Grimcoven Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Winning or Losing
• Game Modes Overview
  • First steps
• Component Overview
• Game Setup
  • Open and Play
  • Choose a Scenario
  • Scenario Setup
  • Map Setup
  • Environment Setup
  • Enemies Setup
  • Final Steps
  • Prologue
• Round Overview
• Hunters Phase
  • Hunter Turns
  • Hunter Dice
  • Spending Dice
  • Resolving Actions and Action Types
  • Dice Slots
  • Basic Actions and Assist Action
  • Movement Golden Rules
  • Dealing Damage
  • Defense and Tactic Tokens
• Enemy Phase
  • Enemies Golden Rules
  • Enemy Attacks
  • Event Step (Step I)
  • Minions Step (Step II)
  • Elite Step (Step III)
  • Griefbound Attack Step (Step IV)
  • The Griefbound (Boss)
• Lament Phase
  • Corruption Step
  • Evolution Step
• Refresh Phase
  • Refresh Step
  • Status Step
  • Statuses and Hunger
• Other Rules
  • Map
  • Environment
  • Critical Injury and Hunter Death
  • Secrets
  • Companions
  • End of a Scenario
• Hunters
  • Hunter Board Anatomy
  • Hunter Tile and Special Mechanics
  • Item and Evolution Cards
• Hunter Specific Rules
  • Gunslinger
  • Duality
  • Keeper
  • Technomancer
  • The Mannequin
  • Death Jester
• Game Modes
  • Solo Mode
  • Rapid Hunt
  • Difficulty Customization
• Pretenders
  • Pretender Duality
  • Pretender Gunslinger
  • Pretender Keeper
  • Pretender Technomancer
  • Pretender Mannequin
  • Pretender Death Jester
• Glossary
• Epilogue
• Hunt Book
• Keywords
• Icons
• Tokens

Winning or Losing

Hunt the Griefbound. Or die trying.

The game ends when either the Hunters kill the Griefbound or one of the loss conditions is met:

• The Hunters run out of time (an Event card has to be drawn while the Event deck is empty).
• One of the Hunters dies (see Critical Injury and Hunter Death).

Additionally, each Griefbound may add new win or loss conditions to the Scenario.

After each Scenario, depending if the Hunters win or lose, an appropriate Epilogue should be read.

Game Modes Overview

Grimcoven allows the Players to freely tailor their experience. There are two main game modes in terms of length:

Long Hunt – estimated to be played in 2-4h, allows you to play through the early, mid and late stages of the Hunt. The setup instructions in this Rulebook describe how to prepare this mode.

Rapid Hunt – estimated to be played in 1-2h. Hunters and the Griefbound begin in the midgame when the situation on the board has already heated up. This mode requires a few modifications after the Long Hunt setup, and is a bit more complex at the beginning.

Also, there are many additional options to make the game harder or easier depending on Player preferences. All information on setting up the Easy mode, Hard mode or Rapid Hunt options are described in the Game Modes section.

First steps

To understand the basics of the game better, it is recommended to watch the Grimcoven video repository on the Awaken Realms webpage, which teaches how to sort components in the Core Box and how to play Grimcoven.

Component Overview

Grimcoven's Core Box contains the following components (note: depending on your version of the game, you will find either single layer or double layer boards, cardboard or plastic markers, and either miniatures or standees — regardless of the version, models are referred to as "models" throughout this book):

Boards, books and markers

• 1 Griefbound board (Double Layer board)
• 5 Hunter boards (Double Layer boards) and a Deputy board (solo)
• 6 Hunt books, a Tutorial Scenario booklet, this Rulebook, and a Hunt Sheet
• 5 Corruption markers
• 5 Assist markers
• 10 Universal markers

Dice (66 total)

• 60 Hunter dice (in 4 colors)
• 4 Enemy dice
• 2 Technology dice

Map

• 30 two-sided Map tiles
• 23 Terrain Map tiles (Forest, Swamp, Cemetery, River, Fog, Obstacle, Deep water, Bridge)
• 2 Area Environment tiles
• 4 Torture Device/Swarm tiles
• 1 Stomach tile
• 6 Hunter tiles

Models (miniatures or standees)

• 6 Griefbound models/standees
• 6 Hunter models/standees
• 6 Corrupted Hunter models/standees
• 4 Elite Enemy models/standees
• 16 Minion models/standees
• 4 Portal models/standees
• 7 Companion standees and 1 Companion model
• 12 Environment standees

Cards

• 36 Griefbound Stat cards
• 6 Deputy Stat cards
• 20 Dividers
• 10 Help cards
• 12 Elite Enemy cards
• 167 Hunter Evolution cards
• 38 Hunter Item cards
• 21 Event cards
• 25 Environment cards
• 222 Attack cards
• 36 Final Attack cards

Tokens

• 20 Damage tokens (value 1, 3 and 10)
• 37 Defense tokens (value 2 and 4)
• 10 Tactic tokens
• 40 Lament tokens
• 5 Round order standees
• 15 Hunger tokens
• 45 Status tokens (Burn, Stun and Curse)
• 8 Treasure tokens
• 8 Lament Rift tokens
• 4 Griefbound Level tokens
• 8 Elite Enemy Level tokens
• 4 Personality tokens

Note: the components in the game are limited. If there are not enough components available, do not use replacements! In most cases simply skip the part of the effect that regards it. In the case of Status tokens and Hunger tokens, Hunters take damage instead of gaining the missing tokens. Rules on the cards and components may overwrite the basic rules contained in this Rulebook.

Important icon — the Number of Players icon represents the number of Hunters present in the game, and should be read as a number (e.g. 3 in a 3 Player game). It is often used to scale the magnitude of effects and therefore difficulty, depending on the number of Hunters.

Game Setup

Open and Play

For the first game, it is recommended to use the Tutorial Scenario booklet to guide you through most of the components, game elements and rules.

Choose a Scenario

Take the Hunt Sheet and choose a Griefbound. Each Griefbound has 5 available Scenarios to play, with the first being the easiest and the fifth the most difficult. Choose or randomly pick one Scenario to play. Take the Hunt Book for a chosen Griefbound and go to the chosen Scenario setup.

The Hunt Book contains the special rules for the Griefbound, Map layouts and component lists for each of that Griefbound's Scenarios. It also includes additional rules not present in the setup procedure described below.

Scenario Setup

The following sections describe the overall procedure for setting up a Scenario. This process does not contain the list of the used components, which you can find in the Hunt Book for each Griefbound. When you resolve the first setup, do it simultaneously with the Rulebook as a guide and the Hunt Book as a component list. After you familiarize yourself with how to set up a Scenario, the Hunt Book will be the only source of information you need.

Map Setup

1. Construct the Map from the Map tiles. Use the codes provided on the tiles and the diagram in the Hunt Book to set up the Map. Most Maps have an additional, special 3-space Environment tile, which will be added later in the setup. It is usually random, marked with a question mark.
2. Lament Rifts – Place Rift tokens randomly face up in marked spaces as shown in the Hunt Book.
3. Portals – Place a Portal Model in each space with a Portal symbol as shown in the Hunt Book.
4. Lament – Place Lament tokens on the Map, depending on the number of Players:
   • 2 Players or solo: Place 1 Lament in each even-numbered Lament Rift.
   • 3 Players: Place 1 Lament in each even-numbered Lament Rift, and 1 Lament in the Rift numbered 7.
   • 4 Players: Place 1 Lament in each even-numbered Lament Rift, and 1 Lament in the Rifts numbered 1 and 7.
   • 5 Players: Place 1 Lament in each Lament Rift.
5. Treasures – Place 1 random Treasure token face down in each space marked with a Treasure symbol as shown in the Hunt Book.

Environment Setup

Take the Environment deck and draw the cards listed in the Hunt Book. The Environment cards are divided into three categories depending on how they are used in the game and set up: Terrain, Landmarks and Areas.

6. Terrain: Take a random card for each Terrain type present in the Scenario, reveal them and follow the setup instructions. These cards will be placed next to the Map and affect the whole Terrain they correspond with.
7. Landmark: Draw 1 card for each marked space on the Scenario Map, reveal them and follow their setup instructions. This will mostly consist of placing a corresponding Model (or token) in the marked space on the Map. After that, put the Landmark card next to the Map, close to the Model/token mentioned on the card.
8. Area: Draw 1 card and add a new 3-space Map tile to the Map. Usually, you will be instructed to discard this card afterwards. Some Scenarios might ask you to set up a specific tile. In such cases, it will be marked with a code.

Enemies Setup

Event Setup

1a. Take all Event cards from the box. 2a. Find 3 Griefbound-specific Events (marked with their name and art on the front of the card). 3a. Add random Event cards (of other Griefbounds not present in the Scenario) according to the Hunt Book. Put the remaining Event cards back in the box - they will not be used during this Scenario. 4a. Shuffle the created Event deck and place it next to the Map. 5a. Place the Event Step I standee near the Event deck.

Minions Setup

1b. Take 1 Minion card according to the Hunt Book and place it face up near the Map. Put the rest of the cards back in the box - they will not be used during this Scenario. Note: there are 2 types of Minions: Convicted and Undead. The Undead are more complex and difficult. 2b. Take 8 Minion Models matching the Minion type and place them next to the Minion card. Note that each Minion type (Convicted or Undead) uses 2 similar but different Models! Put the remaining Models back in the box. 3b. Spawn the starting Minions: Take 2 Minion Models for each Hunter in the game (in a 5 player game only 8 Minions are spawned). Starting from Lament Rift #1 and proceeding in ascending order, place 1 Minion Model on each Lament Rift until you run out of Models. 4b. Place the Minion Step II standee near the Minion card.

Elite Setup

1c. Take an Elite Enemy card according to the Hunt Book. Some Scenarios might ask you to use a specific Elite. Place its card near the Map. 2c. Place the matching Elite Model on the Map. Some Scenario setups might instruct you to put the Elite card face down with a Universal marker on the card. In such cases, the Elite Enemy will not be present on the Map at the beginning of the Scenario and will arrive later. 3c. Set the L-shaped Elite level token below the card. Elite level should be equal to the number of players minus 1. This being Level 1 in a Solo and 2 Player game, Level 2 in a 3 Player game and so on. 4c. Place the Elite Step III standee near the Elite card.

