Hand of Fate: Ordeals
Hand of Fate: Ordeals Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Base Game Components
- 4 x Player Boards
- 1 x Central Board
- 4 x Adventurer Miniatures
- 1 x King of Skulls Miniature
- 8 x Wooden Health/Fame Trackers
- 40 x Food Tokens
- 30 x Token Shards (5 x '5' and 25 x '1')
- 32 x Usage Cubes
- 4 x King Tokens
General Cards
- 48 x Encounter Cards
- 32 x Minion Cards
- 14 x Relic Cards
- 18 x Pain Cards
- 12 x Royalty Cards
Basic Cards
- 28 x Strive Cards
- 4 x Hack Cards
- 8 x Forage Cards
- 20 x Flourish Cards
- 20 x Curse Cards (Bad Luck)
Dealer's Deck
- 21 x Trickster Cards
- 22 x Wanderer Cards
- 21 x Soldier Cards
- 33 x Equipment Cards
Cooperative Components
- 12 x Quest Cards
- 12 x Quest Reward Cards
- 4 x Curse Tokens
- 1 x Time Tracker
Setting Up the Game
Central Board
Place the Central Board in the middle of the table. Place the Food tokens and Usage cubes within reach of all players. Place the Token Shards into the Token Shards area.
Curse Deck: place face-up.
Minion Deck: shuffle and place face-down.
Fame Track
Place Fame Trackers of all players on position "0" of the Fame Track.
Royalty Decks
Separately shuffle the Jack, Queen, and King Royalty decks. Deal 1 card from each deck, face-down, onto the corresponding Royalty spaces on the Central Board. Without looking at them, return the other Royalty cards to the box. They won't be used during this game.
Reveal the Jack Royalty card by turning it face-up.
Pain Deck
Shuffle and place face-down.
Dealer's Deck and Dealer's Row
Shuffle the Dealer's deck and deal 6 cards, face-up, to form the Dealer's Row.
Flourish Deck
Place face-up.
Relic Deck
Shuffle and place face-down.
Town Encounter
Place the Town Encounter card on the Encounter space indicated.
Adventurer Miniatures
Place Adventurer miniatures on the Town Encounter.
Encounters
Find all level 1 Encounter cards. Keep these and place the remaining cards on the marked area; they won't be needed for the rest of the setup.
Find the "Jack" Encounter and set it aside. Shuffle and draw 7 from the deck; return the rest to the box. Add the "Jack" and shuffle the cards once more.
Deal them out, face-down, onto the 8 Encounter spaces indicated.
Campaign Encounters are not used in Competitive Mode.
Player Board
The Player Board is where you keep track of your Equipment, Food, Token Shards, and Health.
Select an Adventurer. Take the Player Board, miniature, and matching coloured trackers (one for Health and one for Fame) associated with your Adventurer.
Health Track — Place your Health Tracker on position "10" of your Health Track.
Adventurer / Played Cards / Discard Pile — areas of the Player Board.
Alternate Artwork — Each Player Board is double-sided. Both sides are functionally the same with the exception that the alternate side does not have a dedicated Pouch area.
Player Deck — Take 7 Strive cards, 2 Forage cards, and 1 Hack card. Shuffle these and place them face-down to form your starting Player deck.
Player Hand — Draw 5 cards from your Player deck to form your starting hand.
Pouch — Store your Food tokens and Token Shards here when you gain them.
Equipment Area — the space on the Player Board for equipping cards.
Starting Weapon — Each Adventurer starts the game with the "Rusty Axe". This is a default weapon printed on the Player Board and it can never be removed by game effects. While it is not considered to be an Equipment card, it still counts as a weapon equipped on your Adventurer.
Playing the Game
Deck-Building Basics
A deck-building game is a card game where construction of a deck is a key focus of gameplay.
Each player begins with a "deck" of 10 basic cards, consisting of resource generating cards.
On a player's turn, they play cards in any order from their hand, then acquire new cards from the common pool using resources they gained from the cards played.
Acquired cards are typically placed in the player's discard pile. When the draw deck is depleted, all cards in the player's discard pile are shuffled to form their new (larger) deck.
First Time Playing?
If this is your first time playing, we recommend ending the game with the completion of level 1. If the Jack is revealed and defeated by any player, you may proceed to looting and then to final scoring. If the Jack has killed players a number of times equal to the player count, proceed to final scoring.
Hand of Fate: Ordeals is a deck-building game with several unique game mechanics. It is strongly recommended that all new players familiarize themselves with the basic workings of its Competitive Mode before attempting a full game.
Game Overview
Hand of Fate: Ordeals is a deck-building game where Adventurers fight monsters and acquire treasures on their quest to obtain the most Fame.
Each Adventurer starts with a basic set of cards that allows them to move and fight. Better cards will be acquired throughout the game.
Each turn, a player will play cards in any order from their hand. When their Player deck is empty, they will shuffle their discard pile to form a new Player deck. In this way, any new cards that were acquired and placed directly into the discard pile are incorporated into the Player deck.
Players will move around the board, revealing and interacting with Encounter cards, until they defeat the Royalty of that level, starting with the Jack on level 1. This will cause the board to advance to a new level and a new set of Encounter cards.
Defeat the Queen of level 2, and finally the King of level 3 to finish the game. The player who has gained the most Fame will be crowned "The Hero".
The rules in this section describe the Competitive Mode of the game. You will need to read the rules for Competitive Mode in order to play all other game modes.
Starting Player
Before the game begins, choose a player to start the game. We recommend the person who has the most experience with the game.
A Game Round
A round proceeds in clockwise order. Each player will take a full turn, going through each of the turn steps, before passing their turn to the next player.
Rounds continue until the end of game is triggered by either a player defeating the King Royalty or players collectively dying too many times.
A Player's Turn
A player's turn consists of 4 steps that must be taken in order:
Fatigue — This is the upkeep step where a player must decide if they want to spend resources in order to maintain battle-readiness.
Explore — This is the adventuring step where a player interacts with the game world, engages in combat and explores new locations.
Acquire — This is the deck-building step where a player acquires new cards that improve their Adventurer.
Rest — This is the clean-up step where a player places both played and unplayed cards into their discard pile and draws a fresh hand of 5 cards.
Playing Cards
You may play cards from your hand at any time during your turn while outside of a Combat or Ambush Encounter.
The types of cards you will draw and play from your deck are Action and Attack cards, collectively called Skill cards.
Action Cards — Action cards provide resources and special abilities that take immediate effect when played. Played Action cards are discarded at the end of a player's turn.
Attack Cards — Attack cards provide resources and abilities that usually take effect during combat. Unlike Action cards, Attack cards usually stay near your Player Board until they are used.
Cards that are not played are discarded at the end of the turn before a new hand of 5 cards is drawn.
Resources
During your journey, you will gain various resources. These are essential for moving, fighting, improving your Adventurer, and achieving victory.
Effort — Effort may be gained from several sources during your turn. Effort may be used to acquire cards from the Dealer's Row by spending an amount of Effort equal to a card's cost. Certain abilities are activated by spending Effort. You may spend Effort at any time during your turn, across multiple actions or cards.
Effort you obtain does not need to be used immediately, and may be kept for use later in the turn. But beware! Any Effort you have not spent by the end of your turn is lost.
Power — Power represents the overall strength of an Attack card, weapon, or enemy. It is an important part of combat. You can gather Power prior to combat by binding Attack cards to your weapon.
Food — Food provides you with Food tokens equal to the value indicated. Any Food tokens gained are taken from the general supply and placed in the Pouch on your Player Board. Food is an important resource that you must spend if you wish to move your character from one Encounter to another. Food can also be used for other special effects through combat, Encounters and Action cards.
Token Shards — Token Shards are a reward granted by Kallas for defeating enemies and visiting Encounters. The primary purpose of Token Shards is to grant you the ability to earn Relics, which are ancient artefacts that hold great power. Any Token Shards you earn are placed in the pouch on your Player Board.
Fame — Fame is the ultimate prize. Each decision you make, every additional skill and item you acquire, and every battle you win or lose, will determine whether your Fame rises or falls.
