A Touch of Evil: 10 Year Anniversary Edition
A Touch of Evil: 10 Year Anniversary Edition Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- What's New in This Edition
- Game Components
- Cards
- Game Set up
- The Board
- Heroes
- Villains
- The Game Round
- The Mystery Phase
- Card Play
- Town Elders
- Fights
- Minions and Minion Charts
- Villain Showdown
- Winning the Game
- Cooperative Play
- The Team Game
- Solo Play Rules
- Optional Rules
- Hero Profiles
- Supernatural Villains
- Glossary
- FAQ & Clarifications
Game Overview
A Touch of Evil, The Supernatural Game is a fast-paced game of fiendish creatures, dashing Heroes, and high-adventure. Each player takes on the role of a unique monster-hunting Hero, racing against time to stop the forces of darkness from claiming another foothold in the world of man. Only by investigating the town and building your Hero's strength can you hope to hunt down the Supernatural Villain to his Lair and defeat him in an epic Showdown. Players can race Competitively to be the first to defeat the Villain and save the town, or they can work together Cooperatively to defeat a much stronger Villain.
So grab your Wooden Stake, stuff some shot in that Musket, and hold on to your Tri-corn Hat; no one is safe from the creatures of the night and no one can be trusted...for inside everyone lies A Touch of Evil.
Gameplay Breakdown
Each player takes on the role of a Hero, racing to build up their character with Items, Allies, and Event Cards in preparation to hunt down and defeat the Villain in a Showdown. In each Game Round, every player (starting with the First Player) takes their Hero Turn in order, moving clockwise around the table. After all Heroes have finished, there is a Mystery Phase in which the Villain gets to unleash some evil on the Heroes in the form of drawing a Mystery Card and reading it aloud. At the end of the Mystery Phase, the First Player Marker is passed one player to the left and a new Game Round begins.
Players
A Touch of Evil, The Supernatural Game can be played by 1-8 players, either Competitively, Cooperatively or Solo. For game length reasons, you may find it best to limit 7 or 8 player games to Cooperative play or the Team Game. The game will work with virtually any number of players (limited only by Hero Characters available), but will become cumbersome with 7 or more individually Competitive players.
Competitive or Cooperative
As noted above, A Touch of Evil has two main styles of play - Competitive and Cooperative. In the Competitive Game, players race against one another to be the first to defeat the Villain and save the town of Shadowbrook. In the Cooperative Game, all of the Heroes must work together to defeat a much stronger version of the Villain before it can consume the town in Darkness.
The Competitive game is the default style of play, and is the focus of the Game Rules section. The Cooperative Game is covered at the end of the main Game Rules section, listing the differences for Heroes working together instead of racing each other.
Game Contents
- 1 Full Color Rulebook
- 1 Folding Game Board
- 8 Hero Figures (Grey)
- 50 Event Cards
- 50 Mystery Cards
- 20 Windmill Cards
- 20 Abandoned Keep Cards
- 20 Olde Woods Cards
- 20 The Manor Cards
- 16 Town Item Cards
- 6 Town Elder Cards
- 20 Secrets Cards
- 20 Lair Cards
- 6 Reference Cards
- 6 Curse of the Werewolf Cards
- 8 Large Hero Character Sheets
- 4 Large Villain Record Sheets
- 4 XL Villains/Minion Charts
- 4 Full Color sheets of Die-Cut Counters
- 5 Green 16mm Dice
- 5 Black 16mm Dice
What's New in This Edition
This new Revised Edition of the game features a revised version of the main game rules and integrates all of the corrections and changes that have happened over the last decade plus.
There are a couple of terminology changes throughout this new edition. The 'Wounds' characteristic for Villains and Minions has been changed to Health for extra clarity. In addition, an Investigation Icon is now used throughout the game cards and components for easier reference.
All of the Errata and corrections from the last 10 years have been integrated and a polish pass has been done on every aspect of the game.
The Basic Game is now included as an optional variant, and all of the Advanced Rules are now simply part of the main Rules of the game.
Actions taken during a Hero's turn are now all considered to be 'once per turn', unless specifically stated otherwise.
Heroes may now collect 1 Investigation marker for free from a space whenever they enter that space during their move, and may pick up all of the Investigation in the space they end in, as an Action (no longer requiring a Skill test).
The Spectral Horseman's Endless Ride ability no longer hits Heroes that are in the Town Hall.
All Evil Elder cards now have unique abilities and a pass has been done on all of the Secrets cards to clarify and streamline their effects.
Some Expansion rules have been integrated into the main game rules, such as Too Many Secrets and the Advanced Cooperative Mystery Chart.
Game Components
Dice
The game comes with standard six-sided dice that should be divided amongst the players. Often cards will refer to the terms D6 and D3. D6 is just another name for a six-sided die. D3 means to roll a six-sided die and consult the following chart:
| D6 Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | 1 |
| 3–4 | 2 |
| 5–6 | 3 |
Wound Markers
These red Wound Markers are included to keep track of damage that characters take during the game. They are also used for marking damage on Minions as well as on the Villain. There are individual Wound Markers as well as larger pieces representing 5 Wounds (these larger pieces are only really used for the Villain).
Militia
Sometimes during the course of the game, the local town militia will be dispatched to guard an area of the board. Militia markers give any Hero in the same space +1 Combat and can take one Wound for the Hero. If a Wound is assigned to the Militia Marker, remove it from the board.
Skill Upgrade Markers
These markers are used to show permanent skill upgrades that Heroes can gain during the game.
Villain Health Upgrades
Sometimes the Villain will gain a bonus to their Health capacity, making them even harder to defeat. These markers are placed by the Villain to reflect this upgrade, and permanently increase how many Wounds the Villain can take.
Shadow Track Marker
The Shadow Track Marker is placed on the space marked 20 of the Shadow Track at the beginning of the game. During the game, this marker will move down the track, closer to Darkness, as the Villain gains more evil influence over the town. This is NOT a turn counter, and is only moved when specifically called for. If the marker ever moves past the 1 space at the bottom of the track (into the Darkness), the Villain wins and the game is over.
First Player Marker
The First Player Marker is used to keep track of which player goes first during the current Game Round. Players roll off at the beginning of the game to determine who starts as the First Player. At the end of each Game Round, the marker is passed one player to the left, making them the new First Player.
Cards
Keywords
Most cards have Keywords associated with them, listed just below the card image. These Keywords do not have any inherent meaning, but are occasionally referenced by other cards and rules.
Play Immediately
Some cards are listed as Play Immediately in large Red text. These cards must be played as soon as they are drawn. Occasionally a player will be allowed to draw multiple cards and choose one to keep, discarding any others (such as at the Town Hall space). When this is the case, a 'Play Immediately' card is only activated if it is the card chosen by the player to keep.
Remains in Play
Some cards are listed as Remains in Play. When played, these cards stay in play, face up on the table, and have an ongoing affect on the game.
Discard Piles
For each deck of cards there will also be a Discard Pile for that deck. This Discard Pile should be formed face up next to the deck and is where cards from that deck go when they have been used and are no longer in play. Any player may look through any of the Discard Piles at any time, as there are several ways of getting cards back during the course of the game.
If any deck ever runs out of cards, reshuffle the Discard Pile thoroughly and reform the deck face down. Note that Town Item cards do not form a deck, but rather a Stack. Town Items are not random and the Stack may be looked through at any time. When discarded, Town Item cards are returned to the Stack.
Reading Cards
Most cards in the game should be read aloud to all players when drawn. There are only two real exceptions to this as noted above - Event Cards and Lair Cards.
Only Event Cards and Lair Cards are kept secret when drawn by a player. All other cards should be read aloud when drawn.
Of course, when used to determine a Random Location, Lair Cards are revealed and then discarded. It should also be noted that when investigating the Secrets of a Town Elder, a player will probably want to keep what they have learned to themselves.
Card Types
Town Elders - The six Town Elders are the pillars of the community in Shadowbrook. They may help you on your hunt for the Villain, but are nearly as likely to run in terror from a fight or even become a servant to darkness. It is important to investigate the Secrets of the Town Elders during the course of the game to determine who can be trusted, and who cannot. Town Elder cards have two sides; a good side (blue border) and an evil side (black border). Sometimes during the game, a Town Elder will become an Evil Elder. When this happens, they flip to their black bordered evil side. All of the Town Elders start the game in play with their blue bordered 'good' side face up.
Event Cards - Event Cards are special bonuses that Heroes get during the game. Unless marked as Play Immediately, Events are taken into a player's hand and kept secret. They may be strategically played to give yourself an advantage, or to hinder other Heroes in their hunt for the Villain. Events are played as fast effect style cards and, unless noted otherwise, may be played at any time.
Mystery Cards - Mystery Cards represent evil actions and influences that the Villain uses during the game. A Mystery Card is drawn and read aloud by the First Player during the Mystery Phase each Game Round.
Corner Location Cards - Each of the four Corner Locations on the board has a deck of cards associated with it. These cards are drawn when a Hero explores the Location, representing Items or Allies to aid in your hunt, ways of gaining Investigation, or dangerous Minions to fight.
Secrets - Secrets Cards are played face down under the Town Elders and describe some dark element to their character. During the course of the game, Heroes may investigate the Elders to look at their Secrets and determine who could be a helpful ally when fighting the Villain (or who is really in league with the Villain).
Lair Cards - Lair Cards represent a location where you can find the Villain to start a Showdown. When you get a Lair Card, it should be kept secret so that other players do not know where you are headed. Lair Cards have a number on them which is the cost of Investigation needed by a Hero to start a Showdown with the Villain at the listed location. A Hero may never have more than one Lair Card at a time.
Lair Cards are also used throughout the game to determine Random Locations as described in the Mystery Phase section of the rules.
Town Items - The Town Items do not need to be shuffled. Instead, they form a face up Stack of cards that can be purchased by Heroes while at the Blacksmith space in Town. Town Items have a number in the upper right corner which is the cost of Investigation needed for a Hero to buy that card.
Curse of the Werewolf - The Curse of the Werewolf is only used when hunting the Werewolf Villain and is described later.
Heroes & Villains
Hero Character Sheets - Each of the different Heroes is represented by a Hero Character Sheet that lists their Skills, unique Abilities, and information.
Villain Record Sheets - There are four different Villains that can terrorize Shadowbrook, each represented by a large Villain Card that lists their Combat, Health, and unique Abilities. All Villains have a Basic main Ability as well as several Advanced Abilities. Players that want a simpler, faster game can play against a Basic Villain, using only its Basic Ability, and ignoring its Advanced Abilities.
Villain Minion Charts - Each Villain has a unique set of Minions and special Events that they use to attack the Heroes. These are listed on each Villain's individual Minion Chart which players roll on during the course of the game. Minion Charts are double-sided, with a Basic Game version on one side (green), and an Advanced Game version (red) on the other side. Just like with the Villain Record Sheets, Players that want a simpler, faster game can play using the Basic side of the Minion Chart, instead of the Advanced side.
