Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Core Set
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Core Set Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Object of the Game
- Card Basics
- Card Sets
- Getting Started
- Setting Up
- Playing a Scenario
- Playing Cards
- Encountering a Card
- Attempting a Check
- Suffering Damage
- Dying
- Searching and Examining
- Resetting
- Summoned Cards and New Cards
- Closing Your Location
- After the Scenario
- Play It Your Way
- Card Types
- Support Cards (Cohort, Scourge, Story Bane Roster, and Wildcard)
- Boons (Weapon, Spell, Armor, Item, Ally, and Blessing)
- Get the Most out of the Game
- Example of Play
- Transition Guide
- Deck Suggestions
- Things to Keep in Mind
- Glossary
- Reference Sheet
Object of the Game
In the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, you go on valiant adventures in a rich fantasy world. Each player has a deck of cards representing a character, which you play through many individual game sessions called scenarios. Several linked scenarios are called an adventure, and several linked adventures are called an Adventure Path. As you advance through the Adventure Path, you'll improve your deck, customize your character, and face more and more powerful challenges.
To win many scenarios, your party of adventurers must locate, defeat, and corner a threatening villain. Some scenarios don't have a villain; you win these by closing all of that scenario's locations before a timer called the hourglass runs out. Other scenarios have multiple villains, or even more unusual victory conditions; in those cases, the scenario itself will tell you how to win it.
Using the Rulebook
When a term in this book is in bold, you can learn more about it in the glossary on page 30.
Rules Sidebars
You'll find a number of Rules sidebars throughout the rulebook. These explain general rules that deserve special attention. Make sure you read them all!
Strategy Sidebars
You'll also find a variety of Strategy sidebars. These offer advice about playing the game. 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
Example sidebars help contextualize the rules. Don't miss the example of an entire turn on page 24!
Card Basics
The top of most cards includes the card's name, type, and level. Below this, many cards list checks on the left.
At the bottom left, most cards have powers that cause game-changing effects. To the right are the card's traits, and the bottom right corner has an icon indicating the card set it came from. Many card types have additional features; see Card Types on page 19 for details.
A sample card is labeled as follows:
- Name — top left of the card (e.g., "Viper Strike").
- Type — top center (e.g., "Spell").
- Level — top right (e.g., "0").
- Check — the checks needed to acquire or use the card, listed on the left.
- Powers — the card's game-changing effects, at the bottom left.
- Traits — listed at the bottom right (e.g., Magic, Arcane, Divine, Attack, Poison).
- Icon — the card set icon, in the bottom right corner.
Rules: Level
Many things refer to a card's level, which is the number on the upper right corner of each card. Cards will often be referred to by their type and/or level—for example, an item that has the level 0 may be referred to as "a level 0 item."
Rules: The Golden Rules
If the storybook, cards, or rules are ever in conflict, the storybook overrides the cards, and the cards override the rules. There is one exception to this: When the rulebook uses the word "never" or "always," nothing can override it. If powers on cards conflict with one another, locations override support cards, support cards override characters, and characters override other card types.
Despite this hierarchy, if the storybook or a card says that you cannot do something and something else says that you can, comply with the one that tells you that you cannot. For example, if you're at a location that says you cannot move, and the scenario has an effect that would move your character, you do not move.
If you are told to ignore something, the thing you're ignoring never has any effect on you.
If you are instructed to do something impossible, like draw a card from an empty deck, ignore that instruction.
Regardless of the above, if you need to do anything with any number of cards from the hourglass (other than shuffling it) and you don't have enough, you lose the scenario; if that happens with your deck, your character dies.
Rules: Traits
Most cards have traits listed at the lower right. Cards are often specified by their traits. For example, "a Ranged weapon" is shorthand for "a weapon that has the Ranged trait." Don't confuse traits with card names: "a Giant monster" is a monster that has the Giant trait, not necessarily any monster that has the word "Giant" in its name.
Many effects refer to a card's traits. The monster Quivering Cube is immune to the Electricity, Mental, and Poison traits, and is harder to defeat at a location that has the Underground trait.
Checks also have traits (see Attempting a Check on page 11), and many effects refer to them. For example, some monsters cannot be defeated unless the check to defeat has the Magic trait.
A few traits have special rules: Deity (see Bless on page 12), Loot (see Loot on page 17), Owner (see Owner Trait on page 19), and Trigger (see Searching and Examining on page 13).
Rules: The Adventure-Number Symbol
Cards use a small adventure-number icon as shorthand for the number of the adventure you're currently playing. For example, if a card's check to defeat is listed as "10 + [adventure-number icon]" and you're playing a scenario in adventure 1, the check to defeat is 11 (10+1); if you're playing in adventure 2, it's 12 (10+2). If it's listed as "10 + [adventure-number icon] + [adventure-number icon]" and you're playing a scenario in adventure 1, that's also 12 (10+1+1).
Card Sets
The Core Set is one of several Pathfinder Adventure Card Game products. It contains everything that 1–4 players need to begin the game and play through The Dragon's Demand Adventure Path.
Products available separately include Adventure Path products, such as the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path, that offer new locations to explore, new villains to fight, new loot to acquire, and much more. Also available are a variety of class decks, which include new characters along with a variety of cards that are useful for those characters.
To play The Dragon's Demand with 5 or 6 players, you'll need to either add characters from an Adventure Path product, or add 1 class deck for each additional player. See page 2 of the storybook for details.
Getting Started
Do the following before playing your first scenario.
Introduce the Adventure Path. Open the storybook to the Adventure Path section—in The Dragon's Demand, that's page 2. The Adventure Path section lists the adventures and scenarios that make up the Adventure Path as well as the rewards you'll get for completing them. It may include special rules for the Adventure Path or adventures. Read the story text aloud.
Build the Vault. Each scenario uses a subset of cards called the vault. Follow the directions on the Adventure Path page for building the vault.
The way you organize cards in the box is important. Use the dividers provided to separate your cards. Group character and role cards by character, and all other cards by type. You'll often need to locate specific locations, scourges, wildcards, other support cards, proxies, and story banes, so keep those types alphabetized to help you find them quickly during play. Keep other card types shuffled, as you will often be asked to draw random cards from them.
Cards that are not in the vault should be kept in the box separately from those that are. If you are instructed to remove a card from the game, separate it from the vault using the Removed from Game divider. Use the divider labeled Future Adventures for cards not in the vault whose level is higher than the current adventure number.
Choose Your Character. Each player chooses a character to representing the character they're playing in the game. Each character is different. 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 Characters on page 19). You might use some of your character's powers at the start of the game, so read them right away, then place the card on the table in front of you. Locate the pawn that matches your character, place it in a pawn base, then place it next to your character.
Build Your Deck. Each character needs a deck. If you'd like to start playing quickly, use the deck suggestions for your character on page 27. Alternatively, you can choose your own cards to build your deck. The deck list on the back of your character indicates the exact quantity of each card type that you must choose from the vault to make up your character's deck; choose only level 0 cards.
Example: Deck Lists
A character's deck list tells you the number of each card type that must be included in their deck at the start of each scenario. For example, Amiri's deck includes 4 weapons, 0 spells, 2 armors, 3 items, 2 allies, and 4 blessings. (The checkboxes are for card feats she'll gain later.)
Setting Up
Do the following before playing each scenario.
Open the Storybook to the Scenario You're Playing. The Adventure Path page tells you the order for playing its scenarios. (If you're just starting The Dragon's Demand Adventure Path, it tells you to play the scenario Rumble Road first, so turn to page 4 for that scenario.) The scenario page describes the goals and any unusual rules for this particular game session. Read the story text aloud.
Decide On the Challenge Mode. The directions below describe setting up a Normal mode scenario. For options that make the game easier or harder—or longer or shorter—see Play It Your Way on page 18.
Set Out the Locations. The scenario lists the location cards the scenario uses; a number of characters is listed next to each location. For Normal mode, use all of the locations listed up to the number of characters you have. For example, if you have 3 characters, use all of the locations listed for 1, 2, and 3 characters, but don't use any of the locations listed for 4, 5, or 6 characters. Arrange the location cards you're using faceup in the middle of the table.
Build the Locations. Each location card has a list of card types that you'll take from the vault to build that location. Shuffle each of these card types separately, then deal the listed number of cards of each card type facedown into a single stack next to each location card. For Normal mode, use the quantities listed in the "M" (for Medium) column.
Prepare the Story Banes. All scenarios list a number of story banes: one or more dangers (thematic banes encountered regularly in the scenario) and usually some villains and/or henchmen.
First, set aside the dangers where everyone can easily read them. Next to them, set aside any villains or henchmen that list a proxy following the card name.
Then, make a story bane stack. Start with any villains, then add henchmen, starting from the beginning of the henchman list, until your stack has as many cards as you have locations. If a story bane is listed with a proxy, add the listed proxy to the stack instead of the set-aside card. If you go through the full list and your stack doesn't have enough cards, add additional copies of the proxy for the henchman at the end of the list as needed; if there are multiple henchmen with proxies, alternate between them until you have enough cards.
For example, the scenario The Blood Vow lists the villain Kobold Sorceror and the henchmen Kobold Champion, Inferno Trap, and Kobold Hordes—Proxy A. If you have 6 locations, you'll set aside the Kobold Hordes, then make a story bane stack of 6 cards: Kobold Sorceror, Kobold Champion, Inferno Trap, and 3 copies of Proxy A. If you have 3 locations, you'll make a stack of just the first 3, leaving Proxy A in the vault.
Shuffle the story bane stack and deal one card from it facedown to each location, then shuffle each location.
Rules: Proxies
Proxies are generic cards that normally stand in for villains and henchmen when multiple copies of those cards are needed in a scenario. (When a scenario requires a single copy of a villain or henchman, a proxy won't generally be used.) Each scenario will tell you which proxies to use. Treat a proxy as if it is the card it's proxying.
Rarely, proxies may be used for characters. See Character Proxies in Locations on page 13.
Create the Hourglass. For Normal mode, draw 30 random blessings from the vault. Shuffle these blessings together to form the hourglass, and place it facedown on the table.
Position Yourselves. Choose seats around the table in any order you wish.
Strategy: Where Should You Sit?
One of the most interesting decisions comes before you even start playing a scenario: who sits where.
Amiri has a power that can move characters with her and another that lets her keep exploring after she closes a location. If you're playing Lem, you probably want to get drawn up in that ride, so sit to her left to have your turn right after hers. But if you're playing Merisiel, who benefits from being alone, you don't want to be surprised by Amiri showing up at your location—you want to go before her, so sit to her right.
Harsk can examine cards at the end of his turn, so if you're playing a fragile character like Fumbus, you might want to put yourself downstream from him so you can act on what he learns.
Careful strategy before the game can save your life during the game. So don't just sit anywhere. Think it through.
Trade Cards. Characters may trade cards from their decks with each other. After trading, each character's deck must still conform to their deck list.
Choose Starting Locations. Each character chooses a location to start at; put the corresponding pawn near it. Multiple characters can choose the same starting location.
Draw Starting Hands. The front of your character lists a hand size; draw that number of cards from your deck. The back of your character lists your favored card; if it gives you a choice, choose 1 for the scenario before drawing. If you didn't draw at least matching card, set aside your hand and draw again, repeating as needed until your hand contains at least 1 favored card. If you set aside enough cards that you can't draw up to your full hand size, draw all the remaining cards, then shuffle the set-aside cards into your deck and draw the rest of your hand. Once you have a full hand that includes your favored card, shuffle the set-aside cards back into your deck.
Add Cohorts. If your deck list or the storybook lists a cohort, add it to your hand. (The Core Set doesn't contain any cohorts; see Cohorts on page 21.)
Decide Who Goes First. Start with whichever player the group chooses, then take turns proceeding clockwise (see Your Turn on page 6).
Playing a Scenario
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. You cannot play cards or use powers between turns.
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 the helpful Fumbus or Lem, staying together makes sense; if you're playing the sneaky Merisiel, you may want to be alone.
The best strategy also depends on where you're going. It can be dangerous to hang out as a group in the Mine, where one character's failure can entangle everyone. But when you go out on the Trail, you want company. Sometimes you want help for whatever perils await you; another time, you might find some Burning Tar that hurts everyone there.
Also consider your progress in the scenario. If you know where the villain is, splitting up so you can guard locations is a good idea… unless it isn't.
