The Witcher Adventure Game
The Witcher Adventure Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- Components
- Setup
- Quests
- What Are Locations, Routes & Regions?
- Playing the Game
- What Are Leads & Proof?
- What Are Obstacles?
- Battles
- Additional Rules
- Winning the Game
- Example of a Turn
- Example of a Battle
- What Now?
- Rules Reference Guide
- The Golden Rules
- Glossary
- Actions
- Action Space
- Active Player
- Adjacent
- Battles
- Component Limitations
- Delayed Heroes
- Development Cards
- Dice
- Discarding
- Drawing
- Encountering Obstacles
- Foul Fate
- Good Fortune Cards
- Investigation Cards
- Keeping Cards
- Leads
- Locations
- Monsters
- Movement
- Obstacle Zones
- Operations
- Play Area
- Proof
- Quest Cards
- Regions
- Routes
- Spending
- Supply
- Support Chart
- Tabletalk
- Tasks
- Trading Resources
- Traits
- Turn Structure
- Victory Points
- War Track
- Winning the Game
- Wounds
- Yarpen
- Epic Adventuring
- The Witcher Lore
- Quick Reference
- Credits
Game Overview
In The Witcher Adventure Game, each player assumes the role of a hero, and each hero has his or her own distinct traits, abilities, and powers. Over the course of the game, the heroes journey around the world of The Witcher, fighting enemies and investigating leads in an effort to complete quests and earn victory points. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
Players and Heroes
When playing The Witcher Adventure Game, each player controls a hero. In game terms, the word "hero" refers to both the player controlling the hero as well as the in-game hero. As such, "hero" and "player" are used interchangeably.
Using This Booklet
The purpose of this learn to play booklet is to teach new players how to play The Witcher Adventure Game. This booklet includes all the rules you will need to begin playing, but omits many rules exceptions and specific card interactions. New players should read this booklet in its entirety before playing their first game.
This game also includes a rules reference guide, which addresses rules exceptions and card interactions that are omitted from this booklet.
Components
- 1 Game Board
- 1 Rules Reference Guide
- 4 Hero Sheets
- 4 Hero Figures (1 Purple Hero Die for Dandelion, 1 Blue Hero Die for Triss, 1 Yellow Hero Die for Yarpen, 3 Red Hero Dice for Geralt)
- 8 Action Tokens (2 for each hero)
- 9 Custom Dice (3 Battle Dice, plus hero dice)
- 48 Quest Cards
- 16 Diplomacy, 16 Magic, 16 Combat proof tokens
- 8 Gold, 11 Silver, 11 Bronze proof tokens
- 24 Proof Tokens
- 120 Investigation Cards (40 Diplomacy, 40 Magic, 40 Combat)
- 8 Diplomacy, 8 Magic, 8 Combat lead tokens
- 40 Foul Fate Cards
- 20 Good Fortune Cards
- 4 Companion Cards (for Yarpen)
- 27 Gold Tokens, 21 Foul Fate Tokens, 36 Common Markers
- 60 Development Cards (15 each for Geralt, Triss, Dandelion, Yarpen)
- 48 Lead Tokens (16 for each color)
- 8 Hero Tokens (2 for each hero)
- 16 Wound Tokens, double-sided (minor wound on one side, severe wound on the other)
- 30 Monster Tokens
Setup
Before playing The Witcher Adventure Game, perform the following steps in order:
- Place Game Board: Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the play area within easy reach of all players.
- Gather Battle Dice: Take the three battle dice and place them near the game board.
- Prepare Decks: Sort all cards by type and individually shuffle each deck. Set aside the development decks. Place the foul fate deck and good fortune deck facedown in their designated spaces on the game board. Place the three quest decks and three investigation decks facedown near the game board.
- Prepare Monster Stacks: Sort the monster tokens by color into stacks, individually shuffle each stack, and place them facedown near the game board.
- Prepare Token Supplies: Sort the remaining tokens into piles by type and place them near the game board.
- Prepare War Track: Place one common marker on the top space of the war track.
- Place Starting Obstacles: Place one bronze monster token facedown in each of the top three obstacle zones (gray, purple, and red). Then, place one foul fate token in each of the bottom three obstacle zones (blue, yellow, and green).
- Determine First Player: Randomly determine the first player.
- Choose Hero: Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses one hero sheet and places it in front of him.
- Prepare Hero Materials: Each player gathers his hero dice, hero tokens, action tokens, development cards, hero figure, and the number of gold tokens indicated on his hero sheet. Return the materials of all unchosen heroes to the game box.
- Place VP Markers: Each player places one of his hero tokens on the "0" space of the victory point track.
- Place Hero Figure: Each player places his hero figure on the board in one of the round spaces at the location specified in the lower-left corner of his hero sheet.
- Draw Starting Quest: Each player draws two cards from the quest deck indicated in the lower-right corner of his hero sheet. He chooses one to keep, placing it faceup near his hero sheet, and discards the other.
- Indicate Support Quest: Each player places his other hero token in the banner of the support chart that matches his current type of support quest (see "Support Chart").
How Do I Play With Yarpen?
If a player chooses the dwarf Yarpen as his hero, during Step 10 of setup he takes the four companion cards and places them faceup near his hero sheet.
Yarpen's hero sheet shows two quest decks that he can draw from. When Yarpen draws quest cards, he chooses either the combat (red) deck or the diplomacy (purple) deck and draws cards from that deck.
Yarpen differs from the other three heroes in various ways. The player who chooses Yarpen as his hero should read the entire "Yarpen" entry in the rules reference guide.
Quests
Quests are the central focus of the game, and they represent a hero's main objective. Each player has one faceup quest card in his play area at all times; his quest card shows several quests that he can complete, which yield victory points (VP) and other consequences, both good and bad. Each hero can only draw from the decks shown on his hero sheet.
Quests require a player to do various things, such as spend resources, fight a battle, or be at a specific location. The requirements and VP rewards for completing each quest and the consequences for completing the main quest are described on the quest card.
A quest card shows a main quest (with a quest type icon, a main quest requirement, a main quest location, a main quest VP reward, and main quest consequences) as well as side/support quest requirements and their VP rewards.
What Are Locations, Routes & Regions?
The game board shows various locations of The Witcher world. Each location is identified by its colored banner with the location's name and four round spaces above it. Heroes travel from location to location along the yellow routes.
Each location belongs to a region, as identified by the color and symbol displayed on its banner. Each region has one corresponding obstacle zone along the left side of the board (see "What Are Obstacles?").
Duén Canell belongs to the blue region. There are three routes connecting Duén Canell to other locations. Duén Canell has a heart icon below it, allowing a player who enters it to heal a wound.
Playing the Game
In The Witcher Adventure Game, players travel around the game board completing quests and earning VP. The game is played over a series of turns beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise. The active player performs two actions and encounters one obstacle in his region. Then, his turn ends and the next player's turn begins.
Actions
Performing actions is the primary way that heroes travel around the world, investigate possible leads, and complete quests.
To perform an action, a hero places one action token in any open action space on his hero sheet. Then, he resolves the action as described on his hero sheet. A hero cannot perform the same action twice during the same turn.
The player removes his action tokens from his hero sheet at the end of his turn.
The sections below explain briefly what each action does.
Travel. Traveling allows heroes to move around the world, and it is one way to gain leads. To travel, the player either moves his hero along one route or he moves his hero along two consecutive routes. Then, he receives lead tokens matching the number and color shown at his destination (see "What Are Leads & Proof?"). Finally, if he moved along two routes, he draws one foul fate card and resolves it.
Investigate. Investigating yields various types of encounters, including battles and gaining leads. To investigate, the player draws one card from any one investigation deck and resolves it. Unless the player is instructed to keep the card, he places it faceup in its discard pile.
Develop. Developing improves a hero's equipment and skills. To develop, the player draws two cards from his development deck, chooses one to keep, and discards the other.
Rest. Resting offers the hero some reprieve, allowing him to treat his wounds. To rest, the player removes either two minor wound tokens or one severe wound token from his hero sheet.
Brew (Geralt Only). Geralt is an expert at brewing powerful potions. To brew, he places one common marker on each of his faceup potion development cards.
