Folklore: The Affliction
Folklore: The Affliction Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- Components
- Game Setup
- Character Card
- Lore Tree
- Ability Cards
- Item Cards
- General Game Flow
- Using the Story Journal
- Adventuring & Leadership Changes
- Encounter Boxes
- Story Closing
- Traversing the World Map
- Skirmishes
- Conditions, Effects & Statuses
- Adventuring
- Encounters
- Encounter Creature Card
- Affliction/Creature Types
- Encounter Turn/Round
- First Strike
- Character Turn
- Character Movement
- Attacking
- Devastating Strike & Fault
- Exhausting Items & Abilities
- Blocking Attacks with a Shield
- Dying in Combat
- Foe Turn
- Foe Movement
- Foe Attacks
- Special Powers
- Devastating Strike and Fault (Foes)
- General Encounter Rules
- Flames in Combat
- Pushing
- Winning an Encounter
- Awards
- On Death and Dying
- Wrapping Up a Game
- Advanced Rules
- Glossary
Game Overview
Folklore: The Affliction is an adventure board game where your characters play through a series of stories in their quest to save the land from evil. Every story is steeped in tales and lore from ages past. As your characters complete stories, they will become more powerful and gain enough strength to rid the land of its Afflictions.
Stories are broken into multiple chapters to provide convenient stopping points, allowing players to have control of how long their game sessions last. Most chapters will take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete.
Using This Rulebook
Folklore: The Affliction is a story-based game. As such, players should look to the Story Journal as their guide, and refer to it for instruction throughout their play session. We recommend that when learning the game for the first time, players read this rulebook up to Ready to Play, then stop and open the Story Journal. Players are encouraged to wait to read further sections until they become relevant in the story, or are directed to read by the Story Journal.
Credits
Will Donovan & Nick Blain (Twin Fire Productions): Creators, Game Designers. Stephen Gibson: Illustration, Graphic Design. Jason Engle: Illustration (Characters, Creatures, Cover, Tiles). Henning Ludvig: Illustration (Tiles). Eric Belisle: Illustration (Terrifying creatures). Erica Willey: Illustration (Tarot cards). Kieran Russell: Miniature Artist. Zachary Parkes: Graphic Design, Production. Jeff Gracia: Production. Theresa Gracia: Marketing. Julie Ahern, Walter Barber, T.R. Knight, & Will Donovan: Writing, Editing, Proofreading.
- Expanded Story Writers: Will Donovan, Nick Blain, Julie Ahern, Nicholas Fife, and Adam & Brady Sadler.
- Special Thanks/Play Testers: Brad Warner, Bryan Wride, Dave Serafino, Darrell Roelandt, James Drain, Jason Dandy, Joe Belanger, Jon Albert, Kevin Galbavi, Kurt Julius, Lance Myxter, Mark Pereira, Matthew Warner, Nicholas Fife, Peter Schmidt, Solomon Knicely, Steve Dillon, Tim Harris, Trino Madriz and all of our Kickstarter backers!
©2018 Greenbrier Games Inc.
Components
Each game of Folklore: The Affliction should contain the following components. Additional details on these components can be found later in this rulebook.
A. Book/Booklets
- Character Booklets (6)
- Rulebook (1)
- Story Journal (1)
B. Cards (44x68mm)
- Characters (6)
- Dark Oak (2)
- Decaying Dead (4)
- Gargoyles (2)
- Flesh Eating Ghouls (3)
- Mad Druid (1)
- Moon Priests (2)
- Night Stalkers (2)
- Rabid Wolves (3)
- Restless Spirits (3)
- Streghas (3)
- Vampires (3)
- Werewolves (2)
- Ghosts (6)
- Highwaymen (3)
- Watchmen (2)
- Undertaker (1)
- Vicious Hound (1)
- Blood Priests (2)
- Brujas (3)
- Imps (2)
- Infested (3)
- Necuratus (2)
- Poltergeists (2)
- Revenants (2)
- Skinwalkers (2)
- Tainted Saplings (2)
- White Wolves (3)
C. Cards (2.5x2.5in)
- Foe Vita Trackers (8)
- Vita/Power Trackers (10)
D. Cards (3.5x2.5in)
- Off Road Events (24)
- Road Events (48)
E. Cards (6x4in)
- Afflictions (9)
- Character/Ghosts (6)
- Creature/Skirmish (28)
- Reference (4)
F. Dice (12)
- Black d4 (2)
- Black d6 (2)
- Black d10 (2)
- Red d10 (2)
- White d10 (2)
- Black d00 (2)
G. Maps
- Map Tiles (10x10in) (10)
- World Map (1)
H. Mini Standees (72)
I. Other (not shown)
- Archway (1)
- Darkness (1)
- Double Door (4)
- Leader (1)
- Log (1)
- Portcullis (2)
- Rubble (4)
- Sarcophagus (1)
- Search (6)
- Stickman (1)
- Story Markers (Colored) (4)
- Skirmish Trackers (8)
- Snare (4)
- Spawn (4)
- Target (10)
- Wanted (5)
J. Tokens (circle)
- Arcanist Aura (1)
- Affliction (9)
- Attack/Defend (5)
- Boons (10)
- Compass (5)
- Corrosion (8)
- Consumables (34)
- Creature (4)
- Infection (12)
- Flame (16)
K. Tokens (other)
- Plastic Stands (18)
- Cubes (5)
Additionally, Abilities (64), Artifacts (9), Companions (Animal) (8), Companions (Militia) (9), Items (96), Prayers (10), Rituals (10), and Tarot (8) cards (44x68mm) are included among the game's cards.
Game Setup
The following is a simple and quick setup checklist.
- Number of Characters: Determine the number of characters being played, from two to five. If you are playing a single-player game, you are required to play with a minimum of two characters.
- Place the World Map: Place the map in the middle of your play area.
- Prepare Card Decks:
- Separate the cards of the game and arrange all decks according to type.
- Shuffle all decks, except Ability, and arrange Creature and Affliction decks in alphabetical order.
- Be sure to leave space next to each deck for that deck's discard pile.
- Choose Your Character: Each player selects a Character Card, associated Booklet, and miniature/standee. Choose your character focus and note it on the Character Record Sheet. If you already have a character and want to continue with them, skip ahead to section 6.
- Equip A New Character: Take the starting Abilities, Items, and other starting equipment for your character as shown in the Character booklet. If a Prayer or Rituals card is shown, randomly draw from the respective deck.
- Place starting Items (including weapons) to the left of your Character cards.
- Each character may equip any Items by placing them to the right of the Character card and making note on their Character Record Sheet.
- Place Vita and Power Point Tracking cards to the left and right of your Character card as shown.
- Example: the Arcanist should take Ability cards (Runic Dice, Seek the Chakra), Equipment (Stiletto, 1x Bandages), and lastly randomly draw 1 Ritual card from the Ritual deck.
- Choose Your Story: Choose the story you wish to play. New players should start with Everything Changes.
- Start a new Session Record Sheet. Record the players, their characters, and your starting story.
- Place The Group Marker: Place the Group Marker on the World Map at the Church of the CrossRoads if you are starting the first Story. If you are continuing from a previous play session, the party must travel to the starting location specified in the Story Journal. See "World Map Movement" on page 15 for more details.
- Character Number: Folklore: The Affliction is a cooperative game, so we recommend you choose who will be Character 1 (and the starting Leader) by any means you choose fit as a group. Mark the character number on the Character and Session Record Sheet, see "Character Record Sheet" on page 34. Number all remaining characters 2 through 5, clockwise. Character 1 starts as the Leader and takes the Leader token.
Adding New Characters/Skipping Ahead
Use these guidelines if you wish to add a new character to an existing campaign (example adding a fourth character to a group of three), or you wish to start fresh with new characters, but do not want to play from the beginning. This guide will provide characters with quick stats and starting equipment. Additional Items are dealt at random.
| Difficulty | Items | Lore | Coins | Ability Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dusk | 2 | 200 | 1d4 x 10 | 4, or Starting Abilities +1 |
| Twilight | 3 | 500 | 2d4 x 10 | 6, or Starting Abilities +3 |
| Midnight | 5 | 1100 | 3d4 x 10 | 11, or Starting Abilities +8 |
| Nightmare | 5 | 1700 | 3d4 x 10 | 15, or Starting Abilities +12 |
Two Character Games
When playing Folklore: The Affliction with only two characters, take the following actions at the start of each story:
- Give each character an extra Bandage token (only if there are unused Bandage tokens available).
- Give each character a random Animal or Militia Companion card (only if the character has a free Companion slot).
- Give each character a random Boon token, see "Boon Tokens" on page 30 (only if the character has fewer than 2 Boons currently in their possession).
Roles in the Game
There are three major roles within the game:
Leader: The Leader is a character-specific role, rather than a player role. A character is the Leader when they have the Leader token in their possession. The Leader acts first during a round, is responsible for movement on the World Map, and has the final say in any and all group decisions. See "Adventuring & Leadership Changes" on page 14.
Controller: The Controller is always the player that is to the right of the current Leader. The Controller is responsible for placing and controlling enemies during combat encounters, and rolling for enemies during skirmishes. Optionally, you can choose one player to be the Controller for the duration of the game session.
Narrator: The Narrator can be any player. Their job is to read through the story being played. This should be done out loud so that the other players may hear how events unfold. Pick the Narrator at the start of a story.
Figure #01 (Leader/Group Marker): 1. Leader token – Day Side, 2. Leader token – Night Side, 3. Group Marker
Rolling Dice
Dice are used to attack your foes, perform skill checks, resist negative statuses, cast Rituals, and more. Dice are denoted as d[x], where [x] specifies the number of sides. When you see a notation such as "1d4" or "d4", it means roll one four-sided die, while "2d6" means roll two six-sided dice. A notation such as "d6:5+" means roll one six-sided die and the listed effect occurs if you score a 5 or more.
There are two types of d10 dice, a single-digit and a double-digit (called a d00). Together, they are called percentile dice as they produce results from 1-100.
- Rounding: When you have math to perform, always ROUND DOWN!
Choosing Characters
There are six unique character archetypes to choose from. Playing more than one of the same archetype during a campaign is not allowed.
The Arcanist: A dabbler in the arcane and a seeker of secrets. Her occult knowledge is peerless.
- She carries the Stiletto, and is immune to being TRANSFORMED.
The Archeologist: A scholar possessing knowledge of things ancient and mystical.
- His favored weapon is a whip which he uses to hinder his foes. He can never be IMMOBILIZED.
The Avenging Madman: A revenge driven farm-hand whose family was slaughtered by vampires. His rage has made him unstable but strong.
- He flings himself into combat with a Bale Hook.
- The Madman cannot be DERANGED and has outstanding nerve.
- As consequence, he is unable to use ranged weapons.
The Exorcist: A holy man sent to purge the land of evil.
- He holds the Aspergillum, a weapon that can be filled with holy waters.
- He is immune to BLOODLUST, and can revitalize his allies through prayer.
The Telepath: A talented mentalist who can access unique and powerful psychic Abilities.
- She carries a quartz lantern that can focus the power of her mind to cause her enemies harm.
The Witch Hunter: A fanatical bounty hunter sworn to undo all paganism.
- He is a tracker and a marksman with the crossbow.
- He is immune to being SPOOKED.
Character Card
The Character card shows all of the starting information for playing as that particular character.
Figure #02 (Character Card):
- Name: A character's archetype. Players should come up with their own personal names for their characters on their Character Record Sheet.
- Starting Equipment: Character's starting equipment.
- Mystic Knowledge: The Ability for the character to use either Ritual or Prayer cards. If none is specified they may not use either.
- Special Ability: Each character has a unique special Ability.
- Vita Tracker: Points to your current Vita level.
- Keywords: The character is limited to using only Ability cards which match the listed keywords.
- Card ID Number.
- Model: The miniature to be used during gameplay. If you don't have the miniature use the included standee of the same name.
- Skills: The skills that a character is initially proficient with. They do not receive bonuses for skills not listed.
- Power Point Tracker: Points to your character's current Power Point level.
- Attributes: The character's starting attribute values.
Attributes
Each character has a number of attributes:
- Vita: The life force of a character. If a character's Vita reaches zero, they die and become a ghost. See "On Death and Dying" on page 32.
- Defense: The Ability to evade foes during combat. This is the number which is required for an opposing attack roll to hit a character or foe. If the attack roll with modifiers is equal to a target's Defense, the attack is successful.
- Might: A character's skill in combat. Add this number to attack rolls.
- DMG Bonus: This is the extra damage that a character inflicts on a successful hit with a weapon. If they have no weapon, they may still attack and cause the DMG bonus amount. See "Encounters" on page 24 for details.
- Power Points: This represents the number of Power Points a character has. They can be spent to use Abilities.
- Stride: This number represents the number of spaces a character can move when adventuring on a map and the number of Road segments the group can move on the World Map. A character's Stride can never exceed 7.
Skills
Skill checks are made during various events and challenges, see "Skill Check Box" on page 12 for example. They even play a part in certain combat situations. Each character has the following skills whether they have a bonus in the skill or not:
- Nerve: Bravery and overall Ability to act in the face of terror.
- Trickery: The characters Ability to perform actions that go unnoticed by others and to manipulate objects with dexterous movement.
- Speech: The character's skill in linguistics, languages, and negotiations.
- Occult: Knowledge and skill concerning subjects arcane and occult.
- Faith: The character's spiritual strength, knowledge, and willpower.
- Ecology: The character's knowledge of the world, environments, plants, and animals.
- Awareness: How in-tuned your character is to their surroundings.
- Archeology: Knowledge and skill pertaining to things ancient and cultural.
Vita and Power Points
Each character starts with a set number of Vita and Power Points. Set up the cards to point to the correct number. Characters may be told to either recover or gain Vita and Power Points. If told to recover, you earn back up to your maximum value. If told to gain, you may exceed your maximum value and the excess act as temporary points.
- When a character's Max Vita or Power Points change, the current value does not change.
For example, if your character is at their Max Vita of 21, and are told you can recover 4 Vita, their Vita stays at 21. However, if you are told to gain 4 Vita, their Vita increases to 25. These extra 4 points are temporary and once lost cannot be recovered as the character's Max Vita did not increase.
Character Booklets
Each character has a booklet providing capabilities unique to their archetype.
Figure #03-04 (Character Booklet):
- Name: A character's archetype. Players should come up with their own personal names for their characters.
- Character Background.
- Character Focus: Players must choose one of two focuses for their character when they first start out. These paths reflect the different personalities and professions that the characters may possess.
- Character Portrait.
- Starting Abilities and Equipment: This is provided for quick play and ease of setup. It's recommended you find the matching cards from the appropriate decks, as most cards are one of a kind.
- Location Extras: There are unique things only certain characters can buy and interact with in town. The booklet tells you what options are available. Items purchased with these options cannot be traded to or used by other characters. See "Character Journal Items" on page 10 for details.
Lore Tree
There are several ways to make characters unique and more powerful as they progress through stories. Each character should note their growth and choices on their respective Character Record Sheet.
