Four Horsemen Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Saving The World
• Components
  • Component Notes
• Setting Up an Apocalypse
  • 1. Board Setup
  • 2. Hero Setup
  • 3. Apocalypse Scenario
  • 4. Create the Relic Deck
  • 5. Build the Event Deck
• Quick Overview
  • 1. Events
  • 2. Planning
  • 3. Heroic Actions
  • 4. Hunt for Relics
  • 5. Advance Time
  • 6. Additional Rules
  • 7. Winning and Losing
• Gameplay
  • 1. Overview
  • 2. Icons
    • 2.1 Heroic Attributes
    • 2.2 Followers
    • 2.3 Other Hero and Follower Icons
    • 2.4 Demons
    • 2.5 Horsemen
    • 2.6 Resolving Icons
  • 3. Events
  • 4. Planning
  • 5. Heroic Actions
  • 6. Hunt For Relics
• Often Overlooked Rules
  • General
  • Event Phase
  • Planning Phase
  • Heroic Actions
  • Hunt for Relics Phase
• Keyword Reference
• Variants
  • Random Relics
  • Accelerated Start
  • Increased Difficulty
  • Reduced Difficulty
• Apocalypse Clarifications
• Example Relics
• Rule Summary
  • 1. Events
  • 2. Planning
  • 3. Heroic Actions
  • 4. Hunt for Relics
  • 5. Advance Time
• Winning and Losing

Saving The World

In Four Horsemen, an apocalyptic entity is unleashing wanton destruction. Players take on the role of heroes who returned to Earth to stop the apocalypse and protect mankind from the rising horrors. Stopping the entity requires the heroes to complete a binding ritual after a set number of game turns, called hours, while battling demons and delaying the Horsemen. Each hour brings new events that unleash demons, move the Horsemen, and decimate the heroes' followers.

The heroes respond to events using relics played from their hand. These relics are powerful sources of energy that destroy demons and convince new followers to join the cause. Each hour, the heroes sacrifice one relic for a powerful effect. In addition to relics, the heroes can use their own divine powers at any time.

To gain more power, the heroes unearth lost relics using the Reliquary, adding these new artifacts to their arsenal. If the heroes survive the hour, the doomsday clock clicks down towards completion of the banishing ritual. The heroes ready themselves for the next hour's battle by drawing a new set of relics and passing the first-player token to the next hero.

Components

• 1 Rulebook
• 9 Hero Standees
• 9 Hero Sheets
• 4 Horsemen Standees
• 1 Horsemen Board
• 1 World Board
• 1 Event Board
• 4 Player Aids
• 144 Events
• 1 Escalation card
• 181 Relics
• 9 Hero Randomizers
• 16 Apocalypse Randomizers
• 10 Binding Rituals
• 16 Apocalypse Scenarios
• 6 six-sided dice
• 6 twelve-sided dice
• 20 Small Destruction Markers
• 20 Small Corruption Markers
• 32 32mm Tokens
• 6 Divinity cubes
• 6 Corruption cubes
• 50 Demon cubes
• 50 Spiritual followers
• 50 Wisdom followers
• 50 Zeal followers
• 50 Prestige followers
• Hour Tracker
• First Player Marker

Component Notes

Relic card anatomy: Each relic has a Title, a Stage indicator, a Cost to acquire (shown on the banner), Traits, a Box indicator, a Pantheon indicator, and three effect columns: Boon, Use, and Sacrifice.

Hero Board: Each hero board has a Hero's Name and Role, Initial Followers, a Brief Description, the Divinity Track, the Corruption Track, Starting Relics (listed on the back), Divine Powers, Pantheon Information, and the Corruption Requirement for each Divine Power. The back of the board lists the hero's starting relic deck and its Heroic Actions.

Apocalypse Scenario card anatomy: Name of Scenario, Length (hours), Events, Special Rules, and Victory Conditions.

Note: the rulebook does not print the text of the 181 relics, 144 events, 16 Apocalypse Scenarios, 10 Binding Rituals, or the hero roster; those are card contents and are not part of this transcription. The per-stop Horsemen penalty values printed on the Horsemen Board are graphic and are not transcribed here.

Setting Up an Apocalypse

1. Board Setup

Place the World Board in the center of the table. Place the Horsemen Board and Event Board near the World Board. Place the 4 Horsemen on their pictures on the Horsemen Board. If you have the minis, the white Horsemen is Death, the red is War, the green is Disease, and the black is Famine.

2. Hero Setup

a. Each player chooses a hero, taking the corresponding figure and Hero Board. Find and set aside the relic and event cards with the pantheon indicator (e.g. the pantheon symbol shown on the hero's card) of the chosen heroes. These cards will be used during setup.

b. Place each hero's figure in any zone on the World Board. Multiple heroes may occupy a zone.

c. Each player creates their starting relic deck using the relics listed on the back of the Hero Board. After assembling the deck, each hero shuffles their relic deck and draws an initial hand of five relics.

d. On each Hero Board, place a yellow cube on the divinity track's highlighted space. Place a black cube on the corruption track's highlighted space. Place the number of starting followers (cubes) listed in each follower circle.

e. Give each player a reference card. Give the first-player token to either a random player or to the player that expresses the most righteous indignation at current events.

3. Apocalypse Scenario

Select an Apocalypse Scenario and place the Apocalypse Scenario card on the World Board. Place the hour marker on the hour track at the number of hours listed on the Apocalypse Scenario. Randomly select a Binding Ritual and place it on the World Board, face-up.

For your first game, select Malaise as the Apocalypse Scenario and follow these introductory setup rules.

1. Shuffle and place all Stage I relics on the World Board.

2. Create the event deck with the following Stage I events placed from top to bottom: (i) Pit of Unhappiness (ii) Death of a Prophet, (iii) The Giants, (iv) Death Rides Again, and (v) Fire and Brimstone.

3. Do not select a Binding Ritual. Instead, the heroes play the full final hour, meaning each hero must take a corruption from Malaise's end of hour power and acquire a relic during the final hour.

