Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege
Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 5 Hero Boards
- 30 Hero Skill Cards
- 10 Hero Skill Tokens
- 5 Hero Miniatures: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon/GCPD
- 20 Hero Dice (blue, red, yellow, purple, green)
- 12 Act Setup Cards
- 52 Story Cards
- Gotham City Track Board
- 12 Bonus Dice (white)
- 12 Mastermind Cards
- 1 Act Leader Token
- 1 Bat-Signal Token
- 1 Explosion Token
- 1 Citizen Token
- 12 City Block Cards
- 1 Token Bag
- 105 Villain Tokens: 60 Thug Villain Tokens, 30 Henchmen Villain Tokens, 15 Ninja Villain Tokens
- 9 Gotham City Buildings
Objective
To win, the players must complete Act 4 without Gotham City's citizens or city blocks being completely overwhelmed. To do so, they will need to work together to defeat numerous Thugs, Henchmen, Ninjas, Masterminds, and Act Story cards. If they can reach the end of the Crisis Phase of Act 4, they protect Gotham City from the villainous siege and win the game.
Game Setup
Set Up the Game Board
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BLOCK CARDS: Shuffle the 12 City Block cards together with the sidewalk side face up, then randomly select 3 to return to the box without looking at their destroyed side. Shuffle the remaining 9 City Block cards and place them with the sidewalk border side face up to form a 3x3 grid in the center of the playing area. You should leave roughly 1 inch of space in between each City Block card.
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BUILDINGS: Place 1 of the 9 buildings on each City Block card. The order is unimportant.
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GOTHAM CITY TRACK: Place the Gotham City Track parallel to one side of the City Grid. Place the Citizen token on the number 8 space. Place the Bat-Signal token on the number 2 space. Place the Explosion token on the number 5 space. Note that the compass graphic defines direction to each side of the buildings, which will be defined as "battlefields" in the future with a designation of North, South, East, or West.
Prepare Card Decks
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ACT SETUP CARDS: Place all of the large Act Setup cards to one side of the playing area face down. These will be selected later in the game during the Act Phase.
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MASTERMIND CARDS: Shuffle together all Mastermind cards and place them above the Gotham City Track.
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STORY CARDS: Place the Act 2, Act 3, and Act 4 cards off to the side. They will be used later in the game. Shuffle the Act 1 Story cards and place them face down above the Gotham City Track.
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HERO SKILL CARDS: Place the Hero Skill cards to the side as they will be addressed in a future step.
Prepare Dice and Token Pools
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VILLAIN TOKENS: Place the Thug, Henchmen, and Ninja tokens in the bag and mix them up.
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HERO SKILL TOKENS & ACT LEADER TOKEN: Gather the Hero Skill tokens and place them to the side. Place the Act Leader token next to these. They will be addressed in the next step – Choose & Prepare Heroes.
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HERO DICE: Gather the blue, red, green, yellow, and purple dice together and place them to the side. They will be addressed in the next step – Choose & Prepare Heroes.
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BONUS DICE: Gather the white dice and place them near the Gotham City Track to form a Bonus Dice Pool.
Choose & Prepare Heroes
Regardless of the number of players, the game is always played with a team of 2-5 Heroes. With one player, choose a minimum of 2 Heroes. With two players, you may choose to play with either one or two Heroes each. With three to five players, each player chooses a single Hero to play. For each Hero, perform the following steps:
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HERO BOARD: Each player takes the corresponding Hero board and places it in front of them with the Healthy side face up and the side marked Wounded face down. Return any unchosen Hero boards to the box.
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SKILL TOKENS: Each player gathers the 2 Skill tokens for their Hero (as noted on their Hero board) and places them atop the matching icon on their Hero board. Return any unchosen Hero's Skill tokens to the box.
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HERO DICE: Each player gathers the dice indicated on their Hero board and places them next to their board. Return any unchosen Hero's dice to the box.