The Griefbound Setup

1d. Place the Griefbound board near the Map. 2d. Place the Griefbound stat card (with the Scenario number shown on the back of the card) in the matching slot. 3d. Set the Griefbound Level token in the bottom part of the Griefbound board. The Level should be equal to the number of Hunters minus 1. This is Level 1 in a Solo and 2 Player game, Level 2 in a 3 Player game and so on. 4d. Take all cards from behind the chosen Griefbound divider. 5d. Take all Stage cards for this Griefbound. Shuffle them to create the Stage deck and place it face down in the matching slot on the Griefbound board. 6d. Take the Final Attack card listed in the Hunt Book and place it face down in the Attack deck slot on the Griefbound board. Place all other Final Attack cards back in the box - they will not be used during this Scenario. 7d. Take the Opportunity card listed in the Hunt Book and place it face up in the This Turn slot on the Griefbound board. Place all other Opportunity cards back in the box. 8d. Create the Griefbound Attack deck. To do so, take the number of random cards of each Tier according to the table in the Hunt Book, based on the number of Hunters. Place all unused cards back in the box. Note: Cards are divided into three Tiers, marked with the number of dots on the back of the card. 9d. Shuffle the Griefbound Attack deck and place it face down on top of the Final Attack card on the Attack deck slot. 10d. Fill the Griefbound Attack track. Place the top card of the Attack deck face up in the This Turn slot, covering the Opportunity card. Then, place another card from the top of the Attack deck face up in the Next Turn slot. 11d. Follow any Griefbound-specific setup instructions in the Hunt Book. 12d. Place the Griefbound Step IV standee near the This Turn slot on the Griefbound board. 13d. Place the Time Track Step V standee in the Start space of the Time track on the Griefbound stat card. 14d. Place the Griefbound Model on the Map as shown in the Hunt Book.

Hunter Setup

Each Player:

1e. Takes one Hunter board in their preferred color and places it in front of themselves. 2e. Chooses one Hunter and takes their Hunter tile, any special components, and all Item and Evolution cards from behind their divider (see Hunter Specific Rules). 3e. Places the Hunter tile in the center of the Hunter board. 4e. Sets their dial to match their maximum Health. The Player with the least maximum Health takes the First Player token. 5e. Places the Assist marker in their Hunter's board color in the Assist slot on the Hunter board. 6e. Takes one Corruption marker and places it in the 0 slot on the Corruption track. 7e. Shuffles the Evolution deck and places it face down near their Hunter board. 8e. Takes both Help cards (Game Round Order and Basic Actions) and places them near their play area. 9e. Chooses starting Items - one Weapon and one Armor card. Then, returns the rest of the Item cards to the box. Places the chosen cards face up near the Hunter board and gains the dice listed in the Starting Dice section of each of those cards. 10e. Places their Hunter Model in a chosen starting space on the Map according to the Hunt Book. 11e. Performs any additional Hunter-specific setup (see Hunter Specific Rules).

Final Steps

1. Put all remaining dice and tokens near the Map.
2. Take the Corruption deck, shuffle it and place it face down next to the Map.
3. Take the Secret deck, DO NOT shuffle it and place it next to the Map.
4. You may now include the rules for Solo mode, Rapid Hunt, Hard mode or Easy mode (see Game Modes).

Prologue

Read this section after you finish the setup. Here, you will find a lore fragment connected to the Griefbound and the Scenario you are about to play. Each Player rolls their dice. Start the game by proceeding to the Hunter Phase.

Round Overview

Each round has a set structure, split into 4 Phases:

1. Hunter Phase – in this Phase, Hunters will play their Turns by resolving Actions. This way, they will Move on the Map, attack, defeat Enemies and ultimately kill the Griefbound to win the Scenario.
2. Enemy Phase – in this Phase, the Enemies will have a chance to pay the Hunters back. Firstly, the Events will be resolved. Then, all Enemies will be activated. This includes resolving Minion, Elite and Griefbound activations.
3. Lament Phase – in this Phase, each Hunter will resolve the effects of Corruption and Hunger - consequences of using Lament. Additionally, you will be able to spend Lament to upgrade your Hunter.
4. Refresh Phase – in this Phase, Hunters will Refresh all Actions, Regain dice, resolve the effects of Statuses and prepare for the upcoming round.

Hunters Phase

Hunter Turns

Hunter Turns are resolved in clockwise order, starting with the First Player. Each Hunter performs their Turn by resolving exactly 2 Actions. Then, the next Hunter in clockwise order resolves their Turn. Hunters may play as many Turns as they like (2 Actions per Turn) as long as they have available dice and/or Actions.

If a Hunter cannot resolve any more Actions or chooses not to resolve any more Actions, they have to Pass. After a Pass, the Hunter discards all remaining dice from the Active pool and will not be able to resolve any more Actions during this Phase - they are skipped in the Turn order. The Hunters Phase continues until all Hunters Pass. The last Player who has not Passed yet may play as many consecutive Turns as they wish until they Pass.

Hunter Dice

During the game, Players use 6-sided dice as their main resource. These dice are called Hunter dice and come in 4 different colors. Each color represents a particular area of expertise or skill in which a Hunter is proficient:

• Attack die – represents offensive capabilities. The most common symbol is the Attack symbol.
• Speed die – represents speed and dexterity. The most common symbol is the Movement symbol.
• Defense die – represents defensive abilities. The most common symbol is the Defense symbol.
• Magic die – represents arcane prowess. The most common symbol is the Magic symbol.

Spending Dice

At the beginning of the round, Players will have access to all of their dice in their Active pool. Then, the dice are either placed on Action slots to activate their effects (going to dice spent on Actions) or are discarded to resolve some effects (going to the Discarded pool).

Refreshing Actions

Dice on Actions may be discarded by using a Refresh Action effect and go to the Discarded pool. You can also Refresh Actions with Universal Markers to discard them. This way the Action may be used again.

Restoring discarded dice

Discarded dice may be put back into the Active pool by using a Restore effect - in which case they are rerolled and placed in the Active pool.

Dice may be in any of 3 different places during the game:

• Active pool – dice available to be used for Actions.
• Dice in Action slots – marking that the Action was used.
• Discarded pool – unavailable dice.

Resolving Actions and Action Types

Actions can be found in various places: on a Hunter board and Hunter tile, on Evolution cards, Item cards, Map tiles, Environment cards and others.

When resolving an Action, it has to be resolved fully before another is made. Effects of this type of Action are resolved from left to right and from top to bottom. If an Action or an effect states "discard X to …" the discarding of the listed component is considered a necessary cost of resolving the effect.

The most common type of Action is the one marked with dice slots. In order to use such an Action, a Hunter has to place a die (or multiple) into the available slots with matching symbols above. After placing dice, the effect of an Action is resolved. For Actions, you can always use multiple dice to meet the symbol requirements.

Other Actions are free to use. A Player simply has to declare to use those types of Actions. They may be marked in two different ways:

• Action with a Universal Marker slot (example: Stimulant Injection – "Gain 1 Burn and 1 Stun, choose one: Refresh 1 chosen Action / Restore 2 discarded dice / Gain a die."). This type of Action is free to use, but only once per round. When this Action is used, mark it with a Universal Marker taken from the common pool and resolve the effect. This type of Action may be Refreshed - in such cases discard the Universal Marker so that the Action may be used again.
• Actions with an "Action:" descriptor (example: "Action: discard a die and a token to Restore 1 discarded die."). This type of Action is free to use and most likely found on Secret cards or Environment cards. While the Action itself is free, it may have a cost inside the effect.

Dice Slots

In order to use an Action, Players must place a die into a slot with a matching symbol. Some Actions require multiple slots to be activated. Possible slots are:

• A slot that may be activated by a die with any symbol.
• A slot that requires a die with an appropriate symbol to activate this Action. A die with a double symbol may also be used, but the second symbol on it is 'lost' - the Hunter does not get the surplus back in any way.
• A slot requiring either a die with a double symbol or two dice with single symbols matching the slot to activate this Action. In the case of using 2 dice, stack them on top of each other in this one slot.

Some Actions may have alternative costs. You may use one or the other to activate this Action.

Regardless of the slots used, the Action cannot be used again until Refreshed.

Basic Actions and Assist Action

Here is the breakdown of the Basic Actions and the Assist Action, which are the same for each Hunter.

Run – Place a die with any symbol in the slot to resolve this Action. Move your Hunter Model up to a number of spaces equal to your Hunter Movement value.

Sprint – Place a die with a Speed symbol in the slot to resolve this Action. Move your Hunter Model by up to Movement value + 1 spaces. During this Action, you may Move through Portals - a Hunter on a space with a Portal may Move to another space with a Portal as if it was adjacent.

Tactic – Place a die with any symbol in the slot to resolve this Action. Gain 1 Tactic token and place it on any of your empty Tactic slots. You may choose to immediately use the Tactic token to reroll any number of dice in your Active pool.

Cleanse – Place a die with a Magic symbol in the slot to resolve this Action. Discard up to 2 chosen Status tokens from your Hunter board.

Assist – Place a die with any symbol in the slot to resolve this Action. When you place a die in this slot, give your Assist marker to the chosen Hunter. That Hunter places the Assist marker in their Active dice pool. Assist markers may be used instead of a die. It represents an exact same die with the same exact symbol as a die placed on the Assist slot on the Hunter board of the Player whose Assist marker is being used.

Movement Golden Rules

You may only Move to adjacent spaces (the ones physically connected to your current space).

When you end your Action, including Movement, on a space with a Lament token or a Treasure, you may gain it. If there is a Status token on that space, you have to gain it. Hunters do not gain tokens if they are Moving through a space without ending the Action there.

Each space can contain up to 4 Models, with the Griefbound counting as 2 models. You may Move through a fully occupied space, but when you end your Movement there, you have to push one other Model to an adjacent space (see Spaces, in Other Rules).

Dealing Damage

Many Actions allow the Hunters to deal damage (Wound) which is crucial to defeat Enemies in the game including the Griefbound. When a Hunter resolves an effect that deals Wounds it may only target an Enemy and never a Hunter, unless specifically stated otherwise.

When an effect allows you to deal Wounds, place the number of tokens on the appropriate component in the game.

Effects describe the Range in which the Wounds can be dealt. The first number of the Range icon shows the minimum Range and the second the maximum Range (e.g. 0-2 allows the Hunter to target an Enemy on their space or up to 2 spaces away).

Effects may require having the target in Line of Sight (LoS), which is a straight line unobstructed by Obstacle spaces or Fog (see Map, in Other Rules).

On a kill is a keyword commonly found in many effects. The instruction following this keyword is triggered after an Enemy has been killed. It may be specific to a type of Enemy:

• On a Minion kill: resolved after a Minion is dealt any Wounds and is removed from the Map.
• On an Elite Enemy kill: resolved after an Elite Enemy is dealt Wounds equal to or exceeding its Health.
• On a Griefbound card kill: resolved when a Griefbound Attack card is dealt Wounds equal to or exceeding its Health. This results in removing the card from the Attack track, which is different from discarding it! (see Killing the Attack Cards)

Example: Mark uses a "Gain Defense" Action. While he already has a Defense (2) token and only one Defense slot, he exchanges two Defense (2) tokens for one Defense (4) token. Later in the round, Mark is attacked by a Minion which deals 2 damage. Mark decides to discard his Defense (4) token to reduce the incoming damage. Since Defense tokens cannot be split, he does not gain a Defense token back, even though the damage was blocked with a surplus.