4. Create the Relic Deck

a. Create the Stage I relic deck using all Stage I relics with a universal pantheon indicator (the green universal pantheon symbol) and all set-aside Stage I relics belonging to the heroes' pantheons. For example, in a game with only Judea-Christian heroes, shuffle together all Stage I relics that have a pantheon indicator of the universal symbol or the Judea-Christian symbol, but do not include relics with the Greek pantheon indicator. Place this deck on the World Board in the relic spot.

b. Create the Stage II relic deck using all Stage II relics with a universal pantheon indicator (the green universal pantheon symbol) and all set-aside Stage II relics belonging to the heroes' pantheons. Place this deck to the side of the World Board.

c. Reveal the initial Reliquary by dealing 6 cards from the Stage I relic deck face-up in two rows of three.

5. Build the Event Deck

a. Create the Event Deck by first shuffling the Stage I events with the universal pantheon indicator together with the Stage I events of the heroes' pantheons. For this step, exclude all Stage I events that name a specific Apocalypse Scenario (see page 5). Without revealing the cards, deal out a number of events based on the Apocalypse Scenario's hours:

Hours	6	8	11	13	15
Cards	4	6	4	5	6

b. Now, shuffle the Stage I event listed on the Apocalypse Scenario into the drawn cards. This is the Stage I Event Deck.

c. For Apocalypse Scenarios lasting 6-10 hours, place the Stage I Event Deck on the Event Board.

d. For Apocalypse Scenarios lasting 11-15 hours, place the Escalation Card underneath the Stage I Event Deck. Then, shuffle all Stage II events with the universal pantheon indicator together with the Stage II events of the heroes' pantheons, but excluding any Stage II events that list a specific Apocalypse Scenario. Without revealing the cards, deal out a number of events based on the Apocalypse Scenario's hours:

Hours	11	13	15
Cards	4	5	6

e. To finish the Stage II Event Deck for scenarios lasting 11-15 hours, shuffle the drawn Stage II events with the Stage II event listed on the Apocalypse Scenario. Place these cards under the Escalation Card, beneath the Stage I Event Deck. Place the entire Event Deck on the Event Board.

The total number of events (including the Apocalypse Scenario's event(s) but excluding the Escalation Card) in the Event Deck is always one less than the Apocalypse Scenario's hours.

Quick Overview

1. Events

a. Advance all events 1 spot forward on the Event Board.

b. Reveal a new event from the event deck. If desired, pay the "X" cost to prevent the event.

c. Resolve all non-prevented events that are on the Event Board using the values and icons shown. Costs are not per hero and can be split between heroes unless the card specifically says otherwise using the "All" or "One" keyword (see page 26). Heroes with insufficient followers to complete event requirements take 1 point of corruption per missing follower.

• Divinity icon: Add or lose divinity, the yellow cube on the Hero Board.
• Corruption icon: Add or lose corruption, the black cube on the Hero Board.
• Wisdom icon: Add or lose wisdom, the blue cube on the Hero Board.
• Zeal icon: Add or lose zeal, the orange cube on the Hero Board.
• Prestige icon: Add or lose prestige, the purple cube on the Hero Board.
• General follower icon: Add or lose the hero's choice of blue, orange, or purple cubes.
• Spiritual follower icon: Add or lose a spiritual follower, the green cube on the Hero's board.
• Faith icon: Add or lose a spiritual follower from a Judea-Christian hero.
• Virtue icon: Add or lose a spiritual follower from a Greek hero.
• Demon icon: Add or remove demons from the World Board's summoning track. Roll a 6-sided die once per symbol to decide where to place the demons.
• Move demons icon: Move demons to a new summoning track.
• Horseman icon: Move a Horseman on the Horsemen track. Roll a 12-sided die to decide which to move. Resolve the effects of each space covered.
• Draw icon: Draw or discard relics from the player's hand. Discarded relics are randomly chosen.
• Re-educate icon: Trade 1 follower cube for another type of follower cube.
• Move Hero icon: The hero may move to a new location.

2. Planning

a. Place 4 relics on the Hero Board: 2 in the "Boon" section, 1 in the "Use" section, and 1 in "Sacrifice" section. Discard all other relics in the heroes' hand.

b. Each hero may move to a new location.

c. Resolve any Upkeep effects listed on relics and events using the icons shown on the card with an Upkeep effect. There may not be any Upkeep effects.

3. Heroic Actions

a. Simultaneously resolve the effects of relics placed on the Hero Board using the icons in the column matching the section where the relic was placed. Discard relics from the "Boon" and "Use" section to the hero's discard pile. Remove "Sacrificed" relics from the game.

b. Demons attack each hero in their location. Each hero takes -1 divinity per demon in their location.

4. Hunt for Relics

a. Each hero acquires 1 relic from the Reliquary by paying the cost shown in the relic's banner. Acquired relics are placed in the hero's discard pile. Discard the top 3 relics from the Reliquary, shift the remaining relics up, and refill the Reliquary back to 6 cards.

b. Each hero draws a new hand of 5 relics plus any bonus relics granted by the draw icon during the Heroic Action phase. Shuffle the hero's discard pile to create a new relic deck if necessary.

5. Advance Time

a. Decrease the hour marker.

b. Pass the first-player token to the next player (the player sitting to the left of the current first-player).

c. If the Escalation Card is on top of the Event Deck, discard the Escalation Card and switch to Stage II relic decks.

6. Additional Rules

a. The heroes can use Divine Powers at any time. Both the "Self" and "Other" columns apply each time a hero uses a Divine Power. This is the hardest concept for new players: Divine Powers can be used anytime as many times as a hero wishes.

b. Whenever a hero is missing a follower required for an event or relic, the hero gains 1 corruption instead.

c. A hero is Fallen if their divinity and corruption are equal. Fallen heroes cannot lose divinity or gain corruption. Instead of losing divinity or gaining corruption, move 1 Horseman forward. Fallen heroes still play as normal. Reducing a Fallen hero's corruption or increasing the hero's divinity means the hero is not Fallen.