Every situation is different, and thinking before you move is always wise.
Advance the Hour: You always begin your turn by discarding the top card of the hourglass faceup into the hourglass discards. The top card of this pile is the hour. If it lists an effect that happens when it is the hour, that effect happens now. (Other powers listed on the hour do not happen at this time, and you do not attempt to acquire the hour.) If you have to remove one or more cards from the hourglass for any reason and there aren't enough cards to do so, the party loses the scenario (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 16). After advancing the hour, apply any other effects that happen at the start of a turn.
Rules: Tracking the Hour
It's very easy to get excited about starting your turn, so much so that you might forget to advance the hour. Unfortunately, once you realize you've skipped it for the last few turns, it can be hard to figure out how many cards you need to flip to catch up. We recommend that when each player advances the hour, they orient that card so its text is right-side up to that player. (See the Card Setup diagram on page 5 for an illustration.) It makes for a messy-looking pile, but it also makes it really easy to see who last remembered to advance the hour.
Give a Card: You may give 1 card from your hand to another local character. (Characters typically cannot give you cards on your turn.)
Move: You may move your pawn to a distant location.
Rules: Local and Distant
Local refers to things at your location, while distant refers to things at other locations (including the locations themselves). For example, a local check is a check by a character at your location, while a distant character is a character at any other location.
Rules: Moving
Normally, you may choose to move only during your move step, but other effects may allow or force you to move at other times.
When you choose to move, select a distant location and move your pawn to it. Any effects that happen when you move happen at this time.
You may choose to move to your current location only if there are no other locations you can move to. Some effects can also move you to your current location. When this happens, do not apply any effects that happen when you move.
Some effects may prevent you from moving. If one effect would move you while another effect prevents you from moving, do not move.
Explore: You may explore your location once each turn without playing a card that allows you to explore; this must be your first exploration of your turn. You may never explore outside of your explore step. When you explore, first apply any effects that happen when you explore, then flip over the top card of your current location and encounter it. If it's a boon, attempt to acquire it; if it's a bane, attempt to defeat it (see Encountering a Card on page 8).
Many effects allow you to explore again on your turn; each exploration is a separate step. 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 1 additional exploration, not a series of additional explorations. For example, Ezren is at the Academy, which says "On your first exploration of your turn, if you encounter anything other than a spell, after the exploration you may explore." On his first exploration of his turn, he encounters and defeats the barrier Pit Trap, which says "If defeated, you may explore." He gains only 1 additional exploration, not 2.
If something grants you an additional exploration, after you finish what you are doing, you must immediately use that exploration or forfeit it.
Close Your Location: If your character is at a location that has no cards remaining, you may make one attempt to close it at this time (see Closing Your Location on page 15).
End Your Turn: First, apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn. While you do this, if a power directed you to end your turn, you may not play cards and use powers. Then, if you have any cards in a recovery pile, do whatever they say to do during recovery. While you do this, you may play cards or use powers only if they affect things that happen during recovery. (It's possible to play cards during recovery that go into the recovery pile themselves.) After you've dealt with them all, banish any that remain. Finally, reset your hand (see Resetting on page 14). When you're done, the turn passes to the player on your left.
Playing Cards
Anyone can play a card whenever the card allows it. Playing a card means using a power on that card by performing an action with that card that is specified by the card itself. You must do everything the power says when possible. When you play a boon has several powers, you must choose only one of them.
Choosing to activate a power on a character or on a displayed card also counts as playing that card.
Doing something with a card that does not use a power on that card does not count as playing that card. For example, Seelah has a power that allows her to discard an armor to add to a check. Since she's using a power on her character, it's being played. Since she's not using a power on the armor, it isn't being played.
If a character power applies when a specific thing happens, you may use it each time that happens; otherwise, you may use each power no more than once per check or step.
When you play a card, it usually requires you to take one of the following actions.
- Draw: Put it in your hand.
- 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: Put it faceup next to your deck, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function as long as it is displayed. Displaying a card and immediately activating a power on it counts as playing it once, not twice. When a character displays a card, it is not part of that character's hand, deck, or discards, but it still belongs to that character. If you display a boon for any reason other than playing it, ignore its powers.
- Reload: Put it on top of your deck.
- Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your deck.
- Discard: Put it into your discards—a stack of faceup cards next to your deck.
- Bury: Put it in your bury pile underneath your character (likely losing access to it for the rest of the scenario).
- Banish: Most cards you banish return to the vault, shuffled in with other cards of the same type. However, if you would banish a card you played that has a during recovery power, instead set it aside in a recovery pile. At the end of the turn, you can attempt to recover some of these cards (see End Your Turn on page 6).
When you reveal a card, it doesn't leave your hand. When you display a card, it leaves your hand immediately. When you banish a card, it goes into the vault or into a recovery pile. When you play cards by performing any other actions, set them aside while you process their effects in the order you set them aside. Usually this means you process them immediately, performing the actions in the order listed on the card. For example, if a card says "Recharge this card to recharge a card from your discards," recharge the card you're playing before recharging the card from your discards.
Sometimes you don't know what action to take and must leave a card set aside until you do. For example, an armor you're burying might allow you to succeed at a check to recharge it instead; set it aside until you know whether you succeed at the check. While set aside, a card does not count as being in your hand, your discards, your deck, or anywhere else.
Cards often have instructions that you need to follow after you play the card; follow these instructions even if the card is no longer in your hand (even if the card is out of your sight, such as in the vault or in your deck).
Strategy: Should You Always Explore?
The hourglass is a countdown timer, and it's very unforgiving. Regardless of whether you plan to explore on your turn, time passes. More exploration tends to lead to more success, but there are times you need to save some resources for later.
One reason might be the state of your hand or deck. If you have a scourge, you might want to wait for Kyra to come over and remove it before rushing ahead.
Another reason to cease exploration is so you can realign your party near the end of the game. If you just need someone to guard the Cell in case you find the villain, there's a risk that they can't get out when you need them to. Take the time to set your strategy, 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."
Example: Pay the Cost for Each Power Separately
If you have multiple powers that could apply, and they happen to have the same cost, you have to pay the cost for each power you want to use. For example, Ezren has the following powers:
On your turn, you may recharge a spell to examine the top card of your location. If you do, you may discard (check the box, or recharge) a card to explore.
You may recharge a card to add 1d4 (check the box for 1d6) to a local check against a Magic card.
If you are playing Ezren and want to increase your chances of acquiring a Lightning Bolt spell by recharging a Lightning Touch spell from your hand, you cannot also examine the top card of your location at the same time.
Example: Multiple Powers and Playing Freely
When you play a boon that has multiple powers, choose only one of them, even if playing the boon doesn't take it out of your hand. This rule applies even if you are allowed to play the boon freely.
For example, the item Bracers of Protection has the following powers:
When you suffer Combat damage, freely reveal to reduce it by 1.
When you suffer any damage, recharge to reduce it by 1.
So when you suffer Combat damage, you can either reveal or recharge to reduce the damage by 1, but you cannot reveal to reduce the damage by 1 then recharge to reduce it by another 1, even though one of those powers can be used freely.
Some weapons like Daggers break this rule by saying you can use a power freely even if you already revealed the card on the check.
Rules: Faceup Cards on Locations
Sometimes a card is left faceup on the top of a location. The card is still in the location, and it cannot leave the top of the location until it is defeated or the condition that caused it to be left faceup on the location has been resolved. If a faceup card tells you that you must do something during your first exploration on a turn, then you must do that thing 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 location for any other purpose. If multiple cards are left faceup on the same location, you may place them in any order and encounter them in that order, one per exploration. If you're instructed to put cards on top of the location, put them immediately below any faceup cards. If you're instructed to shuffle the location, leave any faceup cards on top.
Rules: Dealing with Cards
Unless a card says otherwise, drawing means taking a card from the specified place and adding it to your hand. If no place is specified, draw it from your deck. When you draw a card from a facedown stack, such as a character's deck, a location, the hourglass, or any other stack the game tells you to create, draw from the top of the stack. When you draw a card from a faceup pile, such as your discards, the hourglass discards, or any other pile the game tells you to create, draw a card of your choice. When you draw a card from the vault, unless you are told to draw a specific card, draw a random card of the appropriate type by shuffling the cards you're drawing from and drawing the top card. If you are told to draw a card of a particular type with some additional requirement (such as "a level 1 monster" or "an Arcane spell"), draw cards of that type until you find a card that fulfills the requirement; put the rest back.
This applies to actions other than drawing—for example, if you're told to bury a card from your deck, bury the top card; if you're told to bury a card from your discards, you choose the card.
When you are told to discard a card from a deck, put it on top of that deck's discards.
If a power says that using it counts as playing a boon, it counts as playing a card that has traits matching the skills the character is using as well as any traits that power adds.
If you are instructed to play, reveal, display, reload, discard, recharge, bury, banish, or otherwise manipulate a card, that card must come from your hand unless you are activating a power on a displayed card, in which case you activate it with the displayed card instead.
You may not use a power that doesn't apply to your current situation. For example, you may not play a card to reduce damage when damage isn't being suffered, and you may not play a card to evade a monster when you are not encountering a monster.
When a card leaves your hand, that action can activate only one power. For example, if you have a character power that says "discard a card to bless your check" and another power that says "discard a card to add the Fire trait to your check," you can't discard one card to activate both powers. Similarly, if you have a character power that says "discard a weapon to add a die to your check," and a card in your hand that says "discard a weapon and this card to add a die to your check," you can't discard one weapon to satisfy both requirements.
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 perform only specific actions at specific times (see Encountering a Card on page 8).
Your cards include the cards in your hand as well as your displayed cards, discards, bury pile, recovery pile, and deck. You can look through your displayed cards, your discards, your bury pile, and your recovery pile at any time. You may not look through your 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 must attempt to acquire it (if it's a boon) or defeat it (if it's a bane) by going through a series of steps. No one else can perform these steps for you, though others might be able to play cards to help you deal with the encounter's challenges.
During each step, characters may play only cards or use only powers that relate to that step, or that relate directly to cards played or powers used in that step. If a character power applies when a specific thing happens, you may use it each time that happens; otherwise, you may use each power no more than once per step. Each character may play any number of cards, but collectively, the party may play no more than one of each type of boon; powers that can be played freely do not count toward this limit. For example, if Amiri plays a weapon on a check, Valeros may play a weapon on that check only if it can be played freely. Characters may not play cards or use powers between these steps.
If the card you're encountering is immune to a particular trait, during the encounter, characters may not use powers that would add that trait to any check against that card, or play cards that have the specified trait unless a power is used to remove or ignore that trait or the immunity. If the card you're encountering requires or allows a check that can affect your check to acquire or defeat, resolve that check before you begin the check to acquire or defeat.
During the encounter, effects might cause the card you're encountering to be acquired, defeated, or undefeated. This does not end the encounter unless the effect specifically says it does.
If you move during an encounter, any effects that would happen after the encounter do not happen.
If you are forced to end your turn before an encounter ends, shuffle the encountered card back into its location, or if it was summoned, banish it; it is neither defeated nor undefeated, and the encounter is over.
If the card you're encountering is a villain, there are a few extra steps, labeled "villain steps." If the card you're encountering is not a villain, ignore these steps.
Start the encounter by reading the card, then go through all of the following steps that apply in order.
Apply Any Effects That Happen When You Encounter a Card. If any powers happen 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. Powers that relate to evading the card you're encountering take effect at this time. You may also use powers or cards that let you evade the card you're encountering. If you evade the card, do not activate any other powers on it; the encounter is over. If it is a boon, you did not acquire it; if it is a bane, it is neither defeated nor undefeated. If it came from a location or another stack of cards, shuffle it back in; if it came from the vault, return it to the vault.
Villain Step: Attempt to Guard Distant Locations. Each character at a distant location from the villain may immediately attempt to fulfill the To Guard requirement for their location; the villain's location cannot be guarded. You may decide the order in which these attempts are made. If anything causes a character to move to another distant location before their attempt is made, they may attempt to guard only their new location. If any character succeeds, their location is guarded and the villain cannot escape there this encounter (see Determine Whether the Villain Escapes on page 10). Guarding a location only prevents the villain from escaping there during this encounter; when the encounter ends, the location is no longer guarded.
Apply Any Effects That Happen Before Acting. If any other powers happen before acting, they take effect at this time. You may also use powers or cards that say they can be used before acting.