Game Set up
To set up for a game of A Touch of Evil, complete the following steps and lay everything out as shown in the diagram below.
Laying out the Game Board - Unfold the Game Board and place it at the center of a large table. Place the Shadow Track near the board where everyone can see it with the circular ring Shadow Track Marker starting on the space marked 20.
Shuffle and Place the Card Decks - Separate all of the various card decks and fully shuffle each of them. You do not need to shuffle the Town Items cards as they remain face up during the game in a stack where everyone can reach them. Place the four Location Decks (The Manor, Windmill, Olde Woods, and Abandoned Keep) next to the board, near their respective Locations. Place the remaining card decks (Event, Mystery, Lair, and Secrets) near the board as well.
It is very important to thoroughly shuffle each deck of cards before every game.
Place the Town Elders - Place the six Town Elder cards in a row along the top of the Game Board, with their 'good' side face up. These Town Elders are considered to be in Town. Draw one Secrets Card for each Town Elder (without looking at or revealing it) and place it face down under the Elder's card. In this way, each Town Elder should have one Secrets Card face down beneath them that no player has seen yet.
Draw or Choose the Villain - Shuffle up the stack of Villain Record Sheets and randomly draw one of them to see what is terrorizing the town. Alternatively, if all of the players agree, you may collectively choose which Villain you would like to battle. Once you have determined the Villain, take the corresponding Minion Chart as well (The Vampire uses The Vampire's Minion Chart, etc). The remaining Villains and their Minion Charts are set aside and will not be used in this game.
Place the selected Villain Record Sheet face up on the table where everyone can see it as well as the matching Minion Chart.
Draw and Place Hero Characters - Shuffle up the stack of Hero Character Sheets. Each player then randomly draws 2 Heroes from the stack and chooses one to play, returning the other to the stack. The remaining Hero Characters are set aside and will not be used in this game. Place your selected Hero Character Sheet face up on the table where everyone can see it and take the matching Hero playing piece out of the box.
All Heroes start in the Town Hall space at the center of the Game Board, unless noted otherwise on the Hero's Character Sheet (in the main game only Heinrich Cartwright, The Drifter starts in a space other than the Town Hall).
Prepare Counters and Dice - Place all of the Investigation Markers in an Investigation Pool where everyone can reach them. Place all of the Wound Markers and other counters near the board, within reach as well. Also, distribute the dice between players.
Hand Out Starting Investigation - Each Hero starts the game with 2 Investigation taken from the pool.
Roll Off for First Player - All of the players should now roll off to determine who will be the First Player. Whoever rolls highest (re-rolling ties) takes the First Player marker and places it by their Hero Character Sheet. That player starts the game as the First Player.
YOU ARE NOW READY TO BEGIN THE GAME.
Basic Game Option
A Basic Game option has been included for your first game and/or players that want a faster and more streamlined experience.
The Basic Game is intended to familiarize players with all of the core game mechanics and create a fast-paced experience without getting bogged down by some of the more potentially complex rules that are unique to a particular Villain, Minion, or Town Elder's Secrets. To play the Basic Game, do the following:
- Only use the first ability on the Villain's Record Sheet (the ability in Green), ignoring all of the Advanced Abilities below it (in Red).
- Use the Basic side of the Villain's Minion Chart.
- Remove the following cards from the Secrets deck before the game begins:
- On the Hunt (2 Cards)
- Hero of the People (2 Cards)
- Darkest Secret (2 Cards)
- Selfless Martyr
- Reluctant Hero
Competitive or Cooperative
A Touch of Evil can be played as a Competitive game or as a Cooperative game. The main rules focus on the Competitive style of play as that is the default, but the additional rules for Cooperative play can be found on page 26.
The Board
The game board is a map of the small town of Shadowbrook and its surrounding countryside. The board is divided into a number of spaces that show the paths and locations that the Heroes can move through during the game.
There are four types of spaces on the board - Corner Locations, Town Spaces, Dangerous Locations, and Roads.
Corner Locations
In each corner of the board, there is a location that the Heroes can visit and explore in their hunt for the Villain. Each of these Corner Location spaces has a unique theme as well as a Location Deck associated with it that Heroes draw from when Encountering that space.
There are 4 Corner Locations on the board:
- The Manor
- Windmill
- Olde Woods
- Abandoned Keep
Each of these four Corner Locations has a unique theme to the cards in its deck. These themes can help players determine where they might want to go exploring first.
- The Manor - Focuses on Spirit, Secrets, and Books.
- Windmill - Focuses on Cunning, Investigation, and Items.
- Olde Woods - Focuses on Spirit, Combat, and Magik.
- Abandoned Keep - Focuses on Cunning, Honor, and Dangers.
Generally, the bottom two Locations (Abandoned Keep and Olde Woods) are a little further out of town and a little more dangerous. A Hero is more likely to be attacked there, but has a higher potential for finding powerful Items and Allies.
Town Spaces
The town of Shadowbrook is divided into five distinct spaces, each of which has a different ability printed on the board that a Hero can utilize when Encountering that space. Note that, as part of their printed ability, all of the Town Spaces allow the Hero to draw an Event card, as well as the unique effect for that space.
There are 5 Town Spaces on the board:
- Town Hall
- Blacksmith
- Magistrate's Office
- Doctor's Office
- Church
Dangerous Locations
Several spaces along the roads are considered Dangerous, allowing a Hero that explores there to gain valuable clues on their hunt, but with the potential to inadvertently unleash additional evil.
There are 4 Dangerous Locations on the board:
- Fields
- Marsh
- Covered Bridge
- Crossroads
All of the Dangerous Location spaces have the same ability printed on the board that is triggered by a Hero when Encountering that space. The Hero rolls a D6. On the roll of 3, 4, 5, or 6, that Hero draws an Event card as they find some useful clues to their investigation. However, on the roll of 1 or 2, the Hero must draw a Mystery Card as they have instead discovered something sinister.
Roads
Roads are the unnamed spaces that form pathways around the board and connect the various other locations. Heroes do NOT need to Encounter Road spaces when ending a move there, as there is no game text on the board or deck of cards associated with them.
Shortest Path to the Town Hall
Sometimes a card or rule will call for the 'shortest route to the Town Hall'. To determine this, count the number of spaces between the target and the Town Hall space along any possible movement paths. Whichever path has the fewest spaces is considered to be the 'shortest route'.
The only space on the board with two such equal distance routes back to the Town Hall is the Fields space. Because of this, the Fields space is marked with numbered arrows. An arrow with 1, 2, 3 points toward The Manor, while an arrow with 4, 5, 6 points toward the Windmill. If something in the Fields space needs to find the shortest route to the Town Hall, roll a D6 and use these numbered arrows to determine which direction to go.
The Shadow Track
The Shadow Track keeps record of how much control the Villain has over the town and its surrounding areas. As the marker on the Shadow Track moves closer to Darkness, the Villain gains a stronger hold over the town, but also becomes easier for the Heroes to find. The Shadow Track is marked with numbered circles in descending order, from 20 to 1, and represents the 'health' of the town. The end of the track is considered Darkness and if the track ever moves past the 1 space, the game ends and the Villain has won, consuming the town in darkness.
The Shadow Track is also divided into five Stages. Each Stage includes four spaces on the track and is marked with a vertical line to show the separation. The last two stages are numbered in Red. Some game elements will refer to these stages, such as the current cost for a Hero to buy a Lair Card, or refer to the Shadow Track being 'in the Red'.
It is important to note that the Shadow Track is NOT a turn marker and does NOT move every turn. The Shadow Track ONLY moves when something in the game directly calls for it to move.
Lair Cost
One of the most important aspects of the Shadow Track is that the current position of the track determines how easy it is to hunt the Villain back to its lair (the stronger it has become, the easier it is to follow its trail of evil). Each Stage of the Shadow Track has a Lair Cost at the bottom which shows the current cost of Investigation for a Hero to buy a Lair Card during their turn.
Heroes
Every player takes on the role of a monster-hunting Hero that has come to Shadowbrook to save the town from darkness. Each Hero has their own unique Skills and Abilities and is represented by a Hero Character Sheet as well as a unique Hero figure.
Skills
Heroes have four Skills: Spirit, Cunning, Combat, and Honor. These different Skills are used during the game to make tests and fight enemies.
- Spirit (Blue) - Spirit represents how in tune with the supernatural the character is and how good they are at interacting with ghosts, magik, and otherworldly events.
- Cunning (Green) - Cunning represents how well the character can solve puzzles and riddles, as well as an understanding for technology and science.
- Combat (Red) - Combat shows a character's ability to fight effectively, even without the use of weapons. It also represents basic strength.
- Honor (Yellow) - Honor shows a character's courage and willingness to make heroic sacrifices to defend others. It also represents wisdom, street smarts, and experience.
Making Skill Tests
Frequently a Hero will be called on to make a Test using one or more of their Skills. These Tests will tell you which Skill to use and what target number you need to be Successful.
To make a Skill Test, roll a number of dice equal to the required Skill. If at least one of these dice rolls equal to or higher than the target number, the Test is Successful.
For example, "Make a Spirit 5+ Test." would mean to roll a number of dice equal to your Spirit Skill. If at least one of the dice rolls a 5 or higher, the Test is Successful. If none of the dice roll high enough, the Test is Failed.
Most commonly, Skill Tests are used to gain Investigation through cards you encounter at Corner Locations. For example, the card Hanging Skulls found at the Olde Woods reads, "Make a Spirit 4+ Test and gain 1 Investigation for every 4+ rolled." In this case, the Hero that drew this card would make a Spirit 4+ Test, rolling a number of dice equal to their Spirit and needing to roll 4, 5, or 6 on any of the dice to be Successful. For this card, the Hero would gain 1 Investigation for each die that rolled 4, 5, or 6. It is also important to note that in this case, there is no penalty if the Test is Failed.
Some Tests will call for two or more Skills to be used together (Ex. – Spirit & Cunning 4+). When this is the case, simply add those Skills together and roll a number of dice equal to the total to make the Test. So a Hero with Spirit 4 and Cunning 2 would make a combined Spirit & Cunning Test using 6 dice.
Abilities
Each Hero has one or more special Abilities that benefit them during the game and make playing that Hero different from the others.
Health Boxes
Every Hero has a number of Health Boxes, shown on their Hero Character Sheet as red wax seals. When a Hero takes a Wound, place a marker on one of the empty Health Boxes. When a Hero Heals a Wound, remove a marker from one of these Health Boxes.
If all of a Hero's Health Boxes are filled with Wound markers, the Hero is KO'd and brought back to Town by the villagers to recover, losing some Investigation and/or Items and Allies as a penalty (KO'd Heroes are described more later).