7. Winning and Losing

a. The heroes win if, at any time after the final hour's Event phase, the heroes have not lost, meet the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions, and complete the Binding Ritual.

b. The heroes lose if:

• Any 1 Horseman reaches the center of the Horsemen Board.
• A location has 10+ demons at the end of the Advance Time phase or when the binding ritual is complete.
• All heroes are Fallen.
• The heroes fail to meet the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions or fail to complete the Binding Ritual.

Good Luck! Full rules follow.

Gameplay

1. Overview

Four Horsemen is played over a number of rounds (called hours) determined by the Apocalypse Scenario. Each hour consists of five phases: Event, Planning, Heroic Actions, Hunt for Relics, and Advance Time. In addition to these five phases, each hero has Divine Powers that may be used at any time and as often the player wants.

I. Events: Reveal and resolve events. Events add demons to the board, advance the Horsemen, or occupy the heroes' followers.

II. Planning: Heroes place relics on their Hero Board, move locations, and use Upkeep effects.

III. Heroic Actions: Heroes resolve the relics placed on their Hero Board.

IV. Hunt for Relics: Acquire new relics and replenish the hero's hand.

V. Advance Time: Check for defeat conditions and prepare for the next hour.

2. Icons

Icons are used to determine the effects of relics, events, and Divine Powers. Positive values add demons, move Horsemen forward, and gain followers. Negative values remove demons, move Horsemen backward, and lose followers. For example, "+1 Horseman -2 prestige" will move 1 Horsemen forward and cause the heroes to lose 2 prestige.

2.1 Heroic Attributes

Divinity: Divinity represents a hero's ability to absorb corruption and take damage. Heroes lose divinity through events or by ending their Heroic Actions in a zone with demons. Heroes gain divinity, up to the max of 20, using relics and Divine Powers.

Corruption: The heroes are not supposed to be on Earth during the Apocalypse and take corruption from being involved. Heroes gain corruption by taking actions in place of their followers and using Divine Powers. A hero may always choose to gain 1 corruption instead of losing a follower, including followers from other pantheons. A hero must gain corruption if the hero has insufficient followers to cover a cost.

If a hero's corruption equals their divinity, the hero is Fallen. When a Fallen hero gains corruption or loses divinity, the hero moves 1 Horsemen of their choosing forward one stop per point of corruption gained or divinity lost. Fallen heroes can repent by gaining divinity or losing corruption. The heroes lose if every hero is Fallen. A hero can never have more corruption than divinity.

2.2 Followers

Although the heroes are not supposed to be on Earth during the Apocalypse, mortals are. Heroes recruit mortal followers to perform tasks such as acquiring relics and preventing apocalyptic events. For example, a hero may need to deploy astronaut miners to prevent an asteroid from reaching earth. Followers are represented by cubes and placed on the Hero Board when gained.

Spiritual: Spiritual followers power Divine Powers. The spiritual follower icon is the universal symbol for spiritual followers. Heroes of any pantheon can gain or lose spiritual followers when this icon is present.

General: All non-spiritual followers are general followers. When the general follower icon is present, heroes may choose any combination of zeal, wisdom, and prestige followers. Heroes cannot lose or gain spiritual followers in place of general followers and vice versa.

Each pantheon has a unique spiritual follower:

• Faith: Judea-Christian followers.
• Virtue: Greek followers.
• Strength: Norse followers (expansion).
• Wisdom: Scientists, sages, and clever followers.
• Zeal: Project managers, warriors, and task-oriented followers.
• Prestige: Influential, famous, or wealthy followers.

Heroes can only have followers from their pantheon, meaning a Judea-Christian hero cannot gain or lose Virtue (Greek) followers, and a Greek hero cannot gain or lose Faith (Judea-Christian) followers. Heroes required to lose spiritual followers of another pantheon gain corruption instead. Heroes gaining followers of another pantheon forfeit the benefit.

2.3 Other Hero and Follower Icons

Re-educate: This icon retrains followers into another type of follower. Heroes may mix and match what followers are trained. For example, a Greek hero with 2 re-educate icons may exchange 2 prestige for 2 wisdom, 2 prestige for 1 zeal and 1 Virtue, 1 wisdom and 1 zeal for 2 Virtue, etc. Re-educating followers is always optional.

Draw: The Draw icon modifies the number of relics a hero has available during the Planning phase. Positive values increase the number of relics drawn while negative values decrease the number of relics. During the Event, Planning, and Advance Time phase, the draw icon is applied immediately with negative values forcing a hero to discard a random relic.

Because a hero's hand is empty at the end of the Planning phase, Draw icons encountered after this phase apply when drawing new relics during the Hunt for Relics phase.

During the Heroic Action and Hunt for Relics phases, the draw icon is applied when the hero draws a new hand of relics, with negative values decreasing the number of relics drawn.

Randomize: This icon randomizes effects using a 6-sided die. The randomize icon applies an effect based on half the rolled value, rounded up. For example, "+ randomize /2 wisdom" gives a hero wisdom equal to half the value of a die roll.

Move Hero: This icon moves a hero to a new Zone on the World Map. The Move Hero icon is the only way to change Zones after the Planning phase.

2.4 Demons

The demon icon adds (+ demon) or removes (- demon) demons from summoning circles on the World Board. Each continent is a "zone" and may hold any number of demons. Add demons by placing red cubes or demon figures on a summoning circle, filling the circle and starting at the lowest-numbered empty spot. Remove demons in reverse order, starting with any demons above 10 and then removing from the summoning circle until the summoning circle is empty.