Figure #05 (Character Booklet/Lore Tree): 7. Lore: When you reach the total number of Lore shown on the left, that tier is unlocked. 8. Ability Points (AP): This is the number of Ability Points you receive for reaching the tier. 9. Choice One and Two: You will have to choose which Lore reward you receive when you reach the appropriate tier. Some choices are dictated by which character focus you choose. You must immediately choose the choice of the Lore reward when you reach a tier.
It is possible to lose Lore or sacrifice Lore, like supernatural ailments such as lycanthropy. If your total Lore decreases beyond a previous Lore tier, you lose the associated benefits until you regain enough to reach that tier again. Ability Points are not lost if this occurs.
For example, let's say the Avenging Madman had 1250 Lore and chose the +4 Max Vita. If he lost 30 Lore, bringing him to 1220 Lore, he would lose his +4 Max Vita until he reached 1250 Lore once more. He cannot change to Choice Two as his initial choice is permanent.
Ability Cards
Each character begins the game with two Abilities. There are a wide range of Abilities in the game, so we recommend keeping this deck in alphabetical order or by keyword for easy searching. You will have the option to learn new Abilities as you gain Ability Points.
Figure #06 (Ability Card):
- Ability Card Back.
- Name: Ability name.
- Keywords: Each card has one or more keywords. Your character must also have at least one matching keyword in order to be able to learn or use the Ability card. If no keyword is listed, any character may learn it.
- Starting Character: This is provided so you can easily find Ability cards at the start of the game for your respective character. Leave the unused cards in the deck as they can be purchased by other characters.
- Ability Effects: The mechanics explaining how the Ability is used.
- Use At Any Time: If an hourglass is shown on the card it can be used anytime, even during someone else's turn, in or out of combat.
- Melee or Ranged: Specifies if the attack is melee (swords) or ranged (double arrows).
- Combat Use Limit: If specified, the number of times the Ability can be used in combat. See "Ability Uses" below.
- Power Point Cost: The number of Power Points needed to activate the Ability (for active Abilities), in addition, the Ability point cost needed to learn it.
- Passive or Active: Passive Abilities does not require you to pay Power Points to activate the card, whereas active Abilities do.
- Card ID Number.
Ability Types
There are two types of Abilities:
- Passive: These Abilities are represented by a GREY Power Point icon. They do not require Power Points to activate during play. The Ability Cost only determines how many Ability Points are needed to learn them.
- Active: These Abilities are represented by a BLUE Power Point icon. Every time you use an active Ability, you must spend Power Points in the amount of the Ability Cost.
Ability Uses
Abilities may only be used during the character's turn, unless they have the Use At Any Time icon. Follow the rules described on each Ability card. Abilities are active for one round unless otherwise indicated. You may NOT add your DMG Bonus to Abilities!
Some Abilities can be used as often as you like as long as the character has the necessary Power Points, where others may be used only once per round or combat.
- Unlimited uses: As long as you have the Power Points available you may continue to use this Ability.
- Once per Round: When an effect lasts "one round" it means until the start of a character/foe's next turn.
- Once per Fight: This can only be used once per combat.
Characters are allowed to learn/use Abilities when there is a shared keyword which matches what is listed on their character card. If an Ability does not have a keyword, any character may learn it. There is only one of each Ability card in the game, so players must arbitrate amongst themselves if multiple characters want to learn a specific Ability.
Abilities may be learned at the "Church of the CrossRoads" (17) library. Learning an Ability requires a character to spend Ability Points for each Power Point listed on the card. For example, the Chomper Ability has a Power Point Cost of 2, so it requires 2 Ability Points to purchase.
Item Cards
Items may be found throughout the world of Folklore. They play a vital role in surviving the battle against evil. Without them, a character would not have weapons to fight with, or bandages to heal one's wounds.
Some Items must be equipped for them to function, such as weapon, armor, or a helmet. Cards that must be equipped have the body location specified on the card. Equipped Items should be placed to the right of the character card, and noted on the character record sheet.
- Item Carry limit: Only 8 Items/Artifacts may be held at any one time unless you have an enhancement to allow increased capacity.
- Consumables (including consumable Item tokens) are not included in this limitation. If you are to go over capacity when receiving a card, you must immediately trade the card to another character or discard it.
Figure #08-10 (Item Cards):
- Item Card back.
- Item Graphic.
- Item Name.
- Description: The effect of the Item.
- Item Slot: Location the Item is equipped, either in hand or in a character's equipment slot. 2-handed Items (2 HANDS) take up both hand slots.
- Coin Value: The cost to purchase the Item while in town.
- Item Category: Consumable, Enhancement, Protective, Weaponry.
- Card ID Number.
Figure #09 (Item Cards/Protective & Weapon): 9. Damage: The damage die to roll when using the Item. 10. Melee or Ranged: Specifies if the attack is melee (swords icon) or ranged (double arrows). If it is a ranged Item and no distance is listed, there is no range limit.
Figure #10 (Item Cards/Consumable & Ranged): 11. Consumable Uses: Number of times you can use the consumable. 12. Ammo: Number of times you can use the weapon per combat.
Trading & Selling Items
Items can be traded amongst group members at any time except for during combat. During encounters, Items can only be exchanged between adjacent characters at the end of their turn. Any number of Items or coins may be traded. Characters cannot trade during a skirmish. Items may be sold at the "Market" (17) in town for half the coin value listed on the card. Items from character locations extras may never be traded, but may be sold.
For weaponry, the hands location also specifies how many Item slots are required. For example, a weapon showing "2 HANDS" requires both Hand slots, but it only counts as one Item or Artifact.
Item Categories
Items and Artifacts are broken into four categories:
- Consumable: Single use Items that must be discarded after use. Some examples include Bandages, Health Tonics and Wood. Some consumables are reusable, with a number of uses listed on the card. Turn the card each time you use it. On the last use, discard the card back to the Item deck or if it notes how it can be refilled flip the card over to denote it's been used up.
- Enhancement: Items that can enhance the character's statistics or powers.
- Protective: Items that increase a character's defenses, or allow them to avoid being struck in combat.
- Weaponry: These are Items that can be wielded to augment a character's combat Ability. All weapons are either melee (hand-held weapon, such as a sword) or ranged (such as the Crossbow).
Heirlooms
Heirlooms signify family keepsakes that have been passed down from mother and father, to son and daughter, throughout the generations. Each provides a minor benefit to its bearer.
- During the initial creation of a character, randomly draw one Heirloom. Heirlooms do not take up any Item slot, and can not be lost, stolen or traded with another character. There are opportunities, although rare, to discover them during a story's narration.
- Heirloom cards are an optional part of the Dark Tales expansion.
Character Journal Items
Character-specific Items are Items that can be purchased/unlocked via a character's journal, see "Figure #03-04 (Character Booklet)" on page 8, when visiting various "Town Services" (17). These Items have no respective cards in the core game, and should be recorded on the player's "Character Record Sheet" (34).
Mystic Knowledge
Mystic Knowledge spans both light (Prayers) and dark (Rituals). Depending on the character you play, they may be more inclined to walk in the light, or walk the edge of darkness.
Prayer & Ritual Cards
Prayers are age-old mantras that contain divine power. They hold true power and can provide aid to those of the faith.
Example — From the Brink (Faith 8/10): You pray for your fallen comrade to return from beyond the veil. May be attempted once/chapter until successful. Bring one character back from ghost form to life with 10 Vita (Faith 8). Or you may bring one character in Limbo back to ghost form with 10 Ghost Points (Faith 10).
Rituals come from old manuscripts and arcane works. In some cases from the Necronomicon itself, an ancient book holding great power, its origins dark and obscure. Many of its pages were torn out and scattered around the world by some unknown entity.
Figure #11-12 (Prayer & Ritual Cards):
- Card Back.
- Name of the Prayer/Ritual.
- Flavor Text.
- Description: The effect of the Prayer/Ritual.
- Skill Check: The skill check that must be passed to activate the Prayer/Ritual.
- Card ID Number.
For both Prayers and Rituals, each card contains a different rite which may be used then discarded. On a character's turn, if they possess a Prayer, they make a Faith check specified on the Prayer card to attempt to activate its power. If they possess a Ritual, they make an Occult check. If the check fails, the character is unsuccessful in activating the card, but the Prayer/Ritual is not lost. Once it is successfully performed, it is discarded. During combat, an attempt to use a Prayer or Ritual takes an Act, meaning they cannot attack and use their mystic knowledge during the same round.
- Prayers: May be purchased at the "Church of the CrossRoads" (17) world map location.
- Rituals: Gained via exploration and completing stories.
General Game Flow
While proceeding through the Story Journal, gameplay in Folklore: The Affliction will take place over a series of rounds. A round consists of each character taking a single turn. Depending on what part of a story your group is on, the length and complexity of a turn will vary.
Leadership Changes
The Leader token denotes the current Leader and marks the passage of time with day and night sides. Each time the token is passed, it should be flipped to its opposite side. Turns will always proceed clockwise from the character with the Leader token.
- While traveling on the World Map: the Leader token is flipped and passed after each turn, due to the amount of time it takes characters to travel long distances. See "World Map Movement" on page 15.
- While exploring or in combat on an Adventure Map: the Leader token should only be passed when there is a map transition (between World Map and Adventure Map, or from one Adventure Map to the next). See "Adventuring & Leadership Changes" on page 14.
Basic Combat & Skirmish Rules
- Ranged weapons use ammo. If depleted and you are unable to refill your ammo through Abilities, you cannot use this weapon for the remainder of the combat. At the end of an encounter or during map tile change, the ammo gets replenished to full amount.
- Equipped weapons can be swapped with stowed weapons in player's backpack at the end of a player's activation.
- Fistfight is always possible and does only the damage bonus from the character sheet. A percentile dice roll must be rolled before applying any damage.
- When using melee or ranged weapons there are two types of these weapons, One Handed and Two Handed weapons, and they behave differently, see below:
- Two Handed (2H): If using 2H weapons you always roll the damage dice (after percentile dice roll) twice and take the higher result. Don't forget this bonus as it is vital for you and your group.
- One Handed (1H): If you are using a 1H weapon, you are able to equip a second 1H weapon as well. If you do so you can spend 1 Power Point to make a second attack with the second weapon as well during your activation. Do not forget that the weapon damage bonus only applies to your dealt damage for the weapon you used for the attack.
- Abilities that do not have an hourglass icon on them (use at any time even during other players' activation) have to state that their Ability can be used during a skirmish. If nothing is stated they CAN NOT be used while skirmishing.
- Consumable Items can be used at any time and as many as you wish during your activation.
- Power Points and Vita do not get refreshed when gaining a level up through lore progression (unless resting, see below); you have to use consumables or Abilities during an encounter or skirmish. On the world map you can take town services like sleeping at the "Inn" (17) to regain Power Points and Vita.
- Resting: The group has one rest action available per chapter to regain 4 Vita and 4 Power Points or 4 Ghost Points, see "Resting" on page 15 for further details.
- Dying during a skirmish or encounter isn't the end of your adventure; your character becomes a ghost with new Abilities and can be returned later at the "Physician" (17) in town services. To show that a character died, turn the character sheet on its backside. Ghost characters have to take note of some differences and restrictions in gameplay, see "On Death and Dying" on page 32 for further details.
Ready to Play?
You have learned the basics... now it is time to open the Story Journal and begin your quest. The first story contains several tutorials that will walk you through each facet of gameplay. Refer to the latter portion of this book when prompted by the story, or whenever a certain aspect of play is in question. Use the Contents, Index, and "Glossary" (36) sections for quick reference.
- Remember that Folklore: The Affliction is a story-based game, and, in the spirit of the Role Playing Game (RPG) genre, if ruling is ever unclear, it is up to the players to make the final decision. If conflict occurs, it is up to the current Leader to arbitrate.
Using the Story Journal
The Story Journal guides the characters through various adventures. The first story contains tutorial information for using every facet of the Story Journal. We recommend players start their adventure and learn as they go, but this section is here to provide extended details on interacting with the story.
Story Journal Sections
Detailed breakdown of Story Journal sections.
Story Journal Start
Each Story will begin with something similar to below.
Figure #13 (Story Journal Start):
- Story Number
- Story Name
- Difficulty: See below.
- World Map starting location
- Estimated time for completing the story
The beginning of every story will show you the difficulty level, starting location, and the estimated duration. Place the Group Marker at the starting location of the World Map and then read through the narrative. During the narration, you will come upon various events, as follows.
Difficulty
Every story has a difficulty level — Dusk (easiest), Twilight (hard), and Midnight (deadly) — that assume a character has completed a certain number of stories.
- Dusk: characters who have completed 0-1 stories
- Twilight: characters who have completed 2-3 stories
- Midnight: characters who have completed 4-5 stories
- Nightmare: Some expansion stories will have a Nightmare difficulty level, which can be played by characters who have completed 6 or more stories. There are no Nightmare stories in the base game.
For example, if you play a story written at Twilight difficulty with starting characters, they may have trouble staying alive.
Skill Check Box
Whenever you encounter a skill check, the character(s) specified will resolve it by rolling a d10 and adding any skill modifiers they have with the skill being tested. The outcome for both success and failure are provided. However, any time you roll a 1, it is an automatic failure.
Figure #14 (Skill Check Box):
- Story Skill Check red die icon.
- Skill being tested (# to beat) and who must attempt the skill check (all characters, the Leader, any one character, etc.).
- Text to be read aloud to the table.
- Success/Failure text depending on check outcome.
Example — Story Skill Check, Nerve 4, All Characters: "Resist the urge to become sick!" SUCCESS: You steady yourself against the revolting sight. You become centered and recover 1 Vita. FAILURE: Your stomach lurches at the sight and smell of the dead creature. You realize that this is not the corpse of some ordinary animal. Unable to contain yourself, you throw up what is left of your last meal and lose 2 Vita.
Success is achieved if the value of your roll equals or exceeds the target value listed on a challenge. For example, the Madman must make a Nerve 4 check. This means the character must roll one 10-sided die and add any bonuses they may have. The result must be greater than or equal to 4. So if the Madman rolls a 3 on a d10, and then adds his bonus (in this case, the Madman starts with a +2 Nerve bonus), the result is 3+2=5, which is a success.
Choose Your Path Box
You may be asked to make a choice which could change the direction of a story. When this occurs, you are usually asked to read a Story Moment, which are located in the back of the Story Journal.
Example — Choose Your Path: "Will you give the urchin some spare change?" CHOICE 1: One character may give the street urchin a coin, if you have one. The character to do so must read Story Moment 25 on pg 46. CHOICE 2: If you decide to be uncharitable, the Leader must read Story Moment 70 on pg 50.
Figure #15 (Choose Your Path Box):
- Choose Your Path icon.
- Text to be read aloud to the table.
- Listing of choices to pick from.
- Example of a referenced Story Moment and the page it can be found on.
Attention! Box
You may see a dialog box with the title ATTENTION! that provides important information concerning the story or map.
Example — Attention!: "Each character receives 1 Coin from the curator. Draw 2 Item cards to find out what you discovered in the church's cellar. It is up to you to decide which characters receive the items. If you cannot decide, use your dice to roll-off."
Figure #16 (Attention! Box):
- Attention! icon.
- Important text that usually denotes a mechanic which can be easily missed if not paying attention.
