Ascension at Firepeak Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Win
• Game Concepts
  • Cards
  • The Pattern
  • Pattern Diagram
  • The Dungeon
  • Position
  • Control of Creatures
• Setup
• The Turn
• Actions
  • Recruit
  • Capture
  • Brainwash
  • Rescue
  • Move
  • Swap
  • Imprison
  • Cast
  • Research
• Optional Rules
  • Clan Powers

How to Win

The first player to complete their Pattern, enabling them to cast the Mighty Ritual of Authority, wins the game. If the last Creature card is drawn from the Recruitment deck, the game is over at the end of that turn, with the winner being the player with the most total Power of Creatures in their Pattern. If there is a tie, the player with the most Creatures in their Pattern wins. If that is a tie, the game is a draw. For players desiring a longer game, you may reshuffle the Recruitment deck once before ending the game.

Game Concepts

To make the rules easier to understand, defined game terms used throughout these rules are highlighted the first time they appear in each paragraph.

Cards

There are 3 types of cards: Creatures, Wizards and Spells.

Creature cards have a Clan symbol and a Power number. There are 6 Clans, with 10 Creatures in each Clan: two with Power 4 and 1, and three with Power 3 and 2. Each Clan has an opposing Clan (see diagram). The six Clans and their opponents are: The Doombringers vs. The Holy Order, The Twilight Spawn vs. The Dawn Keepers, and Night Wing vs. Gaia's Children.

Wizard cards represent the player. They are not Creatures and are always in play. A Wizard may only Recruit and may never perform any other Actions. A Wizard's Minions may have any Power (see The Pattern below). Each Wizard has an associated Clan, and all Creatures of that Clan that the Wizard Controls have +1 Power. Note that the Wizard is not a member of this Clan.

Spell cards allow a player to perform special Actions. Each Spell requires certain Components to cast.

The Pattern

Each player is trying to build a complete Pattern to win the game (see Pattern Diagram). A Pattern is composed of face up Creatures and one Wizard at the head. Within the Pattern, every Creature has at least one Leader, which is the card above it in the structure. The Wizard has no Leader. A card may also have up to two Minions, which are the cards directly below it. During normal play, players will add and remove Creatures from their Pattern. Creatures can only be added to empty Positions. There are three rules that a legally placed Creature must follow:

• The Clan Rule: A Creature may never be located adjacent to a Creature from an opposing Clan. A Creature is considered adjacent to its Leaders, its Minions and Creatures next to it on the same tier.
• The Leader Rule: A Creature must always have at least one Leader.
• The Power Rule: A Creature must have less Power than its Leader. If a Creature has two Leaders, a legally placed Creature must have less Power than their sum.

When removing Creatures, a Creature will often be left in an illegal position. In addition, player error can result in illegal placements. An Action is considered final when another Action is started. If a player mistake resulting in an illegal placement is caught during the turn in which it occurred, take back the entire Action. However, the player does not get to perform an alternative Action – losing the Action is the penalty for the mistake. If the illegal placement is not caught during the turn it happens, resolve it like any other illegal placement using the procedure below. Remember, an Action is not final until the next Action begins. An illegally placed Creature must be dealt with prior to anything else happening in the game.

Pattern Diagram

This diagram shows all the available Positions in a Pattern, with the empty positions shown by dotted lines. If every dotted position contained a Creature, this Pattern would be complete. In this incomplete Pattern, the Troll is the Ogre's Leader. The Troll has two Minions, the Ogre and the Ghost. The Goblin has two Leaders, also the Ogre and the Ghost, while the Orc has only one (the Ogre). The Ogre is adjacent to every card but the Wizard. The Goblin is adjacent to the Ogre, the Ghost and the Orc, but not to the Troll.

(The diagram itself is not reproduced here; the printed text that accompanies it is transcribed above. The diagram's Creature Power values are Troll 4, Ogre 3, Orc 2, Ghost 2 and Goblin 1, and it marks the Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 rows.)

To resolve an illegal Pattern, first move Leaderless Creatures up to an adjacent location, one at a time in any order, until every Creature has a Leader. Then, if there are Creatures still in illegal positions (because of the Clan Rule or the Leader Rule), remove Creatures, one at a time in any order, until there are no more illegal placements. Removed Creatures are placed in the discard pile. If this creates a new Leaderless Creature, start over.

For example, if Atrophy is cast on the Troll in the Pattern Diagram, causing it to lose one Power, the Pattern would become illegal, since a Minion (the Ogre) would not have less Power than its Leader (the Troll). The player could remove either Creature. If the Troll were removed, it would create two Leaderless Creatures. The Ghost can be moved up to either Tier 1 spot, but it does not have enough Power to support the Ogre. Instead, the Ogre is moved up. This creates another Leaderless Creature, the Orc, which is also moved up, leaving the Pattern in a legal state.

The Dungeon

Each player has a Dungeon of Creatures, placed face down in a stack next to your Pattern. It can be protected by a Guard, a Creature that is kept face up on the stack. You may only have one Guard at a time. Also, a new Guard can only be placed if the Guard location is empty. A player can always review the contents of his or her own Dungeon. Creatures in the Dungeon can be Brainwashed, Rescued, used as Spell Components and used for Research.

Position

A Position is a space within a Pattern, and does not include the Guard location. A Position may or may not be occupied by a Creature. Remember, when adding Creatures to your Pattern, they may only be added to empty Positions.

