Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood Rulebook

Table of Contents

Story Rule Book
Encounter Rule Book

Story Rule Book

Game Overview

Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood is a cooperative game of epic dark fantasy for 1-4 players. It weaves the tale of your Free Company exploring a land consumed by the Deepwood. In the game, you will be part of a fully interactive story that sees you hunting monsters in the shadows of the trees, unlocking mystery boxes and solving puzzles.

An Oathsworn campaign is divided into chapters, with each chapter made up of two parts:

The Story: The first part of a chapter tells the narrative of your Oathsworn's journey. It uses the Story Book and City Maps and will take approximately 30-60 minutes to play. Rules for the story can be found in this rule book.

The Encounter: The second part of a chapter is where the Oathsworn must do battle with whatever they have been hunting, or whatever was hunting them. It uses the main Game Board and Miniatures, and takes approximately 90-120 minutes to play. Rules for the encounter can be found in the Encounter Rule Book.

You can play a complete chapter during one play session: the Story, followed by the Encounter. However, you could choose to play the Story in one session, and then continue with the Encounter in another session. Your progress is saved between sessions using Save Bags.

1. Rulebook vs Component Rules

Any text on a game component takes precedence over anything in this rulebook.

2. Archiving

When you are instructed to archive a component, put it back in the box in its initial storage position. This will help keep components organized and easy to find if you need them again later.

3. Cards or Dice?

Included in the game is a set of Might Dice that can, at any time, be used instead of drawing cards from the Might Decks. It is up to each player to decide whether they want to use cards or dice, and they are not tied to that choice for the whole game. You can even combine the use of cards and dice at the same time, but you must decide on the combination to use before you draw any cards or roll any dice.

For simplicity, all rules are written from the perspective that cards are being used. This does not prevent the use of dice in these instances and, in all cases, the words 'draw' and 'cards' can be replaced with 'roll' and 'dice'.

Note: It is suggested you use cards rather than dice for resolving enemy damage. This will create a tighter and more consistent experience.

First Play Session

If you have three hours or less for your first play session, it is recommended that you play only the story part of Chapter 1. If you do so you do not need to read the Encounter Rule Book.

Components

Story Rule Book
Encounter Rule Book
Oathsworn Models (12)
Grove Maiden Sentinels (8)
Ancient Guardian (1)
Player Boards (12)
Ability Cards (193)
Companion Cards (12)
Ally Models (4)
Ally Cards (58)
Common Item Cards (394)
Unique Item Cards (100)
Archetype Cards (48)
Curative & Injury Cards (40)
Backpack Card and Player Aid Cards (9)
Event Cards (83)
Card Separators (27)
Path Card (1)
Journal (1)
Time Tracks (13)
Location Tokens (30)
Time Tokens (20)
Clue Tokens (6)
Iron Currency (70)
Story Books (2)
City Maps (inside Mystery Envelopes) (8)
Special Rules Board (22)
Encounter Boards (19)
Free Company Sheet Pad
Character Sheet Pad
Encounter Book
Stage Cards (284)
Dice (49*) — *28 Might dice: 10 White dice (D6), 6 Yellow dice (D6), 6 Red dice (D6), 6 Black dice (D6), 15 Red Hit Point dice (D6), 2 Direction dice (D6), and 4 Tracking dice (D12)
Enemy Might Cards (72*) — *each divided into 4 sets of 18 cards (white, yellow, red, black)
Oathsworn Might Cards (72*) — *each divided into 4 sets of 18 cards (white, yellow, red, black)
Might Cubes (44) (16 Yellow, 16 Red, 12 Black)
Status Effect Tokens (32)
Combat Tokens (125)
Tracker Tokens (56)
Effect Tiles (10)
Obstacles (5 trees, 4 walls, 2 buildings)
7 Hex Area of Effect Template (4)
Game Board (1)
Mystery Envelopes (31 in the Standee Version, 11 in the Miniatures version)
Mystery Boxes (21) (Only included in the Mystery Chest)
Animus (44)

* The Standee Version comes with an additional 12 Civilian Standees and 22 plastic stands.

Game Setup

Forming a Free Company

When you first start playing a campaign of Oathsworn, you need to create a group of four player-controlled Oathsworn characters. This group will be referenced throughout the Rule Book as the Free Company. A Free Company is always made up of four Oathsworn characters regardless of the number of players there are. Each Oathsworn may be either a full character or a companion version of that character, that is simpler to play. The complexity of playing each type of full character is noted on the back of their Player Board.

For example: In a game with two players, both players could play two full characters each and there would be no companions, or each player could play two companions with no full characters. Or one or both players could play a mixture of full characters and companions.

The Difference Between Full Characters and Companions

Full characters give you control of all the primary elements of an Oathsworn character, allowing you to fully customize them and make use of all the mechanisms within the game. A companion is just as powerful as a full character, but only has two abilities each, giving them much simpler and quicker turns than a full character.

Both full characters and companions count as Oathsworn and are equally involved in both the Story and the Encounters.

Setting Up the Game

Whether you are playing the Story part, Instant Action Mode or the Encounter part of the game, you will always setup your characters as described on page 7. In addition, you will also need to follow the specific rules for the game part or mode you are playing. These rules can be found in the following pages: Story setup (page 8). Instant Action Mode setup (page 9). Encounter setup (page 6 and 7 of the Encounter Rule Book).

Full Character Setup

There are twelve Oathsworn included in the game. The complexity rating for each character is shown by a number of stars below (1 being the simplest and 5 being the most complex).

Character	Complexity	Description
A'Dendri Ranger	1	A refugee from the Wychwood, she is a hunter and tracker who grows arrows from her own body.
Scar Tribe Exile	1	A feral survivor of a tribal feud who has fought for his life as long as he can remember.
Priest	2	A grizzled veteran who practices his oppressed faith in the shadows of the Deepwood.
Ursus Warbear	3	A nomad on the great hunt seeking worthy foes and tales of adventure to be carved onto her armor.
Warden	3	A bastion of discipline, he protects the world from the malefice of witches by the power of his mantle armor and strength of arms.
Penitent	3	A defender of the faith paying penance for past deeds, he becomes more enraged the closer his enemies come to victory.
Cur	3	Raised on the hard streets of Verum where cunning brings coin, he knows how to conceal a weapon and where to stick it if things get dicey.
Thracian Blade	3	A master of wetwork who honed his skills in the pits of Thrace before applying them to the denizens of the Deepwood.
Avi Harbinger	4	Gifted with foresight, a word from the Harbinger can save a life or perfectly time a blow, so long as he reads the fates correctly of course.
Witch	5	Hated and feared for what she can do, she would be dead or worse were her gifts not so useful for fighting the beasts of the Deepwood.
Huntress	5	Keeper of two great falcons, who join her in battle. She stalks her prey with both bow and blade.
A'Dendri Grove Maiden	5	One of the ancient bio-architects responsible for the protection of the A'Dendri race. Only something truly awful could see her leave her grove. Note: This character is unlocked during play.

For each full character you choose to play, take the following and place them according to their instructions:

The character's Player Board, placed face up. Leave space for a card on all sides of the board.
A Hit Point (HP) die, placed in the HP slot of your Player Board. If beginning a new chapter, set your HP to its maximum (6 as standard). If playing the Encounter part, set your HP to the HP recorded on your Character Sheet.
A Character Sheet. If this is the start of your campaign, create a name for your character. Then record the Regen and Max Animus depicted on your Player Board by checking boxes on the relevant tracks on the Character Sheet.
A Tracker Token on the Regen slot of your Player Board, with a value equal to the Regen value on your Character Sheet. In addition, take an amount of Animus gems equal to your maximum Animus, as depicted on your Character Sheet. Place these gems on the reserve (left) side of the Animus track on the Player Board.
The Character's Model.
3 Iron, if this is the start of your campaign.
Item Cards, placed in your hand. If this is the start of your campaign, follow the Starting Item Cards rules box below.
Colored Cubes on your Might Track as depicted on your Item Cards (if any). If you ever run out of space on the Might Track stack the colored cubes on top of each other.
A Tracker Token on the Defense slot of your Player Board, with a value equal to the total of the Defense Values depicted on your Item Cards (see box below). If you do not have any Defense Values on your Item Cards, place a '1' value Tracker Token (your minimum Defense Value is 1).*

Starting Item Cards

Item Cards are separated by chapter. At the start of a campaign, take the Chapter 1 Common Item Cards from Card Organizer 1 (they have a '1' on the back) and equip your chosen character with the items listed below. Place the cards in your hand. Place the rest of the Chapter 1 Common Item Cards back in Card Organizer 1.

A'Dendri Ranger: Short Bow, Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Scar Tribe Exile: Hatchet (2), Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Priest: Great Maul, Pig Iron Coat Ursus Warbear: Felling Axe, Pig Iron Coat Warden: Short Sword, Pig Iron Coat, Buckler Penitent: Cudgel, Pig Iron Coat, Buckler Cur: Bone Knife (2), Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Thracian Blade: Long Sword, Pig Iron Coat Avi Harbinger: Gnarled Branch, Tattered Flax Garment Witch: Gnarled Branch, Tattered Flax Garment A'Dendri Grove Maiden: Tattered Flax Garment Huntress: Short Bow, Long Sword, Tattered Rawhide Wrappings

Starting Might and Defense

For example: The Ranger starts with a Short Bow and Tattered Rawhide Wrappings. During setup, one yellow cube is placed on the Ranger's Might Track, and a Tracker Token of value 2 is placed on the Defense slot, to match what is depicted on her items.

Companion Setup

For each companion you choose to play, take the following and place them in front of you:

The character's Companion Card from their Save Bag.
A Hit Point (HP) die, placed in the HP slot. If beginning a new chapter, set your HP to its maximum (6 as standard). If playing the Encounter part, set your HP to the number of HP recorded on your Character Sheet.
For each companion, take 2 Animus Gems from the box and place them on the reserve (left) side of the Animus track on the Companion Card. Note: Companions can never increase their maximum Animus so they will always have 2 no matter what level they are.
Item Cards (as per Full Character Setup step 7).
Colored Cubes on your Might Track as depicted on your Item Cards (if any, see Starting Might and Defense box).
3 Iron, if this is the start of your campaign.
The Character's Model.
A Character Sheet (as per Full Character Setup step 3).
A Tracker Token on the Defense slot of your Companion Card, with a value equal to the total of the Defense Values depicted on your Item Cards plus 2 (represented by the two shields depicted on the Defense slot). If you do not have any Defense Values on your Item Cards, place a '3' value Tracker Token (the minimum Defense Value of a Companion is 3).*

*Defense is increased by an additional 1 if playing on Pilgrim difficulty, 2 if you are playing on Journeyman difficulty. For all difficulty rules see page 9.

Story Setup

Component Setup

If you have not done so already, follow the steps for Full Character setup and Companion setup on page 7. Then take the following and place them according to their instructions:

Take the Token Tray from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Dice bag from the box and place all the dice near the playing area.
Take Card Organizer 1 from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Player and Encounter Might Deck Organizers and place them near the playing area. The lids can hold discarded cards and can be placed overlapping the organizers to save table space.
Take the Might Cubes from the box and place them near the playing area.
Take the Iron Currency Tokens from the box and place them near the playing area.
Remove the contents of the Free Company Bag and place them nearby (see box below).
Take the Special Rules Board which has the same number as your current chapter and place it face down at the side of the playing area. Do not look at its face down side until told to do so.
Place the Time Tokens and Location Tokens (numbered 1-30) number side up nearby.
Prepare the City Event Deck and Deepwood Event Deck (see box below).
The Game Map, Time Track and Path Card are not placed during setup. You will be told when to set these up during the story.

Free Company Bag

This bag contains a number of things that belong to the Free Company itself, such as Ally Cards and any Item Cards owned by the Free Company, but not currently equipped by a character.

At the start of each play session, take all of the Ally Cards from the Free Company Bag and place them face up nearby.

Take the Backpack Card and all Item Cards from the Free Company Bag and place them in a pile nearby, with the Backpack Card on top.

Give 2 Player Aid Cards to each player.

At the start of Chapter 1, the Free Company Bag should contain the following:

A sheet from the Free Company pad.

Backpack Card (containing no Item Cards).

4 Men-at-Arms Ally Cards.

8 Player Aid Cards.

Event Decks

When you first start a campaign, take the City Event Cards 1-6 from Card Organizer 1, shuffle them, and place them number side up nearby as the current City Event Deck. Place the rest of the City Event Cards back in the organizer. Do the same with the Deepwood Event Cards 1-6 to create the Deepwood Event Deck.

For later chapters, the current Event Decks are stored in the Free Company Bag; just take them out and put them on the table. The rest of the Event Cards are kept in the Card Organizer.

Instant Action Mode

Instant Action Mode allows you to play the game without playing the full Story part, concentrating instead on playing the Encounters at the end of each chapter. Each Instant Action Chapter has a short story breakdown, some checks, rewards to process and a chance to trade with the Banksmith and Apothecary before you head into the Encounter. You will still need to read the Story rules in this book, though you can skip the Locations and Time Track rules.

When you wish to play the Instant Action mode, perform Character Setup (on page 6-7) and Story Setup steps 1-8 (on page 8). After that, open the Encounter Book and go to the Instant Action mode page for your current chapter and follow the instructions on that page. See the 'How To Use This Book' section in the Encounter Book for more information.

Difficulty Levels

You may vary the difficulty of the game by gaining additional defense (to make the game easier) or by reducing the hit points the Oathsworn and Allies have (to make the game harder). Higher difficulty settings also give bonus Unique Items each Encounter and allow you to ignore some ticks that would be placed on the Knockout Track on the Free Company Sheet. Difficulty can be changed before each Chapter. If you choose to play a Journeyman/Pilgrim Company mark the change in defense by change your defense Tracker Token.

Choose wisely which type of company you are:

Journeyman Company: Oathsworn and Allies have 2 additional defense. (I'm here for the story and that story doesn't involve me getting eaten by monsters)

Pilgrim Company: Oathsworn and Allies have 1 additional defense. (I'm here for the ride. It has its ups and down, but that's part of the fun)

Free Company (Standard Difficulty): Oathsworn and Allies have a maximum of 6 hit points and no additional defense. (I'm here for death and the Deepwood)

Grim Company: Oathsworn and Allies have a maximum of 5 hit points, but gain 1 extra Unique or Common Item every Encounter. (I'm here to test my limits and my sanity. Death is a foregone conclusion, but how many?)

Dread Company: Oathsworn and Allies have a maximum of 4 hit points, but gain 2 extra Unique or Common Items every Encounter. (Sanity was never an option; you need to be mad to make sense of what's coming from the Deepwood. Abandon hope all ye who enter here!)

Hardcore Variant

Another option to make the game have more permanent consequences for your Free Company is Hardcore mode. In this variant, instead of an Oathsworn being knocked unconscious when they reach 0 hit points, they are killed. Place a mark on the Knockout track of the Free Company Sheet as usual, but also record the Character Class that has died on the Hardcore track. In addition, any Oathsworn that ends an Encounter with 1 or 2 Hit Points remaining also gains an Injury Card from the top of the Injury Deck, this must be kept until you are told to archive it.

Oathsworn who have been killed may not be played again in this campaign. Archive the character and all of their items, but keep their Iron. You will have to create a new character to replace them in the remaining chapters - see Quick Leveling on page 26 of the Encounter Rule Book.

If you choose to replay an Encounter instead of moving on, the Oathsworn are not killed and may be saved by replaying with a better result. The KO marks from the first Encounter are still recorded on the Knockout track.

If you ever have fewer than 4 available Oathsworn remaining, then your journey is over; you have failed to complete the campaign.

Story Overview

To navigate the Story part of the game, you can choose to use either the Companion App or the Story Books. Open the relevant Story Book or launch the Companion App and go to your current chapter (Go to Chapter 1 if this is your first game). Then, read the Story and let your adventure unfold, deciding where to go and what to do as a group unless you are told that a particular character makes the choice.

At some point you will be instructed to place one of the City Maps and the "Free Company Marker"; use one of your Oathsworn Character Models for this purpose.

During the Story you will be given specific instructions. These are all listed in the next section. At the end of the Story part you will be instructed to progress to the Encounter part. The Encounter rules can be found in the Encounter Rule Book.

End of Play Session

Once the Story part is finished you may immediately progress to the Encounter or save the game and finish the play session. When you save the game in this way you will then move on to the Encounter part in your next session. See Saving the Game on page 15.

Locations

Maps have numbered locations on them onto which Location Tokens will be placed, to indicate that the location is available to be visited. The current location of the Free Company is indicated by the position of the Free Company Marker.

During the Story, you will be told to 'place Location Tokens'. When this happens, take the indicated Location Token and place it number side up on the corresponding numbered space on the City Map.

At various points in the Story you will be asked to 'Choose a location to go to…'. When this happens, look at the City Map, and choose a location that has a Location Token on it. You cannot visit a location that does not have a Location Token on it.

When you move to a new location, move the Free Company Marker there, remove the Location Token, and place it on the next available space of the Time Track. If the space on the Time Track depicts any immediate effects, resolve them before reading the location entry (see Time Track on page 11).

Sometimes, you will be told to 'Place Location Token X and go there'. In this case, place the indicated Location Token as normal and then move your Free Company Marker there as though you had chosen to go there, following the above rules.

If you are using the Story Book, flip the Location Token over, and turn to the indicated entry in the Story Book depending upon whether you have taken Path A or Path B.

If you are using the Companion App, simply click on the location's name and you will be taken to the correct entry.

Path Cards

You will be instructed to take a certain Path while progressing through the Story. If you are already on a Path and are instructed to take a Path Card, flip the card to the correct side.

Time Track

Moving to a new location takes one unit of time, no matter the distance on the map. This is represented by moving the Location Token from the map to the Time Track.

There are also situations during the Story where you will be instructed to add Time Tokens directly to the Time Track.

When Location Tokens and Time Tokens are placed on the Time Track, first fill the top row, from left to right, then the bottom row, from left to right.

Some spaces show effects which are resolved in one of three situations:

End of Story Effects — These effects are resolved at the end of the Story part of the chapter (before the Encounter). If the space is empty, the effect is triggered. These often give the Oathsworn extra Combat Tokens.

Immediate Effects — These effects are resolved immediately when a token is placed on that space. They can either be an instruction to draw an Event Card (see right), or a story trigger that will tell you to go to a certain entry in the Story Book. If using the app, all story triggers will be automatically triggered within the app. However, you will still need to perform event card triggers yourself.

End of Encounter Effects — These effects are resolved after the Encounter is over, if the space is empty. If the effect is gaining an Extra Unique Item, mark the 'Unique Item' box for your chapter on the Free Company Sheet. You will gain an extra unique during the epilogue of the Chapter.

Because the End of Story and End of Encounter effects are resolved if the space does not have a token on it, the more efficient you are at performing your task, the more rewards you will receive at the end of the Story / Encounter.

Example Track Effects — The effects for Chapter 1 are:

Gain Token: All characters gain a Battleflow Combat Token.
City Event: Draw and resolve a City Event Card.
Extra Unique Item: Draw a Unique Item Card to add to the rewards gained in the epilogue.

Event Cards

There are two types of Event Cards in the game: City Events and Deepwood Events. Many events are dangerous, but some can be beneficial. During the game, you will sometimes be told to draw a card from one of those decks. After drawing the top card, follow the instructions on it, and then archive it back to the Card Organizer.

Over the course of the campaign, new Event Cards will be added to the decks. You will be told when to do this and given a specific event number. This number can be found in the top right corner of the Event Card.

When you add a new Event Card to a deck, shuffle that deck afterwards.

The Free Company

Gaining Clues

Clues affect the way the Story progresses and represent the Free Company discovering important information that will help unravel a mystery. When you are instructed to gain a Clue, take the corresponding Clue Token and place it near the Time Track.

For example: The Story might say "If you have Clue 2, place Location 14."

Item Cards

Item Cards are equipment that is carried and used by the Free Company. They are divided into item decks denoted by the large number on the back, this number corresponds to the Chapter in which the items become available through Trading/Looting. (Note that common items can be looted from an Encounter one chapter earlier than they can be purchased. This is described in the Tally, Loot and Losses section on page 24 of the Encounter Rule Book.)

Each Oathsworn can equip (place in their hand of cards) at most one armor item, one gear item and up to two hands' worth of weapon and shield items (at most a single 2-handed weapon, or two 1-handed weapons, or one 1-handed weapon and one shield). Oathsworn are also restricted on the types of items they can equip, as indicated in the bottom left of their Player Board. If a particular item is restricted to a certain Oathsworn, then the class icon of the Oathsworn allowed to equip the item is also shown on the Item Card as a reminder. Gear cards can be used by any class, without restriction.

Any items not equipped by a character are placed in the Free Company backpack (under the Backpack Card, up to a maximum of 12 Item Cards). If you ever have more items than your backpack can carry, you must discard any excess items back to their chapter's Item Deck. The items that you discard can be chosen from the new items being gained or your old ones.

Item cards can be exchanged between players and/or the backpack at any point during the Story part of a chapter, but not during the Encounter.

Gaining Items

Sometimes you will be instructed to 'Gain' cards from one of the item decks. When this happens, blindly draw the stated amount of cards from the top of the current item deck to keep. Those items may be immediately equipped by a character or placed in the backpack. Whenever a character changes their equipped weapons and/or armor, make sure you adjust their Might Track and Defense Value accordingly.

Running Out of Items

If ever a Free Company cannot fully equip 4 characters with 2 hands worth of items, 1 armor card and 1 gear card, the players may choose to 'petition the Raven Spire' to gain any amount of items from the current or any previous chapter's Common Item Decks. For each item taken, mark one box in the Knockout track of the Free Company Sheet. This track records your overall score for the campaign. The higher the track, the lower your overall score.

Gaining and Losing Iron

Iron is the currency in Oathsworn. When you are instructed to gain Iron, take it from the supply and distribute it among the Oathsworn however you wish. There is no limit to the amount of Iron each Oathsworn can carry and Iron can be exchanged between Oathsworn at any time. If you lose Iron, place the amount indicated (taken from any Oathsworn) back in the supply.

If you are instructed to lose more Iron than you have, you must also lose items from your backpack. Each item you lose reduces the amount of Iron you need to lose by an amount equal to half of the item's value (rounded up). An item's value is depicted in the middle of the Item Card's back. You must always lose whole items. You never lose equipped items, so if you are instructed to lose Iron, do not have enough, and do not have items in your backpack to meet the loss, you lose what you can, but keep all equipped items. Remember that you can exchange equipped items with items in the shared Free Company backpack or other Oathsworn at any time during the Story, including just before deciding which backpack items to lose.

For example: The Free Company is instructed to lose 4 Iron, but only has 3 Iron. They must therefore take some or all of the loss in Items from the backpack. They choose to lose a chapter 4 item (to reduce the Iron they need to lose by 2), then lose 2 Iron in coins, leaving them with 1 Iron.

Losing Hit Points

During the Story, you may be instructed to lose Hit Points. When this happens, rotate your HP die down to reflect the Hit Point loss.

For example: You currently have 5 Hit Points. The Story says: "The ladder breaks and you fall to the street below. Lose 1 HP." You rotate your HP die so it now shows a 4.

