Hunter: Deadly Prey
Hunter: Deadly Prey Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Setup
- Turn Structure
- Placement Phase
- Resolution Phase
- Taking Control of a City Card
- City Card Possibilities
- Minion Cards
- Controlled City Cards
- Restoring Destroyed City Cards
- Tactics
- Gaining Willpower
- Arsenal Cards
- Setback Cards
- Hardship Cards
- Playing the Monster
- The Monster's Schemes
- Feeding
- Influence Cards
- Confronting the Monster
- Victory Conditions
Components
- Turn Tracker: A tool that shows the seven days of a week, over which the game is played.
- Turn Marker (1): A playing piece that indicates whether it's currently daytime or nighttime in a turn. One turn consists of a full day and night. (Day side and Night side.)
- Monster Cards (12): The creatures of the night hiding in the city, one of whom seeks to deal with the hunters.
- City Cards (100): The locales, allies, contacts, weapons, gear and lore that hunters may gather against the supernatural. There are five "suits" of City Cards: Destruction, Absolution, Scientific Study, Occult Mastery and General. These cards are formed into a pyramid that represents the tools available (and sometimes the dangers posed) in the city.
- Tokens (75): Chips assigned to City Cards to establish the cards' values. Tokens come in the following denominations: 0 (15), 1 (25), 2 (20) and 3 (15).
- Hunter Cards (12): A place where hunters record their scores, cards and Willpower. Each card suggests the identity of your hunter.
- Willpower (100): Representations of hunters' determination to carry out their personal missions. Willpower are two-sided: red and white. There are four sets of Willpower, one per hunter, each set with its own icon. (25 per player.)
- Arsenal Cards (50): The tricks and advantages hunters bring to their task, played on the monster and each other. Imbedded in this deck are five Setback Cards with their own unique backing. Setbacks trigger citywide catastrophes that affect all hunters.
- Hardship Cards (25): The penalties and tragic losses that result from taking the hunt too far, or from hunters losing track of their former lives.
Setup
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Shuffle the City Deck. Draw from the deck to form a pyramid of City Cards, six at the base of the formation and one at the top, as shown in the diagram. A pyramid contains 21 City Cards. All cards are placed facedown. If a General Card is drawn for the top, place it back in the deck at random and draw a new card.
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Assign seven City Cards facedown to the tracker, one in each of the spaces. Place the turn marker in the daytime space of the leftmost turn, and flip the leftmost City Card face up. Face-up cards on the tracker are weapons, contacts and gear that emerge in town over the course of the game, becoming available to all hunters. Facedown cards have yet to be discovered and are unavailable until flipped.
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Give each hunter a Hunter Card and four tokens, rated 0 through 3. The remaining player draws or chooses a Monster Card, depending on what everyone agrees upon in advance. The monster's identity is announced. The monster gets 12 tokens, three of each kind (0-3).
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Pour all remaining tokens into the box lid, all facedown. Draw one at random and assign it face up to each of the City Cards in the pyramid. No tokens rated "0" go on City Cards. Return those to the box lid and draw again. Tokens are not placed on the City Cards located on the tracker.
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Hunters assign their 0-3 tokens, one to each of the four Callings on their Hunter Cards, placing the tokens facedown. The Callings are Destruction, Scientific Study, Absolution and Occult Mastery. Choice of token is decided based on the structure of the pyramid and a hunter's intended strategy for the game. A hunter's trait rated 3 is called his primary Calling. Hunters' Calling scores are fixed; they're never spent.
The monster also assigns his 12 tokens facedown to the four Callings on his Monster Card, assigning each of the following scores to one of his Callings: 3, 4, 5 and 6. He can combine his tokens in any way he likes to achieve these totals. "0" tokens are placeholders and allow the monster to bluff. The monster's Calling scores are spent over the course of the game.
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Shuffle the Arsenal Deck with all Setbacks included in it. Deal three Arsenal Cards to each player. Shuffle the Influence Deck and deal three of its cards to the monster. All of these cards are kept secret and in hand until played. Each hunter places five Willpower in the reserve on his Hunter Card. If any Setback Cards are dealt at the beginning of the game, their effects apply from the outset.
Turn Structure
Hunter: Deadly Prey is played across seven turns, each of which represents one day. After seven turns of play, a week has passed on the hunt and the game is over. The game's marker is placed on the appropriate daytime or nighttime space of the turn in question, recording the passage of time.
Parts of a Turn
Each turn has two parts: daytime and nighttime. Each of those is comprised of two phases: the Placement Phase and the Resolution Phase. So, a turn looks like this:
- Daytime
- Placement Phase
- Resolution Phase
- Nighttime
- Placement Phase
- Resolution Phase
After the First Turn
After the first turn of the game has been played, a few things happen at the beginning of each subsequent daytime of a turn:
- Each hunter adds a Willpower to his reserve.
- Each hunter draws a new Arsenal Card and adds it to his hand.
- The facedown City Card on the tracker affiliated with the new turn is flipped and becomes accessible to hunters.