Control of Creatures

You Control a Creature if it is in your Pattern or it is your Guard. This is important for the ability of Wizards and also for certain Spells.

Setup

Each player is dealt a Wizard and places it face up in front of them. The extra Wizards are not used.

Shuffle the Spell cards together and deal each player 7 of them. Each player keeps 5 and discards the rest. The retained Spell cards form the player's hand of Spells, called their Spellbook.

Shuffle the discarded Spells together with the remaining Spells to form the Research deck.

Shuffle the Creature cards together to form the Recruitment deck.

Dungeons start empty, with no Guard.

Each player rolls the die, with the highest roller starting play, and play proceeds clockwise.

The Turn

During their turn, each player can perform up to two Actions. You may perform them in any order, can perform the same Action twice, and may take fewer than two Actions if desired. Research does not count as one of the player's two Actions and can be performed any number of times during a player's turn. Players keep taking turns in clockwise order until one player wins the game or the Recruitment deck runs out.

Possible Actions are:

• Recruit a Creature from the Recruitment deck.
• Capture a Creature from an opponent's Pattern.
• Brainwash a Creature in your Dungeon.
• Rescue a Creature from an opponent's Dungeon.
• Move a Creature to another location.
• Swap two adjacent Creatures in your Pattern.
• Imprison a Creature you Control.
• Cast a Spell.
• Research a new Spell.

Actions

Recruit

Select a Creature in your Pattern or your Wizard and draw the top card of the Recruitment deck. The drawn Creature can be placed as a legal Minion of the selected card if desired. Otherwise, it can be placed as your Guard (if open) or into your Dungeon. You do not have to reveal the Creature if placed into your Dungeon. Remember, Creatures may only be added to empty Positions.

Capture

Select one Creature under your Control to attack and a Creature Controlled by an opponent to defend. Note that Guards can attack and be attacked. Each player rolls one die and adds the Power of their Creature. Defending Creatures in the first tier (they have the Wizard as their Leader) add 1 to their total. Highest total wins, with the losing Creature being placed into the winner's Dungeon. If there is a tie, nothing happens.

Brainwash

Select a Creature in your Dungeon and announce its Power. You do not have to reveal the exact type of the Creature. Roll the die. If the roll is greater than the Creature's Power, place the selected Creature into any empty legal Position in your Pattern or as your Guard (if open); otherwise nothing happens. You do not need to select the destination Position for the selected Creature before rolling the die. Note that the target is not +1 Power (if it is a member of your clan) until it is actually under your Control.

Rescue

Choose an opponent's Dungeon and a Creature under your Control that will attempt the Rescue. Roll the die and add your Creature's Power. Your opponent rolls the die and adds their Guard's Power (+0 if they have no Guard). Highest total wins. If you win, you may look through your opponent's Dungeon and choose a Creature. Place the chosen Creature in any legal empty Position in your Pattern, as your Guard (if open) or into your Dungeon. If you lose, the Rescuing Creature is placed in your opponent's Dungeon. If there is a tie, nothing happens.

Move

Move a Creature in your Pattern to any other empty, legal Position in your Pattern. This cannot result in an illegal placement. In addition, you may Move a Creature from your Pattern to be your Guard. You cannot move your Guard into your Pattern.

Swap

Exchange two adjacent Creatures in your Pattern, as long as both new placements are legal.

Imprison

Put a Creature under your Control into your Dungeon. This cannot leave a Creature Leaderless. This is the only way to voluntarily dispose of a Guard.

Cast

To Cast a Spell, the player must discard the Spell Component listed on the Spell from their Dungeon and follow the directions on the card. If a card does not direct you to retain it, it is discarded after playing. Any extra Actions a Spell directs you to perform do not count against the limit of two Actions per turn (although Casting the Spell does count as an Action).

Several types of spells remain in play. An Aura is placed onto any Position in a player's Pattern. Any Creature in that Position and its Minions are affected by the Aura. Only one Aura can be cast on each Position in a Pattern (although a Position can be affected by more than one Aura), and the Aura remains even if the Position is vacated. If a second Aura is cast on a Position, discard the previous Aura.

An Enchantment is placed directly on a Creature in play (in a Pattern or a Guard), and is discarded if the Creature is discarded or placed in a Dungeon.

A Circle is placed next to your Pattern, and each player can only have one Circle in effect at a time. If a second Circle is cast by a player, discard their previous Circle.

Research

To Research a new Spell, discard 2 Creatures from the same Clan from your Dungeon. Then draw a new Spell card from the Research deck. If the Research deck is ever exhausted, shuffle the discards to form a new Research deck.

Optional Rules

Clan Powers

When using the Clan Powers optional rule, all Creatures have a special ability. Each Clan has a different ability associated with it. Note that these are separate from your Wizard's ability. All Creatures possess their special ability for all players.

• Doombringers: Once per turn, if you successfully Brainwash a Doombringer, you may take another Action.
• Holy Order: Holy Order Creatures are +1 Power when performing a Rescue.
• Twilight Spawn: When you perform a successful Capture with a Twilight Spawn, roll the die. If it is greater than the Captured Creature's Power, you may place the Captured Creature as a Minion of the Twilight Spawn.
• Dawn Keepers: When you Research using Dawn Keepers, you may draw an additional Spell.
• Night Wing: Once during your turn, you may perform an extra Swap or Move if it involves a Night Wing Creature.
• Gaia's Children: Gaia's Children are +1 Power when defending against a Capture.

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