Explorers of the Woodlands
Explorers of the Woodlands Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 rulebook
- 4 Hero boards
- 4 Hero meeples
- 4 Hero dice (red)
- 4 Combat dice (black)
- 4 Power dice as follows: 1 purple, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 orange
- 4 red cubes (used to track Heroes' health points)
- 6 blue cubes (used to track Heroes' orbs and Boss threat levels)
- 24 Forest tiles (representing the places that players explore)
- 25 Loot cards
- 12 Event cards
- 4 Hero Power cards
- 8 Lair cards
- 5 Inn cards
- 6 Boss cards
- 3 Thorns cards
- 1 Enraged Monsters card
- 1 Enraged Bosses card
- 20 Monster markers as follows: 4 Mushrooms, 4 Plants, 4 Spirits, 4 Skeletons, 4 Snakes
- 5 Chest markers
- 3 Event markers
- 5 Poison markers
- 5 Thorns markers
- 4 Orb markers
- 1 Frost marker
- 3 Leaf Shield markers
- 3 +1 Shield markers
- 1 +1 Combat Die marker
- 22 Quest markers as follows: 6 Mushroom markers, 2 Empty Vial markers, 4 Campsite markers, 10 Corruption markers
Setup
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Each player chooses their Hero and takes the corresponding Hero board, Power card, and meeple along with a red cube and a blue cube. They place each of the cubes on the following values:
- Red track: Health Points (HP) starting value: 5. A Hero's HP can never exceed 5.
- Blue track: Orbs starting value: 0 (placed on the 0 symbol). Heroes can never have more than 10 orbs.
Each player slides their Hero's Power card under the left side of their Hero Board, in such a way that they can be slid to the left later.
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Set aside the Start tile (it has a different back to make it easier to find), the Boss tile, and the Inn tile. Put the Start tile in the playing area within reach of all players. Shuffle all the remaining Forest tiles. Remove 2 Forest tiles at random without looking at them, shuffle them and the Boss tile together, then place all 3 of these tiles on the bottom of the stack of Forest tiles. The stack is now complete.
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Shuffle the Monster markers and put them face down near the playing area to form the Monster draw pile.
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Shuffle the Loot cards and put them in a stack face down and then do the same with the Event and Boss cards, forming 3 stacks (one for each type of card).
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Put all the markers and dice within easy reach of the players to form a shared reserve.
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Choose the desired difficulty for this game by selecting which Thorns card to play with. Before starting the game, players may decide to use the regular Thorns card, the Easy Thorns card, or the Difficult Thorns card. Choose a card, add it to the play area face up, and discard the other Thorns cards.
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Decide who will play first. We recommend that the player who is most familiar with the game starts first, as they will start first every round of the game.
Note: The role of being first to act in each round is very important, but don't forget that you must all cooperate together and each use your turns effectively in order to achieve victory!
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Let the game begin! The first player starts their turn with Phase 1 (Forest Growth).
Game Phases
Each round is composed of Phase 1 (Forest Growth) followed by Phase 2 (Adventure).
Phase 1: Forest Growth
The story: The Woodlands were once beautiful and serene, but dangerous new sections of the forest have been mysteriously emerging, full of monsters and hazardous terrain. If the Heroes cannot brave these perils to find and defeat the Boss causing the forest's corruption and expansion, the Woodlands will be lost!
The gameplay: Players take turns revealing 1 Forest tile from the Forest stack and adding it to the play area. Starting with the first player and moving clockwise, each player draws a Forest tile, reveals it, and then adds it to the tiles already in play, choosing how to position it.
Mapmaking Rules:
- Each Forest tile must be placed adjacent to a tile already in the play area so that a path connects to that already-present tile.
- If a player wishes to place their tile so that it would touch multiple already-present tiles, they must always try to avoid creating dead ends. In other words, players must prioritize creating paths when placing tiles.
- If a drawn tile cannot be connected to any existing path, the tile is put on the bottom of the Forest stack and a new tile is drawn to replace it. Continue this process until you draw a tile that can be placed.
- In the unlikely event that placing a drawn tile would close the forest off completely, leaving no open paths for future tiles, the current player discards their current tile to the bottom of the stack and draws another tile until they can find a tile with no dead ends. Use this tile, and place any tiles that couldn't be placed back on the bottom of the Forest stack.
Example of a valid placement: Sha'Vi just drew a T-shaped tile and can add it to any of the open spots. If she decides to place it on the lower right corner, she MUST connect it to both existing paths, rotating the tile if needed in order to avoid creating dead ends.
Important: During the Forest Growth phase, if a tile must be added and the Forest pile is empty and the Boss card has not yet been revealed, immediately turn the Boss card over face up and put a blue cube on the first space of the Boss's threat track (see the Boss's Threat Track).
End of the Phase: Once every player has placed a tile, Phase 1 is over and players move on to Phase 2: Adventure.
Phase 2: Adventure
The story: Your party of heroes use their skills and abilities to explore the Woodlands in search of the boss they must defeat, fighting monsters, gaining loot, and traversing dangerous terrain along the way.
The gameplay: In turn order each player rolls a set of Hero dice, the results of which will determine the actions the player will be able to take on their turn. As players move their Hero figure around the play area, they trigger various effects of the tiles they enter.
2a) Controlling Heroes
During the Adventure phase, each player rolls and assigns the 4 red Hero dice, then controls their Hero based on the results. Each side of the dice corresponds to one or more actions based on the Hero's board: Movement, Concentration, Special Actions, or Summoning. Just like in the Forest Growth phase, the first player will start the Adventure phase, then players will take their turns in clockwise order.
Note: Before rolling any dice, the active player should:
- Check if they are Poisoned (see Poison).
- Turn their limited use cards face up (see Using Loot Cards).
Rolling and Assigning Hero Dice
On their turn, the active player will do the following in order:
Roll 4 red Hero Dice at the same time. Choose whether to accept the results or perform a reroll. Each player may only reroll once. If a player chooses to reroll, they MUST keep 1 die from the original roll, immediately placing it on the space of their Hero board that matches the result. Any dice that are rerolled MUST be rerolled together at the same time. Once the final results have been obtained, the active player puts the dice on the spaces of their Hero board that match the results.
A reminder is present on each die space indicating how many dice the space may contain:
- Infinity symbol: A player can place as many dice here as they would like, as long as the die result matches the required value.
- Max number: This shows the maximum number of Hero dice that can be placed here.