World Map Box
When a World Map dialog box appears, the group must travel to specific locations on the World Map in order for the story to progress. This does not mean that you must go directly there, if you have other business to take care of, such as stopping off at the Church of the CrossRoads to learn a new Ability or heading into town to buy much needed supplies.
Example — World Map: "Travel to the caves of Nurian's Hollow."
Figure #17 (World Map Box):
- World Map icon.
- Visual of location on World Map board.
- Where you need to go and sometimes additional details that must be followed.
Use Town Services Box
When a Use Town Services box appears, it tells players when characters can use services provided at the town, i.e. heal wounds, purchase gear, sell Items, etc. See "Town Services" on page 17.
Example — Use Town Services: "Use Town Services. Only the Physician and Gypsy Caravan services are available in the town of Ostelink during this story."
Figure #18 (Use Town Services Box):
- World Map icon
- Visual of location of the town on World Map board.
- Text describing town service availability during this story.
Skirmish Table
At the beginning of each chapter, there is a skirmish table. There are times you will be asked to roll on this table, such as if you encounter a creature while resting. See "Skirmishes" on page 18 for more details.
Example — Chapter Skirmish Table:
| Die Roll (d10) | Creature |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Rabid Wolf |
| 5-7 | Highwayman |
| 8-0 | Night Stalker |
Figure #19 (Skirmish Table):
- 10-sided die range breakdown.
- Creature(s) the group must skirmish.
Map Setup Box
Place the Adventure Map shown on top of the World Map and set it up as instructed by the Story Journal. Place your characters in the Start Zone, and then read the Primary and Optional Goals. Goals explain what your objectives are while on the map.
The map shown here instructs players to place three Rabid Wolves, a Stickman standee, a Skill Check die, and a Search token on the map. Some maps also have Exit Zones where characters may transition to the next map.
Figure #20 (Map Setup Box):
- Map name and ID number.
- Image of map showing components and placement.
- Example Start Zone where characters start on the map. See "Start Zone - 5 Characters" on page 23 for 5 player setup.
- Search token example.
- Rabid Wolf Creature starting locations.
- Red Skill check die.
- Stickman standee (feet denote where he stands).
- Skill check dice are map-based skill checks, detailed in the map's Primary or Optional Goals. When you are on or adjacent to one of these, you pick up the dice from the map and roll it.
Adventuring & Leadership Changes
When you enter a map, characters begin Adventuring mode, and Leadership changes to the next character. The first thing to do is setup the map by placing the map shown. Then place all map features such as Search tokens, skill dice, and doors. Next place all foes on the map, if applicable. Finally, place all characters in the Start Zone.
Characters begin in the Start Zone, and eventually leave the map as instructed, in order to continue the story. They may also investigate any map features. These are typically optional and do not have to be investigated, but you risk missing out! Leadership does not change until the characters leave the map.
See "Adventuring" on page 22 for more details.
Encounter Setup
Encounter combat requires you to battle with your enemy on the map using standees/miniatures. To determine who acts first in an encounter, you must perform "First Strike" on page 24. Each group, characters and foes, rolls a d10. The Leader should roll for the characters and the Controller (player to the right of the Leader) should roll for the foes. Whomever has the highest result goes first. On a tie, characters win First Strike.
During the characters' turn, each character completes their full range of actions in any order, starting with the Leader: Move (up to their Stride), Act (attack, exhaust an Item, perform a Ritual/Prayer or Search), use Consumable Items (as many as they wish), use Abilities (as long as they have Power Points to do so), and Trade/Equip at the end of their turn. On the foes' turn, the Controller moves each enemy, if necessary, and attacks. See the Turn Reference card for specifics on Encounters.
- See "Encounters" on page 24 for more details.
Primary/Optional Goal Boxes
These are indicators of what is needed to complete the current story, as well as optional tasks the characters may choose to fulfill as well.
Example — Primary Goals: "Move characters to the Exit Zone and complete Map Skill Check #2 in order to continue the story by skipping to 'Chapter Two' on pg 8. See the Attention dialog box."
Example — Optional Goals: "Investigate all search locations. Available only during combat. Perform a search...roll a d10.
- 1-3, you lose 1d4 (SNARE) Damage.
- 4-7, nothing happens.
- 8-0, you find an Item."
Figure #21-22 (Primary/Optional Goal Boxes):
- Primary Goals icon (1 Star).
- Goals that MUST be completed to continue the story.
- Optional Goals icon (2 stars).
- Optional goals that may or may not be completed during a story. Options vary greatly for optional goals. Skill checks can sometimes be involved with Primary or Optional Goals.
Encounter Boxes
While exploring an Adventure Map, you may be asked to battle enemies. Keep in mind you may still interact with the other features while in combat.
Example — Encounter: "Encounter 3 Rabid Wolves. Their locations are shown in the map setup diagram.
- A character with the BLUE Story Marker gains a +5 Might for this combat due to the urchin's warning."
Example — Affliction Encounter: "Encounter the Colossal Dark Oak Affliction and 2 Dark Oaks."
Figure #23-24 (Encounter Boxes):
- Encounter icon that denotes encounter combat.
- Encounter setup details. Denotes which Creature cards to setup, and any other details related to this encounter.
- Affliction Encounter icon that denotes an Affliction fight. May or may not contain Creature setup details.
- Affliction Encounter setup denoting which Affliction cards to set up.
Story Closing
When you finally find and face the Affliction of the story, you read the Story Closing section. This tells you the outcome and awards for successfully defeating, or being defeated, by the Affliction.
Resting
Resting must be done at the start of a round, and no other actions may be taken. While adventuring, once a rest is completed and a skirmish resolved (if necessary), the round ends. While on the World Map, the group does not move during the round, but they must still draw the appropriate Road or Off-Road event card.
Story conditions will still take affect during a rest. For example, if the map is experiencing a cave-in and characters are told that they take damage during the round while on the map, they still receive injury during the round in which they rest.
Once per chapter, the Leader may decide to have the group rest. They may do this while traveling on the World Map or while adventuring (see "Adventuring" on page 22 for details), however they may not rest during combat or between stories.
- All characters immediately recover 4 Vita, 4 Power Points, and 4 Ghost Points, up to their maximum amounts, and then the Leader rolls a d10. On a 1, 2, or 3, the group must skirmish by rolling on the chapter's skirmish table.
Traversing the World Map
The World Map is a representation of a fictional European region known as Kremel, and is how characters travel from place to place in order to complete stories in the Story Journal. The beginning of each story will tell players where to place the Group Marker. This marker will always represent the group of characters while on the World Map.
World Map Movement
Traveling on the Road is the safest choice, but because the map is broken into Off-Road areas, the group may choose to leave the Road to take advantage of a shortcut, investigate a place of interest, or follow up on a rumor. Be warned... there are risks to those who choose to leave the beaten path.
When traveling on the Road, each round the group may move a number of spaces up to the current Leader's Stride value. When traveling Off-Road, the group may move a single space per round, regardless of the Leader's Stride.
- Road movement only: Move up to Leader's Stride value. Bridges are considered a Road space.
- Road to Off-Road: You may move onto an Off-Road area as long as the Leader has at least one Stride remaining, but movement ends immediately after entering an Off-Road area.
- Off-Road to Off-Road: Movement immediately ends when you enter the other Off-Road area. You may cross over a Road to another Off-Road area.
- Off-Road to Road: If you wish to enter the Road from an Off-Road area, it costs 1 Stride and you may continue your movement on the Road.
- At the end of movement, the Leader must draw an event card. If on the Road, draw a Road Event card. If Off-Road, draw an Off-Road Event card.
Figure/Example #01 (World Map Movement):
- Moving the Group Marker along the Roadways up to the Leader's stride. Once ending the move, draw a Road Event card.
- Moving the Group Marker Off-Road. Only a single zone can be moved into when moving Off-Road, regardless of Stride, and draw an Off-Road Event card.
- Leadership Changes: When the turn is over, the Leader token passes to the next clockwise character, and the process repeats.
- Clarification (Compass tokens): If the Story Journal has you traveling to a Compass token location on the World Map, you do not draw an Off-Road Event card, and instead just follow the Story Journal's instructions.
Day and Night Cycle
At the beginning of a story, the timing cycle begins with characters in Day, and then alternate between Night and Day. This is kept track of with the Leader token, one side representing Day and the other Night. When somebody completes their turn as Leader, they pass the token to the next character and flip it to the other side.
Road Event Cards
The land of Kremel is dangerous, especially at night. You never know what threat lurks ahead of you. The outcome could be beneficial or harmful depending on your luck.
Figure #25 (Road Event Cards):
- Road Card Back.
- Day Side: If Leader token is showing the Day-side, resolve this side of the card.
- Night Side: If Leader token is showing the Night-side, resolve this side of the card.
- Card ID Number.
- Keep This Card: Stays in play for the remainder of the chapter.
- Full Moon Identifier.
Off-Road Event Cards
While the Roads of Kremel are dangerous, going off the beaten path can be deadly. Off-Road Events are more heavily weighted toward hazardous than events on the Road and are more difficult to resolve.
When movement ends on the World Map and the group is on an Off-Road area, they must draw an Off-Road Event card. These cards usually pose a greater risk for the group because the balance is weighted towards the negative. Moving through Off-Road spaces is usually a good shortcut, and sometimes required to achieve an objective, but there is risk.
Off-Road Event cards are choice driven and double-sided. They should be drawn from underneath the cover card on the top of the deck, and used cards placed at the bottom. The front of the card provides a narrative and a choice to be made by the characters. Do not flip the card until a choice has been made.
Once a choice has been decided upon, the Leader flips to the back of the card, which provides the outcome for the choice made. Do not read the outcome for the alternate choice(s) as this will spoil the surprise for future games!
Figure #26 (Off-Road Event Cards):
- Off Road Event Cover card: Draw from underneath the cover card.
- Event Name.
- Narrative Text: To be read aloud to the group.
- Choices: Make a choice before flipping the card.
- Outcome of Choices: Read italic text aloud then resolve mechanical text below.
- Card ID Number.
Resting on the World Map
Once per chapter, the Leader may decide to have the group rest. This may be done while on the World Map. The Leader may not move during this round. All characters recover 4 Vita, 4 Power Points, and 4 Ghost Points, up to their maximum amount. Then the Leader must then draw a Road or Off-Road Event. You may not rest on town spaces or between stories.
When movement ends on a Road segment, the Leader must draw a Road Event card, which is split into Day and Night sections. Read the appropriate section of the event based on the current Day/Night time cycle.
Some night events have the image of a full Moon. When this occurs, LYCANTHROPIC characters must skirmish with the rest of the group. See "Lycanthropy" on page 20.
Events with the KEEP IN PLAY designation last until the end of the current chapter of the story. If drawn while playing between stories, it lasts until the next story starts.
Locations
When traveling from place to place, you will always end your movement on the actual location space, be it a town, forest, castle, etc. The following are the major locations that can be found on the World Map:
Towns
There are a number of towns located on the World Map. Visit these locations to utilize services, buy and sell goods, and cure disease and death. The towns from largest to smallest are Yorotrusk, Waylin Point, and Ostelink.
- Yorotrusk: The largest settlement within the land of Kremel. You may take advantage of three service locations per visit.
- Waylin Point: A medium-size settlement. You may take advantage of two service locations per visit.
- Ostelink: A small outpost/town in the far north, with minimal accommodations. You may take advantage of only one service location per visit.
Entering Town
In most cases, while traveling on the World Map, you may enter a town and take advantage of the services a town has. However, when you enter a town through a story narrative, you may only do so when you are told. There may be occasion that you pass through a town and cannot "enter". In this case, treat the town as a Road space for the purposes of movement. No Road Event card needs to be drawn when landing on a town space.
For example: you are instructed to travel to Yorotrusk in a story. You begin at the Church of the CrossRoads and travel the World Map. On the way, you pass Waylin Point. As long as the story does not indicate you cannot enter and use services, you may do so. Eventually you reach your story destination of Yorotrusk. You must immediately continue reading the story narrative and may not use any service until instructed to do so.
If a group wishes to enter a town, movement stops for that round. Characters may utilize any of the services that are listed under "Town Services" below or on the Location Reference Card.
- When leaving a town, Leadership passes to the next character and always starts on the day side.
- Wanted characters, see "The Wanted Condition" on page 20, must pay 10 coins or not take advantage of town services.
Town Services
Apothecary
- Vitriol (15 coins): Gain a Vitriol Item token.
- Spirit of Wine (15 coins): Gain a Spirit of Wine Item token.
- Expired Tonic (10 coins): Gain an Expired Tonic Item token.
Chapel
- Blessing (5 coins): Gain +5 Defense to your next combat. Does not stack.
- Donation (5 coins): Gain +1 to your next skill check. Once per visit.
- Frankincense (15 coins): Gain a Liquid Frankincense Item token.
- Holy Water (10 coins): Gain a Holy Water Item token.
- Purification (30 lore): Rid yourself of BLOODLUST, CURSED, or POSSESSED statuses.
Gypsy Encampment
- Breath of Life: Draw a Tarot card to return a character in Limbo with full Vita and PP's.
- Evil Be Gone (30 lore): Cure LYCANTHROPY or TRANSFORMED statuses.
- Fortune (5 coins): Roll d10 once/visit: 1: You are CURSED. 2-5: -5 Defense for 1 Chapter. 6-9: +5 Defense for 1 Chapter. 0: You are FAVORED.
Inn
- Drink (5 coins): +1 Damage and -5 Might for one chapter. Once per visit.
- Gamble (1-5 coins): Bet up to 5 coins and roll a d10. 1-3: You lose; 4-7: It's a draw; 8-0: Double your bet. If you have a TRICKERY bonus, add +1 to this roll. Once per visit.
- Hire Militia (30 coins): Draw a Militia Companion card.
- Sleep (10 coins): Recover all Power Points and gain 3 Vita. Once per visit.
- *Rumor: Receive one Rumor card, once per story, or any number between stories. A character may only have one Rumor at a time. (Rumors are found in the Dark Tales Expansion.)
Market
- Barter: Draw one Item once per visit and purchase it if you wish. May sell Items for half their cost.
- Torch (5 coins): Gain a Torch Item token.
- Wooden Stake (10 coins): Gain a Wooden Stake Item token.
Physician
- Bandages (5 coins): Gain a Bandage Item token. Once per visit.
- Bring out the Dead (20 coins): Revive a ghost character back to life with half their Vita and full Power Points. Cannot revive those in Limbo.
- Cure (15 coins): Remove the FRACTURED, DERANGED, or SICKENED status.
- Stitches (1 coin): Restore 1 Vita for every coin spent.
- Treat Infection (5 coins): Removes one Infection token.
Stables
- Carriage (10 coins): Hire a carriage to gain +1 Stride on the World Map for one chapter. Only applies to the character purchasing it.
- Man's Best Friend (30 coins): Draw an Animal Companion card.
- Train Animal (15 coins): Train an Animal Companion to attack for 1 Damage during your turn. You cannot train the same Companion more than once.
Tinker
- Arm Companion (15 coins): Train a Militia Companion to attack for 1 Damage during your turn. You cannot train the same Companion more than once.