Attempt the Check. Most cards you encounter require you to attempt a check to acquire or defeat. See Attempting a Check on page 11.
Each boon 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 those checks.
Each bane 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 those checks. If you fail a check to defeat a monster, you suffer damage (see Suffer Damage, If Necessary on page 12).
If a card's check says "None" or "See Below," the card's powers will tell you what to do. If the check is listed as "None" and the power does not state the requirements to acquire or defeat, the card cannot be acquired or defeated.
If a power allows you to automatically defeat or acquire a card, you may use it instead of attempting the check. Doing so counts as succeeding at all checks and requirements to defeat or acquire the card. You may not use such a power against any card that does not have a check to acquire or defeat, or against any card that has a check you're not allowed to succeed at.
After you attempt the check, deal with any effects that were caused by the check. For example, if you failed a check to defeat a monster, suffer damage. If any cards played while attempting a check included their own checks, resolve the current check in this step and the new checks in subsequent steps.
Rules: Compatibility with Other Sets
Cards in the Core Set are compatible with cards from other sets, though certain cards from one set may not be as effective in another one.
When the same characters or cohorts appear in different sets, they are represented with different cards having different abilities and powers. To distinguish between them, we add the name of the set the card came from to the card name. For example, "Core Set Ezren" is a different card than "Rise of the Runelords Ezren," so you may not exchange roles between them.
Older cards sometimes used slightly different rules and terminology; see the Transition Guide on page 26 for details.
Rules: Invokes
A check invokes a trait if it has or is against a card that has that trait. A card invokes a trait if it has that trait. A bane also invokes a trait if it deals only damage of the type that matches that trait.
Rules: Healing
When a power heals you, shuffle the specified number (and, if specified, type) of random cards from your discards into your deck. If you're discarding a card to heal yourself, exclude that card from the cards you're healing.
Rules: Timing
When more than one thing would happen at the same time, you may decide the order in which those things happen. However, anything that happens "immediately" must happen before any other things.
Strategy: Should You Acquire Every Boon?
The short answer is "absolutely." At minimum, a boon is something you can give up as damage when some monster cracks your skull open. But there's another reason: your fellow adventurer might want you to give it to them.
This is sometimes trickier than it looks. To give a card to someone, you must start your turn at that character's location. They might have to come to you to get it, assuming you even still have it in your hand when they get there. Coordinating a timely rendezvous can lead to a villain's untimely demise. Even if the boon isn't critical to the moment at hand, it can be worthwhile to acquire it for your friends—remember that you can trade cards in between scenarios.
Things are much easier, of course, if the character who wants a particular boon can get it on their own. If you're able to look ahead in the location or evade cards, you can tell another player about a useful card. Then they can spend their turns trying to get it and you can get on with your own goals.
Rules: Active and Optional Powers
There are usually a lot of cards in play in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. But you don't need to worry about doing what all of them say all the time. Generally, powers on cards are only active in certain situations.
- Cards in your hand — Powers on cards in your hand are active only when you choose to play them.
- Cards you examine — When you examine cards, only powers that say they happen when you examine the card are active.
- Banes you encounter — All of a bane's applicable powers are active while you encounter it.
- Boons you encounter — When you encounter a boon, the only powers that are active are ones that say they happen when you encounter it, if you acquire it, or if you fail to acquire it.
- Other cards you encounter — When you encounter a card that isn't a bane or a boon, the only powers that are active are ones that say they happen when you encounter it.
- Cards in the hourglass and hourglass discards — The only powers that are active on these cards are ones that say they happen when they are discarded from the hourglass or when that card is the hour.
- Locations — Most powers on locations are active only when characters are at that location, but a few location powers affect other situations.
- Other cards — Powers on cards on the table—including characters and displayed cards—are active whenever they are appropriate. Powers on cards in locations, in the vault, and in your discards, buried pile, deck, and recovery pile are not active.
Playing cards from your hand is optional. Active powers on all other cards are only optional if they say "you may" do something.
Rules: Affecting the Situation
In some situations, you are limited to playing cards or using powers that affect or otherwise relate to the current situation. In these cases, the things you do cannot require anyone to do something else for your action to be meaningful—the things you do must directly affect the situation. For example, let's say that a character is attempting a check using a power that adds 1 to her check for each blessing in her hand, and a second character has a power that allows him to give the first character a card. He could give her a blessing, because that doesn't require any other action to affect the check. But he could not give her a card that can be played to draw a blessing from the vault, because she would have to do something else—in this case, play the card he gave her—to affect the check.
Attempt the Next Check, If Needed. If another check is required, attempt it now. For example, some banes you encounter require a second check to defeat, and some armors you play let you attempt a check to recharge them instead of discarding or burying them. Repeat this step until you resolve all such checks.
Apply Any Effects That Happen After Acting. Whether or not you succeeded at your checks, any powers that happen after acting take effect at this time. You may also use powers that say they can be used after acting.
Resolve the Encounter. If the encounter is with a boon, and you succeeded at all of the checks required to acquire it, draw it. Otherwise, banish it. In either case, the encounter is over.
If the encounter is with a bane, and you succeeded at all of the checks required to defeat it, it is defeated; if it is not a villain, banish it and the encounter is over. If you did not succeed at all of the checks required to defeat the bane, it is undefeated; if no local character wishes to avenge your encounter (see below), apply all effects that happen when the bane is undefeated, then shuffle the bane back into its location.
Avenge the Encounter. Another local character may avenge your encounter with an undefeated bane by burying a card to encounter it. If the encounter is avenged, first apply effects that happen when the bane is undefeated, ignoring steps and effects that would cause the bane to go anywhere. Then, the avenging character begins a new encounter against the same bane. It works in a similar manner; for example, if defeating the bane would have allowed the first character to attempt to close the location, the avenging character would get that opportunity after defeating the bane. Only one avenging attempt can be made for each bane.
Villain Step: If You Defeated a Villain, Close the Villain's Location. You do not need to fulfill the To Close requirement. Search the location for additional villains:
- If you don't find any villains, the location's When Closed effect happens: First, apply any effects that say "before closing." Then banish all of the cards from the location; it is now closed. Finally, apply any effects that say "on closing" and put the location card back into the vault. The location is no longer in play, and all characters that were at that location always immediately move. After the encounter, the exploring character may no longer explore.
- If you find any villains, the location is not closed. Banish any cards in the location except any remaining villains and shuffle the deck; if all distant locations are guarded, banish the villain you encountered.
Villain Step: Determine Whether the Villain Escapes. If any locations are unguarded, the villain escapes. (Note that if you did not defeat the villain, there is normally at least one unguarded location: the one in which it was just encountered.)
If you defeated the villain, count the number of unguarded locations, subtract 1, and retrieve that number of random blessings from the vault. Shuffle the villain in with those blessings, then deal 1 card to each unguarded location and shuffle those locations.
If the villain is undefeated, do the same, but instead of taking the blessings from the vault, search the hourglass until you find as many blessings as you need.
Villain Step: If the Villain Has Nowhere to Escape to, You Win! See After the Scenario below. Some scenarios may have other conditions for winning; if a villain can't escape but you haven't met these conditions, banish the villain and continue play.
Attempting a Check
Many times during the game, you'll need to succeed at checks to do things, like acquiring weapons or defeating monsters. Many cards require checks to activate powers or to let you recharge them after playing them. 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. Checks typically list one or more skills followed by a difficulty; for example, "a Strength 10 check" or "an Arcane or Divine 8 check."
Most monsters and many other cards call for a combat check. Typically, when you attempt a combat check, you'll use a power that tells you what skill to use for your combat check; if you aren't using such a power, use your Strength or Melee skill for your combat 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, with one exception: if a card requires sequential checks to acquire or defeat, the character who encountered the card must attempt at least one of the checks, but any others may each be attempted by any local character. 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.
You may choose to fail a check; if you do, your result is 0.
Attempting a check requires several actions that are explained below.
Determine Which Skill You're Using. Choose a skill listed by the check. You may choose a skill that isn't listed on your character; when you use such a skill, your die is a d4.
Some powers allow you to use a particular skill for a specific type of check. These powers say things like "For your combat check, use Dexterity or Ranged." You may use only one such power to determine which skill you're using.
Other powers allow you to use one skill instead of another. These powers say things like "when you attempt a Perception check, you may use Knowledge" or "use Strength instead of Diplomacy."
A few cards that can be used on checks don't use any of your skills; they instead specify the exact dice to roll, or the result of your roll.
The skill you chose from the list, the skill you're using, and any skill referenced by that skill, are all added as traits to the check. For example, if you choose combat from the list, then play a weapon that lets you use your Ranged skill for a combat check, and your Ranged skill is "Dexterity +2," the check is a Dexterity Ranged combat check. Your character's traits are also added to the check (so if you're Fumbus, your checks have the Goblin and Alchemist traits).
If you play a card to determine the skill you're using, that card's traits are also added to the check; for example, playing the spell Acid Arrow for your combat check adds the Magic, Arcane, Attack, and Acid traits to the check.
If a power adds an additional skill or die to a check, that skill or die is not added as a trait to the check. For example, a card that adds your Strength die to your combat check does not add the Strength trait to your check.
Rules: Optional vs. Required Checks
- If you are instructed to attempt a check, you must do so, although you may choose to fail; if you do, your result is 0.
- If you are instructed to succeed at a check to do a thing, and the instruction does not use the word "may," you must attempt the check; if you succeed, you must do that thing.
- If you are instructed to succeed at a check or do a thing, you must attempt the check; if you fail, you must do that thing.
- If you are instructed to either attempt a check or do something else, choose one of those options.
- If you are presented with two or more options, none of which require a check, you may choose any of those options.
You may not choose an impossible option unless you have no other choice.
Rules: Skills, Dice, and Modifiers
If your character 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 also says "Melee: Strength +3," your Melee skill is d10+4, your Melee die is d10, and the Melee modifier is +4.
Strategy: Should You Look Ahead?
Many things let you look at cards in location decks before you encounter them, from Ezren or Harsk's powers to spells like Magic Eye. This can be a tremendous help as you race the hourglass.
Finding the villain early can mean the difference between success and failure. A spell like Clairvoyance can drive a villain to the top of a deck, leaving it waiting for you to return while you loot and lock down other locations.
Of course, all that peeking ahead comes at an opportunity cost: you could replace Clairvoyance in your deck with a spell that helps you defeat banes and acquire boons. Finding that monster is all well and good, but someone has to be able to beat it.
Looking ahead can also be dangerous. Cards that have the Trigger trait have powers that activate when you examine them. You can find yourself suddenly being bitten by a Termite Swarm or jumped by a Warband because you peeked ahead.
Rules: Bless
When a power blesses your check, it adds 1 additional die of the type determined by the skill you're using. If it blesses your check twice, it adds 2 dice, and so on. So if you're using your Strength of d10, and you're blessed twice, you'll roll 3d10.
If your check doesn't use a skill because a power specifies the type of die to use, blessing the check adds another die of that type.
If a power blesses by a deity, or if a card used to bless has the Deity trait, add the deity's name as a trait to the check. For example, if a check is "blessed by Sarenrae" or is blessed by a card that has the trait "Deity: Sarenrae," add the Sarenrae trait to the check.
Any card that refers to a blessing of a particular deity applies to any blessing that has that deity's name as a trait.
Rules: Rolling Dice
The game comes with five dice: a 4-sider, 6-sider, 8-sider, 10-sider, and 12-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, 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 1 10-sided die and 1 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.
Determine the Difficulty. To succeed at a check, the result of your die roll and modifiers must be greater than or equal to the difficulty of the check.
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.
If you are asked to determine the lowest or highest difficulty to defeat or acquire a card, include all active powers from cards that affect the difficulty except for powers that say they happen before acting, while acting, or after acting. If a card has no difficulty, treat it as 0.
Play Cards and Use Powers That Affect Your Check. Characters may now play cards or use powers that affect your check. (Remember that collectively, the party may play no more than one of each type of boon during a check, although powers that say they can be played freely do not count toward that limit.)
Some powers may allow you to replace a specific die with a different one. For example, Lini can activate a power on her Wild Whisperer role to roll a d10 instead of her Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution die.
Characters may not use powers that modify a skill when you're not using that skill, and characters may not use powers that affect combat checks when you're not attempting a combat check.