Some Items, Allies, and Event cards give the Hero additional Health Boxes. These are treated exactly as though they were part of the Hero's Character Sheet. Note that Allies that give Health Boxes are not KO'd seperately from the Hero that they are helping.
Items and Allies
As the game progresses, Heroes will find cards along the way that have the Keyword Item or Ally. Items are weapons and equipment collected by the Hero while Allies are local townspeople that have joined the Hero in their fight to save Shadowbrook.
These cards give the Hero bonuses to their Skills and often have special abilities that can be used. When an Item or Ally card is found, it is taken by the player and placed face up on the table next to their Hero Character Sheet. While the Hero has the Item or Ally, they may use the card's game text and any Skill bonuses listed. A Hero's Items and Allies are never kept secret and any player is allowed to look at any Item or Ally on the table at any time.
A Hero may use ANY NUMBER of Items and Allies at the same time to add Skill bonuses and card abilities.
Town Items
Town Items are a set of fixed Item cards that can be purchased using Investigation while at the Blacksmith space in Town. The cost of Investigation needed to buy a Town Item is listed in the upper right corner of the card. This stack of Town Items is available to any Hero, but is limited to the number of individual cards available. In other words, there is only one Musket card in the Town Items stack. If another Hero buys it first, no one else can purchase it until it is discarded back to the Town Items stack.
Carrying Limit
As stated above, a Hero may use any number of Items and Allies at the same time; however you ARE limited to the number of Items/Allies that you can carry.
A Hero may only carry up to one Item or Ally (a single card) from each of the four Corner Locations at a time. They may also only carry up to three Town Items at a time.
With the A Touch of Evil main game, this will be a total of up to seven cards (1 card from each of the four Corner Locations and 3 Town Items). Sometimes a Hero will gain the ability to carry more cards at a time or a card will not count against their carrying limit. In these cases, a Hero may carry more cards than normal.
The Corner Location cards have a unique symbol in the upper left corner to represent the deck that they are from as well as color-coded borders to make it easier to remember what you have and what you can still carry. For instance, Abandoned Keep cards have the Keep symbol in the upper corner and a red border around the card.
If a Hero ever has more cards than they can carry (for instance two cards from the Abandoned Keep), they must immediately discard back down. You may always choose which cards to discard and which to keep.
Villains
There are several supernatural Villains to hunt in A Touch of Evil, each with their own unique stats, abilities, and Minions to terrorize the Heroes and local villagers. Which Villain the Heroes are hunting can dramatically change the feel and story of the game.
Combat and Health
Each Villain has a Combat value to show how many dice they roll when attacking a Hero, and a Health Value to show how many Wounds they need to take to be defeated in a Showdown. Both of these values may be increased over the course of the game by various cards and abilities.
Abilities
All Villains have a set of Abilities that make them unique to fight against. The first Ability listed at the top of the Villain's Record Sheet is its main Basic Ability (printed in Green). This is the Ability that most defines the Villain and is the only one used when playing the optional Basic Game.
Below that, the Advanced Abilities are listed, fleshing out the thematic story elements of the Villain and what makes them different to hunt.
All Villains have one Advanced Ability (usually the last one listed) that is triggered whenever a copy of the Mystery card Murder is played during the game.
Minion Chart & Counters
Every Villain also has a unique Minion Chart that covers the special Minions and Events that the Villain can unleash upon the Heroes. The Players will roll on the Villain's Minion Chart during the game whenever called on to do so. The result rolled will be worked out by placing one or more Minion Counters on the board or by completing a themed Event that occurs.
Minions Charts have a Basic Game side and an Advanced Game side. Players can choose at the start of the game if they want to use the more streamlined Basic side or the more thematic and involved Advanced side.
The Game Round
A Touch of Evil is played in a series of Game Rounds, until the victory conditions for the game are met, either when the Villain is defeated by the Heroes, or when the Shadow Track moves into Darkness - moving past the 1 space on the Shadow Track (ending the game in a sinister victory for the Villain).
Each Game Round is broken into three steps:
- The First Player's Hero Turn
- Remaining Hero Turns (moving clockwise around the table)
- Mystery Phase
The player who currently has the First Player Marker (known as the First Player) always does their Hero Turn first, moving, fighting, and taking Actions. Once the First Player's Hero Turn is complete, play passes to the next player on the left. Each player takes their Hero Turn in order, clockwise around the table.
After all players have finished, there is a Mystery Phase in which the Villain gets to do something evil in the form of a Mystery Card. At the end of the Mystery Phase, the First Player Marker is passed to the next player on the left and a new Game Round begins, starting with the new First Player.
A Hero's Turn
Each Hero's Turn is comprised of the following three phases, which must be completed in order.
- Move
- Fight any Enemies in your space
- Take Actions
Movement
When it is a Hero's turn to move, they roll a D6 and may move up to that many spaces on the board. Heroes may freely move past each other and even occupy the same space on the board. The only thing that stops a Hero's movement is entering a space with a Minion that is already in play (Note that other Heroes are NOT considered enemies, even though you may be competing against one another).
When rolling for movement, if you roll a 1 on your movement die, you may immediately draw an Event card for free.
This free Event card is a bonus for your low movement roll and represents the Hero taking extra time to look around and investigate while on the go.
Collecting Investigation While Moving
Whenever a Hero enters a space of the board that has 1 or more Investigation markers in it during their Move, they may collect 1 of those Investigation from that space. This allows Heroes to pick up clues while traveling around the board.
Lingering
A Hero does not have to move during their turn, but may choose to simply remain in the space they are already in. This can be dangerous however, as staying in one place for too long can attract the unwanted attention of evil.
When a Hero ends their Move in the same space that they started their turn in, this is called Lingering. The Hero must roll a D6. On the roll of 1, you are attacked! Roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart (Note that not all of the results on a Minion Chart are actually Minions. Sometimes the result will be an evil Event that is Unique to the Villain).
Rolling for Lingering is different than a Hero's actual Move roll, and is only made after the Hero has rolled for movement and decided to stay in the same space.
Fight Enemies
If during their turn, a Hero moves into a space with an enemy (a Minion Counter already on the board), their movement ends and they must fight before beginning their Actions phase. Fights are covered in greater detail later.
Note that it is also possible (and often likely) to Fight in other parts of your turn or even during the Mystery Phase. This step is only for the resulting Fight when you decide to move into a space that contains a Minion.
Investigation
As mentioned before, Investigation is the currency of the game. It represents information that the Hero has collected on their hunt for the Villain as well as the willingness of the townspeople to trust the Hero and help them out. During the game, heroes collect Investigation markers through card play, things that happen in the Mystery Phase, or collecting it directly from the board. Investigation is used for purchasing Town Items from the Blacksmith, Training your Skills at the Church or Magistrate's Office, Healing Wounds, Investigating the Secrets of the Town Elders, buying a Lair Card and starting a Showdown with the Villain, as well as several other things. It can also be lost if a Hero fails a particular test or challenge, or if the Hero is KO'd in a fight (as the townspeople will have lost some amount of faith in them).
Take Actions
After completing any Fights with enemies in the Hero's space, the Hero is now allowed to take Actions. Taking Actions is the meat of the Hero's turn and is how you explore Locations, build up strength, and hunt the Villain.
Actions may be taken in any order, but each Action may only be performed once per turn (unless noted otherwise). Most Actions are optional and may be taken or not, as you see fit. The only Action that is required is to Encounter the Space you are in.
The following is a list of the Actions that a Hero can take during their Actions Phase. These are summarized for ease of use on the Reference cards.
Encounter the Space (Mandatory) - The only Action that a Hero MUST take each turn is to Encounter the Space that they are in. Each type of space is Encountered as follows:
- Corner Locations - Draw a card from the top of the corresponding Corner Location Deck and read it aloud. If the card drawn is an Item or Ally, you have found something or someone, to help you on your hunt. Place the card face up by your Hero Character Sheet. If it is a Minion, you have been attacked! Work out the Fight as normal. If it is any other card, follow the text printed on the card.
- Town Spaces and Dangerous Locations - To Encounter one of these spaces, follow the game text printed on the board in that space. All of the Town spaces have the Hero draw an Event Card, followed by an optional ability unique to that Town Space. All of the Dangerous Location spaces have the Hero roll a die, drawing either an Event card or Mystery card based on the roll.
- Roads - Roads spaces have no game text or card deck and therefore do NOT need to be Encountered.
Collect All Investigation in your Space - If a Hero ends their move in a space of the board that has Investigation markers in it, they may automatically collect all of those Investigation as an Action.
Heal Wounds (Cost: 3 Investigation each) - A Hero may Heal (remove) any number of Wounds they have on them at a cost of 3 Investigation each. This is much more expensive than Healing at the Doctor's Office in Town, but can be done regardless of where you are on the board.
Look at a Town Elder's Secrets (Cost: 2 Investigation) - A Hero may spend 2 Investigation to choose one of the Town Elders and look at all of the Secrets cards stacked beneath them. Looking at a Town Elder's Secrets will let you know whether or not they can be trusted to help you in a Showdown with the Villain, or if they might just stab you in the back! When looking at a Town Elder's Secrets, it is important to not show these cards to any other players, but rather keep the knowledge of what you have seen to yourself for later use.
Purchase a Lair Card (Cost: Listed on the Shadow Track) - A Hero may purchase a Lair Card at the cost of Investigation listed at the bottom of the current Stage of the Shadow Track. When a Hero buys a Lair Card, they draw the top card from the Lair Deck. The Hero may look at their own Lair Card, but should keep it secret from other players.
Start a Showdown (Cost: Listed on your Lair Card) - Once a Hero feels that they are ready to take on and defeat the Villain (or more likely, feels that if they do not go for it, someone else will), the Hero may use their Lair Card to start a Showdown as an Action. To start a Showdown, the Hero must have a Lair Card, be at the Location listed on their Lair Card and, instead of Encountering the Space, pay the cost of Investigation listed on the Lair Card to start the Showdown.
Heroes are limited to one Lair Card at a time. If you already have a Lair Card and you get another, you must immediately choose one to keep and discard the other.
Showdowns are covered in greater detail later.
The Mystery Phase
During the Mystery Phase each turn, the Villain gets a chance to unleash some evil onto the Heroes and the townspeople of Shadowbrook. This comes in the form of Mystery Cards, as well as a roll on Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart when playing the Cooperative game.
During the Mystery Phase each turn, the following steps are taken in order:
- Start of the Mystery Phase
- KO'd Heroes are Revived
- The Villain Heals
- Roll on the Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart (Cooperative Game Only)
- Draw a Mystery Card
- Pass the First Player Marker
Start of the Mystery Phase
Anything that occurs at the 'Start of the Mystery Phase' happens at this point. If there is more than one thing that needs to happen at the Start of the Mystery Phase, the current First Player chooses in what order they are done.