At the beginning of each new nighttime after the first, the monster:
- Draws one Influence Card and adds it to his hand.
- Draws one token at random from those remaining in the box lid, and places it facedown on one Calling of his choice on his Monster Card.
Initiative
The order of hunters' activities in a whole turn is determined by Initiative. The hunter with the most Willpower currently in his reserve at the beginning of a turn wins Initiative. The Initiative winner has choice to act first or last in each phase (Placement and Resolution), whether it's currently daytime or nighttime. Other hunters' actions are resolved clockwise from him. If hunters' Willpower totals tie, high roller wins for the whole turn.
Hunters are not required to take actions during any particular daytime or nighttime of a turn. If they decline, they don't take part in the order of actions performed that phase. Initiative order for the turn is still observed among acting hunters.
One City Card at a Time
When hunters perform actions in a Placement or Resolution Phase, they do so one City Card at a time. Any number of available activities is performed on a single card, such as placing white Willpower, or attempting to take control of a City Card. Once those efforts are complete, the next hunter in a clockwise direction gets to perform actions on a single City Card. And so the process continues around and around the table, one City Card at a time per player, until all hunters have exhausted the activities they can attempt, or they declare no more actions for the current phase.
A hunter can skip his rotation in the order of action in a Placement or Resolution Phase. The next hunter to his left then performs his next action. A hunter may skip his rotation only once a phase. If he does it again, he can perform no more actions in that phase.
Acting by Day
Hunters get to take actions normally in the daytime part of any turn.
Acting by Night
In order for a hunter to act by night, he must draw a Hardship Card first. When a hunter acts by night, the following penalties apply:
- All City Cards are considered worth one more point than normal when attempting to take control of them. This includes Minion Cards.
- Subtract two from the point total that each hunter brings to bear when confronting the monster at the top of the pyramid.
Placement Phase
In the Placement Phase of any daytime or nighttime, hunters declare their intentions for the City Cards in the pyramid, seeking to take control of some and establish a presence on others.
Based on Initiative order for the turn, each hunter places any number of Willpower from his reserve on one City Card at a time. These Willpower go white-side-up. The rotation of placing white Willpower proceeds around the table, one City Card at a time per hunter, until each hunter declares "pass." Once a hunter passes, he can place no more Willpower and is out of the rotation.
A hunter's white Willpower can go on any facedown or face-up City Card in the pyramid, even if other hunters' Willpower are also on a card.
After a hunter has placed white Willpower on a City Card, he can add more in a subsequent rotation around the table. That subsequent placement still counts as the one card he can affect at that time.
Willpower are not placed on City Cards on the turn tracker.
Resolution Phase
In the Resolution Phase of any daytime or nighttime, hunters act on the white Willpower they have on the pyramid. Addressing these Willpower is conducted in order of Initiative for the turn, one card at a time per player in a rotation that goes around the table until all hunters pass or their available white Willpower are exhausted.
A hunter can utilize as many of his white Willpower on a City Card as he likes at one time. If he leaves any unaddressed, he can return to them in a subsequent rotation in the same phase. Doing so still counts as the one card he can affect at that time.
A hunter can choose to do one of the following when he addresses his white Willpower on a City Card:
- Attempt to take control of a facedown City Card.
- Flip any white Willpower on a card he already controls over to red, reinforcing his control.
Normally, a hunter can successfully take control of no more than one City Card in a Resolution Phase. If he fails at an attempt, he may try again on the same or other City Cards as long as he has white Willpower in place.
Beyond taking control of and reinforcing City Cards, a hunter has other options from which to choose in his rotation of a Resolution Phase:
- White Willpower placed on a face-up City Card controlled by another hunter can be left there to poach from the card (see Poaching).
- White Willpower placed on a face-up City Card controlled by another hunter can be flipped over to the red side to intrude on the card (see Intrusion).
- Any red Willpower on a City Card can be discarded to eliminate an equal number of other hunters' red Willpower on the card. Or one red Willpower on a card can be discarded to eliminate two white Willpower owned by other hunters on the same card.
- A City Card in the pyramid that has been destroyed by the monster can be replaced. The hunter must control a City Card beside or above (but not below) the vacancy, and incurs a Hardship Card to do so.
- Take control of a General Card (see General Cards). This could mean he successfully takes control of two City Cards in the same Resolution Phase.
- Reclaim any of his Willpower, white or red, from any/all City Cards and put them in his reserve. Doing so counts as an action unto itself, and can be combined with no other activities. Performing this action means a hunter can perform no more in a Resolution Phase (except play Arsenal Cards).
White Willpower can be left unaddressed on City Cards at the end of a Resolution Phase.
Taking Control of a City Card
Hunters acquire weapons, secrets and contacts in their struggle against the supernatural. They do so by taking control of City Cards across the pyramid, gaining more and more information as they climb toward the top.
Card Choice
During one of his actions in the Resolution Phase, a hunter flips over a facedown City Card on which he has white Willpower. From there, he can make one of three choices:
- Take control of it by accumulating points or making a roll.
