Monster Pit Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Game Overview
• Sticker Application
• Components
• Captain Setup
  • The Lead Captain
• Monster Setup
• Dice Overview
• Citadel Setup
  • Citadel Game Board
  • Outpost Cards
• Captains and the Monster
• Morning Phase
  • Captain's Dice Pool
  • Royal Roll
  • Captain's Ability
• Midday Phase
  • Trading
• Twilight Phase
• Monster Boards
  • Example: Phoshar (Dragon)
  • Vaiel (Enchantress)
  • Other Monster Boards
• Monster Cards
• Night Phase
  • Card Refresh
  • Lead Captain
  • Encounter Cards (If playing with the Encounter deck)
• Outpost Cards
• Special Abilities
• Combat
  • Attacking Creatures in the Citadel (Midday Phase)
• Combat Examples
• Monster Player Rules
  • Game Setup
  • Monster Cards
  • Morning Phase
  • Midday Phase
  • Twilight Phase
  • Night Phase
  • Choosing Targets
• Monster Ranking
• Adjusting Difficulty
• Difficulty Tokens (Optional)
• Solo Captain Rules
• Structure Reference
  • City Watch
  • Southern Gate
  • Great Hall
  • Market District
  • Mystic's Quarter
  • Royal Keep
• Terminology

Objective

In Monster Pit, players assume the role of Captains of the kingdom, united to defeat the Monster. A player may also take on the role of the Monster, changing a fully cooperative game into a one versus many setting.

Each Captain will build a tableau of cards for their Outpost, recruiting a fighting force to create a Dice Pool. Utilizing the dice provided by their Outpost, the Captains will work towards reducing the Monster's health to zero. Captains will find multiple strategies that can lead to victory, ensuring each game of Monster Pit is unique and engaging.

The Monster, through the use of area manipulation, card play, and asymmetric Monster powers, will move forward to the Citadel Gate. Should the Monster arrive at the Citadel Gate before it is defeated, the Citadel is destroyed and the Captains lose the game.

Game Overview

One of the Captains is assigned as the Lead Captain at the beginning of the game.

A game of Monster Pit is performed in rounds. Rounds are divided into 4 phases:

1. Morning Phase - Each Captain performs their Progress Roll, receiving Gold depending on the result. The Monster may also move closer to the Citadel Gate.
2. Midday Phase - The Citadel Districts are open for Business! Each Captain visits a District within the Citadel and performs the actions provided by the structures within. Split between 6 Districts, there are 17 total structures, each with unique actions. Creatures that have invaded the Citadel may also be attacked as the Captain's action.
3. Twilight Phase - The Monster's Twilight Roll is performed. Based on the result, the Monster will perform the corresponding action from their Monster Board. This action may include attacking the Captains.
4. Night Phase - The Night Phase is the end of the round. The play area is prepared for the next round, and the King's Messenger is passed to the next player who becomes the Lead Captain.

The game continues in this fashion until the Monster reaches the final space on the Vengeance Track, or the Monster's health is depleted.

Sticker Application

Before playing for the first time, there are 12 stickers that need to be applied to the wooden pieces.

There are both black and white pieces. Carefully apply the stickers to the center of the wooden pieces, matching the background colour of the sticker to the colour of each wood piece.

Note that the King's Messenger sticker is larger than the others. It is applied to the one larger white piece. See the components list below for reference.

Components

• Barracks Cards x24
• Tavern Cards x42
• Town Hall Cards x24
• Stables Cards x10
• Eyrie Cards x10
• King's Messenger Card
• Sanctuary Cards x21
• Quest Cards x16
• Monster Cards x36
• Encounter Cards x21
• Captain Cards x6
• Monster Dice Trackers x3
• Monster Health Tracker
• King's Messenger Piece
• Captain Pieces x6
• White Dice x6
• Armour Tokens x10
• Wish Tokens x20
• Gold Coins x42
• Platinum Coins x10 (1 Platinum = 10 Gold)
• Location Tokens x18
• Encounter Tokens x37
• Yellow Dice x5
• Red Dice x4
• Monster Pieces x5
• Alchemy Stones x9
• Blue Gems x9
• Green Gems x9
• Difficulty Tokens x14
• Heart Tokens x15

Captain Setup

1-4 player(s) choose a Captain to play. There are six unique Captain characters to choose from. Every Captain player starts by taking a Player Board, known as an Outpost. The board comes in two halves; arrange them so that they appear as shown below. Each Captain's card is placed on their Outpost, and starts the game with one Paladin card (placed in any slot) and 3 Gold.

1. Attacker Slots - Attacking cards are placed in the six slots on the left side of the Outpost.
2. Defender Slots - Defending cards are placed in the six slots on the right side of the Outpost.
3. Runes - Rune icons on each slot are used for targeting specific characters. Some cards must be placed in a particular slot for their full effect.
4. Reward Tables - There are two reward tables. The left table describes the various Fountain Wish tokens and their abilities. The right table shows rewards for visiting the Dwarven Grotto and the White Mage. These rewards are specific to each player.
5. Captain Card - All Captain players start with their Captain card (uninjured side up). Captains are always considered to be on the Player Board to provide dice and abilities and for attacking or defending.
6. Reserve Area - When a Captain's Outpost has no available slots, a newly recruited character will push another character out of their slot into the Reserve Area (Captain's choice). Characters in Reserve (outside of the Outpost) do not contribute dice and abilities; however their Night Phase effects will still trigger. To move a character back into the Outpost, a Captain must visit the Barracks (see page 16).

Note: The King's Messenger cannot be put into Reserve.

