Ferox Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Publisher's Warning
• Components
• Setup
• Crew Members
  • Exposing Crew Members
• Actions
• Attacks
  • Film Crew Attacks
  • Native Attacks
  • Additional Notes on Attacks
• Items
• Responses
• Playing the Game
  • Before the Game Starts
  • Encounters
    • Phase 1 - Draft 2 New Cards
    • Phase 2 - Expose Crew Members / Warriors
    • Phase 3 - Play the Encounter
    • Phase 4 - Reset
  • Game End
• Scenarios
• Cards
• Example Turns
• Film Crew
• Natives
• Film Crew Card Glossary
  • Crew Members
  • Actions
  • Attacks
  • Items
  • Responses
• Native Card Glossary
  • Actions
  • Attacks
  • Items
  • Responses
• Credits

Publisher's Warning

PUBLISHER'S WARNING: The distributors and retailers of this "amusement game" are not responsible for the creation (or potential repercussions) of the content contained herein. The enclosed components and instructional "user's manual" are unauthorized reproductions of actual items recovered in Jan 1983 from Isla Atakanjá, an undeveloped equatorial island so dangerous, so savage, we cannot legally—nor in good conscience—divulge its precise location. The original artifacts were found approximately 24km from the wreckage of a helicopter purportedly chartered several months earlier by a prominent investigative journalist and her documentary film crew. Her name and the names of her crew have been redacted for the safety of their families. No bodies were found at the crash site and—as of this printing—the whereabouts of the crew are still unknown.

The exact details of the film's intended subject matter are unclear but authorities believe the Journalist set out to produce an exposé on indigenous peoples who still engage in ritualistic cannibalism, a practice not credibly documented anywhere in the world for the better part of a century. Her former employer has gone on record stating that this journalist—well-known to the public for her sensationalism and questionable ethics—proposed the film to him early last year. He claims to have denied her request for funding, calling modern cannibalism "a myth at best." He went on to state: "No professional crew in their right mind would ever agree to such a gig. Knowing her I'd venture a guess [that] she dug up a bunch of bottom-feeding junior-college A/V scumbags who... these guys, they'd point'n'shoot just about anything for a little coke and liquor. Good riddance. No further comment."

The violent and horrifying materials presented in this recreational gaming unit are SOLELY the creation of those six Americans who allegedly disappeared into the dark heart of the unforgiving jungle less than a year before this printing. We present it here in its entirety—uncut and uncensored—for educational and historical purposes only.

If the presentation of disgusting and repulsive subject matter upsets you, please do not play this game.

- Craft Fair Recreational Amusement Game Publishers Ltd. Inc., October 27, 1983

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Ferox is a game that pays homage to (and satirizes) the ridiculous "cannibal exploitation" films of the early 1980's. We do not own any license to the aforementioned films and mean no harm. Please don't sue.

MORE IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The films this game is based on are chock-full of racism, sexism, horrific violence, animal cruelty, and rape. I (and the kind folks who helped me develop the game) wholly despise and condemn all of those things. The cannibal movies are a bizarre artifact of their time and place, and in no way do we condone or intend to glorify such vile behavior. Please keep that in mind while you play. The game is meant to be tongue-in-cheek fun for good people who just like playing the villain sometimes. If you actually identify with a bunch of fictional murderers and rapists, you are an irredeemable piece of shit and I hope you get eaten alive. -R.S. (March 27, 2015)

Components

• 6 Crew Member cards & 4 Tribe cards
• 60 Native cards & 60 Film Crew cards
• 48 Native warriors
• 11 Rage tokens
• 14 Encounter cards
• 8 Native dice
• 6 HP markers
• 3 Film Crew dice

Setup

1. Decide which player will be the Natives and which will be the Film Crew.

   Natives: Take the 4 color-coded Tribe cards and line them up in front of you on the table. Place each tribe's corresponding warrior tokens on top of their matching card and put their dice beneath them.

   Film Crew: Take the 6 Crew Member cards and line them up in front of you on the table. Place an HP marker on the top space of each Crew Member's HP track. Keep your 3 black dice somewhere nearby.

2. Divide the Rage tokens into 2 separate piles. At the start of the game, the Native player gets 6 rage and the Film Crew player gets 5. You'll be passing these back and forth to one another throughout the game, so keep them somewhere that makes them easy to exchange.

3. Arrange the 6 Encounter cards so the Crash Site card is on top and the Rescue Point card is on the bottom. The other 4 cards can be in any order. Place the deck face-down on the table between you and your opponent.

   Some encounter cards feature a film reel symbol. This means the card includes a scenario. These are optional and can be used at the players' discretion. For a standard game, leave these in the box. (see Scenarios)

4. Draw the first encounter card (the Crash Site) and place it next to the deck. As more encounters are drawn, they'll connect to form a line across the table.

5. Each player has 60 cards that make up their drafting decks. Throughout the game, you will be "drafting" cards from this deck and adding them to your draw deck.

   Drafting deck: All the cards you haven't drafted or rejected yet. Keep this off to the side to avoid confusion.

   Draw deck: These are the cards you'll be playing with during the game. As you draft new cards from your drafting deck, you'll add them to your draw deck. Save room for a discard pile next to this deck.

Crew Members

HP Track - Keeps track of the crew member's health points (HP). The HP marker starts on the top square of the track and moves down 1 space for every hit of damage they take. If the HP marker reaches or passes the skull, the crew member is dead.

Dice Count - The number of dice you roll when this crew member attacks.

Ability - Each crew member has a unique ability that takes effect when you expose them on your turn. See the Film Crew Card Glossary for details.

Exposing Crew Members

Exposing a crew member brings them into the battle, allowing them to attack and be attacked.

Once a crew member is exposed, they stay exposed until the end of the encounter (unless a card says otherwise). You MUST have at least 1 crew member exposed at all times during the encounter.

Exposing Before an Encounter Starts: You're required to start every encounter with 2 crew members exposed (unless there's only 1 left alive). Exposing those 2 crew members does NOT activate their ability. You won't be able to use their abilities during that encounter unless you have a card that says otherwise.

Exposing During Your Turn: As the Film Crew player, you can expose any number of crew members at any time during your turn. Doing so doesn't count as your turn. You still get to play or draw a card.

