Les Soeurs de l'Alliance Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Card Overview
• Setup
• Playing a Game
  • I) Climbing the Tower
    • a) Movement
    • b) Resolution of Spaces Crossed
  • II) Final Combat Against the Boss
  • Experience (XP)
  • End of Game
  • Further Clarifications

Components

60 cards; 1 black die; 3 blue dice; 3 red dice; 1 yellow die; 5 white cubes; 3 yellow cubes; and this rulebook.

Goal of the Game

Face and survive the various creatures you encounter in the tower, gain power, and defeat the final boss at the top of it.

Card Overview

16 ACTION cards (A) These are the cards that let you perform actions during combat, such as attacking, defending, etc. They have a bronze colour so they are easy to recognise. Each card has a side showing the number 1 and a side showing the number 2. The number shown in the top left represents the Mana cost needed to use the card.

8 ADVANCED ACTION cards (AA) These are more powerful ACTION cards. They can be bought with experience during your games. They have a gold colour so they are easy to recognise. Each card has a side showing "A1" and a side showing "A2". The number shown in the top left represents the Mana cost needed to use the card.

18 ENEMY/LOCATION cards These cards represent, on one side, the various enemies you will meet during your adventure in the tower, and on the other side, the locations where you will fight them.

8 TOWER cards These cards represent the different "floors" of a tower. Each card has one side for facing it on "normal" mode and one side for "hard" mode, recognisable by the drop of blood in the top left corner.

4 BOSS cards These cards represent the different Bosses you may face. Each card has one side illustrating the Boss and another side showing the last floor of the tower.

1 TRAP card and 1 TREASURE card These cards show the various traps/treasures you will overcome/gain during your adventure. One side shows the standard traps/treasures, while the other side shows the advanced traps/treasures.

1 HEALTH POINTS card This card lets you track your health level. One side shows 39 to 20 and the other shows 19 to 0.

1 XP card This card lets you track your gained Experience points.

2 REMINDER cards One card lists the different purchases you can make with XP points, and a second card lists the different uses of Mana.

Setup

• Shuffle the Enemy/Location deck with the Location side face up. Place it near the play area.
• Shuffle the 16 Action cards with the "1" side face up.
• Shuffle the 8 Advanced Action cards with the "A1" side face up. Make two decks of 4 cards and place them near the play area.
• Choose one of the four Bosses and draw at random X Tower cards, where X equals the number shown on the wooden door of the Boss card. (The back of the Boss card shows the last floor to climb before facing it. The number shown on the wooden door is the number of floors to climb before reaching the Boss's floor.)
• Place the Tower cards upright, one by one, to form the tower. Place the Boss card (last-floor side visible) at the top of the tower.
• Place a white cube on the door of the first Tower card (the bottom one).
• Place the Trap, Treasure, XP, Reminder and Health cards near the play area.
• Place a white cube on space 39 of the Health Points card.
• Place all the dice and the white and yellow cubes near the play area.
• Draw the first 5 cards of the Action deck. This is your starting hand.

Setup diagram labels: Discard (Enemy/Location); Discard (A/AA cards); PLAY AREA.

Playing a Game

A game has two main stages: climbing the tower and the final combat against the Boss.

I) Climbing the Tower

During the climb you will move, acquire loot, survive traps and, of course, fight enemies. You progress floor by floor until you reach the Boss's floor. Each floor is resolved in the same way.

You always start at the wooden door at the bottom of the card. To complete a floor, you must repeat the following sequence three times: Movement + Resolution of the spaces crossed.

Once the three sequences are complete, you go directly to the wooden door of the next floor.

a) Movement

To move, roll two dice (of any colour) and choose the result of one of them. The chosen number determines how many spaces you must cross. Each space crossed must be resolved.

Movement rules

• You must move exactly the number of spaces matching the value of the chosen die.
• You cannot go back over your steps.
• Movement can only be to the right, to the left, or upward, never downward.
• If you cannot move for one of the reasons mentioned above, your movement stops immediately.

b) Resolution of Spaces Crossed

While traversing the tower you will face several types of interaction.