Cards played at this time do not add their traits to the check; for example, playing the spell Aid to add to a check does not give the check the Magic trait.
Assemble Your Dice. The skill you're using and the powers that were used determine the number and type of dice you roll. For example, if you're using Dexterity, and your Dexterity die is d6, you'll roll 1d6. If someone played a spell to add 1d8 to that check, you'll roll 1d6+1d8.
Roll the Dice. Roll the dice and add up their value, adding or subtracting any modifiers that apply to the check. If a card is vulnerable to any number of traits that are used on the check, add 4. If a card is resistant to any number of traits used, subtract 4. No matter how many penalties are applied to a roll of the dice, the result cannot be reduced below 0.
Powers that allow or require you to reroll dice happen now; each such power can reroll dice no more than once per check. You may spend a hero point to reroll the dice once, on your own check only. If a power tells you to reroll dice without specifying which ones, reroll them all. You must take the new result unless the power says otherwise.
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.
Suffer Damage, If Necessary. If you fail a check to defeat a monster, you suffer an amount of damage equal to the difference between the difficulty and the 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, you suffer 2 Combat damage (see Suffering Damage on page 13). (Remember that collectively, the party may play no more than one of each type of boon during a check, so if someone already played a spell on the check, a spell can't be played to reduce damage.)
Suffering Damage
When you suffer damage from a source such as a monster or a location, you and other characters may only do things that reduce or otherwise affect the specific damage type you're suffering. (If a card says it reduces damage with no type listed, it reduces all types of damage.) For example, if you're suffering Fire damage, you may play cards that reduce Fire damage or cards that reduce all damage, but you may not play cards that reduce only Combat or Electricity damage. Collectively, the party may play no more than one boon of each type to affect damage to the same character from the same source, although powers that say they can be played freely do not count toward that limit.
Determine the amount of damage to be applied, then 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.
Dying
If, for any reason, you are ever required to remove one or more cards from your deck and you don't have enough cards, your character dies. Bury your deck, hand, recovery pile, displayed cards, and discards; your turn immediately ends. You cannot take turns, play cards, move, attempt checks, do anything, or affect anything while you are dead; effects that refer to characters do not affect you unless they specifically refer to dead characters.
Certain powerful cards allow characters to return from death during the scenario. Alternatively, at the end of the scenario, if you are dead, you may spend all of your hero points (minimum 1) to return from death; you are no longer dead, and receive rewards as if you had not died (see After the Scenario on page 16). Otherwise, 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 returned to the vault.
If all of the characters are dead, the party loses the scenario (see Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 16).
If your character dies, start a new character for the next scenario. Choose a character (it can be the same character who just died, though you do not get any of the feats that character previously had) and build a new deck as described in Build Your Deck on page 4, choosing cards with a maximum level of the most recently played scenario's adventure number minus 2 (minimum 0).
Searching and Examining
Sometimes a power allows you to search a stack of cards and choose any card of a particular type; that means you may look at every card in that stack and choose any card of that type. Unless instructed otherwise, shuffle the stack afterwards.
Sometimes a power allows you to examine one or more cards in a stack—that means looking at the specified card then putting it back where it came from. (Examining is not exploring, though it may happen during an exploration.) If you are examining a location, when determining which cards you are examining, consider only facedown cards.
If a power tells you to examine something until you find a particular card type, begin with the top card and stop when you find a card of the specified type. If you don't find a card of that type, ignore any directions related to that card.
Examine the cards in the order you find them, and put them back in the same order unless instructed otherwise. If anything would cause you to shuffle the stack you are examining, shuffle only after you put back any examined cards that do not leave the stack.
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?
Usually 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 Harsk reloading a weapon to add to another character's check. You might spend a blessing to get a boon that you can't use so you can 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 readily, and there's a good reason for it. Your character is a living, growing entity. Your choices determine whether your character succeeds and improves. If you let your friends make decisions for you, you might not be looking out for yourself.
Rules: Character Proxies in Locations
Some cards require you to shuffle a proxy for your character into a location. Use any proxy card that isn't being used in the scenario, and set your pawn on its side. While your proxy is in a location, you may explore, encounter cards, and play cards, but you can never move, and you must evade any banes you encounter. When the proxy is examined, encountered, or would be removed from the game, return it to the vault and set your pawn upright.
Strategy: Should You Burn Through Your Deck?
Playing a character such as Amiri or Ezren gives you ways to churn through your deck faster, discarding cards quickly to add to your checks or 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.
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 puts you 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 be able to put them to better use if you hold on to them just a little longer—it's still worth playing them. Discarding cards for no gain is more painful.
Rules: Counting Resources
If you're required to do something with a certain number of things and there aren't that many things available, use as many as there are. For example, if you're told to choose 2 characters at a location occupied by only 1 character, choose only that character. 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 do anything with any number of cards from the hourglass, other than shuffle it, and you don't have enough cards, you lose the scenario; if that happens with your deck, your character dies.)
Note that this only applies when you are required to do something. If you have the opportunity to do something that requires a limited resource, and you don't have enough of that resource, you cannot do that thing. For example, if the requirement to close your location is "recharge 2 spells" and you have only 1 spell, you cannot close that location.
When a power or effect refers to "any number" of something, that number must be at least 1.
Cards that have the Trigger trait have powers that happen when you examine that card. When a card has the Trigger trait, it's highlighted in red and listed first so you can easily spot it. If you are examining multiple cards and a triggered power interrupts your examinations, set the remaining cards aside and examine them after you deal with the triggered power. While set aside, the cards still count as being in the location.
If a card tells you to examine a card and then encounter it, and the card you examine says that you encounter it when you examine it, encounter it only once.
Resetting
Do the following whenever you are instructed to reset. First, apply any effects that happen when you reset. You may play cards or use powers only if they say they may be used when you reset. Next, 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. If you don't have enough cards left in your deck, your character dies (see Dying on page 13).
Summoned Cards and New Cards
Sometimes you will be told to summon a card or to do something with a new card. When this happens, retrieve the card from the vault.
If you're told to summon a card that's already being used, 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. A summoned card can't cause you to summon a copy of itself or of the card that summoned it.
Summon and Encounter. Summon the card and encounter it. This starts a new encounter. If you're already in an encounter, complete the encounter with the summoned card before continuing the original encounter. If you're told to summon and encounter the danger, summon the danger listed by the scenario and encounter it; if the scenario lists more than one danger, randomly choose one of them. If you're told to summon and encounter a boon, and you acquire it, draw it. Otherwise, after evading a summoned card or resolving the encounter with it, always put it back in the vault 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, defeating it does not allow you to win the scenario. Summoned cards are not part of any location.
Summon and Acquire/Summon and Defeat: The To Close or To Guard section on some locations requires you to do this. Summon and encounter the card; if you do not acquire or defeat it, the location is not closed.
Summon and Play. Immediately draw the card from the vault and play it, using any power on it that can be used in the current circumstance, then banish it. If no power on it can be used in the current circumstance, banish it.
Add a New Card. You may be instructed to add a new card to the top or the bottom of a deck or other stack of cards. Otherwise, any cards added to a stack are shuffled into it.
Add a New Location. If it's not already built, retrieve the location from the vault and build the location as usual; do not add villains or henchmen unless instructed to do so. The location and its deck become part of the location list for the rest of the scenario.
Closing Your Location
You may earn the opportunity to close your location in a number of ways. If the scenario lists a henchman with the word "closing," you may attempt to close your location after defeating that henchman from that location. If your location is empty, you may attempt to close it during the Close Your Location step of your turn (see Your Turn on page 6). You can never attempt to close a distant location or a location that is guarded. (Guarding stops a villain from escaping to a guarded location, but does not close it; see Attempt to Guard Distant Locations on page 9.)
When you have the opportunity and want to close your location, do whatever the location's To Close 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 To Close text offers multiple options separated by "or," choose one of the options before you use any powers, play any cards, or roll any dice. If you succeed at meeting the To Close requirement, search the location for villains. If you find any, banish all non-villain cards from the location. The location is not closed—but at least you know where those villains are!
If you didn't find any villains, perform the When Closed effect: First, apply any effects that say "before closing." Then banish all of the cards from the location; it is now closed. Finally, apply any effects that say "on closing" and put the location card back into the vault. The location is no longer in play, and all characters that were at that location always immediately move.
If a location is closed during your explore step, you may no longer explore.
Strategy: Where Should You Explore?
When you're adventuring, you can go wherever you want… but not all locations are created equal.
Start by reading all of the locations. You might be able to discard a blessing to explore again, but if you're at the Cathedral, will you have a blessing to bury when you need to guard or close it?
If you defeat a location's only closing henchman and then you can't close the location, you'll have to deal with all of its cards before you can try again. It might be better just to leave it open and be ready to guard it when the villain appears.
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. So when you're blessing 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 hourglass is running down, conservatism is often the wiser course. If it's your combat check and you think you need the blessing to succeed, 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.
Example: Closing a Location
Kyra has defeated the final card in the Cell location, and she is now attempting to close the location. The Cell's When Closing section offers two options: Kyra can either bury an ally or she can succeed at a Strength or Disable check with a difficulty of 6 plus the adventure number. She's playing a scenario in adventure 1, so the difficulty is 7. She has the ally Acolyte in her hand, but she wants to keep it, so she chooses to attempt the check instead. She doesn't have the Disable skill, so she uses her Strength skill of d8. She plays the blessing Prayer to bless the check, which adds another Strength die to the check. She rolls 2d8 and gets a 10, which is enough to close the Cell. Its When Closed power is activated, so she draws a new ally from the vault, randomly selecting a Tinker. She puts the Cell card in the Vault, and since she now has to move, she decides to go to the Academy. Since a location closed during her explore step, she can no longer explore this turn.
After the Scenario
Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path
If at any point you need to advance the hourglass but there are no cards remaining in it, immediately end the current turn; the scenario 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 13). You do not earn the reward on the scenario, and you didn't complete that scenario. You must replay it and complete it successfully before you can attempt the next scenario.
If the party corners the villain, or closes all of the locations, or achieves a condition for winning listed on the scenario, they win.
Whether you won or lost, do the following steps in order.
First, if any character is dead, that character may return from death by spending all their hero points (minimum 1). If they do, they are no longer dead and earn rewards as if they hadn't died. If they do not, the character's death is permanent, and they do not earn rewards.
Next, if you won, the party earns the reward listed on the scenario. If you completed every scenario in the current adventure, the party also earns the adventure reward, and if you completed every scenario in the Adventure Path, the party earns the Adventure Path reward. Common rewards include hero points and Loot cards (see the corresponding sidebars). At some point in most Adventure Paths, you will be rewarded with a role (see Roles on page 20).
Next, if any boons that are displayed or in a recovery pile could be recovered, banished, or removed from the game when a certain condition is met (such as during recovery, at the end of an encounter or a turn, or when a location closes), process them as if that condition is occurring; treat all characters as local while doing this. Then put all non-boons back in the vault. Next, rebuild your deck (see Rebuilding on page 17). Finally, put any remaining cards back in the vault.
When you are ready, prepare the next scenario. Normally, if you failed, you should choose to replay the same scenario, and if you succeeded, you may proceed to the next scenario in the adventure. If you completed the adventure, before beginning the next adventure, upgrade the vault by following the instructions on the Adventure Path page of the storybook.
You may instead replay a scenario you have already completed, but you may not earn the reward from a given scenario, adventure, or Adventure Path more than once unless the reward specifically says otherwise.
After you complete the Adventure Path, you can build your own scenarios using the cards you have, you can create new characters and replay the same Adventure Path, or you can start one of several other Adventure Paths we've published.
Rebuilding
After each scenario, whether you won or lost, you must rebuild your deck. Start by combining your discards with your hand, your deck, your bury pile, and any cards you displayed; you may then trade cards with other characters. Your deck must end up meeting the deck list requirements on your character. You may not keep cards whose level is higher than the most recently played scenario's adventure number, with the exception of Loot cards (see Loot on page 17).
If you can't construct a valid deck from the cards your group has available because you don't have enough of certain cards, choose the extra cards you need from the vault, with a maximum level of the most recently played scenario's adventure number minus 2 (minimum 0). If you have cards left over after rebuilding all of the surviving characters' decks, put them back in the vault.
If you want to start a new character, you may, but it's important that you do not keep decks built for characters you're not actively playing—doing so would use up cards that you should be encountering during play. 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 vault until you want to play that character again.
