Legends of Hellas Rulebook

Table of Contents

Mythical Components
The Monsters
Special Ability
Starting a Mission
Gameplay
Winning or Losing
The Missions
Credits

Mythical Components

Legends of Hellas comes with this rulebook and:

61 action cards
10 monster cards
5 wooden hero discs, representing the heroes Achilles, Jason, Perseus, Hercules, and Atalanta

The Monsters

These 10 monsters will emerge over the course of the game: Minotaur, Centaur, Giant Lion, Lamia, Cyclops, Harpy, Gorgon, Griffin, Cerberus, and Hydra.

The bottom of each monster card shows 2 symbols, which represent the attributes needed to vanquish that monster. These symbols can also be found on the action cards: Guile, Speed, Arms, Strength, and Courage.

Each monster's two attributes are:

Minotaur — Arms and Strength
Centaur — Strength and Speed
Giant Lion — Courage and Strength
Lamia — Courage and Arms
Cyclops — Guile and Courage
Harpy — Speed and Arms
Gorgon — Arms and Guile
Griffin — Strength and Guile
Cerberus — Guile and Speed
Hydra — Speed and Courage

To defeat the monsters, the players must play action cards that match the symbols on the monsters' cards.

A monster is defeated once 5 action cards have been played next to it; those action cards must represent both of that monster's attributes.

Example: Perseus wants to defeat the Hydra, which has already had 4 speed action cards played on it. To defeat the Hydra, Perseus cannot play another speed action card; he must instead play a courage action card.

There is a 6th type of action card: "divine intervention." Divine intervention cards can be used as wild cards OR as a way to slay a monster using fewer than 5 action cards.

Example: Perseus and Atalanta are working together to defeat the Griffin, which can only be beaten using strength and guile cards. One strength card has already been played on the Griffin, but neither hero holds any additional strength and/or guile cards. However, each has a divine intervention card. Perseus goes first, playing his divine intervention as a guile card. Atalanta then plays her divine intervention, and with one of each attribute already in play, Atalanta immediately defeats the Griffin! To show that she used this effect, Atalanta plays her card sideways, under the Griffin.

In every mission, the final monster will always be a Chimera, made of 2 monster cards joined together.

Chimeras are harder to beat, requiring 8 action cards to vanquish. A divine intervention can reduce that number, but the players must still play at least 1 card for each of the Chimera's 4 attributes. If attributes are duplicated, as in the example, the players must still play 1 card per symbol.

Example: To defeat this combined monster using fewer than 8 cards, Hercules, Atalanta and Perseus must play at least 2 arms, 1 strength, and 1 courage action card before any of them can play a divine intervention to defeat the Chimera; they may still play divine interventions as 'wild' attributes.

Special Ability

Once per mission, each player may play one action card from their hand face-down next to a monster, causing that card to match their player color (e.g. the yellow hero, Atalanta, can turn a face-down action card into a guile action card). To indicate that this ability has been used, the player must flip their hero disc to its 'broken' side; that hero's disc will remain broken until the end of the mission.

Starting a Mission

Give each player the disc that represents their chosen Greek hero.
Shuffle the monster cards and assemble them into a face-down deck. Depending on the chosen mission, a specific number of monster cards will then be turned face-up in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the action cards into a face-down deck; include a number of divine intervention cards according to player count and desired difficulty. This is the draw deck. At the start of each mission, each player will draw 4 cards from the draw deck.

# of players	1	2	3	4	5
human	3	4	4	5	6
heroic	2	3	3	4	5
godlike	1	2	2	3	4

The table above shows the number of divine intervention cards to shuffle into the draw deck, by player count and difficulty level.

Once all players have looked at their action cards, any one player can decide to place their hero disc (with the 'bright' side face-up) on one of the monster cards in play. When that happens, all other players must also place their discs in clockwise order on any monster in play.

