Fearsome Wilderness Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Set Up
• Object of the Game
  • One-shot Mode
  • Campaign Mode
• A Note on Planting Trees
• Game Phase Overview
  • Day
  • Night
• Day Phase Details
  • 1. Progress the day tracker forward
  • 2. Flip over any facedown newly planted tree cards
  • 3. Eat food
  • 4. Drink water
  • 5. Plant trees (costs 3 water, max 1 tree per hero)
  • 6. Move up to 2 spaces
  • 7. Roll dice with 2 rerolls
  • 8. Remove any damage tokens from trees or critters
  • 9. Flip the day card and begin the night
  • Carrying Items
  • Cube Tokens
• Night Phase Details
  • 1. Resolve overnight effects
  • 2. Have nightmares
  • 3. Move critters
  • 4. Place new critters
  • 5. Roll for well critters
  • 6. Flip this card and begin the next day
• Anatomy of the Cards
  • Critter Cards
  • Tree Cards
  • Condition Cards
  • Broken and Mutated Conditions
• Folk Hero Dice
• Critter Dice
• Dice Actions
  • 1. Collect food
  • 2. Collect water
  • 3. Fell a tree
  • 4. Defeat a critter
  • 5. Calm yourself and remove conditions
  • Wilderness Accidents
• Character Abilities
• Character Upgrades
• Winter Rules
• Things to Remember
• End of Scenario Tasks
• Example First Day
• Example of Combat
• Optional Play Styles
  • For Hobbyists
  • For Horror Fans
  • For Role Players
  • Spruce Up Your Game
• Campaign Mode: Twelve Weeks til Winter
• End of Campaign Scoring
• Twelve Weeks til Winter: 1. The First Week
• Nightmares
  • Nightmare Overview
  • Agropelter
  • Axehandle Hound
  • Ball-Tailed Cat
  • Cactus Cat
  • Dingmaul
  • Dungavenhooter
• Icon Reference
• Rules FAQ (Publisher Errata)

Components

• 1 Dual-sided folding game board
• Additional smaller board used for specific scenarios
• 12 wooden dice: 6 Folk Hero Dice and 6 Critter Dice
• 50 wood cubes
• Critter Deck, Tree Deck, and Folk Hero Deck (set aside until instructed)
• 4 Day/Night cards
• 4 Food/Water cards
• 1 Mason Jar token
• 1 Baby Critter token
• 6 Stone Pile tokens
• 14 Wood Pile tokens
• Hardcover rulebook
• Folk hero journal
• 4 folk hero cards and miniatures
• 1 Day tracker card
• 1 Well miniature

Set Up

1. Place the board on the table and give each player a folk hero card and day/night card.
2. Give each folk hero a food/water card and place 2 cube tokens on the food section.
3. Shuffle the Tree and Critter decks and place them next to the board.
4. Place the Conditions from the Folk Hero deck next to the other decks. You may choose to alphabetize.
5. Designate space for a discard pile for the Tree and Critter decks.
6. Place all remaining tokens off to the side next to the board but where it's easy to access.
7. Place the day tracker card near the board and set a wood cube next to the card. You will start on Monday.
8. For your first game, you will need to read the scenario "The first week", Page 23 in the rulebook.
9. Populate the board with Trees, Critters, and the Well as instructed by the scenario.
10. Give any starting conditions listed in the scenario to the specified folk heroes.
11. Look at the day/night helper card and begin the day.

Note: the trial copy's page references in this set-up list (for example "Page 23" for the scenario) are printed as they appear in the source. The scenario is actually on page 37 of this copy.

Object of the Game

In Fearsome Wilderness, 1 to 4 players, working together, control 4 folk heroes who are trying to survive the wilderness and accomplish different goals each week.

Each player may select any number of folk heroes to control, but typically in a 4 player game, each player controls 1 folk hero. You always use all 4 folk heroes.

• One-shot Mode: Play with the basic rules and attempt to gather 5 log tokens in 1 week. If this seems too easy, attempt to gather 8. If you are a maniac, gather 12.
• Twelve Weeks til Winter Campaign Mode: This mode consists of multiple gaming sessions with specific goals for each session. Each session represents one week as you tell the story of how these folk heroes survived (or perished) during the first 12 weeks before winter and beyond. It is designed so that the campaign will last at least 12 sessions and no more than 24.

The folk heroes' ultimate task is to construct a fully furnished log cabin so they may live out their days in peace and minimilism. Once constructed, a modest cabin will provide the meager comforts of shelter from winter and protection from fearsome critters.

One-shot Mode

Goal: gather 5 log tokens and bring them to the space with the lake. You need these resources to survive the wilderness.

The game ends in a success when 5 log tokens are on the space with the lake.

You fail if you cannot complete the goal within the week.

Try for more log tokens to increase the difficulty.

The One-shot game mode's goal, set up, and rules are identical to the first game session of the Twelve Weeks til Winter campaign called "The first week". Details of the campaign are on page 37. You may choose to remove all starting conditions if you want an easier first session.

Campaign Mode

Read page 34 and begin the Twelve Weeks til Winter.

A Note on Planting Trees

The forest trees have strange habits and it seems connected to the native water. After watering a newly planted seed, it grows to full size the next day but not all seeds turn into trees that provide usable lumber, and some induce nightmares at night.

Upon further inspection of the existing trees, they are rotten and unusable. Luckily, newly planted trees are yet to show signs of decay.

Also note that the land can only support a limited number of trees on each space. The space at the lake edge cannot have trees planted on it; the next spaces inland allow 1, 2, 3, and then 4 trees maximum (see the Tree limits diagram on page 11 of the trial copy: "Cannot plant trees on this space", "1 Tree Max", "2 Trees Max", "3 Trees Max", "4 Trees Max").

