Mistfall: Heart of the Mists Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Read These Rules
  • Not Your First Time?
• Part I: The Essentials
  • Cards
    • Hero Cards
    • Enemy Cards
    • Ally Cards
    • Encounter Cards
    • Hero Charters
    • Quest Charter
    • Time Charter
    • Location Tiles
  • Other Components
    • Game Tokens
    • Wooden Cubes
    • Player Aids
    • Party Token and Base
    • Rules of Play and Quest Guide
  • The True Essentials
    • The Golden Rule
    • Victory and Defeat
    • Number of Heroes
    • Track Movement
    • Keywords
    • Game Areas
  • Game Setup
    • Hero Setup
    • Quest Setup
• Part II: Playing the Game
  • Round Summary
  • Phase Detail
    • Reinforcement Phase
      • Reinforcements Box
      • Reinforcements Track Movement
      • Reinforcements Track Reset
      • Time Track Movement
    • Travel Phase
      • Location Status
      • Location Adjacency
      • Party Relocation
      • Scouting
      • Extended Movement
      • Dispersing Enemies
      • Encounter Check
      • Drawing Encounters
      • Encounter Setup
      • Encounter Setup Rules
    • Pursuit Phase
      • Highest Enemy Focus
      • Enemy Movement and Reducing Enemy Focus
    • Hero Phase
      • Hero Turns
      • Actions During a Hero Turn
      • Purchasing Advanced Feats
      • Resting
      • Ending Your Hero Turn
      • Resolving Actions
      • Hand and Hero Area Actions
      • Hero Area Restriction
      • Action Range
      • Mobility Range Bonus
      • Action Conclusion
      • Generating Enemy Focus
      • Enraging Enemies
      • Discarding Cards for Keywords
      • Common Action Effects
        • Drawing Cards
        • Discarding and Burying Cards
        • Moving Enemies
        • Attaching Cards
        • Placing Tokens
      • Healing Damage
      • Dealing Damage to Enemies
        • Check Vulnerabilities
        • Damage Total
        • Eliminating Enemies
        • Gaining Resolve
        • Interrupting Actions
        • Reflexes
        • Embedded Actions
        • Inheriting Keywords
      • Ending the Hero Phase
    • Defence Phase
      • Assigning Allies to Block
      • Activating Enemies
      • Enemy Special Abilities
      • Cancelling Damage
      • Burying Cards
      • Hero Elimination
      • Ally Elimination
      • Resolving Conditions
      • Condition Effects
    • Encounter Phase
      • Ending an Encounter
      • Encounter Aftermath
        • Discarding Active Encounter
        • Dispersing Enemies
        • Improving Active Location
        • Receiving Rewards
        • Party Rest
        • Resetting Focus
    • Time Phase
      • Darkness Track
      • Time Track
      • Raging Enemy Icon
      • Event Number
      • Time Charter Objective Tokens
    • Congratulations!
• Part III: The Fine Points
  • Gaining Enemy Focus During the Pursuit Phase
  • Multiple Reflexes in Response to a Single Effect
  • When to Discard Cards
  • Resolving Track Effects
  • Returning Enemies to the Quest Area
  • Action Source
  • Action Range and Target
  • Optional and Mandatory Effects
  • Effect Costs
  • Improvement Limits
  • Modifying Ally Actions
  • Skipping Phases
  • Action Immediacy
  • Hero Restoration Values
  • Limits to Regular Actions and Ally Actions
  • Heroes Eliminated During a Special Encounter
  • Enemies Eliminated by Vulnerabilities
• Part IV: Variants
  • Higher Difficulty Levels
  • Combined Turn Variant
  • Time Card Variant
  • Tuned Reward Deck Variant
• Part V: Glossary
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • V
  • W
• Credits

How to Read These Rules

This rulebook is divided into five main parts:

Part I: The Essentials will present to you the components and the most basic concepts of the game, including its setup. Within you will also find the answers to the two most important questions: "When do we win?" and, naturally, "When do we lose?"

Part II: Playing the Game will walk you through a full round, discussing what happens during each of the Phases, and presenting a vast majority of rules you will need to know to play the game.

Part III: The Fine Points will discuss the more complex issues and edge cases that appear during the game. You should have a pretty good grasp of the game before you reach this part of the rules, but as Heart of the Mists is a game with multiple interacting card effects, you may encounter situations that require a more in-depth explanation, which you should find in this section.

Part IV: Variants introduces three new options when playing the game. Two of the options can only be used with Heart of the Mists, and one can be used only if you combine this set with Mistfall. In this section you will also find information of different difficulty levels for the game.

Part V: Glossary provides you with an alphabetic list of different terms used in the game. It is the place to go to when you are looking for quick reminders during the game.

Not Your First Time?

If you are already a veteran of Mistfall, you can skip reading the rules and instead go to www.nskn.net to download the Rules Supplement that details all of the rules modifications and additions brought on by the expansion.

Part I: The Essentials

Your copy of Heart of the Mists should come with the following components:

328 Cards:

• 192 Hero Cards
• 8 Ally Cards
• 28 Reward Gear Cards
• 72 Regular Enemy Cards
• 5 Special Enemy Cards
• 18 Regular Encounter Cards
• 5 Special Encounter Cards

22 Location Tiles:

• 7 Deadlands Locations
• 7 Wildlands Locations
• 7 Borderlands Locations
• 1 Haven Location

8 Boards:

• 6 Double sided Hero Charters
• 1 Double sided Quest Charter
• 1 Double sided Time Charter

150+ Tokens:

• 50+ Wound Tokens [Wound] (values 1 and 3)
• 40 Condition Tokens
• 30 Resolve Tokens [Resolve]
• 20 Objective Tokens [Objective]
• 6 Quest Tokens
• 1 Party Token (with attachable base)

2 Booklets:

• Rules of Play
• Quest Guide

4 Player Aids

7+ Wooden Markers

Cards

Hero Cards

There are two types of Hero Cards: Feats and Gear. Starting Feats and Starting Gear are the backbone of your Hero. They will form your deck and starting tableau of cards. The Advanced Feats and Reward Gear can be acquired during the game.

Enemy Cards

There are two broad types of Enemies: Regular Enemies and Special Enemies. Regular Enemies are separated into three Enemy decks you will be drawing from during the game. Special Enemies are never shuffled into Regular Enemy decks. Instead, only one is used depending on the Quest you choose to play, and set aside as the main villain of the story. Special Enemies are easily identifiable, as their cards are double-sided. The Quest will tell you how much Life [Life] a Special Enemy has.

Ally Cards

Allies are helpers you can take with you on your quests. During play, they will lend you their abilities, and even help you fight Enemies you encounter. Ally cards are similar to Enemy cards, but just like Special Enemies, their cards are double-sided.

Encounter Cards

These cards contain the opposition you will face in the course of your Quest. As you move through the world of Heart of the Mists, you will draw Regular Encounters to spawn Enemies and set up challenges for your Heroes. Each Encounter will also tell you how to beat it, and thus get closer to your final goal.

The Special Enemy cards will each come with their own Special Encounter, one you set aside for use at the final location. When facing the Special Enemy, you will use its associated Special Encounter instead of a Regular Encounter.

Hero Charters

Each Hero Charter provides you with some basic information about your Hero: their name and class, as well as their Special Abilities and Proficiencies. The Hero Charter also helps you track the level of interest Enemies are taking in you, and organize your personal play area, pointing to where you should put your Hero Cards in play, Enemies that are currently pursuing you, as well as your deck and discard piles.

Quest Charter

The Quest Charter allows you track the state of the Quest: it tells you the numbers of arriving reinforcements and shows you how much time you have left to take down the Special Enemy.

Time Charter

The Time Charter governs a crucial aspect of the game: how fast you will be approaching the end of the Quest every turn. The actions of your Heroes will influence this speed every round.

Location Tiles

During your Quest, you will be moving around a board built using Location tiles. Most Locations introduce their own Special Rules, and the type of Location your party is currently at usually determines the type of Enemies you will be facing there. Locations also influence the rate at which your Heroes heal during the game.

Other Components

Game Tokens

Most game tokens are used to track the health of Enemies and Allies and any Conditions characters are suffering from. Quest Tokens are special, as their abilities are always regulated by the rules of the Quest you are currently playing.

Wooden Cubes

Cubes are used to mark the state of different game tracks. Typically you will use a maximum of 7 cubes (with 4 players), but your copy of Heart of the Mists might come with a surplus of cubes, just in case.

Player Aids

The 4 double sided sheets summarize most rules of Heart of the Mists and serve as a handy reminder of what happens during each Game Phase, as well as the meaning and use of different game symbols.

Party Token and Base

The party token is used to track the movement of your party around the board. To assemble it, simply slide the cardboard chit into the plastic base.

Rules of Play and Quest Guide

These two booklets (one of which you are holding in your hand now) provide you with the rules of the game, and the rules as well as the back story of all the Quests available in Heart of the Mists.

The True Essentials

Before we move on to game setup, these are a few of the most essential rules of Heart of the Mists.

The Golden Rule

Often cards will tell you to perform actions prohibited by this rulebook. Whenever such a conflict occurs, the card rules trump the rules written herein. It may also happen that rules from different cards contradict each other. If one card allows you to do something, while another card disallows that same thing, you have to adhere to the latter. No means no, even if another card says yes.

Victory and Defeat

Generally, you win the game if you successfully end the Special Encounter introduced by the Quest you have chosen. In most cases this means that you have to eliminate the main villain of the Quest.

You lose the game when one of the following things happens:

1. One of the Heroes is eliminated before your party reaches the Location of the Special Enemy.
2. All of the Heroes are eliminated while the party is at the Location of the Special Enemy.
3. Your time runs out, which is signified by the marker cube reaching the end space (marked appropriately with the words: "The End") of the Time Track.

Number of Heroes

Heart of the Mists scales its difficulty depending on the number of Heroes taking part in a Quest. Because of that, many numbers that appear in the game will be represented by this symbol: [Heroes]. Whenever you see it, just replace it with the number of Heroes that started the Quest. So, if you started the Quest with 3 Heroes and you encounter this: 2[Heroes]+1, simply read it as 7.

