Full Rules Document for The Heroes’ Journey
[ ] – In gametext, card titles will be listed in between square brackets []. If a term is used without being in brackets, then it is looking for a feature of a card not related to its title.
Example: “Aid Will Come” has as a cost “Spot [Lyra]”, meaning you must be able to spot a card with the specific title “Lyra.” It also has as a cost “discard… a Kirlian card” meaning you can discard any card from hand that has the kirlian keyword on it.
Action – Most everything that occurs in the game is a kind of action. Players perform actions to play cards, use special abilities, move their parties, reconcile, and so on.
Every action is either optional or mandatory. An optional action is an event or a special ability. All other actions are mandatory actions.
If two or more mandatory actions are occurring at the same time (for example, more than one “Each Campaign phase” action), the Campaign player decides which order they occur.
All mandatory actions responding to a particular trigger are performed before any optional actions. After all such required actions have resolved, players may perform optional actions responding to that same trigger using the response.)
See also effect.
Action Procedure – The Campaign player is given the first opportunity to perform an action. Next, the Adversary player on the Campaign player’s immediate right is given an opportunity. This process continues counter-clockwise around the table. If a player doesn’t want to perform an action (or can’t), they can opt to “pass”. A player that passes might have another chance to perform an action. However, if all players pass consecutively, no more actions can be performed during the current phase or step.
Active – During your turn, only these cards in play are active:
• Sites on the adventure path,
• Your Campaign cards,
• Your Quest Need, and
• Your opponents’ Adversary cards.
• As well as your burden pool.
All other cards in play are inactive. Inactive cards are not affected by the game and do not affect the game. They cannot be spotted, exerted, scrapped or otherwise interacted with. Any tokens on them are ignored (such as culture tokens and wounds). Imagine that they have all been turned face down or otherwise removed from the play area. (See also stack.)
Exception: Any cards that are borne by inactive cards are also inactive.
Sites are always active. However a site’s game text cannot be used unless the currently active party is present at it. Exception: Site text is not active when the starting parties are played.
Occasionally in a multiplayer game, two copies of the same unique Adversary card may end up in play at the same time. Only the copy of a unique Adversary card closest to the right of the Campaign player is in effect at any time. All other copies are also active, but their game text is ignored.
Atlas – Your atlas is a second, smaller deck of cards kept separately from your book during the game.
No other player may look through your atlas during the game.
You don’t have to keep your atlas in any order nor do you have to shuffle it. You will look through it to get a card when you need to.
Sites in your atlas usually have a range of site numbers listed on them. This lists where along the site path it can be placed. When a site is placed on the adventure path, that site gains the appropriate site number.
See also building your deck, movement summary, setting up the game, site.
Adventure path – All players use the same adventure path to represent the route their heroes are taking. Each player will place on the adventure path a marker to represent for their party’s location. The cards that make up this path are taken from the adventure decks of the players.
See also setting up the game, movement summary, site.
Adversary cards – Adversary cards represent the forces that oppose a party in its attempts to complete the quest. When another player takes his turn, you play and use your Adversary cards to hinder that player.
Adversary cards have a black colored diamond-shaped field around its cost in the upper left corner.
An Adversary player cannot play an Adversary artifact, condition, or possession on another Adversary player’s minion, or to another Adversary player’s support area. However, Adversary cards may give bonuses or other game effects to other players’ Adversary cards, and Adversary players may play events for other players’ Adversary cards as appropriate.
See also risk cost.
Adversary phase(s) – After your Campaign phase, each other player in the game, starting with the player immediately to your right, has one Adversary phase.
During each player’s Adversary phase, that player may perform Adversary actions in any order, including playing most Adversary cards.
One Adversary action is always available:
• Play an Adversary minion, possession, artifact, or condition from your hand to the table. (See unique.)
An Adversary player may find other Adversary actions on events in his or her hand, or as special abilities on cards he already has in play.
When one Adversary player has completed all of the Adversary actions he or she wishes to perform, the next Adversary player to their right (if any) then performs an Adversary phase.
Adversary players may converse and plan among themselves. They may name cards in their hands, but they cannot actually show each other those cards. They may make agreements, but those agreements are not binding.
You may use (and exert) another player’s character to pay a cost for your Adversary card or special ability.
When all Adversary players have each completed an Adversary phase, proceed to the ranged phase. If there are no minions in play at the end of the final Adversary phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
See also risk cost.
Artifact – An artifact is a unique weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of special object used by a character.
Most artifacts tell you who their bearer can be.
Other artifacts play to your support area.
Though artifacts are played and used much like possessions, they are a different card type. Artifacts are not affected by cards that affect possessions.
See also transfer.
Attribute bonus – An attribute bonus is a positive modifier for a character’s strength, vitality, and/or resistance, written with a plus sign (like “+2”).
Assignment step – During the assignment step, players may perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play and events with “Assignment:”) using the action procedure.
Many assignment actions assign a minion to a companion or require assigning as a cost. You cannot assign one character to another unless both of them are unassigned.
When all players consecutively pass, proceed to assign defenders.
During your assignment step, you may assign companions to defend against attacking minions.
A player cannot assign more than one companion to the same minion.
Inform the Adversary players when you are done making assignments.
All assignments of characters are on a one-to-one basis, with the following two exceptions:
• Companions who have the defender +X keyword.
• When you have informed the Adversary players that you are done making assignments, they may assign any leftover unassigned minions to any companions (even if those companions are already assigned). The first Adversary player on your right may assign any of his unassigned minions, and so on, counter-clockwise around the table.
The creation of leftover minions happens only when the Campaign player is done making assignments. If an assigned minion subsequently becomes unassigned as a result of a card’s game text (e.g. a triggered ability), it is not a leftover minion and is not eligible to be assigned by the Adversary player.
A card which cannot participate in skirmishes:
• Cannot be assigned to a skirmish,
• Cannot be affected by assignment actions that would assign that character as a cost or effect.
• Cannot be assigned leftover minions by an adversary player.
Once all assignments have been made, they take effect simultaneously. (See action.)
When the assignment step is complete, each companion being attacked will lead to a separate skirmish phase.
Banish – To banish a card is to remove that card from game. Place all banished cards in a pile separate from the game play area instead of the scrap pile or grave. Cards in this pile may be viewed by any player at any time.
Barrage Step – During this phase, players may perform barrage actions (special abilities on cards in play and events with “Barrage:”) using the action procedure. When all players consecutively pass, conduct ranged fire.
All Adversary players look for their minions with “Shoot +X” and add X to the “minion ranged total.” No matter how many Adversary players there are, there is only one minion ranged total.
The Protagonist player looks for “Shoot +X” on their companions to determine the “party ranged total.”