To expose a crew member, push their card forward on the table.

You then have the option to use their ability, but it has to be used immediately. You can't save it for later. To use their ability, just follow the instructions on the crew member's card.

Actions

Both players have action cards in their decks.

Playing an Action card: Simply pay the rage cost and follow the card's instructions.

Once the effect of the card is resolved, discard it.

Attack cards also count as actions. See the Attacks section for details.

Attacks

Both players have attack cards in their decks, but they carry out their attacks differently.

Attacks are considered a form of action card (hence the card type, Action - Attack). Just like any other action, attacks are discarded after they're resolved.

Film Crew Attacks

Only exposed crew members can attack unless a card specifies otherwise.

To play an attack, pay the rage cost then follow these 4 steps:

1. DECLARE - Declare which exposed crew members will be attacking. Roll and resolve for each crew member one-at-a-time.

2. ROLL - Roll dice equal to the first crew member's dice count.

3. RESOLVE - Resolve their kills, misses and injuries.

   • MISS - Disregard.
   • INJURY - The crew member takes 1 damage.
   • KILL - Choose any exposed warrior and place their token on the next empty skull on the encounter card.

4. REPEAT - If the attack allows for more than 1 crew member to attack, repeat the previous 2 steps for the remaining crew members.

Attack cards specify the number of crew members or tribes that can participate.

Native Attacks

Only tribes with at least 1 exposed warrior can attack unless a card specifies otherwise.

To play an attack, pay the rage cost and follow these 4 steps:

1. DECLARE - Declare which tribes will be attacking.

2. ROLL - Each tribe has their own set of color-coded dice, and the number of dice you roll is equal to the number of exposed warriors from that tribe. So if an attacking tribe has only 1 warrior exposed, you only roll 1 of their dice. If they have 2, roll 2. You can't roll more dice than that tribe has, so if the tribe has 6 exposed warriors but only 2 total dice, you only roll 2. Roll all attacking tribes' dice at the same time.

   • MISS - Disregard
   • HIT - See step 3
   • FLEE - See step 4

3. ASSIGN HITS - After you've rolled for all attacking tribes, assign the hits. Place the dice that hit in front of the exposed crew members you wish to assign the damage to. You can divide up the hits any way you want among the exposed crew members, but you cannot assign hits to unexposed crew members. Your opponent then adjusts the crew members' HP tracks by moving their marker down 1 space for each hit.

4. RESOLVE FLEES - For every flee rolled, 1 exposed warrior from that tribe is returned to the reserves. Warriors that flee are no longer involved in the encounter.

Additional Notes on Attacks

• If all exposed warriors have died or fled, the encounter is over, regardless of how many empty skulls are left on the encounter card.
• If all skulls on the encounter card are filled before all attacking crew members have rolled, you can still finish-out the attack if you want to. Any warriors killed after the quota is reached are still placed on the encounter card (just pile them up next to the others). For example, if 3 crew members attack but the first 2 attackers kill enough warriors to end the encounter, you may still roll for the 3rd crew member and resolve the attack normally. However, if there are no exposed warriors left to kill, any remaining crew member attacks are not rolled.
• You do NOT have to fill empty skulls on previous encounter cards. If the previous encounter ended before all the skulls could be filled with dead warriors, the empty skulls on that card are ignored for the rest of the game.

Items

Item Key Points:

• Items remain in play until the end of the encounter (unless a card says otherwise).
• An item's effect can be used anytime it's relevant, including the same turn you play it.
• You only have to pay an item's rage cost once (the turn you play it). You don't have to pay the rage cost every time you use it.

To play an item: Pay its rage cost and put it into play.

To use an item: Declare which item(s) you're using and resolve their effects.

Film Crew Items: When you play an item, place it below an exposed crew member. The item's effect only applies to that crew member. Crew members must be exposed to have an item. If they become unexposed or die, the item is discarded. A crew member can only have 1 item at a time. You can discard an item from play anytime to make room for a new one.

Native Items: When you play an item, place it somewhere near your tribe cards. While the Film Crew player's items only apply to specific crew members, your items apply much more broadly. You may only have 3 items in play at the same time. You can discard an item from play anytime to make room for a new one.

Responses

Response cards interrupt your opponent's turn. Each response has Timing instructions for when it can be played.

To play a response:

1. Check the Timing instructions to make sure it can be played.
2. Pay the rage cost.
3. Reveal the card and follow its instructions.
4. Discard it after the effects are resolved.

Response Key Points:

• A response can only be played when the Timing instructions say it can be played. For example: If your response says "Play before opponent assigns hits in an attack," you can't play it after they've already assigned hits.
• Response cards can ONLY be played on your opponent's turn. That means:
  • You cannot play a response to your opponent's response.
  • Playing a response does NOT count as your turn.
• You can only play 1 response per opponent's turn.
• Your opponent does NOT get a refund on the rage they spent on a card if your response cancels/disrupts its effects.
• Since rage costs are always paid before a card's effect is resolved, you can use the rage your opponent just paid you to pay for a response.

Playing the Game

Before the Game Starts

Both players will begin the game with 10 cards in their draw deck. Experienced players can draft their starting cards, while novice players can simply use the 10 pre-selected cards in their deck that have a star symbol printed in the lower righthand corner.

If you choose to draft your own starting deck, use the following steps.

If you go with the pre-selected deck, locate and set aside all 10 cards with the star symbol, shuffle your drafting deck then skip to step 4.

1. Shuffle your drafting deck and draw 2 cards.
2. Choose 1 to keep and 1 to reject. The rejected card is removed from the game (put it back in the game box). The card you chose to keep is now part of your draw deck.
3. Repeat this process 9 more times until you have chosen 10 total cards to keep.
4. Shuffle the 10 cards you chose and place them face-down in front of you. This is your draw deck.
5. Get your drafting deck out of the way. It's easy to get your draw deck and drafting deck confused, so keep them far apart from one another. You'll be drafting new cards at the beginning of every encounter, so your drafting deck should be out of the way but still accessible to you.

Encounters

Each game of Ferox consists of 6 encounters. Encounters are essentially the "rounds" of the game. Beginning at the Crash Site and ending at the Rescue Point, the encounter cards form the path the Film Crew will take through the jungle.