Rules: Hero Points
When you are awarded a hero point, you can immediately spend it to gain a feat (see Feats on page 19). If you don't spend it to gain a feat, draw a hero point marker and keep it with your character until you spend it; when you spend it, return it to the box.
During a scenario, you can spend 1 hero point to reroll the dice on your check (see Roll the Dice on page 12). After a scenario, you can spend all of your hero points (minimum 1) to return from death (see After the Scenario on page 16). You can only spend a hero point to gain a feat when it is awarded to you.
Rules: Loot
When the party is rewarded with a Loot card, retrieve it from the box. Its level is the adventure number plus 1 (so it may be with cards separated by the Future Adventures divider).
Any character in the party may take it; when rebuilding (see Rebuilding on page 17), that character's deck must still conform to their deck list, but they may keep the Loot card although its level is higher than the most recently played scenario's adventure number.
If no character takes the Loot card, put it in the vault.
Play It Your Way
Before each scenario, decide whether you want to make the game easier (usually making it shorter as well) or harder (usually making it longer). Options that decrease the number of explorations required to complete the scenario generally shorten it the most, and options that increase that number generally lengthen it the most. Consider the following options:
Change the Size of Some or All Locations. Normal mode uses medium-sized locations (typically 9 cards plus any story banes). To make the game easier, use small locations (typically 3 fewer cards); to make it harder, use large locations (typically 3 more cards). This will generally change the number of explorations needed to finish the game by about 2 per location.
Change the Number of Locations. Normal mode uses all of the locations listed by the scenario for the number of characters you have. To make the game easier, decrease the number of locations by 1; to make it harder, increase it by 1. This will generally change the number of explorations needed to finish the game by about 4 (for small locations) to about 7 (for large locations). Be careful reducing the number of locations in scenarios that use villains, as doing so may make it too easy to corner the villain. Also, some scenarios depend on certain locations being present, so be careful to avoid breaking the game.
Strategy: Should You Adjust the Challenge?
The real question here is "are you having fun?" Play several scenarios in Normal mode first, then try out any adjustments that you think will make the game more fun for you.
If you fail the same scenario a couple of times, consider lowering the difficulty just for that scenario. If you regularly fail enough scenarios that you're not having fun, there's no shame in making things easier.
If you never fail, consider raising the difficulty just to find out whether a greater challenge is more fun for you. And after you've finished all the scenarios once, try out Heroic difficulty to significantly spice up a replay.
Even if you're happy with the difficulty, it's worth experimenting with location and hourglass sizes to get the game length you want. Or change things up just to give the game a different feel. For example, playing with a smaller hourglass changes the game dramatically: whether or not any given turn is more difficult, the game will feel much more pressure-packed. That's specifically fun for when you have only an hour to kill and you want to maximize the killing an hour can get you.
Change the Hourglass Size. This directly impacts how many turns you have. Normal mode has 30 blessings in the hourglass. Using fewer blessings makes for a faster game that is also more difficult. Using more makes the game easier, and may also increase the time required.
Adjust the Adventure Number and Bane Level. For a harder game, when you build the vault, include banes 1 level higher than the current adventure number; this introduces more difficult barriers and monsters sooner. When you do this, also treat the adventure number as 1 higher for banes; this increases the difficulty to defeat Veteran banes. For an easier game, you can treat the adventure number as 1 lower for banes, but you should still build the vault with banes that have levels up to the current adventure number.
Add Wildcards. To add wildcards, place 1 or more wildcards on the table and apply any number of powers from them. Mark the chosen powers with a marker. Each one you add increases the challenge by a small amount—requiring perhaps a few extra explorations, inflicting the loss of a few cards either directly or through expenditure. You may choose wildcards that you particularly enjoy, but consider adding random wildcards for additional challenge.
Decreasing the size of locations while increasing their number, or vice versa, is a great way to customize your play experience. Or, for a fast-paced game that has a similar level of challenge to Normal mode, combine small locations and an hourglass of 12 blessings plus 2 additional blessings per character.
Normal, Heroic, and Legendary Modes
Each scenario can be won in three modes: Normal (N), Heroic (H), and Legendary (L). After completing a scenario in Normal mode, consider replaying in Heroic or Legendary mode for additional challenge and entertainment. The Adventure Path page of the storybook has columns to record your success for each scenario in each of these modes.
Normal. Use the standard number of medium-sized locations, 30 blessings in the hourglass, and no wildcards (apart from any specified by the scenario).
Heroic. Increase the challenge over Normal in two ways described above, typically by adding 2 wildcards.
Legendary. Increase the challenge over Normal in four ways outlined above, typically by adding 3 wildcards and increasing both the adventure number for banes and the vault's bane level by 1.
When your character completes all of the scenarios in any adventure in either Heroic or Legendary mode, you may erase 1 feat then gain 1 feat of the same type you erased.
(If you decrease the challenge below Normal by using smaller locations, fewer locations, a larger hourglass, or a lower adventure number, that's Easy mode. There's no special reward for that.)
Card Types
Characters
Each character has unique skills, powers, and decks. Characters include the following information.
Feats: The checkboxes on your character are feats. See the Feats sidebar at right.
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. When you reset, you must discard or draw cards so you have exactly this number of cards again.
Proficiencies: Some cards are more useful for characters who are proficient with them. You are proficient with a card if you are proficient with its card type or any of its traits. If a proficiency lists a trait combined with a card type, such as "Alchemical item," you are proficient with boons of that card type only if they have that trait.
Powers: Each character has powers you can use to affect the game. Unless a character power says "you may," it is active whenever it is appropriate. For example, Fumbus's Boomshaker role has a power that causes him to draw a card at the end of his exploration—even if he's running out of cards in his deck. You may use as many character powers during each check or step as you like, though no more than once each, except for powers that happen when particular effects occur.
Deck List: At the start of each scenario, your deck must contain exactly the listed quantity of each boon 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.
Favored Card: Your character begins each scenario with at least 1 card matching this description in hand (see Draw Starting Hands on page 5).
Rules: Feats
Character and role cards include a number of checkboxes called feats. If you are rewarded with a hero point after a scenario, you may immediately spend it to gain a feat, meaning you check one of these boxes to receive an ongoing benefit to your character (see Hero Points on page 17). You cannot use feats you haven't checked off. There are three types of feats.
Skill Feats: These provide a modifier for a particular skill; you add the modifier to any check you attempt using 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 using your Charisma skill (see Attempting a Check on page 11).
Power Feats: These provide new powers or improve existing powers. If your character has a power adding 1d4 to another character's combat check, and you've checked the "+1" box next to it, you'll add 1d4+1. These modifiers apply only when using the power on your character; if you instead play a card with a similar power, the feat modifier doesn't apply. Many power feats are enclosed by parentheses; until you check the box associated with it, ignore the entire parenthetical. Feats modifying hand size or proficiencies also count as power feats.
Card Feats: Each of these allows you to keep one more card of a particular type in your deck. After you gain a card feat, use the new number on your deck list when rebuilding.
When you gain a feat, you may choose any type, but for each type, the maximum number you may check is equal to the adventure number of the last scenario you completed. So if you most recently played a scenario in Adventure 2, you may have a maximum of 2 skill feats, 2 power feats, and 2 card feats checked.
When a power starts with a checkbox, that checkbox must be checked before any feat inside it. If two or more feats are adjacent, they must be checked in order from left to right. 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. Numeric checkboxes aren't cumulative—that is, "+2" replaces "+1"; 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.
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 is level 0.
Rules: Promo Cards
We occasionally publish promotional cards. These can be identified by a P in front of its level. When upgrading the vault, you may add up to one of each promo card when you add other cards of its level.
Rules: Markers
Many effects—most commonly scourges—involve marking cards. To mark a card, place a marker on it. (Use different markers for each source that marks cards.) On one side of each marker is a symbol that can be used for a particular scourge. On the other is a hero point symbol.
Roles
Each character has a corresponding role card, which is given as a reward in most Adventure Paths. Each side of your role card presents a different role, allowing you to choose one of two different paths for your character's continuing advancement.
When you are rewarded with a role, select one of the two sides. Then, check all of its feats that match feats you've already checked on your character. For example, if you have checked any feats to increase your hand size on your character, check those same feats on your role. Whenever you play that character, place the same side of your role card directly over the Powers section of your character; it counts as part of your character. When you gain power feats, choose them from the same side of your role card; do not check them on your character.
If your role is banished, you regain it at the start of the next scenario.
Locations
Locations represent the places your characters visit during the scenario. If any character is at a location, it is considered occupied. Locations have the following features.
At This Location: These are effects that happen while you are at the location, unless stated otherwise.
To Close or To Guard: This tells you what to do when you have the opportunity to close or to guard your location. You may attempt to close your location after you defeat a closing henchman, or after the location runs out of cards (see Closing Your Location on page 15). You may attempt to guard your location when a distant character encounters a villain (see Attempt to Guard Distant Locations on page 9).
When Closed: When a location is closed, the effects listed here happen.
Deck List: This tells you the quantity of each card type you need to set up the location (see Build the Locations on page 5). Quantities are listed for small, medium, and large locations (see Play It Your Way on page 18).
Support Cards (Cohort, Scourge, Story Bane Roster, and Wildcard)
Support cards supplement various features of the game. Support cards do not count as either banes or boons.
Cohort: These are companions that some characters get at the start of a scenario. (The Core Set does not include any characters that use cohorts; they can be found in certain class decks and Adventure Paths.) If the back of your character lists a cohort at the bottom of your deck list, after you draw your starting hand, add your cohort to it.
If you encounter a cohort in a location, you automatically acquire it. If you would banish a cohort from a location, you may encounter it instead. Otherwise, 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.
Scourge: These cards have lasting negative effects. When a card tells you to suffer a scourge, if that scourge isn't already displayed, draw it from the vault and display it, then choose a marker design that isn't already in use and mark it. Then place a corresponding marker next to your character. While so marked by a scourge, that scourge's powers apply to you.
If you suffer a scourge that you already have a marker for, the scourge has no additional effect; do not add another marker.
If you encounter a scourge in a location, immediately suffer it; the encounter is over.
Some effects cause a scourge to mark a location. If you're at a location when it is marked, or if you end your turn at a marked location, suffer the corresponding scourge.
Powers that remove scourges remove them only from characters, not locations, unless they specifically say otherwise. When a power removes a scourge, remove the marker from the character or the location as appropriate, and if no characters or locations currently suffer the scourge, you may return it to the box.
Story Bane Roster: Each Adventure Path includes 1 or more of these cards, providing a categorized list of story banes for that Adventure Path. When an effect requires a random story bane from one of these categories, randomly choose it from the appropriate story bane roster. When an effect requires a random story bane and no category is specified, randomly choose a category first. If you randomly choose a story bane that is not available, randomly choose another.
The story bane roster for The Dragon's Demand is on the back of the wildcard The Onslaughts.
Wildcard: These cards have powers that increase the challenge of the game. See Add Wildcards on page 18.
Proxies
Proxies are cards that are shuffled into a deck as replacements for other cards, most commonly story banes. Proxies are designated as villains or henchmen, though you may be asked to use them for other purposes. Each has a unique letter and number pairing so you can track it individually.
Banes (Story Bane, Monster, and Barrier)
You must defeat banes or suffer their consequences. Most scenarios assign specific story banes along with random monsters and barriers. The following are common features of banes.
Type: Banes, including story banes, are either monsters or barriers. Story banes have one of these types listed underneath the story bane type.
Check to Defeat: This describes the requirement for defeating the bane (see Encountering a Card on page 8).
Powers: These effects apply when you encounter or interact with the bane. If a bane says an effect happens if or when you do a particular thing, it applies to any character who does that thing. If it limits the things you can do, that limit applies to any character who wants to do those things; however, if the limitation is the result of an action such as playing a card or attempting a check, it applies only to the character who took that action.
The following are general descriptions of each type of bane.
Story Bane: Scenarios assign specific story banes as dangers, villains, and henchmen. Dangers are monsters or barriers that are typically set aside at the beginning of the scenario to be summoned and encountered during play. Defeating and cornering a villain is the goal of many scenarios. Defeating henchmen usually helps your progress through a scenario, and defeating a closing henchman allows you to attempt to close your location (see Closing Your Location on page 15). Defeating a non-closing henchman does not allow you to attempt to close your location.
