Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron
Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- The World of Maladum
- Important Terms
- Adventurer Dashboards
- Key Concepts
- Setting Up
- Ending a Quest
- Order of Play
- Adventurer Phase
- Magic
- NPC Activation
- Adversary Phase
- NPC Phase
- Terrain
- Other Rules
- Assembling Your Party
- Quests
- Campaigns
- Reference – Spells
- Reference – Skills
- Reference – Icons
- Item Notes
- Quick Reference
- Order of Play
- Dread Phase (p.21)
- Adventurer Phase (p.22)
- Actions (p.22)
- Attack Rolls
- Effortless Actions (p.31)
- Skills (p.32)
- Magic (p.34)
- NPC Activation (p.38)
- Adversary Phase (p.40)
- NPC Phase (p.42)
- Assessment Phase (p.21)
- Status Effects (p.16)
- Darkness (p.52)
- Renown (p.58)
- Other Important Pages
- Campaign Reference
- Credits
Game Overview
IMPORTANT! If this is your first adventure in the world of Maladum, we recommend you start out by reading the accompanying Learn to Play booklet. This will take you through the components and basic mechanics step-by-step, ready to hit the ground running with the full Maladum experience.
Maladum is a fantasy miniatures board game set in the kingdoms of Enveron, a prosperous continent on a distant world in the far future. What was once ancient technology has emerged from a long dark age to permeate every part of society, and is now known as Maladum, or simply magic…
The players will take control of small bands of Adventurers seeking their fortune. This starter set contains one party, for a single person playing solo or up to four players playing cooperatively. Additional Adventurers can be purchased separately to expand your party or assemble additional parties for multiplayer games.
Maladum is played in a series of narrative quests. Your party will be presented with a set of objectives and a map of the area, showing how to set out the detailed 3D gaming area. They will need to venture out from their camp, complete the objectives and get back to safety. That last part is vital!
Each round the players will take actions with their Adventurers – moving, fighting, drawing on magical abilities and exploring the gaming area. The Adventurers' abilities are tracked using the game's unique Character Dashboards, and the success of their actions is determined by rolling the various dice.
When the Adventurers have taken their actions, the game fights back! The Revenants in this starter set are just one of many non-player characters (NPCs for short) controlled by the game's mechanics. The undead constructs will shamble towards you animated by dark magic, while wandering beasts emerge from their lairs and fellow Adventurers find themselves lost in the chaos.
While all of this is going on, the game's Dread level will be rising. As each peg is placed into the Dread Tracker, the Revenants become even more dangerous, as will the unpredictable events arising from the game's event deck each round.
The heart of Maladum is its characters. The campaign system will allow you to take your party through a series of games, getting to know them, developing their skills, upgrading their equipment, making their camp and building their story.
Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron is compatible with the wide range of other Maladum products available. Although Dungeons of Enveron is a solo, self-contained game, the rules are designed to cover all options. You will therefore see references throughout the book that explain how to play with multiple players, or that refer to types of character or token that are not found in this set.
Components in the Box
Adventurers: Moranna, Syrio, Greet, Callan, Beren, Grogmar, Nerinda.
Revenants: 1 Malagaunt, 2 Hellfronts, 3 Myriad Lamentors, 4 Cankered Shades.
Wandering Beasts: Rot Troll, Drakon Troglodyte.
The World of Maladum
Little is known of the races that inhabited ancient Mesa, or what became of them. Long before this age, civilizations of technological wonder called this world home, and from it, ventured into the stars. They wielded technology and science beyond comprehension and shaped their reality to their will, yet even they could not avoid great calamity. For only an event of apocalyptic magnitude could have extinguished the once-great progenitors of Mesa.
Their end will perhaps forever remain a mystery, but it is their legacy that shapes the fate of the world to this very day. Remnants of their technologies survive and permeate the very earth, and it is through these unseen forces that the wondrous feats of Maladum are possible.
Though we do not fully comprehend the nature of the ancient progenitor's technology, there are those who can commune with it, and through this communion comes great power. Maladum, as it has become known, is the act of connecting with the infinitesimal malacytes that pervade every facet of our world and commanding them to interact with the environment as they see fit.
Those who have mastered this gift are known as Maladaar, and though some are more naturally akin to harnessing this power, anyone can learn the art of Communion.
Important Terms
PLAYER: The real-life person controlling one or more Adventurers.
CHARACTER: Any single miniature.
PARTY: The group of characters controlled by a player.
ADVENTURER: A character that is part of a player's party.
NPC: A non-player character controlled by the game.
ADVERSARY: A type of NPC that acts as the primary antagonist of the campaign. Adversaries act in their own phase of the game separate to other NPCs.
RANK: The power level of a character, used to determine many game effects. These levels are fixed for NPCs, and shown on their board with the rank icon. Higher-ranked NPCs tend to act before lower-ranked ones. Adventurers always start a campaign at rank 1, but this will increase as they gain Experience (see page 62).
FIRST PLAYER: The first player will take actions and make certain decisions on behalf of everyone playing, including but not limited to:
- Drawing and resolving Event Cards.
- Taking the first action in each Adventurer Phase.
- Choosing between valid actions for NPCs, such as which enemy to attack if there are two equidistant targets.
- If a card or rule allows multiple players to make an action, the first player goes first, proceeding clockwise.
The rules will define many situations where the first player can make a decision. In any situation where players cannot agree on how to resolve a rule, the first player has final say.
The first player is determined at the start of the game, and they should take the First Player Marker. Control will pass to the next player around the table at the end of each round.
CAMPAIGN: A series of linked games of Maladum with a continuous storyline. You will use the same party from start to finish, adjusting their statistics, equipment and Skills after each quest.
QUEST: A single game of Maladum.
ROUND: A collection of phases that repeats throughout the game, allowing all characters to act.
PHASE: A specific part of a round where certain groups of characters will act and certain rules will come into play. There are additional Phases used between games during a Campaign (page 59).
TURN: The time in which an individual character is activated and takes their actions.
ACTION: A self-contained 'thing' that a character does. The number of actions a character can take each turn will be limited, unless the action is marked as 'free'.
FRIENDLY: A character from your own party or an NPC group that is not considered an enemy.
ENEMY: A character from an opposing party or group of NPCs. Characters will often be restricted from taking certain actions while enemies are nearby. The rules for each NPC type detail who classes them as an enemy. Adversaries consider everyone else an enemy and vice versa! Players may agree to treat each other's parties as friendly if they wish.
SQUARE: Maladum is usually played on a gaming area with an overlaid grid of 25mm squares, used to measure movement and other distances.
ADJACENT: Squares next to each other without intervening terrain are adjacent, including diagonally, so each square will have up to eight adjacent squares. Squares either side of a wall are not adjacent unless there is a door or other opening in between.
CONTACT: Characters in orthogonally adjacent squares are in contact. This includes characters either side of an open doorway. Characters either side of a closed door or wall are not in contact. Characters in diagonally adjacent squares are not in contact. Enemies in contact are engaged.
ENGAGED: Enemy characters in contact are engaged. This means they are involved in combat with one another and will affect the actions they can take.
ATTACK: A dice roll made against a character to inflict damage. Usually made via an Attack action, but attacks can be generated from other sources as well.
TARGET: The focus of a particular attack or action.
HIT: Potential damage represented by hit icons on the combat dice. Hits can be affected by rules such as armour and cover.
CRITICAL HIT: A more powerful effect usually generated when you roll the critical icon on the blue die. Various rules will trigger following this result.
DAMAGE: Actual wounds sustained from hits after other rules have been accounted for.
PRONE: A character that has fallen or been knocked off their feet. They are laid on their side but still occupy their original square(s).
DEFEATED: A character who is out of the game, at least temporarily. Defeated Adventurers are left in play laid on their side as if prone, but marked with an Assistance counter. Defeated NPCs are removed from play.
D6: A standard six-sided die. If a rule refers to a D6, it means to roll the white Magic Die and use the number rolled, ignoring any icons and arrows.
REMINDER COUNTER: Multi-purpose counters used to mark anything that you may need to remember during the game. For example, there may be game effects that apply until the end of a round, or effects that only apply to marked characters. The counters should be placed next to the models or on their character boards, and checked against the appropriate rules whenever a character is activated and in each Assessment Phase. There are three different colours of Reminder Counters in case multiple rules are in effect at once.
RE-ROLL: Take a die that you have already rolled and roll it again. The original result no longer applies for any reason, and the new result stands. Any die that has already been re-rolled cannot be re-rolled again.
SCATTER: Moving a character or item in a random direction determined by the Magic Die (see page 9).
GUILDER: The game's currency, used for hiring party members and trading equipment between games.
MAY: Any rule that uses the word 'may' is optional, and the player can choose not to use it if they wish. Otherwise, all rules must be applied in full if possible.
Measured Movement
These rules are written to use the gridded gaming mat included in the box. If you prefer, you can ignore the grid on the gaming area and use a ruler or tape measure for movement instead.
Any reference to squares will instead refer to inches; for example, characters will Move up to four inches instead of four squares.
Characters and items are considered to be adjacent or engaged only when in physical contact.
If you choose to play on an alternative terrain set that doesn't have a grid this will be the default way of playing.
Adventurer Dashboards
Each Adventurer's abilities and statistics are tracked throughout the game using a plastic dashboard.
Character Board
This shows the Adventurer's statistics and personal details. The reverse of the board shows the Adventurer in their Denizen guise (see the NPC Phase on page 42).
Species
The character's species. Certain rules may refer to this.
Statistics
Health represents the character's toughness and stamina and shows how much damage they can take before they are defeated.
Skill shows how many specialised Skills (see page 32) the character can use in a game.
Magic represents the character's capacity to manipulate the malacytes flowing through and around their bodies to cast or resist spells (see page 34).
Actions shows how many actions (see page 22) the character can make each round.
Experience or XP represents everything the character has learned during their time in the party and affects how many Skills they can learn, as well as improving their other statistics later in a campaign (see page 62).
Default vs. Potential
Each statistic is represented by a row of wax seals. Some are pre-stamped (default) while others are left blank (potential).
Default spaces represent the character's starting abilities.
Potential spaces represent the character's ability to improve during a campaign and should be filled in with a dry-wipe pen as the character gains Experience, increasing their statistics.
Example
- In our example, Syrio has a default Health statistic of 4 but the potential to raise it to 6. It is currently at 5.
- He has a default of 1 Skill peg and the potential for 4, with 3 marked currently.
- He starts with a Magic statistic of 1, and is still on 1 but with the potential for 4.
- He has 2 default actions and no further potential.
- He starts with 3 Experience, currently has 10, and has a maximum of 16!
Cost
When hiring a character you must pay this cost in Guilders (see page 54).
Innate Abilities
In addition to any Skills granted by their Class, some characters also start with Skills or other abilities as standard. All icons are covered in more detail on page 83.
Armour Slots
The bottom right corner of the character board may be punched out, leaving space for armour and other wearable items. These items usually grant additional protection to the character, and their rules only apply when placed in these slots.
Only one item with the 'Armour' type can be worn, and the remaining space can be filled with cloaks, jewellery and other items of your choice.
Don't discard the pieces that you have removed! Many characters have innate abilities in this area which will be in effect whenever they are not weighed down by armour.
Class
The Class board represents the character's profession and specialisation, and therefore the Skills and Spells available to them. Like the character board, Class boards have a cost to be paid when a character is hired.
Each coloured icon represents a Skill (see page 32). The spaces under it can be marked to show the character's proficiency with that Skill from Level 1 to 3. When selecting a party (see page 54) the player will fill in a number of these spaces equal to the Adventurer's Experience. As the character advances, points can be allocated to learn new Skills or upgrade existing ones.
Training in a certain Class will often give a character an additional innate ability.
Finally, Maladaar Classes (those with access to magic) will also have an additional track to one side of their Class board. These spaces can be marked to allow a character to learn a new spell instead of a skill.
Inventory
The items that a character starts with or collects during a game are stored here. There is an actual, physical limit – the character cannot carry more than the tray can hold! Larger items take up more space, so use this area wisely.
Pegs
The statistics on the character board are fixed during play, and the in-game action instead takes place down here. The holes are filled with plastic pegs to show the character's fluctuating abilities.
Unless stated otherwise, a character can never exceed their starting statistics.
The green pegs show the character's Health. At the start of each game pegs are added to match the character's Health statistic and these may be removed or added during the game as the character takes damage and heals. If there are no pegs remaining, the character is defeated.
The purple pegs show the character's Skill. Like Health, this is set at the start of the game to match the Skill statistic. If no pegs remain the character may no longer use Skills.
The blue pegs show the character's magical affinity, set at the start of the game to match the Magic statistic. If no pegs remain, the character may no longer use or resist magical effects.
Status Counters
These three recesses hold counters to show that the character is subject to various effects such as being Wounded or Poisoned. These are covered in more detail on page 16.
NPC Dashboards
While regular Adversaries make do with just a character board, and have no statistics to track, other NPCs such as Denizens and higher-ranking Adversaries also have plastic dashboards.
These are smaller and only have space for the character board, inventory, Health and Magic pegs and status counters, but these sections work in just the same way.
NPCs will be covered in detail in the Statistics section on page 13, the Adversary Phase on page 40 and the NPC Phase on page 42.
Key Concepts
Dread
The Dread Tracker is used to gauge the awareness of enemies to your presence and their aggression once they arrive! The tracker increases by one each round, marked using the black pegs, and will increase by a further peg following the first use of magic by an Adventurer each round (if any), as the Maladum energy is sensed by your foes.
There are six Dread levels:
- Disquiet
- Distress
- Dismay
- Desperation
- Disaster
- Doom
These levels determine the effect of Event Cards each round (see page 21), as well as the Adversary characters that arrive onto the gaming area during the game.
The exact breakdown of these levels can be found on the accompanying Dread board.
If the Dread level reaches Doom, flip the associated Adversary board over – from now on the Adversaries will have increased statistics.
The Dread Board
The board inserted into the Dread Tracker is unique to the Adversary group being used. The board included in this set is for the Revenants, and new boards will be included in expansions.
Each level on the board includes a number of icons indicating the character types that arrive in each Adversary Phase (see page 40).
Side B. The Dread board is double sided, with each side offering a different challenge. Side A will start off slow but gradually increase the intensity as the game goes on. Side B on the other hand drops you right into the action from the start, followed by a lull in the middle to catch your breath before the Adversaries come back for revenge!
Unless stated otherwise, the board should be inserted with side A showing at the start of each game.
Combat Dice
There are two types of combat dice; blue and red. These are mostly used for attacks (see page 24), but you may need to roll them for other reasons.
The blue die is always used as part of a roll. If only a single die is required, only the blue die is rolled. If more than one die is required, all additional dice will be red. Red dice are not quite as powerful as blue dice.
There are three different icons on the dice:
- Each hit icon is a hit.
- The critical result counts as two hits, but is also considered a critical hit. This will often have additional effects depending on the weapon or ability used. Critical hit effects trigger even if no damage was caused.
- Each blunder icon is a blunder and will often have an adverse effect.
Blanks are failures and have no effect.
Chance and Randomisation
You will often be asked to choose a party, Adventurer or item at random. This is done using the numbers on the Magic Die to generate a result. Ignore the icons and arrows on the die for these rolls.
This is a simple way of deciding random actions and keeps the game moving fast. If you come up against a situation not covered by the rules, or something that you cannot decide on, just roll the Magic Die to see what happens.
Example
One random member of your party is affected by an Event Card. There are three party members in play. Roll the Magic Die. On a 1-2 it's Syrio, 3-4 it's Moranna and on a 5-6 it's Greet. If there were 4 Adventurers you could roll 1 for Syrio, 2 for Moranna, 3 for Greet and 4 for Callan, re-rolling the die on a 5 or 6.
Random Directions and Scatter
The Magic Die can also be used to determine random directions – the chosen direction will be shown by the arrow on the die face.
Some rules will ask you to scatter an item or character. To do so, simply roll the Magic Die, and move the item or character in question a number of squares from its current position using the number and direction shown.
If this movement would cause it to hit a wall, another model, or any other obstruction, it will move as far as it can and stop.
If the item or character is already in contact with an obstruction and is required to move towards it, move it directly away instead.
If rolling to place an item or character onto the gaming area rather than move it, ignore terrain.
In situations where you are required to move or measure at an angle not in line with the squares, follow the closest route possible in that chosen direction. If there are multiple equally valid routes, the first player decides.
Line of Sight
There are various rules in Maladum that require miniatures to see each other, such as firing a ranged weapon or casting a spell. This is called Line of Sight (or LoS for short).
For a character to draw line of sight, you must be able to trace a straight line from the centre of their square to any part of the target character's square. You can use the range ruler to trace this line to ensure it is straight.
If you cannot draw a line to any part of the target without being completely obstructed by another character, wall, or a piece of terrain at least as big as the target, line of sight cannot be drawn.
The entire area above a character's square blocks LoS, regardless of their pose. Characters block LoS to all other characters up to the same size (see page 12). They do not block LoS to larger characters but may provide cover.
If you can only draw a line to part of the target, or the line is obstructed by something shorter than the target (such as a chest or Small character), check the cover rules on the next page to see if line of sight can be drawn.
Characters may ignore pieces of terrain shorter than themselves if they are adjacent (so a model next to a chest can fire over it without a cover penalty for example). They may also ignore friendly characters of up to the same size in adjacent squares – it is assumed that they will get their companions to duck!
Example: Character A's LoS to target B is only partially blocked as B can be seen past the desk – refer to the cover rules. LoS to target C is completely blocked by the wall. A's LoS to D is clear.
Cover
Often terrain and walls will partially block line of sight, but enough of the target may be visible for a shot to be taken. In this case, the target is in cover. The amount of cover may have an impact on the attack or action being made as follows:
- If 25% of the target or less is obstructed, this is insufficient cover. Line of sight can be drawn as normal and no further rules will apply.
- If between 25% and 90% of the target is obstructed (such as them hiding behind a crate or wall), this is partial cover. Line of sight can be drawn, but additional rules may apply (see Ranged Attack on page 26 for example, where partial cover will reduce hits by 1).
- If 90% or more of a target is obstructed, they are in full cover – line of sight cannot be drawn at all.
Note that prone characters will be affected by cover based on their prone position, so a waist-high crate may provide full cover to a prone character.
If you cannot decide what type of cover a target is in, roll the Magic Die – on a 1-3 it's the larger amount of cover, and on a 4-6 it's the smaller amount.
Range
Most weapons will also be limited by range – depending on the distance to the target the weapon may be more or less powerful or be unable to hit at all.
Although you can count the squares in a straight line, this can be harder to do when shooting diagonally. The plastic range rulers are provided for this purpose. Place the range ruler touching the shooting character's square, and as long as it reaches any part of the target's square the target is in range.
- Short range is up to 5 squares – the length of the shorter ruler.
- Medium range is from 5-13 squares – the length of the longer ruler.
- Long range is 14 squares or more – anywhere further than the length of the longer ruler.
On page 15 you will see how range is displayed on the weapon tokens.
You'll note that the range ruler has markings along one side. These are one square/inch apart and will allow you to measure vertical distances as well as horizontal ones when using the rules for Climbing and Jumping on page 51.
Character Size
All characters, terrain pieces and other objects have a size, most commonly used when a rule refers to characters being smaller or larger than each other, such as when drawing LoS – see page 10.
Most characters in Maladum are approximately the size of an adult human. These characters are size 1 – they do not have their size specified on their boards and no additional rules apply. Some characters, however, will have a different size marked on their boards using the size icon (smaller or larger).
NPC Statistics
NPC statistics are simpler than those for Adventurers. The following values can be seen across all NPC boards, whether it's the Revenants or Denizens.
- Actions: This is the number of actions that an NPC can take each turn.
- Health: This is a character's health – place this many green pegs in their dashboard. Characters without dashboards may have a number of health icons on their board that can be punched out in the same way as removing Health pegs. Characters with no health showing on their board will be defeated after suffering any damage.
- Magic: This represents a character's magical abilities and determines their starting Magic pegs.
- Melee: The number of dice that an NPC rolls for a Melee Attack action if unarmed.
- Ranged: The number of dice that an NPC rolls for a Ranged Attack action if unarmed, at medium range unless stated otherwise.
- Armour: The physical armour value of the NPC which negates hits made against them.
- Persuade: This value is used when Adventurers attempt to Persuade the NPC to do something as detailed on page 29. Characters with no Persuade statistic cannot be Persuaded.
Note that many NPCs will have inventories. When attacking, NPCs will always use the most powerful statistic they have available, whether it's their basic statistic or a weapon they are carrying.
Also note that some NPCs have an Elite set of statistics on the reverse side of their character boards. These should be used when instructed by the rules, or when you want a challenge!
Equipment
Equipment is one of the most important features of Maladum, represented by the small square and rectangular tokens in the game. Each of these is a weapon or more specialised item that can be carried by Adventurers and other characters.
These tokens are used to kit out your party at the start of their journey, can be found around the gaming area during your adventures, and can be bought and sold between games in a campaign.
Equipment Types
The colour of each token denotes how it is used in the game:
- Blue: Weapons – these will be held in your inventory and used to make Attack actions.
- Yellow: Armour and wearable items – can be held in the inventory, but their rules will only apply when in the armour slot.
- Red: Gear – this covers any other equipment used during the game, from food to ammunition.
- Purple: Non-combat equipment such as money or gems – these items are not used during the game, but they will be valuable when trading between quests so you'll want to allow space for them in your inventory.
- Grey: Traps – revealing one of these tokens during a Search immediately triggers the trap against the Adventurer that found it! Traps drawn outside of a Search action (e.g. when drawing equipment for an NPC) should be returned to the pouch with no effect and a new token should be drawn. Traps cannot be bought or sold.
Equipment Rarity
Some equipment is easier to come by than others, denoted by the coloured shape and cost information on the back of the tokens.
Common items are cheap and readily accessible, and include basic food items, loose ammunition, and simple weaponry such as knives, clubs, and industrial tools. They have their costs in green. All common items should be stored in the token pouch.
Uncommon items are available to be purchased but are seldom left lying around. These include purpose-made weaponry and other adventuring supplies. They are marked in amber. Uncommon items should be stored separately in one of the zip-lock bags provided, and they will be added to the token pouch or placed around the gaming area when required by a quest.
Rare items include bespoke weaponry, enchanted items and ancient relics. These items are marked in blue and are stored and used separately in the same way as Uncommon items.
Exclusive items represent quest objectives such as valuable artefacts or documents, or items that cannot be found or purchased in the normal ways. These items are marked in white and should be kept separately. They are only used when specified by the rules.
Tokens discarded after use should be returned to the appropriate supply based on their rarity – the pouch for Common items and the separate bags for Uncommon, Rare or Exclusive items.
Equipment Size
Equipment tokens come in various sizes. The size of the token simply represents how much space it takes up in your inventory. The different sizes do not need to be stored separately to others of their rarity.
The rules will specify when tokens of a certain size are to be used. Otherwise, such as when drawing a piece of equipment during a Search or for an NPC, the size does not matter and should be chosen at random.