The Lead Captain

Before the game starts, shuffle the Quest deck. All Captain players draw a Quest card, and the one who draws the highest number will be the Lead Captain. They take the King's Messenger card and place it on their Outpost in any defender slot. They also take the King's Messenger piece. Shuffle the Quest cards back into the deck.

Monster Setup

Choose the Monster to challenge. There are five Monsters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities. The Enchantress is recommended for your first game. Take the appropriate Monster Board, and place it with the A Side visible. If a player is taking control of the Monster, see page 14 for Monster player rules.

1. Place a White, Yellow, Red Dice Tracker on the Monster Power Board as indicated by the Monster starting dice. An icon will appear for each die that the Monster starts with.
2. Place the Monster Health Tracker. There is a different health value for solo and multiplayer games. In a game with 2-4 Captains, the Monster's starting health is determined by multiplying the indicated value by the number of Captains. In a solo Captain game, the Monster starts with a static amount of health.
   • 2-4 Players: 4 health times the number of Captains
   • Solo: 7 health

The Enchantress (Vaiel) is shown as the example Monster Board. Her starting dice are 2 Yellow Dice, 0 White Dice and 0 Red Dice.

Dice Overview

White Dice are in the Captain's favour, with 4 Captain results and 2 Monster results. 1 of the 4 Captain results is an Enchanted result. All players are limited to 6 White Dice maximum per roll (unless a card effect overrides this rule).

Yellow Dice are balanced with 3 Captain and 3 Monster results. No Enchanted results appear on Yellow Dice. All players are limited to 5 Yellow Dice maximum per roll (unless a card effect overrides this rule).

Red Dice are in the Monster's favour, with 4 Monster results and 2 Captain results. 1 of the 4 Monster results has an Enchanted result. All players are limited to 4 Red Dice maximum per roll (unless a card effect overrides this rule).

Dice faces are read as follows:

• Captain Result - the Captain's axe symbol.
• Enchanted Captain Result - the Captain's axe symbol with the enchantment star burst.
• Monster Result - the Monster's claw symbol.
• Enchanted Monster Result - the Monster's claw symbol with the enchantment star burst.

Enchanted Result - Count the primary result, and then roll the die again until a non-Enchanted result occurs, counting each result towards the roll.

Citadel Setup

Citadel Game Board

The Citadel Board tracks the progress of the Monster, the state of each Citadel District, and the location of the Captains and Creatures.

1. Take one set of the Location tokens. Place a unique Location token onto each District at random.
2. Place the Armour tokens near the Armoury.
3. Place the Alchemy Stones near The Alchemist.
4. Place the Gems near the Dwarven Grotto.
5. Place the Gold and Platinum Coins in a pile. This is known as the Treasury.
6. Place Wish tokens in the bag and place the bag near the Treasury.
7. Place the dice where they are accessible to all players.

Note: 10 Gold may be exchanged for one Platinum if the Treasury is low on Gold.

Outpost Cards

Many structures in the Citadel have a card deck associated with them. These cards have an image of the structure on their backs.

8. Separate all of the card decks and shuffle them well. Each deck has a unique card back to identify them.
9. Place the Barracks, Sanctuary, Eyrie, and Quest decks face down near their structures.
10. For each Captain in play, remove its card from the Tavern Deck. Then, shuffle the Tavern deck and divide it into 3 equal sized decks. Place these near the Taverns in the Market District, and flip the top card of each deck face up.
11. Place the Stables deck near the Stables, and the Town Hall deck near the Town Hall. Flip the top card of each deck face up.
12. Place the Monster deck and the Encounter deck face down near the Monster Board (not pictured on the diagram). Playing with the Encounter Deck is optional and is recommended after you are more familiar with the core rules.

Captains and the Monster

13. Place the Monster on the starting space of the Vengeance Track. As the game progresses, the Monster will move clockwise around the Citadel. If they reach the final space at the Citadel Gate, the Captains lose the game.
14. The four bridges are used to track which player is the Lead Captain using the King's Messenger piece. The bridges may also be used to control the difficulty of the game (see page 15). To start, each player places their Captain's piece on the bridge matching their Outpost. The Lead Captain also places the King's Messenger piece on their bridge.

Bridge key (Citadel Board): n - Ice Bridge; w - Stone Bridge; m - Monster Pit; s - Arch Bridge; e - Rock Bridge; q - Citadel Gate.

Morning Phase

Each Captain MUST make a Progress Roll. To do this, they roll the dice in their Dice Pool up to a maximum of eight dice. In addition to the eight dice, include the Rune Die in the Progress Roll for the Captain's ability (see below).

• For each Monster result, move the Monster 1 space clockwise around the board, toward the Citadel Gate.
• Each Captain result will give the Captain 1 Gold as a tribute.

Captain's Dice Pool

A Captain's Dice Pool is the collective dice contributed by all of the cards (excluding Mounts) on their Outpost Board. This includes the Captain card.

Note: When a Captain has more than eight dice, they choose which of the dice in their Dice Pool to roll. When a Captain has eight or less dice in their Dice Pool, they must roll all of the dice.

Royal Roll

If all of the dice in the Progress Roll have the same result (Monster or Captain), the Captain has made a Royal Roll and may take 2 Gold in addition to the normal results. Royal Rolls are always based on the initial roll, without consideration of enchanted dice re-rolls or dice manipulation.

Captain's Ability

Captains may use their ability at any time, when applicable, once per round.

Some Captain abilities may require the Rune Die result during the Progress Roll to match one that appears on their card.

In some cases, you may spend a gem to perform the ability, as indicated on their card.

Some abilities may give you the choice to spend a gem if the Progress Roll's rune result did not occur.

Midday Phase

The Citadel houses all of the services available to the land and is divided into Districts.

