Shadows of Malice: Seekers of a Hidden Light Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Part 1: Overview
  • What is "Seekers of a Hidden Light"?
• Part 2: New Components
  • What's in the Box?
• Part 3: Lux and Lumos
  • Lux
  • Lumos
• Part 4: Quests
  • Getting a Quest
  • Types of Quest
  • Quest Cards
  • Quest Card Anatomy
  • Gatherer Quests
  • Harvester Quests
  • Hunter Quests
  • Seeker Quests
  • Tracking Quest Progress
  • Turning in a Quest
  • Dropping a Quest
  • Quest Limitations
• Part 5: Shaping Lux
  • The Solux
  • Using Lux
  • Lux Potions
  • Lux Runes
  • Lux Item Limitations
• Part 6: Bait
  • What is Bait?
  • Using Bait
  • Acquiring Bait
  • Bait Limitations
• Part 7: Additional Stuff

Part 1: Overview

What is "Seekers of a Hidden Light"?

Seekers of a Hidden Light is an add-on for the game Shadows of Malice. It is not required to play the game, but offers additional opportunities, challenges, and flavor for players seeking an added layer of atmosphere and theme. Seekers of a Hidden Light is not a standalone game: Shadows of Malice is required to play.

This add-on introduces several new elements to the base game:

• Quests: Long journeys and dangerous searches for rare items.
• Bait: Foodstuff used to attract creatures in specific terrains.
• Lux: Fragments of pure Light extracted from rare items.
• Lux Potions: Colorless potions brewed with Lux.
• Lux Runes: Powerful, Lux-inlaid inscriptions engraved into items.

Part 2: New Components

What's in the Box?

This add-on contains 1 rule booklet, 32 quest cards, 12 Lux Potion cards, 12 Lux Rune cards, and 84 tokens (shown below, front overlapping back).

• Quest Trove
  • 8 Gatherer quests
  • 8 Harvester quests
  • 8 Hunter quests
  • 8 Seeker quests
• Lux Potion Trove
  • 12 Lux Potions
• Lux Rune Trove
  • 12 Lux Runes
• Bait Tokens (40): Desert, Plain, Forest, Wild, Water, Swamp, Hill and Mountain bait tokens.
• Other Tokens (44):
  • Quest Token (grey) with Spectral Token (Black)
  • Quest Token (grey) with Spectral Token (Blue)
  • Quest Token (grey) with Spectral Token (Green)
  • Quest Token (grey) with Spectral Token (Red)
  • Quest Token (grey) with Spectral Token (Yellow)
  • Sun Well with Dead Well
  • Lux Token with Power Token
  • Gate Seal

Part 3: Lux and Lumos

Lux

Lux is the essence of Light that animates all living things in Aethos. It is the spark of reason, the fire of existence, the substance of the soul. It is Lux that vivifies the stuff of Aethos and gives it life; it is Lux that powers the Gates of Aethos; it is from Lux that the avatars are born and to Lux that they return.

Lumos

The Mystics of Aethos are members of a vast, clandestine network of magical elders called the Lumos. The Lumos use the Gates of Aethos to communicate and travel across the Void between the Fragments of Aeth, and have assigned powerful members of their fellowship to preserve and protect them. The Gate wardens have come to be known as the Mystics of Aethos. Two important groups within the Lumos are the Alcheme and the Lumere. The Alcheme are the Alchemists of Lux. The Lumere are the Gravers of Lux.

Part 4: Quests

Getting a Quest

A quest is given to an avatar by a Mystic acting as an agent of the Lumos. An avatar may use its action while on a Mystic's terrain hex to petition the Mystic for a quest. The avatar chooses the type of quest it desires and draws a random quest of that quest type from the Quest Trove. The quest card will describe the quest objective, the object that the avatar must secure in order to fulfill the quest. If an avatar accepts the quest, the Mystic will bind the avatar to the quest objective. This binding empowers the avatar to collect the object required to fulfill the quest without nullifying the Lux bound within it. There is no time limit on a quest; the avatar may choose to ignore a quest completely until such time as its fulfillment presents itself. Any Mystic may grant a quest petition.

Types of Quest

There are four types of quest: Gatherer, Harvester, Hunter, and Seeker. Each quest requires the avatar to obtain a specific item (e.g., a thistlewind seed, a pincer from a sectoid) and deliver it to a Mystic.