Large items (landscape rectangles, larger than 15mm square) are never put into the token pouch and are only used when specified.
Equipment Cost
On the back of each equipment token you will find the cost of that item.
These values are not important during the game but are used between games in a campaign (see page 59). Items with a buy value of '-' cannot be bought – they can only be found during a quest.
Broken Equipment
Certain game effects will cause equipment to break. If this happens, flip the token face down. Broken items cannot be used and none of their rules will be in effect while they are broken. They must be repaired at the Artisan's Guild (see page 65) after the game.
Weapon Statistics
Like characters, weapons and armour also have statistics, shown in the following ways.
Melee Weapons. The melee icon shows the number of combat dice used by the weapon in a Melee Attack action (see page 26). If the icon has a burst around it it can be used to make a forceful hit.
Ranged Weapons. The ranged icons show the number of combat dice used by the weapon in a Ranged Attack action (see page 26), at short, medium and long range respectively. Many weapons will only show one or two statistics and are therefore limited to short and medium range respectively.
If the icon has a burst around it, it has a blast effect. Blast weapons affect not only the target, but also anyone in the surrounding squares. Even if they miss, they can still cause damage! They are covered in detail on page 27.
Armour. A physical armour value will reduce the number of hits against the wearer by the value shown. It will also limit their ability to cast spells. Some armour incorporates weaponry and may have a melee statistic just like a weapon. For more on armour, see page 25.
Icons
Many characters and items will have specialised icons in addition to their statistics. These icons represent abilities that the character or item can perform over and above the standard rules. A full list of the game's icons can be found on page 83.
Status Effects
There are a number of weapons and effects in the game that inflict long-term effects on their targets. These are called status effects and are marked by placing counters on the character's dashboard or next to their miniature.
If a rule says that a character "is" or "becomes" followed by the name of a status, it means to gain one counter of that type.
Limits
Characters can have any number of Fatigued counters and up to three Blessed counters. All other status types are limited to one counter at any time.
Characters with dashboards can have up to three status counters in total, taking up the three slots. Any further status effects that would apply to the character are ignored unless they can replace a Blessed counter. Note that Fatigued counters do not take up a slot or count towards the limit.
Characters without a dashboard have no limits to their status effects, although are unlikely to be affected by many before they are defeated anyway!
If a character has multiple counters, the owning player can choose the order in which to apply or remove their effects whenever applicable.
Status counters are only removed when a rule permits it; for example the Rest action on page 30. Status counters remain on Adventurers when they are defeated, but are not resolved again until the character is revived.
Effects
Fatigued: This counter usually represents a character taking actions outside their own turn.
When this character's turn begins, unless they Rest (see page 30) they must spend actions to remove these counters before doing anything else, including removing other status counters. Being Fatigued prevents the character from making attacks of opportunity (page 23) but does not impact other actions taken outside of a character's turn, such as Reaction Skills.
If a character ever has more Fatigued counters than they do Actions on their character board, remove all Fatigued counters – the character is Stunned instead.
NOTE: Fatigued counters do not take up slots on a character's dashboard – place them on the character board or next to the miniature instead.
Wounded: This character Moves 1 square fewer. In addition, in each Assessment Phase, roll the Magic Die. On a 1-3, the character loses one Health. On a 4-6 there is no effect.
Poisoned: In each Assessment Phase, roll the Magic Die. On a 1-2, the character loses one Health. On a 3-4 the character loses one Skill peg (or Health if no Skill pegs remain). On a 5, the character becomes Fatigued. On a 6 the poison wears off – remove the counter.
Burning: In each Assessment Phase, this character loses 1 Health. While burning, the character is a source of fire for any rules that require it, and all their attacks have the Burn rule. This character cannot Rest.
Two consecutive actions must be spent in the same round to remove a Burning counter. In addition to the Burning character themselves, other friendly characters in contact can contribute any number of actions towards this total, suffering a Fatigued counter for each. Alternatively, the character may Interact with a source of water to remove a Burning counter.
Terrified: When a Terrified character takes their turn and has at least one action remaining after removing any Fatigued counters, they will flee. They must spend all available actions that round Moving as far away as possible from enemies, provoking attacks of opportunity if engaged. They will not engage enemies during this Move, but will run through other hazards such as traps, sustaining the effects as normal. If surrounded, the character may stand still or move just a short distance and do nothing further. If there are no enemies in play, they will instead Move towards their Staging Point, or the nearest Entry Point in the case of NPCs.
Once these actions have been completed, remove the Terrified counter and mark them as activated for the round.
While Terrified, characters may not voluntarily do anything, exactly as if they were Stunned.
However, at any time, during their turn or otherwise, Adventurers may spend a Skill peg to remove a Terrified counter.
Stunned: This character cannot take actions, use Skills, spend Magic pegs, or voluntarily do anything, and will miss their next turn. When it is the character's turn, instead remove the Stunned counter and mark them as activated for the round. Stunned characters cannot become Fatigued.
Warded: Warded characters are protected by a forcefield created via a spell or magical item. The Warded counter will have a value giving the character magical armour as detailed on page 37, and must be maintained in the Assessment Phase. Certain effects may increase or decrease this value – the counter should be swapped out accordingly. If a character is not Warded and is instructed to increase their Warded value, give them the appropriate counter.
Blessed: Blessed characters may remove a Blessed counter to either:
- Re-roll a die of any type used for any action or effect on behalf of that character.
- Force a die to be re-rolled from attacks or effects targeting them.
Only one counter may be expended per roll/action/effect.
Unlike other statuses, Blessed counters can be replaced by other effects. If a Blessed character has all their Status slots filled and suffers another Status effect, it replaces one of their Blessed counters.
NPCs and Status Effects
As NPCs are controlled by the game, they have less freedom to deal with status effects.
- Fatigued NPCs will use their actions to remove the counters before doing anything else.
- Stunned, Wounded, Poisoned, Burning or Terrified NPCs will suffer the effects as normal without any attempt to remove the counters.
- Blessed NPCs will always remove Blessed counters to re-roll results for their attacks or force a re-roll of any attack die that causes a hit against them (prioritising red dice) until no counters remain. They will not re-roll any other results.
- Warded NPCs will arrive with the relevant Warded status already in place. It can be lost as normal.
Example: Moranna's dashboard holds Blessed, Warded (1) and Poisoned counters, and there is a Fatigued counter next to her miniature. The Fatigued counter will be resolved at the start of her turn and the Poisoned counter in each Assessment Phase. The Warded counter gives Moranna magical armour to deflect attacks. The Blessed counter can be spent to re-roll a die, or it will be automatically removed if Moranna suffers another status effect.
Setting Up
Maladum is played using a series of quests – scenarios with pre-set objectives. These can be played as a continuous narrative (see page 59), but most people start out by playing one-off games. Some quests may have additional rules, but otherwise follow this process to set up a game:
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Each player should assemble their party (see page 54) or collect the components for the existing party they have been using in a campaign.
- Each player should choose up to four Adventurers from their party to take part in the quest, placing their dashboards in front of them and their Staging Area to one side.
- Each player should place pegs into their dashboards. Unless specified otherwise in a campaign (playing a Rescue Mission or following an unsuccessful Rest Phase for example) the number of pegs should be set to match the characters' statistics.
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Read through the accompanying campaign book, or the quests that come with other Maladum sets, and select the quest you want to play. For your first game, we suggest you start with the Of Coin and Glory quest on page 4 of the Dungeons of Enveron Campaign Book.
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Lay out the gaming mat(s) and terrain as shown on the map. You can find the key in the campaign book.
- Set aside any Chests, Crates, or other terrain that contains equipment for now.
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If the quest specifies any 'Key Items', these should be taken from the supply and set aside. The quest briefing will provide further information.
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Check the quest briefing to find out how many uncommon and rare items are required. For example, "Set Aside: 2 large uncommon, 1 large rare" and "Pouch: 6 uncommon, 1 rare" means you must set aside two large uncommon tokens and one large rare token, and you must add six uncommon tokens and one rare token to the token pouch. Take these tokens at random from their respective supplies. Put the large tokens to one side and add all others (exact size does not matter) to the token pouch.
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The terrain pieces you set aside in step 3 are now filled with equipment.
- Each type of terrain piece will have a diagram under the map listing its contents; for example, each tomb contains 1 large token and 3 tokens from the token pouch.
- First, take the large tokens you set aside in step 5. Without looking, place the large tokens inside the large terrain pieces, spread as evenly as possible.
- Then, without looking, place a number of tokens from the token pouch into each terrain piece matching the number shown in its diagram. The tokens can be of any size. Aim for an even mix but you don't need to be too careful.
- Place the lids back onto the terrain pieces, and add them to the gaming area in the positions shown on the map.
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Under the quest map you will see a section titled 'Event Cards'.
- The card types are denoted by the icon in the bottom corner.
- The number of cards specified for each type should be drawn randomly from those available.
- Set the difficulty of the game by selecting a number of Novice and/or Veteran cards as described on page 58.
- Shuffle the selected cards together and place the deck face down at the side of the gaming area.
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Set the starting Dread as detailed in the quest briefing, and make any adjustments required by special rules (e.g. Delays – see the Dungeons of Enveron Campaign).
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Around the edges of the gaming area you will see Staging Point positions. Decide amongst the players (if necessary) who will choose their Staging Point first. The chosen player can place their Staging Point in any of these positions. The other players then place their own Staging Points, proceeding clockwise around the table.
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Place the following components within easy reach of all players:
- Adversary Miniatures and boards.
- NPC Miniatures and boards matching the card types being used.
- Key Items set aside in step 4 (if not already used).
- Token Pouch.
- Range Rulers.
- Dice.
- Assorted Counters.
All remaining miniatures, character boards, terrain and other components will not be required for play and can be returned to the box.
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Finally, it's time to start the game. The player that deployed last will be the first player in the first round. Off you go!
Staging Points & Staging Areas
Staging Points represent your party's entrance. This is where your Adventurers will move onto the gaming area and is usually their escape route when the deed is done!
Adventurers can only come and go via their own Staging Point unless a mission says otherwise or another player gives permission.
The Staging Area is a sheltered location from which your Adventurers will set out on their quest, such as a cave entrance. This is where your Adventurers are placed at the start of the game, and will move between here and the gaming area via the matching Staging Point.
The Staging Area is not considered to be in play for any purpose. If any rule needs to determine the closest Adventurer before any have entered play, instead determine the closest Staging Point.
Staging Areas and Staging Points are linked at the start of each game by marking them with the same colour/letter/party logo of your choice. It will often be clearest to place the Staging Area next to its Staging Point, but depending on the map layout there will not always be space to do this.
On the back of the Staging Area you will find your Base Camp board where you can log your party's progress. See page 55 for more details.
Ending a Quest
Quests will list various objectives but these do not necessarily have to be completed to end the game. Sometimes it will be all you can do to escape with your lives!
Unless specified otherwise in the briefing, a game will end immediately when all Adventurers are either defeated or are safely back in their Staging Area.
When the game is over, resolve the After the Game section on page 57.
DON'T BE A HERO. You will quickly learn that Maladum is all about survival. You can't always charge in with your weapons raised, or expect to pilfer every last item on the gaming area. The game can, and will, turn on you. One of the most important lessons to learn is when to run away, to ensure you've still got a party left to head off on the next quest. You've been warned!
Winning and Losing
If a party was entirely wiped out (all of their Adventurers were defeated), that player automatically loses.
Otherwise, if the Primary Objective of a quest is completed, the player(s) that completed it have won. If the Primary Objective was not completed, all players have lost.
In a multiplayer game, if multiple players completed the Primary Objective (or nobody did) you may still want to determine an overall winner – the player who won the most, or who lost least! This player may gain benefits in the following game such as the first choice of deployment position.
Of course, in a campaign winning and losing is not quite so simple – you can lose a game but still come out on top in the end if you play it right! The campaigns section on page 59 will go into this in more detail.
Order of Play
Each mission is played in a series of rounds during which all characters in the gaming area will get to act. Each round is broken down into the following phases:
- Dread
- Adventurer
- Adversary
- NPC
- Assessment
1. Dread Phase
As the game goes on, your enemies will become more aware of your presence. In this phase, start by adding 1 black peg into the first empty space on the Dread Tracker.
If it's the first round of the game, this phase is now over. Otherwise, from round two onwards, the first player then draws an Event Card.
Random events may help or impede the players' progress. Some are merely a nuisance, but others can be deadly and you will need to be ready for them.
Depending on the current Dread level, the card may have different effects. Resolve all the effects detailed for the current Dread level. Once the card is resolved, place it in a discard pile to the side of the gaming area, face up. If you draw the last card in the deck, immediately shuffle the discard pile to make a new deck.
Most cards are resolved immediately, but some will have lasting effects. These will be marked with a dark box around the text, and are usually placed at the side of the gaming area where all players can see them.
Note the following:
- If there is no target for a rule, the rule has no effect. If part of a card's text can be resolved but not all of it, resolve as much as possible.
- If for any reason, no part of a card's text can be resolved (for example a card that moves an Adversary when there are none), ignore the text. If there is an icon at the end of the paragraph, it will be used to place a new character of that rank instead, if possible. The character type placed must match the card type (Revenant Adversary, Denizen, etc). The character will arrive as detailed on page 40/42 as normal. Whether a character is placed or not, shuffle the unresolved card back into the deck and draw another.
Example Event Cards. Each card lists a different effect for each Dread band. For example:
Card one
- Disquiet: Your presence has sounded an alarm. Increase the Dread by 1.
- Distress-Dismay: Place this card next to the Dread Tracker and place three black pegs on top of it. Add one of these pegs to the Tracker in each Assessment Phase. When all pegs have been used, discard this card.
- Desperation-Doom: Increase the Dread by 1. Then roll the Magic Die for each Adventurer. On a 1, that Adventurer becomes Terrified. Then discard this card and draw another.
Card two
- Disquiet: Choose the Adventurer with the fewest Health pegs. All enemies within medium range and LoS not engaged with another Adventurer take one action with the chosen Adventurer as the target.
- Distress-Dismay: Choose the Adventurer with the most Magic pegs. All enemies within medium range and LoS not engaged with another Adventurer take one action with the chosen Adventurer as the target.
- Desperation-Doom: Choose the Adventurer with the most Health pegs. All enemies within medium range and LoS not engaged with another Adventurer take one action with the chosen Adventurer as the target.
2. Adventurer Phase
In the Adventurer Phase, players will take it in turns to activate their Adventurers. The Adventurer Phase is explored in more detail on page 22.
3. Adversary Phase
In the Adversary Phase, more enemies enter play and attack. For full details on the Adversary Phase, see page 40.
4. NPC Phase
In the NPC Phase, all other NPCs controlled by the game, such as Wandering Beasts, will act. See page 42 for how this works.
5. Assessment Phase
In the Assessment Phase the gaming area is tidied up ready for the following round.
- All Activation counters are removed.
- All status counters are checked and resolved if applicable.
- Any other effects that state they happen 'at the end of the round' will happen now. Resolve any Reminder Counters in play, if applicable.
- The next player clockwise around the table becomes the first player – they will be in control for the following round.
Adventurer Phase
In the Adventurer Phase, players take it in turns to activate their Adventurers. The first player starts and play continues clockwise around the table, each player activating one character at a time until all Adventurers have taken their turns.
Activation
When it is a player's turn to activate an Adventurer, they do the following:
- Choose one of their Adventurers to take its turn. This cannot be a character that has been marked with an Activation Counter.
- Check any status counters they have that may affect their turn. Fatigued, Stunned and Terrified counters in particular must all be resolved before taking actions.
- Take actions with the Adventurer, allowing them to move, shoot, interact with the terrain, and more. The following pages list the available actions in detail.
- When you are finished, place an Activation Counter on the Adventurer's dashboard to remind you that they cannot act again this round.
- Play passes to the next player clockwise around the table. When all Adventurers in the gaming area have been activated, move on to the Adversary Phase.
Actions
An Adventurer's Action statistic (see page 6) shows how many actions they can take in a turn. Most characters have two, but some have more. You can choose to use all, some, or none of them during your character's turn.
The most common actions that can be taken are as follows:
- Move
- Melee Attack
- Ranged Attack
- Search
- Knock Back
- Persuade
Each of these is detailed on the following pages, along with a few other less common actions.
Unless specified otherwise, there is no restriction to the number of times that a particular action can be taken, or the order they can be taken in.
In addition, a character can take effortless actions – these do not count towards your action limit, but you can usually only take one of them per turn – see page 31.
Prone characters cannot take any actions other than to Rest or Stand Up (see page 30).
Defeated characters cannot take any actions at all until they have been revived by another character. For more on defeated characters, see page 33.
Move
When a character takes a Move action they can move up to 4 squares. Characters can Move into adjacent squares in any direction. Diagonal movement is allowed as long as both of the squares to either side (that the character would have to move through if moving orthogonally) are empty.
Important: If your character is Wounded, don't forget that their Move distance is reduced by one square.
Characters cannot end their movement in a square containing another character. They can Move through other friendly characters but may not Move through enemies. Adventurers from other parties can be Moved through if the owning player gives permission.
Prone characters can be moved through without penalty as long as they are no larger than the moving character.
Characters cannot Move through or over terrain unless specified otherwise (e.g. with the Scramble rule on page 51). Characters may only enter a square that is completely empty – squares partially filled by terrain at floor level are impassable. Note that decorative terrain elements such as the corners of tombs do not block movement.
Characters on larger bases such as a Rot Troll take up multiple squares and follow the additional rules on page 49.
Important: No character may take more than three Move actions during their turn, whether the actions are taken as normal or granted by Skills or other abilities. Movement via any other means (such as a Dash – see page 31) or Move actions made outside of a character's turn (such as Reaction Skills) may still be made as normal.
Attacks of Opportunity
If a character leaves contact with one or more enemies at any point during their Move, all standing, engaged, un-Fatigued enemies may make a free Melee Attack action (see page 26) against the moving character, regardless of whether they have already activated this turn. This action is resolved immediately and does not use any of their actions for the turn.
If an attack of opportunity (AoO) results in the defending character becoming Fatigued or Stunned, their movement ends before they leave contact.
Entering and Leaving the Gaming Area
Adventurers start the game out of play in their Staging Area (see page 20). To enter the gaming area, their first action of the game must be a Move, Dash, or any other action or Skill that allows movement, with their first square of movement placing them on the gaming area in contact with their Staging Point.
Adventurers that wish to escape can do so by Moving into contact with the Staging Point with at least one square of movement remaining, at which point their miniature is removed from play. Once a character has left the gaming area they are out of the game and cannot return.
Characters cannot leave the gaming area involuntarily (by being Knocked Back for example) unless the controlling player gives permission, or a quest rule requires otherwise (such as rescuing or capturing a Denizen).
Attack Actions
An Attack action allows one character to attempt to damage another. There are two types of Attack action – a Melee Attack action made with a character's fists or a hand-to-hand combat weapon, or a Ranged Attack action made with a ballistic or thrown weapon.
Making an Attack
To attempt an attack action, the character must have a weapon or innate ability of the appropriate type – see the following pages for detail. If a character has no such weapon or value shown for a certain attack type, they cannot attack in that way.
Both types are similar in execution, except for the positioning of the attacker and their target.
Melee attacks (page 26) are made against other characters in reach of one of your melee weapons. This usually means characters in contact, but some weapons can attack enemies further away.
Ranged attacks (page 26) are made at a distance, against targets within LoS and range of one of your character's ranged weapons. They cannot be made against targets in contact with your character.
Otherwise, both types of attack are made in the same way:
- Choose a target for the attack.
- Roll combat dice for the weapon as shown on its token (or on your character board if fighting unarmed). The number of hit icons rolled are your hits.
- Apply any applicable modifiers to the roll such as cover (page 11) or armour (page 25), altering the number of hits scored. Some special rules and Skills may apply further modifiers or effects, especially critical hits caused when rolling the critical icon.
- Any remaining hits cause damage.
- If targeting a character with a Dashboard, remove one Health peg for each point of damage. If their Health reaches zero the character is defeated (see page 33).
- If targeting an NPC with removable Health counters on their board, remove a counter for each point of damage. If the last counter is removed they are defeated.
- If targeting an NPC with no stated Health, any damage will cause them to be defeated and removed from play.
When a character is defeated, any items they were carrying are left on the ground where they fell.
Note that certain rules or cards will also call for attacks to be made against a target. These are carried out in the same way, but will specify the number of dice to roll rather than referring to a character or weapon. Unless stated otherwise, such attacks do not have an origin and therefore cover modifiers do not apply.
Blunders
The blunder icon on the dice signifies a blunder or weapon malfunction and will often have consequences! These vary for each type of attack as explained over the following pages.
If you are fighting unarmed, blunder results have no effect.
Armour
Hits sustained in an attack can be reduced by armour. There are two types of armour, physical and magical.
Physical armour has a permanent effect while it is worn, reducing the number of hits scored in an attack against the wearer by the physical armour value on the counter. For example, if a character with Studded Leather Armour (physical armour value of 1) suffers 2 hits, the armour will deflect/absorb 1 of those hits, but the other will get through and cause damage. This will happen each time the character is attacked.
Physical armour will also hinder the wearer when casting spells – see page 36.
Magical armour must be activated by the user, giving the character the Warded status. The value on the counter determines the number of hits that the armour will deflect. Once active, magical armour will deflect hits in the same way as physical armour, but it is not permanent! It can be boosted or overloaded if exceeded – for full details see page 37.
Armour values do not stack. If a character has both physical and magical armour, they may choose which to use. NPCs will always use the highest value available, taking into account their ability to boost magical armour with Magic pegs, if any. NPCs will always boost their armour if they have Magic pegs remaining.
Some physical armour values are preceded with a +. These values are applied in addition to other armour of that type, such as a Large Shield being used in addition to a character's Chainmail Shirt.
Some armour includes a melee value, allowing the character to attack even when unarmed.
Melee Attack
To attempt a Melee Attack the target character must be in range of at least one of your melee weapons. Usually this means they will be in an orthogonally (not diagonally) adjacent square.
If your character has an unarmed combat icon on their board or in their armour slot you may use that, rolling dice equal to the number inside.
Alternatively you may choose one of your character's melee weapons to attack with, using the number of dice shown.
If the icon has a burst around it, it can be used to make a forceful hit. The attack will roll one extra die, but there is a chance that the weapon will break – see below.
Cover does not apply to Melee Attacks, but armour will apply as normal.
Blunders. Standard hits ignore blunder results. However, if two or more blunder icons are rolled during a forceful Melee Attack, the weapon has broken. The current attack will be resolved as normal, but then flip the token face down in your inventory as detailed on page 15.
Attacks Of Opportunity (AoO). Don't forget that if a character is engaged with an enemy and moves away, the enemy can make a free Melee Attack against it as detailed on page 23.
Ranged Attack
To attempt a Ranged Attack the target must be within range and LoS and cannot be engaged with your character. If you are engaged with one or more other enemies while making a Ranged Attack, they may make an attack of opportunity against your character after your shot is resolved.
You must choose one of your character's ranged weapons to attack with and roll a number of dice based on the range between the shooter and the target.