Might Cards

Might Cards are used at various times in the game and are drawn at random from the Might Decks. Use the Oathsworn Might Decks if it is an Oathsworn or Ally making a check or an attack, and use the Enemy Might Deck for attacks from enemies.

The Might decks have four power levels denoted by their color white/yellow/red/black. These icons denote your Might and represent either one card or die of the relevant color (your choice).

WEAKEST (white → yellow → red → black) STRONGEST

After resolving the effect of your draw, place the used Might Cards in the corresponding discard pile. If a Might Deck is ever empty, shuffle its discards to form a new deck, then draw any remaining Might Cards you require. Discard piles are common knowledge and can be viewed at any time.

At any time during the Story part of the game (not the Encounter part) an Oathsworn may spend any one Combat Token to reset any number of Might Decks. To do this, reshuffle the discard piles for the Oathsworn Might decks back into the appropriate decks.

At the end of the story part, all decks are reshuffled before the encounter part.

Note: Might Dice can always be used instead of or in combination with Might Cards.

Combat Tokens

Combat Tokens may be gained at various points in the Story and the Encounter. When gained, they are placed on your Player Board (or Companion Card) and can be used, either during the Story or the Encounter. Once used, they are returned back to the supply. All unused Combat Tokens are discarded at the end of a chapter, after the epilogue. They do not carry over into the next chapter.

The full rules for these tokens can be found in Appendix I on page 16.

Permanent Tokens

During the game, you may also gain permanent tokens. Note this on your Character Sheet. These represent your characters gaining veterancy on their journey. At the start of each chapter, you gain a corresponding Combat Token for each permanent token you have marked on your Character sheet. These can be used during the chapter as usual. You only gain permanent tokens once per chapter and will not regain them between the story and the encounter parts. However, the ones you have left at the end of the story will be useable in the encounter.

If you gain a permanent token before the Encounter part of a chapter, you also immediately gain the corresponding Combat Token (so you can use it in that chapter too).

Allies

During the Story, you will sometimes have the opportunity to gain an Ally. These characters are not Oathsworn, but may join your Free Company for a time. When you gain an Ally, take the corresponding Ally Card from the Ally Deck and place it with the other Allies belonging to the Free Company.

There are two types of Allies: combat and non-combat. Both types of Ally may have an effect on the Story, but if an Ally is stated to be a non-combat Ally, they cannot be used during Encounters.

Story Actions

Checks

Sometimes during the Story or Encounter, the Free Company will be told to 'PERFORM A CHECK'. Each check will have a type, such as a Spot Check, a Survival Check, or a Basic Check. Every check is resolved in the same way, but there may be modifiers to the check according to your Oathsworn, Free Company traits or item bonuses.

Unless otherwise stated, only one check is made for the whole Free Company. However, sometimes a check states that 'EACH OATHSWORN' performs the check or a single Oathsworn may be required to take it.

To perform a check, decide on how many white cards to draw (up to a maximum of 10) from the white Oathsworn Might Deck. This decision is made as a group if the check is being made for the whole of the Free Company, or by the relevant player if the check is for a particular Oathsworn. Draw the cards and total their values. If the total drawn on the cards is equal to or higher than the difficulty of the check, and you didn't draw 2 or more blanks (after redraws), the check succeeds. If the total drawn on the cards is less than the difficulty of the check, or you draw 2 or more blanks (after redraws), the check fails.

For example: The Free Company is making a check with a difficulty of 3 and chooses to draw 3 white cards.

Drawing 2 blanks and 1 numbered card: FAIL (2 misses)
Drawing 3 blank-value cards totaling only 2: FAIL (value 2)
Drawing cards totaling 3: PASS (value 3)

During any type of check, Redraw Tokens may be used. In addition, Empowered x3 Tokens may be used during any check called a 'Might Check'. See Appendix I on page 16 for full details on using these Combat Tokens. For each redraw you use during a check, discard one drawn card and draw a new card of the same type.

Criticals

Some cards have a 'Critical' symbol on them. For each card you draw with a Critical symbol, draw another card of the same color and add its value to your total. If you draw another Critical symbol with the extra card, repeat this process. Any blanks drawn when drawing extra cards from Criticals do not cause a check to fail.

Levels of Success

Some checks include the words 'for each success'. For these checks, it isn't just a case of success or failure. Instead, you gain a number of successes for each multiple of the difficulty check you draw.

For example: You are performing a Basic Check of difficulty 3. The text says "For each success, gain 1 HP." You get the following successes, based on your draw:

0-2: Check failed
3-5: One success
6-8: Two successes
9-11: Three successes
Etc.

Secret Decisions

At certain times during the Story you may be asked to make a Secret Decision. Without any discussion, each player takes a Hit Point die and sets it to the value matching their choice of outcome. Reveal all of the dice and resolve the Secret Decision according to the rule described at that point in the Story Book. If playing solo, you make the decision for the Free Company and do not need to hide your choice.

Round of Combat

Sometimes during the Story, the Free Company may get itself into a situation where a fight breaks out. This is resolved by performing a single round of combat which encapsulates the results of the entire skirmish. Each Oathsworn must draw a single attack against the enemy. Combat Tokens may be used (see Appendix I), but Special Abilities or Item Abilities may not.

To perform this attack, the player draws any number of their character's Might Cards as depicted on their Might Track and up to 10 white cards. If 2 or more blanks are drawn, the attack misses and causes no damage. Otherwise, the attack hits and the sum of all the numbers on the cards drawn is the damage dealt. If the damage dealt is equal to or more than the enemy's defense, the Oathsworn succeeds. If the damage is lower, the Oathsworn fails.

Oathsworn always defeat their enemies during a round of combat that takes place during the Story part of a chapter. However, each Oathsworn that fails loses 1 HP.

For Example: The Free Company is told to 'Perform a Round of Combat against Defense 5'. Jason has no Might from his weapons and chooses to draw 6 White. Kim, Luke and Jimmy all have two handed weapons that give them one yellow might. Kim also decides to use an Empowered x3 Token on her attempt to draw a black. Kim draws 1 Black, 1 Yellow and 1 White. Luke chooses to Draw 1 Yellow and 3 White. Lastly, Jimmy decides to draw 1 Yellow and 4 White.

Jason: FAIL (2 misses, -1 HP). Kim: PASS (value 6). Luke: FAIL (value 4, -1 HP). Jimmy: FAIL (2 misses, -1 HP).

Jimmy then uses 1 Reroll Token to redraw one of his blank cards. His new card is a 1, turning his failure into a success.

Banksmith and Apothecary

In every City, there are two special locations that you can visit for their services: the Banksmith and the Apothecary. There are two primary ways you can trade with them. Firstly, it is possible to place Banksmith and Apothecary Location Tokens during the course of the Story that will allow you to gain access to these services without any additonal costs. Secondly, you can 'send a runner' to perform a trade for you. This will cost you some iron but also allows you to access their services at any point in the Story.

Sending a Runner

When you are playing a chapter with a City/Town/Village Map, you may 'START A TRADE' with a Banksmith or Apothecary at any point during the Story. You do not move the Free Company marker to these special locations, but instead pay a runner to go for you. Each time you 'send a runner', you lose an amount of Iron equal to your current chapter. You may 'send a runner' to the same one more than once during the same Story, paying the cost each time.

The Apothecary

Here, you can buy curatives that can stop you from receiving serious injuries if your character goes unconscious. When you START A TRADE with an Apothecary, you may buy Curative Cards (Max 5 per chapter), each one costing an amount of Iron equal to the current chapter. Whenever Curatives are gained, they are placed in the Injury Deck and the Injury Deck is then shuffled.

The Banksmith

Here, the Free Company can buy and sell items. When you START A TRADE with a Banksmith, take all the cards from the Common Item Deck for the current chapter and place them face up in a row so that all players can see them. These Item Cards are available to buy at the Banksmith. Each costs an amount of Iron equal to the number on the bottom/back of the Item Card.

Additionally, any items the Free Company currently has (either equipped by a character or in the backpack) can be sold to the Banksmith. Each item can be sold for an amount of Iron equal to half the number on the bottom/back of the Item Card (rounded up). Archive all sold items.

For example, a 5 Iron Item can be sold at a Banksmith for 3 Iron.

After all buying and selling is complete, shuffle any remaining Banksmith Item Cards back into the Common Item Deck for the current chapter.

Saving the Game

Each character comes with a Character Save Bag and the Free Company as a whole has a Free Company Save Bag. When you have finished a play session, place the following into the Save Bags:

Each Character Save Bag

A Character Sheet. If saving after the Story part of a chapter, record your current HP on it. If saving after the Encounter part of a chapter, do not record your HP. You return to your Maximum HP at the start of every Chapter.
Character Ability Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Ability Cards with a Character Card separator.
The Companion Card and all Archetype Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Archetype cards with a Character Card separator.
The character's Injury Cards, Item Cards and Iron Coins.
Combat Tokens (only if saving between the Story and the Encounter, otherwise archive your Combat Tokens)

Free Company Save Bag

Free Company Sheet. If saving between the Story and the Encounter, record in the relevant boxes whether you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track, have revealed the Encounter Special Rules Board and whether you are ambushed.
The Backpack Card and all Item Cards not equipped by any character.
Ally Cards
City and Deepwood Event Decks

After saving the game, archive all remaining components.

Appendix I

Combat Tokens

Defense Token: During the Encounter. After damage is drawn against you, you may spend one or more Defense Tokens. Each one temporarily increases your Defense Value by 1 when calculating how many HP you lose.

For example: You are attacked by an enemy and are hit for 7 damage. You are wearing armor with a Defense Value of 2, so you would lose 3 HP. If, however, you spend 1 Defense Token, your Defense Value is temporarily increased to 3 and you only lose 2 HP.

+2 Animus Token: During the Encounter. At any time, you may spend one of these tokens to immediately regenerate 2 Animus, moving 2 Animus from your reserve area to your available area. Companions use these tokens differently (see page 9 of the Encounter Rule Book).

Redraw Token: During the Story or Encounter. After drawing Oathsworn Might Cards, you may spend any number of these tokens. For each Token spent, immediately redraw one card you have drawn, ignoring the previous result. You may draw extra Might Cards from Criticals before deciding whether to use this token. You may redraw a Might Card you have already redrawn. They may be used when performing a check (including a check made for the whole of the Free Company), or when attacking, either during the Story or the Encounter.

Empowered x3 Token: During the Story or Encounter. Before you draw Oathsworn Might Cards for an attack, you may spend one or more Empowered x3 Tokens. For each Token spent, you may upgrade your Oathsworn Might Cards three times to the next color (White > Yellow > Red > Black). You may either upgrade the same Might Card three times, one card twice and one once or three Might cards once each. You may not use this token when drawing extra Might Cards from Criticals.

They may also be used when performing a Round of Combat or Might Check during the story.

This token's effect cannot be split between more than one attack.

Battleflow Token: During the Encounter. At any time, you may spend one or more of these tokens. For each Token spent, Battleflow all cards on a single cooldown position as if an Ability Card had just been placed there. Companions and Allies use these tokens differently (see page 9 of the Encounter Rule Book).

Status Tokens

Poison — A character who has one or more Poison Tokens suffers the effects as described on the Special Rules Board.

Bleed — A character with one or more Bleed Tokens will lose 1 or more HP when the token is triggered. These tokens are triggered by Ability Cards for Oathsworn or Stage Cards for Encounters.

Crippled — A character with a Crippled Token cannot move until the end of the next Oathsworn Phase. This includes movement from any Ability Cards. You may still play the card, but abilities that require movement, such as Chain Attacks, cannot be performed. After the next Oathsworn Phase, the Crippled Token is removed. If a Crippled Token is gained during the Oathsworn Phase, the token is not removed until the end of the next full Oathsworn Phase.

Lethality (Specific to the Cur) — These tokens are gained through the Cur's abilities and spent to empower attacks. See the Cur's Player Board Special Ability for full rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Story Questions

Q: If I am told to gain X Iron, do I share that among the Free Company? A: Yes the X represents the total reward, if you are told 'Each' or 'All' Oathsworn gains X Iron, then each Oathsworn gains that amount.

Q: Can you switch characters during the campaign? A: Yes, this can be done easily through the Quick Leveling System in the Encounter Rule Book.

Component Questions

Q: When do you reset the Might Decks? A. At the end of each Story or Encounter Part, When the cards run out, when the deck is forced to be reset by any 0 cooldown card, or when a companion spends a Combat Token specifically to do so.

Q. How do max animus and regen boxes on the Character Sheet work? A. When you first make a character record their max regen and animus on the Character Sheet by marking off one box for each max animus and regen depicted on the Player Board.

When you gain more max animus and regen throughout the campaign you simply mark off more boxes rather than have to erase a number and rewrite it.

Q. Can you run multiple campaigns at the same time using the app? A. Yes, your campaign progress is saved through the components not the app.

Hardcore Questions

Q: If an Oathsworn is killed during a story event, are all of the items and iron lost? A: Their items are lost but their iron is not. Their items may not be given to others in the moments before their death.

Q: If playing Hardcore, do deaths in the Story part lockout a class on the Hardcore Track on the Free Company Sheet? A: Yes

Story Rule Book Credits

Thank You to All 11,518 Backers

With a special thanks to Hazel Jolly and Ann Marie O'Hara for suffering on the Wire Road with us every step of the way. Tony Nelson, Nicolas Zhang, Yuseph Maghsoudlou, Geoffrey Fuqua, Tyler Scott, Kent Risk, Ryan Holt and David Martinez for being willing to die again and again in the pursuit of perfection. Thomas Millard for being a pillar in the community and ever present help in the forums and comments. Also to the hundreds of community members who proofread and tested the game and to the dozens of artists, writers and creatives who made amazing fan content to the inspire us all.

Game Design and Development: Director of Game Development: Jamie Jolly. Game Design: Jamie Jolly. Additional Narrative Design: Kevin Blank, Nicolas Zhang. Additional Game Design: Nicolas Zhang. World Building: Jamie Jolly, Toby O'Hara. Story: Jamie Jolly. Writers: Jamie Jolly, Tamara Farsadi, Paul Destefano, Ivonne Vaziri-Elahi, Kevin Blank, Tim Hickson, Toby O'Hara, Dylan Birtolo, Jaym Gates, Henry Sawdon-Smith, Jade Knightly. Rulebook: Jamie Jolly. Additional Rulebook Development: Philip Pettifer and Paul Grogan. Proofreading: Tamara Farsadi, Philip Pettifer, Nicolas Zhang, Toby O'Hara, Kevin Blank. German Translation: Michael Csorba, Nils Baus, Marcel Davidsohn, Benjamin Manglkammer, Marco Mewes.

Visuals: Art Director: Jamie Jolly. Art Team: Dongjun Lu, Dongbiao Lu, Vladimir Buchyk. Sculptor: Toby O'Hara. Cartographer: Francesca Bearald. Graphic Design: Utku Ozden, John Mietling. Maze Maker: Sean Jackson. Play time icons modified from Skoll and Lorc under CC 3.0.

Digital Media: Android and IoS Developer: Stacey Saich. Rules Videos: Paul Grogan, Jeremy Hollobon. Database Developer: Dean Reynolds. Frontend Web Developer: Robin Sansom. Communications: Mark Chu. Social Media Coordinator: Hazel Jolly. Sound Effects: Sword Coast Soundscapes. Kickstarter Trailer and Asset Renders: Jon Mietling.

Manufacturing and Logistics: Director of Manufacturing: Toby O'Hara. Engineering: James Messink, Toby O'Hara. Supply Chain Management: Corey Coffman, Toby O'Hara. Manufacturing: Panda Game Manufacturing - Special thanks to Joe Wiggins, Matthew Austin, Kathrin Ulbrich.

Index

Key: (S) = Story Rule Book, (E) = Encounter Rule Book

# — +2 Animus Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28

A — Ability Card (E) pp.10-11; Allies in Combat (E) p.17; Ambushed (E) p.8; Ancient Guardian (E) p.8, 19, 32; Animus (S) p.7, (E) p.8, 10, 16, 22, 26; Apothecary (S) p.15, (E) p.27; App (S) p.10, (E) p.24; Archetype (E) p.7, 9; Archiving (S) p.3, (E) p.3; Area of Effect (AoE) (E) p.29; Attack (Encounter) (E) p.22; Attack (Minion) (E) pp.22-23; Attack (Oathsworn) (E) pp.13-15; Attack (Sentinels, Guardians and Falcons) (E) p.32; Attack once and apply to all targets (E) p.29

B — Backpack (S) p.12; Banksmith (S) p.15; Basic Check (S) p.14; Battleflow / No Battleflow (E) p.11; Battleflow Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Bleed (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Breaking Locations (E) p.15; Broken Attacks (E) p.22

C — Caged (E) p.29; Cards (Might) (S) pp.14-15, (E) p.13-14, 22; Cards vs Dice (S) p.3, (E) p.3; Chain Attack (E) p.29; Chapter (S) p.10; Character Save Bag (S) p.15, (E) p.25; Charge Through (E) p.30; Checks (S) p.14; Classes (S) p.6; Clue Tokens (S) p.12; Combat Tokens (S) p.13, 16, (E) p.4, 28; Companion Cards (S) pp.6-7, (E) p.9; Complexity (S) p.6; Cone Attacks (E) p.30; Consumed (E) p.30; Cooldown (E) p.8, 11; Critical (S) p.14, (E) p.13; Crippled (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Cur (Lethality) (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Curatives (S) p.15

D — Damage (S) p.15, (E) p.15; Defense (S) p.7,15, (E) p.15, 22; Defense Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Determination Rule (E) p.13; Dice (Might) (S) p.3, 14-15, (E) p.3; Difficulty Levels (S) p.9; Discarding Items (S) p.12

E — Effect Tiles (E) p.5, 9, 29; Elemental Hexes (E) p.5, 9; Empowered (S) p.16, (E) p.14; Empowered x3 Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Encounter Body Parts (E) p.15, 22; Encounter Move (E) pp.20-21; Encounter Part (S) p.3, (E) p.3; Encounter Phase (E) pp.18-23; End of Encounter Effects (S) p.11; End of Round Phase (E) p.24; End of Story Effects (S) p.11; Enemies (E) p.8; Event Cards (S) p.8, 11

F — Falcons (E) p.32; Fail (S) p.14, (E) p.24; Fire Hexes (E) p.5, 9; Free Company (S) p.6, (E) p.6; Free Company Save Bag (S) p.8,15, (E) p.25; Friendly Characters (E) p.8

G — Gear (S) p.12, (E) p.9, 16; Golden Rule (E) p.19; Grove Maiden (E) p.32

H — Hardcore Mode (S) p.9; Hit Points (S) p.7, p.13, (E) p.15; Huntress (E) p.32

I — Ignore the highest card (E) p.29 (Chain Attacks); Immediate Effects (S) p.11; Information Sharing (E) p.10; Injury Cards (E) p.8; Instant Action Mode (S) p.9; Interrupt (E) p.16; Intuitive Movement (E) p.21; Iron Currency (S) p.12; Item Cards (S) p.12, (E) p.11, 16; Items (Gaining) (S) p.12; Item Bonuses against Multiple targets (E) p.16

K — Knockback (E) p.30; Knockout (KO) (E) p.17, 24

L — Large (E) p.14; Lethality (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Leveling Up (E) p.26; Locations (S) p.10; Line of Sight (LoS) (E) p.12

M — Might Check (S) p.14; Might Dice/Cards (S) p.3, 13-14, (E) p.5, 13; Might Track (S) p.7, (E) p.13; Minion (E) p.15, 23; Miss (Attack) (E) p.13; Mitigation (Defensive Ability Cards) (E) p.22; Mob (E) p.23; Move (Encounter) (E) pp.20-21; Move (Oathsworn) (E) p.9; Move Directly Away (E) p.21

N — North then West (E) p.19

O — Oathsworn (S) p.6 (E) p.8; Oathsworn Phase (E) p.8-17; Obstacle (E) p.5

P — Path Card (S) p.10; Permanent Token (S) p.13, (E) p.27; Petition the Raven Spire (S) p.12; Phases (E) p.8; Poison Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Pushed (E) p.31

Q — Quick Leveling Up (E) p.26

R — Random Direction (Enemy Movement) (E) p.21; Range (E) p.12; Reaction (E) p.15; Redraw / Reroll (S) p.16, (E) p.13; Refresh Phase (E) p.8; Regen (Animus) (E) p.8; Replenish Might decks (E) p.16; Round of Combat (S) p.15; Running out of items (S) p.12

S — Saving the game (S) p.15, (E) p.25; Sentinels (Grove Maiden) (E) p.32; Setup (S) pp.6-9, (E) p.6; Status Token (S) p.16, (E) p.16; Stage Cards (E) p.18; Story Part (S) p.3; Straight Line (Line of Sight) (E) p.12; Straight Line (Movement) (E) p.20; Success (S) p.14; Summon (E) p.32 (Grove Maiden Guardian and Sentinels)

T — Table of Contents (S) p.3, (E) p.3; Tally, Level, Loot and Losses (E) p.24; Target (E) p.12, 19; Thrown (E) p.31; Time Token (S) p.11; Time Track (S) p.11; Toxic Cloud Template (E) p.5, 9; Trade (S) p.15

U — Unarmed (E) p.31; Unconscious (E) p.17; Unique Item (S) p.4; Unlock Ability Card (E) p.27

W — Water Hexes (E) p.5, 9; Wave (E) p.31; Witch (E) p.6

Glossary

A quick-reference chart of the icons and tokens used throughout both rule books. Key: (S) = Story Rule Book, (E) = Encounter Rule Book.

Phases: Refresh Phase (E) p.8; Oathsworn Phase (E) pp.8-17; Encounter Phase (E) pp.18-23; End of Round Phase (E) p.24

Keywords: Basic Check (S) p.14; Breaking a location (E) p.15; Critical (S) p.14, (E) p.13; Empowered (S) p.16, (E) p.14; Ignore the highest card (E) p.29; Line of Sight (E) p.12; Minion (E) p.15, 23; Miss / Hit (E) p.13; Mob (E) p.23; Move (Oathsworn) (E) p.9; Move (Encounter) (E) pp.20-21; Oathsworn (S) p.6, (E) p.8; Obstacle (E) p.5; Range (E) p.12; Reaction (E) p.15; Round of Combat (S) p.15; Straight line (E) p.12, 20; Target (E) p.12, 19; Trading (S) p.15

Icons: Hit Points (E) p.15; Interrupt (E) p.16; Battleflow (E) p.11; Defense (E) p.15, 22; Attack (E) p.13, 22; Animus (E) p.8; Encounter Body Parts (E) p.15, 22; Might — white/yellow/red/black (S) p.13; Fire & Water Tiles (E) p.9; Cooldown (E) p.11

Combat Tokens (Appendix I (S) p.16, (E) p.28): Defense, +2 Animus, Redraw, Empowered x3, Battleflow

Status Tokens (Appendix I (S) p.16, (E) p.28): Poison, Bleed, Crippled, Lethality

General Tokens: Location Token (S) p.10; Clue Token (S) p.12; Time Token (S) p.11; Iron (S) p.12; Tracker Token (S) p.7

Appendix II (E): Area of Effect (E) p.29; Caged (E) p.29; Chain (E) p.29; Cone (E) p.30; Charge Through (E) p.30; Knockback (E) p.30; Pushed (E) p.31; Unarmed (E) p.31; Wave (E) p.31; Thrown (E) p.31

Cards: Common Item (S) p.12, (E) p.11, 16; Unique Item (S) p.12, (E) p.11, 24; Oathsworn Ability (E) pp.10-11; Injury Card (E) p.8; Curative Card (S) p.15; Ally Card (S) p.13, (E) p.17; Encounter Stage Card (E) p.18; Path Card (S) p.10; City Event (S) p.8, 11; Deepwood Event (S) p.8, 11; Backpack (S) p.12; Might Cards (S) pp.13-14, (E) p.13; Companion Card (S) pp.6-7, (E) p.9; Archetype Card (E) p.7, 9

Encounter Rule Book

The Encounter Rule Book opens with the same Game Overview, Components, "Rulebook vs Component Rules," "Archiving," and "Cards or Dice?" sections printed above in the Story Rule Book (its Table of Contents also lists Components pp.4-5 immediately before Encounter Setup). The sections below pick up with the material specific to the Encounter Rule Book.

