Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Wrath of the Righteous – Base Set Rulebook

Table of Contents

Object of the Game
Card Sets
- Rules: The Golden Rule
Tray Layout
Organizing Your Cards
Setting Up
Playing a Scenario
After the Scenario
Card Types
Example of Play
Suggested Deck Lists
- Base Set Characters
- Character Add-On Deck Characters
Things to Keep in Mind
Reference Sheet
Character Notes

Object of the Game

In the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, your party of adventurers races against time on a quest to defeat a dangerous villain. Each player has a deck of cards representing a character. In most scenarios, your characters explore a variety of locations as you try to hunt down the villain. You'll need to clean out or protect these locations so you can corner the villain and defeat him before time runs out. As you play more games, you'll complete scenarios, improve your deck, customize your character, and take on more and more powerful challenges.

Rules Sidebars

Throughout this rulebook, you'll find a number of sidebars that look like this one. These sidebars explain general rules that deserve special attention. Make sure you read them all!

Strategy Sidebars

You'll also find a variety of sidebars that look like this one. These offer advice about game strategy. If you prefer to develop strategies on your own as you play, feel free to skip these sidebars—you won't miss any rules!

Example Sidebars

Sidebars that look like this provide examples. Don't miss the example of an entire turn on page 26!

New Sidebars

If you already know how to play the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, but you haven't played Wrath of the Righteous, keep an eye out for sidebars that look like this. They spotlight noteworthy changes to the rules for this Adventure Path.

Card Sets

The Wrath of the Righteous Base Set is one of several Pathfinder Adventure Card Game products. This box contains everything that 1–4 players need to begin the game, including the base card set for Wrath of the Righteous. Included in the same box is your first Adventure Deck, The Worldwound Incursion, which provides the cards needed to tell the first chapter of the Wrath of the Righteous story. Other Adventure Decks, available separately, continue the adventure by adding new locations to explore, new villains to fight, new loot to acquire, and much more. The Wrath of the Righteous Character Add-On Deck, also available separately, adds new characters, monsters, and other cards; it also increases the maximum number of players to 6.

Each Wrath of the Righteous card is marked with a pair of set indicators: the top of each card features the logo of the Adventure Path, and a letter or number in the upper-right corner identifies the specific product that the card came from. This might be a letter, such as B (indicating the card is part of the base set) or C (indicating that it's from the Character Add-On Deck); adventure deck numbers from 1 to 6 indicate that the card is part of one of six Adventure Decks for Wrath of the Righteous. If a card has a letter for the set indicator, treat its adventure deck number as 0.

To the left of the letter or number, you'll find the card type. There are more than a dozen different card types in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Among them are character cards, roles, and tokens; story cards, which include an Adventure Path, adventures, and scenarios; locations; support cards, which include cohorts, mythic paths, and a redemption card; banes, which include villains, henchmen, monsters, and barriers; and boons, which include weapons, spells, armors, items, allies, blessings, and loot.

On story cards and location cards, the side with the more colorful version of the artwork is the face; the less colorful version is the back. Very rarely, a card can have two faces.

For your first play session, you'll need only the base cards, so leave The Worldwound Incursion sealed for now. If you own the Character Add-On Deck, go ahead and combine that set with the cards in the base set as described in Organizing Your Cards (see below). If you own any Class Decks, you may also add any cards from them that have a B in the upper-right corner.

We have also published a number of promotional cards; these are marked with the letter P in the upper-right corner. If you have a character promo card, or you have a promo card with the Owner trait and you are playing the character listed as the owner, you can use it right away. Don't add other promo cards to the game until you begin the first chapter of the Adventure Path.

Rules: The Golden Rule

If a card and this rulebook are ever in conflict, the card should be considered correct. There is one exception to this: When the rulebook uses the word "never," no card can overrule it. If cards conflict with one another, then Adventure Path cards overrule adventures, adventures overrule scenarios, scenarios overrule locations, locations overrule support cards, support cards overrule characters, and characters overrule other card types. Despite this hierarchy, if one card tells that you cannot do something and another card tells you that you can, comply with the card that tells you that you cannot; if a card tells you to ignore something, the thing you're ignoring never has any effect. If a card instructs you to do something impossible, like draw a card from an empty deck, ignore that instruction.

Tray Layout

A diagram shows the card tray with dedicated slots for: Adventure Decks; Character Decks; Support Cards; Villains; Weapons; Items; Characters, Roles, and Tokens; Adventure Paths, Adventures, and Scenarios; Henchmen; Spells; Allies; Locations; Monsters; Barriers; Armors; Loot; and Blessings.

Organizing Your Cards

The way you organize your cards is important, since there are times when you'll need to quickly locate specific cards during play. The box includes a special tray to keep all of the cards organized. It has room for the cards from the base card set, the Character Add-On Deck, and all six Adventure Decks.

Each type of card has its own place in the box, so you'll need to divide up the cards by type as shown in the illustration. For now, leave the character deck slots empty. You'll build your first decks soon.

When you use adventures, scenarios, locations, cohorts, villains, henchmen, and loot, you'll often be asked to locate specific cards. You may wish to alphabetize the cards within each type to help you find them quickly during play. Group the character, token, and role cards by character. The other card types should have their cards shuffled, as you will often be asked to draw random cards from those groups.

Setting Up

Any crusade requires preparation. Even when you march into the Worldwound with an army, you can only rely on what you can carry. And once you descend into the depths of the Abyss, there's no turning back to retrieve what you've left behind.

Choose Your Character. Each player chooses one character card; this represents the character you'll be playing in the game. Characters have skills, which tell you which dice to roll when you attempt a check; powers, which are special things you can do before, during, or after the game; and other details that make them different from one another (see Character Cards on page 19). You might use some of your character's powers at the start of the game, so read them right away.

Locate the token card that matches your character card. Then place both on the table in front of you.

Build Your Character. Each character needs a character deck; if you don't already have one, you'll need to build one. If you'd like to start playing quickly, use the suggested deck for your character provided at the back of this rulebook (see Suggested Deck Lists on page 28). Alternatively, you can choose your own cards to create your deck. The Cards List on your character card indicates the exact quantity of each card type that you must choose from the box to make up your character's deck. You may choose only cards with the word "Basic" in the list of traits underneath the card name.

Trade Cards If You Like. Before starting a scenario, players may freely trade cards from their character decks. After trading, each character deck must still conform to the list of card types specified by the character card.

Alain's deck includes 4 weapons, no spells, 3 armors, 2 items, 3 allies, 3 blessings, and the cohort Donahan. (The checkboxes are for card feats he'll gain later.)

Decide Whether You're Playing a Standalone Scenario, an Adventure, or the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. A scenario is intended for a single play session, an adventure consists of a number of linked scenarios, and an Adventure Path is a series of linked adventures. We recommend you begin with the base set scenario The Godless Ones; you can play it either by itself or as the first of five scenarios in the Into the Worldwound adventure. We suggest you complete that adventure and then move on to the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path.

If You're Playing the Adventure Path, put the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path card faceup on the table. It lists the adventures that make up the Adventure Path, starting with The Worldwound Incursion, as well as the reward you'll get for completing the Adventure Path. Whenever you start a new adventure in the Adventure Path, add all of the cards from that Adventure Deck to the box, sorting all of the cards by type and combining them with the cards you already have in the box.

If You're Playing an Adventure, put the appropriate adventure card faceup on the table. It lists the scenarios that make up that adventure, along with the reward you'll get for completing that adventure. (If you're playing the Into the Worldwound adventure, put that card on the table; if you're beginning the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, use the adventure card The Worldwound Incursion from that Adventure Deck.)

Choose a Scenario. Put the scenario card faceup on the table. The scenario card describes the goals and any unusual rules for this particular game session. (If you're playing The Godless Ones, put down that card; if you're starting Wrath of the Righteous, put down The Fall of Kenabres, the first scenario listed on the adventure card The Worldwound Incursion.)

Set Out the Locations. The back of a scenario card lists the locations the scenario uses; a required number of players is listed next to each location. Use all of the location cards listed up to the number of players you have. For example, if you have 3 players, you'll use all of the location cards listed for 1, 2, and 3 players, but you won't use any of the location cards listed for 4, 5, or 6 players. Put the location cards you're using faceup in the middle of the table.

Build the Location Decks. Each location card has its own list of card types that are used to build a location deck, in much the same way that a character card has a list of card types that are used to build a character deck. Shuffle each card type and deal the correct number of cards of each type to form the basis of each location deck. Don't look at these cards; set them facedown in a stack next to their location card.

Add Villains and Henchmen. Each scenario card lists one or more villains and one or more henchmen. Make a stack of cards starting with the villain(s) and then add henchmen, working from the top of the list down, until your stack has as many cards as you have locations. Use multiple copies of the henchman at the bottom of the list as needed. For example, if you have 5 locations and your scenario card lists Fihralaz as the villain and Vescavor Swarm and Tangle Traps as henchmen, you'll make a stack of 5 cards: Fihralaz, Vescavor Swarm, and 3 Tangle Traps. If you have 3 locations and your scenario card listed Karsos as the villain and Ghalcor, Unfettered Eidolon, and Wights as henchmen, you'll make a stack of just the first 3, leaving the Wights in the box. Shuffle this stack and put 1 card on top of each location deck. Then shuffle each location deck.

Create the Blessings Deck. Draw 30 random blessing cards from the box. Shuffle them together, form a deck, and place it facedown on the table.

Arrange Yourselves around the Table. Use any order you wish.

Place Token Cards. Each player chooses a location and puts her character's token card near it. Multiple characters can choose the same starting location.

Draw Starting Hands. Each character card includes a hand size for that character. Draw that number of cards from your character deck. The character card also lists a favored card type; if more than one is listed, choose 1 type before drawing. If you didn't draw at least 1 card of that type, discard that hand and draw again, repeating as needed until your hand contains at least 1 card of the specified type. If you discard enough cards that you can't draw up to your full hand size, draw all the remaining cards, then shuffle your discard pile into your deck and draw the rest of your hand. Once you have a full hand that includes your favored card type, shuffle any discarded cards back into your character deck.

Add Cohorts and Mythic Charges. If you have a cohort listed on your deck list, add it to your hand (see Cohorts on page 21). If the scenario lists cohorts, each character may add 1 cohort from the list to her hand; put any remaining cohorts back in the box. If you have a mythic path card (see Mythic Paths on page 22), put it next to your deck; you get a number of mythic charges equal to the scenario's adventure deck number.

Decide Who Goes First. Starting with whichever player the group chooses, take turns proceeding clockwise (see Your Turn on page 8).

A diagram titled Card Setup shows a completed table layout: the Adventure Path, Adventure, and Scenario cards laid out at the head of the table; the blessings deck and blessings discard pile in the center; and, arranged around the table for each player, a location deck and its faceup location card, a character deck, character card, discard pile, buried cards, and token card.

Rules: Rolling Dice

The game comes with six dice: a 4-sider, 6-sider, 8-sider, 10-sider, 12-sider, and 20-sider. When you roll the 4-sider, use the number that's upright.

The game uses a shorthand form describing the number and type of dice to roll: Xd#, where "X" represents the number of dice to roll and "d#" represents the number of sides on the dice. For example, if you're asked to roll 2d6, that means to roll 2 6-sided dice and add their values together. Sometimes the shorthand includes a "+" or "–" and a number listed after the die, meaning that you add that number to, or subtract it from, the total of the roll (not each individual die rolled). So 2d4+2 means to roll 2 4-sided dice, total them together, and then add 2. No matter how many penalties are applied to a roll of the dice, the result can't be reduced below 0.

Sometimes, the type of die that you need to roll is determined by your skill. If you're told to use your Strength skill + 1d8, and your Strength die is a d10, roll one 10-sided die and one 8-sided die and add them together to determine your result.

If a card calls for a die roll that affects multiple characters or situations (for example, if it says that each character at a location is dealt 1d4 damage), roll separately for each.

Rules: Compatibility with Other Sets

Cards in the Wrath of the Righteous set are intended to be compatible with cards from other sets. Certain cards from one set may not be as effective in another one; for example, the weapon Lance will not be as useful in a set without Mounts.