The three statistics seen on ranged weapons are the number of dice rolled at short, medium and long range respectively. Some weapons may not have all three statistics, and will be limited to medium (two values) or short range (one value). Innate ranged abilities, found on NPC character boards rather than tokens, are at medium range.
The most common modifier applied to ranged attacks is cover (see page 11). Partial cover will reduce the number of hits on a target by 1. This is always resolved before any other modifiers such as armour.
Ammunition
Some ranged weapons require ammunition to fire and will be marked with an Arrows or Shot icon.
To fire a weapon with one of these icons the character must also have a matching ammunition (Gear or Armour) token in their inventory. If a character has multiple different ammunition tokens available, they must declare which they are using before resolving the attack.
Some ammunition such as Fire Arrows comes with its own abilities. Any icons on the ammunition used will apply as if they were on the weapon.
Blunders
Ammunition can run out! If a blunder icon is rolled on the blue die during a Ranged Attack, the character has run out of ammunition for that weapon. Return the ammunition token used for that attack to the supply. The effects of the current attack will still apply, but the weapon cannot be used again until you find more ammo.
Blast Attacks
Blast attacks affect not only the target, but also anyone in the surrounding squares, allowing a blast to hit characters that would otherwise be out of sight!
Blast attacks are aimed at a target square and resolved like a ranged attack as above.
However, if two or more blunder results are rolled, the target point of the blast is moved one square in a direction of the target player's choice (or in a random direction if the target was an NPC).
The attack roll is resolved against any characters in the final target square.
Then, the same attack roll is resolved against each character in the eight squares adjacent to the target point, but with one fewer hit.
Continue to resolve the attack against characters in subsequent squares, reducing the hits by one for each square of distance until no hits remain. Additional effects from critical hits or other rules apply to all characters suffering at least two hits.
Characters on large bases only suffer the first attack that reaches them – there is no effect for the blast radius extending to the other squares covered by their base.
Blast effects cannot pass through walls, but they will pass through windows and across other short terrain pieces. Characters on the other side of terrain hit by a blast will benefit from a cover modifier as usual.
NOTE: If measuring using inches, reduce the attack by one hit for each inch away from the original target, rather than each surrounding set of squares. Resolve the effects based on the closest point of each character's base.
Example: Beren's Fireball targets this Hellfont and rolls 3 hits. Characters in the surrounding squares will suffer 2 hits, and characters in the next row of squares (including Syrio!) will suffer 1 hit.
Shooting At Engaged Characters
Characters engaged with each other will be constantly moving, raining down blows or dodging aside, and they make for difficult targets when shooting.
If you want to shoot at an enemy engaged with another character, check the following:
- At short range you can freely pick your target – you are close enough to pick your moment and aim straight.
- At medium or long range, after rolling to hit you must roll the Magic Die to determine which of the combatants you have hit (even if one of them is your own character!). Modifiers such as cover and armour are worked out based on the actual target hit.
Search
Search actions allow a character to look around and find new items and will often be the key to victory in a quest. Characters may only Search when unengaged. There are three ways to Search:
Search Terrain
Any terrain piece that has been loaded with equipment before the game can be Searched, including chests and crates. Characters may Search any eligible terrain piece they are in contact with.
Open the terrain piece and remove the contents, keeping the tokens hidden from other players. You may add any or all of the contents to your character's inventory. Any remaining items, and any of the character's own items that you no longer want or have room for, are placed back into the terrain. Any items too large to fit into the terrain piece are placed on the ground adjacent to the terrain piece and the Searching character. Terrain pieces can be Searched any number of times in a game.
General Search
Characters may also make a general Search of the room they are in, as long as there are no enemies in the room. A room is defined as an area completely surrounded by either walls or the edges of the gaming area (ignoring doors and windows). Each room can only be searched once per quest – add a Search Counter to the room to remind you that it cannot be Searched again.
When you make a general Search, reach inside the token pouch, without looking, and take a random item. You may add this to your character's inventory. If you don't want the item, or you want to swap it with an item you already hold, place the discarded item on the floor in a square adjacent to your character.
NOTE: Most of the time the separation of 'rooms' in the gaming area is obvious, but players may agree to separate very large rooms or long corridors into multiple areas that can each be Searched separately.
Traps
Some tokens found during your Searches are Traps, denoted by their grey colour. Their effect, usually an attack, must be triggered immediately against the Searching character, and then the Trap token is discarded back to the pouch.
Only one trap will be triggered per Search action. If multiple traps are drawn, resolve the one with the largest token. If tied, the first player chooses. All others are discarded to the pouch without effect.
Loose Equipment
Sometimes equipment tokens will be left discarded on the floor, usually dropped by a defeated character. An Adventurer may pick up, drop or swap a single item in the same or an adjacent square as an Effortless action (see page 31). Alternatively, they may use a Search action to pick up, drop or swap multiple items from their square or one adjacent square at once.
Knock Back
A Knock Back action allows you to shove or misdirect an adjacent character, pushing them away.
To Knock Back another character, roll one die, plus dice equal to your character's unarmed combat value if they have one.
For each hit scored, the defending character is pushed 1 square directly away from the attacker. Armour has no effect. The attacker can follow up to remain adjacent to the defender if they wish. None of these moves attract attacks of opportunity.
If you score 3 or more hits, the defending character is then knocked prone.
If the square directly behind the defender is blocked by other characters or terrain, they are pushed in the closest possible direction instead. If there is no space to push an opponent back, they do not move.
Blunders. If you roll more blunders than hits, you have misjudged the attack and stumble. The action is not resolved, and the opposing model may immediately make a free Knock Back action against you instead. If they also roll more blunders than hits, there is no effect.
Character Size. When Knocking Back a character smaller than yourself, add one hit to your roll for each size bigger that your character is (rounding up). When Knocking Back a character larger than yourself, one hit from your roll is ignored for each size bigger that the other character is (rounding up).
Persuade
There are many times in the game where you will have to interact with NPCs, whether it's to ask for directions, trade items, or even convince them to join your party!
To do this you must be within short range and LoS of the NPC and neither character may be engaged with any other enemy. Hostile NPCs must be Persuaded to call a truce before they can be Persuaded to do anything else.
Persuade actions made against a target not in contact cause Noise – increase Dread by 1.
The Persuade icon represents how difficult an NPC is to Persuade, and can be found on their Character board. Characters without this icon cannot be Persuaded.
You must decide what you are Persuading a character to do before rolling. Persuading a character works similarly to an attack. The number of combat dice rolled is equal to your character's Skill statistic (the value on their character board, not the remaining number of pegs). The Persuade value of the NPC works like armour, modifying your roll. Your roll must have enough unblocked hits to be successful.
Characters may be persuaded to:
- Trade an item – requires 1 unblocked hit and requires target to be in contact. If they are carrying an item you may swap it for one of your own (see page 14).
- Take actions – requires 1 unblocked hit per action taken, up to their maximum. You may take any action(s) with the NPC that they would normally be able to take. They cannot take any action that would harm themselves or a friendly character. They then suffer one Fatigued counter per action taken.
- Call a truce – requires 2 unblocked hits. An NPC hostile to your party will no longer consider your Adventurers enemies for the rest of the game, unless you attack them.
- Join your party – requires 3 unblocked hits. If successful, the NPC will assist your party by acting as an Adventurer for the remainder of the mission. See Joining Parties on page 42 for full details. They may be activated in the current round.
- Make a mission or character-specific action. Some missions will list extra things that you can persuade an NPC to do and how difficult they are to achieve. For example, you may need to persuade a Denizen to provide vital information.
Persuading Adventurers. Normally only NPCs can be Persuaded, but with certain Skills or in certain quests you may be able to Persuade Adventurers from another party too! Adventurers don't have Persuade values, so if a rule allows you to do this the Adventurer's own Skill statistic is used in place of their Persuade value.
Interact
Various terrain pieces, items, and quest objectives can be Interacted with to cause an effect. These effects will be listed under the quest being played or terrain being used – e.g. pull a lever, take an objective token, etc.
Unless stated otherwise, to Interact with an object an Adventurer must be in contact with it and unengaged.
DON/REMOVE ARMOUR. Armour cannot be put straight into your character's armour slot – it takes time to put on. When picked up it should be placed in the inventory. This action is used to move or swap any number of armour tokens from the inventory to the armour slot or vice versa. This can only be done when not engaged. For smaller items the player may choose which side of the armour slot to swap out, retaining access to any Skills or abilities in the other side.
Stand Up
This action allows a prone character to return to their feet, standing the character upright. They act normally from then on.
Cast Spell
Spells take a varying amount of effort to cast depending on their power. While some magical effects are applied passively, effortlessly or as part of other actions, most require an action themselves to cast. These are marked with the action icon in their rules. See page 34 for full details of how magic works.
Rest
Characters can rest to recover their energy and patch themselves up. A character can only Rest when there are no enemies in the same room or within short range and LoS, and the character is not Burning. Characters may Rest even when they start a turn prone and/or Fatigued.
Resting requires two consecutive actions in the same round. When a character rests, they may:
- Remove all Fatigued counters.
- Restore up to two Magic pegs.
- Restore up to one Health peg or one Skill peg.
- Remove one Wounded or Poisoned counter.
- Stand Up, if prone.
All applicable effects will apply. If you Rest while in contact with a defeated character, you may apply any of the effects above (or the effects of any items used while resting) to the defeated character instead of yourself. The defeated character is then marked as activated for this round if they were not already.
Other Actions
This list is not exhaustive – there may be other actions that are used in specific quests, or only when a character has a particular Skill. They will be detailed in the appropriate place.
Effortless Actions
Effortless actions are small things that a character may do while on the run or in the heat of combat, such as ducking into cover or swiping an item from the floor as they run past.
A single effortless action can be made for free in addition to your regular actions each round. Effortless actions may also be taken any time you could take a standard action.
You may also spend a Skill peg to use an additional effortless action in a turn, but this will count as your Skill use for that round (see page 32).
Unless stated otherwise, effortless actions can only be made before or after other actions – they cannot be made mid-action.
Effortless actions include:
- Dashing.
- Laying prone.
- Using an item marked with the effortless icon.
- Casting a spell marked with the effortless icon.
- Opening or closing a door.
- Throwing an item.
- Picking up, dropping or swapping a single item in the same or an adjacent square (multiple items can be picked up, dropped or swapped as a Search action).
- Giving, taking or swapping an item with an adjacent character from your party (or another party if the owning player allows it). Multiple items may be exchanged with a full action.
Just like regular actions, there may be further effortless actions available in certain missions or with certain Skills. Some Skills even make regular actions effortless!
Dashing. A Dash is a special type of Move action that represents a character ducking into cover, sidestepping an attack, leaning around a corner to shoot, or making an extra effort to charge into combat. It allows a character to move up to one square, following all the regular movement rules.
Effortless Items. Certain items will have the effortless icon allowing them to be used effortlessly. The token will state the effect that applies; for example, an Arcanum Kouse that restores 2 Magic pegs, or a Sanguine Stone that can be channelled to add a Health peg.
Throwing Items
Thrown items do not have to target a character – they can be aimed at an empty square if you wish. Throwing an item requires LoS to the target square, and the target must be in short range.
Throwing Weapons
All melee weapons that are not Cumbersome can be thrown to make an attack.
The number of dice shown on the item are rolled like a ranged attack against any character in the target square. Weapon abilities such as Sharp will apply as normal unless they are specific to melee attacks.
The thrown weapon is removed from the character's dashboard and placed on the floor in the target square (under a character's base if the square is occupied). It will remain in position to be retrieved.
Note that thrown weapons can break just like any others following two blunder results.
Throwing Other Items
All equipment tokens can be thrown without resolving an attack, such as when you want to pass an item to a fellow Adventurer.
A target square in range and LoS must be chosen just like a thrown weapon.
Once you have determined your target square, roll the blue combat die as follows:
- Two hits: A character in the target square (if any) catches the item – place it in their inventory.
- One hit: Place the item in the target square. A character in the square may pick it up in their turn as normal.
- No hits: You have missed – the token lands in an adjacent square of your choice.
- Blunder: You have seriously missed – scatter the item from the target square.
If there is intervening terrain between the thrower and the target, reduce the number of hits rolled by 1.
Skills
Skills allow characters to spend Skill pegs to do things above and beyond the standard rules.
Each character has their own skill set comprising the Skills on their Class board and often one or two on their Adventurer board. Each Skill is represented by a coloured icon – a full list can be found on page 74. As the character gains Experience the spaces around the icon will be marked to show the character's proficiency with that Skill, from 1 to 3. This value may be referred to in some Skills as 'X'.
Adventurers may only spend Skill pegs once per round, regardless of purpose. Reaction Skills do not count towards this limit. Unless otherwise noted in the Skill's description, Skills must be used during a character's turn.
Some Skills grant actions themselves. These are used before or after regular actions, not during, and do not count towards your actions for the turn. Some Skills are used during other actions.
To use a Skill, you must:
- Select which Skill you want to use and at which level, up to the level available on their board. Some Skills may have multiple options at the same level.
- Unless stated otherwise, remove a number of Skill pegs from the Adventurer's dashboard equal to the Skill's level. For example, using a level 2 Skill removes 2 pegs.
- Carry out the action listed in the Skill section for that Skill.
If a Skill contradicts anything in the core rules, the Skill's description takes precedence.
Skill pegs may also be spent for other reasons, such as to gain additional effortless actions. Using Skill pegs in this way still counts towards the once per round limit.
Passive Skills. Some Skills are marked as passive. Once a character has the relevant level of that Skill or above, this rule is always in effect, and does not require any Skill pegs to use. Passive Skills can still be used even if a character has no Skill pegs remaining.
Reactions. Some Skills are marked as reactions. These will usually be used outside of your character's turn, reacting to an event or attack made by another character. The trigger condition for each Skill's use will be detailed in its description. This trigger condition, or any action currently being taken (for example an opponent making an attack) must be fully resolved before your Skill is used. The Skill is then used immediately, before regular play resumes where it left off.
One reaction Skill can be used per round, even if your character has already been activated this round, and even if you have already used a Skill.
Between Games. Some Skills are used between games. Doing so will require an Adventurer to use Skill pegs as usual. The phase they can be used in is marked in bold. Adventurers that took part in the most recent mission will need to have pegs spare for these skills; Adventurers that did not take part will have access to their full amount. If not used between games excess Skill points are wasted.
There is no limit on the number of Skills that can be used between games, but each Adventurer may use up to a number of pegs equal to their rank.
Duplicate Skills. Some characters may have a Skill on their character board and have the same Skill type on their Class board or an item. When determining the level of that Skill that can be used, these values are added together, even if the total is higher than the character's rank.
All Skills have a maximum level of 3.
Note that sometimes these Skills might be in the character's armour slot. Therefore, putting armour on may reduce the level of a certain Skill available to a character, even if they also had it on their Class board.
Defeated Characters
A defeated Adventurer is not necessarily dead – they may be unconscious or just too injured to move. Whatever the reason, they are incapacitated and cannot participate in the quest. A defeated Adventurer miniature should be laid on its side, and an Assistance Counter (on the back of their Activation Counter) placed next to them to remind you that they are not just prone. Any status counters on the Adventurer remain in place, but will not be resolved while they are defeated.
Hope is not lost however. The other Adventurers (from any party) in play may attempt to help.
Important: Unless stated otherwise, defeated Adventurers can never be targeted by an enemy or effect or selected when a rule calls for a random Adventurer. Until they have been revived by restoring Health as detailed below, any rule that would affect them is ignored.
Reviving Characters. Rest actions (page 30), Items, Skills or Spells that restore Health can be used to revive a defeated Adventurer. However, they must be used by another Adventurer – the defeated Adventurer cannot use items themselves. The Adventurer using the item can take it from their own supplies, or from the defeated Adventurer's inventory or armour slot.
A revived Adventurer restores the specified amount of Health and removes the Assistance Counter. They are left prone, but can take their turn as normal in the current round if they haven't already.
Grab A Leg. If the party can't heal their comrades, defeated characters can also be carried or dragged off the gaming area using the rules for moving objects on page 50.
Rob Them Blind. More ruthless players may opt to 'rescue' the defeated character's equipment rather than the character themselves. Other Adventurers in contact with the defeated Adventurer can make a Search action as if the Adventurer were a Searchable terrain piece – taking any items they want from the character's inventory. Any discarded items are left next to the defeated Adventurer.
End Of A Quest. In a campaign, characters left defeated at the end of a quest must escape or be rescued – see page 60. If any of their equipment was stolen during the game, they will not get it back.
Magic
The Magic of Maladum
When a Maladaar connects with the unseen world machines of Mesa and bids them to do its will, it is known as the Communion, and in this Communion, truly incredible feats are possible. It is not uncommon to see a Maladaar heal mortal wounds, leap across chasms, assail their enemies with the primal forces and even defy the laws of nature entirely. Though vastly ranging in potency and skill, these acts have collectively become known as spells.
There are limits to what the Communion can achieve. A Maladaar cannot create from nothingness, only manipulate that which already exists. Fire cannot be sprung from the void, yet torchlight may be plucked from its brazier and possessed by a Maladaar as skillfully as one would wield a blade or bow.
All Magic is resolved using a character's Magic Pegs, used for casting and resisting spells as well as using magical items and armour.
Important: The first time an Adventurer uses Magic pegs in each round, add one blue peg to the Dread Tracker after resolving the effects. NPCs do not add pegs to the tracker.
The Magic Die
Manipulating the malacytes in your blood requires a huge amount of willpower and focus, and in the heat of battle those can be hard to come by! The Magic Die is used to represent how attuned a character is to their powers.
Whenever an Adventurer (not an NPC) would spend Magic pegs, whether casting a spell, using a magical item, or anything else, the Magic Die must be rolled. The results are as follows:
- Mental Overload: Any pegs used at this time are discarded with no effect. The character becomes Fatigued. If this roll was due to a spell cast via an item, instead of Fatiguing the character the item is broken and cannot be used again this game.
- Mental Stability: There is no further effect.
- Mental Recovery: After any current effects are resolved, the character restores one Magic peg.
- Withering Blast: After any current effects are resolved, all other characters (friend or foe) within two squares and LoS of this character are moved one square directly away (if possible, and with no attacks of opportunity) and are laid prone. Affected characters may spend a Skill peg to keep their footing and ignore this effect.
- Radiating Aura: After any current effects are resolved, this character and all characters within two squares gain one Magic peg (this may exceed their starting value).
- Unstoppable!: Resolve the current effects as if one additional peg had been spent, even beyond any stated maximum for the character, effect or spell. If this result was rolled when casting a spell against an enemy, it cannot be resisted.
Notes
- The Magic Die is only rolled once per action/effect. If a rule would cause you to spend further Magic pegs while still resolving the initial action (e.g. using a Channelled item while casting a spell), do not roll again.
- If a rule instructs you to discard a Magic peg rather than spending it, the Magic Die is not rolled and no pegs are added to the tracker.
Spells
Maladaar Classes come with a reference card detailing all the spells that character can learn. Each spell is colour coded to match its type – Proximate, Vicarious and Elemental, as detailed on page 68.
Characters learn spells in the same way as gaining Skills, by spending Experience on them as detailed on pages 54 and 62. When a character learns a spell its space on the reference card will be marked, and the character may then use that spell in games.
Other characters will have access to individual spells indicated by icons in a similar way to Skills. These individual spells may be on their character board, class board, or items they carry.
Casting Spells
Spells may be cast in a variety of ways. Some are passive, meaning that their effects are always available for use, whereas others will be marked with the action or effortless icons to show that they require an action or an effortless action to cast.
Proximate spells (page 68) affect the caster themselves. All other spells require a target within medium range and LoS unless stated otherwise.
Unless stated otherwise, spells that require an action cannot be cast when engaged – the proximity of your enemies is too distracting. Passive and effortless spells can be cast as usual.
There is no limit on the number of spells that can be cast per round.
Many spells will have a casting value (denoted as "X") in their description – this is the power of the spell and relates to the number of Magic pegs spent to cast it. If a spell does not have a value, only one peg must be spent, although you may choose to use more to prevent the spell being resisted (see below).
A character may use any number of pegs up to their current rank (see page 62) each time they cast a spell.
To cast a spell, you must:
- Select the spell you want to cast.
- Decide how much power you want to use for the spell and spend X Magic pegs from your dashboard, returning them to the supply. If your character has physical armour you will need to discard additional pegs – see below.
- Roll the Magic Die.
- Carry out the action listed on the reference card with X equal to the number of pegs spent, applying any Mental Overload or Unstoppable! results as applicable.
- Resolve any other effects of the Magic Die roll. If this is the first time in the round that an Adventurer has used magic, add one peg to the Dread Tracker.
Physical Armour. Armour can restrict the natural flow of energy. A character wearing physical armour while casting a spell must discard additional Magic pegs equal to the highest value in their armour slot. These pegs do not count towards X or any other limits or requirements relating to the spell.
Other uses of Magic pegs such as Channelled items are unaffected by physical armour.
Resisting Magic
Many spells can cause harm or ill effects to other characters. However, those characters may draw on their own malacytes to resist these effects.
A character directly targeted by a spell may spend a number of their own Magic pegs (up to a maximum of the defending character's rank) to reduce its power. This is decided after the Magic Die has been rolled for the spell, but before its effects are applied. Reduce the casting value of the spell by the number of pegs spent before applying its effects. If the casting value is reduced to zero, the spell has no effect.
If a spell targets multiple characters, each resists it individually, and only reduces its effect against themselves.
Don't forget that as they are spending pegs, an Adventurer resisting a spell will also roll the Magic Die themselves.
Restoring Magic Pegs
A character's Magic pegs will fluctuate throughout the game. Unless stated otherwise, they can never exceed their starting value.
The Rest action allows a character to restore Magic pegs, but they can also be restored by various skills and items marked with the Regeneration icon.
Magical Items
Weapons and equipment can be imbued with malacytes that can be harnessed by a skilled Adventurer.
Some items grant a character magical armour or a magic-related ability or Skill, such as Lothor's Destiny. This will be shown with the relevant icons on the token.
Others such as the Enchanted Blade require the user to channel their own malacytes into the item to unlock its powers. These are marked with the Channel icon. At least one Magic peg must be spent when the item is used to activate the associated abilities.
Some of the most powerful equipment has the full force of a spell trapped inside, ready to be released. These items will be marked with a spell that can be used as if the character knew it themselves. In this case, the Mental Overload result on the Magic Die applies to the item, not the user – instead of Fatiguing the user the item will be broken.
Full details of all the icons in the game can be found on page 83.
Magical Armour
Some spells and items create a magical forcefield around a character, protecting them from harm. The Magical Armour icon allows a character to activate their armour.
The character must spend an action and up to the number of Magic pegs shown to become Warded, taking a counter showing the number of pegs spent. The token must be rotated 180° to mark it as active – it cannot be used in this position.
The character now has a magical armour value equal to this number. Multiple items and effects may be used to increase this value.