The Protagonist player then assigns a number of wounds equal to the minion ranged total to their companions, in any manner they wish.
He or she then chooses one Adversary player who must assign a number of wounds equal to the party ranged total to their minions, in any way they wishes.
Since these tokens are assigned as wounds and not from exertion, any player may assign enough wounds to kill his or her own character.
The wounds are assigned one at a time, so a character cannot have more wounds than its vitality. Ignore any leftover wounds that cannot be assigned.
There is always a default ranged total of zero for each side. A card may add to your ranged total even though you have no shooters in play at that time.
When all ranged wounds have been assigned, proceed to the melee phase. If there are no minions left after the ranged phase, then skip directly to the regroup phase.
See also impervious.
Bearer – Most supporters, possessions, and artifacts, and some conditions, tell you who or what their bearer can be, which is the type of card you can play them on.
Each character may bear one condition, possession or artifact of each class at one time.
Some conditions, possessions and artifacts do not have a class. There is no limit to the number of cards without a class that a character may bear.
When you play a card on a bearer, put it beneath the bearer with the left edge of the card visible for its card title and any attribute bonuses it has.
You cannot voluntarily discard a card borne by your character.
See also Adversary cards, killed, leaving play, transfer.
Bid – Players place secret bids for the right to determine who goes first in the game. (See setting up the game.) The bidding is done with tokens (black glass beads or the cardboard ones included in the intro box for example), which will become burdens on your Hero.
Each player secretly places a number of burdens in his hand (you may bid zero). When all players are ready, simultaneously reveal the bids. The highest bid wins the right to choose where he or she goes in turn order. Any choice is available. Next the second highest bidder chooses from the remaining positions in the turn order, and so on. If there are any ties, then the tied players resolve randomly who chooses first among them.
Keep track of each player’s bid, as these tokens will become burdens on his Hero.
The first player sits down, and the others then sit in clockwise order around the table according to their choices.
If you bid a number of burdens equal to or higher than your Hero’s resistance, your Hero falls to despair before the game starts and you lose the game.
Blank – To “blank” a card means, “the specified card loses all gametext until the end of the current phase/step (unless otherwise indicated).” A card’s risk cost, title, culture, and the text on its typeline are not affected by being “blanked.” Any tokens on a blank card remain and are not affected. An event which is blanked will have no effect and is placed in its owner’s scrap pile.
Book – A player’s collection of adversary and campaign cards which form their main draw deck is referred to as their “book.” When you draw the last card from your book, you don’t lose the game. Continue with the cards you have in hand and in play.
See also building your deck, moving cards.
Brazen – A loaded keyword followed by a risk number. It represents the text: “When the party moves, add (X).”
Building your deck – Each player brings to the game at least 70 cards:
• A main deck of at least 60 cards (their book), and
• a 10 card side deck (their atlas).
Your book must have at minimum 30 campaign cards and 30 adversary cards. at least 60 cards and must have an equal number of Adversary cards and Campaign cards, shuffled together. You cannot have any copies of any quest-need or sites in your book.
At least 1 of your campaign cards must be a hero character. You may choose any character with the hero keyword to be your hero. You may choose any version of a quest need as long as its title matches the title in the keyword’s brackets.
You may have up to four copies of each card title (ignoring subtitles) in your book regardless of whether that card is unique or non-unique.
Your atlas must have exactly 9 site cards in it and 1 quest-need. Each site must be different. You may have no more than 3 sites of each region in a normal game. (In a demo or intro game, you are allowed only 1 site of each number.)
Burden – When troubles strike the party, you place a burden token into your burden pool to represent the mental and spiritual toll on them. Glass beads (preferably black) or the cardboard tokens included in the intro box make good burden tokens, but anything you won’t confuse with a wound will do. Each burden in your pool lowers the resistance of each companion in your party by 1.
There are many cards that add or remove burdens. Burdens are only placed in your pool.
See also active, despair, resistance.
Burden pool – An area where you place the burdens affecting your party. This can be anywhere as long as it is not mixed up with the risk pool and is clear which party the burdens affect. Typically they are placed between your party and your support area. Only the current player’s burden pool is active and only their burdens are spotted.
Campaign cards – Campaign cards represent the forces attempting to complete a quest.
Each player has his own party, made up of their Hero and other companions. When you take your turn, you play and use your Campaign cards.
Campaign cards have a light colored circular field in the upper left corner.
See also risk cost.
Campaign phase – The campaign phase contains 4 steps:
1. Reset the move limit.
2. Trigger actions.
3. Perform campaign actions.
4. Move the party.
After you have reset the move limit (step 1) and performed triggers (step 2), you may then perform campaign actions (step 3) in any order, including playing Campaign cards.
Two campaign actions are always available:
• Play a Campaign companion, ally, possession, artifact, or condition from your hand to the table. (See unique.)
• Second wind.
You may find other campaign actions on events in your hand, or as special abilities on cards you already have in play.
When you have completed all of the campaign actions you wish to perform, you then move the party (step 4).
See also movement summary, transfer.
Can vs Cannot – Whenever the rules and the cards conflict, the cards take precedence (except in a few cases where it’s specified that the rule cannot be overridden). If two cards conflict (i.e. one says “do X” and another says “cannot do X”) the “cannot” overrides the “can”.
Example: Hector, Son of Priam has the text: “Assignment: Exert Hector to assign him to an unbound companion. Nick Chopper, Missing Heart has the text: “While Nick Chopper is exhausted, he cannot be assigned to a skirmish.” While Nick Chopper is unbound, meaning that Hector can assign to him, if Nick Chopper is exhausted, his text prevents Hector from being assigned to him.
Cancel – When an action (such as playing an event or using a special ability) is canceled or prevented, its effects are ignored but its costs and requirements are still paid. If that action is playing an event, that event card is discarded.
See cost, effect.
Card type – There are currently 9 different card types in the game: quest need, site, companion, minion, ally, possession, artifact, event, and condition.
Character – Companion, minion, and ally cards are also collectively referred to as character cards.
Companion – A companion is a Campaign character in your party.
Play companion cards in a row, near the other members of your party already in play.
They may be placed in any arrangement as long as it’s clear to the rest of the table which are your companions belonging to your party.
See also resistance, maximum party.
Condition – A condition is a card representing a significant change in the world, which stays in play until discarded. Most conditions play to your support area. Other conditions tell you who their bearer can be.
A condition is always played during the Campaign phase (if it is a Campaign card) or the Adversary phase (if it is an Adversary card), even if it provides a special ability that is performed during a different phase.
Cost – A cost of an action could be adding or removing risk tokens, exerting a character, discarding a card, or any number of other possibilities. The costs for an action are usually listed before the word “to” (so the action takes the form of “pay X to do Y,” with X being the cost and Y the effect).