Example: Eva rolls 4 red Hero dice. She gets a 1, a 2, a 4, and a 5. Eva decides to keep the 5 and places it on her Hero board next to the 5+ space. This space has a 1 Max symbol, so this will be the only die she can place here this turn. Eva now rerolls the 3 dice she wanted to reroll and gets a 1, a 3, and a 5. Eva is only able to reroll once, so she must accept these results and place them on her Hero board. She places the 1 and 3 next to the 1-3 area of her Hero board, which has an infinity symbol that allows her to place multiple dice there. Unable to place the 5 on the 5+ space because she has already placed a die there and it has a 1 max symbol, she places the 5 on the 4+ space instead.
Once a player has placed all the dice they are able to on their Hero board, they use the dice to perform the associated actions. Actions may be done in any order the player wishes.
Movement, Concentration, Special Actions, Summoning
MOVEMENT: For each die put on this space, the Hero may be moved to an adjacent tile. Discard each movement die after it has been used. The number shown on the die does not have any effect on the number of spaces the player is able to move.
Example: 3 dice were placed here, so the player is able to move 3 times this turn, each time discarding 1 die to move to 1 adjacent tile. Reminder: Movements and actions may be done in any order the player wants.
As soon as a Hero moves onto a tile, they MUST apply the tile's effects before they can move on to the next tile (see Forest Tiles). A move may also trigger a battle (see Combat) which must be resolved before the Hero can continue to move.
HIGH-RISK MOVEMENT: If players move onto tiles that have already been placed on the map, they can do so knowing exactly what effects they will be triggering when they enter the tile. However, players MAY choose to use their movement to explore unrevealed tiles. This is called High Risk Movement, because the player moving will not know what effects or terrain they will encounter when they enter the tile they are moving to. If a player decides to use High Risk Movement to move off of a tile into a space where there is not yet a tile, they follow these steps:
- Gain 1 orb as a reward for High Risk Movement.
- If there are multiple paths leading off of the tile you are on, declare which direction you will be moving in. In other words, before you move, you must declare which side of your current tile you will place the new tile on.
- Reveal the top tile of the Forest stack and place it adjacent to the tile you are currently on, using the side you chose. Follow any setup instructions for that type of tile (see Forest Tiles), such as placing Monster markers.
- Move your Hero to the new tile and activate any effects that trigger when you move onto the tile. Continue the rest of your turn.
CONCENTRATION: On this space on the Hero board, the players may put any ONE Hero Die of a value 4 or higher to earn 1 free orb at the end of their turn. It can be used starting on the following turn. It can never be used during the turn in which this was obtained.
SPECIAL ACTIONS: Each Hero has two unique special actions that can be used with the 5 and 6 sides of the Hero dice. A full explanation of these special actions can be found in the Heroes section.
SUMMONING (any side, 2 dice required): Each Hero can assign any combination of 2 dice from the dice roll to summon 1 Power die until the end of their turn. The two dice placed on this space will not be available for the rest of the Hero's turn.
A Power die obtained in this way is available for every battle during the Hero's turn. This die is added to the Hero's available Combat dice and is put back in the shared dice reserve at the end of the turn. Each Power die can only be used once per battle. For example, it is impossible to summon the green Power die and then use a green staff (granting 1 green Power die) during the same battle. Some Monsters have weaknesses, resistances, or immunities to the Power dice.
2b) Using Loot Cards
The Loot cards collected during the game can only be used during the Adventure phase. There are several types of Loot cards:
- Permanent Loot cards do not have icons and their effects are always taken into account (e.g. the Heavy Armor card), even when it's not your turn!
- Limited-Use cards have icons to clarify how they are used. Only the active player can use them during their turn (see below).
- Loot cards bearing the refresh icon must be turned face down after they have been used. They will be turned face up and become available again at the beginning of that player's next Adventure phase, just before rolling Hero dice (e.g. the Boots card).
- Loot cards bearing the discard icon must be discarded after they have been used (e.g. the Healing Potion card).
Each Hero has 3 slots for Loot cards at the bottom of their Hero board. If a player ever draws a fourth Loot card, that card replaces one of their current cards, which is discarded.
Transferring Loot: When two or more Heroes are on the same tile and no Monsters are present, the active player may give one or more of their face-up Loot cards (that haven't been used during the turn) to another Hero.
2c) The Orb Track and Using Orbs
The position of the blue cube on your blue track indicates how many orbs you currently have. A Hero can never have more than 10 orbs. Orbs can be used to do five things:
Reroll Combat dice (see Combat). The active player can reroll 1 Combat die for each orb spent. Orbs cannot be used to reroll Power dice during battles.
Make purchases from peddlers (see the price on the peddler's tile or card). You can also sell your Loot cards for 1 orb each (see Peddler Tile).
Vortex. An active player may spend 1 orb to activate the vortex when on the Vortex tile (see Vortex).
Revive a Knocked Down Hero. The active player may spend orbs equal to the number of players to revive a Hero that is knocked down and sharing the same tile (see Knocked Down Heroes).
Unlock unique Powers (see Heroes). All Heroes have unique Powers that can be unlocked by active players during their turn, as long as they're not in Combat:
- Once a Hero's Orb track is at 3 or above, the player can spend 3 orbs to unlock their first unique Power. If they do, they slide their Power card to the left until the first Power is fully revealed.
- After the first Power has been unlocked, they can gain their second unique Power by saving up and spending another 5 orbs, as indicated on each Hero's Power card. If they do, they slide their Power card to the left until the second Power is fully revealed. A player can unlock both of these powers in the same turn by spending 8 orbs.
Example: Xylia spends 3 orbs to unlock her first Unique Power. She slides her Power card to the left and can now use her first Unique Power for the rest of the game!
End of the Round: When all the players have played a turn, Phase 2 ends and the first player begins a new round starting with Phase 1.
Forest Tiles
There are several types of Forest tiles. They may contain monsters, treasures, and/or other surprises. If a tile contains both Thorns and any number of Monster markers, always resolve the Thorns first, before encountering the Monsters. The meaning of each icon on the tiles can be found below.
Treasure: When a tile with this icon is revealed and put into play, put 1 Chest marker for each treasure icon on the drawn tile. An active player whose Hero is on a tile containing a Chest marker (and no Monsters) can discard the marker to immediately draw 1 Loot card from the top of the Loot card deck.
Event: When a tile with this icon is revealed and put into play, put 1 Event marker on the tile. An active player whose Hero moves onto a tile with an Event marker on it must discard the marker and draw 1 Event card from the top of the Event card deck. The player reads the card out loud and applies its effects. If an effect says to discard or lose elements and the player doesn't have any, nothing happens. Discard the Event card face up next to the Event card deck.
Monster: When this tile is revealed and put into play, draw 1 Monster marker at random for each Monster icon on the drawn tile and put them on the tile face down. When a player moves onto this tile for the first time, all Monster markers on the tile are revealed. An active player whose Hero starts their turn on or moves onto a tile with one or more Monster markers on it must immediately go into battle with the Monsters currently there (see Monsters).
