Venture Forth Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setting Up the Game
• Playing a Turn
  • Actions
• Ambitions & Leveling Up
  • Ambitions
  • Leveling Up
• Play a Card
  • Step 1: Placement
  • Step 2: Collect Resource
  • Step 3: Draw One Card
• Venture Forth
  • Encountering an Adventurer
  • Encountering an Enemy
  • What's Desired
  • Exerting
  • Arriving at the Destination
  • Example of a Venture Forth Action
• Making an Offering at the Temple
• Regroup
• Explore Tokens
• Treasure Cards
  • Abilities
  • Scoring
• Despair
• End of the Game
  • Calculating Scores
• Variant Rules

Goal of the Game

Venture Forth is a game in which players create parties of adventurers to explore the world and resolve encounters. Players can earn will to gain victory points or increase the level of their adventurers, coins to recruit new adventurers or gain boons at the temples, and treasures which can be used for victory points or for their special abilities. In addition, players must learn to manage their adventurers' despair, which counts against their final score at the end of the game.

Components

• Double-Sided Game Board (1)
• Reference Cards (4)
• Adventurer Encounter Cards (text box at the bottom) x36
• Enemy Encounter Cards (full art with no text box) x36
• Level I / Level II Cards (double sided) x20
• Level III Cards x20
• Treasure Cards x21
• Player Pawns x4
• Scoring Markers x4
• Coins x20
• Explore Tokens x22
• Will x30
• Despair x15

Setting Up the Game

1. Put the game board in the center of the table. The board is double-sided, and it is recommended for your first game that you use the side with the sea in the corner.
2. Shuffle the encounter card deck (include both enemies and adventurers) and place it face down on the board.
3. Put the Level I / Level II cards in a stack. Shuffle the Level III cards and put them in three even stacks.
4. Put the will, coins, despair, and explore tokens (face-down) to the side of the board.
5. Shuffle the treasure cards and make a deck next to the side of the board.
6. Each player chooses a color and takes the matching reference card, pawn, and scoring marker (place it on the zero on the score track).
7. Each player draws six encounter cards.
8. Randomly determine the starting player. He takes three coins from the supply. Each other player takes four coins.
9. Beginning with the starting player and continuing clockwise each player does the following:
   • The player chooses one adventurer card (encounter card with a text box) from his hand and places it face up on the table in front of him. This is your party and you will be able to add to it through the course of the game. The remaining five cards make up the player's starting hand. Note: If a player has one or no adventurers in his hand, he may reveal his hand, and redraw six new cards. He then shuffles the discarded cards into the deck. Repeat this process if necessary.
   • The player returns a number of coins equal to his adventurer's power (the top left number) to the supply.
   • The player takes a Level I card and places it below his adventurer.
   • The player places his pawn on any temple site without another pawn.

Playing a Turn

Players take turns clockwise beginning with the active player.

Zeus Rule: (Ignore this step if the board isn't full) At the beginning of a player's turn he must check to see if all path spaces on the board are filled with encounter cards. If so, Zeus is not happy! All wandering cards are discarded, and then all remaining cards become wandering. See Wandering Rule.

The active player must take one of the following actions on his turn:

Actions

• Play a Card - Play one encounter card onto the board.
• Venture Forth - Move the party, resolve encounter cards, and explore (possibly finding treasure).
• Make an Offering at the Temple - Use the ability of the temple at the site where the party is located.
• Regroup - Discard and draw a new hand of cards.

Ambitions & Leveling Up

To determine how best to use the action on his turn, a player must look at the adventurers in his party. Each adventurer has an Ambition (which determines how the player will gain points) and a Level (which determines how many points are received).

Each adventurer card shows: Name, Power & Coin cost, Desire, and Ambition Trigger.

Ambitions

Each adventurer appearing on a card is looking to accomplish his life's ambition. An ambition is an ability that allows the player to score points and level up. If an adventurer's ambition is met during a Venture Forth action (see "Playing a Turn: Actions"), the active player may announce it.