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HERO SKILL CARDS: Each player shuffles their character's Hero Skill cards into a face down deck and places it near their Hero board. Return any unused Hero Skill cards to the box.
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DETERMINE ACT LEADER: If a player is playing Batman, that player takes the Act Leader token. Otherwise, the players mutually decide who will take the Act Leader token for Act 1.
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HERO MINIATURES: Starting with the Act Leader and going clockwise, each player takes their Hero miniature and places it on one of the battlefields (N, S, E, W). Each miniature may be placed on any battlefield (a side of the city grid), including a battlefield that has one or more Heroes already present, but there are some tactical advantages to spreading out over various battlefields.
Winning & Losing
The players can lose the game a number of ways, but can win by only one – protecting Gotham City from the 4 waves of villainous assaults launched over the 4 Acts. Victory and defeat are described below:
Defeat
The players all immediately lose if any of the following occurs during the game:
- The Explosion token is moved onto the zero (0) space of the Gotham City Track.
- The Citizen token is moved onto the zero (0) space of the Gotham City Track.
- A Hero on their Wounded side becomes Wounded again.
Victory
The players all win at the end of Act 4 if none of the Defeat conditions have occurred.
Game Play
The game is played over 4 Acts, and each Act is divided into the following phases: the Act phase, Hero phase, and Crisis phase. The phases are described in detail below.
1 - Act Phase
The Act Phase sets the scene that Batman and his allies must face. During this phase, Story cards will be added to the Storyline, Masterminds and Villain tokens will be placed on the various battlefields, and the heroes will plan for the Act. The following steps are performed in the Act Phase:
Advance Act Step
(Do not perform this step during Act 1 as it was performed during setup). Discard the previous Act's Story cards to the box. Take the next set of Story cards numerically following the previous set, shuffle them, then place the deck above the Gotham City Track for easy access.
Act Leader Step
(Do not perform this step during Act 1 as it was performed during setup). The player holding the Act Leader token passes it to the player to their left.
Hero Planning Step
Each player shuffles their Hero's Skill card deck and draws 2 cards, then chooses one of the drawn cards to activate for the Act, placing it face up next to their Hero board. Place the other card back on top of the Skill card deck to be drawn later.
Note: The players will shuffle their deck of Skill cards each time in the Hero Planning step of the Act phase, so they will not necessarily draw the card they discarded in the next Act.
Act Setup Card Step
The Act leader shuffles the three large Act Setup cards that match the current Act, randomly reveals one, then places it face up under the Gotham City Track, returning the two unused cards to the box. This card indicates the number of Story Cards, Masterminds, and random Villain tokens the Act will include based on the number of Heroes in the game. In addition, the card acts as the first Story card in the Act and triggers a special one-time Event.
Note: The Act Setup Card step can look a bit overwhelming at first as it places the Thugs, Henchmen, Ninja, Masterminds and Act Story cards for the entire Act. Have no fear; your superheroes are up to the task of defending Gotham City!
Story Cards
The first column of the Act Setup card will identify how many Story cards to add to the Storyline. Each new Story card is added below the Gotham City Track to form a storyline of events that the Heroes will have to deal with during the Act. (See "Story Cards" in the Additional Rules section for greater details.)
Placing Masterminds and Villains
The last two columns will identify how many Masterminds and Villain tokens to place on the board. Follow the placement instructions below:
MASTERMIND PLACEMENT: Draw the top Masterminds card and place it on the battlefield identified on the card by the abbreviated compass direction: E – East, W – West, N – North, or S - South. The Mastermind may have an immediate effect when placed as noted on their card. If they do, perform the effect when placing the card before continuing. Each Mastermind will also be accompanied by a number of Villains as noted on their card. Draw Villain tokens from the bag equal to the number identified and place them in stacks by rank on the same battlefield the Mastermind was placed. All Rank 1 Thugs in a stack, Rank 2 Henchmen in a Stack, and Rank 3 Ninjas in a stack. If the Masterminds deck is depleted, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
RANDOM VILLAIN PLACEMENT: When instructed to place random Villains, draw Villain tiles from the bag one at a time, placing one on the North battlefield, then moving clockwise around the city blocks, dropping one token in each battlefield until you've met the indicated number of tokens. For example, if you were asked to place 6 Villain tokens, you'd place one token in the North, one in the East, one in the South, one in the West, a second in the North, and finally a second token in the East. These Villains are added to any stacks by Rank after all have been placed.