Prepare (Triss Only). Triss requires time to prepare her spells. To prepare, she places one common marker on one of her faceup spell development cards.
Sing (Dandelion Only). Dandelion can sing an elaborate tale of his travels to earn a few coins. To sing, he takes two gold from the supply.
Command (Yarpen Only). Yarpen has four of his most loyal companions at his command. To command, he chooses two of his companion cards to use and resolves their effects.
Operations
Operations are things that a player can do on his turn that do not require an action. A player may perform operations before or after each of his actions. The sections below explain briefly what each operation does.
Exchange Leads for Proof. The player exchanges a number of his lead tokens for one proof token from the supply according to the exchange rate shown on his hero sheet.
Complete a Side Quest. The player fulfills the requirement for a side quest shown on his quest card, which might require spending resources or visiting a specific location. He immediately earns VP equal to the number shown in that quest space and places one common marker in that space to mark that quest as completed.
Complete a Support Quest. A player can perform this operation only if he is in the same location as an opponent. The player spends the required resources shown for that opponent's support quest. The supporting player immediately earns 6 VP and the owner of the quest card immediately earns 3 VP. The owner also places one common marker in his support quest space to mark it as completed.
Complete a Main Quest. A player can perform this operation only if he is in the location of his main quest. The player spends the required resources shown for his main quest requirement. If the main quest has an enemy encounter, he also fights a battle against that enemy. Regardless of the battle's outcome, he completes the quest. He immediately earns VP equal to the number shown to the right of the quest requirement. Then, he resolves the consequences stated on the card and flips the quest card facedown. Finally, he draws two cards from his hero's quest deck, chooses one to keep, and discards the other.
Trade Resources. The player can trade leads or gold with any hero in his current location. Players can negotiate the terms of the trade, but they must both agree to those terms before trading.
Bribe a Friend (Dandelion Only). Dandelion spends one gold to place one common marker on one of his faceup friend development cards.
What Are Leads & Proof?
In order to complete quests, heroes must acquire proof. To acquire proof, the heroes must first collect leads and exchange those leads for proof.
There are several ways that heroes collect leads, such as arriving at a location or resolving an investigation card.
The icons at each location show the number and type of leads that a hero receives when he arrives there: receive 1 lead of the color shown, receive 1 lead of either color shown, receive 1 lead of any color, or receive 1 lead of each color shown.
What Are Obstacles?
There are two types of obstacles that heroes can encounter: monster tokens and foul fate tokens.
Obstacles occupy their respective spaces in obstacle zones. Any number of monster tokens can occupy a monster space, but only one foul fate token can occupy a foul fate space. An obstacle zone can have both types of obstacles in it at the same time.
Each obstacle zone corresponds to one region, as identified by the color and symbol displayed on its banner.
Encountering Obstacles
After the player performs his two actions, he encounters one obstacle in his region. To encounter an obstacle, he checks the obstacle zone that corresponds to his region and chooses one obstacle to encounter. If there are no obstacles in his region, he advances the war track instead (see "The War Track").
To encounter a foul fate token, the hero discards the token, draws one foul fate card, and resolves it.
To encounter a monster token, the hero flips it faceup if it is facedown and fights a battle against it (see "Battles"). If there are multiple monsters in the region, the hero chooses one to encounter.
Battles
When a hero encounters an enemy, he fights a battle against it. Enemies appear on investigation or foul fate cards, in the main quest description on a quest card, or as a monster obstacle.
To fight a battle, the hero first resolves any "before rolling" effects. Then, he rolls the battle dice along with his hero dice and totals the results.
Next, he may modify the results in the following ways:
- Spend 1 dodge and 1 shield to produce 1 sword.
- Use a development card that can be used during battle.
- Use a good fortune card that can be used during battle.
Now he compares his total against the enemy's sword stat (the number next to the sword icon). If the number of swords is equal to or greater than the enemy's sword stat, the hero's attack is successful and he resolves the "successful sword" effect (e.g., "Successful sword: Suffer 1 wound"); conversely, if the number of swords is less than the enemy's sword stat, the hero's attack fails and he resolves the "failed sword" effect.
Then, he compares his total against the enemy's shield stat (the number next to the shield icon). If the number of shields is equal to or greater than the enemy's shield stat, the hero's defense is successful and he resolves the "successful shield" effect; conversely, if the number of shields is less than the enemy's shield stat, the hero's defense failed and he resolves the "failed shield" effect.
Then, if the enemy is a monster and the hero's attack is successful, the monster is defeated and its token is discarded. If the hero did not defeat the monster, it remains faceup in its current obstacle zone.
What Are Dice Results?
Each die face produces one or more dice results. Various game effects, including battles and some investigation card effects, require heroes to roll dice. During battle, heroes add up their dice results to determine success or failure. Heroes can also spend dice results to trigger development card effects.
Some investigation cards instruct a hero to roll his hero dice and describe an effect that occurs if the hero obtains a success or not. To obtain a success, the hero must roll the die face labeled as a "success" on his hero sheet. Each hero has a different die face that counts as a success.
For a list of all possible die faces and the results they produce, see the "Quick Reference" section of the rules reference guide.
What Is a Wound?
Heroes can suffer two different types of wounds: minor wounds and severe wounds. Wound tokens are double-sided, with each type of wound shown on one side.
Heroes cannot die, but they can sustain a limited number of wounds, which is represented by the woundable action spaces on the hero sheet.
Some effects cause the hero to suffer wounds. To suffer a wound, he takes the number of wound tokens indicated by the effect. He places a wound with the indicated side (minor or severe) faceup in any woundable action space on his hero sheet that does not already have a wound token.
While a wound token occupies an action space, the hero cannot place his action token in that action space, so he cannot perform that action.
A hero can remove wounds from his hero sheet in several ways, including performing the rest action, entering a location with a heart icon, and some card effects.
Additional Rules
This section explains other rules necessary to play the game.
Victory Points
Players use the VP track along the edge of the board to track VP. When a player earns VP, he moves his VP marker forward on the track a number of spaces equal to the VP he earned. When a player loses VP, he moves his VP marker backward on the track a number of spaces equal to the VP he lost.
Development Cards
Development cards provide the heroes with powerful game effects. These effects can only be used when specified on the individual card (e.g., "Once per battle…").
Some development cards state "spend 1 [marker] from this card" to trigger the card's effect. Each hero has a unique way of placing markers on his development cards; for example, Geralt's brew action places common markers on his potion development cards.
Each development card can have a maximum of three common markers on it at a time.
Support Chart
Players use the support chart to display each character's current support quest. This way, players can see at a glance how they can complete support quests for their opponents.
When a player keeps a new quest, he moves his hero token to the banner that corresponds to his new support quest's type.
The War Track
The war track gauges the turmoil caused by the Nilfgaardians, and it populates the board with various obstacles.
Some effects "advance the war track." To advance the war track, the hero moves the common marker clockwise one space. Then, he takes the obstacle shown in that space of the war track and places it in the obstacle zone of his current region.
Traits
Development cards and several investigation cards have traits, which are formatted in bold and small caps (e.g., Magic). Traits do not have effects on their own, but other card effects often reference traits.
Tasks
Some investigation cards have tasks, which are optional assignments the hero can undertake that yield a small reward. The hero keeps these cards until the task is completed as a reminder of what the task's requirements and rewards are.
Some investigation cards have both a task and a trait. Players must keep their completed tasks separate from their uncompleted tasks to track which tasks they have already completed.
Good Fortune Cards
Some effects have players draw good fortune cards. When a player draws a good fortune card, he looks at it and keeps it facedown in his play area. Each good fortune card states when it can be played, and the player decides when it is most beneficial to play the card.
Delayed Heroes
Some effects cause heroes to become delayed. When a hero becomes delayed, he forfeits his next action. To represent this, lay the hero figure on its side. The next time he would perform an action, he stands the figure instead of performing an action.
Monster Placement
Some effects place monsters in a region. To place a monster, the hero draws the top monster from the indicated monster stack (bronze, silver, or gold) and places it facedown in the monster space of the specified region's obstacle zone. If there are any monsters already in that monster space, he places the incoming monster on top.