At the end of the game, your Fame is totalled by combining the value on the Fame Track with the Fame values of all cards in your Player deck and on your Player Board. The player with the most Fame is the winner.
Note: Players do not have any resources at the start of the game. In order to gain resources, players must play cards that grant them.
Health — While Health is not typically thought of as a resource, in Hand of Fate: Ordeals it plays an important role in managing risks and rewards.
Each Adventurer starts the game with full Health at 10 points. There are many aspects that threaten to take your Health away, yet there are only a few ways to restore your Health.
Besides keeping you alive, Health can be spent to keep you moving after your Food has been depleted.
Resource Limits
- When an ability requires you to spend resources, you cannot activate the ability if you do not have the requisite amount of resources to pay for it.
- No resources, even non-tangible ones like Effort, Power and Fame, can ever fall below "zero". When an effect would cause you to lose more than you own, you only lose up to what you have.
- There is no "upper limit" to the amount of resources you can possess.
Player Turn Detail
Encounter Usage Value
A Usage value indicates how many times an Encounter can be activated.
It shows how many Usage cubes to place on the Encounter card.
Some Encounters show more than 1 Usage value. The subsequent Usage value icons are always coupled with a red numeric symbol, indicating the player count.
The example Encounter indicates that 3 Usage cubes are to be placed. If playing with 3 or more players, place 4 Usage cubes.
Card Costs
Cards from the Dealer's deck (Equipment and Skill cards) cost Effort to acquire.
To acquire a card, spend Effort equal to the Effort value on the bottom left-hand corner of that card.
1. Fatigue
During the Fatigue step, you may spend 1 Effort for each Attack card currently bound to your weapon. If you do not spend the required 1 Effort for each card, you must discard all Attack cards bound to your weapon.
Fatigue Example: If a player has 3 Attack cards bound to their weapon at the start of their turn, they must spend 3 Effort to keep all three Attack cards bound. A player cannot spend any amount less than 3 as it is an "all or nothing" affair.
2. Explore
During the Explore step, you may move as many times as you like until you activate an Encounter. You may move in order to reveal new Encounters, revisit old Encounters, and ultimately hunt down the Royalty in the current level.
This step is optional and you may choose not to move or to activate any Encounters.
A) Moving
In order to move from one Encounter to another, spend 1 Food by returning a Food token to the general supply. You may then move to any orthogonally adjacent Encounter. Diagonal movement is NOT allowed.
If you have no Food and wish to move, you may spend 1 Health per move instead.
As long as you have the necessary resource, you may continue to move until you activate an Encounter, or have revealed an Ambush Encounter.
If you move to an Encounter that is face-down, you must immediately reveal it by turning it face-up. After revealing an Encounter, immediately place a number of Usage cubes on the Encounter according to its Usage value.
B) Activating an Encounter
To activate the Encounter you are on, remove 1 Usage cube and resolve the ability of the Encounter.
If an Encounter has a Usage value but no remaining Usage cubes, it may no longer be activated.
An Encounter without any Usage value has no activation limit and can be used any number of times.
You may only activate one Encounter per turn. You may choose not to activate any Encounter, as long as you do not reveal an Ambush.
If you have revealed an Ambush Encounter during your Explore step, this Encounter is activated immediately and your Strike Bonus will be reduced to a value of 1 (See p. 18, "Strike Bonus").
Acquisition Restrictions
Cards may only be acquired if one or more of their archetypes are listed on the left-hand side of the current Encounter.
However, a Flourish card is considered a "Common" card and may be acquired from any location.
The example Encounter shows that Trickster, Wanderer and Equipment cards can be acquired here. The Soldier archetype is not shown in the example, therefore Soldier archetype cards cannot be acquired.
Replenishing the Dealer's Row
If there is ever an empty space in the Dealer's Row, immediately fill that space with a new card from the Dealer's deck.
You may acquire cards that are replenished this way in the same manner as other cards available in the Dealer's Row.
If the Dealer's Deck is ever empty, shuffle the Dealer's Deck discard pile and place it face down to form a new Deck.
3. Acquire
Acquiring Skills and Equipment is the primary way to improve your Adventurer. It is the key to survival and defeating the Royalties on each level.
After completing (or skipping) the Explore step, you may spend any unspent Effort you have generated this turn to acquire new cards from the Dealer's Row.
While there is no limit to how many cards you may acquire in a turn, some Encounters restrict the types of cards you may acquire.
Cards that you acquire go into one of two different areas, depending on their type.
Skill Cards — Action and Attack cards are collectively called Skill cards. When acquired, they go immediately into your discard pile.
Equipment Cards — Equipment cards (including Relics) go directly onto your Player Board, covering the appropriate Equipment slot. If there is another Equipment card occupying the same slot, you must first stash the item already equipped (See p. 12, "Stashing Equipment").
4. Rest
Place all cards in your played area, as well as any cards remaining in your hand, into your discard pile.
Draw a new hand of 5 cards from your Player deck. If there are not enough cards in your Player deck, draw as many as you can until the pile is depleted, shuffle your discard pile to form a new face-down deck, and continue drawing.
Play then passes to the next player in clockwise order.
Skill Cards
The Skill cards in your Player deck determine the variety and strength of your Adventurer's abilities.
Each Skill card has an archetype, an ability, and a resource value, whether that resource is Effort, Power, or Food.
Resource Value & Abilities
All Skill cards provide a base resource value, indicated in the bracketed area.
Some Skill cards also provide an ability in addition to gaining a resource — for example, "You may spend 2 Food to restore 1 Health."
Archetypes
The archetype of an Action or Attack card defines the general nature of its ability. As you traverse the labyrinth Kallas has prepared, your growing experience will reveal the ways in which these skill types interact.
The archetypes are: Soldier (e.g. Battle Cry, Flurry), Wanderer (e.g. Harvest, Hitch a Ride), and Trickster (e.g. Double Deal, Tip the Odds).
There are two types of Skill cards:
Action Cards — Action cards play a central role in helping you survive. Most Action cards have an Effort value, which is used to acquire more cards. Action cards may also provide Food and/or activate special abilities. When you play an Action card, resolve its ability immediately.
Attack Cards — Attack cards have a Power value. Attack cards are bound to your weapon in order to increase your Power in combat. Power you have gathered by binding cards to your weapon is assigned to defeat enemies during combat.
A Skill card's anatomy: Type, Name, Archetype, Cost, Ability, Fame, and Resource Value are printed on the card (see the "Hunt" Wanderer Action card example: Cost 3, "Draw 1 card." ability, Fame value 1, Resource Value 1 Food).
Binding Attack Cards
To bind an Attack card to your weapon, place the card into the notch beside your weapon on your Player Board. While binding, you cannot exceed your weapon's Binding Limit (See p. 13, "Binding Limit").
Attack cards have a red horizontal line across the resource value area. This is a helpful reminder that they bind to your weapon.
Binding Action Cards
Action cards cannot usually be bound to your weapon. However, an exception to this rule is when Action cards are drawn during your Strike Bonus draw step. Action cards bound this way act like Attack cards and can be assigned to an Enemy. Furthermore, Effort gained from Action cards is treated as Power.
Other Cards
Curse Cards
As you fight enemies and face the many challenges Kallas has arranged, you may find yourself burdened with curses.
Curse cards do not provide any Resource value and will hinder your progress by taking up valuable space in your deck.
More on Curse Cards
When taking Curse cards, place them in your discard pile as you would Skill cards.
Besides slowing your Adventurer's progress, Curse cards also decrease your Fame score at the end of the game.
Flourish Cards
Flourish cards represent your most basic form of exertion during the game.
They are a common card and are located in the Flourish deck on the Central Board; you may acquire Flourish cards from any Encounter space during the Acquire step of your turn.
Equipment
When an Equipment card is acquired, place it directly onto the Equipment area of your Player Board. These cards remain on your Player Board until destroyed through some game effect or until they are replaced.
Equipment is divided into three main types: armour, weapon, and trinket. Additionally, Equipment cards must be equipped to their appropriate slots on the Player Board: head, body, side, off-hand.
