Paupers' Ladder
Paupers' Ladder Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Setting Up the Game
- Starting the Game
- Meet the Paupers
- Game Objective
- Playing a Turn
- Fighting Hazards
- The Lucky Charm
- Card Decks
- Cards & Rules
- Gems
- End of the Game
- Survival Mode
- Playing Solo
- Starting the Game
- Game Objective
- Playing a Turn
- Fighting Hazards
- Life Tokens
- Winning the Game
- Solo Scenarios
- Further Adventures in Brighthelm
- Rules Summary
Components
Game board - The board shows the land of Brighthelm where your adventure takes place.
4 Pauper cards - You play the role of a Pauper in Garolium's Tournament. There are 8 to choose from. Your Pauper card keeps track of your progress.
8 Bird cards - A Bird will accompany your Pauper. They can be trained to learn abilities.
144 Outcome cards - Outcome cards determine the result when you fight hazards, and other situations requiring numerical luck.
36 Recipe cards - Once learned, Recipes give your Pauper abilities and bonuses.
240 Region cards - There are 5 Region decks, one for each of the 5 types of Wild Region (Beach, Forest, Mine, Mountain and Swamp). Each deck contains the denizens, dangers and treasures that can be found when you explore these Regions.
66 Equipment cards + 12 Rarity cards - You will buy, sell and find all sorts of useful Equipment during your adventure.
34 Quest cards - Quests are found in City Regions. They yield rewards when you complete them.
The Lucky Charm - The lucky charm is a 6 sided die, used to determine lucky situations.
4 Pauper meeples - Your Pauper is represented by its matching coloured meeple.
4 Bird meeples - Your Bird is represented by its matching coloured meeple.
50 Gems (30 x 1 Gem, 14 x 5 Gem, 6 x 10 Gem) - Use these to buy Equipment and pay your way around the land.
4 Virtue markers - These keep track of the Virtues you have learned. The first player to learn 3 Virtues wins the game.
Time token (for solo play) - This keeps track of how many turns you have left.
Solo sheet (for solo play) - This is used to show your characters' Lives and how many turns you have left.
8 Pauper Lives (for solo play + Survival mode) - These keep track of how many lives your Pauper has.
8 Bird Lives (for solo play + Survival mode) - These keep track of how many lives your Bird has.
First time out of the box: Punch out the Gems and tokens from the cardboard sheet, and separate the cards into their different decks.
Setting Up the Game
This page shows how to set up a game for both a solo and a 2-4 player game. If you're playing solo there will be additional set up rules depending on which scenario you're playing. These are explained in more details on pages 16-18.
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Place the board on a suitably sized surface with enough space around it for players to place their cards.
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Separately shuffle the Beach, Forest, Swamp, Mine, Mountain, Quest and Equipment decks and place them face down next to the board, with space next to each deck for a discard pile.
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Search the Rarity deck for the dragonsbane card. Then shuffle the rest of the Rarity deck and draw the top 3 cards from it. Shuffle these 4 cards then place 1 on each City Shop tile, face down. Each City Shop has a rare item for sale.
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Draw 16 cards from the top of the Equipment deck and place 4 on top of each Rarity card, face down (so each City Shop has a deck of 5 cards on it). Each Shop deck shows what can be bought from that City Shop. Each City Shop will always have at least 5 cards in its deck.
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Draw 4 cards from the top of the Quest deck. Place 1 on each of the 4 City Quest tiles, face up, reading them aloud as they're placed (symbols on Quest cards are explained on page 11). Each City has a Quest that any player can complete. When a Quest has been completed, another is drawn in its place.
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Shuffle the Recipe deck and place it somewhere near the board so the purple side of the deck is displayed. Before the game starts, players choose Recipes they want to learn from here. After that, the Recipe deck forms the Dispensary, from which further Recipes are chosen.
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Place all the Gems near the board. This is the bank. When players collect Gems, they take them from the bank. When players lose or pay Gems, they're returned to the bank.
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Shuffle the Bird cards then place the top 4 near the board with the trained sides showing (if this is your first game, search the deck for the canary, crow, magpie and swift instead of shuffling).
Then take the 4 Pauper cards. In a 2 player game, lay them out so the "2" sides are showing. In a 3 or 4 player game, lay them out so the "3-4" sides are showing.
Regions & Tiles
Brighthelm is divided into Regions, and Regions are divided into tiles. Players move between connected Regions on their turn, and cards are placed on tiles as Regions are explored.
Regions are considered connected when they are joined by a bridge. In the example to the right, the Forest Region is connected to the Mountain and Mine Regions, and the City Region of Bluevale.
Regions that border the sea (such as the Forest and City Regions in the example above) are coastal Regions. Beach, Forest, Mine, Mountain and Swamp Regions are wild Regions.
Starting the Game
At the start of the game you will each choose your Pauper, Bird and 3 Recipes In Learning. You may also buy 1 card from your City Shop.
1: Choose a Pauper
The player who most recently had an adventure is the starting player. Starting with them then going clockwise in turn, choose a Pauper card from the ones displayed and place it face up on the table in front of you.
Take the Pauper meeple and Virtue marker matching the colour of your Pauper card. Place your Pauper in the City Region you start the game in (this is shown on your Pauper card). Place your Virtue marker next to your Pauper card. Your Pauper's story is given on page 6.
Then take 5 Gems from the bank and place them in your Purse (see below).
Then take the Outcome deck that matches your Pauper's colour and shuffle it thoroughly. Place it face down next to your Pauper card. Outcome cards are used to resolve fights and some events, and are explained on page 9.
Anatomy of a Pauper Card
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This Pauper can only be used in a game with this many players (except in solo mode, where any Pauper can be used - see page 14).
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Your Pauper's name, trade and likeness, and which City Region they start the game in.
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Your Virtue track. When you learn your first Virtue, place your Virtue marker on the track's leftmost space. When you learn subsequent Virtues, move your Virtue marker one space along. The first player to learn any 3 Virtues wins the game.
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Your Aviary. Your Bird card is placed here.
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Your Purse. Your Gems are placed here. Gems will buy you Equipment, and can be discarded to learn the Virtue of generosity.
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Your Recipe Book. Recipes are placed to the right of your Pauper card. Learned Recipes count towards learning the Virtue of knowledge.
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Your Pauper's unique starting Equipment. It can't be discarded or sold. When you find or buy more Equipment during the game, place it to the left of your Pauper card. This is your Inventory.
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Your Trophy Room. Defeated hazards can be placed here to count towards learning the Virtues of bravery and magnificence.
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Your Journal. When you complete a Quest, place its card here. It will count towards learning the Virtue of fellowship.
2: Choose a Bird
In the reverse order to which Paupers were chosen (so the starting player goes last), choose a Bird card and place it on your Aviary so its untrained side is showing (see right). Any time during your turn you can pay 4 Gems to train your Bird, giving it a unique ability.
Take the Bird meeple matching your Pauper's colour and place it in the same City Region as your Pauper meeple. Birds are explained on page 11.
NOTE: Your Pauper and Bird are collectively referred to as your characters. Rules apply to both of them unless otherwise stated.
3: Choose 3 Recipes In Learning
In the same order that Paupers were chosen, each player draws 4 cards from the top of the Recipe deck.
Then each player chooses 1 Recipe to learn from the ones they drew, placing it to the right of their Pauper card so the grey side is displayed. Once everyone has chosen, each player passes their remaining Recipe cards to the player on their left. This repeats until each player has chosen 3 Recipes.
Before choosing, you can inspect both sides of the Recipe cards. The grey side shows the 3 ingredients that can be used to learn the Recipe. A Recipe is learned by finding any 2 of these 3 ingredients. The purple side shows the Recipe's effect once it's been learned. Until a Recipe has been learned, it's referred to as a Recipe In Learning.
When everyone has 3 Recipes In Learning, return the remaining cards to the Recipe deck. Shuffle the deck and deal it into 4 equal stacks next to the board, purple side up. This is the Dispensary. You will draw more Recipes from here during the game. Recipes and ingredients are explained on pages 10 and 11.