When the same characters or cohorts appear in different sets, they are represented with different cards having different abilities and powers. For example, among other differences, the cleric Kyra has the Knowledge skill in Wrath of the Righteous and the Melee skill in Rise of the Runelords. To distinguish between them, we add the Adventure Path name to the card name. For example, "Wrath of the Righteous Kyra" is a different card than "Rise of the Runelords Kyra," so you may not exchange feats or role cards between them.

Rules: Skills, Dice, and Modifiers

If your character card says "Strength d10," and the "+1" box next to that has been checked, your Strength skill is d10+1, and your Strength die is d10. (The "+1" is called a "modifier.") If your character card also says "Melee: Strength +3," your Melee skill is d10+4, your Melee die is d10, and the modifier is +4.

Strategy: Should You Split the Party?

There's an old saying in roleplaying games: Never split the party. Is that true for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game? This isn't an RPG, so the answer is, "It depends."

Sometimes, it's a good idea to have multiple characters at the same location; at other times, it makes more sense to split the party. A lot of your strategy depends on which characters you're playing. If you're playing Kyra and Seelah, staying together makes sense; if you're playing Alain and Harsk, you may want to spread out.

The best strategy also depends on where you're going. Harsk can handle the Dark Forest, but Alain might not be able to close it if someone else runs into the villain. Sometimes you want help for whatever perils await you; another time, there might be a demon lord that blasts everyone at the same location. Pay attention to where you are in the game. If you know where the villain is, splitting up so you can temporarily close open locations is a good idea... unless it isn't. Every situation is different, and thinking before you move is always wise.

Playing a Scenario

When the demons erupt from the rift, most sane people run away in fear. You are either not afraid or not sane.

Your Turn

Take your turn by going through the following steps in order. You can play cards and use powers without limit in between these steps, as long as they don't say they can only be played at certain times.

Advance the Blessings Deck: At the start of your turn, flip the top card from the blessings deck faceup onto the top of the blessings discard pile. You never acquire this blessing, though some cards may refer to it during your turn. If you have to remove one or more cards from the blessings deck for any reason and there are not enough cards to do so, the players lose the scenario (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 17). After advancing the blessings deck, apply any other effects that happen at the start of your turn.

Give a Card: You may give 1 card from your hand to another player at your location. (Other players cannot give you cards on your turn.)

Move: You may move your token card to another location. Moving then triggers any effects that happen when you enter or leave a location. When you choose to move, you must always select a new location, although it is possible for some effects to move you to the same location you came from. If you do not change locations, your character is not considered to have entered or left a location.

Explore: You may explore your location once each turn without playing a card that allows you to explore; this must be your first exploration for the turn. You may never explore outside of your explore step. When you explore, flip over the top card of your current location deck. If it's a boon, you may attempt to acquire it; if you don't attempt that, banish it. If it's a bane, you must try to defeat it (see Encountering a Card on page 10). Many effects allow you to explore again on your turn, and there is no limit to the number of times you can explore.

However, during a single exploration, no matter how many different effects allow you to explore again, treat them as granting one additional exploration, not a series of additional explorations. For example, Imrijka has a power that sometimes lets her explore again if she defeats a monster, and the monster Cave Lizard can be defeated to allow an extra exploration. If Imrijka were to defeat a Cave Lizard, she could get one additional exploration from those effects, not two. If a card grants you an additional exploration, after you finish what you are doing, you must immediately use that exploration or forfeit it.

Close a Location: If your character is at a location that has no cards remaining and has not been closed, you may make one attempt to close it at this time (see Closing a Location on page 15).

End Your Turn: First, apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn. While you do this, unless a power directed you to end your turn, you may play cards and use powers. If your number of mythic charges is greater than the scenario's adventure deck number, discard any charges in excess of that number. Then, reset your hand (see Reset Your Hand on page 14). When you're done, the turn passes to the player on your left.

Rules: Tracking the Blessings Deck

It's very easy to get excited about starting your turn, so much so that you might forget to advance the blessings deck. Unfortunately, once you realize you've skipped it for the last few turns, it's often not so easy to figure out how many cards you need to flip to catch up. We recommend that when each player advances the deck, she should orient the card she turns over so that the text is right-side up to that player. Sure, it makes for a messy-looking blessings discard pile, but it makes it easy to see who remembered and who didn't.

Strategy: Should You Be Selfish?

Throughout the game, your friends will ask you for help. They might even beg for it. Should you ever tell them no?

Probably not. This is a cooperative game, so sharing information and setting goals as a group is wise. Think about ways you can help each other, such as Seelah discarding a card to add to another character's check. You might spend a blessing to get a boon that you can't use and give it to someone else who desperately wants it. Some groups even play with their hands faceup on the table so everyone can help make choices.

Other players do not share as freely, and there's a good reason for it. Your character is a living, growing entity. Your choices will determine whether your character succeeds and improves. If you let your friends make decisions for you, you might not be looking out for yourself.

Strategy: Should You Always Explore?

The blessings deck is a countdown timer, and it's very unforgiving. More exploration leads to more success, but there are times you just want to hang out for a while.

One reason might be the state of your hand or character deck. If you're hurting, you might just want to be next to Kyra when she explores.

Another reason to slow down is to realign your party toward the end of the game. If you just need someone at the Cavern so you can temporarily close it when you find the villain, don't risk finding a monster there prematurely and upsetting your whole closing scheme. Take the time to get your strategy set, especially if you have plenty of turns to burn.

Of course, the biggest disasters often occur shortly after someone says, "We've got plenty of turns left."

Rules: Drawing Cards

Unless a card says otherwise, drawing means taking a card from the specified source and adding it to your hand. If no source is specified, draw it from your character deck. When you draw a card from a facedown deck, such as a character deck, a location deck, the blessings deck, or any other deck the game tells you to create, draw from the top of the deck. When you draw a card from a faceup pile, such as your discard pile, the blessings discard pile, or any other pile the game tells you to create, draw a card of your choice. When you draw a card from the box, unless you are told to draw a specific card, draw a random card of the appropriate type.

Playing Cards

Anyone can play a card whenever the card allows it. Playing a card means using a power on that card by revealing, displaying, discarding, recharging, burying, or banishing that card or by performing another action specified by that card. Activating a power on a displayed card also counts as playing it. If a power says using it counts as playing a boon, it counts as playing a card. Doing something with a card that does not use a power on that card does not count as playing that card. For example, when Seelah discards a spell to use a power on her character card, the discarded card does not count as being played (meaning she also can't recharge it). Each power on a card is presented as a complete paragraph. When a card has multiple powers, you must choose one of them, and you must do everything that power says when possible. If a power says it may be used when something happens, you may use it every time that happens. Otherwise, a specific card's power may only be used once per check or step. (Any paragraph in the power section of a boon that doesn't involve playing the card for a particular effect is not itself a power—it's a mandatory action you must take when you play the card.)

When you play a card, it will usually require you to take one of the following actions.

Reveal: Show it from your hand then put it back in your hand. You may not reveal the same card for its power more than once per check or step.
Display: Place it faceup in front of your character, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function until it's discarded. When a character displays a card, it is not part of that character's hand, deck, or discard pile, but it still belongs to that character. Example: The ally Blackwing Librarian has 2 different powers: you may recharge it to succeed at a check to acquire or recharge a card that has the Arcane trait, or you may discard it to explore your location. You can do either, but you can't do both, because once you play the card one way, it's no longer in your hand for you to play it the other way.
Discard: Put it into your discard pile—a stack of faceup cards next to your deck.
Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your character deck.
Bury: Put it under your character card (likely losing access to it for the rest of the scenario).
Banish: Put it back in the box, shuffling it in with the other cards of the same type (thus losing it for good).

Always perform the first action required by a power before performing any other action. For example, if a card says "Recharge this card to recharge a card from your discard pile," recharge the card you're playing before recharging the card from your discard pile.

If you are instructed to play, reveal, display, discard, recharge, bury, banish, or otherwise manipulate a card, that card must come from your hand unless otherwise specified. You may not activate a power or play a card that doesn't apply to your current situation. For example, you may not play a card to reduce damage when damage is not being dealt, and you may not play a card to evade a monster when you are not encountering a monster.

If a card in your hand does not specify when it can be played, you can generally play it anytime you can play cards, with the exception that during an encounter you may only perform specific actions at specific times.

Your cards include your deck, the cards in your hand and your buried, discarded, and displayed cards. You can look through your displayed, discarded, and buried cards at any time. You may not look through your character deck unless a card specifically allows it. Don't shuffle any stack of cards unless you're instructed to. A deck is a deck, a hand is a hand, and a pile is a pile whether or not it has cards.

Encountering a Card

When you encounter a card, you—and only you—can go through the following steps. No one else can perform these steps for you, though other players might be able to play cards to help you deal with the encounter's challenges. During each of these steps, you and the other players may perform only the specified actions. Players may only play cards or use powers that relate to each step (or relate to cards played or powers used in that step). Each player may play no more than 1 card of each type during each step; for example, no one player may play more than 1 blessing while attempting a check, though multiple players could each play 1 blessing during that check. Each player may activate any power no more than once during each step, other than cards that can be used each time something particular happens. Players may not play any cards or activate any powers between those steps.

If the card you're encountering states that it is immune to a particular trait, players may not play cards with the specified trait, use powers that would add that trait to the check, or roll dice with that trait during the encounter.

After you flip over the top card of the location deck, put it on top of the deck and read it. Then go through the following steps in order.

Apply Any Effects That Happen When You Encounter a Card. If any powers on the card you're encountering say they're triggered when you encounter the card, they take effect at this time. You may also use powers or cards that state they can be used when you encounter a card.

Apply Any Evasion Effects. You may use a power or card that lets you evade the card you're encountering. If any powers on the card you're encountering relate to evading the card, they take effect at this time. If you evade the card, do not activate any other powers on it. Shuffle it back into the deck; it is neither defeated nor undefeated, and the encounter is over.

Apply Any Effects That Happen Before You Act. If any powers on the card you're encountering happen before you act, they take effect at this time. You may also use powers or cards that state they can be used before you act.

Attempt the Check. If the card is a boon, you may try to acquire it for your deck; if it's a bane, you must try to defeat it (see Attempting a Check, below). If you choose not to acquire a boon, it counts as failing to acquire it. If a card's check section says "None" or "See Below," look at the card's powers and immediately do whatever it says there. After you attempt the check, deal with any effects that were triggered by the check. If any cards played while attempting a check include their own checks, resolve the current check in this step and the new checks in subsequent steps.

New: Your Cards

When a card refers to "your cards," that includes your deck, the cards in your hand, and your buried, discarded, and displayed cards.

Strategy: Should You Burn Through Your Deck?

Playing a character such as Alain or Seelah gives you ways to churn through your deck faster, discarding cards quickly to get to the cards you want. While this makes you far more likely to defeat your enemies and acquire what you need, it comes with a cost: you might kill off your character.

This game is all about trade-offs. Should you press your luck or hold off a bit? Not taking risks will make you lose as often as taking too many risks, but at least your character will be alive after you lose.

One of the toughest choices involves shedding cards as you reset your hand. You're allowed to discard any number of cards before you draw up, but that means you're closer to death. There are few things more humiliating than dying because you forgot how many cards you needed to draw at the end of your turn.

When you have too many cards in your hand, that's a different problem. If you can play some cards that can be recharged—even though you might have used them much later—it's still worth playing them. Discarding cards for no gain is more painful.

Attempt the Next Check, If Needed. If another check is required, resolve it now. For example, some boons allow you to attempt a check to recharge them, and some banes require a second check to defeat. Repeat this step until you resolve all such checks.

Apply Any Effects That Happen After You Act. If any powers on the card you're encountering happen after you act, they take effect at this time. You may also use powers or cards that state they can be used after you act. Do this whether or not you succeeded at your checks.

Resolve the Encounter. If you succeed at all of the checks required to defeat a bane, banish it; if you don't succeed, it is undefeated—shuffle the card back into its location deck. If you encounter a bane that has the Mythic trait, when it is defeated, your character gets a mythic charge. If you succeed at a check to acquire a boon, put it in your hand; otherwise, banish it. If you are forced to end your turn during an encounter, shuffle the encountered card back into the deck, or if it was summoned, banish it; it is neither defeated nor undefeated, and the encounter is over.