- Hone Weapon (15 coins): Gain +1 Damage to a weapon for 1 Chapter.
- Reinforce (10 coins): Gain a +2 Defense to a shield or armor Item for 1 Chapter.
- Repair (10 coins): Refresh a damaged shield or weapon.
- Wood Shield (Item) (20 coins): Gain a Wooden Shield Item token.
Other Service Locations
Church of the CrossRoads
- Learn Abilities: Purchase an Ability for 1 Ability Point for each Power Point cost.
- Prayers (40 coins): Purchase a random Prayer. Once per visit.
Standing Stones
- Cleansing (100 coins): Remove a Tarot card from your possession.
Town Services Reference Card
Use the Town Services reference card to determine which services characters may want to use during this visit.
When visiting a town on the World Map, unless specified otherwise by the story, each character may use from 1 to 3 services, depending on which town is being visited. A service location is where you can purchase goods or services. The limit on visiting service locations is character-based, so characters may choose different service locations from each other.
Figure #27 (Town Services Reference Card):
- Town Graphics used on the World map. Shows the number of services characters may use at said town per visit. Town Services: Apothecary, Chapel, Gypsy Encampment, Inn, Market, Physician, Stables, & Tinker. Other Service locations: Church of the CrossRoads, Standing Stones.
- Service Header
- Example Service of purchasing an Expired Tonic from the Apothecary for 20 Coins.
- There is no limit on the number of transactions within a service location.
Other Locations
- Church of the CrossRoads (CoCR): This is the starting location for the initial Folklore: The Affliction story, "Everything Changes". This is also where characters go to learn new Abilities and purchase Prayers.
- The Alchemist's Tower: The Alchemist is a sage, whose knowledge amalgamates science and supernatural. Visit his tower for services listed in the Story Journal and/or Location Reference Cards.
- The Standing Stones: The Standing Stones are a place of ancient power, where fate, time, and space intermingle. No one knows what their exact purpose might have been. It is possible to remove a Tarot card from a character at the Standing Stones by spending 100 coins per Tarot card removed.
- Dark Spire and Chasm: A large chasm must be crossed in order to pass into the wastes where the Dark Spire lies. This place is isolated and few have dared enter this wasteland. The structure stretches high into the air and is rumored to be full of dark secrets.
- Bone Isle: Bone Isle is the resting place of a multitude of dead. Long ago, townsfolk used this small isle as a tranquil cemetery for their loved ones. Now it is avoided at all costs due to the stories of the dead walking freely among the once beautiful tombs and headstones.
- The Docks: Located near the Alchemist's tower, it costs 5 Coins for the group to travel to Bone Isle via ferry.
- Other Adventure Locations: You are directed to locations such as Elkra Pines and Nurian's Hollow from within the Story Journal. This is where you usually encounter the various Afflictions that plague the land.
Skirmishes
Skirmishing is a quick battle with foes that does not use standees/miniatures-based tactical combat. A skirmish can take place during any segment of an adventure, and could include character versus character combat, such as if somebody is LYCANTHROPIC and attacks their friends.
Skirmish Card
Skirmish stats are on the back of each creature card.
Figure #28 (Skirmish Card):
- Creature Name.
- Creature Art.
- Character Count.
- Skirmish Power.
- Creature Type: See "Affliction/Creature Types" on page 24.
- Might-based Story Difficulty.
- Defense of the Creature.
- Coins Award.
- Skirmish Counter Token.
- Skirmish Counter and Modifiers.
- Character Skirmish Token: Attack side.
- Character Skirmish Token: Defense side.
Skirmish Resolution
Breakdown of steps to resolve a skirmish.
1. Determine Strength
Determine the skirmish strength based on the number of characters by rolling the dice shown on the left of the card. This is done for each creature engaged in the skirmish. On some occasions, modifiers may be applied to the result. The skirmish counter may never start below 1.
2. Place Skirmish Counter Marker
Place a marker on the skirmish counter representing the skirmish strength. Modifiers for the current strength level are listed above the counter. These modifiers apply to the creature, not characters.
Example: Using the Highwayman again, let's say you rolled 4 on the d4 for 2 characters. Because of the +1, you would set the counter to 5. You can never exceed the maximum shown on the card. For the Highwayman, no matter the number of characters or the modifiers, you can never exceed 8 on the counter.
3. Attack or Defend
At the beginning of each round, all characters choose to ATTACK or DEFEND a specific creature by placing their Character Skirmish token next to their target with the appropriate side showing. You cannot change it once this is done.
- Attack: You attack your target creature during your turn.
- Defend: You may (but are not forced to) attack during your turn, but receive a +10 Defense and -10 Might until the start of your next turn. When ghost characters defend, they fade from sight and cannot attack or be targeted.
If there are multiple skirmishing creatures (or afflicted characters, such as those that are LYCANTHROPIC), characters must choose who they will attack.
4. Creature's Turn
First, the Controller rolls the attack dice (percentile) on the skirmish card and applies any modifiers from the skirmish counter. This score is compared to each character's Defense. If it is equal to or greater, they are hit. If skirmishing with multiple creatures, they each get an attack against all characters.
Those hit by the creatures would be affected by the skirmish power, plus any applicable modifiers. Each character makes their own rolls for damage and status effects.
5. Character's Turn
All characters roll the attack dice (percentile) simultaneously and add any Might bonuses they have. If a character's attack roll is equal to or greater than their target's Defense score, they succeed in hitting. Keep track of the number of successful hits.
Character vs. Character Skirmishes
There are occasions when the group is forced to skirmish with one of their allies, such as when under the influence of lycanthropy. The process for this is very similar to regular skirmish combat, with the following exceptions:
- The character being forced to skirmish fills the role of a creature ("the Afflicted").
- The remaining characters must decide who will attack the Afflicted and who will defend simultaneously using their Character Skirmish token. There is no time to debate in the midst of a fight!
- By default, the Afflicted has a skirmish strength of 1 (there are no modifiers), unless instructed otherwise. Every successful hit against the Afflicted character causes 1 Damage as it is assumed that the group is attempting their attacks to be non-lethal.
- The Afflicted will use their primary equipped weapon when attacking the group (all characters are targeted). For LYCANTHROPIC characters, they will not use weapons, but claws, which cause 1d4 damage plus any damage modifiers/DMG Bonus.
- Creatures will not attack you when you are Afflicted, nor vice versa. There is no reward for this type of skirmish!
There may be cases when multiple party members are Afflicted. In this case, normal characters can choose whom to attack during the skirmish round. Every Afflicted character has to attack everyone in the group, including those who are also Afflicted. When an Afflicted character's counter reaches zero and there are still other Afflicted characters skirmishing, that character will join the group against the remaining Afflicted.
For example: you have a four character group. The Avenging Madman and the Arcanist are LYCANTHROPIC. Somebody draws a Night Road Event card that displays a Moon icon. The Madman and Arcanist must skirmish against the other two characters, the Telepath and Exorcist. Just as in a normal skirmish, the LYCANTHROPIC characters attack first, using their now razor sharp claws. The Madman misses, but the Arcanist successfully hits and causes 6 damage (rolled a 3 on a d4, but adds +1 Damage due to Lycanthropy and her +2 DMG bonus) to the Exorcist, Telepath, and the Madman. The Madman's skirmish counter drops to zero, so he can help attack the Arcanist with his allies. They all decide to attack and all successfully hit, which reduces the Arcanist's skirmish counter (set to 1) well below zero and causes 3 damage (1 for each hit). The skirmish then ends.
If all characters are somehow Afflicted and are forced to skirmish, the same process occurs. It's everyone for themselves!
6. Reduce Counter
Reduce the skirmish counter(s) by the number of successful attacks made by the characters. Each Devastating Strike reduces the counter by 2.
7. Repeat Steps
Repeat steps 3 through 6 until the skirmish counter is at zero or until all the characters are defeated.
8. Get Loot
All characters receive the reward listed on the Skirmish card and can perform a search for each unique creature. On a d10:10+, they find an Item. Characters that were forced to skirmish with the group do not yield an award.
General Skirmish Rules
During a Skirmish, the following should be considered:
- Characters may use Items during their turn.
- Certain Abilities may be used, although only those that require an attack roll can reduce the skirmish counter unless otherwise noted.
- You cannot change equipped weapons during a skirmish, or trade with another character.
Devastating Strikes & Faults
For skirmish combat, Devastating Strikes and Faults (see "Devastating Strike & Fault" on page 25 in the Encounter section) have the following effects:
Creature Attack
- Devastating Strike: The character that was hit loses their next turn.
- Devastating Fault: Reduce the skirmish counter by 1.
Character Attack
- Devastating Strike: Reduce the skirmish counter by 2 instead of 1.
- Devastating Fault: Like in an encounter, the weapon used is considered broken and unusable until it is repaired by a "Tinker" (17) in town. If a character has a Fault when not using a weapon, they lose their next turn.
Skirmish Counter Adjustments
Sometime you are told to skirmish with the skirmish counter at maximum. This means that you would start the skirmish with the counter at the maximum for the number of characters playing.
Using the Highwayman as an example, you are told to set the counter at maximum with two characters playing. The highest the counter would be set is at 4.
Alternately, if you are told to skirmish with +1 to the counter, it can exceed this number.
Dying During a Skirmish
If a character dies during a skirmish, they can no longer participate, even in ghost form. Once the skirmish is over, see "On Death and Dying" on page 32.
Conditions, Effects & Statuses
Conditions
- The RESPECTED positive status cancels out the WANTED condition. For example, if a character is RESPECTED and then becomes WANTED, they lose the RESPECTED status, but do not become WANTED. Alternately, if they are WANTED and then gain the RESPECTED status, they do not become RESPECTED, but instead the WANTED condition ends.
The following are conditions unrelated to status effects. Any effect or Ability that would remove or otherwise reference a status does not affect conditions.
Figure #29 (Conditions):
- Corrosion token, front and back.
- Infection token, front and back.
- Wanted token, front and back.
Corrosion
Certain creatures and story-related events can cause a character to gain a Corrosion token (does not affect ghosts). The Corrosion token is numbered from 1 to 4. At the start of every round after you received it, you lose 1 Vita as an acidic substance burns you. To be rid of it, you have two choices:
- Let the Corrosion token do its work, damaging you for 4 rounds, for a total of 4 Vita, OR:
- Discard an Item to avoid damage. This can be done at any time while you have the token, including before you take any damage. However, once a point of Vita is lost, you cannot gain it back by discarding an Item.
For example, if you wait 2 rounds and lose 2 Vita, you can discard an Item to prevent the loss of the remaining 2 Vita. However, you do not recover the 2 Vita already lost.
It is possible to have up to two Corrosion tokens at a time, and they act cumulatively. If a character already has two and is told to take a third, the oldest token is refreshed to 4 rounds.
- Corrosion tokens are lost when a character dies.
Infections
If a character (does not affect ghosts) becomes SICKENED, there is a chance that they might become seriously ill.
Whenever you are SICKENED and gain the SICKENED status again, you gain an Infection token, but still retain the SICKENED status. If you receive 4 Infection tokens, you discard them, remove the SICKENED status and reduce your Max Vita by 1 permanently.
You may rid yourself of an Infection by visiting a town "Physician" (17), or upon death.
The Wanted Condition
A character may become WANTED because of some mishap while adventuring. Take the Wanted token and place it over the character's portrait on the Character card. If the group has a WANTED character, they may enter towns, however the WANTED characters cannot take advantage of town services. They are still able to participate in story-related events. WANTED characters may not gain new Militia or Mission Companions. To remove the WANTED condition, affected character(s) must pay 10 Coins while at a town, at which point the token is removed.
Effects
Effects are similar to statuses in that they have some special properties:
- Absorption: When a target is affected by ABSORPTION #, then that target takes # less damage for each different attack that hits them. This does not include SNARE damage unless specifically stated.
- Reduction: When a target is affected by REDUCTION #, then they do # less damage for each successful attack they make.
Statuses
Characters will be subjected to both positive and negative statuses. In most cases, negative statuses stay with a character until they are removed in town or at the "Gypsy Encampment" (17), a beneficial event occurs, or upon their death. Positive statuses stay with a character until the end of a story, an unfortunate event occurs, or they are killed.
Characters are constantly at risk of receiving negative statuses, whether by story events or when fighting creatures. When a character is about to receive a negative status, they are told what negative status is pending followed by a number, as shown in the following example:
Example: A character is bitten by a Vampire and gains BLOODLUST 6. Before they receive this status, they have to attempt to resist its effects. At this point, the character finds the skill associated with BLOODLUST, which is FAITH. Roll a d10 and add the FAITH skill bonus. If the result is equal to or greater than the number shown, they do not gain the status.
For example, using the vampire attack above, the Witch Hunter is hit and must attempt to resist the status. He rolls a d10 and receives a 5, which is not enough to resist. But he gets to add his skill bonus to the roll. For BLOODLUST, the related skill is FAITH. The Witch Hunter has a +1 FAITH, so his total resist roll is 5 + 1 = 6, which is enough to avoid being affected by BLOODLUST.
In addition:
- If a negative status does not show a number, it cannot be resisted.
- If a creature or affliction is subject to a negative status, it is assumed that they have no bonuses, so they must roll the number specified and achieve greater than or equal to it.
- If a positive status is earned between stories, it remains in effect until the end of the next story, or is lost through game play.
Lycanthropy
If a character becomes cursed with the LYCANTHROPIC status, they receive the modifications shown in the status table as well as:
- Gain Claw Attack: They receive an extra attack during encounters (Claws/1d4 Damage, no DMG Bonus) in addition to their normal attacks.
- When a Moon icon appears (usually during "Road Event Cards" on page 16), roll a d10. On 1-9, they must immediately skirmish with the group with a skirmish counter of 1. See "Character vs. Character Skirmishes" on page 19 for more details. On 0, become a Werewolf and skirmish to the death! Once they are killed, follow the rules for Single Character Death and they continue playing as a ghost character.
Vampirism
If a character becomes affected by BLOODLUST, they are becoming a vampire and receive the modifications shown in the status table as well as:
- Gain Bite Attack: They receive an extra attack during encounters (Bite/1d4 Damage, no DMG Bonus) in addition to their normal attacks.
- When killed, they become a Vampire instead of a ghost. If this occurs while Adventuring, replace their character with a Vampire miniature/standee (if all are in use, just keep the character's mini). If on the World Map or during the story narrative, use the Open Road map tile (FC05A) and place all characters and the new Vampire in the center. The group must fight them to the death in encounter combat. Once the Bloodlusted character is killed, they immediately go to Limbo.
- A character who is affected by BLOODLUST is immune to the LYCANTHROPIC status while they have BLOODLUST and vice versa.
- Losing Companions: Characters affected by BLOODLUST or LYCANTHROPIC statuses, lose their Companions and may not gain new ones until the status is cured.
Positive Statuses
- Blessed: You have proven yourself virtuous and on the side of the Light. Gain +5 Might and Absorption 1.
- Brave: Your bravery transcends that of normal folk. Gain +1 Nerve and +1 Damage, allowing you to more easily purge the darkness from the world.