Foul Fate
Some effects place foul fate in a region. To place a foul fate, the hero places one foul fate token in the foul fate space of that region's obstacle zone.
On hero sheets, there is one foul fate space next to each action space. Some effects cause the hero to "suffer 1 foul fate." To suffer a foul fate, the hero places one foul fate token in any open foul fate space on his hero sheet.
If a hero performs an action with a foul fate token next to it, he discards that foul fate token, draws one foul fate card, and resolves it immediately. After resolving the foul fate card, he discards it and finishes resolving the chosen action.
Winning the Game
When a player completes his third quest card, each other player takes one more turn, after which the game ends. The player with the most VP at the end of the game wins.
Example of a Turn
Geralt has the "Road of No Return" quest card. He already has two red proof tokens, so to complete his main quest he needs to be in Duén Canell. He plans ahead and takes his turn.
- Geralt must fight a battle in order to complete his main quest, so he wants to get ready for that. For his first action, he performs a brew action and places one common marker on each of his two potion cards, which will be useful during battle.
- For his second action, he performs a travel action to move along two routes: from Wyzima to Brokilon, and then on to Duén Canell. He receives one blue lead in Duén Canell, adding it to the other two blue leads he already has. The heart icon at this location allows him to heal, so he removes one minor wound from his hero sheet. Then, because he moved along two routes, he draws one foul fate card and resolves it.
- Next, he performs an operation to complete one of his side quests; he spends three blue lead tokens, earns 4 VP, and marks that quest as complete with a common marker.
- Then, he performs an operation to complete his main quest, spending his two red proof tokens and fighting a battle against the enemy shown in the main quest description. After the battle, he earns 8 VP for his completed quest and resolves the consequences listed on the quest card. Then, he flips the quest card facedown and draws new quest cards to choose his next quest.
- He has performed two actions and does not want to perform any more operations, so now he encounters an obstacle. Although there are two obstacles in the blue region, he only resolves one. He chooses to fight the facedown silver monster, flips the monster faceup, and fights a battle against it.
After the battle, his turn ends. He removes his action tokens from his hero sheet, and the player to his left begins his turn.
Example of a Battle
Geralt encounters a facedown silver monster. He flips it faceup to reveal a Fleder. He resolves the "before battle" effect by suffering a minor wound, placing one minor wound token on his hero sheet. Then, he rolls the battle dice and his red hero dice, obtaining the following: 3 swords, 1 shield, 1 dodge, 1 ritual.
Geralt spends 1 dodge to trigger the effect on his "Igni" witcher sign development card, which produces 2 swords. He also spends 1 dodge and 1 shield to produce 1 sword.
After modifying his results, he has the following final results: 4 swords and 2 shields, enough for a successful attack and a successful defense against the Fleder.
Geralt's successful attack earns him one gold and 1 VP. He did not have a failed defense, so he ignores that effect. Then, because his attack was successful, he has defeated the Fleder and discards it.
What Now?
Now that you have read this learn to play booklet, you are ready to play your first game. As questions arise during the game, consult the rules reference guide. Below are some examples of commonly referenced rules:
- To move along sea routes, a hero must spend the number of gold shown on that route.
- If a hero suffers a wound and all of his woundable action spaces are occupied, he does not place a wound token and instead loses 2 VP.
- If an effect instructs a player to place a foul fate token in a region that already has one, he instead places it in an open foul fate space on his hero sheet.
Rules Reference Guide
This guide is intended as a reference for all rules queries. Unlike the learn to play booklet, this guide does not teach players how to play the game. It is recommended that players first read the learn to play booklet in its entirety, then use this rules reference guide as needed during the game.
Stop! It is recommended that players begin playing The Witcher Adventure Game by reading the learn to play booklet in its entirety. Then, as questions arise during gameplay, players can refer to this guide. However, if players wish to learn and understand all of the game's nuances immediately, they may read this guide from beginning to end.
The Golden Rules
The golden rules are fundamental concepts on which all other game rules are built.
- The rules reference guide is the definitive source of rules information. If something in this document contradicts information from the learn to play booklet, this guide takes precedence.
- If the rules text of a card or other game component contradicts information from the rules reference guide, the component-specific rules text takes precedence.
- If an effect uses the word "cannot," that effect is absolute.
- The word "must" means the effect is mandatory, while the word "may" means the effect is optional.
Glossary
This glossary lists all gameplay terms and rules in detail.
Actions
Performing actions is the primary way that heroes travel around the world, investigate possible leads, and complete quests.
- Only the active player can perform actions.
- A player can perform a maximum of two actions per turn.
- A player can only perform an action if that action's space is open, meaning that the action space is not occupied by either an action token or a wound token.
- A player cannot perform the same action twice during a turn.
- The available actions are listed on each hero sheet, and they are explained below in detail.
- Travel: The player either moves his hero along one route or he moves his hero along two consecutive routes. Then, he receives lead tokens matching the number and color shown at his destination. Finally, if he moved along two routes, he draws one foul fate card and resolves it.
- Investigate: The player draws one card from any one investigation deck and resolves it. Unless the player is instructed to keep the card, he places it faceup in its discard pile.
- Develop: The player draws two cards from his development deck, chooses one to keep, and discards the other.
- Rest: The player removes either two minor wound tokens or one severe wound token from his hero sheet.
- Brew (Geralt only): Geralt places one common marker from the supply on each of his faceup potion development cards.
- Prepare (Triss only): Triss places one common marker on one of her faceup spell development cards.
- Sing (Dandelion only): Dandelion takes two gold from the supply.
- Command (Yarpen only): Yarpen chooses two of his companion cards to use. He reads the chosen cards aloud and resolves their effects.
Related Topics: Action Space, Locations, Movement, Regions, Routes, Turn Structure
Action Space
- Each action has its own action space on a hero sheet.
- Action spaces with heart icons are woundable action spaces.
- When a hero suffers a wound, he places the wound token in any open woundable action space that does not already have a wound token.
- A hero can perform an action only if its action space is open.
- Only wound tokens or action tokens can occupy an action space.
Related Topics: Actions, Foul Fate, Locations, Movement, Regions, Wounds
Active Player
The player currently taking his turn is the active player.
Adjacent
- Two locations are adjacent if they are connected by a single route.
- Two regions are adjacent if at least one location in each region is connected by a single route.
Related Topics: Location, Region, Route
Battles
The steps for fighting a battle are below:
- Use any "at the start of battle" effects.
- Resolve any "before rolling" effects.
- Roll dice (battle dice and the hero's set of hero dice).
- Total the dice results obtained from this roll.
- Modify the dice results in any of the following ways:
- Spend 1 dodge and 1 shield to produce 1 sword.
- Use development cards that can be used during battle.
- Use good fortune cards that can be used during battle.
- Compare the total against the enemy's sword stat. If the number of swords is equal to or greater than the enemy's sword stat, the hero's attack is successful and he resolves the "successful sword" effect. If the number of swords is less than the enemy's sword stat, the hero's attack fails and he resolves the "failed sword" effect.
- Compare the total against the enemy's shield stat. If the number of shields is equal to or greater than the enemy's shield stat, the hero's defense is successful and he resolves the "successful shield" effect. If the number of shields is less than the enemy's shield stat, the hero's defense fails and he resolves the "failed shield" effect.
- If the enemy is a monster and the attack is successful, the monster is defeated and its token is discarded.
- Some main quests have an enemy encounter. To complete these main quests, the hero must first be at the quest's location and spend the required resources. Then, he fights a battle against that enemy. Regardless of the battle's outcome, the hero completes the main quest at the end of battle.
- Some enemy effects state "suffer 'X' for each 'Y' you are short." This means the hero suffers the effect for each result X that he is under compared to monster stat Y. For example, the Striga's "Failed shield" effect states "suffer 1 wound for each shield you are short" and its shield stat is "5 shields." If the hero obtains only 3 shields, then he suffers (5 – 3 = 2) two wounds.
- Some enemies have a ritual stat. The ritual stat can appear instead of a sword stat or in addition to the sword and shield stat (see "Monsters").