While active, the character will deflect incoming hits up to this value in the same way as physical armour. However:
- The user can boost its strength. If they take more hits than the armour's value they may spend any number of Magic pegs to block additional hits – one hit blocked per peg spent. The user will then become Fatigued.
- Magical armour with a value higher than 1 must be maintained by the user. In the Assessment Phase, the user must either discard a Magic peg or become Fatigued for each point on their Warded counter after the first. If they do not, their Warded value must be reduced accordingly.
- If the user takes damage or becomes Stunned their Warded counter is removed and all tokens with the Magical Armour icon are rotated upright.
NPCs and Magic
NPCs do not add Magic pegs to the Dread Tracker or roll the Magic Die when they spend Magic pegs.
NPCs with magical armour will arrive with the relevant Warded status in place. NPCs do not need to maintain their armour regardless of its value. They will always boost their armour while they have pegs remaining.
When resisting spells, NPCs will always spend as many pegs as are required to cancel/reduce its effects while they have pegs remaining, up to their rank as normal. If they do not have enough pegs to reduce or cancel a spell's effects, they will not resist.
NPC Activation
When the rules call for an NPC type to activate, whether Adversary or otherwise, the same process is followed.
Actions & Targets
In the Adventurer Phase, you were able to decide which actions your party would take. However, NPCs are not under your control and will instead take their actions based on their AI.
For some NPC types this is fixed and will be determined in their individual rules or on the Event Card that caused them to arrive.
Others, including most Adversaries, will simply attack, but before resolving their actions each NPC character must choose a target!
- By default the target will be the closest enemy character within LoS and not in cover.
- If all visible characters are in cover, the target will be the closest.
- If there are no visible characters, their target will instead be the closest enemy character. Work this out by measuring the shortest possible distance between the activating character and the potential targets, moving around terrain and through doors as necessary.
- Defeated Adventurers are never targeted.
- In all cases, the target must be a character that the NPC is physically able to attack, i.e. there is an empty space that will allow the NPC to engage the target or a clear LoS for a ranged attack. If the closest target is surrounded, the NPC will target the next nearest enemy with space around it instead, unless no alternative targets are in play.
Once a target has been chosen, it remains locked for the rest of that character's turn. This applies even if a closer target came into view part-way through a move. The target is only reassessed mid-turn if the original target is defeated or the character engages another target en-route. Otherwise, it will be reassessed in the character's next turn.
Based on the chosen target, the NPC will take actions following the AI chart below, with the following exceptions:
- NPCs placed off the gaming area will use their first action to Move onto it in the same way as Adventurers.
- NPCs that have been knocked prone must use their first action to Stand Up, before taking any further actions as normal.
- NPCs that take a Move action always move as far as possible (i.e. the full 4 squares) unless they move into contact with their target or another enemy, at which point they will stop.
- If an NPC is unable to Move due to lower-ranking friendly NPCs blocking their path, the lower-ranking characters will be pushed aside to make space.
- If the shortest route to their target is via a closed door, NPCs will Move as far as the door and stop, and spend their next action opening the door. Unless stated otherwise, Adversaries may open doors even if locked (see page 44). Non-Adversary NPCs will not open or trace a route through locked doors.
- If the shortest route to their target is blocked by a Barricade (see page 46), the NPC will target the Barricade first. Once it is destroyed they will continue to their target as normal.
- NPCs will not enter an area that would cause them harm (walking through a trap for example) unless there is no other route to their target.
- When attacking, NPCs will always use the most powerful statistic they have available, whether it's their basic statistic or a weapon they are carrying. If a weapon is capable of making a forceful hit, the NPC will always do so whenever the target has an armour value.
- NPCs do not make effortless actions. Any time that the rules would require them to, such as opening a door or picking up an item, they spend a full action.
Once you've played a couple of times these actions will become second nature.
This covers all the most common rules but is not exhaustive. With such an open system, other interactions may come up in your games. If it's not obvious, choose the action that is most in character for the NPC in question, and if in doubt, do whatever causes the most harm to your Adventurers!
For example, you may have an NPC that fires a Crossbow with the Preparation rule, requiring the user to spend an action readying the weapon. This action is not in the AI rules, but it makes sense that the NPC would do it if they were in a position to fire again.
If using multi-level terrain there may also be opportunities for NPCs to Climb and Jump to reach their targets, so the players should agree amongst themselves if an NPC would do this or not.
NPC AI Action Chart
Start here:
- Can the NPC reach the target with one of its melee attacks, without moving? If YES – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will make a Melee Attack action against the target.
- If NO – Is the target in the NPC's LoS? If NO – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will Move towards the target via the shortest route.
- If YES – Does the NPC have a ranged weapon or ability that can reach the target? If NO – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will Move towards the target via the shortest route.
- If YES – Can the NPC reach and attack the target in melee this turn? If NO – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will make a Ranged Attack action against the target.
- If YES – Has the NPC already moved this turn? If YES – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will make a Ranged Attack action against the target.
- If NO – Will the NPC's ranged attack roll more dice than their best melee attack? If YES – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will make a Ranged Attack action against the target. If NO – TAKE ACTION: The NPC will Move towards the target via the shortest route.
Adversary Phase
In this phase, Adversary NPCs will arrive onto the gaming area and attack. In this starter set your Adversaries are the Revenants, but other Adversaries will appear in other settings.
In each round the Adversaries are moved and rolled for by the first player, unless that player's party are the ones being attacked in which case another player should roll.
The Phase has two stages:
- Arrival
- Activation
Arrival
The number of Adversaries that arrive each round is determined by the Dread Tracker (the board is bespoke to each Adversary type).
Each band on the tracker shows a number of icons indicating the characters that could potentially arrive in this phase. These match the icons on the character boards for that Adversary type. In the case of the Revenants, these are: Lamentor, Myria, Hellfont and Rot Troll.
If an icon is followed by a number, that many characters will arrive. If the icon is followed by a die icon, roll that die to determine whether any characters will appear. Start at the top, and work down the list to see what arrives.
If there are multiple dice shown, the arrival point for characters generated by each die is resolved separately. Characters generated by the same die arrive together.
Once the Dread level reaches its maximum band at the top of the tracker, the characters arriving each round will be the same as in the band below, but from now on all Adversaries will use the increased statistics on the reverse side of their character boards.
Adversaries arrive at a random location around the gaming area determined by the Magic Die. The numbers on the die correspond to the Entry Point counters. Roll separately for each type of Adversary arriving.
Once you have determined the number of each character type arriving and their respective Entry Points, place them just off the gaming area next to their Entry Point. They will move onto the gaming area in their turn.
RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. You'll see that the Revenant Die in this starter set has a grave icon on some of the faces. If this icon is rolled when determining how many Adversaries arrive, they do not arrive from Entry Points. Instead they arrive via the Grave Points around the gaming area.
Unless specified otherwise, the Adversaries will arrive at the closest Grave Point to an enemy that does not have a character or terrain piece on top of it. Only one Adversary can be placed at each point – subsequent arrivals will be placed at the next nearest point instead.
They are placed onto the gaming area immediately when they arrive and will activate from that position.
Adversaries that do not roll the Revenant Die always arrive via Entry Points. If for any reason all Grave Points are covered or inactive, Adversaries will arrive at the nearest Entry Point instead.
Note that some Dread boards may show other non-Adversary NPCs. These characters will arrive at the start of the NPC Phase (see page 42).
Not Enough Adversaries? Unless a game effect states otherwise, you will only use the Adversary miniatures that come in the starter set. At times you may find that you need to roll for a type of Adversary to enter the gaming area, but there are none of that type left.
If this is the case, use the next lowest ranked Adversary character available. For example, if a Hellfont (rank 2) is required but unavailable use a Myria (also rank 2) instead; if they are unavailable use a Lamentor (rank 1).
If there are no rank 1 Adversaries left and you need to spawn more, then none will arrive until some have been defeated.
Remember that Adversaries with the Worthy Opponent rule such as the Rot Troll only appear once. Once one is in play do not resolve its arrival again, even to place a lower-ranked character, or even after it is defeated.
Additional packs of Adversaries are available for games with higher difficulty – see page 58. The Veteran Event Cards in these packs will allow the additional Adversaries to enter play.
Activation
All Adversaries now take turns in the same manner as all other NPCs as detailed on page 38.
Adversaries are activated starting with the highest rank and continuing to the lowest. If there are multiple Adversaries with the same rank in play, the first player chooses the order in which they activate.
Adversaries placed off the gaming area will use their first action to move onto it in the same way as Adventurers.
Adversary Commander
All Adversary types have a Commander, marked by the special rank icon on their character board. The Revenant Commander is the Malagaunt.
If the Adversary Commander is in play, they always take their turn first. There are no rank-based limits to their abilities. The Commander has a reference card to detail their actions as they won't always follow the standard rules.
Defeating an Adversary Commander will be tough, but if you can achieve it you will be rewarded with a valuable prize. All Commanders come with a set of exclusive equipment tokens (the ones marked with the Malagaunt icon in the case of the Malagaunt).
When a Commander enters play, draw one of their items at random and add it to their inventory, if possible. They will not use this item, but will drop it as normal if defeated.
NPC Phase
In this Phase, all non-Adversary NPCs controlled by the game will act. There are two types of NPC in this starter set – Wandering Beasts and Denizens.
For your first few games you can choose not to use NPCs at all while you learn the rest of the rules.
Like the Revenants, NPCs are controlled by the game. They should be physically moved and rolled for by the first player unless that player's party is being attacked, in which case another player should roll.
Arrival
NPCs usually arrive on the gaming area via the Event Deck. Like Adversaries they will usually be placed next to an Entry Point and will move onto the gaming area in this phase when it's their turn to activate. Follow all other instructions on the card with regard to their statistics, equipment, or initial actions.
If you are required to select an NPC and have multiples of that type in your collection, shuffle together the relevant character boards and pick one at random before determining any starting equipment.
Sometimes, a rule may generate an NPC without drawing an Event Card. For example, when using Side B of the Revenant Dread board there is a chance that a Denizen can arrive. This is resolved at the start of the NPC Phase.
If an NPC arrives in this way, take all Event Cards of the relevant type that are not being used for the current game and draw one at random. Resolve it immediately. If no cards are available, no NPC will arrive.
Order of Activation
NPCs are activated starting with the highest rank and continuing to the lowest. When NPCs are placed onto the gaming area, it's best to lay their boards out in rank order for quick reference.
If there are multiple NPCs with the same rank in play, the first player chooses the order in which they activate.
Actions
Unless stated otherwise in their rules, all NPCs choose their targets and activate as detailed on page 38.
Joining Parties
It is possible for some NPCs to join your party, usually when Persuaded by an Adventurer.
Once an NPC has joined a party they are part of that party for all purposes.
They will be activated in the Adventurer Phase by that party's player and can make all available actions as normal.
They will retain their NPC statistics for now – do not flip their Character board.
If defeated, they are removed from the gaming area and cannot be revived. Any items they were carrying are left on the floor where they fell.
If they leave the gaming area while part of your party, you may take any equipment they were carrying, even if they do not permanently join you.
They are still considered part of your party even when they are the only Adventurers left on the gaming area. If you need or want an NPC to survive the game you would continue playing until they escaped or were defeated as normal. If you do not need or want them alive you can end the game prematurely, leaving them to their fate…
If an NPC leaves your party for any reason, any items they are carrying at the time remain in their inventory.
Wandering Beasts
Wandering Beasts are everything from resident creepy-crawlies to hungry predators to patrolling soldiers – anyone or anything with no agenda who just happens to cross your path.
These characters are marked by the Wandering Beast icon on their boards, and are used whenever the cards are shuffled into the Event Deck.
Different Beasts will activate in different ways, detailed on the Event card that introduces them. These cards should be kept next to the character boards as a reminder and discarded if the character is defeated.
NOTE: All rank 1 Beasts have the Pack icon. These characters arrive in groups; instead of a single miniature, place a number of characters equal to this value.
Denizens
Along your travels you'll meet all kinds of characters, many of them Adventurers just like you, each with their own destinies to fulfil. Some may need your assistance, some will get in your way, and some are out for blood!
These characters are marked by the Denizen icon on their boards, and are used whenever the cards are shuffled into the Event Deck. You will note that these NPCs are on the reverse of your regular Adventurer boards – in this way any unused Adventurer can be used as an NPC.
Different Denizens will activate in different ways, detailed on the Event card that introduces them, and this card will often also increase their starting statistics. These cards should be kept next to the character boards as a reminder and discarded if the character is defeated.
Unless stated otherwise, Denizens treat Adventurers as friendly unless you attack them, but they will still treat Adversaries and other NPC types (such as Wandering Beasts) as enemies.
NOTE: Denizens are usually selected randomly. However, if you want to use a specific character/miniature for thematic purposes then you may do so.
Equipment. Most Denizens will arrive on the gaming area with a random selection of equipment. If you prefer, for a little more immersion you may select the character's equipment to match their miniature, as long as it's in line with the equipment types and rarities on their card.
Important: If an NPC arrives carrying a ranged weapon that requires ammunition, give them a matching ammunition token from the supply for free, provided they have space in their inventory.
Opportunists. Opportunists are a type of Denizen whose goal is to grab as much loot as possible! Here are a few notes to accompany the rules on their card.
- By 'least threatened' this means that the Opportunist will prioritise terrain pieces and items with no enemies in short range even if they are not the closest, unless there is no other option.
- Yes, Opportunists can steal your mission objectives!
- Opportunists are well tooled-up for breaking and entering. They will unlock and open any locked door or crate they need to access by spending an action.
- If an Opportunist empties a terrain piece, mark it with a Searched counter. Opportunists will ignore Searched terrain pieces, although they will still Search terrain pieces left empty by your Adventurers.
- If an Opportunist Searches and only finds tokens that do not fit into their inventory, they will swap items from their inventory (starting with the lowest-cost) to fit in as many items as possible. Afterwards there may be a small space remaining that no available item fits into – if this is the case they still consider their inventory to be full and will return to an Entry Point to stash the items.
Terrain
Many terrain pieces in Maladum are interactive and will often be key to a mission's success. Most terrain pieces will block line of sight to some degree and provide cover as explained on page 11.
Each lists its size and armour to be used with any applicable rules.
Walls
Wall panels are solid and immovable. They completely block movement and LoS and cannot be destroyed.
The edge of the playing area is considered to be a wall for rules purposes, but you do not need to physically place walls around the edges.
Some walls will be placed diagonally across the gaming area. The squares underneath them are impassable unless a character has a small base, in which case a single character can fit in the half square.
If using multi-level terrain for all or part of your gaming area, there may be situations where a character could draw LoS 'over' a wall. Unless topped with a floor or railing, or agreed otherwise with the players, walls are considered to be infinitely high and block all LoS.
Doors
Some wall sections contain doors which can be partially punched out and folded to mark them as open or closed.
Unless specified otherwise in the quest, all doors are considered to start the game closed and unlocked.
When closed, doors block movement and LoS in the same way as a solid wall.
Once opened, the squares on either side of the doorway are considered to be in contact as if the wall panel was not there, and LoS can be drawn through the doorway. The door will still block LoS or provide cover to characters behind the door.
For Adventurers, opening or closing a door is an effortless action when in contact with the doorway, as long as they are not engaged. Simply change the door's position as appropriate. For double doors, open both sides.
Some doors straddle multiple squares. All squares at least partially touching the doorway are in contact and the door can be moved through from any of them.
NPCs do not make effortless actions and require a regular action to open a door in their path.
Locked Doors. Locked doors are different in that they must be unlocked or breached before they can be opened. Quests will usually specify how and when doors can be locked and unlocked. Otherwise, this can be done with Keys, spells, and some Skills, among other things.
Lock markers can be slotted over the top of a wall to mark a door as locked.
Adversaries ignore locks – you are in their domain and it is assumed that they have keys or that their Commander will ensure that their path is unhindered. Adversaries must still open closed doors, but automatically remove any lock markers when doing so.
Searchable Terrain
Terrain pieces such as chests, crates or tombs are Searchable, and contain equipment that your Adventurers can pick up and use. They will be filled with a random selection of items (see page 18) at the start of each game. Searchable terrain pieces can be locked and unlocked just like doors.
No Searchable terrain piece can hold more than five tokens at once unless stated otherwise.
Tombs. Tombs are filled with equipment tokens just like chests, and will have space inside for larger items buried with their previous owners. However, those previous owners won't always stay inside!
Once a tomb has been opened, leave the lid ajar. Open tombs are treated as a Grave Point (see page 40) for the rest of the game. Arriving characters are placed in any empty adjacent square.
Weapons Rack. Weapons Racks can be Searched but are not physically filled with equipment tokens. Instead, when the rack is Searched, draw an uncommon weapon (i.e. a blue token with a yellow icon) at random, and mark the Weapons Rack with a Search counter.
Arcanist's Desk. Unless stated otherwise, the desk will usually contain specific items detailed in the quest briefing. It always starts the game locked and can only be unlocked using a Key item found in the same quest. Alternatively, a character may Interact with it and spend a Skill peg and a Magic peg to unlock it. NPCs do not have Skill pegs and cannot unlock or Search the desk.
Sconces
Sconces can be Interacted with to take a Torch equipment token.
They can also be Interacted with to discard an Arrows token and replace it with a Fire Arrows token.
Sconces and Torches are both a source of fire for rules that require it.
Well
Wells are a source of water for rules that require it, and can be Interacted with to remove a Burning counter.
Note that the stone surround does not impede movement in any way.
Levers and Wheels
Levers, Wheels and similar don't have any rules of their own, but their use will be detailed in quests to activate/deactivate various systems and mechanisms. Adventurers will usually be required to Interact with these objects to achieve their objective.
Crucible of Resurrection
The Crucible is a vat of magically infused chemicals brewed up by the Malagaunt. The volatile concoction reacts with the lifeforce of any living thing, and can be manipulated to drain life, heal wounds, or even restore the soul of a creature that should no longer have one!
Adventurers may Interact with the Crucible and choose one of the following effects, spending Magic pegs as applicable:
- Restore X health to yourself or any other character in contact with the Crucible.
- Fatigue a character within medium range of the Crucible X times.
- Deal one damage to a Revenant character of up to rank X within medium range of the Crucible.
- Look at the top X+2 cards of the Event Deck. Discard up to one card from those revealed, then shuffle the rest back into the deck.
However, manipulating the Crucible takes its toll. Any character that rolls a Mental Overload result while Interacting with the Crucible loses Health pegs equal to the number of Magic pegs spent.
Barricades
Some spells and other effects will create barricades – temporary terrain pieces that block your path. Some barricades are high, blocking LoS and Movement, while others are low, blocking Movement to a lesser degree and providing cover. Barricades have an armour value of 1 and will need to be destroyed (see page 47) to clear a way through.
If the space in contact with an Entry Point is filled with a barricade, characters will be temporarily prevented from arriving. Next time characters placed at that Entry Point would enter the gaming area, roll the Magic Die:
- 1-2: Place all waiting characters at the next active Entry Point clockwise around the gaming area. They do not enter play this round.
- 3-4: Remove the Barricade. All waiting characters are Fatigued (note that this will prevent them entering play this round if they only have one action).
- 5-6: Place all waiting characters at the next active Entry Point anti-clockwise around the gaming area. They do not enter play this round.
There is a limit to the amount of debris lying around that can be assembled into barricades. Only four barricades can be in play for each gaming mat being used. Once these are in play, no more may be created until one is destroyed.
Tables, Chairs and Pillars
Unless specified otherwise, these terrain pieces have no rules of their own, but like barricades they can block movement and provide cover.
Grave Points
Around the gaming area you will see the Grave Point image printed onto the gaming area. This area of loose earth signifies where the dead have been recently buried, and where they could rise again! These markings are only used when playing with Revenant Adversaries as described on page 40 – in all other games they are ignored.
Grave Points do not block Movement or LoS in any way and other than when Adversaries are arriving through them they are treated like any other square.
Grave Points covered by a terrain piece are ignored.
The separate Grave Point markers included in the box are for use with the Fresh Graves Event card.
If playing against Revenant Adversaries on a gaming area that does not include these markings, you will need to place counters around the gaming area to represent them as detailed on the Malagaunt reference card. We recommend using the Battle Systems Graveyard set for this.
Destroying Terrain
Sometimes subtlety just isn't the best way forward and you need to smash your way through your problems.
Terrain pieces and doors can be destroyed by attacking them using the normal rules. Terrain may also be indirectly hit by Blast effects targeting characters near them. Terrain pieces that can be destroyed have a physical armour value shown in their rules.
A single point of damage is enough to destroy a piece of terrain. Terrain pieces do not suffer status effects.
Attacks with the Bludgeoning rule roll one additional die against terrain pieces.
If a door is destroyed, leave it open and mark it with a Destroyed marker – it no longer blocks LoS in any way and cannot be closed.
If any other piece of terrain is destroyed, remove it from the gaming area. If it was Searchable, any items inside are placed on the floor where it was. One of these items chosen at random is destroyed along with the terrain piece. One of the remaining items chosen at random is broken. Any other items can be used as normal.
If not specified in the quest, it is wise to agree before each game any critical terrain pieces or doors that cannot be destroyed, or any pieces that should be particularly heavily or lightly armoured to suit the story.
Burning Terrain
As an optional rule, players may choose to set fire to terrain pieces. If using this rule, terrain pieces suffer Burning counters (see page 16) in the usual way when targeted with a weapon or effect with the Burn rule.
In addition, a character with this rule may Interact with a terrain piece to automatically add a Burning counter.
In the Assessment Phase, when the counter would normally cause damage, instead add another Burning counter to the terrain piece. If at the end of any Assessment Phase a terrain piece has a number of counters equal to or higher than its armour, it is destroyed as detailed above.
Burning terrain pieces can be extinguished in the same way as an Adventurer. Any character that Interacts with or Searches a terrain piece while it is Burning suffers a Burning counter themselves.
Trap Terrain
Some traps, usually triggered by Event Cards, require you to place a new terrain piece onto the gaming area.
Swinging Blades. Swinging Blades are placed into slots in the top of the wall sections. They are generally placed into the nearest empty slot to the position they were triggered from.
They affect a line reaching four squares from their position.
Any character that crosses this line (moving from any red square to any blue square or vice versa) for any reason must spend a Skill peg or suffer a 3-dice attack with Sharp. This also applies to any character making a melee attack against a character on the other side of the line (including attacks of opportunity), or to any character or terrain piece dragged/pushed across the line. A terrain piece moved across the line that is not destroyed will jam the blade and remove it.
Swinging Blades activate for a limited time. When they are placed, Reminder counters will be placed on top. One counter should be removed in each Assessment Phase. When the last is removed, remove the Swinging Blade.
Pits. Pits can be placed in any empty squares of the gaming area that are not in contact with Entry Points. They can be placed on top of Grave Points as well as underneath characters!
The pit is considered two squares deep. Any character that falls into a pit suffers a two-dice attack with the Bludgeoning rule and is knocked prone.
While on top of the pit marker, characters are considered to be inside the pit and below ground, and therefore cannot see or be seen by any character that is not adjacent to the pit. They can only be engaged with or make attacks of opportunity against characters also in the pit with them.