Each player, in clockwise order starting with the Lead Captain, places their Captain in one District in the Citadel, on the designated space.

Note: Players MUST move their Captain piece to a new District each round, unless a card effect states otherwise. No more than two Captains may be assigned to the same District.

Captains may perform one of the following actions for each structure in the District:

1. Visit a structure to buy or receive the benefit provided by that structure (see pages 16-19). A structure may only be visited by the same Captain once per round (unless a card states otherwise).
2. Visit a structure to engage in combat (see page 12) with a Creature currently placed there. A Captain will not be able to use the structure's primary function if combating a Creature (unless a card states otherwise). The Monster may be attacked from the Citadel Gate or the Watch Tower.

Trading

Captains may exchange money and Items freely with other Captains in the same District. Captains may exchange characters by spending 3 Gold per character, paid to the Treasury.

Twilight Phase

The Lead Captain makes the Twilight Roll, by rolling the Monster's available dice from their Dice Pool (which is tracked on the Monster Power Board).

Take available dice in the order of red first, then yellow, and finally white. The maximum number of dice that can be added to the Twilight Roll is shown on the Monster Board.

Count the Monster results. Refer to the Monster Board for the result, and resolve the Roll Action (see below).

Monster Boards

Each Monster Board has the following parts:

1. Roll Actions - The Monster performs the action(s) (left to right) that corresponds to the number of Monster results after a Twilight Roll. Some common actions are represented as icons, which are described below:
   • Move the Monster forward the indicated number of spaces on the Vengeance Track.
   • Draw the top card of the Monster deck, resolve it (ignoring its cost), and then discard it.
   • Roll the Location Die and resolve the effect at the indicated location.

Note: If there is ever a tied result during a Roll Action that targets a Captain or a character, the Monster player chooses the result. When there is no Monster player, the Lead Captain chooses the result.

2. Abilities - Special Abilities unique to each Monster.
3. Maximum Dice - The maximum dice rolled by the Monster, not including the Location or Rune Dice (if applicable).
4. Starting Dice - The number of dice that the Monster starts the game with (see page 5).
5. Difficulty Tokens (Optional) - The recommended tokens that can be used to adjust the difficulty of the game for the Captains (see page 15). A slash indicates multiple options.
6. Dice Pool Track - This tracks the number and type of dice in the Monster's Dice Pool. The maximum number of dice in their Dice Pool is stated on their player board (3).
7. Health Track - The Monster's Health Tracker is placed on the number corresponding with their starting health. It moves when they take damage or heal.
8. Monster's Family - The family that the Monster belongs to. Some cards have an additional effect that targets a specific family.

Example: Phoshar (Dragon)

The Phoshar board is printed in full on page 9 and is the worked example for the Monster Board layout. Rage fuels the Dragon's flames. He will frequently unleash his fire on locations in the Citadel, discarding cards while gaining more dice. His ultimate goal is to burn the Citadel to ashes before ever reaching the Gate.

Phoshar Roll Actions (Twilight Roll Monster results):

• x0 - Gain a White Die. If unable to gain a White Die, improve a White Die to a Yellow Die. Burn the City Watch.
• x1 - Move the Monster forward 1 space. Burn the Mystic Quarter.
• x2 - Move the Monster forward 2 spaces. Burn the City Watch and Market District.
• x3 - Improve one die, then gain a White Die. Draw the top card of the Monster deck, resolve it (ignoring its cost), and then discard it.
• x4 - Attack Lead Captain. Move the Monster forward 3 spaces. Roll the Location Die (printed with an "x2" multiplier) and burn the rolled Districts.
• x5 - Gain a White Die OR improve a die to a Red Die. Draw the top card of the Monster deck, resolve it (ignoring its cost), and then discard it.
• x6+ - Attack all Captains. Burn all Districts. Move the Monster forward 3 spaces.

Phoshar Board details:

• Maximum Dice: 12.
• Starting Dice: 1 Red Die and 3 White Dice.
• Difficulty Tokens (suggested, as printed on the board): white Skull x2 / yellow Skull x1 (a slash indicates multiple options). See page 15.
• Health: 5 times the number of Captains in a 2-4 Captain game; 10 in a solo game.
• Burn District: Flip and remove the top card from the indicated deck(s) from the game.
• Special Win Condition: When two Districts are destroyed, then Phoshar wins the game immediately. A district is considered to be destroyed if there are no cards available to draw / purchase / recruit from all of its decks.

Vaiel (Enchantress)

The Enchantress' malignant power comes from the very victims she mesmerizes. They provide her with their dice and abilities, as they carry her towards the Citadel she intends to rule.

Vaiel Roll Actions (Twilight Roll Monster results):

• x0 - Draw the top card of the Monster deck, resolve it (ignoring its cost), and then discard it. Move the Monster forward 3 spaces.
• x1 - Mesmerize the revealed card with the lowest cost from the Market District.
• x2 - Mesmerize the top card of the Barracks deck. Move the Monster forward 1 space.
• x3 - Attack Lead Captain. Move the Monster forward 2 spaces.
• x4 - Move the Monster forward one space for each mesmerized character (minimum two). Draw the top card of the Monster deck, resolve it (ignoring its cost), and then discard it.
• x5 - Roll the red die icon; mesmerize the character in the rolled slot in the Lead Captain's Outpost. Move the Monster forward 2 spaces.
• x6+ - Roll the red die icon; mesmerize the character in the rolled slot in each Captain's Outpost. Move the Monster forward 3 spaces.

Note: the printed icon for the x5 and x6+ actions is a red die; the manual does not name the die in the text, so it is transcribed as the red die icon.