- Ethereal: You are balanced between this world and the next, granting you Absorption 2 vs. corporeal (non-Ethereal foes) and Snares. Full damage to Ethereal foes. Ignore Stride penalties.
- Faithful: Your devout nature has given you the strength of will to prevail against those rallied against you! Gain +1 Faith and +1 Occult.
- Favored: Your good deeds have made an impression on the powers beyond the veil. You are granted +3 Max Vita and +1 to all skill checks.
- Fortified: Your internal fortitude has proven effective against the evil shrouding the land. Gain +5 Defense and immunity to Infection.
- Lucky: It seems that luck favors the foolish, and those who risk much to achieve their goals. Gain +1 Trickery and +1 to all search rolls.
- Perceptive: Your keen eyes do not miss much, even in this land blanketed in perpetual gloom. Receive +1 Awareness and ignore Darkness penalties.
- Respected: You have proven your willingness to stand up for the downtrodden of this land. Gain +1 Speech and +1 Trickery. See "The Wanted Condition" on page 20 for more details.
- Swift: You are filled with a sense of urgency fueled by the desire to put a stop to the afflictions plaguing the land. Gain +1 Stride and +5 Defense.
Negative Statuses
- Bloodlust (Resist Bonus - Faith): Gain +2 Damage, -2 Speech, -2 Faith, and -3 Max Vita. Allies receive -1 Speech due to your foul presence. See "Vampirism" on page 21 for more details.
- Cursed (Resist Bonus - Occult): You have been afflicted by accursed misfortune. Your Max Vita is reduced by 4 and you receive -1 to all skill checks.
- Deranged (Resist Bonus - Awareness): Your mental control has been smashed, causing you to lose all focus. You cannot use Abilities that require Power Points. You cannot use Prayers or Rituals.
- Fractured (Resist Bonus - Trickery): Your body has been broken, impeding your fight against evil. Receive -10 Defense. You may only use one HAND Item slot.
- Immobilized (Resist Bonus - Trickery): The forces around you prohibit your movement. Receive -10 Might. Pass Ecology 5 at the start of each round or your Stride becomes 0. This status ends when combat is over.
- Lycanthropic (Resist Bonus - Occult): Gain +1 Damage, +1 Stride. Receive only half of coin awards. See "Lycanthropy" on page 20 for more details.
- Possessed (Resist Bonus - Faith): You are possessed with a demonic presence. While adventuring and during combat, allies within Aura 1 of you lose 1 Vita at the start of each round.
- Sickened (Resist Bonus - Ecology): A foul malaise has stricken you, reducing your effectiveness in combat. In an encounter, roll damage dice twice and take the worst result.
- Spooked (Resist Bonus - Nerve): Your confidence has been shattered. Receive -5 Might and -1 Nerve. Pass Nerve 5 at the end of any combat (one attempt each combat) to remove this status.
- Transformed (Resist Bonus - Occult): Your form has become unstable, morphing into strange mutations. You lose 1 HAND slot and cannot perform skill checks. If forced to make a skill check, you automatically fail.
Adventuring
When the story instructs you to setup an Adventure Map, you enter Adventuring mode. Your objective on the map is to complete the Primary and Optional Goals, and then leave the map via the Exit Zone or story instructions.
Adventure Turn/Round
An adventure turn is the time that it takes for one character to complete their actions on an Adventure Map. An adventure round is the time it takes for all characters to complete their adventure turn. When an effect lasts "one round" it means until the end of a character/foe's next adventure turn.
There are three phases in an adventuring turn, that occur in this order: Rest, Character Actions, Map/Leader Transition.
Phase 1: Resting
Once per chapter, the current Leader may decide to have the group rest. See "Resting" on page 15 for more details.
Phase 2: Character Actions
Character actions may be taken in any order during their turn. The Leader acts first, continuing with character to the left, until all characters have taken their turn. A character may hold their actions, but they then can act only after everyone else has had their turn. If multiple characters hold their actions, the last one to do so acts last.
Item/Artifact, Abilities, Prayer/Ritual
A character may either activate an Item/Artifact, use an Ability, or cast a Prayer/Ritual. Only one of these actions is allowed per round. Unlike in combat, an Ability cannot be used more than once per round.
Move
The number of spaces a character can move is equal to their Stride. Moving diagonally only costs one Stride, as long as the connecting corners are not blocked by terrain. You may pause movement to perform other actions (such as searching), then continue moving.
Example #02 (Move):
- Invalid diagonal movement blocked by map terrain.
- Valid diagonal & orthogonal movement.
Interact/Search
There will be many opportunities to interact with points of interest on the map, or "map features". A character may interact with only one feature per round and they must be adjacent, one space in any direction including diagonals, to or occupying the same space in order to do so. Interactions include things such as opening a door, pulling a lever, or investigating a feature on the map by making a skill check. Interacting with features does not stop movement, and may be done during an encounter. If a story states that you must use your ACT to interact with a feature, and the group is not in combat, it qualifies under this Character Action.
Interacting with a search token is another example. Only one search attempt is allowed per search chit. If unsuccessful, the chit is removed from the map. To begin the search, roll a d10. Unless otherwise specified by the story, the results of the roll are:
- 1-3: The character is hurt by a trap or natural hazard while investigating and receives 1d4 (SNARE) Damage.
- 4-7: The search turns out to be a waste of time and nothing occurs.
- 8-0: Success! The character can draw one card from the Item deck.
Phase 3: Map/Leader Transition
The Primary Goals of the map tell players how their characters can leave the map, or map transition. If told to transition via an Exit Zone, and all characters are within it, the Leader may transition to a new Adventure Map or continue narration. If there are 5 characters being played, only 4 have to be in the Exit Zone. Once a map transition occurs, put away the current map, pass the Leader token to the next character and continue the story. It is up to the current Leader to make the transition. If they decide to stay, then a new adventure round begins. A map transition cannot occur during combat, unless instructed otherwise or if the combat is an Optional Goal.
There are some cases where it is necessary to perform an action to make the Exit Zone accessible. For example, it might be hidden and characters must solve a puzzle to find it, or they must reach the Exit Zone before they die from a cave-in.
There is no backtracking. The new Leader sets up the next map (if applicable) as shown in the story instructions and completes any additional instructions for the new location, such as initiating combat, or making a skill roll. This is also true when entering an adventure location from the World Map. If the current Leader enters the adventure location, leadership passes to the next character.
For example, the Telepath is the Leader while on the World Map and she enters Elkra Pines on her move. She would not draw a Road/Off-Road Event card, but instead pass leadership to the next character. The new Leader would then read the Story Journal and setup the first Adventure Map.
Miscellaneous Situations
Below are some things to take into consideration when Adventuring. See "Adventuring" on page 22.
Interacting with Blocked Features
Sight is blocked by objects that cover the gridding on a map, unless told otherwise within a story. You may not target (attack) foes that you do not have Sight (see "Sight" on page 27) to, nor interact with map features.
Start Zone - 5 Characters
The Start Zone on many adventure maps is limited to 4 spaces. Whenever there are more characters than Start Zone spaces, the character who is last in turn order would place their character outside the map. When it is their turn, they are then placed in any available space within the Start Zone, which requires them to use 1 Stride, and then their turn may begin. If the Start Zone is still fully occupied, they may move through the other characters to an open space.
While outside the map, the character(s) cannot be targeted by enemies, and in turn, cannot attack foes on the map. They also cannot use Items, Abilities, Mystic Knowledge, or perform any other action normally allowed, until they move onto the map. However, characters will be affected by environmental conditions. For example, if the current map requires characters to make an OCCULT check at the start of each round or lose a PP, all characters, including those not yet on the map, must make this check.
Tracking Tokens
If the group collects Tracking tokens while adventuring, they are discarded whenever a map transition occurs, unless otherwise specified.
The Sleeping Vampire
If the group stumbles upon a Sleeping Vampire, then it is necessary to make an attempt to stake it through the heart and kill it outright. When characters encounter a Sleeping Vampire, they must be adjacent to it and roll a d6:4+ to drive something sharp through its heart before it can awaken.
If the roll is successful, the vampire is destroyed. The character gains 8 Lore if a vampire is killed in this manner. If you possess a Wooden Stake at the time the attempt is made, add +1 to the die roll. If you fail, the vampire awakens and the group must face it in encounter combat. If on the World Map, use the Open Road Adventure Map (FC05A).
If you find more than one vampire in slumber in the same Adventure Map, the first can be destroyed on a d6:4+ roll. All additional vampires require a d6:5+. If you fail, you must face the remaining vampires in an encounter.
Snares
A snare is a type of damage that characters may receive from a trap, natural hazard, or some other unfortunate event. When you are hurt by a snare, you will be instructed to take SNARE damage, i.e. "Receive 1d4 (SNARE) Damage". Certain characters may gain bonuses against SNARE damage, such as ABSORPTION 1, but most characters just treat SNARE damage as regular damage. Snares affect the character encountering them and any other character within range of them. The range is specified within the description, "SNARE #", where # is the number of spaces from the character encountering it. "SNARE 1" would affect the character encountering the snare and any other characters adjacent to him. If a number is not shown, it only affects the person encountering it.
Occupied Map Spaces
Characters cannot move through walls, closed doors and portcullises, or through objects that cover the map's grid, such as trees and buildings. Likewise, a character cannot move through a space that is not gridded or is MOSTLY (80%) occupied by an object, such as a tree stump, a large chest, or a table. The following example shows which spaces can be occupied by characters, with the red-shaded areas being blocked by trees. If it is not clear if a space should be occupied, err on the side of allowing characters to occupy a square (see Example #03).
Spawning Creatures
If instructed to spawn a creature mid-adventuring turn, an encounter is initiated immediately: 1) Roll First Strike, 2) Combatants take turns as normal. See "Summoning or Spawning During Combat" on page 28 for more details.
End of a Chapter
When the story reaches the end of a chapter, the following actions should be completed before moving on to the next:
- UN-EXHAUST all Items, unless they have special UN-EXHAUST instructions.
- Discard all activated Items that have a duration effect of a chapter.
- Remove all KEEP IN PLAY events and discard them.
- Transition the Leader token to the next character.
Encounters
Unlike skirmishes, which are quick abstract combat, encounters are full-fledged tactical combat using an Adventure Map. During an encounter, the Controller must complete the following before combat can start:
- Find the creatures in this encounter from the Creature deck and their associated miniatures/standees and place them in an accessible area (legal square that isn't starting area).
- Set up the foes' Vita Tracker cards, one for each creature encountered. Use the top arrow when dealing with a single creature. For multiple creatures of the same type, place trackers on the subsequent arrows clockwise around the card.
- Make an entry for the creature(s) in the Encounter Record Sheet.
Encounter Creature Card
Figures #30-31 (Encounter Creature Card):
- Creature/Affliction Name.
- Creature/Affliction Type.
- Foe Tracker: Creatures may use up to 4 trackers/encounter, Afflictions will always be a single foe.
- Might: Scales to the difficulty of the story being played.
- Defense & Stride Values.
- Awards: Lore and Coins earned per player for each foe.
- Combat Type: Melee or Ranged creature/affliction.
- Special Power.
- Powers: Determined by the Power Die of the creature's attack.
- Art: Creature/Affliction artwork.
- Miniature: What miniature or token to use.
- Card ID Number.
Affliction/Creature Types
Creatures and Afflictions come in various shapes and sizes. Each falls into one of these seven categories.
Figure #32 (Affliction/Creature Types):
- Demonic: Not of this world, demonic creatures harken back to darker days of yore of fire and brimstone. Their symbol is represented by a fire.
- Mortal: Made from flesh and bone, consists of all men and beasts who still have their souls. Represented by a drop of blood.
- Nature: Old tales speak of trees that could walk and talk, sprites that would cultivate the lands in the wilderness before men walked this earth. These creatures are represented by a giant tree.
- Occultist: Once mortal, they have sold their souls to dark lords and now do their nefarious biddings. Represented by a five-pointed star.
- Shapeshifter: None knows where shapeshifters came from, not even themselves. Some can control it, others cannot. They are usually tortured souls who have been driven mad by what they have become. Represented by a Werewolf's head.
- Spirit: No longer of this world, but forced upon it. Spirits represent those who have gone from life, yet still linger because of some unspoken debt. They are represented by a ghostly figure.
- Undead: Long since dead, these vile creatures have been brought back to some semblance of life, though are usually just the puppets and some darker force. Represented by gnashing vile teeth.
Encounter Turn/Round
An encounter turn is the time that it takes for one character or foe to complete their combat actions.
Encounter round is the time it takes for all combatants to complete their encounter turn. When an effect lasts one "round" it means until the end of a character/foe's next combat turn.
First Strike
To determine who acts first in an encounter, you must perform First Strike. Each group, characters and foes, rolls a d10. The Leader should roll for the characters and the Controller should roll for the foes. Whomever has the highest result goes first.
- On a tie, characters win First Strike.
- If an Affliction is present, foes get +1 to their First Strike roll.
- In Darkness, foes automatically win First Strike.
For example, the group encounters three Stregha who are performing a foul ritual. The Leader rolls a d10 on behalf of the characters with a result of 7. The Controller rolls on behalf of the creatures with a result of 6. This means that the characters act first in the encounter. If an Affliction was present, the foes would have received a +1 to their roll, making their result of 6 into a 7 (6+1). However, because the characters also received a 7, they still act first because they win if a tie occurs.
Character Turn
(See "Ghosts in Combat" on page 32 for ghost characters.)
The Leader acts first, continuing with the character to the left, until all characters have taken their turn. Characters may hold their actions as when adventuring. Each of the following actions may be taken once per encounter turn, in any order (with the exception of Equip/Trade):
- Move: Same as during an adventuring turn. See "Move" on page 22.
- Act: An act can be any ONE of the following:
- Attack a foe with equipped weapons. Attacking ends any movement.
- Activate/exhaust an Item or Artifact.
- Attempt to use a Prayer or Ritual.
- Interact: A character may interact with one feature on the map, such as a Search token or a skill check die.
- Use Summoned Allies/Companions: If a character has a summoned ally (see "Summoning or Spawning During Combat" on page 28), it may act during that character's turn. If you have a trained/armed Companion, you may have it attack in addition to your character's attack.
- Consumable Items: A character may use any number of consumable Items that they have in their possession, such as a Bandage or Holy Water.
- Ability: A character can use any of their Abilities during this phase. Some Abilities allow you to use them outside of your turn.
- Equip/Trade: A character can trade Items with an adjacent character and adjust which Items they have held in their hands. This can only be performed at the very end of their turn after all other actions.
Character Movement
A character may move through spaces occupied by other characters, but not through spaces occupied by foes. A character cannot stop their movement on an occupied space.
If a character moves into a space with water, they must immediately stop. On their next turn, they may continue through water at the rate of one space per round, including moving out of a water space.
Those who are ETHEREAL ignore movement restrictions, such as with water. There may be other movement restrictions or effects within the story instructions.
Attacking
All character attack rolls are made by rolling a d10 and a d00 (the percentile dice), which produce a result between 01-100. The character declares a target to attack on his turn and then rolls both dice. Take the result and add the character's Might modifiers (which includes bonuses represented on their Character card), and bonuses from Items, weapons, statuses, etc. Then compare this final number to the target's Defense value. If the result is greater than or equal to the Defense value of the creature, the target is hit. Damage is rolled as specified by the equipped weapon being used, and then the character's DMG Bonus and any additional damage bonuses are added to the total.