- Monsters that have a ritual stat instead of a sword stat are defeated and discarded if the ritual is successful.
Related Topics: Dice, Discarding, Monsters, Wounds
Component Limitations
- There are no component limitations. If a player would take a component from the supply and it is depleted, he may use a suitable replacement (such as a coin or a bead).
- When a deck of cards is depleted, immediately shuffle its discard pile to form a new deck.
Related Topics: Supply
Delayed Heroes
- When an effect delays a hero, he must forfeit his next action. As a reminder, he lays the hero figure on its side. The next time he would perform an action, he stands the figure instead of performing that action.
- If the delay effect occurs during the player's first action this turn, he forfeits his second action of this turn.
- If the delay effect occurs during the player's second action this turn, he forfeits the first action of his next turn.
- If an effect instructs a delayed hero to become delayed again, he ignores this effect.
Related Topics: Spending, Turn Structure
Development Cards
- Some development cards can have common markers placed on them. These cards can have a maximum of three common markers on them at one time. These cards are not discarded when there are no tokens remaining on them.
- Development cards can be used only when specified on the individual card (e.g., "during battle," "once per roll," "when performing a travel action," etc.).
- Development cards that state "once per turn" can be used only on the active player's turn and only at times when he can perform operations.
- Common markers cannot be placed on development cards that do not have a "spend from this card" effect.
Related Topics: Discarding, Traits
Dice
Below is a complete manifest of all the faces on each die: Battle Die 1, Battle Die 2, Battle Die 3, Geralt Hero Die 1, Geralt Hero Die 2, Geralt Hero Die 3, Triss Hero Die, Dandelion Hero Die, Yarpen Hero Die.
- When an effect requires a hero to roll his hero dice, he rolls his entire set of hero dice.
- Battle dice are not hero dice; hero dice are not battle dice.
- When a player rerolls a die, he must use the new result.
- Most die faces produce one or more dice results. Each battle die has one die face that is blank, which produces no dice results (see "Quick Reference").
- Heroes can spend dice results on development card effects.
- Some effects require the hero to roll his hero dice. He obtains a success by rolling at least one die face labeled as a "success" on his hero sheet.
- Some effects require die results that do not appear on all sets of hero dice. Those heroes have development cards that produce those results.
- A few cards show sword or shield icons. These icons represent the die face itself, not the result produced by that die face.
Related Topics: Battle, Quest Cards
Discarding
Several effects instruct players to discard cards and tokens, which are handled differently depending on their type.
- Development Card: Place a discarded development card facedown at the bottom of its respective deck.
- Quest Card: Place a discarded quest card faceup in its respective discard pile near its deck.
- Investigation Cards: Place a discarded investigation card faceup in its respective discard pile near its deck.
- Foul Fate Cards: Place a discarded foul fate card faceup in the discard pile shown on the game board near its deck.
- Good Fortune Cards: Place a discarded good fortune card faceup in the discard pile shown on the game board near its deck.
- Monster Tokens: Place a discarded monster token facedown at the bottom of its respective stack.
Drawing
Several effects instruct players to draw, look at, or reveal cards (or tokens), each of which is explained below:
- When an effect states "draw" a card, the player takes the top card from the specified deck.
- When a player draws only one card, he typically resolves it. When a player draws more than one card, he often has a choice of which card he wants to resolve or keep.
- Some effects state "draw X additional cards." The player draws that number of cards in addition to the cards already drawn, and he chooses one card from among all of those drawn cards.
- When an effect states "look at X cards," the player draws that number of cards from the specified deck and looks at them secretly, being careful not to let any other players see them.
- When an effect states "reveal X cards," the player draws that number of cards from the specified deck and flips them faceup so that all players can see them.
Encountering Obstacles
Monster tokens and foul fate tokens are obstacles that heroes encounter during the game.
- After a hero performs two actions and opts not to perform more operations, he encounters one obstacle in his region.
- To encounter a foul fate token, the hero discards the token, draws one foul fate card, resolves its effect, and then discards the card (unless otherwise specified).
- To encounter a monster token, the hero flips the monster token faceup if it is facedown and fights a battle against it.
- If there is a foul fate token and a monster token in the hero's region, he chooses which of them to encounter.
- If he chooses to encounter a monster token, and there are multiple monster tokens in his region, he chooses which one of them to encounter. He may temporarily unstack the monsters—but not flip them—to check his options. It is important that the player leave the tokens' facing (faceup or facedown) as is.
- If there are no obstacles in his region, he advances the war track by moving the war track marker clockwise one space. He takes the obstacle shown in that space of the war track and places it in his region's obstacle zone.
- Some effects allow a hero to "ignore" an obstacle. A hero cannot choose to encounter an ignored obstacle. If, by ignoring one or more obstacles, a hero does not encounter an obstacle, then he does not advance the war track.
Related Topics: Foul Fate, Monsters, Obstacle Zones, Regions
Foul Fate
There are three parts that make up foul fate: foul fate spaces, foul fate tokens, and foul fate cards.
- There are foul fate spaces next to each action space on a hero sheet and in each obstacle zone on the game board.
- Only one foul fate token can occupy each foul fate space.
- A hero draws a foul fate card when resolving a foul fate token or after moving along two routes during a travel action.
- To encounter a foul fate token, the hero discards the token, draws one foul fate card, resolves its effect, and then discards the card (unless otherwise specified).
- If a hero performs an action with a foul fate token next to it, he discards that foul fate token, draws one foul fate card, and resolves it immediately. After resolving the foul fate card, he discards it and finishes resolving the chosen action.
- If an effect instructs a hero to place a foul fate token in a region that already has a foul fate token, he places the foul fate token in an open foul fate space on his hero sheet.
- When an effect states "suffer foul fate," the player places one foul fate token in any open foul fate space on his hero sheet.
- When an effect states "suffer foul fate, if able," the player places one foul fate token in the specified space if it is open. If that space is occupied, he ignores the effect.
- When an effect "place foul fate" on a specific action, he places one foul fate token in the foul fate space next to that action space.
- Some effects allow heroes to remove foul fate tokens from their hero sheet.
- If a hero cannot place foul fate tokens on his hero sheet because all of his foul fate spaces are occupied, he does not place any foul fate token. Instead, he loses 2 VP for each foul fate token that he cannot place on his sheet.
- If a hero performs an action with a foul fate token next to it, he discards that foul fate token, draws one foul fate card, and resolves its effect immediately, before resolving his action. After resolving the foul fate card, he discards it and resolves the chosen action.
Related Topics: Encountering Obstacles, Keeping Cards, Obstacle Zones
Good Fortune Cards
- Good fortune cards provide various positive effects. A hero draws a good fortune card when resolving the consequences on a quest card and by various card effects.
- When a player draws a good fortune card, he looks at it and keeps it facedown in his play area for later use.
- Good fortune cards can be played or used only when specified on the individual card (e.g., "during battle," "when you draw investigation cards," etc.).
- Some cards state that they can be played "during your turn." A player can play these cards only at times when he can perform operations.
- After resolving a good fortune card's effect, discard it unless otherwise specified.
Related Topics: Discarding
Investigation Cards
- Some investigation cards are setbacks, which generally cause a negative effect.
- Some purple investigation cards have the valuable information trait, and these cards have an effect that allows the hero to keep the card. There are other purple investigation cards with effects that trigger if the hero discards a valuable information card.
- Some blue investigation cards have traits (e.g., Aen Seidhe, Nilfgaard, Lodge of Sorceresses). A card with one of these traits counts itself while resolving its effect.
- If an effect states "if able," the affected player is not penalized if he is unable to fully resolve the effect. For example, the blue investigation card "Zerikanian Assassin" states "Advance the war track and place 1 foul fate on your travel action, if able." If his travel action's foul fate space is already occupied, he does not place a foul fate token, but he still advances the war track.
Related Topics: Dice, Drawing, Discarding, Keeping Cards, Tasks, Traits
Keeping Cards
- Some cards state "Keep this card until it is resolved." The player keeps the card faceup in his play area until its effect triggers and resolves.