- Discard the City Card and draw a new one from the City Deck. The new card is placed face up in the same spot on the pyramid, using the same token from the discard. Any other hunters' white Willpower on the original card go on the new one. A normal control attempt is then made on the card.
- Spend one Willpower from his reserve to exchange the flipped City Card with a face-up card from the tracker. The token from the old card goes on the one moved to the pyramid. Any other hunters' white Willpower on the original card go on the new one as well. A normal control attempt is then made on the new pyramid card.
If the City Card flipped turns out to be a Minion Card, no card change is allowed. The Minion must be dealt with immediately by rolling dice (see Minion Cards).
City Card Ratings
Each City Card on the pyramid has a rating that determines how challenging it is to take control of. This value is based on two factors: the row of the pyramid in which the card lies, and the token on the card. Row values start as low as 3 for the bottom row, and rise to 8 for the top card. Token values range from 1 to 3.
A City Card's rating is determined by adding its row value and token score, so totals of 4-6 are possible on the bottom row of the pyramid, while 9-11 is possible for the top card.
Points versus Dice
Regardless of what the final City Card is in place, the hunter attempts to control it. He does so by accumulating points equal to the value of the card, or by rolling dice and hoping for some luck on the hunt.
Gathering Points for City Cards
In this approach to investigating monsters, a hunter applies his knowledge accumulated thus far and combines it with his determination. The result is gaining yet more advantages over the supernatural.
A number of points must be gathered that equals or exceeds the rating of the card targeted. Those points are drawn from the following sources:
- From a hunter's score in his own Calling that matches the Calling of the City Card in question (0-3).
- Two points are gained for each Willpower spent from the hunter's reserve.
- From select City Cards in the pyramid that the hunter already controls or poaches, which he now invokes. When a controlled or poached City Card is invoked, look at its score in the same Calling as the card targeted (0-3). That number is added to the hunter's points gathered to target the new card. A single controlled or poached City Card can be invoked only once in a hunter's attempt to take control of a new City Card.
- From a Minion Card that a hunter has defeated and set aside (1-3). See Minion Cards.
Each time a City Card is invoked, the token assigned to it lowers by one. Find an appropriately numbered token in the box lid and place it face up on the invoked card. The old token goes facedown in the lid.
When the token on a face-up City Card falls to zero from being invoked, that City Card is removed from the pyramid and discarded face up. It's replaced immediately with a facedown card from the City Deck. A new token is drawn for the new City Card, and placed face up.
Any Willpower — white or red — on an exhausted card are discarded.
When a hunter gathers points, he doesn't have to invoke all face-up City Cards that he already controls or poaches. He can choose which cards he calls upon.
If the rating of the targeted City Card is met or exceeded, it's left face up and is now controlled. It's now part of the hunter's repertoire of tools, information and contacts. The token is left on it as a record of how many times the card can be invoked thereafter. Any hunters' white Willpower that were on the card when it was facedown remain on it now. The active hunter can flip any white Willpower he has on the card over to the red side, indicating he has control.
It's possible that a hunter sets out to control a City Card by gathering points, but can't gather all the points he needs. He can't stop now. The process must continue, but is decided with dice instead of with gathered points.
Rolling Dice for City Cards
Rather than gather points to control City Cards, hunters can choose (or may have) to roll dice to complete the job. The hunter relies on hope to advance his cause.
The hunter rolls a number of dice equal to his score in the Calling that matches the City Card targeted (0-3 dice). At least one die must get a result equal to or higher than the rating of the City Card (4-11).
A score of 0 in the appropriate Calling means the hunter can't make the roll at all, unless he has some Arsenal Cards to play that grant him dice, or he has defeated a Minion Card that can be cashed in (see Minion Cards). If no roll is possible, the resolution attempt fails.
Managing Resources
When a hunter gathers points to control a City Card, don't discard all the resources he uses until the effort succeeds. An Arsenal Card played by another hunter, or the monster's meddling could prohibit the hunter from gathering the points he needs. That means he has to roll dice to control the card, instead. It also means the hunter gets to keep all the resources he intended to use. All "spent" Willpower return to his reserve. Tokens assigned to City Cards he would have invoked return to their previous value. Minions he has defeated are still available to cash in.
Successful Dice
If the roll succeeds, the card is controlled successfully. It's left face up, with its token as a record of how many times the card can be invoked thereafter. Any hunters' white Willpower that were on the card when it was facedown remain on it now. The active hunter can flip any white Willpower he has on the card over to the red side, indicating he has control.
Failed Dice
The effort fails if dice rolled have insufficient results. In that case, the failing hunter loses a number of Willpower equal to the token on the card (1-3). These Willpower are removed from the white ones he has on the card first. If any remainder still needs to be paid, they come from the hunter's reserve.
If the hunter still owes Willpower, he must discard Arsenal Cards from his hand to match the outstanding debt. Each Arsenal Card has a value (1-3) listed in parentheses at the end of its text. If the hunter has no Arsenal Cards to discard (or not even their values are enough), he incurs a Hardship Card immediately.