The damage is subtracted from the foe's current Vita. When a foe's Vita reaches zero, it is defeated, and its miniature is removed from the map.
Melee weapons can only be used against adjacent targets, unless they have a range specified on their card. Only weapons and Items that are equipped should be placed on the right side of the Character card.
Two 1 HAND weapons or Items can be equipped at a time (one weapon or Item in each hand). When attacking, you must choose which weapon to use each round, applying the bonuses and effects of the chosen weapon only. You may also spend one Power Point to make an additional attack with the secondary weapon. Only the effects for this secondary weapon are usable in the second attack.
If a 2 HANDS weapon is held, no other Items can be held as both hands are occupied. However, damage may be rolled twice and the larger of the two numbers will be used.
Ranged weapons can be used on any target that is within Sight (See "Sight" on page 27 for more details). If an Item, such as a melee weapon, has a range specified on its card, use that as the range instead of the Sight rule, although attacks still cannot be made through obstacles.
If a character does not have a weapon equipped, they may still attack unarmed. The damage of a successful unarmed attack is the character's DMG bonus plus any other DMG bonus they have not related to a weapon.
For example, the Arcanist attacks a Werewolf that she is adjacent to. She rolls the percentile dice. The d10 shows an 8 and the d00 shows a 50, resulting in a 58. After adding her weapon's modifiers, which in this case is a +4 Might for the Stiletto, and her own Might modifier, which is a +3, the final result is 65. The Defense of the Werewolf is 60, which results in a successful hit. The Arcanist then rolls the damage shown on the Stiletto, which is d4. She rolls a 3 and then adds her +2 DMG bonus, which means that the Werewolf loses 5 Vita. The Controller records this result using the Foe Vita Tracker.
Devastating Strike & Fault
If a character's attack roll results in a natural 100, they have performed a Devastating Strike. This means:
- They gain an extra Move and Act, OR
- They may recover all their Power Points
However, if a character rolls a natural 1 (attack roll with no modifiers), they experience a Fault which EXHAUSTS the weapon card (turn it sideways). This weapon is considered "broken" and unusable until it is repaired by a "Tinker" (17) in town. If a character has a Fault when not using a weapon, they may ACT but cannot attack during the next turn, including using Abilities that require an attack roll.
When you roll a Fault using an Artifact, it does not break, but is instead EXHAUSTED until the current combat is complete.
Ghosts gain 1d6 Ghost Points when they perform a Devastating Strike and lose 1 Ghost Point when they have a Fault.
Exhausting Items & Abilities
Some Items and Abilities can be "EXHAUSTED" to provide a special effect. When this happens, they are unusable until UN-EXHAUSTED, including all other benefits and bonuses noted on their card. When something is EXHAUSTED, turn its card sideways to denote this condition. All exhausted Items/Abilities/etc. are UN-EXHAUSTED when characters leave their current Adventure Map, unless noted otherwise.
Blocking Attacks with a Shield
Characters with equipped shields may EXHAUST them in order to block an attack made against them. They are considered "broken" and unusable until they are repaired by a "Tinker" (17) in town.
Dying in Combat
If a character dies, their miniature/standee is removed from the map and then they rise up with their ghost miniature/standee in any free map space that is accessible and visible to characters. For example they cannot appear behind a closed door. Once placed, they can then take any allowable actions on their next turn.
If the Leader dies, combat order does not change even though leadership moves on to the next character. See "On Death and Dying" on page 32 for more details.
Foe Turn
Each foe encountered will take the following actions every turn, in this order. Afflictions act first, followed by creatures with the highest Vita. Creatures controlled by characters act after all other enemies have completed their turn.
I. Move
- Melee foes: (denoted by the "sword" icon) move towards the closest character(s) during their turn. If multiple characters are equal distance from a creature, the Controller uses a targeting die to determine which character the foe attacks. If any characters are already adjacent to the melee enemy, they will not move. Melee foes have the following behaviors:
- Will move to avoid any hazardous terrain or features, such as Flames, as long as they can reach a target.
- If all targets are unreachable without landing on a hazardous space, they will do so, but will move to avoid it on future rounds if given an opportunity. They will also choose the "least" hazardous space if there is a choice.
- Ranged enemies: (denoted by the "arrow" icon) do not move unless a character is adjacent to them. If a ranged foe is adjacent to a character, it moves away from the characters up to their Stride, prior to attacking, with the following behaviors:
- Moves as far as possible away from characters while keeping as many characters within Sight as possible.
- Avoids any hazardous terrain or features, such as Flames.
- If all characters are out of their Sight, ranged attackers will move up to their Stride towards the characters until they have Sight to as many as possible. See "Sight" on page 27.
For example, if a Stregha starts her encounter turn adjacent to a character, she will move 4 spaces away (Stride 4) so that she is as far from the group as possible while keeping the two characters within Sight.
Example #04 (Foe Movement):
- Ranged Stregha: moves away 2 squares, even though her Stride value is 4, so that she is as far from characters as possible while keeping as many of them in her Sight. In this case she can only strike at the Arcanist, as the Witch Hunter is not in Sight.
- Melee Dark Oak: moves towards closest character.
II. Target and Attack
Once in their desired position, they will choose a target and then attack.
- Melee Foes: Attack characters adjacent to them. If more than one target is within range, they will use a targeting die to choose their victim.
- Foes with 2" miniatures/standees/tokens have REACH 2, see "Glossary" on page 36.
- Ranged Foes: Attack characters at random, whether they are adjacent to a character or not. Use a targeting die to determine who will be attacked. See "Foe Attacks" below for details.
Foe Movement
Foes follow the same rules for movement as characters, however they can only move through spaces occupied by other foes and not through spaces occupied by characters. They may not end their movement on an occupied space.
Melee creatures will always move adjacent to their target, even if they have REACH (see "Glossary" on page 36). The only exceptions would be if there is hazard in their way, such as a Flame token, or they are unable to reach them with their Stride.
Swarms behave a little differently... See "Swarms" on page 28 for more details.
Foe Attacks
For each of the creature's attacks, roll all the following dice all at once:
- The targeting die (see example #05).
- The attack dice (percentile dice). The white d10 is the Power Die, which determines a creature's attack power.
The targeting dice will determine which character is targeted for attack. The recommended dice include:
| # of Characters | Targeting Dice | Results (Char 1 / Char 2 / ... / Char 5) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | d4 | 1-2 / 3-4 |
| 3 | d6 | 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 |
| 4 | d4 | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 |
| 5 | d10 | 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-0 |
For example, use a d6 for 3 characters, making character one targeted on roll of 1-2, character two on a 3-4, and character three on a 5-6.
The Controller rolls the attack dice to obtain a number between 01-100. If the result plus the creature's Might bonus is greater than or equal to the character's Defense, it is a hit.
Then look at the "Power Die". Reference the creature's attack table to match the result of the die to determine what attack the creature makes. A roll of 0 on a Power Die equates to 10.
Example #05: If a Highwayman rolls a 74 (a 70 on the d00 and a 4 on the Power Die) against the Arcanist whose Defense is 55, then it is a hit. Consult the Creature card to see which of the Highwayman's attacks corresponds to the Power Die result (Might bonuses do not modify the result). In this case the result is 4 (the value of the Power Die), the "Intimidating Glare" attack.
In one single roll of 3 dice (target die, d10, d00) for each creature attack, you can determine who is being hit with the targeting die and if the hit was successful with the attack die and finally which type of attack the creature made with the Power Die.
Special Powers
All foes include special powers that must be followed during combat. These powers are independent of attack powers. Read a foe's Special Powers before beginning combat.
For example, if a Highwayman has an attack roll of 90 or more, they steal a random consumable Item from their target if one is available.
Devastating Strike and Fault (Foes)
If a foe's unmodified attack roll results in a 100, meaning the d10 dice shows a "0" and the d00 dice shows a "00", they have performed a Devastating Strike. After they complete the first attack, they must make another attack against a random character in range (melee foes) or Sight (ranged foes).
However, if a foe rolls a natural 1, meaning the d10 dice shows a "1" and the d00 dice shows "00", they experience a Fault, which means they cannot attack their next turn, although they can still move. If they have remaining attacks during the current round, they may still use them.
If a creature's attack affects more than one character, the creature rolls once for its attack, but the attack roll result is compared individually to each character's respective Defense value.
General Encounter Rules
Below are general encounter rules that might be overlooked.
Missing a Turn
If a character or foe loses their turn, lay their miniature/standee on its side. After their missed turn has passed, put their miniature/standee back upright to indicate that they can act during their next turn.
Sight
Sight is whether a character and foe can see one another in order to target an attack. Unless otherwise mentioned, any map feature that causes a space to be inaccessible for movement blocks sight for attacks (trees, walls, closed doors, etc.). This means that if the attacker cannot "see" the proposed target, then that is not an eligible target. If you can trace a straight unblocked line from one corner of the attacker's space to any corner of the foe's space, there is Sight. Characters and foes do not block Sight. When characters or foes can see one another, they are considered to be in Sight.
The Map Setup sections in a story will also identify Sight barriers that are not as obvious.
Example #06 (Sight):
- Only the Witch Hunter has Sight on this creature.
- Telepath & Exorcist have Sight on this creature.
- All characters have Sight on this creature.
Darkness
Darkness decreases your effectiveness in combat. There are two ways that Darkness can occur:
- Story instructions: In this situation, a Darkness token should be placed on the affected map(s). Any character on a map with the Darkness token is affected, unless they are carrying a Light Source.
- Creature powers: This usually affects a single target with Darkness. Follow the directions on the Creature or Affliction card. Unless stated otherwise, the Darkness effect ends once combat is completed. An example of this is when one character becomes blinded.
- Combats that occur in Darkness result in a -5 Might to all melee attacks and -10 Might to all ranged attacks. A character holding an equipped Light Source, such as a Torch, does not take these penalties.
Darkness has no effect on foes or ghost characters.
Auras
Some creatures (and characters!) can create aura effects, usually due to special instructions on their Creature card. Auras are usually barriers which cause damage or some other effect to adjacent characters. Auras affect characters at the start of their turn, and when they enter a space within the range of an aura. A character cannot be affected by the same aura more than once during their turn. Creatures are not affected by the aura of other creatures. Overlapping auras could cause additional damage, as shown in the following example:
Two Stregha attack the group. Because they form a Coven, they cause 2 damage to anyone within AURA 1. Based on the figure above, the Avenging Madman moves into the aura of the blue Stregha, so will lose 2 Vita each round he starts in, re-enters, or moves into this aura. The Archeologist is in range of two auras, meaning he will lose 4 Vita each turn. If the Telepath moves into a space adjacent to one of the Stregha, she will immediately lose 2 Vita. If she continues to move to another space adjacent to the same Stregha, she will not lose additional Vita. If she enters the aura of a different Stregha during her move, she will lose an additional 2 Vita.
Example #07 (Auras):
- Avenging Madman loses 2 Vita on his turn.
- Archeologist loses 4 Vita on his turn.
- The Telepath is safe from the Auras until she enters a space adjacent to a Stregha.
Covens
Covens are formed when there are 2 or more Occultists active in combat. When this occurs, their Coven power, listed in the Special Power section of their Creature card, is in effect. Not all Occultists have Coven powers, but they will still participate in the creation of a coven.
Example #08 (Covens):
- Shows where Coven Effect is listed on Creature Cards.
- Occultist Creature Type symbol, denoting that other Occultist creatures may join to activate a Coven, even if they have no coven power of their own.
Summoning or Spawning During Combat
Some foes can summon allies to fight with them. There are also Abilities and Rituals that allow characters to do the same. When a creature is summoned (or when instructed to spawn a creature), the entity is immediately placed on the Adventure Map according to the instructions of the summons. If no location is specified, use the following placement rules:
- Creatures summoned by other creatures ("summoned enemy") should be placed in any unoccupied space adjacent to the Leader.
- Creatures summoned by characters ("summoned ally") may be in any unoccupied space within their Sight.
A summoned or spawned enemy acts the round after it is summoned, acting in order of Vita. A summoned ally acts during the turn of the character who summoned it.
Summoned allies are targeted by creatures as if they were characters. A summoner may not have more than one creature in play at any time. In addition, creatures summoned by characters disperse after combat (they are removed from play). Summoned creatures are not affected by Darkness.
When summoning a SWARM, they must be placed so they do not cover occupied spaces if possible.
Controlling Creatures
If a character has the opportunity to control a creature during its turn, they control all its actions and ignore normal AI. However, just like characters, attacking ends a creature's movement. Controlled creatures can act only after all other creatures and afflictions have acted.
Squeezing
Large foes are allowed to squeeze into spaces smaller than themselves as long as ¼ of their miniature or token is within a valid space. When they do, they receive a -5 Might and -5 Defense. A foe will squeeze only if there is no other way to reach their target, and they treat spaces they must squeeze into as hazardous. Sight is determined only from spaces that can normally be occupied. Swarms have other behaviors and do not receive penalties.
Swarms
Swarm creatures are identified by the SWARM designator on their Creature card. They are represented by 2 inch tokens in encounter combat because they can share a space with their enemies. Anybody adjacent to or sharing a space with them is targeted. They make only one attack roll, which affects everyone, just like in a skirmish.
Swarm behavior is as follows:
- They will move to occupy as many spaces containing their enemies as possible. Swarms may move through and occupy character spaces.
- They will squeeze into inaccessible areas in order to reach their enemies.
- Swarms will move through and occupy the same space as characters.
- They will not end their movement overlapping one another.
- Characters may not move through swarms.
Example #09 (Swarms & Squeezing):
- The Bat Swarm squeezes into an area that it normally wouldn't fit into.
- Characters and creatures cannot enter this blocked terrain, but large creatures may partially enter, so long as ¼ of their miniature or token is on a valid space.
Flames in Combat
If a Flame token is placed on a map during combat, it remains until extinguished. Characters on or adjacent to a Flame may spend their Act to extinguish it.
- If a character or foe enters or begins their turn in a space with a Flame (this includes when a Flame is created in somebody's space), they lose 1d4 Vita. If you end your turn adjacent to a Flame, you lose 1 Vita.
Summoned foes cannot be placed in flames. Foes will always move out of and avoid Flame spaces where they will lose Vita. However, they will move through or even stay in a Flame if they have no other target, or if they are instructed to pursue a specific character.
Characters and foes cannot be affected by more than one source of flame at a time.
For example, if a Swarm is within two Flames, it only loses 1d4 Vita rather than 2d4. In addition, let's say a Flame was within a character's space, and another Flame was adjacent to him. He would ignore the adjacent Flame damage, and instead lose 1d4 Vita (i.e. the highest damage probability takes priority).
Pushing
When an Ability or foe power causes a PUSH #, the target is pushed # spaces away from the pusher. They lose 1d4 Vita and anyone impacted also loses 1d4 Vita. This is considered SNARE damage. For Dusk and Twilight stories, if damage is listed in the attack description, use that rather than the 1d4 Damage. For Midnight and Nightmare, you would add the 1d4 Damage to the attack.