- Some cards state "Keep this card for its trait." After resolving the other effects on this card, the player keeps the card faceup in his play area so that other effects can reference its trait.
- Some cards state "Keep this card until its task is resolved." The player keeps the card faceup in his play area until the player resolves its task.
- Some cards with tasks also have traits. In order for players to track which tasks they have already completed, they must keep their completed tasks separate from their uncompleted tasks.
- When a player completes a task on a card that also has a trait, he still keeps the card faceup in his play area so that other effects can reference the trait. However, he cannot complete the task more than once.
Related Topics: Development Cards, Discarding, Foul Fate, Good Fortune Cards, Investigation Cards, Quest Cards, Tasks, Traits
Leads
Heroes exchange leads for proof, which is the primary way to complete main quests and earn VP.
- A hero can receive leads in a few ways, including arriving at a location with lead icons, resolving an investigation card effect, or using a good fortune card.
- When performing a travel action, a hero receives lead tokens when arriving at the destination location. If a hero moves along two routes, he does not receive any leads from the location he passes through.
- If an effect instructs the hero to spend (or receive) leads without specifying a color, the hero may spend (or receive) any color lead.
- When a hero exchanges lead tokens for proof tokens, he must use the exchange rate shown on his hero sheet.
- Lead tokens can be exchanged only for proof tokens of the same color.
- When a hero exchanges lead tokens for proof tokens, he cannot exchange proof back to leads. The exchange only occurs from leads to proof.
Related Topics: Locations, Proof
Locations
Locations represent various cities and other important locales in The Witcher world.
- While a hero is at a location, his hero figure occupies one of the round spaces at that location.
- Each location has four identical spaces, allowing multiple heroes to be in the same location at the same time.
- When a player arrives at a location, he places his hero figure in any open round space at the location. Each space at the same location yields the same number and color of leads, so it does not matter which of the spaces he occupies.
- As an operation, players who are in the same location can trade leads and/or gold between one another.
- Three locations (Brokilon, Jaruga, and Ellander) provide no lead tokens to heroes who arrive there.
- Two locations (Duén Canell and Ellander) display a large heart icon below the location's banner. This icon means that any hero who arrives at this location may either remove one minor wound or flip one severe wound to its minor wound side.
Related Topics: Actions, Movement, Regions
Monsters
Monsters are vile creatures who roam the land, attacking the heroes without provocation.
- There are three types of monsters: bronze, silver, and gold. Each monster type has a different colored token template to identify its type.
- Monster tokens occupy the monster spaces of obstacle zones, which indicate the region the monster is in.
- Any number of monster tokens can occupy an obstacle zone; they stack on each other and order does not matter.
- When an effect places a monster in a region, it is placed facedown in the monster space of that region's obstacle zone, unless otherwise specified.
- When an effect requires a hero to place more monsters of a specific type than are available, he places as many monsters as possible, choosing which regions get the incoming monsters and which regions do not.
- When a hero encounters a facedown monster token, he flips it faceup and then fights a battle against it. Afterwards, if the hero does not defeat this monster, it remains faceup in its current obstacle zone.
- When there are multiple monster tokens in the same obstacle zone and a hero is checking for obstacles, he may temporarily unstack the monsters—but not flip them—to check his options. It is important that the player leave the tokens' facing (faceup or facedown) as is.
- If a hero achieves a successful attack against the monster, he defeats the monster and discards it.
- Some monsters, such as the Phantom or the Wraith, have a ritual stat instead of a sword stat. During battle, the hero compares his ritual results to the monster's ritual stat, following the same procedure used for comparing sword stat. If the ritual is successful, the monster is defeated and its token is discarded.
Related Topics: Battle, Encountering Obstacles
Movement
Heroes travel to various locations by moving along routes.
- A hero can move by performing a travel action or some other effects.
- A hero cannot move along the same route twice during the same action.
- A player receives leads at a location only after moving during a travel action.
- To move along the sea route connecting Novigrad and Duén Canell, a player must first spend two gold.
- To move along the sea route connecting Duén Canell and Cintra, a player must first spend one gold.
Related Topics: Actions, Locations, Quest Cards, Routes
Obstacle Zones
Obstacle zones hold any obstacles affecting the region.
- There are six obstacle zones located along the left side of the game board. Each obstacle zone relates to a single region, displaying that region's color and symbol in its banner.
- Any number of monster tokens can occupy a monster space.
- Only one foul fate token can occupy a foul fate space.
Related Topics: Encountering Obstacles, Foul Fate, Monsters
Operations
Operations are things that a player can do on his turn that do not require an action. A player may perform any number of operations in any order before or after each of his actions.
- Only the active player can perform operations.
- The available operations are explained below in detail.
- Exchange Leads for Proof: The player exchanges a number of lead tokens for one proof token from the supply according to the exchange rate shown on his hero sheet. He can only exchange lead tokens for proof tokens of the same color.
- Complete a Side Quest: The player fulfills the requirement for any side quest shown on his quest card. He earns VP equal to the number shown in that quest space and places one common marker in that space to mark that quest as completed.
- Complete a Support Quest: The player spends the resources shown for a support quest on the quest card of an opponent in the same location as the player. The supporting player earns 6 VP and the owner of the quest card earns 3 VP. The owner also places one common marker in his support quest space to mark it as completed. A player can perform this operation only if he is in the same location as an opponent.
- Complete a Main Quest: The player fulfills the main quest requirement by spending the indicated resources. If the main quest description contains an enemy encounter, he fights a battle against that enemy. Regardless of the battle's outcome, he completes the quest. He earns VP equal to the number shown to the right of the quest requirement. Then, he resolves the consequences stated on the card and flips the quest card facedown. Next, he draws two cards from his hero's quest deck, chooses one to keep, and discards the other. A player can perform this operation only if he is in the main quest location.
- Trade Resources: The player trades leads or gold with any hero in his same location. Players can negotiate the terms of the trade, but they must both agree to those terms before trading. Players can trade leads or gold for promises of future assistance, but these promises are not binding.
- Bribe a Friend (Dandelion only): The player spends one gold to place one common marker on one of his faceup friend development cards.
Related Topics: Actions, Good Fortune Cards, Leads, Proof, Quest Cards, Turn Structure
Play Area
- Each player has his own play area, which contains the following items: hero sheet, development deck, faceup development cards, completed (facedown) quest cards, current (faceup) quest card, other faceup cards (investigation, foul fate, or good fortune), unused action tokens, and collected tokens (gold, leads, proof, etc.)
- When an effect instructs a hero to "spend" a certain number of resources, he takes those resources from his play area and returns them to the supply.
Related Topics: Keeping Cards, Spending
Proof
Heroes require proof to complete various quests.
- Heroes obtain proof by performing an operation to exchange leads for proof, using the exchange rate on their hero sheet.
- After a hero exchanges leads for proof, it is permanently a proof; he cannot convert proof back to leads during the game.
Related Topics: Leads, Quest Cards, Spending
Quest Cards
- A quest card is completed when the player completes the main quest on his quest card.
- Players keep completed quest cards facedown.
- Each hero can draw quest cards only from the quest decks shown on his hero sheet.
- When a player completes his third quest card, he does not draw new quest cards.
- If the main quest description contains an enemy encounter, the hero fights a battle against that enemy. Regardless of the battle's outcome, he completes the quest.
- Side quests can be completed in any order.
- Some side quests require a player to defeat a monster. Because battles occur at the end of a player's turn, the player immediately completes that side quest after defeating the monster, without performing an operation.
- Some side quests require the player to "go to" a specific location. These "go to" side quests are the only location-specific side quests. A player can complete all other types of side quests regardless of his current location.
- If a player chooses to keep a new quest card that has a side quest requiring him to "go to" the location that he is currently in, he may complete that side quest without leaving that location.
- The support quest can be completed only by an opponent.
- When a player completes an opponent's support quest, the supporting player earns 6 VP (the number in parentheses in the support quest space) and the player who owns the quest card earns 3 VP.
Related Topics: Battles, Discarding, Keeping Cards, Operations, Support Chart, Victory Points
Regions
- There are six regions, and each one is identified by a color and symbol on the banner of each location.