Vaiel Board details:

• Maximum Dice: 9.
• Starting Dice: 2 Yellow Dice, 0 White Dice, 0 Red Dice.
• Difficulty Tokens (suggested): white Skull x1 OR (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1). See page 15.
• Health: 4 times the number of Captains in a 2-4 Captain game; 7 in a solo game.

Instant Charm: If Vaiel's Dice Pool is 5 or less dice, any character revealed with a zero cost is immediately mesmerized by Vaiel (ignore placement instructions on the card).

Mesmerize: Vaiel will mesmerize characters instead of removing them. Place these characters near the Monster Board. Vaiel gains the dice/abilities of characters she has mesmerized. Character abilities must be used when Vaiel would benefit from them. Combat damage may be assigned to a mesmerized character instead of Vaiel. When damaged, place the injured character onto the Captain's Outpost who made the attack. Adjust Vaiel's Dice Trackers when she mesmerizes or loses a character in her service.

Other Monster Boards

The Enchantress (Vaiel) and Dragon (Phoshar) boards are the two whose roll tables are legible in this manual. The Orc Warchief, Behemoth and Vampire Queen boards are printed on their own physical Monster Boards and are not reproduced in this manual's pages; this transcription does not include their roll tables.

Monster Cards

Monster cards represent special actions taken by the Monster and its Creatures.

When indicated, a Monster card is drawn and its action is performed immediately. If the Monster is being controlled by a player, Monster cards can be activated at any time (see page 14).

If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and replace the deck. A card may be situational and as a result may not have an effect.

1. Card Cost - The cost (in Gold) to activate the card's effect. Only applicable when there is a player controlling the Monster.
2. Monster Card Action - The action to be resolved when the card is played by the Monster player from their hand (ignore this text when there is no Monster player).
3. AI Monster Card Action - The action to be resolved when the card is revealed either from the deck or by a Monster ability (ignore this text when there is a Monster player).

Example card: Disarm Captain (Action, Monster). Cost 5. Choose one: 1. Prevent up to three White Dice being rolled by a Captain during their next roll. 2. Return any Item or Mount card to its deck. Captains cannot roll White Dice next Round.

Night Phase

Card Refresh

Start the Night Phase by returning any face up Mount and Item cards to the bottom of their respective deck. Flip the top card of the Town Hall and Stable decks face up. For each Tavern deck, flip the top card only if the character was purchased. Any cards that have effects during the Night Phase (indicated by this icon, Night Phase icon), are now resolved. If a character or Creature moves to an Outpost with no available or applicable slot, move a character from a slot into your Reserve. The character or Creature will then occupy the vacated slot.

Lead Captain

Move the King's Messenger piece left to the next bridge in front of a Captain's occupied Outpost (skipping any bridges to Outposts that are not in play). The card for the King's Messenger is also moved at the same time. The Captain receiving the King's Messenger card places it on a defender slot and becomes the Lead Captain. If there are no free slots, move a character from a slot into your Reserve.

Encounter Cards (If playing with the Encounter deck)

At the end of the Night Phase, draw the top card of the Encounter deck and resolve its effect. This may be an Event, Creature, Antient, Adventurer, or Outlaw card.

Event cards describe an effect that is resolved when the card is revealed, and takes precedence over rules in the manual. These cards will remain in play until returned to the Encounter deck. Each card describes when this happens.

Creature Cards: Creatures spawn within the Citadel walls or Outposts. When drawn, place a Creature's token in the location described on their card. If no specific location is listed, the Monster player chooses a structure on which to place the token. When there is no Monster player, the Captains collectively choose instead. Creature tokens must be placed with the undamaged side showing. Creature cards should be placed to the side of the Citadel game board for reference until all Creatures associated with the card are defeated (unless otherwise stated on the card).

Antient, Adventurer, and Outlaw Cards: All these entities have a token that must be placed on the board in a specific location (undamaged side showing). Outlaws are generally troublesome to the Captains, Antients are neutral, and Adventurers will strive to help defend the Citadel. Follow any additional instructions on their cards.

Outpost Cards

All cards that can be placed on a Captain's Outpost are similar in appearance, and are generally referred to as Outpost Cards. They are obtained by visiting various structures within The Citadel. Each deck is identified by an image of its corresponding structure on their card backs.

Outpost Cards can be separated into 4 main categories:

• Characters are found in the Tavern, Barracks, and Sanctuary decks. They include Champions, Heroes, the Mercenaries, Outlaws, Soldiers, and Wizards. The Captains and the King's Messenger are also considered to be characters.
• Wyverns are found in the Eyrie deck. They can be recruited to a Captain's Outpost, but are not considered to be characters.
• Items are found in the Great Hall deck, and include various types of weapons, defensive armaments, and fortifications. These cards do not take up a slot in the Outpost (unless otherwise stated), and are instead attached to a character. A character may only have up to two Items attached to their card.
• Mounts are found in the Stables deck. Like Items, Mounts are attached to a character and do not take up a slot in the Outpost. A character may only have one Mount attached to their card.

Example character card: Lothmirawen (Moss Faerie), Hero, Tavern.

1. Card's Role - Some characters are only able to attack, while others can only defend. If both icons appear, the Captain chooses their role by placing them in an attacker or defender slot on their Outpost. Some cards (such as Items or Mounts) must be attached to a character (unless otherwise stated).
2. Character Type - All attacker and defender cards have a "type", including Fighter, Spellcaster, Cleric, Monarch and Construct. Wyverns do not have character types. Items and Mounts may have restrictions as to which types of characters they must be attached to.
3. Card Cost - The cost (in Gold) required to recruit or purchase the card, payable to the Treasury.
4. Dice Contribution - The dice that the card contributes to the Captain's Dice Pool. Some cards do not contribute any dice. Dice on Mount cards only contribute to Combat Dice Rolls.
5. Special Ability - On the lower section of the card, any special abilities and effects will be described. Card text always overrides conflicts with the manual.