Track Movement

There are multiple tracks in the game, and many of the game components use shorthand to communicate how cubes move on those tracks. So, whenever you see an arrow followed by a number and an icon (much like this: right-arrow 2 [Enemy Focus], or this: right-arrow 1 [Reinforcement]), simply find the track with the corresponding icon, and move the cube either left or right a number of spaces equal to the number following the arrow.

If the arrow is followed by a ½, move the cube to the spot equal to half its current position, rounded down. You do not have to know all the names of the tracks by heart to play the game, simply use the icons you see to locate the proper tracks on the Charters.

Example I: The marker cube on Elatha's Enemy Focus Track [Enemy Focus] is on the "3" position, when an effect halves her Enemy Focus: left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus]. After halving 3 (and dropping fractions if needed), the marker cube is placed on the 1 position of the track.

Keywords

Keywords can be found on most Heart of the Mists cards: they are words written in italics. Keywords have no special meaning and no special rules attached to them, but sometimes card texts or other rules may refer to them. So, whenever you see a text that refers to a "Combat card" or an "Undead Enemy", simply look for any card with the word Combat, or for an Enemy card with the word Undead.

Game Areas

A game of Heart of the Mists is played both on a board formed using Location tiles, as well as in a few different zones on the table. For that reason, your general play area will be divided into:

• [Hero Area] Multiple Hero Areas, with one belonging to each player. Your Hero Area contains everything that belongs to your Hero, including cards you currently have at your disposal, and cards you will be able to purchase during the game, as well as Enemies which are pursuing you directly. Whenever a card text refers to a Hero Area, it uses this symbol [Hero Area] to represent the Hero Area.
• [Quest Area] One Quest Area, which holds all other game components, including the Quest and Time Charters, the token bank, Enemy and Encounter decks, the display of General Rewards you will be able to receive during the game, the game board (formed using Location tiles), and the Enemies already on the hunt for your Heroes, but not yet upon you. Whenever a card text refers to the Quest Area, it uses this symbol [Quest Area] to represent the Quest Area.

Game Setup

Game setup is divided into two main steps: Hero Setup and Quest Setup.

Hero Setup

Each player should start by choosing a Hero to play with. After you have made the decision, take the Hero Charter and all of the cards with your Hero icon printed on the left hand side of the card's artwork.

Now look at the Starting Gear section of your Hero Charter, find the cards listed there, and place them in your Hero Area [Hero Area], under your Hero Charter.

Before you continue, look at the top Fast Action of each of the cards you have just placed on the table. If the Fast Action text tells you to place any tokens on the card (like a number of Objective Tokens [Objective]), place them immediately, but ignore any other effects of the Fast Action.

Next, divide the cards into two separate piles: one containing all Basic Feats and Basic Gear cards, and the other containing Advanced Feats and Reward Gear. Shuffle the Basic cards and place them face down next to your Hero Charter to form your deck. The Advanced Feats and Reward Gear do not need to be shuffled. Simply place them face-up within easy reach to the side of your Hero Charter.

If you want to take an Ally with you on your Quest, choose one Ally card, and place it on the left of your Hero Charter in your Hero Area [Hero Area], with the Starting side (the side with the Starting Keyword) face-up. Please note, that some Quests might limit your Ally choices.

Next, take a marker cube and place it on the Enemy Focus Track [Enemy Focus] printed on your Hero Charter. The starting space of the cube is the one with a white number printed on a black background.

Finally, draw 5 cards from your deck to form your starting hand.

After all players have concluded their Hero Setup, take a single Resolve token [Resolve] from the bank (not 1 per Hero, but just 1 for the whole party), and place it within easy reach of all players, thus starting a common pool of Resolve. Then proceed to the Quest Setup.

Quest Setup

Start by placing the Quest Charter and the Time Charter next to each other. Place a marker cube on the starting positions of each track on those charters.

For the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement] and the Darkness Track, the starting positions are the ones furthest to the left.

For the Time Track [Time], the starting position is the one with the number of Hero icons [Heroes] equal to the number of Heroes starting the Quest. If any players decided to bring Allies along, move the cube on the Time Track one space to the right (right-arrow 1) for each Ally in any Hero Area [Hero Area]. Place 4 Objective Tokens [Objective] on the Objective Token Space of the Time Charter.

Next, shuffle each Enemy deck (Blue, Green, and Red) and the Encounter deck (using only Regular Encounters), and place them above the Quest Charter, leaving ample space for separate discard piles. Then, shuffle all General Rewards together, draw a number of cards equal to the number of Heroes plus 2 ([Heroes]+2), and place them face-up above the Enemy decks, forming a Reward Display.

Finally, refer to the Quest Guide to set up the board, place Special Enemies and Encounters, set up Quest Tokens, and find the starting Location of the Party Token. Return any unused components back to the game box, and get ready to start on your Quest!

Part II: Playing the Game

A game of Heart of the Mists is played over a number rounds, and ends when either the players have won as a team, or when they have been defeated by Enemies or the passage of time. Each round consists of seven Phases, first summarized in a quick Round Summary below, and then explained in detail.

Round Summary

1. During the Reinforcement Phase you will look at the active Encounter and at the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement] to see how many Enemies will emerge from the Mists. If there is no active Encounter, no Enemies will appear, no matter the state of the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement].
2. During the Travel Phase you will decide if you want to move into an adjacent Location, or stay where you are. A Location you enter for the first time usually starts out as Perilous, which means you will have to draw a new Encounter as you enter. You will also spawn Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area]. However, if you already are in a Perilous Location and an Encounter is already in play, you will not have to draw a new one.
3. During the Pursuit Phase the Enemies already on the table will pursue your Heroes. The first Enemy will pursue the Hero with the highest Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus]. However, as an Enemy enters a Hero Area [Hero Area], a Hero will halve their Enemy Focus left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus]. This will continue until all Heroes have 0 Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus], or all the Enemies have moved from the Quest Area [Quest Area] into Hero Areas [Hero Area].
4. During the Hero Phase you will resolve most of your Actions. Each Hero will get to act, often eliminating Enemies and adding Resolve [Resolve] to the common pool, but also making their Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] rise with each Action they perform. During this Phase you will also get to activate your Allies and purchase new cards from your Advanced Feats stacks. Finally, you will replenish your hand, provided you have enough cards still in your deck, or discard some cards, if you are holding too many.
5. During the Defence Phase each Enemy in your Hero Area [Hero Area] will activate once to attack your Hero or your Ally. After all Enemies have attacked, you will resolve any Conditions your Heroes, Allies, but also Enemies, might suffer from, and discard a single Condition token from each afflicted character (Hero, Ally or Enemy).
6. During the Encounter Phase you will look at the Encounter card to determine if you have managed to meet its End condition. If you have, you will resolve an Encounter Aftermath: a set of steps that will allow you to heal some damage, make your Location safer, and receive Rewards. If the Encounter you have beaten was the Quest Special Encounter, this is the moment you win the game.
7. During the Time Phase you will look at the Time Charter to determine how far the marker cube will move on the Time Track. If it passes through any marked spaces on the track, you will resolve special events or be attacked by Enraged Enemies. If the marker cube has not yet reached the final space of the Time Track, you will proceed to the Reinforcement Phase of the next turn.

Phase Detail

Reinforcement Phase

During this Phase, players will check to see if new Enemies need to be drawn and placed in the Quest Area [Quest Area]. When resolving this Phase, follow the steps below:

1. Check Reinforcements box.
2. Move marker cube on Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement] (and possibly on the Time Track), and draw Enemies.
3. Reset the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement].

Reinforcements Box

Start by checking the Reinforcements box of the active Encounter. If there is no active Encounter in play or the Reinforcements box is blank, no Reinforcements will arrive this turn.

Reinforcements Track Movement

If there is an active Encounter (that is, there is an Encounter Card in play), first move the marker cube on the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement] as indicated by the Reinforcements box of the active Encounter. Then look at the number in the space currently occupied by the marker cube: this is the total number of Enemy cards you will have to add to the Quest Area [Quest Area]. Drawing and adding Enemies to the Quest Area [Quest Area] is covered in the Travel Phase section below.

Example II: At the start of the Reinforcement Phase, the marker cube on the Reinforcements Track [Reinforcement] is on the "0" position. The Reinforcement box of the active Encounter is right-arrow 2 [Reinforcement], so the marker cube must now move 2 spaces to the right on the Reinforcements Track [Reinforcement], ending on the "2" position. This means 2 new Enemies will be drawn during this Reinforcements Phase.

Reinforcements Track Reset

Whether you drew new Enemies or not, move the marker cube to the starting position of the Reinforcement Track.

Time Track Movement

Whenever the marker cube on the Reinforcement Track [Reinforcement] moves over or stops in a space containing the Time symbol [Time], immediately move the marker cube on the Time Track [Time] one space to the right right-arrow 1 [Time]. If this triggers an Event or Enrages Enemies, first resolve the Event or the Enraging effects before you continue with other game effects. Enraging Enemies is explained in the Hero Turn section of the rules, and Events are covered in the Time Phase section.

Travel Phase

During this Phase you will decide if you want to relocate the Party Token, thus changing the current active Location (the Location currently holding the Party Token). When resolving this Phase, follow the steps below:

1. Relocate the Party Token (optional).
2. If you relocated, and there was an active Encounter at the previous location, suffer possible Retreat Penalty and Disperse Enemies.
3. If the new Location is Perilous or Overrun, draw and set up a new active Encounter.

Your ability to relocate is influenced by two main factors: the status of the active Location, and available adjacent Locations.

Location Status

A Location can be Safe, Perilous, or Overrun. A face-down Location is always considered Perilous. Whenever a Location tile is flipped face-up, mark its Perilous status by placing a single Wound token [Wound] on that Location tile. A Location that is Overrun is marked with 2 Wound tokens [Wound], whereas a Location that is Safe is one that is both face-up, and free of Wound tokens [Wound].

Whenever any game effect improves the status of a Location, remove a Wound token [Wound] from that Location Tile; whenever the status of a Location is degraded, a Wound token [Wound] is placed on that Location tile. A Location can never degrade below Overrun, or improve above Safe.