Interactions accumulate during a movement. However, regardless of the order in which you cross the spaces, you must resolve them following this order of priority:

1. Trap
2. Combat
3. Treasure
4. Boss

[TRAP]

To resolve a Trap space, roll a die and refer to the Trap card to find your fate.

The consequences of traps are explicit, except for results 1, 2 or 3, which trigger the following effect:

Level X Trap: when you land on a trap of type "Level X Trap", you must roll a die and suffer, as damage, the difference between X and the die result. However, before rolling the die, you may discard one or more cards from your hand. The Mana cost of each discarded card is then added to your final result.

Example: You must resolve a Level 5 Trap. You discard a card with a Mana cost of 2 to reduce your risk, then roll the die and get a 2. The difference between 5 and 4 (2 + 2) is 1. You therefore suffer only 1 point of damage.

There are two types of Traps: Standard and Advanced. To resolve an Advanced Trap, refer to the Advanced Trap card on the back of the Trap card.

Note: if you cross several spaces containing a Trap during the same movement, you must resolve each trap separately.

[COMBAT]

The Combat icon is always accompanied by a number from 1 to 3. This number represents the number of opponents you must face. If, during your movement, you cross several Combat spaces, you must add the numbers of each space to find the total number of opponents to face. Be careful: the more enemies you face, the lower your chances of success (think carefully about your movements). However, facing more enemies also lets you win more Experience points (XP), as explained further on.

A combat takes place over a number of rounds. Each round consists of two phases: the Player Phase and the Enemy Phase.

Presentation of an Enemy card (labels on the diagram):

• Resistance points of the enemy.
• Enemy's Attack level.
• Round number.
• Experience to gain.

Setting up a combat

• Draw the number of enemies to face and place them in the play area, lined up in a single row. Each combat takes place in a specific location of the tower, and each location brings combat modifiers. Once the enemies are placed, refer to the visible face of the top card of the Location deck, without drawing it. This card shows where the combat takes place. Take the associated modifier into account throughout the combat.
• Place a blue die on the Resistance points of each enemy, adjusting the die face to the number shown. This die will be reduced as you attack the enemy. If the number of Resistance points is shown as "?", roll a blue die and place it on the face matching the result.
• Likewise, roll a red die and place it on the Attack level if that level is shown as "?". Otherwise, use the Attack level shown on the card directly.
• Place the yellow die on the number 1 in the play area. This die serves as a round counter. Increase its value by 1 at the end of each round. When you defeat an enemy, gain the number of XP points shown under the current round. Use the XP card to track your progress and count these points. If the combat exceeds 6 rounds, you no longer need to keep track of the counts, but you suffer 2 unavoidable damage at the start of each round from the 7th onwards.

Important: a combat cannot oppose the player to more than 3 enemies at a time. If you must draw more than 3 enemies, proceed as follows: first face the first 3 enemies, then start another combat with the rest, always respecting the maximum of 3 enemies per combat. Do not forget to take the new Location card into account for each combat.

Example: If you must face 7 enemies, start by drawing 3, apply the Location card's modifications, then face these enemies. Then draw 3 new enemies, check the Location modifications again, and face them in turn. Finally, draw the last enemy, check the Location modifications one last time, and face this enemy.

Presentation of an Action card (labels on the diagram):

• Mana cost to play the card.
• Effect of the card when played.
• Level 1. (The level 2 of this card is on the back. To unlock it you must spend 1 XP.)

The Action cards

You start the game with all your Action cards on their "level 1" side. The Action deck is always placed face up.

At any time during the game, you may spend 1 XP point to upgrade an Action card. To do so, reduce your XP level by 1, then turn the Action card over to its "level 2" side. Once upgraded, it stays on its "2" side until the end of the game.

When you must discard an Action card, make sure to place it in the discard pile on the correct side, 1 or 2, depending on its level.

- Player Phase -

The Player Phase lets you play A or AA cards from your hand.