Example: Lothmirawen's Captain may visit one structure in a District twice (for a non-combat action). Passive.

Special Abilities

Many cards have an ability. These abilities can be activated at any time when applicable. Some cards must be returned, sacrificed, or removed from the game once the ability is used, as indicated in the text.

• Some cards have an action that must be performed as soon as the card is revealed.
• Some cards have an action that occurs at the start of a particular phase (Morning, Midday, Twilight or Night Phase).

When a rune icon appears next to an ability, the card must be assigned to the matching runed slot in a Captain's Outpost in order to use that ability.

Note: Some cards have a set of dice that are rolled when the card's effect is resolved.

See page 20 for common card terms and keywords.

Combat

Combat is always resolved between one Captain against the Monster or a Creature.

When combat is initiated by the Captain, the Captain is attacking. The dice on the Captain's card and the cards assigned in their attacker slots make up their Dice Pool.

When combat is initiated by the Monster, the Captain is defending. The dice on the Captain's card and the cards assigned in their defender slots make up their Dice Pool.

The Captain rolls their dice, up to a maximum of 8 (unless a card states otherwise) and adds up the number of Captain results. Then, the Monster or Creature rolls up to their maximum dice from their Dice Pool, adding up the total Monster results.

Note: The Monster does not move during combat!

During a roll, any enchanted results are counted, and then rolled again for additional results.

There are four possible outcomes:

• Monster Win: When the Monster results are greater than Captain results, the Monster wins. The Captain must sacrifice one character involved in the combat. Captains may never be sacrificed. If a Captain is the only character defending, they will be injured and the Monster Burns the Citadel.
• Captain Win: When the Monster results are less than Captain results, the Captain wins combat. They suffer no damage to their characters, and deal one damage to the target (if Captain was attacking).
• Captain Win (Critical Hit): If the Captain wins combat with three or more Captain results in excess of the Monster results, the hit is a critical hit, and will deal one additional damage.
• Monster Win (Tie): When the Monster results equal the Captain results, the Monster wins. The Captain must injure any one character (which may be the Captain themselves) involved in the combat. If the Captain was the only defender and was already injured, the Monster Burns the Citadel. Any Items, Mounts, armour, or other tokens assigned to the injured character or Captain remain, but will not count toward a Captain's Dice Pool until they are healed.

Attacking Creatures in the Citadel (Midday Phase)

A Captain may combat Creatures in a District of the Citadel. Each combat will count as visiting the structure the Creature token is currently assigned. Captains will not be able to use the structure's primary effect while a Creature token is present.

For each point of damage inflicted, the Captain will receive the Gold reward listed on the Creature card (if any). When a Creature only has 1 health remaining, flip its token over to its damaged state.

When the last health is removed from the Creature, remove the token. If this is the last token, also return the Encounter card. Standard combat rolls apply to combat with Creatures.

Creature card key (the example card is Frost Zombie):

1. Creature's Family - The family the Creature belongs to. The families printed in the key are Mythological, Infernal, Vermin, Zombie, Dungeon and Undead.
2. Creature's Health - To track the Creature's health, place Heart tokens equal to the Creature's health on the card. Remove 1 Heart token each time damage is inflicted. When all the Hearts have been removed from the card, the Creature is defeated.
3. Reward - Awarded to the Captain for each point of damage inflicted.
4. Creature's Dice Pool - The dice used during combat by the Creature.
5. Creature Effect - Printed on the card.
6. Creature's Token - The damaged and undamaged sides of the token.

Example Creature card: Frost Zombie. Roll the Location Die. Place Frost Zombie in the rolled District. When a Captain enters a District with Frost Zombie, a character in their Outpost is injured.

Combat Examples

The following examples pit the Ice Princess (Captain) attacking the Dragon (Monster). The Ice Princess has the following cards on their Outpost (shown to the right). This adds up to 3 White, 3 Yellow, and 1 Red Dice in their Dice Pool. The Dragon has accumulated 3 White, 2 Yellow, and 2 Red Dice in their Dice Pool, as indicated on the Monster Power Board.

The Ice Princess' Outpost cards are shown on page 13 of the manual.

Example 1 - Monster Wins: The Dragon beats the Ice Princess with 4 Monster results to 3 Captain results. The Ice Princess must sacrifice one character. In this scenario, she would sacrifice the Paladin (their weakest character).

Example 2 - Captain Wins: The Ice Princess beats the Dragon 5 Captain results to 3 Monster results. One damage is dealt to the Dragon, and their health track is reduced by one.

Example 3 - Monster Wins: The Dragon beats the Ice Princess in a tie, 5 to 5. The Ice Princess must Injure one character.

Example 4 - Captain Wins (Critical Blow): The Ice Princess beats the Dragon 5 Captain results to 2 Monster results. With a difference of 3, the Ice Princess deals a critical hit. Two damage is dealt to the Dragon, and their health track is reduced by two.

Monster Player Rules

Should a player choose to play as the Monster, follow the changes listed below. The normal victory conditions for the game remain unchanged.

Game Setup

The Monster will take the full Monster deck, shuffle it and draw 2 cards. They will also take 3 Gold.

Monster Cards

The Monster player may play a Monster card at any time, even if this were to interrupt a Captain's Action. The Monster player pays the indicated cost (in Gold) to the Treasury. Once the card has been resolved, discard it. If the deck runs out, simply shuffle the discard pile and replace the deck.

