Runebound: Crown of the Elder Kings
Runebound: Crown of the Elder Kings Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
- Set aside all blue cards from "Rise of the Dragon Lords." You will not need them when playing this adventure variant.
- Separate the Crown of the Elder Kings cards by color (green, yellow, and blue). Place the green cards next to the green adventure deck, the yellow cards next to the yellow adventure deck, and place the blue cards on the blue adventure deck space.
- Set up the game as described in the Runebound rules.
Gameplay
Gameplay begins as normal, except that a player who draws an Encounter or Event from a Runebound adventure deck should discard it without resolving it (though a drawn Event should still cause the starburst adventure jewels to be replenished), then draw and resolve a new card to replace it from the Crown of the Elder Kings adventure deck of the appropriate color. If no Crown of the Elder Kings adventure cards of the appropriate color remain, the player draws again from the same Runebound adventure deck.
However, while Vorakesh attempts to resurrect Margath, you know a ritual that will allow you to become an Elder King and destroy the Dragon Lords! Your goal is to collect Vassals (the blue Challenges in this expansion) so you can become the Elder King, which initiates the Endgame. Each Vassal has a rank and house. The four ranks are Knaves, Knights, Ladies, and Dukes. The three houses are Secrets, Blood, and Hate. A Hero becomes the Elder King and the Endgame begins after a player's Experience Step if he has collected a set of Vassals. A set consists of three of a kind of any rank (3 Knaves, 3 Knights, 3 Ladies, or 3 Dukes) or three Vassals from a single house (for instance, the Knave, Knight, and Duke of Secrets).
Example: Rob has already defeated and collected the Lady of Secrets, Knight of Hate, and Knight of Secrets. He attempts a blue adventure and draws the Knave of Secrets. If he can defeat that Challenge, he will have the Knave, Knight, and Lady of Secrets: a complete set of Vassals. Assuming he defeats the Challenge, he would then complete his Experience Step as normal. At the end of his turn, the Endgame would begin.
Additionally, any defeated Dragon Lord (the Challenges from the red Runebound adventure deck) counts as a "wild card" that acts as any Vassal of any house for the purposes of completing your set. Finally, any player who defeats Lord Margath is considered to have completed his set and becomes the Elder King, regardless of whether or not he has completed a set of Vassals.
Endgame
During the Endgame, the other players attempt to defeat the Elder King using rules similar to the Endgame rules of the Doom Track variant (see Runebound Second Edition rulebook). When the Endgame begins, do the following:
- The player who became the Elder King discards any Dragon Lord cards he has collected, places up to three of his Vassals in front of his Hero card in an order of his choice, and becomes the Elder King.
- Determine the level of the other players' Heroes. (A Hero's level is equal to one plus its total number of experience counters). The player with the highest-level Hero is the first to attempt the Elder King Confrontation (detailed below), followed by the player with the second highest-level Hero, and so on. If two or more players are tied for a level, the tie is broken by determining which player has the most gold, then by which has the most unspent adventure counters, then determined randomly.
Elder King Confrontation
Each time a Hero begins the Elder King Confrontation, discard all ^ (wounds) and > (exhaustion) from all Heroes, Allies, and Vassals still in play, then refresh all cards.
When it is your turn to attempt the Elder King Confrontation, you must enter combat with the Elder King's Vassals in order from first to last, and then must face the Elder King and his Allies (with combat between Heroes as normal). There is no Refresh or Movement Step between combats. If a challenging Hero is knocked out, that player is eliminated from play and the next highest-level Hero attempts the Confrontation. If a Hero defeats a Vassal, it is discarded and he moves on to the next enemy. If a Hero defeats the Elder King, the Elder King is eliminated from play and the challenger becomes the new Elder King. He discards his Dragon Lord cards, places up to three Vassals (if he has any) in front of his character in an order of his choice, and then the next highest-level Hero may attempt to unseat him.
Example: Continuing the previous example, Rob has become the Elder King. He decides to use the Lady of Secrets, Knight of Secrets, and Knight of Hate in the Endgame Confrontation. Note that, even though the Knight of Hate was not part of the completed set of Vassals that Rob used to become the Elder King, that card may still be included as one of the Vassals used during the Endgame. Likewise, just because the Knave of Secrets was used to complete the set, Rob does not need to use him in the Endgame Confrontation.
Rich has the highest-level Hero from among the other players, so he attempts the Endgame Confrontation first. All players refresh their activated cards and discard all ^ (wounds) and > (exhaustion) from their Heroes and Allies. Rich then enters combat with Rob's Vassals, one after the other. Rich defeats the Lady of Secrets, discards that card, and moves on to the Knight of Secrets. Unfortunately, his luck doesn't hold; he is knocked out while facing the Knight of Secrets. Then Raya, the player with the next highest-level Hero, attempts the Confrontation. Rob discards the ^ (wounds) that the Knight of Secrets suffered during combat with Rich, then Raya enters combat with that Vassal (she doesn't need to face the Lady of Secrets, because that Vassal was already defeated and discarded). Raya wins her way all the way to Rob's Hero card, engages in combat with him using the rules for combat between Heroes, and wins! Now Raya discards her Dragon Lord cards (of which she had one) and places up to three Vassals in front of her (she has only the Knight of Blood). Casey is the last player still in the game, so he then begins the Endgame Confrontation. Raya hopes that her single Vassal will weaken his Hero enough that she can defeat him . . .
If all of the other players are eliminated from play, the current (or most recent, in the case of simultaneous elimination) Elder King wins.