Gameplay

Important general rule: Players may not show each other their cards, and may not communicate with each other to provide hints about what cards they hold. Sentences like "Don't worry, I can handle the monster myself," or "I have 4 strength cards," are not allowed. Players may say things like "Don't forget to discard a card," or "How many cards do you have?" To avoid giving hints about their preferred attributes, players must place their hero discs in the middle of monster cards, rather than to any particular side. With Chimeras, hero discs must be placed at the centerpoint of the 2 Chimera cards.

The first player to have placed their hero disc will also take the first turn of the mission. On their turn, a player must select and perform 1 of the following 5 actions. Once that action is complete, play will continue to the next player in clockwise order.

Note: Most of the actions below require players to discard action cards face-down into the discard pile. Clearly separate the draw deck from the discard pile.

1. Fight

Play one of your action cards face-up (or, if you use your hero's special ability, face-down) next to the monster card on which your hero disc is located.

2. Move

Whenever you move your hero disc from one monster card to another, you must discard 1 action card from your hand onto the discard pile face-down.

You may move your hero disc to a new monster card before your current monster has been defeated.

3. Recover

Draw action cards from the draw pile, one by one, so that you hold up to 5 action cards in your hand. No matter how many cards you draw, you must then discard a card from your hand into the discard pile, face-down. Ideally you will replenish up to 5 cards, but as the draw pile runs down you may not wish to draw that many.

Example: Jason, Perseus, and Achilles are fighting their last monster, a Chimera. There are still 9 action cards left in the draw deck, and Jason, holding no cards, wants to replenish his hand. Instead of drawing 5 cards, he calculates that he can draw 3 cards (and then discard one) and still leave enough cards for Perseus and Jason to draw on their turns.

4. Support

Give one or more cards from your hand to a fellow player; that player's hero disc does not need to be on the same monster card as yours. The receiving player must then discard at least 1 card from their hand to the discard pile, face-down, and continue discarding until they hold no more than 4 cards.

The receiving player can only use these cards on their own turn.

5. Consult the Oracle

Draw the top 6 action cards from the draw deck and place them face-up on the table in view of all players. Choose and discard one of those cards, face-down, and then return the remaining 5 cards to the top of the draw deck in any order of your choosing. Even though the other players cannot advise you on your choices, you should clearly show them the actions you are taking.

Winning or Losing

A mission is won when the last Chimera is defeated (or Hades at mission 12).

However, if a player ever holds no action cards in their hand AND has to draw from the depleted draw pile, the mission is lost and the remaining monsters live on to ravage Hellas, even if other players still have cards in their hands.

On the other hand, if the draw pile is depleted but the players can still take turns with the cards in their hands, the mission may still be won.

The Missions

If this is your first time playing, we recommend that you try the first 3 missions; these will help you to learn the game's mechanics.

1. The Hills of Ithaka

The Oracle, predicting Hades' evil plans, has ordained you to save Odysseus' home. Looking down from the hills of Ithaka, you see the first monsters emerge…

Draw 3 monster cards and place them face-up in the middle of the table.
If you defeat the 1st monster, put 1 new monster face-up on the table.
If you defeat the 2nd monster, put 1 new monster face-up on the table.
If you defeat the 3rd monster, put 1 new monster face-up on the table.
If you defeat the 6th monster, a Chimera enters the game.

Note: New monsters only come into play when the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th monsters are defeated; no new monsters will come into play when the 4th and 5th monsters are beaten.

2. The Oracle of Delphi

Thwarted by the Oracle and wanting to defeat the heroes, Hades sent monsters to destroy the Oracle's sanctuary at Delphi. You must stop them before the sanctuary lies in ruins.

Start with 4 monsters.
Defeat 1st monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 2nd monster → nothing new enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

3. The Temples at the Acropolis

As the heroes were saving the Oracle, other monsters began heading towards Athens. Get up the steep walls of the Acropolis before the monsters reach the city's holy temples.

Start with 3 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

Note: In this scenario, 2 new monsters enter the game after the 2nd monster has been defeated.