Location Adjacency

Two Location tiles are considered adjacent if they share a side (either partly, or completely). Location tiles that only share corners are never considered adjacent.

Party Relocation

The first step of the Travel Phase is deciding whether you want to move out of your current Location. Depending on the status of the active Location you are moving out of, you have the following options to choose from:

• If the active Location is Perilous or Overrun, you may only move into a Location that is both adjacent and Safe. If there is an active Encounter in play, this move will be considered a Retreat. After you relocate the Party Token, resolve the Retreat Penalty section of the active Encounter Card (before resolving any other relocation effects), and then discard it to the Encounter discard pile.
• If the active Location is Safe, you may move into any adjacent Location, regardless of its status. If the Location was already face-up, its status does not change. If you move into a face-down Location, flip it face-up immediately, and mark it with a single Wound token [Wound]. Any Quest Tokens on a Location that is flipped face-up, are also revealed.

Scouting

Immediately before relocating, you may spend 1 or more Resolve tokens [Resolve] from the common pool. For each Resolve you spend this way, you may flip face-up an adjacent Location (and all Quest Tokens on it). Since each Location starts the game as Perilous, mark the newly flipped Location's status with a Wound token [Wound].

Extended Movement

If you are moving out of a Safe Location, you may move through a contiguous string of adjacent Locations, by discarding 1 Resolve for each Location Tile you move through. You may only pass through Safe Locations, and you must end this move at a Location that is either Perilous or Overrun. This means that you are not allowed to use Extended Movement to relocate into another Safe Location.

Dispersing Enemies

After you conclude your Party Relocation, Disperse Enemies. Dispersing Enemies simply means that all Enemies are discarded from all Hero Areas [Hero Area] and from the Quest Area [Quest Area]. This is not considered Enemy elimination.

Encounter Check

After you relocate to a new Location (or decide to stay were you are) you need to perform an Encounter Check, by examining the status of the active Location. If the active Location is Safe, or if there is already an active Encounter in play (regardless of Location status) you do not draw a new Encounter. Otherwise, if there is no active Encounter and the Location is Perilous or Overrun, you must draw a suitable new Encounter and perform Encounter Setup.

Drawing Encounters

When drawing a new Encounter, first check the type of the active Location (Borderlands, Deadlands, or Wildlands). Then, draw an Encounter card and check its Keywords. If any Keyword matches the active Location type, the drawn card becomes the new active Encounter. If there is no match, discard the Encounter without any further effects, and draw again. Repeat this procedure until a new active Encounter is found. If you exhaust the Encounter deck, reshuffle it and continue.

Example III: The party has just entered the Red Tombs, which is a Deadlands Location. After marking its status as Perilous (by placing a Wound token [Wound] on the Location tile), players need to put a new Encounter into play. The first Encounter drawn from the Encounter deck is Rage of the Wilds. Since this Encounter has only the Wildlands Keyword, it is discarded without effect. The next Encounter drawn is Raging Bones. This Encounter has the Deadlands Keyword, so it is put into play, as it becomes the active Encounter.

Encounter Setup

After you have drawn a new active Encounter, place it on the Encounter space of the Quest Charter, and check its starting Enemies box to determine the number and type of Enemies that need to be added to the Quest Area [Quest Area]. Then, start drawing Enemies from the appropriate Enemy deck.

Drawing Enemies follows a similar general procedure as drawing Encounters. Whenever you draw an Enemy card, cross-reference its Keywords with those printed in the starting Enemies box. If there is a match (the Keyword Any is a wild that matches any other Keyword), place the Enemy in the Quest Area [Quest Area] as follows:

• If there are no Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area], this will start a line of Enemy cards.
• Otherwise, just place the card to the right of the rightmost Enemy in the line.
• If there is no Keyword match, discard the Enemy without further effects, and draw again.

Repeat this process until you have drawn and placed a number of new Enemies equal to the number printed in the starting Enemies box. Note that Enemies already present in the Quest Area [Quest Area] before you drew the Encounter do not count towards this total.

If you exhaust the proper Enemy deck for the first time, reshuffle it and continue drawing. If you exhaust it again during the same Encounter setup, stop drawing, and move the marker cube on the Time Track 2 spaces to the right (right-arrow 2 [Time]).

Example IV: Raging Bones has just become the active Encounter. With 3 Heroes in play, the starting Enemies box of the Encounter instructs the players to draw 2[Heroes]+1 Enemies that come from the Blue Enemy deck, and have the Skeleton Keyword, a total of 7 Enemies need to be added to the Quest Area [Quest Area]. The first Enemy drawn is a Flying Skull. Since this Enemy does not have the Skeleton Keyword, the card is discarded without effect. The next Enemy drawn is a Bone Wraith. This Enemy has the Skeleton Keyword, and so it is placed in Quest Area [Quest Area], thus starting the Enemy line. The next Enemy drawn is another Bone Wraith, followed by 2 Bone Serpents and 1 Bone Drake, all with the Skeleton Keyword. Then another Flying Skull is drawn and discarded, followed by another Bone Wraith, and another Bone Serpent. Now the total number of Enemies just placed in the Quest Area [Quest Area] is 7: 3 Bone Wraiths, 3 Bone Serpents, and 1 Bone Drake.

Encounter Setup Rules

After you have finished drawing Enemies for the Encounter, resolve any Special Setup rules of the Encounter cards. This may involve adding more Enemies to the Quest Area [Quest Area].

Pursuit Phase

During this Phase Enemies move from the Quest Area [Quest Area] into individual Hero Areas [Hero Area]. For each Enemy in the Quest Area [Quest Area], and starting with the one furthest to the left, you need to resolve the following steps:

1. Identify the Hero with the highest Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] (above 0).
2. Move the Enemy into the Hero Area of that Hero.
3. Halve that Hero's Enemy Focus left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus].

If at any point there are no Enemies left in the Quest Area [Quest Area], or no Hero has Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] above 0, the Pursuit Phase immediately ends.

Highest Enemy Focus

To determine which Hero has the highest Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus], look at the current positions of marker cubes on Enemy Focus tracks of all Heroes in the game. The further to the right a marker cube is situated, the higher the Enemy Focus of that Hero. In case of a tie between two or more Heroes, you must collectively decide who the Enemy will pursue.

Enemy Movement and Reducing Enemy Focus

After you have identified the Hero with the highest Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus], move the Enemy card from the Quest Area [Quest Area] into the proper Hero Area [Hero Area]. Whenever an Enemy is moved into a Hero Area [Hero Area] for any reason, reduce that Hero's Enemy Focus left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus]. When moving the marker cube left on the Enemy Focus Track, ignore any icons it passes through or lands on. If reducing your Enemy Focus drops it to 0 (the leftmost position of the track), no further Enemies will pursue you.

Example V: At the start of Pursuit Phase there are 4 Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area] (from left to right): 1 Ravenok Stalker, 1 Hunter Swooper, 1 Crawler Worm, and 1 Fell Drake. The Heroes in play are Elatha the Misthuntress and Aseke the Namekeeper. Elatha's current Enemy Focus is 4, and Aseke's is 3 (which is the starting position for both of them), so the first Enemy - the Ravenok Stalker - will enter Elatha's Hero Area [Hero Area]. As the Ravenok Stalker is moved, Elatha's Enemy Focus is reduced, by halving its current value. The marker cube on her Enemy Focus Track moves from 4 to 2. Now Aseke is the Hero with the highest Enemy Focus, so the Hunter Swooper is moved from the Quest Area [Quest Area] into her Hero Area [Hero Area]. Aseke's current Enemy Focus is halved, and the marker cube on her Enemy Focus Track is moved from 3 to 1. The Crawler Worm is now moved to Elatha's Hero Area [Hero Area], and her Enemy Focus is reduced to 1. At this point, since the Enemy Focus of Elatha and Aseke is the same, players may decide which of the two Heroes the next Enemy will pursue. They elect to move the Fell Drake into Elatha's Hero Area [Hero Area], which reduces her Enemy Focus from 1 to 0. Since there are no more Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area], the Pursuit Phase ends.

Hero Phase

The Hero Phase is the most important part of each round. It is during the Hero Phase that you will be able to perform most of your Actions, activate your Allies, and purchase new cards for your Hero.

Hero Turns

At the start of the Hero Phase determine who will get to play out their Hero Turn first. During a Hero Activation, you will be able to do the following:

• Resolve 1 Regular Action, 1 Ally Action, and any number of Fast Actions and Reflexes.
• Purchase cards from your Advanced Feats stack.
• Draw cards to refill your hand [Hand].

Resolving any Actions is optional, but refilling your hand [Hand] always ends your Hero Turn. After your Hero Turn is over, play passes to another player. Repeat this, until each player has had a chance to activate exactly once.

Actions During a Hero Turn

An Action is a card text that is preceded by the words: Regular Action, Ally Action, Fast Action, or Reflex. During your Hero Turn you may resolve, in any order, 1 Regular Action, 1 Ally Action, and any number of Fast Actions and Reflexes. Since no Actions are ever mandatory, you may elect to resolve all, some or none of those Actions above.

Purchasing Advanced Feats

During your Hero Turn you may purchase Advanced Feat cards belonging to your Hero. To purchase an Advanced Feat, spend a number of Resolve tokens [Resolve] from the common pool equal to the Resolve value of the card you wish to purchase, and then put the purchased card directly into your hand. The position of the card in your stack does not matter; you may purchase any card, provided there is enough Resolve [Resolve] in the pool to pay its value. Please note, however, that your personal Reward Gear may not be purchased this way.

Resting

If your party is in a Safe Location, and there are no Enemies in any Hero Areas [Hero Area] or in the Quest Area [Quest Area], all players may Rest. When you Rest, your Hero and each Ally in your Hero Area [Hero Area] receives a number of Restoration points [Restoration] equal to the Restoration value of the active Location. Additionally, each Hero also receives a number of Restoration points [Restoration] equal to their own Restoration value printed on their Hero Charter. Restoration is detailed under the Healing Damage heading later in the rules.