Anatomy of a Recipe In Learning
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The Recipe name and its symbol, which is also shown on ingredients that can be used to learn this Recipe.
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A Recipe is learned as soon as you've found any 2 of these 3 ingredients. The coloured box around each ingredient shows the type of Region it is mostly found in. Small amounts of all ingredients can also be found in Mine Regions.
Region colour key: Beach Regions (yellow), Forest Regions (green), Mountain Regions (grey), Mine Regions (dark red), Swamp Regions (brown).
4: Buy Equipment
Each player may buy 1 card from the Shop deck in their starting City. Peek at the City Shop deck and choose 1 card from it. Pay its cost in Gems (shown in the card's top left corner) and add the card to your Inventory, face up. If you do buy a card, replace it by drawing a card from the top of the Equipment deck and adding it face down to the City Shop deck. Equipment cards are explained on page 10.
You now begin the game, with the starting player taking their turn first.
Meet the Paupers
Alf Blomwell - Early each morning, Alf joins the convoy of gas miners who journey to the methane-rich swamps just northeast of Bluevale.
There he begins the dangerous task of gas mining, splitting open great chunks of decomposed matter to capture the fumes within. None of the gas miners come home rich. Many don't come home at all.
Alf starts the game with his trusty hard hat. It's good for a bit of defence, and it's handy underground.
K'zaah Hoi'z - K'zaah is a Barden Mauan, a rare sight in Brighthelm. Unfortunately, Barden Mauan's poor get an even worse deal than the indigenous poor, which has led to K'zaah being forced to scavenge in the mines around Blacksand.
Her experience in these deep dark caves has served her well, and she can find her way around better than any wheezing old miner.
K'zaah starts the game with some of the handy items she's scavenged, in a bag big enough to hold anything.
Dezzi Blonth - There aren't many doors in Greyhaven Dezzi doesn't have a key for. Yet to his credit, he's never used his privileges to gain entry for a sneaky bowl of hot broth or a handful of gems. He knows these comforts will be fleeting while his job satisfaction, barely noticed though it is, will last a lifetime.
It doesn't stop him peering through the windows though.
Dezzi starts the game with a special key that can, with a bit of luck, open just about anything.
Brinny Lanklot - In the cemeteries of Lilacsville, Brinny's shovel scraping against the frozen, dead earth is a common sound. She has been the custodian of the dead all her life, undervalued and underpaid in equal measures.
Yet even at her poorest, she staved off the temptation to earn a few gems by turning a blind eye to the local necromancer having a dig about for loose bones.
Brinny starts the game with her grandmother's magical trowel, which can carve Gems out of her defeated foes.
Cissy Grezlang - Somewhere in the sewers and bins, the pests of Greyhaven speak in hushed, fearful tones of Cissy Grezlang and her crew of vermin hunters.
Every evening she ventures, unheeded and unkempt, into the maze of tunnels beneath the city, laying siege to the rats, spiders and critters while the rest of the world sleeps overhead.
Cissy starts the game with her vermin axe. Although it's not as good as a sword, it's handy for finishing off pests and spiders.
The Great Ognov - Ognov has gained something of a reputation in Lilacsville, although it's not the sort anyone would want. His inept magic tricks and dubious sleight of hand have led to him being called at best an incompetent buffoon, and at worst an outright crook.
Nonetheless, for all his numbskullery, he's just one more poor fellow trying to get by in life.
Ognov starts the game with his magic pouch, possibly the only thing that stands between him and total destitution.
Ginny Heaver - Ginny learned to hold a blade before she learned to hold a quill, but had little appetite for fighting. Instead she took her knife to the scraps of wood her father brought back from the forests outside Bluevale.
Over time she became an accomplished wood carver, trading her intricate works for food, clothes and, on rare occasions, gems.
Ginny starts the game with her wood whittling blade. It's a surprisingly effective weapon.
Dagris Screbin - Ol' Mister Screbin lighting the street lamps come twilight has long been a comforting and familiar sight in Blacksand. Come wind, rain or hail, he has kept the city in firefly light for the last 40 years.
He's slowing down now and it takes longer to get the sparks going, but, as he slowly blots out the stars, he dreams of one more adventure before they go out forever.
Dagris starts the game with a couple of potions and his prescription, which gives him cheaper access to more.
Game Objective
There are 5 Virtues to learn. The first player to learn any 3 Virtues wins the game.
The 5 Virtues
Generosity - When you collect Gems, place them in your Purse.
Once you have enough Gems in your Purse (40 in a 2 player game, 30 in a 3-4 player game), you can discard them to the bank to learn the Virtue of generosity.
NOTE: Gems spent or lost in other ways don't count towards learning generosity.
Knowledge - You start the game with 3 Recipes In Learning. You can learn a maximum of 5 Recipes.
Once you learn your 5th Recipe you learn the Virtue of knowledge.
Bravery - A variety of hazards will be found throughout the wild Regions. Each hazard has a Strength value, shown on its card. When you defeat a hazard, you have the option of adding the card to your Trophy Room and scoring its Strength value as points. Once you have enough Strength points' worth of hazard cards from your Trophy Room (40 in a 2 player game, 30 in a 3-4 player game), you can discard these cards to learn the Virtue of bravery.
Magnificence - A dragon resides in each type of wild Region. Defeated dragons can be added to your Trophy Room.
If you discard a dragon from your Trophy Room you learn the Virtue of magnificence. Subsequent dragons you defeat can be placed in your Trophy Room for points.
Fellowship - Each City Region has a Quest which any player can complete. Completed Quests are added to your Journal.
Once you have 3 Quests in your Journal, you can discard them to learn the Virtue of fellowship.
You can learn a Virtue at any time during your turn, and you do so as soon as you've fulfilled its requirements. When you do, move your Virtue marker one space along the Virtue track. You can learn more than 1 Virtue in a turn. However, you can only learn each Virtue once (e.g. you can't learn the Virtue of generosity a second time by discarding another 30 Gems).
Playing a Turn
You take a turn with both your characters, in either order. Each character's turn consists of moving (which is optional), then exploring. When both your characters have finished their turn, play continues clockwise to the next player.
1: Moving
Your Bird can stay where it is, or move into a connected Region (example 1). It then explores the Region it occupies.
Your Pauper can stay where they are, or move into a connected Region. They may then move extra Regions by paying 1 Gem for each extra Region moved (these Regions must all be connected - example 2). If they move into a Region containing a hazard, they stop moving (hazards are explained on pages 8 and 10). In any case, they then explore the Region they occupy.
NOTE: Your characters move from Region to Region, not tile to tile, so when they've finished moving place them anywhere in the Region they occupy. There's no limit to how many characters can occupy a Region. Your characters can move into and explore Regions containing opposing players' characters.
Example 1: Your Bird moves from the Swamp Region into the connected Forest Region which it will now explore.
Example 2: Your Pauper moves from the Beach Region into the connected Mountain Region. They then pay 2 Gems to move 2 extra Regions. Your Pauper ends their move in the Mine Region, which they will now explore.
Your Bird stays where it is, in the Forest Region, which it will now explore.
2: Exploring
When your character has finished moving, they explore the Region they occupy. Their options depend on whether they're exploring a wild Region (Beach, Forest, Mine, Swamp or Mountain) or a City Region (see page 8).
Exploring Wild Regions
If this Region contains a hazard, your character must encounter it by fighting it (see the Encounters boxout on page 8). Once the fight has finished, your character's turn ends.
Otherwise, your character explores this Region. They have two options:
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Draw a card from the top of this Region deck. Place it face up on any empty tile in this Region (example 3) and encounter it by following its instructions (see Encounters, page 8). Your character's turn then ends.
NOTE: You can only draw a card if there is an empty tile in this Region to place it on.
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Choose 1 card already on a tile in this Region (example 4) and encounter it by following its instructions (see Encounters, page 8). Your character's turn then ends.