Any Minions that move at the 'Start of the Mystery Phase' are always moved before anything else occurs.
KO'd Heroes are Revived
Any Heroes that are currently KO'd immediately stand back up and rejoin gameplay. Note that when Heroes are revived, they should be Fully Healed.
The Villain Heals
If the Villain currently has any Wound markers on it, it automatically Heals D3 Wounds. Note that the Villain is only ever really wounded during a Showdown, so this step will only occur after at least one Showdown has been fought by a Hero, and only if the Villain was not defeated.
Roll on the Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart (Cooperative Game Only)
When playing the Cooperative Game, the Players roll once on the Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart (covered in detail later in the Cooperative Play section) to add extra challenge for the team of Heroes, before drawing the Mystery card.
Draw a Mystery Card
The current First Player draws and reads a Mystery Card aloud. Mystery Cards represent the Villain taking some sort of evil action, such as attacking one of the Town Elders or unleashing some of its Minions onto the board. Mystery Cards are never secret and should always be read aloud to all players.
Some Mystery cards are marked Remains in Play at the bottom of the card's text area. These cards are played face up on the table and continue to affect the game until they are canceled in some way.
Pass First Player Marker
At the end of the Mystery Phase, the First Player marker is passed to the next player on the left and a new Game Round is begun. In this way it will move around the table from Game Round to Game Round, allowing each player to be the First Player in sequence.
Card Play
Playing Event Cards and Timing
Event Cards are very important as they are fast effects that can be used to help yourself out or hinder other Heroes that you are racing against. When drawn, Event cards go into your hand and should be kept secret from other players (unless noted as Play Immediately). You may have ANY NUMBER of Event Cards in hand at a time.
Event Cards should be fairly clear as to when they should be played. Those listed as Play Immediately must be played as soon as they are drawn. Unless specifically stated otherwise, cards may always be used after the fact to add extra dice to a Skill Test, force dice to be re-rolled, etc.
The only exception to this is that an Event Card may not be canceled after it has already caused dice to be rolled or re-rolled. If there is ever a dispute over who gets to play their card first, priority always goes to the players based on the current turn order (starting with the First Player and moving clockwise around the table).
Canceling Cards
Many times a card will allow you to cancel another card as it is played or that Remains in Play. As noted earlier, an Event Card may not be canceled after it has already caused dice to be rolled or re-rolled. Mystery Cards may always be canceled. If a Lair Card is canceled, any Showdown that was going to start as a result is also canceled.
Removing Cards from the Game
Sometimes a card will be 'Removed from the Game'. When this happens, the card is placed off to the side and will not take any further part in this game. At the end of the game, these cards should, of course, be mixed back into their respective decks.
Running Out of Cards in a Deck
In A Touch of Evil, ALL of the card decks recycle when they are exhausted. Whenever any card deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to reform the deck. Sometimes cards will have been 'removed from the game'. Like it sounds, these particular cards are no longer part of the current game and are NOT reshuffled with the rest of the deck.
Drawing a Random Location
When a Random Location is called for, reveal and discard the top card of the Lair Deck. The location listed on the revealed card is used for this Random Location. Like every other deck in the game, when the Lair Cards have run out, reshuffle the discard pile to reform the deck.
Town Elders
The Town Elders of Shadowbrook are the pillars of the community; long-standing leaders of the town that are respected and sometimes feared for their sway over the people. But every Town Elder has closely guarded secrets in this small community, and you can never be sure who to trust and who might have their own dark ambitions.
Double-Sided Cards
Each Town Elder is represented in the game as a double-sided card, with the portrait and abilities of the Town Elder on the front (with the Blue border), and the potential Evil Elder version on the back (with the Black border).
All Town Elders begin the game, lined up along the top of the game board, with their normal Town Elder side face up. Over the course of the game, some of these Elders may be revealed to be in league with the Villain, causing them to flip to their Evil Elder side and be moved over near the Villain Record Sheet, joining forces with the Villain against the Heroes.
Each Town Elder card has the Elder's Name, Portrait, basic stats - Spirit, Cunning, and Honor, as well as their Special Ability.
The Spirit, Cunning, and Honor on a Town Elder's card have no inherent meaning, they are there to be referenced throughout the game by other cards and abilities.
A Town Elder's Special Ability is granted to a Hero as long as that Town Elder is traveling with the Hero (as part of a Hunting Party, with the Hero of the People Secret card, etc.).
Secrets
Every Town Elder also begins the game with one Secret card, highlighting some aspect of the Elder's private life that they hide from the people of the town.
At the start of the game, the Secrets Deck is shuffled and one random Secret is placed face down, without looking, under each Town Elder's card.
These Secret cards can range from a Little Secret that is inconsequential to your investigation (perhaps the Elder is a drunkard behind closed doors, or has a second life in a neighboring town), to something far more sinister (the Elder may be in league with the Villain all along!). There are even some Secrets that can be very helpful in your hunt for the Villain.
Though each Town Elder begins with only one Secret, they may gain more Secret cards over the course of the game. When this happens, a new Secret card is drawn, without looking, and placed face-down under the Town Elder's card.
If a Town Elder ever has 3 or more Secret cards at once, they are immediately revealed as the elder can no longer keep their secrets hidden under the scrutiny of the Heroes and the townspeople. Reveal and resolve all of the Town Elder's Secret cards.
Looking at a Town Elder's Secrets
One of the Actions that a Hero may perform during their turn is to pay Investigation to Look at the Secrets of a Town Elder. This represents the Hero using the clues they have collected during their investigation of the town to determine which of the Elders they can trust, and which of them have darker motives.
To Look at the Secrets of a Town Elder, the Hero pays 2 Investigation (this cost may be higher in the Cooperative Game), and looks at ALL of the Secret cards currently under the chosen Town Elder's card, without revealing them to the other players. Then return the Secrets to that Town Elder, face down. The Player may not show the Secrets to any other Players, or announce the card titles of any of the Secrets, but they may say whether the Secrets are good or bad (though the Player is not required to be truthful in their assessment).
In this way, a player may learn which Town Elders are only carrying irrelevant Little Secrets, and which may be in league with the Villain, before trusting them enough to bring them as part of a Hunting Party to the Villain's Lair.
Some Secrets are listed in large red text as Reveal Immediately. Whenever one of these Secrets is Looked At by a Hero, instead of returning that Secret face down, it must be revealed to all players and placed face up under the Elder's card. This Secret will have an immediate and ongoing effect on that Town Elder.
Peeking at Secrets without Revealing Them
Some cards and abilities allow a Hero to 'Peek' at a Town Elder's Secrets without revealing them. While 'Peeking' at a Town Elder's Secrets, the player does NOT need to reveal any of the Secrets, even those listed as Reveal Immediately (though they may reveal them if they wish).
On the Hunt (Secret) - The Secret On the Hunt places the Town Elder's marker on the board, giving bonuses to Heroes in its space and moving whenever the Shadow Track crosses into a new Stage.
Hero of the People (Secret) - The Secret Hero of the People allows the Town Elder to join forces with a Hero, traveling with them and granting that Hero the Elder's Special Ability.
Death of a Town Elder
There are many ways that a Town Elder can be horribly killed during the game (the town is being stalked by a terrifying supernatural Villain afterall). Whenever a Town Elder is killed, rotate its card sideways to show that they are dead.
Whenever a Town Elder is killed, move the Shadow Track 2 spaces closer to Darkness.
Players may use any Event card, ability, Ally, or Item that would prevent a Wound to a Hero to prevent a Town Elder from being killed.
A Hero may still investigate the Secrets of a dead Town Elder. This can be important because if a dead Town Elder ever has a Secret revealed that turns them into an Evil Elder, they will have faked their own death and be flipped to the Evil Elder side anyway to immediately join the Villain.
When an Evil Elder is killed, they are simply removed from the game (the Shadow Track does not move).
Evil Elders
When a Town Elder is revealed to be evil (usually by the effects of a Secret card), they are flipped over, converting them into an Evil Elder.
An Evil Elder immediately discards all other Secrets it has that are not Keyword Evil, and is moved over from the line of Town Elders at the top of the board to instead be near the Villain's Record Sheet.
An Evil Elder is no longer considered to be a Town Elder for all game purposes, as they have been corrupted by the darkness.
This means that an Evil Elder will no longer be affected by cards or abilities that target Town Elders, nor will they gain new Secrets.
The Evil Elder side of the card includes a bonus to Health and/or Combat that the Villain gains, as well as a special ability that affects the Heroes. All of these bonuses to the Villain remain in effect as long as the Evil Elder is alive.
The role of an Evil Elder during a Showdown is covered in greater detail later in the section on Villain Showdowns.
Hunting Party for a Showdown
When a Hero begins a Showdown with the Villain, they may form a Hunting Party of up to 2 Town Elders to bring with them. These may be chosen from any of the Town Elders that are still alive, and have not been revealed to be Evil Elders (at least not yet).
Forming a Hunting Party and how Town Elders are used during a Showdown are covered in greater detail later in the section on Villain Showdowns.
Fights
When a Hero is called on to Fight, they must engage in a series of Fight Rounds with the enemy until one of three things happens: The enemy is defeated, the Hero is KO'd, or the Hero chooses to Escape. During each Fight Round, both the Hero and the enemy will get a chance to attack one another before the results are applied. In this way, Fights are considered to be simultaneous.
Fight Round Breakdown
- Hero rolls Fight Dice
- Enemy rolls Fight Dice
- Apply Results
Fight Dice
Heroes roll a number of Fight Dice equal to their Combat Skill. This is considered a Combat Test. Minions roll the number of Fight Dice listed on their card or Minion Chart entry.
Unless noted otherwise, Fight Dice always need to roll 5 or 6 to be successful. For each successful Fight Dice roll (5 or 6), you score one Hit on your opponent.
When rolling Fight Dice, other players should roll the dice for the enemies that you are fighting. Players may take turns rolling, or you could just always have the player to the Hero's left roll for the enemy. It doesn't really matter who rolls the Fight Dice, as long as it is not the Hero player.
Apply Results
Once both the Hero and enemy have rolled their Fight Dice, it is time to apply the results. For each Hit done, one Wound is caused. Place a Wound marker next to the Minion or on the Hero's Character Sheet for each Hit scored against them.
If the Minion has taken Wound markers equal to or more than their Health, they are defeated. If a Hero has Wound markers filling all of their Health boxes, then the Hero has been KO'd. Note that because the results are applied simultaneously, it is possible for both the Hero and Minion to be defeated/KO'd in the same Fight Round. If both the Hero and Minion are still capable of continuing, begin another Fight Round.