Game Phase Overview

Day

1. Progress the day tracker forward one day.
2. Flip over any facedown newly planted tree cards.
3. Eat food - first spend 1 food token or take 1 damage, then remove 1 damage for every 2 additional food you consume. You can only heal a maximum of 3 points each day.
4. Drink water - consume 1 water token or take 1 damage. This is not required when on a space with the lake or the well.
5. Plant trees - (optional) spend 3 water to plant 1 tree on your current space. Each hero can plant a maximum of 1 tree each day.
6. Move up to 2 spaces.
7. Roll dice with 2 rerolls.
8. Remove any damage tokens on tree or critter cards.
9. Flip the day card and begin the night.

Night

1. Resolve Overnight Effects - for each critter on a space with one or more heroes, nominate one of those heroes and resolve the Overnight Effects.
2. Have nightmares - for each critter or tree that gives nightmares on a space with one or more heroes, nominate one of those heroes, draw a random critter card, and then find its nightmare in the rulebook and perform that nightmare.
3. Move critters - critters move one space toward the closest folk hero, unless otherwise specified. Players decide which direction it moves.
4. Place new critters - place 2 random critters in the space with the darkness unless otherwise specified.
5. Roll for well critters - roll a folk hero die. If the result is a critter paw print icon, place a random critter at the well.
6. Flip this card and begin the next day.

Day Phase Details

1. Progress the day tracker forward

Each game takes place over the course of one week in the lives of the folk heroes. After each night phase, you will advance the token on the day tracker one day. When you finish the night phase on Sunday, the scenario is over and time has run out. Page 23 details what to do at the end of the scenario and how to calculate your scores.

(The printed cross-reference "Page 23" is kept as printed. The end-of-scenario tasks are on page 29 of this copy and the scoring is on page 35.)

2. Flip over any facedown newly planted tree cards

The existing trees around you have rotted and are unusable. The land has strange properties which makes seeds grow into mature trees overnight. Players can only flip over trees that were planted the previous day in step 5 below. Trees planted the previous day will be face down on the table and ready to reveal. New trees are only sometimes usable and each have different felling requirements and number of tokens they yield. Each tree cards has 2 icons on the bottom and are explained on page 15.

3. Eat food

Consume 1 food (or take 1 damage). Then remove 1 damage for every 2 additional food you consume. Each folk hero may heal a maximum of 3 damage each day.

You must eat to survive. You may also need food to heal damage on your folk hero. During this step, each hero must spend one food cube token or else they must place a damage cube token on their folk hero card to track damage. Cube tokens are explained on page 15.

Once a player has damage equal to their maximum health, they read and resolve their character's "Upon Death" trait.

You may share food and water tokens with other players anytime you are on the same space. This will be helpful and it's often smart to distribute food and water before splitting up.

Once you have spent a food or taken damage at the start of step 3, you can then choose to spend additional food tokens. For every 2 additional food you spend, you can heal 1 damage and remove the damage token from your folk hero card. Each folk hero may heal a maximum of 3 damage during this step.

4. Drink water

Consume 1 water (or take 1 damage). This is not required when on a space with the lake or the well.

You must drink water to survive. This step is the same as 'step 3 eat food' except that you do not heal damage by spending water. When players are on a space on the game board with either the lake or the well, they can skip this step.

5. Plant trees (costs 3 water, max 1 tree per hero)

During this step, heroes may plant trees. Each hero can plant 1 tree during this phase. Each space has a limit to the number of trees it can have on it (see page 11). To plant a tree, spend 3 water (or 2 if you are Johnny) and draw a random tree card from the top of the tree deck. Then place it face down on the space your hero is on. Don't flip the tree card over until tomorrow.

6. Move up to 2 spaces

The folk heroes now all head out for the day. Each hero decides where they want to move, remembering their maximum movement noted on their character card and taking into account any conditions they have that may affect movement. Heroes move one at a time in an order decided by players. Take care to contemplate keeping the party together or splitting up to cover more ground.

7. Roll dice with 2 rerolls

During this step, heroes roll dice one at a time in an order decided by players. See page 19 for detailed explanation of what actions are available. To take actions, first roll all 6 folk hero dice. You can then re-roll any or none of your dice. Finally, you can then re-roll any or none of your dice one last time. Between rolls, decide which dice to keep and which to re-roll. Be careful not to end with a skull icon facing up, as that represents a wilderness accident and you will have to place a damage token on your hero card for each skull icon shown.

(The printed cross-reference "page 19" is kept as printed. The folk hero dice actions are on pages 22 and 24-25 of this copy.)

8. Remove any damage tokens from trees or critters

Each day's actions do not carry over to the next day, they are abstract representations of your efforts. If you do not fulfill requirements to fell a tree or defeat a critter, remove all damage (wood cubes) during this step. Critters and trees fully heal overnight.

9. Flip the day card and begin the night

Carrying Items

Paul, Jane, and Johnny can each carry 1 heavy item like a log token, stone token, or other carry-able resources. Babe can carry 2. Folk heroes and critters are also considered a heavy item when applicable.

If a folk hero is on a space with a log token or resource token, they may carry that item with them to a new space that they move through or end on.

You may drop off items in the middle of your movement turn if you so choose.

If you die or get dragged to another space, the items stay on the space you were previously on.

Cube Tokens

The base game includes 50 wooden cubes to be used for tracking various aspects of the game.

Wood tokens may be placed on:

• the Food/Water card to track those resources.
• a folk hero, critter, or tree card to represent damage.
• the game board to represent log tokens.
• the day tracker card to keep track of what day it is.

Wood cubes can also be used for any other miscellaneous tasks or items you need to track.

Night Phase Details

1. Resolve overnight effects

For each critter on a space with a folk hero, resolve the critter's Overnight effects. Each critter attacks one hero who is nominated by the party.