Defense and Tactic Tokens

There are two types of tokens which are universal for all Hunters – Defense tokens (in value 2 or 4) and Tactic tokens. Each of these tokens has to be stored in a matching Tactic or Defense slot – maximum of one token per slot. If there are no slots available, the Hunter cannot gain the token.

Defense tokens allow Hunters to prevent damage. When a Hunter is being attacked they may decide to discard a Defense token to reduce the incoming damage by the value of the Defense token. Note: when defending you do not gain the excessive value back!

When a Hunter gains a Defense (2) token while already having one, they may add them together and gain a Defense (4) token (putting both Defense (2) tokens back into the common pool in the process).

A Tactic token allows the Hunter to reroll dice in their Active pool. A Hunter may discard a Tactic token to reroll any number of dice currently present in their Active pool. This may be done either:

• At any moment, without spending an Action.
• As an Action during the Hunter's Turn in order to stall some time.

Enemy Phase

Enemies Golden Rules

Enemies can only have Defense tokens on themselves and always use their Defense tokens when being attacked.

When an Enemy Moves, they Move towards the closest Hunter, unless stated otherwise.

1. If there is more than one closest Hunter, Move towards the Hunter with the highest Corruption.
2. In case of a tie, Players decide.
3. If there are multiple ways the Enemy may Move - Players decide.

When Enemies enter fully occupied spaces they swap with a Model in this order: Companion, other Minion, Elite, Hunter.

Enemy Attacks

Enemy attacks mostly take one of two forms: attacking with Enemy dice or dealing a set amount of damage and/or Statuses. For dice attacks, sum up the results from all rolled dice used in this attack and resolve them – by taking the listed amount of damage and/or gaining Statuses. You may discard Defense tokens to prevent damage taken by the number indicated on the discarded token. The surplus of Defense is not gained back! Statuses cannot be blocked with Defense tokens in any way.

Each time an Enemy deals damage to your Hunter, mark it on the Health dial on your Hunter board by subtracting the appropriate amount.

In case of any confusing effects, always apply damage and Statuses before resolving any other effects.

Event Step (Step I)

At the beginning of the Enemy Phase Hunters have to check if they have Critical Injury cards and apply their effects.

Then, Hunters resolve Event card effects in order:

1. All Permanent Event effects (if present).
2. Draw a new Event.
3. Place new Lament on the Map (optional).
4. Resolve the main effect of the Event.

If the Event deck is empty, and a new card must be drawn, the Griefbound escapes and the Scenario is lost.

Events

Events are drawn and resolved at the beginning of each Enemy Phase. They bring unexpected and mostly negative changes to the table.

Example Event card - "Burning Lament": Place 1 Lament in Lament Rift 6. Each Hunter may discard any number of Lament. Then each Hunter chooses one: Gain 1 Burn for each Lament they discarded, or Gain 3 Corruption (ignoring Defense). If the Hunters are fighting the Convergence, each Hunter with Lament chooses one: Move 2 toward the Griefbound, or Gain 3 Burn.

This shows how Event effects generate additional Lament on the Map, offer a choice for each Hunter that will punish them in some way, and may contain an additional negative effect that applies only in Scenarios where the Hunters are hunting a specific Griefbound.

Permanent Events

Permanent Events are most often drawn from Griefbound Stage cards and are marked with a "Permanent Event" tag. They are not discarded, unless specified, so their effect may be applied during multiple rounds.

In the rare situation when you have more than one Permanent Event, place them next to each other so that you may keep track of which was first. When resolving multiple Permanent Events, start with the one that was drawn earlier in the game.

Event Effects

Event effects are divided into two parts. The first is general and is always resolved. The second part is conditional and resolved only if the Griefbound that is being hunted during this Scenario matches the name on the card.

Event effects often contain a choice or an optional effect to resolve. Keep in mind that if the effect states "discard X to …" or "gain X to …" the first part of the effect is mandatory in order to resolve the second.

Minions Step (Step II)

Activate each Minion Model on the Map by resolving one activation from the Minion card. Start with the Model closest to any Hunter.

Minions

A convict chained to a rock and long forgotten or a specter risen by Lament. No difference, just filth beneath our boots.

Minions are the weakest type of Enemies that the Hunters will face, although they should not be underestimated: a swarm of Minions or an unfortunate stab in the back by a single, left-behind Minion can flip the course of the hunt.

While there are many Minion types that might be encountered, all of them share some similarities:

1. All Minions have 1 Health. A single hit is enough to kill them.
2. Killing a Minion rewards the Hunter who killed it with 1 Lament.
3. Each Minion can hold up to one Defense token - in the dedicated holder on its Model or standee.
4. Each Minion type has 2 activation options - each Minion Model will act according to the conditions listed next to said actions. During activation each Minion Model will resolve only one of the listed activations.
5. Minions have a Dice Effect section on their card - when this Minion attacks and rolls dice, check the result in this section.
6. Minions of the Undead type have a passive ability written in the top part of their card.

Spawning Minions

When any effect in the game instructs you to Spawn a number of Minions (usually tied to the number of Hunters - most commonly due to the Time track or at the beginning of the game) - take the listed number of Models and place them on the Map, following the instructions below:

1. Count the number of Minions on the Map.
2. Find the Lament Rift with the number 1 higher than the number of Minions on the Map and Spawn the first Minion there.
3. Continue placing Minions in the Lament Rift in ascending order until there are no more Models available.

Components in the game are limited - if there are not enough Minions in the reserve, Spawn as many as possible.

In a situation where the Lament Rift is fully occupied, and a Minion has to be Spawned, it pushes one other Model to an adjacent space, as if entering this space via Movement. In an extreme case, when the space is full of Models that cannot be pushed (Environment Models or the Griefbound) the Minion is not Spawned.

Example: Players have to Spawn 4 Minions (2x number of Players in a 2 Player game). They take 4 Models from the reserve. They count the number of Minions currently on the Map - which is 3. They place one Minion in each Lament Rift numbered 4, 5, 6 and 7 in ascending order.

Elite Step (Step III)

Activate each Elite Model on the Map, starting with the one closest to any Hunter. To do so, resolve one of the activations present on the Elite Enemy depending on the conditions stated on the card.

Repeat this process for every Elite Model on the Map. Elite Enemies might not be on the Map due to the starting conditions of the Scenario or because they were killed. In such cases, discard 1 Universal Marker from each Elite card that is face down. When the last Universal Marker is discarded this Elite is spawned, but does not activate instantly - it will act in the next Enemy Phase.

Elite Enemies

Lament spawned many dangerous creatures of horror. Some are more… troublesome to deal with.

Elite Enemies are much stronger and harder to get rid of than a Minion, but are still easily surpassed by the power of a Griefbound.

All of them share some similarities:

1. Elites have a varying number of Health depending on the Elite itself and Elite Level token.
2. Killing the Elite grants the Lament indicated in the bottom central part of its card. Two different numbers show how much Lament the killer gets and how much Lament any other Hunter gains.
3. Elites have multiple Actions and they will only use one during each activation, similar to Minions.
4. The Dice Effects section shows what happens when the Elite rolls symbols during an attack.
5. Each Elite Enemy may hold up to one Defense token on its card.

Each Elite Enemy type has 3 variants, represented by 3 different cards. There can be only one Elite of its type in the game at any given time. One Elite in each type is significantly stronger than the rest, and is called a Named Elite. It is recommended not to use Named Elites in your first games, as they tend to be significantly more difficult.

List of Named Elite Enemies: Alicia the Twisted, Thristan the first Vampire, Croakholm, and Hilhorn's Shadow.

Example (Alchemist Elite card): ACTIVATION (resolve first applicable): If there is a Hunter in Range 0-3 and LoS, Flaming Bomb: Deal 5 damage and 2 Burns to each Hunter in Range 0-3 and LoS. Otherwise, Burning Oil: Move 2. Attack all Hunters in Range 0-2 with 2 dice. Dice Effects: Attack symbol or Speed symbol: Deal 2 damage. If any Wounds were dealt during this attack, deal 3 Burn. In this example, the Alchemist has 6 health, indicated with an arrow on its card and the Elite Level token.

Spawning an Elite

In some cases, an Elite Enemy is not present on the Map at the beginning of the Scenario, or a new Elite joins the fray during the Hunt. When an effect instructs you to draw a random Elite card, ignore all cards from the Elite types already present in the game! When you are instructed to Spawn an Elite Enemy, resolve the following:

1. Place the Elite Enemy card next to the Elite Step III standee.
2. Set up an Elite Level token - it should be of an equal Level to the Griefbound's.
3. Find the Portal space closest to the Griefbound and place the corresponding Elite Enemy Model there. Do NOT activate this Elite Enemy afterwards.

If there are no Portals on the Map or all the Portal spaces are fully occupied, the Elite Enemy cannot be Spawned. Keep the card face down and place one Universal Marker on the Elite Enemy card. The Elite is not gone, just waiting for a better moment to rejoin the fight.

Killing an Elite

Wounding an Elite is one thing, but getting rid of it is a whole different pair of shoes. When an Elite Enemy has Wound tokens on its card in number equal to or exceeding its Health, resolve the following:

1. All Hunters gain Lament as a reward.
2. Discard all tokens from the Elite card.
3. Discard the Elite Model from the Map.
4. Flip the Elite Enemy card face down. The active Player rolls a die and checks the result on the back of the Elite card - this shows if you managed to truly kill it or just chase it away for some time.

All Elite Enemies with their cards face down are considered "not on the Map" for all effects that require it.

Example: The Alchemist is dealt the 6th Wound, which is equal to its health. The Model is discarded from the Map, the Elite Enemy card flipped, and the active Player rolls a die to determine the outcome.

Griefbound Attack Step (Step IV)

Activate the Griefbound Attack card on the This Turn slot on the Griefbound board by resolving all effects from the Griefbound Attack card in order from top to bottom. When the Griefbound attacks and rolls dice, sum up the effects from the Stat card along with the Dice Effects modifiers from the Attack card.

After resolving the card, perform the following:

1. Discard the Griefbound Attack card from the This Turn slot. Place the card on the discard pile to the right of the slot. If there are any tokens on the card, discard them.
2. Move the card from the Next Turn slot (if present) to the This Turn slot, all tokens on the card (including Enhance markers) remain for the next round.
3. Refill the Attack track: Draw new cards from the Attack deck and place them face up in empty slots.
4. If the Final Attack card is visible in the Attack deck slot, reshuffle the Attack cards from the discard pile and place it in the Attack deck slot to cover the Final Attack card. Continue refilling the Attack track.

If there are not enough cards in the discard pile to refill the Attack track and cover the Final Attack card, then the Hunt enters its Final Act! (see Entering the Final Act and Final Act sections)

FOCUSED: resolve those effects unless there are no tokens of the relevant type on this card.