When a Native warrior is killed, their token is placed on one of the red skulls. If all the skulls are filled with dead warriors, the encounter is over.

When an encounter ends, a new one is drawn and connected to the previous encounter card.

Each encounter consists of 4 phases:

1. Draft 2 new cards
2. Expose crew members / warriors
3. Play the encounter
4. Reset

Phase 1 - Draft 2 New Cards

First Encounter (Crash Site): Skip this phase for the 1st encounter. Instead just draw 2 cards from your draw deck to form your hand.

All Other Encounters: Both players will draft 2 new cards to add to their draw deck. The drafting process works the same way as described before:

• Draw 2 cards from your drafting deck
• Keep 1 and remove the other from the game
• Repeat the process 1 more time
• The 2 cards you kept will be your starting hand for this encounter

Phase 2 - Expose Crew Members / Warriors

Before an encounter begins, all crew members are unexposed and all warriors are in the reserves. In order for them to attack and be attacked, they must first be exposed.

During this phase, players decide who they want to have initially involved in the conflict.

FILM CREW: Choose 2 crew members to begin the encounter exposed. (2 is the minimum unless there's only 1 crew member still alive). Push the cards forward on the table to indicate that they're exposed.

NOTE: Exposing a crew member during this phase does NOT activate their ability. More on that later. (see the Crew Members section)

NATIVES: Choose any number of warriors to begin the encounter exposed. They can come from any tribes and there's no minimum or maximum. To expose your chosen warriors, take them out of the reserves and place them in front of their respective Tribe cards.

Phase 3 - Play the Encounter

The player with the most rage goes first. Play then alternates between the 2 players for the rest of the encounter. Since the Natives start the game with more rage, they will go first in the first encounter.

Rage is the currency of Ferox. All cards have a rage cost printed in the top-righthand corner. In order to play a card, you must first pay its rage cost by paying the appropriate number of rage tokens to your opponent.

ON YOUR TURN:

You must do 1 of the following things:

A) Play a Card - Play a card from your hand by paying its rage cost and following its instructions.

OR

B) Draw a Card - Draw a card from your draw deck and add it to your hand. If your draw deck is depleted, shuffle your discard to form a new one.

You can't draw AND play on the same turn unless a card or ability says otherwise.

In addition to playing or drawing a card, you may also:

Use Items - Use the effects of any number of relevant items you currently have in play (see Items)

AND/OR

Expose Crew Members - Expose any number of crew members and use their abilities. (FILM CREW player only)

You can do these things in any order. Your turn doesn't end until you declare it's over.

AT THE END OF YOUR TURN:

1. Declare your turn over.
   • Say something like Done! or Go! or Sit on it and spin, you grody fuck!
2. If you have all 11 rage tokens, you must give 1 to your opponent.
3. If you have more than 5 cards in your hand, you must discard down to 5.
   • You get to choose which cards are discarded, even if it's one you just drew.
   • If you have more rage than your opponent, you must pay 1 rage for every card you discard.
   • If you have fewer rage than your opponent, you don't have to pay to discard.

END OF THE ENCOUNTER:

The encounter ends when one of the following conditions is met:

A) All skulls on the encounter card have been filled with dead warriors B) All exposed warriors have fled or been killed C) All 6 crew members are dead (this also ends the game)

Phase 4 - Reset

Once the encounter has ended:

1. Discard your hand
2. Discard all items that are in play
3. Unexpose all surviving Crew Members
4. Return all surviving warriors to the reserves
5. Draw the next encounter card
6. Repeat Phases 1-4 for the new encounter

Game End

The game ends when...

A) All 6 crew members are dead (Natives win) B) All warriors are dead (Film Crew wins) C) At least one crew member is still alive at the end of the 6th encounter (Film Crew wins)

Scenarios

Some encounter cards have a film reel symbol printed on the back. These encounters feature scenarios, which are special rules that change the way the encounter is played.

NOTE: Novice players shouldn't use scenarios until they have a solid grasp on the standard game.

Playing With Scenarios: Simply swap-out any number of the standard encounter cards for an equal number of the scenarios you want to play. It's up to you which ones (and how many) you use, as long as you don't exceed 6 total encounters. You can choose them or pick them randomly. The only rule is that you can't swap out the Crash Site or Rescue Point cards for scenarios.

Scenarios temporarily alter 1 or more rules of the game. The rules only apply to that 1 encounter and cease to be in effect as soon as the encounter ends. Gameplay is otherwise the same as it would be for any standard encounter.

Remember: Scenarios drastically alter the game and can wildly swing the balance in favor of 1 player. They're really just for fun.

Cards

There's a detailed glossary of all cards in the game in the back of the rulebook.

Tribes:

Name - To avoid confusion, the tribes are always referred to by their color rather than their name.

Tribe Reserves - This is where you keep all warrior tokens that aren't currently exposed or dead. Whenever warriors flee, they return to the reserves.

Tribal Cards - Some cards in the Native deck feature a tribe's symbol next to the rage cost. If you have any warriors from that tribe exposed (not dead or in the reserves), the card's rage cost is the smaller number.

Example: the card Equality has a green tribe symbol next to a cost of 2, and a cost of 4 without the symbol. If you currently have at least 1 green warrior exposed, this card costs only 2 rage to play. If you don't, it costs 4.

Example Turns

Julie is playing the Film Crew and Randy is playing the Natives. It's the 2nd encounter and it's Randy's turn.

1. RANDY draws a card and adds it to his hand.

2. JULIE plays the card Jimmy Rig. She pays its rage cost of 3 by passing 3 rage tokens to Randy. She then follows the card's instructions to draw 3 cards.

3. RANDY plays Blowguns. He pays Julie the rage cost of 6 and puts the item in play.

4. JULIE plays Fight, which allows 1 crew member to attack. She pays the rage cost of 3 and follows the steps for an attack.

   1. DECLARE - She needs to choose which crew member will attack. She currently has the Guide and Camera Man exposed, and since only exposed crew members can attack, she chooses the Guide.
   2. ROLL - The Guide has a dice count of 3, so she rolls 3 attack dice.
   3. RESOLVE - She rolls 1 injury and 2 kills. Each injury causes 1 hit of damage to the crew member who rolled it, so Julie moves the Guide's HP marker down 1 space on her HP track. She must then assign her 2 kills, so she takes 1 exposed yellow warrior and 1 exposed red warrior and places them on the next empty skulls on the encounter card.
   4. REPEAT - Fight only allows 1 crew member to attack, so Julie skips this step.