After a failed dice roll to control a City Card, a variety of effects may apply to the card:
- If the failing hunter is left with no white Willpower on the card, and no other players have Willpower on it, the City Card is discarded. It's replaced immediately with a facedown card from the City Deck and a new token is assigned to it at random.
- If a failing hunter is left with any number of white Willpower on the City Card, the card remains in place on the pyramid, but is flipped facedown again. The hunter may attempt to control the card again in a subsequent action. His current action is over and the next hunter to his left gets her action.
- If any other hunter has white Willpower on the City Card, the card remains in place in the pyramid, but is flipped facedown again. Other hunters may attempt to control it for themselves thereafter.
City Card Possibilities
A variety of circumstances can arise as hunters strive to control City Cards.
Cooperating
Hunters can cooperate to control a City Card in a Resolution Phase. Each must have white Willpower on the card. All must also agree that they'll work together. If they do, they all get an action in the current rotation based on the best position among them in the Initiative order for the turn. After that rotation is complete, hunters' relative Initiative positions return to normal.
- Choosing the City Card: The cooperating hunters must agree on what choice to make with the flipped City Card:
- Control it as turned.
- Replace it with a draw from the City Deck.
- Exchange it with a card from the tracker. One hunter must volunteer to spend a Willpower from his reserve.
- Gathering or Rolling: The cooperating hunters must agree to gather points or roll dice to control the City Card in question.
If they gather points, they all contribute them by the normal means, based on their individual Calling scores, any Willpower they choose to spend, any controlled or poached City Cards they invoke, or any defeated Minions they cash in. Their points are pooled to match the rating of the City Card.
If they choose (or are forced) to roll, a number of dice is used equal to the highest appropriate Calling score among them. If the roll succeeds, the City Card is controlled. If the roll fails, each hunter loses a number of Willpower equal to the token on the City Card.
Once a City Card is controlled cooperatively, each contributing hunter can flip any of his white Willpower on the card to red, indicating their shared control.
Cooperating to control a card counts as the one City Card that each participating hunter is normally allowed to control in a Resolution Phase.
Limits on Controlling
Normally, a hunter can successfully take control of only one City Card in a Resolution Phase. He can attempt to take control of multiple City Cards throughout his actions in the phase, but can succeed at only one.
General Cards are the exception. A hunter can take control of an extra one of those in a Resolution Phase, for a possible total of two City Cards. Only one new General Card, maximum, is allowed to be taken control of by a hunter in a Resolution Phase.
This Card Goes to 11
When the token on the top card of the pyramid is "3," the rating of that City Card is 11 (8 for the row + 3 for the token). That means dice cannot be rolled to control the card. It must be controlled by gathering points, whether by one hunter or by cooperating hunters. (A rating of 11 also precludes a hunter from intruding forcibly on the top card when someone else controls it — see Intrusion.)
Severed Path
During the course of play, a hunter's path of connected cards from the bottom row of the pyramid to the highest card he controls might be severed. He cannot take control of City Cards on a new, higher row until his path is restored. He must take control of the City Card that replaces the lost one. Or he needs an alternative path of connected cards from the bottom of the pyramid. Until a hunter's path is restored, he can only attempt to take control of new City Cards that are beside or below ones that he already controls.
This limitation also applies to intruding on City Cards that other hunters control (see Intrusion). Until the hunter's path is restored, he cannot intrude on City Cards on a new, higher row.
He cannot even attempt to control General Cards on a new, higher row. (See General Cards for their special applications.)
Example (sidebar): The Cop's path of controlled City Cards from "Army-Navy Store" to "Planetarium" has been severed. He cannot attempt to control the Occult Mastery Card above "Planetarium" until his path is restored by controlling one of the Absolution or Destruction Cards above "Army-Navy Store."
Invoking City Cards
The City Cards a hunter invokes must be connected in a path to a new card he seeks to control. If that path is broken, separated City Cards cannot be invoked to help control a new one.
The Bottom Row
A hunter can always take control of a facedown City Card anywhere on the bottom row of the pyramid during his action in a Resolution Phase. The new card does not have to be connected to other cards that he controls. Likewise, a hunter can always poach from or intrude upon a face-up City Card on the bottom row, even if the card is not connected to his path.
General Cards
General Cards are handled just like any other City Cards in the pyramid, with a few exceptions:
- During setup, the City Card at the top of the pyramid can never be General. During play, the top card of the pyramid can never be changed to a General Card.
- A General Card can be taken control of anywhere in the pyramid, whether it's connected to the City Cards a hunter controls or not. General Cards can also be intruded upon when they're not connected to any other cards that a hunter controls.
- When a facedown General Card is turned to be controlled, it cannot be exchanged with a card on the tracker, or be replaced with a card from the City Deck. It must be taken control of as is.
- A hunter can take control of a second card in a Resolution Phase if one of them is a General Card. A hunter can take control of no more than one General Card in a phase, total.