Example 3: Your Bird explores the Mine Region. They draw a card from the top of the Mine deck and place it on an empty tile in this Region. Your Bird now encounters it.
Example 4: Instead of drawing a Forest card, your Pauper chooses to encounter the toadstool already in this Region.
Encounters
When your character explores a wild Region they will have an encounter, either by drawing a card from the top of that Region's deck, or by choosing a card already on a tile in that Region and following its instructions.
There are 3 types of encounter: event, hazard and ingredient. The instructions for each are explained below, and are followed as soon as the encounter takes place. Region cards are explained in detail on page 10.
Event - Events are identified by a blue banner. They are encountered by following the instructions on the card.
Some events are discarded as soon as the encounter has finished. Some stay in the Region they were encountered in, either temporarily or for the rest of the game. Some require Gems or cards to be placed with them when they are encountered. The event card will describe what applies.
Example: Thieves' Guild - You may pay the thieves 2 Gems. If you do, choose 1 Equipment card (not a Rarity) from any City Shop and add it to your Inventory. The thieves' guild stays in this Region until they have been paid.
Hazard - Hazards are identified by a red banner. When a hazard is encountered, it must be fought. A Region occupied by a hazard cannot be explored. NOTE: if your character starts their turn in a Region containing a hazard, they don't have to encounter it. They can move into a connected Region instead.
The hazard card will show how much Strength it has, which type of hazard it is, how many Gems it carries, and any ingredient (or Equipment) it can provide. Hazards are explained in detail on page 10.
Some hazards have a special effect. This will occur when they're first encountered, when they're fought, or when your character fails to defeat them in a fight. The hazard card will describe what applies.
Example: Razor Fish - the razor fish has 5 Strength and is a vermin hazard. It is carrying 3 Gems and can provide fish scales. If your character fails to defeat it in a fight, you must discard 1 vermin hazard from your Trophy Room (if you have one). FAIL: Discard 1 vermin from Trophy Room.
Ingredient - Ingredients are identified by a cream banner. When your character encounters an ingredient, they can collect it if it can be used to learn any of your Recipes in Learning (the ingredient shows the symbols for the 4 Recipes it can be used with). Tuck it under that Recipe In Learning card. If you don't need the ingredient, it stays in this Region.
A Recipe In Learning is learnt once you have collected any 2 of its 3 ingredients. Turn the Recipe card over and discard the 2 ingredients.
Some ingredients are fragile and can be removed from the Region before your character explores there. The ingredient card will describe when this applies.
Exploring a City Region
When your character explores a City Region they can either buy and sell at its City Shop, or complete its Quest. Characters can explore any City Region, not just their starting City.
1: Buy and Sell at the Shop
On their turn, your character can buy 1 card from the City Shop and/or sell 1 card to the City Shop, in either order.
Buying: Peek at the City Shop deck. If you want to buy a card, pay its cost in Gems and add the card to your Inventory, face up. If the City Shop deck now has fewer than 5 cards, add a card to it from the top of the Equipment deck, face down. NOTE: this is the case even if you bought the City Shop's Rarity. Each City Shop will only have 1 Rarity in stock during a game. Other Rarities must be found elsewhere.
Selling: Move the card you want to sell from your Inventory to the City Shop deck, face down. Collect Gems equal to half the Equipment's cost, rounded up.
Once your character has finished buying and selling, return the City Shop deck to the board, face down. Your character's turn then ends.
Anatomy of an Equipment Card
- What the Equipment is.
- How many Gems it costs to buy. If you sell this Equipment to a City Shop, it's worth half this amount (rounded up).
- How many times this Equipment can be used (see below).
- The Equipment's effect.
Equipment cards are explained in more detail on page 11.
- A number "1" icon: Your Pauper can use this once. The card is then discarded.
- A number "2" icon: Your Pauper can use this twice. The first time it is used, rotate the card 90 degrees. The second time it is used, discard it.
- An infinity icon: Your Pauper can use this an unlimited amount of times.
- A crossed-swords icon: This is a weapon. Your Pauper can use this when fighting hazards. Although you can carry multiple weapons, only 1 weapon can be used in a fight.
NOTE: Only your Pauper can use Equipment. Your Bird cannot.
Example: Crystal Ball - costs 2 Gems to buy (sells for 3). Can be used once. Use this to peek at the top 4 cards in 1 Region deck, then return them to the deck in any order.
2: Complete a Quest
A Quest showing the City icon needs a character to be in this City Region to complete it.
To complete the Quest in this City Region, discard what the Quest's objective requires (Gems, Equipment or cards from your Trophy Room) and collect the reward. Add the Quest card to your Journal and draw a card from the top of the Quest deck. Read it aloud and place it face up on this City Quest tile. Your character's turn then ends.
Anatomy of a Quest Card
- The title of the Quest.
- A Quest showing the City icon can only be completed by a character in this City Region. A Quest showing the mountain icon is completed as soon as its objective is met in a wild Region.
- The Quest and its objective.
- The reward, collected by the player who completed the Quest.
Example: The Ornithologist - She needs birds for her collection. Discard a giant gull or an eagle from your Trophy Room when you're in this City. REWARD: 4 Gems or 1 Equipment.
Quest cards are explained in more detail on page 12.
Fighting Hazards
When a hazard is encountered, either by drawing it from a Region deck or by moving into a Region it occupies, it must be fought (remember, if your character starts their turn in a Region occupied by a hazard, they don't have to fight it. They can instead take their turn by moving as usual).
This is the procedure for fighting hazards:
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Draw the top card from your Outcome deck. The number shown is your Strength (example 1).
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Some Outcome cards have an ally who can assist. If you are willing and able to use them, follow the rules on the card (example 2).
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If your Pauper is fighting, add the bonus from 1 weapon in your Inventory to your Strength (the card will describe the bonus), along with bonuses from Recipes and any other Equipment in your Inventory. Your Bird cannot use Recipes or Equipment so will always skip this step.
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You may then pay 1 Gem to roll the lucky charm. Add the number rolled to your Strength (example 3). This can be done once per fight.
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If your total Strength is equal to or greater than the hazard's Strength, you've defeated it. It earns you one of the following, of your choice:
- Gems: If the hazard is carrying Gems, you can collect them from the bank. Then discard the hazard card.
- Ingredient: If the hazard can provide an ingredient you need for a Recipe In Learning, you can tuck the hazard card under that Recipe In Learning card.
- Equipment: If the hazard is carrying Equipment, you can draw 1 Equipment card and add it to your Inventory. Then discard the hazard card.
- Rarity: If the hazard is carrying a Rarity, you can draw 1 Rarity card and add it to your Inventory. Then discard the hazard card.
- Points: You can add the hazard card to your Trophy Room.
(NOTE: Once placed, hazards can't be moved between your Trophy Room and a Recipe In Learning.)
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If your total Strength is less than the hazard's Strength, you've failed to defeat it. The hazard stays in this Region. You must follow any FAIL instruction shown on the hazard's card.
When the fight has finished, discard any Outcome cards used. Your character's turn then ends. Your characters can each fight once on their turn.
Example 1: You draw an Outcome card that gives you 5 Strength. This equals the lizard man's Strength, defeating it.
Example 2: You have 1 Strength. The pest's Strength is 4. You pay 3 Gems to the ally (cheery dwarf). This adds 3 to your Strength, giving you a total of 4 Strength. The pest is defeated.
Example 3: You have 6 Strength. The giant's Strength is 7. You pay 1 Gem to use the lucky charm. Rolling it results in a bonus of 2, giving you a total Strength of 8. The giant is defeated.
The Lucky Charm
The lucky charm is a 6 sided die used to determine luck. Each side shows a face and a number (either 0, 1 or 2).
Whenever instructed, roll the lucky charm and consult the result on the card that matches the face or number you rolled as instructed (see example). If the result you rolled isn't shown on the card, nothing happens.
Using the Lucky Charm in a Fight
Once per fight, you may use the lucky charm to try to increase your Strength. Pay 1 Gem and roll the lucky charm. Add the number rolled to your Strength.