At the start of each round, roll the black die to find out how many Mana points you will have available.

There are three main ways to use your Mana points:

1. Spend 1 Mana point to draw the first card of the Action deck and add it to your hand. (You start a game with 5 Action cards in hand, but you will no longer draw any for free.) Warning: you cannot have more than 5 cards in your hand.
2. Spend X Mana point(s) to play a card from your hand with a cost of X.
3. Spend 1 Mana point to place the top card of an AA deck under that same deck.

Also worth knowing about Mana:

• After rolling the Mana die, you may discard one card of your choice from your hand to gain 1 additional Mana point for this round.
• The Mana die can never show more than 6 points.
• When you play a card, reduce the value of the Mana die by the cost shown on the card.
• Mana points cannot be kept from one round to the next, and the die is rolled again at the start of each round.

During the Player Phase your goal is to eliminate the enemies.

When you inflict X damage on an enemy, reduce its Resistance die by X. If an enemy's Resistance die reaches zero, the enemy is destroyed. Check the round number on which this happens and gain the corresponding number of XP points. Then discard the enemy's card.

When you play cards that grant Defense, place them in the play area to remind you of the Defense value you will have during the Enemy Phase. You may accumulate as much Defense as possible, but it will only be effective for the current round. These cards are discarded at the end of the Enemy Phase.

The Player Phase ends when you can no longer play cards from your hand, or if you choose to interrupt it voluntarily.

- Enemy Phase -

During the Enemy Phase, all enemies in the play area attack you simultaneously. To resolve their attacks, add together the Attack values of all enemies in play. If you have Defense, subtract this value from the total of the attacks. You lose a number of Health Points equal to the difference.

Example: if you face two enemies, one with an Attack of 5 and the other with an Attack of 1, and you have played an Action card that gives you 3 points of Defense, the calculation is: (5 + 1) - 3 = 3. You therefore lose 3 Health Points.

Your Health Points

You start the game with 39 Health Points (HP). If your HP fall to 0, the game is lost. You can recover them through certain cards or potions (see next page).

However, your Health Points are subject to maximum thresholds:

• Below 30 HP, you cannot exceed 29 HP.
• Below 20 HP, you cannot exceed 19 HP.
• Below 10 HP, you cannot exceed 9 HP.

Once the damage is calculated and applied, the Enemy Phase ends and the next round can begin.

At the start of the next round, position the yellow die on the next value. Then roll the Mana die to determine your available Mana and begin a new Player Phase.

Continue round after round until the combat ends.

[TREASURE]

To resolve a Treasure space, roll a die and refer to the Treasure card to discover your loot. Loot is very powerful and can really change the course of the game in your favour.

• Result 1: Take a card of your choice from the Action deck. After taking the card, shuffle the deck.
• Result 2: Take a card of your choice from the Action deck's discard pile.
• Results 3 and 4: Gain 2 and 3 XP points respectively.
• Results 5 and 6: Gain 1 Potion. Take a yellow cube and place it next to the Health Points card.

Potions

You may use a potion at any time during a game. When you use a Potion, recover 5 Health Points (be careful not to exceed the threshold). After use, return the corresponding yellow cube to its supply. You cannot have more than 3 potions at the same time.

To resolve an Advanced Treasure, refer to the Advanced Treasure card on the back of the Treasure card.

Note: if you cross several spaces containing a Treasure during the same movement, you must resolve each Treasure separately.

[BOSS]

When you reach the Boss's floor, you must perform the sequence "Movement + Resolution of the spaces crossed" three times, as for the other floors. However, it is imperative that you arrive on the Boss space before the end of these three sequences. If you fail to do so, the game is lost. When you reach the Boss space, you must end your movement.

II) Final Combat Against the Boss

When you arrive on the Boss space, the final combat can finally begin!

Turn over the Last Floor of the tower card to reveal its Boss side.