Morning Phase

The Monster player may discard up to 2 cards from their hand. They take Gold equal to the lowest cost card discarded in this fashion.

Midday Phase

The Monster player draws back up to 4 cards into their hand. They will also control any Creatures with Midday effects (if any in play), and will roll the dice for all combat for Creatures and the Monster.

Twilight Phase

The Monster player will make a Twilight Roll. Roll the dice indicated on the Monster Board, up to its indicated maximum. Select available dice in the order of red, yellow, and finally white. Count the Monster results. Refer to the Monster Board for the result, and resolve the effect.

Night Phase

The Monster will resolve any cards with an effect stating During the Night Phase at the same time Captains resolve their card effects. Any Creatures that indicate they are moved by the Location Die must be moved to a new District, but the Monster player may choose the District they are moved to.

The Monster controls the Encounter deck. When a card places Creature tokens into the Citadel, the Monster ignores the Red Location Die instruction, and may place the tokens as they choose.

Choosing Targets

If the Monster is not directed to attack a specific target or the attack states "Lead Captain", the Monster player may choose their intended target. The Monster player may also ignore the Location Die for Creature placement on Encounter cards. They may instead choose how to distribute Encounter Creatures when revealed or moved during the game.

Note: If a Monster Roll Action says to play a card from the top of the Monster deck, ignore this instruction when there is Monster player. Special Ability effects that say to play a card, such as the Vampire Queen's Ensorcell, will still be played with a Monster player.

Monster Ranking

The five Monsters in Monster Pit are as follows, ranked from easiest to hardest for the players (including solo players). The manual shows the five Monsters as a graphic on page 14, left to right along a DIFFICULTY arrow; the Monster names are not printed beside the graphic in the manual's text.

Adjusting Difficulty

For Captains who have conquered all the challenges of the Monster Pit, or want an enhanced experience, they may agree to adjust the difficulty in various ways.

The Captains can fight off the more challenging version of a Monster by flipping its player board over to its B side.

The Captains' Outpost board also has a B side. The B side provides additional variety for the Captains. All Captains must be using the same side of their Outpost board (A side or B side).

Difficulty Tokens (Optional)

For an additional challenge, players can choose to add the Difficulty tokens to the game. Each Monster has a suggested difficulty as shown below. Draw the indicated number and colour of skull tokens randomly, and resolve those effects during the game setup.

Suggested Difficulty Tokens (A Side / B Side); a slash or OR separates alternative options:

• Enchantress - A Side: white Skull x1 OR (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1). B Side: (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1) OR red Skull x1.
• Orc Warchief - A Side: white Skull x number of Captains. B Side: (white Skull x3 + yellow Skull x1) OR (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1 + red Skull x1).
• Behemoth - A Side: white Skull x2 OR (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1). B Side: yellow Skull x2.
• Vampire Queen - A Side: white Skull x3. B Side: (white Skull x2 + yellow Skull x1) OR red Skull x1.
• Dragon - A Side: white Skull x2 OR (white Skull x1 + yellow Skull x1). B Side: (white Skull x2 + yellow Skull x1) OR (yellow Skull x1 + red Skull x1).

Note: the Orc Warchief B-side grouping is read from the printed layout, where the "OR" sits between two rows of tokens; it is transcribed as laid out.

Effects of the difficulty tokens:

White Skull effects:

• Every time the Monster completes a move forward, it will move an additional space.
• Wizards move the Monster by half the indicated number of spaces (rounded down). Dice are still awarded to the Monster.
• Recruitment from the Market District is limited to 1 structure and the alchemist each Round.
• Recruitment from the Barracks costs 4 Gold.
• The Statue may not be used for the game.
• Wizards may not move the Monster back further than the last purple space it crossed (unless a card states otherwise).

Yellow Skull effects:

• Starting health of the Monster equal to the number of Captains +1. Use Heart tokens to indicate the increased health as necessary.
• Monster starts on either purple space (Captain's choice) near the Rock Bridge (e).
• Dwarven Grotto collapses and is not available for the adventure.
• Monster starts the game with an extra Red Die.
• All purchases or recruitings cost 2 Gold more than listed amounts.

Red Skull effects:

• All Wizards move the Monster back two spaces, rather than the indicated amount. Dice based movement is performed as normal. Dice are still awarded to the Monster.
• The Monster starts on either purple space (Captain's choice) near the Arch Bridge (s).
• Monster's maximum dice increased by two, and they start with an extra Red and Yellow Die.

Captains may also agree to choosing various amounts of difficulty enhancement tokens and resolving the effects during the adventure setup. It is not recommended to use a combination of more than 4 difficulty tokens at any time, and no more than 1 Red Skull token unless you want a very difficult game.

Solo Captain Rules

Brave Captains can defend the Citadel by themselves. Setup the game as normal, with the following adjustments:

1. The solo Captain will always keep the King's Messenger throughout the adventure.
2. Start the adventure with 4 Gold.
3. Set the Monster health to the solo health listed on its player board.

Certain cards in the game are affected by the number of Captains participating. These cards will have indicators or instructions indicating how the effect is adjusted for a solo Captain.

Captains who choose the path of solo combat must ensure they do not underestimate any of the Monsters. While the Monster may not move as quickly as in a multi-Captain adventure, it is recommended that Captains Do not ignore the Mystic's Quarter. Many solo adventurers have perished at the claws of a Monster for not having recruited a wizard or two!

Be prepared for a battle of the ages, and should you come out victorious, know that you are amongst the mightiest in the realm!

Structure Reference

City Watch

The following structures are listed under the City Watch heading on page 16.

The Citadel Gate A Captain may attack the Monster from the Citadel Gate. See combat on page 12.