- Dice must be rolled to control a General Card. No points are gathered. A hunter rolls a number of dice equal to the token on the card (1-3). If the roll succeeds, the hunter controls the card and can turn one or more of his Willpower on it to red.
The Rules of 3
- No hunter can have more than 3 red Willpower on a City Card at one time. So, if four hunters are playing, no more than 12 red Willpower could be on a single card, total.
- The monster can never spend more than three Calling points to meddle with a hunter's attempt to control a City Card.
- The monster can never spend more than three Calling points in one attack on a City Card.
See Playing the Monster for rules on playing the monster.
Minion Cards
Minions are a type of City Card that represents the threats hunters can encounter while pursuing monsters. Sometimes these encounters are with mundane dangers, such as thugs or robbers. Other times they're with people who have their own connection to the supernatural, such as cultists.
When a Minion Card turns up in the pyramid, it must be dealt with immediately by the hunter turning the card. A Minion can't be traded to the tracker or replaced with a card from the City Deck.
A hunter rolls a number of dice equal to his score in the Minion's Calling. At least one die must get a number equal to or higher than the rating of the Minion (row value + token). If the roll succeeds, the hunter sets the Minion face up nearby, with its token on it. He can discard the Minion any time thereafter to:
- Add a bonus to take control of any other City Card in the pyramid.
- Add a bonus to forcibly intrude upon another City Card in the pyramid.
The bonus is equal to the token on the Minion. That bonus is added in points if they're gathered, or in dice if a roll is made.
Defeating a Minion does not count as the one City Card a hunter is allowed to take control of in a phase.
If the roll fails, the Minion is discarded from the pyramid and the hunter loses a number of Willpower equal to the Minion's token value. These lost Willpower come from any he had placed on the Minion first, with any remainder coming from his reserve. If he doesn't have all the Willpower in his reserve to lose, he must discard the remainder in terms of point values of the Arsenal Cards (1-3) in his hand. If he doesn't have enough points worth of Arsenal Cards to spend, either, he incurs a Hardship Card.
After a Minion is dealt with, a new City Card is placed facedown in the pyramid, and a new token is assigned to it. If any hunters' white Willpower remain on a Minion after its attack, they go on the new City Card that replaces it.
If a hunter's appropriate Calling score is zero, a Minion defeats him automatically unless he has a helpful Arsenal Card to play. If a Minion's total value is 11, it can't be defeated without the help of an appropriate Arsenal Card.
If a Minion Card appears face up on the tracker, it remains there. It poses no direct threat to any hunter, but does diminish all hunters' options in terms of cards available from the tracker.
When hunters cooperate to control a City Card, they still work together if the card turns out to be a Minion. The highest appropriate Calling score among them is rolled. If the roll succeeds, the hunter with that score sets the Minion Card aside as his own resource thereafter. If the roll fails, all participating hunters lose Willpower equal to the token on the Minion.
Controlled City Cards
During the Placement Phase, a hunter can assign any white Willpower to City Cards that are already controlled by other hunters. Doing so grants access to those cards, to the consternation of the controlling hunters. It allows for "poaching" and "intrusion."
Poaching
When a hunter seeks to control a new City Card in a Resolution Phase, he can invoke a card that another player controls, poaching from it. The poaching hunter must have white Willpower placed on the invoked card, one of which is now discarded. That grants the poaching hunter points toward resolving the new City Card as if he controlled the invoked card.
A hunter can poach from the same card no more than once in an attempt to control another City Card, no matter how many white Willpower he has on the invoked card. He can poach from any number of other hunters' cards in the same attempt.
The token on a poached card is lowered by one as a result.
A poached City Card needs to be connected to the cards that a hunter controls. It can't be invoked if it's not connected in a path to the City Card a hunter attempts to control.
Intrusion
When a hunter has one or more white Willpower placed on a City Card that's controlled by another hunter, he can flip any of those Willpower to red, making him a fellow controller of the card. Intruding is an action performed during the Resolution Phase. There are two ways to do it:
- The current controller(s) can allow it without contest.
- The current controllers can challenge the bid. The intruder rolls a number of dice equal to his score in the card's Calling. Each die result equal to or higher than the rating of the card (its row value + token) flips one of the intruder's white Willpower on the card to red. Any remaining white Willpower remain in place. If the roll fails altogether, the would-be intruder loses a number of Willpower equal to the token on the card. These are lost from his Willpower on the card first, with any remainder taken from his reserve and then from his Arsenal Cards if necessary. If those sources aren't sufficient, he incurs a Hardship Card.
A card targeted for intrusion usually needs to be connected to the City Cards a hunter already controls. More "distant" cards cannot be subject to intrusion unless they're on the bottom row of the pyramid, or they're General Cards.
Intruding on a City Card does not count as the one City Card that a hunter can successfully take control of in a phase.