Ending Your Hero Turn

After you decide to end your Hero Turn (if you are unwilling or unable to resolve any further Actions), check the number of cards you are holding in your hand [Hand]. If you have fewer than 5 cards, draw from your personal deck until you have a total of 5 cards in your hand [Hand], or until your deck is exhausted. If you have more than 8 cards in your hand [Hand], discard cards until you have exactly 8 cards. Cards in your Hero Area [Hero Area], or cards attached to other cards do not count against any of those limits.

Resolving Actions

To resolve an Action, you first need to choose a card from your hand [Hand] or your Hero Area [Hero Area]. Some cards provide you with multiple Action options, but you are only allowed to choose one option at a time.

Hand and Hero Area Actions

Depending on whether a card is in your hand [Hand] or in your Hero Area [Hero Area], some of its Actions may be unavailable. Before resolving an Action, check the icon that precedes it:

• If it is a hand icon [Hand], the Action may only be resolved if the card is in your hand.
• If it is the Hero Area icon [Hero Area], the Action may only be resolved from your Hero Area [Hero Area]. If an Action of a card may only be resolved from your Hero Area [Hero Area], the card will usually present you with an option to place it there.

Hero Area Restriction

Whenever you resolve an Action that places a card in your Hero Area [Hero Area], check its Hero Area Restriction box. If it contains an infinity symbol, you may place it without any constraints. If it contains a letter and a number (such as A1 or B2), check all other cards currently in your Hero Area [Hero Area] with the same letter, and compare the numbers that follow it. The maximum number of cards with the same letter is equal to the lowest of all the numbers. If you go above, you must discard cards from your Hero Area [Hero Area] until you are no longer in violation of any restrictions.

Example VI: Elatha wants to place the Explosive Trap card in her Hero Area [Hero Area]. The Explosive Trap card has a H2 Hero Area restriction, and her Hero Area already contains 2 cards with the same restriction: Arrow Trap and Poison Trap. Immediately after placing the Explosive Trap in her Hero Area [Hero Area], Elatha must now discard 1 of the cards with the H2 Hero Area restriction.

Action Range

Next, you need to declare a target of the Action and check Range. Action Range is determined by the Range icon preceding the Action (①, ②, etc.). A Range ① Action may only target whatever is in your Hero Area [Hero Area], including your Hero Charter and any Enemies currently pursuing your Hero. A Range ② Action may target anything in any Hero Area [Hero Area], or in the Quest Area [Quest Area].

Mobility Range Bonus

Various effects and Special Abilities modify Action Range. While most of those modifications originate from card text, there is one important exception: whenever there are no Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area] you receive an automatic +① Range Bonus to any Action that targets Enemies.

Action Conclusion

If you resolved an Action from a card in your hand [Hand], discard the card into your personal discard pile. If you resolved an Action from a card in your Hero Area [Hero Area], leave the card where it is, unless the card text itself instructs otherwise.

Generating Enemy Focus

Most Actions generate Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus]. Whenever an effect description is followed by shorthand for marker cube movement on the Enemy Focus Track (such as right-arrow 1 [Enemy Focus], right-arrow 2 [Enemy Focus], etc.), you will have to generate Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] after you conclude performing the Action. After moving the marker cube, resolve in order the effects of each icon the marker cube moved through (including the icon it may have stopped on):

• The Reinforcement Track icon [Reinforcement] immediately moves the marker cube on the Reinforcement Track 1 space to the right (right-arrow [Reinforcement]). You also remove 1 Objective Token [Objective] from the Time Charter.
• The Raging Enemy icon [Raging] forces you to Enrage [Enrage] an Enemy in your Hero Area [Hero Area] (Enraging is covered in detail below). You also remove 1 Objective Token [Objective] from the Time Charter.
• If the marker cube reaches the end of the Enemy Focus Track, move it 7 spaces to the left (left-arrow 7), and continue its movement from there, ignoring any icons passed by while making the move left.

Enraging Enemies

When forced to Enrage an Enemy, look at all Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area]:

• If there are any Enemies with a Raging Enemy icon [Raging], choose one of them to Enrage [Enrage].
• If there are no Raging Enemies, you can choose any Enemy (in your Hero Area [Hero Area]) to Enrage [Enrage].
• If there are no Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area], you do not Enrage any Enemy.

When an Enemy becomes Enraged [Enrage], tilt its card to the side to mark this, and then resolve the instructions following the Enrage icon [Enrage] on their card. If the instructions indicate that the Enemy attacks, resolve the attack exactly as you would in the Defence Phase (explained on page 15). If the Enrage effect is followed by a Calm icon [Calm], return the Enemy card to its default position after you have resolved the Enrage effect. Otherwise, the Enemy will remain Enraged [Enrage] until discarded or calmed by another effect.

Example VII: After resolving an Action, the marker cube on Sigraed's Enemy Focus track is moved to the space containing the Raging Enemy icon [Raging]. Now Sigraed has to Enrage a Raging Enemy in her Hero Area [Hero Area]. Currently, there are 3 Enemies in her Hero Area [Hero Area]: 1 Redsand Thrall, 1 Dark Mistress, and 1 Corrupted Drake. Out of the 3 Enemies, only the Redsand Thrall and the Corrupted Drake are Raging Enemies, as indicated by the Raging Enemy icons [Raging] on their cards. Sigraed decides to Enrage the Redsand Thrall, and tilts his card to the right. The Enrage effect of the Redsand Thrall forces the player to discard 1 Wound token [Wound] from the Thrall, after which the Enemy is Calmed [Calm]. Since there are 2 Wounds on the Redsand Thrall, Sigraed removes 1 Wound, and then returns the position of the Redsand Thrall card to normal.

Discarding Cards for Keywords

Many Actions either require, or allow you to discard cards with a specific Keyword. Whenever you resolve such an Action, discard the cards immediately, as part of the process of resolving the Action. A card discarded just for its Keyword does not count as played, and you are not allowed to resolve any of its text, unless a Special Ability or effect states otherwise.

Common Action Effects

While many Actions in Heart of the Mists are unique, with their effects described by card text, there are still some general rules which you need to follow while resolving them.

Drawing Cards

Unless a draw Action specifically names a different target, any draw effects you resolve are applicable only to you. That is, you are allowed to use them in order to draw cards from your personal deck located in your Hero Area [Hero Area].

Discarding and Burying Cards

Many Actions will allow or force you to discard or Bury cards. A discarded card goes to the top of your discard pile. A Buried card is placed on the Burial pile. Cards are also Buried as an effect of Heroes being dealt damage. Moving cards out of the Burial pile is discussed in more detail in the Healing Damage section below.

Moving Enemies

Some effects allow you to move Enemies between different areas (Hero Areas [Hero Area] and the Quest Area [Quest Area]). Whenever an Enemy enters your Hero Area [Hero Area] for any reason, halve your Enemy Focus (left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus]), unless the description of an effect tells you not to reduce Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus]. Some card effect descriptions may include a reminder that Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] should be reduced when they are resolved.

Attaching Cards

Many Actions and abilities attach cards to other cards. To attach a card, simply place it under the card it is attached to in such a way that it is partly visible. The rules for attached cards are provided by the descriptions of cards that attach them, or cards that make use of attachments.

If an attachment is to be treated as "in your hand", it is treated as any other card you are holding with one exception: only cards which are actually part of your hand count against the draw limit of 5 or when determining if you must discard down to 8 cards.

Placing Tokens

Some Actions place various tokens on cards: Wounds [Wound], Conditions, or Objective Tokens [Objective]. Wounds are usually placed as a result of damage dealt to Enemies or Allies. Conditions and Objective Tokens are placed whenever an Action or an ability instructs you to do so. Conditions are explained later, in the Defence Phase.

Objective Tokens [Objective] serve various purposes, and their use is explained by the game elements that use them (such as the Time Charter, Encounters and Hero Cards). Whenever you are allowed to place Objective Tokens [Objective] on the active Encounter, or when an effect allows you to place Objective Tokens [Objective] on any card in play, you may place those Objective Tokens on the Time Charter instead.

Healing Damage

Some Actions allow Heroes and Allies to receive Restoration [Restoration]. Restoration works differently for Heroes than it does for Allies:

• For each Restoration point received, you can move exactly 1 card from your Burial pile to your discard pile, or from your discard pile to the bottom of your deck. When resolving this effect, you may choose freely from all cards in the pile you are moving the card from. This also means that you may stack the cards in any order when returning them to the bottom of your deck. You do not have to use all received Restoration [Restoration], even if you still have cards in your discard or Burial piles.
• For each Restoration point an Ally receives, remove 1 Wound token [Wound] from the Ally card.

Any Restoration that is unused is ignored. If an Action or an ability uses Restoration received by Heroes and Allies, any unused Restoration points are completely ignored, as if they were not generated in the first place.

Example VIII: Valkea is Resting in the Crystal River Location, so she receives a total of 5 Restoration points [Restoration]: 3 from the Location's Restoration value and 2 from Valkea's own Restoration printed on her Hero Charter. She decides to use 2 of her Restoration points to move 2 cards from her Burial pile to her discard pile. She moves 1 Pummel and 1 Focused Thrust. Next, she moves 1 Short Sword and 2 copies of Focused Thrust (including 1 she has just moved from the Burial pile) from her discard pile to the bottom of her deck. As she is allowed to place them there in any order, she chooses to place the Short Sword on top of the 2 copies of Focused Thrust, before placing all 3 cards at the bottom of her deck.

Dealing Damage to Enemies

If an Action allows you to deal damage, you may only target an Enemy with its effects. You are not allowed to deal damage to other Heroes or Allies, unless the description of the Action allows for or requires you to target them.

Whenever you target an Enemy with an Action that deals damage, perform the following steps:

1. Check Vulnerabilities.
2. Total the damage dealt and subtract defence.
3. Eliminate the Enemy and gain Resolve [Resolve].

Check Vulnerabilities

If the card you are using to deal damage has any Keywords that match the Keywords printed in the Vulnerabilities section of the targeted Enemy, for each such match place a number of Wound tokens [Wound] on the Enemy equal to the number of Wound icons preceding the list of Vulnerabilities.