The combat against the Boss follows almost the same rules as regular combats, alternating a Player Phase and an Enemy Phase. The combat continues over several rounds until either you or the Boss run out of Health Points. There is no need to count rounds with the round die, because you cannot gain XP during a combat against a Boss and you do not suffer damage from the 7th round onwards as in a regular combat. In addition, the Boss's Health Points system is special (see next page). Finally, do not take Location cards into account during the combat.

The Boss cards give you 4 pieces of information:

• a) Name
• b) Attack level
• c) Health Points
• d) Characteristic keyword

a) Name

Be careful with the pronunciation, it may annoy them.

b) Attack level

Bosses have a fixed Attack level. During the Enemy Phase, they always deal the same amount of damage.

c) Health Points

The Boss's Health Points are represented by several boxed numbers. Each number corresponds to a die that you must place on the indicated value (the die colour does not matter).

If a box shows a "?", you must roll a die to determine the initial value of that box. If several boxes show a "?", roll a die for each box.

To defeat the Boss, you must eliminate all its Health dice. An attack (consisting of one or more of your A/AA cards played at the same time) can only remove a die if its value is at least equal to that of the die. Each die must be removed individually by a sufficiently powerful attack, and the Boss's Health dice cannot be partially reduced. If your attack is not strong enough to remove a die, it has no effect. Although you cannot eliminate several dice with a single attack, you can do so with several attacks, including within the same round.

Example: if the Boss has four Health dice with the values 6, 4, 3 and 2, an attack of 5 may remove the die of 4, because it is greater than or equal to that value. However, this attack cannot affect the die of 6, because it is insufficient, nor remove the dice of 3 and 2, because an attack can only target one die at a time. You must therefore plan your attacks carefully to succeed in removing all the dice.

d) Characteristic keyword

Bosses generally have a keyword written under their name, indicating a unique characteristic. Here is a detailed description of the different characteristics of the Bosses in the base box:

Guardians When the Boss is associated with the Guardians keyword, at the end of each round, if the Boss has no enemy at its side, you must roll a die. If the result is less than 4, you must draw a random enemy and place it at its side. This enemy acts as in a regular combat, but you do not gain XP when you defeat it.

4 XP When the Boss is associated with the 4 XP keyword, this means you must spend 4 Experience points before facing it (at the moment you resolve the Boss space). If you cannot spend them, the game is lost.

Burns When the Boss is associated with the Burns keyword, this means it inflicts 3 unavoidable damage at the end of each round.

Experience (XP)

Earning and wisely using your XP points is one of the keys to victory.

XP has many uses, all summarised on the Reminder card. Here are their detailed explanations:

• Spend 1 XP to turn an A/AA card from your hand over to its "2/A2" side. It will remain so until the end of the game.
• Spend 2 XP to take the first card of one of the two AA decks and immediately add it to your hand (it is always drawn at level "A1"). AA cards are more powerful versions of A cards and are used in the same way.
• After a roll, spend 1 XP to re-roll the Mana die and apply the new result.
• After a roll, spend 1 XP to re-roll the Movement dice and apply the new result.
• Spend 3 XP to gain a Potion.
• Spend 1 XP to banish an A/AA card from the game after playing it, useful for getting rid of less useful cards before facing a Boss.

End of Game

The game is won if you defeat the Boss. Otherwise, it is a defeat.

Do not forget to check your rank according to your remaining HP. Your rank is shown on the Health Points card, according to your threshold: Legendary, Heroic, Valiant Soul, or Budding Shadow.

Further Clarifications

• Some effects of Location cards say "at the end of each round": this corresponds to the end of each Enemy Phase. Others say "at the start of the combat": this means immediately after the combat setup.
• If the Action or Enemy deck is empty, shuffle the corresponding discard pile to form a new deck.
• On A/AA cards, the term "condition" indicates a mandatory condition that must be met before playing the card.
• When the damage shown on an A/AA card is expressed as a multiplied number, such as 2x2, you may distribute the damage separately: for example, inflicting 4 damage on one enemy or 2 damage on two enemies. This is not the case with ordinary damage.