Slot Placement
Equipment cards are slotted on designated areas of the Player Board. These slots are positioned so that cards will overlap each other yet leave important card text unobstructed.
When you acquire a weapon, simply cover the default weapon printed on your Player Board with the new weapon card.
Stashing Equipment
If an Equipment card would be placed on a slot that is already occupied by an existing Equipment card, you must stash the existing Equipment. To do this, destroy the Equipment card you are replacing and score Fame equal to its Fame value. Then place the new Equipment in its place.
Armour
Armour serves to protect you from the twists and turns of fate. Whether armour is equipped to your head, body, or off-hand, it serves its purpose by providing you with various special abilities.
Trinket
Trinkets are typically smaller items and charms which endow you with a variety of unique abilities.
Off-hand Equipment
Off-hand items are items that you're able to quickly use with a spare hand. Off-hand equipment can be used with any weapon type, not just one-handed weapons, unless otherwise specified.
Different Types of Equipment
Even though Equipment types might look different, they all function using the same rules and display the same information. The only exceptions are weapon cards, which contain additional information.
Equipment Slots
Equipment cards show (in red text) where on the Player Board the card should be placed.
Weapon
You will start the game with a Rusty Axe. You may replace it as soon as you're able to acquire a new weapon.
Each weapon has a Power Value, Binding Limit, and Strike Bonus. Some weapons will also have an ability that only activates during a Combat or Ambush Encounter.
There are three types of weapons:
One-Handed weapons are balanced and allow you to use a shield. Great for those who want to play it safe.
Dual Wield weapons are fast and grant a high Binding Limit at the cost of a low Strike Bonus. Ideal for those who want to plan their moves in advance.
Heavy weapons require both hands to heft. They offer a high Strike Bonus at the cost of a low Binding Limit. Best for those who want to charge headlong into battle.
A weapon card's anatomy: Type, Subtype, Name, Power Value, Binding Limit, Strike Bonus, Cost, Fame, and Ability.
Power Value — The base damage the weapon will bring to combat. This can be applied to an enemy only once per Combat Encounter.
Binding Limit — The maximum number of Attack cards you may have bound to your weapon outside of a Combat Encounter. You may exceed this limit if you bind more cards to your weapon during combat with your weapon's Strike Bonus, or through other special abilities.
Strike Bonus — The number of extra cards you draw from your Player deck and bind to your weapon at the start of a Combat Encounter. Beware! If you reveal an Ambush Encounter, your enemies have taken you by surprise, and your Strike Bonus is reduced to 1.
Relics
Relics are rare and powerful artefacts that may take the form of any of the three Equipment card types. Relics follow the same slot placement rule as Equipment.
There are several opportunities to acquire Relics, such as when you have activated the Demon Trader Encounter or are looting a Royalty.
Once the Relic has been placed on the Player Board, it cannot be removed unless another Relic belonging to the same slot is acquired (which would stash the old Relic). Therefore, you cannot acquire an Equipment card for any slot occupied by a Relic.
Important: Relics can never be destroyed or discarded by an ability or game effect targeting Equipment.
Destroying Cards
Aside from Stashing Equipment, certain Skill cards, Encounters and enemy abilities may cause a card to be destroyed.
When a card is destroyed, it is removed from the game and placed back in the box.
The default weapon (Rusty Axe) that is printed on the Player Board is not considered a card and therefore cannot be destroyed. It is still considered to be an Equipment.
Relic Cards
With their unique card back and rusty colour scheme, Relics are special, unique Equipment cards. Unlike Equipment, Relics worn by an Adventurer cannot be destroyed when that Adventurer dies.
Encounters
Encounters are the cards that form the map on the Central Board. Encounter cards (aside from the Town Encounter) start out face-down. When you move to a face-down Encounter card, you must reveal the Encounter by turning it face-up.
A card's anatomy: Type, Name, Subtype, Level, Archetypes, Ability, Usage Value, and Usage Value (3P+) are printed on the Encounter card.
There are three levels of Encounters, one for each of the three Royalties. Level 1 Encounters are associated with the Jack, level 2 the Queen, and level 3 the King.
Each Encounter also displays one or more archetypes: Trickster (T), Wanderer (W), and/or Soldier (S).
These indicate the types of Skill cards that may be acquired from the Dealer's Row at this Encounter. In addition, an Encounter card may also grant access to Equipment (E) cards.
Usage Value
A Usage value indicates how many times an Encounter can be activated. When an Encounter is revealed, place Usage cubes according to the Usage value.
Some Encounters show more than 1 Usage value. The subsequent Usage value icons are always coupled with a red numeric symbol, indicating the player count.
Encounters without any Usage value have no activation limit and can be used any number of times.
Encounter Types
Location is the most common type of Encounter in the game.
Boss Encounters will bring you face-to-face with a unique and powerful enemy.
Campaign Encounters are only used in Campaign Mode (See p. 22, "Campaign Encounters"). Return them to the box when playing in Competitive Mode.
Encounter Subtypes
Basic Encounter is a subtype that appears on every level. The Town is the only basic Encounter card in the game. At the start of each level, all players start on the Town.
Events are the most common Encounter subtype in the game. If you activate an Event Encounter, simply resolve the text on the Encounter. Any cost must be paid or the Encounter cannot be activated.
Combat subtypes call upon your Adventurer to engage in battle. If you activate a Combat Encounter, draw and fight enemies as instructed by the card.
Ambush behaves like a Combat subtype with a couple of differences. Any Ambush you reveal when exploring will be activated immediately. Whenever you are ambushed, your Strike Bonus is reduced to a value of 1.
Once an Ambush Encounter has been revealed and activated a single time, it acts as an ordinary Combat Encounter. Therefore, if you choose to activate an Ambush Encounter that has already been activated, your Strike Bonus will be fully available at the start of combat.
Encounter Levels
The level of an Encounter is shown on the top left and top right corners of a card in the form of pips.
Ambush Encounters Can Fail
Some abilities allow you to move after activating an Encounter.
If, for any reason, an Ambush Encounter is revealed by a player who has already activated an Encounter during their turn, the Ambush fails. This failed Ambush Encounter will then act as an ordinary Combat Encounter.
Enemies
Enemy Suits
Enemies come in 4 suits: Dust, Plague, Skulls, and Scales.
Dust minions are Bandits that roam the wide ranging deserts. They are weak but have a penchant for stealing.
Plague minions are filthy Ratmen who feed on scraps and spread illness. Best beware if these enemies outnumber you, as fighting will become increasingly difficult.
Skulls minions are Undead skeletal warriors raised from the dead by dark magic and curses.
Scales minions are powerful Lizardmen. They carry fierce weapons and heavy shields. They will fend off blows so come prepared for an extended battle.
Enemy Abilities
Enemies may have abilities which allow them to change the course of combat. These special attributes take effect at the time stated on the card — either when the enemy is in battle or when it is defeated.
Protection — Protection is a powerful passive defence, common to the Scales suit.
Protection comes with a numerical value. If an enemy has Protection 1, the enemy will ignore the first card with 1 or more Power assigned to it each round of combat. If an enemy has Protection 2, the enemy will ignore the first 2 cards, and so on. If you wish to defeat such an enemy, you will need to assign multiple cards in a single round of combat.
If an enemy with Protection would gain Protection for any reason, increase their original protection to the sum of those values.
Infected — Infected enemies are covered in filth and disease. Your endurance is weakened against these opponents, and you will find it harder to push on in fights (See p. 19, "Push or Flee?").
Infected enemies will force you to spend additional Food in order to push during combat. If an Infected enemy is defeated during combat before you push, you no longer need to spend the additional Food.
Infected comes with a numerical value. If an enemy has Infected 1, the enemy will cost you 1 additional Food to push against. If an enemy has Infected 2, the enemy will cost 2 more to push against, and so on.
Minions
Minions are the underlings that serve their bosses. They are what Adventurers typically fight during Combat Encounters. If the Minion deck is ever empty, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down to form a new deck.
A Minion card's anatomy: Rank, Suit, Power, Token Shard Reward, Name, Ability, Fame Reward, and Pain are printed on the card.