If a card or special ability has a cost, you must pay that cost or you cannot use that card or special ability. (See exert, Adversary phase(s).)
If a card has the text “To Play:” on it, then what follows is a requirement that is also a part of the cost of playing that card.
You must meet any requirements to play a card (or perform an action) before paying its costs. If a card or action has multiple costs, you must be able to meet the requirements for all of those costs before paying them. (See spot.)
When you pay the cost for an action, you cannot use that payment for more than one action.
If an action is prevented, its effects are ignored but its costs and requirements are still paid.
If a player is paying costs for a card and a response action occurs which modifiers those costs, that player must continue to pay as many costs as he or she can, even if it is no longer possible to pay them all. If all the costs cannot be paid, that card has no effect.
See also scrap pile, draw deck, risk cost.
Culture – Most cards are part of a specific culture. A card’s color, its background texture, and an icon in its upper right corner indicate its culture. Your deck may contain cards from several different cultures.
Site cards and quest needs are not part of any culture.
The culture names and icons are:
You don’t have to memorize these names, since cultures are always referred to with icons in game text.
See also spot.
Culture Tokens – Some cards that play to the Support Area can have tokens added to them by gametext. If the text adding the token has a culture symbol in front of it, then these tokens are known as “culture tokens.” Instead of representing wounds or risk or burdens, these represent resources related to the culture they belong to.
Actions referencing these are usually written out as “add/remove [symbol] tokens…” If an action requires removing some number of tokens as a cost and you cannot remove that many, then you cannot perform that action.
Culture tokens on an inactive card are also inactive and cannot be spotted, added, removed or otherwise be affected by the game.
Damage bonus – When the winning side in a skirmish phase has one or more characters with the keyword damage +1, then each losing character takes one additional wound for each damage +1. (Damage +2 adds two wounds, and so on.) This is called a damage bonus, which may be added to or removed by various effects.
When a character with a damage bonus is given an additional bonus by a card or special ability, the bonuses are added together.
When an effect says that a character “loses all damage bonuses,” that character cannot gain a damage bonus due to some other effect.
Damage +X – A loaded keyword representing the text: “When this character wins a skirmish, the losing character(s) take +X additional wounds.”
See damage bonus.
Defender +X – A loaded keyword representing the text: “The Campaign player may assign +X minions to skirmish this character.”
During the assignment phase, if your assigned companion has the keyword defender +1, you may assign that character to one additional unassigned minion. Defender +2 allows that companion to defend against two additional assigned minions, and so on. A character with defender +2 (or greater) satisfies any requirement for defender +1.
When a character with defender +X is given an additional defender +X by a card or special ability, the bonuses are added together.
Discard – To “discard” a card means to place that card into your scrap pile. The most common location from which you discard is your hand. Some effects might discard a card from your deck.
Cards are discarded one at a time so all players can see which cards are being discarded.
When you scrap a character to use its game text or as a result of some other effect, place that card from play into your scrap pile (if it is a Campaign character it is not placed in your dead pile).
If a card is discarded when it comes into play, ignore any effects triggered when it comes into play. This includes effects from a minions own game text and effects from other cards in play.
See also bearer, second wind, killed, leaving play, scrap.
Durable – A loaded keyword written as “Durable X”. It represents the text: “This character cannot take more than X wounds during a skirmish.” Once that character has received X wounds during a skirmish step (no matter whether that character is currently skirmishing) the rest are ignored.
This ability does not prevent exertions (as those are not wounds).
If a game effect or rule requires you to distribute wounds during a skirmish, once you have placed the maximum allowed on a character with durable, you must then wound other companions.
If a character gains multiple instances of durable, only the lowest value is used.
Effect – An effect of an action could be adding or removing risk tokens, exerting a character, discarding a card, or any number of other possibilities. The effects of an action are usually listed after the word “to” (so the action takes the form of “pay X to do Y,” with X being the cost and Y the effect).
The source of an effect is the card on which that effect is printed. Even though a card like an event may require a minion to exert to pay its cost, the source of that effect is the event card and not the minion.
Some cards have multiple effects that respond to the same kind of trigger. They count something in play, and when there is more of that thing, more effects happen.
When an effect says a player should look at a card, that card is shown only to that player.
When an effect says to reveal a card, that card is shown to all players.
If an effect tells you to reveal or look at one or more cards from somewhere (a draw deck, a hand, etc) and doesn’t specify what to do with them afterward, return them to where they came from, in the same order.
If the effect of a card or special ability requires you to perform an action and you cannot, you must perform as much as you can and ignore the rest. (See limit.)
If the effect lists a choice (usually written as “pay X to do Y or Z”), you choose which effect will occur. If something happens to prevent that effect, nothing happens, you cannot change your choice to the other effect.
If an effect is followed by “(unless…” and the mentioned player performs that text, the effect is prevented.
If an action plays a card from your hand (or scrap pile) as part of its effect, then that card must be in your hand (or scrap pile) before you can begin to perform that action.
If you meet all the requirements and pay all the costs for playing a card, you may play that card even if the card will have no effect. Exception: If you perform an action that has playing a card from hand or scrap pile as part of its effect, you must play that card. This exception applies to all kinds of actions and all the different ways you can play a card (except playing a card directly from your draw deck).
When you move a card from one area to another (except when drawing a card from your draw deck), you must reveal that card to all players to verify that it is of the correct type. Exception: If an effect says you are to move “a card” with no other description, or it mentions “stack face down,” you don’t have to reveal it.
See also discard, modifier, risk cost, stack, unless.
Event – An event is a card played from your hand representing a temporary occurrence, which you discard after you play it.
Most event cards have a phase or step action that defines when you may play that card from your hand. Some may have more than one, meaning you can play it during either phase or step.
The game text on that event may be performed only once for each copy of that event played. You cannot play an event during a phase that does not match any of its phase actions.
Place an event in your scrap pile after you have played it from hand and carried out its effects, but before the next action is taken. (See spot.) Even after being discarded, an event often has an ongoing or delayed effect until the end of the phase, or until a specified phase or condition is met.
Events may be described by their phase or step actions. Thus text referring to “a skirmish event” applies to an event with “Skirmish:” in its game text. An event with multiple phases listed on it can be affected by such as long as at least one of their listed phases or steps match. Example: An event with “Maneuver:” and “Skirmish:” in its game text counts as both a maneuver event and skirmish event and can be targeted and affected by game effects targeting or affecting either.
See also action.
Exert – Sometimes you may exert a character by placing a wound on that card to show that the character takes an action that depletes its vitality.