Boss: When this tile is revealed and put into play, a Boss appears there. Draw 1 Boss card at random and put it near the Boss tile face down. It will be revealed when a player moves onto this tile for the first time or when a tile cannot be placed during the Forest Growth phase because the Forest pile is empty (see Phase 1: Forest Growth). An active player whose Hero starts their turn on or moves onto a tile with a Boss on it must immediately go into battle (see Combat). Reminder: Defeating the boss is how you beat the game. You must be well-prepared before you decide to face them!
Lair: If you are not playing with the Lairs expansion, ignore this icon, and use the rest of the tile as normal (all other icons on the tile have their usual effects). Learn more about the Lair mini-expansion below.
Vortex: An active player whose Hero is located on a Vortex tile may spend 1 orb to be teleported to the Start tile. When using the vortex, all Heroes must teleport independently and may not bring any other Heroes with them by any means.
Energy Well: When this tile is revealed, put as many Orb markers as there are players in the game face down on it. An active player whose Hero moves onto or is located on an Energy Well tile without any Monsters may take 1 Orb marker for free. They reveal the marker, add the amount of orbs indicated on the marker to their total, and keep the marker near their Hero board. Each player can only obtain 1 such marker during the game.
Campfire: An active player whose Hero ends their turn on a Campfire tile immediately recovers all their HP. Knocked Down Heroes on the Campfire tile recover all their HP at the beginning of their turn.
Thorns: When the active Hero moves onto this tile, the active player immediately rolls 1 die and consults the Thorns card; they then apply the results of the die roll to all the Heroes on the tile.
Example: Bethras moves onto a tile with a Thorns icon. Before he can do anything else, he must roll 1 die. He rolls a 2. Bethras is immobilized for the rest of the turn.
Runes: Some Events may tell the players to put Monsters on these Runes. Runes are also used in the advanced rules and in the campaign scenarios.
Peddler Tile: When a Hero moves onto this tile for the first time in the game, draw 3 Loot cards and put them face up next to the playing area. These cards are the items that the peddler is selling. Each card costs 3 orbs. These Loot cards stay in place until they are bought and are not replaced after the transaction. You can also sell Loot cards to the peddler: Discard a Loot card and take 1 orb for each card sold. Heroes must be located on the Peddler tile to buy or sell Loot cards.
Double Cul-de-Sac Tile: This tile has two dead ends. The player who places it decides whether to connect the one side or the other side to an already-placed tile. When a player enters this tile, they will only trigger the effect on the side of the tile that is connected to the path they are using. A player would only roll for Thorns if they entered this tile from the top OR only fight a Monster if they entered from the bottom. Note: Once placed, another Forest tile may not be placed directly on the opposite side of the double cul-de-sac. Only by building a path out to it from elsewhere in the forest can you reach and connect to the other dead end.
Heroes
All Heroes have two unique Powers (unlocked with orbs), a summoned Power die, and two Special Actions (used with the 5 and 6 sides of the Hero dice).
Xylia
Unique Powers:
- Phase 1: You may place one additional Forest tile at the end of phase 1 (once per round, after the last player).
- Phase 2: You may participate in a Group Combat to support the active Hero from one tile away if the two tiles are connected by a path.
Power Die: Xylia summons the green Power die.
Special Actions:
- Agility: Xylia ignores Thorns during her turn. Does not apply to allies. The die stays in place throughout the player's turn as a reminder.
- Precision: Add +1 to Xylia's Combat dice rolls for this entire turn. The die stays in place throughout the player's turn as a reminder.
Klethor
Unique Powers:
- Phase 2: You may choose 1 Combat die to reroll during each battle roll.
- Phase 2: You may reroll as many Combat dice as you like once during each battle. This power may be used before or after Klethor's first Unique Power in the same battle.
Power Die: Klethor summons the purple Power die.
Special Actions:
- Protector's Haul: If one or more other Heroes are on the same tile as him, Klethor can take them with him when he moves during this turn if they agree to go with him. Klethor's allies (the other Heroes) may agree to all or some of the possible movement(s). This special action can be used to move a Hero that's been knocked down. The die stays in place throughout the player's turn as a reminder.
- Defensive Stance: Put the die on the space provided for it on his Hero board. The die is discarded as soon as Klethor is attacked, preventing all damage one time.
Sha'Vi
Unique Powers:
- Phase 2: You may turn over one already-used card with a refresh icon to use it again (once per turn).
- Phase 1: You may put one Hero die on any side you want before rolling the other Hero dice during Phase 2 (once per round).
Power Die: Sha'Vi summons the blue Power die.
Special Actions:
- Healing Aura: Each Hero on Sha'Vi's tile regains 1 HP. Discard the die after it's been used.
- Blizzard Bolt: Sha'Vi freezes a Monster on her tile. Put the Frost marker on the frozen Monster. This Monster does not do damage and/or apply the "lost battle" effects after battles or retreats until the start of Sha'Vi's next turn. This special action can be used by Sha'Vi before a battle, or after a battle is lost, thereby freezing a Monster just before they can hit you! A frozen Monster can still be attacked. Bosses cannot be frozen. Discard the die after it's been used.
Bethras
Unique Powers:
- Phase 2: When you draw a card during your turn, draw 2 and put 1 back on top of the discard pile OR on the Loot card draw pile.
- Phase 2: After rerolling your Hero dice during Phase 2, you may reroll all your Hero dice one final time.
Power Die: Bethras summons the orange Power die.
Special Actions:
- Remedy: Remove any one status marker (Poison, Thorns) from any Hero on his tile. Discard the die after it's been used.
- Brawler's Brew: Each Hero die placed on this space becomes a Combat die for this turn only. Dice used in this way are discarded at the end of the battle. Maximum: 4 dice.
Monsters
As soon as an active Hero is on a tile containing a Monster, the Hero must either battle it or retreat before doing anything else (see Retreat). Turn over the Monster marker if it has not yet been revealed, and consult it to discover the Monster's profile. There are 5 categories of Monsters (Spirits, Plants, Mushrooms, Skeletons, and Snakes), each with its own profile.
Monster Strength Profile (located on upper left side of Monster marker):
- The number in the shield icon is how much armor the monster has. You must roll at least this number in order to damage the monster. A player would need to roll a 4 or higher to deal each damage to a monster with a shield value of 4.
- The number inside the heart icon is how much health the monster has. A player must successfully damage a monster this number of times during the same battle in order to defeat it. A monster with a health value of 2 would need to be damaged twice during the same Combat, which also means it would be impossible to defeat this monster with only 1 Combat die.