Rules: Faceup Cards

Sometimes a card is left faceup on the top of the location deck (for example, most barriers with the Task trait work this way). The card is still in the deck, but it can be shuffled into the deck only when the condition that caused it to be left faceup on the deck has been resolved. If such a card tells you that you must encounter it on your first exploration on a turn, then you must encounter it the first time you explore that turn. After that exploration, ignore it for the purpose of additional explorations that turn; however, it still counts as the top card of the deck for any other purpose. If multiple cards are left faceup on the same deck, you may place them in any order and encounter them in that order, one per exploration.

Attempting a Check

Many times during the game, you will need to attempt a check to do something, such as acquiring a new weapon or defeating a monster. Each boon card has a section called Check to Acquire. This section indicates the skills that can be used in checks to acquire the boon and the difficulty of the checks. If you succeed in acquiring the card, put it into your hand. If you fail, banish it. You can never automatically succeed at a combat check.

Each bane card has a section called Check to Defeat. This section indicates the skills that can be used in checks against the bane and the difficulty of the checks. If you succeed in defeating the bane, it is usually banished. If you fail to defeat a bane, it is usually considered undefeated, and it is shuffled back into the location deck. If you fail to defeat a monster, you are dealt damage (see Take Damage, If Necessary on page 13).

If a card refers to a check against another card, that refers to any check required by that card, whether it's a check to defeat, a check to acquire, a check to recharge, or any other check.

If multiple checks are listed on the card with "or" between them, choose one of them. If there's a "then" between them, you'll need to succeed at both checks sequentially; you must attempt both checks, even if you fail the first, because failure often has consequences. "Or" takes priority over "then," so if a card says "Wisdom 10 or Combat 13 then Combat 15," you must first attempt either a Wisdom check with a difficulty of 10 or a combat check with a difficulty of 13; after that, you must attempt a combat check with a difficulty of 15.

Only the character who encounters the card may attempt the check, save for one exception: if a card requires sequential checks, the character who encountered the card must attempt at least one of the checks, but other checks may each be attempted by any one character at the same location. While you are attempting a check against such a card that you did not encounter, powers that would apply to the character who encountered it apply to you instead.

Many cards also require checks to use powers or to recharge the cards after playing them.

Attempting a check requires several actions that are explained below. Remember that each player may not play more than 1 card of each type or use any 1 power more than once during each check, other than cards that can be used each time something particular happens.

Determine Which Skill You're Using. Cards that require a check specify the skill or skills you can use to attempt the check. Each check to defeat or acquire a card lists one or more skills; you may choose any of the listed skills for your check. For example, if a check lists Dexterity, Disable, Strength, and Melee, you may use any one of those skills to attempt your check. Even if your character doesn't have any of the skills listed for a check, you can still attempt the check, but your die is a d4.

Some cards allow you to use a particular skill for a specific type of check, or to use one skill instead of another. (These cards generally say things like "For your combat check, use your Strength or Melee skill," or "Use your Strength skill instead of your Diplomacy skill.") You may play only 1 such card or use only 1 such power to determine which skill you're using. A few cards that can be used on checks don't use any of your skills; they instead specify the exact dice you need to roll or the result of your die roll.

The skill you're using for the check, and any skill referenced by that skill, are added as traits to the check. For example, if your character has the skill Melee: Strength +2, and you are using your Melee skill, both the Strength and the Melee traits are added to the check. When you're playing a card to determine the skill you're using, that card's traits are also added to the check; for example, revealing the weapon Heavy Pick for your combat check adds the Pick, Melee, Piercing, and Basic traits to the check. (This isn't the same as giving you a skill; for example, playing the spell Dazzle adds the Arcane trait to your check, but it does not give you the Arcane skill.) If a power adds an additional skill to a check, that skill is not added as a trait to the check. For example, a card that adds your Craft skill to your combat check does not add the Craft trait to your check.

Most monsters and some barriers call for a combat check. Weapons and many other cards that can be used during combat generally tell you what skill to use when you attempt a combat check; if you aren't playing one of those cards, you must use your Strength or Melee skill.

Determine the Difficulty. To succeed at the check, the result of your die roll and modifiers must be greater than or equal to the difficulty of the check. In checks to defeat a bane or acquire a boon, the difficulty is the number in the circle under the skill you've chosen. In other checks, the difficulty is the number in the text that follows the skill you've chosen. (For example, where a card's power instructs you to attempt a Fortitude 7 check, the difficulty is 7.) Some cards increase or decrease the difficulty of a check; for example, if a card says that the difficulty is increased by 2, add 2 to the number on the card you encountered; if it says the difficulty is decreased by 2, subtract 2 from the number. When determining the lowest or highest difficulty to defeat or acquire a card, apply all powers from cards in play that affect the difficulty, but do not apply powers that happen before you act, while you act, or after you act.

Play Cards and Use Powers That Affect Your Check (Optional). Players may now play cards or use powers that affect your check. Players may not do things that modify a skill unless you're using that skill, and players may not do things that affect combat unless you're attempting a combat check. Do not add traits from these cards to the check; for example, playing the spell Aid on a check does not give the check the Divine trait.

Some cards and powers affect only specific types of checks, such as Dexterity checks, Acrobatics checks, or non-combat checks. If, on your character card, the skill you're using refers to another skill, both skills count for the purpose of determining the type of check. For example, if you're using the Arcane skill on a combat check, and your character card says that your Arcane skill is Intelligence +2, the check counts as both a combat Arcane check and a combat Intelligence check. Traits also determine the type of check; for example, if you're attempting a combat check and you played a weapon that added the Ranged trait, it counts as a Ranged combat check.

Some cards may allow you to replace a specific die with a different one. For example, the location Sacristy allows you to roll your Divine die in place of the normal die for a check to acquire a boon—this means you'll replace the die (not the skill) you would normally use with your Divine die (not your Divine skill).

Strategy: Should You Hoard Blessings?

Blessings are among the most versatile cards in the game. Most can be used to add to checks or to explore again, but you can't use one blessing to do both at the same time. So when you're trying to decide whether to play a blessing on your companion's check to acquire a wand, you might be wondering, "Did I just cost us a turn?"

What is the opportunity cost of not exploring? Do you need that sword more than you need to find the villain? The risk-reward analysis requires some thought.

Early in the game, you might be willing to spend a blessing on a check, but when the clock is ticking down, conservatism is often the wiser course. If it's your combat check and you think you need the blessing to suceed, it's likely worth playing it. Fail badly enough, and you might lose the blessing to damage anyway.

This analysis is worth going through, but don't let it stop you from acting. There are always more turns—at least, until there aren't.

Assemble Your Dice. The skill you're using and the cards you played determine the number and type of dice you roll. For example, if you're attempting a check using your Strength skill, and your Strength die is d10, you'll roll 1d10. If another player played a blessing to add a die to your check, you would roll 2d10.

Attempt the Roll. Roll the dice and add up their value, adding or subtracting any modifiers that apply to the check. Powers may allow or require you to reroll 1 or more dice; each such power can let you reroll dice only once in a single check or step. If the result is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the check, you succeed. If the result is lower than the difficulty, you fail. No matter how many penalties are applied to a roll of the dice, the result cannot be reduced below 0.

Take Damage, If Necessary. If you fail a check to defeat a monster, it deals an amount of damage to you equal to the difference between the difficulty to defeat the monster and your check result. Unless the card specifies otherwise, this damage is Combat damage. For example, if the difficulty to defeat a monster is 10 and the result of your check is 8, the monster deals 2 Combat damage to you (see Taking Damage, below). Remember that players may not play more than 1 of each card type during a check, so if you previously played a spell to affect the check, you may not play a spell to reduce damage.

Example: In a 2-character game, Seelah and Harsk are at the Abattoir. Seelah encounters the weapon Quarterstaff of Vaulting. The check to acquire is Strength or Melee 9, or Acrobatics 6. Seelah's Strength skill is d8, and her character card says "Melee: Strength +3," so her Melee skill is d8+3; she does not have Acrobatics listed on her character card, so she would roll a d4 if she used that. She chooses Melee, and rolls a 5 on her d8, adding 3 for a result of 8; that's 1 less than she needed to acquire the weapon. She banishes the Quarterstaff.

On the next turn, Harsk encounters the monster Dire Rat. He's at the Abattoir, where the difficulty is increased by 2 because there are 2 characters. Harsk has the cohort Cecilla the Uprooter in his hand, so he could evade the rat, but he chooses to fight. The Dire Rat has 3 possible checks to defeat: Combat 8 (now 10), or Dexterity or Stealth 6 (now 8). Combat checks use Strength or Melee (unless a card changes it). Harsk's Strength skill is d6; since he doesn't have the Melee skill, he would roll a d4 for that. His Dexterity skill is d8, and his Stealth skill is Dexterity +2, so if he picked Stealth, he'd roll 1d8+2 and would need a result of 8 or better. However, he has a Shortbow in his hand, which he can reveal to use his Dexterity or Ranged skill plus 1d6 for his combat check. He has the skill Ranged: Dexterity +3, so the bow lets him roll 1d8+3 + 1d6. In addition, the Dire Rat has the Animal trait, and Harsk has a power that adds 1d4 to his checks against monsters with that trait. Finally, he can recharge Cecilla to add another 1d4 to his combat check. He rolls 1d8+3 + 1d6 + 2d4, and gets a result of 13; that's enough to defeat the rodent, so he banishes it.

Taking Damage

When you are dealt damage, you and other players may play cards and use powers that reduce or otherwise affect the specific type of damage you're being dealt. If you're being dealt Fire damage, for example, you may play cards that reduce Fire damage or cards that reduce all damage, but you may not play cards that reduce only Electricity or Combat damage. Each player may play no more than one of each card type to affect damage to the same character from the same source. If a card says it reduces damage with no type listed, it reduces all types of damage.

When you are dealt an amount of damage, choose that number of cards from your hand and discard them. If you don't have enough cards in your hand, discard your entire hand and ignore the rest of the damage.

Dying

If, for any reason, you are ever required to remove 1 or more cards from your deck and you don't have enough cards, your character dies. Bury your deck, hand, and discard pile. You cannot take turns, play cards, move, or do anything else for the rest of this scenario. Certain powerful cards allow you to return from death; if this doesn't happen before the end of the scenario, your death is permanent. The other characters may use the dead character's cards when they rebuild their decks after the scenario; any cards they don't keep are then banished.

If all of the characters are dead, the players lose the scenario (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 17).

If your character dies, start a new character for the next scenario. Choose a character card (it can be the same character who just died, though you do not get any of the feats that character previously earned) and build a new character deck as described in Build Your Character on page 4, choosing only cards with the Basic trait. If your party has begun the adventure The Demon's Heresy, you may ignore the Basic trait restriction; instead, you may use any cards in the box from the base set and the Character Add-On Deck, as well as any cards from an Adventure Deck with an adventure deck number at least 2 lower than that of the adventure you're currently playing.

Examining and Searching

Sometimes a card allows you to examine one or more cards—that means looking at the specified card and then putting it back where it came from. If a card tells you to examine a deck until you find a particular card type, begin with the top card of that deck and stop when you have found a card of the correct type. Put the cards you examined back in the same order you found them, unless instructed otherwise. If you don't find a card of the specified type, ignore any directions related to that card. (This does not count as exploring, though it may happen during an exploration.)

Sometimes a card allows you to search a deck and choose any card of a particular type; that means you may look at every card in the deck and choose any card of that type. Unless instructed otherwise, shuffle the deck afterwards.

Strategy: Should You Look Ahead?

Shardra and cards like Potion of Nightvision let you look at cards in location decks before you encounter them. This can be a tremendous help as you race the clock that is the blessings deck.

Finding the villain early can mean the difference between success and failure. A card like Sanctuary can strand a villain on the top of a deck, leaving him waiting for you to return while you loot and lock down other locations.

Of course, all that peeking ahead comes at an opportunity cost: those Potions of Nightvision could instead be cards that help you defeat banes and acquire boons. If you can't actually beat what you find, there's no point in finding it.

Redeeming Cards

When you are allowed to redeem a card, check it off on the redemption card (see The Redemption Card on page 23); for the rest of the Adventure Path, that boon no longer has the Corrupted trait.