Encounter Setup

Free Company recruits are often called '60 seconders' as that is how long they tend to survive first contact with a monster. The Encounter is that 60 seconds.

At some point during the Story part of the chapter, you will be instructed to proceed to the Encounter in the Encounter Book. When this happens, the Encounter part of the chapter begins.

To setup the Encounter, perform the following steps, in order:

If you are continuing from the Story part of the chapter in this play session:

If you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track after completing the Encounter, mark the 'Extra Unique' box for your chapter on your Free Company Sheet.
Archive the City Map, Time Track, Iron Currency Tokens, Time Tokens, Location Tokens, Path Card, Journal and Story Book.
Place the Event Decks, Backpack Card and your unequipped items in the Free Company Save Bag.
Take the Game Board and place it in the center of the playing area.
Follow the Encounter Setup below.

If you are NOT continuing from the Story part of the chapter in this play session:

Take the Game Board and place it in the center of the playing area.
Take the Token Tray from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Dice Bag from the box and place all the dice near the playing area.
Take the Card Organizer 1 from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Player and Encounter Might Decks Organizers and place them near the playing area. The lids can hold discarded cards and can be placed overlapping the organizers to save table space.
Take the Might Cubes from the box and place them near the playing area.
Follow the steps for Full Character setup and Companion setup (page 7 of the Story Rulebook).
Take the Combat Tokens from the character's Save Bag and place them on or next to your respective Player Boards/Companion Cards.
Open the Encounter Book to your current chapter. Open the Mystery Box / Envelope described in the Encounter Book and assemble any components if you have not already done so.
Take the Special Rules Board for your current chapter (depicted by the number on the back of the card) and place it face down at the side of the playing area. Do not look at it until told to do so. If the Special Rules box for your chapter is checked on your Free Company Sheet, turn the Special Rules Board face up.
Follow the Encounter Setup below.

Encounter Setup:

If this is your first Encounter read the 'How to Use this Book' page at the front of the Encounter Book.
If you have not done so already, open the Encounter Book to your current chapter.
Place the Encounter Board described in the Encounter Book face up.
Place a HP die, set to 6, on each available slot on the Encounter Board.
Take the 15 Stage Cards described in the Encounter Book. Shuffle the Stage 3 cards (indicated on the back) and place them face down to the left of the Encounter Board. Shuffle the Stage 2 cards and place them face down on top of the Stage 3 cards. Shuffle the Stage 1 cards and place them face down on top of the Stage 2 cards. Turn the top Stage 1 card face up.
Build your hand of Cards: Each Oathsworn starts the Encounter with a hand of exactly 7 Ability Cards. This must comprise of the following: One '0' cooldown card, Two '1' cooldown cards, Two '2' cooldown cards, Two '3' cooldown cards. In addition, all Oathsworn must take all Injury Cards they have in their Save Bag and any Items Cards they have following the limitations on Page 12 of the Story Rule Book.

At the start of the campaign (Encounter 1), characters use only their 7 starting Ability Cards (see box). From Chapter 2 onwards, Oathsworn will choose 7 cards from their own set of unlocked Ability Cards as long as they follow the restrictions above on how many cards to have for each cooldown value. These 7 cards can be changed for each Encounter to help combat the nature of the enemy. In addition, the Witch can combine both Fire and Water cards in her hand from Chapter 2 onwards.

For example: Kim's Ranger has a level 2 Ability Card in her pool with a cooldown of 3, she can use this in place of one of her cooldown 3 starting Ability Cards.

Note: During the Story part of the chapter, you may have revealed the Special Rules Board for the Encounter. It shows details of the boss and any minions it may have. If it is revealed, take note of any information on it and build your hand of Ability Cards accordingly. If you did not reveal it, you will have to build your hand of Ability Cards without that knowledge.

Starting Ability Cards

Each full character starts out with a set of 7 starting Ability Cards. These have the name of your character on the back. Find the 7 starting Ability Cards, indicated by a star icon below the name on the front of the card. Leave the other Ability Cards where they are for now.

Each companion begins with 1 double-sided starting Archetype Card, indicated by a star icon on the left hand border. Only one side of an Archetype Card is used during each Encounter.

The Witch is an exception to this: she will use her 3 starting Ability Cards (marked by a star icon) and then chooses either the 4 Fire or 4 Water starting Ability Cards (as depicted by the icon under the card name). All these cards are considered to be unlocked in the Witch's ability pool and, from Chapter 2 onwards, these can be chosen and mixed when building your hand.

If you are playing with any Companions then for each one, select 1 side of 1 of their unlocked Archetype Cards to use during this Encounter.
Turn the Special Rules Board face up if you have not done so already.
Place the Encounter enemies and obstacles on the Game Board as shown in the setup image in the Encounter Book.
Place your Free Company Models on the Game Board anywhere in the green zone as shown in the setup image in the Encounter Book.
Choose one Oathsworn to take the lead for this Encounter. They will take the first turn in each round.
Follow any additional setup instructions in the Encounter Book.
Check your Free Company Sheet to see whether you start the Encounter normally or are being ambushed.
Start the Encounter.

Sequence of Play

An Encounter is played out over a series of rounds. Each round consists of the following four phases, performed in order:

Refresh Phase — Regain Ability Cards from cooldown position 0 and regenerate Animus.
Oathsworn Phase — Players can spend Animus to move and use Ability Cards.
Encounter Phase — Resolve enemy actions according to the Stage Card.
End of Round Phase — Effects that last until the end of the round are now ended.

This process repeats until either the Encounter is defeated or all of the Oathsworn are unconscious (reduced to 0 HP).

Terminology

All living creatures represented by miniatures or standees are considered to be characters.

The terms "friendly" or "enemy" are relative to the character performing an action. The term "friendly characters" in this game refers to characters who are fighting on the side of the character performing the action, this includes the character itself. The term "enemies" refers to characters who are not.

The term 'Oathsworn' refers to all full characters or companions. Allies, other non-player controlled characters, the Grove Maiden's Sentinels and Ancient Guardian are not Oathsworn. These are considered to be friendly characters only.

Normal Start or Being Ambushed

Each Encounter either starts normally or with the Free Company being ambushed by the enemy. Unless told otherwise during the story, the Free Company will start normally and the normal sequence of play is used. However, if the Encounter ambushes the Free Company, the first two phases are skipped in the first round; proceed straight to the Encounter Phase. Play continues normally in all future rounds.

Refresh Phase

Note: Skip this Phase in Round 1 if the Free Company was ambushed. Go straight to Encounter Phase instead.

Each Oathsworn and Ally performs the following steps simultaneously:

Regenerate Animus according to the character's Animus Regen value. Do this by moving the defined number of Animus from the reserve area (left) to the available area (right). You cannot regenerate more Animus than you have in your reserve. Companions always regenerate 2 Animus per round as depicted on their Companion Card. Note: All Oathsworn start an encounter with all Animus in the reserve (left) area.
If there are any Ability Cards below your Player Board (cooldown position 0), take them back into your hand. Note: other cards do not move.
If you are a companion, remove any cubes from your Archetype Card.

Injury Cards

If you have any Injury Cards in your hand on your first turn of each round (only possible from Chapter 2 onwards) you must play all Injury Cards before performing your movement or playing an Ability Card. Injury Cards can be played in any order you choose and do not count as playing an Ability Card. You may play Item abilities and Combat Tokens before playing Injury Cards.

For example: Jimmy has 3 Injury Cards in his hand. On his turn, he plays all three, then moves 2 and finally plays an Ability Card.

Special Abilities

Each full character also has a Special Ability printed on their Player Board. These can be used at an appropriate time according to their description. See Appendix III on page 32 for more details on the Special Abilities of the Grove Maiden and the Huntress.

Oathsworn Phase

Note: Skip this Phase in Round 1 if the Free Company was ambushed. Go straight to Encounter Phase instead.

In this phase, the players take turns, starting with the first player (chosen freely by the players at the start of the encounter) and proceeding clockwise around the table. Players take as many turns as they wish. The Oathsworn phase ends once all players have decided they don't wish to take any more turns (usually when they run out of Animus or can't make good use of any more abilities).

On your turn, you may make one move action and play up to one Ability Card. Both of these are optional and you may choose to do neither. Companions may make one move action and either attack or activate a special ability, according to their Companion Card/Archetype Card.

Whether or not you move or play an Ability Card on your turn, you may play as many Item Cards and Combat Tokens as you wish, and in any order. You may also use your Special Ability.

You may keep taking turns even if you chose to pass on your previous turn.

In this way players can effectively choose how they activate their characters; one character can perform a series of turns if the rest of the group agrees to pass on their turns.

For Example: Kim, Jimmy and Luke are in the Oathsworn Phase. Kim wants to do a combination of two abilities in a row to help the team out. Jimmy and Luke agree so Kim takes her first turn and Jimmy and Luke pass allowing Kim to take a second turn directly afterwards. Then play continues as normal with Jimmy and Luke taking their turns and so on...

Companions

Companions use a simplified method of activation. They still spend Animus, but do not follow the standard movement or Ability Card rules. Instead, they have a number of actions on their Companion Card they may perform, for a cost of one Animus. Each companion also has an Archetype Card showing 2 abilities; each Archetype Card ability may be used once per round. Place a colored cube on the ability to indicate it cannot be used again this round. Some Archetype Cards give the Companion interrupt abilities. All interrupts that companions perform cost no Animus as depicted by the 'pay no animus' icon next to the interrupt icon.

Guard is an interrupt ability as depicted by the upheld hand and so costs no animus as depicted by the 'pay no animus' icon.

Companion Combat Tokens:

Companions may use Defense, Redraw, and Empowered x3 Combat Tokens as usual, but +2 Animus and Battleflow Combat Tokens work differently for them. Instead of the usual effect, a companion may, during their turn, use any +2 Animus Tokens or Battleflow Combat Tokens to immediately perform one of the following actions: Move 2, perform the attack on the companion card (without the usual Determination Rule on page 13) or 'refresh your Might Decks' (see page 16 for more details).

For example: Jimmy's Priest Companion has a +2 Animus Token, he returns it to the supply and may immediately Move 2, Attack or refresh the Might Deck.

Companion Items: Companions gain might and defense from items in the same way a full character does; however, they do not use item abilities in the same way. Item abilities no longer cost animus or go on cooldown, but instead become single use items that can be triggered when the conditions on the ability are met. After an item ability is used, turn the item face down to show it has been used. That item ability cannot be used again in this Encounter, though its passive might, range and defense will still remain in effect.

Note: Some item's normal abilities do not work with the companion's simplified mechanics. Instead of using the normal ability, companions use the alternate ability that is only useable by companions, denoted by the word 'Companion:'

For example: Jimmy uses the 'Companion: Move 3 effect' on his Priest's Amber Nugget Item Card. This costs no Animus. Afterwards he turns the item face down to show he can no longer use it.

Companion Injuries: Companions that start an Encounter with injuries ignore the effects on the cards. Instead, companions lose Hit Points at the start of the Encounter depending on how many injuries they have.

0 or 1 injury cards = 0 hit points
2 or 3 injury cards = 1 hit point
4 or more injury cards = 2 hit points

Movement

When you make a move action, you may spend any amount of Animus (moving it from the available area (right) to the reserve area (left)) to move your Character on the Game Board. For each Animus spent, you may move to any adjacent hex that does not contain an obstacle or another character.

Some items and abilites also allow you move. When this happens you may move up to the amount of hexes indicated on the card for the cost shown.

Each Oathsworn and Ally is facing in a particular direction indicated by the direction they are looking. You can change facing, at no cost, at any time on your turn, except while resolving an effect.

For example: Kim spends two Animus and moves her Ursus two hexes and faces the Giant Rat.

Movement and Effect Tiles

Effect Tiles may be placed on the Game Board during the Encounter and have the following effects:

Fire Tile: If a character occupies a hex with 1 or more Fire Tiles during the End of Round phase, remove 1 tile beneath the character from the board and the character loses 1 HP.

Water Tile: Water Tiles cost 2 movement to move onto. In the case of large characters, this applies if any hex of the character moves onto it. A character only suffers this penalty from each Water hex once per turn. Water is not removed after being moved onto. Enemies that only have one movement remaining will stop when they reach a Water Tile.

There are several other Effect Tokens in the game such as Blood and Poison. You will be told their effects on the Encounter Special Rules Board when they are used.

There can only be one single-hex Effect Tile/Token in a hex. If a new single-hex Effect Tile/Token is created on a hex, replace any existing single-hex Effect Tile/Token with the new one. Single-hex Effect Tiles may exist on top of larger Effect Tiles.

If a large Effect Tile is placed over a single hex Effect Tile, place the large Effect Tile underneath. Both effects will apply to any character standing on that hex.

Large Effect Tiles may be placed partially off the board and under obstacles in the course of placement.

Large Effect Tiles may be placed over other large Effect Tiles. In this case only one of the tiles takes effect (they will be the same).

Playing Ability Cards

To play an Ability Card from your hand, follow these steps:

Choose the Effect on a card.
Pay the cost of the card.
Resolve the card's effect.
Place the card in the appropriate cooldown position around your Player Board.
Battleflow other cards in the same cooldown position.

Note: Information about the cards in any players hand can be freely shared but no player may make decisions for other players on what cards to play or actions to take.

Step 1: Choose the Effect on a Card

First choose an effect on one of the cards in your hand that you wish to play. Cards often have multiple effects that are separated by a horizontal line. The horizontal line denotes an 'or' condition so that you may perform the effect above the line 'or' below it. You may not choose to resolve multiple effects on the same card.

Step 2: Paying the Cost

To play an Ability Card, you must spend an amount of Animus as depicted in the top left corner of the card. Move the required amount of Animus from your available area to your reserve area. If you do not have enough Animus in your available area, you cannot play the card.

Some cards have a '?' in the top left. These are cards which have multiple effects and the cost you pay depends on which effect you decide to use.

For example: The Priest card 'Heavy Blow' has 4 separate effects. When you play the card, choose which effect you want to use and pay the relevant cost in Animus. If you choose the top effect, the cost to play the card is 3 Animus.

Some Ability Card effects also have additional costs and / or requirements, as detailed in the description of the effect. If these costs and requirements cannot be met, then you cannot play that effect.

Step 3: Resolve the Card's Effect

Follow the instructions on the card to resolve the chosen effect.

Attack: Whenever you see this icon, you may perform an attack. The full rules for this are described in the Attacks section on page 13.

Other icons are explained on page 16.

Step 4: Place the Card on Cooldown

When you play a card, place it in the appropriate cooldown position around your Player Board according to the cooldown value depicted in the top right of the Ability Card.

0: Place below your Player Board.
1: Place to the left of your Player Board.
2: Place above your Player Board.
3: Place to the right of your Player Board.

Step 5: Battleflow Other Cards

After playing an Ability Card from your hand (including interrupts), all other cards in that cooldown position are moved to the next lowest cooldown position. This is known as Battleflow and represents your momentum in combat.

Important Note: Only cards in the same cooldown position as the newly played card are moved. Once moved, they do not cause a cascade of further cards to Battleflow.

For example: There are currently 2 cards in the cooldown 2 position and 1 card in the cooldown 1 position. Jimmy plays a card with a cooldown of 2. The two cards already there Battleflow to position 1. Jimmy now has 3 cards in the cooldown 1 position.

If a card in cooldown 0 position is moved due to Battleflow, return it to your hand.

For example: Jimmy has the 'Ricochet' Ability Card in cooldown position 0. On his turn, he plays 'Loose Arrow', which has a cooldown of 0. It is placed below Jimmy's Player Board, and the 'Ricochet' card is returned to his hand.

Item Cards, Injury Cards and Battleflow

Battleflow only happens when you play an Ability Card. Battleflow does not occur when you play an Injury or Item Card, or when another effect causes cards to rotate around your Player Board. Item Cards and Injury Cards have an icon under the cooldown number to show that they do not cause Battleflow.

If an Item Card is played while playing an Ability Card, the Item Card is always placed on cooldown before the Ability Card Battleflows other cards and so will be rotated by the Ability Card's Battleflow if placed on the same cooldown position.

Ability Effects

Attacks: This icon allows the character to perform an attack against an enemy.

Range

If there is a range listed on the Ability Card effect or you have a weapon equipped that has a range listed on its Item Card, it is a Ranged attack, even if the attack is performed from an adjacent hex. Otherwise it is a Melee attack. If there is no enemy in range, no attack can be performed. Weapons provide range even if on cooldown.

For example: Kim's Witch wields a staff (a Melee weapon). However, the 'Flaming Whip' ability shows range 3, so the attack is Ranged.

Unless otherwise specified, an attack can only be made against a target that is in range of the attack. A melee attack can only be made against a target in an adjacent hex.

To measure the distance to a target, count the number of hexes using the most direct path possible, even going through spaces containing characters or obstacles. Count the hex the target is in, but not the attacker's hex. If this distance is less than or equal to the range of the attack, then the target is in range.

Ranged attacks require Line of Sight (see below) unless otherwise indicated.

Line of Sight (LoS)

To determine if a character has LoS to a hex, trace a line from the closest corner of the hex occupied by the character and the closest corner of the target hex. If that line touches or passes through an obstacle (even just a corner of the hex), LoS is blocked. Enemies and friendly characters do not block LoS.

For example: Kim's Witch only has LoS to one of the giant rats. Drawing a line between the closest corner of the Witch's hex and the closest corner of the other rat's hex intersects the edge of a tree, so there is no LoS.

Note: LoS is not required for Abilities and effects on Stage Cards that have no attack icon unless stated otherwise.

Exception: If the character and target hex are in a straight line of hexes, the middle of the hexes are used to determine LoS instead.

When determining LoS to a large enemy (more than one hex), unless indicated otherwise, the character can only target the closest hex that is within LoS. If two hexes are the same distance from the character, you can choose which to target after damage is drawn.

For example: The Priest is attacking the Broodmother and is adjacent to the Broodmother's front and left flank. The Priest can choose to attack either of these locations.

When a large enemy attacks, LoS is determined from the front hex of the enemy.

For example: Here, Kim's Witch attacks the Broodmother. The front hex and right flank hex of the Broodmother are both at a range of 4. However, a line drawn between the closest corner of the Witch's hex to the closest corner of the front hex of the Broodmother is blocked by the tree. The Witch, however, does have LoS to the Broodmother's flank as it is in a straight line with the Witch, meaning the LoS is not drawn from the closest corner, but instead the middle of the hex.

The Broodmother does not have LoS to the Witch, as LoS is always determined from the front hex of large creatures.

Making an Attack

To make an attack, choose how many Might Cards you want to draw. You may draw one card of the same color as each of the cubes on your Might Track and also add as many white cards as you wish. Note: If you are making an Unarmed attack then you may not use the Might on your Might Track.

For example: The Warden can use 1 red and 1 yellow Might Card and then may draw as many white Might Cards as he chooses.

Draw these Might Cards. If you draw two or more blanks the entire attack misses and no damage is done and no additional effects of the attack take place (such as knockback or bleed). If the attack does not miss, the sum of the values on all Might Cards drawn is the damage dealt. Some items, abilities and tokens allow you to redraw cards during an attack. For each redraw you use, discard one drawn card and draw a new card of the same type. When you do this, you can redraw a card that has already been redrawn if you have another redraw available.

Example: drawing 2, 1, 1 with 2 more blanks drawn: MISS (2 misses). Example: drawing 1, 1, 1, 1, 2 all hits: HIT (value 5).

Criticals

Some cards have a 'critical' symbol on them. For each card you draw with a critical symbol, draw another card of the same color and add its value to your total. If you draw another critical symbol with the extra card, repeat this process. Any blanks drawn when drawing extra cards from criticals do not cause an attack to miss. You do not have to draw new cards on a critical if you do not wish to.

Jimmy is performing an attack and has 1 yellow Might Card. He chooses to draw 2 additional white Might Cards. He draws a blank on the yellow card, and a "1" and "2 Critical" on the white cards. He only drew 1 blank, so the attack has hit and he has done 3 damage so far. The critical allows him to draw another white Might Card and he draws another "2 Critical". He has now done 5 damage and draws another white card, this time getting a blank, which is ignored. He has done 5 damage in total.

The Determination Rule

If, after redraws, one of your attacks misses (draws 2 or more blanks), you gain any one Combat Token of your choice (see Appendix I on page 28) to represent you becoming more determined to succeed next time. In addition, you regain all Redraw, Empowered x3 and Lethality Tokens you spent during the attack (if any).

Ignoring Cards

Some effects instruct you to ignore a certain Might Card such as the highest or lowest. All criticals and redraws are resolved before any 'ignore effects' are resolved. If a Might Card showing a critical is ignored, do not ignore any other Might Cards drawn because of this critical.

Empowering Cards

When performing an attack, if the attack has the keyword Empowered followed by a number and/or you use any Empowered x3 Combat Tokens, you can upgrade a number of your Might Cards to the next highest color before the cards are drawn: White upgrades to Yellow, Yellow to Red, and Red to Black. The amount of times you can upgrade is equal to the number following the Empowered keyword. You can combine a card effect and one or more Empowered Combat Tokens together. The same Might Card may be upgraded multiple times, but cannot go beyond black.

For example: Jimmy's Exile plays Leap Attack to jump over his opponent and land behind them. He then performs an attack that is Empowered x3. He also chooses to spend a Empowered x3 token, giving him a total of Empowered x6. Since he has no Might Cubes (having only a simple weapon equipped), he is only drawing white Might Cards. He chooses to draw 3 cards, empowering one of them 1 step to a yellow, another one 2 steps to a red and the last card 3 steps to black. Instead of this, he could have empowered two cards to yellow and two to red or two cards to black, etc.

Front, Flank and Rear Arcs

Each character has 4 arcs: front, rear and 2 flanks, left and right. Some abilities give a bonus for attacking or being in an enemy's front, flank or rear.

To determine where an ability originates against a normal (single hex) character, and against a multi hex character, consult the Front/Left/Right/Rear diagrams in the Encounter Book.