- The number inside the sword icon is how much damage the monster does to the active Hero if the monster is not defeated or if the Hero decides to retreat. A monster with a sword value of 2 would do 2 damage to a Hero if it survives Combat or if the Hero retreats.
Weaknesses, Resistances, and Immunities (located on upper right side of Monster marker):
- +1 Weakness: The icon beside the +1 corresponds to the type of Power die that this Monster or Boss is weak against. Add 1 to the result of this Power die if used. A Monster or Boss weak to the blue Power die would turn a 3 on the blue Power die into a 4.
- -1 Resistance: The icon beside the -1 corresponds to the type of Power die that this Monster or Boss resists. Subtract 1 from the result of this Power die if used. A Monster or Boss that resists the orange Power die would turn a 3 on the orange Power die into a 2.
- Immunity: A color that is crossed out with a red line shows which Power die the Monster or Boss is immune to. This Power die cannot be used during Combat against this Monster or Boss.
Battle Consequences (located at the bottom of Monster markers):
The bonus area indicates the bonuses earned if the Monster is defeated. The penalty area indicates the penalties incurred if the battle is lost. Below are the icons you will find in the bonuses and penalties area of Monster profiles:
- Lose / gain the number of orbs indicated.
- Draw a Loot card.
- Discard a Loot card of your choice.
- Draw and resolve an Event card.
- Spirit Monsters only: shuffle this Monster into the Monster draw pile after defeating it, unless it's Enraged.
- This Monster spreads Poison. Losing a battle with this Monster or retreating from a battle with this Monster poisons the Hero!
Poison: A poisoned Hero immediately takes a Poison marker and puts it on their Hero board. Each Hero can only have one Poison marker. When a Poison marker is on a player's Hero board, the Hero loses 1 HP at the start of each of their turns (right before rolling the Hero dice for Phase 2). Several effects (such as antidotes and Bethras's 5+ special action) can remove Poison markers. A knocked down Hero immediately discards their Poison marker if they have one.
Thorns (entangle): Some enemies and Events can entangle Heroes. An entangled Hero immediately takes a Thorns marker and puts it on their Hero board. When a Thorns marker is on a player's Hero board, that player must roll the die twice every time they enter a Thorns tile and apply both effects. Each Hero can only have one Thorns marker. A knocked down Hero immediately discards their Thorns marker if they have one.
Combat
Fighting alone: When an active Hero goes into battle, they roll their available Combat and Power dice and compare the results to the Monster's profile. Note: Every Hero starts Combat with at least 1 Combat die, but more can be added from special actions, unique Powers, loot cards, etc. There are only 4 Combat dice, but if a player needs to roll more than that, they may use any other die available as a temporary stand-in for the extra dice.
Example: Lara is playing as the hero Bethras. At the start of her turn, she rolls all 4 of her Hero dice. She allocates 3 of them to movement and puts 1 die on her Hero's special action Brawler's Brew, giving her 1 extra Combat die. She uses her movement to enter a tile with a Monster on it, so combat begins immediately. The Monster has 4 armor (she must roll a 4 or higher on a die to damage the monster) and 2 health (she must damage the monster twice). Lara rolls her 2 Combat dice (the one every player automatically starts combat with plus the extra one she gained from her special action) and rolls a 2 and a 5. The result of 5 is higher than the Monster's 4 armor, so the Monster is damaged once. Unfortunately, the Monster's 2 health requires it to be damaged twice. The second die's value of 2 is lower than 4, so it does not succeed in dealing damage. Bethras loses this combat.
Rerolls: In battle, an active player may spend 1 orb per Combat die that they want to reroll. The Power dice cannot be rerolled. There is no limit on the number of orbs that can be spent to reroll dice during battles. Players cannot use their orbs to reroll an ally's dice. Only the active player can reroll Combat dice in this way.
Group Combat: If two or more Heroes are located on the same tile and a battle happens, the non-active players roll their Combat dice to support the active player. Non-active players cannot use their Power dice and cards (except for permanent items) to support the active player.
Example: Max and Thomas are on the same tile. Max, the active player, goes into battle against a Monster. He rolls his Combat dice as usual. In addition, Thomas rolls his Combat die and 1 additional Combat die for his mace Loot card. Each die with a value equal to or greater than the Monster's defense value does 1 damage.
If a group Combat is lost, the active Hero still takes the full damage and penalty dealt by the monster or boss, but non-active Heroes take only 1 damage each and no other penalty. Finally, bonuses given by Monsters can be distributed among players who took part in the battle on the tile.
Example: Max and Thomas are on the same tile and have just defeated a Monster with a +2 orb bonus for victory in battle. They may each take 1 orb or decide which of the two Heroes gets the 2 orbs.
Using Hero Unique Powers during Combat:
- If Klethor's Unique Power is unlocked, he can reroll his Combat dice by using his Powers even if he is not the active Hero.
- Xylia's second Unique Power lets her help the active Heroes even from one tile away. When she does, Xylia cannot lose or receive bonuses after the battle.
Groups of Monsters: If several Monsters are on the same tile, the active Hero must battle ALL of the monsters one by one, starting with the Monster with the lowest defense score (indicated on the Monster's shield). If several Monsters have the same defense value, the active player chooses which Monster to battle first.
- If a Monster is defeated in battle, it is discarded face up next to the Monster draw pile (unless it features the Spirit Monster icon, which tells players to shuffle the Monster back into the draw pile).
- If a Monster is not defeated in battle, it remains on its tile face up and recovers all its health for the next battle. In other words, damage dealt to monsters never carries over to future combat rounds. They must be killed in one fell swoop! In addition, the Monster does damage to and inflicts its penalty on the active Hero and a maximum of 1 damage to non-active Heroes (see Group Combat). After losing combat, a player may decide to either stay on the tile or retreat. If the player wishes to try fighting the Monster again on the same turn, they must use movement dice to leave the tile and reenter it to trigger Combat. However, if the player stays on the same tile, they will automatically begin Combat with the Monster (after rolling and allocating Hero dice) if it hasn't been defeated by the player's next turn.
Note: It is also possible to heal Heroes on a tile with a Monster after battling the Monster (even if the Monster wasn't defeated).
Retreat: If a Hero has move actions available upon encountering a Monster, they can leave a tile containing a Monster. Heroes cannot retreat from battles on the Boss tile. Heroes can retreat before a battle or after a battle. When a Hero retreats from a tile, they suffer all the attack damage and penalties of any monsters that still remain on the tile. Then, the Hero either moves to an already-placed adjacent tile or performs a High Risk Movement. If the Hero retreats after a lost battle, the Hero suffers the Monster's attack and penalty a second time.