Based on the adventurer's current level card, he may convert his will into points. All adventurers start at Level I. When an ambition is met, the active player returns a number of will from that adventurer to gain the result on the right side of the arrow.

On Level I and Level II, there are two options for conversion. The first option just awards points. The second option allows you to remove one despair from the adventurer, gain points and level up. When the ambition triggers you may only use one of these options and only once per trigger.

On Level III cards, there is one option for conversion, and one ability that is always active and used when appropriate.

Leveling Up

To level up from Level I, turn over the Level I card to the Level II side. To Level up from Level II, return the Level II card to the supply and choose one of the three face up Level III cards in the supply. Place that Level III card below the adventurer.

Example: John has a party with only one adventurer, the Poet. The Poet has an ambition of "Encounter an enemy with ten or more power." John ventures forth down a path and the first encounter is a Dragon with twelve power. Because the Poet encountered an enemy with ten or more power, he may announce it to fulfill it. The Poet has four will and is at Level 1, and John returns two will to the supply to score four points along the score track and level up. To level up, he flips his Level 1 card to the Level 2 side. Also, he may also remove one despair from his Poet, which he does.

Play a Card

Step 1: Placement

If the active player chooses this action, he chooses one encounter card from his hand and places it face-up on the board on an empty path space. Path spaces are those located between two sites. Each card has a color denoting its region; this will determine where it can be played. The card must be played adjacent to another card of the same color or adjacent to a site of the same color.

Important: The card must be played in such a way that the title bar is facing toward the north end of the board. This orientation is important because cards may be turned sideways (referred to as wandering) later on in the game.

Example: John wants to play the Gorgon card which is from the shore (blue). These are the possible spaces where the card can be played.

Diagram Note: There are two paths between the shore and the country.

Step 2: Collect Resource

• Will. If the card was placed on a space with a will symbol, the active player takes one will from the supply and places it on one of the adventurers in his party. Will are used by ambition abilities during the Venture Forth action to gain points.
• Coin. If the card was placed on a space with a coin symbol, the active player takes one coin from the supply and places it on his reference card. Coins are used to recruit new adventurers and to make offerings at temples.
• Will Plus. If the card was placed on a space with a will plus symbol, the active player takes two will from the supply and places it on one of the adventurers in his party. Then, for each of his opponents, the active player takes one will from the supply and places it on one of that opponent's adventurers.
• Coin or Will. If the card was placed on a space with both symbols, the player chooses one of the resources to take.
• Explore. If the card was placed on a space with an explore token, the player takes one explore token from the supply, reveals it, and places it next to a path without an explore token. This is in addition to the other symbols benefits.

Note: The supply of will and coins is unlimited. If you run out, feel free to use other items.

Step 3: Draw One Card

Finally, the active player draws one card. He should have a hand of five cards.

Note: If the deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

Venture Forth

If the active player chooses this action, he chooses a complete path between his site and another site. A complete path is one where all spaces along the path between one site and another are filled with encounter cards. The active player will move his pawn to the first encounter along the path and then resolve it, move it to the next encounter card, then resolve it, and so on.

Encountering an Adventurer

• Encounter: The party encounters this adventurer. Any ambition abilities that trigger off of this occurrence happen now. See Ambitions.
• Recruit: The party may recruit the adventurer, otherwise skip this step. To recruit an adventurer, the active player returns to the supply a number of coins equal to the encountered adventurer's power. He takes the adventurer card and places it alongside the other adventurers in his party. He also takes a Level I card from the supply and places it below his new recruit. Once recruited, the adventurer is now a part of his party.

Party Limit Rule: A player cannot recruit more than five adventurers to his party.

Encountering an Enemy

• Encounter: The party encounters this enemy. Any ambition abilities that trigger off of this occurrence happen now. See Ambitions.
• Defeat: If the active player encounters an enemy he can defeat, the enemy is discarded. An enemy may be defeated if its power is less than or equal to the total power of all adventurers in the active player's party. As an option, a player may boost an adventurer's power by using exerting. See Exerting. Any ambition abilities that trigger off of this occurrence happen now. See Ambitions.