At the start of the night phase, for any critters on the board, look to see if one or more heroes are on the same space. Overnight effects are only triggered when at least one hero is on the same space as the critter. Next read the text explaining the overnight effects of the critter. Players should discuss and nominate a folk hero to take the effect.

Each critter's overnight effects only affect 1 hero unless otherwise specified. Thematically, you can envision heroes taking watch in shifts. Do not give a hero a second overnight effect until all heroes on the space have already taken one. If the players cannot agree on which hero to nominate, use dice or some random means of deciding.

2. Have nightmares

For each critter or tree that gives nightmares on a space with one or more heroes, nominate one of those heroes, draw a random critter card, and then find its nightmare in the rulebook and perform that nightmare.

During this step, the horrors of the wilderness may infiltrate your dreams. If a hero is on a space with a critter or tree card that has text stating "Gives Nightmares" the group must nominate one player to have a nightmare.

For each critter or tree that gives nightmares, only resolve the nightmare one time on 1 folk hero. Thematically it makes sense to give nightmares to players who did not "take watch" and endure overnight effects in the previous step but it is up to the players to decide however they want.

To have a nightmare, players will draw random 1 critter card from the top of the critter deck. Players will then open the rulebook and navigate to the corresponding critter's nightmare page. Read the nightmare aloud pausing when it says "Roll to wake up". We recommend having a player other than the one experiencing the nightmare do the reading.

When it says "Roll to wake up", the player experiencing the nightmare will roll 1 folk hero die.

• If the die face shows a leaf, wake up and resolve the effects stated in the nightmare.
• If the die face shows a skull, wake up, and resolve the effects stated in the nightmare, and take 1 damage.
• Otherwise, keep reading the nightmare.

Place the critter card in its discard pile when your nightmare is finished.

3. Move critters

Critters move one space toward the heroes unless otherwise noted on the card. Note that some critters move more than 1 space and some are "slow".

Do not move if they are on a space already occupied by a folk hero.

Slow critters in the middle of a space, move to the edge. Slow critters on the edge of a space, move onto the next space. If a critter is on the edge and would reverse the direction of its movement, move it back to the opposite edge of the space but not onto the adjacent space.

If a critter is equi-distant to more than 1 hero, the group decides together which direction to move the critter or decides randomly if they cannot agree.

There is no limit to the number of critters that can occupy a space.

4. Place new critters

Place 2 random critters in the space with the darkness unless otherwise specified.

More critters emerge from the darkness. Draw two new critters from the top of the critter deck and place them on the space with the creeping darkness unless otherwise specified. For example, some critters' text states "starts at the lake" in which case it would be placed on the space with the lake and beach.

5. Roll for well critters

Roll a folk hero die. If the result is a critter paw icon, draw a card from the top of the critter deck and place it on the space with the well.

The well is creepy and there's always a chance a critter could climb out of it and emerge into the wilderness.

If there is no well on the board, skip this step.

6. Flip this card and begin the next day

Anatomy of the Cards

Critter Cards

• Name of the critter.
• Overnight Effects: Critters usually have "Overnight Effects" that trigger if you are on a space with that critter during the night phase. See page 17.
• Flavor text: Each card has flavor text with fun facts and horrific descriptions. The flavor text is mostly for immersion but it may relate to certain Condition cards. For example, the Bleeding Ears condition makes you immune to attacks from critters whose flavor text mentions a noise or scream.
• Paw print icon (bottom left): Designates what is required to defeat the critter (the number of paw prints).
• Critter Dice icon (bottom center): Determines the number of Critter Dice needed to roll when required. Each critter has a different number of scratches on its icon. This is only on Critter cards.
• Resource icon (bottom right): This icon determines what resource and how many of them are gained after defeating a critter. Defeating a critter often yields food tokens.

Tree Cards

• Name of the tree.
• Tree details: Some scenarios in the campaign will require trees that meet certain requirements. Trees are either Hardwood or Softwood. Each have a different insulation value measured as R-value per inch. Each tree also has a low, moderate, or high level of resistance to decay.
• Flavor text: Each card has flavor text with fun facts and horrific descriptions.
• Axe icon (bottom left): Designates what is required to fell a tree. This will tell you how many axes you need to roll to successfully fell the tree.
• Pine cone icon (bottom center): Trees do not require critter dice to be rolled so this pine cone icon is purely decorative.
• Resource icon (bottom right): This icon determines what resource and how many of them are gained after felling a tree. Felling a tree usually yields log tokens.

Condition Cards

• Name of the condition.
• Physical or mental: States whether it's a physical or mental condition.
• Leaf requirement: Determines the number of Leaf Icons you must roll to remove the condition. Removing conditions is optional and when you remove them, you place them back in the Conditions Deck.
• Effect text: This text states the effects of the condition. Sometimes it's a positive effect, but more often it's negative.
• "Gives Nightmares": Some tree and critter cards will state "Gives Nightmares" and will require a folk hero to experience a nightmare and roll dice in attempts to wake up. See page 17.

Broken and Mutated Conditions

When you take a Broken or Mutated condition card roll a Folk Hero Die and place a wood cube on the associated icon to reflect that your folk hero has this condition. Each icon has a different effect.

Determines the number of Leaf Icons you must roll to remove each broken bone or mutation. Each cube on your card is a different bone or mutation.

Folk Hero Dice

During the "Roll Dice" step of the Day Phase, everyone takes their actions for the day. See page 24 for detailed explanation of each action. To take actions, first roll all 6 folk hero dice. You can then re-roll any or none of your dice. Finally, you can then re-roll any or none of your dice one last time. Between rolls, decide which dice to keep and which to re-roll. Below details what each icon is used for.