Monster: Monsters commonly require combat checks to defeat. You usually suffer damage if you fail a check to defeat a monster (see Suffer Damage, If Necessary on page 12).
Barrier: Barriers typically require non-combat checks to defeat. Any penalty for failing to defeat a barrier is described by the barrier itself.
Boons (Weapon, Spell, Armor, Item, Ally, and Blessing)
Boons are cards you may be able to acquire and put into your hand or deck for future use. The following are common features of boons.
Type: This is the boon's type (weapon, spell, armor, item, ally, or blessing).
Check to Acquire: This describes the requirement for acquiring the boon (see Encountering a Card on page 8). You only attempt the check to acquire when encountering a card, 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.
Powers: Each power is presented as a complete paragraph. Powers allow you to perform a specified action to cause an effect, such as discarding the boon to add to a check. When you perform an action with the card to cause an effect, you are playing it for its power. (See Playing Cards on page 7.)
If a power doesn't require you to play the card, do whatever it says at the appropriate time; this does not count as playing the card. For example, if a paragraph says "After you play this card, if you have the Divine skill, recharge it instead of discarding it," and you have the Divine skill, you must recharge the card after you play it; this does not count as playing the card.
If a card tells you that you may treat it as if it has the same powers as another boon, include only powers that require you to play the card.
The following are general descriptions of each type of boon.
Weapon: Weapons can usually be played to modify your combat check. Most weapons have either the Melee or Ranged trait or both; characters that have a skill matching that trait will generally be able to make better use of that weapon than other characters.
Spell: Spells have a wide variety of effects. Spells have the Arcane or Divine trait or both; characters that have a skill matching that trait will often be able to make better use of that spell than other characters.
Armor: Armors generally reduce damage suffered by characters (see Suffering Damage on page 13).
Item: Items have a wide variety of effects. Many help with non-combat checks.
Ally: Allies usually help with local checks, and most can be played to let you explore again on your turn.
Blessing: Blessings can usually be played to explore or to bless checks by adding dice (see Bless on page 12).
Blessings also have an effect that happens when they are the hour (see Advance the Hour on page 6). This has no effect at any other time; you cannot play the blessing for this effect.
Get the Most out of the Game
Join the Community!
Visit paizo.com/pacg, where 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 forums where you can interact with other players and the people who made the game.
Join the Adventure Card Society!
If you want to play at conventions or game store events, or you just want more scenarios to play at home, check out the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society organized play program. To join in the fun, visit paizo.com/pathfindersociety/acg and get started by downloading the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society Guide. Then find an Adventure Card Society event at paizo.com/organizedplay/events, or run your own!
Make Your Own Cards!
You can create your own character and role cards. To balance them with the ones in the box, each character should start with 15 cards on their Card List, no more than 1 d12 in their skills, and no more than 5 different skill modifiers. The sum of the skill dice should be 42. They should have 15 skill feat checkboxes, 10 card feat checkboxes, 4 power feat checkboxes on their character, and 12 power feat checkboxes on their role. Expanded guidelines can be found at paizo.com/pacg.
You can also make up other card types and even entire scenarios—simply follow the format of the ones in the Core Set, 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.
We have partnered with DriveThruCards to provide a tool that allows you to easily create your own cards and have them professionally custom-printed. You can even get cards created by other community members. Visit drivethrucards.com/pacg to try it out!
Example of Play
Setting Up
Alice, Lee, and Sam are playing Amiri, Lem, and Sajan, and decide to set up a shortened version of their next scenario, 1A: Plans Gone Wrong. Alice pulls out the storybook for The Dragon's Demand, opens it to that scenario, and reads the story text aloud. She notes that to win, the party needs to close all the locations before the hourglass expires.
For 3 characters, the scenario uses the locations Ruin, Tower, Oubliette, and Laboratory, so Lee gets those from the vault and sets them out in the play area. Because the group opted for a shorter game session, Lee and Sam choose to build all 4 locations using the small deck list on each location card.
Alice prepares the story banes listed by the scenario, setting aside the danger Collapse and, since it is listed with a proxy, the henchman Elemental. Since there are 4 locations, she shuffles together a 4-card story bane stack including Kobold Champion, Diabolical Imp, Clockwork Guardian, and a copy of Proxy A (representing the Elemental). Sam shuffles 1 card from the story bane stack into each location deck. Lee takes 30 random blessings from the vault to create the hourglass.
Alice places the pawn for Amiri at the Oubliette, since it is loaded with things to fight with and against, and is closed with Fortitude, a skill that she has. Sam opts to start at the Tower, hoping to put Sajan's Perception skill to good use. Lem is an effective helper, so Lee decides he will join Amiri at the Oubliette. They leave the Ruin and the Laboratory unoccupied for now.
Everyone draws starting hands. Amiri's hand size is 4, so Alice draws 4 cards. She gets a Longspear, matching her favored card, so she's ready to go. Lem's favored card allows Lee to choose any card type; at the Oubliette, damage suffered is increased by 1, so Lee chooses "spell," hoping to get a Soothing Word. He draws his hand size of 6 cards, but doesn't get any spells. He sets aside his hand and draws 6 more cards, this time getting both Lightning Touch and Soothing Word. He shuffles his set-aside cards back into his deck, and he's all set. Sajan favors blessings and his hand size is 5, so Sam draws 5 cards, getting both a Prayer and an Orison. Sam offers to take the first turn.
Sam's Turn
At the beginning of his turn, Sam advances the hour, flipping over Cayden Cailean's Revelry. Its hour power will help if anyone rolls especially low this turn. Next, Sam uses the Tower's At This Location power to examine the top card of a distant location, choosing the Oubliette. Sam reports to Alice and Lee that a mischievous Fey creature called a Boggart is lurking in their location.
Then Sajan explores the Tower. Sam flips over the top card: it's a Ghoul, an Undead monster. To defeat it, he'll need to succeed at a combat check of 11 plus twice the adventure number; since they're playing adventure 1, that's 13.
Using one of Sajan's character powers, Sam recharges a Compass to use Acrobatics + 1d6 for his combat check. Sajan has the skill Acrobatics: Dexterity +2, and his Dexterity skill is d8, so this power lets him roll 1d8 + 1d6 + 2. (The power also adds the level of the Compass, which is sadly 0.) Sam would like to improve Sajan's chances.
The Ghoul is immune to Mental and Poison, which reduces the party's options somewhat, but Sam still has 2 blessings in hand. Each of these can bless his check with 1 additional die; since he's using Acrobatics, which uses his Dexterity die, that means another d8. Normally, only one blessing can be played on a single check, but another of Sajan's character powers allows Sam to freely play one additional blessing. And yet another character power allows Sam to recharge these blessings rather than discard them. This means that they'll go on the bottom of his deck, and he might eventually draw them again.
With both blessings in play, Sajan's combat check is 3d8 + 1d6 + 2. Sam rolls horribly and gets a total of 11, including a 1 on one of the d8s. This is not enough to defeat the Ghoul, so Sajan is in danger of suffering some damage. Remembering the hour power, Sam discards a card to reroll the d8 that rolled a 1. The rerolled die comes up 2, yielding a total of 12, which is still not good enough to defeat the Ghoul and banish it. Sajan suffers 1 Combat damage, so Sam must discard his remaining card, a Starknife. The Ghoul also makes him banish an ally or suffer the scourge Dazed; since he has no ally in hand, he has to suffer the scourge. He draws it from the vault and displays it, putting a marker on it, then he puts a matching marker next to his character.
After shuffling the Ghoul back into the Tower, Sam ends his turn. To reset, he has to draw 5 cards to fill his hand, then the turn passes to Alice.
Alice's Turn
Alice advances the hour, placing the blessing Incitation with its "No effect" hour power on top of the hourglass discards. Then she eagerly encounters the Boggart that Sajan had spotted at the Oubliette. "It's skullcrushing time!" The pesky Fey monster has a couple tricks up its sleeve. If it's undefeated, it shuffles into a random other location, dragging Alice along for the ride. More pressingly, it is defeated with either a Knowledge or Perception check of 4, then a Combat check of 10. Amiri is all set to stab the Boggart, but she doesn't have Knowledge or Perception, so attempting either would mean rolling 1d4.
Luckily, Lem is there to lend a hand. When a bane requires multiple checks, the character that encounters the bane must attempt at least one of them, but other local characters can attempt any others. "Lem!" Alice says. "Time to bard it up!" Lem has Knowledge: Intelligence +1, and his Intelligence is d6, so he already has a much better chance of success than Amiri. Additionally, Lem has a character power that lets him recharge a card to add an additional 1d4, for a roll of 1d6 + 1d4 + 1. Lee rolls and gets a 10, easily reciting the steps required to make the Boggart play fair. "Teamwork!"
Since Amiri encountered the monster, she must attempt at least one of the checks, and Alice is keen to do so. "Ok, now it's skullcrushing time!" Alice reveals the Longspear from her hand, allowing her to use Amiri's Melee skill + 1d8. Amiri has Melee: Strength +2, and her Strength is d12. Alice looks at Amiri's first character power, but decides that she doesn't need to go that far just yet. The Longspear power she's using says "you may additionally discard to reroll the dice," which should be good enough if she rolls low. Alice says "I got this" to offers of help from Lee and Sam, then rolls a 17, banishing the Boggart. She ends her turn. Since she revealed the Longspear, and didn't need to discard it for its reroll ability, she is already at her hand size, so doesn't need to discard or draw.
Lee's Turn
Lee advances the hour, getting Nethys's Duality. Its hour power adds an additional d4 to checks against spells. Noting there are 2 spells in the Laboratory, Lem moves over there, and sure enough, he encounters the spell Magic Eye. It requires an Intelligence, Wisdom, Arcane, or Divine check of 7, which Lem achieves by using his Arcane skill of Charisma +1 and his Charisma of d10. The hour power gives him a total of 1d10 + 1d4 + 1, and he rolls a result of 9. He puts Magic Eye into his hand.
He decides to press his luck and discards the ally Standard Bearer to explore again, gaining 1d4 on his checks against story banes. That'll come in handy: he encounters the henchman Clockwork Guardian! This Construct Veteran requires either a Combat check of 13 plus twice the adventure number (15 for adventure 1 scenarios) or an Arcane or Knowledge check of 7 plus the adventure number (8). He could attempt another Arcane check, but he reads further on the monster's card. It's immune to Mental and Poison, but vulnerable to Electricity, which means if his check has the Electricity trait, he'll add 4. Lee seizes on this information and plays the spell Lightning Touch, which has the Electricity trait, and lets him use Arcane + 2d4. This means he'll be able to roll 1d10 + 3d4 + 5 to try to get 15 or more. That sounds easier. Since Lightning Touch has a during recovery power, he starts a recovery pile with it, hoping that he can recharge it at the end of his turn.
Lee gets a result of 17 on his roll, and when this particular henchman is defeated, Lem gets a new weapon. Lee pulls a Giantbane Greataxe from the vault. Not the ideal card for Lem, but… "Gimme it!" Alice says, and Lee promises to give it to her next turn.
Because the scenario lists the Clockwork Guardian as a closing henchman, Lem now has an opportunity to close the Laboratory. It requires him to succeed at an Intelligence or Craft check of 5 plus the adventure number, or 6. Lem has an Intelligence of d6, and since he doesn't have Craft, that's the best he can do. But he can use his character power to recharge a card, his Soothing Word, to add a d4. He rolls the two dice and gets a 6 exactly. The Laboratory is closed! Its When Closed power lets him summon 3 spells, attempt to acquire 1 and banish the others. He pulls the spells Deflect, Phantasmal Minion, and Charm Person. He chooses to try to acquire Charm Person and banishes the others. He attempts Charm Person's Arcane 6 check, using his 1d10+1 Arcane skill plus the hour power's d4, but gets only 5. Charm Person goes back in the vault. Maybe he'll get it some other time.
Lee puts the closed location back in the vault and moves Lem back to the Oubliette in case Amiri needs help. Since he can no longer explore, he decides to end his turn, and has to deal with the Lightning Touch in his recovery pile. He needs to succeed at an Arcane 6 check to recharge the spell, or it goes into the vault. Nethys's Duality's hour power still applies, so he rolls the same dice as before, this time getting a 10. He recharges Lightning Touch, then draws back up to his hand size of 6.