For example, "Lose 3 Vita and get PUSHED 1." For Dusk and Twilight, the total damage to the character would be 3, and anybody they collided with would lose 1d4 Vita. For Midnight and Nightmare, the total damage to the character would be 3+1d4, and anybody they collided with would lose 1d4 Vita.
Certain limitations apply based on obstacles in the path of movement. In the following examples, the Telepath uses the Psychokinesis Ability to PUSH a target 2 spaces. The target will land a maximum of 2 spaces away, but the effect of the Ability will still affect everything in the path.
Example #10: the creature can be pushed 2 spaces as the projected end location is unoccupied. Both the target and the other creatures the target passes through lose 1d4 Vita.
Example #11: Shows that the projected end location is occupied (but the target still is assumed to have bashed into it), so the target lands in the space before it. Both enemies on the map still lose the 1d4 Vita.
Example #12: shows that all spaces in the path are occupied already, so the creature does not move. However all three creatures lose 1d4 Vita because they are in the path of the 2 space push.
Example #10-12 (Pushing):
- Target creature gets pushed beyond another creature in the path.
- Second creature.
- Ending location of the PUSH.
- Target creature pushed 1 space away because the second creature blocks it from going further.
- Ending location of the PUSH.
- Second creature.
- Target creature does not move due to no open spaces, but all creatures in path are still damaged.
- Second creature.
- Third creature.
If a character or creature can resist being moved due to an Ability or benefit they received, they still receive the damage associated with the PUSH, unless it specifically states that they are immune to being pushed.
Winning an Encounter
After a successful combat, each character will receive:
Coins
Receive a coin reward for the foes defeated.
- The amount of the reward is determined by adding up the total coin value for all foes defeated.
For example, the group defeats 3 creatures during one combat. Two of the creatures award 5 coins and the third awards 10 coins. All characters gain 20 coins.
Lore
Receive the Lore award listed on the card. Keep track of how much Lore you have received and refer to the Lore Tree in the Character Booklets to see if you have enough to advance.
Loot
Search the dead for Items.
- For every unique creature defeated (Werewolf, Stregha, etc.), each character rolls a d10 at the end of combat. On each d10:10+, draw an Item.
- Characters that have a search bonus, such as with the LUCKY status, can add modifiers to their rolls.
- Ghost characters may not loot.
- If you fail or avoid an encounter, there are no rewards gained.
Awards
While adventuring, characters will be given various awards for defeating creatures, searching for "Loot" (29), discovering archaeological oddities, completing story objectives, and more. Not all awards are of a positive nature, such as some Story Markers. The main award types include Artifacts, Boons, Coins, Companions, Items, Lore, Prayers, Rituals, and Story Markers (some of these awards were covered earlier in this rulebook). Awards are randomly drawn, if appropriate, unless a specific name is referenced by the Story Journal. If a character is awarded a specific Item by the Story Journal, and that Item is already in play with another character, make a note on the Character Record Sheet — both characters are considered to have that Item. If a character is awarded a specific Companion that is already in play, you instead receive 15 Coins.
Artifacts
Items can be received as rewards and also purchased in towns. Types of Items include Consumables, Protectives, Weapons, Enhancements, and Artifacts. Artifacts are a more powerful version of Items. Artifacts can never be lost, stolen, or sold, though they can be traded among characters unless it states otherwise in the Artifact's description.
Figure #33 (Artifacts):
- Card Back.
- Artifact Graphic.
- Artifact Name.
- Description: The effect of the Artifact.
- Item Slot: Location the Item is equipped, either in hand or in a character's equipment slot.
- Story Artifact Symbol Identifier: Denotes if artifact is awarded as part of a story, or discoverable through other means. All core game artifacts are story artifacts.
- Artifact Category: Consumable, Enhancement, Protective, and Weaponry.
- Card ID Number.
Boon Tokens
Boons are an award received during a story that give a one-time bonus or a much needed Item. They may be used during a character's turn in combat or while adventuring. Boons are randomly chosen at the time the award is granted.
- A character may only possess two Boons at any time. They are discarded after use.
Clarification: Boons are selected at random from the token pile face down. Return used boons to the pile once used and reshuffle the tokens.
Coins
Coins can be spent to purchase Items and to obtain services. They are usually gained during encounters and skirmishes, and by performing certain story-related tasks.
Coin awards from combat are given to EACH character, not divided up amongst them. You add up all the coin values and award that for each character.
For example, if the group successfully encounters 2 Stregha (reward for each is 8 coins), each character would receive 16 coins.
Characters can trade their coins to other characters. All coins are considered to be silver.
Companions
Companions provide bonuses to a character during their adventures. Each character has two Companion slots, allowing them to have up to two Companions at any one time. Companions stay with a character until they are lost by an event, specific negative statuses, or death.
Figure #34-35 (Companions):
- Card Back: Animal and Militia.
- Companion Art.
- Companion Name.
- Description: Benefits provided by the Companion.
- Type: Animal, Militia, and Special. Also specifies if they are ranged or melee attackers when they are Trained/Armed in town.
- Card ID Number.
A Companion card may be discarded at any time, but never traded with another character. You may block an attack against you (or one source of damage, such as a Snare) by discarding a Companion (except Mission Companions).
All Companion cards are unique, so if you are prompted to gain a Companion that is already in play, you instead receive 15 coins. When hiring a Companion in a town by drawing a random Companion card, the Leader goes first if they choose, then the remainder of the characters may hire in a clockwise fashion.
If your two Companion slots are full and you have the opportunity to hire another, or receive one through an event or story plot, you may either reject the new Companion and gain 15 coins, or discard one in your possession to make room.
The following types of Companions may be found in the game:
- Animal: Animal Companions provide a character with a variety of bonuses, defenses, and/or attack capabilities. To purchase, you must visit the "Stables" (17) in town and randomly draw a card from the Animal Companion deck.
- Militia: Militia Companions provide bonuses to a character's skills and combat Abilities. To purchase, visit the "Inn" (17) in town and randomly draw a card from the Militia Companion deck.
- Mission: Mission Companions are found while adventuring. They usually require you to rescue and/or escort them someplace. By doing this, characters can gain coins or status effects. They remain with a character until the mission objectives are completed or the character is killed. Mission Companions do not have specific cards or Abilities but they do take up a Companion slot. They may not be sacrificed to avoid damage.
- Special: Special Companions may join a character during certain story outcomes. The stickman special Companion should be removed from the militia deck.
- Losing Companions: Characters that become ghosts, or that are affected by BLOODLUST or LYCANTHROPIC statuses, lose their Companions and may not gain new ones until the status is cured.
Training: Companions may be trained/armed in towns which allow them to attack during encounter combat, but not skirmishes. See "Character Turn" on page 25 for details on how Companions can be used in combat.
Lore
Lore is passed onto characters by defeating mystical creatures, discovering knowledge of the occult, and learning more of the evil that is spreading across the land. It represents the knowledge gained while adventuring.
Lore awards from combat are given to EACH character, not divided up amongst them. You add up all the Lore values and award that for each character.
For example, if the group successfully encounters 3 Decaying Dead (reward for each is 10 Lore), each character would receive 30 Lore.
As characters accumulate Lore, they learn new powers and bonuses from their Lore Tree. Lore can also be sacrificed to cure supernatural statuses, such as BLOODLUST and LYCANTHROPIC.
Story Markers
Story Markers are awarded at various points within a story. These markers can be positive or negative in nature, but that is not known until certain story milestones occur. Multiple Story Markers can be awarded during an adventure. Each of these markers are colored and will be referenced by the story.
For example, during an adventure, a character discovers an old journal discussing the nature of Vampires. The story will instruct the character draw the Red Story Marker. Later in the story, they encounter a Vampire affliction. The story states that whoever has the Red Story Marker will receive a +10 Might against the Affliction.
As mentioned, not all Story Markers are positive.
For example, a group finds a chalice filled with wine, and it tempts everyone to drink. If a character does, they recover 5 Vita and receive the Blue Story Marker. However, later in the adventure, the character that possesses the Blue Story Marker becomes lethargic because the wine was drugged and they receive a -5 Defense and Might.
On Death and Dying
When a character reaches zero Vita, they are dead. That is not the end however. When a character "dies," they play on as their ghost (see the Ghost Characters section below for more details). A ghostly silver cord connects the soul and the body. The silver cord stays intact unless your Ghost Points are reduced to zero before the "Physician" (17) in town can revive you. When Ghost Points drop to zero, the silver cord breaks and the ghost is moved to Limbo. Characters in Limbo may not participate in the game until brought back to life by the Gypsies, by certain character Abilities, or by other special circumstances that can occur in the game. A group may elect to have a player whose character is in Limbo act as the Controller and Storyteller until their character is brought back to life.
Ghost Characters
Ghost characters are just shadows of what they are in life. Therefore, there are some significant restrictions placed upon them. Upon becoming a ghost, a character gains 10 Ghost Points, which acts in place of both Vita and Power Points. Ghost Points are reduced whenever you use a Ghost Power listed on the Character Card, when you receive damage due to an attack from a creature, or during special events that may occur.
A character in Ghost form may be targeted and hit by creatures, which drains their Ghost Points instead of Vita. Because they are ETHEREAL, they receive ABSORPTION 2 against corporeal (or non-ETHEREAL) foes, however receive full damage from other ETHEREAL enemies. Once all Ghost Points have been expended or lost, the ghost character is temporarily removed from the game and their miniature/standee confined to Limbo, which is anywhere on top of their Character Card.
Ghost characters...
- may not assume the Leader role
- do participate in combat
- may not interact with map features such as searching and opening doors
- may not perform skill checks (unless specifically instructed, no bonuses)
- may not initiate a map transition
- cannot use weapons or Items unless they contain the SPECTRAL keyword
- are not affected by Stride penalties and map features that inhibit movement. This does not include doors, walls, portcullises, etc.
- do not receive Darkness penalties
- are not affected by Corrosion or Infection tokens
- do not receive new Items/Artifacts, or Prayers/Rituals
- are affected by Snares and story/event-related physical hazards, but any damage is reduced by 2 due to their ETHEREAL status
- do not receive physical rewards, such as Items, Artifacts, Rituals, etc., although they still receive Coins and Lore.
Simply, the only character actions they can take is to Move, use Ghost Powers, and participate in combat. Keep in mind that Ghost characters still recover Ghost Points while resting, they just cannot initiate a rest because they never assume the Leader role.
See "Ghosts in Combat" below for additional details.
Figure #36 (Ghost Characters):
- Name: Name of the ghost character.
- Ghost Power Cost: Powers can be ranged (two arrows) or melee (crossed swords) and require Ghost Points to be spent (the amount listed on the left) to use.
- Ghost Power Text: Usable only in combat.
- Ghost Art.
- Ghost Attributes: Ghost Points (acts as Vita, used to use Ghost Powers), Defense (same as a character), Might (same as a character), DMG Bonus (same as a character, except cannot use weapons unless said weapons are SPECTRAL), Stride (same as a character).
- Ghost Point Tracker: Use the Power/Ghost Point Tracker to keep track of Ghost Points.
- Special Status: Ghost have ETHEREAL status.
- Card ID Number.
Ghost Points and Powers
Ghosts are unable to use Abilities unless an Ability specifically states it. Instead they have Ghost Powers that require you to expend Ghost Points to activate them. Each power costs a specific amount of Ghost Points and can only be used while in Ghost form. Ghost Powers may be either melee or ranged, as specified on their Ghost Card. Like Abilities, you cannot add the DMG Bonus to Ghost Powers. A ghost can use each of their powers once during their turn, as long as they have enough Ghost Points to activate them. Be careful... if you run out of Ghost Points, your character goes to Limbo and is temporarily out of the game.
Example Ghost Power: "Give any ally a +2 bonus against a negative status check. Use at any time."
Ghosts in Combat
Ghost characters behave differently than normal characters during combat.
Encounters with Ghosts
Ghosts can participate in encounters and can be targeted like any other character. The following actions can be taken by ghost characters:
- Move: Same as living characters, however are not affected by Stride penalties and map features that inhibit movement. This does not include doors, walls, portcullises, etc.
- Attack: Same as a living character except since they cannot use most weapons (unless they possess one with a SPECTRAL keyword), their attacks only reduce a foe's Vita by the amount of their DMG Bonus.
- Ghost Powers: A ghost can use each of their powers once per round, as long as they have enough Ghost Points to activate them. There is no restriction on when they may activate them during their turn.
For example, a ghost may use a power, then move, then attack, and then activate another power.
Abilities: Some Abilities (within expansion content) allow ghosts to use them by spending their Ghost Points instead of Power Points. Like Ghost Powers, there is no restriction on when they may activate them during their turn.
Ghost Points act as Vita, so when a ghost is injured, it reduces its number of Ghost Points. Once their Ghost Points are depleted, the Ghost is sent to Limbo.
Foe powers that cause loss of Power Points are ignored. If a foe power reduces Vita, Ghost Points are reduced. Conditions that affect a character if they don't have Power Points are ignored. Likewise, Ghosts cannot make skill checks or receive negative or positive statuses (except ETHEREAL). If a foe's powers instruct a Ghost to make a skill check, they may ignore the check and the resulting outcomes unless it specifically says it can be made by a ghost.
If a living character dies during an encounter, they are removed from the Adventure Map. At the start of their next turn, they place their ghost miniature in any unoccupied space within Sight of their original position. They may then participate in combat as a ghost.
Skirmishing with Ghosts
Ghosts participate in skirmishes like any other character with the following conditions:
- They may not use Ghost Powers.
- When they Defend, they disappear for combat until the start of their next turn, becoming untargetable.
- Ghost Points act as Vita, so when a ghost is injured, it reduces its number of Ghost Points. Once their Ghost Points are depleted, the ghost is sent to Limbo.
If a living character dies during a skirmish, they are removed from play during the remainder of combat. Once the fight is over, the character rejoins the game as a ghost.
Single Character Death
When a character dies, they lose all statuses (positive and negative) and Companions. However, none of their existing possessions or coins are lost as they are assumed to be in the safekeeping of the group.
- If a character dies while the group is adventuring, they are removed from the Adventure Map. At the start of their next turn, they place their ghost miniature in any unoccupied space within Sight of their original position. Once placed, they may then take any allowable actions.
Ghost characters may be brought to life by a physician in town. If a ghost loses all their Ghost Points, they are sent to Limbo. The "Gypsy Encampment" (17) may be visited to bring a character in Limbo back to life with full Power Points and half their Vita. However, they must randomly draw and keep a Tarot card.
If all characters become Ghosts and/or are in Limbo, it is considered a Total Group Death.
Total Group Death
If all characters die and become ghosts, the story stops and their bodies are eventually found by wandering Gypsies and returned to the nearest town's "Gypsy Encampment" (17).
The following steps should be taken:
- Characters are revived with full Vita and Power Points.
- Each character loses one Item at random. Characters cannot lose Artifacts.
- All positive and negative statuses are lost.
- All Infection tokens are lost.
- Characters lose all Companions.
- Characters lose half their coins.
- All characters receive a random Tarot card.
- All Boons are lost.
- Character 1 becomes the Leader.