Bosses
Bosses are typically fought at Boss Encounters. They are powerful enemies who always enter combat with minions at their command.
The value found in the Minion Draw icon indicates the minimum total Power value of minions that must be drawn for battle. Draw and reveal minions until their combined Power value is equal to or greater than the Minion Draw value.
For example, if a boss has a Minion Draw value of "4+", you must continue to reveal minions from the Minion deck until their combined Power value totals 4 or greater. This could be achieved by drawing a single minion with a Power value of 4 or above, or one minion of 3 Power combined with a minion of 2 Power for a total of 5, or just four minions with 1 Power each.
Once you have drawn these minions, the Combat Encounter resolves in the same way as any other Combat Encounter, with one exception: All minions must have enough damage assigned to defeat them before you may assign cards to the boss. In other words, you must defeat all minions before you can defeat the boss.
As with normal combat, you must resolve Pain cards equal to the boss' Pain value (as well as that of any remaining minions) if you are unsuccessful (See p. 20, "Pain").
If the boss is not defeated, its Encounter remains active until a player is able to defeat the boss. All minions drawn for the previous combat are discarded. At the start of the next boss combat, the boss will draw new minions.
A Boss card's anatomy: Rank, Suit, Power, Minion Draw, Name, Token Shard Reward, Pain, Ability, and Fame Reward are printed on the card.
The Royalties
A Royalty is a type of Boss. Only Royalty Bosses exist in the standard edition of the game, but future game expansions may introduce non-Royalty Bosses.
The Jack (J)
The Jacks are the weakest of the three Royalty types, but they remain a force to be reckoned with. When first encountered, a Jack may afflict the players with a devastating special ability. If you wish to fight the Jack, make sure you are prepared for the challenge.
The Queen (Q)
The Queen Royalties are characterized by the Queen's Presence, a special ability that affects gameplay as long as that Queen remains in play.
For example, while the Queen of Dust is in play, any player who reveals a Dust minion during their turn immediately loses 1 Health.
The King (K)
The Kings are the most difficult Royalties to defeat.
If you have revealed the King Royalty and are unable to defeat it, place the King token on the Boss Encounter. In this way, the King's Boss Encounter becomes a moving Encounter, which is activated whenever the King token reaches the active player.
The King token will move at the start of each player's Explore step (after the Fatigue step), hunting a player as described by the King's Pursuit ability.
Pursuit Ability — Pursuit comes with a numerical value, followed by a description of the player that the King token will move towards. The numerical value indicates the number of Encounters the King token will move in pursuit of the player it is seeking.
If two or more players are tied for the Pursuit condition, the player to the left of the active player must choose which direction the King will move.
Example: The King of Scales reads: "Pursuit 1: Player with the most Health."
The King token will move 1 encounter in the direction of the player with the most Health. If two or more players are tied for "the most Health", the player to the left of the active player decides which of the tied players the King pursues.
Engaging the King — If a player wishes to engage the King after the King token has moved away from its Boss Encounter card, the player must reach the King token itself to initiate combat.
If you are on an Encounter with the King token, you may choose to fight the King or to use the Encounter. You may also move past the King on your turn at no penalty.
If the King ends its move on the same Encounter as the active player, or begins its Pursuit ability on the same Encounter and does not move, it will then attack the active player.
When the King attacks a player, that player must choose either to fight or to retreat from the King.
To fight the king, proceed as you would with any (non-Ambush) Boss Encounter. Choosing this option counts as activating an Encounter for your turn. You will move on to your Acquire step after combat.
To retreat from the King, you must resolve a number of Pain cards equal to the King's Pain value. If you survive the Pain, you will then be able to continue your turn as normal, and may even challenge the King as part of your Encounter step.
If the King is not defeated, it remains on its current Encounter. All minions drawn for the previous combat are discarded. New minions will be drawn at the start of the next combat with the King.
If the King kills a player, place a Usage cube on the King's Boss Encounter card to track the number of players the King has killed. To determine if the game ends, see p. 20, "Game End".
The standard edition of the game comes with the King of Skulls miniature, which can be used in place of a King token. The miniatures for the other King Royalties are found in the Royalty expansion pack for Hand of Fate: Ordeals.
Looting a Royalty
Defeating a Royalty completes the current level and provides players with the opportunity to spend their Token Shards to acquire valuable cards.
In turn order, starting with the player who defeated the Royalty, each player must choose to Acquire Relic, Exchange, or Pass:
A) Acquire Relic — Spend Token Shards in order to enter the Relic draw.
Spend 5 Token Shards, minus 1 for each other player who has already chosen this option.
For example, if you are the first player to choose this option, spend 5 Token Shards. If you are the second player to choose this option, spend 4 Token Shards, and so on.
Once all players have made a choice, the first player who spent Token Shards draws 2 cards from the Relic deck, plus 1 card for each additional player who spent Token Shards.
The first player then looks at the cards drawn, chooses a single Relic to keep, and passes the remaining cards to the next player who spent Token Shards. This action is repeated until all players who have spent Token Shards have chosen a Relic. Place the remaining Relic on the bottom of the Relic deck.
B) Exchange — Convert your Token Shards into Effort by discarding all of your Token Shards and gaining 1 Effort for each Shard discarded.
Then acquire cards from the Dealer's Row up to the total Effort gained, ignoring any Encounter acquisition restrictions. This does not include the Flourish card as it is not part of Dealer's Row.
C) Pass — The player may choose to do nothing and pass.
Example Boss Encounter
The King of Skulls has a Minion Draw value of "4+".
Two minions were drawn with a combined power of 6, which satisfies the Minion Draw requirement. The player must defeat both minions before being able to assign damage to the king.
Looting Example
Angela has just defeated the Queen, and the looting proceeds as follows: Angela, choosing first, decides to spend 5 Token Shards. The second player, Mark, decides to pass. The third player, John, spends 4 Token Shards. The fourth player, Sarah, converts her 6 Token Shards into Effort and acquires 2 cards from the Dealer's Row worth 3 Effort each.
Angela then draws 3 Relic cards. That is, she draws 2 Relic cards, plus 1 additional Relic for each other player who spent Token Shards (John). She then picks 1 of those cards to keep and passes the other 2 cards to John, who chooses a Relic for himself; the remaining Relic is placed on the bottom of the Relic deck.
Moving to the Next Level
After the Royalty has been defeated for this level, the active player completes their Acquire and Rest steps.
The current level is then replaced with the next. The new level will include a new Boss Encounter card.
The player who defeated the previous Royalty must set up the Central Board for the new level by completing the following steps:
- Remove all Encounter cards from the board.
- Place the Town Encounter card on any Encounter space. Then place all Adventurers back on the Town.
- Draw 6 Encounter cards from the new level's Encounter deck, without looking at them, and return the remainder to the box.
- Add the corresponding Royalty Encounter (named "Queen" or "King") to these 6 cards and shuffle them. Be sure not to look at the cards.
- Starting adjacent to the Town, place each of the Encounter cards, face-down, onto the Encounter spaces of the Central Board. You may create any shape you wish, provided at least one edge of each Encounter card is adjacent to another Encounter card so that Adventurers are able to travel to each Encounter.
- Discard all cards from the Dealer's Row, replacing them with new cards from the top of the Dealer's deck.
- Finally, turn the Royalty card for the new level face-up. For example, if the Jack has just been defeated, you will now turn the Queen Royalty card face-up.
Play then proceeds with the next player as normal.
Combat
Combat Encounters
When you activate a Combat Encounter, take note of any special abilities belonging to the Encounter. Then, draw and reveal as many minions as the Encounter instructs. Resolve any minion abilities that take effect at the start of combat as they are revealed and then resolve any other card abilities that refer to the start of combat, before drawing your Strike Bonus.
You cannot move to other Encounters during combat for any reason. This means that abilities on Action cards which allow you to move cannot be resolved in combat.
1. Strike Bonus
A) Draw — If you have not been Ambushed, draw a number of cards equal to your weapon's Strike Bonus and bind them to your weapon. Any Action cards you draw must also be bound as though they were Attack cards.
If you have been Ambushed, your Strike Bonus will be reduced to a value of 1.