Enemy Locations

Large enemies occupy a number of hexes according to their size. The hexes covered by the model correspond to the hexes shown on the Encounter Board. The arrow on the model's base is located on the front hex of the enemy. The Encounter Board shows which of these hexes are the front, rear, flank or core of the enemy.

Large enemies have multiple body locations denoted by HP dice which are placed on the HP die slots on the Encounter Board, and represent the current health of the boss. Some slots are just a single hex, while others are made up of multiple hexes. If an HP die is in a slot consisting of more than one hex (i.e. the HP die is placed across more than one hex), then the HP die counts as being in all of those hexes.

Some single hex characters also have multiple locations, all of which are considered to be within the hex.

Which Hit Point Die to Damage

When attacking a large enemy, choose the closest HP die to the attacker.

If two or more HP dice are closest, the player chooses which HP die to attack.

When attacking a single hex character with multiple HP dice, you may choose which HP die to attack.

This decision is made after the damage is drawn.

Damage and Hit Point Loss

To calculate how many Hit Points the target of an attack loses, divide the damage dealt by the target's Defense Value and round down (minimum of 0).

DAMAGE ÷ DEFENSE = HP LOST

The Defense Value of a boss is shown at the top of the Special Rules Board.

The Defense Value of a minion is shown in the minion box on the Special Rules Board.

For example: Jon is attacking an enemy that has a Defense Value of 2 and he draws a total of 8 damage. 8 divided by 2 and rounded down is 4, so the enemy loses 4 HP.

When a minion loses all of its HP (most minions only have 1 HP), remove it from the board. Minions with more than 1 HP will have an HP slot on the Encounter Board.

When attacking a boss, for each Hit Point lost, reduce the targeted HP die by one. If damage is dealt that would reduce the HP die below 1, remove the die. Any damage done in excess of this is ignored.

Breaking a Location

If any HP die is removed from a boss for any reason (except the final HP die on the Encounter Board), that location is said to be broken. When this happens, perform the following steps in order:

Check the Encounter Special Rules Board to see if the Encounter stage changes.
If the stage changes, discard all the cards from the previous stage from the stage deck.
If the stage deck is empty, reshuffle the Stage 3 cards from the discard pile to form a new stage deck.
Important: Whether or not the stage changes, draw and resolve all steps of the top card of the stage deck with the character who broke the location as the target of the 'broken' enemy (see page 19 for more details). This is known as a Reaction. This targeting overrides any targeting on the Special Rule Board or Stage Card. Minions do not trigger reactions unless it is stated on the Encounter Special Rules Board.
Turn the next Stage Card face up.

When a reaction happens, any additional effects on your Ability Card or items that would affect your target are lost (including extra attacks, knockback and bleed effects). However, any effects that would target a friendly character still take place before the reaction card is resolved.

In rare situations, it is possible for two or more locations to be broken simultaneously, causing multiple reactions to be drawn. In this case, remove all the dice first and then check if the stage has changed*. Afterwards, all reaction cards are drawn and resolved in the order they were drawn. This means all broken location icons made visible by the removal of the die will be usable during every reaction card drawn.

*If multiple die are broken simultaneously and causes the last HP die on the Encounter Board to be removed, resolve all reactions first then the encounter ends.

Damage and Hit Point Loss to a Broken Location

You can attack a large creature even if the closest hex does not contain an HP die. Whenever a large creature is dealt damage or would lose hit points to a broken location, the damage or hit point loss is done to the next closest hex that does contain an HP die. If there is more than one option, you may choose and this can be decided after any damage is drawn. Remember that if a HP die is in a slot consisting of more than one hex (i.e. the HP die is placed across more than one hex), then the HP die counts as being in all of those hexes.

For example: Jon's Priest attacks the Broodmother where 2 dice have already been removed (and these locations have been broken). The dice at the core and on the right flank are 2 hexes away and the one at the rear is 3 hexes away. Jon can choose to target either the core or the right flank.

Some abilities gain benefits from attacking an enemy in a specific location. If that location is broken you still gain the benefit from attacking that location, even though the damage will be done to another location.

Playing Item Cards

Item Cards, that are in your hand, can be played at any time during the owning character's turn so long as the item's conditions are met. Some items have no conditions (see Tanned Leather Jerkin). Others have a condition that tells you when it can be played (see Great Maul). Any number of Item Cards can be used during a turn.

Item Cards have an Animus cost and cooldown value like Ability Cards. The Animus cost must be paid before the item can be activated and, after its effects are resolved, it is placed on the cooldown position depicted on the card. Unlike Ability Cards, items do not cause Battleflow, but may be Battleflowed by other cards.

Item Cards still provide their might and defense even when placed on cooldown.

Some items give bonuses to attacks. If that attack hits multiple targets, then the item bonus will apply to all the targets.

Companions use items differently from full characters (See Companion Items on page 9).

Items with no cooldown number are used once per encounter and are placed face down on the table when used.

Item abilities cannot be played during the story part of the game unless specifically stated.

Other Icons

Interrupt: Some cards have effects with an Interrupt icon. These effects can be used at any time that the condition is met, even during other player's turns and in the Encounter phase. There is no limit to the number of Interrupt abilities you can perform as long as the conditions are met and the Animus cost is paid.

Hit Point: Some cards depict this icon. It represents a Hit Point.

Pay No Animus: Using an Ability Card for its defense value when you are attacked and interrupts performed by companions cost no Animus to perform.

Refresh Your Might Decks: Shuffle any amount of the Oathsworn Might Deck discard piles back into the corresponding Might Decks. You must shuffle a whole discard pile into the deck, but may choose which discard piles are reshuffled.

Status Effects

Some effects cause you or another character to gain a Status Token.

When an Oathsworn gains a Status Token, place it on their Player Board/Companion Card.

When an Ally gains a Status Token, place it on their Ally Card.

When a Boss gains a Status Token, place it on the Encounter Board.

When a Minion gains a Status Token, place it next to the Minion on the Game Board.

The effects of all Status Tokens are described in Appendix I on page 28.

Unconscious Oathsworn

When an Oathsworn is reduced to 0 hit points, they become unconscious. This has several effects:

Their model is immediately removed from the Game Board. Remember, if the 4 Oathsworn have been removed from the board, you fail the Encounter.
At the start of their next turn, the player who controls the Oathsworn chooses an Ally, if available, and continues the Encounter with that Ally (See Allies in Combat below).
During 'Tally Level, Loot and Losses' (See page 24 for more details), mark a tick on the Knockout Track for each Oathsworn that went unconscious. They each receive an Injury Card from the Injury Deck and also lose an additional item.
Note: If playing the Hardcore Variant, instead of going Unconscious, your Oathsworn is killed (See page 9 of the Story Rule Book for more details).

Allies in Combat

If your Oathsworn goes unconscious, at the start of your next turn:

Choose a combat ally from the Free Company's Ally deck, if available.
Take an Ally model and place a Tracker Token whose number matches the number on the model's base on your Ally card.
Place a Hit Point die on the Ally Card and set it to 6.
Place 2 Animus Gems on the available (right hand) side of the Animus Track on the Ally Card.
Place the model on any empty hex on any edge of the Game Board.
You now take turns with the Ally instead of your previous Oathsworn.

Allies work much like Companions. They have a Defense Value, Might, and depict an Animus cost to move and attack. Like companions, they also regenerate 2 Animus per round and use the alternate Combat Token rules (see Companion Combat Tokens on p. 9).

Some allies have a once per encounter ability. When you use this ability place any might cube from the supply on the ally to show it has been used.

If an Ally is reduced to 0 HP during the Encounter, they are killed. Remove the model from the board and Archive the Ally Card after the Encounter. Note: do not archive the ally before the end of the Encounter as they may remain alive should you choose to replay the Encounter. On your next turn, repeat the instructions above, choosing another combat ally to play.

If your Free Company has no allies remaining to choose, then you must play the remainder of the Encounter with less than 4 characters.

Encounter Phase

The Encounter Phase consists of two steps performed in the following order:

Draw Stage Card
Activate Minions

Draw Stage Card

Draw the top face up card of the Stage Deck and resolve its effects. Stage Cards have numbered steps that are performed in order. If for any reason a step cannot be performed, ignore it and perfrom as many of the other steps as possible. If the card has an effect that lasts until the end of the round, keep the card visible to all players as a reminder. Otherwise, place the card face up in the Stage Card discard pile to the right on the Encounter Board.

If you have to draw another Stage Card while one is still resolving, resolve the cards in the order they were drawn.

For example: Jimmy draws a Stage Card and it indicates that his Penitent is attacked. As an interrupt, Jimmy plays an ability which causes the Boss to lose a HP die. This triggers a reaction and a second Stage Card is drawn. Resolve the second Stage Card after the first one has finished resolving.

Special Effects

Some Stage Cards have Special Effects on them in bold (such as Knockback or Cone). Each Special Effect is described alphabetically in Appendix II.

Special Abilities

Some Stage Cards have a Special Ability on them that is italicized and bold. When you see this, refer to the Special Rules Board and follow the instructions for that ability.

After resolving a Stage Card, reveal the next Stage Card and place it back on the Stage deck face up (the Free Company are experts at predicting their quarry's actions, so the top card of the Stage deck is always face up).

If the stage deck is empty, reshuffle the Stage 3 cards from the discard pile to form a new stage deck.

Encounter Stages

An Encounter is divided into 3 Stages, which represents the behaviour of the enemy changing as the Encounter progresses.

Encounter Stage changes can be triggered in two ways.

First, the Stage will automatically change when the first 5 Stage Cards of the previous Stage have been drawn (indicated by the back of the topmost Stage Card changing from I to II and then to III.

Secondly, the Encounter's Special Rules Board will have an alternative method to trigger changing stages. In this case, if the Stage changes, and there are still Stage Cards remaining from the old Stage, discard those Stage Cards from the deck until the back of the topmost Stage Card shows the new Stage. Remember to reveal that Stage Card and place it back on the Stage deck face up.

Golden Rule 'North then West'

Sometimes there will be a choice between which direction, hexes or characters to choose such as when moving an enemy, targeting an Oathsworn or knocking back a character, etc. All situations, where a choice between directions, hexes or characters is found are answered by the rule of North then West. If there is a choice to make, choose the northernmost hex. If there are two equally northern hexes, choose the westernmost hex.

For example: A Stage Card was revealed indicating that the Broodmother attacks the Priest. The characters are already adjacent, but the Broodmother needs to turn to face the Priest. There are two possible directions the Broodmother could face that would allow her to attack the Priest, so the rule of North then West is applied and she turns so her front hex is hex 'A'.

For example: The giant rat attacks the closest Oathsworn. Both are equally distant so the rule of North then West is applied. Both are equally northern so the giant rat then checks to see which is the most western Oathsworn. This causes the Priest to be the target.

Choosing a Target

Enemies follow specific rules to determine which character they target. This could be the closest, farthest, within an arc, etc.

Terminology Reminder: The term 'Oathsworn' refers to all full characters and companions, but not Allies, other non-player controlled characters, the Grove Maiden's Sentinels or the Ancient Guardian. These characters are considered friendly characters to the players. The term 'characters' refers to all enemies, Oathsworn and friendly characters.

Choose a target by following the steps below in order:

If the Stage Card was drawn as a reaction to a location being broken, the damaged enemy will target the character who broke the location unless they are out of range (after considering movement and the range of the attack) or not in line of sight (LoS), in which case, proceed to step 2. If there are multiple bosses, then only the bosses who had locations broken by the attack will focus the location breaker. All other bosses will choose a target normally.
If there is a specific target on the Stage Card or Special Rules Board, choose that target unless they are out of range (after considering movement and the range of the attack) or not in line of sight (LoS), in which case, proceed to step 3.
If there is no target listed or the specified/reaction target is not in range and line of sight (LoS), the closest Oathsworn in LoS that the enemy can reach is the target. 'Closest' here means the Oathsworn that requires the lowest amount of movement to reach.
If two targets are equally distant and the enemy has the Mob keyword, it will target the Oathsworn who is already adjacent to another enemy with the Mob keyword.
If two targets are equally distant from the enemy, use the rule of North then West to determine the target.
If there are no valid targets, the enemy will move as far as they can towards the closest Oathsworn (whether they are in LoS or not) who is not excluded from being targeted for any reason, with ties broken using steps 4 and 5 above. In this case, the enemy will perform as many of the other effects on the Stage card as it can.

For example: A giant rat (with the Mob keyword) is determining a target. The Stage Card does not list a target, so we look at the closest Oathsworn who is a valid target. There are two that are equally distant, so we look to see if either of the two potential targets are already adjacent to another Mob enemy. Neither are, so the rule of North then West is applied.

Enemy Movement

Enemies will always attempt to move the shortest distance to be adjacent to their target. Enemies will move through and trigger effect tiles in their path as though they were empty hexes.

If there is a choice of multiple shortest paths, use the rule of North then West to determine the next hex in the path.

All enemies have a facing, denoted by an arrow on the base of the model or by its pose. At the end of an enemy move, ensure that it is always facing its target. If they have no target or do not end adjacent to them, turn the enemy to face in the direction of the final hex of movement.

For example: The Broodmother targets the Penitent. Two paths are highlighted, both of which are 4 hexes away. To determine which path it chooses, look at the potential first hexes of movement. The first hex on the green path is further North than the first hex of the red path, so the Broodmother moves along the green path.

For example: The giant rat on the left is instructed to move towards the Warbear. There are several possible paths, all of which are 6 hexes long. When presented with a choice of where to move next, the giant rat follows the rule of North then West, therefore it follows the green path.

Large and Normal Size Characters

Unless told otherwise, all characters that fit in 1 hex are considered to be normal size. Characters that occupy more than 1 hex are large.

Normal Size Enemy Movement

Normal size characters cannot enter a hex with an obstacle or another character and will move around these hexes while trying to reach the closest available hex that is adjacent to their target.

When moving a normal sized character in a specific direction (i.e North/South, etc) the character will move around obstacles to head in that direction as though they had infinite movement, but stopping once they have moved the distance stated. This may cause a character to head further away from the stated direction as it attempts to move around a large obstacle. Characters will always attempt to return to the straight line of hexes in the direction stated (from their starting point) and will only move around obstacles or other characters when they are adjacent to them.

For example: The giant rat is instructed to move 5 South. The house is in the giant rat's path. The rat begins to move around the house, but runs out of movement before it can get back into the original direction it was instructed to move in.

Enemies will not change their path to move around Effect Tiles and will move through Effect Tiles in their path (Fire, Water) even if it would cause them to lose HP or lose movement.

Moving Multiple Characters

When moving more than one character at a time (such as when moving Minions in the Encounter phase), always move them in order of the closest to their target.

For example: The closest rat is already adjacent and ready to attack. The next closest rat moves first. Then the two rats to the North move. They are both at range 3, so they are activated according to the rule of 'North then West'. They are both equally northern, so the westernmost rat moves next and the other moves last.

If there are a lot of models to move, you may want to place a colored Might Cube on each model as you move it to keep track of which ones have moved. Remove the cubes after you have moved all of the models.

Large Enemy Movement

Large enemy movement is measured from the closest hex to its target or the closest hex to the direction of travel (depending on the Stage Card's instructions). The monster will not change its facing until it arrives at its destination and the same hex of the monster will be used for measurement throughout the move.

Large enemies move through obstacles and other characters. When moving a large enemy, determine the hexes that the enemy will end its movement in. All characters (including other large enemies) that occupy these hexes are pushed directly away from the center hex (See Pushed on page 31) and the monster is placed at its destination. When moving toward a target, a large enemy considers all hexes that are adjacent to their target to be available as they can push other characters out of the way.

Characters that the enemy only moved through are not pushed; it is assumed that the characters move out of the way and then back into position as the enemy passes.

If a large enemy ends its movement on any hex of an obstacle, remove that obstacle from the board. Obstacles that it completely moved through are unaffected. Effect tiles that are moved through trigger as usual.

For example: The Broodmother moves as shown on the image above. After the movement, the base of her model covers a tree and 2 characters. The tree is destroyed and the characters are pushed away to an adjacent hex.

Random Direction

Sometimes, a Stage Card will require a random direction to be determined. In these cases, roll the Direction Die.

For example: A card instructs the Broodmother to move 3 in a random direction. The Direction Die is rolled and shows "NE". The Broodmother is moved 3 hexes in a straight line in that direction.

If an enemy's movement would move it beyond the edge of the Game Board, they will 'bounce' off the edge, continuing their movement as if reflected in a mirror.

For example: The giant rat is moving 4 hexes SW. It first moves 2 hexes before reaching the edge of the board and then moves another 2 hexes SE.

If a Boss ends its movement on a Fire Tile and it causes one of its HP dice to be removed, a Stage Card is drawn and resolved after the current Stage Card is resolved. This Stage Card will target the closest Oathsworn using the Rule of North then West.

Moving Directly Away

When a character is told to move directly away from their target, they turn to face away from their target with their rear pointed towards their target. They then move forward in a straight line the distance indicated. If anything is in the path of the character, they will attempt to move around it so that they may return to the straight line further along the path. If the character would move beyond the edge of the Game Board, they will 'bounce' off the edge in the same way an enemy moves.

Alternative Movement Rules

The previous sections have detailed the normal movement rules. However, there is an alternative to these rules to may make movement quicker.

If all players agree and are happy with having less than perfect but functionally quicker solution, you may use the 'Intuitive Movement' rules instead. This is done by moving things as you feel they should move, without overthinking final positioning and the order of movement.

When you move an enemy, all of the previously established movement rules still apply except the order in which enemies are moved and the paths they take. Instead, simply move the enemies to their target using your natural expectation of how they would move and place them in a final position that feels natural. When moving multiple minions, quickly choose the minion that seems closest to its target (without counting hexes) and move them. Repeat until all the activated minions are moved.

If using the 'Intuitive Movement' rules, it maybe best to pick one player to perform the movements for consistency of outcome.

Note: The focus of this rule is speed. This rule is not intended to allow players to move how they wish or spend time analysing the best path to minimize incoming damage. If the movement is not intuitive and fast it should not be used.

Enemy Attacks

When an enemy attacks, perform the following steps:

Check to see if the attack is 'Broken'.
Oathsworn may play any 'before damage is drawn' effects from items or abilities.
Draw the attacker's Might Cards without revealing them.
Oathsworn may play an Ability Card for its Defense Value.
Reveal the Might Cards.
Oathsworn may play any 'after damage is drawn' effects from items or abilities.
Resolve Damage.

Broken Attacks

Some enemy attacks depict a body part icon next to the attack icon. These match the body part icons shown on the Encounter Board and represent the front, rear, flank and core. When a HP die is removed from the Encounter Board, it may reveal a body part icon.

If the icon on the enemy attack matches a revealed icon on the Encounter Board, then the attack is 'Broken'; draw one less of the enemy's most powerful might cards (the power of cards from most to least is Black, Red, Yellow, White).

Note: Broken locations will not always affect the Encounter's damage output. It is up to you to discover which locations may hinder the enemy.

Draw Might Cards

Without revealing them, the player whose character is being attacked draws the Enemy Might Cards indicated on the Special Rules Board (they draw their own doom!). Remember to draw one less of the enemy's highest Might Cards if the attack is 'Broken'.

Note: It is suggested you use cards rather than dice for resolving enemy damage. This will create a tighter and more consistent experience.

Playing Defensive Ability Cards

Once per attack, before the Might Cards are revealed, an attacked Oathsworn may play up to one Ability Card from their hand to gain a temporary boost to their Defense Value as depicted on the bottom of the card. Playing a card in this way costs no Animus, as depicted by the 'pay no animus' icon. None of the other effects on the card are resolved and the card is placed in its normal cooldown position, triggering Battleflow as usual.

This represents the character reacting to the incoming danger, trading the future offensive potential of the card for an immediate defense bonus. The temporary defense is added to the character's current Defense Value and only lasts for one damage draw, after which it is lost.

Reveal the Might Cards

Flip the cards face up and add up the total damage of the attack.

Enemies ignore ALL Blanks and Criticals! They never miss, but might still draw zero damage and criticals do not cause them to draw an additional card. Unless otherwise stated, an attack that affects multiple characters is only drawn once and the same damage applies to all affected characters.

Resolving Enemy Damage

Similar to how damage is applied to enemies, the total damage drawn is divided by the character's Defense Value and rounded down. The result is how many HP the character loses (rotate the HP die to reflect the loss). If an Oathsworn loses HP that would reduce their HP to 0 or less, they are knocked Unconscious (See Unconscious Oathsworn on page 17).

For example: Hazel's Ranger is about to be attacked. She has a Defense Value of 2 but chooses to play 'Child of the Forest' to increase her Defense Value to 5. The card is placed at cooldown position 3, Battleflowing the 'Multishot' card to the next position.

The enemy attacks and deals 12 damage. Hazel's Ranger therefore would lose 2 HP (12 divided by 5 and rounded down). However, she uses 2 Defense Tokens after the draw to increase her defense to 7, reducing her HP loss to only 1 (12 divided by 7 and rounded down). Had she not played the card or tokens, she would have been reduced to 0 HP and gone unconscious.

Activating Minions

All Minions activate at the end of each Encounter phase, after the Stage Card has been resolved.

Minions will not activate if they have already been activated by the Stage Card during the Encounter phase.
Minions do not activate when body parts are broken and reaction cards are drawn unless the reaction card specifically states the minions are to be activated.

Minions are activated in order of the closest to their target first, according to the instructions in the minion box of the Special Rules Board. They follow the normal enemy movement and attacking rules, but choose targets differently than the Encounter. All Minions are moved before any of their attacks are resolved.

Minion Targeting

Minions do not share a target with the Encounter. Instead, they will target the closest Oathsworn, Ally or any character friendly to the Oathsworn that is in their Line of Sight. If two targets are equally distant and the minion has the Mob keyword, it will target the closest enemy who is already adjacent to another minion with the Mob keyword.

If there are no valid targets, the enemy will move as far as they can towards the closest Oathsworn, Ally or character that is friendly to the Oathsworn (whether they are in LoS or not) who is not excluded from being targeted for any reason, with ties broken using steps 4 and 5 on p19.

If minions are activated for any reason during a reaction, they do not automatically target the character that caused the reaction.

For example: The Priest and the Blade are both the same distance from the giant rat, however the Priest is already being attacked by another giant rat. Because they have the mob rule, the rat will move towards the Priest.

Mob Attacks

Enemies with the Mob keyword represent packs of smaller creatures that are not very powerful individually, but are dangerous when attacking together. When a character is attacked by one or more Mob enemies, use the total might of all of the Mob enemies attacking that character to determine the Might Cards drawn and resolve them as a single attack.

For example: 3 giant rats are attacking the Priest. A giant rat has 2 yellow Might Cards when attacking. Only one attack is drawn, using 6 yellow cards.

Some abilites and items let you interrupt attacks by forcing redraws or ignoring Might Cards. In the case of mob attacks, all Might Cards can be affected as long as at least one of the attackers are within range of the character attempting the interrupt.

Adding New Enemies

During an Encounter you may be instructed to place additional enemies on the board. If the hex where you would place the new enemy is occupied by either another character or an obstacle, place it in the closest unoccupied space while still attempting to follow the placement rules for that enemy and the rule of North then West.