Example (Cursed Shot Attack card): Move 2. FOCUSED: Move 2 to a space with LoS to a Hunter. Attack all Hunters in Range 0-5 and LoS with 3 dice. Dice Effects: a specific symbol result deals +1 Curse. The Cursed Shot Attack card has 3 bullet points to resolve. The Griefbound will, in order: Move 2 spaces toward the closest Hunter, then Move 2 spaces toward the closest Hunter so that it has a Hunter in its Line of Sight (only if the Griefbound is FOCUSED), lastly it will attack all Hunters in Range 0-5 and Line of Sight with 3 dice. The effects of the attack are present on the Stat card, but a specific dice result additionally deals 1 Curse.

The Griefbound (Boss)

Here it is. Your first and final test.

Griefbound board

The Griefbound board is where most of the information about the Griefbound can be found. The board has places for most elements the Griefbound will use during the game. The Griefbound, unlike other Enemies, will use many components. This includes:

• Griefbound Stat cards.
• Attack cards.
• Final Attack cards.
• Opportunity cards.
• Stage cards.
• Other special components.

The board contains a Griefbound Stat card slot, the Griefbound Stage deck slot, the Attack track (Attack deck / Next Turn / This Turn / Discard), a slot for the Griefbound Final Attack and Attack deck, and a slot for the Opportunity card and This Turn Attack card.

In order to defeat the Griefbound and win the Scenario, the Hunters have to kill enough Attack cards, proceed to the Final Act, and kill the Final Attack card.

Griefbound Stat card

Each Scenario uses a different Griefbound Stat card. The card holds information about the Griefbound: its name and art, Scenario number (on the back), Special effect, Defense slots (the Griefbound may hold one Defense token in each slot), Dice Effects, and the Time track.

Attack cards

Don't get distracted. Each one of those strikes is deadly.

One of the most important components of the Griefbound is the Attack cards - they not only specify how it will act but also track how much health the Griefbound has left. Most cards are unique, but all of them share some similarities:

• Title.
• Attack Actions.
• Dice Effects modifiers (optional).
• Body part and health of the card (combined with the Griefbound Level token below).
• Lament reward (first number for the Hunter who killed the card, the second gained by each other Hunter).

Attack track, Attack deck and the discard pile

Observe. Predict. Act accordingly.

The three slots in the bottom part of the Griefbound board are considered the Attack track - it holds Attack cards, an Opportunity card and the Final Attack card. The first slot from the left is reserved for the Final Attack card and the Attack deck.

The two remaining slots on the right store the Attack cards that will be resolved in the current and the next round. Underneath the Attack card in the This Turn slot, there is an Opportunity card – resolved when the Attack card on top of it is killed and removed from the game.

There is an important distinction between discarding and killing an Attack card:

• After resolving an Attack card in the Enemy phase, the card from the This Turn slot is discarded, which means placing it in the discard pile to the right of the Attack track - the card will probably come back into the deck at some point.
• Killing an Attack card means removing it from the Attack track and placing it under the Hunter board of the Player who killed it as a Trophy - it will not be seen again during the game.

Killing the Attack Cards

I'll admit. It is not an easy task, but those monsters can be wounded.

In order to remove the Griefbound's Attack card, Hunters have to deal enough damage to it. When a card has an amount of damage equal to or greater than its Health (shown on the Griefbound Level token by the Body part icon at the bottom of the card) resolve the following:

1. All Hunters gain Lament as a reward - the first number indicates how much the killer gets, and the second how much every other Hunter gains.
2. The Attack card is placed under the Hunter board of the Player who dealt the last damage as a Trophy. It will not come back into the Attack deck during this Scenario.
3. If it was a card from the "This Turn" slot, the killer resolves the uncovered Opportunity card by rolling a die.

Opportunity cards

Seize every opportunity you are given. Drain each to the last drop.

When a card from the This Turn slot is killed (removed), Hunters uncover the Opportunity card lying beneath. The Hunter who dealt the finishing blow rolls a die to determine what effect occurs - this will most likely be a bonus for the Hunters in close range of the Griefbound and an instruction to refill the Attack track. Range and LoS of effects present on the Opportunity card are drawn from the Griefbound.

Sometimes, the result may stagger the Griefbound - the Attack track will not be refilled during the Hunters Phase instantly. In such cases, the Griefbound will do nothing in the Enemy Phase as there is no Attack card in the This Turn slot. The track will be refilled at the end of Griefbound Step IV so the Griefbound's weakness is only temporary.

Refilling the Attack track

Many times during the game you will be instructed to Refill the Attack track. This will always happen at the end of Griefbound Step IV of the Enemy Phase, after resolving the Griefbound Attack or most times after resolving an effect from an Opportunity card. To do so, resolve the following in order:

• Slide the Attack card from the Next Turn slot (if present) to the This Turn slot.
• Draw new cards from the Attack deck and place them in the This Turn and Next Turn slots, if they are still empty.

If at any point of this process the Final Attack is uncovered, check if the Final Act is triggered (see below).

Entering the Final Act

When wounded enough, the Griefbound will become vulnerable. But the cornered prey often becomes the most dangerous.

The Final Act can only be triggered when enough Attack cards have been killed. Entering the Final Act of the hunt is checked every time the Attack deck is depleted. In such cases, check if there are 2 or fewer Attack cards total left in the game; this includes Attack track slots and the discard pile. If so, trigger the Final Act. Otherwise, refill the Attack track and continue playing as normal.

When the Final Act is triggered:

• Remove any remaining Attack cards from the Attack track and discard pile.
• Remove all remaining Secret 2 cards (Critical Injury) from the Secret deck.
• Reveal the Final Attack card and place it in the This Turn slot.
• Level up the Griefbound and each Elite Enemy.
• If this happens during the Hunters Phase, the Griefbound instantly ends the Hunters Phase - proceed to the Enemy Phase.

The Final Attack card cannot be revealed in any other way.

Final Act and killing the Griefbound

This is it. The moment you signed the coven for.

During the Final Act, the rules change significantly:

• The death of a single Hunter no longer ends the Scenario - Hunters fight to the last man standing!
• Killing the Final Attack card is different from other Attack cards (described below).

When the Final Attack card is dealt enough damage, instead of removing it, the Hunter rolls a die to determine if the Griefbound has been defeated or not. On a successful result, the Griefbound is dead, and the Scenario is won! If there is any other result, all damage is removed and the Griefbound's Level is lowered - check the Final Act section on the Griefbound board for details (typically: reduce the Griefbound's Level by 3 on one result, or by 2 on another). If the Griefbound's Level cannot be lowered further, the Scenario is won. Otherwise, the game continues.

Stage cards

Leave the Griefbound bathing in Lament for too long, and you'll have to face the consequences.

Stage cards represent the Griefbound growing in power during the Hunt, whether by anger or excess of Lament present on the battlefield. Each time the Time track enters a space with Stage, draw and resolve a new Stage card from the top of the deck. Those cards may contain all types of power ups for the Griefbound ranging from an alternative Special effect to a new Lose condition for the Hunters.

One common thing that the Stage cards do is leveling up the Griefbound and Elites - this instructs you to change the current Level token of the Griefbound and all Elite Enemies to the one with a higher number.

Griefbound additional rules

All of those wretched creatures have their own tricks up their sleeves.

Each Griefbound has some unique mechanics and components - mostly present in the Special effect on its Griefbound tile or Attack cards. For detailed information on how each Griefbound special mechanic works, see the last page of the corresponding Hunt Book.

Time track step (Step V)

Move the Time track step V standee one space forward on the Griefbound's Time track (following the arrows) and Resolve the effect of the space the standee is entering. There are three main types of spaces on the Time track:

• Spawn: Spawn 2x (number of Players) Minions (see Spawning Minions).
• Stage: Draw and resolve a new Stage card.
• Special: Resolve the section titled Special on the Griefbound Stat tile.

Lament Phase

During the Lament Phase, Hunters will absorb the energy of the Lament they have gathered so far, and possibly suffer the consequences of abusing the power that comes with it.

Corruption Step

Starting from the First Player and continuing clockwise, each Hunter draws and resolves 1 Corruption card. The top part of the card refers to Hunger - if the Hunter has no Hunger, it should be skipped.

The bottom part of the card checks the Corruption level of the Hunter - the higher the Corruption, the worse the effects that will be triggered. The Hunter resolves only one effect that matches their Corruption. After the card is resolved, place it on the bottom of the Corruption deck.

Some cards instruct you to reshuffle the deck. This happens after each Hunter resolves their Corruption card.

Corruption

Using Lament is tempting - to be stronger and faster, to comprehend new skills and abilities in mere seconds. But it comes at a price.

The Corruption track measures how much the Hunter has abused the Lament - the higher the Corruption, the worse the effects will be. Each round, every Hunter will draw and resolve 1 Corruption card to check how their mind and body are withstanding the effects of the Lament.

When a Hunter reaches a Corruption level of 15, they will turn to their Corrupted form - the most powerful the Hunter can become.

Losing Corruption

Some effects in the game allow Hunters to lose some of their accumulated Corruption. When that happens, simply move the Corruption marker on your Corruption track by a number of spaces mentioned in the effect (e.g. Lose 2 Corruption means to move the Corruption marker 2 spaces backwards).

When losing Corruption, Hunters do not lose or gain any Evolutions (ignore Evolution trigger icons). Also reducing Corruption below 15 does not flip the Hunter back to the non-Corrupted side.

However, when re-entering an Evolution space in the Lament Phase by spending Lament, a Hunter may evolve again! This may happen any number of times, as long as the Hunter is able to lose Corruption in opportune moments.

Final Perdition

Some Hunters who overuse Lament may be lost and become the monsters they swore to hunt.

The Final Perdition is a state in which the Hunter loses themselves by becoming the Pretender - a half realized, but nonetheless dangerous Griefbound. All rules regarding the Final Perdition are present on one of the Secret cards, and will not be discussed here in detail, apart from a few brief mentions:

• The Final Perdition has more chances to trigger once a Hunter is high on the Corruption track.
• The Final Perdition may shorten or prolong the game once triggered.
• A Hunter who falls into the Final Perdition will become a Pretender - an additional Griefbound to be Hunted. Once the Hunter unlocks their Final Perdition, the slot on the Hunt sheet next to the Pretender Scenario will be marked.

Evolution Step

This step is divided into two parts:

• Lament Spending
• Additional Corruption

Spending Lament

Each Hunter may spend their Lament tokens, one token at a time, to evolve or discard Hunger. This step may be done simultaneously. Any number of times each Hunter may:

• Spend 1 Lament to advance their Corruption track by 1.
• Spend 1 Lament to discard 1 Hunger.

Each time the Corruption marker advances to a space with an Evolution trigger icon, resolve an Evolution. When the Corruption marker reaches the space marked with number 15, flip your Hunter tile to the Corrupted side and resolve any immediate effects.

Each Lament token remaining on the Hunter boards after this is discarded!