5. RANDY plays Earn Their Trust, a green tribal card. Since he has green warriors currently exposed, he pays the cheaper rage cost of 2. JULIE interrupts his turn by paying 3 rage to play the response card Camera Flash, which negates an action card before it can have any effect.

6. Now it's JULIE'S turn again. She wants to equip the Guide with Hatchet, an item. So she pays the rage cost of 2 and places the Hatchet card below the Guide.

7. RANDY plays the attack card Onslaught. He pays the rage cost of 5 and follows the steps for an attack.

   1. DECLARE - Onslaught allows up to 3 tribes to attack, so he chooses blue, green and yellow. He can't choose red because he has no exposed red warriors left.
   2. ROLL - Native attack dice correspond to the number of exposed warriors that tribe has: 1 yellow warrior = 1 yellow dice; 1 blue warrior = 1 blue dice; 4 green warriors = 3 green dice (he can't roll more dice than a tribe has). He decides to use his item, Blowguns, which allows tribes to reroll all misses once per attack. He sets the hits and flees aside and rerolls the yellow dice that missed. He rolls a flee.

Film Crew

"The Journalist" 1979 – Assault - Altercation at pharmacy w/ widow of Rep. [redacted] (R-NY) who was feat. in her recent TV exposé. (Settled out of court) 1980 – Drunk & Disorderly Conduct, Public Urination – Refusal to comply with officer. QUOTE FROM REPORT: "Do you know who I am? Watch a TV, you pig fuck! People on TV piss where the fuck they want!" Sept. 10, 1982 – REPORTED MISSING – Credible lead: likely chartered flight (heli?) to Isla Antakanjá w/ unknown film production crew. NOTE*** crew members likely ex-cons and low-lifes. Pursue/report all leads.

"The Pilot" 1976 – Assault – Allegedly attacked victim with a bottle after argument re: "the direction the Bee Gees are taking." (charges dropped by victim) 1980 – Disorderly Conduct – Refused to put out his cigarette after being asked repeatedly by [redacted] Hospital staff. 1981 – Outstanding Warrants – Settled with the city of Dallas for 37 unpaid Littering violations. PILOT LICENSE 6 yrs EXPIRED Credible lead: believed to be in S. America making charter helicopter flights w/ "no questions asked."

"The Camera Man" 1971 – Solicitation of a Prostitute – in parking lot of Orlando PD Prcc. - Charges reduced to Public Intox. 1975 – Possession of a Controlled Substance (Benzedrine) - charges dropped (evidence went "missing" in transit) 1979 – Engaging in the Production of Illicit Pornographic Materials - Acquitted by hung jury (NOTE*** Not a joke. Can it, fellas.) 1981 – Indecent Exposure – Caught driving nude during routine traffic stop.

"The Guide" Daughter of known Honduran drug lord, [redacted] 1980 – Assault with a Deadly Weapon – Reportedly attempted to castrate a man with a bottle opener in a Bolivian bar. The charges were suspiciously dropped by Bolivian authorities within hours. 1981 – Declared "missing." Believed to have gone underground, working freelance as a South American field guide for illicit corporate interests. LIKELY ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

"The Script Girl" 1978 – Public Intoxication 1979 – Public Intoxication 1980 – Public Intoxication, Drunk & Disorderly Conduct, Public Indecency 1981 – Possession of Narcotics (marijuana, cocaine, spray paint, industrial-strength adhesive) Has not reported to work (Big Boy's Beefers, downtown) in over a week. [Note*** Odd jobs for dope cash?]

"The Drug Runner" 1971 – Possession w/Intent to Distribute (Marijuana) – arrested in the dumpster enclosure of Chik'N'Quik Budget Buffet (S. Main) 1974 – Forgery – Attempted to purchase cigarettes with counterfeit traveler's checks. (4 yrs. w/ prob.) 1982 – Narcotics Trafficking (Cocaine) – Skipped bail and fled the country. May have rented a boat bound for Isla Atakanjá (NOTE*** Our "anthro" guy says the natives are hostile. Maybe they'll just take care of this shitstain for us?)

Natives

MOXWETI - Little is known about the Moxweti outside of rumors and hearsay. Other natives all but refuse to speak their name, but local legend paints them as a culture steeped in brutality and bloodlust. Researchers believe they may be the only tribe on Atakanjá to actually engage in cannibalism.

JUMTXE - Well-regarded for their ingenuity and resourcefulness, the Jumtxe are popularly known as the "engineers" of Atakanjá. Their craftsmanship with such rudimentary materials is a feat matched only by their ferocity in battle.

KAYPÁLO - A deeply superstitious people, the Kaypálo are practitioners of folk magic who avoid contact with outsiders and other tribes whenever possible. Much of their culture remains a mystery, but researchers believe they regularly engage in bizarre rituals—possibly including human sacrifice.

TUKHUA - The Tukhua are regarded as a generally peaceful and open society who welcome outsiders with kindness and generosity. Despite their approachability, the intensity with which they protect and defend their homeland should never be underestimated.

Film Crew Card Glossary

Crew Members

Camera Man - Take an item from your discard pile and add it to your hand. If you have no items in your discard, his ability is irrelevant.

Drug Runner - Take 2 rage. If your opponent has fewer than 2 rage, take what you can.

Guide - Give 1 crew member 1HP. The HP can be given to any crew member, exposed or unexposed, including the Guide herself.

Journalist - Draw 2 cards. Remember: using her ability doesn't count as your turn. After exposing the Journalist and drawing 2 cards, you may still draw or play a card if you haven't done so already.

Pilot - Take an action from your discard and add it to your hand. This includes attacks. If you have no actions in your discard, his ability is irrelevant.

Script Girl - Reduce the rage cost of a card by 1. If you play a card immediately after exposing the Script Girl, it costs 1 fewer rage to play. A card that costs 1 would now cost 0 rage to play. If the card already costs 0 (or you've already played/drawn a card this turn), her ability is irrelevant.