Evicting Other Hunters
A hunter who controls a City Card can "evict" other hunters' Willpower from the card. The controlling hunter can spend an action to discard one or more red Willpower of his own from the card to eliminate the same number of another hunter's from the same card. Or one red Willpower sacrificed evicts up to two white Willpower from the card.
Restoring Destroyed City Cards
The monster that stalks the city is capable of more than just interfering with hunters' efforts. The creature can attack and destroy City Cards in the pyramid, limiting hunters' capabilities. The rules for playing the monster begin on p. 12. For now, hunters need to understand how they can restore City Cards to the pyramid after the monster attacks.
When the monster eliminates a card from the pyramid, a vacancy is created that's not filled immediately. A hunter who controls a City Card beside or above (but not below) the vacancy may fill it as an action during the Resolution Phase. The hunter incurs a Hardship Card. After that, he draws a new card from the City Deck and fills the vacancy with the facedown card. A new token is assigned to the replacement City Card.
Tactics
Most City Cards show one of five different icons. They represent ways in which different City Cards can be combined to get the most use out of information, weapons and contacts on the hunt.
- Observation (icon)
- Socializing with Monsters (icon)
- Tracking (icon)
- Trapping/Suppressing (icon)
- Defense (icon)
When a single hunter controls two or more City Cards that show the same symbol (called "tactics" symbols), the token on each card can fall no lower than 1 from being invoked, even from use by other controlling hunters or by "poaching" hunters. Those City Cards remain in the pyramid and hunters get to keep calling on them almost indefinitely. The only way for these cards to be exhausted is for all red Willpower to be removed from them, or due to an Arsenal or Influence Card effect. If a set of tactics cards is ever broken, the remaining card functions normally thereafter.
If a hunter controls City Cards that show more than one set of symbols, the tactics advantage for his action can be applied to only one of those sets. Say he controls two cards that show Observation and two that show Trapping/Suppressing. He can invoke all four of those cards to control a new card, but only the first or second set's tokens stay at 1 as a result.
The effects of tactics symbols apply even if a hunter's path of connected cards in the pyramid is severed. A hunter can control cards with shared tactics anywhere on the pyramid and be able to benefit from those sets.
Gaining Willpower
Willpower is gained as follows, going straight to a hunter's reserve.
- Gain one Willpower at the beginning of each daytime after the first.
- Discard an unused Arsenal Card to gain a number of Willpower equal to the value listed on the card. This can be done at any time, with any number of cards.
- Incur a Hardship Card for two Willpower. This can be performed at any time, but only once per daytime or nighttime.
- During the Resolution Phase, a hunter can reclaim any of his Willpower — white or red — from any City Cards in the pyramid as a single action. Reclaiming the last red Willpower on a City Card means the card is discarded and replaced immediately with a draw from the City Deck. Any white Willpower still on the lost card are discarded. The new City Card goes facedown and a new token is applied. Reclaiming Willpower from any card is the last action a hunter can perform in a Resolution Phase.
Arsenal Cards
Arsenal Cards are advantages, tricks and techniques that hunters acquire, which can be applied to their fellows or to the monster.
A hunter starts the game with three of these cards, and gets another one at the beginning of each new daytime part of a turn, drawn in order of Initiative for the turn. Arsenal Cards are kept secret in hand and can be played at any time. They must be played before points are gathered or dice are rolled in a situation (unless a card states otherwise).
Each Arsenal Card shows a number that's its value. Discard an unused card at any time for that number of Willpower.
Hunters can't trade Arsenal Cards. Nor can they play them on other hunters' behalf unless a card allows it, or a card specifically says it can be played on "any" City Card. For example, you couldn't play your "Empirical Data" card to benefit another hunter's effort to control a City Card.
Setback Cards
Intermixed into the Arsenal Deck are Setback Cards. They're city-wide events that affect all hunters. These cards have their own unique backing. When one appears at the top of the Arsenal Deck, read that Setback aloud and put it into play face up. Any hunter who has yet to get his Arsenal Card draws the next available card from the deck. Once a Setback lapses, place it among the Arsenal discards.
Hardship Cards
Hardships represent hunters' obsession with stalking and confronting monsters. These cards are drawn when hunters commit too much of themselves to the crusade, losing touch with their former lives.
A hunter can be subject to any number of Hardship Cards at one time. Some cards' effects are immediate while others are delayed. Be warned: A Hardship incurred willingly to achieve a goal, such as taking control of a City Card or operating at nighttime in a turn can actually prohibit that very action.
You can willingly suffer a Hardship Card to gain one of the following advantages:
- To act at nighttime in a turn.
- To replace a City Card destroyed by the monster.
- To gain two Willpower. A Hardship can be drawn for this effect at any time, but only once per daytime or nighttime. The Willpower gained goes straight to your reserve.
Playing the Monster
Operating from the city's shadows, the monster tries to keep the troublesome hunters at bay. If the monster can avoid direct confrontation with the hunters for a full week, it gets away.