4. Mount Olympus

An enormous army of Hades' evil creatures has arrived at the base of Mount Olympus. Climb the mountain and help the gods to defy Hades' horrific army.

Start with 4 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

5. The Will of the Gods

Hades' monstrous army is far from defeated! They are climbing closer to the peak of Olympus, and the gods are beginning to get nervous…

Start with 4 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

Special rule: Any player who uses a divine intervention action card to fight a monster must immediately perform the RECOVER action before the next player takes a turn, or before a new monster is put into play. This rule doesn't apply when fighting the Chimera.

6. The Wrath of the Gods

Hades' creatures keep coming, and are now pouring in from all sides. The gods are starting to get angry…

Start with 4 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

Special rule: Any player who uses a divine intervention action card to fight a monster must immediately put all cards in their hand face-down under the draw deck in a random order and then draw the same number of cards from the top of the draw deck. This rule doesn't apply when fighting the Chimera.

7. The Madness of the Gods

The final group of fierce monsters has nearly reached the top of Mount Olympus, and the gods are losing their minds! For the gods' sake, defeat those monsters!

Start with 4 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

Special rule: Any player who uses a divine intervention action card to fight a monster must immediately put all cards in their hand face-down under the discard pile in a random order and then draw the same number of cards from the top of the discard pile. This rule doesn't apply when fighting the Chimera.

8. The Aeolian Fields

After having vanquished Hades' army on Mount Olympus, our heroes are ready to begin the counter-offensive. As they cross the Aeolian fields, they discover a vast army of creatures lying in wait…

Start with 5 monsters.
Defeat 5th monster → 2 Chimeras enter the game.

Note: After the 5th monster has been defeated, 2 Chimeras will come into play. In this mission, 9 of the 10 monster cards will be played. This changes the odds…

9. The Aeolian Fields Part 2

Just as suddenly as the previous monsters appeared, even more creatures emerge from the surrounding hills…with 2 additional Chimeras! Fight hard, and don't let your guard down!

Start with 3 monsters.
Defeat 2nd monster → 2 new monsters enter the game.
Defeat 5th monster → 2 Chimeras enter the game.

10. The Gates to the Underworld

It's time for the heroes to pursue their journey to the Underworld before Hades can deploy new armies. Unfortunately, it looks like the heroes' arrival has been anticipated…

Start with 3 monsters.
Defeat 1st through 5th monster → a new monster may enter the game (see special rule below).
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

Special rule: If any of the first 5 monsters is defeated by a divine intervention card, no new monster will come into play to replace it; this rule applies until there are 6 monsters in play. If defeating monsters by the use of divine intervention cards prevents the 6th monster from entering play, the mission is immediately lost. Play carefully!

11. The River Styx

The heroes' only path forward is to follow the River Styx. Slowly, it leads them deeper through the Underworld into Tartarus - the Realm of the Dead.

Start with 2 monsters.
Defeat 1st monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 2nd monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 3rd monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → a Chimera enters the game.

12. The Descent to Tartarus

Having reached the darkest depths of Tartarus, the heroes finally stand face-to-face with Hades. He has been waiting for this moment, and this battle will forevermore determine Hellas' fate. Will the heroes have what it takes to defeat the Lord of Darkness?

Start with 2 monsters.
Defeat 1st monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 2nd monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 3rd monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 4th monster → 1 new monster enters the game.
Defeat 6th monster → Hades enters the game.

Special rule: Hades comes into play as a Chimera consisting of 3 monster cards, and 10 action cards are needed to defeat him. He can only be defeated by a divine intervention card once a minimum of 1 action card has been played for each of his 6 attributes. Hero discs must be placed on Hades' central monster card.

Credits

Design: Pierre Knockaert
Illustrations: Bartel Bruneel, Loïc Billiau
Project lead: Arno Quispel
Editor: Michael Schemaille