• Axe: used when attempting to fell trees.
• Critter Paw Print: used when attempting to attack critters.
• Leaf: used when attempting to calm oneself.
• Water Canteen: used to gather water. Gain 1 water token for each icon showing.
• Campfire Food: used to gather food. Gain 1 food token for each icon showing.
• Skull: this represents a wilderness accident, take 1 damage to your folk hero.

Critter Dice

When attacking a critter or resolving overnight effects, you will often roll Critter Dice to represent damage dealt to the folk heroes from critters. When required, roll as many dice as instructed by the critter card (check the icon on the bottom center of the card) and resolve the below effects for any pairs of icons showing. No rerolls.

• Broken bone: take the Broken condition.
• Antlers: take the Mutated condition.
• 1 scratch: take 1 damage.
• 2 scratch: take 2 damage.
• 3 scratch: take 3 damage.
• X: cancel all critter dice effects this roll.

* If you roll two of a kind, resolve the effect. If you roll two of a kind more than once, resolve each pair independently.

Dice Actions

When rolling Folk Hero Dice, you may attempt any of these 6 actions. (The printed text says "5 actions" but lists six numbered actions, 1 through 6; all six are transcribed.)

1. Collect food

For each food icon showing, collect 1 food token. Wood cubes are used as tokens.

2. Collect water

For each water drop icon, collect 1 water token. Wood cubes are used as tokens.

3. Fell a tree

You may attempt to fell a tree if there is a tree on your space.

To do so count the number of axe icons shown on your dice when you have finished rolling. Each axe icon is worth 1 damage. If you add damage to a tree equal to the number required on the tree card, you may spend that many dice to remove the tree and gain as many log tokens as the card indicates. If you do not roll enough axes to fell the tree, you may place damage (wood cubes) on tree cards so that other players may finish felling the tree on their turn. Damage (wood cubes) stay on the card until the end of the day.

Place any gained log tokens on the space your folk hero standee occupies.

You may then attempt to fell additional trees if you have remaining unspent axe dice.

4. Defeat a critter

You may attempt to defeat a critter if there is a critter on your space (Example of combat on page 31).

To do so count the number of paw print icons shown on your dice when you have finished rolling. Each paw print icon is worth 1 damage. If you add damage to a critter equal to the number required on the critter card, you may spend that many dice to remove the critter and gain as many resource tokens as the card indicates (usually food). If you do not roll enough paw prints to defeat the critter, you may place damage (wood cubes) on critter cards so that other players may continue attacking the critter on their turn. Damage (wood cubes) stay on the card until the end of the day.

You may then attempt to defeat additional critters if you have remaining unspent paw print dice.

Whenever you attack a critter you must roll Critter Dice. Roll the number of critter dice noted on the critter card and resolve the effect on a folk hero for any pairs rolled. You are only resolving effects below if you roll two of a kind of any dice icons.

Critter Dice:

• 1 damage
• 2 damage
• 3 damage
• take broken bones condition
• take mutated condition
• cancel all dice effects for this roll, it represents the hero blocking or dodging the damage

5. Calm yourself and remove conditions

Rest is important for your body and mind. You may take a break and attempt to calm and heal yourself by taking in some nature.

To do so count the number of leaf icons showing on the dice, if that number equals the required number noted on the condition card, you may spend that many dice to remove the condition.

You may then attempt to remove additional conditions if you have remaining unspent leaf icons.

* Leaf icons are also used to obtain character upgrades starting at scenario 6 and beyond.

Wilderness Accidents

If you roll a skull icon, this represents a wilderness accident. Felling trees, foraging for food and water, and wrangling critters is dangerous work. Take 1 damage for each skull icon showing after all rerolls take place.

Character Abilities

Each folk hero has a unique special ability and condition cards can also give the heroes some abilities. Two common examples are Paul's +1 to Fell and the Provoked Condition's +1 to Attack.

• Paul: adds 1 axe to his total each time he is felling a tree. Each time Paul is felling a tree, he can add 1 damage to that tree. So if Paul rolled 2 axe symbols, he could fell 1 tree that requires 3 axes or 2 trees that require 2 axes. When attempting to fell trees, Paul must roll at least 1 axe icon to apply the bonus effects.
• Babe: can carry up to two items.
• Jane: can attack an adjacent space.
• Johnny: can plant a tree with 2 water instead of 3.

Each folk hero also has their own "Upon Death" text. When your folk hero has damage tokens on its card equal to its max health, that folk hero has died. When you die, read and resolve your folk hero's "upon death" text. Even though you are immortal, dying and regenerating is still very bad and will cost you precious time. When you die this lost time will make accomplishing your goals for the week much more difficult.

(The "Upon Death" text is printed on each character card, which is not part of this trial copy's text.)

This same concept applies to any condition that gives +1 to attack. When provoked, each critter you attack, you deal 1 additional damage on that critter. For example, Provoked adds +1 to your attack. So a player with Provoked who rolls 4 paw print icons on their dice could defeat two critters who each require 3 paw prints. This is because they add +1 to each attack. This also applies to players with a bonus to felling trees. If you have an ability or condition that adds damage to your attack, add that damage to each attack. You may only add bonus damage to an attack if you have rolled at least one paw print (or axe, when felling trees).

Character Upgrades

Starting with the 6th Scenario: Ominous Quaking, players have become better acquainted with the wilderness and are allowed to choose 1 upgrade card at the beginning of each scenario.

In addition to this, during the dice rolling step of each day, heroes may spend 3 leaf icons from their dice rolls to gain 1 upgrade condition card.

Leaf icons represent players spending time preparing which gives them the choice of 1 upgrade condition for each 3 leaf icons. Remember this takes you away from other important activities.

Winter Rules

During the course of the Twelve Weeks til Winter campaign, you will have highs and lows. This is normal and you must learn from your failures. When you accomplish your goal for the week, you move to the next scenario. However if you fail, all 4 folk heroes gain the Provoked condition for your next attempt, but you must try the scenario once more before the forest takes pity and provides what you need allowing you to progress to the next scenario.