If the cost of an action requires a character to exert X times, then that character must have at least X+1 vitality or that action cannot be performed. A character with 1 vitality cannot be exerted. A character cannot exert 0 times to pay the cost of a card that requires a character to exert X times.
Exerting a character is different from wounding a character, even though both require placement of a wound token. Cards that prevent wounds cannot prevent a wound token placed by exerting.
See also exhausted, for each, healing.
Exhausted – A character who has only 1 vitality is exhausted.
No player may exert a character who is exhausted. If the effect of an action says a character “must exert” and that character is exhausted, then nothing happens.
To exhaust a character means to exert that character as many times as you can.
Field – The term referencing the table/play area of the game. After a non-event card is played and placed on the table, it is referred to as “entering the field.”
Game text – Game text includes all the text in the box below the card type line except for reminder text, lore, and collector’s info. On a site card, this box is located below the terrain type line (there is no card type line on a site). On quest-need cards, there is no box around the game text, but the concept is the same.
Any boldfaced keyword that appears in this box is game text.
Card titles, subtitles, and items on the card type line (types, races, and classes) are not game text.
Sometimes game text is added to a card by an effect, even though that text is not printed on that card.
Healing – When a wound is removed from a character, this represents healing. When you “heal a minion/companion/ally,” you remove one wound.
If a card tells you to “heal 2 companions,” you must choose two different companions to heal one time each (you cannot heal one companion twice). If an effect permits multiple healings of a single character it will specify this with “heal twice/three times/etc.”
Once a wound token is placed, whether from exerting or wounding, it can be healed by any effect that “heals.”
Generally, your party only heals at sanctuary sites on the adventure path.
See also discard to heal, for each.
Hero – A loaded keyword written as “Hero [_]” representing the text: “This character is an eligible bearer for the [_] quest need.”
One companion always beings the game as your hero. (See building your deck.) It bears your chosen quest need for you.
If the hero is discarded or returned to your hand, your quest need then leaves the field and you lose the game.
Impervious – A loaded keyword written as “Impervious X” representing the text: “During each Ranged phase, prevent the first X wounds dealt to this character.”
Indomitable – A loaded keyword representing the text: “To overwhelm this character, you must have triple its strength (instead of double).”
Initiative – Representing the blessing of the stars (both light and dark energy) initiative is a binary concept utilized by both sides in this intro. Each player either has initiative or lacks it. On page 2, we have included a bonus card labeled “You have Initiative.” You can use this extra card to represent initiative, flipping it face up or down as you gain and lose initiative, but initiative can be represented by anything you wish, as long as it’s clear to both players whether you have it or not.
Each turn begins with all players lacking initiative. Through card gametext, players can perform actions which will then have them “gain initiative.” Once a player has initiative, further “gain initiative” actions will have no effect. That player will continue to have initiative until the party rests, at which point as part of the end of the turn all players lose any initiative they possess. Performing actions may also cause a player to lose initiative. If a cost is listed as “lose initiative” then a player must have initiative before performing that action, and they will no longer have initiative as the action resolves. If losing initiative is part of an effect, the player doesn’t have to have initiative and nothing will happen if they lack it when the effect resolves.
Instead – When a card uses the phrase “instead” or “instead of”, the stated effect is replaced with a different effect. This does not mean that the original effect is prevented. If the second effect cannot happen for any reason, then the original effect occurs.
See response, effect.
“Is about to” actions – Some actions are preformed when a described situation “is about to” happen. Typically only one such action can be performed in a given situation, because its effect will “prevent” that situation or replace it with another effect “instead.”
Keyword – Each card has one or more keywords that identify it. Most keywords are unloaded keywords, with no special rules (although they may be referenced by other cards). Keywords with rules associated with them are called loaded keywords.
Though a word which appears in the title or subtitle of a card may be the same as a keyword that exists in the game, that title or subtitle does not confer the keyword on that card.
Killed – This game term is used to describe a character that has had its vitality reduced to zero, been overwhelmed, or that is specifically “killed” by the game text of another card. (See wound, overwhelmed.)
Place killed companions and allies in your dead pile. Place killed minions in your discard pile.
When a card that provides a vitality bonus for its bearer is discarded, that bearer is immediately killed if their vitality is now zero.
See also leaving play, losing the game.
Kinds of cards – Most cards in Heroes’ Journeys are one of two basic kinds: Campaign or Adversary.
There are also sites and quest-needs, which are neither Campaign cards nor Adversary cards.
Leaving play – When a card (other than a site) leave play for any reason, any cards played on that card (or borne by or stacked on that card) are discarded. Any tokens on that card are removed and the card is returned to its owner.
Limit – When a card has a limit, such as “(limit +3),” the limit applies to that card for an entire phase/step unless otherwise noted.
A limit does not span multiple phases unless it specifies “(limit once per turn)” or the effect it relates to spans multiple phases.
A limit does not apply to a different copy of the same card.
See also effect, max.
Loaded keyword – A card’s type and class (see bearer) are loaded keywords. Other loaded keywords include brazen (x), damage +X (see damage bonus), defender +X, durable X , impervious, indomitable, and shoot +X (see barrage step).
See also keyword.
Look at – See effect.
Lore – Lore is text found in the box below the card type line in italics (but not parentheses) that provides an interesting quote or fact but has no effect on play. Lore is not game text.
See collector’s info, reminder text.
Losing the game – A player loses the game if his or her quest need leaves play – most commonly as an effect of their hero being killed (see overwhelmed).
A player also loses the game if their hero becomes unmotivated.
If a player loses a game and there are at least two other players remaining, remove his or her player marker and all of their cards from play (and discard any opponents’ cards that were on them).
Remove their sites on the adventure path in numerical order, then each opponent, starting to that player’s right and proceeding counter-clockwise, chooses a site from his or her adventure deck to replace each one removed.
The other players complete the losing player’s turn.
See also winning the game.
Max – A permanent restriction to a card or game text usually listed as “(max #)”. Unlike “(limit _)”, max restricts an action or card when it is reached even if you haven’t used it this phase. Example: Scarecrow, Missing Brains has the game text “Regroup: Stack face down on Scarecrow a card from hand (max 2).” If 2 cards are already stacked on Scarecrow, you cannot use that action, even if you haven’t used it this regroup phase.
A card with “Support Area (#)” means “Max # of copies of this card in your support area.” Example: Golden Cap is a Wicked Witch card with “Artifact – Support Area (1)” on its type line. You cannot have more than 1 card in your support area with “Golden Cap” in the title.
If an action or game effect would cause you to exceed a max restriction on a card, then that action cannot be done and fizzles.
See also: limit.
Motivated – A companion with 1 or more resistance is considered to be “motivated.”
Move limit – During each of your turns, your party must move once, and may move an additional number of times up to your move limit.