• Gatherer: Obtain an item from a specific terrain.
• Harvester: Obtain a body part from a specific creature type.
• Hunter: Obtain a body part from a specific creature type in a specific terrain.
• Seeker: Obtain a body part from a specific creature type with a specific color ability in a specific terrain.

Quest Cards

Each quest type has a different card back so they can be shuffled in one deck. The four card backs are labelled Gatherer, Harvester, Hunter and Seeker.

Quest Card Anatomy

A quest card has six parts, as illustrated on this sample Harvester quest card.

• A. Quest type. The quest type will be Gatherer, Harvester, Hunter, or Seeker.
• B. Luck Roll modifier. Cumulative bonuses to an avatar's Luck Roll (LR) to acquire or harvest the object required to fulfill the quest. The modifier begins at +0 and increases by +1 on each successive attempt to a maximum of +2.
• C. Quest objective. The object the avatar must acquire to fulfill the quest. If a creature type is listed, the avatar must slay a creature of that type to harvest the object. The avatar may still harvest soulshards from the creature.
• D. Quest reward. The number of soulshards (the icon means the avatar's choice of colors) and/or colored potions (randomly drawn) the avatar receives for bringing the quest object to a Mystic. "X+ [power icon]" means "X+creature's power."
• E. Luck Roll target. The number the avatar must make a LR against to find or harvest a quest object of sufficient quality to fulfill the quest. Quest objects must be flawless and unblemished to satisfy a Mystic. The avatar must roll above the Luck Roll target to find or harvest a suitable specimen.
• F. The amount of Lux the Mystic is able to extract from the quest object. This goes into a common Lux pool called the Solux.

Gatherer Quests

The avatar must travel to a hex of a specified terrain type and use its action to search for the desired object. If the avatar makes a successful LR against the quest's luck roll target, it finds the object and the quest goal is satisfied; if not, it may make another search attempt on its next action. The same terrain hex may be searched until the item is found.

Harvester Quests

The avatar must kill a beast of a specified creature type and harvest the desired object from the body. If the avatar makes a successful LR against the quest's luck roll target, it acquires the desired object and the quest goal is satisfied. If not, the avatar must kill another creature in order to try again.

Hunter Quests

The avatar must kill a beast of a specified creature type in a specified terrain and harvest the desired object from the body. If the avatar makes a successful LR against the quest's luck roll target, it acquires the desired object and the quest goal is satisfied. If not, the avatar must kill another creature in order to try again.

Seeker Quests

The avatar must kill a beast of a specified creature type with a specified color ability in a specified terrain and harvest the desired object from the body. The term spectral denotes the requirement of a colored ability. The specific color is randomly determined when the quest is accepted. If the avatar succeeds in a LR against the quest's luck roll target, it acquires the desired object and the quest goal is satisfied. If not, the avatar must kill another creature in order to try again.

Tracking Quest Progress

An avatar gets a quest token when it accepts a quest. If the quest does not have a spectral component (i.e., not a Seeker quest), the avatar gets a colorless quest token. If the quest has a spectral component, the avatar randomly determines a color and receives a quest token matching that color (black, blue, green, red, or yellow). A quest is incomplete as long as there is a quest token on the quest card.

The quest token is initially placed on the +0 LR modifier on the quest card. This is the avatar's LR modifier on its first searching or harvesting attempt. After each failed attempt, move the quest token to the next LR modifier position on the card (maximum +2). The quest token's position on the card shows the avatar's LR modifier for its next gathering or harvesting attempt. Note that these LR modifiers are due to familiarity with the quest. An avatar may further increase its LR by invoking soulshards.

• Initial placement (for a red Seeker quest): the quest token sits on the +0 position, with the red token shown beside the +1 and +2 positions.
• After 1st failure: the quest token moves to the +1 position.
• After 2nd failure (and all future failures): the quest token moves to the +2 position.

When an avatar fulfills a quest, remove the quest token and place a number of power tokens on the reward area of the quest card equal to the power of the defeated creature (use one token for a Gatherer quest). This signifies that the quest has been completed and tracks the creature's power for the avatar's reward.

Consider the case of an avatar with a Harvester quest for a reptilid. The quest does not have a spectral requirement, so the avatar places a colorless quest token on +0 and begins its quest. Suppose the avatar encounters a reptilid and kills it. To harvest the quest object, the avatar must make a LR against the quest's LR target with its current +0 modifier. Suppose the avatar fails its LR and thereby fails its harvesting attempt. The avatar moves the quest token to the next LR bonus position (+1) on the quest card. The next time the avatar kills a reptilid, it may make another harvesting attempt with a +1 LR modifier.