Regardless of whether you succeed or fail your weekly goal, mark the outcome in your Folk Hero Journal.

When 12 weeks have passed, it is now winter.

• Winter is harsh, for each damage token your folk hero takes, roll a folk hero die and if it's a skull or critter paw, take 1 additional damage.
• Food is scarce. You must roll 2 food tokens to gain 1.
• Snow is everywhere, melt it and it's water. You can now use food tokens for water.
• You no longer benefit from your Canoe when it's noted in the Additional Rules section of the scenario.

Things to Remember

• The Tree and Critter card decks are shuffled at the start of the scenario and the cards from these decks are discarded next to their deck when they are removed from the board.
• Condition cards are never drawn randomly and always are searched instead of drawn from the top. For this reason, it can help to alphabetize the cards if you so choose.
• Each hero can plant 1 tree per day.
• If you are on the space with the lake or the well, you do not take damage and there is no penalty for not consuming water.
• Consuming food or water is optional but you will have to take the required damage if you choose not to eat or drink.
• If you have damage equaling your health, read your character card and resolve the upon death effects.
• If you are instructed to take a specific condition, search the condition deck and take the specified condition. If the specified condition is no longer in the deck, take it from the player who has it.
• If you already have a condition, do nothing when asked to take it again.
• Critters always move toward the nearest folk hero and do not move if they are on a space already occupied by a hero.
• Spaces have a limit on the maximum number of trees you can place. There is no limit to the number of critters that a space can accommodate.
• Folk heroes can help each other but they take their action turns one at a time. Each hero rolls their dice and when finished with all their re-rolls, they decide what actions to take.
• When attacking a critter or cutting down a tree, place damage markers on the tree or critter card so that heroes who have yet to make their dice rolling actions can add damage to what's already been dealt. Damage tokens are removed at the end of the day phase though.
• Heroes can carry 1 heavy item like a log token, stone, or other carry-able resources by default, except for Babe who can carry 2. These same rules apply to carrying humans and critters when applicable.
• If a folk hero is on a space with a log token or resource token, they can carry 1 log or resource token with them to a new space that they move through or end on. You can drop off items in the middle of your movement turn if you so choose.

Alternate Rules: (write your own house rules here)

Example: When your hero has the Blinded condition you can still reroll twice but the player must close their eyes the whole time. Other players with a folk hero on the same space may advise you if you should reroll and how many dice but nothing else.

End of Scenario Tasks

Once you have either completed your goals for the scenario, or you run out of time on Sunday, get out your folk hero Journal and record the outcome.

The folk heroes love tall tales and embellishing their stories but the Journal contains the truth of how the week's actual events went down.

The final score at the end of the campaign will determine how your story ends. There are five different endings and which one you read will depend on your campaign's final score (page 35).

Record the following:

• Were your goals for the week accomplished or left uncompleted?
• What day did you finish on?
• Record how many food, water and damage tokens the folk heroes end the scenario with. You can do this for each folk hero or just write down the total for the group.

Lastly, mark that a week has passed and winter is one week closer.

The bottom of the Journal has a section for notes and the reverse side of the Journal page is intentionally left blank for this purpose too. We recommend giving each hero their own Journal page and taking detailed notes that will be fun to look back on later and reminisce.

Example First Day

Read page 29 'The first week' for the scenario description. (The printed cross-reference is kept as printed; the scenario is on page 37 of this copy.)

In the first scenario, the folk heroes arrive in the wilderness with negative conditions incurred from their long and tiresome travels. This is frustrating but intentional as it will help instill the need to remove conditions and weigh the pros and cons of splitting up the party since Babe can't even move. The wilderness is strange and forbidding so it might be best to stay near the lake before venturing too far into the woods.

Reference the steps on the Day/Night game phase card:

1. Place a wood cube token on Monday.
2. Flip over the 3 trees that are on the board face down.
3. All players may choose to spend 1 food to avoid taking damage.
4. There is no need to spend water this turn as all heroes are on the lake space.
5. No one has enough water to plant trees and you cannot plant on the lake space anyway so we will move on to the next step.
6. Since Babe cannot move and everyone else has -1 movement, players consider staying where they are or splitting up and some moving one space away from the lake. Since that space would require spending water tomorrow and splitting up the group, they decide not to move today.
7. Now it's time to roll some dice to see what the heroes can accomplish. Babe goes first as he really wants to get rid of his condition. His first roll doesn't show any leaf icons so he decides to re-roll all of the dice. This roll gives 3 leaf icons which is what's required to remove his condition. Babe is relieved. He also rolled 1 water, 1 axe and 1 skull. He rerolls the axe since there are no trees to fell on this space and the skull since that represents an accident and is bad. Babe ends up with 3 leaves, 1 water, and 2 critter paws and no more re-rolls. There are no critters on this space so the paw icons do nothing. Babe removes his Overtired condition and takes 1 wooden cube token to represent a water token and places it on his food/water card.

The other players take their turns similarly.

8. There are no leftover damage tokens on critter or tree cards so skip to the next step which is begin Night phase.

During this Night Phase there are no critters on your space that have overnight effects and no trees or critters that induce nightmares so all that's left to do is move the critters, place new critters on the board, and roll to see if a critter emerges from the well.

Most critters move one space toward the closest hero. If a critter is equidistant to more than one folk hero, the players get to decide where the critter moves.

Some critters "move slowly". In this case move the critter to the edge of the space. When moving a slow critter who is already on the edge of a space, move them to the next space.

Check each critter card for special movement as some critters move 2 spaces and some start at the lake.

Critters never leave a space if a folk hero is on it.

This night and each night in the future, place two new critters on the space with the darkness.

To determine if a well critter appears, roll a folk hero die and if it's a critter paw print icon, place a critter on the well space.