When a Minion is defeated, it is considered a Victory for the Hero (even if the Hero has also been KO'd). The Hero gains any Victory bonus listed on the enemy's Minion Chart entry or card.
Escaping from a Fight
At the start of each Fight Round after the first, the Hero may choose to continue the Fight or Escape. If the Fight continues, proceed with another Fight Round as normal. If the Hero chooses instead to Escape, they must immediately move to any adjacent space that does not contain an enemy and their turn immediately ends. If there are no adjacent spaces to Escape to (perhaps there is an enemy in every adjacent space), the Hero may not Escape and must fight to the finish.
Undefeated Minions
Sometimes a Fight will end and the Minion will not have been defeated (usually this happens if the Hero is KO'd or Escapes). If the Minion is a counter that has been placed on the board, it remains in the space and Fully Heals any Wounds it had taken during the Fight. If the Minion is a card, it is simply discarded.
Between Fight Rounds
At the start of a Fight, as well as before each subsequent Fight Round, players have the opportunity to play cards and use abilities. This is NOT considered to be 'during a Fight Round'. The reason that this is important is because many things (such as Healing) are often noted as 'except during a Fight Round'.
Using Cards and Abilities
Players may use Event Cards and abilities at any point during the Fight. This may cause Fight Dice to be added or re-rolled up until the results are applied. For instance, if a player uses an Event Card to give their Hero +2 Combat, the Hero would then immediately roll an extra 2 Fight Dice.
Fighting the Villain
Occasionally a hero will have to engage in a single Fight Round with the Villain due to a Mystery Card or Minion Chart result. These Fights are NOT considered a Showdown and consequently, the Villain cannot actually be hurt. In these cases, a single Fight Round should be played out between the Hero and the Villain as described above (the Villain rolls Fight Dice equal to its Combat). In this kind of Fight, the Hero will usually gain 1 Investigation for each Hit done to the Villain (instead of causing a Wound). Showdowns are covered in detail in the next section.
KO'd Heroes
When a Hero loses their last wound (has a Wound marker filling each of their Health boxes), the Hero becomes KO'd. Immediately move the Hero to the Town Hall space and lay them down on their side to reflect their KO'd status.
When KO'd, a Hero must immediately roll a D6 and lose that number of any mix of Investigation, Items, and/or Ally Cards. Also remove all Wound markers from the Hero.
While KO'd, a Hero does not participate in any element of the game. They do not collect Investigation, cannot be attacked, etc. The player of a KO'd Hero MAY, however, still play Event Cards as normal.
KO'd Heroes stand back up and rejoin the game during step 2 of the Mystery Phase. It should be noted that, in effect, if KO'd during the normal turn, you will stand up during the Mystery Phase of that same Game Round. If KO'd during the Mystery Phase itself, you will not be able to stand back up until the following Mystery Phase, thereby missing your next Hero turn.
Minions and Minion Charts
Each Villain has its own set of unique Minions and special Events listed on its Minion Chart. When called on to roll on the Villain's Minion Chart, roll a D6 and consult the chart to see the result. For the Basic Game, make sure that the Minion Chart has the Basic Game side face up (with Green text and numbers). Note that not all results on the chart are actually Minions. Many times a result will instead be a special Event, specifically related to the Villain being hunted. These Minion Chart Events MAY be canceled by anything that cancels an Event.
Minions
Minions are creatures and followers, controlled by the Villain. They come in two different forms; either as cards found in the various Corner Location decks or as counters brought into play as a result on the Minion Chart. Cards that are Minions are only in play for the duration of a single Fight. Once that Fight ends (whether they are defeated or not), the card is discarded. Minion Counters, on the other hand, are placed on the board as instructed and will remain there until defeated.
Minion Counters
Minion Counters are limited to the number provided for each in the box (note that the counters are double-sided). If you are ever called to place a certain Minion and there are no more counters for that Minion available, instead move the Shadow Track 1 step closer to Darkness.
Minion Counters are limited to 1 per space. If a Minion ever moves or appears in a space that already has a Minion, the existing Minion Counter will be displaced to the next adjacent space on the shortest route back to the Town Hall. This may occasionally displace several Minions in a row if there are already a number of them on the board. If a Minion is already at the Town Hall and would be displaced, instead remove the Minion Counter from the board and move the Shadow Track 1 step closer to Darkness.
Any time a Minion appears or moves into a space with a Hero, that Hero must immediately fight the Minion.
If there is more than one Hero in the space, the Minion will fight the Hero with the highest Honor Skill first (if there are more than one with equal Honor, the First Player chooses who must fight). If a Hero Escapes from a Fight with a Minion Counter (moving away to an adjacent space) and there is another Hero left in the space with the Minion, the other Hero will now have to fight that Minion.
The end result is that a Hero and a Minion Counter cannot be in the same space on the board without having to immediately fight.
Round Minion Counters
The Advanced Minion Charts for the Werewolf and Scarecrow also add a new type of Minion Counter, Rats and Crows. These are round counters rather than the normal square counters. This sets them apart from the other Minions as they follow slightly different rules (as detailed on the appropriate Minion Charts). The main differences for these round counter minions are that they do not stop Hero movement, they do not Fight in the normal sense, and they do not displace other Minions. They may share the same space with another Minion, though they are limited to one per space of their own Minion type (Rats or Crows).
If more than one of these round counter Minions is ever in the same space, remove all but one of them and move the Shadow Track 1 step closer to Darkness for each of these Minions removed. This will usually only come up when Minions are called on to move around the board by a specific card such as March of Darkness and need to be consolidated when they move into the same space.
Villain Showdown
The only way to defeat the Villain and win the game is by hunting it down to its Lair and starting a Showdown. Once you have a Lair Card and you have moved to the appropriate space on the board, you can start a Showdown there instead of Encountering the Space (note that if you have already Encountered the space this turn, you will have to wait until next turn to start your Showdown).
When starting a Showdown, follow these steps in order:
- Reveal Lair Card and Pay Cost
- Form a Hunting Party
- Reveal Secrets
- Accusations
- Showdown Fight Rounds
1. Reveal Lair Card and Pay Cost
To start the Showdown, reveal your Lair Card, pay the Investigation cost listed on the card, and the Showdown will begin. Each Lair Card also has a special ability which automatically takes affect when you start a Showdown with that card.
2. Form a Hunting Party
At the start of a Showdown, the Hero may choose up to two Town Elders to bring with them as a Hunting Party. You may choose from any of the Town Elders that are still alive and have not become Evil Elders. This is where it is important to have investigated the Elder's Secrets ahead of time.
Move the chosen Town Elder cards over next to your Hero Character Sheet. During the Showdown, you gain the special abilities of the Town Elders in your Hunting Party, so choose wisely.
3. Reveal Secrets
Once you have chosen the Town Elders for your Hunting Party, it is the moment of truth. Reveal the Secrets of each Town Elder in your Hunting Party and read them aloud. This may cause one or more of them to become Evil Elders. Evil Elders discard any Secrets they had and immediately join the Villain.
4. Accusations
One other advantage of investigating the Town Elder's Secrets ahead of time is that when a player starts a Showdown, each other player may make up to one Accusation of a Town Elder, calling them out as being evil!
To make an Accusation, a player chooses a Town Elder that they believe to be evil (it helps if you have looked at their Secrets) and immediately pays the cost to investigate that Elder's Secrets (usually 2 Investigation markers) out of the normal turn sequence. Reveal the Secrets of the Accused Town Elder. If the revealed Secrets turns them into an Evil Elder, they immediately join the Villain. If the Accusation is false and the Town Elder does not become evil, then the player that made the Accusation immediately loses ALL other Investigation markers that they have. The falsely Accused Elder's Secrets remain face up under them.
5. Showdown Fight Rounds
Showdown Fight Rounds work very much like regular Fight Rounds, only you are fighting a much tougher enemy; the Villain itself! Fight Dice are still rolled as normal by both the Hero and the Villain, causing a Hit for each roll of 5 or 6. The Villain rolls Fight Dice equal to its Combat Skill. There is also an opportunity between each Showdown Fight Round for the Hero to play cards that may not be used 'during a Fight Round' (such as most Healing).
There are a few changes from a normal Fight as follows:
Attacking the Hunting Party - When the Villain attacks, it must roll one of its Fight Dice specifically against each of the Town Elders in the Hunting Party; its remaining Fight Dice then target the Hero. A single Wound is enough to kill any Town Elder (with the exception of Lord Hanbrook). These Wounds may be prevented as normal.
Targeting Evil Elders - When the Hero rolls Fight Dice, they may choose to split their attack between the Villain itself, and any Evil Elders that have joined it. The Hero must decide how they will split their Fight Dice before rolling. Evil Elders only have a single Wound box each and so one Wound will kill them. Once killed, an Evil Elder no longer gives a bonus to the Villain. Any extra Hits targeted specifically at an Evil Elder are wasted.
If the Villain is about to take its last Wound, and still has Evil Elders with it, the Wounds will always be placed on the Evil Elders before the Villain can finally take its last Wound.
Escaping From/Canceling a Showdown - The Hero may Escape from a Showdown in the same way as Escaping from a normal Fight. Note however, that unlike normal Minions, the Villain only gets to Heal its Wounds a bit at a time during each subsequent Mystery Phase. This also applies if the Showdown is canceled in some way.
Sending Town Elders Back to Town - At the start of each Showdown Fight Round after the first, you have an opportunity to send any of the Town Elders in your Hunting Party back to the relative safety of Town. Choose which (if any) and move them back to their normal position at the top of the board. Once sent away, you may not bring them back to the Showdown and you no longer gain their special ability. At the end of a Showdown, all living Town Elders from the Hunting Party will automatically return to their Normal Position at the top of the board.
Winning the Game
The first player to fight a Showdown with the Villain, AND defeat it, saves the town of Shadowbrook and wins the game. Note that it IS possible to win the game even if KO'd during the same Showdown Fight Round in which you defeat the Villain (Fights are, after all, simultaneous). As long as the Villain takes their last Wound, it is assumed that you can be revived by the townspeople afterward. You could also view this as sacrificing yourself to defeat evil – either way; you have saved the day and won the game.
Cooperative Play
Though the default style of play is Competitive, A Touch of Evil is set up to also be played Cooperatively, with all of the players allied together against a stronger version of the Villain. This Cooperative style of play uses all of the rules from the Competitive Game section above, with a few modifications and additional rules covered below. You'll notice that many of the cards (especially Events) can be played on any Hero, not just yourself.
Exchanging Cards
A new Action that any Hero may take during their Hero turn is to exchange Items or Allies with other Heroes in your space. There is no limit to the number of Item/Ally cards that you may give or receive per turn, but you must always observe your carrying limit. Also, any time a Hero has to discard an Item/Ally due to their carrying limit, they may instead give it to any other Hero in their space. This is out of the normal turn sequence. Note that you may only exchange Item and Ally cards in this manner, NOT Events, Investigation markers, etc.