If the section of the story in which you die (following the encounter dialog box) does not contain instruction to follow if a Total Group Death occurs, place the group marker in the nearest town. You must travel back to the location of your death and continue the story, skipping the encounter, event, etc. that caused the group's demise.
For example, you just started the second chapter in a story and end up encountering a group of Vampires in Belvar Estate. Bad luck ensues and the entire party is slain. First you follow the instructions on Total Group Death (losing Companions, Items, drawing a Tarot card, etc.). Then you place the Group Marker at Waylin Point, which is the closest town and then travel the World Map back to Belvar Estate. From there, continue reading the story following the encounter.
On the other hand, if there are instructions concerning the group's death, follow them within the story.
Limbo
Limbo is the "place between worlds." It is a dimension of lost souls that can no longer interact with the physical world. Dead characters that lose all of their Ghost Points are placed in Limbo. When a character enters Limbo, that character's miniature/standee should be taken off the map and placed on top of its Character card. See "Single Character Death" above for more details.
Tarot Cards
Figure #37 (Tarot Cards):
- Card Back.
- Name.
- Card Text.
- Card ID Number.
- The only way to rid a character of a Tarot card is to meditate at the "Standing Stones" (17) and pay the specified price. If a Tarot card is removed in this manner, return it to the Tarot deck and reshuffle.
Wrapping Up a Game
When players finally decide to wrap up game play, they may do one of the following:
- Record their belongings on their Character Record Sheet and package all components together in the game box.
- Keep ALL components that are associated with their character and package them together so they do not get mixed in with the others. When continuing play, players need only to unpack their character and refer to the next section of the Story Journal.
Record Sheets
This rulebook contains photocopiable Character and Session Record Sheets. You may also download PDFs of these sheets from www.greenbriergames.com/folklore_sheets. You may also use a blank sheet of paper, though we recommend using the record sheets for tracking progression and minutia between sessions.
Character Record Sheet
The Character Record Sheet is for tracking a single character's progression throughout the game. Each character should have a sheet.
Figure #38 (Character Record Sheet):
- Character Details: Name (name your character), Player name, Character (Arcanist, Madman, etc.), Focus (path chosen at start of game).
- Character #: (circle your number at start of each session), Keywords (starting and gained).
- Attributes: Record base attribute number, and any Item/Ability or story bonuses to get a total.
- Skills: Record base attribute number, and any Item/Ability or story bonuses to get a total.
- Coins: Track coins earned. Use pencil, you will be using this section often.
- Lore: Track each lore point you gain.
- Conditional Modifiers: Check off if any apply.
- Statuses Positive: Check off if you have a status for this story or not.
- Statuses Negative: Check off if you have a status for this story or not.
- Vita/PP/Temp Bonus scratch area.
- Equipped Items: Note, characters limited to 8 non-consumable Items.
- Lore progression: Track Abilities chosen and Focus decisions.
- Mystical Arts, if any.
- Consumable Items.
- Companions if any (limit 2 Companions, +special).
Session Record Sheet
The Session Record Sheet is for tracking a single session of game play. It is recommended to use one sheet per session, in case a player misses one.
Figure #39 (Session Record Sheet):
- Current Story Name
- Start/End locations
- Characters and which players used them. Record in character number order.
- Session notes.
- Triggered story moments
- Story moment decisions/choices made.
- Link to download updated PDFs of the Session Sheet.
- Encounter/skirmish record sheet to track creatures encountered and skirmished.
- Affliction Tracker
- Total Coins earned this session by the group (ignore individually earned coins)
- Total Lore earned at end of session.
- Other rewards earned this session.
Playing Between Stories
Following the Story Journal makes up the bulk of your experience in Folklore: The Affliction. However, there are still things you can do between the stories, such as (but not limited to) the following:
- Travel to the Church of the CrossRoads to learn Abilities.
- Visit a town and stock up on needed supplies.
- See the physician about reviving ghost characters, or worse, the gypsies for help drawing an ally back from Limbo!
- Go to the Standing Stones to get a Tarot card removed.
- Play Folklore expansion content, such as Rumor cards.
If an event happens between stories that has a KEEP IN PLAY designation, it lasts until the next story starts.
All these things may be done during a story, but it may be more convenient to complete them after a story has been finished, or before the next begins. Whenever you play between stories, you must still travel the World Map in order to reach your desired location, drawing Road/Off-Road Event as you go.
Advanced Rules
You may use these optional rules after you are familiar with the core rule set for Folklore: The Affliction. We recommend you ignore this section until you have played through at least the first two stories in the core game's Story Journal.
Abilities
Instead of using the provided starting Abilities for a character, you may instead choose your own Abilities with a total cost of 3 Ability Points. Keep in mind you still must have the allowable keyword to learn a specific Ability.
Combat
Folklore: The Affliction was designed to provide brutal, but simple combat encounters in order to ensure the focus of the game was on the story. However, if you wish to enhance combat with additional tactical mechanics, you may use these optional rules.
Advanced Encounters
- Attack or Defend: You may utilize the Character Skirmish token during encounters as well as skirmishes. At the start of every combat round, each character chooses to Attack or Defend using the token. Defending characters may still attack during their turn, but receive a +10 Defense and -10 Might until the start of their next turn. When ghost characters defend, they fade from sight and cannot attack or be targeted.
- Evade: Characters may move through foes by spending one Power Point. Movement through foes costs 2 Stride per space.
- Focus: During active combat, a character may spend their Act to recover 1 Power Point.
- Guard: Characters that choose to Defend during an encounter round, using the Character Skirmish token, automatically enter a guard stance. Once per round, if there are no foes adjacent to them, they are able to strike back at an enemy that enters an adjacent space to them and attacks. After being attacked, hit or miss, the character can then attack back. Remember that they will receive a -10 Might because they are guarding.
- Ranged Adjacency: Any character (or ally) attacking with a ranged weapon while adjacent to an enemy must roll twice for their attack and take the lower result. The same is true for ranged creatures and afflictions that attack while adjacent to a character or one of their allies, such as a summoned creature.
- Regroup: During combat, a character may spend 1 PP to recover 1 Vita.
- Sight: For every ally or foe that blocks Sight to your target, you receive -5 Might. This affects characters only.
Advanced Skirmishes
- Fleeing from a Skirmish: The Leader may choose to have the group flee from a skirmish, but the attempt is not without consequences. To do so, follow these steps at the beginning of the character's turn where they attempt to flee:
- All characters must pass TRICKERY 5.
- Creatures immediately get a free attack against the group, ignoring any Defense bonuses given by the Character Skirmish token.
- If all characters successfully passed the TRICKERY check, the skirmish is over and no awards are given to them.
- If not, the skirmish resumes with the characters being allowed to finish their turn by attacking.
- Focus: During a skirmish, a character may give up their attack to recover 1 Power Point. They would not receive the Defense bonus given by the Character Skirmish token (via Defend).
- Regroup: During a skirmish, a character that Defends may give up their attack to recover 1 Vita.
Expanded Lore Progression
Once characters exceed the 1700 Lore limit of a character's Lore Tree, every 300 Lore beyond, they will receive a bonus of their choice:
- +1 Ability Point or +1 Max Power Point
- +1 to Any Skill
- +5 Might or +5 Defense
- +2 Max Vita or +2 Ghost Points
- +1 to your DMG Bonus (available every 1200 Lore, beginning at 2900 Lore)
- You cannot exceed 10 Power Points, 36 Vita, 20 Ghost Points or +5 in any one skill. These may increase with temporary bonuses.
For example, at 2000 Lore you make your first advanced Lore Tree selection. The next one occurs at 2300 Lore and so on.
Glossary
The symbol "#" represents a number. For instance, when you see "AURA 3," replace # for "3" in the following definition.
- 1 HAND: In reference to a weapon. If you have two 1 HAND weapons equipped, you may spend 1 Power Point to attack with the secondary one.
- 2 HANDS: In reference to a weapon. Roll damage dice twice and take the better result. Weapon takes two Hand slots. Sickened characters using 2 HANDS weapons roll damage once.
- ABSORPTION #: Ignore # Damage from an attack. Does not ignore SNARE damage unless specifically stated.
- ARCING: Target 1 additional adjacent foe in your attack.
- AURA #: Gives the bearer and allies within # spaces of them the effect stated. This can affect foes instead, if specifically stated.
- BLACKOUT #: Target loses their next turn if the attack roll is above #.
- BLESSED: A positive status. You have proven yourself virtuous and on the side of the Light. Gain +5 Might and ABSORPTION 1.
- BLOODLUST: A negative status. +2 Damage, -2 SPEECH, -2 FAITH, and -3 Max Vita. Allies receive -1 SPEECH due to your foul presence. See "Vampirism" on page 21 for more details. Resist with the FAITH skill bonus.
- BRAVE: A positive status. Your bravery transcends that of normal folk. Gain +1 NERVE and +1 Damage, allowing you to more easily purge the darkness from the world.
- BURST #: All adjacent spaces are affected by #, which can be damage, keyword, status, or condition. Swarms and large foes are affected the same as normal-size foes.
- COLD STEEL: Roll attack dice twice vs. Spirits/Nature creatures, take the higher result and add +1 Damage.
- CRUSHING: Causes REDUCTION 1 for a target's next turn. Does not stack.
- CURSED: A negative status. You have been afflicted by accursed misfortune. Your Max Vita is reduced by 4 and you receive -1 to all skill checks. Resist with the OCCULT skill bonus.
- DERANGED: A negative status. Your mental control has been smashed, causing you to lose all focus. You cannot use Abilities that require Power Points. You cannot use Prayers or Rituals. Resist with the AWARENESS skill bonus.
- DISCARD: Remove the card from play by placing on the appropriate discard deck.
- ELDRITCH: The bearer ignores enemy AURA effects.
- ENCHANTED #: Store up to # Power Points into the Item. To activate the associated power, you expend the stored points. You can choose to recover these instead of your normal Power Point reserve.
- ETHEREAL: A positive status. You are balanced between this world and the next, granting you ABSORPTION 2 vs. corporeal (non-ETHEREAL) foes and SNARES. Full damage to ETHEREAL foes. Ignore Stride penalties.
- EXECUTE: Immediately kill non-Affliction creatures or cause double-damage to Afflictions when performing a Devastating Strike.
- EXHAUST, EXHAUSTED, EXHAUSTING: Item, Ability, etc. becomes unusable until UN-EXHAUSTED, which occurs when characters leave their current Adventure Map, unless otherwise specified.
- FAITHFUL: A positive status. Your devout nature gives you the strength of will to prevail against those rallied against you! Gain +1 FAITH and +1 OCCULT.
- FAVORED: A positive status. Your good deeds have made an impression on the powers beyond the veil. You are granted +3 Max Vita and +1 to all skill checks.
- FILL: When used in a FILLABLE weapon, it adds the capabilities specified for 4 attacks.
- FILLABLE: Weapon may use an Item with the FILL keyword to augment its capabilities.
- FLANK #: If there is an adjacent ally to your target, cause an additional # Damage.
- FOCUS #: Gain +# Might with this weapon if you attack the same foe as the previous round.
- FORTIFIED: A positive status. Your internal fortitude has proven effective against the evil shrouding the land. Gain +5 Defense and immunity to Infection.
- FRACTURED: A negative status. Your body has been broken, impeding your fight against evil. Receive -10 Defense. You may only use one HAND Item slot. Resist with the TRICKERY skill bonus.
- IMMOBILIZED: A negative status. The forces around you prohibit your movement. Receive -10 Might. Pass ECOLOGY 5 at the start of each round or your Stride becomes 0. This status ends when combat is over. Resist with the TRICKERY skill bonus.
- LUCKY: A positive status. It seems that luck favors the foolish, and those who risk much to achieve their goals. Gain +1 TRICKERY and +1 to all search rolls.
- LYCANTHROPIC: A negative status. +1 Damage, +1 Stride. Receive half of Coin awards. See "Lycanthropy" on page 20 for more details. Resist with the OCCULT skill bonus.
- PENETRATE #: Attack penetrates # spaces past your target in a straight line, up to the REACH of the weapon. Must be used horizontal or vertical. Does not work diagonally.
- PERCEPTIVE: A positive status. Your keen eyes do not miss much, even in this land blanketed in perpetual gloom. Receive +1 AWARENESS and ignore Darkness penalties.
- POSSESSED: A negative status. You are possessed with a demonic presence. While adventuring and during combat, allies within AURA 1 of you lose 1 Vita at the start of each round. Resist with the FAITH skill bonus.
- PUSH #: Push your target # spaces. Lose 1d4 and anyone impacted also loses 1d4 Vita. This is considered Snare damage. For Dusk and Twilight stories, if damage is listed in the attack, use that rather than the 1d4 Damage. For Midnight and Nightmare, you would add the 1d4 Damage to the attack. See "Pushing" on page 29.
- RANGE # / REACH #: Target foe(s) # spaces from your position. If no # is listed, the range is unlimited.
- RAZOR #: Causes # damage to target for 4 rounds at the start of their turn. Does not affect ETHEREAL foes.
- REDUCTION #: Attack damage is reduced by #.
- RESPECTED: A positive status. You have proven your willingness to stand up for the downtrodden of this land. Gain +1 SPEECH and +1 TRICKERY. See "The Wanted Condition" on page 20 for more details.
- SACRED: Roll attack dice twice vs. Demonic/Undead creatures, take the higher result and add +1 Damage.
- SICKENED: A negative status. A foul malaise has stricken you, reducing your effectiveness in combat. In an encounter, roll damage dice twice and take the worst result. Resist with the ECOLOGY skill bonus.
- SILVER: Roll attack dice twice vs. Shapeshifters/Undead creatures, take the higher result and add +1 Damage.
- SNARE #: Snare, or trap, damage occurs, affecting the character encountering the snare and any other characters within # spaces of them. If a number is not shown, it only affects the person encountering it.
- SPECTRAL: The Item/Artifact may be used in Ghost form.
- SPOOKED: A negative status. Your confidence has been shattered. Receive -5 Might and -1 NERVE. Pass NERVE 5 at the end of any combat (one attempt each combat) to remove this status. Resist with the NERVE skill bonus.
- SWARM: Designates the creature as a Swarm. See "Swarms" on page 28.
- SWIFT: A positive status. You are filled with a sense of urgency fueled by your desire to put a stop to the afflictions plaguing the land. Gain +1 Stride and +5 Defense.
- THROWN: EXHAUST to throw a melee weapon with the same rules as RANGED 3.
- TRANSFORMED: A negative status. Your form has become unstable, morphing into strange mutations. You lose 1 HAND slot and cannot perform skill checks. If forced to make a skill check, you automatically fail. Resist with the OCCULT skill bonus.
- TRUE: Ranged weapons may shoot through foes/allies without receiving a Might penalty. See Advanced Encounter Rules.
- UN-EXHAUST, UN-EXHAUSTED: Make an EXHAUSTED Ability, Artifact, or Item usable once again.
- VORPAL: Attack rolls >95 do maximum damage.
- WEAKEN, WEAKENED: Place a tracking token on the target for each hit. Remove a tracking token each time the target attacks and they must roll twice for their attack and take the lower result.