B) Resolve — Resolve the abilities of the drawn cards in any order.
Effort gained from cards bound during your Strike Bonus draw step is treated as Power instead. If a card's ability would generate additional Effort, this extra Effort will also be treated as Power.
All Power gained this way is added to the card itself. Abilities that gain other types of resources remain unchanged, this includes abilities that generate food.
After you have finished applying your Strike Bonus and resolving any abilities, enter the first combat round (step 2).
2. Combat Round
A) Assign — Assign any combination of cards bound to your weapon with a total Power value equal to or greater than the Power value of an enemy in order to defeat them.
Your weapon and certain Equipment can also be assigned to enemies this way.
Note that each card may only be assigned to one enemy and can only be assigned once per Combat Encounter.
B) Loot — Gain the rewards from all defeated enemies.
C) Clean-up & Continue — Discard all defeated enemies and move all assigned cards (except for your Equipment) to your played area.
If any enemies remain, you must choose either to Push or to Flee (step 3). Otherwise, proceed to combat end (step 4).
You may assign your weapon card (and certain other Equipment) to an enemy the same way you assign cards bound to your weapon. Once used, we recommend tilting the weapon card to a 45° angle as a reminder that it has been previously assigned.
Ambush vs. Standard Combat Encounters
Ambush cards are a special kind of Combat card that can be identified by their orange text and blood spatter. When you reveal an Ambush, you have no choice but to fight!
Strike Bonus Special Rules
Taking the enemy by surprise gives you the upper hand.
Unless a card ability states otherwise, the following rules only apply during Strike Bonus:
- Action cards can be bound to your weapon.
- Cards bound during Strike Bonus can exceed your weapon's Binding Limit.
- Effort converts to Power.
3. Push or Flee?
Push:
- You choose to fight on by spending 1 Food, and then resolving 1 Pain card for each enemy that remains in combat.
- If you survive the Pain (you have at least 1 Health remaining), draw and bind 1 additional card to your weapon and start a new combat round (repeat step 2).
Flee:
- Resolve Pain cards equal to the total Pain value of the remaining enemies.
- If you survive the Pain, continue to combat end (step 4).
If you do not survive the Pain when you Push or Flee, you are dead. Proceed to combat end (step 4).
4. Combat End
Discard any remaining enemies and move any unused cards from your weapon to your played area (unused cards are any cards bound to your weapon that were not assigned).
Resolve the rest of the step based on your outcome:
- You won — If no enemies remain before the combat end step, you are victorious! Receive any rewards earned from the Encounter and proceed to the Acquire step of your turn.
- You fled — If you flee, you lose in combat but live to fight another day. Proceed to the Acquire step of your turn.
- You died — If you do not survive the Pain, death comes for you. However, this is not the end of your journey. Resolve the death sequence (See p. 20, "Death").
Certain abilities allow you to destroy minions during combat. Any minion destroyed is not considered defeated for the purpose of earning Encounter rewards.
Strike Bonus Penalty
When you initiate a combat on your own terms, you are ready and able to fight, bringing all your skills to bear. If you have been ambushed, however, the tables are turned and you will find yourself unprepared.
If you have revealed an Ambush Encounter during your Explore step, this Encounter is activated immediately and your Strike Bonus will be reduced to a value of 1.
Assigning Cards
Battle can be chaotic. During combat, we recommend moving the bound cards from your weapon onto the enemies you are attacking. This clarifies which cards have been assigned, and which haven't.
Pain
As you struggle to overcome each enemy and obstacle, you are destined to meet with the wounds and torments they have in store for you.
Both exploration and combat will exact a toll on your fortitude by causing you to resolve Pain cards. To resolve, draw a Pain card from the Pain deck and apply its effect. Discard the card afterwards.
When the Pain deck has run out, shuffle the Pain discard pile in order to form a new Pain deck.
Pain Card Types
Pain cards range from Health afflictions to famine and curses. When you lose all your Health, you are dead. When losing Food, ignore the effect if you have none. When gaining a Curse card, place it in your discard pile.
The Pain deck includes cards reading: "Lose 1 Health", "Lose 2 Health", "Lose 3 Health", "Lose 1 Food", and "Gain a Curse".
Death
If your Health tracker has reached "0", you are dead. But death is not the end. You must continue your struggle.
Upon death, follow the steps below to resurrect your Adventurer and continue your journey:
Death Sequence
- Discard any unresolved Pain cards.
- Lose all your Food.
- Destroy a piece of Equipment of your choice (if you have any).
- Return your Health tracker to 10.
- Place your Adventurer miniature on the Town Encounter.
- Lose 10 Fame.
- Discard all cards from your hand, played area and cards bound to your weapon.
- Shuffle your deck and discard pile together to form a new Player deck.
- Draw a fresh hand of 5 cards.
- Your turn ends.
Game End
Were you and your fellow Adventurers triumphant? Did you best the game of life and death, or did it best you?
The end of the game can be triggered in one of two ways:
- A player defeats the King.
- The King kills the players a number of times equal to the player count. It does not matter which players are killed (for example, in a 3 player game, all 3 players could be killed once, or 1 player could be killed three times).
When the end of the game has been triggered, you do not move to a new level. Instead, complete the current round of turns as normal so that all players have an equal number of turns, then proceed to final scoring.
Final Scoring
To calculate your final score, add the Fame value of each card from your Player deck, hand, discard pile, and Player Board to your score on the Fame track. Finally, add 1 Fame for every 3 Token Shards you have.
The winner is the player with the most Fame. In the case of a tie, the tied player who killed the King wins. If neither of the tied players killed the King, the tied player with the most Token Shards wins.
If there is a further tie, the tied players must duel: Each player discards all cards in their hand and bound to their weapon. Then, each player shuffles all their cards into their deck and draws 5 cards. They may play any of these cards for their abilities, then bind Attack cards as normal. Each player then applies their Strike Bonus. After these steps, the player with the greatest amount of Power wins the game.
Co-op & Solo Rules
The crackle of the fire and footsteps of the guards echo loudly through the near-empty stone chamber. Before you stands a table carved from stone; around it are four chairs. You swear you can smell the tang of blood.
"Sit," a voice from across the room commands, "You are to play my game. Do this and you may yet live."
You feel compelled to do as the voice directs. You cannot see its owner, but the voice rings familiar in your ears. You take your place at the table. Upon it sits an assortment of cards and trinkets. A wave of lethargy washes over you. The cards shift as if brushed by an unseen breeze.
"Good," says the voice from the darkness. Footsteps follow, pacing. "It seems you will make good subjects. It likes you."
You can make out a figure, lurking in the shadows, but you cannot distinguish any features.
"Once, I sat where you are now, forced to relive horrors I'd wished forgotten." The figure stands still. "Even now, you are losing yourself. The game takes what it needs from you, and from me."
"Do you remember who you are? Perhaps not." The figure seats itself away from the table. "Now, you shall play my game of life and death. I would wish you luck. But you play with Fate."
The Cooperative & Solo rules for Hand of Fate: Ordeals modify the Competitive Mode rules and add new concepts in important ways. These changes are required to support the Campaign Mode.
Hand of Fate: Ordeals contains the Skulls Campaign. Additional campaigns and new modes of play that use the Cooperative and Solo rules will be released as separate expansions.
Campaign Mode
In Campaign Mode, 1 to 4 players collectively fight to survive a set of three scenarios which, added together, make up a campaign.
A campaign is a story comprised of three separate scenarios. At the start of each scenario, the players are given a task. The completion of this task ends one scenario and initiates the next. You will fail the current scenario if too many players die (See p. 22, "Death and Failure") or if the "You lose when…" condition is met.
First Player
If playing with 2 or more players, choose a first player. In solo play, you are the first player.
The first player's turns will be used to track the passing of rounds on the Fame track using the Time tracker. In other words, the Time tracker will be moved up or down on the Fame track (depending on the scenario) at the start of each of the first player's turns. In some scenarios, the Time tracker will be used to measure other variables.
Place the first player's Fame tracker on position "0" of the Fame track. All other players' Fame trackers can remain boxed.