Knocked Down Heroes and Losing the Game
When a Hero's HP reach 0, the meeple is immediately laid on its side, the Hero's status markers (Poison, Thorns, etc.) are discarded, and their turn is over. IF THE ENTIRE GROUP IS KNOCKED DOWN, THEY LOSE THE GAME. Knocked down Heroes still participate during Phase 1 and place a tile as normal. Knocked down Heroes are not considered active players otherwise.
Standing Heroes up:
- The Healing Potion card lets you give 2 HP back to a knocked down Hero and stand them up. You can use a Healing potion on any Hero on your tile but a knocked down Hero may not use one on themselves.
- Sha'Vi's 5+ special action Healing Aura does not let you stand up a knocked down Hero.
- Klethor's 5+ special action Protector's Haul can be used to move a knocked down Hero.
- Knocked Down Heroes on the Campfire tile recover all their HP at the beginning of their turn.
- First Aid: An active Hero can stand up another knocked down Hero during their turn. To do so, the active Hero must join the knocked down Hero on their tile and spend as many orbs as there are Heroes in play. The stood-up Hero puts their cube on 1 HP.
Example: Xylia is laying down after losing a battle in a 3-player game. Bethras can move to her tile and spend 3 orbs. Xylia gets up and puts her red cube on 1 HP.
Boss Battles
As soon as a Hero is on a tile with a Boss, they MUST battle the Boss. Watch out! Bosses are much tougher adversaries than Monsters and still must be defeated in a single combat!
Monster Guards: If one or more Monsters are present on the same tile as a Boss, they will protect the Boss by drawing the Heroes' attention. If there is a Monster present on the same tile as a Boss, the Monster MUST be attacked first before any Hero may attempt to damage the Boss that turn. The Monster does not need to be defeated before the Boss is attacked, but the Monster will remain on the tile until it is defeated. If a Hero is on a tile with multiple Monsters guarding a Boss, the hero must attack EACH monster at least once that turn before they may attempt to defeat the Boss.
Example: At the start of Phase 2, Klethor enters a tile on his turn to fight the Boss. There is a monster on the same tile, so it will guard the Boss. Klethor must try to defeat the Monster before he can attempt to defeat the Boss during his turn. Klethor rolls his combat dice to fight the Monster. Unfortunately, he does not do enough damage to kill the Monster and loses the battle. He suffers the monster's damage and penalties. However, because he has already attacked the monster and gotten past it for the turn, he can now engage the Boss in combat.
Reminder: Heroes cannot retreat from battles on the Boss tile, even battles with Monsters!
Bosses' profiles are similar to Monsters' profiles, with two main additions: a threat track and a combat skills area.
Threat Track
When a Boss card is revealed, immediately put a blue cube on the first space of the Boss's threat track to show the Boss's threat level. This threat level can increase in three ways:
- After each player's turn while the Boss is still alive, move the cube on the Boss's threat track one space to the right.
- After every round while the Boss is still alive, move the cube one space to the right on the threat track. For example, in a 3 player game, the threat level goes up once for each player's turn, and then again at the end of the round, so it will go up a total of 4 times per round.
- Some game effects also increase the Boss's threat level, see the list of all Combat skills below for more information.
Be careful! As soon as the blue cube on the threat track reaches the last available space, the game is lost!
Note: Ignore any chest icons shown on the Boss tile and Boss cards unless you are playing Campaign mode. The Boss protects these treasures and they are only available to Heroes who defeat the Boss and will be taking them into the next game.
Boss Combat Skills
Before each battle against a Boss, the active player must roll 1 die and apply the corresponding results described on the Boss's profile card.
Example: Xylia is the active Hero, she attacks the Boss and rolls a die to determine the Combat skill of the Boss before rolling her dice. Unfortunately, she doesn't defeat the Boss during her turn, even with the help of the other Heroes on the tile. The next active Hero is Bethras, he rolls the Combat skill die (changing the boss Combat skill for this turn) before rolling his own dice.
Below is a list of all Combat skills:
- Replace the Boss's shield with the indicated value for this turn.
- Each Hero on the tile immediately loses 1 HP.
- Each Hero on the tile rolls -1 Combat during this combat.
- Each Hero on the tile receives a Poison marker. Heroes with Poison lose -1 HP just before their phase 2.
- Each Hero on the tile must turn over a Loot card with the refresh icon. If that's not possible for a given Hero, nothing happens to them.
- Each Hero on the tile discards a Loot card. If that's not possible for a given Hero, nothing happens to them.
- Boss is immune to the Power die indicated for this turn.
- Boss is immune to all Power dice for this turn.
- Move the cube one space to the right on the threat track.
- Roll the die for Thorns, which applies to all Heroes on the tile. Roll a 2nd die if you have a Thorns marker. Only heroes with a Thorns marker suffer the second Thorns effect.
- Nothing happens.
- Lose the indicated number of orbs.
- Place 1 Shield Leaf marker on the Boss. Cancel the first attack that should inflict damage on the Boss and discard the shield. Several shield markers may be placed on the same Boss.
- Draw, reveal, and immediately fight a Monster, then continue your turn by attacking the Boss if you have any remaining.
- Every Hero participating in the battle loses 1 orb, and the threat track increases by 1 for each orb stolen this way.
If you manage to defeat the Boss in a single combat before any of the loss conditions occur, your team has overcome this foe, and you all win the game!
Variants and Expansions
Solo Games
To play Explorers of the Woodlands solo, use a two-Hero team. Rounds progress in the same way as in a two-player game.
Adjusting Difficulty
Before starting the game, players may decide to use the regular Thorns card, the Easy Thorns card, or the Difficult Thorns card. Note: The blank symbol on the Easy Thorns card indicates nothing happens.
Advanced Rules: Enraged Monsters
After you've played a few games, we recommend adding the Enraged Monsters card to your games. This card indicates the Enraged ability of each Monster, modifying the Monsters' abilities.
- Spirit Monsters: Enraged Spirit Monsters are put back into play immediately after they've been defeated the first time. They must be fought a second time right away. If the Monster is defeated again in the same turn, it is then discarded and not put back in the pile. If not, it will have to be defeated twice during the next time it is attacked!
- Snake Monsters: Enraged Snake Monsters poison every Hero on their tile that takes part in a battle against them, no matter how the battle ends.
- Skeleton Monsters: You cannot reroll Combat dice against Enraged Skeleton Monsters.
- Plant Monsters: Enraged Plant Monsters have a leaf shield. When this Monster appears on a tile, immediately put a Leaf Shield marker on the Monster's marker. The first time an attack on this Monster is successful, the Leaf Shield marker absorbs the damage and is destroyed.
- Mushroom Monsters: Enraged Mushroom Monsters always deal the damage shown on their sword icon, and deal it before the Hero rolls their combat dice, instead of after. They still only deal damage once per combat.