When placing a large enemy, place the center of the model in the specified hex. Any other character in a hex that would be covered by the base of the model is pushed back (see Pushed on page 31). Any obstacle in a hex that would be covered by the base of the enemy is destroyed.

Change the facing of the newly placed enemy so that it is facing its target. If no target is defined by the effect which brought the enemy into play, use the rule of North then West.

End of Round Phase

Any effects which take place at the end of a round happen now.

Any cards which have an "until the end of the round" effect are discarded.

Ending the Encounter

An Encounter ends in one of two ways. Either the Encounter is defeated by removing all their HP dice from the Encounter Board or the Free Company is defeated when all Oathsworn go unconscious. If both events happen at the same time, the Encounter is defeated.

Success

If you defeat the Encounter, the Encounter ends immediately and all remaining minions flee. Proceed to the Chapter Epilogue in the Story Book (found at the end of each chapter) or continue in the Companion App.

Failure

If you fail to defeat the Encounter (all Oathsworn go unconscious), you can either move on, or replay it.

Move on: Proceed to the Chapter Epilogue in the Story Book (found at the end of each chapter) or continue in the Companion App.

Replay the Encounter: Mark 4 ticks on the Knockout Track of the Free Company Sheet. Add two/one ticks if you played on Journeyman/Pilgrim Company difficulty and ignore one/two ticks if you played on Grim/Dread Company difficulty. This is your score for the Encounter regardless of future successes, you will not gain or remove any additional ticks on any future attempts.

For example: The first time you play the first Encounter on Free Company (standard) difficulty, all characters go unconscious; 4 ticks will have been marked on the Knockout Track. You choose to replay the Encounter and the second time only one character goes unconscious, so no more ticks are marked.

Additionally, if a character remains conscious during the replay of an Encounter they will not lose an additional item or gain an injury even if they went unconscious the first time.

To replay an Encounter, set it up as per the normal Encounter setup instructions (you do not replay the Story part) and follow these additional setup rules.

Any Allies you started the Encounter with that were killed are returned to your Ally deck and not archived.
All Oathsworn start with maximum Hit Points for that difficulty setting (even if they took damage during the Story part).
All Oathsworn remove all Combat/Status Tokens on their Player Board and then gain any 3 Combat Tokens of their choice and also their Permanent Tokens as depicted on their Character Sheet.

Tally Level, Loot and Losses

At some point in the Epilogue you will be told to 'Tally Level, Loot and Losses'. When you are told to do this, perform the following in order:

Level

Gain 1 Level according to the Leveling Table on page 26.

Loot

Replace the current Item Deck in Card Organizer 1 with the Common Item Deck from the next chapter.

Gain 3 Common Items from the next chapter's Common Item Deck to share amongst your Free Company. Note: whenever you gain items, you draw with the deck face down.

Gain 2 Unique Items from the current chapter's Unique Item Deck to share amongst your Free Company (3 if your Free Company Sheet has this chapter extra Unique Item box checked). Gain 1 extra Unique Item if the difficulty is set to Grim Company or gain 2 extra Unique Items if the difficulty is set to Dread Company. If there are no more Unique Items, take a Common Item from the next chapter's deck.

Replace the current Unique Item Deck in Card Organizer 1 with the Unique Item Deck from the next chapter.

Losses

For each unconscious (dead if playing on hardcore mode) Oathsworn, mark one tick on the Knockout Track of the Free Company Sheet. Add two/one ticks if the difficulty is set to Journeyman/Pilgrim Company and ignore one/two ticks if the difficulty is set to Grim/Dread Company.

All unconscious Oathsworn gain an Injury Card from the Injury Deck. If playing Hardcore Mode, all Oathsworn with 1 or 2 Hit Points remaining also gain an Injury Card from the Injury Deck.

All Oathsworn lose 1 item they equipped in the Encounter (2 if they went unconscious), players choice. These items are archived back to their original item decks.

All dead Allies are archived.

Saving the Game (Encounter Rule Book)

Each character comes with a Character Save Bag and the Free Company as a whole has a Free Company Save Bag. When you have finished a play session, place the following into the Save Bags:

Each Character Save Bag

Your Character Sheet. If saving after the Story part of a chapter, record your current HP on it. If saving after the Encounter part of a chapter, do not record your HP. You return to your Maximum HP at the start of every Chapter.
Character Ability Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Ability Cards with a Character Card Separator.
The Companion Card and all Archetype Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Archetype Cards with a Character Card Separator.
The character's Injury Cards, Item Cards and Iron Coins.
Combat Tokens (only if saving between the Story and the Encounter, otherwise archive your Combat Tokens)

Free Company Save Bag

Free Company Sheet. If saving between the Story and the Encounter, record whether you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track, have revealed the Encounter Special Rules Board and whether you are ambushed.
The Backpack Card and all Item Cards not equipped by any character.
Ally Cards
City and Deepwood Event Decks

After saving the game, archive all remaining components.

Additional Rules

Running Out of Components

The quantity of models and components is limited. If you are instructed to add one to the board and there are no more available, do not add more unless told otherwise (in which case, use something as a substitute). If using the Standee Version and you run out of plastic stands but still have available standees, play with the new standees laid flat rather than upright.

Oathsworn Levels

All Oathsworn have a level signifying how powerful they are. Oathsworn begin the campaign at level 1 and, during the Epilogue of each chapter, will advance a level after completing the Encounter.

The following table shows the bonuses the Free Company gains at each level. Sometimes these bonuses are applied to each individual Oathsworn and sometimes they are a bonus for the Free Company as a whole.

Total character bonuses at that level: Permanent Tokens / Animus Regen / +2 Max Animus / Free Company Traits

Level	Bonuses gained at that level	Permanent Tokens	Animus Regen / +2 Max Animus	Free Company Traits
2	Full Character: Ability Cards	1	0	0
3	Free Company Trait	1	0	1
4	All: Permanent Token	2	0	1
5	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	2	0	1
6	Free Company Trait	2	0	2
7	All: Permanent Token	3	0	2
8	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	3	1	2
9	Free Company Trait	3	1	3
10	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	3	1	3
11	Free Company Trait	3	1	4
12	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	3	2	4
13	Free Company Trait	3	2	5
14	All: Permanent Token	4	2	5
15	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	4	2	5
16	Free Company Trait	4	2	6
17	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	4	3	6
18	Free Company Trait	4	3	7
19	All: Permanent Token	5	3	7
20	Free Company Trait	5	3	8
21	All: Permanent Token	6	3	8

Quick Leveling and Swapping Oathsworn

At the start of each chapter, before the story part, it is possible to swap in and swap out the Oathsworn in your Free Company. This allows you to experience multiple characters throughout the campaign. Additionally, Oathsworn may die and need to be replaced or it is possible you may wish to play a specific chapter as a one-off game. The Quick Leveling System allows you to do all of these.

Quick Leveling

The level of every full character and companion being used in a chapter is the same as the number of that chapter. In order to 'Quick Level' an Oathsworn, refer to the Levels Table above and find the level you are about to play. Add all bonuses in that row to your character as well as unlock all Ability Cards or Archetype Cards for your character of an equal or lower level. Then fully equip the character with items (two hand's worth of weapons, one armor and one gear card) from the Common Item Decks of any chapter that is lower than the Free Company's current level.

Note: If you are creating a new character after having died during the story, you cannot create another character of the same class as the one you just lost.

Swapping an Oathsworn Out

If you wish to swap out an Oathsworn (either a full character or a companion), first place all of their Iron and Injury Cards aside, then return their current Character Save Bag (along with its contents) to the box and take a new one. Quick Level your new Oathsworn and give them the Iron and Injury Cards you set aside.

Swapping an Oathsworn Back In

To swap an Oathsworn back in that was previously swapped out, you first archive all of their items. Then, Quick Level that character, starting from their previously recorded level.

Swapping a Full Character to a Companion and Vice Versa

To swap a full character to a companion version or vice versa, take a new Character Sheet and Quick Level the chosen character. They keep the Item Cards and Injury Cards they already have and do not gain new items from the Quick Leveling.

Full Character: Ability Card

Each full character unlocks all new Ability Cards of the character's level from their pool of locked cards. The level of the card is shown under the card title. All Ability Cards the character does not start with are locked and must be unlocked to allow them to be used. Unlocking a new Ability Card does not automatically mean it is placed in your future hands of cards. It is just added to the pool of potential cards you can use when building your hand. Your maximum hand limit is always 7 cards. Locked and unlocked Ability Cards should be separated from each other in your Character Save Bag using your Character Card Separator.

Companion: Archetype Card

Each Companion unlocks all new Archetype Cards of the character's level from their pool of locked cards. The level of the card is shown on the left hand edge of the card. All Archetype Cards the companion does not start with are locked and must be unlocked to allow them to be used. Locked and unlocked Archetype Cards should be separated from each other in your Character Save Bag using your Character Card Separator.

All: Permanent Token

Each full character and companion gains a new permanent token of your choice. Mark the chosen token on your Character Sheet. The token does not need to be the same for each character. Each character can have a maximum of 3 of each type of permanent token. This does not limit the amount of Combat Tokens a character can earn from other sources. Rules for permanent tokens can be found in the Story Rule Book on page 13.

Full Character: Increase Max Animus or Regen

Each full character increases either their maximum Animus by 2 or their Animus regeneration by 1. Mark the chosen bonus on your Character Sheet.

Companion: +2 Animus or Battleflow Token

Each companion gains a permanent +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token. Mark the token on your Character Sheet. Remember that companions use +2 Animus or Battleflow Tokens differently. See page 9 for more details.

Free Company Trait

Choose one of the Free Company traits and mark it on the Free Company Sheet.

Free Company Trait	Benefit
Bushcraft	Gain a redraw on Survival Checks.
Keen-Eyed	Gain a redraw on Spot / Search / Listening Checks.
Quick-Witted	Gain a redraw on Barter / Threaten / Reasoning Checks.
Endurance	Your Backpack can hold up to 20 items.
Quartermaster	Gain 1 Extra Ration at the start of every Deepwood Journey.
Scavenger	Loot 1 extra Common Item per chapter.
Herbalist	Gain 2 Curatives each time you purchase 1.
Tough As Nails	Add 1 Time Token to the Time Track to heal a character 1 HP who lost a HP during the story. Max once per chapter.
Field Medic	Add 2 Time Tokens to the Time Track to archive 1 Injury Card on a character. Max once per chapter.
True Grit	When you are forced to gain an injury, draw 2 Injury Cards, pick one and discard the other.
Comradery	Allies enter play with 2/3/4 Redraw or Empowered x3 Tokens.
Well-Connected	'Sending a Runner' to a BANKSMITH or APOTHECARY no longer costs any additional iron.

Bushcraft, Keen-Eyed & Quick-Witted

For each check mark, you gain a single free redraw on each check of the relevant type(s), up to a maximum of 3. Checks where each member of the Free Company performs the check count as individual checks. Example, placing a check mark in Quick Witted gives you one free redraw on all Bartering, Threatening & Reasoning checks.

Endurance

Flip over your Backpack Card. It can now hold up to 20 items.

Quartermaster

Gain 1 Extra Ration whenever you begin to use the Deepwood Journey Mechanism.

Scavenger

Loot 1 extra Common Item per chapter. This allows you to gain 5 rather than 4 Common Items when gaining loot after an Encounter.

Herbalist

Gain 2 Curatives each time you purchase 1. This applies every time you purchase Curatives from an Apothecary.

Tough As Nails

During the Encounter setup, each Oathsworn may choose to roll an unused Hit Point Die. Whoever rolls highest, regains 1 lost HP.

Field Medic

You may pay X iron (Where X is your current chapter number) to archive 1 Injury Card on a character. This trait may only be used once per chapter and only on a single character. This trait may be used immediately when gained.

True Grit

Whenever any Oathsworn would draw an Injury Card, draw two instead and pick one to keep. Return the other to the Injury Deck and shuffle it.

Comradery

Allies enter play with 2/3/4 Redraw or Empowered x3 Tokens (or any combination of the two). These are chosen when each Ally enters play and may be different for each Ally.

Well-Connected

'Sending a Runner' to a BANKSMITH or APOTHECARY, as described on page 15 of the Story Rule Book, no longer costs any additional iron.

Appendix I

Combat Tokens

For example: You are attacked by an enemy and are hit for 7 damage. You are wearing armor with a Defense Value of 2, so you would lose 3 HP. If, however, you spend 1 Defense token, your Defense Value is temporarily increased to 3 and you only lose 2 HP.

+2 Animus Token: During the Encounter. At any time, you may spend one of these tokens to immediately regenerate 2 Animus, moving 2 Animus from your reserve area to your available area. Companions and Allies use these tokens differently (See page 9 for details).

Empowered x3 Token: During the Story or Encounter. Before you draw Oathsworn Might Cards for an attack, you may spend one or more Empowered x3 Tokens. For each Token spent, you may upgrade your Oathsworn Might Cards three times to the next color (White > Yellow > Red > Black). You may either upgrade the same Might Card three times, one card twice and one once or three Might Cards once each. You may not use this token when drawing extra Might Cards from Criticals.

They may also be used when performing a Round of Combat or Might Check during the story.

This token's effect cannot be split between more than one attack.

Status Tokens

Poison — A character who has one or more Poison Tokens suffers the effects as described on the Special Rules Board.

Bleed — A character with one or more Bleed Tokens will lose 1 or more HP when the token is triggered. These tokens are triggered by Ability Cards for Oathsworn or Stage Cards for Encounters.

Crippled — A character with a Crippled Token cannot willingly move until the end of the next Oathsworn Phase. This includes movement from any Ability Cards. You may still play the card, but abilities that require movement or placement, such as Chain Attacks, cannot be performed. After the next Oathsworn Phase, the Crippled Token is removed. If a Crippled Token is gained during the Oathsworn Phase, the token is not removed until the end of the next full Oathsworn Phase.

Lethality (Specific to the Cur) — These tokens are gained through the Cur's abilities and spent to empower attacks. See Cur's Character Board Special Ability for full rules.

Appendix II

Special Effects

Note: Not all of the following effects need to be understood from Chapter 1, so feel free to skip this section until needed.

Area of Effect (AoE) Attacks

As its name suggests, an Area of Effect attack covers more than one hex. If an AoE attack depicts a yellow hex, that hex represents the location of the character resolving the effect. The red hexes show the hexes targeted by the attack. If there is no yellow hex depicted, the center hex of the area is the one that must be within range and LoS of the attacker.

Example patterns: 3 hexes adjacent to the attacking character; a circle of 7 hexes.

Unless otherwise noted, an AoE attack affects all characters in the area, friendly or otherwise. Most AoE attacks require you to draw an attack once and then apply the same damage to all targets.

If an AoE attack covers more than one hex of a large character, do not attack every Hit Point Die under the template. Instead add 1 to the total damage for each extra hex (beyond the first) of that creature that is within the AoE. Damage to large characters is done to the location closest to the attacking character.

For example: The Witch targets the Broodmother with a Fireball, which must travel in a straight line. It hits the Broodmother and explodes. The Warden is hit by the attack along with the Broodmother. Since the AoE covers 4 hexes on the Broodmother, 3 damage is added to the damage done to the Broodmother.

Caged

A caged character is unable to do anything for the remainder of this round and all of the next round, except pass, attempt to escape, play cards for defense when attacked and play Combat Tokens. To escape, during their turn the character must spend 3 Animus (1 if you are a Companion) and pass a Survival Check (See Checks in the Story Rule Book on page 14). The difficulty of the check is given in the description of the caged effect. Gain +2 to the check for each adjacent Oathsworn/Ally when the attempt is made. The character may attempt to escape any number of times during the Oathsworn Phase, but only once per turn.

If the check is successful, the caged character is no longer caged and can immediately act as normal.

If the check is failed, the caged character suffers the effects described in the description on the Stage Card and remains caged.

If a character is still caged at the end of the next round, whether the character failed all escape attempts or decided not to attempt any, they will suffer the effects of failing the check and are no longer caged.

Give the Stage Card to the caged character as a reminder that they are caged. They discard the card when the caged effect ends.

Chain Attacks

Chain Attacks target a number of characters, one after the other. You cannot attack the same character twice in a chain attack.

The first target of a Chain Attack has to be in range of the attack (i.e adjacent if using a melee weapon) and in Line of Sight. Subsequent targets must be in Line of Sight of the previous target and the distance between a target and the previous target must be equal to or less than the chain range of the effect. Some characters have ranged Chain Attacks. It is important to distinguish between the range of the attack and the chain range of the effect. After the first target, enemy Chain Attacks will subsequently target the closest Oathsworn/Ally to the previous target following the rule of North then West.

When making a Chain Attack, you only draw once for damage. This damage is then applied to each target in the chain. However, for each additional target beyond the first, ignore the lowest numbered Might Card (not including blanks) i.e the lowest numbered card for the second target, the lowest two cards for the third, the lowest three cards for the fourth, etc.

After a Chain Attack, the attacker is placed in the closest empty hex to the final target (do not do this for ranged chain attacks). If an Oathsworn/Ally performed the attack, players may choose which of the closest hexes to place themselves in.

If an enemy Chain Attacks, they end the attack facing the last target that was hit in the chain. Friendly characters may end the attack facing any direction.

When targeting characters larger than one hex, choose a single hex of that character. That hex must follow the range rules for Chain Attacks. The location on the large character that will be attacked is the one corresponding to the chosen hex.

For example: Mildred's Cur has a Chain Attack with range 2 that can target up to 4 enemies. She targets the adjacent rat first, then a rat 2 hexes away, then the rat adjacent to that one and finally the Broodmother. She then places herself on any hex adjacent to the Broodmother, as it is her final target.

Mildred then draws 5 cards, revealing a 3,2,2,1 and a blank totaling 8 Damage. The defense of the giant rats is 2 and the defense of the Broodmother is 2. Mildred hits the first rat for her full 8 damage and kills it. She then ignores the lowest number card on the second rat, which is a 1, dealing 7 damage and kills it. She ignores the lowest two cards on the third rat, which is a 1 and 2, dealing 5 damage and kills it. Finally, she ignores the lowest three cards against the Broodmother, which is a 1,2 and 2, dealing only 3 damage causing the Broodmother to lose one Hit Point. Mildred's Cur must target the Broodmother's right flank as it is the only hex she can reach with the range 2 chain attack.

Charge Through X

Charge Through Attacks cause the attacker to move forwards in a straight line through a number of hexes (equal to X). During this they pass through other characters, stopping only at obstacles or a board edge.

If the attacker is a single hex character, they will stop at any obstacles and will be 'Pushed' into the closest empty hex if they finish the move on the same hex as another character.

If the attacker is a large character, they will move through obstacles, destroying them along the way, and if they finish the move on the same hex as any other characters, those characters will be 'Pushed' into the closest empty hex as though the monster had moved onto them.

After the move, all characters that were in the attacker's path are attacked. Attack once and apply to all targets. If a player attacks a large target, they may choose one HP die they charged through to attack.

For example: the green hexes below denote the 'path' of the Broodmother's Charge Through Attack.

Cone Attacks

Cone Attacks are a type of AoE attack that cover an area spreading out from the point of the attack in a 120 degree arc. Cone Attacks travel outwards from the 3 hexes adjacent to the front facing of the attacker (usually the front of the head on larger characters).

Cone Attacks specify a range, which indicates the number of hexes away from the source that are affected by the attack. Some cone attacks have unlimited range.

Cone Attacks are not affected by line of sight.

For example: For the Tail Whip, the range of the Cone Attack is 3, meaning a character up to 3 hexes away can be affected.

Consumed

When a character is Consumed, they are removed from the board. They may not move or play Injury, Ability or Item Cards on their turn. Instead, once per turn, the character may spend 3 Animus (1 Animus if they are a companion) to attack the location they are in (shown on the Stage Card). No Ability Card is required. They may use Combat Tokens and still gain might and defense from Item Card stats. The consumed character cannot be the target of any attacks, even those caused by a reaction (target these normally instead).

All consumed effects have an effect that triggers at the start of every Oathsworn and Encounter Phase.

Consumed characters are no longer consumed if all Hit Point Dice at the location the character is in are broken or if that location has lost 6 hit points since the character was consumed. Track this on a 6-sided die. A location, such as the belly, may have multiple Hit Point Dice in which case the 6 Hit Points can be caused to any combination of the dice. When a character is no longer consumed, they are immediately returned to the board to the nearest empty hex to the body location they were in (following the rule of North then West). All Animus the character has in their active area (right) is then moved to their reserve area (left).

Knockback

A character suffers Knockback when they are targeted by an attack that has the Knockback keyword, as long as the attack does not miss. Knockback occurs even if the character being attacked dies due to the attack. Other effects may also cause a character to suffer Knockback. When multiple characters are knocked back, they do so simultaneously.

When a character is affected by Knockback, move them directly away in a straight line from the source of the Knockback a number of hexes as indicated on the effect. If the Knockback is caused by a large character, the source of the knockback is the core hex of the character unless otherwise specified.

If there is more than one hex a character could be knocked back into, choose the hex that follows the rule of North then West (p.19).

If a character would be knocked back into a hex containing an obstacle, the character loses 1 HP from the HP die closest to the obstacle and remains on the hex adjacent to the obstacle. If a character would be knocked back into a hex containing another character, use the same rules as being knocked back into an obstacle, except that both characters lose 1 HP.

If a character is knocked back past the edge of the board, they instead stop at the board edge. This does not count as the character colliding with an obstacle.

For example: Kim's Ranger is attacked and suffers Knockback 3. She is moved directly away from the source of the attack, but can only move 1 hex because Jimmy's Warden is in the second hex. Both the Ranger and the Warden collide and lose 1 HP.

Exception: In the rare situation that a character is knocked back and the hex they would remain on is already occupied (by the source of the knockback), they are instead moved to the closest unoccupied hex to their current hex (using the rule of North then West if necessary).

For example: Here, a Monster leaps on the Warden, knocking him back into a tree. The Warden loses 1 HP and is moved to the closest unoccupied hex using the rule of North then West.

Knocking Back Large Characters

Large characters are only knocked back half the indicated hexes (round up). If a large character would be knocked back into an obstacle, the obstacle is destroyed. The large character remains on the hex before the one containing the obstacle. If a large character is knocked back into multiple characters and/or obstacles, the large character will lose 1 Hit Point for each collision. Otherwise, the rules for knocking back a large character are the same as for a single hex character.

Pushed

Being Pushed is very similar to Knockback except that no characters lose HP when pushed.

When a character is pushed, move it directly away in a straight line from the source of the push into an unoccupied hex. If the hex it would be pushed into contains either another character or an obstacle, they are instead moved to the closest unoccupied hex to their current hex, closest to the original direction (using the rule of North then West if there is more than one choice).

It is possible for a character to be pushed more than one hex. If a Large Enemy moves so that the center hex of their model lands right on the character, they would be pushed two hexes.

For example: The Broodmother is instructed to move 3 hexes south. This would put the base of the character over the top of three Oathsworn and a giant rat.

It pushes each of those characters directly back, away from its center until they are clear of the base. The direction the Oathsworn are pushed is easily determined: directly away from the center of the Broodmother.