It's been three very eventful turns, with more adventure ahead!
Transition Guide
This transition guide describes the biggest changes made in this set. If you're playing or transitioning from older cards, here's what's new.
When a term is in bold, see the glossary on page 30 to learn more.
New Game Features
The storybook replaces the Adventure Path, adventure, and scenario cards. This allows us to create more flavorful and complex scenarios.
We have increased the flexibility of villains and henchmen by introducing story banes. Each scenario specifies whether a story bane is a villain, a henchman, or a danger—a card that can be summoned by various effects throughout a scenario. Each scenario also specifies whether henchmen are closing henchmen (ones that let you attempt to close your location after defeating) or non-closing henchmen. A story bane roster is used to summon random story banes.
Proxies mean we no longer have to provide multiple copies of henchmen—there were more than a hundred duplicates in each previous Adventure Path. This lets us bring you more new cards!
Characters' token cards have been replaced with pawns, and we've added 63 markers that can be used by various game effects.
New Game Terms
We gave simple names to some existing concepts. Blessing a check adds a die to it. You suffer damage, and healing shuffles random cards from your discards into your deck. Local refers to things at your location, and distant to things at other locations. Playing a card by putting it on top of your deck is called reloading. You bury cards in your bury pile.
Replaced Game Terms
We simplified some game terms without changing their meaning. The adventure deck number of a scenario is called the adventure number, while the adventure deck number of a card is its level. The box is now the vault. "Before you act" is now before acting (the same is true for "after" and "while" acting). "Discard piles" are just discards, and "reset your hand" is simply reset. A character's Card List is now their deck list. "Summon and build a location" is add a new location. "Location decks" are just locations, and the "blessings deck" is the hourglass, so deck now refers only to character decks. "Permanently closing" is just closing.
Rules Changes
We've made a number of rules changes.
The Golden Rules cover the storybook and define the word "always."
When a scenario doesn't have a villain, the default way to win is to close all locations.
Each adventure has directions for building and upgrading the vault. These directions are typically based on card level, not on the Basic or Elite traits, which no longer exist.
Characters build starting decks using level 0 cards (instead of Basic).
You can trade cards before drawing starting hands.
The top card of the hourglass discards is the hour, and new blessings have powers that happen when they are the hour.
Displaying a card and activating a power on it counts as playing it.
Characters add their traits to their checks.
You can now be proficient with traits in addition to card types.
Checks can be blessed by deities, adding the deity's name as a trait.
Cards can be vulnerable to a trait, giving you a +4 bonus if your check has that trait, or resistant to a trait, giving you a -4 penalty.
We've changed the way you handle checks to recharge some cards you play by introducing recovery and adjusting the meaning of banish.
Locations are no longer temporarily closed—they're guarded, and this now happens after you have the opportunity to evade the villain.
If you fail to defeat a bane, a local character can avenge the encounter by burying a card to encounter it.
When encountering a card or suffering damage, the party collectively may play no more than one of each type of boon. Powers that can be played freely do not count toward this limit.
When you encounter a boon, you must attempt to acquire it.
You may choose to fail a check; if you do, your result is 0.
If you summon a boon and acquire it, put it in your hand.
When you must get a new card, take it from the vault.
When you close a location, you don't flip it over; you banish it, and all characters at that location immediately move. If a location is closed during your explore step, you may no longer explore.
If your role is banished, you get it back for the next scenario.
Rewards no longer include feats, but they usually give you hero points, which can be spent to gain feats, reroll dice, or return from death.
Loot is no longer a card type, but a trait. Loot cards the party doesn't keep are organized in the vault with other cards of their type, so they can easily be encountered in locations, and now have checks to acquire.
Scourges are back, though they work a bit differently.
When you gain a feat, you choose the type; for each type, the maximum number of feats you may check is the adventure number of the last scenario you completed.
We've provided options (including wildcards) for making the game easier or harder, or shorter or longer, and you can play scenarios in Normal, Heroic, and Legendary modes.
Compatibility with Older Sets
To use older cards with this set, or to use these rules with older sets, apart from keeping game term changes in mind, there are just a few things that need special consideration.
- To set up an older scenario, refer to its Adventure Path, adventure, and scenario cards.
- If an older card's level is B, C, or P, treat it as 0.
- When effects refer to cards that have the Basic trait, treat them as referring to level 0 cards; when they refer to cards that have the Elite trait, treat them as referring to level 1, 2, or 3 cards.
- On weapons and spells from previous sets, any power that adds to or subtracts from a check, or that rerolls dice, may be played freely. Powers that also determine the type of check may not be played freely.
- If a card you banish to play has a check that can allow you to do something other than banish it, put it in a recovery pile and attempt that check at the end of the turn.
- If an effect on an older card references a check or other requirement to close a location, treat it as referencing guarding as well as closing.
- Since closed locations are banished, ignore effects that involve interacting with closed locations, and treat the term "open location" as referring to any location on the table.
- If a card tells you to shuffle your token into a location deck, shuffle in a proxy instead.
- Treat characters that have the Arcane or Divine skill as proficient with the corresponding trait, and treat characters that are proficient with Heavy Armors as proficient with armor. If a boon requires proficiency with Light Armors, all characters are considered proficient with it.
- When playing an older Adventure Path, continue to use the feat rewards as listed on the cards; limits on feats don't apply in those APs. At the end of each adventure, each character gets a hero point that cannot be used to gain a feat.
Visit paizo.com/pacg for a list of changes for specific cards.
Deck Suggestions
New characters begin with 15 level 0 cards in their decks. Below are six card suggestions for each character. For the other cards, either choose level 0 boons of the appropriate types yourself or randomly select them. Remember that you can trade cards with others between scenarios!
You can build up to four decks at once with just the Core Set. (If you were to build more, you wouldn't have enough boons left to play the game properly.) To build up to 6 decks, either add characters and appropriate boons from an Adventure Path box, or add 1 Class Deck for each additional player.
Amiri Weapon: Dogslicer, Longspear, 2 others Armor: Hide Armor, 1 other Item: Blast Stone, 2 others Ally: Snake, 1 other Blessing: Orison, 3 others
Lini Weapon: any 1 Spell: Revitalize, Viper Strike, 3 others Armor: any 1 Item: Balmberry Ally: Bat, Droogami, 3 others Blessing: Orison, 1 other
Ezren Weapon: any 1 Spell: Frostbite, Lightning Touch, Magic Eye, Sleep, 3 others Item: Sage's Journal, 3 others Ally: Sage, 2 others
Merisiel Weapon: Dagger, Rapier, 2 others Armor: Leather Armor Item: Luckstone, Thieves' Tools, 2 others Ally: any 3 Blessing: Orison, 2 others
Fumbus Weapon: Light Crossbow, 1 other Spell: Acid Arrow, 1 other Armor: any 1 Item: Acid Flask, Elixir of Healing, Noxious Bomb, 3 others Ally: any 1 Blessing: Incitation, 2 others
Sajan Weapon: Starknife, 1 other Item: Spyglass, 2 others Ally: Lookout, 2 others Blessing: Incitation, Orison, Prayer, 4 others
Harsk Weapon: Battleaxe, Heavy Crossbow, 2 others Armor: Chain Shirt Item: Compass, 2 others Ally: Dog, 2 others Blessing: Prayer, 3 others
Seelah Weapon: Warhammer, 2 others Spell: Detect Evil, 1 other Armor: Heavy Shield, Helm, 1 other Item: any 1 Ally: Soldier, 1 other Blessing: Benefaction, 3 others
Kyra Weapon: Mace, 1 other Spell: Cure, Divine Insight, 2 others Armor: Chain Mail Item: any 2 Ally: Acolyte Blessing: Benefaction, 4 others
Seoni Weapon: any 1 Spell: Confusion, Deflect, Force Missile, 2 others Item: Caltrops, 1 other Ally: Teamster, 3 others Blessing: Incitation, 2 others
Lem Weapon: Sling Spell: Fiery Glare, Soothing Word, 2 others Item: Token of Remembrance, 2 others Ally: Troubadour, 3 others Blessing: Benefaction, 2 others
Valeros Weapon: Longbow, Longsword, 2 others Armor: Half-Plate, Light Shield, 1 other Item: Crowbar, 1 other Ally: Horse, 2 others Blessing: any 3
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 even if there isn't one in your deck list. You can play a Cure spell even if it's not your turn. 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 that card. If a card says it works on "any check," you can play it on anyone's check, but if it says "your check," it only works on yours. You can't play a Cure spell to reduce the amount of damage you're suffering, 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. When you encounter a card or attempt 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 Seelah encounters a Poison Gas barrier, Fumbus can't play his Cape of Escape to evade it for her. If Lem encounters a Cave Bear, Amiri can't attempt the check to defeat it. If Valeros encounters a Scorching Ray spell, Ezren can't acquire it. If Harsk defeats a Dire Wolf closing henchman at the Cathedral, Sajan can't bury a blessing to close the location. If the game tells you to do something, you have to do it.
Cards Don't Have Memories. Cards you encounter forget everything about the encounter at the end of the encounter, and cards you play forget everything about being played as soon as they are no longer being played. So if you have an item that you freely reveal to reduce damage suffered before acting, you can freely reveal that item again while acting and after acting if you need to. A monster isn't affected by anything that happened to it in a previous encounter. Even though you've played a card to explore again, after that exploration you can play another. You have a memory, though, and it doesn't cut you any slack. If you play a Dagger by freely shuffling it into your deck then draw one of two Daggers that are in your deck, you can't rule out that it's the same Dagger, so you can't play it again on that check.
Finish One Thing Before You Start Something Else. Many things happen in a specific order, and you need to finish doing each thing before you do the next thing. You recover before you reset, not after. If a card requires more than one check, 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. You can use the item Flame Staff for your combat check, but it is not a weapon. An Elixir of Healing may sound like it's magical, but it doesn't have the Magic trait. If you fail to defeat a Giant Toad, you'll suffer Poison damage, whether you tried to dodge around its threat or not. If it's not your move step and something makes you move, it doesn't become your move step. Don't make assumptions.
Do What You Are Told. The game is very specific about what you should do and how you should do it. If you fail a Perception check rather than a combat check to defeat a Cave Lizard, you still suffer Combat damage. When you are blessed, you get to add a die; you don't get to add your modifiers again. If you play Pharasma's Knowing to draw 2 cards then recharge 2 cards when you have only 1 card in your deck, you can't recharge the first card before drawing the second to avoid dying; you have to draw both at once, which will kill you. A power that happens when you examine a card does not happen if you look at it while you are not examining.
When Things Happen Matters. The game is precise about when things happen; you can't just do them whenever you want. You can't heal someone between turns, because you can't do anything between turns. You can't play Revitalize before advancing the hour just to get the advantage that Sarenrae's Light provided on the previous turn. You can't play a Cure spell during a combat check, or during recovery, or right before a Dragon bathes you in flame. The cards will tell you when to play them, so follow their lead.
Allow for Abstractions. Sometimes the story you imagine can get in the way of playing the game. Amiri will happily use her Crowbar to overcome the worst of the Burning Tar. Despite its aquatic nature, the Crocodile can be encountered in the Tower. You can use Caltrops to evade a Ghost. 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 an ally to close it, you can't attempt the check and then banish the ally if you fail. If you roll too low on a combat check, it's too late to bless your check. If something kills your character, your character dies. Every choice matters—take your choices seriously.
This Game Will Try to Kill You. You won't succeed at every check to defeat. Even if you did, many banes damage you before and afterward. Some effects will discard cards from your deck or bury cards from your discards. Whenever the number of cards remaining in your deck is less than your hand size, you're at serious risk. One of the easiest ways to prevent character loss is to always keep 1 hero point available, even if it means delaying taking a feat.
Glossary
Adventure-Number Symbol: The number of the adventure you're currently playing. See The Adventure-Number Symbol on page 3.
Acquire: Gain a boon and add it to your hand. See Encountering a Card on page 8.
Adventure: A series of scenarios, and part of an Adventure Path. See Object of the Game on page 3.
Adventure Path: A series of adventures. See Object of the Game on page 3.
After Acting: A step in encountering a card that happens before determining if it is acquired or defeated. See Apply Any Effects That Happen After Acting on page 10.
Against: Of any check required by a card. See Attempting a Check on page 11.
Ally: A type of boon card. See Ally on page 23.