Note: Masterminds, Henchmen, Thugs, and Ninja are all considered Villains when a skill or action refers to dealing damage to Villains. Masterminds are the elite of the group, and in some cases have special skills and abilities that overrule the term Villain for actions. In the event of a conflict, the Mastermind cards take precedence. When resolving the Crisis Phase, remaining Villains will attack the city unless defended by the Heroes. While all Rank 1, 2, and 3 Villains will attack as a stack, each Mastermind remaining will attack independently.
Event
The bottom section of the card is an Event that only the Act Leader will resolve. In some cases, the Event states that the Hero may perform the action. When that is the case, the event is optional and may be declined by the Act Leader. If it does not state "may", the event is required and must be performed. Most events are positive, but some have negative effects as well.
Main Story Card
The Act Setup card also becomes a Story card during the act. (See "Story Cards" in the Additional Rules section for greater details.)
After all sections of the Act Setup card have been resolved, the Act phase is complete and players advance to the Hero Phase. Place the Act Setup card under the Gotham City Track as an active Story card.
2 - Hero Phase
In the Hero Phase, the players perform actions with their Heroes to defeat the Villains and Story cards added in the Act Phase. The Hero Phase is played in rounds, with each round consisting of players simultaneously rolling their dice, then placing a die on a Story card or an action on their Hero board. After each player has placed one of their rolled dice, the process is repeated with all players re-rolling their remaining dice and placing one again until no players have unused dice remaining. At that time, the Hero Phase ends and the game progresses to the Crisis Phase. The steps of the Hero Phase are described below in greater detail.
Roll Dice Step
The players take their Hero's dice and any Bonus Dice they have added to their dice pool and roll all of them. If a player runs out of dice while one or more other Heroes still have dice, the players with Heroes that still have dice continue to roll and place.
BONUS DICE: Players can gain Bonus Dice through Events, Hero Skill cards, Story cards, and Hero Abilities. When Bonus Dice are gained, or instructed to be rolled, they are taken from the Bonus Dice Pool. This pool is finite, and if a player gains a Bonus Die during the turn and no dice are in the pool, the player does not gain the die. If a Story card is completed with Bonus Dice on it, the card is rotated sideways to show it is completed and the Bonus Dice on it are returned to the Bonus Dice Pool.
Activate Hero Step
In any order the players decide (Act Leader makes the decision on any disagreements), each player places 1 die from the dice they just rolled, which constitutes the "Active Dice Pool", onto a Story card, a Hero board action, or a Skill card that requires a die in adherence of the rules below:
- The number on the die being placed must match the number on the space.
- Only 1 die may be placed on a square Action box.
- Each Hero board has 1 unlimited Action box that may be activated multiple times.
- Large boxes on Story cards have unique requirements and can hold more than one die.
- Some Actions on Hero boards require multiple dice to complete. For these actions, their description will define what must be placed.
- Hero Actions are fully defined, including whether or not movement is included, required or optional.
- Some Story cards have Hazard Sections that, while active, may prevent or modify the rolling or placement of dice. Once a Story card is defeated, turn it on its side to show that it is no longer active.
DEALING DAMAGE: To remove a Villain token or Mastermind, the player must deal damage to it equal to its Rank, i.e. the number on the token or Mastermind (a Thug requires 1 damage to remove, a Henchman 2, etc.). Actions identify dealing damage on the Hero's battlefield, adjacent battlefields, or any battlefield. Heroes on the rooftops are considered to be on all battlefields. See Battlefields in the Additional Rules Section for these descriptions.