Characters in the pit require a single action to get out. They may be placed in any empty square in contact with the pit – this ends their action.
Once placed, the pit remains in play. It may be Jumped over following the normal rules (see page 51), and characters can be pushed into it via Knock Back actions or other effects.
Nets. Nets are generally hanging from the ceiling, but as your gaming area doesn't have a ceiling a net marker is placed on the gaming area marking the character caught inside. While the net is in place the character inside is suspended in the air. They are not considered to be adjacent to any other square and can be moved and seen through, although characters cannot stop in or arrive into the same square. They cannot be engaged and enemies will only target them for ranged attacks.
The trapped character cannot Move and may only make Attack actions, or any other action or Skill that the players deem appropriate for use while trapped.
The trapped character may make melee attacks against the net, while other characters may make ranged attacks against it. It has no armour value and is removed if it suffers any damage. When it is removed, the trapped character falls to the floor, suffering a one-dice attack with Bludgeoning and being knocked prone.
Other Rules
Large Bases
Some miniatures in the game are simply too large to fit on a regular base and as such they fill more than one square on the gaming area.
These characters follow most of the normal rules, but there are a few additions to allow them to interact with smaller characters and get through narrow gaps.
Placement and Contact. These large bases are placed onto the gaming area straddling four squares instead of one, and are considered to take up the entirety of those squares. There are eight surrounding spaces that are in contact with them instead of the usual four.
When a large-based model is engaged with a regular model, it is possible for either of them to move one square to the side without leaving contact. This movement will not trigger an attack of opportunity – that only happens if a character leaves contact.
Movement. When moving, choose one of the squares the character is in and count the squares of movement from that point as you would for a regular-sized character. Regardless of the base size, the character may move through single-square gaps and doorways.
The character may not end their movement on top of terrain or straddling a doorway – the character must end their movement before moving onto it.
The character may however end their movement on top of other characters, provided the other characters are smaller and there is space to push them away to make room.
If there is no space for characters to move back, the large character may not enter that location.
Line of Sight. Large characters may draw line of sight from any of the squares their base covers.
Blast Weapons. Characters on large bases only suffer the first attack that reaches them from weapons with the Blast rule – there is no effect for the blast radius extending to the other squares of their base.
Small Bases
Some creatures in the game are very small and multiple bases can fit into a single square.
These characters follow the normal rules, but with two exceptions:
- They can end a Move in the same square as other friendly small-based characters (to a maximum of four per square).
- Enemy characters can move through them, although cannot end a Move in the same square.
Otherwise, each character acts and is treated as if it occupies the whole square. Each character will get to make an attack of opportunity if an enemy leaves contact. Each character will be targeted separately by attacks, although area effects such as blast weapons will hit all characters within a square equally.
Moving Objects
It's not just equipment tokens that can be picked up. Crates, defeated characters, and other similar items can be dragged from one place to another.
Crates, chests, weapon racks, tables, chairs and barricades are moveable and have a size listed in their rules, while all other terrain pieces such as pillars, tombs and the well are not. If using other terrain, players should agree before the game which pieces can be moved and what size they are.
To move an object, an Adventurer must be in contact with the object, and neither the Adventurer nor the object can be in contact with an enemy. The Adventurer can then make a Move action, moving the dragged object alongside them.
The character's movement speed may be affected by the size of the object. The size of characters is detailed on page 12.
Characters may move objects smaller than themselves with no penalty.
When moving an object of the same size characters Move 2 squares fewer. If another Adventurer from your party is in contact with the object, you may Move both Adventurers and the object as a single action with no penalty. The Adventurer not currently taking their turn becomes Fatigued.
Characters may move objects up to one size larger than themselves but only if they have help. Two characters will be required as above to Move the object at a -2 square penalty, or three characters with no penalty.
Characters may not move objects two or more sizes larger than themselves.
Multi-Level Gaming
As you become more familiar with the game you may want to interact with the terrain a bit more and treat the gaming area as a little less two-dimensional. The Climbing and Jumping rules will allow you to do just that, clambering onto tables or jumping over pits.
You'll note that the range ruler in the box has markings along one side. These are one square/inch apart and will allow you to measure vertical distances as well as horizontal ones.
Maladum is fully compatible with the wider range of Battle Systems modular scenery and you'll find that as you progress to multi-level quests these rules will be vital.
Climbing
Stairs are climbed as part of normal movement and require no extra rules. Battle Systems staircases are designed so that miniatures can be placed on each individual step.
A ladder in contact with a character can be Climbed up or down at a cost of one action for each level (height of a wall) climbed, as long as there is space at the other end of the ladder to place the character.
Objects up to one square/inch high can be Climbed onto or off of as an effortless action, provided that the miniature can be balanced on top (such as a table or crate).
Some objects cannot be climbed onto due to their shape, but can be climbed over provided that they are less than one square in width (such as a barricade). This requires an action. Place the character on the other side of the object.
Any objects that do not fit these criteria can still be climbed if all players agree. Climbing them will require a number of actions based on their height and perceived difficulty, to be agreed with the other players. You may decide that there is a chance of falling off, using the Magic Die and following the falling rules.
Jumping
Characters do not always need to climb down from objects or higher levels – they can jump instead.
A character standing at the edge of an object or level may jump down as an effortless action.
You can also jump across open spaces such as pits provided you have enough movement to reach the other side.
All characters have a safe distance at which they can jump down and/or across without risk. This distance is 1 square/inch unless stated otherwise.
For distances beyond this, roll one combat die per square/inch. Any blunder results mean the jump has failed and the character falls – see below. Otherwise the jump was successful – place the character at the bottom of the drop/on the other side of the gap.
If jumping across and down, add the horizontal and vertical distances together to determine how many dice to roll.
A character may jump down a drop of any height, but no character can jump across a gap wider than three squares/inches beyond their safe distance.
Falling
There is of course a chance that a character will fall and hurt themselves when jumping.
If this happens, place the character prone in the closest empty square below the point they jumped from. They suffer an attack with one die for every full square/inch of height that they fell and with the Bludgeoning rule.
Note that characters Knocked Back or moved involuntarily over an edge in any way are not considered to have jumped – this is resolved as a fall.
Scramble
Some characters can climb and jump larger distances without injury due to their Skills, species or magical enhancements. They will have the Scramble icon.
The top number is the maximum height or width in squares/inches of objects that the character can move up or across as part of a normal Move action – they do not need to Climb them or spend any actions, just like a regular character climbing stairs.
The bottom number is the character's safe distance for Jumping down or across.
Darkness
Considering that the Dungeons of Enveron are underground, it makes sense that it might be quite hard to see! In some quests, part or all of the gaming area will be affected by Darkness.
Darkness only applies when specified in a quest briefing or other special rule. However, players may agree to use the Darkness rules in any quest for an additional challenge.
If only certain rooms are affected, mark them with a Darkness counter. If the whole gaming area is dark except for certain rooms, use the Light side of the counter instead.
The effect applies to the whole room. Only one counter may be in a room.
Darkness has the following effects:
- Characters can only draw LoS up to short range into or through an area of darkness against targets in that dark area. Therefore any target further than short range from the edge of a dark area cannot be seen by those outside it.
- All attacks targeting a character in the dark roll one fewer die and forceful hits cannot be made.
- Characters in the dark cannot make general Search actions.
- All Climb and Jump actions made in the dark risk falling, regardless of height or distance. Roll a combat die – on a blunder the character falls, resolved from their starting position.
- All characters' safe distance for jumping is zero when in the dark.
- When NPCs are choosing targets, they will prioritise a visible character in the light over a closer one in the dark.
Anything within short range of a source of fire is considered to be in the light, and can be targeted without penalty.
Any character with the Night Sight rule ignores all the effects of Darkness, treating the entire gaming area as lit.
Sentries
Some quests require stealth, with your Adventurers striving to complete their objectives uninterrupted by enemies.
Quests that use these rules will say so in the quest briefing, but they can also be added to other quests if you wish.
When using these rules, the Adversary and Adversary Commander Event cards (in the case of the Dungeons of Enveron campaign) should be removed from the Event Deck and set aside.
Patrol Routes. Quests that use the Sentries rules will have a Patrol Route marked on the map. At the start of the game, place the six Patrol Point markers in the positions shown. These do not block Movement or LoS and cannot be Interacted with in any way – they simply mark the patrol route for the sentries.
If adding these rules to another quest you will need to create your own Patrol Route. It should form a rough circuit of the gaming area, a room or so in from the edges, with an open route from each Patrol Point to the next.
Sentry Actions. At the start of a quest using these rules, Adversaries will only target enemies in LoS, or Noise (see below) in short range. If they cannot see an enemy, they will instead use their actions to Move towards the next patrol point clockwise from their current position.
If they gain LoS to an enemy or enter within short range of Noise during their Move, they will target that enemy/Noise for the rest of their turn.
Adversaries will not attack enemies further than short range away until the alarm is raised.
Noise. Noise is represented by Reminder counters. Adventurers may spend an effortless action to make Noise, placing a Reminder counter in their position.
Noise is also made automatically whenever:
- A non-Adversary character rolls one or more blunders in any roll.
- An item with the Loud icon is used.
- A terrain piece suffers an attack.
- A non-Adversary character Moves for a second or subsequent time in their turn. The counter is placed at the end of the Move.
Noise counters are discarded if an Adversary enters their square. Otherwise they are discarded in each Assessment Phase.
Raising the Alarm. If any Adversary has LoS to an enemy (including NPCs) within short range at the start of any Adversary Phase, the alarm will be raised.
The alarm is also raised immediately if an Adversary is ever within short range of three or more Noise counters.
An Adventurer engaged with the alerted Adversary may spend a Skill peg to prevent this.
When the alarm is raised, immediately raise the Dread by 1 for each non-Adversary character in play. Shuffle the set aside Adversary and Adversary Commander cards into the Event Deck. For the rest of the game, all Adversaries revert to the normal targeting rules.
Assembling Your Party
Before you can set off on a Maladum adventure, you'll need to assemble your party.
Adventurers are hired using their cost in Guilders as shown on their character and Class boards. All players taking part should agree on a maximum budget in advance that will be spent on these Adventurers and on their starting equipment.
For your first few games you don't need to worry about choosing a party – we've put together a pre-built group of Adventurers and selected their starting equipment for you on the next page. However, once your collection grows and you learn more about the game you may decide to assemble your own party. To do this, we recommend starting with a limit of around 350 Guilders, but you can agree any limit you like with your opponents.
You can choose from any of the Adventurers available, including NPCs with an Adventurer side to their board, paying the cost shown.
IMPORTANT!: A party can contain any number of Adventurers. However, unless stated otherwise you may only take up to four of them into battle for each quest. You may take fewer if you wish.
Class Boards
Once you have selected your characters you will need to choose their profession. For each Adventurer in your party, select any Class board from those available, pay its cost, and slot it into your dashboard.
Then, for each of your Adventurer's default Experience (see page 6), mark one space of your choice on the Class board.
Each of the coloured icons represents a Skill, and the spaces around show the character's proficiency with that Skill as detailed on page 32. Only one space per Skill may be marked at this stage.
If you select a Maladaar Class you should also take the matching reference card. You may choose to mark spaces on the spell track to learn Spells instead of Skills, and the chosen Spells should be marked on the reference card.
During the Advancement Phase (page 62) you may only select spells up to your current rank, but when initially creating your Adventurer you may select up to two spells from up to level 3. Note that the use of these spells will still be limited to one peg at a time until the character levels up.
NOTE: It is recommended that all parties select a good mix of Classes and Skills – you never know what will come up during a quest. There's no fame to be had if your team of highly skilled warriors are defeated by a simple magic trick or even a locked door!
Equipment
Once your chosen Adventurers have Classes, it's time to equip them. We recommend allocating around 50 Guilders from your budget for equipment.
For full details on purchasing equipment, see the Market Phase on page 64. All the same restrictions apply. Any of your budget left unused is added to the Stash on your Base Camp board.
If you are playing a multi-player campaign, players should take it in turns to purchase equipment. Equipment is limited to the contents of the box, and some things will run out quick!
Veteran Parties
Most games and campaigns will start with a group of inexperienced Adventurers with no advancements and basic equipment, and it will be up to you to develop their skills and find new gear as you play through the quests.
If you don't have time for a campaign, but you want to play with more powerful equipment and Skills at your disposal, you can put together a Veteran party instead.
Select your Adventurers as normal, but then agree with your opponent(s) an Experience boost. Each player should advance each of their Adventurers that many times as detailed on page 62.
You will then need to agree an increased budget for equipment to fully tool up your characters. You can even purchase rare weapons if you wish, representing items your veterans would have found in their adventures. We recommend a limit of no more than two rare items per party.
You can also use these rules if you want to play with an existing experienced party against a rookie party – just allow the new player to advance and equip their party to the same level that the experienced player has already reached.
Base Camp Board
On the back of your Staging Area you will find your Base Camp board. Once each game is over, you can flip to the Base Camp side to manage your party. This board represents the location you return to after a quest, whether that's a cosy tavern or a campfire in the woods, and contains the following:
STASH: Here you should note down your remaining Guilders, at the start of a campaign and after each game.
RENOWN: This track represents your party's fame, and these points can be spent to influence NPCs. See page 58 for details.
STORAGE: Here you can keep equipment that you may not want to carry into your next game. For more on this see the Rest Phase on page 66.
CAMPAIGN NOTES: Here you can note down any information you need to remember for a campaign, such as objective bonuses earned or injuries that will cause an Adventurer to miss a game.
Recommended Party
For your first few games, we recommend starting with the pre-built party shown on the party diagram (Spells: Focused Energy, Barricade; Stash: 0).
Quests
Once you've assembled your party, it's time to play a game! Each game of Maladum is a quest – a narrative scenario with objectives.
For new players, we recommend starting with the standalone Of Coin and Glory quest on page 4 of the Dungeons of Enveron Campaign Book. Once you're used to the basics you can move onto the narrative campaign.
You can play the quests individually or you can join them together as one continuous story following the rules on page 59, with your party's achievements in one game affecting the next.
Quest Structure
The rules for each quest will be broken down into the following sections.
INTRODUCTION. Each quest will have a title and a narrative introduction. This will set the scene, explaining why your party is here, what they are looking for, and the dangers that may lie ahead.
OBJECTIVES. All quests will have a Primary Objective and some may also have Secondary Objectives. Completing these will determine how successful you have been at the end of the game.
Primary Objectives are the main purpose of the quest, and they will usually come with a hefty reward, whether it's a rare magical item, a new party member, or a large pile of Guilders!
Secondary Objectives are optional side-jobs that you can complete while in the area – taking out a Wandering Beast to rid a nearby village from its attacks or locating a missing item for example. These will usually have a smaller reward or benefit in the campaign.
Regardless of any stated objectives, you should always be mindful of the need for cash! Every location you visit can be looted for its valuables to trade between games. As you will quickly learn, Guilders are critical for the upkeep of your party and for purchasing new equipment.
Note that unless stated otherwise, objectives do not have to be completed to finish a game. What's important is that your party lives to fight another day. It's perfectly reasonable to cut your losses and escape if it keeps you alive!
SPECIAL RULES. This section will list any rules that apply to the game over and above the core rules. For example, it may list alternative starting locations, specific equipment to place in terrain pieces, or an NPC that doesn't follow the normal rules.
This section will also list any specific terrain that can be Interacted with, such as a mechanism that opens a doorway, or a magical field that must be overpowered.
CONSEQUENCES. The Consequences section will be seen in narrative campaigns with continuing storylines. It will detail any additional steps for you to carry out at the end of the game based on the objectives you've completed, and will determine which quest(s) are to be played next.
Example Quest (as shown in the rulebook)
QUEST C – A NEW POWER RISING (The Dungeons of Enveron Campaign)
This quest is played if you retrieved at least 5 relics in Quest A.
Broken, bloodied and bruised, you dragged yourself back to the village with relics in tow. It was unclear which startled the guild master more; the violent manner in which you kicked the door open or the very fact of your return, "You've returned! And with such finds, this certainly is a cause for celebration!" None of your party was in the mood for such festivities, and the master's demeanour soon shifted to suit. "Ah yes, the cave isn't quite as empty as we believed…are you sure I failed to mention this?" Too angry for games, you collect what is due and depart the reprobate's office. You thought you would be content with your reward, but the horrors below are unlike any you have faced before, and the thought of the danger they pose haunts your conscience.
Recounting your experiences to the village elders, they suggest seeking the wisdom of the scholars in Kelthion. However, you will surely need tangible evidence if they are to believe your claims to be any more than fairy tales, so you venture once more into the caves to learn of this new threat…
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
You need evidence of these creatures, and what better evidence than the creatures themselves? Gruesome as the task may be, you take it upon yourselves to recover parts of the creatures for the scholars in Kelthion to study.
In this quest, defeated Revenants will drop objective tokens representing parts of their anatomy to be collected, as follows:
- The first Lamentor defeated after each Dread band from Distress onwards is reached will drop Objectives 1-3.
- The first Myria defeated after each Dread band is reached will drop Objectives 4-5.
- The first Hellfont defeated will drop Objective 6.
- The Rot Troll will drop Objective 9.
At the start of the game, place the objective tokens next to the relevant band of the Dread Tracker, and take them when the appropriate Adversary is defeated. Any tokens collected cannot be sold after the game, but they can be discarded if necessary. They must be carried to Kelthion to uncover their secrets.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
Discovering what these creatures are is just one part of the puzzle – if you want to stop them you need to understand where they're coming from!
During step 5 of setup, add Objective 7 to the token pouch. During step 6 of setup, add Objective 8 to a random tomb. These represent tracks or markings and do not need to be carried – they can be set aside when found.
At the end of the game, discard the tokens.
- If you found one objective, you have discovered a secret passage and may play Quest F next – see Consequences.
- If you found both objectives, mark the Skeletal Trails Achievement in your Campaign Log. This information may be useful in later quests.
SPECIAL RULES – SHIFTING SHADOWS
These caverns are unusually lit depending on the time of day. Some chambers have lightwells to the outside world, and others are illuminated with iridescent crystal formations.
The whole gaming area follows the rules for Darkness in this quest.
At the start of the game, roll the Magic Die three times, re-rolling duplicates. Place Light counters in the rooms matching the numbers rolled.
Whenever the first peg is placed in a new Dread band from Distress onwards, choose a Light counter at random. Move it to the room with the next highest number that does not already have a Light counter.
In addition, Adventurers may Interact with any Lever to move the nearest Light counter to the room with the next highest number that does not already have a Light counter. Place a Reminder Counter next to these Dread bands at the start of the game to remind you to resolve this rule.
CONSEQUENCES
If you retrieved Objective 7 or 8, you may choose which quest to play next.
You have already been warned of the dangers of approaching Kelthion above ground, and you've discovered a subterranean tunnel that appears to lead to the city via a less direct route.
- If you choose to travel by road, play Quest E on page 14.
- If you choose to travel through the tunnels, play Quest F on page 16.
If you failed to find Objectives 7 or 8 you have no choice – play Quest E on page 14.
KEY ITEMS: Objectives 1-6 (x8 / x8), Objectives 7-8 (x2 / x2), Objective 9.
EVENT CARDS: based on difficulty.
SEARCH ALLOCATION: Set Aside x2; pouch x4; x2; x3; x1, x3.
DREAD TRACKER: Side A – 2 pegs.
Set-Up Diagram
Each quest will have a diagram used when setting up the quest as detailed on page 18.
MAP: This shows how to set up the gaming area, detailing the location of rooms, corridors, and other scenery.
Each map will follow the key in the campaign book. The Special Rules section will often refer to highlighted areas on the map to indicate objectives or other key locations.
Unless stated otherwise, the edge of the playing area is considered to be a wall for all rules purposes.
NOTE: Each map is designed to have the Grave Point locations in a particular arrangement. However, feel free to rotate the mat to change their positions and tweak the difficulty of the quest. If you're finding things a little tough, you could also place spare Barricades on top of problematic Grave Points.
EVENT CARDS: Depending on the location of the mission, the NPCs being used, and the length of the game, you will only use a certain subset of the Event Cards in each quest. Check the icons on the cards against the quest briefing, and shuffle the chosen cards together to create the deck for the game. The icons are as follows:
- Environment
- Dungeon
- Revenants
- Denizen
- Wandering Beast
- Novice
- Veteran
If a card has multiple icons, they will have either "+", which means both types must be listed in the quest, or "/", which means either type can be listed.
This list only includes the card types available in this starter set – more card types will be added in various expansions as new locations and NPCs are introduced.
DREAD: This will tell you which side of the Dread board to use and how many pegs to put into the tracker before the game begins. Some quests are set in especially hostile environments so the game may start at a higher level.
KEY ITEMS: These are items that should be put aside before the terrain pieces are filled – they will usually be required for specific objectives.
SEARCH ALLOCATION: This section will show how to allocate equipment tokens to the terrain pieces for this mission, as well as listing how many uncommon and rare tokens of each size will be used.
After the Game
At the end of each quest you will want to reset the game for next time. If you intend to play a Rescue Mission (see page 60), do that first, before changing or tidying away any components. Otherwise:
- Return all loose items, unclaimed large tokens and key items to their supplies.
- If playing a campaign, return all other items held in Searchable terrain to the pouch. Remove all status counters from Adventurers that escaped the gaming area. Do not tidy away your character boards just yet – you'll need them for the campaign phases.
- If playing a one-off game, return all exclusive, rare and uncommon items to their respective supplies, and return all common items to the pouch.
- Return NPCs left in play and any counters and equipment on them to the supply.
Difficulty
Each quest is balanced to play with a single starting party, but as your party gain experience, or if you have multiple parties joining the fray, the game will scale to provide a challenge for the Adventurers.
In addition to the Event Cards used for each game, there are two additional card types that are shuffled into the deck to set the difficulty.
Novice cards provide a respite from the relentless assault of enemies, or one-off bonuses that the players can save and use at the perfect time.
Veteran cards turn up the heat, increasing the Dread and throwing yet more obstacles in our heroes' way.
NOTE: For higher difficulty levels, more Veteran cards are available in expansions.
Before the game begins, determine the value in Guilders of all Adventurers taking part, across all parties. Add the costs for their Classes and the buy price for any equipment they are carrying, and add 10 for each rank attained by these characters beyond the first.
Based on this value, take the number of Novice and Veteran cards shown below at random and shuffle them into the Event Deck before the game begins.
| Value of Adventurers | Novice Cards | Veteran Cards |
|---|---|---|
| 0-300 | 5 | 0 |
| 301-400 | 4 | 0 |
| 401-500 | 3 | 0 |
| 501-600 | 2 | 1 |
| 601-700 | 1 | 2 |
| 701-875 | 0 | 3 |
| 876-1050 | 0 | 4 |
| 1051-1300 | 0 | 5 |
| 1301-1550 | 0 | 6 |
| 1551-1900 | 0 | 7 |
| 1901-2250 | 0 | 8 |
| 2251+ | 0 | 10 |
Personal Choice. The difficulty can of course be adjusted to suit your playstyle. If you are finding the game too easy or too difficult, just adjust the number of Novice and Veteran cards accordingly.