Thrown

After a character performs a Thrown action with an item, place a Tracker Token in any empty hex adjacent to the target, this represents your thrown item. You may pick up your items for free by moving into that hex. While the Tracker Token is still on the board, the character suffers an effect depending on the type of item thrown.

If the character throws a weapon, all the player's weapons are considered to be thrown. The player is considered Unarmed for all attacks until they pick up their weapon.

If the character throws a shield, armor or gear item they may not use the defense value or item abilities of the item until it is picked up. Track any new defense values with a Tracker Token.

Unarmed

When you perform an Unarmed Attack you may not use the might from your weapons, although you may still draw as many white cards as you wish. In addition, you may not use any weapon abilities, although other Item Card abilities may still be used. All Combat Tokens may still be used normally during an Unarmed Attack.

Wave Attacks

Wave Attacks affect all characters in a 3 hex wide line between the source of the wave and the edge of the board. The direction of an encounter's wave attack will always be in the direction where the greatest number of enemies will be affected by it (even during a reaction). The line is not blocked by obstacles and LoS is not required. Draw the attack once and apply the result to all affected characters.

Appendix III

The Grove Maiden

Using the Grove Maiden

The Grove Maiden is intended to be unlocked as a playable character between Chapters 11 and 12, after the Grove Maiden encounter. You may play the Grove Maiden from Chapter 1, but be aware she is the most complex Oathsworn and she is not suggested for new players. In addition to the following Encounter rules, she also doubles her might when making Might Checks and performing rounds of combat during the Story.

Bioforms

The Grove Maiden has two types of bioforms she can summon during the game: The Ancient Guardian and her Sentinels. Whenever playing with the Grove Maiden take both Ally Cards with the Grove Maiden class icon from save bag and place them face up nearby. These cards show some of the basic information about her bioforms and additional information can be found below.

The Ancient Guardian

The Ancient Guardian works like an Ally, but is placed on the Game Board at the start of each Encounter that includes a Grove Maiden full character or companion. The Ancient Guardian may use the Grove Maiden's Combat Tokens as if they were its own. The Ancient Guardian also gains its own tokens from the Determination Rule and other effects.

If the Ancient Guardian is reduced to 0 HP, it is removed from the board; however, the Grove Maiden may spend 6 Animus (2 if you are a Companion) to rejuvenate it, placing it in an empty adjacent hex to her with 6 HP. Doing this counts as playing a card during the Grove Maiden's turn and the Ancient Guardian immediately regenerates 2 Animus when Rejuvenated. If the Grove Maiden goes unconscious, the Ancient Guardian goes dormant and can no longer be controlled, but it can still lose Hit Points.

Sentinels

Sentinels are living turrets made by the Grove Maiden. The Grove Maidens cannot raise a Sentinel in an occupied hex. She may remove any existing Sentinels to make new ones when she reaches her maximum of 8. If the Grove Maiden goes unconscious, the Sentinels go dormant and can no longer be controlled though they can still lose Hit Points.

Sentinels are designated as Friendly Characters.
Hexes occupied by Sentinels are not considered occupied. Enemies will path through them and if any character moves into or through a hex containing a Sentinel, the Sentinel is removed from the board.
They cannot move.
Sentinels have 1 Hit Point and are destroyed and removed from the board if they suffer any damage or Hit Point loss for any reason. However, they will never be chosen as the primary target of any enemy attacks. Sentinels may be damaged in multi target attacks such as Area of Effect attacks.
Sentinels use mob rules for attacking (p.23) and, unless otherwise stated, a group of Sentinels cannot split their fire between multiple targets.
When Attacking with Sentinels, draw one card equal to your might for each Sentinel involved in the attack. This attack cannot miss and may critical, but you may not choose to add extra white cards to the attack as usual.
All applicable Combat Tokens and items that the Grove Maiden has may be used on the Sentinels (i.e Redraw Tokens can be used on Sentinel attacks, etc).
When attacking an enemy with multiple Hit Point Dice, the closest location to the Grove Maiden is targeted.
If Sentinels ever cause a reaction card to be drawn, the target of that card will be the Grove Maiden herself.

The Huntress

Falcons

The Huntress' Falcons are not placed on the Game Board, but are instead placed on the Player Board. Her abilities will then allow her to move the Falcons to other characters that are in LoS for various effects. When you move a Falcon to another character, place the Falcon on their respective board, either Player Board, Companion Card, Ally Card or Encounter Board.

Falcons do not automatically return to the Huntress after using an Ability Card. Instead, they can be recalled to the Huntress or moved to another target using the 'send a falcon to a new target' ability that can be found on many of her Ability Cards. If the target that a falcon is on dies, then the falcon immediately returns to the Huntress.

Abilities cannot be played if you do not have the Falcons in the positions required on the card. (i.e. 'send a falcon on you to an enemy'. cannot be played if you have no Falcon on you). Some abilities target friendly characters. When the Huntress targets herself as the friendly character, you still need the required falcons but do not need to 'send' them anywhere, they simply remain on her Player Board.

If you wish to use a Falcon to target a minion or other character not represented on a board, place the Falcon near the Encounter Board and place a Colored Cube next to it. Then place a cube of the same color on the base of the target on the Game Board to show which character the Falcon is on.

Attacking with the Falcons: Whenever Falcons perform an attack, the attack is considered to be a ranged attack by the Huntress, allowing Combat Tokens to be used and item abilities to be triggered. The attack will target the location on a large monster that is closest to the Huntress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Oathsworn Questions

Q: Do I only get one turn per round as an Oathsworn? A: No, you get as many turns as you like (until you choose to stop) as laid out in page 8 of the Encounter Rule Book.

Q. When you 'Gain' Animus or 'Gain' a redraw what does that mean? A. When you are told to gain Animus, you take an Animus Gem from the reserve side of your Player Board and place it in the active side.

When you gain a redraw on an attack, you get 1 free redraw on that attack only. If you gain a redraw token you gain that token to use in that attack or in the future.

Q. When a card states to target a friendly character, does that include the character performing the ability? A. Yes, this is covered under (p8 Encounter Rule Book 'Terminology').

Q. Why did I just die in one hit? A: You may not have been defending yourself. Use the Ability Cards for their defense bonus when you get attacked.

This is a free action and causes Battleflow and significantly increases your defense against incoming damage.

Also remember that companions always get +2 defense as standard (as depicted by the +2 shields on their companion card). Also consider using Might Cards for Encounter attacks.

Q. Do Allies join me on the Game Board at the start of the Encounter? A. No, one will come when an Oathsworn is knocked out.

Component Questions

Q: When do you reset the Might Decks? A. At the end of each Story or Encounter Part, when the cards run out, when the deck is forced to be reset by any 0 cooldown card, or when a companion spends a combat token specifically to do so.

Q. When the Encounter ends, do I lose all combat tokens? A. Yes, then you will gain more from permanent token/choices in the next chapter.

Ability Questions

Q. In what order are characters knocked back? A. When characters are knocked back they do so simultaneously. This means they will not collide with eachother unless one of them stops prematurely and the other catches up to them.

Q. How do difficulty increases (where you lower you max HP) interact with abilities that state 'for each HP you have lost, gain X'? A. If playing on a higher difficulty treat these abilities as saying 'gain X where X is 6 minus your current HP'.

Q. How do Move X abilities/Stage Cards work? A. Move X allows you to move up to X unless it says Move EXACTLY X. Enemy stage cards that cause the Oathsworn to move will cause the Oathsworn to move the full distance even if crippled.

Q. How does the Witch ability Fireflies work? A. This ability does not cause damage like a card with an attack symbol would. You draw the red die indicated and for each blank drawn the target loses 1 HP. No additional damage is caused and this is not an attack where you can draw multiple White Might Cards.

Q. How does Taunt work? A. Taunt overrides the normal 'Choosing a target' rules on page 19 of the Encounter Rule Book. This means that if you taunt an enemy that cannot reach you, it will still target you and move as far as possible to try to get into range for any follow-up attacks.

If the monster cannot reach the target with that attack then the attack is cancelled. There is one exception to this however, which is where the monster performs an attack that involves targeting all adjacent characters/enemies. In this case the attack will still proceed even though the focused target is not in range. This may cause other characters to still be hit by this attack.

Enemy Questions

Q. Does a Stage Card supercede any special rules on the special rules board if there appears to be a conflict? A. Yes. The Stage Card will always supercede the Special Rules board if there is a conflict. This may become apparent especially when a card tells you to target X Oathsworn and the special rules board has a general rule for the boss targeting.

In all these cases the card wins.

Q. Does the Stage Card or Special Rules Board supercede the reaction rules? A. No, unless it states specifically otherwise. Note: When fighting a group of bosses, not all bosses will focus the damage dealer. Only the damaged boss will do that.

Q. Which enemies target the HP die-breaker when a reaction is drawn? A. Only the enemy that is damaged will focus on the die-breaker. All other minions and bosses will target as normal.

Q. When I break the last HP Die on an encounter, does it draw a reaction and do I have to kill all the minions? A. No, the encounter ends immediately and you do not have to kill all minions either.

Q. What do I do if I cannot perform a step on a Stage Card? A. Perform all the steps you can and ignore those that you can't.

Q. If I break multiple HP with a single attack and I remove the last HP die, will I draw a reaction for the second to last Die that was broken? A. Yes, This die causes a reaction but the last one does not. The enemy will perform that reaction then immediately die.

Q. What happens when an Encounter Board has multiple characters on it? A. Whenever there are multiple characters with HP dice represented on the Encounter Board, they are all 'Bosses'. Who activates and how they will do so will be defined by the Stage Card. When a reaction is drawn, always perform as many steps on the Stage Card as possible. The Encounter still only ends when all HP die are removed from the Encounter board.

Q. If I am fighting a pack of bosses and I remove the last HP from multiple bosses what happens? A. First, remove all bosses with no remaining HP dice from the board. If the attack would remove all bosses from the board leave the most North then Western boss on the board. Perform a number of reactions equal to the HP die that were broken (-1 if all were broken as the last die does not trigger a reaction). The reactions are performed by the surviving boss/bosses. Only bosses directly damaged by the attack will focus target the die breaker, all others will attack using thier normal targeting rules. Perform all steps that you can on each Stage Card and skip any that you can't.

Item Questions

Q. If I have a ranged item are all my attacks ranged? A. Yes, the passive range from your item becomes the range for all your attacks unless the ability card has a specific range mentioned on the card. In this case the ability card supersedes the item.

Q. Do my items that are on cooldown or flipped still provide Defense and Might passively? A. Yes

Q. If an item says: "When you crit during an attack that hits" do X. Does this stack if you draw multiple crits on that attack? A. No the effect only applies to one crit on that attack.

The Encounter Rule Book closes with the same "Thank You to All 11,518 Backers" Credits page and the shared Index and Glossary (keyed by (S) = Story Rule Book / (E) = Encounter Rule Book page numbers) printed above under the Story Rule Book Credits, Index and Glossary sections.

Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood Rulebook

Table of Contents

Story Rule Book
Encounter Rule Book

Story Rule Book

Game Overview

An Oathsworn campaign is divided into chapters, with each chapter made up of two parts:

1. Rulebook vs Component Rules

Any text on a game component takes precedence over anything in this rulebook.

2. Archiving

When you are instructed to archive a component, put it back in the box in its initial storage position. This will help keep components organized and easy to find if you need them again later.

3. Cards or Dice?

Note: It is suggested you use cards rather than dice for resolving enemy damage. This will create a tighter and more consistent experience.

First Play Session

If you have three hours or less for your first play session, it is recommended that you play only the story part of Chapter 1. If you do so you do not need to read the Encounter Rule Book.

Components

Story Rule Book
Encounter Rule Book
Oathsworn Models (12)
Grove Maiden Sentinels (8)
Ancient Guardian (1)
Player Boards (12)
Ability Cards (193)
Companion Cards (12)
Ally Models (4)
Ally Cards (58)
Common Item Cards (394)
Unique Item Cards (100)
Archetype Cards (48)
Curative & Injury Cards (40)
Backpack Card and Player Aid Cards (9)
Event Cards (83)
Card Separators (27)
Path Card (1)
Journal (1)
Time Tracks (13)
Location Tokens (30)
Time Tokens (20)
Clue Tokens (6)
Iron Currency (70)
Story Books (2)
City Maps (inside Mystery Envelopes) (8)
Special Rules Board (22)
Encounter Boards (19)
Free Company Sheet Pad
Character Sheet Pad
Encounter Book
Stage Cards (284)
Dice (49*) — *28 Might dice: 10 White dice (D6), 6 Yellow dice (D6), 6 Red dice (D6), 6 Black dice (D6), 15 Red Hit Point dice (D6), 2 Direction dice (D6), and 4 Tracking dice (D12)
Enemy Might Cards (72*) — *each divided into 4 sets of 18 cards (white, yellow, red, black)
Oathsworn Might Cards (72*) — *each divided into 4 sets of 18 cards (white, yellow, red, black)
Might Cubes (44) (16 Yellow, 16 Red, 12 Black)
Status Effect Tokens (32)
Combat Tokens (125)
Tracker Tokens (56)
Effect Tiles (10)
Obstacles (5 trees, 4 walls, 2 buildings)
7 Hex Area of Effect Template (4)
Game Board (1)
Mystery Envelopes (31 in the Standee Version, 11 in the Miniatures version)
Mystery Boxes (21) (Only included in the Mystery Chest)
Animus (44)

* The Standee Version comes with an additional 12 Civilian Standees and 22 plastic stands.

Game Setup

Forming a Free Company

The Difference Between Full Characters and Companions

Both full characters and companions count as Oathsworn and are equally involved in both the Story and the Encounters.

Setting Up the Game

Full Character Setup

There are twelve Oathsworn included in the game. The complexity rating for each character is shown by a number of stars below (1 being the simplest and 5 being the most complex).

Character	Complexity	Description
A'Dendri Ranger	1	A refugee from the Wychwood, she is a hunter and tracker who grows arrows from her own body.
Scar Tribe Exile	1	A feral survivor of a tribal feud who has fought for his life as long as he can remember.
Priest	2	A grizzled veteran who practices his oppressed faith in the shadows of the Deepwood.
Ursus Warbear	3	A nomad on the great hunt seeking worthy foes and tales of adventure to be carved onto her armor.
Warden	3	A bastion of discipline, he protects the world from the malefice of witches by the power of his mantle armor and strength of arms.
Penitent	3	A defender of the faith paying penance for past deeds, he becomes more enraged the closer his enemies come to victory.
Cur	3	Raised on the hard streets of Verum where cunning brings coin, he knows how to conceal a weapon and where to stick it if things get dicey.
Thracian Blade	3	A master of wetwork who honed his skills in the pits of Thrace before applying them to the denizens of the Deepwood.
Avi Harbinger	4	Gifted with foresight, a word from the Harbinger can save a life or perfectly time a blow, so long as he reads the fates correctly of course.
Witch	5	Hated and feared for what she can do, she would be dead or worse were her gifts not so useful for fighting the beasts of the Deepwood.
Huntress	5	Keeper of two great falcons, who join her in battle. She stalks her prey with both bow and blade.
A'Dendri Grove Maiden	5	One of the ancient bio-architects responsible for the protection of the A'Dendri race. Only something truly awful could see her leave her grove. Note: This character is unlocked during play.

For each full character you choose to play, take the following and place them according to their instructions:

The character's Player Board, placed face up. Leave space for a card on all sides of the board.
A Hit Point (HP) die, placed in the HP slot of your Player Board. If beginning a new chapter, set your HP to its maximum (6 as standard). If playing the Encounter part, set your HP to the HP recorded on your Character Sheet.
A Character Sheet. If this is the start of your campaign, create a name for your character. Then record the Regen and Max Animus depicted on your Player Board by checking boxes on the relevant tracks on the Character Sheet.
A Tracker Token on the Regen slot of your Player Board, with a value equal to the Regen value on your Character Sheet. In addition, take an amount of Animus gems equal to your maximum Animus, as depicted on your Character Sheet. Place these gems on the reserve (left) side of the Animus track on the Player Board.
The Character's Model.
3 Iron, if this is the start of your campaign.
Item Cards, placed in your hand. If this is the start of your campaign, follow the Starting Item Cards rules box below.
Colored Cubes on your Might Track as depicted on your Item Cards (if any). If you ever run out of space on the Might Track stack the colored cubes on top of each other.
A Tracker Token on the Defense slot of your Player Board, with a value equal to the total of the Defense Values depicted on your Item Cards (see box below). If you do not have any Defense Values on your Item Cards, place a '1' value Tracker Token (your minimum Defense Value is 1).*

Starting Item Cards

Item Cards are separated by chapter. At the start of a campaign, take the Chapter 1 Common Item Cards from Card Organizer 1 (they have a '1' on the back) and equip your chosen character with the items listed below. Place the cards in your hand. Place the rest of the Chapter 1 Common Item Cards back in Card Organizer 1.

A'Dendri Ranger: Short Bow, Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Scar Tribe Exile: Hatchet (2), Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Priest: Great Maul, Pig Iron Coat Ursus Warbear: Felling Axe, Pig Iron Coat Warden: Short Sword, Pig Iron Coat, Buckler Penitent: Cudgel, Pig Iron Coat, Buckler Cur: Bone Knife (2), Tattered Rawhide Wrappings Thracian Blade: Long Sword, Pig Iron Coat Avi Harbinger: Gnarled Branch, Tattered Flax Garment Witch: Gnarled Branch, Tattered Flax Garment A'Dendri Grove Maiden: Tattered Flax Garment Huntress: Short Bow, Long Sword, Tattered Rawhide Wrappings

Starting Might and Defense

For example: The Ranger starts with a Short Bow and Tattered Rawhide Wrappings. During setup, one yellow cube is placed on the Ranger's Might Track, and a Tracker Token of value 2 is placed on the Defense slot, to match what is depicted on her items.

Companion Setup

For each companion you choose to play, take the following and place them in front of you:

The character's Companion Card from their Save Bag.
A Hit Point (HP) die, placed in the HP slot. If beginning a new chapter, set your HP to its maximum (6 as standard). If playing the Encounter part, set your HP to the number of HP recorded on your Character Sheet.
For each companion, take 2 Animus Gems from the box and place them on the reserve (left) side of the Animus track on the Companion Card. Note: Companions can never increase their maximum Animus so they will always have 2 no matter what level they are.
Item Cards (as per Full Character Setup step 7).
Colored Cubes on your Might Track as depicted on your Item Cards (if any, see Starting Might and Defense box).
3 Iron, if this is the start of your campaign.
The Character's Model.
A Character Sheet (as per Full Character Setup step 3).
A Tracker Token on the Defense slot of your Companion Card, with a value equal to the total of the Defense Values depicted on your Item Cards plus 2 (represented by the two shields depicted on the Defense slot). If you do not have any Defense Values on your Item Cards, place a '3' value Tracker Token (the minimum Defense Value of a Companion is 3).*

*Defense is increased by an additional 1 if playing on Pilgrim difficulty, 2 if you are playing on Journeyman difficulty. For all difficulty rules see page 9.

Story Setup

Component Setup

If you have not done so already, follow the steps for Full Character setup and Companion setup on page 7. Then take the following and place them according to their instructions:

Take the Token Tray from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Dice bag from the box and place all the dice near the playing area.
Take Card Organizer 1 from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Player and Encounter Might Deck Organizers and place them near the playing area. The lids can hold discarded cards and can be placed overlapping the organizers to save table space.
Take the Might Cubes from the box and place them near the playing area.
Take the Iron Currency Tokens from the box and place them near the playing area.
Remove the contents of the Free Company Bag and place them nearby (see box below).
Take the Special Rules Board which has the same number as your current chapter and place it face down at the side of the playing area. Do not look at its face down side until told to do so.
Place the Time Tokens and Location Tokens (numbered 1-30) number side up nearby.
Prepare the City Event Deck and Deepwood Event Deck (see box below).
The Game Map, Time Track and Path Card are not placed during setup. You will be told when to set these up during the story.

Free Company Bag

This bag contains a number of things that belong to the Free Company itself, such as Ally Cards and any Item Cards owned by the Free Company, but not currently equipped by a character.

At the start of each play session, take all of the Ally Cards from the Free Company Bag and place them face up nearby.

Take the Backpack Card and all Item Cards from the Free Company Bag and place them in a pile nearby, with the Backpack Card on top.

Give 2 Player Aid Cards to each player.

At the start of Chapter 1, the Free Company Bag should contain the following:

A sheet from the Free Company pad.

Backpack Card (containing no Item Cards).

4 Men-at-Arms Ally Cards.

8 Player Aid Cards.

Event Decks

When you first start a campaign, take the City Event Cards 1-6 from Card Organizer 1, shuffle them, and place them number side up nearby as the current City Event Deck. Place the rest of the City Event Cards back in the organizer. Do the same with the Deepwood Event Cards 1-6 to create the Deepwood Event Deck.

For later chapters, the current Event Decks are stored in the Free Company Bag; just take them out and put them on the table. The rest of the Event Cards are kept in the Card Organizer.

Instant Action Mode

Instant Action Mode allows you to play the game without playing the full Story part, concentrating instead on playing the Encounters at the end of each chapter. Each Instant Action Chapter has a short story breakdown, some checks, rewards to process and a chance to trade with the Banksmith and Apothecary before you head into the Encounter. You will still need to read the Story rules in this book, though you can skip the Locations and Time Track rules.

When you wish to play the Instant Action mode, perform Character Setup (on page 6-7) and Story Setup steps 1-8 (on page 8). After that, open the Encounter Book and go to the Instant Action mode page for your current chapter and follow the instructions on that page. See the 'How To Use This Book' section in the Encounter Book for more information.

Difficulty Levels

Choose wisely which type of company you are:

Journeyman Company: Oathsworn and Allies have 2 additional defense. (I'm here for the story and that story doesn't involve me getting eaten by monsters)

Pilgrim Company: Oathsworn and Allies have 1 additional defense. (I'm here for the ride. It has its ups and down, but that's part of the fun)

Free Company (Standard Difficulty): Oathsworn and Allies have a maximum of 6 hit points and no additional defense. (I'm here for death and the Deepwood)

Hardcore Variant

If you ever have fewer than 4 available Oathsworn remaining, then your journey is over; you have failed to complete the campaign.

Story Overview

At some point you will be instructed to place one of the City Maps and the "Free Company Marker"; use one of your Oathsworn Character Models for this purpose.

End of Play Session

Locations

During the Story, you will be told to 'place Location Tokens'. When this happens, take the indicated Location Token and place it number side up on the corresponding numbered space on the City Map.

If you are using the Story Book, flip the Location Token over, and turn to the indicated entry in the Story Book depending upon whether you have taken Path A or Path B.

If you are using the Companion App, simply click on the location's name and you will be taken to the correct entry.

Path Cards

You will be instructed to take a certain Path while progressing through the Story. If you are already on a Path and are instructed to take a Path Card, flip the card to the correct side.

Time Track

Moving to a new location takes one unit of time, no matter the distance on the map. This is represented by moving the Location Token from the map to the Time Track.

There are also situations during the Story where you will be instructed to add Time Tokens directly to the Time Track.