- Each region corresponds to one obstacle zone, located along the left side of the game board. The region's color and symbol are shown in the banner.
The regions and their adjacencies, as shown by the banners on the game board, are:
- Gray Region — adjacent to: Purple, Red
- Purple Region — adjacent to: Gray, Green, Red
- Red Region — adjacent to: Gray, Purple, Green, Yellow, Blue
- Blue Region — adjacent to: Red, Yellow
- Yellow Region — adjacent to: Red, Green, Blue
- Green Region — adjacent to: Purple, Yellow, Red
Related Topics: Adjacent, Movement, Encountering Obstacles, Obstacle Zones
Routes
Routes connect the various locations around the board.
- Each location is connected to at least one adjacent location by a route.
- To move along the sea route connecting Novigrad and Duén Canell, a player must first spend two coins.
- To move along the sea route connecting Duén Canell and Cintra, a player must first spend one coin.
- There are a few routes that intersect with each other. Locations that are connected by an intersection are adjacent to one another. For example, the locations of Dol Blathanna, Vengerberg, Ellander, and Shaerrawedd are all adjacent and connected to one another.
Related Topics: Actions, Adjacent, Locations, Movement, Regions
Spending
- When an effect instructs a hero to "spend" a certain number of resources, he takes those resources from his play area and returns them to the supply.
- If an effect states "spend lead" without specifying a color, the hero may spend any color lead.
- When a hero uses a development card that states "spend 1 [marker] from this card," he takes one common marker from that card and returns it to the supply.
- If an effect requires a hero to "spend" more resources than he has, he must spend as much of that resource as possible.
- If an effect offers the player an option, the player can choose only one of the options that he is capable of fulfilling. For example, the foul fate card "Bushwhacked" states "Spend 2 leads or fight a battle!" If the affected player does not have 2 leads, he must fight the battle.
Related Topics: Dice, Leads, Play Area, Proof
Supply
- The supply holds cardboard components that do not belong to any player, and it exists as a "bank" for all players to take or return resources as instructed by effects.
- If a player would take a component from the supply and the supply is depleted, then he may use a suitable replacement (such as a coin or a bead).
- When an effect states "place a common marker," the player takes one common marker from the supply and places it where indicated.
- When an effect instructs a player to "receive" a token, he takes it from the supply and places it in his play area.
Related Topics: Play Area, Spending
Support Chart
The support chart displays each hero's current support quest.
- When a player keeps a new quest, he moves his hero token to the banner that corresponds to his new support quest's type.
- When a player's support quest is completed, he removes his hero token from the support chart.
Related Topics: Operations, Quest Cards
Tabletalk
- Players can openly discuss possible deals for trading or supporting other players' quests at any time during the game.
- Players cannot converse with one another in secret; all communication must remain public for all players to hear.
Related Topics: Quest Cards, Trading Resources
Tasks
- Some investigation cards contain a task. Heroes keep these cards faceup in their play area as a reminder of what the task's requirements and rewards are.
- Unless tied to an action or otherwise specified, a player can complete a task only when he can perform operations.
- Players must keep uncompleted tasks separate from completed tasks to track which tasks they have completed.
- A task can be completed only once.
- When a task requires a player to perform an action, he fully resolves the action and then receives the reward.
- Some investigation cards contain traits as well as tasks. After completing a task on one of these cards, the hero keeps the card faceup in his play area to benefit from the effect of the card's trait.
Related Topics: Discarding, Investigation Cards, Keeping Cards, Traits
Trading Resources
- As an operation, the active player can trade resources with other players in his same location.
- Other players can trade resources only with the active player.
- Leads and gold are the only resources that players can trade.
- Players can arrange a trade for promises of future assistance; essentially, one player can trade an actual resource to another player in exchange for that player promising to trade him an actual resource at a later time.
- Any promises of future assistance are not binding.
Related Topics: Operations, Tabletalk
Traits
- Some development and investigation cards have traits.
- Traits are identified by their formatting: bold and small caps (for example, "Aen Seidhe").
- Traits have no inherent effects on their own.
- Effects often refer to cards by their trait. For example, "Receive 1 blue lead and 1 additional blue lead for each Nilfgaard card you have."
- When a player is resolving an investigation card whose effect refers to a trait, he counts the traits on all of his investigation cards, including the card being resolved and cards with incomplete tasks.
Related Topics: Development Cards, Discarding, Investigation Cards, Keeping Cards, Tasks
Turn Structure
A detailed breakdown of the turn structure is as follows:
- Perform any number of operations.
- Perform first action of the turn.
- Perform any number of operations.
- Perform second action of the turn.
- Perform any number of operations.
- Encounter one obstacle in your region; if no obstacles are in your region, advance the war track.
Related Topics: Actions, Encountering Obstacles, Operations
Victory Points
- Players track their victory points (VP) on the VP track along the outer edge of the game board.
- There are several ways during the game for the players to earn VP, including completing quests and defeating monsters.
- When a player earns VP, he moves his VP marker forward on the track a number of spaces equal to the amount of VP he earned.
- When a player loses VP, he moves his VP marker backward on the track a number of spaces equal to the amount of VP he lost.
- A player cannot go below 0 VP.
- If an effect references "the hero with the most VP," and there is more than one hero tied for the most VP, the active player chooses which tied hero suffers the effect.
- A player can earn more than 80 VP. If he does, he continues tracking his VP by returning to the beginning of the track. For example, when a player has 79 VP and he earns 3 VP, he moves his VP marker to the "2" space on the track, which represents that he has 82 VP.
Related Topics: Quest Cards, Winning the Game
War Track
The war track gauges the turmoil caused by the Nilfgaardian Empire, and it populates the board with various obstacles.
- When a player encounters obstacles at the end of his turn, if there are no obstacles in his region, he advances the war track instead.
- When an effect advances the war track, the active player moves the war track marker clockwise one space. Then, the active player resolves the effect of that war track space:
- Monster: He draws one monster of the indicated type and places it facedown in his region.
- Foul Fate: He places one foul fate token in his region.
Related Topics: Encountering Obstacles, Foul Fate, Monsters, Obstacle Zones
Winning the Game
When a player completes his third quest card, he finishes his current turn. Then, each other player takes one more turn, after which the game ends. The player with the most VP at the end of the game wins.
In case of a tie, follow these tiebreaker rules:
- The tied player who completed the most quest cards wins the game.
- If there is still a tie, the tied players exchange their proof tokens back to lead tokens (following their heroes' exchange rates), and the tied player who has the most total lead and gold tokens wins the game.
- If there is still a tie, the tied player whose final turn ended earliest wins the game.
Related Topics: Victory Points
Wounds
- There are two types of wounds: minor wounds and severe wounds.
- Severe wounds are more harsh than minor wounds. Severe wounds have no special game effect other than to require a hero to exert more effort healing his wounds.
- Wound tokens can only occupy action spaces with a heart icon, which are called woundable action spaces (travel, develop, investigate, and hero-specific actions).
- Only one wound token can occupy a woundable action space.
- When a hero suffers wounds, he takes the indicated wound token from the supply and places it in any woundable action space on his hero sheet that does not already contain a wound token.
- While a wound token occupies an action space, the hero cannot place his action token in that action space, so he cannot perform that action.
- When a hero suffers a wound after having already performed an action, he may place the wound token in an action space that is occupied by an action token.
- If all of his woundable action spaces are occupied by wound tokens, the hero must perform the rest action as his next action.
- If a hero suffers a wound and all of his woundable action spaces are occupied by wound tokens, he does not place a wound token on his hero sheet. Instead, he loses 2 VP for each wound token that he cannot place on his sheet.
- Heroes cannot die. If they suffer more wounds than they can sustain, they lose VP as noted in the point above.
- A hero can remove wounds in several ways, including by performing the rest action, entering a location with a heart icon, and some card effects.
- Locations that display a heart icon below the banner allow a hero who enters there to either remove one minor wound or flip one severe wound to its minor wound side.
Related Topics: Actions, Battle, Dice, Locations, Monsters
Yarpen
- During setup, Yarpen takes the four companion cards and places them faceup in his play area.