The value in front of the icon is the number of demons spawning in a zone. For example, "+4 demons +2 demons" adds 4 demons in 1 zone and then 2 demons in another zone. Demons spawn as follows:

1. Demon icons prefaced by keywords like "All", "Zone", "Least", or "Most" spawn in the zone best fitting the keyword. When multiple zones meet the criteria, the heroes pick between the tied zones. The glossary has a comprehensive list of keywords but some examples include:

• "Each Zone" adds demons to all 6 continents.
• "One" means any one hero. "One: +2 demons" adds two demons to one hero's zone.
• "All" means each hero. "All: +2 demons" adds two demons to each hero's zone. If multiple heroes share the same zone, 2 demons are added per hero in that zone.
• "Most" is the zone with the most demons or the zone of the hero with the most of a specific follower. "Most wisdom: +1 demon" adds a demon to the zone of the hero with the most wisdom.

2. If a hero triggers the demon icon, such as by acquiring or using a relic, place or remove demons from the hero's zone.

3. If a keyword is not present and an event, Apocalypse Scenario, or Horsemen triggered the demon icon, add demons to a random zone, determined using the six-sided die.

When in doubt, spawn demons where the heroes are located.

Each time a demon covers an icon on a summoning circle, the demons have killed a follower, and any 1 hero must pay the indicated penalty. For example, when a demon covers North America's spot 6, 1 hero loses 1 follower of the type shown on that spot. Demons do not move between Zones after being summoned unless a hero moves the demons using the move demons icon. The value of the move demons icon is the maximum number of demons that a hero can move at a time. Moving demons is always optional, and pushing and pulling is optional; heroes may move fewer demons than the specified number.

2.5 Horsemen

The Horseman icon moves 1 Horseman. A positive value moves 1 Horseman towards the center while a negative value moves 1 Horseman backwards. Determine which Horseman moves as follows:

1. A named icon moves the specified Horseman, e.g. the icon naming Famine moves Famine.

2. "Most" moves the Horseman closest to the center. "Least" moves the Horseman closest to its starting position.

3. A hero triggering the icon by using a Divine Power, taking corruption or losing divinity as Fallen hero, or playing/acquiring a relic decides which Horseman to move.

4. In all other cases, determine which Horseman moves using the 12-sided Horseman die.

The Horsemen are agents of chaos, and each forward movement wrecks havoc on Earth. Each stop where a Horseman lands shows a penalty, which the heroes pay whenever a Horseman moves forward. Penalties apply only to forward movement and not backwards movement. The heroes split the penalty as they see fit.

A stop on a Horseman's track is measured from the starting spot. Text referring to "Stop 1" means the stop after the Horseman's starting spot.

An event lists "+2 Horseman", which moves a Horseman 2 stops forward. The heroes roll a "4", which moves Famine (the Horsemen with 4 next to their name). Famine is on the starting stop and moves forward twice. The first stop forces the heroes to sacrifice 2 wisdom and 2 zeal followers. This loss is split by the heroes as they see fit. The second stop sacrifices an additional 2 wisdom and 2 zeal followers, split among the heroes.

2.6 Resolving Icons

1. The heroes choose the order to resolve icons but must fully resolve each icon before resolving another icon. For example, a hero using a Divine Power with -1 zeal +2 general followers may take 2 general followers, one of which could be zeal, and then lose 1 zeal. In another example, a relic with -3 demons, 2 move demons cannot be used to remove 2 demons, move 2 demons, then remove 1 more demon.

The effect of a value preceding an icon happens at one time. Heroes cannot interrupt that number using Divine Powers.

2. Icons on events, demons placed on the World Board, and Horsemen are gained/paid collectively by the team, except when a keyword, like "One" or "All", is present. Icons on relics apply only to the hero using the relic unless a keyword such as "Other" or "All" is present. The hero with the first-player marker resolves disagreements on distributing the effects of icons.

3. The players decide all ties, for example with "Most" or "Least" keywords. The hero with the first-player marker resolves any disputes on distributing the effects of icons from Events, demons, and the Horsemen.

4. Some icon effects are conditional (i.e. -1 demon per 2 corruption). The effect is determined when the icon is resolved, not when an event is revealed or the relic is selected.

5. Icon effects with a range listed apply the effects based on the number of followers when the icon is resolved. For example, a hero sacrificing "Illuminate" counts their current prestige and gains additional prestige based on the total. A hero with 4-7 prestige would gain an additional 5 prestige when sacrificing "Illuminate".

6. Icon effects on relics may depend on the number of relics sacrificed or acquired by the team of heroes, e.g. "The Great Church" or "Three Sacred Treasures". Relic names with this dependency are listed in quotes. Use the provided tokens to track the number of acquired/sacrificed relics. The printed item ends with a move hero icon whose object is not recoverable from the text layer.

7. Positive effects are optional. Negative effects are mandatory. For example, a hero is not required to draw a bonus relic with +1 draw, may choose not to remove demons with - demon, and may choose not to move [icon not legible in text extraction].

Transcriber's note: the source text layer drops some icon glyphs, so item 7 and the spot-6 example in section 2.4 are transcribed with the icon omitted or described generically.

3. Events

During the Event Phase, the heroes reveal and resolve events on the Event Board. Events unfold over 3 game hours, starting when the event is drawn from the event deck.

a. Advance events on the Event Board 1 spot forward, discarding any event in spot III. If the event deck is not empty, reveal a new event from the event deck and place it in spot I.

b. Heroes may prevent any events by paying the removal cost listed in the event's "X" row. Prevented events are discarded unless the event has the "Perm" or "Upkeep" keyword. Place events with "Perm" or "Upkeep" effects to the side of the Event Board.

c. Resolve all non-discarded events based on the event's icons. Only resolve the effects of the row matching an event's current position on the Event Board (i.e. only resolve part I if the event is in spot I of the Event Board). Event effects are cumulative based on hero count, meaning a 4-hero game uses the effects listed in the 2, 3, and 4-hero columns. Keywords like "all" only apply to the column where they appear. Any effects that are not listed as "Perm" or "Upkeep" apply only to the current hour.

d. The heroes do not reveal a new event during the final hour. Instead, resolve part III of any event in spot III of the Event Board and part II and part III of any event in spot II of the Event Board.