Example: Shallow Cave - You may enter. Roll the lucky charm. Neutral face: You find nothing. Happy face: Collect 2 Gems. Wink face: Collect 1 Rarity. The cave stays in this Region until a Rarity is found here.
Example: You roll the lucky charm. The result is a wink face, so you collect 1 Rarity. The shallow cave is then discarded from play.
Card Decks
Cards are always drawn from the top of the deck unless otherwise stated.
When a card is discarded, place it face up next to the deck it was drawn from. When the last card in a deck has been discarded, reshuffle the deck and place it face down, ready to be drawn from anew.
1: Outcome Cards
Outcome cards mainly govern fights, but are also used to determine luck. You start the game with the Outcome deck that matches your Pauper's colour and draw a card from it when you fight a hazard, or when otherwise instructed.
Outcome cards comprise the following elements:
Number - In a fight, this number indicates your Strength. In other situations, it is used to determine the result of luck.
Ally - Some Outcome cards show an ally. These are ONLY used when an Outcome card is drawn during a fight. An ally can:
- Give you a Strength bonus (example 1)
- Let you draw another Outcome card to add to this one (example 2). If this second card also shows an ally, you can use it in the same way as before, if you're able to. There's no limit to how many allies you can use in a fight.
Some allies are only effective in certain Regions. Others require payment. Remember, when an Outcome card is drawn outside of a fight (e.g. to determine if you succesfully rescue a lost ranger), its ally is ignored. Only the number applies.
Outcome cards are discarded after use.
Example 1: City Guard - If this Region is connected to a City Region, add 2 to your Strength. You add 2 to your Strength if this fight is taking place in a Region connected to a City Region.
Example 2: Coastguard - If this is a coastal Region, draw another Outcome card and add it to this one. If this fight is taking place in a coastal Region, you can draw a second Outcome card. Your Strength is the total of both cards. If the second card also shows an ally, you might be able to use it to increase your Strength again.
2: Region Cards
When your characters explore wild Regions, they have the option of drawing a card from the top of that Region deck (placing it on an empty tile in that Region) or choosing a card already on a tile in that Region. Either way, this card is their encounter. Its instructions depend on which type of encounter it is (either event, hazard or ingredient). The instructions for each are detailed below.
2.1: Events
Events are identified by their blue banner. When either of your characters encounters an event, follow the instructions written on the card.
Some events are discarded once they've been encountered, some stay in the Region until they've been used in some way, and some stay there for the rest of the game. The card will always describe which of these applies.
Some events have Gems placed on them or cards tucked beneath them when they're first drawn. In these cases, the card gives you APPEAR instructions (see example). Some events give you a choice of what you can do when you encounter them. These are listed on the card as EITHER...OR instructions.
Most events can be encountered by either of your characters. However, some cannot. These are described in the card's instructions, with an icon shown next to the card's title for reference as follows:
- Pauper icon: This card can only be encountered by a Pauper. If a Bird encounters this card, their turn ends without effect.
- Bird icon: This card can only be encountered by a trained Bird. If a Pauper or an untrained Bird encounters this card, their turn ends without effect.
Some events have a heart next to their title to show it's a place of rest. They are only used in Survival Mode (page 13). Ignore them otherwise.
Example: The Water Mill - APPEAR: Tuck 3 Equipment cards here, face up. Your Pauper can keep 1 Equipment from here and miss their next turn. The water mill stays in this Region until there is no Equipment here.
Example: When the water mill is placed on the board, 3 Equipment cards are tucked face up beneath it. When the last Equipment card is taken from here, the water mill is discarded.
Natural Disasters
When a natural disaster is encountered, discard all cards in the type of Region described (this includes cards that normally stay in a Region for the rest of the game). Then choose to discard 1 or 2 Quests from the board, replacing them with cards from the top of the Quest deck.
Remove the natural disaster from the deck, as each only occurs once per game. Then shuffle that Region's entire deck including its discard pile, so it's ready to draw from anew.
Example: Natural Disaster - Discard all cards from Beach Regions and replace 1 or 2 Quests. Remove this card from the game, then reshuffle the whole Beach deck.
2.2: Hazards
The creatures and traps that litter Brighthelm's wild Regions are hazards. They are identified by their red banner.
When either of your characters encounters a hazard, they must fight it. This applies whether the hazard was drawn from a Region deck, or your character moved into the Region it occupies. When your character starts their turn in a Region containing a hazard, they can choose to encounter it or move as normal.
Regions containing a hazard cannot be explored or moved through until the hazard has been defeated. You can choose to place defeated hazards in your Trophy Room. You learn the Virtue of bravery as soon as you discard the required amount of Strength points' worth of hazard cards from your Trophy Room (40 in a 2 player game, 30 in a 3-4 player game) in one go.
Anatomy of a Hazard
- The name of the hazard.
- The hazard's Strength. This is also how many points the hazard is worth in your Trophy Room.
- The type of hazard, which will be any one of the following: Humanoid, Vermin, Magical, Undead, Trap, Dragon.
- How many Gems the hazard is carrying, if any.
- Any special effect this hazard has (see below for more detail).
- What else this hazard can provide when you defeat it. This will be either an ingredient, Equipment, a Rarity, or nothing.
Example: Razor Fish - Strength 5, Vermin hazard. FAIL: Discard 1 Ingredient.
Example: Lizard Man - Strength 5, Humanoid hazard. FAIL: Lizard man moves to another Beach Region.
Example: Stone Dragon - Strength 10, Dragon hazard, carries 8 Gems. APPEAR: Remove all other cards from this Region.
Example: Zombie - Strength 5, Undead hazard. ONGOING: You can't use allies in this fight.
FAIL: Some hazards penalise your character when they fail to defeat them in a fight. When this happens, follow the instructions on the card.
APPEAR: When this hazard is placed on the board, follow these instructions straight away. They have no further effect.
ONGOING: Some hazards' effect applies all the time they're on the board (e.g. you can't use allies when fighting the zombie).
2.3 Ingredients
You learn Recipes by collecting ingredients, which are identified by their cream banner. Ingredient cards show the symbols for the 4 Recipes they can be used with (see example).
When either of your characters encounters an ingredient that can be used with a Recipe In Learning, they can collect it and tuck it under that Recipe card. If the ingredient can be used with more than one Recipe In Learning, choose which to tuck it under. Once tucked, ingredients can't be moved between Recipes In Learning.
If an ingredient can't be used with any of your Recipes In Learning, it stays in the Region it was encountered in.
Example: Ectoplasm - can be used to learn the allure, teleport, flux and fleetfoot Recipes. If the player needs ectoplasm for a Recipe In Learning, they can collect it. Otherwise it stays in this Region.
Fragile Ingredients
Fragile ingredients can be removed from the board. When your character occupies a Region containing a fragile ingredient, they may discard it before exploring in that Region.
Fragile ingredients are collected and used in the same way as regular ingredients.
Example: Fragile Ectoplasm - You may discard this card before exploring in this Region.
Learning Recipes
A Recipe In Learning is learned as soon as any 2 of its 3 ingredients have been collected (see example). Discard the ingredients. Turn the Recipe card over so its effect (the purple side) is showing. It can be used from the start of your Pauper's next turn.
If your Recipe limit allows (see below), choose a new Recipe In Learning by choosing 1 of the 4 visible cards from the Dispensary and placing it to the right of your Recipe Book, grey side up.
Example: Storm - to be learned, this Recipe needs any 2 of these 3 ingredients: pearls, dwarf beard and toadstools. The player has collected pearls and toadstools so the Recipe is learned.
Recipe Limit
You start the game with 3 Recipes In Learning. You can have a maximum of 5 Recipes, up to 3 of which can be Recipes In Learning (i.e. you only draw new Recipes In Learning when you learn your first and second Recipes).
You learn the Virtue of knowledge as soon as your 5th Recipe is learned.