New: Redeeming Cards

Redemption is a key theme of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. You will have many opportunities to redeem corrupted cards, changing the effects that they can have.

Reset Your Hand

Do the following whenever you are instructed to reset your hand. While you reset your hand, you may only play cards or use powers that say they may be used when you reset your hand. First, you may discard any number of cards. Then, if you have more cards in your hand than your hand size specifies, you must discard until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size. Finally, if you have fewer cards than your hand size, you must draw cards until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size.

Summoning and Adding Cards

Sometimes you will be told to summon cards or to add cards to a deck. When this happens, retrieve the cards from the box. However, if you're told to summon a card that's already in play, just imagine you have another copy of that card for the new encounter; this summoned copy ceases to exist at the end of the encounter. Summoned cards cannot cause other cards to be summoned.

If you're told to summon and encounter a card, this immediately starts a new encounter. If you're already in an encounter, complete the encounter with the summoned card before continuing the original encounter. After evading a summoned card or resolving the encounter with it, never put it anywhere other than back in the box unless the card that caused you to summon it instructs you otherwise. If an effect causes multiple characters to summon and encounter cards, resolve the encounters sequentially in any order you like, including banishing the card at the end of the encounter. If the summoned card is a villain or henchman, defeating it does not allow you to win the scenario or close a location deck—ignore any such text on those cards. Cards that you summon are not part of any location deck.

The When Closing section on some locations requires you to summon and defeat (or acquire) a card. Summon and encounter it; if you do not defeat (or acquire) it, the location is not closed.

If you're told to summon and build a location, if it's not already built, retrieve the location card from the box and build the location as usual; the location and its deck remain in play for the rest of the scenario and are no longer considered summoned cards.

If you're instructed to add a card to the top or the bottom of a deck, do so; otherwise, any cards added to a deck are shuffled into it.

If you're told to add a random card of a particular type with some additional requirement, such as "having the Human trait" or "non-Basic" (shorthand for "not having the Basic trait"), draw cards of that type from the box until you find a card that fulfills the requirement. Then add that card and put the rest back in the box.

Servitor Demons

Each adventure in Wrath of the Righteous features a different servitor demon henchman that you will encounter many times. When a card tells you to summon and encounter that adventure's servitor demon, use the Servitor Demon Table to determine which henchman to summon. (This table also appears on the back of the Redemption card.)

Servitor Demon Table — When a card tells you to summon and encounter this adventure's servitor demon, use this table to determine the henchman to summon.

Adventure	Servitor Demon
B. Into the Worldwound	Demonling
1. The Worldwound Incursion	Sloth Demon
2. Sword of Valor	Blood Demon
3. Demon's Heresy	Shadow Demon
4. The Midnight Isles	Vulture Demon
5. Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth	Treachery Demon
6. City of Locusts	Ophidian Demon

New: Servitor Demons

You'll be fighting a lot of demons in Wrath of the Righteous. Servitor demons let more cards scale with the adventure.

Closing a Location

You may earn the opportunity to close a location in a number of ways. Usually you get the opportunity to close a location after defeating a henchman from that location deck (the henchman card will indicate if this is the case) or after that location deck runs out of cards (see Your Turn on page 8).

When you have the opportunity and want to close a location, do whatever the location's When Closing section says. Locations often require specific checks to close them; otherwise, they list specific tasks you must perform. (If a location says you may close it automatically, you don't need to do anything else.) If the When Closing text offers multiple options separated by "or," you must make your choice of options before you make any rolls or play any cards.

If you succeed at meeting the When Closing requirement, search the location deck for villains. If you find any, banish all non-villain cards from the location deck. The location is not closed—but at least you know where the villains are!

If you didn't find any villains, perform the When Permanently Closed effect: First, apply any effects that say "before closing." Then banish all of the cards from the location deck; it is now closed. Finally, apply any effects that say "on closing" and flip the location card over. The location stays closed for the rest of the scenario, so villains may not escape to that location (see Encountering a Villain on page 16). Characters may move to closed locations, and if there are cards there, they may explore and encounter those cards as normal. (Most closed locations don't have cards to explore, but some effects can put cards there.)

Example: Imrijka has defeated the final card in the Sacristy location deck, and she is now attempting to close the location. In its When Closing section, Sacristy gives two options: Imrijka can discard a card with the Divine trait, or she can succeed at a Divine 7 check. She could discard the Blessing of Ascension in her hand, but she wants to keep it. She considers rolling her Divine skill, which is d8+1, but she doesn't like those odds. She plays the spell Good Omen to add 1 plus the scenario's adventure deck number to the check; since she's playing a scenario in the first adventure, the total bonus from the spell is 2. She rolls 1d8+3 and gets a 9, which closes the Sacristy. Its When Permanently Closed power is activated, so she draws 1 of her buried cards, choosing her Javelin. Imrijka flips the Sacristy card over to show that it's closed.

Encountering a Villain

Most scenarios have a villain—a big bad bane for the players to fight at the end. Villains work a lot like other monsters, but since defeating them is the goal of many scenarios, some special rules are used. Unlike monsters and henchmen, a villain doesn't just need to be defeated. A villain also needs to be cornered: you need to make sure there are no open locations the villain can escape to.

Attempt to Temporarily Close Open Locations. When a character encounters a villain, each character at any other location may immediately attempt to fulfill the When Closing requirement for his location. If any character at a location succeeds, his location is temporarily closed and the villain cannot escape there this encounter (see Check to See Whether the Villain Escapes on page 17). Temporarily closing a location only prevents the villain from escaping there during this encounter; it does not trigger any of the other effects of closing a location, and the location opens again immediately after the encounter. Characters may attempt to close locations in any order they wish.

Encounter the Villain. This encounter works exactly as it does with other banes, but be careful to look for any special rules listed on the villain card or the scenario card.

Example: Balazar and Enora are investigating The Traitor's Lodge. Balazar is at the Laboratory; Enora is at The Manor House. The Cemetery and the Torture Chamber are also open. On Enora's turn, she encounters the villain Karsos. Balazar gets a chance to temporarily close the Laboratory, using his Intelligence skill of d8. He plays a Blessing of Ascension to add another d8, then gets a result a 10, succeeding at the Intelligence 7 check and temporarily closing the Laboratory. Enora needs a Combat 14 or Divine 11 check to defeat the villain. She also needs the Magic trait, so she plays a Lightning Touch spell, rolling 1d12+1 plus 2d4. She gets a result of 16, defeating Karsos and closing the Manor House. The Cemetery and the Torture Chamber are open, so the villain escapes. Enora's player shuffles together Karsos and a random blessing from the box and deals 1 into each of the open locations—but not the Laboratory, since it's temporarily closed. The ghost minotaur still haunts The Traitor's Lodge.

If You Defeat the Villain, Close the Villain's Location. You do not need to fulfill the When Closing requirement. Examine the location deck; if there are no additional villains in it, banish all of the cards. The location is permanently closed, and the location's When Permanently Closed effect is triggered. Flip the location card over. If any villains remain in the deck, banish everything except the remaining villains and shuffle the deck; the location is not permanently closed, but if there are no other open locations for the villain to escape to, banish the villain. If a scenario has multiple villains, the scenario card will usually list additional conditions for winning.

Check to See Whether the Villain Escapes. If any locations are not closed, the villain escapes. If you defeated the villain, count the number of open locations, subtract 1, and retrieve that number of random blessings from the box. Shuffle the villain in with those blessings, then deal 1 card to each open location and shuffle those location decks. If the villain is undefeated, do the same thing, but retrieve the blessings from the blessings deck instead of from the box. (Note that if you did not defeat the villain, there is always at least one open location: the one in which it was just encountered.)

If the Villain Has Nowhere to Escape to, You Win! See After the Scenario below.

After the Scenario

Now that the battle against abyssal horrors is done for the day, you can march back to the safety of your citadel. Heal up and rest while you can, for more evil stirs in the night.

Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path

If at any point you need to advance the blessing deck but there are no cards remaining in it, immediately end the current turn; the scenario then ends and your party of adventurers loses. You also lose if all of the characters are dead at the same time (see Dying on page 14). You do not earn the reward on the scenario card, and if you're playing an adventure, you didn't complete that scenario; you will need to replay it successfully before you can attempt the next scenario in the adventure.

Rules: Dealing with Cards

Whenever you're instructed to randomly choose cards, shuffle the cards you're drawing from and draw from the top.

If you're told to do something with a certain number of cards and there aren't that many cards available, use as many as there are. For example, if you're told to draw 4 cards from a deck that has only 3 cards, draw the 3 cards. (Regardless, if you need to remove any number of cards from the blessings deck and don't have enough, you lose the scenario; if you need to remove any number of cards from your deck and don't have enough, your character dies.)

If the players defeat the villain and prevent him from escaping, or they achieve a different condition for winning listed on the scenario card, your group defeats the scenario and earns the reward listed on the scenario card. You may be rewarded with loot cards, each of which can be given to any character in the group. If you're rewarded with a feat, choose an appropriate checkbox on your character card (or your role card, if you have one) and check it. That feat now applies to your character until she dies. If you're rewarded with a feat of a specific type and your character has no unchecked feats of that type, you do not gain a feat. You may not gain the reward from a given scenario, adventure, or Adventure Path more than once unless the reward specifically tells you otherwise.

Once you've played a scenario, whether you won or lost, rebuild your character deck (see Between Games, below). Put all other cards back into the box.

If you're playing an adventure and you successfully complete a scenario, you may proceed to the next scenario on the adventure card. If you've successfully completed all of the scenarios on the adventure card, you earn the reward on the adventure card.

If you're playing an Adventure Path and you successfully complete an adventure, you're ready to move on to the next one. Add all of the cards from the next Adventure Deck to the box; if you own any Class Decks, you can add any cards from them that have the same adventure deck number as the Adventure Deck cards you just added. Begin with the first scenario of the new adventure.

If you're playing an Adventure Path and you successfully complete all of the adventures, you earn the reward on the Adventure Path card. At this point, you can build your own adventures using the cards you have, or you can create new characters and start over.

Between Games

After each scenario, you must rebuild your character deck. Start by combining your discard pile with your hand, your character deck, any cards you buried under your character card, and any cards you displayed; you may then freely trade cards with other players.

Your deck must end up meeting the Cards List requirements on your character card, along with any deck adjustments on your role card, if you have one. Loot cards count as cards of their type. For example, if your character's Cards List specifies 3 items, and you keep 1 loot card with the item type when you rebuild your deck, your deck must contain exactly 2 other items.

If you can't construct a valid deck from the cards your group has available because you don't have enough of certain card types, choose the extra cards you need from the box, choosing only cards with the Basic trait. After you begin the adventure Demon's Heresy, you may ignore the Basic trait restriction; instead, you may use any cards in the box from the base set and the Character Add-On Deck, as well as any cards from an adventure whose adventure deck number is at least 2 lower than the adventure you're currently playing. If you have cards left over after rebuilding all of the surviving characters' decks, put them back in the box.

If you want to start a new character, you may, but it's important that you do not keep decks for characters you're not actively playing. Doing so would use up cards that you should be encountering during play. The base set is designed to have no more than 4 character decks built at one time; the Character Add-On Deck, available separately, expands the maximum number of concurrently built decks to 6. If you switch characters for some reason, it's best to write down the cards in the previous character's deck (or use the free character sheets posted online at paizo.com/pacg) and return the cards to the box until you want to play that character again.

Strategy: Should You Seek Out Danger?

When you're adventuring, you can go wherever you want… but not all locations are created equal.

Start by looking at the text on all of the location cards. You might be able to discard an ally to explore again, but if you're at the Cell, will you have an ally to bury when you need to close it? A location's When Closing requirement can guide your path as well. If you can't close the location when the henchman pops up, you'll have to burn through the whole deck to try again.

Sometimes you'll want to leave a location open until the villain appears and you can temporarily close it.

All else being equal, more exploration yields more fun.

Strategy: Advice for Solo Play

Solo play is particularly good for quickly completing scenarios to advance your character if you want to catch up to other players. Not all characters should be considered equal for solo play. Kyra is particularly helpful to other characters, but that doesn't help when there are no other characters. Alain, on the other hand, is great for solo play, because other characters can't help him much.