BAT-SIGNAL POINTS: During the Activate Hero Step, the players may spend Bat-Signal points to increase or decrease a die by +1 or -1, provided they have points to spend and no Story card Hazards prevent their use. When using a point from the track to change a die, move the Bat-Signal token one space to the left toward the zero (0).
The players should agree about the usage of Bat-Signal points to change dice as these points are shared by all. In the event of any disagreement, the Act Leader makes the decision as to whether points are spent or not.
SKILL TOKENS: Each Hero can use 1 of their 2 Skill tokens after each dice roll as part of their Activate Hero Step. To do so, they discard the token to create a pool of discarded tokens near the Bonus Dice Pool and perform the action indicated. This is a free action and does not replace the placement of a die by the player during that round.
Note: Tokens may be regained through rewards, events, and even City Block cards when revealed, but it is unlikely that a Hero will regain more than 1 token a game. Keep this in mind as these tokens can be very valuable when used at the right time.
Repeat the Roll Dice and Activate Hero steps until all dice by each Hero have been placed. When no dice remain in any Hero's Active Dice Pool, the Hero Phase ends.
Hero Phase Example
In this example, Batman and Robin begin the Hero Phase by rolling their dice pools, then place dice to take actions one at a time:
Round 1
- Batman places his 6 die on the Destructive Mobs Story card.
- Robin places his 5 Bonus Die on the Street Terror! Story card.
All players re-roll all their unused dice.
Round 2
- Batman uses a Skill token to perform his Throw Batarang Skill, defeating the Ninja in the west, Jervis Tetch in the south, and the Ninja in the east.
- Since using a Skill token does not take up his turn, Batman then places his 6 die on his Batplane Skill card, defeating the 2 Ninjas in the south.
- Robin places his 1 die on his Somersault Attack ability, defeating the 3 Henchman in the east.
All players re-roll all their unused dice.
Round 3
- Batman adds his 6 die to his Batplane Skill card, defeating the 3 Henchman in the south and using its special text to automatically defeat the Criminals Run Wild! Story card.
- Robin adds his 6 die to the Destructive Mobs Story card to defeat it.
All players reroll all their unused dice, then continue in this manner until all dice have been placed.
3 - Crisis Phase
In the Crisis phase, Story card penalties and rewards are resolved and each remaining Villain stack attacks the city. Heroes may attempt to defend attacks during this phase, but only against Villain stacks on their current battlefield, and only then if not on the rooftops.
Story Card Step
Players resolve the penalties and gain the rewards of all Story cards in the Storyline.
Card Penalties
Starting with the Act Setup Story card, review each Story card on the Storyline that was not defeated by the Heroes and perform the penalty listed on the bottom of the card. Often this results in a Citizen Casualty, a Destruction Roll or a Destroyed Building. Each is explained below.
Citizen Casualty
When a citizen becomes a Casualty, move the Citizen token on the Gotham City Track 1 space to the left toward the zero (0).
Destruction Roll
When instructed to make a Destruction Roll as a penalty, the Act Leader rolls a die and if rolling an odd number (1, 3 or 5), a building is destroyed. When a building is destroyed, the Act Leader chooses a building, returns the building to the box and flips over the City Block card to reveal the destruction effect. If the Destruction Roll was made from a Story card, the Act Leader chooses any building to remove. If the Destruction Roll was made from Villains on a battlefield, the Act Leader chooses 1 building from the side of the battlefield from which the attack was made. If all 3 buildings on a battlefield are already destroyed when another is destroyed, the damage moves to the next row of buildings. The icons on the City Block cards are described below:
EXPLOSION: Move the Explosion token 1 space to the left toward the zero (0) for each explosion icon on the card.
CASUALTY: Move the Citizen token 1 space to the left toward the zero (0) for each Citizen icon on the card.
COMBO: A Combo has both Explosion and Citizen icons on it, enabling the Act Leader to choose the number of each to fulfill the required total.