Cooperative Shadow Track
When playing Cooperatively you should flip the Shadow Track over and use the side marked Cooperative Game. This Shadow Track is the same as the normal one, but with one small difference. There are certain spots on the track covered by a symbol. When the Shadow Track Marker moves onto one of these spots, the Villain immediately gains the bonus shown on the symbol (either +2 Wounds or +1 Combat). Place the appropriate counter for the bonus on the Villain's Record Sheet. These symbols are always at the start of a new Stage of the Shadow Track and represent the Villain getting stronger as it gains more control over the town.
If the Shadow Track Marker is moved back, away from Darkness, and crosses back past one of these bonus symbols, remove that bonus from the Villain.
The Mystery Phase Chart
In Cooperative play, the Villain is more powerful, spreading its influence and terror across the land! At the start of each Mystery Phase, before drawing a Mystery card, the Heroes must roll once on the Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart to see what additional evil the Villain unleashes.
There are two versions of the Mystery Phase Chart, Basic (using a D6 roll) and Advanced (using a 2D6 roll). The players must choose at the beginning of the game which version of the Mystery Phase Chart they want to use. The Basic version is simpler and a lower difficulty, while the Advanced version is more detailed and higher difficulty.
A roll on the Mystery Phase Chart may be canceled by anything that would cancel an Event or Mystery card.
Basic Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Darkness Falls - The Shadow Track immediately moves 2 Steps closer to Darkness. The Heroes may collectively take 5 Wounds divided as they see fit to prevent this. No Hero may take more Wounds than they have Health Boxes. |
| 2 | Creeping Shadow - The Shadow Track immediately moves 1 Step closer to Darkness. The Heroes may collectively take 3 Wounds divided as they see fit to prevent this. No Hero may take more Wounds than they have Health Boxes. |
| 3-4 | Minions of Evil - Roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart and work out the result. If it is a Minion, place it at a Random Location. |
| 5-6 | Scattered Clues - Draw a Random Location and place 2 Investigation in that space. |
Advanced Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Surprise Showdown! - You have stumbled into the Villain's lair! Too late to turn back now…it knows you're here. Immediately draw a Lair card and move every Hero to that space. A Showdown with the Villain has begun. All Heroes take part, but do not have to pay any Investigation. No Town Elder Hunting Party is formed, and Heroes may not use their character Abilities during the first Showdown Fight Round. The card effect of the Lair card is used. If rolled in the Competitive Game, this result only affects the current First Player. |
| 3 | Cursed Village – Immediately draw and resolve one Mystery card for each Hero, starting with the First Player. This replaces the normal Mystery card for the turn. |
| 4 | Lies and Deceit – Roll a D6. Any Town Elder with Honor equal to or less than the roll gains one Secret. If any Town Elder has 3 or more unrevealed Secrets, immediately reveal them. |
| 5 | Darkness Falls – The Shadow Track immediately moves D3 steps closer to Darkness. The Heroes may collectively take 5 Wounds divided as they see fit to prevent this. No Hero may take more Wounds than they have Health Boxes. |
| 6 | March of Darkness – Every Minion on the board immediately moves 2 spaces along the shortest path to the Town Hall. If there are no Minions on the board, instead roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart (re-rolling Event results) and place that Minion at 2 Random Locations. |
| 7 | Surge of Evil – Roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart and work out the result. If it is a Minion or if the Villain attacks, draw a Random Location for placement. |
| 8 | "Murder… Murder!" – Draw a Random Location and place 3 Investigation there. Move the Shadow Track 1 step closer to Darkness. This counts as though the Mystery card "Murder!" had been played (for Villain abilities). |
| 9 | Unnatural Storm – A powerful supernatural storm has blown over the town. Immediately discard any Mystery card in play that is Keyword Weather. Also, roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart (re-rolling any non-Event result) to see what evil the storm has brought. If the Villain attacks during the storm, it does so at a Random Location and is +3 Combat. |
| 10 | Ambush in the Night – Every Hero must roll a D6 and add their Cunning. Whoever has the lowest result is immediately attacked by one of the Villain's Minions (roll off if tied). Roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart (re-rolling any Event result or Minion that has no Fight Dice) and place that Minion in the Hero's space. During the first Fight Round, the Hero may not use any Items, Allies, or Abilities and the Minion has double their normal Fight Dice. |
Town Elder Secrets
The cost to Investigate a Town Elder's Secrets as an Action is increased to be equal to the number of Heroes playing (instead of the normal cost of 2 Investigation). For example, if there are four Heroes, it would cost 4 Investigation to look at the Secrets of one Town Elder. The whole cost must be paid by a single Hero as an Action to Investigate a Town Elder.
Also, any time a player looks at a Town Elder's Secrets, reveal them for all to see. Note that this does NOT apply to cards or abilities that specifically say, "without revealing".
When a Town Elder is killed, move the Shadow Track as normal and then reveal all of that Elder's Secrets. Any Keyword Evil Secrets they have immediately take affect, turning them into an Evil Elder instead.
Villain Difficulty
The Villain that the Heroes will be fighting is far tougher than the normal version, with far more Health and the capacity to heal faster if not defeated in one Showdown. Multiply the Villains base Health times the total number of Heroes. This will scale the Villain according to how many Heroes are playing.
For example, if there are four Heroes, and the Villain has a base Health of 5, the Villain will actually have Health 20 for this Cooperative game (4 x 5 = 20).
It is important to note that ONLY the base Health of the Villain is multiplied in this way. Any bonus Health that the Villain gets during the game will simply add to the total.
Also, during the Mystery Phase, instead of Healing D3 Wounds like normal, the Villain Heals a full D6 Wounds each turn.
Buying a Lair Card
In Cooperative play, the Heroes only need a single Lair Card for the whole group. Any Hero may buy the Lair Card and should place it face up on the table where everyone can see it.
Cooperative Showdown
There are a few changes to the way Showdowns work in Cooperative play.
Starting a Showdown - To start a Showdown, any Hero at the location of the Lair Card may start a Showdown during their Action Phase as normal. Any other Heroes on the board may also pay the cost printed on the Lair Card to immediately move to the Showdown location and join in. Any Heroes that choose not to pay the cost (or cannot pay), do not take part in the Showdown.
Choosing the Hunting Party - Players may discuss which Town Elders to bring along as part of the Hunting Party, but the final choice rests with the current First Player. You may only bring along two Town Elders as normal, even though there may be several Heroes involved.
Each Town Elder in the Hunting Party must then be assigned to a specific Hero (Limit 1 per Hero). A Town Elder's Special Ability only applies to the Hero they are assigned to. Also, if there is a Militia Counter in the space, it must be assigned to a specific Hero in the same way, and may not be assigned to a Hero that already has a Town Elder assigned.
Showdown Fight Rounds - Fight Rounds for a Cooperative Showdown work the same as a normal Showdown, however each Hero present gets to take their Fight Round in order, beginning with the Hero that started the Showdown. Each Hero Fights in turn; rolling Fight Dice, having the Villain roll its Fight Dice, and working out the results. Note that the Villain gets its full Combat attack against each and every Hero taking part. The Villain only targets Town Elders in the Hunting Party when attacking the Hero they are assigned to (Militia are never targeted separately).
Due to the Villain's increased amount of Health, Cooperative Showdowns will usually last a little longer than normal, and you will need to use the larger 5 Wound pieces to keep track of its damage.
Regrouping and Escaping - At the start of each Showdown Fight Round (including the first), Heroes present may regroup by exchanging Items and Allies as well as switching the assignment of Town Elders/Militia in the Hunting Party. This is also a good time to use any Healing as it is between Fight Rounds. Also, any Hero that wishes may Escape between Fight Rounds. If there are no Heroes remaining (all have Escaped or been KO'd), the Showdown immediately ends.
Winning & Losing
In Cooperative play, the Heroes will either all win or all lose as a group. The goal of the Heroes, to defeat the Villain, remains the same. The Villain, however, has a higher chance of overtaking the town. If the Shadow Track reaches Darkness, the game ends and the Heroes lose.
The game also ends in defeat if ALL of the Heroes are ever KO'd at the same time.
The Team Game
An alternate style of play is the Team Game. This mixes the Competitive and Cooperative styles together as multiple small teams of two, three, or four Heroes each race against one another to defeat the Villain.
This is a good style of play for larger groups of players. Each team should have an equal number of Heroes. If the number of players cannot be divided evenly by 2, 3, or 4, the team with fewer players should use an extra Hero between them to even things out.
Using Elements From Each Style
The Team Game uses all of the Competitive style rules with just a few exceptions. Like in Cooperative play, Heroes on the same team are working together. The only difference is that they are also racing against the other teams.
Teammates may Exchange Items and Allies with each other in the same space, as noted in the Cooperative Play section. Also, buying Lair Cards, Villain Difficulty, and fighting Showdowns with the Villain are handled as per Cooperative play with your own Team.
For example, if you have three Heroes on each team, the Villain will have three times its base Health.
Note that the Villain does Heal D6 Wounds during each Mystery Phase, as with the Cooperative style of play.
First Player
The First Player Marker should be held by each Team as a whole, rather than by any individual player. When it is time to pass the First Player Marker, it is passed to the next Team on the left. In a sense it becomes a First Team Marker.
Simultaneous Play
One of the biggest advantages of the Team Game is that all of the Heroes on a Team may take their turns at the same time.
Each Hero should move in the Move Phase, Fight Enemies, then take their Actions. The only restriction to the turn sequence is that each Hero should finish Taking Actions before the next Hero begins taking Actions. You may however choose in what order the Heroes will take their Actions. This can greatly speed up large games and make for a fun team dynamic.
Winning the Game
The first Team to defeat the Villain in a Showdown wins the game.
Solo Play Rules
As a Cooperative Game in its own right, A Touch of Evil is ideal for playing solitaire. This can be a very fast and rewarding game and only requires a small number of changes and clarifications to make Solo Play work well.
First you must choose if you want to play as a Team of Heroes or as a Lone Hero, hunting the Villain one-on-one. As a lone Hero, the game can be very difficult, but also creates a potentially far more exciting story.
Team of Heroes
As a Team of Heroes, you must choose how many characters to use. Generally 2 to 4 Heroes tends to be a good number of characters to run for a single player. Playing a Team of Heroes essentially uses all of the Cooperative Play Rules found above, with one minor adjustment. You as a Player have a single hand of Event cards that may be played on any of your Heroes. When one of your Heroes draws an Event, simply add it to your collective hand of cards.
Also, when playing with only 2 Heroes on your team, you may ignore the rule that the Villain automatically wins if all of the Heroes are ever KO'd at any time.