Example IX: Melekai attacks a Bone Drake by resolving the Regular Action of his Mace. The Bone Drake's Vulnerability lists the Blunt and Flame Keywords preceded by 2 Wound icons [Wound]. Since the Mace has the Blunt Keyword, when Melekai chooses the Bone Drake as the target of the attack, 2 Wound tokens [Wound] are immediately placed on the Bone Drake.

Damage Total

Many Actions allow you to deal additional damage to an Enemy (often by discarding cards with specific Keywords). After arriving at the damage total, check it against the Enemy defence:

• If you are dealing Physical Damage [Attack], cancel damage based on target's Physical Defence [Defense].
• If you are dealing Magical Damage [Magic Attack], cancel damage based on target's Magical Defence [Magic Defense].

Then, if you dealt more damage than the relevant defence, place Wound tokens [Wound] on the target.

Eliminating Enemies

Whenever the number of Wound tokens [Wound] on an Enemy is equal to or greater than that Enemy's Life [Life], the Enemy is eliminated. Add Resolve [Resolve] to the common pool equal to the Enemy's Resolve value. Discard the Enemy card to the proper discard pile, returning the Wound tokens to the pool.

Gaining Resolve

Whenever an Enemy is eliminated (not simply discarded) for any reason, your party gains Resolve tokens [Resolve]. However, if a single Action or Special Ability eliminates more than 1 Enemy at the same time, you only gain Resolve equal to the highest Resolve value from all the Enemies eliminated.

Example X: After resolving the Regular Action of the Conflagration card Sigraed eliminates 3 Enemies: 1 Bone Serpent, 1 Bone Drake and 1 Flying Skull. The Bone Drake and the Flying Skull tie at the highest Resolve value of 2, so a total of 2 Resolve tokens [Resolve] are added to the Resolve common pool.

Interrupting Actions

As a general rule, no game effect may be interrupted by an Action. Each Action must fully resolve before another Action can start. There are two notable exceptions to this rule, detailed immediately below.

Reflexes

A Reflex is a special kind of Action which you can resolve out of turn. You may resolve a Reflex at pretty much any time, except when drawing cards. So, if you are in the process of drawing cards to refill your hand, drawing Encounters or Enemies, you must first finish drawing all cards, before you can resolve a Reflex.

Some Reflexes also modify other Actions. If a Reflex text specifically allows you to change another Action (by adding damage, or modifying defence or the number of cards drawn), then you are allowed to resolve it before the triggering Action is concluded, effectively interrupting it. If a Reflex does not specifically say that you can modify another Action with it, you are not allowed to resolve it while another Action is still in progress.

Embedded Actions

Some Actions require you to choose and resolve an Action of a different card. When resolving it, simply treat it as part of the Action that allowed you to resolve it, and ignore any restriction on the number of Actions you may perform this turn, as it is often the case that a Regular Action or a Fast Action allows you to resolve another Regular Action.

Example XI: At the start of her Hero Turn, Elatha resolves the Fast Action of the Quickshot card in her hand [Hand]. The Fast Action allows her to resolve any 1 Action of a Ranged card in her Hero Area [Hero Area], so she elects to resolve the Regular Action of her Long Bow to deal some damage to an Enemy. After completing the Action, she can still resolve 1 Regular Action, as the embedded Action of the Quickshot card was a Fast Action, so she decides to resolve the Regular Action of her Short Sword. Only now is her 1 Regular Action expended for the turn.

Inheriting Keywords

Whenever you resolve a Reflex that modifies another Action, or when resolving one Action as part of another Action (as explained in the Embedded Actions section above), the card with the Action receives all the Keywords of the modifying Reflex or the card that allowed you to resolve the embedded Action. However, no Keyword can appear on a single card more than once, so the Keywords already printed on the inheriting card are not inherited.

Example XII: Valkea resolves the Regular Action of her Shield Rush card to attack a Tormented Skeleton. The Regular Action allows her to resolve any 1 Action of a Weapon card in her Hero Area [Hero Area], so she decides to resolve the Regular Action of her Short Sword card. Before dealing any damage she checks Vulnerabilities: the Tormented Skeleton has a single Wound Vulnerability to Blunt and Flame. The Short Sword does not have any of those Keywords printed, but as it inherits all Keywords from the Shield Rush, it receives Blunt. This means that 1 of the Vulnerabilities is triggered, and 1 Wound token [Wound] is immediately placed on the Tormented Skeleton.

Ending the Hero Phase

After all players have activated their Heroes, the Hero Phase ends.

Defence Phase

During the Defence Phase all Enemies in all Hero Areas [Hero Area] will activate to deal damage to Heroes and Allies. When resolving the Defence Phase, follow the steps below:

1. Assign blocking Allies.
2. Activate each Enemy once.
3. Resolve Conditions.

Assigning Allies to Block

An Ally may be used to block a Regular Enemy during a Defence Phase. At the start of the Defence Phase, assign exactly 1 Regular Enemy to an Ally in your Hero Area [Hero Area]. The Enemy assigned to the Ally will deal its damage to that Ally. Assigning an Enemy to an Ally is entirely optional.

An Ally can only have a maximum of 1 Enemy assigned at any time. Even if the first assigned Enemy leaves play (or just the Hero Area [Hero Area]) before that Enemy is activated, you are not allowed to assign another Enemy to that same Ally again until the next Defence Phase.

Activating Enemies

During the Defence Phase you must activate each of the Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area] exactly once. An activated Enemy deals its attack damage to your Hero, or to an Ally that is blocking that Enemy. The number of damage points, as well as their type (Physical [Attack] or Magical [Magic Attack]) is printed in the Enemy combat box. Please note that Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area] do not activate during the Defence Phase.

Example XIII: During the Defence Phase Valkea is attacked by a Redsand Thrall. This Enemy deals 4 Physical Damage [Attack], as shown in its combat box. Valkea has a Round Shield in her Hero Area [Hero Area] and a Talon Block in her hand [Hand]. She first resolves the Reflex of the Talon Block card to cancel 1[Attack], and then the Reflex of her Round Shield to cancel another 1[Attack]. As she is unable to cancel any more damage, she must now move 2 cards to her Burial pile. She decides to move the Talon Block from her discard pile and a card from the top of her deck.

Enemy Special Abilities

Most Enemy Special Abilities are active only when in the Enemy is in a Hero Area [Hero Area], as shown by a Hero Area icon [Hero Area] preceding the ability description. However, some Enemies (most notably Special Enemies) possess abilities that may be triggered while in the Quest Area [Quest Area]. In such a case, the ability description will tell when and how to resolve it.

Cancelling Damage

In order to cancel damage dealt to your Hero, you may use Reflexes and Special Abilities that cancel damage of the type you were dealt (Physical [Attack] or Magical [Magic Attack]). You are allowed to resolve a sequence of Reflexes in order to cancel damage from a single source, though you can only resolve each Reflex once. Whenever the Ally is dealt any damage, an Ally uses their Defence in the same way an Enemy does when attacked by a Hero.

Burying Cards

Each uncancelled damage point dealt to your Hero is converted into a Wound. Whenever you receive a Wound, you must place a card from your hand [Hand], from your discard pile, or from the top of your deck in your Burial pile. This process is called Burying a card. You may only Bury a card from your Hero Area [Hero Area] if a game effect specifically allows for it, so you are not allowed to Bury Hero Area cards to satisfy Wounds.

Hero Elimination

If you receive a Wound, but have no cards to place in your Burial pile - because your hand [Hand], deck, and discard piles are empty or only contain cards that cannot be Buried - your Hero is eliminated.

Ally Elimination

Just like an Enemy, an Ally is eliminated when the number of Wound tokens [Wound] on their card is equal to or greater than that Ally's Life [Life]. When eliminated, an Ally does not provide any Resolve [Resolve] to the party, and their card is simply removed from the game (placed back in the box). Any Resolve values should be ignored unless playing with a higher difficulty variant as detailed found in the Variants section of this rulebook.

Resolving Conditions

After you have activated all Enemies in all Hero Areas [Hero Area], resolve all Condition tokens on all Enemies, Allies, and Heroes. Resolve the effect of each Condition token once. Then remove any 1 Condition token of your choice from that card or Hero Charter. The rest will stay there until the next Defence Phase or until they are removed otherwise.

Condition Effects

Each Condition has a different effect on its target:

• Poison, Burning: When resolving these Conditions on Enemies and Allies, place 1 Wound token [Wound] for each of those Condition tokens on its target. When resolving these Conditions on a Hero, the player must Bury a card as if uncancelled damage was dealt to their Hero. Damage from Conditions cannot be cancelled.
• Daze: This Condition is an ongoing effect: its target deals 1 less damage when resolving an attack for each Daze token it has. For each attack the Dazed Hero, Ally or Enemy resolves, reduce damage dealt by 1 for each 1 Daze token on that Hero, Ally or Enemy.
• Weakness: This Condition is an ongoing effect: your hand limits drop by 1 for each 1 Weakness token on your Hero Charter (so, with 1 Weakness you draw until you have 4 cards in your hand, or have to discard down to 7 cards at the end of your Hero Turn) to a minimum of 1. If an Ally has at least 1 Weakness token, you are not allowed to perform their Ally Action. If a Regular Enemy has at least 1 Weakness token, you can remove all Weakness tokens from that Enemy at any time to cancel that Enemy's Special Ability. Weakness has no effect on Special Enemies.

Example XIV: At the end of the Defence Phase, Aseke has a total of 4 Condition tokens on her Hero Charter: 2 Daze and 2 Burning. Daze has no effect to resolve at this time, but for each Burning Condition token, Aseke must Bury 1 card. After moving 2 cards from her discard pile to her Burial pile, Aseke can now discard 1 of the 4 Condition tokens on her Hero Charter. She decides to discard 1 Burning token.

Encounter Phase

During the Encounter Phase you will check the state of the current Encounter. If you have managed to satisfy the End conditions of the active Encounter card, your party will be able to Rest, receive some rewards, and make the active Location Safe (or at least safer).

Ending an Encounter

Each Encounter card introduces a number of rules, including rules for placing Objective Tokens [Objective], and the conditions required to End the Encounter successfully. Whenever you resolve the Encounter Phase, check if the End conditions are met. If they are not met, or there is no Encounter in play, simply continue directly to the Time Phase. If they are met, you will need to perform Encounter Aftermath, a procedure detailed below.