Renown
As your party becomes more successful the world will start to notice, and your fame will influence your interactions.
This is represented by the Renown track at the side of your Base Camp board. Any Renown gained should be marked here, and it can be spent to influence events or NPCs.
Gaining Renown. Renown is usually gained by completing quest objectives. The amount of Renown gained will be stated in the quest briefing.
Renown may also be gained (or lost!) when resolving the effects of Skills, abilities, Event Cards or other quest special rules.
Renown cannot exceed 12 or drop below zero.
Spending Renown. You may spend Renown, erasing it from your Base Camp board, at the following times:
- At the start of a game. Shuffle one random Novice card into the Event Deck for each Renown spent.
- Before making a Persuade roll against a Denizen. Add one automatic hit to the roll for each Renown spent.
- When purchasing valuable items in the Market Phase. Each Renown spent will allow you to purchase one item of any value (its cost is paid as normal).
- When visiting an Inn in the Rest Phase. One Renown may be spent per roll to adjust it up or down by up to 2.
There may be other opportunities to spend Renown detailed in quests or other rules.
Campaigns
Campaigns are the thing that take a game and turn it into a story, and are the best way to play Maladum.
A campaign is a series of games linked together with a continuous narrative. Players will assemble their party before their first game and hopefully keep the same characters from start to finish, possibly even taking on new recruits along the way! Your Adventurers will learn new Skills and acquire new equipment, all the while striving to keep their party in food and lodgings.
Of course, in a campaign Adventurers can be killed and their valuable Skills and equipment lost, so players will need to think twice before throwing a character into certain-death situations!
In a campaign, games are played as normal. However, the game is not over when the quest is complete – there are extra steps to carry out to see how the game's success or failure has affected your party.
Between Games
In a campaign it will be important to keep track of your party's progress between games, and the dry-wipe boards will hold all the necessary information so you don't have to remember anything.
It is recommended that you keep your Base Camp board, character and Class boards, and current equipment tokens together in a box or ziplock bag between games so you can easily set them up again ready for the next mission.
When playing a campaign, do not change the contents of the token pouch between games. Any rare and uncommon items added but not found will be available for future quests!
Post-Game Sequence
The post-game sequence has four phases, referred to collectively as the Campaign Phases:
- ESCAPE – In this phase, players must decide what to do about any companions left behind. They may get robbed by bandits, you may mount a daring rescue mission, or they may succumb to their wounds… This phase is covered on page 60.
- ADVANCEMENT – This phase is where your characters will advance, learning new Skills and becoming more powerful. This phase is covered on page 62.
- MARKET – Next, you will get a chance to head into town to buy and sell equipment, and even hire new party members, ready for your next quest. This phase is covered on page 64.
- REST – Finally, in the Rest Phase, your Adventurers will return to their lodgings and see what fate befalls them in the night. Each of your party members will then need paying before you set off on your next quest! This phase is covered on page 66.
Escape Phase
In this phase you will deal with any party members that did not make it off the gaming area by the end of the quest. If your Adventurers all made it out you can skip this phase.
Choose one of the following options:
- Rescue Mission
- Left for Dead
Rescue Mission
A rescue mission allows you to go straight back into the game you just played and save your fallen comrades. You catch your breath, patch your wounds and return to the fray.
Note that you may only attempt a rescue mission if you have at least one undefeated Adventurer left in your party, even if they didn't take part in the most recent quest.
Immediately start a new game with the following rules:
- The gaming area and all non-Adventurer components remain in place from the end of the original game, including the Adversaries and any other NPCs in play. The Dread Tracker will resume where it left off.
- You must assemble a new party from the Adventurers you have available, up to the limit for the quest, and not counting any defeated Adventurers left on the gaming area. The chosen Adventurers do not have to have taken part in the most recent game. You may freely swap equipment between Adventurers.
- All Adventurers may take a free Rest action and use any associated items or Skills.
- Your Adventurers will scour the area for an alternative way in. Roll the Magic Die. If you wish, you may swap the positions of your Staging Point and the Entry Point matching the number rolled.
- The game will end as normal – once all Adventurers are either defeated or safely off the gaming area.
You may only make a rescue mission once after each game. If an Adventurer is left behind during a rescue mission, they will be Left for Dead. Experience is not gained for rescue missions, but characters successfully rescued will still gain Experience for surviving the original quest.
Rescue Missions can be played solo or other players can join in, either to rescue their own Adventurers or to help you rescue yours. Of course, they may want payment for such a service…
Left for Dead
Maybe the area is too dangerous to head back in, or you don't have the resources for a rescue mission? In that case you will have to leave your companion to fend for themselves…
For each defeated Adventurer, roll the Magic Die to see what happens. Reduce your roll by one for each Wounded, Poisoned or Burning counter on the Adventurer and then discard these counters. They may use any Blessed counters on the Adventurer to re-roll this die.
- Your character has succumbed to their injuries and is permanently dead. The character can no longer be used for the rest of the campaign and all their equipment is lost. You'll need to hire a replacement.
- Your character recovered enough strength to crawl to safety, but it will take some time before they can fight again. The character may not take part in your next two quests.
- Your character recovered and made it home, but not before their seemingly dead body was picked clean by roving bandits. All of the character's equipment is lost and returned to the relevant supply.
- Your character managed to escape without any trouble, but their wounds have not fully healed. The character may not take part in your next quest.
- Your character's escape route was blocked by some opportunistic outlaws. They're willing to let your character escape, for a price! You must pay 5 Guilders x their rank to get your character back unharmed. Part or all of the cost may be paid by selling any equipment the character was carrying, but don't expect change! Any excess is lost. If you cannot or do not want to pay, treat this result as a 1.
- Your character has escaped and made a full recovery. There are no further effects.
You can use the notes space on your Base Camp board to mark any characters that must miss upcoming games.
Permanent Character Loss
Adventurers lost permanently following the Escape Phase are removed from your party. Their character board may appear again in a future Market Phase, but just think of it as a similar-looking Adventurer rather than the exact same person!
It's unlikely, but in the event that every member of your party is permanently lost, you are out of the campaign and must start afresh with a new party.
Advancement Phase
Finding new equipment isn't the only way to improve your Adventurers' abilities on the table. As they survive quests and gain experience they will also learn new Skills.
As detailed on page 6, each Adventurer's board shows their Experience statistic. The default spaces will be filled in at the start of every standalone game or campaign, but it is in this Advancement Phase where the potential spaces can be filled in too!
Ranks
There are various rules in the game that apply based on a character's 'rank', most prominently the number of pegs that they can spend when casting spells. Each row of Experience spaces on a character's board is a rank, and a character's rank is determined by the number of rows with at least one space filled. Most characters will start at rank 1.
Earning Experience
While filling out the first or second row of their Experience track, each time a character survives a quest and escapes during the game (regardless of whether they completed their objectives or not) they gain 1 Experience – fill in the first empty space on their character board. Characters that are Left for Dead do not gain any Experience.
When filling out spaces in the third or fourth row, the character must survive the quest and their party must have completed the game's primary objective. In quests with variable objectives (e.g. "collect as many items as possible") players should agree between them what level of success is considered "completing" the objective.
Once an Adventurer is filling the fifth row they will only gain Experience in special circumstances, including but not limited to the list below. These are cumulative where applicable.
- Personally completing a primary objective. E.g. being the one to defeat a specific enemy, destroy a specific terrain piece, escape with an objective, and so on. This will not apply to all quests, and any applicable objectives should be agreed with your opponents before the game.
- Defeating four characters in a single round.
- Completing a quest's primary objective and surviving while starting with no more than two party members.
- Single-handedly dragging a defeated Adventurer off of the gaming area from a distance of at least medium range from your Staging Point.
You may agree with the other players to bestow further Experience based on impressive feats in your games such as a particularly powerful dice roll or a selfless act of heroism.
Spending Experience
Any Experience earned must then be allocated (it cannot be saved for later ranks), allowing the character to learn new Skills and Spells.
To learn or improve a Skill, fill in one of the spaces next to its icon. You will be able to use this Skill at a level equal to the number of marked spaces from your next game onwards.
Characters may only mark Skills on their Class board at a level up to their rank, so rank 1 starting characters will only be able to fill in one space per Skill, and characters must be at least rank 3 before they can access a Skill's full potential. Spaces marked on your character board are not restricted in this way and apply in addition to those on your Class board, even if the total exceeds your character's rank.
To learn a new Spell, fill in one of the spaces on the character's spell track, and then mark a spell of your choice on the character's reference card. The character will have access to that spell from the next game onwards. Similar to Skills, characters may only learn spells of a level at or below their rank. E.g. a character currently filling in the second row of their Experience track could only learn spells of up to level 2.
Experience can be allocated to any empty spaces, whether they are on the character's Class board or Character board.
Level Up!
Filling all the spaces of any row of Experience allows the character to level up. As each row is complete the Adventurer will gain the following benefits:
| Row | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 1st | Increase Health, Magic or Skill by 1 |
| 2nd | Increase Health, Magic or Skill by 1 |
| 3rd | Increase any two of Health, Magic or Skill by 1 |
| 4th | Increase any two statistics by 1 |
| 5th | Increase any two statistics by 1 |
Any statistic increases should be marked on the characters' boards, up to their maximum potential. They will start future games with additional pegs to match their new statistics.
Once an Adventurer's Experience track is full, any Experience they gain thereafter may be added to any of their other statistics with spaces remaining (player's choice).
Note that some Adventurers do not have all five ranks – they can only level up as far as their character board will let them. Also note that statistic increases are only gained where the potential spaces are available on their board – if all spaces are filled the Adventurer will not advance any further.
Market Phase
In the Market Phase the Adventurers return to the nearest town where they trade in their loot, collect any rewards, stock up on new equipment and hire new party members!
Quest Rewards
At the start of the Market Phase, your party will gain the rewards listed for any objectives that they completed during the game. Add any Guilders to your Stash and take any equipment tokens awarded. It doesn't matter if you don't have space for these in your inventory just yet – you will be able to sell items in this phase to make space.
Buying and Selling
Once you've collected your rewards, you can start trading! Items are bought and sold using the game's currency – Guilders. The cost of buying and selling items is shown on the back of the token, as detailed on page 15. The first value is the number of Guilders you must spend to purchase this item; the second is the number of Guilders you will gain when you sell this item.
Note that you will usually get back less than you spent if you were to buy and then sell the same item, so get some use out of it!
When buying an item, reduce your Stash by its cost, and then add it to your Base Camp board or an Adventurer's inventory. Note the limits on Valuable Items. Items with a buy value of '-' cannot be bought – they can only be found.
You may freely browse all available items, but they should be returned to the supply they were in – uncommon items in the token pouch should remain in the pouch if not purchased.
When selling an item, increase your Stash by its sale price and return the token to the appropriate supply. There are no restrictions on the items you can sell. Broken items sell for half their usual price, rounding up.
Stock is limited to the available tokens. In a multiplayer campaign, the winner of the last quest gets first pick of any items, alternating thereafter. If there was no winner, flip a coin or roll a die to decide who picks first.
Your party's equipment is limited to what they can carry. At the end of the Market Phase, any equipment tokens that do not fit into an Adventurer's inventory or your Base Camp board, if applicable, must be sold.
Valuable Items
If you want the best equipment, you'll need to venture beyond the stalls frequented by the common riff-raff, but access to the most exclusive establishments must be earned!
Your party may purchase any number of items with a purchase cost of up to 10 Guilders each.
More valuable items will be limited by your Adventurers' ranks. In each Market Phase, each Adventurer in your party may purchase a single item worth up to 10 times their rank. For example, your party must include a rank 3 Adventurer to purchase an item costing between 21 and 30. Rank 5 characters can purchase a single item of any value.
Selling rare items will also buy you access to the best traders. For each rare item sold in the Market Phase, you may purchase one additional item of any value.
Rare Items
One-of-a-kind ancient relics aren't the sort of thing shops keep in stock, so you can't freely purchase rare items. In each Market Phase, each party may draw a single rare item at random from the supply. This is the only rare item available for that player to purchase at this time. The limits on purchasing valuable items above apply as normal.
Barter
Money isn't the only thing you can trade with. At any time during the Market Phase you can choose to barter with your fellow players – maybe they have a rare item that you will pay over the odds for.
What and how you trade in this manner is up to the players. You could let someone else hire the NPC you just rescued, offer assistance in the next quest, or even trade one of your party members for the right price…
Hiring Adventurers
Inanimate objects aren't the only things available at the market – in the taverns and guilds you will find plenty of mercenaries and thrill-seekers who will join your party.
Each player should take all the unused Adventurer boards from their collection, shuffle them, and draw the top 3 (or fewer if you don't have 3). Then do the same with any unused Class boards, assigning one to each Adventurer at random. These are the Adventurers available for hire at this time.
Adventurers can be permanently hired for their cost in Guilders as shown on their character and Class boards. Once hired, take their boards and place them into a dashboard. Fill in any default spaces on their character board and assign any starting Skills or spells in the same way as when initially assembling your party.
Any Adventurers hired temporarily for the game just played (see Temporary Hire below) may be added to this pool. They may be hired temporarily again, or permanently hired for their normal cost, and will retain any Experience earned so far. If they are not hired their boards are cleared and returned to the supply.
Temporary Hire. Adventurers can also be hired temporarily, fighting with you for the next quest only.
The cost to hire an Adventurer temporarily is a quarter of their usual cost, rounded up.
It's much easier to find a specific set of skills for a short-term contract, so when hiring an Adventurer temporarily you may choose any combination of character and Class boards from your collection.
Hiring NPCs. During a game you may have persuaded an NPC to join you temporarily. However, if you can safely get them back to town, as a reward for keeping them safe you can permanently hire them at a reduced rate of half their usual cost, including Class cost, rounding up. Before deciding to hire an NPC, flip their board to the Adventurer side and assign them a Class board at random. Any NPC with an Adventurer side to their character board can be hired in this way.
This only applies to NPCs Persuaded to join your party during the game, not to NPCs that were just Persuaded to Move off the gaming area or that left play in any other manner.
The Artisan's Guild
If any of your equipment became broken during a game, you can visit the Artisans to have it repaired. The cost for this depends on the item's rarity:
- Common: 1 Guilder
- Uncommon: 3 Guilders
- Rare: 5 Guilders
If an item is not repaired, it will remain broken.
Party Upkeep
Adventurers that can survive in this world are highly sought after, and they won't stick around if they don't feel valued. At the end of each Market Phase you'll need to pay your Adventurers a bonus for their efforts.
All Adventurers in your party require a payment of 1 Guilder per rank, plus 1 if they took part in the most recent quest.
Adventurers hired in the current phase do not require payment.
If you can't afford or choose not to pay for an Adventurer's upkeep they will leave the party, losing any advancements. You can keep their equipment if you have space to store it; otherwise it must be sold or discarded.
Rest Phase
After trading in their loot and stocking up for their next quest, your party will retire to gather their strength.
As well as listing your Stash and any campaign notes, your Base Camp board represents your lodgings. The first step in the Rest Phase is to decide where to stay for the night.
The Inn
If you choose to pay for a room in an Inn, you must pay 2 Guilders per Adventurer from your Stash.
Punch out the Secure Storage space on the Base Camp board – the room will provide you with a safe place to store your valuables until the next Rest Phase.
Then roll the Magic Die on the following table to see what events will befall your party during the night…
1-2: Quiet Night. Choose one:
- You decide to get some rest and feel refreshed after a good night's sleep. All of your Adventurers start their next game Blessed.
- You find some time to get some training in. A random rank 1 party member gains one Experience.
3-4: Fraternise with the Locals. Roll again:
- 1-2: You win an item from another patron in a drunken bet. Take a random uncommon item from the supply.
- 3-4: A shifty-looking character sidles up to you and offers some 'premium' merchandise at a price that seems too good to be true… Take two random uncommon items and one random rare item from the supply. You may purchase any of them at the sell price. Then roll the Magic Die again for each item purchased. On a 1 the item is a worthless fake and must be discarded.
- 5-6: You've picked up some intel from the locals. At the start of the next game, you may do one of the following:
- Look at the top three Event Cards. Shuffle any Traps back into the deck, and place the rest of the cards back on top in the order they were drawn.
- Look inside a Searchable terrain piece of your choice.
5-6: Raucous Night. Roll again:
- 1: You get in a fight with another patron. A random Adventurer in your party starts the next game with one fewer Health peg.
- 2: After much feasting, there is some leftover food that you package up for your travels. Add one Provisions token from the supply to an Adventurer's inventory.
- 3-4: You share wild and exaggerated tales of your adventures. Gain 2 Renown.
- 5-6: It's game night! You may gamble any part of your stash on a bar game. Flip a coin and call the result. If you win, double the amount gambled. If you lose, your bet is lost. Alternatively you could choose to play a real-life game such as Poker with the other players, using your in-game stash to bet with.
The Wilderness
You're a hardy bunch and you can make do in a makeshift forest camp. What's the worst that can happen? Camping in the wilderness is free.
If you had previously stayed in an Inn, fill the Secure Storage space back in – there's only limited space for equipment in a hole in a tree! Any equipment stored in this area must be added to an Adventurer's inventory, sold, or discarded.
Then roll the Magic Die on the following table:
- 1: While you lay sleeping you were robbed by bandits! Reduce your Stash by D6. Then choose an Adventurer at random. Two random items from their inventory are lost. The Adventurer may start the next game with one fewer Health and Skill peg to fight the bandits off and avoid all of these effects.
- 2: Your party was set-upon by hungry wild animals! Choose an Adventurer at random and roll the Magic Die. The Adventurer will start the next game with the following status: 1-3: Wounded; 4-6: Poisoned.
- 3-4: You had a rough, sleepless night, with noises all around and roots digging in your back, and you haven't fully recovered your strength. Roll the Magic Die again for each party member – they will start the following game with one fewer peg of the following type: 1-2: Health; 3-4: Skill; 5-6: Magic.
- 5-6: Your night was uneventful. There is no further effect.
The Next Day
You should make a note of any ongoing effects on your Base Camp board as a reminder for your next game. Otherwise, Adventurers will start the next game with their pegs fully restored.
Any Adventurers that suffer adverse effects may choose to not take part in the next quest.
Before embarking on the next quest, you may freely swap equipment between your Adventurers' inventories, armour slots, and the storage on your Base Camp board.
Mass Casualties. It's unlikely, but it's possible that due to injuries or other effects you may have no Adventurers able to participate in your next quest. If this happens, resolve the Market and Rest Phases an additional time for each game that you need to miss until you have Adventurers available again.
Reference – Spells
Proximate Magic
Proximate magic is a form of Maladum that affects the user.
Spellcasters proficient in proximate magic are a match for any warrior with traditional martial training. They channel malacytes through their own bodies to give them the strength, speed, toughness and agility that may be lacking in their physical form. Advanced proximate magic can even change the nature of the user's cells.
Proximate spells are marked in blue on the Maladaar reference cards.
Targeting. All proximate spells target the spellcaster themselves.
Proximate – Level 1
- Healing (action): Restore X Health (max 3).
- Focus (action): Gain X Blessed counters.
- Strength (action): Gain +X melee until the end of the round.
- Speed: Use during a Move to move an additional X+1 squares.
- Harden Skin (action): Gain +X armour until the end of the round.
- Recover (action): May be used when Fatigued to remove a Fatigued counter. Also: Remove a Poisoned counter.
Proximate – Level 2
- Malacyte Shield (action): Increase your Warded value by X (max 1).
- Insight (action): Add X automatic hits to your Persuade rolls until the end of the round.
- Hyper Awareness (action): Place a Reminder counter on your Adventurer and become Blessed. At any time, including midway through an enemy's Move, discard the Reminder counter to take an action. Remove the Reminder counter in the Assessment Phase if not used.
- Jump (action): Move your character X+1 squares away, counting each square horizontally and vertically.
- Invisibility (action): Gain the listed effects until the end of the round.
- X=1: You cannot be targeted by enemies beyond short range.
- X=2: You cannot be targeted by non-adjacent enemies. You do not block LoS.
- X=3+: You cannot be targeted. You ignore attacks of opportunity but may still make them. You do not block LoS. You only block movement if you choose to.
Proximate – Level 3
- Malacyte Aura (passive): This character's level 1-3 proximate spells may affect adjacent friendly characters. Effects may be freely split between the caster and other characters. This character may also use their magical armour to negate hits on adjacent friends.
- Advanced Healing (action): Apply these effects in any combination up to X times:
- Restore 1 Health (max 3).
- Restore 1 Skill peg (max 1).
- Remove a status counter.
- Levitation: Use during a Move to ignore terrain or characters (including ignoring attacks of opportunity) of up to X inches in height.
- Alter Appearance (action): Temporarily distort your features to resemble any other character of the same size (e.g. a Lamentor; an Adventurer from another party). Other characters in play will treat you as that character type for all purposes, and will give permission to your character where required (e.g. to move through them or to take an item from them). Characters with a higher rank than the caster ignore these effects. Place X Reminder counters on your character board. Remove one counter in each Assessment Phase. The effects last until the last counter is removed.
Proximate – Level 4
- Phasing (action): Make a Move of up to X squares, freely moving through walls and terrain and ignoring attacks of opportunity. Must end the Move in an empty square.
- Foresight (action): Look at the top X cards of the Event Deck. Place them back in any order, but turn them 90° to mark which ones you have seen. When any of these rotated cards is resolved, you may spend a Magic peg to re-roll any randomised effect such as an Entry Point or chosen Adventurer.
Proximate – Level 5
- Rearrange Cells (action): Temporarily mutate your body into that of a beast. Increase the three statistics shown on the card by a total of X+2 in any combination (their individual maximums are 4, 3 and 2 respectively). Instead of increasing a statistic, you may add any of the listed weapon abilities to your attacks. Make a note of these increases. Increase your size by 1, or increase it by 2 and gain the listed large-size icon if X is 3 or more. While mutated you cannot use any equipment, although you can still carry it. Place X Reminder counters on your character board. Remove one counter in each Assessment Phase. The effects last until the last counter is removed.
Vicarious Magic
Vicarious magic affects other people and sentient creatures, manipulating their minds and bodies to the caster's will.
Those who would use vicarious spells in combat must keep a clear head. Their magic is by far the hardest to perform as they must overcome the will of their target. In doing so they put themselves in grave danger – a specialism in vicarious Maladum often leaves their proximate protection abilities lacking so they must be guarded in battle by tougher companions.
However, vicarious magic is incredibly powerful. Illusions conjured into an enemy's mind distract them, while more powerful spellcasters can boil the blood of their foes or even control them like puppets. What better way to defeat an enemy than forcing them to defeat themselves?
Vicarious spells are marked in purple on the Maladaar reference cards.
Targeting. Vicarious spells can target any character, friend or foe, in medium range and LoS other than the caster themselves. Cover has no effect.
As the spells directly target the victim, the victim may resist them if applicable.
Vicarious – Level 1
- Bless (action): Target gains X Blessed counters.
- Protect (action): Target gains +X armour until the end of the round.