3: Recipe Cards
When a Recipe has been learned, it can be used from the start of your Pauper's next turn. Turn it over so its purple side is showing. This describes the Recipe's effect. A Recipe's effect includes:
- Increasing your Pauper's movement abilities (e.g. swim, which lets them travel directly from a Beach Region to any coastal Region. They will then explore in that Region).
- Giving your Pauper an option instead of exploring the Region (e.g. transmute. Instead of exploring, your Pauper can discard 1 ingredient in the Region they occupy to collect 2 Gems).
Your Pauper can use each learned Recipe once per turn. They can use multiples of the same Recipe during their turn to stack the effect (e.g. if they have learned 2 Strength Recipes, they can use them both in a fight to add 2 to their Strength).
Your Pauper can learn a maximum of 5 Recipes. They can never have any more than 5, including Recipes in Learning.
NOTE: Your Bird cannot use Recipes.
Example: Foresight - This Recipe type is foresight. The card details its effect once it's been learned. The symbol on the card matches the symbol on the 3 ingredients that can be used to learn it. Your Pauper can peek at the top card in 1 Region deck before moving.
4: Bird Cards
Your Bird can explore Regions, buy and sell at City Shops and fight hazards in the same way as your Pauper. They can also encounter Region cards and complete Quests, unless the card states otherwise (e.g. Region cards with the Pauper icon cannot be encountered by Birds).
However, it can't use any Equipment or Recipes, nor can it pay Gems to move extra Regions.
At the start of the game your Bird is untrained. You can pay 4 Gems at any time during your turn to train it (this is a free action). Turn your Bird's card over to show the trained side. The ability on the Bird's card is now in effect for the rest of the game, and can be used once per turn.
Example: Trained Magpie - If the magpie didn't move or fight this turn, collect 1 Gem.
5: Equipment Cards
Your Pauper can use Equipment, which can be bought in City Shops, found in wild Regions, and obtained by defeating hazards. Your Pauper starts the game with a piece of starting Equipment. This cannot be sold or discarded.
Equipment cards are added to your Inventory. Place them to the left of your Pauper card face up so you can see what effect they have. You can have a maximum of 5 cards in your Inventory. Your starting Equipment is not included in this limit.
If you ever have more than 5 cards in your Inventory, you must discard any excess cards straight away.
Equipment is used during your Pauper's turn. Your Pauper can use each Equipment once per turn. Remember, your Bird cannot use Equipment.
Using Equipment
The Equipment card describes its effect. The symbol in the top right hand corner of the card tells you how many times it can be used.
- Your Pauper can use this Equipment once. It is then discarded (example 1).
- Your Pauper can use this Equipment twice (example 2). The first time you use it, rotate the card 90 degrees. After you've used it a second time, the Equipment is discarded.
- There's no limit to how many times your Pauper can use this Equipment.
- This is a weapon that gives your Pauper a Strength bonus every time they fight. Only 1 weapon can be used in a fight.
Some Equipment has a special ACQUIRE instruction which occurs when the card is added to your Inventory (example 3).
Selling Equipment
When exploring in a City, characters can sell 1 Equipment to that City Shop for half its cost, rounded up (e.g. for a fatestone worth 3 Gems, the bank pays you 2 Gems). The Equipment card is added to the City Shop deck, face down.
Discarding Equipment
You can always discard Equipment voluntarily, and you must discard excess Equipment straight away if you ever have more than 5 cards in your Inventory. Discarded Equipment is added to the Equipment discard pile.
Rarity Cards
Rarity cards count towards your Inventory limit and are bought, used and sold in the same way as Equipment cards.
Example 1: Fatestone - costs 3 Gems, can be used once. Discard this to peek at the top 4 cards in your Outcome deck. Then return them to the deck in any order. After your Pauper uses the fatestone, it is discarded.
Example 2: Crystal Ball - costs 3 Gems, can be used twice. Use this to peek at the top 4 cards in 1 Region deck, then return them to the deck in any order. After your Pauper uses the crystal ball for the first time, rotate it 90 degrees to show it's been used. After your Pauper uses it a second time it is discarded.
Example 3: Bang Bombs - costs 3 Gems, is a weapon. ACQUIRE: Place 3 Gems from the bank here. When your Pauper fights, add the amount of Gems here to their Strength, then remove 1 Gem from here. When all 3 Gems are removed, discard this. When you add the bang bombs to your Inventory, follow the card's ACQUIRE instruction: place 3 Gems on the card to show it has 3 uses.
6: Quest Cards
There are always 4 Quests to complete, 1 in each City Region. As well as earning you rewards, they also help you learn the Virtue of fellowship. Quests are completed by fulfilling the objective described on their card (examples 1-3). All Quests can be completed by any player's characters.
If the objective of a Quest is an event, the card will tell you what it is and the type of Region it can be encountered in (example 1).
If the objective of a Quest is to discard Gems, Equipment or hazard cards from your Trophy Room, the Quest card will tell you how many are required to complete it (example 2).
Quest Card Symbols
Quest cards have symbols that illustrate their objective. Here's what they mean:
- A circled X in a gold coin: This Quest is completed once you discard this amount of Gems to the bank.
- A circled X in blue: This Quest is completed once you discard this amount of Equipment from your Inventory, or hazard cards from your Trophy Room (example 2).
- A hazard-type icon: This Quest is completed once you discard a hazard card of this type from your Trophy Room (example 2).
- A tower icon: A Quest showing this symbol can only be completed by a character in this City Region (example 2).
- A mountain icon: A Quest showing this symbol is completed as soon as its objective is met in the wild Region/s specified (examples 1 and 3).
- A 5-colour pie icon: A Quest card showing this icon means its objective can be encountered in all 5 types of wild Region (example 3).
- A Pauper icon: This Quest can only be completed by a Pauper.
When you complete a Quest, collect the reward and add the Quest card to your Journal. Draw a card from the top of the Quest deck, read it aloud and place it on the empty City Quest tile. This is the new Quest. The character who completed the Quest then ends their turn.
You learn the Virtue of fellowship as soon as you discard 3 completed Quest cards from your Trophy Room.
Quests and Natural Disasters
If you encounter a natural disaster, you choose to discard 1 or 2 Quests on the board (i.e. you must discard at least 1 Quest, but may discard 2).
Replace them with cards drawn from the top of the Quest deck, reading them aloud as you place them face up on the City Quest tiles.
Example 1: Treasure at Sea - An old pirate needs someone to find the treasure stowed on his old ship. Find Gems in the old shipwreck, then discard them. REWARD: Draw 2 Equipment. Keep 1, discard the other. This Quest is completed by the first player to find Gems in the old shipwreck, which can be encountered in a Beach Region.
Example 2: The Burial - A priest wants to give some lost souls a decent burial. Discard a undead hazard from your Trophy Room when you're in this City. REWARD: 5 Gems or learn 1 Recipe In Learning straight away. This Quest is completed by the first player to discard 1 undead hazard from their Trophy Room when they're in this City Region.
Example 3: Lost Villagers - Our friends and family are going missing. Can you find them? Rescue the lost fisherman, ranger, dredger, wizard or mountaineer. REWARD: Shuffle 4 discarded Outcome cards back into the deck. This Quest is completed by the first player to rescue a lost villager. They can be found in all 5 wild Regions.
Cards & Rules
In general, cards follow the rules of the game. However there are some which contradict the rules (for instance, a trained swift travels 3 Regions on its turn, which contradicts the rule for Birds only being able to travel 1 Region on their turn). When this happens, the rules on the card take priority.
Gems
Gems are the currency in Brighthelm and are collected in a variety of ways, from defeating hazards and exploring wild Regions, to selling Equipment and gambling. You start the game with 5 Gems.
Gems are used for buying Equipment, training Birds, helping your Pauper move across Regions, completing Quests and using the lucky charm in fights. There's no limit to how many Gems you can carry.
When Gems are collected, take them from the bank and place them in your Purse. When they are discarded, paid or spent, return them to the bank from your Purse (NOTE: If a card forces you to discard more Gems than you have in your Purse, just discard what you have).