And that would conclude the first night. Good luck out there.

Example of Combat

In subsequent turns you will need to attack critters so you are not overwhelmed by them. Each night, more critters emerge from the darkness and there is always a chance that one will crawl out of the well.

Reference the below steps on the Day phase card. Step 7 is the dice rolling phase and if you are on a space with a critter, you may attack it. If you have a ranged attack ability like Calamity Jane does, you may attack critters on an adjacent space.

Once you have rolled your dice and used all re-rolls available, count up the number of critter paw icons you have showing face up.

If that number is equal to the number of paw prints reflected on the bottom left of the critter's card, you have defeated it. You must still roll critter dice however.

Critter dice represent the damage you take from tussling with fearsome critters. Critters are dangerous and some require you to roll more critter dice than others. The more critter dice you roll, the higher your chance of rolling a pair which results in taking damage, a broken bone, or being mutated. The X on the dice represents a successful block or dodge and cancels all critter dice effects.

If you do not roll enough critter paw icons to defeat a critter, you can still apply damage to the critter.

Keep in mind that anytime you add damage to a critter, you must roll critter dice equal to the number of scratch marks on the bottom center of the critter's card. You may decide it's not worth adding the damage, especially because the damage is removed from the critter's card towards the end of each day in Step 8 of the Day Phase.

If you decide to apply damage, place wood cubes equal to the number of critter paws you want to use, then roll critter dice. Other players may then add damage to the critter in attempts to finish it off and remove it from the board.

When a critter is defeated, after you roll critter dice, you will check the bottom right icon on the card to see if the critter corpse yielded any resources like food. Collect any food or resources noted and then place the critter card in the critter discard pile.

When making a ranged attack, you may add damage to critters on an adjacent space and do not need to roll critter dice, however you also do not gain any resources that critter yields like food. No one gains resources yielded when the critter is defeated by a ranged attack.

These same concepts apply to felling trees however you are using axe icons instead of paw print icons and trees don't fight back so you do not roll critter dice when felling trees. Damage (wood cubes) on tree cards are removed in step 8 of the Day Phase just like damage on critter cards are. If you have a damage bonus applied when felling trees or attacking critters, you must roll at least 1 axe or paw print to use it.

You may apply damage to multiple critters if you wish. If you defeat a critter, and have more paw print icons showing from your dice roll, you may attack another critter. If you have an ability or condition that adds damage to your attack, add that damage to each attack. You may only add bonus damage to an attack if you have rolled at least one critter paw.

Optional Play Styles

The following pages of the rulebook are optional guidance for different styles of play.

For Hobbyists

Our game is designed with makers and hobbyists in mind. We have included a game board and some accessories but know that many of you would prefer to break out the plaster, foam, and flock to create something one of a kind.

We have also made available for purchase, various digital STL files of miniatures, terrain, dice, and tokens so this game can be 100% printable with paper and 3D printers.

If you are new to crafting terrain, the internet has countless instructional videos of experts and amateurs creating miniature trees and stones as scatter terrain or entire boards meant for RPGs or miniature wargaming. Similarly, there are many online guides to painting miniatures which we strongly believe to be a very rewarding hobby.

For Horror Fans

Horror fans will enjoy exploring the lore further. There is a wealth of information online regarding very real oral tradition of telling stories of the very fake Fearsome Critters. The critters and the stories surrounding them may be made up but the horror is very real.

The game includes detailed original artwork of these Fearsome Critters. You are only limited by your imagination.

For Role Players

The story of the folk heroes and their struggle in the wilderness is yours to tell. The game uses dice rolling to determine the outcome of each day but this is an abstract representation of what has actually happened. The details of what truly occurred are for you to decide.

It's optional to narrate each day or expand on the story but doing so can add hilarious moments and increase the tension. We recommend it.

Tips for Role Playing Fearsome Wilderness:

• Before rolling dice, state your intent. What do you plan to do?
• After all rerolls take place, explain how you succeeded or failed whatever you intended to do.
• Other than what you intended to do, what other actions did you end up taking that day? Where did you find food or water and how did you get it.
• If you had an accident from rolling skull icons, explain your accident, what was it that caused you to injure yourself.
• Remember your conditions and act accordingly.
• Record it all in your Journal if you like.

Spruce Up Your Game

We encourage you to customize the game board and create your own accessories. Please share posts of your creations with the hashtag #FearsomeWilderness and #PaintingFearsomeWilderness.

This game also has digital STL files available for purchase of various 3D printable terrain pieces, hero and critter miniatures, and other game components you can use to enhance your tabletop experience. The miniatures and terrain are all purely cosmetic and in no way needed to enjoy this game. Visit https://geektopiagames.com/FearsomeWilderness for more information.

Campaign Mode: Twelve Weeks til Winter

Narrative introduction omitted.

Over the next 12 or more weeks, the heroes will race the clock to construct a fully furnished log cabin in which they can dwell. If they do not complete the structure by winter, the game does not end, but it will be much harder on the folk heroes.

The overarching campaign is considered a success when the heroes have completed a fully furnished log cabin and finished all 12 scenarios.

The campaign lasts anywhere from 12-24 sessions depending on if you accomplish your goals for each scenario.

• For each scenario, if you do not complete your goals by the end of the week, the forest revolts and your efforts are mysteriously erased, leaving you perplexed but also Provoked. Start over on Monday and try again but remember to mark this week's loss on your Journal. Winter is one week closer and you are falling behind on your work. All players take Provoked conditions.
• If you fail to complete your goal two weeks in a row, the forest takes pity on you and mysteriously provides what you need and you can move on to the next scenario. Do not take Provoked in this case.
• After 12 weeks have gone by, read the Winter Rules on page 27.

To play a Twelve Weeks til Winter campaign, start with The first week scenario on page 37 and read the goals for that week.