Evolution

Each time a Hunter resolves an Evolution, they do the following:

1. Draw the top 2 cards of the Evolution deck.
2. Any number of times you may spend 1 Lament to redraw the Evolution cards - put the current ones on the bottom of the deck and draw 2 new cards.
3. You may choose to keep one of the Evolution cards. If you choose not to keep any of them, gain 1 die in a chosen color. All Evolution cards not chosen during an Evolution are placed at the bottom of the Hunter's Evolution deck.

Additional Corruption

After spending and discarding all the gathered Lament, the Hunter may decide to succumb to the Corruption. In such situations, the Player may once advance their Corruption marker to the next Evolution trigger icon on the Corruption track without resolving it.

Refresh Phase

Refresh Step

Each Hunter prepares their dice for the upcoming round. Resolve the following in order:

1. Pass the First Player token to the next Player in clockwise order.
2. Return all Environment cards used last round to the appropriate place.
3. Return all Assist tokens to their owners.
4. Each Hunter discards all Enhance markers from their cards.
5. Each Hunter gathers all their dice from each occupied Action slot and their discarded dice pool then rolls all their dice and places them into their Active dice pool.

Status Step

Hunters may spend Magic symbols to discard Status tokens before resolving their negative effects.

1. Each Hunter may discard any number of Magic symbols to discard that many Status tokens (Hunger is not a Status). If a Hunter decides to use dice with Magic symbols, they place the dice in the discarded dice pool near their Hunter board.
2. Resolve all relevant Status effects (see Statuses and Hunger below) and proceed to the Hunters Phase.

Statuses and Hunger

Spreading fire, ringing ears, vile hexes. There are many more ways for Hunters to be killed than at the hands of the Lament-born.

In the game, a Hunter might be afflicted by different harmful conditions - these come in the form of Status tokens and Hunger tokens. Each time a Hunter gains or is dealt a Burn, Stun, Curse or Hunger, they have to place the corresponding token on their Hunter board. These tokens have different negative effects on the Hunter, all listed below.

Statuses – Can be discarded using a Cleanse Basic Action.

• Burn - in the Status step, take 1 unblockable damage for each Burn you have. Burns are not discarded afterwards.
• Stun - When you gain a Stun token, immediately place it on the text of a chosen Action. Using a Stunned Action has no effect. Stuns are not discarded when the Stunned Action is used! Some effects may instruct you to Stun a specific Action, in which case place the Stun token on the mentioned Action, if possible.
• Curse - When you gain any number of Curses, draw one random Secret 1 card (each Hunter may have only one Curse effect card at any given time). The Secret card will specify the Curse effect and will most likely take into account how many Curse tokens you have. When you discard your last Curse token, return the Secret card to the Secret deck.

Hunger is NOT a Status, and therefore cannot be discarded by the Cleanse Action! Hunger does nothing on its own. The top part of the Corruption card will specify the effect of Hunger. If you don't have any Hunger, ignore the top part of the Corruption card entirely.

Enemies cannot gain Status tokens or Hunger unless an effect clearly states otherwise and explains how this Status affects said Enemy.

Status tokens on the Map are collected by a Hunter who ends their Movement (or Action in general) on a space with a Status token.

The components are limited. If a Hunter has to gain a Status or Hunger token, but the pool is empty - they take 1 damage for each token they cannot gain!

Other Rules

Map

Spaces

A space is a single hexagonal area of the Map. Each space may hold up to 4 Models. This includes Hunters, Enemies and Environmental Models such as Portals.

When a Model ends their Movement on a fully occupied space (either by Moving or Teleporting), push one of the Models on that space to an adjacent space.

Hunters may choose which Model to push while Enemies have to push Models in a given order if they are present on the space:

1. Companions.
2. Minions.
3. Elite Enemies.
4. Hunters.

The Griefbound or Environment Models can never be pushed when a Model enters its space. The Griefbound Model counts as 2 Models, so when entering a fully occupied space, it pushes 2 Models out of the space to accommodate its size and respect the Model limit.

Range, Line of Sight (LoS)

A lot of effects during the game will check the Range. It is measured in spaces and indicated by the Range icon, which shows the minimum and maximum range of an effect. E.g. 0-1 tells you that the effect can be resolved on the same or an adjacent space. 2-2 allows the effect to target only a space exactly 2 spaces away from you, and so on.

Line of Sight (LoS) is a straight, unobscured line of spaces. To be in a Line of Sight means to be on one of the spaces in a clear line from another. Only Obstacles and Fog spaces block LoS. Some effects require both Range and LoS. Edges of the Map are considered Obstacles.

Note: A Model is always in its own Line of Sight. Models on the same space are in one another's Line of Sight.

Terrain and special spaces

When constructing a Map for the Scenario some Map tiles share the same color - all spaces in the same color are called a Terrain - Forest, Swamp or Cemetery. These will have additional effects or Actions during each Scenario. The Map is usually created by combining 2 different Terrains.

There are also some other special spaces to consider:

• Deep Water - Models cannot enter a Deep Water space, indicated by its icon. Range and LoS might still be measured through it.
• Fog - Obscured visibility. LoS cannot be measured through the borders of this space, indicated by its icon. Two Models on the same Fog space are still in one another's LoS.
• Obstacles - This space cannot be entered by any Model, Hunter or Enemy. Range and LoS cannot be measured through it.
• Lament Rifts - If there is a Rift token on a space, that space is considered a Lament Rift of a specific number. It does not overwrite the Terrain it is on, and has no effect on its own, but many effects like Spawning Minions, adding Lament on the Map and others might reference those spaces.

Treasures, Lament and Status tokens on the Map

At the beginning of the game and due to some effects throughout it, many different tokens may be placed on the Map. General rules for these tokens are that Enemies do not interact with them (unless said otherwise), Hunters may pick up the positive ones (like Treasures or Lament, etc.) and have to pick up the negative ones (Statuses, Hunger etc.) if they end their Action on a space with said tokens. Most of these tokens when picked up are gained.

Treasure tokens - A positive token containing random rewards, one of which to choose from is always a Heal. When a Hunter decides to pick up a Treasure token, they reveal it, read the available options and choose one to resolve. After that the token is removed from the game. If a Treasure token is being added to the Map it should be pulled randomly from the still available pool, aka the ones not removed yet.

Environment

An abandoned carriage? A ruined town? A fortified church? The Hunt may lead you to many interesting places.

There are often some interesting things to discover or interact with on the battlefield. Various points of interest are encased under Environment. Environment is divided into 3 different groups:

Terrain Environment

A Terrain Environment card is placed next to the Map. This shows the additional effects of Actions that can be used on a whole Terrain (all spaces in the matching color), even if the Terrain is divided into several smaller areas by other Terrains or special spaces. Those cards usually contain a "Once per Hunters Phase" Action available for the Hunters as long as they are on a Terrain space matching the card color. Once used, the "Once per Hunters Phase" Action will not be available until the Refresh Phase. During the setup one random card for each Terrain is drawn and placed next to the Map.

Example (Shapeshifting Forest): "The Forest, still imbued with the dark power of the Swarm Mistress, changes into a nightmare every lunar night, which makes it a perfect place for Gunslingers to train their acolytes." Setup: Place this card next to the Forest Terrain. Once per Hunters Phase, on any Forest space, Action: Take this card, discard 1 Health or 1 Wound, to teleport to any Forest space.

Landmark Environment

A Landmark Environment card is a point of interest in the form of a Model or token standing on the Map, accompanied by a card that describes what Actions or effects are present on the space with the Model. During the setup usually between 2 and 3 of such cards are drawn and corresponding Models or tokens placed on the Map in marked spaces. Similarly to Terrains, you may often find a "Once per Hunters Phase" Action on those cards, but in those cases, they are mostly no-cost Actions. In exchange for that, they may come with an alternative cost in Lament or Health, or contain a risk of a dice roll.

Example (Well): "According to a folk tale, Hilda the Griever's men rested here during the great escape to Hope after the Eruption." Setup: Place the Well on the Map. Place this card next to the Map. Once per Hunter Phase, on the Well space, Action: Take this card. Roll 1 die and resolve: on one result, Draw and resolve Secret card 9; on another result, Heal 2 and gain 1 Curse (instead, you may remove this card and the Well to Heal 4 and gain 2 Curses); on another result, Gain 1 die and 1 Hunger (instead, you may discard this card and the Well to gain 2 dice and 3 Hunger).

Area Environment

A special, 3-space tile, added to the Map. It contains Actions and possible story elements. Actions themselves are mostly free, but will likely guide you to the Secret deck with possible surprises. During the setup usually one such tile is added to the Map by drawing a random Area Environment card from the deck and placing the corresponding tile in the marked place on the game Map.

Example (Witch Hut): "The cryptic marks on the half-open door make you remember dark rumors of a goddess who, for some reason, became the prisoner of the Abyss." Setup: Place the Witch Hut tile as shown on the Scenario setup. The tile offers free Actions such as Speak with the Witch (draw and resolve a random Secret card), Steal the Witch's tools (draw and resolve a Secret card), Light a candle (draw and resolve a Secret card), and Speak with the Priest (draw and resolve a random Secret card). Discard this card once its Actions are used, per the card's instructions.

Critical Injury and Hunter Death

Be ready to be struck down. At. Any. Given. Moment.

When your Hunter's Health is reduced to 0 resolve the following:

1. Heal 1, discard all Status and Hunger tokens.
2. Draw and read a Secret card 2.

As long as you have a Secret card 2 (Critical Injury) next to your Hunter board, you are ignored by all Enemies and negative game effects. This includes all effects dealing damage, Statuses, Hunger, Enemy targeting, Enemy attacks, Corruption deck effects etc.

The Critical Injury card contains a quest to be fulfilled. If this quest is not completed before the beginning of the next Event step, the Hunter dies and the Scenario is lost. If the quest is completed, the Hunter will Heal and remove the Critical Injury card from the game. This means that it cannot be drawn again during the current game.

If a Hunter drops to 0 Health and there are no more Secret 2 cards to draw, the Hunter is dead and the Scenario is instantly lost. This changes during the Final Act (see Final Act and killing the Griefbound).

Secrets

Who really knows how many forgotten relics and deadly traps are lost beneath the ruins of Crowholme?

Some random effects, adventures, or otherwise hidden things are gathered in the Secret deck. Whenever an effect instructs you to draw and resolve a Secret card, find the appropriate number on the reverse of the card, and resolve the card.

Some notable, and commonly used cards contained in the Secret deck, are the Curse Effect cards (Secret 1, five different), and Critical Injury cards (Secret 2, three). They are always on the top of the deck for convenience, since Players might draw them multiple times during a single Hunt.

Keep in mind that there may be multiple Secret cards with the same number - in such cases, randomly pick one of them to resolve - as already mentioned, Secret cards 1 come in five different copies which contain the Curse effects. Each time you are instructed to draw Secret 1, you may find a different Curse!