In a two- or three-player game, your move limit is 2. In a game with four or more players, your move limit is equal to the number of your opponents when the game begins.
If the move limit is modified in any way, then that modification is in effect for the whole turn, even if the conditions for the modification change.
Movement summary – When the party is moving, the Campaign player’s party does the following in this order:
- An adversary player places the next site card, if needed.
- Perform “leaves…” triggered actions.
- Perform “the party moves…” triggered actions.
- Move your player marker to the next site.
- Perform “move to…” triggered actions.
- Add risk tokens equal to the new site’s risk number.
- Add 1 risk token for each companion.
Moving cards – Whenever you move a card from one pile to another (such as shuffling a card from your discard pile into your draw deck), you must reveal that card to all players so they can verify that the correct card was moved.
Exception: If a card is moved from a location where your opponents’ cannot normally view card details (such as your hand) to a face down stack, that card does not have to be revealed.
Non-unique – All cards that do not have a dot (•) before their card title are considered non-unique. This means that all players may have multiple copies of those cards in play at one time.
If you have multiple copies of a non-unique card in play, the effects of those copies are cumulative.
See also unique.
Overwhelmed – If the total strength of one side in a skirmish step is at least double the total strength of the other side, each character on the losing side is overwhelmed and killed (regardless of how many wounds or how much vitality each of them has). When a character is overwhelmed, that character does not receive wounds – it simply dies.
When the Hero is overwhelmed, they are killed, regardless of health or quest need text and the player controlling them loses the game.
See also indomitable, leaving play.
Party – Party is the game term used to refer to the collective of active companions. If game text refers to “the party” it applies to each active companion.
Party Limit – On the back of each quest need is the text: “Party Limit” followed by a number and sometimes text. While using this quest need, you cannot have more than that number in total companions in play and in your dead pile at any time. (Each copy of a companion in play or in your dead pile counts as a separate companion, whether it is unique or non-unique.)
If the party limit also specifies restrictions on the companions you can play, then you cannot play any companion not matching any of those restrictions.
Example: SCATHED Badge has on the back “Party Limit: 3 [mo] or [na] companions. You cannot play a 4th companion to the party, nor can you play a companion who doesn’t belong to the [mo] or [na] culture.
Phase/Step action – Phase/Step actions include performing special abilities and playing event cards.
During each phase and step of a turn, one or more players are allowed to perform phase/step actions that use a word matching the name of that phase or step. These words are printed in boldface and followed by a colon. (See condition.)
Each phase/step action must be completely performed before another phase/step action can be performed.
Phase/Step actions cannot be combined.
If a phase/step action can be played in multiple phases or steps (for example, “Skirmish or Regroup:”), its action type is of the phase during which the action is taken.
See also action, cost, effect, response.
Playing a card – Following is a detailed procedure for playing a non-site card. We refer to the card you are playing as “The Card.”
- Reveal The Card from your hand, and it enters the Void (not in your hand, not in your discard pile, not on the field). You cannot discard The Card to pay a cost on The Card. Effects that respond to The Card leaving your hand, happen later (see below). Each player may examine the card at this point.
- Check to see that all costs on The Card can be paid. This is required. If you cannot meet all requirements, The Card returns to your hand and you skip the remaining steps.
- Pay costs to play The Card. This includes both risk costs and other costs indicated in game text by “To Play:”. If adding or removing Risk tokens to the pool is part of the cost, it is done first. If the card references itself in its game text, it may modify its own cost. If discarding cards from your hand is a cost, then you cannot discard The Card. It is possible for another card to interrupt the paying of costs so that you cannot finish paying them. If paying costs is interrupted in such a way that you cannot finish paying them all, The Card is placed in your discard pile and any costs already paid remain paid. Do not pay any further costs for that card.
- If The Card is not an event, place it in the appropriate place. If the card you are playing is a Character, Possession, Artifact, or Condition, place it on the “field” (the playing surface). The Card is now in play.
- Responses or triggered actions that respond to the playing of The Card happen now. If The Card has game text on it that triggers when The Card “entered the field…”, it happens now. Other cards may respond to the card being played as well. These are handled in the manner described under actions and action procedure.
- Perform effects on The Card. This includes choosing cards to be affected, if necessary. If an effect takes a card into your hand from your discard pile, The Card is not there yet.
- The card is played. Events go to the discard pile (or where they are instructed to go if The Card specifies) and other cards are now on the field.
Phase/Step action – Phase/Step actions include performing special abilities and playing event cards.
During each phase and step of a turn, one or more players are allowed to perform phase/step actions that use a word matching the name of that phase or step. These words are printed in boldface and followed by a colon. (See condition.)
Each phase/step action must be completely performed before another phase/step action can be performed.
Phase/Step actions cannot be combined.
If a phase/step action can be played in multiple phases or steps (for example, “Skirmish or Regroup:”), its action type is of the phase during which the action is taken.
See also action, cost, effect, response.
Possession – A possession is a weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of object used by a character.
Most possessions tell you who their bearer can be. Other possessions play to your support area.
See also class, transfer.
Quest-bound – An unloaded keyword found on companions.
Companions that do not have the quest-bound keyword are referred to as “unbound.”
See also starting party, unbound.
Race – See unloaded keyword.
Ranged phase – A phase in the turn following the collective adversary phases of the other players.
It consists of the Maneuver Step and the Barrage Step.
It is followed by the Melee phase.
Reconcile – A player reconciles their hand as follows:
- They may first discard one card from hand.
- If they then have less than eight cards in hand, they must draw cards until they have eight.
- Otherwise (when they has more than eight cards in their hand), they must discard from their hand until they have only eight.
See also regroup phase.
Region – Sites 1-3 are in region 1, sites 4-6 are in region 2, and sites 7-9 are in region 3.
Regroup phase – During the regroup phase, players may perform regroup actions (special abilities on cards in play and events with “Regroup:”) using the action procedure.
When all players consecutively pass, each Adversary player must reconcile his or her hand.
Regroup phase summation:
- Effects expire.
- “When the regroup phase begins…” effects occur.
- Players perform regroup actions.
- Adversary players reconcile their hands.
- The Campaign player chooses:
- (if move limit allows) Move again to the next site.
- Stop at the current site.
Reminder text – Reminder text is found in the game text box in italics and parentheses that provides a summary of a game rule. Reminder text is not game text.
See collector’s info, lore.
Requirement – See cost.
Resistance – Companion cards have resistance. This number represents a companion’s ability to remain motivated and resist the spiritual challenges to complete a quest.
Each burden in the party’s burden pool the resistance of every companion in your party by 1.