EMPTY BUILDING: There is no penalty when the empty building is revealed.
Destroy a Building
The Act Leader must choose a building to remove, then resolve the City Block card beneath it. This is the most severe penalty in the game since, unlike the Destruction Roll, it does not give a chance to avoid its negative effects.
BONUS REWARDS: Review Story cards that grant a bonus and were defeated by the Heroes and apply the bonuses listed. Often these bonuses will be to add Bonus Dice to one or more Hero's dice pool for the next Act or to rescue a Citizen.
Story Card Step Example
Since the 4 Heroes only placed 4 of the required 5 dice on "Find the Villain's Lair", its "Destroy 2 buildings" penalty takes place. The "Burn it Down" penalty also triggers since the Heroes only committed 8 of the 10+ requirement, but the penalty for "Two-Face's Dilemma" is avoided since the Heroes placed both required dice.
Villains Attack Step
After resolving all Story cards, the Act Leader resolves each battlefield with remaining Villain stacks. Start on the North battlefield and go clockwise around the city resolving each Villain attack. Each remaining stack (based on Rank) and each remaining Mastermind will make a Destruction Roll to try and destroy buildings. This Destruction Roll is the same as with Story cards (destroys a building on their battlefield side with a roll of 1, 3, or 5), but may be modified by a Hero on their battlefield by making a Heroic Defense as noted below:
Heroic Defense
Heroes that are on the battlefield with Villains during the Crisis phase (not on the rooftops) may make a Heroic Defense against one Villain stack or Mastermind there. To do so, they place their miniature on top of the stack (or Mastermind) and they roll a die.
On a 1, they suffer a Wound. On a 2 – 6, they deal that number of damage to the stack (or Mastermind) removing any that they defeat. If that damage defeats the Mastermind or the entire Villain stack, do not perform that specific Destruction Roll.
ACT 4 DEADLY ASSAULT: The Villains attacking in the Crisis Phase of Act 4 deal 2 Wounds on a roll of 1. Therefore, even Healthy Heroes could cause the loss of the game on a Heroic Defense of 1 in Act 4.
Villains Attack Example
During the Villains Attack step, Batman attempts a Heroic Defense against Poison Ivy and rolls a 6, defeating her and preventing her from performing a Destruction Roll. Robin attempts a Heroic Defense against the stack of Thugs, but only manages to defeat 2 of the 4 tokens. The surviving Thug stack rolls a 5 for its Destruction Roll, and since it was an odd number, one building is destroyed. The Ninja stack in the North and the Thug stack in the East both roll even numbers, causing no damage, but the odd numbered roll from the Henchman in the East causes one more building to be destroyed.
Gotham City Status Step
After resolving all Story cards and Villain attacks, the players check to see if Gotham City has fallen. If the Explosion or Citizen token has moved to zero (0) or if a Hero that was Wounded took a Wound, the players lose the game.
If this is the end of Act 4 and the Explosion and Citizen tokens both remain above zero (0), the players have won the game by successfully turning back the attack on Gotham City. Otherwise, perform the following cleanup step.
Cleanup Step
The players discard the Skill card they had active for the Act to a common discard pile near the Bonus Dice Pool, retrieve their Hero dice and return all Bonus Dice to the Bonus Dice Pool. Return to the Act Phase (Phase 1) and begin the next Act.
Additional Rules
The following are additional rules the players need to understand to play the game.
Battlefields
There are 4 battlefields in the game - one on each side of the city. These battlefields are identified by their compass direction of N, S, E, W.
Villain tokens and Masterminds will populate these battlefields during the Act Setup Card step of the Act phase. When a Hero is on a side of the city, they are considered to be on that specific battlefield.
ROOFTOPS & BATTLEFIELDS: When a Hero is on the rooftops, they are considered to be on every battlefield. In the Crisis Phase, a Hero can only perform a Heroic Defense if they are on one of the four battlefields (and not on the rooftops).