- Calm (action): Target removes a Terrified counter.
- Fortitude (action): Target may ignore any status counters that would be applied until the end of the round.
- Deflection (action): Target increases their Warded value by X (max 1) until the end of the round.
- Clouded Minds (action): Place X Reminder counters on eligible targets. If a target would act outside their turn (e.g. Attacks of Opportunity, Parry, Shield Block, Reaction Skills, etc) they must discard a counter instead of acting. The counters are removed in the Assessment Phase.
Vicarious – Level 2
- Strengthen (action): Target removes X Fatigued counters.
- Healing Hands (action): Target restores X Health (max 3).
- Nausea (action): Target is Poisoned.
- Enchantment (action): Target is Moved up to X squares following all normal movement rules.
- Illusion (action): Place an Illusion in any empty square in range and LoS of both the caster and a chosen enemy. The enemy is distracted (see Illusions).
Vicarious – Level 3
- Malacyte Sensitivity (passive): This character's vicarious spells may target characters in short range without LoS.
- Stun (action): Target suffers X Fatigued counters.
- Blood Boil (action): Target suffers an attack with 1 die and the listed rule.
- Rouse (action): Target removes a Stunned counter.
Vicarious – Level 4
- Remote Resistance (passive): This character may resist any spells cast within short range of themselves, using their own pegs, regardless of the target.
- Advanced Illusion (action): Place up to X Illusions in empty squares in range and LoS. All enemies within range and LoS of both the caster and an Illusion are distracted (see Illusions). For resistance purposes, this spell is considered to be cast with one peg. Also: Move an Illusion as if it were a character, ignoring attacks of opportunity.
Vicarious – Level 5
- Advanced Enchantment (action): Target takes up to X actions (max 3) under your control.
Illusions
Illusions are represented by markers placed onto the gaming area.
Only characters distracted by an Illusion spell can see the markers – these characters should be marked with a Reminder Counter. They will consider Illusions enemies and target them exactly like any other enemy. Distracted characters cannot see through or move through Illusions.
Unlike NPCs, players could normally have their Adventurers ignore these Illusions. However, if an Illusion is the closest visible enemy to a distracted Adventurer when they are activated, the Adventurer may spend a Skill peg to ignore the distraction. If they do not, the player temporarily loses control of the Adventurer, and they will take their actions that turn according to the NPC Activation Chart on page 39, with the Illusion as the target.
An Illusion targeted by a melee attack is instantly removed from the gaming area, without rolling. Ranged attacks targeting an Illusion will always miss unless a critical hit is rolled – if this happens the Illusion is removed. Discard the Reminder counter from any distracted enemy in LoS of the removed Illusion – they are no longer distracted.
All other characters ignore Illusions – they may see and move through them with no effect.
Illusions do not move unless their caster moves them.
Illusion spells may be cast multiple times, but a caster can only sustain a number of Illusions up to their rank at any one time.
Elemental Magic
Elemental magic affects inanimate objects and the immediate environment around the user. It cannot create objects; only manipulate them.
With no sentient mind resisting a caster's malacyte manipulation, elemental spells are among the easiest and most widely used magic. However, most elemental maladaar have a limited repertoire as the malacytes in each different substance must be controlled in a different way.
Elemental spells range from moving small objects and creating blasts of energy to the manipulation of fire and even dimensional boundaries!
Elemental spells are marked in green on the Maladaar reference cards.
Targeting. Elemental spells can target any square or item in medium range and LoS. Cover applies to ranged attacks as normal, but otherwise has no effect.
Any spell that resolves as a ranged attack may be used at any time outside a character's turn that they could use such an attack, such as the Ambush Skill.
While elemental spells sometimes resolve as ranged attacks against a character, the target of the spell is the object or energy used against that character, not the character themselves, so Elemental spells cannot be resisted.
Elemental – Level 1
- Telekinesis (action): Choose one:
- Move a loose item, an item in a friendly character's inventory, or a random item inside an unlocked terrain piece (whichever one you draw first) up to X+2 squares. Traps drawn are triggered against a single target in contact with the terrain piece, if any, and then discarded. If the item reaches a friendly character place it in their inventory. If the item is a weapon and it reaches an enemy, treat it as having been thrown at them.
- Spread a fire – choose a source of fire and add a Burning counter to any character or terrain piece within X+2 squares of it.
- Open Door (effortless): Open or close an unlocked door. Also: Lock or unlock a door or terrain piece.
- Focused Energy (action): Make a ranged attack with X dice, and the listed rule.
- Extinguish (action): Remove a Burning counter, Torch (even from another character's inventory) or Brazier.
- Detect: Use during a General Search action to take X additional items (max. 3) from the pouch. Traps are resolved immediately. Any other additional items are scattered from the caster.
- Refract (action): Place or flip a Darkness or Light counter and add X Reminder counters. Remove one Reminder counter in each Assessment Phase. Once the last is removed, return the room to its previous state.
Elemental – Level 2
- Push (action): Move an item, character, or portable terrain piece up to X squares directly away from you, with no attacks of opportunity. You must spend at least as many pegs as a character/object's size to move it. If a character is moved more squares than they have actions they are knocked prone.
- Barricade (action): Create a barricade of your choice. Alternatively, mark up to X squares of a pit with Reminder counters. These squares are considered solid ground. When all squares of a pit are marked, remove it. If a pit is removed while a character is inside, they are defeated and Left for Dead.
- Advanced Detect (action): Look inside a Searchable terrain piece that fills up to X squares. You may discard an additional Magic peg to remove one Trap found.
- Advanced Telekinesis (action): Choose one:
- Move any terrain piece you could normally move (see page 50) up to X+2 squares. If it reaches a character, stop moving and treat it as a Knockback with X+2 dice.
- Move an item in an enemy's inventory up to X+2 squares. They may spend a Skill peg to scatter the item instead. Otherwise, if the item reaches a friendly character place it in their inventory. If the item is a weapon and it reaches an enemy, treat it as having been thrown at them.
- Weaken Armour (action): Reduce an enemy's armour by X until the end of the round.
Elemental – Level 3
- Malacyte Perception (passive): This character's elemental spells may target objects in short range without LoS.
- Fireball (action): Requires a source of fire within range of the caster and the target. Make a ranged attack from the source of fire with X dice, Blast and Burn.
- Torrent (action): All targets must be in short range and LoS of a source of water. Choose one:
- Remove X Burning counters, torches or sconces.
- Knock X characters prone.
- Choose a character and roll X dice. Each hit scored Fatigues the target. If the character becomes Stunned, any remaining hits are treated as an attack with the listed rule.
- Cocoon (action): Gain the benefits of a Rest action, regardless of enemies in the room or in short range and LoS (enemies engaged with a Resting character will still prevent it as normal). Nearby characters may Rest as part of the spell – it affects up to X characters (including the caster) with a range of X squares.
Elemental – Level 4
- Energy Burst (action): Move characters or portable terrain pieces with a total size up to X up to X squares directly away from you, with no attacks of opportunity. Characters are knocked prone.
- Rebuild (action): Choose a wall of up to X squares in length. Detach it and reconnect it anywhere else within short range. This cannot cause any room to become inaccessible from the rest of the gaming area.
Elemental – Level 5
- Portal (action): Place a Portal in an empty square.
Portals
Portals are usually placed by spell effects, but may also be in play in certain quests. They are distortions in space that can be passed through to emerge elsewhere, if you know how!
Portals block LoS.
If a character enters a square with a portal they are removed from the gaming area, ending any action they were taking. The character may spend a Magic peg to be placed in contact with any other portal of their choice. Otherwise, or if they roll a Mental Overload result, roll the Magic Die:
- 1-2: The character has emerged a long distance away. They are considered defeated and they play no further part in the game. Adventurers will be Left for Dead (see page 61).
- 3-4: They are placed in contact with a random portal in play (including the one they entered). If possible they should be placed into a different square to the one they entered from.
- 5-6: A new portal opens. Scatter from the portal the character entered, doubling the distance and ignoring terrain. Place a portal in the closest empty square to that position and place the character in contact with it. If no portals are available, remove one already in play and use that.
NPCs will not voluntarily enter portals but can be pushed into them. If they have Magic pegs they will spend one, emerging from a random portal in play. If not, roll for the result on the table above. Other objects can be pushed or thrown into portals, randomising the result as above.
Reference – Skills
Agility Skills
Acrobatics
- Level 1: Make a Move action with Scramble. Passive: You may Stand Up as an effortless action.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when targeted with an attack. Roll three combat dice. Each hit scored negates one hit from the enemy's attack. If no hits remain, all other effects of the attack are ignored. Passive: You may treat Rough Ground values (found in expansions) as one lower.
- Level 3: You burst out of combat. All enemies engaged with your character may be pushed up to two squares away in a direction of your choice, stopping if they hit a wall or other obstruction. No attacks of opportunity are made, but each enemy pushed back suffers an attack with 2 dice. Then, you may make a Move action.
Combat Arts
- Level 1: You sweep your enemy's feet from under them. An enemy in contact is knocked prone. Passive: This character's attacks gain Quickstrike. If using a weapon that also has Quickstrike, you may Dash AND Attack.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when an enemy engages you, before they attack. Their attack has no effect. Swap positions with the enemy, and then make a Move action with no attacks of opportunity or a Knock Back action with +1 die.
- Level 3: Jump from a higher level, increasing your safe distance by 3. All characters of the same size or smaller adjacent to your landing position are knocked prone. Then make a Melee Attack with additional dice equal to the distance of the Jump.
Fleet of Foot
- Level 1: Make a Move action.
- Level 2: Passive: Gain Fast 1.
- Level 3: Make a Move action. This and all your other Move actions in this turn ignore attacks of opportunity. Make an attack with one die against each enemy contacted during your Moves. Any hits will also knock them prone, even if no damage is caused.
Reflexes
- Level 1: Reaction: Use when an enemy engages you. Make a Move action, ignoring attacks of opportunity. Passive: Ignore one hit scored against you during any attack of opportunity.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when an enemy engages you. In any order, make a Move action, ignoring attacks of opportunity, and an Attack action. Passive: This character may use Parry against ranged attacks.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use when an enemy engages you. The attacker is Stunned. In any order, make two Move actions, ignoring attacks of opportunity, and an Attack action. Passive: You may use an effortless action to ignore an attack of opportunity.
Cunning Skills
Distraction
- Level 1: A character in medium range and LoS becomes Fatigued.
- Level 2: Make a Ranged Attack action or Throw an item. The target or another enemy within short range of the target suffers two Fatigued counters in addition to damage caused, if any. Then make a Move action.
- Level 3: You may make a Move action with a character in medium range and LoS (you cannot use this Move to engage an enemy or do anything that could cause the character direct harm), and they suffer two Fatigued counters. You may make a Move and an Attack action yourself, in any order, before or after moving the target.
Light Fingers
- Level 1: Reaction: Use after suffering a melee attack in which you took no damage. Take any item from the attacker's inventory other than the one they attacked with. If you do not have space for it, drop it or another item you are holding.
- Level 2: Move into contact with another character and make a Pickpocket action. Then make another Move action, with no attacks of opportunity.
- Pickpocket: When in contact with another character, roll a combat die:
- Blunder: You fail. There is no effect.
- Blank: One of the target's items, chosen at random, is scattered.
- Hit: Take a non-large item of your choice from the target's inventory.
- Critical: Take an item of your choice from the target's inventory and knock them prone.
- The target may spend a Skill peg to avoid this effect.
- Pickpocket: When in contact with another character, roll a combat die:
- Level 3: Passive: You have access to the Pickpocket action as standard.
Persuasion
- Level 1: Use before making a Persuade roll. Add two automatic hits to the roll.
- Level 2: Make a Persuade action against an Adventurer from another party to try to dissuade them from their mission. They suffer one Fatigued counter per unblocked hit. Passive: Add one extra die to your Persuade rolls.
- Level 3: Make a Persuade action against any character, adding three automatic hits. The normal options apply, except that Adventurers from other parties will not join you.
Tricks of the Trade
- Level 1: You may lock or unlock a door or terrain piece in contact, OR you may use when Searching, after drawing tokens, to ignore any Trap token(s) drawn with no effect.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when a trap card or token is drawn targeting this character or a friendly character within short range and LoS. This character spots and disables the trap's trigger. Discard the card/token with no effect. Passive: You may make a General Search as an effortless action.
- Level 3: Use when Searching (terrain or General) to draw one additional token from the pouch and one random uncommon item. Do not resolve any traps drawn – they should either be returned to the pouch or left inside a Searched terrain piece. Passive: Your attacks gain the listed rule.
Endurance Skills
Impervious
- Level 1: Reaction: Use whenever you would suffer a status counter of any type. Discard the counter with no effect.
- Level 2: Gain +2 armour until the end of the round.
- Level 3: Restore 1 Health. This may take you above your starting level as long as there is space on your dashboard. You may discard any status counters you wish to. In addition, you ignore all damage, resist all spells without spending pegs, and discard all status counters with no effect until the end of the round.
Onslaught
- Level 1: Reaction: Use after scoring one or more hits on an enemy in melee. Make another Melee Attack action.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use after scoring one or more hits on an enemy with any attack. Move if you wish, and then make another Melee Attack action.
- Level 3: Use during a Move action. You may ignore attacks of opportunity during this Move, and you may make a melee attack against each enemy you engaged with while moving.
Quick Recovery
- Level 1: Restore 1 Health.
- Level 2: Use before activating to remove any Stunned, Poisoned or Wounded counters.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use after being defeated. You are no longer defeated – restore 1 Health and Stand Up. Passive: At the start of your turn you may remove one Fatigued counter.
Steady
- Level 1: You cannot be Stunned, Knocked Back or laid prone until the end of the round.
- Level 2: You cannot Move this turn, but you gain one extra die on all attacks and Knock Backs until the end of the round. Passive: You may ignore the Cumbersome rule in any turn in which you do not Move.
- Level 3: Until the end of the round:
- You cannot become Fatigued, Stunned, Knocked Back or laid prone.
- Enemies cannot move out of contact unless you allow them to.
- After any melee attack made against you, you may make a free Knock Back action against the attacker.
- If an enemy moves within two squares, you may make a free Dash to engage them, becoming their target if you weren't already.
Magic Skills
Fortified Mind
- Level 1: Use before casting a spell to cast it while engaged.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when a friendly character in short range suffers an attack. Use this character's magical armour to negate hits. Magic pegs from any combination of this character and the target character may be used to boost the armour. Any Magic Die effects are applied to this character.
- Level 3: Until the end of the round, all spells targeting friendly characters in short range are automatically resisted without spending pegs, unless an Unstoppable result is rolled. All attacks against friendly characters in short range can be negated using this character's magical armour, spending any combination of this character and the target characters' Magic pegs to boost the armour. Any Magic Die effects are applied to this character. Passive: When casting spells of a level lower than your own rank, you do not become Fatigued when you suffer a Mental Overload result.
Malacyte Mastery
- Level 1: Cast any level 1 spell, whether you have access to it or not, spending an action or effortless action as normal.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use after rolling the Magic Die to roll it again and pick which of the two results to apply.
- Level 3: Reaction: After rolling an Unstoppable result during your turn, immediately cast any action or effortless spell you have access to at a casting value of 2, without spending any pegs. Instead of rolling the Magic Die you may choose which die result you want to apply to this spell. Then take any action for free. Passive: Gain Regeneration 1 – restore 1 Magic peg in the Assessment Phase.
Power Manipulation
- Level 1: Reaction: Use at any time. Cast any action or effortless spell you have access to.
- Level 2: Passive: You may spend any number of Skill pegs when casting a spell to increase its casting value by the number of pegs spent. This can exceed your rank.
- Level 3: You force a huge burst of energy through one of your magical items. Choose a weapon you hold with the Channel icon, and decide how many Magic pegs you will spend (minimum 1). Make a ranged attack at short range using a number of dice equal to the pegs spent +3 (this includes the +1 for the Passive effect below). Any icons on the chosen weapon are applied to the attack. Mental Overload results on the Magic Die are ignored with no effect. Passive: When you use an item with the Channel icon, resolve the effects as if one additional peg had been spent.
Melee Skills
Brutal Assault
- Level 1: Make a Melee action using only your unarmed value with one extra combat die. If the target survives lay it prone.
- Level 2: Choose a character you are engaged with that is no larger than you and throw them. Move them into any square within short range and LoS. They suffer no attacks of opportunity from this move. They suffer an attack equal to your unarmed value +1, rolling an additional die if a wall or other terrain piece prevented them being thrown the full distance. Then lay them prone. If their trajectory was blocked by a character, that character also suffers an attack equal to your unarmed value +1. Passive: You may ignore the Cumbersome rule for melee weapons.
- Level 3: Make up to three Melee actions using only your unarmed value +1. If the target survives lay it prone. Then make a Move action.
Disarm
- Level 1: Reaction: Use after suffering a melee attack in which you took no damage. The weapon that the attacker used is removed from their dashboard and scattered.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use after suffering a melee attack in which you took no damage. The weapon that the attacker used is removed from their dashboard and added to yours. If you do not have space for it, drop it or another item you are holding.
- Level 3: Reaction: As level 2. In addition, you may make an immediate Melee Attack action with the stolen weapon, followed by a Move action with no attacks of opportunity allowed.
Frenzy
- Level 1: Use before making a melee attack. Add two dice to the attack.
- Level 2: Use before making a melee attack. Add three dice to the attack.
- Level 3: Use before making a melee attack. Add four dice to the attack. After rolling the dice, you may split the hits scored between any number of enemies in range of your weapon. Any other effects such as Bludgeoning are applied to all enemies that suffer a hit. Passive: Gain First Strike.
Weapons Master
- Level 1: Make a Melee Attack with a weapon. You may re-roll one die. Passive: You may use the Shield Block ability as an effortless action. You still become Fatigued if it is used outside your turn.
- Level 2: Use after making a melee attack with a weapon. The target is Wounded and Stunned. Passive: You may make a Melee Attack as an effortless action.
- Level 3: Use after rolling for a melee attack with a weapon. You may roll again for a different weapon in your inventory, combining hits and effects. Blunder results apply to each weapon separately. Then make a Knock Back action with +1 die, or a Move action ignoring attacks of opportunity. Passive: When making melee attacks, hit results on the blue die are critical hits.
Ranged Skills
Bullseye
- Level 1: Make a Ranged Attack at short range. This attack does not roll any dice – it scores 1 automatic hit, ignoring cover.
- Level 2: Make a Ranged Attack at up to medium range. This attack does not roll any dice – it scores 1 automatic hit, ignoring cover and physical armour. Passive: This character's ranged attacks ignore cover at short range.
- Level 3: Make a Ranged Attack at up to medium range. This attack does not roll any dice – it scores 2 automatic hits, ignoring cover and physical armour. Passive: This character's ranged attacks ignore cover at medium range.
Counter Shot
- Level 1: Reaction: Use after being targeted with a ranged attack or spell, before the attack is resolved. Make a Ranged Attack or cast a spell against the attacker.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use at any time after a target enemy has taken its first action in the current round. Make a Ranged Attack or cast a spell against the target.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use at any time. Make a Ranged Attack or cast a spell against an enemy with one extra combat die (if applicable), and then make a Move action.
Ranged Expert
- Level 1: Use when making a melee attack to use a ranged weapon instead. Roll to hit as normal using the weapon's short-range statistic and add one die to the attack. Passive: You may ready a ranged weapon with Preparation as an effortless action.
- Level 2: Throw any melee weapon, rolling two additional dice, OR throw any other item as if it was a weapon, rolling two dice. Passive: You may make a Ranged Attack as an effortless action.
- Level 3: Make a Ranged Attack with a Shot weapon. Ignore the Unreliable rule and add the Bludgeoning, Sharp and Piercing rules to the attack. Passive: When making ranged or thrown attacks, hit results on the blue die are critical hits.
Trick Shot
- Level 1: Make a Ranged Attack. You may re-roll one die.
- Level 2: You shoot an item from an enemy's hand. Make a Ranged Attack. If at least one hit is scored, no damage is done, but an item of your choice is removed from their inventory and moved up to six squares in a direction of your choice.
- Level 3: Make a Ranged Attack with three extra combat dice. After rolling the dice, you can split the hits scored between any number of eligible targets within range of your weapon and within short range of each other.
Stealth Skills
Ambush
- Level 1: Reaction: Use when an enemy ends a move within 4 squares and you are in full or partial cover. Make a Ranged Attack action against that enemy. You may Dash before or after this action.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when an enemy ends a move within 4 squares and you are in full or partial cover. Make a Move action and then an Attack action against that enemy. You may Dash once before or after either of these actions.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use when an enemy ends a move within 4 squares and you are in full or partial cover. Make a Move action, an Attack action against any enemy, and then another Move action. You may Dash once before or after any of these actions.
Camouflage
- Level 1: While you are in contact with any wall you cannot be targeted for the rest of the round. Enemies can move through adjacent squares without stopping or attracting attacks of opportunity from you and cannot end a move in contact with you. You do not block LoS in any way.
- Level 2: Make a Move or Ranged Attack action. While you are in contact with any terrain you cannot be targeted for the rest of the round. Enemies can move through adjacent squares without stopping or attracting attacks of opportunity from you and cannot end a move in contact with you. You do not block LoS in any way.
- Level 3: While you are not in contact with an enemy you cannot be targeted for the rest of the round. Enemies can move through adjacent squares without stopping or attracting attacks of opportunity from you and cannot end a move in contact with you. You do not block LoS in any way. Passive Reaction: At any time (including midway through an enemy's Move) during a round in which you are camouflaged using this Skill you may make a Ranged Attack action and then become Fatigued.
Duck for Cover
- Level 1: Reaction: Use after being targeted with a ranged attack or spell if you are within 4 squares of cover. Move into cover.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use after being targeted with a ranged attack or spell if you are within 4 squares of cover. Move into cover and ignore all effects of that attack.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use at any time. Make a Move action into cover ignoring attacks of opportunity, and make an Attack action, in any order. You cannot be targeted for the rest of the round as long as you do not move from your position.
Hard to Hit
- Level 1: While in cover, you cannot be affected by ranged attacks until the end of the round, although you can be targeted as normal.
- Level 2: While in cover or at more than short range, you cannot be affected by ranged attacks until the end of the round, although you can be targeted as normal.
- Level 3: Make a Move action ignoring attacks of opportunity. You cannot be affected by any enemy ranged attacks until the end of the round, although you can be targeted as normal.
Support Skills
Barter
- Level 1: Market Phase: You may perform one of the following:
- Purchase an item of any value, in addition to the normal limits.
- Draw an additional rare item from the supply – this will now be available to purchase.
- Sell one item for its buy value, to a maximum of 10 Guilders x your rank.
- Level 2: Market Phase: Deduct up to 2 Guilders from the buy prices or add 2 Guilders to the sale prices of up to three items, in any combination. Passive: Deduct up to 2 Guilders from the cost of one item or Adventurer upkeep cost in each Market Phase.
- Level 3: Market Phase: Increase the number of Guilders gained from any quest objectives (if applicable) by 50%, rounding up.