If a companion’s resistance is reduced to 0, they become unmotivated. For most of the party, there is no immediate penalty for a companion being unmotivated (although some gametext may be affected and your opponents may have Adversary cards that take advantage of this). If your Hero becomes unmotivated, you lose the game.
Response – A special ability or event labeled with the word “Response:” indicates that you may perform that action whenever the trigger described in its game text happens.
A response can only be used once when triggered. You may use more than one response to the same situation, but each response must come from a different card. Example: If one of your companions won a skirmish, you may play multiple events with “Response: If a companion won a skirmish…” as well as use any special abilities on cards in play also with that response. Responses are always optional.
A response action is not a phase action (because there is no “response phase”).
Some responses are performed when a described situation is “about to” happen. These are the only actions that can interrupt another as they will usually “prevent” a situation or replace it with another effect “instead.”
Otherwise responses, being optional actions, happen after their triggering event finishes and all non-optional actions have been completed but before a non-response action can be played or used. Example: An event with text “Response: If this companion won a skirmish…” will be played once a skirmish has resolved, after wounds have been dealt, characters overwhelmed, and any “When a companion wins a skirmish…” actions are performed; but before another skirmish begins.
If multiple players have responses to a trigger, resolve them according to the action procedure starting with the Campaign player then proceeding counter-clockwise. Each response action fully resolves before the next response action unless the second response prevents the first response.
See also action procedure, cost, effect.
Reveal – See effect.
Risk cost – In the upper left corner of each Campaign and Adversary card is that card’s risk cost. This is the number of risk tokens that must be added to or removed from the risk pool to play that card.
When you play a Campaign card, you must add a number of risk tokens (from the reserve) to the risk pool equal to that card’s risk cost.
When you play an Adversary card, you must remove a number of risk tokens from the risk pool equal to that card’s risk cost. An Adversary card cannot be played if its risk cost cannot be met by the tokens available in the risk pool.
All players use the same risk pool and there is only a single risk pool for all players. All Adversary players pay for cards using the same risk pool. The second Adversary player uses risk tokens left over from the first Adversary player, and so on.
Cards already in play that affect another card’s risk cost have that effect only when the card to be modified is being played. Once in play or when looked at in any other location (a player’s hand, a player’s draw deck, etc) only a card’s printed risk cost is considered.
See also cost, discard pile, draw deck.
Risk pool – The risk pool is an area on the table (usually in the center) where risk tokens are placed. The tokens in the risk pool represent how dangerous the world is for the party. Glass beads (preferably black) or the cardboard punch outs from the intro set make good risk tokens, but any convenient tokens will do as long as all players are able to understand what is the risk pool. Keep a large reserve of risk tokens handy.
In game text, you will find phrases like “Add (1)” or “Remove (1).” This means, “Add (or remove) 1 risk token to the risk pool.” In game text risk values are always represented by a black or white circle around a number.
See also start of turn, risk cost.
Roaming – Each minion and ally has a site designating when they are “supposed” to show up, represented by that minion’s and ally’s site number. If the minion or ally is played to (or is currently at) a site with a lower site number, that minion is considered roaming.
To play a roaming character a player must pay a roaming penalty of 2. In the case of a minion, this means removing an additional 2 risk tokens from the risk pool when playing that minion. In the case of an ally, this means adding an additional 2 risk tokens to the risk pool when playing that ally.
Cards and effects can reduce characters’ roaming penalties.
Sanctuary X – A loaded keyword appearing on sites written as “Sanctuary X” which represents the text: “Each campaign phase heal up to X total wounds from the party.”
You may choose to heal X different companions once, or one companion multiple times, or any other combination as long as the total number of wounds removed from the party does not exceed X. You also don’t have to heal any wounds at all – you may choose any number 0 to X. If you choose to heal less than X or are unable to heal X wounds, the remainder is lost, it cannot be saved for later in the turn.
Only companions can be healed by Sanctuary text, allies cannot be healed in this manner.
Only wounds can be removed by Sanctuary text, burdens cannot be removed in this manner.
This healing is considered simultaneous and must all be done at once. You may not perform actions in between the heals. Example: The party is at a site with “Sanctuary 2.” You must heal 2 wounds at once. If the party has only 1 wound at the start of the campaign phase, you cannot play a card requiring an exertion and then heal the 2nd time.
If a site has multiple instances of sanctuary, they are all added together for X and must all be performed at once.
Each site played to the third and sixth position of the site path (sites 3 and 6) gains “Sanctuary 5” as soon as it enters play.
Scrap – To scrap a card means that the card is moved from in play to its owner’s discard pile. Some cards scrap themselves as a cost of their actions while other actions may have scrapping another card as cost or effect.
A character that is scrapped is not killed.
Setting up the game – Players need a supply of wound tokens (preferably red) and risk tokens (preferably black). Each player will also need a player marker (a differently-colored token or some other object) that shows where his party is on the adventure path.
Players bid to determine who goes first.
Place your adventure deck face down in a pile on the table.
The first player chooses any site with 1-3 from his or her adventure deck and places it on the table to begin the adventure path. This becomes site 1. Each player then places his or her player marker onto that site. (We recommend placing the adventure path off to the side to leave room in the middle of the table for minions.)
Players then select and reveal their starting parties in player order. (In tournament play, you may change your starting party from game to game.)
The rest of your cards form your draw deck. Shuffle your draw deck, give the opponent on your right the opportunity to cut it, and draw eight cards to form your starting hand.
Setup summary:
- Determine who goes first using the secret bidding method.
- Place your adventure deck on the table.
- First player places a site from his or her adventure deck onto the adventure path.
- Put your player marker on site 1.
- Place your starting party on the table and the burdens you bid on your Hero.
- Shuffle your draw deck and offer the opponent to your right a chance to cut it.
- Draw eight cards.
Shoot +X – A loaded keyword written as “Shoot +X” which represent the text: “This character adds X to its side’s ranged total.”
If a character has multiple instances of shooter, each one of those are added to the ranged total.
See also Ranged step.
Shooter – A character with the “Shoot +X” keyword is referred to as a “shooter” companion/minion.
Site – Site card represent locations throughout many worlds and are used to chart the progress of the game. Nine sites are placed in your adventure deck along with your quest-need. (See building your deck.)
If your party moves to a site that has not been played yet, one of the Adversary players must place a new site on the adventure path. (See movement procedure.) To determine which player, look at the site you are moving from. Each site has an arrow at the bottom center of the card. This indicates who is to play the new site, with à meaning the adversary to your right and ß meaning the adversary to your left. (In a two-player game, there is only one Adversary player at a time, so both arrows point to them, meaning that player always plays the new site.)