You learn the Virtue of generosity as soon as you discard the required amount of Gems from your Purse in one go.
End of the Game
As soon as a player learns their third Virtue, the game ends and that player wins. They will be sworn in as the new ruler of the royal court, where they will hopefully carry on Garolium Scraggart's benign rulership. And even if they don't, they'll still get paid quite handsomely.
The other Paupers will just have to cross their fingers and hope...
Survival Mode
Survival Mode is a different way to play a 2-4 player game of Paupers' Ladder. Your characters have Lives, which are lost when they fail to defeat a hazard in a fight. When a character loses their last Life, they have to visit the City healer to have them restored. Lives can be restored by visiting places of rest scattered around the Wild Regions, and by using potions.
Components
Pauper Life tokens - These keep track of how many Lives your Pauper has.
Bird Life tokens - These keep track of how many Lives your Bird has.
Setting Up the Game
Setup happens as usual. When everyone has chosen their Bird and Pauper, each player takes 2 Pauper Life tokens and 2 Bird Life tokens and places them on their Pauper card so the "2" side is showing. This denotes that each character starts the game with 4 Lives.
Your characters will lose and restore Lives during the course of the game. Use both sides of the appropriate Life tokens to keep track of how many they have left. Your characters can never have more than 4 Lives each.
Playing in Survival Mode
Survival Mode is played in the same way as a regular game of Paupers' Ladder except for the following new rules.
Fighting Hazards
When your character fails to defeat a hazard in a fight, they lose a Life. This is in addition to any FAIL instructions on the card (so in the example to the left, if a character fails to defeat the bandit in a fight, they discard 1 Equipment and lose 1 Life).
Places of Rest
Scattered around Brighthelm are places of rest, where your characters can restore lost Lives.
Places of rest have a heart displayed on their banner. When your character encounters a place of rest, instead of following the instructions on the card they can choose to restore 1 Life. That character's turn then ends.
Your characters can stay in a place of rest through consecutive turns to keep restoring Lives. There's no limit to how many characters can occupy a place of rest.
Example: Lossevale - You may place 2 Gems here from your Purse to visit EITHER the market (keep a random card from the Equipment discard pile) OR the smith (add 2 to this character's Strength on their next turn). Lossevale stays in this Region until there are 6 Gems here.
Potions
Potions can be used by your Pauper to restore 1 Life to themselves, or their Bird companion if they occupy the same Region. This is as an alternative to the potion's usual effect (i.e. you can use a potion either for its usual effect or to restore a Life).
When a potion is used to restore a Life, rotate or discard the card in the usual way (in the example to the left, the recall potion would be discarded after being used to restore a Life as it only has 1 use).
Your Pauper can use multiple potions in a single turn to restore Lives, but each potion can only be used once per turn.
Example: Recall Potion - When your Pauper explores in a Region, discard this to encounter 1 of the top 4 cards in the Region's discard pile instead.
Healing in City Regions
When your character explores in a City Region, they can visit the City healer by paying 1 Gem to restore 1 Life. Their turn then ends. Your character cannot do anything else in the City on the same turn. Each character can only restore 1 Life per turn in this way.
Becoming Badly Wounded
When your character loses their last Life, they become badly wounded. When this happens, immediately move your character to their starting City Region. That character's turn then ends.
Garolium's National Duty of Vigour
If your character is badly wounded and you have no Gems in your Purse, they can access free healthcare. When they visit the City healer, they restore 1 Life for free. That character's turn then ends.
Your character can only access this service when they are badly wounded. If they have 1 or more Lives, they must pay 1 Gem as usual.
Playing with Expansions
You can play Survival Mode in conjunction with any Paupers' Ladder expansion.
Where expansions offer your characters extra options when they explore in City Regions (e.g. visiting the City chemist in The Moon Towers or wandering the streets in This Cobbled Isle), they can't be done on the same turn your character visits the City healer.
Life Tokens
Life tokens are double sided to show 2 Lives on one side, and 1 Life on the other. Use both sides of the appropriate tokens to show how many Lives your characters have left. Flip then discard Life tokens as Lives are lost, and flip then collect them from the supply as they are restored.
Playing Solo
Paupers' Ladder can be played solo. These pages describe where solo rules differ from a 2-4 player game. These rules are based on One Lonely Pauper, a large part of which was written by Russ Law of gunpowderstudios.co.uk
Components
Time token - This measures how many turns are left.
Pauper & Bird Life tokens - These measure how many Lives your characters have.
Solo sheet - Place your Time and Life tokens here to keep track of your game.
Setting Up the Game
Choose a scenario to play (pages 16-18) and set the board up accordingly. You win the game as soon as you complete all of the scenario's objectives. Some scenarios also have a side objective which can be optionally completed for additional rewards. You lose the game if either of your characters run out of Lives, or if you run out of Time.
Setting Up a Scenario
Scenarios give you a variety of solo adventures to play. Each has its own story, special rules for set up and play, and objectives that need to be completed to win. Here's how setting up a scenario works:
- The name of the scenario and the backstory leading up to it.
- How to set the board up for this scenario. Follow each step in the order given, referring to the example board as you go.
- The scenario's objectives. You will be told whether or not they need to be completed in a specific order. Some scenarios have a side objective which can be optionally completed for extra rewards.
- Any special rules that are specific to this scenario.
- Once you have completed all the scenario's objectives you have won the game. Read out this text.
- If either of your characters loses their last Life or the Time token is on the zero space of the Timeline at the start of your turn, you lose the game. Read out this text.
Starting the Game
Choose a difficulty level to play from those shown below. Then choose your Pauper, Bird and 3 Recipes In Learning. Before your first turn, you may buy 1 Equipment card from the City Shop in the usual way. The scenario will tell you how many Gems you start with.
1: Choose a Difficulty Level
There are 4 difficulty levels. Each lets you choose from certain Paupers, and gives your characters a number of Lives and a Time allowance.
Easy: Choose a 3-4 player Pauper. Your Pauper and Bird each have 5 Lives. Time allowance is 15.
Mid: Choose a 3-4 player Pauper. Your Pauper and Bird each have 4 Lives. Time allowance is 14.
Hard: Choose a 2 player Pauper. Your Pauper and Bird each have 3 Lives. Time allowance is 13.
V. Hard: Choose a 2 player Pauper. Your Pauper and Bird each have 2 Lives. Time allowance is 12.
Place the solo sheet near your Pauper card so the difficulty level you're playing at is displayed. Place the Time token on the numbered space equal to your Time allowance (e.g. 15 in an easy game).
At the start of each turn you will move the Time token 1 space towards zero. The Time token can also (through your characters' actions) be moved away from zero. It cannot go above your starting time allowance (e.g. 15 in an easy game). If the Time token is on the zero space of the Timeline at the start of your turn, the game is over and you have lost.
2: Choose a Pauper
Choose a Pauper from those available (e.g. in an easy game choose any Pauper showing the 3-4 player icon in the top left hand corner). Place the Gems you start with in your Purse. On your solo sheet, place Pauper Life tokens equal to how many your Pauper starts the game with (e.g. 5 in an easy game).
3: Choose a Bird
Choose a Bird from the ones available. Place it in your Aviary so the untrained side is showing. On your solo sheet, place Bird Life tokens equal to how many your Bird starts the game with (e.g. 5 in an easy game).
The solo sheet shows: Healing in Cities - Pay 1 Gem when your character explores in a City Region to gain 1 Heart. Their turn then ends. Hiding from Hazards - roll the lucky charm: neutral face, you are unable to hide and must fight the hazard as usual; happy face, you safely hide, your character's turn ends; wink face, you safely hide, while you're hiding you find 1 Gem, your character's turn ends. Earning More Time - Defeating a hazard, Completing a Quest, Learning a Recipe and Learning a Virtue each move the Time token towards your starting allowance by a set amount. Removing Region Cards - Once a turn, you may move the Time Token this many spaces towards zero to remove 1 card from an unoccupied Region: Event 1 space, Ingredient 1 space, Hazard 1 space, Hazard with 2+ Strength 2 spaces. Hazards with 8 or more Strength cannot be removed.