The Statue A Captain may choose to skip all other structure actions, and place one of their characters from the Barracks, Sanctuary, or the Taverns at the Statue.

At the start of the Twilight Phase, this character is taken by the Monster, and subject to any special rules as if the character was sacrificed. The Monster will skip the remainder of the Twilight Phase, and will not move during the next Morning Phase.

The structure from where the character was recruited is permanently closed (remove the deck from the game). Should a Tavern character be sacrificed, remove all three Tavern decks from the game.

The Barracks A Captain may perform one of two actions at the Barracks:

• Option 1 - Conscript: A Captain may recruit a Soldier from the Barracks by spending 2 Gold. The card text will indicate how long they remain in service of the Captain.
• Option 2 - Reassign: A Captain may redeploy all of their characters from their Outpost and Reserve, and assign them to different slots at no cost. Attached Items and Mounts remain with their assigned character. Reminder: only characters assigned to slots on a Captain's Outpost contribute dice to their Dice Pool and provide special abilities.

Southern Gate

The Stone Church A Captain may request aid from the Light, for a tribute of 4 Gold. Roll a White Die. On a Captain result, you may reduce one Monster Dice Tracker one space (minimum of one), but must increase an adjacent Dice Tracker one space.

Instead of requesting aid from the Light, a Captain may spend 4 Gold to take one Blue Gem from the supply.

The Eyrie A Captain may recruit a Wyvern by spending 4 Gold. Draw the top card from the Eyrie deck, and place it on any available slot (attacker or defender) in the Captain's Outpost. The Wyvern may be used immediately, or saved for later. If a Wyvern card shows a Dice Pool, the indicated dice are rolled for its effect. Wyvern cards are removed from the game after use. Items and Mounts cannot be attached to a Wyvern.

The Watchtower If no attacks occur at the Citadel Gate this Round, a single Captain may attack the Monster from the Watchtower.

Great Hall

A Captain may purchase the face up card from the Town Hall deck or the Stables deck for the indicated cost. The purchased card can be attached to any character in the Captain's Outpost. The next card is revealed only if there are no cards available to buy.

Items and Mounts on characters that are sacrificed or removed may be transferred to another character for 2 Gold each, paid to the Treasury. Otherwise, they are removed from the game.

The King's Messenger retains his Mount and/or Items when transferred to the next Lead Captain.

Important: A character can have a maximum of two Items, and one Mount at a time.

The Stables (Mounts) Mounts provide additional combat dice and/or special actions. Normal dice restrictions do not apply to dice provided by Mounts. Mount dice are not rolled during the Morning Phase, unless a card overrides this rule. Place the Mount under the assigned character with its dice and/or text visible.

The Town Hall (Items) Items are attached to characters. The dice provided by Items may be used during Progress Rolls or Combat Rolls. Place the Item under the assigned character with its dice and/or text visible. Items may be traded in the same fashion as Gold and Platinum. Some Items have restrictions and can only be attached to certain character types (for example, fighters). Fortifications do not have to be attached to a character, follow the instructions on their card.

Once per structure per Round, the Shopkeepers at the Town Hall and the Stable Master at the Stables will reveal more purchasing options at a cost of 1 Gold. The Shopkeepers will reveal two more Items to a maximum of three Item cards. The Stable Master will reveal a second Mount to a maximum of two Mount cards. These revealed cards are available to a second Captain in the District, if present. All unsold Items and Mounts will be returned to their decks during the Night Phase as normal.

Market District

The Alchemist A Captain may spend 3 Gold to purchase an Alchemy Stone.

An Alchemy Stone may be used to re-roll all of the dice of any roll. This includes die rolls made by other Captains, Creatures or the Monster.

Alchemy Stones are removed from the game after use.

The Three Taverns A Captain may recruit one card from each of these structures by paying the Gold cost on their card. Add the recruited card(s) to your Outpost and reveal the next card.

The Barkeep - Spend 1 Gold to return a revealed Tavern card to the bottom of its deck. Any revealed or required effects are immediately resolved (including Angelique's effect). The next card is immediately revealed and available to be recruited. Once per Round, per Captain.

Mystic's Quarter

The Dwarven Grotto A Captain may receive aid from the miners at no cost. The Captain will roll the Rune die. Consult the chart on the Captain's Outpost and gain the indicated Gold and/or Gems. Spent Gems are removed from the game.

The Sanctuary A Captain may choose one of two options when visiting the Wizards at the Sanctuary: Visit the White Mage or recruit a Wizard.

• Option 1 - Visit the White Mage (3 Gold): The Captain rolls the Rune Die to determine the number of characters healed by the White Mage. Consult the chart on the Captain's Outpost and receive the indicated benefit. Results that state "Any character(s)" may heal a character (including a Captain) in any Outpost.
• Option 2 - Recruit a Wizard (3 Gold): A Captain may recruit a Wizard to aid them against the Monster. Draw the top card of the Sanctuary deck. This Wizard may be used immediately, or saved for later. Wizards may not be played while the Monster is being moved during the Morning Phase or as instructed by a Monster effect, but may be used once that adjustment is complete (unless the Monster tracker reaches the Citadel Gate).

Some Heroes may be recruited from the Sanctuary. Sanctuary Heroes are not discarded after they have been used, and may be used again by following the instructions on their cards.

Royal Keep

The King's Keep A Captain may visit The King's Keep and draw a Quest card. A Captain may not have more than one Quest at a time. The Quest may be completed the same Round it is drawn, but must be completed by the next Round at the latest.

When a Quest Card lists a specific structure, the Quest can only be completed at that structure. This will count as the action for that structure for the Round. Shuffle the Quest back into the deck after completion or failure, unless it states otherwise.