You can also play multiple characters if you like; we suggest you try solo play with 2 characters. Treat each character as if he were being played by a separate player (so if you're playing Harsk and Balazar, advance the blessings deck at the start of Harsk's turn and at the start of Balazar's turn).

Some cards are particularly difficult in solo play. If you're playing Enora by herself, and you pick up a Telekinesis Trap, you may be making impossible Acrobatics checks until you die. When you encounter a card your character just can't deal with, remove it from the game and replace it with another card of the same type that roughly matches its power level but isn't quite so impossible to overcome. (Some cards are actually easier in solo play, like banes that require each character to succeed at a check.)

Card Types

There is much in the Worldwound to fear and much to admire. Unfortunately, crusaders usually spend more time fearing things than admiring them.

Character Cards

Each character card includes the following information.

Proficient With: If your character is proficient with weapons or specific types of armors, they're listed here. Some weapons and armors are more useful for characters who are proficient with them.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits for some effect; for example, some cards give you a bonus if your character has a particular trait.

Favored Card Type: Your character always begins a scenario with at least 1 card of this type in hand (see Draw Starting Hands on page 7).

Skills: Skills tell you what type of die to roll when you attempt a check (see Attempting a Check on page 11). Normally, you roll 1 die of the appropriate type for a check, but other cards can add to that.

Hand Size: This is the number of cards you draw to form your hand at the beginning of each scenario. Near the end of each of your turns, discard or draw cards so you have exactly this number of cards again.

Cards List: At the start of each scenario, your character deck must contain exactly the listed quantity of each card type. As you play through a scenario, you will add and remove cards from your deck, so it may vary from this list during play. At the end of the scenario, you'll rebuild your deck to conform to the list again, although you might not end up with exactly the same cards you had before. If you have a cohort listed, and it hasn't been removed from the game, you can put it in your hand after you draw your starting hand; it counts as a Basic card for you.

Powers: Each character has powers you can use to affect the game. Any paragraph in the Powers section of a character card that doesn't involve playing a card for a particular effect is a mandatory effect that always happens whenever the effect is appropriate. For example, Harsk may evade a bane that has the Animal trait, but if he doesn't, he must add 1d4 to his checks against it.

Feats

Character cards include a number of items with checkboxes; these are called feats. After successfully completing a scenario or adventure, you might be instructed to gain a feat of a specific type. After you check a box of that type on your character card, your character may use that feat in future scenarios. You may not use feats that are not yet checked off. If there's more than 1 checkbox associated with a skill, power, or card type, you must check the unchecked box farthest to the left before you can check immediately adjacent boxes. For example, if a skill has boxes labeled +1, +2, and +3, you must check the +1 box before you can check the +2 or +3 box, and you must have checked +1 and +2 before you can check +3. These boxes aren't cumulative—that is, "+2" replaces "+1," so they do not add together to make +3.

We recommend you use a pencil to lightly check the feat boxes, or you can track your character with the free character sheets posted online at paizo.com/pacg.

There are three main types of feats.

Skill Feats: When you gain a skill feat, check 1 new box in the Skills section of your character card. Skill feats add a bonus to a skill of your choice: you'll add the number next to the box you selected to any check attempted with that skill. So if your Charisma die is d10, and you've checked the "+2" box for your Charisma skill, you'll roll 1d10 and add 2 when you attempt a check that uses your Charisma skill (see Attempting a Check on page 11).

Power Feats: When you gain a power feat, check 1 new box in the Powers section of your character card. Some power feats give you new powers, such as increasing your hand size or making you proficient with weapons or specific types of armors. Other power feats improve your character's existing powers. If your character has a power that allows him to add 1d4 to another character's combat check, and you've checked the "+1" box next to it, you'll add 1d4+1 to the other character's check. These bonuses apply only when using the power on your character card; if you instead play a card with a similar power, the feat bonus doesn't apply.

Card Feats: When you gain a card feat, check 1 new box on the Cards List on your character card. Each card feat allows you to put one more card of the type you choose into your character deck. After you choose a card feat, use the new number on your Cards List whenever you rebuild your deck.

Role Cards

Each character card has a corresponding role card, though you won't use it right away. Role cards are part of the reward you get for completing the third adventure of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. Role cards offer new feats for you to choose; these feats apply to your character as if they were part of the original character card, and your role card counts as part of your character card.

Each side of the role card presents a different specialization for your character, allowing you to choose one of two different paths for your character's continuing advancement. For example, one side of the role card for the ranger Harsk presents feats that let him specialize as a demon slayer, while the other side offers feats to advance him as a planar-traveling horizon walker.

When you are told to select your character's role card, select one of the two roles. From then on, whenever you gain a feat and choose to check a box on your role card, you must always choose feats from that side of the role card.

Your role card is designed so you can place it directly over the Powers section of your character card. When you first get the role card, check any boxes for the role you've chosen that match boxes you've already checked on your character card. For example, if the "Light Armors" box was checked on your character card, check the "Light Armors" box on your role card.

Token Cards

Each character has a corresponding token card, which you'll move to keep track of your character's current location. Each token card also includes a brief character biography.

Story Cards (Adventure Path, Adventure, and Scenario)

Story cards define the game session you'll be playing. You always have a scenario card, which tells you what to do and where to go in the current game session. You may also have an adventure card, which lists the scenarios you must finish to complete the adventure, and perhaps an Adventure Path card, which lists the adventures you need to finish to complete the Adventure Path.

The front of each story card includes powers for playing it. Some are used during play, and some are used as you set up a particular scenario, so make sure you read them right away. Story cards also list a reward—something you get to do once you complete the task provided by the story card (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 17).

The front of each scenario card lists the villains and henchmen in the scenario; the back of each scenario card includes a list of locations used in the scenario (see Set Out the Locations and Build the Location Decks on page 6).

Location Cards

Location cards represent the places your characters will visit during the scenario. If any character is at a location, it is considered occupied. The front of each location card has the following features.

Traits: Only some locations have traits. Many effects use a card's traits; for example, some cards have additional powers when they're encountered at a location with the Abyssal trait.

Deck List: This tells you the quantity of each card type you need to set up the location deck (see Build the Location Decks on page 6).

Rules: Owner Trait

Some cards have the Owner trait, followed by the name of a character. If your character is the Owner of a card, you—and only you—may treat it as if it has the Basic trait.

At This Location: These are special powers that are in effect while the location is open. Some of these remain in effect when the location is permanently closed; in that case, they also appear on the back of the location card.

When Closing: When you have the opportunity to close a location and want to do so, you must perform this task. Usually you get the opportunity to close a location after a henchman is defeated there (when this is the case, the henchman card will say so) or after the location deck runs out of cards (see Closing a Location on page 15). When you close a location, flip it over. The villain can no longer escape to this location, though characters can still move there.

When Permanently Closed: When a location is permanently closed, the powers listed here go into effect.

Support Cards (Cohort, Mythic Path, and Redemption)

Support cards supplement various features of the game. Wrath of the Righteous introduces three types: cohorts, mythic paths, and the redemption card. Support cards do not count as either banes or boons.

Cohorts are companions that you get at the start of a scenario. If the back of your character card lists a cohort at the bottom of your cards list, after you draw your starting hand, add your cohort to it. If the scenario you're playing lists any cohorts, after drawing starting hands, each character may add 1 of the listed cohorts to her hand.

If you would banish a cohort, remove it from the game instead; it may not be used in future scenarios, even if it's listed on your character card.

Example: Balazar, Alain, Kyra, and Seelah are playing Vengeance at Sundered Crag. All draw their starting hands. Balazar and Alain have the cohorts Padrig and Donahan listed on their respective character cards. Balazar puts Padrig in his hand, and Alain puts Donahan in his hand. The back of the scenario card lists the cohorts Cecilla the Uprooter, Sir Ilivan, and Vinst. When they played the previous scenario, Sir Ilivan was banished, so he was removed from the game; only Vinst and Cecilla the Uprooter can be found in the box. Kyra adds Vinst to her hand and Balazar adds Cecilla the Uprooter. They are now ready to go to Sundered Crag.

Mythic paths represent your epic lineage as a world savior. They are empowered by mythic charges. A mythic path enables permanent bonuses to certain checks and use of the mighty d20.

At the end of the adventure The Worldwound Incursion, you will be rewarded with a mythic path of your choice. Once you choose a path, you cannot change it. There are two copies of each mythic path card in the box, but any number of characters may choose the same mythic path. Just put the cards you have where any player who has chosen that path can easily refer to them, or download and print out additional copies at paizo.com.

After you gain a mythic path card, you begin each scenario with a number of mythic charges equal to that scenario's adventure deck number. Use the provided counters to track your mythic charges. If you encounter a bane that has the Mythic trait, when it is defeated, you get 1 charge. You may expend charges for certain powers. When you reset your hand at the end of your turn, if you have more mythic charges than the scenario's adventure deck number, expend charges down to that number.

Example: At the end of The Worldwound Incursion, Kyra selected the Mythic Hierophant path. After she starts the first scenario of the second adventure with 2 mythic charges, she encounters a Ghost. Because she has 2 charges, she adds 2 to her Divine check against it. She discards 1 charge to replace her highest die, a d12, with a d20.

New: More Support Card Types

Wrath of the Righteous introduces three new card types: cohort, mythic path, and redemption.

The redemption card lists all the weapons, items, and armors that have the Corrupted trait in the game. When a card allows you to redeem one of these cards, check it off on the redemption card; for the rest of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, that boon no longer has the Corrupted trait.

Boon Cards (Weapon, Spell, Armor, Item, Ally, Blessing, and Loot)

Boons are cards you may be able to acquire and put into your hand or deck for future use. Weapons, spells, armors, items, allies, blessings, and loot are all boons. Each player may play only one of each type of boon on a single check. The following information appears on boons.

Type: This is the boon's card type.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits; for example, a Skeleton is harder to defeat when you play a weapon that has the Piercing trait.

Check to Acquire: If you encounter a boon while exploring a location, you may attempt a check to acquire the card. If you succeed at the check, put the card in your hand; if you fail or choose to not attempt the check, banish the card (see Playing Cards on page 9). You only attempt the check to acquire when encountering a card in a location deck, not when drawing it from your deck or playing it from your hand. Some boons list actions other than checks that you may take to acquire the card. Loot cards do not have a check to acquire; instead, you earn them as a reward for completing a scenario.

Powers: Powers are special rules for a boon. In general, if a card lists multiple powers, you can do any of them; however, if you play a card in such a way that it leaves your hand, that action can trigger only 1 power. For example, if a card says you may discard it to add to your die roll or discard it to explore your location, you may discard it to trigger either effect, but not both.

The following are general descriptions of each type of boon.

Weapon: Weapon cards often require you to do something (such as reveal the card) to modify your combat check. If a weapon's power refers to characters who are proficient with weapons, look in the Powers section of your character card to see if you're proficient.

Spell: Spell cards have a wide variety of effects. Spells always have the Arcane or Divine trait or both; characters with a matching trait will be able to make the best use of a given spell.

Armor: Armor cards help you by reducing damage. Armor powers specify which types of damage they reduce; if a power refers to "all" damage, that applies to all damage of all types. If the armor doesn't reduce the type of damage you're being dealt, you can't play it to reduce the damage. For example, if you're dealt Fire damage, and an armor card doesn't say it reduces Fire damage or all damage, you can't play it to reduce the damage.

Item: Item cards have a wide variety of effects. Many of them help with non-combat checks.

Strategy: Should You Acquire Boons You Won't Use?

The short answer is "absolutely." At minimum, a boon is something you can give up as damage when some demon cracks your skull open. But there's another reason: your fellow adventurer might want you to give it to him.

This is sometimes trickier than it looks. To give a card to someone, you must start your turn at that character's location. That character might have to come to you to get it, assuming you even still have it in your hand when he does. Coordinating a timely rendezvous can lead to a villain's untimely demise.

This situation is a lot easier, of course, if a character who's good at acquiring a type of boon gets it herself. If you're able to look ahead in the location deck or evade cards, you can tell another player about a useful card. Then she can spend her turns trying to get it, and you can get on with your own goals.

Ally: Ally cards often help you with checks you attempt, and many let you discard them to explore again on your turn.