Bonus Dice Pool
All unused white dice make up the Bonus Dice Pool. This pool is finite and if a Hero earns a Bonus Die and there are none in the pool, they do not gain the die. As Story cards are defeated, they should be turned sideways and any Bonus Dice on the cards are returned to the Dice Pool. These dice may be gained by Heroes again in the Act once they are returned.
Difficulty Levels
The players may find the game too difficult or too easy for their gaming group. If so, the players may make the game easier or tougher as noted below:
EASIER GAME: The players may make the game easier to win by implementing one or more of the following changes:
- Start the game with the Bat-Signal token at the 4 space on Gotham City Track.
- Start the game with the Explosion token on the 6 space of the Gotham City Track.
TOUGHER GAME: The players may make the game easier to win by implementing one or more of the following changes:
- Start the game with the Citizen token on the 6 spot of the Gotham City Track.
- Start the game with the Bat-Signal token on the 0 spot of the Gotham City Track.
Healing
When instructed by an Event, Skill card or Action die placement, the player flips their Hero board back to the Healthy side from the Wounded side. If this is done during the Hero Phase, dice that had been played on Actions on the Hero's Wounded side are placed as noted below when the board is flipped:
HERO DICE: All previously played Hero dice are placed on the Hero's Unlimited Action on the front side of the Hero's board.
BONUS DICE: All Bonus Dice on the Wounded side of the card are returned to the Bonus Dice Pool.
Flipping a Die
There are some skills and Actions that enable a Hero to flip a die. The term flip means to turn the die to the opposite side (example: the 6 is on the opposite side of the 1 – so when flipping a die showing a 1, it becomes a 6.)
Movement
Movement by Heroes can only be performed when the Action triggered by placing a die identifies that there is movement or when a Skill card or Special Ability enables movement. Sometimes the Action requires movement and other times the movement is optional.
MOVING FROM A BATTLEFIELD: When moving from a battlefield, movement is always to an adjacent battlefield to the left or right of the Hero's location unless the Action says to "move to any battlefield." If the Action states the Hero may move to the rooftops, they move to any building rooftop. There is no gameplay distinction between the different building tops; they are all considered the same, single location: the rooftops.
MOVING FROM THE ROOFTOPS: When moving to a battlefield from the rooftops, the Hero may move to any battlefield.
Skill Cards
Each Hero has 6 Skill cards that provide them with a special ability each Act. In the Hero Planning Step of the Act Phase, each Hero will shuffle their Skill cards, draw 2 and place one face up next to their Hero board. This card will be active for the Act. The other card is placed back on top of the deck, where it will be reshuffled in the Hero Planning Step of the next Act.
DISCARDING SKILL CARDS: In the Cleanup Step of the Crisis Phase, each of the active Hero Skill cards will be discarded to a common discard pile near the Bonus Dice Pool. These cards may be regained by some of the Heroes during play, but in most cases each card is usable only once per game, so heroes should keep that in mind when planning for the 4 Acts.
Villains
All ranks (tokens and Masterminds cards) are considered Villains. Each Villain has a Rank, which is the number on the token or card that represents the damage that must be dealt to it to defeat it.
RANK STACKS: When tokens are placed on battlefields, they are added to stacks of the same rank. For example, all Rank 1 tokens present in the North battlefield are considered a single stack. Masterminds are each considered an independent stack regardless of rank, even if there are multiple Masterminds on the same battlefield.
In the Crisis Phase, each Rank Stack and each Mastermind will make a Destruction Roll to destroy a building unless a Hero on their battlefield makes a Heroic Defense against them.
PLACING RANDOM VILLAIN TOKENS: Draw Villain tokens one at a time dropping each as drawn on a battlefield starting with the north battlefield and going clockwise around the City Blocks. These Villains are added to any stacks by Rank after all have been placed.
DEFEATED VILLAINS: When Villain tokens are defeated, return them to the Villain draw bag. When Masterminds are defeated, they go into a Masterminds discard pile. The discard pile will be reshuffled if the Masterminds deck becomes depleted.