It is recommended not to browse through the Secret deck, as it may spoil the fun of discovering what is hidden inside.

Note that the numbering is not always consecutive within the Secret deck.

Companions

Always look around. You may find assistance in the weirdest of places and from the weirdest of creatures.

Some game effects may allow you to gain Companions. These are special cards accompanied by an additional Model to aid you during the Hunt. Companions grant additional Actions and effects for Hunters. When you gain a Companion, resolve the following:

• Draw 1 random Companion card.
• Place the card next to your Hunter board.
• Find the Companion Model and place it on your space.

Companions are not targeted by Enemies and are the first Models to be pushed out of a space due to Model limit.

End of a Scenario

After the end of the Scenario, read the appropriate Epilogue in the Hunt Book. Additionally, if the Scenario is won, Players should mark it on the Hunt Sheet to track their progress in the game.

When Scenarios numbered 5 for each Griefbound are marked as won, Players may read the Epilogue of the whole game (see Epilogue).

Hunters

Hunter Board Anatomy

During the Hunt you have to know yourself first.

The Hunter board is the main place where a Player will track the condition of their Hunter - the information you may find on the Hunter board includes:

• Current Corruption.
• Current Health.
• Defense slot.
• Tactic slot.
• Basic Actions.
• The Evolution spaces / Corruption Track, running from 0 up to the space marked "When you reach 15 Corruption, flip your Hunter Tile to the Corrupted side" (with Evolution trigger icons at various points along the track).
• The Tactic token slot, Health dial, Defence token slot.
• The Assist special action slot.

Hunter Tile and Special Mechanics

So, tell me, stranger. Who are you?

Each Hunter is represented by a Hunter tile - you may find Hunter-specific information such as:

• Maximum Health.
• Movement value.
• Special abilities and/or Actions.

A Hunter tile has two sides: non-Corrupted and Corrupted. For detailed information about each Hunter's specific rules, playstyle and complexity see the Hunter Specific Rules below.

Item and Evolution Cards

Each Hunter has access to their own Item deck (containing Weapons and Armor cards) and Evolution deck.

Item cards are chosen at the beginning of the game during setup. They provide additional Actions and determine the starting dice.

The Evolution deck is used during the game when the Hunter resolves an Evolution for spending Lament. This deck contains many powerful Actions and effects crucial for completing the hunt.

Hunter Specific Rules

Gunslinger

"The descendant of Old Flint himself, the Gunslinger lives, breathes and dreams the Hunt. Always ready to take on new challenges, the Gunslinger kills unimaginable monsters of the Lament until deemed unfit to do that. Nevertheless, there is always a younger Gunslinger, bound by tradition to eliminate the senior one. And the story continues…"

Complexity: Low

Playstyle

The Gunslinger fills the niche of long range single target attacker or short to medium range crowd control. They can output lots of damage, but often needs some time to set up. Most effects and attacks of the Gunslinger require LoS to hit the target, so positioning with this Hunter is key.

Special mechanic: Bullets and Weapon Range

The Gunslinger has access to a special type of resource - Bullet tokens. These are stored in appropriate Bullet slots. Each Bullet slot can store only one Bullet token, and defines what additional effect an attack may have. When the Gunslinger uses an Action from his Weapon or Evolution card that deals damage, he may decide to boost this attack with ALL Bullet effects he has available (he cannot choose to use only some of them). Bullet tokens are discarded after being used.

This is the only Hunter for which the choice of the Starting Weapon matters for later attacks found on Evolution cards. Each Starting Weapon has "Weapon Range" written at the bottom of the card. Evolution cards may use this Weapon Range instead of a set value.

Example (Bullet forging Action and Bullet slot): "Special Ammo - Forge a Bullet, +1 die." / "Prepared Bullets - When you resolve an Action that deals damage, you may discard all Bullets to apply their bonuses."

Additional Setup

Take all Bullet tokens and place them near your Hunter board. You do not have any available at the beginning of the Scenario.

Gunslinger as Deputy (Solo Mode)

Bullet tokens are not placed in Bullet slots, but are placed on the Deputy card instead. They still might be used when resolving an Action that deals damage to deal more. Evolution cards add more passive effects to Actions when using Bullets.

Duality

"There are hardly any Hunters as unpredictable as Duality. It is said that there are two voices warring in her mind: a wild, destructive one and its opposite, planning each death with ice-cold precision. There is no telling which one will prevail."

Complexity: Medium

Playstyle

Duality plays a role of either agile, short range damage-dealer, tank or healer depending on the starting gear. While playing Duality, keep in mind how you use your resources: mainly Duality's exclusive Light and Dark tokens and Defense tokens. Being one token short may disrupt your turn heavily, so remember to gain those tokens whenever the game allows you to - mostly with Duality's special ability, Balance - for using an Attack-only Action gain 1 Dark token, and for using a Shield-only Action gain 1 Light token.

Special mechanic: Light and Dark

Duality uses two types of tokens to boost her Actions – Light tokens are earned for using Attack dice, and Dark tokens are earned by using Shield dice. There is a limit of 3 for each token. If Duality would gain a 4th token of any kind, she cannot.

Duality is the only Hunter who has easy access to a Dice Restore Action, which costs both Light and Dark tokens.

Gaining the Light and Dark tokens due to the Balance ability on Duality's Hunter tile is resolved at the beginning of resolving an Action.

Example Actions using Light/Dark tokens: "Gain a die. Instead, you may discard 1 Light or Dark token to gain a die, or discard 1 Status token." / "Deal 1 damage in Range 0. You may discard 1 Light or Dark token to deal 2 damage instead."

Additional Setup

Place 3 Light and 3 Dark tokens next to your Hunter board. You do not have any available at the beginning and may gain them later in the Scenario.

Duality as Deputy (Solo Mode)

No additional rules or changes.

Keeper

"Armed with a sword of incredible power, the Keeper is always on the frontline of whatever battle rages on. Those who join him in the melee and live to tell the tale say that his communion with the sword is truly unique and beyond any comprehension."

Complexity: Low-Medium

Playstyle

The Keeper may be played as a frontline damage-dealer or a tank. They are one of the few Hunters with access to multitarget attacks, big self-heal Actions or reversing the effects of Hunger or Corruption.

The Keeper has a lower than average Movement value, so before a few evolutions or having dice available for Sprint they may feel sluggish.

Special mechanic: Demonic Sword Craving (E'zlaaz)

During the game, the Keeper will awaken his demonic sword. This is represented by Craving tokens. The more Craving the Keeper has, the stronger his Hunter tile Action becomes. He also may spend Craving from the sword to use some Actions without using dice, which allows him to drastically increase the amount of attacks or Moves done in a single round.

Gaining a die allows him to receive one Craving token. Spending a die means discarding a Craving token to resolve an effect. Some of the Keeper's Actions may spend Craving as an additional or alternative cost.

Example (Action with this alternative cost): "Deal 2 damage in Range 0. Spend 1 die." / "Deal 1 damage in Range 0-1. On a kill: gain 1 die." A Player may use 2 dice or any die with the additional cost of spending one Craving to Spend 2 Craving and place 1 Stun on this Action.

Additional Setup

Take 5 Craving tokens and put them next to your Hunter board to form the Sword.

Keeper as Deputy (Solo Mode)

No additional rules or changes.

Technomancer

"There is no doubt that the Technomancer was once a woman of flesh and blood, but her fascination with science and the unstoppable urge to transcend bodily limitations has brought her to be a half-machine and also one of the most effective warriors ever seen."

Complexity: Medium-High

Playstyle

The Technomancer may fill the role of medium-range attacker or support. Her abilities may allow her to discard or exchange Status tokens, Move Enemies or allies around the Map or interact with Portals. She can be quite fragile or exert herself with excess Burn or Stun tokens, heavily hindering her abilities.

Special mechanic: Technology die

The Technomancer has access to unique orange Technology dice. She starts the game with one of these dice and in the course of the game may unlock the second one. These dice cannot be gained in any other way - a game effect has to specifically state to gain a Technology die!

These dice give access to Technomancer specific Actions on her Item and Evolution cards. Notable Actions of this type are Weapon and Armor power ups, which activate ALL effects on the Evolution cards with a matching cog layout color. The Technomancer may have multiple power up Evolution cards in the same color attached to her Weapon or Armor. Evolution cards with an orange/blue cog layout are considered to have Weapon/Armor Actions matching the color.

Example (Technology die Action and Weapon attachment, Arcane Staff / Flame Thrower): "Deal 1 damage in Range 0. On a kill: gain a Technology die." / "Deal 1 damage to each Enemy in Range 0 and LoS. You may gain 1 Burn to increase the Range of this Action by 1." / "Deal 2 damage to each Enemy in Range 0. Weapon attachment power up: During any Weapon Action, you may gain 1 Burn to deal 1 additional damage." When all Weapon attachment power ups are active, all such bonuses apply together.

Additional Setup

No additional setup.

Technomancer as Deputy (Solo Mode)

At the beginning of the game, gain 1 Technology die (included on the Deputy card). Slots with a Technology symbol may only be activated by using the Technology die. The Technology die may be used to activate Action slots with no symbol on them.

The Mannequin

"The Mannequin's grotesque, seemingly awkward body may fool you, but those who fight the Lament-shaped monsters know better. There are four souls trapped in that body: a mage, an officer, an arquebusier and a messenger. Their minds together have mastered the art of combat and transformed the Mannequin into a deadly opponent."

Complexity: High

Playstyle

The Mannequin can fit a plethora of different roles, from support, long range damage-dealer, tank or a disruption for the Enemies. Due to the Personality tokens, it works very differently round to round. It has a limited early game potential, but gives other Hunters access to String Actions that in clutch moments may help reposition or squeeze an additional point of missing damage.

Special mechanic: Personalities, Arms and Strings

Each round, the Mannequin will choose one Personality to guide its body. This comes in the form of a Personality token. In each Refresh step, the Player will choose one Personality token. The Personality can be used during the Hunters Phase. The same Personality cannot be chosen twice in a row. Personality tokens come with a downside of blocking one of the Basic Actions. The Soldier Personality token is unique because it allows the Player to choose which of the Run or Sprint Actions are blocked. Personality tokens can be chosen even if the Action blocked by it has Stun. The token gives access to special Actions, allowing you to resolve all bonus effects for this Personality. Bonus effects are found on Arm and Evolution cards in the frame in the color of a Personality. These effects may be resolved in any order chosen by the Player.

The four Personality tokens each block a different Basic Action and unlock a different bonus:

• Blocks Cleanse Action / Action: Gain 1 Stun / Flip this token / Activate all Commander bonuses.
• Blocks Tactic Action / Action: Gain 1 Curse / Flip this token / Activate all Messenger bonuses.
• Blocks Sprint (or Run, chosen by the Player) Action / Action: Gain 1 Hunger / Flip this token / Activate all Mage bonuses.
• Blocks Move Action / Action: Gain 1 Burn / Flip this token / Activate all Soldier bonuses.