That player looks through their adventure deck and chooses any site that can be placed in that position of the path the party is moving to depending on the site number in its upper left corner. Example: A site with 4-6 in the upper left corner can be placed any time the party is moving to site 4, 5, or 6. It cannot be placed at site 3 and below or 7 and above. That site takes on the next consecutive number on the adventure path as its site number and is considered a part of the appropriate region.
You may play a copy of a site on the adventure path even if an opponent’s copy was already played as an earlier site and is still active. The copies are treated as different sites, with each given a different site number.
See also culture, kinds of cards.
Site Number – In the top left corner of every site card is a number representing where it can be placed in the site path. Sites that can be placed only in region 1 have 1-3 in the top left corner. Sites that can be placed only in region 2 have 4-6 and sites that can be placed only in region 3 have 7-9.
When you are building your adventure deck, you must have 9 sites, with exactly 3 for each region. (See building your deck.)
Sites 3 & 6 – See sanctuary.
Skirmish step(s) – When the assignment step is complete, each defending participant (usually companions) will fight in a separate skirmish step. In an order decided by the Campaign player, skirmishes are resolved one at a time by conducting a skirmish step for each. (Exception: Skirmishes with a lurker card must be resolved after skirmishes without a lurker.)
During each skirmish step, players may perform skirmish actions (special abilities on cards in play and events with “Skirmish:” at the start of the game text) using the action procedure. Each skirmish action lasts only for a single skirmish. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to resolve that skirmish.
Only cards with a strength value are considered “participants” in the skirmish. Cards with strength bonuses (+ or -) or cards borne by other cards might be involved in the skirmish but are not considered participants.
The side with the greatest total strength wins the skirmish. The participants and their controller(s) involved on the winning side when the skirmish resolves are considered “the winner” with the other side and their controllers considered “the loser.”
If the total strength of one side is at least double the other side, the loser(s) is overwhelmed. Characters are immediately killed no matter how much health they have remaining, non-characters are placed in their owner’s discard pile.
If the total strength of one side is greater than the strength of the other side but less than double it, place one wound on each character on the losing side. (If the loser is not a character, nothing happens.)
If all participants of one side are removed during a skirmish before strength has been totaled, the skirmish immediately resolves with the other side as the winner.
If all participants of one side are removed from a skirmish before that skirmish begins, that skirmish does not occur.
A card is “skirmishing” or “currently skirmishing” or in a skirmish “involving” that card only while the skirmish step that character is assigned to is happening.
If a participant is removed from its skirmish and there are still one or more participants on each side of that skirmish, the removed character is neither a loser nor a winner. A character removed from a skirmish is neither wounded nor overwhelmed when the skirmish resolves.
If a skirmish is canceled, it ends immediately with no winner or loser.
When a skirmish resolves (or is canceled) for any reason, no more skirmish actions may be performed.
A skirmish step fully ends after all actions triggered by winning or losing that skirmish have resolved. At this point, participants who were involved in that skirmish are no longer assigned.
A surviving minion or companion may skirmish again this turn if the party makes another move.
Once a skirmish step has finished, the Campaign player must select another defending participant (one who is still assigned to an adversary participant), and perform another skirmish step.
When all skirmishes have been resolved, proceed to the regroup phase.
Skirmish step summation:
- Campaign player selects a defender to skirmish.
- Effects expire.
- “When a skirmish step begins…” effects occur.
- Players perform skirmish actions.
- Resolve that skirmish.
- Players perform actions triggered by winning or losing that skirmish.
- Assign wounds (if any) or kills (if any).
- If any skirmishes remain to be resolved, repeat this procedure.
Special ability – Besides events, other types of cards may have a phase action as a part of their game text called a special ability, which may be used only while the card is in play. The boldfaced word defines when you may do so.
Each special ability is optional; you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. You may use each phase special ability as many times as you like (even repeatedly during the same phase), as long as you meet the requirements for it and pay its costs. Exception: Response special abilities may only be used once per trigger. (See response.)
See also action.
Spot – A word used in game text which means “in play and active.”
Many cards have spotting as a requirement for playing them. Example: If a card has the game text “To Play: Spot an animal.” there must be an animal in play and active in order to play that card.
Many special abilities use spotting to determine the scope of their effects. You don’t have to spot all the cards in play that meet the requirement if you don’t want to. You announce what you are spotting when you activate the text. Example: The wicked witch event Eye as Powerful as a Telescope has the text “…reveal X cards from the top of your draw deck (where X is the number of companions you spot).” If there are 5 companions in play and active, you may reveal 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cards from the top of your draw deck.
If game text specifies, “you can spot” this means you don’t have a choice and you must spot anything and everything that meets the requirement.
Events are not in play.
See also stack.
Stack – Stacking a card is not playing a card. Stacked cards are placed face up or face down on another card depending on the text doing the stacking. If a card is stacked face up, it may be looked at by any player at any time. If a card is stacked face down, they may only be looked at by the controller of the card they are stacked on.
Stacked cards are not in play and are not active. You cannot spot them except that they are stacked cards and how many cards are stacked. They do not count for uniqueness, a stacked unique card may be in play elsewhere. Multiple copies of the same unique card may be stacked together.
See also leaving play.
Starting party – Your party begins with a character bearing a quest-need. This can be any character with “Hero [X]” as long as X matches the quest-need’s name. Other cards and rules will reference the character bearing the quest-need as “the Hero.”
You must have a quest-need. If you do not have a quest-need whose name matches the X on a companion with the hero keyword, then you cannot use that companion as your hero.
The quest-need is considered to be a part of your adventure deck.
The technical order for setting up the starting party is:
- Take your hero from your draw deck and place them face up on the table.
- Take your quest-need from your adventure deck and place it under your Hero so the title is showing.
- Place the number of burdens that you bid into your party’s burden pool.
- You may then play other companions (not any other card type) one at a time from your draw deck, as long as the total risk cost of all your companions (including your hero) is 4 or less. (Don’t place any tokens into the risk pool for the cards in your starting party.)
A companion you play may affect the play of a later companion.
You must fulfill any “to play” requirements on your starting companions.
You may use “When you play” game text on a starting companion but not “Response:” text.
See also active.
Strength – Strength is represented on a card by a number on the left-hand side of the card inside a symbol.
A + or – in the strength symbol followed by a number is considered a “strength bonus.”
Only cards with a strength value, even if that value is 0, can be a participant in a skirmish step.
See killed.
Support area – Your support area is a row of cards behind your party.
If a condition, artifact, or possession has “– Support Area” after its type, that is short for “Plays to your Support Area.”
If a condition, artifact, or possession has a number in parentheses after “Support Area” this is short for “(max 1)” and means you cannot have more than that number of cards with that title in your support area. Example: Golden Cap has “Artifact – Support Area (1)” in its typeline. You cannot have a second card named “Golden Cap” in your support area.