When Location Tokens and Time Tokens are placed on the Time Track, first fill the top row, from left to right, then the bottom row, from left to right.

Some spaces show effects which are resolved in one of three situations:

Example Track Effects — The effects for Chapter 1 are:

Gain Token: All characters gain a Battleflow Combat Token.
City Event: Draw and resolve a City Event Card.
Extra Unique Item: Draw a Unique Item Card to add to the rewards gained in the epilogue.

Event Cards

When you add a new Event Card to a deck, shuffle that deck afterwards.

The Free Company

Gaining Clues

For example: The Story might say "If you have Clue 2, place Location 14."

Item Cards

Item cards can be exchanged between players and/or the backpack at any point during the Story part of a chapter, but not during the Encounter.

Gaining Items

Running Out of Items

Gaining and Losing Iron

Losing Hit Points

During the Story, you may be instructed to lose Hit Points. When this happens, rotate your HP die down to reflect the Hit Point loss.

For example: You currently have 5 Hit Points. The Story says: "The ladder breaks and you fall to the street below. Lose 1 HP." You rotate your HP die so it now shows a 4.

Might Cards

The Might decks have four power levels denoted by their color white/yellow/red/black. These icons denote your Might and represent either one card or die of the relevant color (your choice).

WEAKEST (white → yellow → red → black) STRONGEST

At the end of the story part, all decks are reshuffled before the encounter part.

Note: Might Dice can always be used instead of or in combination with Might Cards.

Combat Tokens

The full rules for these tokens can be found in Appendix I on page 16.

Permanent Tokens

If you gain a permanent token before the Encounter part of a chapter, you also immediately gain the corresponding Combat Token (so you can use it in that chapter too).

Allies

There are two types of Allies: combat and non-combat. Both types of Ally may have an effect on the Story, but if an Ally is stated to be a non-combat Ally, they cannot be used during Encounters.

Story Actions

Checks

For example: The Free Company is making a check with a difficulty of 3 and chooses to draw 3 white cards.

Drawing 2 blanks and 1 numbered card: FAIL (2 misses)
Drawing 3 blank-value cards totaling only 2: FAIL (value 2)
Drawing cards totaling 3: PASS (value 3)

Criticals

Some cards have a 'Critical' symbol on them. For each card you draw with a Critical symbol, draw another card of the same color and add its value to your total. If you draw another Critical symbol with the extra card, repeat this process. Any blanks drawn when drawing extra cards from Criticals do not cause a check to fail.

Levels of Success

For example: You are performing a Basic Check of difficulty 3. The text says "For each success, gain 1 HP." You get the following successes, based on your draw:

0-2: Check failed
3-5: One success
6-8: Two successes
9-11: Three successes
Etc.

Secret Decisions

Round of Combat

Oathsworn always defeat their enemies during a round of combat that takes place during the Story part of a chapter. However, each Oathsworn that fails loses 1 HP.

Jason: FAIL (2 misses, -1 HP). Kim: PASS (value 6). Luke: FAIL (value 4, -1 HP). Jimmy: FAIL (2 misses, -1 HP).

Jimmy then uses 1 Reroll Token to redraw one of his blank cards. His new card is a 1, turning his failure into a success.

Banksmith and Apothecary

Sending a Runner

The Apothecary

The Banksmith

For example, a 5 Iron Item can be sold at a Banksmith for 3 Iron.

After all buying and selling is complete, shuffle any remaining Banksmith Item Cards back into the Common Item Deck for the current chapter.

Saving the Game

Each character comes with a Character Save Bag and the Free Company as a whole has a Free Company Save Bag. When you have finished a play session, place the following into the Save Bags:

Each Character Save Bag

A Character Sheet. If saving after the Story part of a chapter, record your current HP on it. If saving after the Encounter part of a chapter, do not record your HP. You return to your Maximum HP at the start of every Chapter.
Character Ability Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Ability Cards with a Character Card separator.
The Companion Card and all Archetype Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Archetype cards with a Character Card separator.
The character's Injury Cards, Item Cards and Iron Coins.
Combat Tokens (only if saving between the Story and the Encounter, otherwise archive your Combat Tokens)

Free Company Save Bag

Free Company Sheet. If saving between the Story and the Encounter, record in the relevant boxes whether you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track, have revealed the Encounter Special Rules Board and whether you are ambushed.
The Backpack Card and all Item Cards not equipped by any character.
Ally Cards
City and Deepwood Event Decks

After saving the game, archive all remaining components.

Appendix I

Combat Tokens

They may also be used when performing a Round of Combat or Might Check during the story.

This token's effect cannot be split between more than one attack.

Status Tokens

Poison — A character who has one or more Poison Tokens suffers the effects as described on the Special Rules Board.

Bleed — A character with one or more Bleed Tokens will lose 1 or more HP when the token is triggered. These tokens are triggered by Ability Cards for Oathsworn or Stage Cards for Encounters.

Lethality (Specific to the Cur) — These tokens are gained through the Cur's abilities and spent to empower attacks. See the Cur's Player Board Special Ability for full rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Story Questions

Q: Can you switch characters during the campaign? A: Yes, this can be done easily through the Quick Leveling System in the Encounter Rule Book.

Component Questions

When you gain more max animus and regen throughout the campaign you simply mark off more boxes rather than have to erase a number and rewrite it.

Q. Can you run multiple campaigns at the same time using the app? A. Yes, your campaign progress is saved through the components not the app.

Hardcore Questions

Q: If playing Hardcore, do deaths in the Story part lockout a class on the Hardcore Track on the Free Company Sheet? A: Yes

Story Rule Book Credits

Thank You to All 11,518 Backers

Index

Key: (S) = Story Rule Book, (E) = Encounter Rule Book

# — +2 Animus Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28

F — Falcons (E) p.32; Fail (S) p.14, (E) p.24; Fire Hexes (E) p.5, 9; Free Company (S) p.6, (E) p.6; Free Company Save Bag (S) p.8,15, (E) p.25; Friendly Characters (E) p.8

G — Gear (S) p.12, (E) p.9, 16; Golden Rule (E) p.19; Grove Maiden (E) p.32

H — Hardcore Mode (S) p.9; Hit Points (S) p.7, p.13, (E) p.15; Huntress (E) p.32

K — Knockback (E) p.30; Knockout (KO) (E) p.17, 24

L — Large (E) p.14; Lethality (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Leveling Up (E) p.26; Locations (S) p.10; Line of Sight (LoS) (E) p.12

N — North then West (E) p.19

O — Oathsworn (S) p.6 (E) p.8; Oathsworn Phase (E) p.8-17; Obstacle (E) p.5

P — Path Card (S) p.10; Permanent Token (S) p.13, (E) p.27; Petition the Raven Spire (S) p.12; Phases (E) p.8; Poison Token (S) p.16, (E) p.28; Pushed (E) p.31

Q — Quick Leveling Up (E) p.26

U — Unarmed (E) p.31; Unconscious (E) p.17; Unique Item (S) p.4; Unlock Ability Card (E) p.27

W — Water Hexes (E) p.5, 9; Wave (E) p.31; Witch (E) p.6

Glossary

A quick-reference chart of the icons and tokens used throughout both rule books. Key: (S) = Story Rule Book, (E) = Encounter Rule Book.

Phases: Refresh Phase (E) p.8; Oathsworn Phase (E) pp.8-17; Encounter Phase (E) pp.18-23; End of Round Phase (E) p.24

Combat Tokens (Appendix I (S) p.16, (E) p.28): Defense, +2 Animus, Redraw, Empowered x3, Battleflow

Status Tokens (Appendix I (S) p.16, (E) p.28): Poison, Bleed, Crippled, Lethality

General Tokens: Location Token (S) p.10; Clue Token (S) p.12; Time Token (S) p.11; Iron (S) p.12; Tracker Token (S) p.7

Encounter Rule Book

Encounter Setup

Free Company recruits are often called '60 seconders' as that is how long they tend to survive first contact with a monster. The Encounter is that 60 seconds.

At some point during the Story part of the chapter, you will be instructed to proceed to the Encounter in the Encounter Book. When this happens, the Encounter part of the chapter begins.

To setup the Encounter, perform the following steps, in order:

If you are continuing from the Story part of the chapter in this play session:

If you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track after completing the Encounter, mark the 'Extra Unique' box for your chapter on your Free Company Sheet.
Archive the City Map, Time Track, Iron Currency Tokens, Time Tokens, Location Tokens, Path Card, Journal and Story Book.
Place the Event Decks, Backpack Card and your unequipped items in the Free Company Save Bag.
Take the Game Board and place it in the center of the playing area.
Follow the Encounter Setup below.

If you are NOT continuing from the Story part of the chapter in this play session:

Take the Game Board and place it in the center of the playing area.
Take the Token Tray from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Dice Bag from the box and place all the dice near the playing area.
Take the Card Organizer 1 from the box and place it near the playing area.
Take the Player and Encounter Might Decks Organizers and place them near the playing area. The lids can hold discarded cards and can be placed overlapping the organizers to save table space.
Take the Might Cubes from the box and place them near the playing area.
Follow the steps for Full Character setup and Companion setup (page 7 of the Story Rulebook).
Take the Combat Tokens from the character's Save Bag and place them on or next to your respective Player Boards/Companion Cards.
Open the Encounter Book to your current chapter. Open the Mystery Box / Envelope described in the Encounter Book and assemble any components if you have not already done so.
Take the Special Rules Board for your current chapter (depicted by the number on the back of the card) and place it face down at the side of the playing area. Do not look at it until told to do so. If the Special Rules box for your chapter is checked on your Free Company Sheet, turn the Special Rules Board face up.
Follow the Encounter Setup below.

Encounter Setup:

If this is your first Encounter read the 'How to Use this Book' page at the front of the Encounter Book.
If you have not done so already, open the Encounter Book to your current chapter.
Place the Encounter Board described in the Encounter Book face up.
Place a HP die, set to 6, on each available slot on the Encounter Board.
Take the 15 Stage Cards described in the Encounter Book. Shuffle the Stage 3 cards (indicated on the back) and place them face down to the left of the Encounter Board. Shuffle the Stage 2 cards and place them face down on top of the Stage 3 cards. Shuffle the Stage 1 cards and place them face down on top of the Stage 2 cards. Turn the top Stage 1 card face up.
Build your hand of Cards: Each Oathsworn starts the Encounter with a hand of exactly 7 Ability Cards. This must comprise of the following: One '0' cooldown card, Two '1' cooldown cards, Two '2' cooldown cards, Two '3' cooldown cards. In addition, all Oathsworn must take all Injury Cards they have in their Save Bag and any Items Cards they have following the limitations on Page 12 of the Story Rule Book.

For example: Kim's Ranger has a level 2 Ability Card in her pool with a cooldown of 3, she can use this in place of one of her cooldown 3 starting Ability Cards.

Starting Ability Cards

Each full character starts out with a set of 7 starting Ability Cards. These have the name of your character on the back. Find the 7 starting Ability Cards, indicated by a star icon below the name on the front of the card. Leave the other Ability Cards where they are for now.

Each companion begins with 1 double-sided starting Archetype Card, indicated by a star icon on the left hand border. Only one side of an Archetype Card is used during each Encounter.

The Witch is an exception to this: she will use her 3 starting Ability Cards (marked by a star icon) and then chooses either the 4 Fire or 4 Water starting Ability Cards (as depicted by the icon under the card name). All these cards are considered to be unlocked in the Witch's ability pool and, from Chapter 2 onwards, these can be chosen and mixed when building your hand.

If you are playing with any Companions then for each one, select 1 side of 1 of their unlocked Archetype Cards to use during this Encounter.
Turn the Special Rules Board face up if you have not done so already.
Place the Encounter enemies and obstacles on the Game Board as shown in the setup image in the Encounter Book.
Place your Free Company Models on the Game Board anywhere in the green zone as shown in the setup image in the Encounter Book.
Choose one Oathsworn to take the lead for this Encounter. They will take the first turn in each round.
Follow any additional setup instructions in the Encounter Book.
Check your Free Company Sheet to see whether you start the Encounter normally or are being ambushed.
Start the Encounter.

Sequence of Play

An Encounter is played out over a series of rounds. Each round consists of the following four phases, performed in order:

Refresh Phase — Regain Ability Cards from cooldown position 0 and regenerate Animus.
Oathsworn Phase — Players can spend Animus to move and use Ability Cards.
Encounter Phase — Resolve enemy actions according to the Stage Card.
End of Round Phase — Effects that last until the end of the round are now ended.

This process repeats until either the Encounter is defeated or all of the Oathsworn are unconscious (reduced to 0 HP).

Terminology

All living creatures represented by miniatures or standees are considered to be characters.

Normal Start or Being Ambushed

Refresh Phase

Note: Skip this Phase in Round 1 if the Free Company was ambushed. Go straight to Encounter Phase instead.

Each Oathsworn and Ally performs the following steps simultaneously:

Regenerate Animus according to the character's Animus Regen value. Do this by moving the defined number of Animus from the reserve area (left) to the available area (right). You cannot regenerate more Animus than you have in your reserve. Companions always regenerate 2 Animus per round as depicted on their Companion Card. Note: All Oathsworn start an encounter with all Animus in the reserve (left) area.
If there are any Ability Cards below your Player Board (cooldown position 0), take them back into your hand. Note: other cards do not move.
If you are a companion, remove any cubes from your Archetype Card.

Injury Cards

For example: Jimmy has 3 Injury Cards in his hand. On his turn, he plays all three, then moves 2 and finally plays an Ability Card.

Special Abilities

Oathsworn Phase

Note: Skip this Phase in Round 1 if the Free Company was ambushed. Go straight to Encounter Phase instead.

Whether or not you move or play an Ability Card on your turn, you may play as many Item Cards and Combat Tokens as you wish, and in any order. You may also use your Special Ability.

You may keep taking turns even if you chose to pass on your previous turn.

In this way players can effectively choose how they activate their characters; one character can perform a series of turns if the rest of the group agrees to pass on their turns.

Companions

Guard is an interrupt ability as depicted by the upheld hand and so costs no animus as depicted by the 'pay no animus' icon.

Companion Combat Tokens:

For example: Jimmy's Priest Companion has a +2 Animus Token, he returns it to the supply and may immediately Move 2, Attack or refresh the Might Deck.

For example: Jimmy uses the 'Companion: Move 3 effect' on his Priest's Amber Nugget Item Card. This costs no Animus. Afterwards he turns the item face down to show he can no longer use it.

0 or 1 injury cards = 0 hit points
2 or 3 injury cards = 1 hit point
4 or more injury cards = 2 hit points

Movement

Some items and abilites also allow you move. When this happens you may move up to the amount of hexes indicated on the card for the cost shown.

Each Oathsworn and Ally is facing in a particular direction indicated by the direction they are looking. You can change facing, at no cost, at any time on your turn, except while resolving an effect.

For example: Kim spends two Animus and moves her Ursus two hexes and faces the Giant Rat.

Movement and Effect Tiles

Effect Tiles may be placed on the Game Board during the Encounter and have the following effects:

Fire Tile: If a character occupies a hex with 1 or more Fire Tiles during the End of Round phase, remove 1 tile beneath the character from the board and the character loses 1 HP.

There are several other Effect Tokens in the game such as Blood and Poison. You will be told their effects on the Encounter Special Rules Board when they are used.

If a large Effect Tile is placed over a single hex Effect Tile, place the large Effect Tile underneath. Both effects will apply to any character standing on that hex.

Large Effect Tiles may be placed partially off the board and under obstacles in the course of placement.

Large Effect Tiles may be placed over other large Effect Tiles. In this case only one of the tiles takes effect (they will be the same).

Playing Ability Cards

To play an Ability Card from your hand, follow these steps:

Choose the Effect on a card.
Pay the cost of the card.
Resolve the card's effect.
Place the card in the appropriate cooldown position around your Player Board.
Battleflow other cards in the same cooldown position.

Note: Information about the cards in any players hand can be freely shared but no player may make decisions for other players on what cards to play or actions to take.

Step 1: Choose the Effect on a Card

Step 2: Paying the Cost

Some cards have a '?' in the top left. These are cards which have multiple effects and the cost you pay depends on which effect you decide to use.

Step 3: Resolve the Card's Effect

Follow the instructions on the card to resolve the chosen effect.

Attack: Whenever you see this icon, you may perform an attack. The full rules for this are described in the Attacks section on page 13.

Other icons are explained on page 16.

Step 4: Place the Card on Cooldown

When you play a card, place it in the appropriate cooldown position around your Player Board according to the cooldown value depicted in the top right of the Ability Card.

0: Place below your Player Board.
1: Place to the left of your Player Board.
2: Place above your Player Board.
3: Place to the right of your Player Board.

Step 5: Battleflow Other Cards

Important Note: Only cards in the same cooldown position as the newly played card are moved. Once moved, they do not cause a cascade of further cards to Battleflow.

If a card in cooldown 0 position is moved due to Battleflow, return it to your hand.

Item Cards, Injury Cards and Battleflow

Ability Effects

Attacks: This icon allows the character to perform an attack against an enemy.

Range

For example: Kim's Witch wields a staff (a Melee weapon). However, the 'Flaming Whip' ability shows range 3, so the attack is Ranged.

Unless otherwise specified, an attack can only be made against a target that is in range of the attack. A melee attack can only be made against a target in an adjacent hex.

Ranged attacks require Line of Sight (see below) unless otherwise indicated.

Line of Sight (LoS)

Note: LoS is not required for Abilities and effects on Stage Cards that have no attack icon unless stated otherwise.

Exception: If the character and target hex are in a straight line of hexes, the middle of the hexes are used to determine LoS instead.

For example: The Priest is attacking the Broodmother and is adjacent to the Broodmother's front and left flank. The Priest can choose to attack either of these locations.

When a large enemy attacks, LoS is determined from the front hex of the enemy.

The Broodmother does not have LoS to the Witch, as LoS is always determined from the front hex of large creatures.

Making an Attack

For example: The Warden can use 1 red and 1 yellow Might Card and then may draw as many white Might Cards as he chooses.

Example: drawing 2, 1, 1 with 2 more blanks drawn: MISS (2 misses). Example: drawing 1, 1, 1, 1, 2 all hits: HIT (value 5).

Criticals

Some cards have a 'critical' symbol on them. For each card you draw with a critical symbol, draw another card of the same color and add its value to your total. If you draw another critical symbol with the extra card, repeat this process. Any blanks drawn when drawing extra cards from criticals do not cause an attack to miss. You do not have to draw new cards on a critical if you do not wish to.

Jimmy is performing an attack and has 1 yellow Might Card. He chooses to draw 2 additional white Might Cards. He draws a blank on the yellow card, and a "1" and "2 Critical" on the white cards. He only drew 1 blank, so the attack has hit and he has done 3 damage so far. The critical allows him to draw another white Might Card and he draws another "2 Critical". He has now done 5 damage and draws another white card, this time getting a blank, which is ignored. He has done 5 damage in total.

The Determination Rule

If, after redraws, one of your attacks misses (draws 2 or more blanks), you gain any one Combat Token of your choice (see Appendix I on page 28) to represent you becoming more determined to succeed next time. In addition, you regain all Redraw, Empowered x3 and Lethality Tokens you spent during the attack (if any).

Ignoring Cards

Some effects instruct you to ignore a certain Might Card such as the highest or lowest. All criticals and redraws are resolved before any 'ignore effects' are resolved. If a Might Card showing a critical is ignored, do not ignore any other Might Cards drawn because of this critical.

Empowering Cards

Front, Flank and Rear Arcs

Each character has 4 arcs: front, rear and 2 flanks, left and right. Some abilities give a bonus for attacking or being in an enemy's front, flank or rear.

To determine where an ability originates against a normal (single hex) character, and against a multi hex character, consult the Front/Left/Right/Rear diagrams in the Encounter Book.

Enemy Locations

Some single hex characters also have multiple locations, all of which are considered to be within the hex.

Which Hit Point Die to Damage

When attacking a large enemy, choose the closest HP die to the attacker.

If two or more HP dice are closest, the player chooses which HP die to attack.

When attacking a single hex character with multiple HP dice, you may choose which HP die to attack.

This decision is made after the damage is drawn.

Damage and Hit Point Loss

To calculate how many Hit Points the target of an attack loses, divide the damage dealt by the target's Defense Value and round down (minimum of 0).

DAMAGE ÷ DEFENSE = HP LOST

The Defense Value of a boss is shown at the top of the Special Rules Board.

The Defense Value of a minion is shown in the minion box on the Special Rules Board.

For example: Jon is attacking an enemy that has a Defense Value of 2 and he draws a total of 8 damage. 8 divided by 2 and rounded down is 4, so the enemy loses 4 HP.

When a minion loses all of its HP (most minions only have 1 HP), remove it from the board. Minions with more than 1 HP will have an HP slot on the Encounter Board.

Breaking a Location

If any HP die is removed from a boss for any reason (except the final HP die on the Encounter Board), that location is said to be broken. When this happens, perform the following steps in order:

Check the Encounter Special Rules Board to see if the Encounter stage changes.
If the stage changes, discard all the cards from the previous stage from the stage deck.
If the stage deck is empty, reshuffle the Stage 3 cards from the discard pile to form a new stage deck.
Important: Whether or not the stage changes, draw and resolve all steps of the top card of the stage deck with the character who broke the location as the target of the 'broken' enemy (see page 19 for more details). This is known as a Reaction. This targeting overrides any targeting on the Special Rule Board or Stage Card. Minions do not trigger reactions unless it is stated on the Encounter Special Rules Board.
Turn the next Stage Card face up.

*If multiple die are broken simultaneously and causes the last HP die on the Encounter Board to be removed, resolve all reactions first then the encounter ends.

Damage and Hit Point Loss to a Broken Location

Playing Item Cards

Item Cards still provide their might and defense even when placed on cooldown.

Some items give bonuses to attacks. If that attack hits multiple targets, then the item bonus will apply to all the targets.

Companions use items differently from full characters (See Companion Items on page 9).

Items with no cooldown number are used once per encounter and are placed face down on the table when used.

Item abilities cannot be played during the story part of the game unless specifically stated.

Other Icons

Hit Point: Some cards depict this icon. It represents a Hit Point.

Pay No Animus: Using an Ability Card for its defense value when you are attacked and interrupts performed by companions cost no Animus to perform.

Status Effects

Some effects cause you or another character to gain a Status Token.

When an Oathsworn gains a Status Token, place it on their Player Board/Companion Card.

When an Ally gains a Status Token, place it on their Ally Card.

When a Boss gains a Status Token, place it on the Encounter Board.

When a Minion gains a Status Token, place it next to the Minion on the Game Board.

The effects of all Status Tokens are described in Appendix I on page 28.

Unconscious Oathsworn

When an Oathsworn is reduced to 0 hit points, they become unconscious. This has several effects:

Their model is immediately removed from the Game Board. Remember, if the 4 Oathsworn have been removed from the board, you fail the Encounter.
At the start of their next turn, the player who controls the Oathsworn chooses an Ally, if available, and continues the Encounter with that Ally (See Allies in Combat below).
During 'Tally Level, Loot and Losses' (See page 24 for more details), mark a tick on the Knockout Track for each Oathsworn that went unconscious. They each receive an Injury Card from the Injury Deck and also lose an additional item.
Note: If playing the Hardcore Variant, instead of going Unconscious, your Oathsworn is killed (See page 9 of the Story Rule Book for more details).