Enraged Monsters Easy Variant: If you want to lower the difficulty level with Enraged Monsters, apply the rule below. Each Monster has an Enraged ability that is only triggered if the Monster is on a tile with a Rune.
Advanced Rules: Enraged Bosses
After you've played a few games, we recommend adding the Enraged Bosses card to your games. This card indicates the Enraged ability of each Boss, modifying their abilities. If playing with the Enraged Bosses card, use this card instead of the threat tracker at the bottom of the Boss Cards.
- Aethera, Warden of Spirits: When this Boss's threat level reaches 5, add a Monster to the Boss's tile.
- Venomia, Sentinel of Snakes: This Boss now permanently has 4 health points. When this Boss's threat level reaches 5, the Heroes on the Boss's tile are poisoned if they weren't already.
- Grimnor, Guardian of Bones: This Boss's shield now has a +1 bonus. When this threat level reaches 5, add a Monster to the Boss's tile.
- Sylva, Keeper of Plants: This Boss now starts with a Leaf Shield marker on it (threat level 1), and gains another at threat level 5.
- Fungor, Lord of Mushrooms: This Boss now has permanently 4 health points. When this Boss's threat level reaches 5 and 8, this Boss does 1 damage to all Heroes taking part in the battle.
Mini-Expansion: Inn
Setup: If you want to play with the Inn mini-expansion, add the Inn tile to the tiles and then shuffle the 5 Inn cards and put them face down near the playing area to form the Inn draw pile.
Rules: When a Hero enters the Inn tile for the first time in the game, draw one Inn card at random, read it out loud, and then apply its effect. Only one Inn card can be drawn for a single Hero to encounter during the game. Note that during the attack of the Inn, the card remains in play until all Monsters on the Inn tile have been defeated.
Mini-Expansion: Lairs
Setup: If you want to play with the Lairs mini-expansion, shuffle the 4 Lair A cards and the 4 Lair B cards and put them face down near the playing area to form the 2 Lair draw piles.
Rules:
An active Hero located on a Lair tile may decide to enter a Lair for free during their turn. If one or more other Heroes are on the same Lair tile, they may join in and explore the Lair with the active Hero and roll their Combat dice to support the active player during combat as usual.
To enter a Lair, draw and reveal one Lair A card and read its introduction and its special rule. Then draw and reveal one Lair B card and put the two cards together to form the Lair.
- The A cards represent the Lair entrance and contain: (1) an Introduction; (2) a Special Rule that applies to the entire Lair (each Lair consists of an A card and a B card); (3) events from the dice roll results; (4) the first space on the progress track.
- The B cards represent the Lair's exit and contain: (5) events from the dice roll results; (6) the next spaces on the progress track; (7) the bonuses from the Lair earned by all the Heroes who explored the Lair; (8) the Lair penalty which only applies to all supporting Heroes if the active Hero is knocked down.
To complete a Lair, a minimum of 3 Events must be completed. For each Event, roll 1 die and put it on the corresponding space as a reminder (I, II or III, depending on how much progress you've made). Then consult the associated Event. Once the Event has been resolved:
- If this event was on card A, the player(s) move on to the card B.
- If it was successful: Roll the die again and repeat the operation until you've reached the end of the Progress track (III).
- If it was a failure (i.e. the active Hero was knocked down): Your adventure in this Lair ends immediately. Apply the penalties described on the B card to all other Heroes on the tile, if any. This Lair is no longer available.
- If all Monsters were defeated after a Combat, move onto the next Lair event after earning all bonuses from the defeated Monsters.
- Retreat is not possible in Lairs: If any Monster is still present after a combat, engage the battle again until you are either defeated or victorious!
Some Events indicate changes to the Progress track. When they do, move the die as indicated (which solves the event) and continue exploring the Lair.
Once you've finished exploring the Lair, apply the possible bonuses or penalties and then discard the cards making up the Lair. These cards are no longer available for the rest of the game. The tile stays in play and can still be entered, but the Lair itself can no longer be visited.
Campaign Mode
In addition to classic mode, you can play each of the five chapters below as stand-alone games or in campaign mode. See the setup of each chapter for more information. To play campaign mode, follow the rules below.
Moving from Chapter to Chapter: After successfully completing each chapter, discard your status markers. Unless otherwise specified, recover all your health points and reset your orbs to zero. If you've collected Loot cards, you can keep them or give them freely to the other Heroes. Any unique Powers that Heroes unlock are kept from one chapter to the next. We recommend keeping note of your progress.
If a chapter ends in defeat, you must reset your progress. Gather the starting equipment as it was when you started the chapter and discard one Loot card from each Hero. Then, start the chapter from the beginning. You must complete it successfully before moving on to the next chapter. If you fail again, repeat that process.
The Forest Awakens: After each successful chapter, count the number of Monsters of each type that you defeated in that chapter. The type of Monster that you defeated most often becomes Enraged for the rest of the campaign. If the most-defeated type of Monster is already Enraged, take one marker for each type of non-Enraged Monster, turn them over face down, and draw one at random. That type of Monster becomes Enraged for the rest of the campaign. Reminder: Spirit Monsters have the special permanent icon and therefore can only become Enraged after a random drawing.
New Action: Search. Several chapters in this campaign let you perform the Search action. If a Hero performs a Search action, turn over a Quest marker on their tile, take it, and put it face up on one of their 3 equipment slots. If necessary, discard a Loot card to free up a slot and take the marker. There is no limit on the number or type of Quest markers that a Hero can put in this equipment slot. If a player does not want to discard any of their equipment, or simply doesn't want to take a Quest marker, they can leave that Quest marker on the tile where it was found. It can then be picked up later by any Hero with an available equipment slot.
Chapter 1 – Mushrooms for the Elder
The forest has been changing for several weeks now. Creatures are becoming aggressive and balance seems lost. Even worse, the last time they went out gathering, the village elder and peddler were bitten by a snake. Their fevers aren't responding to any treatments. The healer needs a more powerful cure. You must set out with the utmost haste into the heart of the forest to find the necessary ingredients.
Goal of the Quest: Collect all the ingredients needed to concoct 2 antidotes for the village: 6 mushrooms in 3 different colors, and 2 empty vials.
Setup:
- Do not use the Lair, Peddler, Boss, Inn and Energy Well tiles in this chapter.
- Do not use the 2 Antidote cards in this chapter.
- Take the following 8 Quest markers, shuffle them, and put them face down in a draw pile: 6 Mushroom markers, 2 Empty Vial markers.
- The rest of the setup is the same as in classic mode.