(In the printed text, the "Provoked" note sits in a sidebar; it is rendered here in the sequence of the failure rule.)

End of Campaign Scoring

Congratulations on completing the Twelve Weeks til Winter Campaign. We hope you had an interesting journey.

Consult the Journal, add up your total score and read the corresponding Ending.

To calculate your score: For each week that you played, look in your journal and see what day you finished on each session. Give yourself points by referencing the chart below.

Day you finished on	Points for first attempt	Points for second attempt
Monday	220	110
Tuesday	200	100
Wednesday	180	90
Thursday	160	80
Friday	140	70
Saturday	120	60
Sunday	100	50
Failure	0	0

(The printed chart gives 0 points for a failure. The "0" in the second-attempt column for Failure is a restatement of that.)

Now add the number of food and water tokens that the group ended up with and add that to your point total. Then subtract the number of damage tokens the group had.

Once you have calculated the grand total, read the corresponding End Game Story.

Total score	Ending
0-900 points	Ending #1 (read page 118)
901-1,100 points	Ending #2 (read page 119)
1,101-1,300 points	Ending #3 (read page 120)
1,301-1,500 points	Ending #4 (read page 121)
1,501 or more points	Ending #5 (read page 122)

The end-game story text for Endings #1-#5 is removed from this trial copy (the pages carry only the ending titles), so those endings are not transcribed.

Twelve Weeks til Winter: 1. The First Week

Narrative introduction omitted.

Constructing: An outhouse, tools, kitchenware, a campfire tripod, a chicken coop, troughs, and a fence for the livestock.

Goals: Gather 5 log tokens and bring them to the lake space.

Starting Conditions:

• Paul: Worn out
• Babe: Overtired
• Jane: Nauseous
• Johnny: Weary

Setup and Additional Rules:

• Each folk hero starts with 2 food, and 0 water tokens. Place wood cubes on your food/water card to track resources.
• Place wood cubes on your folk hero card when you take damage to your hero.
• Wood cubes placed on the game board represent log tokens.
• You do not need to spend water tokens when you are on a space with the lake or the well.

See the Example First Day section above for a typical first day of this scenario (page 30). The folk heroes' goal is to explore their new home and gather wood to create crucial tools to build with, a tripod for cooking, an outhouse for the heroes, and the basics required for healthy chickens and livestock.

Pages 39 onward of the trial copy (scenarios 2 "A Strong Foundation" through 12 "Compassion") are locked and not included. Their goal and constructing text is not present in this copy, so they are not transcribed.

Nightmares

Only the first six nightmares are included in this trial copy (Agropelter through Dungavenhooter). The remaining nightmares listed in the table of contents are removed from the trial copy and are not transcribed. Where a nightmare's prose is narrative, it is replaced here with "[narrative omitted]"; every "Roll to wake up" check, choice, condition and damage outcome is transcribed as printed.

Nightmare Overview

In Fearsome Wilderness, the trees and critters are mysterious and frightening. During the Night phase, players who are on a space with a Critter or Tree that induces nightmares, will need to do the following:

1. First draw a random Critter Card from the Critter Deck.
2. Then get out the Rulebook and find the page corresponding to that Critter. Read the Nightmare text.

During Nightmares, you will periodically be instructed to "Roll to wake up". When instructed, roll 1 Hero Die. If it's a Leaf, you wake up. If it's a Skull, you wake up and take 1 Damage. If you do not roll a Leaf or Skull, continue reading the Nightmare.

Agropelter

Flavor text omitted.

The Nightmare:

[narrative omitted] You may:

• A. Try to see through the dust and stand.
• or
• B. Keep your eyes closed and crawl.

If you choose A. Try to see through the dust and stand:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Hazy condition.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all other conditions and take the Distraught condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Unfocused condition.
4. Otherwise, wake up and take Mutated.

If you choose B. Keep your eyes closed and crawl:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, discard all existing conditions.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Weary condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions and take the Weary condition.
4. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all conditions and take the Enraged condition.
5. Otherwise, your nightmare continues, draw a new critter card and resolve its nightmare.

Axehandle Hound

Flavor text omitted.

The Nightmare:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Bleeding Ears condition.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions and take the Anxious condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Maniacal condition.
4. Otherwise, your nightmare continues, draw a new critter card and resolve its nightmare.

Ball-Tailed Cat

Flavor text omitted.

The Nightmare:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Bitter condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Bruised condition.
4. Otherwise, your nightmare continues, draw a new critter card and resolve its nightmare.

Cactus Cat

Flavor text omitted.

The Nightmare:

[narrative omitted] Do you A. drink or B. gesture no?

If you choose A. Drink:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions and take the Nauseous condition.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Hazy condition.
3. [narrative omitted] You wake up, take the Weary condition.

If you choose B. Gesture no:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions and take the Unfocused condition.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, remove all existing conditions and take the Enraged condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Hazy condition.
4. Otherwise, you take Mutated.

Dingmaul

Variant of the Ball-Tailed Cat.

The Nightmare:

1. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Bitter condition.
2. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Hazy condition.
3. [narrative omitted] Roll to wake up, if you do, take the Mutated condition.
4. Otherwise, take 2 damage and wake up.

Dungavenhooter

Flavor text omitted.

Roll a Folk Hero Die and resolve the nightmare by the icon rolled.

The Nightmare:

[narrative omitted]

• Leaf: Wake up and remove all conditions.
• Axe: Wake up. (The dice-face outcome is narrative: the hero dodges and grabs an axe.)
• Food/Water: Wake up with an empty satchel. Discard all food and water.
• Paw Print: Wake up and take the Distressed condition.
• Skull: Wake up and take 3 damage.