Suppose that the avatar successfully harvests its quest object from a power 2 creature. The avatar would remove the quest token from the quest card and put 2 power tokens on the reward area of the card. This shows both that the quest is fulfilled and that the object was harvested from a power 2 creature.

Turning in a Quest

Because all Mystics in Aethos are active members of the Lumos, a quest may be turned in to any Mystic. When an avatar delivers the quest object to a Mystic:

1. The Mystic extracts the Lux from the quest object and adds it to the Solux.
2. The Mystic frees the avatar from its binding to the quest and gives the avatar its reward.

For example, suppose an avatar delivers the quest item from a Harvester quest. The Mystic will extract 2 Lux from the item and add it to the Solux. The Mystic will then reward the avatar with 2 + [power icon] soulshards of the avatar's choice of colors and 1 potion randomly drawn from the Potion Trove.

An avatar's band may share in a quest's rewards, but only the avatar bound to the quest may turn in the quest item and claim the reward.

Dropping a Quest

An avatar is bound to its quest. This binding enables it to harvest the quest item without nullifying the Lux within. When an avatar abandons a quest, it breaks this binding: the quest card is returned to the Quest Trove and the avatar suffers 4d★ life token drains. An avatar may use its action to have a Mystic release it from its quest: the card is returned to the Quest Trove and the avatar suffers no drains.

Quest Limitations

An avatar may only be bound to one quest at any time and may not be bound to a new quest until it has been released from or abandoned its prior quest.

Part 5: Shaping Lux

The Solux

As quest objects are collected, the Mystics extract the Lux bound within them to build a common Lux pool called the Solux. For example, a Hunter quest awards a Mystic [Lux icon]. This means that the quest item for a Hunter quest has 4 Lux bound within it that the Mystic can extract and contribute to the Solux. The Solux is the running total of all unused Lux extracted from quest objects during the game. Each game begins with an empty Solux.

Using Lux

When there is sufficient Lux in the Solux, an avatar may call upon a Mystic to summon an Alcheme to brew a Lux Potion or a Lumere to inscribe a Lux Rune. The Solux must contain at least 3 Lux to summon an Alcheme and at least 5 Lux to summon a Lumere. The Mystic's Gate serves as the summoning vehicle. Summoning an Alcheme or Lumere (printed as "Luminere") and engaging its service requires the avatar to be on a Mystic's terrain hex and uses the avatar's action for the round.

Lux Potions

The Alchemists of Lux brew Lux Potions. A summoned Alcheme will remove 3 Lux from the Solux and use it to create a Lux Potion for an avatar. The Lux Potion received by the avatar is drawn randomly from the Lux Potion Trove. The random draw simulates the unique skills, abilities, and knowledge of the particular Alcheme summoned.

A Lux Potion is not bound to the avatar for whom it was brewed. Avatars are free to trade Lux Potions amongst themselves, but may not trade Lux Potions elsewhere (e.g., City of Alchemy). Only an avatar, Mystic, or member of the Lumos may handle a Lux Potion without nullifying it.

Example card, Potion of Purity: "Pour into a revealed Well. Effects are permanent. Purity will turn a Light Well into a Sun Well or turn a Dark Well into a Dead Well."

Lux Runes

The Gravers of Lux inscribe Lux Runes. A summoned Lumere will remove 5 Lux from the Solux and use it to inscribe a Lux Rune on an avatar's choice of one of its non-consumable items (e.g., a weapon, a piece of jewelry). The Lux Rune received is drawn randomly from the Trove of Lux Runes. The random draw of a rune represents the unique training, expertise, and knowledge of the particular Lumere summoned.

Once inscribed, a Lux Rune is permanently engraved on the avatar's chosen item. The item maintains all of its original abilities plus those conferred by the Lux Rune. The inscribing process also permanently binds the item to the avatar. This means that the item may not be given away, traded away, or discarded by the avatar without nullifying the inscribed Lux Rune.

Destroying an item inscribed with a Lux Rune also destroys the Lux Rune. A Lux Rune will remain intact if the item on which it is inscribed follows an avatar through a Return to Light.

