Massive Darkness: A Quest of Crystal & Lava
Massive Darkness: A Quest of Crystal & Lava Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Campaign Rules
Defeat the shamans. The heroes win the campaign if they defeat both wandering monsters that appear in the zones with lair tokens.
Crystal zones. Crystal zones glow with a greenish light and reflect any sound, turning it into a sweet, soothing melody. Be careful: this place may bewitch you.
Crystal zones are considered light zones, while corridors on crystal tiles are considered Dusk.
When a hero finishes his activation in a crystal zone, he must roll one blue defense die and immediately apply the following effects according to the result:
The printed table has three rows, each with an icon and text:
- No effect (blue icon): No effect.
- Shield icon: The hero heals 1 wound.
- Bubbles icon: The hero gets 2 wounds and is Stunned.
Lava zones. Speaking without exaggeration, this is hot ground. Lava flows close to the surface, scorching feet and releasing poisonous fumes. Lava corridor zones are considered light zones, while all rooms on lava tiles are considered Dusk.
Each hero who finishes his activation in a lava corridor zone immediately receives 1 wound. This cannot be prevented. Enemies are familiar with these places and ignore this rule.
Some special rules may apply to lava zones according to the quest. Each special rule is explained in the corresponding quest.
Quest 1: Crystal Cave
We are Lightbearers, yet we found no one willing to show us the way. All these people are either frightened or already dead (which, for us, comes to the same thing). No matter! We quickly found a worn path through the forest to the cave entrance. We heard the crystals singing before we smelled the foul stench of the Darkness's minions. We intend to cleanse this place by playing our music with our weapons. Loud! Louder!
Tiles needed: 10V, 11V, 14V.
Quest Goals
Explore the crystal cave! To win, complete the quest objectives.
Kill the monster. Kill the wandering monster that appears on the lair token.
Clear the lair. Place both artifact tokens in the zone with the lair token.
Special Quest Rules
Monster lair. A zone containing a lair token is considered a special location. When the door to this room is opened and the door card is played, draw a wandering monster card and place the corresponding figure on the zone with the lair token.
Two halves of a whole. Each hero may perform a Pick Up action to take an artifact token in his zone. This does not give an artifact card. Each artifact token represents half of an artifact, which must be combined to clear the lair. Each hero carrying an artifact token may spend an action in the zone with the lair to place the artifact token in the zone with the lair token.
Legend (quest 1 map key, as printed): Hero start zone; Level 1-3 tokens; Door; Lair; Artifact; Exit.
Quest 2: Toward the Heat
We are used to meeting the Darkness's minions in dark, cool and damp places. As soon as we entered this place, the air was driven from our lungs by a wave of heat rising from the depths of the mountain. Worse still, it mixed with the stench of poisonous vapours and the refuse of the creatures living here. On top of that, the lava stream reflects off the crystals with a monotonous low hum. This is not a backdrop. What is happening here?
Prepare tiles 12R, 14R, 15R.
Quest Goals
Destroy. Kill the wandering monster that appeared on the lair token.
Special Quest Rules
Monster lair. A zone containing a monster lair is considered a special location. Do not draw a door card when you open it: immediately draw a wandering monster card and place the corresponding miniature on the zone with the lair token.
Artifact! A hero who picks up an artifact token receives a random artifact card.
Legend (quest 2 map key, as printed): Hero start zone; Level 1-3 tokens; Lair; Artifact; Door; Exit.
Quest 3: Dissolve in the Music
We ignored the rumours that the crystal caves drive people out of their minds. Well, we have been listening to them for hours now. Dizziness and irritability are mounting and we are clearly lost. In any case, not for long: before us lay yet another nest of monsters. We will drink some poison and then question them.
Prepare tiles 10R, 12R, 13V, 14R, 15V.
Quest Goals
Find and neutralize. The heroes win if they capture three wandering monsters (see special rule).
Special Quest Rules
Swarming with monsters. At the end of each round, roll 1 red die, and if there is a star icon (☆ on the scan), place a wandering monster on one of the available lair tokens. After a wandering monster appears this way, flip the lair token over. That lair no longer spawns monsters.
If at the end of a round there are no lair tokens face up and there is no more than one wandering monster in play, flip all lair tokens face up.
Net. A hero may pick up an artifact token and keep it or sell it as if it were an item. This artifact token represents a net, with which a wandering monster can be caught (see below).
Net and cloak. A hero may pick up a library token and keep it or sell it as if it were an item. This token represents a net, with which a wandering monster can be caught (see below).
The hero who first picks up a library token also receives a magic cloak, which grants him the Sneaky ability (Проныра in the translation) until the end of the quest. Place the treasure token face down on the hero card as a reminder.
Capturing a monster. A hero who has a net (an artifact or a library token) may try to capture the wandering monster standing in his zone.
Spend an action to roll 2 red dice. If the number of sword icons is greater than or equal to the wandering monster's remaining health, it is considered captured. Remove it from the board, discard the net token, all heroes receive 5 XP, and the hero who captured the wandering monster takes its treasure. If the capture attempt fails, the net is not discarded, but the wandering monster will counterattack at the end of the hero's activation.