As a single individual controlling all of the Heroes, you may find that it is a bit easier to coordinate everything to the best possible advantage. Because of this you may find it a more rewarding game by using the Advanced Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart detailed above.
Lone Hero
As a Lone Hero, the task of hunting down and defeating one of these fearsome, supernatural Villains is daunting to say the least. But if you are up to the challenge, then continue reading at your own peril. When playing a single Hero, you should use all of the Competitive Play Rules with a few exceptions.
When looking at the Secrets of a Town Elder, those Secrets must be revealed unless using a card which specifically states to look at them 'without revealing'.
If KO'd during the Mystery Phase, your Hero is Revived at the end of that Mystery Phase, thereby avoiding the need to lose a turn (not terribly exciting when you are playing Solo).
You must also choose a level of difficulty below:
- Normal - No additional difficulty.
- Hunter - Use the Cooperative Shadow Track.
- Master Hunter - Use the Cooperative Shadow Track and the Advanced Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart.
- Insanity - Use the Cooperative Shadow Track, the Advanced Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart, and the Optional Showdown Chart.
- Apocalypse - Same as Insanity above, but if you are KO'd 3 times, you lose.
Optional Rules
The following Optional Rules are provided to allow players to increase or decrease the difficulty of their game, or to add extra detail with some additional complexity. Any of the following Optional Rules may be added as long as ALL players agree before the game begins.
Exchanging Items/Allies in Competitive Play (Recommended) - As an Action, players can give or trade Items and Allies with other willing Heroes in the same space. You may not give or exchange Event cards or Investigation.
Growing Darkness - If you would like to add extra challenge to your games, you may use Growing Darkness with any Villain. At the start of each Mystery Phase, roll once on the Villain's Minion Chart and work out the result. If it is a Minion or Villain Attack, it occurs at a Random Location.
Holding Back the Darkness (Cooperative Game Only) - If you find that the Cooperative Game is too difficult for your group (at least with a particular Villain), you may wish to use the Holding Back the Darkness Optional Rule. At the start of the Mystery Phase while the Shadow Track is in the RED, if every individual Hero pays 2 Investigation, move the Shadow Track 1 Step away from Darkness (limit once per turn).
Endurance of Evil - Endurance of Evil can also be used with any Villain, but be warned, this may result in your untimely demise! Anytime the Villain Kills a Town Elder or KO's a Hero, they gain a permanent +2 Health (or +1 Health per Hero in the Cooperative Game) as they drain a part of their life force. This is in addition to any other bonus that the Villain might get for killing a Town Elder and is triggered even if the Elder is just removed from the game outright (such as with the Gargoyle).
Hunting for Clues - One way to make the game more difficult for the Heroes is to make collecting Investigation from the board more of a challenge. With this variant, when a Hero wants to Collect Investigation from their space as an Action, they must make a Skill Test to do so. The Hero must make a Spirit or Cunning 5+ Test (Hero's choice). For each successful roll of 5 or 6, that Hero may collect 1 Investigation from their space.
Advanced Showdown Chart
If you would like to add a little extra difficulty and flavor to the game, you may use the following Showdown Chart when fighting the Villain (if all players agree). This can be used in either Competitive or Cooperative play.
At the start of each Showdown Fight Round after the first Round, roll 2D6 and consult the chart below. Results on this chart may be canceled as though they were Event or Mystery Cards.
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Daring Confrontation - Choose one Hero taking part in the Showdown to immediately make an Honor 6+ Test. If successfull, the Villain takes 2 Wounds for every 6+ rolled. If failed, every Hero taking part in the Showdown must take 1 Wound or the Showdown is canceled. |
| 3 | Coach Chase - Draw a new Lair Card and move the Showdown to this new location. Any Heroes that want to continue fighting must immediately pay the cost on the new Lair Card and move to that space of the board. Any who do not/cannot pay are left behind. You must now use the special ability of the new Lair Card. |
| 4-5 | Impossible Foe - The Villain immediately Heals D6 Wounds (or D3 Wounds in Competitive play). |
| 6 | A Cunning Challenge - Heroes must use their Cunning to fight this round, instead of Combat. |
| 7 | The Power of Evil - The Villain immediately Heals D3 Wounds (or 1 Wound in Competitive play). |
| 8 | Supernatural Force - Heroes must use their Spirit to fight this round, instead of Combat. |
| 9-10 | Darkness Unleashed - The Villain immediately does D3 Hits to the Heroes collectively. These may be divided as you see fit (or 1 Hit in Competitive play). |
| 11 | Sweeping Strike - Each Hero present must immediately discard one Item or Ally of their choice. |
| 12 | Fight the Good Fight - The Villain and EVERY Hero immediately Heals D6 Wounds each (Revive KO'd Heroes). In Cooperative play, any Hero not taking part in the Showdown may immediately join for free. |
Hero Profiles
Karl, The Soldier - A veteran of the Revolution, Karl has witnessed the horrors of war first hand. During his time in the continental army he also saw things that were beyond belief...supernatural things. With his hardened combat experience and research of the occult, Karl has become a hunter, tracking down and vanquishing the creatures of the night.
Heinrich Cartwright, The Drifter - Always in the wrong place at the wrong time, Heinrich Cartwright arrived in Shadowbrook this afternoon. Drifting from town to town, he is a stranger to all. With a scruffy beard and well-worn clothes, he has learned to be resourceful, making due with what is on hand. In his long life, Heinrich Cartwright has seen more than his share of death, and the unspeakable horrors that haunt this world. Seen them...and defeated them.
Anne Marie, The School Teacher - Having recently arrived in Shadowbrook, Anne Marie has come to replace the last school master who disappeared quite suddenly, under mysterious circumstances. With a firm hand and compassionate spirit, she believes that only knowledge can bring the power to make the world a better place.
Katarina, The Outlaw - A scoundrel and thief, Katarina stalks the roads at night as a highway robber. Her skill with a blade and accuracy with her trusty pistol crossbow are matched only by her strong sense of honor. With a wink and a smile, she only steals from the richest of travelers who greedily horde their ill-gotten wealth.
Inspector Cooke - From the neighboring 'big city', police inspector Jonathan Cooke has come to Shadowbrook to hunt down and apprehend the men responsible for terrorizing this small community. Rooted in science and fact, he believes that there is nothing in this world that cannot be explained through investigation and logic. To him, fear and superstition are the greatest enemies of reason.
Victor Danforth, The Playwright - A boastful braggart and master thespian, the world renowned Victor Danforth expounds endlessly on his life of high adventure and romantic exploits. He has learned every trick of the trade to keep up appearances while hiding the fact that he is, at heart, a cowardly soul who is even afraid of his own shadow.
Thomas, The Courier - Since a young age, Thomas has been a traveler. A loner and a scout, he makes a living as a courier, forever on the move. With a scarred face and a dead eye, Thomas has always looked out for himself above all else. Riding into town with a special delivery for one of the Elders of Shadowbrook, he finds himself wrapped up in the mysterious and deadly events that begin to unfold around him.
Isabella Von Took, The Noble Woman - Wife to one of the wealthiest statesmen in the former colonies, Isabella Von Took has led a pampered but secluded life. Used to playing politics and getting what she wants, Isabella is not above treachery and deceit, when it suits her. Recently widowed, she has set out with an entourage of servants and a coach full of luggage to find her own adventure in the world.
Supernatural Villains
The Vampire
An ancient and sinister evil from distant Europe, the Vampire stalks the night, hunting for the warm blood of new victims to feed upon. Though bound during daylight hours to his hidden coffin, filled with the musty soil of his native lands, the Vampire is a powerful creature of the night, emerging from his tomb to spread darkness across the land.
Numerous Minions - Of all the Villains, the Vampire is most known for having a host of Minions that he draws upon to attack and disrupt the Heroes. From clouds of Bats, to packs of snarling Wolves, to hordes of shambling Walking Dead zombies, and the deadly Succubus - foul offspring, bitten and imbued with the black curse to rise up as lesser Vampires.
Even the Town Elders can be corrupted and bitten, converted into Vampire Elders to aid in the Villain's nefarious deeds.
Mist Form - One of the most powerful aspects of the Vampire is its ability to transform into an ethereal mist to evade attacks! This Mist Form is the basic ability of the Vampire and allows it to prevent any incoming Hits it is about to take on the D6 roll of 5 or 6 each.
Werewolf
A savage and fearsome creature, the Werewolf is a cursed soul. Human by day, they transform when the full moon's call grips them in the night. With bones cracking, joints distending, and rapid growth of fur, they lose all control and become a ravenous beast, howling into the sky and hunting their prey to shred and feed upon like a wild animal!
Curse of the Werewolf - One of the most dangerous aspects of hunting a Werewolf is the possibility of being scratched by the beast and taking on the Curse of the Werewolf yourself, transforming into a savage and uncontrollable monster during the nights! As noted on the Villain's Record Sheet, any Hero that is KO'd by the Werewolf automatically takes a Curse of the Werewolf card, gaining Transformation Markers until they actually become a Werewolf Hero, lashing out at other nearby Heroes during the Mystery Phase.
As listed in the Game Text on the board at the Doctor's Office in Town, Curses may be Cured there for a cost, even if the Hero has become a full Werewolf Hero.
Rats and Rats Nest Minions - When a Werewolf stalks the night, other beasts and vermin are emboldened. Vicious Rats swarm the countryside, building hideous nests as they trail their way from the outskirts through the fields and into the homes and villages of the locals.
Rats Nest Minions act like spawners, generating new Round Minion Rats markers every turn, that create a chain of Rats moving steadily toward the Town Hall. Heroes must fight their way through the Rats to reach the Nests if they hope to stop the infestation.
Scarecrow
Constructed from cloth, straw, and hate, the Scarecrow has climbed down from his wooden perch in the fields to terrorize the countryside. Animated by the Darkness, he carries his jagged metal scythe to harvest the people of Shadowbrook, feeding on their fear and reaping their souls. While the Scarecrow walks the Earth, no one is safe from his wrath.
Feeds on Fear - The true power of the Scarecrow lies in its ability to feed on the fear of the local townspeople. As the Shadow Track moves closer to Darkness, the power of the Scarecrow grows, giving him extra bonuses to Health and Combat based on the current Stage that the Shadow Track marker is in. This is represented as a chart that can be found on the Scarecrow's Villain Record Sheet.
Murder of Crows and Locust Swarms - Commanding clouds of deadly Locust Swarms and black packs of sweeping Crows, the Scarecrow can overwhelm the board with his Minions. Heroes must use Cunning to battle the Locusts, while the Round Minion Crows appear in groups, choking the Roads and harassing any that try to pass through the area.
Spectral Horseman
Once a British Dragoon in His Majesty's Royal Army during the American war for Independence, the Spectral Horseman is now a ghostly, headless rider that haunts the forest roads and covered bridges of the colonies. Galloping through the night in search of his revenge, the Horseman has returned from hell to collect the heads of those that defied him in life.