The event deck is always empty when the hour marker reaches the end. A new event is not revealed during the final hour.

Upkeep effects occur each hour during the planning phase. Permanent effects are conditional and apply once each time the stated condition occurs.

4. Planning

During planning, the heroes do the following in any order:

1. Each hero selects four relics from their hand and places them on their Hero Board.

a) Place 2 relics on "Boons".

b) Place 1 relic on "Use".

c) Place 1 relic on "Sacrifice".

Discard all other relics in hand. Heroes with less than four relics in hand choose which section on their Hero Board to leave empty.

2. Resolve Upkeep effects from events and relics. Event Upkeep effects are mandatory. Relic Upkeep effects are optional. The heroes choose the order to resolve Upkeep effects.

3. Each hero may move (the move hero icon) once to any new zone. Moving is optional.

Heroes move freely once during the Planning phase to any continent. Each continent is considered adjacent to all other continents. Heroes may use that 1 free movement before or after Upkeep effects. After the free movement, heroes may only relocate using the move hero icon.

5. Heroic Actions

During the Heroic Actions phase, the heroes simultaneously resolve all relics placed on their Hero Board. Heroes resolve relics by applying the effects of the text and icons of the relic matching the section where the relic was placed. Heroes fully resolve the relics in any order they see fit but must fully resolve each relic before resolving another relic. Discard resolved relics that are placed in "Use" or "Boon" and remove resolved "Sacrificed" relics from the game.

After resolving relics, the demons attack. Each hero loses 1 divinity per demon in their zone. Fallen heroes move the Horsemen instead of losing divinity. Demons in zones without heroes do not attack.

Sacrificed relics are removed from the game after being resolved.

Example (first Planning phase, Raphael and Achilleus). Raphael and Achilleus are starting their first Planning phase and have no Upkeep effects. Raphael is in Asia with 1 demon, and Achilleus is in Europe with 4 demons.

Raphael places Illuminate and Smite on the "Boon" section of her Hero Board. She places Inspire in "Use" and Prayer in "Sacrifice". Raphael discards all other relics in hand. Achilleus places 2 Illuminates as "Boons", Ambrosia as "Use", and Smite as "Sacrifice". Achilleus discards all other relics in hand. For the free move hero icon, Raphael stays in Asia, and Achilleus moves to Africa.

Planning complete, the heroes start the Heroic Action phase. First, Raphael resolves and discards her Inspire in the "Use" section to gain 2 general followers. Achilleus resolves and discards his "Boons", taking 3 prestige per Illuminate.

Next, Raphael resolves her "Sacrifice". Raphael moves a Horsemen back, loses 1 wisdom, and gains 1 zeal. Raphael's Prayer is removed from the game. Achilleus sacrifices Smite and removes 3 demons in Achilleus' zone and 1 demon in Raphael's zone. Smite is removed from the game.

Raphael resolves her two relics in the "Boon" section and discards both relics and gains the followers listed in Illuminate's and Smite's Boon section. Achilleus' last relic is Ambrosia in the "Use" section. He reduces his corruption, loses a Virtue follower, and gives Raphael 1 wisdom, discarding the relic after its use.

The demons attack. Raphael's zone is free of demons, and she takes no damage. Achilleus' zone has 1 demon, and Achilles reduces his divinity by 1.

6. Hunt For Relics

During the Hunt for Relics phase, each hero must acquire at least one relic from the Reliquary. Heroes with insufficient followers to acquire a relic must take as much corruption as required to acquire at least one relic. Heroes may acquire more than one relic per hour. Heroes acquire relics by paying the cost shown in the relic's banner. Heroes may add additional relics at a cost of 1 per relic. Add relics revealed this way to a new, third row, in the reliquary.

After all heroes have acquired relics, discard any remaining relics in the top row to the relic discard pile. Slide any relics remaining on the second row to the top row. Move relics added to the third row to fill in gaps in the first and second rows. Finally, refill the Reliquary so there are 2 rows of 3 relics. Refill the Reliquary using Stage I relics until the Escalation card is discarded or on top of the Event deck. Use Stage II relics when the Escalation card is discarded or on top of the Event deck. If the relic deck is ever empty, shuffle the relic discard pile to create a new relic deck.

Heroes may acquire relics from any pantheon but cannot gain or lose spiritual followers from a non-affiliated pantheon. A Judea-Christian hero acquiring "Pan's Flute" will gain 3 [follower icon not recoverable from the text layer] because the hero cannot have 3 [Greek follower icon]. When resolving the Boon on Pan's Flute, Judea-Christian heroes would ignore the + icon.

Finally, each hero draws a new hand of five relics from their deck, modified by any effects. When a hero needs to draw from an empty relic deck, shuffle the relic deck's discard to create a new draw deck.

7. Advance Time

When advancing time:

1. If 10 or more demons occupy 1 zone, the heroes are defeated.

2. Resolve any End of Hour effects listed on an Apocalypse Scenario.

3. If the hour marker is above 1, decrease the hour marker, and pass the first-player token to the next hero.

4. Discard the Escalation Card if it is on top of the Event deck. Switch to Stage II relics if the Escalation Card is discarded.

If the hour marker would decrease below 1 and the heroes have not met the victory conditions in the "Game End" section, the heroes lose.

Divine Powers

Each hero has six Divine Powers that are unlocked with corruption. The corruption required to unlock a power is not spent. Instead, this is a minimum threshold required to use the power. Reducing corruption below the threshold required to use a power prevents the power from being used. Using Divine Powers is always optional. Heroes may use unlocked Divine Powers at any time and as many times as they want, including while resolving events and while casting the binding ritual.

Divine Powers have two columns: "Self" and "Other". Icons in the "Self" column apply to the hero using the power. Icons in the "Other" column apply to one other hero, chosen by the hero using their Divine Power. Always apply both the Self and Other column when using a Divine Power. Like all icons, heroes can resolve the icons in both "Self" and "Other" in whatever order they like.

