Heroes Love to Lie Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
  • Two-Player Game
  • During the Game
• Course of Play
  • POWER
  • COMBAT
  • UNMASKING
• Challenge
• Hero Powers
• End of Game

Goal of the Game

The goal is either to be the only player still alive with at least one Life Point remaining, or to collect 4 Glory tokens by defeating Monsters.

Components

• 19 Hero cards: 1 Bard, 4 Exorcist, 2 Goblin, 2 Dwarf, 2 Wood Spirit, 2 Troll, 2 Elf, 2 Mage, 1 Giant, 1 Knight.
• 11 Monster cards: 1 Dragon, 1 Golem, 2 Specter, 3 Wyvern, 4 Skeleton.
• 5 Reminder cards (aides de jeu).
• 35 card sleeves.
• 10 Life Point tokens (heart), in wood.
• 16 Glory tokens, in metal.
• 30 Gems, in acrylic.

Setup

• Shuffle the Hero cards (A), deal 1 face down to each player, and set 1 aside face down. Form the Hero draw pile with the remaining cards.
• Shuffle the Monster cards (B) and place 2 face up in play, in the center of the table. Form the Monster draw pile with the remaining cards.
• Give each player 2 Life Point tokens (C) and a reminder card.
• Place the Gems (D) and the Glory tokens (E) within reach of all players.

Two-Player Game

The setup stays the same, with the following exceptions: place 1 single Monster card in play, face up, instead of 2, and give each player 3 Life Point tokens instead of 2.

During the Game

The table layout, as shown in the setup illustration, consists of: the Monster draw pile (B), the Monsters in play, the discarded Monsters, the Hero draw pile (A), the set-aside Hero (face down), the discarded Heroes, the Life Point tokens (C), the Gems (D) and the Glory tokens (E).

Course of Play

The player designated as the one who best knows how to lie starts the game. Play proceeds clockwise.

Players may check their own Hero card in hand at any time.

On his or her turn, the active player chooses to perform one single action from the following 3 actions: POWER, COMBAT or UNMASKING. The active player then applies the steps of the chosen action in order.

POWER

1. Draw a Hero card, then discard one of your two Hero cards, face up.

2. Announce the Hero you claim to be and specify the one or two powers of that Hero you are going to activate, without targeting a player. You may lie about your identity, that is, announce a Hero different from the one you actually hold. Example: "I am the Exorcist and I am trying to unmask a player."

   "Does anyone challenge me?" Challenge: Any player may challenge the identity of the announced Hero (see page 5).

3. Pay the required number of Gems, if necessary, then activate the one or two announced powers. If you have announced only one power, you will not be able to activate the second power during this turn.

COMBAT

Do not draw a Hero card.

1. Announce the Hero you claim to be and specify the Monster in play that you are going to fight. The strength of the announced Hero must be greater than or equal to the strength of the Monster to fight. You may lie about your identity. Example: "I am the Troll and I am fighting the Skeleton."

   "Does anyone challenge me?" Challenge: Any player may challenge the identity of the announced Hero (see page 5).

2. Gain 1 Glory and the number of Gems shown on the Monster card fought. The Monster card fought is discarded, face up, and a new Monster card is put into play. Example: Marius announces "I am the Elf and I am fighting the Wyvern." No challenge. Marius gains 1 Glory and 2 Gems. Marius was lying about his identity: he actually holds a Dwarf card.

UNMASKING

Pay 6 Gems to try to unmask the player of your choice by guessing the Hero card he or she holds.

• SUCCESSFUL UNMASKING: If the active player has unmasked the targeted player, the targeted player discards his or her Hero card, face up, and draws a new one. The targeted player loses 1 Life Point.

• FAILED UNMASKING: If the active player has not unmasked the targeted player, the targeted player keeps his or her Hero card secret. No player loses a Life Point.

It is forbidden to look at the Hero discard pile.

Empty draw pile: If one of the draw piles, Hero or Monster, runs out, the discarded cards must be shuffled to form the new draw pile. For the Hero draw pile, include the set-aside Hero card, and set aside a new Hero card.

A player is eliminated from the game when he or she has no Life Point tokens left.

Challenge

Just after a player has announced which Hero he or she claims to be, any player may challenge that declaration, that is, question the identity of the announced Hero. The first player to challenge takes the risk.

It is too late to challenge if the active player is already activating a power or collecting its loot.

• CORRECT CHALLENGE: If the active player lied about his or her identity, he or she keeps the Hero card secret, pays the Gems associated with the announced power(s), and loses 1 Life Point. The active player's turn then ends.

  Example: Sami announces "I am the Dwarf and I gain 2 Gems." Bebert challenges. Sami reveals that he is not the Dwarf. Sami loses 1 Life Point, keeps his Hero card in hand without revealing it, and his turn ends.

• WRONG CHALLENGE: If the active player did not lie about his or her identity, he or she discards the Hero card face up, continues the action, and then draws a new Hero card. The player who challenged wrongly loses 1 Life Point.

