Monster into the Moor without Combat, and discard the Defense card after it is played, just as you would an Action card.

Defense cards do not defend you against Monsters you Hunt for. Defense cards may be played on any player, and may only be played during your Recoup phase (unless played as an Action during a player's Attack! phase).

You may place any Defense cards in front of you into the Mob deck's discard pile at any time during your Recoup phase. A player may only have 1 Defense card in play at a time.

Enhancement

There are two types of Enhancements: Weapons and Leaders. Enhancement cards may only be played during your Recoup phase, and they are attached to specific Townsfolk in your Mob.

Weapon cards give your Mob bonuses during Combat. Weapon cards are played on individual Townsfolk, and stay in play until they (or the Townsfolk they are attached to) are either placed in the discard pile (because of certain Action cards), or that Townsfolk is killed in Combat.

Weapon cards may only be played on your own Townsfolk, and each Townsfolk may only hold 1 weapon at a time (unless a card states otherwise). Weapon cards may only be played during your Recoup phase.

Leader cards give bonuses and effects to your Mob. The effects of Leader cards are widely varied, and will be clearly stated on the individual card. A player may only have 1 Leader card in play on their Mob at a time.

Townsfolk

The Mob Deck also contains six additional townsfolk to add to your mob's initial six.

Card List

The source prints the following deck lists at the end of the rulebook. Each entry gives the number of copies in the deck.

Monster Deck

Event Cards:

• Arms Shipment x1
• Cowering Bureaucrats x1
• Dropped Match x1
• Mass Confusion x1
• Plague x1
• Risen from the Dead x1
• Scrap That x1
• Stolen Plans x1
• Swords into Plowshares x1
• Termite Infestation x1
• The Plot Thickens x1
• Vanished Into the Mists x1

Monster Cards:

• Creature from the Tide Flats x1
• Evil Witch x3
• Ghost x3
• Giant Ape x3
• Giant Rat x6
• The Glob x1
• Irvingstein's Monster x1
• Killer Bug x3
• Killer Clown x3
• Mummy x3
• Raging Dinosaur x3
• Terror Toy x3
• Vampire x3
• Vlad the Inhaler x1
• Werewolf x6
• Wicked Witch of the South-Southeast x1
• Jack the Wolfman x1
• Zombie x3

Mob Deck

Action Cards:

• A Good Day's Sleep x3
• Bump on the Head x2
• Bungling Spy x3
• Charge x3
• Courage in a Bottle x2
• Disorganized Mob x2
• Early Harvest x1
• Energizer x3
• Enraged Monster x2
• Escape Plan x3
• Frightened Children x1
• Gunpowder Shortage x1
• Harpoon Squad x1
• Heck Spawn x3
• Holy Ground x1
• Injured Monster x2
• Inspiring Leadership x3
• Master Spy x1
• Meddling Kids x2
• Night of the Walking Dead x1
• Only a Dream x3
• Overpopulation x2
• Pure Evil x1
• Righteous Indignation x1
• Rudimentary Lathe x3
• Sticky Fingers x1
• Stragglers x3
• Sugar Rush x3
• Torrential Downpour x1
• Town on Guard x3

Enhancement Cards:

• Boar Spear x1
• Grenade x2
• Hero! (Leader) x1
• Night Watch (Leader) x1
• Occult Librarian (Leader) x1
• Old Cannon x1
• Pistol x3
• Pitchfork x6
• Rake x1
• Rusty Musket x1
• Sheriff (Leader) x1
• Shovel x1
• Stout Cudgel x1
• Sword x1
• Torch x6
• Wilderness Guide (Leader) x1
• Wise Woman (Leader) x1

Defense Cards:

• Antacid x1
• Werewolf? There Wolf! x1
• Baby Shortage x1
• Freelance Paranormal Investigators x1

Townsfolk Cards (the six additional Townsfolk in the Mob deck):

• Dotty x1
• Dr Irvingstein x1
• Dr Reed Davidson x1
• Officer Dave x1
• Professor von Hellpepper x1
• Reverend Leon x1

Townsfolk Deck

Townsfolk:

• Adam, Traveling Salesman x1
• Bentley the Brawler x1
• Brother Jedediah x1
• Buff Hardback, Wannabe Hero x1
• Chef Kidney x1
• Christina, Cheer Captain x1
• Dexter, Boy Genius x1
• Dr. Uberunder x1
• Franz, Town Baker x1
• Frederick the Lesser x1
• Gus, Town Guard x1
• Hans, Town Butcher x1
• Heidi, Town Trollup x1
• Howard, Village Idiot x1
• Inspector McGee x1
• Juan, Foreign Guy x1
• Karl, Stable Boy x1
• Lady Locke x1
• Levi, Candlestick Maker x1
• Luke, Inconsiderate Ass x1
• Lucky Lowry x1
• Mathew the Magnificent x1
• Matt the Knife x1
• Mikey, Town Drunk x1
• Miss Ginny, Damsel in Distress x1
• Moody Marge x1
• MP, Smartass Punk x1
• Ms. Manlove, Personal Trainer x1
• Shane the Shyster x1

Rules reference card x2