Campaign Encounters
Campaign Encounters are only used in Campaign Mode. Each campaign scenario will list the required Encounters (Standard and Campaign) in the "Setup" section.
Sharing Equipment
If playing with 2 or more players, whenever a player would normally stash an Equipment card, they may instead give that Equipment to any player on or orthogonally adjacent to their own Encounter.
Death and Failure
Death is not the end. When any player dies, reset them as per the normal rules, but note their death and check to see if the campaign has any special rules surrounding death.
If the same player or any other player dies, for a combined total of two deaths among all players, the scenario is failed and the entire team loses. You may then restart the campaign, or continue from the start of the failed scenario.
If you decide to restart the campaign, all players lose their decks, Equipment, and overall progress.
If you choose to reset the scenario, all players keep their decks and Equipment, and the Health of each player is reset to "10".
Continuity
When you complete a scenario, do not reset your Player Board or Quest deck (See p. 23, "Quest Cards"). Your current Equipment, Health, Food, Token Shards and Quest progress carries over to the next scenario. Discard your hand, then shuffle your deck and discard pile together and draw a fresh hand of 5 cards.
Any trackers, such as the Time tracker, will keep their positions. Reset the rest of the Central Board and set up according to the instructions provided by the next scenario.
If you take a break between scenarios, clearly separate your Player deck from any Equipment that had been placed on your Player Board; keep these piles separate and do not let them mix with those belonging to the other players. Any trackers will continue across the campaign, so take note of their positions.
If you are returning to a game you took a break from, each player places all active Equipment cards belonging to them onto their Player Board, then shuffle their deck. Place Fame and Time trackers in the positions they occupied at the end of the previous scenario.
Fame
The players collect Fame as a group. Use the first player's Fame tracker to represent this.
Once a campaign is completed, check the total value of the Fame you have earned, including Fame contained in your Player decks, and divide this by the number of players.
Compare your final score to the table below in order to find your rank.
| Score | Rank |
|---|---|
| 70 | Dealer's Chosen |
| 50 | Champion |
| 40 | Hero |
| 20 | Adventurer |
| Less than 20 | Survivor |
Quest Cards
Quest cards are used in cooperative and solo modes of play. Each Adventurer will use a deck of Quest cards. Quests are objectives; completing them earns the player bonus cards.
Each Quest deck includes corresponding Quest and Reward cards which come in a set order. Quests must be completed in full before moving to the next one.
Setup
At the start of the game, each player take the 3 Quest cards belonging to their Adventurer along with the corresponding 3 Quest Reward cards.
Sort the Quest cards by the Quest number in ascending order to form the Quest deck.
To reduce clutter, we recommend players stack the Quest Reward cards underneath the Quest deck. Players are able to look through their Quest and Quest Reward cards at any time.
Completing a Quest
Each time a player completes the objective listed on their active Quest card, they place 1 Usage cube on the card. The Quest is completed once the number of Usage cubes is equal to the completion count indicated.
Once a Quest is completed, the player removes the Quest card and all of its associated Usage cubes. Then they gain the corresponding Quest Reward card and reveal the next Quest card in ascending order.
Quest Rewards
Quest Reward cards may come in the form of Skill cards, Equipment cards, or an ongoing ability. Any Skills provided are added to a player's discard pile, while Equipment is placed directly on the Player Board. Ongoing abilities remain in play and are never discarded.
Inspire Ability
Each Quest card has an Inspire ability. This can be used once per turn at any time, as long as your active Quest has at least 1 Usage cube on it. To activate your Inspire ability, spend 1 Usage cube from your Quest card.
A Quest card's anatomy: Adventurer, Quest Number, Quest Name, Objective, Completion Count, and Inspire Ability.
A Quest Reward card's anatomy: Adventurer Card Mark and Corresponding Quest Number.
Note: If you spend a Usage cube and activate the Inspire ability, you will then need to complete the objective an additional time to complete the Quest.
Skulls Campaign
A Town of Death
"Sit. The game I set before you is created from memories. Both mine and yours. The cast of players may change, yet the story remains the same. I wonder how much of this is truly what occurred in that wretched village. Were you there for wealth and power? Or out of a sense of nobility and honour? Whatever the case was then, it is now your life which is at stake. Do not disappoint me." — Kallas
Royalty Suit — Skulls
Additional Components
- Curse Tokens x 4
- Time Tracker x 1
1. The Curse Over Rothmire
Death has come to the village of Rothmire. Here, on the fringes of the Empire, the fields go untended and the pumpkins rot on the vine. On the side of the road, a dying ewe bleats for mercy. You meet with the village burgomaster.
"They say a great wizard roams the nearby woodland in search of a cure. Those among us who have the will to brave its dangers lack the strength to do so. Please, find the wizard and seek his counsel. End the curse that hangs over our village."
Objective — Find the Wizard.
You win when — The Wizard reveals his secrets.
You lose when — The Time tracker reaches 15.
Special Rules
Hard to find — If the Wandering Wizard Encounter is face-up at the end of any player's turn, and there are still unexplored Encounters on the board, shuffle it with any other face-down Encounters and deal them all out, face-down, into the free spaces indicated in the setup. If there were any players on the Wandering Wizard Encounter, return them to the Town.
The Wizard's Secrets — To have the Wizard reveal his secrets, he must trust your party and you must bring an offering. If you spend 6 Effort at the Wandering Wizard while you have 10 or more Fame, you will gain his trust and show your commitment. The Wizard reveals the secrets of the curse.
Time is of the Essence — The curse on the village is growing stronger. Place the Time tracker on position "0" of the Fame track. The Time tracker advances 1 space at the beginning of each of the first player's turns. If a player dies, move the Time tracker back by half, rounding down.
When you complete this scenario, deal a Pain card to a player of the team's choosing for each space the Time tracker has moved past 10.
Example: The Time tracker is at 13, therefore 3 Pain cards must be resolved. The team then chooses Charlie to resolve 2 Pain cards, and Becky to resolve 1 Pain card.
Setup — Shuffle the following Encounters together and set them up as per the diagram. Place the Adventurers' miniatures on the Town.
Encounter Cards: Wandering Wizard, Wizened Teacher, Twisted Canyon, Test of Endurance, The Crossroads, The Maiden, Restless Graveyard.
2. The Ley Lines
A curious raven leads you through the forest and into a long-forgotten stone circle. There, kneeling in the epicentre, you find the aged wizard. He is deep in thought. You watch as he pinches some soil between his thumb and forefingers, then holds it to his tongue.
"I know the evil you wish to contain — it is old magic, dark magic." He coughs deep and rasping. "Artefacts of binding, lost to the ages. Bring them to the standing stones and shatter them. Only through their sacrifice will you lift the spell and reinvigorate the land."
Objective — Break the Curse.
You win when — All of the cursed Encounters are sanctified by destroying a Relic on each one.
You lose when — The Queen has been defeated and Demon Trader Encounters have no Usage cubes left and there are not enough Relics to break all of the curses.
Special Rules
Cursed Ground — Some Encounters in this scenario will be cursed. These cursed Encounters are indicated by Curse tokens, which will be placed onto the Encounters during setup.
Any player who reveals a cursed Encounter must take a Curse card. Any player who activates a cursed Encounter that has already been revealed must also take a Curse card.
If a player with a Relic can reach a cursed Encounter, they may spend their turn's Encounter activation to sanctify the curse instead. They destroy the Relic and remove the Curse token.
Weight of the Ages — While a player has a Relic card, they may only move 1 Encounter per turn through normal methods. Cards and abilities may move them further, such as Colbjorn's Inspire ability.
Growing Darkness — Preserve the position of the Time tracker from the previous scenario. The Time tracker advances 1 space at the beginning of each of the first player's turns.
If the Time tracker is at 10 or more turns, then at the beginning of the first player's turn, one player (chosen by the team) must resolve 1 Pain card. In a game with 4 players, an additional player must resolve 1 Pain card.
If a player dies, move the Time tracker back by half, rounding down.
Setup — Shuffle the following Encounters together (except The Tomb) and set them up as per the diagram. Add the Curse tokens indicated. Place the Adventurers' miniatures on The Tomb.