Blessing: Blessing cards often allow you to explore or add dice to checks attempted by any player, including yourself, at any location. The dice added are normally of the type associated with the skill the character is using for the check; if a card instead specifies the exact dice to roll for the check, the added dice are of the type specified by that card. For example, if Enora is making a Charisma check with her Charisma of d8+1, Blessing of Ascension adds a d8.

Loot: Loot cards are unique in a couple of ways. The other boons can be found by exploring locations, but loot cards are only given out as rewards for completing scenarios, except in very rare cases when other cards give them out. They are automatically acquired, and so they have no check to acquire. Also, loot cards list a type, such as "weapon"; apart from the way loot cards are acquired, loot cards behave just like other boons of that type and count as cards of that type rather than loot when played. If a loot card ends up in a location deck, you automatically acquire it when you encounter it.

Bane Cards (Villain, Henchman, Monster, and Barrier)

You must defeat bane cards or suffer their consequences. Barriers and monsters appear randomly in location decks, while most scenarios call for specific villains and henchmen.

Type: Most banes are either monsters or barriers. Most villains and henchmen have the "monster" type and count as monsters; a few henchmen have the "barrier" type and count as barriers.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits; for example, the monster Giant Amoeba is immune to the Acid, Mental, and Poison traits, and is more vulnerable to the Piercing and Slashing traits.

Strategy: Join the Community

To get the most out of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, please visit paizo.com/pacg. You'll find FAQs, rules updates, character sheets, links to videos of people playing the game, the latest Pathfinder Adventure Card Game news, and more. You'll also find the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game messageboards, where you can interact with other players and the people who made the game. You can also learn about and join our worldwide Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild organized play program and advance your characters through new scenarios.

Check to Defeat: This is the skill check or combat check needed to defeat the bane. If the check is listed as "None" or "See Below," the requirements to defeat the bane may be stated in the bane's power. If the check is listed as "None" and the power does not state the requirements to defeat the bane, the bane cannot be defeated. You normally take damage if you fail a check to defeat a monster (see Take Damage, If Necessary on page 13).

Powers: These special rules apply when you encounter the bane.

Rules: Making Your Own Cards

You can make your own story cards—simply follow the format on the ones in the box, choosing villains and henchmen that are appropriate for the power level of your characters. Be careful when setting rewards; you don't want to give out too much for success.

You can also make your own character and role cards. To balance them with the ones in the box, each character should start with 15 cards on her Card List, no more than 1 d12 in her skills, and no more than 5 different skill bonuses. The sum of the skill dice should be 42. She should have 15 skill feat checkboxes, 10 card feat checkboxes, 4 power feat checkboxes on her character card, and 12 power feat checkboxes on her role card. Expanded guidelines can be found at paizo.com/pacg.

A sidebar titled "Can't Get Enough Game? Try the Adventure Card Guild!" explains: If the scenarios provided just aren't enough for you, or you want to play at conventions or game store events, check out the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild. This new organized play program features new stories in the world of Golarion. Each Base Set release coincides with a new season of Adventure Card Guild play. To join the Adventure Card Guild, you'll need to register for a Pathfinder Society ID number at paizo.com/pfsacg, buy a Class Deck, and download the Guide to ACG Organized Play. Then browse our forums or look for an Adventure Card Guild event at paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/events and you'll be on your way!

Example of Play

Setting Up

Blake, Isabel, and Avery are playing Balazar, Imrijka, and Alain. Blake places the Adventure Path Wrath of the Righteous, the adventure The Worldwound Incursion, and the scenario Under the Broken City on the table, and deals the listed 9 random cards by type into the first 5 listed locations. Isabel shuffles the villain Millorn and 4 Giant Bat henchmen together, and shuffles 1 into each location. Avery makes a deck of 30 blessings.

Blake and Isabel place Balazar and Imrijka's tokens at the Canyon, while Avery places Alain at the Cavern. This leaves the Mongrel Village, Collapsing Bridge, and Great Hall unoccupied.

Everyone draws a starting hand. Alain draws 4 cards, including his Glaive +1, so he has the weapon his favored card type requires. He then puts his horse cohort, Donahan, in his hand. Balazar's 6 cards contain a spell, his favored card type; he then puts his eidolon cohort, Padrig, in his hand. Imrijka can favor weapon or blessing; she chooses blessing, but gets none in her starting draw. So she discards her hand and draws another 5 cards, getting 2 blessings, and shuffles her discards back into her deck. Finally, the scenario provides 3 cohorts, and each character can add 1 to her hand. Imrijka takes Anevia Tirabade, Balazar takes Aravashnial, and Alain takes Horgus Gwerm.

The scenario power now ruins their day. Each person rolls 1d4+1 and must bury that many cards from the top of his deck: Imrijka buries a Hand Crossbow and a Demon Hunter. Alain buries a Flaming Heavy Pick +1 and a Steel Shield. Balazar buries Glibness, a Blackwing Librarian, and a Book of the Loremaster. They're hurting before they even start!

Isabel's Turn

Isabel goes first, discarding the top card of the blessings deck, a Blessing of Pulura. Imrijka's hand contains 2 blessings, and Balazar's has none, so she gives him a Blessing of Ascension. Imrijka then explores the Canyon and encounters an ally. The Caravan Guard has two ways of being acquired: Imrijka can bury an armor or succeed at a Charisma or Diplomacy check with a difficulty of 8. Her Charisma die is a d6, and she doesn't want to play a blessing to add another d6 and still have not great odds of success. So she buries her Hide Armor and acquires the Caravan Guard.

She plays a Blessing of Ascension to explore again, and encounters a monster, a Worm Demon! And since she's in the Canyon, Balazar will summon and encounter a Worm Demon too. Blake's not worried, though. Balazar plays a Wand of Paralyze, evading the monster; since it's a summoned monster, it has no deck to be shuffled into, so it vanishes into the air. He then attempts a very difficult Arcane 12 check to avoid burying the Wand. He has a skill feat in Charisma, so he rolls a d10+3 and gets a 12! He recharges the Wand.

Now Imrijka faces her Worm Demon, which requires a Combat 10 check to defeat. She plays a Hand Crossbow to use her Ranged skill, which is her Strength die of d10+1, and the crossbow adds a d6. She uses her character power to recharge the spell Sacred Weapon, and gains a d4 plus the Divine and Magic traits to her combat check. So she rolls d10+d6+d4+1, and gets a 7. That's 3 less than she needed, so Imrijka is dealt 3 damage. She discards her 3 remaining cards. Worse, the Worm Demon requires her to bury an ally from her hand or discard pile, so the Caravan Guard gets buried from her discards. Meanwhile, the demon is undefeated, and gets shuffled back into the Canyon.

Isabel ends Imrijka's turn, and the scenario power kicks in. She now recharges a random card from her discard pile, getting Anevia. With no cards in hand, she draws 5 cards to get back up to her hand size. One turn in, Imrijka is in bad shape.

Avery's Turn

Avery, undeterred by what happened to Imrijka, advances the blessings deck and reveals a Blessing of Ascension. Alain explores the Cavern, encountering the barrier Temptation of Invincibility. He draws 3 armors from the box, getting a Corroded Helm, Leather Armor, and Magic Scale Mail. He snatches up the latter, banishing the barrier but shuffling 2 random barriers into his location. This play is not greeted with enthusiasm by his teammates.

If he stopped exploring now, Alain would have to discard 3 cards, as he has 7 cards and a hand size of 4. So he buries Horgus Gwerm to explore again; Avery claims that at least Horgus will be safe this way. He encounters a Corrosive Dagger +1. He needs a Dexterity or Ranged check of 7 to get it, and he has a d4 Dexterity (and, since he does not have Ranged on his character card, a d4 in that too). Horgus adds 1d4+2 to his checks to acquire during the exploration, and Imrijka wants that weapon, so she plays a Blessing of Ascension for another d4. Alain rolls 3d4+2, and gets an 8. He puts the Dagger in his hand.

He discards his Raconteur ally to explore again, and finds a Giant Bat. That's a henchman! Before he acts, he has to attempt a Wisdom or Perception 9 check to avoid giving the Giant Bat +3 on its difficulty; his Perception skill is d6+1, and he has no way to increase it, so that's not happening. So the Giant Bat's difficulty goes up to 13.

Alain reveals his Glaive +1 to roll his Melee skill of d10+3 (he added a skill feat to Strength after the last adventure) plus 1d10+1 for the Glaive. Alain also discards Imrijka's beloved Corrosive Dagger +1, allowing him to add 1d4+1 on a check on which he previously played a weapon. (Normally, playing 2 weapons is not allowed, but the Dagger is special.) And because he wants to be sure, he uses Donahan's power, placing the horse on top of his deck to add 1d8 plus the adventure deck number of 1. So he rolls 2d10+d4+d8+6, and gets a 12, 1 less than needed. The Glaive allows him to discard it to reroll the dice, which he does and gets a 19, defeating the Giant Bat.

Now he has a chance to close the Cavern. He'll need to succeed at a Strength check of a difficulty of 5 plus the scenario's adventure deck number, which is 1. He rolls his d10+1 and gets an 8. So the Cavern is closed! Avery banishes all the cards from the Cavern and sees that the Cavern's When Permanently Closed power moves him to a random other location. He rolls a d4 and randomly lands on the Collapsing Bridge. Unsettled, he ends his turn. The scenario power lets him recharge the Raconteur from his discard pile, and he draws Donahan to get back to 4 cards. Alain's turn is over.

Balazar displays Padrig, then discards the spell Mirror Image to put a random monster from the box into his hand. He draws a Mongrel Wizard and explores, encountering the villain Millorn! This could allow the characters to advance their goals quite a bit, if all goes well.

Before Balazar encounters Millorn, Alain has a chance to close his location—and the Collapsing Bridge's requirement is that he be dealt 4 Combat damage. As he is proficient with heavy armors, Alain could bury his new armor to reduce the damage to 0, but he'd rather reveal a Helm to reduce the damage by 1, and then recharge his Magic Scale Mail to reduce it by another 2. That leaves 1, so he discards the Helm. The Collapsing Bridge is temporarily closed.

Now Balazar encounters Millorn. Before he acts, both he and Imrijka need to roll Wisdom 6 checks, or be dealt 1 Mental damage that may not be reduced, and lose the ability to play weapons or spells against Millorn. Imrijka, who added a spell from a card feat in the last adventure, plays the spell Sagacity, adding 3 to her d8. She gets a 10 and succeeds. Balazar is not so lucky. He rolls a 2 on his d6, and has to discard the ally Vulture. He can't play weapons or spells, but he doesn't think he needs to. He'll be making a Strength check of d6. Padrig allows him to put a card on top of his deck to add his Arcane skill of d10+3, so Balazar does so with the spell Enchanted Fang. Balazar then banishes the Mongrel Wizard, which fortuitously shares the Wizard trait with Millorn, so he adds another 1d4 plus 1d6 to the check. Rolling 2d6+d10+1d4+3, Balazar gets a 17, and defeats the villain!

Blake's Turn

Because he defeated a villain, Balazar closes the Mongrel Village without having to fulfill its requirement, and banishes all its cards. With the Cavern also permanently closed and the Collapsing Bridge temporarily closed, the villain can only escape to the Canyon and the Great Hall. He draws a random blessing from the box, shuffles it and Millorn together, and shuffles 1 of those cards into each open location. The Collapsing Bridge then reopens, but at least the party knows that Millorn's not there.

Blake advances the blessings deck, revealing a Blessing of Shax. Tired of the Canyon, Balazar moves to the Mongrel Village, and the scenario power allows Imrijka to come too. Unfortunately, it also demands that he shuffle a random monster from the box into the Canyon.

The scenario allows Balazar to randomly recharge the Vulture from his discard pile, and then Balazar draws 2 cards, including his Enchanted Fang, to get his hand back up to 6 cards. Balazar's turn is over, but the hunt for Millorn continues under the broken city!

Suggested Deck Lists

Here are optional starting card lists for the seven characters in the base set and the four characters in the Character Add-On Deck. All of these characters start with only cards that have the Basic trait (including cards that have the Owner trait for these characters). Note that while all of these characters are buildable with any others, they can't all be built at once because you might not have enough cards left in the box to play the game.