Actions

Balls Out - Discard your hand and your draw deck. Search your discard for any card and make it your hand. Put simply, your entire draw deck (including your hand) becomes your discard pile. Pick any card you want and it becomes your hand. Shuffle the rest of the cards to reform your draw deck.

Bribe - Discard (X) cards from your hand. Force (X) warriors from a single tribe to flee. Choose any number of cards from your hand and discard them. That same number of warriors (from the tribe of your choice) flee. The Bribe card itself does NOT count toward that number (X).

Dress the Wound - Exposed crew member of your choice gains 1HP. A crew member's HP cannot exceed the top space on their HP track.

Give Blood - 1 crew member loses 1HP. Another gains 2HP. You chose which crew members. It doesn't matter if they are exposed or not. Yes, you can kill a crew member this way (if you want).

Give the Signal - Use the ability of an unexposed crew member without exposing them. After resolving this card, you can still expose that crew member and use their ability again if you want. For example, after playing Give the Signal to use the Drug Runner's ability to take 2 rage, you could then expose the Drug Runner and take another 2 rage.

Hide - Unexpose 1 crew member. If you have only 1 crew member left alive, this card can still be used. Instead of unexposing the lone crew member, the card simply allows you to use their ability.

Improvise - Look at the top 2 cards of your draw deck, discard 1 and add the other to your hand. If you only have 1 card currently left in your draw deck, set it aside and shuffle your discard to form a new draw deck then draw the second card.

Jimmy Rig - Draw 3 cards. At the end of your turn, you must still discard down to 5.

Jump In - Unexpose 1 crew member and expose another. Their ability has no effect. If you use this card, you MUST expose a crew member to replace the one you are unexposing. You do not get to use the ability of the replacement crew member's ability. You can, however, you the ability of the newly-unexposed crew member if you expose them again. If you have no unexposed crew members, this card cannot be played.

Key Bump - Use the ability of an exposed crew member. This applies to any exposed crew member, even if you exposed them that same turn. In other words, you could expose the Journalist and use her ability to draw 2 cards, and then play Key Bump to draw 2 cards again.

Local Cuisine - All exposed crew members gain 1HP. Crew members' HP cannot exceed the top space of their HP tracks.

Pick Your Battles - Force any 2 warriors to flee. Replace them with any 2 warriors from your opponent's reserves. You choose which warriors. They do NOT have to be from the same tribe. For example: You could use this card to force 1 red warrior and 1 yellow warrior to flee, and then expose 2 green warriors to replace them. The fleeing warriors MUST be replaced. If the opponent has no warriors in their reserves, this card cannot be played.

Plan B - Discard (X) cards from your hand. Draw (X) cards. Discard any number of cards from you hand then draw an equal number of cards to replace them. The Plan B card does NOT count toward that number (X). At the end of your turn, you must still discard down to 5.

Play Politics - Force the tribe of your choice to roll an attack on a second tribe of your choice. Flees still count. Choose any tribe that has at least 1 warrior exposed. They will roll an attack on another tribe of your choice. The attack works the same way as a normal Native attack. Your opponent will roll the appropriate dice for the attacking tribe and each hit rolled kills 1 warrior from the target tribe. Flees still count. The only Native response cards that can be played against Play Politics are Strike Fear and Refuse to Die. If there is no tribe that still has exposed warriors, this card cannot be played.

Sadistic Cruelty - Take 3 rage. If your opponent has fewer than 3 rage, take what you can. Remember that if you end your turn with all 11 rage tokens, you must give 1 to your opponent.

Scavenge - Take any card from your discard pile and add it to your hand. If you have no cards in your discard pile, Scavenge cannot be played.

Tainted Meat - An exposed crew member loses 2HP. Kill 2 warriors. You choose which crew member and warriors. The dead warriors do not have to be from the same tribe. Yes, you can kill a crew member this way. If the crew member you choose only has 1HP left when you play this card, its effect still works (the crew member dies and you kill 2 warriors). If there is only 1 exposed warrior when this card is played, the crew member still loses 2HP, even though only 1 warrior is killed.

Torch the Village - Kill 1 warrior from your opponent's reserves. It's your choice which tribe the warrior comes from. This card cannot be used to kill warriors that are currently exposed. If there are no warriors in your opponent's reserves, this card cannot be played.

Torment the Wildlife - Force up to 3 green warriors to flee. The blue tribe attacks (if possible). If there are no exposed blue warriors, the green warriors still flee and no attack occurs. If blue warriors are present, they roll an attack the way they normally would. This attack does NOT count as your opponent's turn. They may play a response card if it applies. Flees still count. If there are no exposed green warriors, this card cannot be played.

Voice of a God - Force up to 2 warriors from a single tribe to flee. This does not work on yellow warriors. You choose which tribe. If the tribe has only 1 exposed warrior, only that warrior flees. Remember that this card cannot be used on yellow warriors.

Waste Good Liquor - Kill 2 exposed warriors from a single tribe. You choose which tribe. If the tribe only has 1 exposed warrior, only that warrior dies.

Zen & the Art of Barbaric Torture - Immediately play another action card from your hand for 2 fewer rage than its printed cost. When you play this card, you may then play 1 additional action card from your hand. Subtract 2 from the printed rage cost and pay that amount. You cannot use this card to play items.

Attacks

NOTE: The attack cards Fight, Brawl, and Charge are not included in the glossary as their effects are described in the rulebook section Attacks.

Ambush - All unexposed crew members attack with 1 dice. This is the only card in the game that allows unexposed crew members to attack. If you play this card, ALL unexposed crew members MUST participate in the attack, even if it runs the risk of injuring them to death.

Beat 'Em to Death - 1 exposed crew member attacks with 3 dice. Pay 1 rage for every kill. If you can't pay for a kill you rolled, that kill doesn't count. The crew member rolls a normal attack with 3 dice (regardless of their listed dice count). Injuries and misses are resolved normally. For every kill rolled, pay 1 rage. If you can't pay for a kill (or don't want to), that kill is disregarded.

Frenzy - All exposed crew members attack with 2 dice. If you play this card, ALL exposed crew members must participate in the attack. Regardless of their listed dice count, all of them attack with 2 dice. Injuries still count.

Mainline That Shit - 1 exposed crew member attacks. Ignore all injuries. The crew member attacks normally but any injuries rolled do not cause the crew member to lose HP.