Encounter Aftermath

If you met the conditions of Ending the Encounter, follow the steps below:

1. Discard Active Encounter.
2. Disperse Enemies.
3. Improve Active Location.
4. Receive Rewards.
5. Rest.
6. Reset Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus].

Discarding Active Encounter

Before discarding the active Encounter, check for any Special Rules that may influence the rest of the Encounter Aftermath. Then, place the Encounter card on top of the proper discard pile. From now on, there is no active Encounter. If you were facing a Special Encounter, you have just won the game (though you are allowed to finish the Encounter Aftermath first)!

Dispersing Enemies

All Enemies still in play are discarded. This is not considered Enemy elimination. Enemies with the Relentless Special Ability are not discarded, though, as their Special Ability states that they stay in play even after Dispersing Enemies.

Improving Active Location

Remove 1 Wound token [Wound] from the active Location. This will improve the status of the Location from Overrun to Perilous, or from Perilous to Safe.

Receiving Rewards

Perform the following procedure twice:

Draw 1 Reward card from the reward deck and add it to the Reward Display. Take 1 Reward card from the Reward display and put it in any player's hand or place it under the Reward deck. If you place it under the Reward deck, you have the option to either add a number of Resolve tokens [Resolve] equal to its value to the common pool, or to spend Resolve to purchase a personal Reward.

When purchasing a personal Reward, choose 1 of the Personal Rewards belonging to your Hero (that you have not yet purchased), spend Resolve [Resolve] equal to its Resolve value, and place the card in your hand [Hand]. Heroes may receive any Reward cards, but only Gear cards that share at least 1 Keyword or a Hero Symbol with your Hero Charter may ever be placed in your Hero Area [Hero Area].

Party Rest

If the active Location is Safe, and there are no Enemies in play, each player may Rest. Resting during the Encounter Aftermath follows the same rules as Resting during a Hero Turn, found on page 10.

Resetting Focus

The final step of Encounter Aftermath is resetting your Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus]. Move the marker cube on each Hero Charter to its starting position. As always, when you move the marker cube left, ignore any icons it moves through.

Time Phase

During the Time Phase you will move the marker cube on the Time Track [Time] and, should you reach its final space, end the game in player defeat. In order to resolve this phase, follow the steps below:

1. Check the status of the Darkness Track.
2. Move the marker cube on the Time Track [Time].
3. Resolve Time Track effects.

Darkness Track

The current position of the marker cube on the Darkness Track will tell you how far you need to move the marker cube on the Time Track [Time]. Look at the number following the direction arrow, and then move the marker cube on the Time Track that many spaces to the right.

Time Track

As you move the marker cube on the Time Track [Time], carefully observe any spaces it passes through, as well as the one the cube stops on. After you conclude the movement, resolve all icon effect in the same order they appeared on the track.

Raging Enemy Icon

Each player must Enrage [Enrage] an Enemy in their Hero Area [Hero Area]. Enraging is explained in the Hero Turn section on page 10.

Event Number

Whenever you move on a white number printed on dark background, refer to the current quest in order to find out its effect. Note that some Quests provide no special effects for Events, in which case the Event Number is ignored.

Time Charter Objective Tokens

Whenever there are no Objective Tokens [Objective] on the Time Charter (during any Phase of the game), immediately move the marker cube on the Darkness Track one space to the right, and reseed the Time Charter with 4 Objective Tokens [Objective].

Whenever you are allowed to place an Objective Tokens [Objective] on an Encounter card or when an effect allows you to place Objective Tokens [Objective] on any card in play, you may place it on the Time Charter instead.

Congratulations!

You are now ready to play Heart of the Mists. The next part of the rules discusses a few of the more advanced concepts and explains possible conflicts you may encounter as you play. It also introduces two Variants: one you can use with Heart of the Mists, and one you may use when combining this set with the original Mistfall base game.

Part III: The Fine Points

This part of the rules discusses a few mechanisms more in-depth, providing answers needed in some more complex cases of interactions of different Actions and Abilities.

Gaining Enemy Focus During the Pursuit Phase

Some game effects may cause your Hero to generate Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] at the moment when an Enemy enters your Hero Area [Hero Area]. If this happens, first reduce your Enemy Focus normally, and only then gain more Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus].

Multiple Reflexes in Response to a Single Effect

You may resolve more than one Reflex in response to a single Action, but you may not resolve more than one Reflex from a single copy of a card at a time. However, this does not prevent you from using the same Reflex from different copies of the same card, if you have them in your hand [Hand] or Hero Area [Hero Area].

When to Discard Cards

When resolving an Action, any cards you discard are placed in the discard pile immediately. However, any cards you use to modify an Action in progress (that need to be discarded after the Action is concluded) are discarded only at the end of the Action.

Also, please note that you are not allowed to simply discard or Bury any of the cards from your hand [Hand] or Hero Area [Hero Area] at will. Cards may only be discarded or Buried when a game effect allows or requires you to do so.

Resolving Track Effects

Any track effect triggered by an Action (most commonly: track effects triggered by the Enemy Focus track) are resolved after the Action concludes and any cards that needed to be discarded as part of the Action are already in the proper discard (or Burial) pile.

Returning Enemies to the Quest Area

Whenever an Enemy moves from any Hero Area [Hero Area] into the Quest Area [Quest Area] place their cards at the rightmost position of the Enemy line. If multiple Enemies enter a Quest Area [Quest Area] at the same time, you may choose freely in what order you will place them there. If there are any Enemies in the Quest Area [Quest Area], the Enemies you return must be added to the existing Enemy line (but you can still choose the order in which the returning Enemies will be placed).

Action Source

In many cases, the source of an Action can be an issue in determining possible Reflex or special ability based responses. Generally, a non-damaging effect always originates from the card that carries the effect's description. Damage dealt by Heroes originates from the card used to resolve a damage dealing effect. Even if modified by other cards or triggering an Action on another card, it is the card used to start the Action that is the source of all damage dealt. Damage dealt by Enemies, Allies, and Encounters originates from their respective cards.

Action Range and Target

Some Actions receive extra Range when resolved by a player with a Hero Area [Hero Area] without Enemies. The +① Range bonus granted in this situation only affects Actions that target Enemies. Effects that target Heroes or Allies (such as healing or drawing cards) do not receive this bonus. Furthermore, effects that cancel damage always target damage dealt, and not the source of damage (an Enemy or an Encounter). This means, that such Actions also do not receive the +① Range bonus granted by an empty Hero Area [Hero Area].

Optional and Mandatory Effects

Unless a card text clearly states that you are allowed to use only a part of the effect, you must resolve all text of that effect, even if parts of it are detrimental. Only if a part of the effect is impossible to resolve are you allowed to skip it.

If an entire Action is completely impossible to resolve (like trying to resolve an Action that deals damage, when there are no Enemies in play), you are not allowed to resolve the Action at all.

Effect Costs

Some effect have an implied cost, usually described as: "do X to achieve Y". If you are unable to perform the first part of the effect, you are not allowed to use its second part, and thus unable to resolve the effect at all.

A cost can also be described on the card as an effect you must resolve after completing the Action. Unless its description includes the phrase "if able", you must resolve the effect fully, or resign from resolving it altogether. Remember however, that this does not prevent you from dealing damage beyond what is necessary to eliminate an Enemy, or generating Restoration that is then unused by its target.

Improvement Limits

Some Actions will allow you to discard or otherwise use "up to" quantities of cards or tokens. This means that you can choose any number between zero and the number given by the Action. Also, the number given is the maximum allowed.

Modifying Ally Actions

Ally Actions can be modified like any other Actions you resolve. If an effect modifies an Action that "you resolve" (or interacts with Actions like: "whenever any [Attack], [Magic Attack] or [Wound] is dealt"), it can also be used to modify any of the Actions printed on an Ally card.

Skipping Phases

Some game rounds will feature Phases with no real effects. Although you may technically "skip" them, they are never ignored completely for the purpose of any special effects (like Encounter Special Rules) that may occur during those phases.

Action Immediacy

Some Actions in the game modify printed abilities, attacks, or defence of Enemies or Allies. Unless otherwise stated in the effect description, such effects are not persistent. They remain in effect only for the duration of the Action they accompany, and end with its completion. Please note, however, that some effects will tell you exactly how long they will remain in play ("until the end of the current Phase", "until the end of the Hero Phase", etc.)

Hero Restoration Values

These values are only used when Heroes Rest. Simply receiving Restoration [Restoration] points does not allow you to add your Hero's Restoration value. Also, when a Restoration value is added to any Restoration points received, it is added before any other effects (such as receiving extra healing) are resolved, and thus is treated as part of the original value.

Limits to Regular Actions and Ally Actions

If an effect allows you to resolve a Regular Action or an Ally Action, the embedded Action can be resolved in addition to the 1 Regular Action and 1 Ally Action you are allowed to resolve each Hero Turn.

Heroes Eliminated During a Special Encounter

If a Hero is eliminated during the course of a Special Encounter, the game does not immediately end. Instead, all Enemies are moved from the Hero Area [Hero Area] of the eliminated Hero to the Quest Area [Quest Area], and the game continues. If at least 1 Hero is still in play when the Special Encounter ends, all Heroes (and all players) win the game as a team. Yes, this includes eliminated Heroes as well, so don't be mean to those fallen before the final resolution of your quest.

Enemies Eliminated by Vulnerabilities

Technically, an Enemy is eliminated only after the Action that targeted the Enemy card resolves completely. For that reason, its effect must first conclude, and then the Enemy is discarded.

Part IV: Variants

This section of the rules presents you with three different variants you can use while playing Heart of the Mists.

Higher Difficulty Levels

You can change the difficulty levels of the game by flipping different charters to their back sides. We do not recommend this for your first games, but if you are up for a greater challenge you may choose any number of the options below:

• Flip all Hero Charters to the Nightmare difficulty side (signified by the Special Enemy icon [Special]).
• Flip the Quest Charter to the Nightmare difficulty side.
• Flip the Time Charter to the Nightmare difficulty side.