Encounter Cards: The Tomb, The Blacksmith, Demon Trader, Royal Treasury, Stranger in the Shadows, The Queen, Restless Graveyard, The Crucible.
3. The Betrayer
With the curse dispelled, you return to Rothmire to celebrate your victory, only to find the wizard has beaten you there. He strides purposefully into the village square, his head crowned with a ram's skull. Behind him, a skeletal horde marches in shambling time, dragging their rusted pikes in the dust. The wizard lets out a peal of mocking laughter.
"Fools! So eager to play the hero that you never examined the nature of your quest! Your sacrifice has unleashed my lord and master, the King of Skulls! Even now he comes to reclaim his throne!"
The reanimated soldiers draw their weapons and advance. The burgomaster leaps to your aid, pitchfork in hand.
"It's too late for Rothmire! Go, find the King of Skulls and end this once and for all!"
Objective — Defeat the King of Skulls.
You win when — The Skeleton King's Throne Encounter is revealed and the King is defeated in combat.
You lose when — A player retreats, flees, or is killed by the King of Skulls, while located on the revealed Skeleton King's Throne Encounter.
Special Rules
Immortal King — If the King is defeated, but the Skeleton King's Throne has not been revealed, move him back to his starting position. When the King is killed, he will not move or fight until the beginning of the first player's turn.
Curse of Weakness — Each player places a Curse token on their Player Board. While the Curse remains, their weapon's special ability cannot be activated. To remove this Curse, the player must visit the Healer Encounter. They may spend their turn's Encounter activation to remove the Curse token from their weapon.
Strength of the King — Preserve the position of the Time tracker from the previous scenario. The Time tracker advances 1 space at the beginning of each of the first player's turns. If the Time tracker reaches 20 or more, the King will deal 1 additional Pain card any time a player flees or retreats from him.
Setup — Shuffle the following Encounters together (except Necromancer) and set them up as per the diagram. Place the Adventurers' miniatures on the Necromancer. Place the King Miniature on the Encounter indicated.
Encounter Cards: The Skeleton King's Throne, The Necromancer, Dead King's Hall, The Healer, The Alchemist, Restless Graveyard.
Victory!
"Ah, you play the game well. Not as well as I once did, but, then again, it is not the same game I played. Perhaps I did not set it up as I intended. Still, seeing your efforts was amusing. Did you enjoy playing the hero? The townsfolk surely were impressed by your valiant efforts—at least until the Undead came and slaughtered them. But these are the footsteps you must retread. Or are they mine?"
Term Glossary
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Ability | Refers to a card's rules text. |
| Acquire | To obtain a card by spending some resource, usually Effort. |
| Action | A type of Skill card that provides resources, such as Effort, and abilities. |
| Activate | To use an Encounter. |
| Ambush | A type of Encounter that must be activated as soon as it is revealed. |
| Archetype | Refers to the three Skill card types: Trickster, Wanderer, and Soldier. |
| Attack | A type of Skill card that provides Power and abilities, typically used in combat. |
| Basic | Refers to the starting cards (Strive, Hack, Forage), as well as Flourish cards. |
| Bind | To attach a card to your weapon. |
| Binding Limit | The maximum amount of cards that may be bound to your weapon outside of a Combat Encounter. |
| Combat | The event of battle, synonymous with Combat Encounter. |
| Curse | A card type with negative effects. |
| Damage | Harm inflicted upon a player or an enemy, resulting in loss of Health, defeat, or death. |
| Dealer | In Competitive Mode, Kallas is the current master of the Game. |
| Death | Occurs when a player's Health is reduced to zero. |
| Defeat | The elimination of an enemy when it has Power assigned to it equal to or greater than its Power value. |
| Destroy | The act of removing a card from the game and placing it back in the box. If any non-player deck in the game is ever entirely destroyed, return the destroyed cards to that deck and shuffle it into a new deck. |
| Discard | To place a card of any kind into its designated discard pile. |
| Draw | The act of taking a number of cards from a specified deck. |
| Effort | The primary currency, represented as Effort, used to acquire cards and activate certain abilities. |
| Encounter | A space occupied by an Encounter card on the Central Board, which is revealed (turned face-up) when a player moves onto it. |
| Equipment | A card type that is placed on your Player Board's various Equipment slots. Includes subtypes: trinket, armour, and weapon. |
| Fame | Earned by players and represented by stars; used to determine the winner in Competitive Mode. |
| Fight | To draw and face enemies in combat. |
| Flee | To leave combat at the end of a round, before all enemies have been defeated. |
| Food | A type of resource, represented as Food, that may be spent to move between Encounters and activate certain abilities. |
| Gain | To obtain transient resources of any kind, such as Effort or various kinds of tokens. |
| Health | Refers to a player's life-force, represented as Health. Health is tracked on the Player Board and ranges from "0" to "10". |
| Infected | An enemy with this effect makes you spend additional Food each time you push. |
| Jack | The weakest of the Royalty boss type, and the ruling Royalty of level 1. |
| King | The strongest of the Royalty boss type, and the ruling Royalty of level 3. |
| Look at | To see the contents of a card privately. If you are allowed to look at a card that is face down, do not reveal its contents to the table. |
| Minion | A standard non-boss enemy. |
| Non-Basic | Refers to a card that is neither a starting card nor a Flourish card. |
| Pain | Has reference to Pain cards or the Pain value of an enemy. |
| Play | To use and apply a card from one's hand. Cards drawn during the Strike Bonus are also considered as played. |
| Played Area | Any cards you have played during your turn are placed here. |
| Player Board | A component used to track a player's Equipment, Food, Token Shards, and Health. |
| Power | The strength value of an enemy or a weapon, represented as Power. |
| Protection | An enemy with this effect ignores a number of cards applied to it equal to its Protection value. If a card has Protection and Gains protection from another card, the protection values are added together. |
| Pursuit | The rule governing the movement of the King token, after the King's Boss Encounter has been activated. |
| Push | To persist in combat by spending 1 Food, resolving 1 Pain card for each enemy, then drawing and binding 1 new card to your weapon. |
| Queen | The second strongest of the Royalty boss type, and the ruling Royalty of level 2. |
| Queen's Presence | An ability specific to the Queen Royalties, which remains active for as long as the Queen remains in play. |
| Quest | A card type used in cooperative and solo modes of play. When complete, a Quest grants a player with a unique Adventurer-specific Reward. |
| Resolve | To apply the effects described on any card. Also used with reference to drawing Pain cards and applying their effects. |
| Resource | Refers to the asset players could obtain such as Effort, Food and Power. |
| Retreat | Choosing to avoid combat with the King when you are the active player and begin your turn on the same Encounter as the King token. |
| Reveal | To show the content of a card, typically by turning that card face-up. |
| Round of Combat | Refers to a single phase of a Combat Encounter. |
| Royalty | A boss type comprised of the Jacks, Queens, and Kings. |
| Skill | A type of card, of which Action and Attack cards are subtypes. |
| Slot | A designated location for an Equipment card on a Player Board. |
| Stash | To destroy an Equipment or Relic you are replacing and score an amount of Fame equal to its Fame value. Unlike Equipment, Relics can only be stashed by other Relics. |
| Strike Bonus | Allows you to draw and bind additional cards to your weapon at the start of combat. Can exceed your weapon's Binding Limit. |
| Take | To obtain a card for free. |
| Token | Refers to Token Shards, Food tokens, King tokens, and Curse tokens. |
Card Glossary
This glossary clarifies the rules text of specific named cards.