- Companions stay faceup in Yarpen's play area, and he can use their effects during the game. They are not development cards, and they cannot be discarded from his play area.
- When Yarpen uses two of his companions during the command action, he can choose the order in which he resolves their effects.
- Each time the Yarpen player draws quest cards, he chooses either the combat (red) deck or the diplomacy (purple) deck and draws cards from that deck.
- Yarpen's hero sheet shows two spaces on his artwork. These spaces represent Yarpen's armor, and they are additional spaces for Yarpen to place wound tokens.
- When Yarpen performs a rest action, he can remove a wound token from one of his armor spaces.
- Yarpen cannot place foul fate tokens in the armor spaces on his hero sheet.
- Yarpen obtains a success if he rolls either of the die faces shown on his hero sheet (he does not obtain a success on the single dodge die face).
Related Topics: Quest Cards, Wounds
Epic Adventuring
Before starting the game, players must all agree if they want to use this optional rule.
Players need to complete five quests instead of only three. When a player completes his fifth quest card, each other player plays one more turn, after which the game ends. The player with the most VP at the end of the game wins.
The Witcher Lore
The Witcher World: Past & Present
Before the Conjunction of the Spheres, an interdimensional cataclysm that struck fifteen hundred years before the present moment, the world was inhabited solely by nonhuman races—elves, dwarves, and other beings now long forgotten. It is they who first built magnificent cities, gave birth to high culture, and made the first steps toward enlightenment. After the cataclysm, everything changed. It is said the Conjunction of the Spheres not only first introduced human beings to this world, but also brought potent magic and bloodthirsty monsters to it as well. Creatures like ghouls, bruxae, and graveirs infested more and more land, killing settlers and destroying everything in their path. Century by century, the known world slowly ceased to exist and a new order was born, one where humans, short-lived, energetic beings with a thirst for expansion, conquered the high races of the olden days.
Yet monsters continued to plague mankind, and so the witchers were created as a counterbalance, as predators for post-Conjunction beasts with no ecological niche. Taken in as children and subjected to mutations and grueling training, the few who survived the ordeals then roamed the land as elite monster hunters, a monk-like caste plying a trade leaving no room for family, home, or even emotions. Though they strove to stay out of interhuman disputes and kill only unthinking evil, the witchers failed to gain the sympathy of the common folk, who avoided them whenever possible. Time passed, and what was once cautious distaste turned to fear and loathing. Witchers became a necessary evil, as unwanted as the monsters they were forged to kill. Their numbers thinned, their schools emptied, and the teachings and arcane lore used to train new adepts faded from disuse. Now, only a handful of witchers remains. Among them is the legendary Geralt of Rivia.
The world of The Witcher today is still far from a peaceful place. Kingdoms fight over territory, resources, and glory: the independent realms of the North are under constant threat from the southern Nilfgaardian Empire, led by Emhyr var Emreis, a merciless and powerful leader. Dangerous corners still exist where monsters run rampant and many dark secrets remain to be discovered. In the midst of all this, a band of heroes leap into the fray to face their greatest adventure.
The Witcher Adventure Game is set on the Continent, a world torn by strife and injustice. It is a land of opportunity, where mercy is a commodity rarely seen in abundance, and a place where gold buys life. You either fend for yourself and strive, or live a life of fear and misery, dependent on the whims of others. This harsh realm harbors no heroes or heroines, only men and women making tough choices in pursuit of complex agendas, forced by changing circumstances to help enemies or hinder friends, to let the innocent die or the guilty live.
With its many races and kingdoms, the Continent is a place where a multitude of cultures and interests collide, often causing turmoil and deadly conflict. Humans reign supreme here, but their plans are often challenged by elves, dwarves, and creatures of magical origin. During your adventures in this world, you'll hunt monsters, aid factions, tip the scales in local power struggles, and deal with problems both small and of a broader, geopolitical nature.
The Witcher Adventure Game casts you as one of four distinct and memorable characters and throws you into a whirlwind of adventure. As Geralt, Triss, Dandelion, and Yarpen you must navigate a world rich in quests, intrigue, and mysterious forces, calling on your character's arsenal of unique skills and your own cunning to achieve the ultimate goal—victory over others.
Will your adventure be one of danger and quick rewards at your opponents' expense, or will you decide to pursue a more measured path with the potential for even greater rewards if all goes well? In The Witcher Adventure Game, the choice is yours.
Characters
Geralt of Rivia – Monster Hunter
Geralt of Rivia—a witcher, a wandering solution in search of his next problem. He is a man who's seen as many caves and trolls as he has kings, queens, and courts. Witchers are mutants, trained from early childhood for one task: to protect the peoples of the Continent from the innumerable foul creatures that inhabit it.
There are several schools of witchers, represented by the different medallions their members wear around their neck. The wolf medallion Geralt bears warns him of impending danger or nearby magic by gently vibrating. In recent years, the witcher caste has dwindled down to only a handful of active hunters; with so few of them left, the world is beginning to resemble the times before witchers came to be.
Geralt possesses superhuman reflexes and strength, and his sword fighting skills are second to none. Like every witcher, Geralt fights with two swords: a silver sword, dedicated to combating monsters and creatures of magical origin, and a steel one, primarily used to deal with ferocious animals and the occasional bandit who thinks he can best a master swordsman. Using witcher Signs and special potions, he can tip the scales of any battle in his favor. Being a witcher, Geralt's main occupation is slaying monsters, but he won't hesitate to prove a (usually bloody) point when humans or non-humans try to stand in his way. Geralt strives to maintain his witcher neutrality, but he will sometimes lend a hand to others, even if it drags him into the middle of some mess. Witchers are known for being cold and emotionless due to the mutations they undergo, but Geralt's process must have gone differently, for he is capable of feelings and emotions and a surprising amount of empathy toward others. Living in a world where morality is a concept known mostly to those who aren't hungry, the famous witcher of Rivia remains one of the few beacons of hope…if you have the orens to hire him.
Dandelion – Roguish Bard
Julian Alfred Pankratz Viscount de Lettenhove, better known as Dandelion—a minstrel, poet, and lecturer at the Oxenfurt Academy, and also the best friend of Geralt of Rivia. His love of women, spirits, and the sound of his own voice is constantly getting him into trouble and then providing him the means to get out of it. Those who underestimate him commit a grave error—this seemingly harmless bard is capable of unmatched feats of intellect and diplomatic maneuvering. A friend to kings, and a lover to the most influential women in the realm, one word from his lips can carry more power than an army of tin-plated brutes—provided it's not interrupted by a wine-scented belch. Thanks to his vast network of contacts, Dandelion rarely engages in combat. He has others to do the dirty work for him. To fuel his vagabond, yet lavish, lifestyle, the minstrel needs a hefty amount of cash; therefore—when he's not drinking—you'll frequently see him giving concerts and also providing that extra special encore for the ladies in the audience. Be it a slap on the cheek or a fat purse, the man always gets his share. Dandelion is a force of chaos and serendipity, the only person that can turn a hopeless situation into a surefire success…and the other way around.
He finds silver linings where others see only dark clouds; yet, frequently to his own peril, he can't keep his mouth shut when silence is worth far more than twice his weight in gold.
Yarpen Zigrin – Dwarven Warrior
First impressions can be quite deceiving, especially when they involve Yarpen Zigrin. The stocky dwarf is a veteran warrior and famed dragon-hunter, tough as a Mahakam-forged blade and many times as deadly. He's also a dwarf of few words, and can be painfully direct…to the point of being a real plougher at times. But it is a grave error to dismiss him as a mere blunt weapon, unfit for battles requiring diplomatic skill as much as a strong axe arm. What he lacks in terms of a silver tongue he makes up for in honesty and a broad sense of humor most often deployed over a bottle of mead—or five. Any adversaries he doesn't win over with a night of drink and dirty limericks, he can pummel into submission while they shake off the hangover the next morning. This combination of brawn and bonhomie has earned Yarpen the allegiance of a band of dwarven fighters, and has even been known to secure him the help of sorceresses and witchers in his hunts for legendary beasts and stockpiles of treasure.