Your characters lose a Life when they fail to defeat a hazard in a fight. Lives can be restored by visiting a healer in a City Region (see opposite). If either of your characters loses all their Lives, the game is lost.
Neither character can have more Lives than they started with.
4: Choose Your Recipes In Learning
Draw the top 4 cards from the Recipe deck. Choose 3 as your starting Recipes In Learning and discard the other. You can inspect both sides of these cards.
During the game the Dispensary is always comprised of the top 4 cards in the Recipe deck. When choosing subsequent Recipes, draw these 4 cards. Choose 1 to keep and discard the rest.
5: Buy Equipment from the City Shop
This is done in the usual way.
Game Objective
You must complete the scenario's objectives before either of the following occurs, in which case the game is lost.
- At the start of your turn, the Time token is on the zero space of the Timeline.
- Either of your characters loses their last Life.
Playing a Turn
If the Time token is on the zero space of the Timeline at the start of your turn, the game is lost.
Otherwise, move the Time token 1 space towards zero. Then take a turn with both your Pauper and your Bird in the usual way, in either order.
Earning More Time
When either of your characters does any of the following, you earn more Time. Move the Time token as many spaces away from zero as shown (e.g. when they defeat a hazard, move it 1 space away from zero).
- Defeats a hazard: move Time token 1 space away from zero.
- Completes a Quest: move Time token 1 space away from zero.
- Learns a Recipe: move Time token 1 space away from zero.
- Learns a Virtue: move Time token 3 spaces away from zero.
Once per turn, you can pay 3 Gems to move the Time token 1 space away from zero. This can be done at any point during your turn, and is a free action.
Removing Region Cards
Once per turn, you can move the Time token towards zero to remove a card from any Region not currently occupied by either of your characters. This can be done at any point during your turn and is a free action.
Removing the following types of card requires you to move the Time token this many spaces towards zero:
- Events: 1 space
- Ingredients: 1 space
- Hazards (4-5 Strength): 2 spaces
- Hazards (6-7 Strength): 3 spaces
NOTE: Hazards with 8 or more Strength can't be removed in this way.
Healing in City Regions
When either of your characters explores in a City Region, they can visit the City healer and pay 1 Gem to the bank to restore 1 Life. Their turn then ends. They cannot do anything else in this City Region this turn.
Each character can only restore 1 Life per turn.
Fighting Hazards
This works in the usual way, except that when a character fails to defeat a hazard they lose 1 Life. This is in addition to any other penalties for failing the fight (such as losing Gems).
Hiding From Hazards
When either of your characters encounters a hazard other than a trap, they can choose to hide instead of fighting. Roll the lucky charm and consult the table below to see what happens.
- Neutral face: You are unable to hide and must fight the hazard as usual.
- Happy face: You safely hide. Your character's turn ends.
- Wink face: You safely hide. While you're hiding you find 1 Gem. Your character's turn ends.
Remember, you can't hide from trap hazards.
Life Tokens
Life tokens are double sided to show 2 Lives on one side, and 1 Life on the other. Use the appropriate side of the tokens to show how many Lives your characters have left. When Lives are lost, return them to the supply. When Lives are restored, collect them back from the supply.
Winning the Game
You win the game as soon as you have completed the scenario's objectives.
Solo Scenarios
Garolium's Tournament
The day is finally here. As you head down the little cobbled streets of your home town, you're surprised to see how many of your friends have turned out to wave you off. Strangely, nobody you know has signed up to enter the tournament. It's a shame, the company would have been nice. Still, you feel warmed by the waves and well wishes as the familiar faces all turn your way.
Eventually you reach the city gates. You fight down a note of apprehension. You've never left home before. You've heard the stories of the wild regions that connect each of Brighthelm's four cities, and enjoyed the shiver of fear they sent down your spine around the campfires of your youth. Now they seem a little too real...
Set Up
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Draw a card from the top of each Region deck and place it face up on a tile in the Region marked with a red X. If you draw any natural disasters, place the card at the bottom of that deck and draw again, then shuffle that deck.
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Draw a card from the top of the Mine deck, then draw an Outcome card. Place the card face-up on a tile in the Mine Region that corresponds to the number on the Outcome card. Again, if you draw a natural disaster, place it at the bottom of the Mine deck and draw again, then shuffle the Mine deck.
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You start the game with 3 Gems.
Objective
Learn any 3 of the 5 Virtues, as in a regular game of Paupers' Ladder.
Special Rules
There are no special rules in this scenario.
If You Win
Returning to your hometown, exhausted and battered but with the thrill of a new world still whistling through your ears, you are quite unprepared for the reception that awaits you. As you walk through the gates of your city, you're greeted by hundreds of your fellow citizens and friends. An enormous cheer goes up as you pass them, and dozens of chemists shoot great balls of flame and electric bolts into the air. It's all quite surreal, and not a little overwhelming.
Eventually the crowd thins out as you approach the end of its parade, which finds you at the steps of the city hall. There you are met by the mayor who is beaming proudly at you, and a trio of royal representatives. All at once they scuttle up to you, making a fuss of your wounds, issuing words of enthusiastic congratulation and immediately telling you about the responsibilities your new-found title will bring. "I hope you're ready for all this," nods the mayor. "This is the first day of a brand new life. Just don't forget us little folk, eh?"
And you promise him that you won't.
If You Lose
You tried your very best, you travelled from one side of Brighthelm to the other and you certainly came back wiser and better for it, but someone else got there first. You didn't much care for their smug smile that was plastered across the front page of every news scroll, but begrudgingly put it down to sour grapes. And anyway, surely if they won a tournament set by Garolium herself they should be good for the realm, your hometown and your friends.
Then the taxes went up. Then the anti-poverty laws were imposed. Then your friends were marched to labour camps set up over the most dangerous gas mines in the land. Then, before too long, so were you. Looks like someone forgot what it was like to be poor...
The Saltash Necromancer
Rumours of undead in the swamps and caves of Brighthelm have started to circulate. Gas miners report skeletons scratching their way through the tunnel walls. Travelling merchants speak of zombies rising from the fetid ground. And now they're in the cities.
It seems the necromancer of Saltash Mine is up to his tricks again. It's up to a brave adventurer (you) to leave your home, help rid the cities of their resident undead and eventually battle through the mines to find and destroy him. He's stronger than ever now, and can only be defeated by a magical spirit blade. According to rumour, there is such a weapon for sale in a small shop on the other side of Brighthelm.
Set Up
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When setting up Rarity cards, place the spirit blade face down in the City Shop diagonally opposite your starting City (the example to the left shows your starting City to be Bluevale). Shuffle 3 more Rarity cards together and place them in City Shops as usual.
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From the Mine deck, take all 9 undead hazards, the necromancer and both trap hazards. Shuffle the necromancer and trap hazards and place 1 face down in each of the 3 Mine Regions.
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Place 2 undead hazards at random, face up in each of the 3 Mine Regions (so the face down cards placed in step 2 are covered).
Place the remaining undead hazards face up in the 3 City Regions not occupied by your characters. Then shuffle the Mine deck.
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Take another Outcome deck other than your own, shuffle it then place it near the board. This is the necromancer's Outcome deck.
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You start the game with 3 Gems.
Objectives
You must complete these objectives, in any order.
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Buy the spirit blade. The necromancer can only be fought with this weapon.
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Defeat the undead hazard in each of the 3 Cities. Whenever you do this, the hazard card is discarded. The City will give you a reward of your choice: 3 Gems, any 1 Equipment card (not a Rarity) from their Shop or 2 Lives for the character who defeated it.
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Find and defeat the necromancer (see below).
Side objective: Clearing the path. If you defeat 3 undead hazards in Swamp Regions, collect 6 Gems from the bank.
Special Rules
You cannot explore in a City occupied by a hazard until it has been defeated.