If the active player encounters an enemy he cannot defeat, he must give up what's desired on the enemy card.

What's Desired

Enemies that can be encountered also have desires. If the enemy defeats the player, these desires determine what happens to the player's adventurers.

• Will symbol: The active player returns one will from any of his adventurers to the supply. If he cannot, the player must take a despair token from the supply and place it on one of his adventurers.
• Coin symbol: The active player returns one coin to the supply. If he cannot, the player must take a despair from the supply and place it on one of his adventurers.
• Despair symbol: The active player must take a despair from the supply and place it on one of his adventurers.
• Vicious: If there are two symbols shown, then the enemy is considered vicious. Treat this just like the normal version except the penalty is paid twice. (Some adventurers refer to vicious enemies in the ambition text.)

Exerting

Each time a party encounters an enemy, each adventurer has the option to exert himself. To exert an adventurer, remove one will from that adventurer to double his power. The power boost only lasts for that encounter. This can only be done once per adventurer per encounter.

Example: John encounters an enemy with 6 power. He removes one will from his 3 power adventurer to make his power 6. He defeats the enemy!

Arriving at the Destination

Once all encounters along a path are resolved, the pawn is moved to the destination site.

Wandering Rule: Each encounter card along the traveled path becomes wandering (turned sideways so the title is facing east). If an encounter is already wandering, the encounter card is discarded instead.

Note: Discarding the enemy in this way does not count as defeating the enemy.

The active player then takes the explore token that was along the path if there is one there. See Explore Tokens.

Example of a Venture Forth Action

John's party, which is comprised of just the Archer, is in the Country. The Archer is at Level 1 and has three will on him. There is only one complete path out of the Country and that is to the Mountains. John takes a Venture Forth action to the Mountains.

John moves his pawn onto the first encounter, which is the Hoplite, an adventurer. It would cost three coins to recruit the Hoplite. John only has two coins so he cannot recruit the Hoplite.

John moves his pawn to the next encounter, which is the Lion, an enemy. Luckily, John's Archer wants to practice his aim on this monster! His ambition states "Encounter an enemy with less than seven power."

Because his ambition was achieved, he has a choice to either remove one will to gain three points, or two will to gain four points and go up a level. He chooses to take the second choice. He flips his Level I card to the Level II side.

Now John must check to see if he can defeat the Lion. The total power of his party is just two, and the Lion has a power of four. John's party cannot defeat the Lion, so he must take the consequences. The Lion is vicious meaning it has a double will symbol. John must remove two will total from any of his adventurers. John removes one will from his Archer, but doesn't have another will. Because he falls short by one will, he must take one despair.

John then moves his pawn to the Mountains. The first thing he must do when he arrives is to make all of the remaining encounters along the path wandering. To do this, he must turn them sideways. Since the Lion was already wandering from a previous turn, it is discarded instead.

John then goes to collect an explore token that was beside the path. It shows he gets to look at three treasure cards. He looks at the cards and decides which one he wants to keep. He puts the others back into a stack under the treasure deck. John's venture is now complete!

Making an Offering at the Temple

If the active player chooses this action, he may use the special ability once on the temple where his pawn is located. Note: Some of these temples only appear on one board, while others appear on both boards.

• Temple of Hestia - The active player may return one coin to the supply to put one will on any one of his adventurers. If that adventurer has at least one despair, one despair is returned to the supply. Example: John has one adventurer with despair, so he decides to make an offering to Hestia. John returns one coin to the supply to put one will on his adventurer. Since his adventurer also has a despair, he returns that despair back to the supply. Example: John decides to make an offering to Hestia. John returns one coin to the supply to put one will on his adventurer. The adventurer had no despair, so nothing else happens.
• Temple of The Muses - The active player may return one coin to the supply to gain two will. He can distribute the two will amongst his adventurers in any way he chooses. Example: John decides to make an offering to the Muses. John returns one coin to the supply to gain two will. He puts one on his Archer and the other on his Priestess. Example: John decides to make an offering to the Muses. John returns one coin to the supply to gain two will. He puts both will on his Archer.
• Temple of Nike - The active player may return one coin to the supply to take two additional turns. This action cannot be used on the additional turns. Example: John decides to make an offering to Nike. John returns one coin to the supply to get two turns. John plays a card for his first turn. For his second turn, he decides to venture forth.
• Temple of Hermes - The active player may return one coin to the supply to move his pawn to any other site. Note: Since no paths are taken, no cards become wandering as a result of this action, and no explore token is taken. Example: John decides to make an offering to Hermes. John returns one coin to the supply to move his pawn to the shore. He bypasses all encounters and just moves the pawn.
• Temple of Hades - The active player may discard one treasure card to gain two coins. Example: John decided to make an offering to Hades. He discards one treasure card and gains two coins.