Mania - 1 exposed crew member attacks. All injuries count as kills. The crew member attacks normally but all injuries they roll are resolved as kills and cause no damage to the crew member.

Swarm - All exposed crew members attack with 1 dice. If you play this card, ALL exposed crew members must participate in the attack. Regardless of their listed dice count, all of them attack with 1 dice. Injuries still count.

Thrill of the Kill - 1 crew member attacks. If they get any kills, they may attack a second time. Resolve the attacks 1 at a time. The crew member attacks normally. If they roll a kill, they may roll a second attack. The attacks are separate and resolved one-at-a-time, so if your opponent plays a response, it only applies to 1 of the attacks. Injuries still count.

Items

Cursed Flesh - When a tribe assigns any amount of hits to this crew member, 1 warrior from that tribe flees. Regardless of how many hits the tribe assigns to the crew member, only 1 warrior from that tribe flees. If more that 1 tribe assigns hits to the crew member at the same time, 1 warrior from each of those tribes flees. The warriors flee even if the assigned hits are negated by responses or items.

First Aid Kit - Once per turn you may pay 2 rage to give this crew member 1HP. The crew member's HP cannot exceed the top space on their HP track. This item can only be used once per turn and only on your turn.

Flamethrower - This crew member uses only 1 dice when attacking, even if the attack card says otherwise. Each kill they roll kills 2 warriors. Regardless of what the crew member's dice count is, they only roll 1 dice when attacking. If they roll a kill, it kills 2 warriors. The warriors don't have to be from the same tribe. If you play an attack that modifies the dice count of an attacking crew member such as Beat 'Em to Death (attack with all 3 dice and pay 1 rage for every kill), the Flamethrower takes precedence. In the case of Beat 'Em to Death, the crew member would roll only 1 dice. If it's a kill, they kill 2 warriors and must pay 2 rage.

Fuckin' Ludes - This crew member may ignore all injuries when attacking. Any injury this crew member rolls in an attack does not cause them damage. If you play Mania (1 crew member attacks, all injuries count as kills), all injuries rolled still count as kills.

Hatchet - This crew member may re-roll 1 injury once per attack. For example, the Drug Runner is attacking. He has a dice count of 3 and is equipped with the Hatchet. He rolls his 3 dice and gets 1 kill and 2 injuries. The Hatchet allows him to reroll only 1 of those injuries; the other injury still counts. When you reroll an injury, you must accept whatever the new result is, even if it is another injury. Do not resolve kills or injuries in the attack until after the reroll is complete. The attack cards Mainline That Shit and Mania can conflict with Hatchet. If you play either of those cards, you may choose whether or not you wish to reroll an injury.

Hunting Knife - If this crew member is dealt any amount of damage in an attack, they may roll an attack in response. It is irrelevant how many tribes are involved in the attack or how many hits they inflict. If the crew member is assigned at least 1 hit, they may roll an attack after the Natives' attack is fully resolved. Your opponent cannot use response cards against the attack. The attack does not count as your turn and injuries still apply. NOTE: This card only works if the hits were dealt to the crew member in an attack, not if they lose HP via any other avenue.

Kiddie Cocaine - This crew member may attack if you pay 2 rage and do not play a card on your turn. If you use this item, you must draw a card on your turn instead of playing one. Pay 2 rage and roll/resolve a normal attack for the crew member. If you use Kiddie Cocaine you can still expose crew members and/or use other items on the same turn.

Machete - This crew member uses 1 extra dice when attacking. (max. 3) This item increases the crew member's dice count by 1, up to a total of 3. No crew member can ever attack with more than 3 dice, so it would be pointless to equip the Drug Runner or Guide with the Machete. Machete overides attack cards that specify a certain number of dice. For example, if you play Swarm (all exposed crew members attack with 1 dice); the crew member equipped with Machete gets to roll 2.

Pistol - This crew member may re-roll all misses once per attack. For example, the Pilot is attacking. He has a dice count of 2 and is equipped with the Pistol. He rolls his 2 dice and gets 2 misses. The Pistol allows him to reroll both dice. When you reroll a miss, you must accept whatever the new result is, even if it's an injury or another miss. Do not resolve kills or injuries in the attack until after the reroll is complete.

Stolen Shield - Discard this item from play to ignore 1 hit dealt to this crew member by your opponent. When the crew member takes any amount of damage caused by your opponent (attack, action, etc.), you may immediately discard Stolen Shield to negate 1 of the hits. It doesn't matter whose turn it is. Stolen Shield CANNOT be used to ignore an injury or any other form of damage that is self-inflicted.

Responses

Be a Hero - If opponent rolls any hits, you assign them instead of your opponent. Play this card after your opponent declares which tribes are attacking but before the attack is rolled. Be a Hero allows you to choose which exposed crew members will be assigned the hits that are rolled in the attack. You MUST assign all of them.

Camera Flash - The action is discarded before it has any effect. Play this card immediately after your opponent plays an action card. The effects of the action are not resolved and the card is discarded. Your opponent does NOT get a refund on the rage they spent to play the action.

Cry and Beg - Ignore all hits from 1 tribe. That tribe ignores all flees. Play this card immediately after your opponent has assigned hits in an attack. Essentially this card cancels the attack roll of a single tribe. Choose 1 of the attacking tribes. All hits and flees rolled by that particular tribe are disregarded.

Dodge - Ignore 1 hit. Play this card after your opponent has assigned hits in an attack. The hit of your choice is disregarded and causes no damage to the crew member. All other hits still count. If you play Dodge in response to Overrun and your opponent only rolled 1 hit in the first attack, they still get to roll a second attack.

Eye for an Eye - Kill 1 warrior for every crew member that was assigned hits. Play this card after your opponent has assigned hits in an attack. For every crew member who was assigned a hit, you may kill 1 warrior of your choice. NOTE: You are not counting the number of hits, you are counting the number of crew members who were assigned hits. For example: If your opponent rolls 3 hits and assigns all of them to the Camera Man, you only get to kill 1 warrior. If they assign 2 hits to the Camera Man and 1 to the Script Girl, you get to kill 2 warriors.