Special Rules:
- On every revealed Forest tile containing a Rune, draw and place a Quest marker face down on the Rune space. Any Hero that moves onto this tile during their turn may perform a Search action to collect the marker there.
- The Concoct a Potion action can only be done on the Campfire tile. To perform this action, a Hero must end their move on the Campfire tile and discard the following items from their inventory: 3 different colored mushrooms, 1 empty vial, and 2 orbs. Once a potion has been concocted, put the ingredients away in the box.
- Monsters are watching you! As soon as the second potion has been concocted, draw 1 Monster marker plus 1 additional Monster marker for each Hero in the game. Put these markers on the Campfire tile. You cannot use the Campfire to recover your health points or concoct a potion if Monsters are present on the Campfire tile.
Defeat: The chapter ends in defeat if all the Heroes are knocked down at the same time. Victory: The chapter ends in victory once you've concocted the 2 potions and defeated all the Monsters on the Campfire tile.
Chapter 2 – Tree of Life (part 1)
The elder thanks you for saving his life and asks you to investigate to find out what evil is eating away at the forest. Grateful, the peddler offers to take you near a weakened energy well that he passed on his travels. After a few days' travel in his company, you must now continue on foot. You see a strange glow near a chestnut tree. An energy well has been damaged, most likely by a band of monsters. The tree of life is losing its lifeforce and you must stop the hemorrhage before it's too late. To begin, you'll need to collect all the orbs that have been removed from the well.
Goal of the Quest: Your group must revive the energy well by putting as many orbs as possible into it.
Setup:
- Do not use the Lair, Boss and Inn tiles in this chapter.
- Set aside the Energy Well and Vortex tiles before forming the Forest tile draw pile. Then shuffle them into the second half of the tile pile.
- Finally, shuffle and distribute the 4 Orb markers equally among the players. (Example with 3 players: Two players take 1 Orb marker and one player takes 2.)
Special Rules:
- Chased by Monsters: Every Hero that has at least 1 Orb marker is chased by the Monsters in play that are not carrying any. At the end of each round, all chasing Monsters move 1 tile closer to the nearest Hero carrying an Orb marker. If multiple chased Heroes are the same distance away, the next active player decides which Heroes the Monsters chase.
- Tensions Rise: As soon as the Energy Well tile is revealed, the Monsters tracking Heroes move 2 tiles (instead of 1) closer to the nearest Hero at the end of each round.
- Lost Battle: If you lose a battle while you have at least 1 Orb marker, the Monster you fought automatically gets it. Put the Orb marker on the Monster. If you have several Orb markers, you only lose 1 for each Battle lost. Each Monster may receive several Orb markers.
- Orb Thieves: At the end of each round, the Monsters carrying lost Orb markers move 2 tiles closer to the Start tile. If a Monster with an Orb marker happens to move onto the Vortex tile, it stops there and then teleports to the Start tile at the end of the next round. If a Monster with an Orb marker begins its move on the Start tile, that Orb marker is lost and discarded! Warning! If all 4 Orb markers are lost, you lose the game! After defeating a Monster that has an Orb marker, you automatically get the Orb marker.
Defeat: The chapter ends in defeat if all the Heroes are knocked down at the same time or if the 4 Orb markers are lost!
Victory: All the Heroes must meet on the Energy Well tile with enough orbs among them, according to the number of players as shown below. The Orb markers still in your possession are added to any collected during this chapter. Amount of orbs needed for victory: 2 players: 15 / 3 players: 16 / 4 players: 18. Once you reach the Energy well with at least the number of orbs required, all players immediately discard the needed orbs and win! Orbs remaining after this may be kept.
Campaign Mode: If you claimed victory in this chapter, read the introduction to the next chapter but do not reset your HP and number of orbs!
Chapter 3 – Tree of Life (part 2)
Now that the orbs are in the well, you need to defend it while the village artisans make the necessary repairs. You're going to have to dig deep because you can already hear monsters – most likely the very same monsters that damaged the well – heading your way.
Goal of the Quest: You must defend the energy well from constant attacks by monsters in the area. You must defeat 1 Boss and a total of 10 Monsters with 2 players, 12 with 3 players, or 15 with 4 players. Spirit Monsters do not count toward victory.
Setup:
- Important: All the Heroes start on the Energy Well tile.
- Campaign Mode: The Heroes recover only 1 health point each and can keep the orbs they got in the previous chapter.
- Lay out the 11 Forest tiles as shown. Then put each Hero on the Energy Well tile. Finally, put the corresponding markers face down on each icon. You will need to place 1 Boss marker, 3 Event markers and 7 Monster markers (do not put any Monster or Event marker on the Energy Well tile).
Special Rules:
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The game begins with the Adventure phase (there is no Forest Growth phase in this chapter).
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Players do not add Forest tiles during this chapter.
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In this chapter, the Energy Well tile's usual effect does not apply.
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Retreat is not possible when 2 or more enemies are on the same tile.
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Monster Spawns and Movements: At the end of each round, consult the table below and apply the effects.
- Round 1: The Monsters advance 1 tile toward the Energy Well.
- Round 2: The Monsters advance 2 tiles toward the Energy Well.
- Round 3: Put 2 Monsters on each tile containing a Rune.
- Round 4: The Monsters advance 2 tiles toward the Energy Well.
- Round 5: Put 1 Boss card on the Boss tile if there isn't one there already and reveal it. Note: If any Hero enters the Boss tile before Round 5, draw and reveal one Boss card then place a blue cube on the first spot of the Threat as usual.
- Round 6: Put 1 Monster on each tile containing a Rune.
- Round 7: The Monsters advance 1 tile toward the Energy Well.
- Rounds 8+: The Monsters advance 1 tile toward the Energy Well. Then put 1 Monster on each tile containing a Rune.
Note: When a moving Monster encounters a Hero, that Monster stops on that tile.
Defeat: The chapter ends in defeat if all the Heroes are knocked down at the same time or if at least 1 Monster marker is on the Energy Well tile at the end of a round. Victory: The chapter ends in victory when you've defeated at least 1 Boss and the number of Monsters indicated at the start of the quest.
Chapter 4 – Footsteps in the Night
Night begins to fall. Exhausted by the recent events, you decide to set up camp at the foot of a majestic pine tree. Alerted by worrying noises, you decide to take refuge in its lofty arms and sleep on its branches. And a wise decision it was! At dawn, you discover that your bivouac has been ransacked. The good news is that you are all safe and sound. The bad news is that your equipment has been stolen. Luckily, you can see the campsites of those who robbed you from your lofty perch in the tree. The next few hours are going to be interesting, to say the least!
Goal of the Quest: You must go to at least 3 of the enemy campsites and recover your equipment.
Setup:
- Important: The players start on the Campfire tile.