Regroup

If the active player chooses this action, he may discard any number of cards from his hand and draw back the same number.

Note: If the deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

Explore Tokens

Each time a player completes a Venture Forth action, if there is an explore token on the path he takes it. For each coin symbol on the token, he gains one coin. For each despair symbol, he gains one despair on one of his adventurers. For the card symbols, he looks at the top one, two, or three treasure cards from the treasure deck, keeps one, and returns the rest to the bottom of the deck.

Treasure Cards

Treasure cards are gained from explore tokens. A treasure card may be used for its ability or scored at the end of the game. Treasure cards are kept hidden from other players. Each treasure card shows a Type (Knowledge, Might or Wealth), Points, Name and Ability.

Note: Treasure cards do not count as a part of your hand (they don't count toward your hand limit, you can't discard them during regroup, etc.)

Abilities

All treasure cards have a special ability, though once used those treasure cards cannot be scored. To use a treasure card's special ability, a player must discard it at the beginning of his turn. This does not count as the turn's action. A player may use only one treasure card ability on his turn, and may use them regardless of the desires of his adventurers.

Scoring

Each adventurer in a party has the capacity to score one treasure card at the end of the game. The treasure card must match the adventurer's desire symbol. Each treasure card is worth either one, two, three, or four points. These are kept secret and are scored at the end of the game. A player can collect treasure cards even if no member in his party can score it; desires only matter at the end of the game.

Despair

An adventurer can get one or more despair tokens throughout the game. Despair is placed on individual adventurers just like will. At the end of the game, each player loses three points for each despair on his adventurers.

Example: At the end of the game, John has two adventurers. There is one despair on the first adventurer and two despair on the other. Therefore, he subtracts nine from his total score.

End of the Game

When the last explore token is placed, the game is almost over. Each player will take one more turn concluding with the player who initially placed the last explore token.

Example: John plays a card which allows him to place an explore token. It was the last one. Then, Bob takes his turn. John then takes one more turn. John's turn will be the last one of the game.

Calculating Scores

In addition to the points scored during the game, each player scores these points:

• Despair: Each despair token is worth -3 points.
• Will: Each will is worth 1 point.
• Coins: Every two coins are worth 1 point.
• Treasures: Players reveal their treasure cards. Each player should place the cards near the adventurers who can score them. The rest of the treasures are not scored and are placed aside.
• Explore Bonus: The player with the most explore tokens gets a bonus of 2 points. The player with the second most explore tokens gets a bonus of 1 point. Players tied for explore tokens both get the bonus.

The winner of the game is the player with the most points! In case of a tie, the player with the most explore tokens is the winner.

Example: At the end of the game John reveals that he has two knowledge treasures, two wealth treasure, and two might treasure (all two-pointers). John's party consists of one adventurer with a knowledge symbol and one adventurer with a wealth symbol. Therefore, one of the knowledge treasures score two points, one of the wealth treasures scores two points, and the rest score nothing. In total, from these bonuses John receives four points. John has two despair so he subtracts six from his total score. He also has two remaining will and three remaining coins, so he adds three extra points to his score. He has five explore tokens which is the second most, so he adds an extra point to his score.

Variant Rules

Hidden Explore Tokens: When placing an explore token, a player may look at it himself but then place it face-down along a path.