Base Set Characters

Alain: Weapon: Heavy Pick, Longspear, Longsword, Sickle. Armor: Helm, Scale Mail, Wooden Shield. Item: Caltrop Bead, Ring of Climbing. Ally: Athlete, Recruit, Riding Horse. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (3). Cohort: Donahan.

Balazar: Spell: Agility, Brilliance, Create Pit, Enchanted Fang, Glibness. Armor: Padded Armor. Item: Blood Periapt, Potion of Beast Skin. Ally: Blackwing Librarian, Frilled Lizard, Vulture. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4). Cohort: Padrig.

Enora: Spell: Brilliance, Create Pit, Dazzle, Frigid Blast, Lightning Touch, Viper Strike. Item: Book of the Loremaster, Codex, Sage's Journal. Ally: Researcher, Teamster. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4).

Harsk: Weapon: Bolas, Hand Crossbow, Javelin, Shortbow (2). Armor: Leather Armor, Wooden Shield. Item: Potion of Beast Skin, Trapsmith Gloves. Ally: Frog, Riding Horse. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4).

Imrijka: Weapon: Heavy Pick, Javelin, Mace, Shortbow, Sickle. Spell: Detect Demon. Armor: Hide Armor. Item: Caltrop Bead, Sage's Journal. Ally: Researcher. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (5).

Kyra: Weapon: Sickle. Spell: Burst Bonds, Cure, Detect Demon, Fireblade, Frigid Blast. Armor: Scale Mail. Item: Holy Water Grenade. Ally: Blackwing Librarian, Researcher. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (5).

Seelah: Weapon: Longspear, Longsword, Mace, Quarterstaff. Spell: Cure. Armor: Helm, Scale Mail, Wooden Shield. Item: Holy Water Grenade. Ally: Recruit, Riding Horse. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4).

Character Add-On Deck Characters

Adowyn: Weapon: Aklys, Bolas, Hand Crossbow. Spell: Agility, Enchanted Fang. Armor: Leather Armor. Item: Potion of Striding, Trapsmith Gloves. Ally: Frilled Lizard, Frog, Vulture. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4). Cohort: Leryn.

Crowe: Weapon: Heavy Pick, Longspear, Mace, Quarterstaff, Sickle. Spell: Force Missile, Lightning Touch. Armor: Hide Armor, Leather Armor. Item: Blood Periapt, Potion of Striding. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4).

Seoni: Spell: Dazzle, Force Missile, Frigid Blast, Glibness, Sagacity. Armor: Padded Armor. Item: Codex, Potion of Striding. Ally: Blackwing Librarian, Frog, Teamster. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (4).

Shardra: Spell: Cure, Fireblade, Sagacity, Sanctuary, Viper Strike. Armor: Hide Armor. Item: Book of the Loremaster, Sage's Journal. Ally: Athlete, Recruit. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (5). Cohort: Kolo.

Things to Keep in Mind

If you've played other card games, board games, or roleplaying games, you may find a lot of familiar concepts in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. However, bringing in assumptions from other games—including the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game—can potentially trip you up. Here are some guidelines you might want to keep in mind.

Cards Do What They Say. Read any card as it is encountered or played, and do what it says as soon as it makes sense. Let the card tell you what to do, and don't impose limitations that aren't there. You can play an armor card even if there isn't one in your deck list. You can play a Cure spell even if it's not your turn. You can play a blessing on a check even if someone else has played one. Cards say everything they need to say.

Cards Don't Do What They Don't Say. Each card's powers reference specific situations, and if you're not in those situations, you can't play it. If a card says it works on "any check," you can play it on anyone's check, but if a card says "your check," it only works on yours. You can't play a Cure spell to reduce the amount of damage you're taking, because Cure isn't about reducing damage. You can't examine a deck that has no cards. Your weapon doesn't help you acquire new weapons. Each card tells you what it's for, and you can use it only for that.

No One Else Can Take Your Turn for You. Whenever you encounter a card or make a check, you—and only you—must resolve it. No other character can evade it, defeat it, acquire it, close it, decide what to do with it, or fail at doing any of those things. If Harsk encounters a monster, Enora can't play Sleep to evade it for him. If Seelah encounters a Cambion, Alain can't attempt the check to defeat it. If Adowyn encounters an Apprentice, Seoni can't acquire it. If Adowyn defeats a henchman at the Watchtower, Imrijka can't banish a weapon to close the location. If the game tells you to do something, you have to do it.

Cards Don't Have Memories. Cards forget they've been played after they've done whatever they do. So if you reveal an item to reduce damage dealt before an encounter, you can reveal that item again during the encounter. A monster isn't affected by anything you did in a previous encounter with it. Even though you've played a card to explore again, after that exploration you can play another. Don't ask your cards to remember what happened, because they're just cards.

Finish One Thing Before You Start Something Else. You do many things in a specific order, and you need to finish doing each thing before you do the next thing. You move before you explore, not after. If a spell used in a check can be recharged, finish the first check before you attempt your check to recharge it. If a villain requires two sequential combat checks, finish the first before starting the second. Don't start a new process until you've finished the last one. (That said, if the game doesn't specify an order for things, you decide the order.)

If It Isn't Called Something, It Isn't That Thing. Every term described in the rules and on cards has a specific definition. The spell Spiritual Weapon summons a weapon, but is not itself a weapon. A Potion of Healing may sound like it's magical, but it doesn't have the Magic trait. A Ghost deals Combat damage when it damages you, even if you failed a Divine check to defeat it. Don't make assumptions—just read the card.

Add Only What You Are Told to Add. If a card adds another die, that's all it gives you: a die. It doesn't give you your bonuses again. It doesn't give you the skill associated with that die. It doesn't give you the ability to recharge an Arcane spell if you don't have the Arcane skill. A Mythic Marshal who plays a Composite Bow to add his Strength die to a combat check can't use his power to change a die to a d20, because he's not attempting a Strength check. You get what you get.

Allow for Abstractions. Sometimes the story you imagine can get in the way of playing the game. Despite their aquatic nature, Bunyips can be encountered in the Manor House. Caltrop Bead works against Skeletons, even if they don't have flesh on their feet. Don't force the cards to fit your story; let the cards tell you their stories.

Choices Matter. Your choices have consequences. Once you choose cards for your character, you can't trade them for other cards whenever you like. If a location makes you choose between attempting a check or banishing a card before closing it, you can't attempt the check and then banish the card if you fail. If you roll too low on a Combat check, it's too late to play a Strength spell to improve your result. Once you choose a mythic path, you can't switch to another one. If something kills your character, your character dies. Every choice matters—take your choices seriously.

Reference Sheet

Turn Overview

Advance the blessings deck.

Give a card to another character at the same location (optional).

Move to another location (optional).

Explore the top card of the location deck (optional).

Try to close a location if it doesn't have any cards (optional).

End your turn—apply end-of-turn effects, expend mythic charges in excess of the scenario's adventure deck number, then reset your hand by first discarding any number of cards then discarding down to or drawing up to your hand size.

Encountering a Villain

Attempt to temporarily close open locations.

Encounter the villain.

If you defeat the villain, close the villain's location.

Check to see whether the villain escapes.

Encountering a Card

Apply any effects that happen when you encounter a card.

Apply any evasion effects.

Apply any effects that happen before you act.

Attempt the check.

Attempt the next check, if needed.

Apply any effects that happen after you act.

Resolve the encounter.

Attempting a Check

Determine which skill you're using.

Determine the difficulty.

Play cards and use powers that affect the check (optional).

Assemble your dice.

Attempt the roll.

Take damage if you fail a check to defeat a monster.

Playing a Card

Reveal: Show it, then put it back in your hand.

Display: Place it faceup in front of your character, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function until it's discarded.

Discard: Put it faceup into your discard pile.

Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your deck.

Bury: Put it faceup under your character card.

Banish: Put it back in the box with the other cards of the same type.

Draw: Unless otherwise specified, take it from your character deck and add it to your hand.

A Few Rules That Are Easy to Forget

While encountering a card, each player may play no more than 1 card of each type during each step.
When blessings add dice to a check, the dice are of the same type that the character is already using for the check.
If your character doesn't have a skill listed for a check, you can use a d4 for that skill.
In the case of a bane that requires sequential checks, any character at that location can attempt one or more of the checks, as long as the character who encountered the bane attempts at least one of them.
When you would banish a cohort, remove it from the game instead.
If you encounter a bane that has the Mythic trait, when it is defeated, you get 1 mythic charge.

Character Notes

The rulebook margins introduce the seven base-set characters and, under a "From the Character Add-On Deck" banner, four characters from that expansion.

Alain, the Cavalier. This boastful knight rarely shirks from battle, not when there's glory to be claimed. He's so vainglorious that other characters rarely intervene when he's ready to charge into battle on his trusty steed, Donahan. That said, Alain is quite resourceful on his own, and with Donahan at his beck and call, he'll gird lance and shield against any foe.

Balazar, the Summoner. Balazar is a gnome known far and wide for two things: his splendiferous hat and Padrig, his eidolon. Balazar and Padrig can carve through any opponent, as well as dealing with most other threats. Balazar also has the power to absorb the essences of monsters he defeats, adding their power to Padrig's already abundant strength.

Enora, the Arcanist. Enora is a magical researcher capable of calling forth spells from the depths of history. She can bring back spells she casts at a second's notice, and she can find hidden reserves of ability from the knowledge she has gleaned from her bookshelves. Whenever magic is needed, Enora is ready.

Harsk, the Ranger. Harsk would prefer to be tanning animal hides in the forest. But he has come to realize that the threats from beyond are legion, and so he seeks out enemies of both the natural and the supernatural varieties. He reloads his bows faster than any archer alive, allowing him to assist others with great alacrity.

Imrijka, the Inquisitor. The inquisitor's life doesn't allow for many friends. That's fine with Imrijka, who tends to be more concerned with powering through camps of demons and driving them from the light. Talented with swords and bows, she takes the presence of one monster as a sign she'll find others. Her spells find them; her weapons dispatch them.

Kyra, the Cleric. As a cleric of Sarenrae, Kyra has dedicated her life to eradicating the unliving and unwelcome from the lands of Golarion. She can use her potent healing powers both when she marshals the will of the gods of light and when she faces the creatures of darkness. Thus the light of the Dawnflower illuminates us all.

Seelah, the Paladin. There is no one more committed to cleansing the Worldwound than a paladin of Iomedae. The most charismatic of leaders, Seelah inspires the downtrodden to take up arms against evil. She will sacrifice her own resources to empower others, knowing that the favor will one day be returned.

Adowyn, the Hunter (from the Character Add-On Deck). Adowyn is a hunter, whether of forest denizens or missing persons. If she is charged with securing the safety of someone that matters to her, that someone will not be lost for long. She cannot be easily tricked by summoned bugaboos, as her faithful wolf Leryn makes sure she knows where they are. And then he'll shred them.

Crowe, the Bloodrager (from the Character Add-On Deck). A bloodrager is like a spellcasting werewolf: he explodes in a ball of rage, showers the world with energy and steel, then apologizes for the mess. Crowe expends his energy to empower his physical attacks with lightning and thunder, often using death blows as an excuse for more death blows.

Seoni, the Sorcerer (from the Character Add-On Deck). The graven mystic Seoni has a repertoire of attack spells at her fingertips. And that's not all she has at her disposal. Her knack for gaining friends also prompts her to be a more potent sorcerer. If she comes across an item of eldritch power, she's unlikely to let it go until she's wrung every charge out of it.

Shardra, the Shaman (from the Character Add-On Deck). The dwarf shaman Shardra has an uncanny bond with her lore spirit, Kolo. The rocky tuatara helps her scout out faraway locations and look for traps and tricks along the way. Shardra's special kind of knowledge is not drawn from books or speeches. It is drawn from merely knowing.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Wrath of the Righteous – Base Set Rulebook

Table of Contents

Object of the Game
Card Sets
- Rules: The Golden Rule
Tray Layout
Organizing Your Cards
Setting Up
Playing a Scenario
After the Scenario
Card Types
Example of Play
Suggested Deck Lists
- Base Set Characters
- Character Add-On Deck Characters
Things to Keep in Mind
Reference Sheet
Character Notes

Object of the Game

Rules Sidebars

Throughout this rulebook, you'll find a number of sidebars that look like this one. These sidebars explain general rules that deserve special attention. Make sure you read them all!