The Mannequin has access to unique double-sided Item cards called Arms (with Strings on the back of the cards). During the setup, they will choose 4 Arms to start and deal 2 of the remaining Arms as Strings to other Hunters. Arms might be used by the Bloodless Husk ability to reduce incoming damage while Strings allow the Mannequin or other Hunters to resolve additional Actions with the Mannequin.

Additional setup

The Mannequin does not have standard Item cards like the rest of the Hunters, instead choosing one of two Arms for each Personality (marked with color) and gaining the corresponding dice. Flip the unchosen Arms to the String side and give 2 chosen String cards to other Players. Put the remaining 2 String cards back in the box.

Take all Personality tokens and place them next to your Hunter board. Choose one of them for the first round of the game and block the appropriate Action.

Mannequin as Deputy (Solo Mode)

As deputy, the Mannequin gives 2 random String cards to the main Hunter at the beginning of the Hunt.

Death Jester

"You think fate is a joke? You will soon learn how grave that mistake is when you meet the Death Jester, the only Hunter who is one with fate and fortune. Swirling in her circus dance, she brings death in an artful manner, and her maniacal laughter is the last sound her enemies hear."

Complexity: Medium-High

Playstyle

Jester is a quick damage-dealer or support. Due to her special mechanic, Actions are often high-risk-high-reward, allowing her to execute outstanding displays of power, but risking her Action not resolving at all. This kind of power comes at the price of being very fragile - a single miscalculation can result in a Critical Injury or death.

Special mechanic: Fate cards and Gambling

The Fate deck holds the Fate cards used in Gambling effects. In each Refresh step, the Player draws Fate cards to their hand. There is no limit to how many cards the Player can hold at a time. Cards in hand may be used later when Gambling. The Fate deck consists of 14 cards, 5 figures (Knight, Princess, Prince, Queen, and King) distributed between 3 basic suits (Violet, Yellow, and Red). The Hanged Man card is considered a fourth suit. The Jester card, while in sequence, can be used as any figure in any suit.

If an Action has a Gamble frame, you may decide to perform it - after placing dice but before resolving the Action. To do so, put the top three cards from the Fate deck in the sequence in front of you. Then, you may replace any number of Fate cards from the sequence with ones in your hand. Replaced cards are discarded. Meeting the required rank is considered a success and not meeting it a failure. On a failed Gamble, the Action has no effect.

All cards used during a Gamble are discarded and placed next to the discard dice. The discarded cards are reshuffled back into the Fate deck after a Pass or when the deck is empty and new cards have to be drawn.

List of possible ranks:

• Pair – two figures of the same kind
• Army – three Knights
• Successors – a Prince and a Princess
• Rulers – a King and a Queen
• Color – all cards in the same suit

The Fate deck (14 Cards): 1x Hanged Man (Black), 1x Jester (White), 1x King (Violet), 1x Queen (Yellow), 2x Princess (1 Yellow, 1 Red), 2x Prince (1 Red, 1 Violet), 6x Knight (2 Red, 2 Violet, 2 Yellow).

Additional setup

Shuffle the Fate deck and place it face down next to your Hunter board. Draw 1 Fate card.

Death Jester as Deputy (Solo Mode)

No additional rules or changes.

Game Modes

All modes and difficulty modifiers are compatible with one another. Players may decide to include as many as they like in their game. Even all of them.

Solo Mode

You cannot sign the Coven alone. The deputy may not be as skilled as a fully trained Hunter, but at least they are obedient.

When playing solo, your Hunter receives support in the form of their Deputy. Your helper is one of the Hunters you didn't choose. A Deputy is considered a Hunter for all game effects. When playing with a Deputy, the gameplay is very similar to playing with more Players, but with the following exceptions:

Deputy Setup

1. Take one Hunter board, and place the Deputy Action tile to cover the Basic Actions section.
2. Choose one Hunter. Take that Hunter's Deputy card and place it non-Corrupted side up in the appropriate space on a Hunter board.
3. Take 3 Universal Markers and place them near the Deputy board.
4. Take your Deputy Hunter Evolution deck, shuffle it and place it face down near the Deputy Hunter board.
5. Place the Deputy Model on the Map as instructed in the Scenario setup.

The Deputy resolves their turns like a normal Player, but they use Universal Markers to activate Actions instead of dice. To accommodate this, all Deputy Action slots have no symbol on them. Here is a quick breakdown of the most important things to consider when playing with a Deputy:

• The number of Deputy Actions is limited by the number of their Universal Markers. In most cases, one Universal Marker activates one of the Deputy's Actions.
• You cannot place a Universal Marker on an already occupied slot. Refresh Action and Restore discarded die effects for the Deputy, respectively: discards a Universal Marker from the already used Action or places a Universal Marker from the Discarded to Active pool.
• The Deputy and the Hunter may Assist one another. The Deputy may use an Assist marker on any of their Actions. The Hunter may use the Deputy's Assist marker in any Action slot with no symbol in it.
• The Deputy's Universal Markers are considered a die with no symbol on it. They cannot be used in effects that require a specific symbol (e.g. "Discard a Magic die to Heal 1").
• The Deputy cannot gain dice from rewards and Treasure. Instead they gain Universal Markers.
• In the Refresh step, take all the Deputy's Universal Markers from each Action slot and place them near the Deputy's Hunter board.
• Evolution step:
  • The Deputy may spend Lament similarly to other Hunters - to discard Hunger or advance the Corruption track.
  • Deputy Evolution is a choice between gaining 1 additional Universal Marker or drawing the top card of the Deputy Evolution deck and placing it next to the Deputy's Hunter board. The Deputy cannot use Lament to redraw Evolution cards.

Remember: The Deputy is considered a Hunter for each game effect, including Player count and Critical Injury. If the Deputy dies the Scenario is lost.

Rapid Hunt

This mode allows you to play a single Scenario much faster than using the standard rules. To incorporate this mode, follow the additional setup instructions below, followed by the Griefbound specific modification:

• Remove a number of random Attack cards from the Attack deck.
• Resolve 2 Stage cards (including the Level Ups for the Griefbound and the Elite Enemies).
• Set the Time track to the last space with Stage without resolving it.
• Discard all Lament from the Map.
• Discard the top 3 cards of the Event deck, without resolving them.
• Each Hunter sets their Corruption to 7.
• Each Hunter resolves Evolution 3 times.
• Resolve any additional Griefbound specific setup.

Griefbound-specific Rapid Hunt setup modifications:

Griefbound	Setup modification
Undead General	Reveal 2 Banner cards.
Swarm Mistress	Place 2 additional Swarm tiles on the Map in Range 0-1 from any Hunter.
Convergence	Each Hunter gains 3 Burns.
Tormentor	Each Hunter takes damage equal to the Scenario number.
Graveyard Dragon	Each Hunter gains 2 Curses.
Devourer	Each Hunter gains 2 Hunger.
Pretender	Resolve Special twice. The Griefbound gains a Defense token for each Defense slot.

Difficulty Customization

Players may include as many Easy or Hard mode modifiers listed below to suit their preferences. Please note that some Easy and Hard mode options contradict each other.

Easy mode modifiers — Resolve any number of effects below at the beginning of the Scenario:

• Each Hunter resolves 1 Evolution.
• Each Hunter gains a die.
• Lower the Griefbound and/or Elite Level by 1 (minimum 1).
• Change the Elite Enemy to a non-Named variant.
• Change the Minion to the Convicted type.
• Add up to 2 Random Event cards to the Event deck.
• Perform an additional Landmark setup on the Map.

Hard mode modifiers — Resolve any number of effects at the beginning of the Scenario:

• Increase the Level of the Griefbound and/or Elite Enemies by 1.
• Change the Elite to a Named variant.
• Change the Minion to the Undead type.
• Discard the top card of the Event deck.

Pretenders

Pretenders are additional Griefbound to be hunted. The Pretender Scenarios can be unlocked by achieving the Final Perdition with the corresponding Hunter.

When you decide to play against a Pretender, follow the instructions below:

1. Pick a random Scenario for any Griefbound (you may do so by drawing a random Griefbound Stat card) and follow the Scenario setup in the Hunt Book for that Griefbound.
2. Instead of the components for that Griefbound use the Pretender's components. The Pretender Model uses the Hunter standee/miniature with the Griefbound base to show the size of the Enemy.
3. When constructing the Griefbound's Attack deck use a number of Pretender cards depending on the number of Hunters:
   • Solo and 2 Players: 7 random cards.
   • 3 Players: 8 random cards.
   • 4 Players: 9 random cards.
   • 5 Players: all Attack cards.

While hunting a Pretender, Players cannot play as the Hunter version of this character. Below are the changes to rules for each Pretender.

Pretender Duality

Duality has become a mind-bending creature made up of eyes and wings who knows for sure that Lament is a cure for everything. There were warring voices inside of her, but all of them are quiet now and come back to life only to show her a new direction. And Duality follows, happy with the fact that there is finally silence inside of her. And even happier with each opportunity to shred another Hunter to pieces. Because then she may rest and enjoy her peace and longed-for quiet.

Special mechanic: Light and Dark

Similar to the Hunter version, Duality uses the Light and Dark tokens to empower her attacks.

Keywords

Gain Light/Dark - place a Light/Dark token on the Griefbound Stat card.

X Light/Dark - on an Attack card, the Griefbound will resolve an additional effect if she has enough tokens available. After that the tokens used are discarded.

Pretender Gunslinger

"Deprived by the Lament of its righteousness, the Corrupted Gunslinger takes a terrifying shape. Having grown additional arms to wield extra guns, and eyes on the back of his head to observe everything, he imbues his bullets with Lament and truly gives in to the thrill of the Hunt."

Special mechanic: Bullets

Similar to the Hunter version, the Gunslinger's special mechanic revolves around Bullets. On his Griefbound Stat tile, there is a track to place Bullets in each time a Forge Bullet effect is resolved. Place Bullet tokens from the right to the left (according to the arrows printed).

Bullet tokens are used in the Special effect to deal more damage or increase its range. Like the Hunter version, the Gunslinger uses all Bullet tokens or none, and when used, the tokens are discarded from the slots.

Keywords

Forge a Bullet - place a Bullet token in the rightmost empty slot on the Bullet track.

Pretender Keeper

The Keeper has turned into a monstrosity that barely resembles his previous form, but has not entirely lost his mind. He is reconciled with the fact that his sword has taken control of his needs, his body and also partly his mind, and will humbly follow its call. Grim and silent, he traverses what is left of the world and with cold determination, he charges toward any Hunter to feed his monstrous blade and sating its hunger is his only relevant need.

Special mechanic: Craving

Similar to the Hunter version, the Pretender Keeper collects Craving tokens. At the beginning of Griefbound Step IV, before resolving the This Turn Attack card, if the Keeper has 5 Craving, resolve this card twice, and discard all Craving. This effect may trigger only once per Enemy Phase. In cases when there is no card in the This Turn slot, do not discard Craving.