Icon Reference

The printed Icon Reference (page 128) repeats the card anatomy, folk hero dice, critter dice and night-phase rules above. It is summarized here in the same terms:

• Axe: used when attempting to fell trees.
• Critter Paw Print: used when attempting to attack critters.
• Leaf: used when attempting to calm oneself.
• Water Canteen: used to gather water. Gain 1 water token for each icon showing.
• Campfire Food: used to gather food. Gain 1 food token for each icon showing.
• Skull: a wilderness accident; take 1 damage to your folk hero.
• Critter dice, Broken bone: take the Broken condition.
• Critter dice, Antlers: take the Mutated condition.
• Critter dice, 1 / 2 / 3 scratches: take 1 / 2 / 3 damage.
• Critter dice, X: cancel all critter dice effects this roll.
• Critter dice, pairs: if you roll two of a kind, resolve the effect; if you roll two of a kind more than once, resolve each pair independently.
• Tree limits: cannot plant trees on the lake-edge space; 1, 2, 3, or 4 trees maximum on the spaces inland (see page 11).

Rules FAQ (Publisher Errata)

The following is the official Rules FAQ published by Geektopia Games (https://www.geektopiagames.com/original-games/fearsome-wilderness/fearsome-wilderness-faq/, published 2022-02-08), appended here as errata and clarifications to the rulebook above. The emoji in one question is omitted.

How does movement work?

The board has 5 big spaces and players can move up to two spaces by default and can move in any direction. Most critters move one space during the night phase unless the card states otherwise.

How do critters move if their card says "Moves Slowly"

It takes slow moving critters two turns of movement to get to the next space. When you place a slow moving critter on the board, try to place it near the center of the space and away from the lines separating the 5 spaces. We refer to this as moving near the edge. Then on the next turn if that critter would move in the same direction, it can go to the next space. If a critter is near an edge, and on the next turn it would move in the opposite direction, it then is placed near the opposite edge of that space.

When do I place the critter card on the lake space?

When you set up the scenario, always place the cards on the space it shows in the scenario setup. Then when adding critters each night phase, draw the card and if it says starts at the lake, in this situation you place it on the lake space. One exception is when you roll for a well critter during the night phase. When a critter emerges from the well, you should always place that critter on whatever space the well is on.

Does everything reset between scenarios?

Food, water, damage and conditions do not carry over between sessions. Everything resets between scenarios and you set up a fresh game according to the scenario each time. That means you can play any scenario as a one-off if you want but we recommend going through the scenarios sequentially first.

Why do I record my food, water, and damage in the journal if everything resets each session?

At the end of each scenario you record the day you finished, how much damage is left on your character, and how much food and water tokens each hero has. You get more points for finishing in less days so it encourages you to try your best to accomplish the scenario goals as soon as possible. Then at the end of the campaign, you total up your points and there are 5 different end game stories depending on how many points you scored.

What happens to food, water, and conditions when a folk hero dies?

All conditions are removed. If folk heroes are on the same space as a folk hero who dies, they can take the food and water but otherwise it is lost. The respawned hero does not keep the food or water tokens. Heavy objects like log and stone tokens always stay on the board so when a folk hero dies while carrying one, it just stays on that space and is available for other players to carry.

Can you remove a condition like fell no trees with 3 leafs and then use the axe dice for felling in the same action phase?

Yes. You may remove a condition and then use the remaining dice for other actions that have now become available by removing the condition.

Do I have to 3D print anything to play this game?

No.

Is there a limit to the number of critters that can be on the board?

No.

If there are multiple critters on a space with one hero, do they take every overnight condition and every nightmare?

Yes. Each critter's overnight effect or "gives nightmares" effect are applied to 1 hero and you can choose who they target. If there are 4 heroes on a space with 1 critter with overnight effects, only one hero resolves those effects; however if there are 4 critters on a space with 1 hero, that hero has to resolve 4 different overnight effects.

Can a folk hero move in any direction and can they move one direction and then use any remaining movement to move in a different direction?

Yes. When moving up to 2 spaces during the move step of the day phase, a folk hero is allowed to move either direction. For example, they could move one space, pick up a log, and then move back to the previous space.

Can heroes on the same space share food and water, or are those strictly personal resources?

You can share food and water with other folk heroes that are on the same space and can do this at any time. It's a good strategy to maybe give food and water to each other before splitting up. Or getting water to Johnny for planting a tree or giving food to someone who may need to heal, etc.

Is one X symbol on the Critter dice enough to cancel all the hits, or do I need a pair of X symbols?

You need a pair.

Is there a downside to becoming Mutated that I'm missing? Or is it intentionally awesome?

No. Mutations are awesome!

Are upgrade cards discarded at the end of the scenario?

Yes.

As a solo player, how many characters should I control in a single game?

You always use all 4 folk heroes when playing the game. If you are playing solo, then you control all 4.

Is there a limit to the number of times a folk hero can die?

There is no limit to the number of times a folk hero can "die". They are immortal and respawn according to the Upon Death text.

When Johnny Appleseed dies and his "Upon death" text says a tree is placed on the board, is it placed face up or face down?

Face down.

Am I required to roll critter dice after I have successfully defeated a creature?

You roll critter dice anytime you attack a critter even if you defeat it.

Do critter cards typically require us to take condition(s) only at night?

The critter cards all have overnight effects that happen if you are on a space with them when it's the night phase. A critter will use its overnight effect on one hero on its space and the players decide which folk hero. Same goes for nightmares. Some critter cards say "gives nightmares" and during the night phase one hero on that space must do a nightmare for each card on the space that says "gives nightmares".

During setup, the rulebook shows critters placed facedown? When do I flip these over?

Reveal the starting critters after setting up the game but before starting the first step of the day phase.

The Hoop Snake nightmare says to take the Confused Condition but there is no card, what do I do?

This is an error in the rulebook. Take the Unfocused Condition.