Choosing all of these options will result in an almost impossible and certainly unfair game, so proceed with caution!

Regardless of the option or options you choose, whenever making the game more difficult, always also add the following rule: after an Ally is eliminated, remove a number of Resolve tokens [Resolve] from the pool equal to the Ally Resolve value, to a minimum of 0 remaining.

Combined Turn Variant

Instead of playing each Hero Turn separately, all Hero Turns are played at the same time. Each player is still allowed to resolve only 1 Regular Action and only 1 Ally Action during the Hero Phase, but Fast Actions and Advanced Feat purchases may be resolved in any player order and at any time, until all players decide to end their Hero Turns.

The Hero Phase ends with a sequence of card draws: players decide upon the order their respective Hero Turns end (in order to properly resolve any "End of a Hero Turn" effects), and after all players have so concluded their Hero Turns, the Hero Phase ends.

Time Card Variant

To play this Variant, you will need a set of Time Cards from the original Mistfall base game, or (for greater difficulty) a set of Nightmare Time Cards from the Time Cards Promo Pack. This variant is also only usable with Quests that do not provide effects for the Time Track Event Spaces.

To set up the game using this variant, first remove all "The Mists are Relentless" cards from the game and then shuffle the remaining Time Cards to form a Time Deck.

During the game, after the marker cube on the Time Track moves through or stops on a space with an Event, draw a card from the Time Track. Ignore any marker cube movement, and resolve only the Event part of the card, substituting any "?" icons (if present) with the appropriate number from the Time Track.

Tuned Reward Deck Variant

To make the game a little easier and more geared towards the Heroes you choose, you may decide to use only some of the General Reward cards available. You may remove any cards from the Reward deck before starting the game, as long as all players agree with the choice of cards being removed.

This variant is mostly recommended when combining Heart of the Mists with Mistfall, or when adding extra Gear cards from Sand and Snow without using the Lieutenants.

Part V: Glossary

Below you will find a list of game terms together with their short descriptions. Use this part of the rules whenever you need to quickly reference any of the rules of Heart of the Mists.

A

Active Encounter. The active Encounter is the Encounter currently in play. Only one Encounter can be active at a time. If there is an active Encounter, players do not draw a new Encounter under any circumstances. See also: Encounter, Encounter Aftermath, Encounter Setup, Special Encounter.

Active Location. The active Location is the Location the Party Token is currently on. Only one Location can be active at any given time. See also: Location, Location Status.

Adjacent Location. Two Location tiles are considered adjacent only if they share a side either partially, or completely. Locations that only share a corner are not considered adjacent.

Advanced Feat. A card belonging to a Hero (and bearing its symbol) that can be bought during a Hero Turn for Resolve tokens [Resolve] and added to that player's hand. See also: Hero Turn, Resolve Tokens [Resolve], Resolve Value [Resolve].

Ally Action. This Action can be resolved only once per Hero Turn, and only by the player who has the Ally card in their Hero Area [Hero Area]. See also: Hero Turn.

Attachment. Any card attached to another card. Attachments that are considered to be in a player's hand are not counted when drawing or discarding cards at the end of a Hero Turn.

Attack. Any Action or effect that deals damage (Physical or Magical) is considered an Attack. When a Hero deals damage to an Enemy, that Hero is considered to be attacking. When an Ally or an Enemy deals damage, that Ally or Enemy is considered to be attacking. When an Enemy is activated to attack, that Enemy deals damage as per its combat box. See also: Magical Attack, Physical Attack.

B

Burial Pile. A face-up pile of cards located in a Hero Area [Hero Area]. Whenever a card is Buried, it is placed in the Burial Pile. See also: Healing, Resting, Restoration, Restoration Points.

C

Calm. Reverting an Enemy card to its regular state (from being tilted). See also: Raging Enemies.

Cancelling Damage. Heroes only cancel damage by resolving effects that allow them to cancel a specific type of damage. Multiple effects that cancel one type of damage (Physical [Attack] or Magical [Magic Attack]) can be used to cancel damage from one source. Enemies and Allies cancel damage as per their combat box each time they are dealt any damage. See also: Attack, Magical Defence, Physical Defence.

Common Resolve Pool. A pool of Resolve tokens [Resolve] each player may draw from whenever they need to spend Resolve [Resolve] for any reason. See also: Encounter Aftermath, Feats, Scouting, Resolve Tokens [Resolve], Resolve Value [Resolve].

Condition Tokens. Each Condition token has its own effect, which targets a Hero (when on a Hero Charter), an Enemy, or an Ally (when on an Enemy or Ally card). Conditions are resolved at the end of the Defence Phase. For a complete list of Condition effects, go to page 16.

D

Dispersing Enemies. Whenever the Party Token moves to a new Location, all Enemies still in play are discarded into their respective discard piles. Players also disperse Enemies as part of the Encounter Aftermath. Please note that Enemies with the Relentless Special Ability are not discarded from Hero Areas [Hero Area] (as explained on each such card). See also: Encounter Aftermath, Enemy Elimination, Extended Movement.

Degrading Location Status. Whenever players degrade a Location status, they must place 1 Wound token [Wound] on that Location. A Location with 2 Wound tokens [Wound] may not degrade further (no more Wound tokens are added). See also: Improving Location Status, Locations, Location Status.

Draw Limit. When drawing cards at the end of their Hero Turn, a player should subtract the number of cards in their hand from their Draw Limit (which is 5, unless modified by an effect). If the result is higher than 0, that players should draw a number of cards equal to the result. See also: Hand, Maximum Hand Size.

E

Embedded Action. An Action that is resolved as part of another effect is called an Embedded Action. Embedded Actions can be resolved even if it would mean going above the limit of 1 Ally Action and 1 Regular Action per turn. See also: Hero Turn, Inheriting Keywords.

Encounter. A card that spawns Enemies and introduces its own set of rules for how players can End it successfully. See also: Active Encounter, Encounter Aftermath, Encounter Setup, Retreating, Special Encounter.

Encounter Aftermath. A procedure performed during the Encounter Phase. For a complete breakdown of Encounter Aftermath, go to page 16. See also: Dispersing Enemies, Resting, Restoration Value, Rewards.

Encounter Setup. Whenever a new Encounter becomes the active Encounter, first draw Starting Enemies, and then resolve any setup rules printed on the Encounter Card. See also: Active Encounter, Encounter Aftermath, Special Encounter.

Enemy Elimination. Whenever the number of Wound tokens [Wound] on an Enemy card is equal to or higher than that Enemy's Life [Life], the Enemy is eliminated. An eliminated Enemy is discarded, and a number of Resolve tokens [Resolve] equal to that Enemy's Resolve value is added to the Resolve common pool. Enemies discarded for reasons other than Wounds are not considered eliminated. See also: Common Resolve Pool, Resolve Tokens [Resolve], Resolve Value [Resolve].

Enemy Focus. A measure of how threatening a Hero appears to Enemies in play. During the Pursuit Phase, an Enemy will always move into the Hero Area [Hero Area] of a Hero with the highest Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] (players may choose how to break ties). See also: Enemy Focus Reset, Enemy Focus Track, Reducing Enemy Focus.

Enemy Focus Track. An Enemy Focus Track [Enemy Focus] is printed on each Hero Charter. Whenever an effect tells a player to gain or decrease Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus], the player should move the marker cube on the track an indicated number of spaces. Any icons the marker cube moves through or stops on requires a specific effect to be resolved. When the marker cube reaches its final (rightmost) space, move it immediately 7 spaces to the left, ignoring any icons on the way. See also: Enemy Focus Reset, Enrage, Raging Enemies, Reinforcement Track.

Enemy Focus Reset. As part of the Encounter Aftermath, each player should reset their Hero's Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus]. To reset Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus], place the marker cube on the black background space of the track, ignoring any track icons. See also: Enemy Focus Track, Enrage, Raging Enemies, Reinforcement Track.

Enemy Line. A row of Enemy cards face-up in the Quest Area [Quest Area]. When placing new Enemies (or moving any Enemies to the Quest Area [Quest Area] from a Hero Area [Hero Area]) into the Enemy line, place them from left to right. See also: Hero Area, Quest Area.

Enrage. To Enrage an Enemy, tilt its card to the side and follow the Enrage effect printed on the Enemy card (as detailed on page 11). See also: Calm, Raging Enemies.

Extended Movement. During the Travel Phase, players may decide to move through a contiguous line of Safe Locations to reach a Perilous or Overrun Location. In order to do so, they must pay 1 Resolve token [Resolve] from the common pool for each Location the Party Token crosses on its way. See also: Location Status, Party Relocation, Scouting.

F

Fast Action. A player may resolve any number of Fast Actions during their Hero Turn. Fast Actions may not be resolved outside of a Hero Turn, or after the player has started drawing cards to replenish their hand. See also: Ally Action, Hero Turn, Reflex.

Feats. One of the two categories of cards each Hero Deck consists of. Basic Feats start the game in a Hero deck, while Advanced Feats can be purchased during the game. See also: Advanced Feats, Gear.

G

Gear. One of the two categories of cards each Hero Deck consists of. Basic Gear starts the game in a Hero deck. Reward Gear can be purchased during Encounter Aftermath. See also: Advanced Feats, Encounter Aftermath, Personal Rewards.

H

Hand. The cards held by a player. Whenever a player hand is referred to in card text, it is abbreviated to the hand icon [Hand]. If the icon precedes an Action description, the Action may only be resolved if the card is in the player's hand. See also: Draw Limit, Maximum Hand Size.

Healing. Whenever a Hero or an Ally receives any Restoration [Restoration], that Hero or Ally is considered to be Healing. See also: Resting, Restoration, Restoration Points.

Hero Area. An area of the table belonging to one Hero. Enemies in a Hero Area [Hero Area] are considered to be pursuing the Hero. The Hero Area also contains Feats, Gear, a discard pile, and the Burial pile belonging to that Hero. Hero Areas are at Range ② of each other. See also: Quest Area, Range.