Managing Cards
Various kinds of cards can be played in a game of Deadly Prey — Arsenal, Hardship, Influence and Setback. They usually work harmoniously with each other. For example, a Setback, Influence, Hardship and Arsenal Card can all be in play at the same time without creating confusion. If there's ever a conflict among them, some card types take precedence over others according to the following list:
- Setback Cards
- Hardship Cards
- Influence Cards
- Arsenal Cards
For example, the effects of a Setback trump those of an Influence Card when there's ever a conflict between them.
When cards of the same type conflict, such as Arsenal Cards played by hunters at the same time, they're resolved in order of declaration. If there's still uncertainty, resolve them in order of the players' Initiative standing in the turn.
If a player intends to use an Influence or Arsenal card that turns out to be invalidated, he can keep the card. He can't try to play it again until the next daytime or nighttime of the game.
If any deck is ever exhausted, shuffle its discards to form a new deck.
Calling Scores
The monster starts the game with scores of 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the four Callings, as assigned by the monster player. Scores are recorded with facedown tokens on the Monster Card. After that point, his scores have no maximum. While "0" tokens contribute nothing, they help the monster bluff about his scores. His tokens remain facedown throughout the game.
The monster assigns his tokens after the City Card pyramid is composed, but before play begins.
The only time the monster reveals any tokens to hunters is when he spends them or makes "change" to demonstrate that he isn't cheating.
The four Callings aren't really "skills" possessed by the monster. Rather, scores in them represent his ability to cope with threats posed through Destruction, Scientific Understanding, Absolution or Occult Mastery.
Acting by Day
When the monster acts by day, the following penalties apply:
- All City Cards are considered worth one more point than normal to attack them.
- The monster cannot willingly reduce any of his Callings to zero during daytime.
Acting by Night
The monster gets to take actions normally in the nighttime part of any turn.
The Monster's Power
In addition to his scores and other capabilities, each monster has an innate power, as detailed on his Monster Card. This power can be used at any time, unless it specifies otherwise, and has a cost per use.
The Monster's Schemes
There are two primary ways in which the monster can interfere in hunters' activities: meddling with City Cards and attacking City Cards. Both of these techniques are paid for in tokens, sometimes at face value and sometimes making change from the tokens available in the box lid.
Meddling
While hunters scour the city in search of clues about the supernatural, the monster plies its sway over mortal institutions and activities, making it difficult for hunters to uncover secrets.
Whenever a hunter attempts to control a City Card, the monster can discard up to three points from the Calling that matches the card in question. Each point spent adds one to the value of the card (its row value + token), raising the number of points the hunter must gather, or the number he must roll.
Meddling can't raise a City Card's total value higher than 10.
If the card targeted is General, the monster can spend points from any of its Calling scores, in any combination.
Meddling must be performed before a hunter gathers points or rolls dice, and can be inflicted only one time per attempt at a City Card. After one intrusion, no more points can be spent to interfere.
The monster may interfere in any number of hunters' efforts to control City Cards in a phase.
The monster can meddle the same way in a hunter's effort to defeat a Minion Card.
Meddling can also be used when hunters roll to forcibly intrude on a controlled City Card, raising the total value of the card in question.
Attacking City Cards
When a hunter performs an action in the Resolution Phase, she exposes herself to the monster and he can lash out at her. Immediately after a hunter performs an action in the Resolution Phase, the monster can stage an attack on any City Card that hunter controls. The monster spends up to three points in the Calling appropriate to the City Card targeted. Each point allows the monster to roll one die.
If the targeted card is General, points can be spent from any Calling in any combination to a limit of three, total.
Successful Attacks: Each die roll that equals or exceeds the total value of the card (its row value + token) eliminates one red Willpower from the card. The monster chooses which points are discarded if more than one player has red Willpower present.
If all red Willpower are eliminated, the targeted City Card is discarded, creating a vacancy in the pyramid. A hunter who controlled the card suddenly runs short of time on the hunt. One of his discarded Willpower is placed on the last, rightmost nighttime space of the turn tracker. The game ends for him at that point, after which he can do no more. If multiple hunters control a card that's destroyed, each of them places a Willpower on the tracker.
Should the monster ever destroy a second City Card that a hunter controls, another one of his discarded Willpower goes on the tracker, this time on the rightmost daytime space that remains. And so the process continues as more of a hunter's City Cards are destroyed. The game ends sooner and sooner for him.
Any white Willpower on a City Card that's destroyed are all discarded.
Failed Attacks: If the monster rolls too low, no red Willpower are removed from a City Card. The Calling points spent by the monster are wasted. No more attacks are allowed at this time. Subsequent attacks must be made after other hunters perform actions.
Alternative Attacks: Instead of focusing on a hunter who has just performed an action in the Resolution Phase, the monster can strike elsewhere. At any time during the Resolution Phase, the monster can:
- Attack a facedown City Card in the pyramid. The card's rating is considered equal to its row value alone; token score is not added. At least one die roll equal to or higher than that number is required. On a successful roll, the City Card is discarded and replaced immediately with a facedown card from the deck. A new token is assigned to the new card. Any white Willpower on the destroyed card is discarded.