Yarpen's other strength is his proficiency in wielding and using any kind of battlefield hardware one can imagine: battle hammers, daggers, swords or axes—if it can be deployed on the battlefield, he can definitely use it to instill fear in the hearts of his and his friends' enemies.
The two things that make Yarpen Zigrin a truly formidable asset in any war effort or adventure is the respect he commands among his kind and the gear he and his kin bring along on the road. The leader of a band of dwarves, Yarpen has the capacity to issue orders to his posse, greatly extending his tactical options.
Triss Merigold – Cunning Sorceress
In the world of The Witcher, only a select few talented and highly trained individuals can wield magic. As casting every spell requires knowledge, time, and diligent preparation, only the most adept in the mystic arts are proficient enough to use them on the battlefield. One such individual is Triss Merigold, considered to be among the most powerful members of the Lodge of Sorceresses, a secret organization of prominent female mages. Depending on whether the sorceress is your ally or your enemy, she can either annihilate you in a shower of flames or heal you in your hour of need. A dear friend to Geralt of Rivia and the personal advisor of King Foltest of Temeria, ruler of one of the richest kingdoms in the North, she has played a key role in the most important events of recent Northern history.
Triss's power comes from knowledge, and whether it entails spying on others through her magical devices or using raw force to extract the information she needs, she always finds a way to get to the heart of the matter. Most of her spells take time to prepare but, given the proper momentum, she's an unstoppable force that can break through any obstacle in her path. Using her intellect and magical prowess, Triss is able to bend the rules in her and her party's favor, which will frequently come in handy during the numerous adventures to come.
Notable People, Groups & Organizations
The Empire of Nilfgaard
Led by Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, also known as the White Flame Dancing on the Graves of his Enemies, the Nilfgaardian Empire is the most powerful state in the known history of the Continent. With the Emperor's appetite for constant expansion, the southern superpower is a constant threat to the kingdoms located in the north. Nilfgaard's booming economy and superior army make it a force to be reckoned with. Nilfgaardians believe in lineage and racial purity, which makes them hated and feared by the free peoples of the Continent—only those born within its original borders are considered true citizens. However, once conquered by the Empire, as long as you serve its greater goals and remain obedient, you're more than likely to live to see another day. Nilfgaard's dominant religion is the cult of the Great Sun, which is reflected by the sun symbol on the Empire's coat of arms. Although the Emperor does not officially condone other beliefs, as long as no one mixes their gods with current political affairs, peoples acquired via the Empire's expansions are free to pray to whatever they want.
Dijkstra
Sigismund Dijkstra, better known simply as Dijkstra, is a master spy and head of special forces for the kingdom of Redania, a wealthy country located in the North. Extremely tall, balding, and big boned, the man could be easily mistaken for one of those wealthy royal entourage types who do nothing but roam around courts with a glass of wine, oblivious to the brutal political dynamics playing out in the background. Like any spy, Sigismund won't hesitate to use any manner of dirty trick to achieve his goals or forward his agendas. Dijkstra is known to dislike Geralt of Rivia: the men crossed paths in the past and, as a result of that encounter, the former ended up temporarily crippled, which—combined with the witcher besting the spy—added injury to insult. However, Geralt and Dijkstra, cold professionals both, also harbor respect for each other's achievements in their respective fields of work.
The Lodge of Sorceresses
The Lodge is a secret organization consisting of female mages, founded and led by Philippa Eilhart—a powerful sorceress and former advisor to the king of Redania, Vizimir II. The Lodge consists of several powerful sorceresses whose aim is to keep the peace between the kingdoms and to preserve magic so that it might one day flourish again. To achieve their goals, the Lodge seeks to place members of the sisterhood on thrones or rule by influencing kings from the shadows. Secretly meeting in Castle Montecalvo, the home of Philippa Eilhart, the Lodge of the Sorceresses was responsible for several major events, such as securing peace in the war with the Nilfgaardian Empire. The sisterhood is actively searching for Cirilla, Geralt's adopted daughter, as they believe her offspring hold the key to unleashing even greater magical power upon the world.
The Scoia'tael
Terrorists or freedom fighters? Squirrels, or Scoia'tael as they call themselves in the Elven tongue, is a common name for various nonhuman splinter groups that forcefully oppose the racial inequality resulting from maltreatment by humans on the Continent. Their name comes from their lifestyle: living in forests and frequently changing locations, these small communities are highly mobile and always ready to strike when no one expects them. Consisting mainly of elves, the Scoia'tael also harbor members of other races, such as dwarves and halflings. A typical unit is formed by joining several members of a given group; the larger ones, with a few dozen members, were generally task-oriented, put together for a specific mission. The objectives of such groups vary from assassinations and battlefield diversions to trade route harassment and espionage. The Scoia'tael's symbol is a squirrel tail attached to their hats or other parts of their garments. As for their political affiliation, the group was once allied with the Nilfgaardian Empire, and in return Emhyr var Emreis provided the Elves with their own country, Dol Blathanna—then forced the Free Elves to disown the Scoia'tael as war criminals, leaving them to fend for themselves in a hostile North.
Quick Reference
Tokens & Icons
- Foul Fate
- Minor Wound
- Severe Wound
- Red Lead
- Blue Lead
- Purple Lead
- Gold
- Common Marker
- Monster
Dice
Each die face produces one or more dice results. The possible die faces are: Sword, Shield, Dodge, Ritual, Witcher Sign, Double Sword, Double Shield, Dodge & Shield, Sword & Double Shield, and Blank (produces no results).
List of Operations
- Exchange Leads for Proof
- Complete a Side Quest
- Complete a Support Quest
- Complete a Main Quest
- Trade Resources
- Bribe a Friend (Dandelion only)
Steps of Battle
- Use "at the start of battle" effects.
- Resolve "before rolling" effects.
- Roll dice.
- Total the dice results.
- Modify the dice results (spending dodge, using development cards, etc.).
- Compare against the enemy's sword stat, which results in either a "successful sword" or a "failed sword."
- Compare against the enemy's shield stat, which results in either a "successful shield" or a "failed shield."
- If the enemy is a monster and the attack is successful, the monster is defeated.
Credits
CD Projekt RED Team: Game Design: Ignacy Trzewiczek. Executive Producer: Rafał Jaki. Layout: Przemysław Juszczyk. DTP: Przemysław Juszczyk, Grzegorz Strus. Box Layout: Dark Crayon, Karolina Oksiędzka. Cover Art & Character Portraits: GRAFIT Studio. Figure Sculpts: Paweł Mielniczuk, Marcin Błaszczak, Grzegorz Chojnacki, Arkadiusz Matyszewski. Interior Art: Monika Zawistowska, Bartłomiej Gaweł, Jan Marek, Marek Madej, Jakub Rebelka, Damian Bajowski. Additional Graphic Design: Paulina Łukiewska, Agnieszka Patyk, Michał Grzęda. Production: Maciej Bilski. Playtesters: Michał Oracz, Michał Walczak, Maciej Molenda, Natalia Szyma, Łukasz Piechaczek, Aleksandra Ciupińska, Maciej Mutwil, Rafał Szyma, Młody and Merry.
Fantasy Flight Games Team: Producer: Steven Kimball. Additional Game Development: Samuel W. Bailey, Steven Kimball, and Mark Larson. Editing & Proofreading: Richard A. Edwards, Adam Baker, and Sean O'Leary. Managing Art Director: Andy Christensen. Production Manager: Eric Knight. Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka. Executive Producer: Michael Hurley. Publisher: Christian T. Petersen. Playtesters: Daniel Lovat Clark, Derrick Fuchs, David Hansen, Christopher Hosch, Justin Kemppainen, Lukas Litzsinger, Sam Stuart, Nate Tripp, Zach Tewalthomas, Jason Walden, Paul Winchester.
Special thanks to Travis Currit, Tomasz Kołodziejczak, Marcin Momot, Michał Nowakowski, Adam Badowski, Łukasz Kratyński, Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz, Damien Monnier, Michał Platkow-Gilewski, Rafal Szczepkowski.
© 2014 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. The Witcher video games are © CD PROJEKT S.A. The Witcher game is based on a novel of Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher® is a trademark of CD PROJEKT S.A.