  Example: Alex announces "I am the Goblin and I steal 1 Gem." Krystel challenges. Alex reveals his card: it is indeed a Goblin. Krystel loses 1 Life Point, and Alex steals 1 Gem from Krystel. Alex discards the Goblin and draws a new Hero card.

Hero Powers

Each Hero has a strength, shown in brackets after its name, and one or two powers. The number in the circle before each power is the number of Gems required to activate it. (Transcriber's note: the printed page shows these circled numbers without a separate key; they are read as Gem costs, consistent with the Exorcist's "without paying Gems" and the Dwarf's 6-Gem requirement. The "?" symbol means a variable amount chosen by the player.)

BARD (strength 0)

• 0: Shuffle all the face-down discarded Hero cards together with the set-aside card to form the new draw pile. Do not forget to set aside a new Hero card.
• 2: Discard your face-down Hero card onto the set-aside card, then draw a new Hero card.

EXORCIST (strength 1)

• 0: Try to unmask the player of your choice. Follow the steps of the Unmasking action (see page 4), but without paying the 6 Gems.

• ?: Bet as many Gems as you wish to double your stake in case of a successful unmasking. If you fail, you lose the Gems bet.

  Example: Mélanie announces "I am the Exorcist and I am trying to unmask a player." Mélanie bets 3 Gems that Bebert is the Knight. Bebert reveals his card: he is indeed the Knight. Bebert therefore loses 1 Life Point, discards the Knight, and draws a new Hero card, while Mélanie gains 3 Gems from the common reserve.

GOBLIN (strength 2)

• 0: Steal 1 Gem from the player of your choice.
• 1: Steal 1 additional Gem from the player of your choice.

DWARF (strength 3)

• 0: Gain 2 Gems from the common reserve.
• 6: Gain 1 Life Point from the common reserve. To activate the second power, you must already own 6 Gems without using the first power.

WOOD SPIRIT (strength 4)

• 0: Challenge a player by comparing the strength of your discarded Hero this turn with that of the Hero of the challenged player. The challenged player, without revealing his or her card, must declare truthfully whether the strength of his or her card is "lower" or "higher" than that of the discarded Hero.

  • "LOWER": The strength of the challenged Hero is strictly lower than that of the discarded Hero. The challenged player loses 1 Life Point.
  • "HIGHER": The strength of the challenged Hero is equal to or higher than that of the discarded Hero. The active player loses 1 Life Point.

  Example: Roseline draws a Hero card and discards the Mage (strength 7). Roseline announces "I am the Wood Spirit and I challenge a player." No challenge. Roseline challenges Quentin. Quentin declares that the strength of his card is "lower". Quentin therefore loses 1 Life Point.

• 2: Add +1 to the strength of the discarded Hero at the moment you challenge a player.

TROLL (strength 5)

• 0: Discard a Monster card in play, draw a new Monster card, and place it face up.

• 1: Fight a Monster in play. The Troll (strength 5) can only fight the Skeleton (strength 5). When fighting, you gain 1 Glory and 1 Gem. The Skeleton card is then discarded and replaced by a new Monster card. If no Skeleton is present, you must still pay 1 Gem without fighting.

  Possible announcement: "I am the Troll, I renew a Monster card and I fight the next Monster."

ELF (strength 6)

• 0: Exchange your Gems with those of the player of your choice. You must have at least one Gem to carry out the exchange.
• 0: Pay 2 Glory and recover 1 Life Point from the common reserve. If you lie about your identity and you are challenged, you risk losing your 2 Glory.

MAGE (strength 7)

• 0: Secretly look at the Hero card of the player of your choice, without revealing it to the other players.
• 3: Remove 1 Glory from the player of your choice.

Note: Powers bearing the lightning icon are activated outside your turn and cost no Gems.

GIANT (strength 8)

• Lightning icon: When you are the target of a theft or exchange of your Gems caused by the Goblin or the Elf, you may announce that you are the Giant to cancel that power. This announcement may be challenged by any player.
• 6: Remove 1 Life Point from the player of your choice. The targeted player discards one Life Point token.

KNIGHT (strength 9)

• Lightning icon: After the active player has fought a Monster and collected its loot, you may announce that you are the Knight in order to copy the Gems it gained. This announcement may be challenged by any player. You receive the same number of Gems as the active player, but you do not gain any Glory. It is possible for several Knights to be announced.

• 5: Steal 1 Glory from the player of your choice.

  Example: Nacim announces "I am the Giant and I fight the Specter." No challenge. Nacim gains 1 Glory and 3 Gems. Bebert announces "I am the Knight and I also gain 3 Gems." No challenge. Bebert therefore gains 3 Gems.

End of Game

The game ends immediately as soon as one of the following victory conditions is met:

• Only one player remains alive with at least 1 Life Point remaining.
• A player has collected 4 Glory tokens.