Their/Theirs – Whenever a card or the rules use “their” it is referring to cards another player is currently controlling. Cards “they own” are the cards they brought with them to the game in their deck. If an effect mentions “their [card]”, any player (or a specific player if listed) may only choose cards they control, not another player’s card even if it meets all other requirements.
See also your/yours.
To Play: – Game text on cards representing additional costs that must be paid to play those cards. Example: Cowardly Lion is a companion with the game text “To Play: Add a burden.” In order for the Cowardly Lion to join your party, you must add a burden. If something prevents you from adding a burden, then you cannot play the Cowardly Lion.
These costs must be fully paid otherwise the card cannot played.
Token – See burden, wound, doom, risk pool.
Transfer – You may transfer an artifact or possession between your companions during your campaign phase by paying the risk cost for that artifact or possession again. (Minions cannot transfer artifacts or possessions.)
An artifact or possession may be transferred only to a character who may bear it. (See bearer.)
Transferring a card is not playing that card, even though you must pay its risk cost. “Entered play” game text and triggers are not performed when transferring a card.
If an effect transfers a card to another “eligible bearer,” you must obey the card’s requirements on both what may bear it and when it may be transferred. When a chard is transferred in this way, you do not pay its risk cost.
Turn sequence – Each player, going clockwise around the table, takes turns according to the following turn sequence.
- Campaign Phase
- Adversary Phase(s) – one for each Adversary player
- Ranged Phase
- Maneuver Step
- Barrage Step
- Melee Phase
- Assignment Step
- Skirmish Step(s) – one for each skirmish
- Regroup Phase
When one player finishes his turn, the next player in clockwise rotation (the player to the left of the current one) takes a turn and so on.
Although the turn order rotates to the left (clockwise), note that most other procedures in the game rotate to the right (counter-clockwise).
Unbound – Only companions can be unbound. Any companion without the Quest-bound keyword is an unbound companion.
Unique – Many character, supporter, possession, artifact, and condition cards represent a thing that there is only one of. Such a card has a dot (•) before the card title and is considered unique. When a unique card is in play and currently active, you cannot play another card that has the same title as the unique card (even if someone else controls the unique card).
Two cards represent the same thing if they have the same card title (even if their subtitles or collector’s info are different). Two cards can have the same card title even if they are in different languages.
You cannot play a card from your hand to replace another card in play, even if those cards have the same card title or represent the same personality.
If a player somehow gains control of more than one unique card with the same title, that player must immediately scrap cards with that title until they have only 1.
If during a game more than 1 adversary has the same unique card in play, only the copy belonging to the player closest to the campaign player’s right is active. The other copies controlled by the other adversaries are considered inactive.
See also dead pile, discard to heal, max, non-unique, stack.
Unless – When an action has “(unless…[cost])” written at the end of its effects, the designated player (or sometimes any player) can pay [cost] to prevent the effects of that action. This applies even if the effects of that action could not normally be prevented by other effects or the rules. If the required cost is not fully paid, then the action proceeds normally (there are no partial effects).
Unloaded keyword – If a keyword is not listed as representing any gametext, it is considered an unloaded keyword. Such keywords have no innate effect on the game, but are referenced to by other cards. Examples: Achaian, Bandar-log, Quest-bound.
Characters have a race (such as Human, Monkey, Animal) listed on their typeline after their card type. Race is considered to be an unloaded keyword.
Sites list unloaded keywords in a box above their game text called the “terrain box.” Examples: like battleground, dwelling, forest, jungle, marsh, mountain, plains. The unloaded keywords for sites are referred to as ‘terrain.’
Unmotivated – A companion with 0 resistance is considered to be “unmotivated.” Only companions can be motivated/unmotivated.
If your Quest-need requires your hero to be motivated to complete it, then you lose the game when your hero becomes unmotivated.
Vitality – All characters in the game have vitality. This number represents a character’s life force, stamina, and sturdiness.
Each wound token on a character depletes that character’s vitality by 1.
A character with 0 vitality is removed from the field.
See also exhausted, killed.
Void – When a non-site card is played, it enters the void (it is not in your hand, not in your scrap pile, and not in play).
If it is a permanent, it is placed in play and its effects are resolved.
Events have their effects resolved then goes to the scrap pile.
See playing a card.
When – This phrase you’ll see in game text governs the timing of an action, just like the names of phases that are in phase actions. “When” is used if any effect can happen more than once and in a required action. Each such effect has a trigger describing what makes it happen. The trigger is always described first, and followed by a → symbol. Example: The site Trojan Coast has the game text “When the first skirmish step resolves, if you can spot an Achaian → wound the losing characters an additional time.” For each party at the site, if an Achaian can be spotted, then after the first skirmish step, the loser receives at least 2 wounds – this is not optional and must be done.
While – This word you’ll see in game text governing continuous effects. Each such effect has a condition describing what activates it. While this condition is fulfilled the game text is “turned on.” If this condition is no longer fulfilled, the game text is immediately turned off. The condition is always described first, and followed by a → symbol. Example: Toto, Fearless Dog has the game text “While you can spot Dorothy Gale → Toto’s risk cost is -1 & he is Indomitable.” As soon as you can no longer spot Dorothy Gale, Toto’s risk cost becomes 1 and he is no longer indomitable.
Winning the game – A player wins the game when their party has met the victory conditions listed on the back of the quest-need. (Currently in wave 1 these all require the Hero reaching site 9 and surviving with at least 1 resistance.)
A player may also win the game if they become the last player left in the game. (See losing the game.)
Wound – When a character is wounded by an enemy attack, its vitality is depleted. Place a wound token on the character to illustrate this. Glass beads (preferably blood red) or the cardboard tokens provided in the deck make good tokens for this purposes, but anything can be used as long as all players are aware of this.
Wounds are always placed on a character one at a time.
When you “wound a character,” you place only one wound. If a character is wounded multiple times, this will be designated as such by “wound twice” or “wound 3 times” etc.
If a card tells you to wound a number of companions, you must choose different companions to wound one time each (you cannot wound a single companion more than once). If the card tells you to wound more companions than you have, the rest are ignored. Example: If a card says “wound 4 companions” and your party has only 2 companions, you will wound both of those only once.
A wounded character is a character who has at least one wound token. A healthy character is a character who has zero wound tokens.
See also active, exert, for each, killed.
Your/Yours – Whenever a card or the rules use “your” it is referring to cards you are currently controlling. Cards “you own” are the cards you brought with you to the game in your deck. If one player takes control of or captures card owned by another player, that card is always returned to its owner when it leaves play or if the owner loses the game.
See also their/theirs.