Pretender Technomancer

The Technomancer does not remember the time she was a human being and seems to have forgotten about any bodily needs. Fully focused on her technological enhancement, she also did not notice the moment when Lament became an integral part of her, as crucial as the blood in her veins and the electricity in her implants. As a compound of all three, she never stops looking around the battlefield. There might be someone better-equipped around her or someone may have developed or integrated better technology, and for the Technomancer it is a fury-inducing insult.

Special mechanic: Technology dice

Some of the Pretender Technomancer's effects will use Technology dice to be upgraded and randomized. Most notably, the Attack cards may be Enhanced by placing an Enhance marker on them. If there is an Enhance marker on an Attack card, it resolves all additional effects marked with the Enhanced keyword, additionally rolls 1 Technology die alongside Enemy dice during attacks and resolves Dice Effects marked with Technology-related icons.

Keywords

Enhance – place an Enhance marker on Attack cards, one marker per card starting from the This Turn slot. When a card with an Enhance marker resolves an Attack, roll a Technology die along with any Enemy dice to see what additional effects occur. Each Attack card may have only 1 Enhance marker.

Pretender Mannequin

"The souls of the Mannequin used to hope for liberation from their grotesque body, but as their campaign wore on, they finally understood that only together they represent an invincible being. Lament filled them with amazing power and washed away their individual longing. Now, they are truly one. The Mannequin has become an awe-inspiring army in one person whose actions are perfectly synchronized."

Special mechanic: Personality tokens and Strings

The Pretender Mannequin during the game will collect Active Personalities on their Stat card. Specific Personalities may boost Attack cards for the Griefbound - sometimes by having a specific Personality active or by simply having a number of Personalities active.

During the Hunt, Hunters may obtain String cards. They may use them as normal, but the Pretender Mannequin is considered an Enemy for the purpose of all those effects.

Keywords

Activate random Personality - take a random Personality token and place it on the Griefbound Stat card. From now on, it is considered Active.

Pretender Death Jester

Convinced that death is no longer any threat, the Death Jester continues her mad dance. The Lament she has absorbed changed her into a frightening parody of herself, but little does she care as it also showed her the real rules of the world. She knows that the world is nothing but elements of the game and she is the random factor in it. Brandishing her absurdly long halberd, the laughing Death Jester will join every struggle to just enjoy its dynamics and affect its outcome.

Special mechanic: Fate cards

Contrary to how the Fate deck works for the Hunter version, the Pretender Death Jester gathers all her revealed Fate cards in a sequence. The sequence is unlimited. Attack cards or Dice Effects may check if the sequence contains a specific rank. In such cases, resolve an additional effect, and at the end of Griefbound Step IV put the cards used in the rank back into the Fate deck and reshuffle it.

The only card that has an effect instantly after being revealed is The Hanged Man. In such a case, follow the instruction on the Pretender Stat card.

Glossary

An index of where each rule appears in the original rulebook, reproduced for reference:

Action; Activation (Elite, Griefbound, Minion); Armor; Assist; Attack (Card, Final, Track); Cleanse; Critical Injury; Corruption; Defense; Deputy; Dice (Hunter, Enemy); Discard (Die, Attack card); Enemy (Griefbound, Elite, Minion, Phase, Pretender); Environment; Event; Evolution; Final Act; Final Perdition; Focused; Health (Elite, Griefbound, Hunter); Hunger; Hunter (Board, Corrupted, Phase, Tile); Item; Kill; Lament; Level token; LoS (Line of Sight); Map; Mode (Easy, Hard); Move/Movement; Obstacle; Opportunity; Pass; Range; Refresh (Action, Phase); Restore; Run; Scenario; Secret; Slot (Dice, Universal Marker, Defense, Tactic); Space; Spawn (Elite, Minion); Special (Griefbound); Sprint; Stage (Griefbound); Status; Tactic; Time track; Treasure; Turn; Weapon.

Epilogue

Do not read this part, unless Scenario 5 of each Griefbound on the Hunt Sheet is marked as won.

They say that once the last of the Griefbound was finally slain, nobody celebrated. The world had lived in terror for too long to remember what true joy was. Few believed the words of blood-splattered, Lament-free Hunters who returned from the last battlefields to share the news with their people. Few could even imagine the world without terror.

As the news soaked in, there was no laughing, no music, and no dancing although people immediately began noticing changes. The billows of Lament retreated to the darkest corners of the long-suffering, broken kingdom, monsters became rare and conflicts between people vanished. No werewolves howled in the woods, no wraiths screamed in the night, and the chirping of birds replaced the deadly silence over the bloodied battlefields. Warriors were reluctant to part with their weapons, but eventually, even they started thinking of their future.

The world entered the healing process and some people really began to believe that good times were finally coming.

What naive fools.

Didn't they know that a world once polluted by the Lament and trampled by the Griefbound would never heal?

There were warnings. There was a dawn when the sun never came, and darkness swathed the lands for the entire day, yet nobody could fall asleep. There was a day when all the people woke up screaming at the top of their lungs. There was a night when the ground trembled rhythmically as if it were hit by the hooves of an enormous, galloping horse. People, however, did not want to take it seriously and insistently ignored all the terrors. Once there was hope for long-desired normality, they wanted to cling to it.

It would be unfair to blame them for trying to forget the still-fresh horrors of the past, but the more they tried to repress them, the more vulnerable they were. Drunk with hope and joy, people lost their cautiousness. Little did they know that the mortal threat was not over.

Because slaying all the nightmares did not make the world a freer or better place. It was actually quite the opposite.

There was a place called the Abyss where few had ever gone and even fewer preserved enough sanity to tell stories about it. It was a giant rift in the surface of the ground and the source of Lament which flowed like a river from there.

Sadly, the death of each Griefbound only made the Abyss wider, and once they were all dead, the gap was wide enough to become a passage.

Leading where?

Nobody could tell but there was a theory that the bottom of the Abyss hides some sort of prison or dungeon. Who was kept there? And why?

There was only one person who seemed to know the answers.

The woman with the bandaged head waited at the edge of the Abyss in silence, her blood-red dress flowing with the wind. She leaned on her sword, long and lethal, its blade made of vibrating Lament.

She waited for her companions to arrive.

The first one to arrive was a mighty, broad-shouldered warrior in heavy plate armor that clanked sinisterly with every step he took. He wore a crude crown of iron on his scarred forehead and brandished a mace caked with dried blood. The grimace on his face promised pain and punishment for all who would oppose.

The second one to come was a woman in a spotless white dress, smeared with wet soil at the rim. Her face, hidden in the hood, was unable to express anything but never-ending misery, and her skeletal hands held an absurdly big hourglass. Her dirty feet were bare, and grass withered everywhere she stepped.

The third one to appear was a hunched, emaciated man in tattered robes that used to belong to a rich person. His wrinkled face and glassy eyes showed nothing but unchecked madness, and a giggle escaped his cracked lips all the time. There were human limbs jutting out of the patched bag on his back, and his right hand closed on the leg of yet another dead body.

The woman in red greeted each one with a nod and together, in deathly silence, they descended into the Abyss. They did not hurry nor linger. They walked into the world of Lament with the dignity of victors.

For victorious they were.

Again, nobody would have suspected that the war against the Griefbound was only a plot, would they? Yet it was nothing but an intrigue to open a gate to another world.

What world?

There was no doubt that humanity would soon learn about it.

And regret it bitterly.

Hunt Book

Each Hunt Book contains Scenario-specific setup diagrams keyed to a shared set of icons, matched against the Griefbound being hunted. The icon legend includes: Random Lament Rift, Random Elite, Convergence, Random Landmark, Vampire, Devourer, Portal, Alchemist, Chimera, Tornado, Bellfrog, Graveyard Dragon, Pile of Skulls, Lament Wraith, Undead General, Treasure, Werewolf, Striga, Busy token, Random Minion, Swarm Mistress, Random Torture Device tile, Convicted, Tormentor, Swarm tile, Undead, and Random Area — each paired on the Map diagram with the specific Model or token to place (for example, the Carriage Landmark, the Convergence Tornado standee, the Pile of Skulls, and the Electric Chair Torture Device, which reads "On Enter: Gain 2 Stuns").

Keywords

Move X – Model is moved by the indicated number of spaces. This might use the Number of Players icon as a value (see Movement rules).

Sprint – Resolve the Sprint Action (see Basic Actions).

Gain [die] – Take a chosen/specified die from the common supply, roll it and add it to your Active pool.

Spend – Discard a component to resolve the effect. If you do not have a required component(s), the effect cannot be resolved.

Deal [damage] – To a Hunter: Lower the Health dial by a given number. To an Enemy: place a number of Wound tokens on its card or kill a Minion.

Refresh Action – Discard all dice from the slots of this Action.

Restore discarded [die] – Reroll a die from the Discarded pool and put it into the Active pool.

On a kill – An effect triggers when an Enemy is dealt enough damage, and a component is removed. This might specify a Minion, Elite or Griefbound card kill.

Remove – Place a component back in the box; it will not be used again during this Scenario.

Lament Rift – Space on the Map with a Lament Rift token.

Pass – The Hunter will not be able to take any more Turns this round. Usually when no more Actions can be made by the Hunter (see Hunter Turns).

Teleport – Place the Teleporting Model in the designated space. Measuring Range for this effect ignores Obstacles. This counts as Moving into the space. Teleporting to a fully occupied space pushes one other Model to an adjacent space (see Model limit, in Other Rules).

Spawn – Place additional Model(s) on the Map (see Minions and Elite Enemies, in Enemy Phase).

Icons

• On Enter icon – resolve this On Enter effect, when a Model ends its Movement on this space.
• Movement icon – Hunters' Movement value.
• Obstacle icon – This space cannot be entered by any Model.
• Fog icon – LoS cannot be drawn through this space.
• Lament icon – see Lament Phase.
• Range icon – The numbers show the minimum and maximum Range of an effect.
• Wound icon – represents damage dealt.
• Number of Players icon – In effects, read as a number.
• Evolution trigger icon – marks Evolution spaces on the Corruption track.
• Health icon – current Health.
• Universal Marker icon – represents a Universal Marker.

Dice: Attack die, Speed die, Defense die, Magic die, Enemy die, Technology die.

Symbols on Enemy die: Attack symbol, Speed symbol, Defense symbol.

Symbols on Hunter dice: Attack symbol, Speed symbol, Defense symbol, Magic symbol.

Defense tokens: Defense (2), Defense (4).

Tokens

Hunter related:

• Defense (2) and Defense (4) tokens.
• Tactic token.

Statuses and Hunger:

• Burn.
• Stun.
• Curse.
• Hunger.

Map collectibles:

• Treasure.
• Lament.

Other:

• Quest (marks the objective on a Secret/Critical Injury card).
• First Player token.