Allies in Combat

If your Oathsworn goes unconscious, at the start of your next turn:

Choose a combat ally from the Free Company's Ally deck, if available.
Take an Ally model and place a Tracker Token whose number matches the number on the model's base on your Ally card.
Place a Hit Point die on the Ally Card and set it to 6.
Place 2 Animus Gems on the available (right hand) side of the Animus Track on the Ally Card.
Place the model on any empty hex on any edge of the Game Board.
You now take turns with the Ally instead of your previous Oathsworn.

Some allies have a once per encounter ability. When you use this ability place any might cube from the supply on the ally to show it has been used.

If your Free Company has no allies remaining to choose, then you must play the remainder of the Encounter with less than 4 characters.

Encounter Phase

The Encounter Phase consists of two steps performed in the following order:

Draw Stage Card
Activate Minions

Draw Stage Card

If you have to draw another Stage Card while one is still resolving, resolve the cards in the order they were drawn.

Special Effects

Some Stage Cards have Special Effects on them in bold (such as Knockback or Cone). Each Special Effect is described alphabetically in Appendix II.

Special Abilities

Some Stage Cards have a Special Ability on them that is italicized and bold. When you see this, refer to the Special Rules Board and follow the instructions for that ability.

If the stage deck is empty, reshuffle the Stage 3 cards from the discard pile to form a new stage deck.

Encounter Stages

An Encounter is divided into 3 Stages, which represents the behaviour of the enemy changing as the Encounter progresses.

Encounter Stage changes can be triggered in two ways.

First, the Stage will automatically change when the first 5 Stage Cards of the previous Stage have been drawn (indicated by the back of the topmost Stage Card changing from I to II and then to III.

Secondly, the Encounter's Special Rules Board will have an alternative method to trigger changing stages. In this case, if the Stage changes, and there are still Stage Cards remaining from the old Stage, discard those Stage Cards from the deck until the back of the topmost Stage Card shows the new Stage. Remember to reveal that Stage Card and place it back on the Stage deck face up.

Golden Rule 'North then West'

Choosing a Target

Enemies follow specific rules to determine which character they target. This could be the closest, farthest, within an arc, etc.

Choose a target by following the steps below in order:

If the Stage Card was drawn as a reaction to a location being broken, the damaged enemy will target the character who broke the location unless they are out of range (after considering movement and the range of the attack) or not in line of sight (LoS), in which case, proceed to step 2. If there are multiple bosses, then only the bosses who had locations broken by the attack will focus the location breaker. All other bosses will choose a target normally.
If there is a specific target on the Stage Card or Special Rules Board, choose that target unless they are out of range (after considering movement and the range of the attack) or not in line of sight (LoS), in which case, proceed to step 3.
If there is no target listed or the specified/reaction target is not in range and line of sight (LoS), the closest Oathsworn in LoS that the enemy can reach is the target. 'Closest' here means the Oathsworn that requires the lowest amount of movement to reach.
If two targets are equally distant and the enemy has the Mob keyword, it will target the Oathsworn who is already adjacent to another enemy with the Mob keyword.
If two targets are equally distant from the enemy, use the rule of North then West to determine the target.
If there are no valid targets, the enemy will move as far as they can towards the closest Oathsworn (whether they are in LoS or not) who is not excluded from being targeted for any reason, with ties broken using steps 4 and 5 above. In this case, the enemy will perform as many of the other effects on the Stage card as it can.

Enemy Movement

Enemies will always attempt to move the shortest distance to be adjacent to their target. Enemies will move through and trigger effect tiles in their path as though they were empty hexes.

If there is a choice of multiple shortest paths, use the rule of North then West to determine the next hex in the path.

Large and Normal Size Characters

Unless told otherwise, all characters that fit in 1 hex are considered to be normal size. Characters that occupy more than 1 hex are large.

Normal Size Enemy Movement

Normal size characters cannot enter a hex with an obstacle or another character and will move around these hexes while trying to reach the closest available hex that is adjacent to their target.

Enemies will not change their path to move around Effect Tiles and will move through Effect Tiles in their path (Fire, Water) even if it would cause them to lose HP or lose movement.

Moving Multiple Characters

When moving more than one character at a time (such as when moving Minions in the Encounter phase), always move them in order of the closest to their target.

Large Enemy Movement

Characters that the enemy only moved through are not pushed; it is assumed that the characters move out of the way and then back into position as the enemy passes.

Random Direction

Sometimes, a Stage Card will require a random direction to be determined. In these cases, roll the Direction Die.

For example: A card instructs the Broodmother to move 3 in a random direction. The Direction Die is rolled and shows "NE". The Broodmother is moved 3 hexes in a straight line in that direction.

If an enemy's movement would move it beyond the edge of the Game Board, they will 'bounce' off the edge, continuing their movement as if reflected in a mirror.

For example: The giant rat is moving 4 hexes SW. It first moves 2 hexes before reaching the edge of the board and then moves another 2 hexes SE.

Moving Directly Away

Alternative Movement Rules

The previous sections have detailed the normal movement rules. However, there is an alternative to these rules to may make movement quicker.

If using the 'Intuitive Movement' rules, it maybe best to pick one player to perform the movements for consistency of outcome.

Enemy Attacks

When an enemy attacks, perform the following steps:

Check to see if the attack is 'Broken'.
Oathsworn may play any 'before damage is drawn' effects from items or abilities.
Draw the attacker's Might Cards without revealing them.
Oathsworn may play an Ability Card for its Defense Value.
Reveal the Might Cards.
Oathsworn may play any 'after damage is drawn' effects from items or abilities.
Resolve Damage.

Broken Attacks

Note: Broken locations will not always affect the Encounter's damage output. It is up to you to discover which locations may hinder the enemy.

Draw Might Cards

Note: It is suggested you use cards rather than dice for resolving enemy damage. This will create a tighter and more consistent experience.

Playing Defensive Ability Cards

Reveal the Might Cards

Flip the cards face up and add up the total damage of the attack.

Resolving Enemy Damage

Activating Minions

All Minions activate at the end of each Encounter phase, after the Stage Card has been resolved.

Minions will not activate if they have already been activated by the Stage Card during the Encounter phase.
Minions do not activate when body parts are broken and reaction cards are drawn unless the reaction card specifically states the minions are to be activated.

Minion Targeting

If minions are activated for any reason during a reaction, they do not automatically target the character that caused the reaction.

Mob Attacks

For example: 3 giant rats are attacking the Priest. A giant rat has 2 yellow Might Cards when attacking. Only one attack is drawn, using 6 yellow cards.

Adding New Enemies

Change the facing of the newly placed enemy so that it is facing its target. If no target is defined by the effect which brought the enemy into play, use the rule of North then West.

End of Round Phase

Any effects which take place at the end of a round happen now.

Any cards which have an "until the end of the round" effect are discarded.

Ending the Encounter

Success

Failure

If you fail to defeat the Encounter (all Oathsworn go unconscious), you can either move on, or replay it.

Move on: Proceed to the Chapter Epilogue in the Story Book (found at the end of each chapter) or continue in the Companion App.

Additionally, if a character remains conscious during the replay of an Encounter they will not lose an additional item or gain an injury even if they went unconscious the first time.

To replay an Encounter, set it up as per the normal Encounter setup instructions (you do not replay the Story part) and follow these additional setup rules.

Any Allies you started the Encounter with that were killed are returned to your Ally deck and not archived.
All Oathsworn start with maximum Hit Points for that difficulty setting (even if they took damage during the Story part).
All Oathsworn remove all Combat/Status Tokens on their Player Board and then gain any 3 Combat Tokens of their choice and also their Permanent Tokens as depicted on their Character Sheet.

Tally Level, Loot and Losses

At some point in the Epilogue you will be told to 'Tally Level, Loot and Losses'. When you are told to do this, perform the following in order:

Level

Gain 1 Level according to the Leveling Table on page 26.

Loot

Replace the current Item Deck in Card Organizer 1 with the Common Item Deck from the next chapter.

Gain 3 Common Items from the next chapter's Common Item Deck to share amongst your Free Company. Note: whenever you gain items, you draw with the deck face down.

Gain 2 Unique Items from the current chapter's Unique Item Deck to share amongst your Free Company (3 if your Free Company Sheet has this chapter extra Unique Item box checked). Gain 1 extra Unique Item if the difficulty is set to Grim Company or gain 2 extra Unique Items if the difficulty is set to Dread Company. If there are no more Unique Items, take a Common Item from the next chapter's deck.

Replace the current Unique Item Deck in Card Organizer 1 with the Unique Item Deck from the next chapter.

Losses

For each unconscious (dead if playing on hardcore mode) Oathsworn, mark one tick on the Knockout Track of the Free Company Sheet. Add two/one ticks if the difficulty is set to Journeyman/Pilgrim Company and ignore one/two ticks if the difficulty is set to Grim/Dread Company.

All unconscious Oathsworn gain an Injury Card from the Injury Deck. If playing Hardcore Mode, all Oathsworn with 1 or 2 Hit Points remaining also gain an Injury Card from the Injury Deck.

All Oathsworn lose 1 item they equipped in the Encounter (2 if they went unconscious), players choice. These items are archived back to their original item decks.

All dead Allies are archived.

Saving the Game (Encounter Rule Book)

Each character comes with a Character Save Bag and the Free Company as a whole has a Free Company Save Bag. When you have finished a play session, place the following into the Save Bags:

Each Character Save Bag

Your Character Sheet. If saving after the Story part of a chapter, record your current HP on it. If saving after the Encounter part of a chapter, do not record your HP. You return to your Maximum HP at the start of every Chapter.
Character Ability Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Ability Cards with a Character Card Separator.
The Companion Card and all Archetype Cards. Separate unlocked and locked Archetype Cards with a Character Card Separator.
The character's Injury Cards, Item Cards and Iron Coins.
Combat Tokens (only if saving between the Story and the Encounter, otherwise archive your Combat Tokens)

Free Company Save Bag

Free Company Sheet. If saving between the Story and the Encounter, record whether you will gain an extra unique item from the Time Track, have revealed the Encounter Special Rules Board and whether you are ambushed.
The Backpack Card and all Item Cards not equipped by any character.
Ally Cards
City and Deepwood Event Decks

After saving the game, archive all remaining components.

Additional Rules

Running Out of Components

The quantity of models and components is limited. If you are instructed to add one to the board and there are no more available, do not add more unless told otherwise (in which case, use something as a substitute). If using the Standee Version and you run out of plastic stands but still have available standees, play with the new standees laid flat rather than upright.

Oathsworn Levels

All Oathsworn have a level signifying how powerful they are. Oathsworn begin the campaign at level 1 and, during the Epilogue of each chapter, will advance a level after completing the Encounter.

Total character bonuses at that level: Permanent Tokens / Animus Regen / +2 Max Animus / Free Company Traits

Level	Bonuses gained at that level	Permanent Tokens	Animus Regen / +2 Max Animus	Free Company Traits
2	Full Character: Ability Cards	1	0	0
3	Free Company Trait	1	0	1
4	All: Permanent Token	2	0	1
5	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	2	0	1
6	Free Company Trait	2	0	2
7	All: Permanent Token	3	0	2
8	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	3	1	2
9	Free Company Trait	3	1	3
10	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	3	1	3
11	Free Company Trait	3	1	4
12	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	3	2	4
13	Free Company Trait	3	2	5
14	All: Permanent Token	4	2	5
15	Full Character: Ability Cards / Companion: Archetype Card	4	2	5
16	Free Company Trait	4	2	6
17	Full Character: Increase Max Animus by 2 or Regen by 1 / Companion: +2 Animus Token or Battleflow Token	4	3	6
18	Free Company Trait	4	3	7
19	All: Permanent Token	5	3	7
20	Free Company Trait	5	3	8
21	All: Permanent Token	6	3	8

Quick Leveling and Swapping Oathsworn

Quick Leveling

Note: If you are creating a new character after having died during the story, you cannot create another character of the same class as the one you just lost.

Swapping an Oathsworn Out

Swapping an Oathsworn Back In

To swap an Oathsworn back in that was previously swapped out, you first archive all of their items. Then, Quick Level that character, starting from their previously recorded level.

Swapping a Full Character to a Companion and Vice Versa

Full Character: Ability Card

Companion: Archetype Card

All: Permanent Token

Full Character: Increase Max Animus or Regen

Each full character increases either their maximum Animus by 2 or their Animus regeneration by 1. Mark the chosen bonus on your Character Sheet.

Companion: +2 Animus or Battleflow Token

Free Company Trait

Choose one of the Free Company traits and mark it on the Free Company Sheet.

Free Company Trait	Benefit
Bushcraft	Gain a redraw on Survival Checks.
Keen-Eyed	Gain a redraw on Spot / Search / Listening Checks.
Quick-Witted	Gain a redraw on Barter / Threaten / Reasoning Checks.
Endurance	Your Backpack can hold up to 20 items.
Quartermaster	Gain 1 Extra Ration at the start of every Deepwood Journey.
Scavenger	Loot 1 extra Common Item per chapter.
Herbalist	Gain 2 Curatives each time you purchase 1.
Tough As Nails	Add 1 Time Token to the Time Track to heal a character 1 HP who lost a HP during the story. Max once per chapter.
Field Medic	Add 2 Time Tokens to the Time Track to archive 1 Injury Card on a character. Max once per chapter.
True Grit	When you are forced to gain an injury, draw 2 Injury Cards, pick one and discard the other.
Comradery	Allies enter play with 2/3/4 Redraw or Empowered x3 Tokens.
Well-Connected	'Sending a Runner' to a BANKSMITH or APOTHECARY no longer costs any additional iron.

Bushcraft, Keen-Eyed & Quick-Witted

Endurance

Flip over your Backpack Card. It can now hold up to 20 items.

Quartermaster

Gain 1 Extra Ration whenever you begin to use the Deepwood Journey Mechanism.

Scavenger

Loot 1 extra Common Item per chapter. This allows you to gain 5 rather than 4 Common Items when gaining loot after an Encounter.

Herbalist

Gain 2 Curatives each time you purchase 1. This applies every time you purchase Curatives from an Apothecary.

Tough As Nails

During the Encounter setup, each Oathsworn may choose to roll an unused Hit Point Die. Whoever rolls highest, regains 1 lost HP.

Field Medic

True Grit

Whenever any Oathsworn would draw an Injury Card, draw two instead and pick one to keep. Return the other to the Injury Deck and shuffle it.

Comradery

Allies enter play with 2/3/4 Redraw or Empowered x3 Tokens (or any combination of the two). These are chosen when each Ally enters play and may be different for each Ally.

Well-Connected

'Sending a Runner' to a BANKSMITH or APOTHECARY, as described on page 15 of the Story Rule Book, no longer costs any additional iron.

Appendix I

Combat Tokens

+2 Animus Token: During the Encounter. At any time, you may spend one of these tokens to immediately regenerate 2 Animus, moving 2 Animus from your reserve area to your available area. Companions and Allies use these tokens differently (See page 9 for details).

Empowered x3 Token: During the Story or Encounter. Before you draw Oathsworn Might Cards for an attack, you may spend one or more Empowered x3 Tokens. For each Token spent, you may upgrade your Oathsworn Might Cards three times to the next color (White > Yellow > Red > Black). You may either upgrade the same Might Card three times, one card twice and one once or three Might Cards once each. You may not use this token when drawing extra Might Cards from Criticals.

They may also be used when performing a Round of Combat or Might Check during the story.

This token's effect cannot be split between more than one attack.

Status Tokens

Poison — A character who has one or more Poison Tokens suffers the effects as described on the Special Rules Board.

Bleed — A character with one or more Bleed Tokens will lose 1 or more HP when the token is triggered. These tokens are triggered by Ability Cards for Oathsworn or Stage Cards for Encounters.

Lethality (Specific to the Cur) — These tokens are gained through the Cur's abilities and spent to empower attacks. See Cur's Character Board Special Ability for full rules.

Appendix II

Special Effects

Note: Not all of the following effects need to be understood from Chapter 1, so feel free to skip this section until needed.

Area of Effect (AoE) Attacks

Example patterns: 3 hexes adjacent to the attacking character; a circle of 7 hexes.

Unless otherwise noted, an AoE attack affects all characters in the area, friendly or otherwise. Most AoE attacks require you to draw an attack once and then apply the same damage to all targets.

Caged

If the check is successful, the caged character is no longer caged and can immediately act as normal.

If the check is failed, the caged character suffers the effects described in the description on the Stage Card and remains caged.

Give the Stage Card to the caged character as a reminder that they are caged. They discard the card when the caged effect ends.

Chain Attacks

Chain Attacks target a number of characters, one after the other. You cannot attack the same character twice in a chain attack.

If an enemy Chain Attacks, they end the attack facing the last target that was hit in the chain. Friendly characters may end the attack facing any direction.

Charge Through X

If the attacker is a single hex character, they will stop at any obstacles and will be 'Pushed' into the closest empty hex if they finish the move on the same hex as another character.

For example: the green hexes below denote the 'path' of the Broodmother's Charge Through Attack.

Cone Attacks

Cone Attacks specify a range, which indicates the number of hexes away from the source that are affected by the attack. Some cone attacks have unlimited range.

Cone Attacks are not affected by line of sight.

For example: For the Tail Whip, the range of the Cone Attack is 3, meaning a character up to 3 hexes away can be affected.

Consumed

All consumed effects have an effect that triggers at the start of every Oathsworn and Encounter Phase.

Knockback

If there is more than one hex a character could be knocked back into, choose the hex that follows the rule of North then West (p.19).

If a character is knocked back past the edge of the board, they instead stop at the board edge. This does not count as the character colliding with an obstacle.

For example: Here, a Monster leaps on the Warden, knocking him back into a tree. The Warden loses 1 HP and is moved to the closest unoccupied hex using the rule of North then West.

Knocking Back Large Characters

Pushed

Being Pushed is very similar to Knockback except that no characters lose HP when pushed.

It is possible for a character to be pushed more than one hex. If a Large Enemy moves so that the center hex of their model lands right on the character, they would be pushed two hexes.

For example: The Broodmother is instructed to move 3 hexes south. This would put the base of the character over the top of three Oathsworn and a giant rat.

Thrown

If the character throws a weapon, all the player's weapons are considered to be thrown. The player is considered Unarmed for all attacks until they pick up their weapon.

If the character throws a shield, armor or gear item they may not use the defense value or item abilities of the item until it is picked up. Track any new defense values with a Tracker Token.

Unarmed

Wave Attacks

Appendix III

The Grove Maiden

Using the Grove Maiden

Bioforms

The Ancient Guardian

Sentinels

Sentinels are designated as Friendly Characters.
Hexes occupied by Sentinels are not considered occupied. Enemies will path through them and if any character moves into or through a hex containing a Sentinel, the Sentinel is removed from the board.
They cannot move.
Sentinels have 1 Hit Point and are destroyed and removed from the board if they suffer any damage or Hit Point loss for any reason. However, they will never be chosen as the primary target of any enemy attacks. Sentinels may be damaged in multi target attacks such as Area of Effect attacks.
Sentinels use mob rules for attacking (p.23) and, unless otherwise stated, a group of Sentinels cannot split their fire between multiple targets.
When Attacking with Sentinels, draw one card equal to your might for each Sentinel involved in the attack. This attack cannot miss and may critical, but you may not choose to add extra white cards to the attack as usual.
All applicable Combat Tokens and items that the Grove Maiden has may be used on the Sentinels (i.e Redraw Tokens can be used on Sentinel attacks, etc).
When attacking an enemy with multiple Hit Point Dice, the closest location to the Grove Maiden is targeted.
If Sentinels ever cause a reaction card to be drawn, the target of that card will be the Grove Maiden herself.

The Huntress

Falcons

Frequently Asked Questions

Oathsworn Questions

Q: Do I only get one turn per round as an Oathsworn? A: No, you get as many turns as you like (until you choose to stop) as laid out in page 8 of the Encounter Rule Book.

When you gain a redraw on an attack, you get 1 free redraw on that attack only. If you gain a redraw token you gain that token to use in that attack or in the future.

Q. When a card states to target a friendly character, does that include the character performing the ability? A. Yes, this is covered under (p8 Encounter Rule Book 'Terminology').

Q. Why did I just die in one hit? A: You may not have been defending yourself. Use the Ability Cards for their defense bonus when you get attacked.

This is a free action and causes Battleflow and significantly increases your defense against incoming damage.

Also remember that companions always get +2 defense as standard (as depicted by the +2 shields on their companion card). Also consider using Might Cards for Encounter attacks.

Q. Do Allies join me on the Game Board at the start of the Encounter? A. No, one will come when an Oathsworn is knocked out.

Component Questions

Q. When the Encounter ends, do I lose all combat tokens? A. Yes, then you will gain more from permanent token/choices in the next chapter.

Ability Questions

Enemy Questions

In all these cases the card wins.

Q. Which enemies target the HP die-breaker when a reaction is drawn? A. Only the enemy that is damaged will focus on the die-breaker. All other minions and bosses will target as normal.

Q. What do I do if I cannot perform a step on a Stage Card? A. Perform all the steps you can and ignore those that you can't.

Item Questions

Q. Do my items that are on cooldown or flipped still provide Defense and Might passively? A. Yes

Q. If an item says: "When you crit during an attack that hits" do X. Does this stack if you draw multiple crits on that attack? A. No the effect only applies to one crit on that attack.

Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood

Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood Rulebook

Table of Contents

Story Rule Book

Game Overview

1. Rulebook vs Component Rules

2. Archiving

3. Cards or Dice?

Components

Game Setup

Forming a Free Company

The Difference Between Full Characters and Companions

Setting Up the Game

Full Character Setup

Companion Setup

Story Setup

Component Setup

Difficulty Levels

Hardcore Variant

Map Navigation

Story Overview

End of Play Session

Locations

Path Cards

Time Track

Event Cards

The Free Company

Gaining Clues

Item Cards

Gaining Items

Running Out of Items

Gaining and Losing Iron

Losing Hit Points

Might Cards

Combat Tokens

Permanent Tokens

Allies

Story Actions

Checks

Levels of Success

Secret Decisions

Round of Combat

Banksmith and Apothecary

Sending a Runner

The Apothecary

The Banksmith

Saving the Game

Each Character Save Bag

Free Company Save Bag

Appendix I

Combat Tokens

Status Tokens

Frequently Asked Questions

Story Questions

Component Questions

Hardcore Questions

Story Rule Book Credits

Index

Glossary

Encounter Rule Book

Encounter Setup

Sequence of Play

Terminology

Normal Start or Being Ambushed

Refresh Phase

Injury Cards

Special Abilities

Oathsworn Phase

Companions

Movement

Movement and Effect Tiles

Playing Ability Cards

Step 1: Choose the Effect on a Card

Step 2: Paying the Cost

Step 3: Resolve the Card's Effect

Step 4: Place the Card on Cooldown

Step 5: Battleflow Other Cards

Item Cards, Injury Cards and Battleflow

Ability Effects

Range