I Am Death Now? Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
  • Overall Play Setup
  • Individual Play Setup
  • Getting Started
• On Your Turn
• Death Students
• Test Subjects
  • Pain Categories
  • Pairs
  • Immunity
  • Test Subject Cards on the Sheet
  • Death
• Pain Cards
  • Pain Categories
  • Pain Threshold
  • Pain Card Groups
  • Combining Cards
  • Not Allowed
  • Pain Cards Stay in Play
• Cheat Cards
  • Cheat Cards on the Sheet
• How to Win

Overview

Players: 2-5. Ages: 13 and up. Playing time: 30-45 minutes.

Each player is a Student Death trying to earn an official Death License by killing five Test Subjects before the other Classmates do.

Components

The deck should be divided into four parts:

• Death Students
• Test Subjects
• Pain cards
• Cheat cards

Setup

Overall Play Setup

The table has a central Draw pile and Discard pile. A Play Area is set out on each side of the table, so that every Classmate has a play area in front of them.

Individual Play Setup

• Cemetery: each player's Death Student card is their Cemetery. Killed Test Subjects are buried under your Student.
• Death List: the Test Subjects you must kill are laid out face up in front of you. This is your Death List, where the Test Subjects wait to be killed.

Getting Started

1. Each Classmate randomly picks one Death Student from the Student Deck and places it face up in their Cemetery. If any are left over, set them aside, they will not be needed.
2. Shuffle the Test Subjects and deal out five to each Classmate. These will be laid out face up in front of you. This is your Death List. Set the remaining Test Subjects aside.
3. Shuffle the Pain Deck and the Cheat Deck together. Deal out five cards to each Classmate. These will stay in your hand and should not be seen by others.
4. Youngest goes last because they always go first in other games.
5. Play counter-clockwise because games always play clockwise, and I said so.

On Your Turn

1. At the start of your turn make sure you have five cards in your hand. Draw from the Draw Pile until you do.
2. Play cards on your Test Subjects, or on your Classmates as they apply. You may play as many cards in your hand as you like each turn. You do NOT have to play any cards at all, even if you are able to. This is your choice.
3. If you draw a Cheat card you may play it on yourself or on a Classmate, or you may hold it to play at a strategic moment in the game. Some Cheat cards require immediate play.
4. To signal the end of your turn you must discard one card into the Discard Pile. If you play all five from your hand, your turn is over.
5. When the Draw Pile runs out, shuffle the Discard Pile and use it as the new Draw Pile.

Death Students

There are a total of six Death Students. They will be testing to receive their official Death License. Each Classmate will randomly draw one card to choose a Death Student.

Every Death Student has unique abilities to help them in the game. Each unique ability only applies to themself and cannot be used on other Classmates unless the unique ability states otherwise.

Example Death Student: Hedwig. Likes and dislikes are printed on the card for flavour. Unique ability: May swap out ONE Test Subject for one from the deck, only once, before any Pain cards have been played on that Test Subject.

Note: the Death Student card for Cora is partly obscured on the sheet, so its unique ability cannot be transcribed.

Test Subjects

Pain Categories

Each Test Subject is made up of three Pain Categories that equal a Pain Tolerance of six. Satisfy each category and the Test Subject dies.

To kill Bentley you would need Existential cards that total at least 3, Psychological cards that total at least 2 and Physical cards that total at least 1.

Bentley's card shows the three requirements as: Existential 3 + Psychological 2 + Physical 1 = 6 Pain Tolerance.

Pairs

Every Test Subject also has a pair. Pairs share a nickname (e.g. The Social Influencers). Each Test Subject card also states the name of the missing pair (e.g. PAIRS WITH: Addison +1).

When a pair ends up together in a Classmate's Death List it will increase BOTH Test Subjects' Pain Tolerance by +1. This affects the total number (i.e. Pain Tolerance default of six is now seven). You may satisfy this extra +1 with ANY Pain Category that already applies to your Test Subject. (e.g. to kill Bentley you would need one extra card that is either Existential, Psychological or Physical.)

Immunity

All Test Subjects also have an immunity to a Pain card group that is in their highest ranked category (e.g. Bentley is immune to all three Why Am I Awkward? cards -1, -2 and -3).

Test Subject Cards on the Sheet

The sheet shows these Test Subjects, with their pair and immunity as printed:

• Bentley (The Social Influencers). Pairs with Addison +1. Immune: Why Am I Awkward?
• Addison (The Social Influencers). Pairs with Bentley +1. Immune: Mental Gymnastics.
• Beatrice (The Bingo Buddies). Pairs with Maude +1. Immune: Are We Alone?
• Aida (The Failed Acrobats). Pairs with Flora +1. Immune: I'm Not Crying.
• Jasper (The Escaped Convicts). Pairs with Oscar +1. Immune: No You Idiot!

Note: the sheet shows five Test Subject cards and their Pain Category values. Maude, Flora and Oscar (the missing pairs) and the rest of the Test Subject deck are not shown on the sheet.

Death

Once a Test Subject has been killed, they move to your Cemetery. All other cards with that Test Subject move to the Discard Pile.

Pain Cards

Pain cards are what you will use to inflict Pain on your Test Subjects. Inflict enough Pain and that Test Subject dies.

Pain Categories

There are five different Pain Categories:

• Physical
• Psychological
• Emotional
• Existential
• Supernatural

Pain Threshold

Each Test Subject has a Pain Tolerance composed of three of the five different categories of Pain. Pain cards have the ability to deal -1, -2 or -3 points against a Test Subject's Pain Tolerance. Use these cards strategically to equal each Test Subject's Pain Tolerance.

Pain Card Groups

If a Test Subject is immune to a certain type of Pain they are immune to the entire Pain group (e.g. Hold Mah Beer! -1, -2 and -3).

Combining Cards

Card numbers can be combined and added together. If you don't have a -3 card but have three -1 cards, you may combine them to equal -3. Also, if you only need a -1 to satisfy a category but only have a -3 card available, you are allowed to "overkill" your Test Subject.

Not Allowed

You may not "make change" with Pain cards by swapping out a -3 for three -1's or any other combination. You may not use Pain from one category and apply it to a different category.

Pain Cards Stay in Play

Once a Pain card has been played on a Test Subject it must stay with that Test Subject until they die, unless you have drawn a Cheat card stating otherwise.

Cheat Cards

Cheat cards can be used to help yourself or hinder your Classmates. Some Cheat cards must be played IMMEDIATELY, some may be played strategically.

Some Cheat cards need to stay visible in your play area during the game.

All cards should be self-explanatory but if the situation arises in which you feel it is unclear as to how a Cheat card should be used, it should be presented to the group to discuss for a majority rule decision. If there are only two players and you cannot come to an agreement then flip a coin or rock, paper, scissors, or whatever.

Cheat Cards on the Sheet

• Decrease Tolerance -1. Use this card to decrease the Pain Threshold of any subject by 1. Place this card under the Subject.
• Detention. Use this card on any classmate to make them skip their next turn. Place in the Discard Pile after use.
• Healing Touch. Remove one Pain card from any Test Subject owned by a classmate. Place in the Discard Pile after use. (Partly obscured on the sheet; the wording is taken from the legible portions.)
• I Will Revive! Use this card on a classmate to bring any dead Test Subject back to life. Classmate must take the Test Subject out of their Cemetery and place it back in their Death List. Place in the Discard Pile after use.

How to Win

Kill all five of your Test Subjects before the rest of your Classmates and earn your Death License!

You may now stand on the table and yell I AM DEATH NOW!