- Attack a face-up or facedown card on the tracker. Any single roll of 6+ succeeds. The card is discarded, but is not replaced.
Sidebar text printed beside this passage in the source layout: "The game ends after turn 6 for this hunter."
Attack Limitations: There are limitations on what the monster can do when attacking City Cards.
- Valid Targets: A hunter can be targeted for attack only after he performs an action in the Resolution Phase. If he skips an action or does nothing at all, the City Cards he controls can't be targeted. Playing Arsenal Cards doesn't make a hunter a valid target.
- One Successful Attack: Each Resolution Phase, the monster is allowed one successful attack on a City Card. He may eliminate a single red Willpower on a controlled card, or he may eliminate them all and cause the card to be discarded. Either case counts as his one successful attack for the phase. Causing a facedown card on the pyramid to be removed also counts as the monster's one attack, as does destroying any City Card (face up or down) on the turn tracker.
Attacks that fail to get any results don't count. The monster can try to attack again in the same phase. Subsequent efforts must wait until the next hunter performs an action. No more than one attempt is allowed at a time.
- Final Confrontation: When hunters take control of the top City Card of the pyramid, they confront the monster immediately. The creature is not allowed to attack any of the acting hunters' controlled cards before the confrontation can be resolved.
Feeding
The monster gains Calling points as follows:
- After the first game turn is completed, the monster draws one token at random from the box lid at the beginning of each nighttime. Only he sees its value. Tokens rated 0 are legitimate. He uses them to bluff. The whole token is assigned to the Calling of his choice. It can't be made into "change" or distributed across Callings.
- When the monster succeeds at destroying a controlled, face-up City Card on the pyramid, he gains the token from it to add to one Calling of his choice. No such reward is gained from eliminating a facedown City Card. Its token is simply discarded.
- The monster can exchange any two of his Calling points in any combination for one of another type. The monster can do this at any time, but not while the top card of the pyramid is face up.
Influence Cards
Influence Cards are the monster's answer to Arsenal Cards. They allow him to play special tricks on hunters. They can be played at any time, unless a card specifies otherwise. They have to be played before hunters' points are gathered or dice are rolled. These cards are kept in hand. The monster starts the game with three of them, and draws a new one at the beginning of each nighttime of a turn after the first.
Confronting the Monster
Creating a path of controlled cards from the bottom of the pyramid upward allows one or more hunters to take control of the top card. That's the last supernatural secret they need to learn and face the monster directly. Remember: A General Card can never be placed at the top of the pyramid.
Once the top card is controlled, each of the hunters who owns it identifies the City Cards he controls that are of the same Calling as the top card, and tallies the tokens on them. Each hunter's total is compared to the monster's current score in same the Calling. For each hunter after the first attacking the monster at the same time, each adds one to his total. Confronting the monster at night lowers each hunter's tally by two points. If a hunter's total equals or exceeds the monster's, he defeats the monster. The Calling of the top card spells the monster's fate, whether it's utter ruin, empirical analysis, salvation, or mystic domination.
If a hunter's total is less than the monster's, he's killed. It's therefore possible for some hunters to defeat the monster while others are killed in the battle.
It's even possible that all hunters cooperating in a confrontation are killed. That doesn't mean the game is over. Others might still climb to the top of the pyramid and pose their own challenge before the week is over.
Desperate Bid
By making one last push to take control of the top card of the pyramid, hunters might invoke City Cards below and exhaust those cards completely. The hunters' path to the top is severed, but they still arrive and confront the monster. If controlling the top card fails, the monster isn't faced and the hunters can't try again until their path to the top is restored.
Victory Conditions
While defeating the monster may seem to be the goal of Deadly Prey, it's really a game about understanding the supernatural and surviving the experience. Hunters who overcome the monster do well, but may not necessarily win the game.
Defeating the monster awards hunters points based on the total number of hunters involved in the confrontation (not just those who survive it):
- 1 Hunter = 12 points
- 2 Hunters = 6 points each
- 3 Hunters = 4 points each
- 4 Hunters = 3 points each
When the monster is defeated, the winner of the game is the hunter who survives and who amasses the highest score, determined by adding the following:
- The token values on all City Cards that a hunter controls at the end of the game
- Any points gained for overcoming the monster
- 5 extra points for controlling five or more City Cards that match the hunter's primary Calling at the end of the game
- 5 extra points for controlling one City Card of each Calling (including General) at the end of the game
Determining the winner of the game based on points means a hunter who never faces the monster could still be winner. He lives to fight another day, and has gained the most insight, allies, information and tools against the supernatural.
When a monster destroys City Cards a hunter controls, the game ends early for that hunter. Someone may still confront the monster before his game ends, or he may do it himself. This hunter can still win the game if he's alive and has the most points at the absolute end of play.
A hunter who dies does not win, regardless of how many points he would have had.
The monster wins the game if he's still active at the end of seven turns. He interferes with the hunters' efforts long enough to disappear behind his shroud of secrecy.