Armor: A type of boon card. See Armor on page 23.
Avenge: Encounter a bane after another local character fails to defeat it, typically after burying a card. See Avenge the Encounter on page 10.
Bane: A card that you usually try to defeat, such as a monster or barrier. See Banes on page 22.
Banish: Return a card to the vault; if you play it and it has a during recovery power, put it in a recovery pile instead. See Banish on page 7.
Barrier: A type of bane card. See Barrier on page 22.
Before Acting: A step in encountering a card that happens before attempting checks to acquire or defeat it. See Apply Any Effects That Happen Before Acting on page 9.
Bless: Add a die that matches your skill die to a check. See Bless on page 12.
Blessing: A type of boon card. See Blessing on page 23.
Boon: A card that you can acquire, such as a weapon, a spell, an armor, an item, an ally, or a blessing. See Boons on page 23.
Bury: Put a card under your character. See Bury on page 7.
Bury Pile: A stack underneath your character where you put cards when you bury them. See Bury on page 7.
Card Type: A category of card. See Card Types on page 19.
Challenge Mode: The variable difficulty of a scenario. See Play It Your Way on page 18.
Character: A card that represents you in the game. See Characters on page 19.
Check: A die roll that determines whether you succeed or fail at a challenge. See Attempting a Check on page 11.
Class Decks: Pathfinder Adventure Card Game products that include new characters and boons. See Card Sets on page 3.
Close: Do something to banish a location. In most scenarios, closing locations is essential to winning. See Closing Your Location on page 15.
Closing Henchman: A type of henchman which, when defeated, lets you attempt to close your location. See Closing Your Location on page 15.
Cohort: A type of support card. See Cohort on page 21.
Combat Check: A type of check. Many powers let you use specific skills for your combat check; otherwise, use Strength or Melee. See Determine Which Skill You're Using on page 11.
Corner: Cut off a villain's escape by leaving no unguarded locations. In many scenarios, cornering a villain leads to winning. See If the Villain Has Nowhere to Escape to, You Win! on page 10.
Damage: An effect that, if not reduced, causes you to discard cards after something negative happens. See Suffering Damage on page 13.
Damage Type: A trait of damage, such as Combat or Fire. See Suffering Damage on page 13.
Danger: A specific story bane assigned by a scenario to be summoned during play. See Prepare the Story Banes on page 5.
Dead: Unable to affect the game. When you have to remove a card from your deck and you don't have any left, your character dies. See Dying on page 13.
Deck: A stack of cards your character brings to a scenario. See Build Your Deck on page 4.
Deck List: A list on the back of a character that specifies the number of each type of card allowed in that character's deck. See Characters on page 19.
Defeat: Succeed at all of the checks and other requirements to conquer a bane. See Encountering a Card on page 8.
Deity: A name added as a trait to some blessed checks. See Bless on page 12.
Difficulty: The amount needed on a die roll to succeed at a check. The result must be greater than or equal to the difficulty. See Determine the Difficulty on page 12.
Discard: Put a card faceup into your discards. See Discard on page 7.
Discards: A stack of faceup cards next to your deck where your cards may go when you play them, or when you suffer damage; see Discard on page 7. The hourglass discards are a stack of faceup cards next to the hourglass that you advance the hour into at the start of each turn; see Advance the Hour on page 6.
Display: Place a card on the table; the card's powers function until it's discarded. See Display on page 7.
Distant: At another location. See Local and Distant on page 6.
Draw: Take the top card from your deck (or elsewhere, if specified) and put it in your hand.
During Recovery: At a point at the end of your turn when you may be able to prevent some cards in the recovery pile from being returned to the vault. See End Your Turn on page 6.
Effect: Anything that happens in the game. Powers often cause multiple effects. See Card Basics on page 3.
Encounter: Attempt to evade, acquire, or defeat a card; also, the process of doing so. See Encountering a Card on page 8.
Escape: Shuffle a villain and other cards into unguarded locations after resolving the encounter. See Determine Whether the Villain Escapes on page 10.
Evade: End the encounter with a card without interacting with its powers. See Apply Any Evasion Effects on page 9.
Examine: Look at one or more cards in a stack. See Searching and Examining on page 13.
Explore: Encounter a card in your location. See Explore on page 6.
Favored Card: A card type and/or trait that a character's starting hand must contain one or more of. See Draw Starting Hands on page 5.
Feat: A checkbox on your character that gives you access to improved skills, powers, or more cards. See Feats on page 19.
Freely: Not counting toward the usual limit of playing one of each type of boon on a check or step or while suffering damage. See Encountering a Card on page 8 and Suffering Damage on page 13.
Guard: Prevent a villain from escaping to a distant location. See Attempt to Guard Distant Locations on page 9.
Hand Size: The number of cards you draw to form your hand. See Hand Size on page 19.
Heal: Shuffle cards from your discards into your deck. See Healing on page 9.
Henchman: A type of story bane. See Story Banes on page 22.
Hero Point: A reward you can spend to gain feats, reroll dice on your check, or return from death. See Hero Points on page 17.
Heroic: A challenge mode. See Normal, Heroic, and Legendary Mode on page 18.
Hour: The top card of the hourglass discards. See Advance the Hour on page 6.
Hourglass: A countdown timer for the game. See Create the Hourglass on page 5 and Advance the Hour on page 6.
Ignore: Don't process, as an effect or trait. Things you ignore never have any effect on you. See The Golden Rules on page 3.
Immediately: Right after you finish the current thing you are doing. See Timing on page 9.
Immune: Invulnerable to a trait. Characters may not use a trait against a card that's immune to it. See Encountering a Card on page 8.
Invoke: Have a specific trait or deal a specific damage type. See Invokes on page 9.
Item: A type of boon card. See Item on page 23.
Legendary: A challenge mode. See Normal, Heroic, and Legendary Mode on page 18.
Level: The number on the upper right corner of each card. See Level on page 4.
Local: At your location. See Local and Distant on page 6.
Location: A card describing a place, and its associated stack of cards you can encounter in that place. See Locations on page 20.
Loot: A trait on certain cards rewarded to you by a scenario. See Loot on page 17.
Mark: Place a marker on a card, typically because of a scourge. See Markers on page 20.
Modifier: The number you add to a die roll. See Skills, Dice, and Modifiers on page 11.
Monster: A type of bane card. See Monster on page 22.
Move: Put your character at a different location. See Moving on page 6.
New: Pulled from the vault during play. See Summoned Cards and New Cards on page 14.
Non-Closing Henchman: A type of henchman which, when defeated, does not let you attempt to close your location. See Story Bane on page 22.
Normal: A challenge mode. See Normal, Heroic, and Legendary Mode on page 18.
Owner: A trait that lets a specific character treat that card as level 0. See Owner Trait on page 19.
Party: Your group of characters. See Object of the Game on page 3.
Pawn: A token that indicates the location your character is at. See Choose Your Character on page 4.
Play: Activate a power on a card that's in your hand or displayed. See Playing Cards on page 7.
Power: A paragraph on a card or in the storybook that affects the game in some way. See Active and Optional Powers on page 10.
Proficiency: A power that lets you use specific cards in an improved way. You are proficient with a card if you are proficient with its card type or any of its traits. See Proficiencies on page 19.
Proxy: A substitute card used when multiple copies of a story bane are needed; see Prepare the Story Banes on page 5. Additionally, some cards require you to shuffle a proxy for your character into a location; see Character Proxies in Locations on page 13.
Rebuild: Reassemble your deck after a scenario. See Rebuilding on page 17.
Recharge: Put a card on the bottom of your deck. See Recharge on page 7.
Recovery: A part of the end of your turn when you may be able to prevent some cards in the recovery pile from being returned to the vault. See End Your Turn on page 6.
Recovery Pile: A pile into which you place cards you play by banishing that have recovery powers. See Banish on page 7 and End Your Turn on page 6.
Reload: Place a card on top of your deck. See Reload on page 7.
Reroll: Roll the dice again on a check. See Roll the Dice on page 12.
Reset: Optionally discard any number of cards, then discard down to or draw up to your hand size. See Resetting on page 14.
Resistant: Negatively affecting a character's check to defeat. If a card is resistant to a trait on your check, subtract 4. See Roll the Dice on page 12.
Reveal: Show a card from your hand, then put it back. See Reveal on page 7.
Role: A card that provides new powers for your character. See Roles on page 20.
Scenario: An individual game session, and part of an adventure. See Object of the Game on page 3.
Scourge: A type of support card that has a lasting negative effect. See Scourge on page 21.
Search: Look through a stack of cards, usually for something specific. See Searching and Examining on page 13.
Skill: A character feature that tells you which dice to roll for a check. See Skills on page 19.
Source: A thing that makes you suffer damage or a scourge. See Suffering Damage on page 13.
Spell: A type of boon card. See Spell on page 23.
Story Bane: A type of bane card. See Story Bane on page 22.
Story Bane Roster: A card with lists of story banes, used when summoning a random story bane. See Story Bane Roster on page 21.
Storybook: A book that tells you how to set up and play each scenario, adventure, and Adventure Path. See Card Sets on page 3.
Suffer: Be dealt damage or a scourge. See Suffering Damage on page 13 or Scourge on page 21.
Summon: Bring a new card into play, usually temporarily. See Summoned Cards and New Cards on page 14.
Support Card: A card that supplements various features of the game, such as a cohort or scourge. See Support Cards on page 21.
Trait: A keyword that describes a card or check. Many effects depend on traits. See Traits on page 3.
Trigger: A trait on a card that causes an effect when it is examined. See Searching and Examining on page 13.
Upgrade: Change the vault between adventures as described on the storybook's Adventure Path page. See Ending a Scenario, Adventure, or Adventure Path on page 16.
Vault: A subset of cards from the box used in a scenario. See Build the Vault on page 4.
Villain: A type of story bane. Cornering a villain often results in winning a scenario. See Story Banes on page 22.
Vulnerable: Positively affecting a character's check to defeat. If a card is vulnerable to a trait on your check, add 4. See Roll the Dice on page 12.
Weapon: A type of boon card. See Weapon on page 23.
While Acting: The steps in encountering a card that include Attempt the Check and Attempt the Next Check, If Needed. See Encountering a Card on page 8.
Wildcard: A card listing powers that increase the challenge of a scenario. See Add Wildcards on page 18.
Reference Sheet
Turn Overview
Advance the hour.
You may give a card to another local character.
You may move to a distant location.
You may explore the top card of your location.
You may try to close your location if it doesn't have any cards.
End your turn—apply end-of-turn effects, do recovery, then reset.
Encountering a Card
Apply any effects that happen when you encounter a card.
Apply any evasion effects.
Villain Step: Attempt to guard distant locations.
Apply any effects that happen before acting.
Attempt the check.
Attempt the next check, if needed.
Apply any effects that happen after acting.
Resolve the encounter.
Avenge the encounter.
Villain Step: If you defeat the villain, close the villain's location.
Villain Step: Determine whether the villain escapes.
Villain Step: If the villain has nowhere to escape to, you win!
Attempting a Check
Determine which skill you're using.
Determine the difficulty.
Play cards and use powers that affect the check.
Assemble your dice.
Roll the dice.
Suffer damage if you fail a check to defeat a monster.
Playing a Card
Draw: Add it to your hand.
Reveal: Show it, then put it back in your hand.
Display: Place it faceup next to your deck, unless stated otherwise; the card's powers function until it's discarded.
Reload: Put it on top of your deck.
Recharge: Put it facedown at the bottom of your deck.
Discard: Put it faceup into your discards.
Bury: Put it faceup under your character.
Banish: If you play it and it has a during recovery power, put it in a recovery pile; otherwise, return it to the vault.
A Few Rules That Are Easy to Forget
- When an effect calls for a random story bane, use the story bane roster.
- While encountering a card, the party may collectively play no more than one boon of each type during each step.
- When you encounter a card that requires sequential checks to acquire or defeat, any local character can attempt one or more of the checks, as long as the character who encountered the card attempts at least one of them.
- If your character doesn't have a skill listed for a check, you can use a d4 for the check.
- You can choose to fail a check; if you do, your result is 0.
- Blessing a check adds a die of the same type that the character is already using for the check.
- If a location is closed during your explore step, you may no longer explore.
- If you die during a scenario, you may spend all your hero points (minimum 1) after the scenario to return from death.