If the Captain does not complete their Quest during the next Round, the King's Messenger will injure a character at the Captain's Outpost. This will always be the character that provides the most dice (including dice contributed by their attached Items). This may cause the Captain themselves to be injured.

Note: If a Quest says to draw from a deck for a desired result, return any other cards back to the deck after collecting. Do not trigger any revealed effects for cards drawn in this manner.

Quest card key: 1 - Quest (required action to complete the Quest); 2 - Quest Location (structure or district where the Captain must visit to complete the Quest); 3 - Quest Reward (reward for successfully completing the Quest); 4 - Card Number (use when directed).

The Fountain A Captain may make a wish at The Fountain with Gold. A Captain may spend up to 3 Gold, and draw Wish tokens equal to the Gold spent. Keep 1 token and return the rest to the supply.

Tokens will have a random effect on them, and are a one time use. These effects may be anything from an additional die to be rolled, additional Items from other structures, or even Items that will affect the Monster and their Creatures.

After Wish tokens are used, they are removed from the game.

Wish token results:

• Counts as an additional Captain result which may be used during any roll made by the holder.
• Move the Monster back the indicated number of spaces on the token (token shows -6).
• Add the top card of any Citadel deck to your Outpost for free.
• May roll an additional die of the indicated colour (ignore restrictions) for the entire Round. (Token shows Red, Yellow or White die.)
• Upgrade any die to White. Place this token on the character card in the same fashion as an Armour token.
• Gain one Platinum immediately.
• Re-roll any of your dice once this Round.
• You may visit any two additional Citadel structures (except the Citadel Gate and Watchtower) this Round.

The Armoury A Captain may spend 4 Gold to draw an Armour token, choice of white or yellow. This token is placed onto a character to permanently improve one of the dice they provide. Red Dice may be upgraded to Yellow Dice, and Yellow Dice (including previously upgraded dice) may be upgraded to White Dice.

Instead of purchasing armour, a Captain may spend 4 Gold to take one Green Gem from the supply.

Note: Should the character with an Armour token be sacrificed or removed, the token is immediately returned to the Armoury.

Terminology

• Burn the Citadel: Remove the top card from every deck and 1 token from each structure in the Citadel from the game.
• Character: Characters include Captains, Champions, Heroes, the King's Messenger, Mercenaries, Outlaws, Soldiers, and Wizards. Creatures, Wyverns, Items, and Mounts are not characters.
• Improve a Die: The Captain will swap a Red Die for a Yellow Die, or a Yellow Die for a White Die. The Monster will swap a White Die for Yellow, and a Yellow Die for Red.
• Move the Monster: Move the Monster's piece the indicated number of spaces along the Vengeance Track towards the Citadel Gate.
• King's Messenger: The Envoy from the King's Keep, sent to aid the Captains. The Captain in control of the King's Messenger is the Lead Captain for the Round. This entitles them to first choice of Citadel Districts to visit during the Midday Phase. They will also gain a bonus die as indicated on the card when placed on the Captain's Outpost.
• Injured Characters: Injured characters are flipped over and provide no special abilities until healed. Injured characters generally do not provide dice or abilities, unless the injured side states otherwise. Injured characters must be healed by the White Mage or other card abilities to flip over to their original side.
• Lead Captain: The Captain with the King's Messenger, assigned to a slot in their Outpost.
• Reserve: Characters recruited by a Captain, but placed to the side of the Outpost. Reserved characters provide no dice or special abilities to the Captain.
• Royal Roll: If all of the dice rolled have the same result (Monster or Captain), the Captain has made a Royal Roll and may take 2 Gold in addition to the normal results. Does not include results from enchanted rolls.
• Dice Pool: The set of dice that are rolled during the Progress Roll, Twilight Roll, or Combat Rolls. The Monster's Dice Pool is indicated by the trackers on the Monster Power Board. The Captain's Dice Pool is indicated by the cards in their Outpost.

Card Keywords:

• Attach: Place the card under the assigned character, leaving dice and abilities visible. Any dice or special abilities displayed are gained by the character as long as the Item remains attached.
• Attack: Initiating combat between a Captain or character and the Monster or Creatures.
• Close: The affected District or structure's actions are unavailable to the Captains during the Midday Phase. Combat with Creatures may still occur.
• Gain: Immediately take the indicated amount of Gold or Gems, or increase the indicated Monster Dice Tracker by one space.
• Ignore: Disregard the card ability, part or whole of a dice roll, or a stated rule in this manual, as defined by the card text.
• Injure: Flip a character card to its opposite side, keeping the card in its assigned position. When a card indicates to injure a character and there is no player controlling the Monster, the affected Captain chooses which character in their Outpost to injure. When there is a player controlling the Monster, they decide which character in the affected Captain's Outpost to injure.
• Join: Immediately take the card and place it in an open slot in the applicable Outpost.
• Spend: Place the indicated amount of Gold or Gem(s) into the Treasury.
• Recruit: The character must be placed into an open slot if available. If no slot is available, a character must be moved to Reserve to make a slot available for the new character.
• Remove: Remove this card from the game. It is not affected by any special rules from any cards or Monsters.
• Re-roll: Disregard the current result rolled. Roll again for a new result. Character re-rolls only affect the assigned Captain. Alchemy Stones may be used to re-roll any player's roll.
• Return: Place the card at the bottom of its original deck. When there is more than one deck, the Lead Captain decides which deck to return the card to.
• Revealed: Any card which states "When Revealed..", its described effect is immediately resolved.
• Sacrifice: The character is considered captured by the Monster. Remove their card from the game, unless the Monster board states otherwise. Attacker cards that are sacrificed to activate their ability may do so while the Captain is defending, and vice versa.