- Lay out the 15 Forest tiles as shown, then take the Campsite markers and place them as indicated. Finally, put the corresponding markers face down on each icon. You will need to place 11 Monsters, 3 Events and 1 Boss.
- Campaign Mode: Shuffle together all the players' Loot cards from the previous chapter and deal them face down into 4 piles (draw extra Loot cards if needed to form 4 piles).
- Single Non-campaign Game: Draw 2 Loot cards and 1 additional Loot card per player. Shuffle them together and put them face down in 4 equal piles next to the playing area. (Example with 3 Players: You draw a total of 5 Loot cards (2+3) and make three 1-card piles and one 2-card pile.)
Special Rules:
- Players do not add Forest tiles during the Forest Growth and Adventure phases.
- In this chapter, the Vortex tile's usual effect does not apply.
- Campsite Markers:
- When you reach a tile with a face-down Campsite marker, battle any Monsters that are present. After defeating all the Monsters on this tile, turn the Campsite marker over face up, apply its effect (see below), then add and battle the Monsters added to your location by the Campsite Token.
- In addition to adding enemies, each campsite has its own unique element:
- When you enter this campsite, you hear the sound of a horn. All enemies 3 tiles or less away from the campsite immediately move to the campsite!
- When you enter this campsite, it is practically deserted. You see the calcified remains of your equipment. Only one item survived the flames. Discard cards randomly from the chosen pile until only one card remains. Note: You must choose a pile with more than one card in it if possible.
- When you enter this campsite, you don't have time to stop the sentinel from fleeing. The enemy now knows your intentions. Put one +1 Shield marker on a tile containing a campsite that hasn't yet been revealed in the game. When a +1 Shield marker is present on a tile, all enemies on that tile gain a +1 Shield bonus. If that's not possible, put the marker on this campsite.
- When you enter this campsite, you set off a trap and nearly rip off a limb. The active Hero loses 2 HP and puts a Thorns marker on their board!
- Stealing from Thieves: After eliminating all the Monsters on a tile containing a campsite, including those spawned by the campsite marker, the active player takes one of the piles of Loot cards prepared during setup, recovers the cards and equips them.
Defeat: The chapter ends in defeat if all the Heroes are knocked down at the same time. Victory: At least 3 tiles with a revealed Campsite marker contain zero Monsters at the same time. Once you've achieved victory, you can now either play on to try to empty the 4th Campsite or end the chapter immediately.
Campaign Mode: If the fourth campsite hasn't been emptied, discard the last pile of Loot cards prepared during setup. Your equipment is in the monsters' hands now!
Chapter 5 – Corruption
After your last (mis)adventure, your group's morale is low but you trudge on. After only two days' march, you reach your destination. You know you've arrived – not because of your compass, but because the vegetation all around you is giving off a worrying glow. Everything seems to have been corrupted by a crystal shimmering behind a thicket. You sense it's time for the final battle to restore balance in the forest. The most important battle – and the most difficult one of all…
Goal of the Quest: Activate 4 purification totems to cleanse the forest of the spreading corruption.
Setup:
- Prepare 10 Corruption markers and place the three starting tiles as shown. Put a Corruption marker on the right-hand tile. The remaining 9 markers form the Corruption reserve.
- Campaign Mode: If you decided to take the time to search all 4 campsites during the previous chapter, this chapter starts at a Corruption level of 2 instead of 1 at the end of the first Adventure phase (see Number of Corrupted Forest Tiles).
Special Rules:
- Corruption Spreads: After each round, the corruption spreads. Wherever there is a Corruption marker, place new markers on all adjacent tiles connected by a path that do not have a marker yet AND on empty adjacent spaces where an open path exists. Tiles placed on these corrupted empty spaces following a Forest Growth phase or a High Risk Movement will automatically gain the Corruption marker there.
- Only 1 Corruption marker can be placed on each Forest tile.
- When corruption spreads to a tile with a Chest marker, the Chest marker is discarded.
- When corruption spreads to a tile with a Boss, the Boss is immediately revealed and the Boss's threat track is activated.
- Activate a Purification Totem: To activate a purification totem, you must summon your Power die while on a Forest tile containing the matching totem (represented by a Rune of the same color as the one on your Hero board) and put the die on the totem. Warning! After this, the Power die will not be available until the end of the game!
- Last-Ditch Summoning: A purification totem can be activated by a Hero summoning a Power die of a different color than the totem on their tile. If you have at least 1 orb, summon a Power die as usual by putting 2 Hero dice on your player board and discard all your orbs to be able to choose the color of the summoned Power die.
- Purification: There are two ways to remove a Corruption marker in play. Every time a Purification Totem is activated or a Boss is defeated, you can choose 1 Corruption marker to discard from a Forest tile. If you do so, put it back in the Corruption marker reserve. You cannot purify the Double Cul-de-Sac tile and you cannot add any tile to the right side of this tile.
- Corruption Markers: When a Hero moves onto or is located on a tile with a Corruption marker, see the table below to know its effect based on the total number of corrupted Forest tiles.
- 1-3 corrupted Forest tiles: Heroes on the tile — no effect. Enemies on the tile — +1 shield.
- 4-8 corrupted Forest tiles: Heroes on the tile — -1 Movement. Enemies on the tile — +1 shield and additional effect.
- 9 corrupted Forest tiles: Heroes on the tile — discard 1 Loot card when entering the tile; if you don't have any, the Hero is knocked down! Enemies on the tile — +1 Monster appears on the tile.
- 10+ corrupted Forest tiles: The game is lost.
Defeat: Just like in classic mode, the game is lost if a Boss's threat level reaches its maximum. The game is also lost if the corruption can no longer spread (i.e. the Corruption marker reserve is empty). Victory: This chapter ends in a victory as soon as the following two conditions are met simultaneously: the 4 Power dice are placed on their respective totems, and no bosses remain in the forest. There may be more than one in this level, and they must all be defeated.
Once you've successfully completed this chapter, you've finished the campaign. Congratulations!
Reminders
- Every Hero has 1 free Combat die for every battle.
- The active Hero always starts by battling the Monster with the lowest defense score.
- Non-active players who are on the same tile as the active player roll their Combat dice to support the active player.
- Non-active Heroes who are on the same tile as the active Hero can only take a maximum of 1 damage each.
- Bonuses given by Monsters (and Bosses in campaign mode) can be distributed among players who took part in the battle on the tile.
- Heroes cannot retreat from battles on the Boss tile.
- The threat level can increase in three ways: after each player's turn while the Boss is still alive; after every round while the Boss is still alive; and some game effects also increase the Boss's threat level.
- As soon as the blue cube on the threat track reaches the last available space, the game is lost!