Hero Turn. During their Hero Turn, a player may resolve a Regular Action, an Ally Action, any number of Fast Actions, and any number of Reflexes (in any order). None of these Actions are mandatory. A player may also purchase Advanced Feats during their Hero Turn. A Hero Turn ends when the player draws cards to replenish their hand. For a complete breakdown of a Hero Turn, go to page 10. See also: Ally Action, Draw Limit, Embedded Action, Maximum Hand Size, Action, Fast Action, Reflex, Regular Action.

I

Improving Location Status. Whenever players improve a Location status, they must remove 1 Wound token [Wound] from that Location. A Location with no Wound tokens may not improve further (no more Wound tokens can be removed). See also: Degrading Location Status, Locations, Location Status.

Inheriting Keywords. Whenever an Action is modified by any effect originating from another card, all of the Keywords from that card are automatically transferred to the modified card. No Keyword may appear more than once on any card, so matching Keywords do not double. See also: Keywords, Vulnerabilities.

K

Keywords. A Keyword is an italicized word printed in the Keyword section of any card, or in the Vulnerabilities section of an Enemy. Keywords have no meaning of their own, but can be referenced by various game effects. See also: Inheriting Keywords, Vulnerabilities.

L

Locations. A game tile depicting one of the Locations of the game. Location setup varies depending on the Quest played. See also: Location Status, Scouting.

Location Status. A Location may be Safe (no Wound tokens), Perilous (1 Wound token [Wound]) or Overrun (2 Wound tokens [Wound]). Players may Rest only in a Location that is Safe (and only as long as there are no Enemies in play). A face-down Location is always considered Perilous. When it is flipped face-up for any reason, place 1 Wound token [Wound] on it to indicate its status. See also: Degrading Location Status, Improving Location Status.

M

Magical Attack. One of the two types of attacks in the game. Abbreviated to a number and Magical Attack icon (1[Magic Attack], 2[Magic Attack], etc.). See also: Attack, Magical Defence.

Magical Defence. A type of defence that cancels Magical Damage [Magic Attack]. Abbreviated to a number and Magical Defence icon (1[Magic Defense], 2[Magic Defense], etc.). Magical Defence of an Enemy or an Ally is subtracted from each separate attack. See also: Attack, Magical Attack.

Maximum Hand Size. The Maximum Hand Size of each Hero is 8. Whenever you have more than 8 cards at the end of your Hero Turn, you must discard down to 8. Effects that specifically change the Draw Limit do not modify Maximum Hand Size. See also: Draw Limit, Hand.

Mobility Range Bonus. Various effects and Special Abilities modify Action Range. While most of those modifications originate from card text, there is one important exception: a +① Range Bonus to any Action that targets an Enemy. A player receives it whenever there are no Enemies in their Hero Area [Hero Area].

O

Objective Tokens. These tokens do not have a function of their own. Instead, their function is defined by game elements that place or use these tokens. See also: Placing Objective Tokens.

P

Party Relocation. As part of the Travel Phase, you may move the Party Token to an adjacent Location. See also: Active Location, Adjacent Location, Dispersing Enemies, Location Status, Scouting.

Personal Rewards. A Reward Gear card with a Hero symbol is a Personal Reward. These cards can be purchased by players as part of Encounter Aftermath. See also: Advanced Feats, Encounter Aftermath, Gear.

Physical Attack. One of the two types of attacks in the game. Abbreviated to a number and Physical Attack icon (1[Attack], 2[Attack], etc.). See also: Attack, Physical Defence.

Physical Defence. A type of defence that cancels Physical Damage [Attack]. Abbreviated to a number and Physical Defence icon (1[Defense], 2[Defense], etc.). Physical Defence of an Enemy or an Ally is subtracted from each separate attack. See also: Attack, Physical Attack.

Placing Objective Tokens. Objective Tokens [Objective] are placed on cards and Charters by various game effects. An Objective Token can be placed on the Time Track in lieu of placing an Objective Token on the active Encounter card using the Encounter's Progression section, by effects that allow a player to place an Objective Token on the active Encounter or by effects that allow for placement of Objective Tokens on any card in play. See also: Objective Tokens.

Proficiencies. A list of Keywords on a Hero Charter that indicates what types of Gear that Hero may place in their Hero Area [Hero Area]. Each Hero is also automatically proficient with each Reward card with their Hero symbol. See also: Gear, Personal Rewards.

Q

Quest Area. An area of the table holding Enemies in play, as well as the Quest Charter and the Time Charter, and all cards and decks that are not part of Hero Areas [Hero Area]. A Quest Area is at Range ② of any Hero Area [Hero Area]. See also: Enemy Line, Hero Area.

R

Raging Enemy. A Raging Enemy is an Enemy with a Raging Enemy icon [Raging]. When Enraging an Enemy as an effect of a track icon, you must first choose from Raging Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area]. If there are no Raging Enemies in your Hero Area [Hero Area], you may choose any Enemy in your Hero Area [Hero Area] to Enrage. See also: Calm, Enrage.

Range. Action Range is determined by the Range icon preceding the Action (①, ②, etc.). A Range ① Action may only target whatever is in the Hero Area [Hero Area] of the player resolving the Action, including their Hero Charter and any Enemies currently pursuing the Hero. A Range ② Action may target anything in any Hero Area [Hero Area], or in the Quest Area [Quest Area]. Higher Ranges are used as a counter against game effects that negatively impact the Range of Actions. See also: Mobility Range Bonus.

Reducing Enemy Focus. Whenever an Enemy enters your Hero Area [Hero Area] for any reason, you must reduce the Enemy Focus [Enemy Focus] of your Hero by halving its current value and dropping any fractions, and moving the marker cube to the new position. On most game elements this is abbreviated to left-arrow ½ [Enemy Focus]. See also: Enemy Focus.

Reflex. An Action that you can resolve during, but also outside of your Hero Turn. A Reflex may not disrupt another Action, unless its description clearly allows for it. See also: Hero Turn.

Regular Action. You can perform exactly 1 Regular Action during your Hero Turn. Embedded Actions may allow you to go over that limit. See also: Hero Turn.

Resolve Tokens. A common resource players may use to scout, perform extended movements and purchase Advanced Feats and personal Rewards. See also: Advanced Feats, Feats, Hero Turn, Personal Rewards.

Resolve Value. This value appears on many different cards, with its function varying from card to card. On Enemies, it shows the number of Resolve tokens [Resolve] received after the Enemy's elimination. On Feats and personal Reward cards, it indicates their purchase cost. On regular Rewards, it indicates the number of Resolve tokens that can be added to the common pool if the card is immediately returned to the Reward deck. See also: Feats, Hero Turn.

Resting. A Hero may rest in one of two situations: either during a Hero Turn in a Safe Location if there are no Enemies in play, or as part of an Encounter Aftermath. When resting, the player totals the Restoration points [Restoration] provided by the Restoration values of the active Location and on their Hero Charter, and receives that many Restoration points. See also: Healing, Restoration Points, Restoration Value.

Restoration Points. Different effects grant Heroes and Allies Restoration points [Restoration]. For each point your Hero receives, you may move 1 card from your Burial pile into your discard pile, or from your discard pile under your deck. For each Restoration point an Ally receives, 1 Wound token [Wound] is removed from that Ally's card. You do not have to spend all Restoration received. Any unspent Restoration points are considered not generated in the first place for purposes of any effects that use Restoration. See also: Healing, Resting, Restoration Value.

Restoration Value. This value appears on Location tiles and on Hero Charters, and are used only when a Hero Rests. Simply receiving Restoration points [Restoration] does not allow you to use a Restoration value. See also: Healing, Resting, Restoration Points.

Retreating. Whenever the Party Token moves out of a Location, and there is an active Encounter, the relocation is considered a Retreat. Start by degrading the status of the active Location, and, after the move is concluded, Disperse Enemies, resolve the Retreat Penalty section of the Encounter card, and then discard the active Encounter. The party may only Retreat into an adjacent Safe Location. See also: Adjacent Locations, Degrading Location Status, Dispersing Enemies, Location Status.

S

Scouting. At the start of the Travel Phase, players may spend Resolve tokens [Resolve] from the common pool. For each Resolve so spent, players may flip an adjacent Location face-up. Additional Resolve may be spent after flipping each Location (in order to scout more Locations). See also: Adjacent Locations, Location Status.

Special Encounter. Each Quest comes with a Special Encounter that is set aside until the party reaches the final Location of the Quest. Once that happens, the Special Encounter becomes the active Encounter. See also: Encounter Setup, Winning the Game.

Special Enemy. Each Quest comes with a Special Enemy. Each Special Enemy card is double sided, and can be easily recognized by lacking a Life [Life] value. Eliminating the Special Enemy is usually the goal of a Quest. See also: Special Encounter, Winning the Game.

T

Track Movement. Movement of a marker cube on a track is always presented as a combination of an arrow, a number and a track icon pointing to the direction of the move. When moving the marker cube right, always resolve any icons the cube passes through or stops on. When moving the marker cube left, ignore any icons on its way. If the arrow is followed by a ½, move the cube to the spot equal to half its current position, rounded down. See also: Enemy Focus Track.

V

Vulnerability. An Enemy Vulnerability is always shown as a number of Wound icons followed by a set of Keywords. Whenever an Enemy is targeted by an effect, first check for any matches between the Vulnerabilities and the Keywords printed on the card that is the source of the effect. For each matching Keyword, place a number of Wounds [Wound] equal to the number of Wound icons preceding the list of Vulnerabilities on the Enemy card. If an Ally attacks an Enemy, the Ally's Keywords may also trigger the Enemy's Vulnerabilities. See also: Embedded Action, Keywords, Inheriting Keywords, Reflex.

W

Winning the Game. If you successfully finish a Special Encounter during an Encounter Phase, you immediately win the game!

Credits

Game Design: Błażej Kubacki

Game Development: Andrei Novac

Rules in English: Błażej Kubacki, Andrei Novac, Rainer Ahlfors

Rules Support: Jerry Martin, Aston Holtz

Player Aid based on work by Gary Beason (with permission from the author).

Illustrations: Enggar Adirasa

Rules layout and Graphic Design: Agnieszka Kopera

A game published by: NSKN Games

©2016 NSKN Games. All rights reserved. For more information about Mistfall: Heart of the Mists please visit www.nskn.net.