Ricochet - Ignore 1 hit. Kill 1 warrior from the tribe that rolled the hit. Play this card after your opponent has assigned hits in an attack. The hit of your choice causes no damage to the crew member. Kill 1 warrior from the tribe that dealt that specific hit. If you play this card in response to Overrun and your opponent only rolled 1 hit, they still get to roll a second attack.

Run - Unexpose 1 crew member. Play this card when your opponent declares an attack. You may unexpose the crew member of your choice. If they were equipped with an item, discard it. They can be exposed again on your turn and their ability can be utilized normally.

Steal - The item is discarded before it has any effect. Play this card when your opponent plays an item card. The item is immediately discarded before it can be used. Your opponent does NOT get a refund for the rage they spent to play it. This cannot be used to negate the effect of an item that's already in play.

Talk Shit - Attacking tribe of your choice uses 1 fewer dice in the attack. Play this card after your opponent has declared which tribes are attacking but before they roll it. Choose 1 of the attacking tribes. That tribe uses 1 fewer dice than they normally would in the attack. If that tribe would have used only 1 dice in the attack, they don't attack at all.

Vendetta - Take 1 rage for every hit assigned. Play this card after your opponent has assigned hits in the attack. For every hit assigned, take 1 rage. If your opponent doesn't have enough rage to cover all the hits, take what you can. If you end up with all 11 rage tokens, you do NOT have to give one to your opponent because it is not the end of your turn.

Native Card Glossary

Actions

Battle Plan - Play 2 additional cards from your hand. Rage costs still apply. Resolve one-at-a-time. When you play this card, you may then play up to 2 additional cards from your hand. Play them 1 at a time and fully resolve the first card before playing the second. Your opponent can play a response card, but only 1, and they must specify which card they are responding to.

Earn Their Trust - (GREEN TRIBAL CARD) Look at opponent's hand and force them to discard 1 card of your choice. If they only have 1 card in their hand, you still get to look at it before it's discarded. If they have no hand, this card cannot be played.

Equality - (GREEN TRIBAL CARD) Both you and your opponent discard your entire hands and draw 3 cards. This card can be played even if you and/or your opponent have no cards in your hands.

Fog of War - Opponent discards their entire hand, shuffles their discard pile and places it at the bottom of their draw deck. You can play this card even if your opponent has no hand and/or no draw deck, but if they have no hand AND no discard pile, it has no effect.

Fortify - Draw 3 cards. You must still discard down to 5 at the end of your turn.

Hack and Slash - Deal 1 hit to an unexposed crew member. This is the only card in the game that allows you to harm unexposed crew members. NOTE: This is not considered an attack.

Hide Your Numbers - Move 1 dead warrior from this encounter to a previous encounter card. Remove the dead warrior of your choice from the current encounter card and place it on a previous encounter card. It doesn't matter which encounter you move it to. It does NOT need to be placed on an empty skull. Unless all exposed warriors have fled or died, your opponent must fill the vacated skull with a new dead warrior in order to advance to the next encounter. This card cannot be played during the first encounter OR if there are no dead warriors on the current encounter card.

Javelin - Deal 1 hit to an exposed crew member. You chose the crew member. Remember: this is not considered an attack.

Last Ditch - Discard your hand and your draw deck. Search your discard for any 2 cards and make them your hand. It doesn't matter if you have any cards in your hand when you play this. After you've chosen the cards, shuffle your discard to form a new draw deck.

Loot the Bodies - Draw a card. Opponent chooses and discards 1 card from their hand. This card can still be played even if your opponent has no hand.

Play With Your Food - (RED TRIBAL CARD) Opponent rolls 1 dice for each exposed crew member. If they roll a kill, that crew member loses 1HP. Your opponent rolls for each crew member one-at-a-time. This is NOT considered an attack.

Premonition - Look at the top 3 cards of your draw deck. Discard any you wish and put the rest back in any order. If you don't have 3 cards in your draw deck, shuffle your discard to form a new draw deck and draw the remaining cards.

Premonition - Look at the top 3 cards of your draw deck. Discard any you wish and put the rest back in any order. If you don't have 3 cards in your draw deck, shuffle your discard to form a new draw deck and draw the remaining cards.

Prisoner Exchange - Return any 2 dead warriors from a previous encounter to your reserves. A crew member of opponent's choice gains 1HP. The warriors can come from any tribe and any encounter except the one currently being played. The crew member that your opponent chooses can be either exposed or unexposed.

Prisoner Exchange - Return any 2 dead warriors from a previous encounter to your reserves. A crew member of opponent's choice gains 1HP. The warriors can come from any tribe and any encounter except the one currently being played. The crew member that your opponent chooses can be either exposed or unexposed.

Ravenous - Play an attack card from your discard pile without paying its rage cost. If you do not have any attack cards in your discard pile, this card cannot be played.

Ravenous - Play an attack card from your discard pile without paying its rage cost. If you do not have any attack cards in your discard pile, this card cannot be played.

Reverse Engineering - (YELLOW TRIBAL CARD) Force opponent to discard an item that's already in play. You choose the item.

Ritual - (BLUE TRIBAL CARD) Kill an exposed warrior, Play any card from your hand without paying its rage cost. The warrior you kill can come from any tribe but cannot come from your reserves. This cannot be used to play response cards.

Sacrifice - (BLUE TRIBAL CARD) Kill an exposed warrior. Deal 1 damage to an exposed crew member. The warrior you kill can come from any tribe but cannot come from your reserves. You choose which exposed crew member takes the damage. This is not considered an attack.

Scouts Return - Expose up to 2 warriors of your choice. The warriors do not have to be from the same tribe.

Signal Fire - Exchange up to 3 exposed warriors for an equal number of warriors from your reserves. Choose up to 3 exposed warriors from any tribes and return them to your reserves. Expose that same number of warriors from your reserves. They do not have to be from the same tribe. For example: you return 3 exposed green warriors to your reserves. You then expose 1 blue and 2 red warriors.

Smoke Them Out - Expose the crew member of your choice. Their ability has no effect. Choose any unexposed crew member and force your opponent to expose them. They do not get to use their ability. This card cannot be played if your opponent has no unexposed crew members.

What Have They Done? - Take 3 rage. If your opponent has fewer than 3 rage, take what you can. Remember that if you end your turn with all 11 rage tokens, you must give 1 to your opponent.