You cannot explore a Mine Region until both its face up undead hazards have been defeated. The next time you explore that Mine Region you must encounter the face down card before you can explore it in the usual way.
When you encounter the necromancer, place 3 Lives on his card. He can only be fought with the spirit blade, and he cannot be removed by spending Time. Ignore his usual Strength of 7. Instead, each time you fight him, draw 2 cards from the top of his Outcome deck, adding them together. This is his Strength. If you defeat him in a fight, he loses a Life. When he loses his last life, you win!
If You Win
The foul necromancer lies at your feet, slowly melting away under his cloak as he returns to the ground that spawned him and his undead army. Pausing to make sure he's truly dead, you wait awhile to get your breath back after your escapade and slowly return through the tunnels that led you here.
When you re-emerge into the morning light, you notice something very different in the air. It smells sweet and fresh. The sun is out and for the first time since you left your hometown, you hear the joyous cacophony of birdsong. Singing along with them you meander back home, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the hero's welcome that awaits you.
If You Lose
Fleeing through the blackened sky and sheets of incessant rain, you finally reach your home. Battering at the door, panicked guards drag you inside to sit out the coming siege. Outlying farms are being overrun, their lights going out one by one as the undead horde get ever closer. You have failed Brighthelm and will doubtless get to enjoy eternity haunted by this failure, as a sunken, hollow undead.
The Fiery Siege
"Dragons are tearing your city apart!" exclaims the mage. "You must learn ancient dragon lore from each of the arcane libraries then save your home from within. You'll need to find a way into your city as you won't be able to pass the dragons without being burnt to a crisp." She tells you of dwarf tunnels in the mountains, rivers in the mines and a friendly boat keeper on the beach, each a means of gaining entry. By the end of it all, your head is spinning.
"But if you can't find any of these," she says handing you a scroll, "this teleport recipe might come in handy." And now, miles from home and down to your last couple of Gems, you set off to rescue your city from the dragon siege.
Set Up
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Take both dragonfire cards from the Recipe deck. Place one near the board and remove the other from the game. Place 1 teleport card at the top of the Recipe deck.
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When placing Rarity cards, place the dragonsbane card face down in your starting City Shop.
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From the Region decks for the 3 Regions connected to your starting City, draw and place a dragon face up there (the example to the left shows your starting City to be Blacksand). Then shuffle those decks.
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Instead of your starting City, your characters start in the Region diagonally opposite (the Beach Region connected to Bluevale in the example to the left).
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Place a Virtue marker on each City Region except for your starting City.
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You start the game with 2 Gems.
Objectives
You must complete these Objectives in this order:
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Learn the dragonfire Recipe: When your Pauper enters any City containing a Virtue marker, place it on the dragonfire Recipe card. When you have collected all 3 Virtue markers, you learn the Recipe (you can explore the City Region as usual when you collect a token).
NOTE: This is the only way you can learn dragonfire in this scenario.
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Find a way to enter your starting City, either by learning the teleport Recipe or by discovering another way in.
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Buy dragonsbane from the City Shop.
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Defeat the 3 dragons that surround your starting City.
Side objective: Dragon nests. If your Pauper or Bird draws a dragon from a Region deck, collect 1 Equipment card from the nearest City Shop. If your Pauper defeats this dragon, they restore all their lost Lives.
Special Rules
Your pauper cannot enter the dragon-occupied Regions around your City unless they are carrying dragonsbane. Your bird cannot enter the dragon-occupied Regions at all. Dragons can only be defeated when your Pauper is using dragonsbane in a fight.
If You Win
As the last of the great dragons falls to your enchanted blade, you slump down, exhausted. Looking around, you see the ground is burned and the walls of your city black with smoke and soot. But it could have been so much worse - the siege of the dragons was just beginning, and you stopped it before they could lay waste to your home.
As you meander back to your city, you wonder what songs will be sung about your adventures. You hope they'll have a decent tune. So many these days don't.
If You Lose
Without warning, a great plume of flame erupts somewhere nearby. The shock knocks you off your feet before you realise it's coming from the heart of your city. The dragons have got through the defences. The sounds and sights that follow as they tear your home apart will haunt you for the rest of your life, which will no doubt be mercifully short.
Further Adventures in Brighthelm
Additional expansions and stand-alone adventures for Paupers' Ladder are available from Bedsit Games, including The Moon Towers, The Crows of Coppershell Bay, This Cobbled Isle, The Curse of Saltash Mine, The Gift Bearers and The Brighthelm Bodachs.
Rules Summary
Your Turn
- Take a turn with both your characters, in either order.
- Each character's turn consists of 1) moving (which is optional) then 2) exploring. After they have explored, their turn ends.
- When both your characters have had their turn, play continues in a clockwise direction to the next player.
Moving
- Your Bird can stay where it is or move to a connected Region. They then explore the Region they occupy.
- Your Pauper can stay where they are or move to a connected Region. They may then move extra Regions by paying 1 Gem per extra Region moved (these Regions must be connected to each other). If they move into a Region containing a hazard, they must finish moving. They then explore the Region they occupy.
Exploring
Exploring Wild Regions
If this Region contains a hazard, your character must fight it. Otherwise your character must either:
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Draw the top card from this Region's deck. Encounter it by placing it face-up on an empty tile in this Region and following its instructions (see below).
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Choose a card already on a tile in this Region to encounter, and follow its instructions (see below).
If there are no empty tiles in this Region, your character must explore a card already on a tile in this Region.
- Event: Follow the instructions written on the card. Depending on the card, it will either stay in the Region or be discarded. The card will always tell you what applies.
- Hazard: When you move your character into a Region containing a hazard, or draw a hazard from a Region deck, they must encounter the hazard by fighting it. NOTE: When a character starts their turn in a Region containing a hazard, they don't have to encounter it. They can move instead.
- Ingredient: If your Pauper needs the ingredient for a Recipe In Learning, your character can collect it and place it with that Recipe In Learning card. NOTE: If you don't need the ingredient, it stays in this Region.
Exploring City Regions
Your character may either:
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Buy and sell at the Shop: Your character can buy and/or sell 1 Rarity or Equipment on their turn. Shops buy cards for half their cost, rounded up.
Then, if this City Shop deck is left with fewer than 5 cards, draw an Equipment card and add it face down to this City Shop deck.
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Complete the Quest: Quests marked with the tower icon must be completed by a character in this City Region. If you have what is required to complete the Quest, discard it and collect the reward. Add the Quest card to your Journal. Draw another Quest and place it in this City Region.
Fighting Hazards
- When your character draws a hazard from the Region deck, or moves into a Region containing a hazard, they must fight it.
- When your character starts their turn in a Region occupied by a hazard, they don't have to fight it. They can move as normal instead.
- The rules for fighting are as follows:
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Draw a card from the top of your Outcome deck. The number shown on it is your character's Strength.
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If the Outcome card has an ally, you can use it providing you're in the type of Region stated, or you're willing to pay the cost.
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If your Pauper is fighting, add the Strength bonus from 1 weapon in your Inventory, as well as Strength bonuses from any other Equipment and Recipes that apply. Birds skip this step as they're not able to use weapons, Equipment or Recipes.
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You may now pay 1 Gem to use the lucky charm. Roll the lucky charm and add the number rolled to your character's Strength.
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If your character's Strength is equal to or greater than the hazard's Strength, you have defeated it and can choose to either:
- Collect as many Gems as it's carrying (collect Gems from the bank, then discard the hazard card).
- Use the ingredient it can provide (tuck the hazard card under a Recipe In Learning it can be used with).
- If the hazard is carrying Equipment or a Rarity, collect a card from that deck and add it to your Inventory. Then discard the hazard card.
- Score the points value (place the hazard card in your Trophy Room to score towards learning the Virtue of bravery).
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If your character's Strength is less than that of the hazard, they've failed to defeat it. The hazard stays in this Region. Your character suffers any FAIL penalty shown on the hazard's card.
At the end of the fight, discard any Outcome cards you used.