Heroes may use Divine Powers at any time during the game and as many times as they want. Divine Powers do not follow a turn order or have their own phase.

Game End

The game ends in a loss if ANY of the following occur:

a. Any Horseman reaches the center of the Horsemen board,

b. All heroes are Fallen,

c. During Advance Time, 1 Zone has 10 or more demons, or

d. The heroes fail to win before the hour marker would drop below 1.

The heroes win if BOTH of the following occur:

e. The heroes meet the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions, and

f. The heroes successfully complete the Binding Ritual at any point after the Event phase of when the hour marker is on 1.

The heroes do not need to play all phases of the final hour and win the game immediately once both victory conditions above are met.

Binding Rituals

Binding Rituals are split into 2 parts - a preparation phase and a finale. Heroes may complete the preparation phase at any time before the final hour. The heroes may complete the Binding Ritual's finale at any time after the Event Phase while the hour marker is at 1. Rituals adding demons during the finale add the demons during the event phase.

Once the Apocalypse Scenario's requirements are met and the Binding Ritual's finale is complete, the heroes check to see if any defeat conditions apply. If not, the heroes have saved Earth from doom and win the game!

Rule Conflicts

Events, relics, and Divine Powers often modify the base rules in ways that conflict or override regular game play. The following order of operations apply: The Apocalypse Scenario rules trump everything, events trump Divine Powers, Divine Powers trump relics, and relics trump the base game. When in doubt, the golden rule is the players decide.

Keywords and Traits

Events, relics, and Divine Powers use keywords to indicate their effect. Keywords apply to all icons listed after the keyword in the same column until another keyword is encountered.

Trojan Horse's sacrifice ability has three keywords: "Other", "Other", and "All". The first "Other" allows another hero, not the hero playing the relic, to remove 2 demons. The second allows another hero to remove 1 demon. The second hero could be the same as the first hero but cannot be the hero resolving the relic. The "All" recruits 2 [follower icon not recoverable from the text layer] for each hero, including the hero resolving the relic.

Each relic has three traits. Some events and relics modify or cancel the effect of relics with one of these traits. Modified effects apply to each relic with the trait on the Hero Board. Effects are not applied to discarded relics with matching traits, but do apply to the relic currently being resolved. For example, resolving a relic with "Flame: +1 [icon]" gives the hero 1 of that icon's follower for each relic with the flame trait on the Hero Board, including the relic being resolved, but does not give it for relics with the flame trait in the discard or deck. "Placing" a relic means putting a relic on the Hero Board during Planning.

Solo Mode

The following rules apply when playing with 1 hero:

1. Use events labeled "Solo Events" to create the Event Deck.

2. A hero is their own ally for the keyword "Other" and "All" on Divine Powers and Relics. This means:

• Apply both the "Self" and "Other" when using a Divine Power.
• Apply the "All" effect twice when using relics and Divine Powers.
• Only apply an effect once for keywords on events and Apocalypse Scenarios.

3. The hero does not lose when Fallen. However, a Horseman still moves forward 1 spot each time the Fallen hero loses divinity or gains corruption.

Often Overlooked Rules

General

a. Except in solo mode, a Divine Power's "Other" effect applies to a hero other than the hero using the power.

b. Both the "Self" and "Other" columns are mandatory when using a Divine Power. A blank "Other" column means there is no benefit/penalty for another hero.

c. Heroes may move demons using the move demons icon. Moving demons is optional.

d. A hero's corruption never exceeds their divinity. When tied, the hero is Fallen. A Fallen hero gaining corruption or losing divinity moves 1 Horsemen 1 spot forward for each corruption they would gain or divinity they would lose.

e. Except when the keyword "1 type" is present, the general follower icon represents any combination of wisdom, zeal and prestige followers. Heroes may not gain or lose spiritual followers (Judea-Christian, Greek, or universal spiritual follower icons) in place of general followers.

f. At any time, heroes may gain corruption in place of losing a follower. If a hero is forced to lose spiritual followers of another pantheon, the hero must gain corruption in place of the spiritual follower.

g. The heroes cannot win until the final hour, even if they fulfill the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions early.

Event Phase

a. Unless the keyword "All" is present, icons on events, the World Board, and Horsemen Board are split among the team and are not per hero.

b. Icons on the World Board apply each time they are covered by a demon.

c. Icons on the Horsemen Board apply only when a Horsemen advances, not when the Horsemen moves backwards.

Planning Phase

a. Heroes may change zones for free once during the Planning phase. After moving once, heroes can only change zones using the move hero icon.

b. Effects impacting "Free move hero" only impact the free move granted during the Planning phase and do not impact relics with the move icon.

c. Upkeep effects apply once per hour. Permanent effects apply each time the condition is met.

Heroic Actions

a. Sacrificed relics are removed from the game when resolved and not placed in discard.

b. Unless the keyword "Zone" is present, heroes may only remove demons from their zone.

c. Heroes take 1 divinity damage per demon in their zone at the end of the hour.

Hunt for Relics Phase

a. Each hero must acquire at least one relic.

b. Instead of acquiring a relic during the final hour, the heroes complete the Binding Ritual.

c. Loss conditions are checked before victory conditions. Having 10+ demons when casting the Binding Ritual will lose the game.

Keyword Reference

1 type: Heroes are limited to one type of follower when resolving the general follower icon.

1p, 2p, 3p, 4p: The effect occurs only if there are 1, 2, 3, or 4 heroes.

All: The effect applies to each hero.

and: Apply both effects.

Destroy: A special keyword for Iblis. Randomly select a zone. Place a destruction token in lowest numbered non-destroyed spot, removing any demon in the spot. Each hero in the zone suffers -1 [icon not recoverable from the text layer]. The space is no longer considered part of the summoning circle.

Each Zone: All six zones on the World Board.

Hero: Heroes in the game. Often listed as "Per hero" or "/Hero", which means taking followers based on the number of heroes.

Least: The hero or zone with the least of the specified icon. With the Horsemen icon, the "Least" is the Horsemen closest to their starting space.