| Card | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 of Skulls | Minion | The discarded card must be from your hand. If you have no cards to discard, you must take a curse instead. |
| 3 of Plague | Minion | Each opponent chooses which option to take. |
| 4 of Dust | Minion | The reward can be applied to any 1 minion you defeated on the current or previous combat round. |
| Battle Cry | Skill | Add any non-Attack cards to your hand. |
| Berserker Greatsword | Equipment | Your Health must be 4 or less when you assign this weapon to an enemy in order to gain the 2 Power. |
| Beyond the 13th Gate | Encounter | Choose any Encounter from the Level 1 and Level 2 Encounters used this game. Place Usage cubes on the new Encounter as though it was just revealed. |
| Broaden Horizons | Skill | Do not include the Encounter you start your turn on, but do include the Encounter where you end your turn. |
| Call Lightning | Encounter | Each opponent chooses which option to take. |
| Captain's Pistol | Equipment | This ability may be used once per combat. |
| Cautious Strike | Skill | Place the requisite number of Usage cubes on the Ambush Encounter that was avoided. You may continue to move and may still activate an Encounter this turn. |
| Cloak of the Wanderer | Equipment | The ability to avoid an ambush may be used more than once per turn. Place the requisite number of Usage cubes on the Ambush Encounter that was avoided. You may continue to move and may still activate an Encounter this turn. |
| Conjured Shield | Equipment / Quest Reward | Unlike normal Equipment, you do not need to stash the off-hand Equipment if Conjured Shield is equipped on top. Furthermore, it can be used alongside Dual Wield and Heavy weapons. Also unlike other Equipment, Conjured Shield can end up in your discard pile and eventually shuffled into your Player deck. When drawn, you may immediately Equip this on a player, even if it was drawn during your Strike Bonus. |
| Crushing Mace | Equipment | Cards such as Forage or Bad Luck provide "zero" Power, and would therefore be considered the least powerful card. |
| Demon Trader | Encounter | The Usage value is equal to the number of players in the game. |
| Detonator | Equipment | Unlike most other Equipment, Detonator gains Power to itself. It can be assigned to an enemy like an Attack card. Power gained to this card accumulates from combat round to combat round until it is assigned to an enemy. |
| Devil's Choice | Encounter | You may group them however you wish as long as each group has at least 1 minion. |
| Devil's Crown | Equipment | Ability is to be used at the start of combat before drawing the Strike Bonus. |
| Executioner's Axe | Equipment | You can only destroy 1 minion per combat using this ability. The Executioner's Axe always uses the base power of a minion when working out if they are equal. |
| Hammer of the Forge | Equipment / Quest Reward | This Heavy Weapon can use the effect of Shield cards as if it were a one handed weapon. |
| Health Elixir | Equipment | You may use this ability any time except while resolving a Pain card. |
| Hitch a Ride | Skill | This does not cost any food. |
| Immovable Object | Equipment | This ability is always active during opponent's turns. |
| Kraken's Claws | Relic | You may divide the Power of bound cards however you want. A card with 3 power may be split among 3 enemies. |
| Lord Edgar's Hammer | Equipment | When drawing your Strike Bonus for this weapon, you will continue to draw until you have drawn 3 non-Attack cards. These 3 cards and any Attack cards also drawn will all be bound to your weapon. |
| Mr. Lionel | Encounter | The Shield from Mister Lionel refers to the card named Shield. |
| Recall | Skill | This ability will not trigger more than once per turn. |
| Regimental Charge | Skill | If any enemies were destroyed or removed due to special abilities, you do not gain the 2 Effort. |
| Rusty Axe | Equipment / Default Weapon | This is the default Equipment printed on the Player Board. It is not considered a card and therefore cannot be stashed or destroyed. It is still considered an Equipment. |
| Silken Robes | Equipment | The additional health is lost only if the pain card would cause you to lose Health. |
| Summon Companion | Skill | Gain any resources and resolve the ability of the copied card. |
| Test of Endurance | Encounter | You may not activate this Encounter if you have not played 2 Wanderer cards this turn. The Encounter activation follows all normal rules. It must have Usage cubes to be used. If it only has one cube, only activate it once. |
| Test of Strength | Encounter | You may not activate this Encounter if you do not have 2 or more Soldier cards bound to your weapon. |
| Test of Wit | Encounter | You may not activate this Encounter if you have not played 2 Trickster cards this turn. Each opponent makes the choice for which option to take. |
| The Crossroad | Encounter | Fight 1 Minion if there are fewer than 3 revealed Encounters. |
| The Crucible | Encounter | If you choose to convert to Fame, convert all Token Shards you would gain to Fame; if you gained Token Shards in previous rounds of this Combat, lose those Shards and gain Fame instead. |
| The Forge | Encounter | You may destroy any card even if it does not have a base value. That card's value would count as 0. |
Quick Reference Guide
Game Setup
- Shuffle and deal 6 cards from the Dealer's deck to form the Dealer's Row.
- Shuffle Jack Royalty cards; randomly choose one and place it face-down on the board. Do the same for Queen & King.
- Place the Town Encounter on the board.
- Shuffle level 1 Encounter cards. Draw 7 and add the "Jack" Encounter card.
- Lay the Encounter cards out surrounding the Town Encounter, face-down.
- Give each player the following cards: 7 Strive, 2 Harvest and 1 Hack.
Player Turn
- [F]atigue — Spend Effort to keep Attack cards.
- [E]xplore — Move / Activate Encounter.
- [A]cquire — Spend Effort to acquire cards.
- [R]est — Clean-up and draw 5 new cards.
Things to Remember:
- You may play cards any time outside combat.
- You may move as long as you have food and/or Health to spend.
- Once you activate an Encounter, you may no longer move.
- You may only acquire cards from the Dealer's Row according to the archetypes of the Encounter you are on.
Level Reset
- Discard current level Encounters.
- Place Town anywhere on the board.
- Draw 6 cards from the next level.
- Add the Royalty Encounter.
- The player who defeated the previous Royalty places the Encounters on the board in any shape as long as they are all connected.
- Replace cards from the Dealer's Row with a fresh set of cards.
- Reveal the next level of Royalty.
Combat
- Draw minions.
- Draw Strike Bonus (if ambushed, only draw 1).
- Assign cards to enemies (loot defeated enemies).
- Push or Flee:
- Push — Spend 1 Food. Resolve 1 Pain for each remaining enemy. Draw and bind 1 card to weapon, then continue combat.
- Flee — Resolve Pain cards equal to the sum of all remaining enemies' Pain value.
- If victorious, gain reward(s) from the Encounter.
Engaging the King
- King moves at the start of each player's Explore step.
- If the King is on the same Encounter as yours at the start of your Explore step, you must choose to fight or retreat.
- When calculating the direction of movement, if there is a tie for the direction, the player to your left decides.
- If the King initiated the combat and you choose to fight, it will count as activating an Encounter.
- If you initiated the combat, then it counts as your Encounter activation for your turn.
Death
- Discard any unresolved Pain cards.
- Lose all Food.
- Destroy an Equipment card.
- Return Health to 10.
- Place miniature on Town.
- Lose 10 Fame.
- Discard hand, played and bound cards.
- Shuffle discard pile and deck to form new deck.
- Draw fresh hand of 5 cards.
- Your turn ends.
"Hand of Fate" is a trademark of Defiant Development Pty. Ltd. "Hand of Fate: Ordeals" is © 2018 Rule & Make and Defiant Development Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Credits
Rule & Make
Michael "Barantas" McIntyre (Game Design), Allen Chang (Creative Direction), Al Kearney (Product Development), Jason Kotzur (Game Development), David Scott (Public Relations), Ian O'Toole (Art Direction, Illustration & Graphic Design), Greg May (3D Modelling), Matthew Lee (Graphic Design), Darren Atherton (Lead Content Editor)
Defiant
Jesse Gillespie (Illustration), Lee May (Project Manager), Morgan Jaffit (Game Direction & Lore), Johnny Chua (3D Character Artist), Shawn Eustace (Art Direction), Liam Hill (Game Lore)
Copy Editors
Alan Bic Stroud, Amelia Laughlan, Johan Henriksson, Mikkel Øberg, Pierre-Yves Malisova, Tyson Pink
Playtesters
Brendan Evans, Ashleigh Galvin, Mark Taylor, Steve Deng, Stephen Hurn, Michał "Kapitan Chrum" Murawski, Genesyx
Plus everyone who playtested the game at conventions and other public events.
Thanks!
A big shout-out to the loved ones who endured the lost hours while the team worked on the game. We love you.
Thank you, Kickstarter backers for your support and for believing in the project!