Strategy Sidebars

Example Sidebars

Sidebars that look like this provide examples. Don't miss the example of an entire turn on page 26!

New Sidebars

Card Sets

On story cards and location cards, the side with the more colorful version of the artwork is the face; the less colorful version is the back. Very rarely, a card can have two faces.

Rules: The Golden Rule

Tray Layout

Organizing Your Cards

Setting Up

Locate the token card that matches your character card. Then place both on the table in front of you.

Alain's deck includes 4 weapons, no spells, 3 armors, 2 items, 3 allies, 3 blessings, and the cohort Donahan. (The checkboxes are for card feats he'll gain later.)

Create the Blessings Deck. Draw 30 random blessing cards from the box. Shuffle them together, form a deck, and place it facedown on the table.

Arrange Yourselves around the Table. Use any order you wish.

Place Token Cards. Each player chooses a location and puts her character's token card near it. Multiple characters can choose the same starting location.

Decide Who Goes First. Starting with whichever player the group chooses, take turns proceeding clockwise (see Your Turn on page 8).

Rules: Rolling Dice

The game comes with six dice: a 4-sider, 6-sider, 8-sider, 10-sider, 12-sider, and 20-sider. When you roll the 4-sider, use the number that's upright.

If a card calls for a die roll that affects multiple characters or situations (for example, if it says that each character at a location is dealt 1d4 damage), roll separately for each.

Rules: Compatibility with Other Sets

Rules: Skills, Dice, and Modifiers

Strategy: Should You Split the Party?

There's an old saying in roleplaying games: Never split the party. Is that true for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game? This isn't an RPG, so the answer is, "It depends."

Playing a Scenario

When the demons erupt from the rift, most sane people run away in fear. You are either not afraid or not sane.

Your Turn

Give a Card: You may give 1 card from your hand to another player at your location. (Other players cannot give you cards on your turn.)

Close a Location: If your character is at a location that has no cards remaining and has not been closed, you may make one attempt to close it at this time (see Closing a Location on page 15).

Rules: Tracking the Blessings Deck

Strategy: Should You Be Selfish?

Throughout the game, your friends will ask you for help. They might even beg for it. Should you ever tell them no?

Strategy: Should You Always Explore?

The blessings deck is a countdown timer, and it's very unforgiving. More exploration leads to more success, but there are times you just want to hang out for a while.

One reason might be the state of your hand or character deck. If you're hurting, you might just want to be next to Kyra when she explores.

Of course, the biggest disasters often occur shortly after someone says, "We've got plenty of turns left."

Rules: Drawing Cards

Playing Cards

When you play a card, it will usually require you to take one of the following actions.

Reveal: Show it from your hand then put it back in your hand. You may not reveal the same card for its power more than once per check or step.
Display: Place it faceup in front of your character, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function until it's discarded. When a character displays a card, it is not part of that character's hand, deck, or discard pile, but it still belongs to that character. Example: The ally Blackwing Librarian has 2 different powers: you may recharge it to succeed at a check to acquire or recharge a card that has the Arcane trait, or you may discard it to explore your location. You can do either, but you can't do both, because once you play the card one way, it's no longer in your hand for you to play it the other way.
Discard: Put it into your discard pile—a stack of faceup cards next to your deck.
Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your character deck.
Bury: Put it under your character card (likely losing access to it for the rest of the scenario).
Banish: Put it back in the box, shuffling it in with the other cards of the same type (thus losing it for good).

Encountering a Card

After you flip over the top card of the location deck, put it on top of the deck and read it. Then go through the following steps in order.

New: Your Cards

When a card refers to "your cards," that includes your deck, the cards in your hand, and your buried, discarded, and displayed cards.

Strategy: Should You Burn Through Your Deck?

Rules: Faceup Cards

Attempting a Check

If a card refers to a check against another card, that refers to any check required by that card, whether it's a check to defeat, a check to acquire, a check to recharge, or any other check.

Many cards also require checks to use powers or to recharge the cards after playing them.

Strategy: Should You Hoard Blessings?

What is the opportunity cost of not exploring? Do you need that sword more than you need to find the villain? The risk-reward analysis requires some thought.

This analysis is worth going through, but don't let it stop you from acting. There are always more turns—at least, until there aren't.

Taking Damage

Dying

If all of the characters are dead, the players lose the scenario (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 17).

Examining and Searching

Strategy: Should You Look Ahead?

Shardra and cards like Potion of Nightvision let you look at cards in location decks before you encounter them. This can be a tremendous help as you race the clock that is the blessings deck.

Redeeming Cards

When you are allowed to redeem a card, check it off on the redemption card (see The Redemption Card on page 23); for the rest of the Adventure Path, that boon no longer has the Corrupted trait.

New: Redeeming Cards

Redemption is a key theme of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. You will have many opportunities to redeem corrupted cards, changing the effects that they can have.

Reset Your Hand

Summoning and Adding Cards

The When Closing section on some locations requires you to summon and defeat (or acquire) a card. Summon and encounter it; if you do not defeat (or acquire) it, the location is not closed.

If you're instructed to add a card to the top or the bottom of a deck, do so; otherwise, any cards added to a deck are shuffled into it.

Servitor Demons

Servitor Demon Table — When a card tells you to summon and encounter this adventure's servitor demon, use this table to determine the henchman to summon.

Adventure	Servitor Demon
B. Into the Worldwound	Demonling
1. The Worldwound Incursion	Sloth Demon
2. Sword of Valor	Blood Demon
3. Demon's Heresy	Shadow Demon
4. The Midnight Isles	Vulture Demon
5. Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth	Treachery Demon
6. City of Locusts	Ophidian Demon

New: Servitor Demons

You'll be fighting a lot of demons in Wrath of the Righteous. Servitor demons let more cards scale with the adventure.

Closing a Location

Encountering a Villain

Encounter the Villain. This encounter works exactly as it does with other banes, but be careful to look for any special rules listed on the villain card or the scenario card.

If the Villain Has Nowhere to Escape to, You Win! See After the Scenario below.

After the Scenario

Now that the battle against abyssal horrors is done for the day, you can march back to the safety of your citadel. Heal up and rest while you can, for more evil stirs in the night.

Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path

Rules: Dealing with Cards

Whenever you're instructed to randomly choose cards, shuffle the cards you're drawing from and draw from the top.

Once you've played a scenario, whether you won or lost, rebuild your character deck (see Between Games, below). Put all other cards back into the box.

Between Games

Strategy: Should You Seek Out Danger?

When you're adventuring, you can go wherever you want… but not all locations are created equal.

Sometimes you'll want to leave a location open until the villain appears and you can temporarily close it.

All else being equal, more exploration yields more fun.

Strategy: Advice for Solo Play

Card Types

There is much in the Worldwound to fear and much to admire. Unfortunately, crusaders usually spend more time fearing things than admiring them.

Character Cards

Each character card includes the following information.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits for some effect; for example, some cards give you a bonus if your character has a particular trait.

Favored Card Type: Your character always begins a scenario with at least 1 card of this type in hand (see Draw Starting Hands on page 7).

Feats

We recommend you use a pencil to lightly check the feat boxes, or you can track your character with the free character sheets posted online at paizo.com/pacg.

There are three main types of feats.

Role Cards

Token Cards

Each character has a corresponding token card, which you'll move to keep track of your character's current location. Each token card also includes a brief character biography.

Story Cards (Adventure Path, Adventure, and Scenario)

Location Cards

Traits: Only some locations have traits. Many effects use a card's traits; for example, some cards have additional powers when they're encountered at a location with the Abyssal trait.

Deck List: This tells you the quantity of each card type you need to set up the location deck (see Build the Location Decks on page 6).

Rules: Owner Trait

Some cards have the Owner trait, followed by the name of a character. If your character is the Owner of a card, you—and only you—may treat it as if it has the Basic trait.

When Permanently Closed: When a location is permanently closed, the powers listed here go into effect.

Support Cards (Cohort, Mythic Path, and Redemption)

If you would banish a cohort, remove it from the game instead; it may not be used in future scenarios, even if it's listed on your character card.

Mythic paths represent your epic lineage as a world savior. They are empowered by mythic charges. A mythic path enables permanent bonuses to certain checks and use of the mighty d20.

New: More Support Card Types

Wrath of the Righteous introduces three new card types: cohort, mythic path, and redemption.

Boon Cards (Weapon, Spell, Armor, Item, Ally, Blessing, and Loot)

Type: This is the boon's card type.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits; for example, a Skeleton is harder to defeat when you play a weapon that has the Piercing trait.

The following are general descriptions of each type of boon.

Spell: Spell cards have a wide variety of effects. Spells always have the Arcane or Divine trait or both; characters with a matching trait will be able to make the best use of a given spell.

Item: Item cards have a wide variety of effects. Many of them help with non-combat checks.

Strategy: Should You Acquire Boons You Won't Use?

Ally: Ally cards often help you with checks you attempt, and many let you discard them to explore again on your turn.

Bane Cards (Villain, Henchman, Monster, and Barrier)

You must defeat bane cards or suffer their consequences. Barriers and monsters appear randomly in location decks, while most scenarios call for specific villains and henchmen.

Type: Most banes are either monsters or barriers. Most villains and henchmen have the "monster" type and count as monsters; a few henchmen have the "barrier" type and count as barriers.

Traits: Many effects use a card's traits; for example, the monster Giant Amoeba is immune to the Acid, Mental, and Poison traits, and is more vulnerable to the Piercing and Slashing traits.

Strategy: Join the Community

Powers: These special rules apply when you encounter the bane.

Rules: Making Your Own Cards

Example of Play

Setting Up

Blake and Isabel place Balazar and Imrijka's tokens at the Canyon, while Avery places Alain at the Cavern. This leaves the Mongrel Village, Collapsing Bridge, and Great Hall unoccupied.

Isabel's Turn

Avery's Turn

Blake's Turn

Suggested Deck Lists

Base Set Characters

Imrijka: Weapon: Heavy Pick, Javelin, Mace, Shortbow, Sickle. Spell: Detect Demon. Armor: Hide Armor. Item: Caltrop Bead, Sage's Journal. Ally: Researcher. Blessing: Blessing of Ascension (5).

Character Add-On Deck Characters

Things to Keep in Mind

Reference Sheet

Turn Overview

Advance the blessings deck.

Give a card to another character at the same location (optional).

Move to another location (optional).

Explore the top card of the location deck (optional).

Try to close a location if it doesn't have any cards (optional).

Encountering a Villain

Attempt to temporarily close open locations.

Encounter the villain.

If you defeat the villain, close the villain's location.

Check to see whether the villain escapes.

Encountering a Card

Apply any effects that happen when you encounter a card.

Apply any evasion effects.

Apply any effects that happen before you act.

Attempt the check.

Attempt the next check, if needed.

Apply any effects that happen after you act.

Resolve the encounter.

Attempting a Check

Determine which skill you're using.

Determine the difficulty.

Play cards and use powers that affect the check (optional).

Assemble your dice.

Attempt the roll.

Take damage if you fail a check to defeat a monster.

Playing a Card

Reveal: Show it, then put it back in your hand.

Display: Place it faceup in front of your character, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function until it's discarded.

Discard: Put it faceup into your discard pile.

Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your deck.

Bury: Put it faceup under your character card.

Banish: Put it back in the box with the other cards of the same type.

Draw: Unless otherwise specified, take it from your character deck and add it to your hand.

A Few Rules That Are Easy to Forget

While encountering a card, each player may play no more than 1 card of each type during each step.
When blessings add dice to a check, the dice are of the same type that the character is already using for the check.
If your character doesn't have a skill listed for a check, you can use a d4 for that skill.
In the case of a bane that requires sequential checks, any character at that location can attempt one or more of the checks, as long as the character who encountered the bane attempts at least one of them.
When you would banish a cohort, remove it from the game instead.
If you encounter a bane that has the Mythic trait, when it is defeated, you get 1 mythic charge.

Character Notes

The rulebook margins introduce the seven base-set characters and, under a "From the Character Add-On Deck" banner, four characters from that expansion.