Boards & Cards
Hero Boards
Each player will take one or more Heroes at the start of the game which includes a Hero Board, matching Skill cards for the Hero, 4 Hero dice and 2 Skill tokens.
A Hero board shows:
- Hero Special Ability
- Hero Dice Color
- Dice Action Boxes
- UNLIMITED ACTION BOX: A player may place any die here, and can do this multiple turns during the Hero Phase.
- Skill Token Action
Batman – Healthy Hero Side
I AM BATMAN: When performing a Heroic Defense in the Crisis Phase, you may reroll your Attack die one time.
Batman rolls 4 blue dice.
SWINGING ATTACK: When activated by placing a 1 die, Batman must move to any battlefield, defeating the highest Villain there. Then Batman deals 8 damage to Villains on his battlefield. (Die box: 1, +7)
HEROIC LEADERSHIP: When activated by placing a 6 die, deal 6 damage to Villains on Batman's battlefield. Afterward, another hero on Batman's battlefield or the rooftops returns 1 die on their character card to their active dice pool. (Die box: 6)
UTILITY BELT GADGET: When activated by placing a 4 or higher die, gain 2 Bat-Signal points and deal damage to Villains on Batman's battlefield equal to the die placed. (Die box: 4+)
ACROBATIC ATTACK: When activated by placing any die, deal damage equal to the die placed +1 on Batman's battlefield. Batman may move freely once during this action to an adjacent battlefield or to the rooftops. (Unlimited Action box, +1, may play any die)
THROW BATARANG: Once per Activate Hero Step, Batman may discard 1 of his tokens to throw his Batarang - ricocheting it around the battlefields defeating the highest ranked Villain on each battlefield (including his own).
Batman – Wounded Hero Side
WOUNDED: If taking another Wound while Wounded, the Heroes Lose!
NEVER GIVE UP: When activated by placing any die, deal damage to villains on Batman's battlefield equal to the die placed +8. (Die box: any, +8)
BAT-SIGNAL: When activated by placing a 3 die, gain 1 Bat-Signal point, deal 3 damage to Villains on Batman's battlefield, and choose 1 Hero to gain back 1 of their Skill tokens. (Die box: 3)
HELP FROM ALFRED PENNYWORTH: When activated by placing a 6 die, deal that number of damage to Villains on Batman's battlefield, then flip Batman back to his healthy side. (Die box: 6)
FURY ATTACK: When activated by placing any die, deal damage to Villains on Batman's battlefield equal to the die placed + 2. Batman may move freely once during this action to an adjacent battlefield or to the rooftops. (Unlimited Action box, +2, may play any die)
HEROIC ESCAPE: You may discard 1 token when suffering a Wound to roll a die. On a 3-6, Batman blocks the damage. Ignore the Wound and deal damage equal to the die rolled to Villains on Batman's battlefield.
Masterminds Cards
Each Mastermind card is a major Villain and has Thugs, Henchmen, and Ninjas in their ranks. When a Masterminds card is drawn, it is placed on the battlefield identified by the compass abbreviation in the upper left corner of the card. Once placed, draw Villain tokens equal to the number indicated at the bottom of the card and place them on the Mastermind's battlefield.
Some Masterminds have special text that should be resolved as soon as the Mastermind enters play unless it is an ongoing effect.
The Rank of the Mastermind is the amount of damage that must be dealt to defeat them. In the case of Killer Croc, a single attack of 5 damage is required to remove him from the battlefield.
A Mastermind card shows:
- Battlefield Placement
- Mastermind Name
- Rank
- Special Ability
- Villain Token Count
Example – Killer Croc: Rank 3, 5 Villains. Special ability: "When Killer Croc appears, each healthy Hero on his battlefield must roll a die. On a 1 or 2, they become Wounded."