Witch Dust - Take any card from your discard pile and add it to your hand. If you have no cards in your discard pile, this card cannot be played.

Attacks

NOTE: The attack cards Engage, Assault, Onslaught, and Total War are not included in the glossary as they are described in the rulebook section Attacks.

Make Them Die Slowly - (RED TRIBAL CARD) All tribes (with at least 1 warrior left alive) attack with 1 dice, even if they have no warriors exposed. All tribes that have any warriors left alive (exposed or in the reserves) MUST attack, even if none are exposed. Tribes with no surviving warriors do not get to roll. Roll 1 of each attacking tribe's dice and resolve them normally. If a tribe with no exposed warriors rolls any flees, ignore them.

Overrun - 1 tribe attacks. If they get any hits, they may attack a second time. The tribe attacks normally. If they roll at least 1 hit, they may roll a second attack. The attacks are separate and resolved one-at-a-time, so if your opponent plays a response, it only applies to 1 of the attacks. Flees still count.

Us or Them - 1 tribe attacks. Ignore all flees. The tribe attacks normally but disregards any flees rolled.

Items

Barrier - (YELLOW TRIBAL CARD) Opponent's item cards cost 1 extra rage to play. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your opponent remembers/complies. As long as this card is in play, any item card your opponent plays will cost them 1 more rage than they would normally have to pay.

Blowguns - Tribes reroll all misses once per attack. Roll attacks normally, but before assigning hits and resolving flees, reroll all the dice that missed. (You must accept the results of this second roll.) Assign all hits and resolve all flees from both rolls as though they were the same attack.

Jumtxe Machinist - (YELLOW TRIBAL CARD) Once per turn you may pay 1 rage to draw 1 card. This item can be used at any point during your turn, even if you have already played or drawn a card.

Kaypalo Shaman - (BLUE TRIBAL CARD) Once per turn you may pay 4 rage to return 1 dead warrior from a previous encounter to your reserves. The dead warrior can come from any tribe and any encounter except the one currently being played. This card cannot be played during the first encounter.

Moxweti Warlord - (RED TRIBAL CARD) All of your attack cards cost 1 fewer rage to play. As long as the Moxweti Warlord is in play, you may subtract 1 from the rage cost of any attack card. This does not apply to standard actions or items.

Rain of Arrows - Tribes with at least 1 exposed warrior use all of their dice when attacking. As long as Rain of Arrows is in play, all attacking tribes use all of their attack dice, regardless of how many of their warriors are exposed (min. 1).

Snare - Opponent cannot play attack cards. Opponent rolls 1 dice at the beginning of each of their turns. If they roll a kill, discard this card. It is YOUR responsibility to remind your opponent to roll at the beginning of each of their turns. Snare does not affect standard actions, items, responses, or crew member abilities.

Totem - Discard this card from play to ignore the death of a warrior. The death of the warrior MUST have been caused by your opponent in order for this card to be used. Totem cannot be used to negate deaths that you voluntarily cause (with cards like Ritual).

Tukhua Elder - (GREEN TRIBAL CARD) Every time a warrior is killed in an attack, take 1 rage (if possible). As long as this item is in play, take 1 rage every time a warrior is killed in an attack. If there is no rage left to take, this card has no effect. This card does not apply to kills caused by actions or responses.

War Paint - Tribes ignore all flees rolled when attacking. While this card is in play, attacks are rolled normally but any flees rolled are disregarded. War Paint does NOT prevent warriors from fleeing due to the effects of cards.

Responses

Bargaining - The attack does not happen. The opponent draws a card. Play when your opponent declares an attack. The attack is not rolled and the attack card is discarded. Your opponent then draws a card and adds it to their hand. They do NOT get a refund on the rage they spent to play the attack.

Burn Your Dead - If your opponent rolls any kills, you choose which warriors are killed. Play this card after your opponent has rolled a crew member's attack. Instead of your opponent deciding which warriors are killed, you choose them. You must still kill 1 exposed warrior for every kill your opponent rolled, but you decide which ones die.

Destroy - The item is discarded before it has any effect. Play when your opponent plays an item card. The item is discarded before your opponent can use it. They do NOT get a refund for the rage they spent to play the item. This does NOT negate the effect of an item that's already in play.

Disarm - Ignore all kills from that crew member. That crew member ignores all injuries. Play after a crew member's attack is rolled. Disregard the attack's results entirely, including both kills and injuries.

Intimidate - The crew member's ability has no effect. Play when your opponent exposes a crew member. The crew member's ability has no effect but they remain exposed.

Rallying Cry - Take 2 rage. Play after your opponent has killed a warrior in an attack. If your opponent has fewer than 2 rage, take what you can. You only get 2 rage regardless of how many warriors were killed.

Refuse to Die - Return the warrior to your reserves. Play after your opponent has killed a warrior. It doesn't matter if the warrior was killed in an attack or by a card's effect. Instead of placing the dead warrior on the encounter card, return him to your reserves.

Reinforcements - Instead of killing exposed warriors, kill warriors from the same tribes' reserves. Play after your opponent has assigned kills in an attack. The same number of warriors from the same tribes must die, but instead the dead warriors come from your reserves. For example: If the Drug Runner rolls 2 kills and assigns 1 to red and 1 to yellow, take 1 red and 1 yellow warrior from the reserves and place them on empty skulls on the encounter card.

Retribution - Deal 1 damage to the crew member who killed the warrior. Play when an attacking crew member rolls any number of kills in an attack. That crew member loses 1HP. This doesn't count as an attack.

Strike Fear - The action is discarded before it has any effect. Play when opponent plays an action card. The card is discarded and the action has no effect. Your opponent does NOT get a refund for the rage they spent to play the action. Remember: this does not work on items.

Credits

Designed / Written / Illustrated by Ryan Sheffield

Developed with the invaluable help of Brad Dougher, JC Shumate, Amanda Guy and everyone who playtested the game

Ferox is a creation of the CRAFT FAIR GAMES game design collective of DFW, Texas.

1st Edition - 2015 // 2nd Edition - 2019

The foliage artwork on the encounter cards was generated using the Gozzy Wilderness Generator under the Creative Commons license. Credit: John Godsland http://www.gozzys.com