Inspiring
- Level 1: Remove a Terrified counter from a friendly character in short range.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use after defeating an enemy. All other friendly characters in short range may remove a Terrified counter OR take one action. Passive: Any other friendly character that starts its turn in short range and LoS of this character removes a Terrified counter before activating.
- Level 3: All friendly characters in short range (including this one) remove all Terrified and Fatigued counters. Each may then make one action.
Intimidating
- Level 1: Reaction: Use when an enemy in LoS activates. You may choose the enemy's target for the round from any eligible characters it can see, even if it is already engaged and/or another target is closer.
- Level 2: Reaction: Use when an enemy enters LoS or starts their turn within LoS. Their turn immediately ends and they are Stunned. Passive: As an effortless action, you may take an action with any friendly character in short range. They then become Fatigued.
- Level 3: All enemies of this character's rank or lower within short range and LoS are Stunned and Terrified. Passive: You gain Terrifying.
Training
- Level 1: Use after taking an action. Another Adventurer in your party within short range and LoS immediately makes the same action for free, if able.
- Level 2: Advancement Phase: Add one Experience to any other Adventurer in your party. This Experience may only be assigned to Agility, Endurance, Melee, Ranged or Stealth Skills. The trainee's rank may be no higher than X.
- Level 3: Advancement Phase: Add one Experience to any two Adventurers in your party. One can be at any rank; for the other the trainee's rank may be no higher than X.
Survival Skills
Natural Remedies
- Level 1: Use when Resting. You and any other friendly characters that Rest this round restore an additional Health peg and an additional Magic peg.
- Level 2: You or a friendly character in contact removes a Wounded or Poisoned counter and restores one Health.
- Level 3: You and all friendly characters in contact are Blessed, and may each take an additional action this round.
One with Nature
-
Level 1: Use during a General Search action to forage, taking the items listed below in addition to any drawn. Roll the Magic Die.
- 1: You did not find anything other than the item drawn.
- 2-3: Take a Morsel or Herbs* token.
- 4-5: Take a Provisions or Fungus* token.
- 6: Take a Remedy or Minerals* token.
Passive: When staying in the Wilderness in the Rest Phase you may roll once on the above table for each character with this Skill.
-
Level 2: At the start of your turn, choose a non-Otherworldly Wandering Beast within medium range and LoS. You may use any of your actions this turn to control the Beast instead.
-
Level 3: Select a random non-Otherworldly Wandering Beast of rank 1-3 (see page 42). It enters play at an Entry Point of your choice and will be controlled by you in the Adventurer Phase for the rest of the game. It may activate this round. Passive: Non-Otherworldly Wandering Beasts will never target you.
* Herbs, Fungus and Minerals can be found in the Of Ale and Adventure expansion.
Ready for Anything
- Level 1: Reaction: Use at any time. Take an action.
- Level 2: Passive: Use at any time, once per round. Take an action and then become Fatigued.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use at any time, including midway through an enemy's Move. You may take up to two actions and an effortless action.
Tracking
- Level 1: Look at the top three cards of the Event Deck.
- Level 2: Based on the current Dread, roll for the arrival of all NPCs due to arrive this round and place them next to the appropriate Entry Points. Grave Points or any other arrival location within short range of this Adventurer cannot be used. You may then move the NPCs at any one Entry Point to a different one. Their arrival will not be rolled again this round – they will just be activated and enter the gaming area as normal. Passive: If any rule causes your Staging Point to be swapped with a random Entry Point, you may roll the Magic Die twice and pick your preferred result.
- Level 3: Reaction: Use either before or after an enemy enters LoS/is placed onto the gaming area, interrupting their Move if necessary. This character may take a free turn immediately. All friendly characters within short range may take one action. Any of these actions that target the arriving enemy gain one extra die. If the arriving character survives any attacks they may take/continue their turn as normal. Passive: You may treat Rough Ground values (found in expansions) as two lower.
Reference – Icons
Some rules will have an 'X' value. This refers to the number in or next to the associated icon.
Icons found on weapons apply each time the weapon is used. Weapon abilities found on character boards or other types of token such as Gear apply to all attacks made by the character (regardless of weapon) while the item is in effect.
+X dice: This is usually found alongside the Channel icon. The attack may roll an additional number of dice equal to the number of pegs spent.
Ammunition: A character firing a weapon with this icon must have a Gear or Armour token of the matching type to fire it.
Balanced: This weapon rolls +1 dice when thrown.
Bludgeoning: If this attack rolls a critical hit, the target is Fatigued, even if no damage was caused. The target suffers one additional Fatigued counter for each damage caused. This attack rolls one extra die when attacking terrain pieces.
Burning: If this attack rolls a critical hit, the target is Burning, even if no damage was caused. Equipment with this icon is considered a source of fire.
Camouflage: This character can only be targeted by ranged attacks from within short range.
Channel: This icon will be seen alongside other statistics or abilities. At least one Magic peg must be spent to use the statistic/activate the ability. If an ability has an X value, additional pegs may be spent to improve the effect.
Cleave: If a melee attack with this weapon defeats an enemy, you may resolve the same attack against another eligible enemy, removing one hit from the roll. You may continue to do this until you fail to defeat an enemy or there are no eligible enemies remaining.
Creature: Unless stated otherwise, this character cannot Open Doors, Search, use equipment or Interact with terrain.
Cumbersome: If an attack with this weapon rolls any blunder and is not broken, turn the token 180°. It cannot be used in this position. It requires an effortless action to ready the weapon for use again. Cumbersome weapons cannot be thrown.
Defensive Re-roll: The character may force a single die to be re-rolled from any attack made against them, unless the attack ignores physical armour. Critical hits cannot be re-rolled.
Discard: When this item has been used, return it to the supply.
Effortless: This item can be used as an effortless action.
Entangling: If this attack causes one or more hits, the target is Fatigued. If this attack rolls a critical hit, the target is knocked prone. These effects apply even if no damage was caused.
Fast: When making a Move action, this character can move X additional squares. If a character has this ability from multiple sources, they use the highest value – they do not stack.
First Strike: When this character enters within melee range of an enemy (including when placed onto the gaming area or when a door opens), it gets an immediate free Melee Attack action.
Hawkeye: This attack ignores partial cover and can fire at engaged characters at any range without randomising the target.
Immunity: This icon will be seen alongside other abilities and statuses. This character does not suffer any counters or effects from the ability shown.
Infinite Ammo: When this token is used for a ranged attack, it ignores blunder results that would cause you to run out of ammunition and discard it.
Key: A character carrying this item may lock or unlock any door or terrain piece as an effortless action.
Location-Specific: Unless stated otherwise in a quest briefing, this item only works in the quest in which it was found, or the next quest if purchased in a Market Phase.
Loud: Increase the Dread by 1 when this item is used.
Magical Armour: Spend an action and up to X Magic pegs to increase your Warded value by the number of pegs spent. Rotate the token 180° to mark it as active. The token cannot be used in this position.
Malacyte Enhancement: This character may cast spells with one more Magic peg than their rank allows.
Night Sight: This character ignores all effects of Darkness (see page 52).
Otherworldly: This character originates from another dimension. The icon (found on character boards and any associated Event Cards) has no effect on its own but will interact with other rules found in Maladum expansions.
Pack: These characters arrive in groups. When they enter play, place the number of miniatures shown here instead of a single character. They still activate individually.
Parry: When the user of this item is the target of a melee attack, you may roll a combat die. Each hit scored will negate one hit from the enemy's attack as if it were physical armour. You then become Fatigued.
Piercing: Physical armour cannot negate hits from this weapon.
Plunderer: If this attack causes damage, a random item from the defending character's inventory is scattered. If the attack also scored a critical hit the attacker may take the item instead.
Poison: If this weapon rolls a critical hit, the target is Poisoned, even if no damage was caused.
Preparation: After this weapon is used, turn the token 180°. It cannot be used in this position. It requires an action to ready the weapon for use again.
Quickstrike: If this weapon rolls a critical hit during a melee attack, you may Dash or make another attack (with this or any other weapon) for free immediately after the initial attack is resolved.
Rank: The power level of an NPC. NPCs activate in order of rank, starting with the highest, and their rank may also be referenced by other rules and effects.
Reach: This weapon may be used to make a Melee Attack against an enemy up to X squares away, including diagonally. Unless in contact, the characters are not considered to be engaged for any other purpose, including attacks of opportunity.
When using multi-level terrain this rule applies vertically as well – the marks on the ruler can be used to determine how many squares a target is from their attacker when measuring up or down at an angle. Measure from ground level.
NPCs with this rule will make Attack actions as soon as their weapon is in range of their target – they will not Move closer if they do not need to. Characters with First Strike may also choose to stop and attack once they are within their weapon's range.
Regeneration (peg type): Restore X pegs of the type shown in the Assessment Phase. If a character has this ability from multiple sources, they are cumulative.
Re-roll: If on a weapon, the character may re-roll a single combat die each time the weapon is used to attack or parry. If on a character board or any other type of token, for each roll made, the character may re-roll a single die of any type used for any action or effect on their behalf.
Rest: This icon will be seen alongside other abilities and is only used during a Rest action. This character may discard the token to apply the abilities shown.
Restoration: These icons are found on potions and other remedies. When used they restore X pegs or grant X additional actions (based on the icon shown) to the user or another Adventurer in contact. Actions must be used in the character's turn in the current round.
Scramble: The top number is the maximum height or width in squares/inches of objects/characters that the character can move up or over as part of a normal Move action – they do not need to Climb them or spend any actions, just like a regular character climbing stairs. The bottom number is the character's safe distance for Jumping down or across.
Sharp: If this weapon rolls a critical hit the target is Wounded, even if no damage was caused.
Shield Block: This character may spend an action to raise the shield, taking this token from their inventory and placing it on their miniature to gain the effects shown inside the shield icon. The token is placed back into the inventory again as soon as the user does any of the following:
- Takes any action other than Move or Dash.
- Suffers damage.
- Becomes Stunned.
The character may also raise the shield when the character is attacked outside of their own turn, before dice are rolled. After the attack the character will become Fatigued.
Only one Shield can be raised at a time.
Size: This character is smaller or larger than an average human and additional rules apply, most commonly used for LoS (page 10), Knock Backs (page 29) and Moving Objects (page 50).
Skill: The Skill shown here can be used by the character at up to the level shown, exactly as if they were on the character's Class board.
Stash: This item may be instantly discarded when found to add its value to your Stash – it does not have to be placed into an Adventurer's inventory.
Terrifying: If this character rolls a critical hit when attacking, the target is Terrified. If an enemy character ends their turn within short range of this character, roll the Magic Die. On a 1 that character becomes Terrified.
Unarmed Combat: This value will be found on a character's board (including their armour slot). They may use this value to make melee attacks even if they do not have a weapon.
Unreliable: If an attack with this weapon rolls a single blunder, it has jammed. Turn the token 180°. It cannot be used in this position. It requires an action to ready the weapon for use again. If it rolls two or more blunders it has broken.
Vampiric (peg type): If this attack rolls a critical hit the target loses a peg of the type shown if possible, in addition to any damage caused. If multiple types are listed, the target loses whichever they have the most of (attacker's choice if equal). If a peg was lost, the attacker restores a peg of same type if possible. If they cannot, they become Blessed if possible.
Vicious: Hit results on the blue die on attacks made with this weapon are critical hits.
Volatile: If this attack rolls a blunder on the blue die, the user takes one damage. Then, all adjacent characters suffer an attack with a number of dice matching the original attack and the Burning rule.
Worthy Opponent: If an Adventurer defeats this character, their party gains one Renown. The character must be defeated with a direct attack or effect – death from delayed effects such as being Poisoned or Wounded do not grant Renown. This character can only appear once per quest. Once it has arrived, any further rules that cause another to enter play are ignored, even after it has been defeated.
Item Notes
Some equipment requires more specific rules than can be covered by the standard icons and statistics. These items will be marked – if you see this on an item you should check the rulebook for full details.
Maladaar's Almanac: Characters must have a spell track on their Class board to use this item. The user marks spaces on it equal to their rank (marking a new space when they reach a new rank). For each space marked, the user may learn a new spell as if XP had been spent. Mark these with an X on the Maladaar reference card. If after any quest a different character carries this item, erase any filled spaces here and erase the corresponding spaces on the character's reference card.
Oblivion's Echo: This device channels the Crucible of Resurrection. The user may Interact with the item as if they were Interacting with a Crucible. All the same rules apply. See page 46.
Tome of Revenance: This item allows the user to re-roll attacks and effects against Revenants only.
Quick Reference
Order of Play
- Dread Phase
- Adventurer Phase
- Adversary Phase
- NPC Phase
- Assessment Phase
Dread Phase (p.21)
- Add 1 black peg to Dread Tracker.
- Draw Event Card (round 2 onwards).
Adventurer Phase (p.22)
Players take turns activating Adventurers. Each takes up to their Actions + 1 effortless action.
- Fatigued / Stunned / Terrified / other statuses – see status effects first (p.16).
- Defeated characters cannot activate.
- Prone characters must Stand Up before other actions.
Actions (p.22)
Move (p.23). Up to 4 squares (3 if Wounded). Enemies make attack of opportunity if you leave contact.
Melee Attack (p.26). Make melee attack against engaged target or target in range of the weapon.
- Melee icon = dice for Melee Attack.
- Burst icon = forceful – +1 die but 2 x blunder breaks weapon (p.15).
Ranged Attack (p.26). Make ranged attack against target in range and LoS.
- Ranged values = dice at short, medium and long range.
- Burst icon = blast (p.27).
- 1 x blunder = out of ammo (p.27).
Search (p.28).
- EITHER: Look in Searchable terrain in contact, take or swap items.
- OR: Place Search counter in room and take token from pouch.
- OR: Pick up, drop or swap items in same or adjacent square.
Knock Back (p.29). Roll dice (unarmed value on character board + 1) against adjacent target. +1 hit per size larger you are, -1 hit per size larger the target is. Push target back 1 square per hit. May follow up. 3+ hits = target prone. More blunders than hits = no effect, target may Knock Back attacker.
Persuade (p.29). Choose result and roll dice equal to your Skill against target within short range. Increase Dread by 1 if not in contact. Reduce hits by the target's Persuade value. Check remaining hits:
- TRADE ITEM: 1+ hits (contact only) – swap item of up to same size and rarity.
- TAKE ACTIONS: 1 per hit, Fatigue for each, cannot harm friendly characters.
- TRUCE: 2+ hits – they become friendly.
- JOIN: 3+ hits – they join your party (p.42).
Interact (p.30). Refer to rules for object Interacted with. Must be in contact and unengaged.
Don/Remove Armour (p.30). Move/swap items from inventory to armour slot.
Stand Up (p.30). Stand up prone character.
Cast Spell (p.30). Proximate spells target caster. Otherwise target in medium range and LoS.
- Choose spell from Reference card, Character board, Class board or Equipment token.
- Spend X Magic pegs (max = rank). Discard extra pegs equal to physical armour.
- Roll Magic Die.
- Resolve spell.
- Resolve Magic Die effects. Add peg to Dread if first Magic used this round.
Rest (p.30). Two actions. No enemies in room or short range and LoS. Cannot be Burning.
- Remove all Fatigued counters.
- Restore 2 Magic pegs.
- Restore 1 Health or Skill peg.
- Remove Wounded or Poisoned.
- Stand Up.
Attack Rolls
- Roll dice, one blue, others red. Hit icons = hits.
- Reduce hits by cover (p.11) and armour (p.25).
- Reduce target's health by remaining hits. If last health removed, character is defeated (removed if NPC, see p.33 if Adventurer).
- Critical icon = critical hit – other rules may apply – check icons.
Check Skills (p.74-82) and Icons (p.83-85) for any further effects.
Effortless Actions (p.31)
- Dash – move 1 square.
- Throw Item.
- Use item or spell.
- Open/close door.
- Lay prone.
- Give/take/swap item with adjacent character or square.
Skills (p.32)
Once per round, during turn, spend X Skill pegs to use available Skill at X level.
Once per round, spend Skill pegs outside turn as a reaction to a triggering condition to use Skill or avoid effect.
Passive Skills do not need pegs and may be used with no limits.
See p.74-82 for Skill lists.
Magic (p.34)
The first time an Adventurer spends Magic pegs each round, add 1 to Dread.
Whenever pegs are spent, roll Magic Die:
- Magic does not resolve. Character is Fatigued.
- No further effect.
- Restore 1 Magic peg.
- Other characters in 2 squares moved 1 square away and laid prone. They may spend Skill peg to avoid.
- This and other characters in 2 squares gain 1 Magic peg (may exceed starting value).
- Resolve effects as if 1 extra peg was spent. Cannot be resisted.
RESISTING: Spend Magic pegs to reduce X for spell targeting character.
CHANNEL: When used, spend at least one Magic peg to activate linked abilities.
MAGICAL ARMOUR: Spend action and up to X Magic pegs shown to gain Warded X. Rotate token used.
- X = magical armour value.
- If more hits taken, spend Magic peg to block each.
- If X>1, spend pegs/become Fatigued in Assessment Phase to maintain.
- Warded removed if damaged or Stunned.
NPC Activation (p.38)
If NPC has Event Card, follow stated targets and actions.
Otherwise target closest enemy, prioritising those in LoS and not in cover. Target does not change during turn unless target defeated or NPC engages different target.
Take actions following the NPC AI Action Chart (see page 39).
Adversary Phase (p.40)
See Dread Tracker for arrivals based on current band. Roll Magic Die and Revenant dice as appropriate to randomise numbers and entry locations. The grave icon = closest Grave Point to Adventurer.
If specified type not available, use next lowest ranked.
Activate in descending rank order.
NPC Phase (p.42)
Activate Wandering Beasts, Denizens and other NPC characters in descending rank order.
Assessment Phase (p.21)
- Remove Activation Counters.
- Resolve status effects (p.17).
- Any other 'end of round' effects. Check any Reminder counters in play.
- Next player clockwise becomes first player.
Status Effects (p.16)
- Fatigued: Must Rest or use actions to remove counters before taking other actions. Cannot make attacks of opportunity. If more Fatigued than Actions, replace all with Stunned.
- Wounded: -1 movement. In Assessment Phase, roll: 1-3 -1 Health, 4-6 no effect.
- Poisoned: In Assessment Phase, roll: 1-2 -1 Health, 3-4 -1 Skill (Health if none), 5 Fatigued, 6 Remove counter.
- Burning: In Assessment Phase, -1 Health. Cannot Rest. Is source of fire, attacks have Burn. May use actions to remove (p.16).
- Terrified: Cannot act voluntarily. During turn, must flee (p.16). May spend Skill to remove.
- Stunned: Cannot act voluntarily. Cannot suffer Fatigue. Remove counter instead of activating (p.17).
- Warded: Value is magical armour (p.37). May be boosted. Lost if damaged or stunned. If 2+, maintain in Assessment Phase.
- Blessed: Spend to re-roll die or force re-roll of die against you.
Darkness (p.52)
- LoS limited to short range against targets in the dark.
- -1 to attack rolls, no forceful hits.
- All Climb/Jump actions fall on a blunder. Safe distance is zero.
- NPCs prioritise targets in light.
Renown (p.58)
Spend to:
- Shuffle 1 Novice card into deck before game.
- +1 hit to Persuade.
- Purchase item of any value in Market Phase.
- Adjust Inn roll by up to 2.
Other Important Pages
- Setting Up (p.18)
- Terrain (p.44-47)
- Traps (p.48)
- Large/Small Bases (p.49-50)
- Moving Objects (p.50)
- Sentries (p.53)
- Difficulty (p.58)
Campaign Reference
Escape Phase (p.60)
If Adventurers defeated, choose:
- Rescue Mission (p.60).
- Left for Dead – roll:
- Permanently dead, equipment lost.
- Miss two quests.
- Equipment lost.
- Miss one quest.
- Pay 5 Guilders x rank or treat as 1.
- No effect.
Reduce roll by 1 for each Wounded/Poisoned/Burning counter. Blessed may be used.
Advancement Phase (p.62)
- Earn XP:
- Rank 1-2 rows: survived game.
- Rank 3-4 rows: survived + completed objective.
- Rank 5 row: special – see p.62.
- Spend XP – apply to Skills/spells.
- Level Up – if row filled, increase stats (p.63).
Market Phase (p.64)
- Take quest rewards.
- Sell items.
- Buy any items up to 10 Guilders.
- Buy 1 item per Adventurer at up to 10 Guilders x rank (no limit for rank 5).
- 1 random rare is available to buy.
- Hiring Adventurers:
- Draw 3 random characters with random classes. Add Adventurers previously hired temporarily. Any may be hired at full price.
- Chosen Adventurer and Class may be temporarily hired (1 game) at 25% cost.
- NPCs that joined party may be hired at 50% cost.
- Repair Items:
- Common: 1 Guilder
- Uncommon: 3 Guilders
- Rare: 5 Guilders
- Upkeep: Pay 1 Guilder per Adventurer per rank + 1 for each that took part in latest quest.
Rest Phase (p.66)
Choose Inn (2 Guilders per Adventurer) or Wilderness (free). Then roll:
INN
- 1-2: Choose: Bless all Adventurers or random rank 1 Adventurer gains 1XP.
- 3-4: Roll again:
- 1-2: Take random uncommon token.
- 3-4: Draw 2 random uncommon and one rare token. May purchase any at sell price. Roll for each – on a 1 discard it.
- 5-6: At start of next game either: look at top 3 Events, shuffle Traps back in, return rest; or look in searchable terrain piece.
- 5-6: Roll again:
- 1: -1 Health for random Adventurer.
- 2: Take Provisions.
- 3-4: Gain 2 Renown.
- 5-6: May spend X Guilders. Flip a coin – if you win, receive 2X.
WILDERNESS
- 1: Lose D6 Guilders. Random Adventurer loses two items. They may suffer -1 Health and -1 Skill to avoid all effects.
- 2: Roll again. Random Adventurer starts next game with 1-3 = Wounded, 4-6 = Poisoned.
- 3-4: Roll for each party member. They start next game with: 1-2: -1 Health; 3-4: -1 Skill; 5-6: -1 Magic.
- 5-6: No effect.
Credits
BATTLE SYSTEMS TEAM Colin Young, Stewart Gibbs, Wayne Abela, Simon Britton, Jon Cartwright. GAME DESIGN Stewart Gibbs, Colin Young. STORY Wayne Abela, Adam Smith. CHARACTER & SETTING DESIGN Colin Young, Wayne Abela. LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN Kev Brett, Jon Cartwright, David Lanza. COVER AND CHARACTER ART Nick Greenwood. SCULPTING Barruz Studio, Marcus Johnson. PAINTING Axia Painting Studio, Angel Giraldez. PLAYTESTING Ben Chapple, Gilberto Guillen, David Hebart-Coleman, Stuart Humpheryes, Andy Jackson, Jason Jardine, Joseph Marty, Keith McCoy, Rob Torrington, Kevin Yarroll.
Maladum® and all associated characters, names, places and things are ™ and © Battle Systems Ltd 2024. Version 1.01 Printed October 2024.