Story Cards
There are 4 Acts, each with its own Story deck, and the players must defend Gotham City through each one to win the game. The Acts will be set up during the Act Phase, advancing numerically during the game. When Story cards are drawn, they are placed onto the Storyline presenting an event the players must resolve to prevent the penalty or gain the bonus.
Each Act has three Act Setup cards that, after seeding the board with Masterminds and Villains, count as the first Story card in play for that Act. The following is the anatomy of a Story card.
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ILLUSTRATION: Each card has an illustration depicting the event.
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ACTION DICE BOXES: Each Story card will require specific Action dice to be placed by the players. When multiple Action Die boxes appear, there will be a number in the upper right corner that aligns to the number of Heroes in the game. In this example, if there are only 2 Heroes in the game, the first Action box must have a 6 die. If there are 3 Heroes, the first 2 Action Boxes must have a die and with 4 or 5 players, all 3 Action Boxes are active.
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MULTI-ACTION DICE BOX: Some Story cards will have a large box for the placement of Action Dice. These Boxes will have specific requirements like an exact dice total the player must achieve or a dice total threshold that must be met. Some Multi-Action Dice Boxes may state "Hero Dice Only". When this is identified, each Hero must play one of their color dice to defeat the event.
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HAZARD SECTION: Some Story cards have text that presents a Hazard that is active until the Heroes defeat the event. When a card is defeated, it should be tilted sideways and any Bonus Dice on it should be returned to the Bonus Dice Pool. Hazards on defeated Story cards become inactive.
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PENALTY: The bottom of the card will identify the penalty that will be performed in the Crisis Phase if the card is not completed. Some cards provide a bonus that will also be stated in this section that is gained if the card's Actions boxes are completed.
Example – Terrorizing Visions: three Action Dice boxes requiring a 2, a 3, and a 4+. Hazard: "While active, after each roll, each Hero with one or more dice showing a 6 must flip one 6 die to a 1." Penalty: "If not defeated, 1 Citizen becomes a Casualty and 1 Hero becomes Wounded."
Example – Gas Attack: a Multi-Action Dice Box requiring a total of 10+. Penalty: "If not defeated, destroy 1 building or each Hero discards 1 Skill token or Skill card."
Turn Order
1. Act Phase
A. Advance Act B. Act Leader – Move the Act Leader token to the player to the left. C. Hero Planning – Each player shuffles their Skill deck, looks at the top two cards, then places one face up next to their Hero board to use that round and shuffles the other back into their Skill card deck. D. Act Setup Card – Act Leader randomly chooses one of the current Act's Act Setup cards, then follows it to add Story cards, Masterminds, and Villains to the table.
2. Hero Phase
A. Roll Dice – All Heroes roll all their unused dice, including any Bonus Dice they've obtained. B. Activate Heroes – After each Hero activates once by placing one of their dice on a Story card, Hero board action, or Skill card, return to the Roll Dice step until all dice have been used.
3. Crisis Phase
A. Story Card – Resolve the penalties and rewards for each Story card. B. Villains Attack – Heroic Defense: each Hero that is not on the rooftops can make one roll against one Villain stack on their battlefield. Each remaining Villain stack makes a Destruction Roll. C. Gotham City Status – Check Victory and Defeat conditions. D. Cleanup – Discard active Skill cards, retrieve all Hero dice, and return all white dice to the Bonus Dice pool.
Bat-Signal Points
Can be spent to increase or decrease the value of a Hero's die roll by 1.
Roll Result Chart
Destruction Roll
- 1, 3, 5 = Destroy a building
- 2, 4, 6 = Nothing
Heroic Defense
- 1 = Hero takes a Wound (or Hero takes two Wounds if it's Act 4).
- 2-6 = Deal that much damage to the Villain stack, preventing its Destruction Roll if it was completely defeated.
Victory Condition
- Reach the end of Act 4 without one of the Defeat Conditions occurring.
Defeat Condition
- The Explosion token or Citizen token is moved onto the zero (0) space of the Gotham City Track, or...
- A Hero on their Wounded side becomes Wounded again.