Solo rule. Instead of rolling 2 red dice to capture a wandering monster, roll 1 red die.
Legend (quest 3 map key, as printed): Hero Starting Zone; Level (Level 1 to 3); Doors; Lair; Artifact; Library; Exit.
Quest 4: Lava Bridge
The song of the crystals soothes us, but the heat becomes unbearable as we descend deeper. We had to change our route when we crossed something resembling a solid fortification. The Darkness is preparing something in the heart of the volcano. A sentry we questioned told us about a fragile bridge not far from here. We must cross it as quickly as possible if we want to prevent the coming invasion.
Prepare tiles 11R, 12V, 13R, 15V.
Quest Goals
Complete all the goals to win.
Destroy the spider. Kill the wandering monster Giant Spider, which starts on the board.
Collect the map. Collect both parts of the map, which are represented by artifact tokens.
Cross the bridge. All heroes must reach the exit. Any hero may escape through this zone at the end of his activation if there are no enemies in it.
Special Quest Rules
Setup. Find the Giant Spider card in the Great Wandering Monsters deck and place its miniature as shown in the diagram.
Guardian of the bridge. The Giant Spider, which starts on the bridge, cannot move and ignores the effects of event cards.
Wobbly bridge. At the end of each round, roll 1 yellow die. Each sword icon deals 1 damage to a column. When a column takes 4 damage, it is destroyed and damage starts to be dealt to the next column. If all three columns are destroyed, the bridge is removed from the board.
If the heroes manage to kill the Giant Spider, the yellow die is no longer rolled and the columns take no further damage.
Secret map. Artifact tokens are pieces of a secret map. Each hero may spend a Pick Up action to take a token in his zone.
Legend (quest 4 map key, as printed): Hero starting zone; Exit; Door; Column; Giant Spider; Artifact; Levels 1-4.
Quest 5: Circle of Fire
We must be close to our goal. The heat is unbearable even for monsters. The floor moves together with the lava flowing beneath it. We are moving along the crust of lava, which rushes swiftly forward. There is no way back, but we can still leap into a room to stop. The only path open is forward and down. Where does it lead?
Prepare tiles 10R, 11R, 13R, 15R.
Quest Goals
Clear the air. When the heroes can enter the central room, they must kill all enemies that appear in it.
Special Quest Rules
Lava flow. Each hero who ends a movement action in a lava zone is immediately swept away by the lava flow. Move the hero's miniature one zone, following the arrows on the scenario map. Enemies ignore this effect, and a hero in a zone containing a monster cannot be moved out of it by the flow.
Solid fortification. The room in the centre of the board is sealed and cannot be opened normally. To open its door, the heroes must first destroy all 4 columns scattered around the map. To destroy a column, a hero must deal 5 damage to it. After the last column is destroyed, the door opens immediately. Follow the usual door-opening rules, and also place a wandering monster in the zone with the lair token. The quest reaches level 5 only when the central room is open.
Isolation. Ignore monster cards that try to summon monsters on the level 5 token.
Artifact. A hero who picks up an artifact token receives 1 random artifact card.
Legend (quest 5 map key, as printed): Levels 1-5; Hero starting zone; Exit; Lair; Doors; Artifact; Columns. The lava-flow arrows are shown on the scenario map.
Quest 6: Stairway to Hell
We are as close to the core as possible, and now we understand what is happening here: the Darkness's lackeys are trying to wake the volcano. Only one thing remains: interrupt the ritual and kill anyone who stands in our way. The shamans have locked themselves in the crystal halls. We will destroy the enchanted locks that hinder our passage and put an end to this once and for all. The Darkness will soon learn that the Lightbearers are far more dangerous, and far harder to hold back, than the lava.
Prepare tiles 10V, 11V, 12R, 13R, 14V, 15R.
Quest Goals
Defeat the shamans. The heroes win the campaign if they defeat both wandering monsters that appear in the zones with lair tokens.
Special Quest Rules
Crystal doors. Two doors, highlighted on the map, are magically sealed. They cannot be opened until the heroes find 4 gemstones (see below).
Find gemstones. After a hero kills a guard (a leader, an agent or a wandering monster; the Russian word вожак is rendered as "leader"), roll the RED die. If EXPLOSION is rolled, the heroes find 1 gemstone. If CRYSTAL is rolled, the heroes find 2 gemstones. Otherwise nothing happens.
Shaman. When one of the crystal doors opens, do not draw a door card. Simply place a wandering monster in each of the two zones with a lair token. These wandering monsters are harder to kill. After a hero has rolled all his attack dice and used all the rerolls available to him, remove all dice that show neither EXPLOSION nor CRYSTAL. Apply any other skill as normal.
Artifact. A hero who picks up an artifact token receives a random artifact card.
Legend (quest 6 map key, as printed): Crystal door; Hero starting zone; Lair; Artifact; Levels 1-5; Doors; Exit.