Most: The hero or zone with the most of the specified icon. With the Horsemen icon, the "Most" is the Horsemen closest to the center of the board.

One: Any one hero. Effects impacting "One" cannot be split between heroes.

or: Choose 1 of multiple effects to apply.

Other: A hero other than the hero using the Divine Power or relic. Effects impacting "Other" cannot be split between multiple heroes.

Perm: A conditional effect that occurs once each time the condition is met. Example conditions include "Perm: Start of Heroic Action", "Perm: When [icon] and [icon]", and "Perm: If using free move hero".

Self: The hero using the power or relic.

Upkeep: An effect that triggers once each Planning phase.

X: A number chosen by the player and then applied that many times to all instances of X. For example, "- X wisdom and +X zeal" allows the player to lose any amount of wisdom and gain the same amount of zeal.

Zone: A continent on the World Board. As a keyword, "Zone" allows a hero to choose the location where the benefit or penalty occurs. Similarly, "# zone" means a set number of zones and is used to indicate a ranged attack that removes demons from zones other than the hero's location.

Variants

Random Relics

To decrease action paralysis that may occur when planning Heroic Actions and Hunt for Relics, instead of using a Reliquary, each player draws and acquires relics independently during the Hunt for Relics phase. In this variant, each hero draws 1 relic plus the number of pantheons battling the apocalypse. In a game of only Judea-Christian heroes, each hero draws 2 relics. In a game with both Greek and Judea-Christian heroes, each hero draws 3 relics. Heroes draw from the Stage I relic deck if the Escalation Card is not discarded and the Stage II relic deck after discarding the Escalation Card. A hero may spend 1 [cost icon not recoverable from the text layer] to discard their drawn relics and draw a new set of relics. Heroes may redraw relics multiple times by spending 1 per additional redraw. All non-acquired relics are discarded. Heroes cannot trade or exchange relics drawn during the Hunt for Relics.

Accelerated Start

The first two game hours focus on gathering initial followers and upgrading the hero's relic deck. To skip straight to the action, use the following setup:

• Each hero selects and removes 2 relics from their deck. These relics are considered sacrificed.
• Each hero draws 5 Stage I relics and chooses 2 to add to their deck. Do not pay the relics' cost. Shuffle these Stage I relics into the hero's relic deck, and draw a new hand of relics.
• Each hero adds 4 demons, gains 1 corruption, and loses 2 general followers.
• Reveal the first three events. Place these events in spot I, II, and III of the Event Board but do not resolve their effects.
• Move the hour marker down two spots. Do not apply any effects of the Apocalypse Scenario, but two hours of game-time have passed.
• Begin playing at the start of the Planning Action phase, hour 3.

Increased Difficulty

To increase difficulty, apply any or all of the following modifications:

1. When a Fallen Hero loses divinity or gains corruption, randomly select the Horseman instead of choosing which Horseman moves.

2. Each event includes an optional effect that increases the difficulty. The event's optional effect applies until the event is discarded or prevented. For example, while an event with "Revelation: -1 follower" is active, a hero loses 1 spiritual follower when resolving a relic with the Revelation trait. Upkeep effects in this section apply only until the event is discarded.

3. To further increase difficulty, keep prevented events on the Event Board. Ignore the event effects but apply the optional effect for the next three hours.

Reduced Difficulty

To reduce difficulty, apply any or all of the following modifications:

1. The heroes are only defeated if a Horseman is at the center of the Horsemen Board at the end of the hour. Resolve the last Horsemen stop each time a Horseman would advance past the center.

2. The Horsemen start off the Horsemen Board and use their first move to enter the Horsemen Board.

3. Each hero gains 4 [icon not recoverable from the text layer] at the start of the game.

Apocalypse Clarifications

Asmodeus

Q: What does "Upkeep: +1 per Event phase completed" mean?

A: Add one demon per hour completed. Basically during the first game turn, add 1 demon. During the second game turn, add 2 demons. During the third game turn, add 3 demons. Etc.

Abbadon

Q: How does his power work?

A: At the start of each hour, roll a 6-sided die. Relics with the trait matching the die role cannot be placed on the Hero Board. Gabriel and Persephone are especially useful against Abbadon.

Pazuzu

Q: Can heroes move Horsemen besides Famine? Does a + [Death icon] move Famine or Death?

A: Only Famine moves the entire game. Heroes cannot move other Horsemen in the first case. In the second case, Famine moves instead of Death.

Hades

Q: How do I double the demons on the board?

A: Read this as: For each Zone, double the number of demons in the Zone.

Q: Which is the second spot?

A: The one with -1 [icon].

Cronus

Q: Do I lose zeal for each demon above 10?

A: No, just each time a zone reaches 10 or more. If the zone is reduced below 10 and then exceeds 10 again, each hero would lose another zeal.

Bribery

Q: How do I determine a random relic to acquire?

A: Shuffle up the relics in Reliquary and draw 1. Then, deal the relics out face-up in a new order on the Reliquary. This will change the order of the relics and may result in some relics being discarded the turn they are revealed.

Behemoth

Q: Do I deal out a binding ritual for Behemoth?

A: Not necessary as you never complete the binding ritual.

Q: How does Behemoth work?

A: At the start of each hour, before the Event phase, move Behemoth to a random zone by rolling a six-sided die. Behemoth occupies 2 highest numbered areas in that zone. During the hour, hero's can use - powers and relics to hurt Behemoth provided there are not demons on higher numbered areas on the zone's demon track. Each - resolved against Behemoth adds a damage counter (use a red cube) to Behemoth. The heroes immediately win and the game immediately ends in when Behemoth has 25 counters per hero.

Mephistopheles

Q: Where are followers placed in a Zone?

A: In the center of the Zone. The followers do not occupy the demon tracks.

Q: What does this mean: "Followers killed by covering icons on the World Board are removed from that Zone. If the correct type of follower is not present when an icon is covered, a hero must take corruption instead."