Relentless Charge - As the Spectral Horseman gallops down the Roads and through the Covered Bridge, he swings his Axe of Vengeance at any poor souls foolish enough to venture out into the foggy night.
Whenever the Horseman is placed on the board for an attack, or even a Murder! Mystery card, he rides using his Relentless Charge ability, following the shortest path to the Town Hall, doing battle with any Heroes moved over along the way. This makes traveling the Roads a dangerous prospect and gives the Spectral Horseman a unique method for terrorizing the Heroes, as his black steed snorts and charges, thundering forward to collect the next head on his list.
Ghost Soldiers - Supported by the ghosts of fallen Red Coats killed during the revolution, the Horseman sends out marching ranks of his spectral soldiers to terrorize the local townsfolk and besiege the region. These Ghost Soldiers require a Hero to use their Spirit when fighting them and can push back Heroes they overwhelm in a Fight.
Glossary
Accusation - In Competitive Play, when a Hero starts a Showdown with the Villain, other Players may elect to make up to one Accusation each toward one of the Town Elders, paying Investigation to call them out as evil and reveal their Secrets.
Action - Individual things that a Hero may do during their Hero Turn. Generally each Action is limit once per turn.
Adjacent Spaces - Spaces on the board that are directly connected to one another.
Advanced Abilities - All of the abilities listed on a Villain Record Sheet below the main Basic Ability. Advanced Abilities are not used in the optional Basic Game.
Ally - A helpful card for Heroes that represents a minor character aiding in their investigation.
Basic Ability - The first ability listed on a Villain Record Sheet. In the optional Basic Game, the Villain only uses their main Basic Ability.
Cancel - When a card is Canceled, it is immediately discarded without further affect. If a Remains in Play card is canceled, any markers on the board placed by that card are also removed.
Carrying Limit - The maximum number of Item/Ally cards that a Hero may carry at any time. Generally this is 1 card from each Corner Location deck, and 3 Town Items.
Combat - (Red) Hero Skill used for Tests. Also determines how many Fight Dice a Hero or Enemy rolls during a Fight Round.
Corner Location - A space on the board that has a deck of cards associated with it that a Hero draws from when Encountering that space.
Cunning - (Green) Hero Skill used for Tests.
D3 - Roll a six-sided die using half the result, rounding up.
D6 - Roll a six-sided die.
Dangerous Location - A space on the board with Game Text to roll a die and draw either an Event or Mystery card; triggered when a Hero Encounters the space.
Encounter a Space - Draw a card from the associated Corner Location Deck and/or trigger the Game Text on that space.
Enemy - A Minion or Villain.
Escape - Fleeing from a Fight before the next Fight Round begins. The Hero must move to an adjacent space.
Evil Elder - A Town Elder that has joined the Villain.
Fight - A battle between a Hero and an Enemy.
Fight Dice - Dice rolled during a Fight. Normally Fight Dice rolls of 5 or 6 cause a Hit.
Fight Round - One round of a Fight; the Hero and Enemy both roll their Fight Dice against one another.
First Player - The player that currently has the First Player Marker does their Hero Turn first. They also draw the Mystery Card during the current Mystery Phase.
Game Round - All of the Heroes taking a Hero Turn, starting with the First Player, followed by a Mystery Phase.
Heal - Removing a number of Wound markers.
Health - How many Wound markers a Hero/Enemy can hold before being KO'd/defeated.
Hero - A Player character.
Hero Turn - A Hero's activation when they move, fight Enemies, and perform Actions.
Honor - (Yellow) Hero Skill used for Tests.
Hunting Party - Town Elders that join the Hero on a Showdown against the Villain.
Investigation - Blue markers that represent clues, money, and influence. The currency of the game.
Item - A helpful card for Heroes that represents an item or weapon that the Hero can use in their hunt for the Villain.
Keywords - Aspects of a card or character that have no inherent meaning, but can be referenced by other cards and abilities.
KO'd - When a Hero has Wound markers equal to their Health Boxes. The Hero is moved to the Town Hall (or equivalent space on an Expansion board), laying down, and must lose an amount of Investigation/Items/Allies. During the next Mystery Phase, the Hero removes all Wound markers and returns to play, standing back up.
Lair Card - A card representing a space on the board. These are used to draw Random Locations, as well as collected by Heroes to indicate a space on the board where they can start a Showdown with the Villain.
Lingering - When a Hero ends their Move in the same space that they started their Hero Turn in. The Hero must roll to see if they are attacked while Lingering.
Minion - A lesser Enemy the Heroes must face, usually controlled by the Villain. Minions are represented by a Corner Location card or a Counter placed on the board.
Minion Chart - Each Villain has a Chart of Minions and Events specific to that Villain. This chart has a Basic Game side and an Advanced Game side.
Mystery Card - Evil cards that the Villain gets to draw during the Mystery Phase. The current First Player draws the Mystery card each Game Round.
Mystery Phase - After all Heroes have taken their Hero Turns, the Villain has a Mystery Phase in which a Mystery card is drawn (and the Heroes must roll on the Mystery Phase Chart in Cooperative Play).
Play Immediately - An Event card that must be played as soon as it is acquired. If a Hero is drawing multiple cards and only choosing some to keep and discard the others, Play Immediately cards only need to be played if kept.
Peek - A card or ability that let's a Player 'Peek' at a Secret allows them to look at the card without revealing it (even if it is marked as Reveal Immediately).
Random Location - Draw a Lair card to indicate the space.
Remains in Play - A card that stays in play and continues to affect the game.
Reveal Immediately - A Secret card that must be revealed when looked at (unless specified otherwise - see Peek).
Road Space - A space on the board with no Game Text or associated Card Deck.
Roll Off - Players each rolling a die, with the higher roll being selected.
Secrets - All of the Secret cards on a Town Elder.
Shadow Track - The track used to mark how strong the Villain is, how easy it is to find the Villain's Lair, and the general 'health' of the town.
Shadow Track - Darkness - The bottom of the track - 0.
Shortest Path - The path that includes the fewest spaces from the current location to another specific space on the board (usually the Town Hall).
Showdown - A climactic Fight between one or more Heroes and the Villain in an effort to win the game.
Showdown Fight Round - A Fight Round during a Showdown; includes each Hero and the Villain rolling Fight Dice against one another.
Skills - A Hero's four basic Skills - Cunning, Spirit, Combat, and Honor. These are used to make Skill Tests where the Hero rolls a number of Dice equal to their Skill.
Spirit - (Blue) Hero Skill used for Tests.
Stack - Some cards form a Stack rather than a Deck, with no Discard Pile (such as Town Items). These cards are not drawn, but are chosen from the Stack.
Town Elder - The mysterious leaders of the town that may help or hinder the Heroes on their hunt.
Town Hall - The space at the center of town. Where most Heroes start the game and KO'd Heroes are moved to.
Town Items - Items that can be purchased in Town at the Blacksmith. These form a Stack rather than a Deck, with no Discard Pile. Town Items are not drawn, but are chosen from the Stack. Expansions include Monastery Items and Coastal Town Items which count as Town Items.
Town Space - The five spaces at the center of the board - Town Hall, Blacksmith, Magistrate's Office, Doctor's Office, and Church. The Tidewater village spaces on The Coast board are also considered Town Spaces.
Villain - The main Enemy of the game.
Wound - A marker to show damage on a Hero/Enemy. One Hit in a Fight usually equals one Wound.
FAQ & Clarifications
Q. If you have an Item that lets you use Cunning or Spirit instead of Combat to fight, what if a Minion requires you to use something other than Combat in the first place (such as Ghost Soldiers)? A. Items like Tools of Science may ONLY be used if you would actually be using Combat to fight. Against Ghost Soldiers for instance, the Hero will always have to use their Spirit.
Q. Some Items such as Holy Water may be discarded to automatically defeat a Minion. Can this be done before the first Fight Round? A. Yes, you may discard it at any time. If discarded before a Fight Round, the Minion is defeated without rolling Fight Dice.
Q. If chosen as part of your Hunting Party, when does Sophie The Midwife's special ability start to take affect? What if Sophie has the Coward Secret? A. As soon as the Town Elder's Secrets are Revealed, Sophie's ability becomes active. If a Coward, her special ability may still be used to try and cancel Mystery Cards in play before the first Fight Round when you roll to see if she runs away.
Q. If Lord Hanbrook takes a single Wound in a Showdown and then returns to Town, does he Heal or retain the Wound? A. He Heals the Wound. You can also Heal Lord Hanbrook between Showdown Fight Rounds using anything that would Heal the Hero.
Q. Can Doctor Manning or Lady Hanbrook prevent Wounds done to other Town Elders in the Hunting Party? A. No. They may only prevent Hits/Wounds done to the Hero.
Q. Can the Torch be used to re-roll a Hit done to a Town Elder in the Hunting Party? A. Yes. It is meant to include a Hit to a Town Elder in your Hunting Party as well.
Q. Can the Rat's Nest Minion really move? A. Yes. They relocate the nest.
Q. With Curse of the Werewolf, does the Hero attack in the first Mystery Phase that they become a Werewolf Hero? A. Yes.
Q. If I try to start a Showdown, but my Lair Card is Canceled, can I still Encounter the Space? A. Yes.
Q. The Barghest Hound moves up to 2 spaces at the start of the Mystery Phase to reach the nearest Hero. What happens if it moves past another Minion? Is that Minion displaced? A. No. The Barghest Hound will move over any intervening Minion to reach the Hero. Only if the Barghest Hound moves 2 spaces toward a Hero and ends in the space with another Minion will the Hound displace it.
Q. What if two Barghest Hounds can reach the same Hero? Does the Hero fight both? A. The Barghest Hounds will move one at a time (the order is chosen by the current First Player). The Hero will have to fight the first Hound that moves before the second Hound gets to go.
Q. The Event Cards that add a bonus to your Skills (Strength of Spirit, Strength of Will, etc) have a Skill symbol on them but are not Remains in Play. Do these cards stay in play? A. No. These cards give you a Skill Upgrade Marker and are then discarded. The symbol on the card is just meant to graphically illustrate the bonus.
Q. How does the timing of the Event Card Gossip and Rumors work with Accusations of Town Elders at the start of a Showdown? A. Gossip and Rumors may be played to interupt an Accusation, allowing you to look at and discard/replace a potentially evil Secret after the Accusation has been declared, but before the Secrets are revealed.
Q. When does it take affect if a Villain gains Wounds during a Showdown Fight Round from a Wound Upgrade marker or Evil Elder (like the Spectral Horseman's Collect Souls ability)? A. These only take affect at the end of the current Fight Round, after the Fight Dice results are applied. If the Villain is defeated in the same round as they gain the bonus, the game ends before the bonus applies.