A: When an area with a follower symbol is covered by a demon, the heroes must remove the follower from the same zone as the demon triggering the penalty. If a follower matching the correct symbol is not in the Zone, 1 hero takes corruption instead of losing a follower. Heroes may remove followers slain by moving the Horsemen from their Hero Boards or from any Zone.

Lilith

Q: How does Lilith's power work?

A: At the start of each hour, roll a 6-sided die. Lilith moves to the matching Zone and is placed in the lowest number empty area. The heroes pay any follower or Horsemen cost listed in the space covered by Lilith. Demons lower on the summoning track in Lilith's Zone are removed from the board and replaced with the corruption counters (small cardboard tokens). Heroes moving to the Zone remove 1 corruption from the demon track and increase their corruption by 1 point. Heroes in a Zone with corruption tokens can sacrifice 2 followers to remove 1 corruption token. Heroes can remove multiple corruption tokens each hour this way. Lilith does not trigger the demon victory condition, even if she is on the 10+ space of the demon track. However, Lilith does cause 1 damage to each hero in her Zone at the end of the Heroic Action phase.

Louhi

Q: Does the movement apply to each demon in the Zone or just the final one?

A: Just the final demon in Zone. Note, that this applies to the final demon and not the final vortex, archdemon, or demonic gate.

Cthulhu

Q: How do I decide which second relic to sacrifice?

A: This is up to each individual hero to choose. Regardless of which relic the hero chooses to sacrifice, when resolving the relic, the hero only receives the benefit of where the relic was placed and not the relic's sacrifice benefit.

Example Relics

• Gate Seal: When sacrificing Gate Seal, roll 2 six-sided dice. For each roll: On a 1, move back 1 Horsemen and gain two wisdom. On a 2-5, move back 1 Horsemen. On a 6, gain 1 corruption.
• Kappa's Plate: When sacrificing Kappa's Plate, gain 1 spiritual follower per hero. Then, divide the spiritual followers up among the heroes as you see fit.
• Three Sacred Treasures: When sacrificing a "Three Sacred Treasures", count the number of "Three Sacred Treasures" acquired by the heroes. Move the Horsemen back and lose one spiritual follower per relic acquired.
• Halo: A hero sacrificing Halo cannot be damaged by demons during the "Demon Attack" phase.
• Seer Stone: Using or sacrificing "Seer Stone" gives the hero an immediate relic plus any extra draws gained. The hero then discards one relic drawn for its benefits. All remaining relics remain in the hero's hand.
• Great Church: When sacrificing a Great Church relic, count the number of Great Church relics previously sacrificed. Gain the benefit based on the number of sacrificed Great Church relics.
• Dionysus Scepter: If a hero using or sacrificing "Dionysus Scepter" has 3 or more demons in their zone, remove two demons. No demons are removed if the zone has less than 3 demons.
• Harpe: Using Harpe allows a hero to kill 1 demon in their zone per area with a demon.
• Qi: Both use and sacrifice on Qi allow another hero to remove two additional demons the next time that hero removes demons during the hour.
• Golden Axe: The hero sacrificing "Golden Axe" may split up killing demons into a set of 3 and a set of 2. Before, after, or in between this, the hero can move 2 demons and 1 demon. The hero also gains 1 virtue per non Greek hero.

Rule Summary

Transcriber's note: this one-page reference is printed as the last page of the rulebook. Its printed text contains a few typos, transcribed as printed and noted here: step 1c reads "I, II, and II" (presumably "I, II, and III"), and step 5 has two items labelled "d".

1. Events

a) Advance all revealed events and reveal a new event. A new event is not revealed during the final hour.

b) Prevent events by paying the "X" cost. Discard prevented events without a Perm or Upkeep effect. Move events with a Perm or Upkeep effect off the Event board but keep their permanent effect available.

c) Resolve the effect of non-prevented events in spot I, II, and II of the Event Board. During the final hour, resolve both part II and part III of the event on part II of the Event Board.

2. Planning

Do the following in any order:

a) Apply Upkeep effects. Event Upkeep effects are mandatory. Relic Upkeep effects are optional.

b) Select and place four relics on the Hero Board. Place 2 as "Boon", 1 as "Use", and 1 as "Sacrifice". Discard all other relics in hand.

c) Heroes may move zones once.

3. Heroic Actions

a) Each hero resolves the effects of relics placed in one section of their Hero Board (Boon, Use, or Sacrifice). Discard relics resolved as Boon or Use. Remove sacrificed relics from the game. Continue resolving relics, 1 section at a time, until all relics on the hero board are resolved.

b) Demons attack each hero in their zone. Reduce a hero's divinity by 1 per demon in their zone.

4. Hunt for Relics

a) Each hero acquires 1 or more relic from the Reliquary. Heroes may add additional relics to the bottom row of the Reliquary at a cost of 1 per relic.

b) Each hero must acquire at least one relic. Heroes may acquire additional relics. Place acquired relics in the hero's discard.

c) Discard all relics left in the top row of the Reliquary. Fill the reliquary with 2 rows of 3 relics.

d) Draw a new hand of 5 relics, modified by any extra draw bonuses or penalties.

5. Advance Time

a) If there are 10 or more demons in a single location, the heroes are defeated.

b) Discard the Escalation Card if it is on top of the Event Deck.

c) Perform any end of hour actions.

d) Move the hour marker down. Pass the first player token clockwise.

d) If the hour marker is at 1, the heroes must complete the binding ritual.

e) If the hour marker is at 1, the heroes win as soon as they meet the Apocalypse Scenario requirements and complete the Binding Ritual.

Winning and Losing

The heroes are defeated if:

• One Horseman reaches the center of the Horseman board,
• One zone has 10 or more demons during the Advance Time phase,
• All heroes are Fallen, or
• The heroes fail to meet the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions or complete the Binding Ritual.

The heroes win if the heroes met the Apocalypse Scenario's victory conditions and completed the binding ritual during the final hour.