Example card, Rune of Shielding, attached to a Fossilbranch Staff: "Whenever the rune holder would sustain X-many wounds or drains after its defenses have been applied, reduce that number by Xd★." The Fossilbranch Staff itself carries the ability "Against Terrovans and Arborans, the avatar gains: +1d2."

Lux Item Limitations

An avatar may only carry one Lux Potion at a time. However, Lux Potions are colorless and do not count against an avatar's colored potion limit: a Lux Potion may be carried with up to 2 additional colored potions. An avatar may only possess one item inscribed with a Lux Rune at any time.

At the start of the game, the players must decide whether expended Lux Potions and lost or destroyed Lux Runes are removed from the game or returned to their Trove. Removal can give these items more of a one-of-a-kind, epic flavor.

Part 6: Bait

What is Bait?

Bait is enticing, tasty food that lures creatures out into the open. Bait is specific to an ecosystem and keyed to a terrain type (e.g., desert food appeals to desert creatures). Bait may only be used in its keyed terrain type. A bait token shows its keyed terrain type as well as whether it is Type 1 (Bait 1) or Type 2 (Bait 2).

Using Bait

Bait is used when provoking an encounter and may be placed by any band member. Bait must be placed prior to making the provocation LR and is wholly consumed when used. Bait affects both the LR to successfully provoke an encounter and the roll to determine creature type given an encounter.

• LR: A +X bonus here adds X to the avatar's LR when attempting to provoke an encounter.
• Creature Type Roll: A +X bonus here gives the avatar an X modification, up or down as the avatar desires, to its creature type roll on a successful provocation. For example, the creature type die roll for a desert hex results in a sectoid (die faces 1, 2, or 3), an avian (faces 4 or 5), or a terrovan (face 6). If an avatar is specifically seeking an avian and has an X = 2 bonus to its creature type roll, the avatar could shift its die roll for creature type up or down by up to 2 points to get the 4 or 5 it needs to generate an avian. This modification is made after the creature type roll is made.

An avatar with bait keyed to the terrain type in which it is attempting to provoke an encounter must declare its intent to use bait prior to making its provocation LR. The bait is consumed when the LR is made and its effects are:

1. The avatar gains +1 to its provocation LR simply for using bait, regardless of whether the bait is Type 1 or Type 2. This bonus is independent of modifiers for using Type 1 or Type 2 bait.
2. For Type X bait, an avatar gains X-many points it may distribute as desired among bonuses to its provocation LR and/or modifications to its creature type roll (see above). For example, an avatar using Type 2 bait could get +2 to its provocation LR and no modification to its creature type roll, or +1 to its provocation LR and a 1 point modification to its creature type roll, or +0 to its provocation LR and a 2 point modification to its creature type roll. This is independent of and cumulative with the +1 provocation LR benefit noted in 1. above.

Acquiring Bait

Selling bait is a service offered by all Mystics. A Mystic will provide one Type 2 bait token of the avatar's terrain choice in exchange for one colorless soulshard. This requires the avatar's action. Avatars may also attempt to harvest bait from creatures they kill. Instead of harvesting Xd★ colorless shards from a creature with X-many life tokens, an avatar seeking bait would harvest (X-1)d★ colorless soulshards and make a LR against a 3. On a successful LR the avatar gains one Type 1 bait token for the terrain in which the encounter took place. For example, an avatar defeating a creature with 4 life tokens in a swamp could harvest 3d★ colorless soulshards and make a LR against a 3 to get one Type 1 swamp bait.

Bait Limitations

An avatar may carry only one bait token at a time, regardless of type. Only one bait token may be used per provocation attempt, regardless of type.

Part 7: Additional Stuff

Three new consequences of using Lux Potions are introduced in this addition: Sun Wells, Dead Wells, and stacked Gate Seals.

• Sun Well: A Sun Well is a Well that counts as two Light Wells for all purposes except generating Radiance Tokens. Avatars do not get an extra Radiance Token if a Light Well becomes a Sun Well. A Sun Well counts as two Light Wells toward an avatar victory. Xulthûl extinguishes a Sun Well the same way it extinguishes a Light Well, however, rather than go out, the Sun Well degrades to a Light Well that Xulthûl must then extinguish.
• Dead Well: A Dead Well is inert. It is neither a Light Well nor a Dark Well.
• Stacked Gate Seals: Gate Seals on Shadow Gates in the Shadow Realm are removed one at a time, so if there are two Gate Seals on a Shadow Gate it will take at least two turns to remove them both. Any Shadow moving onto a sealed Shadow Gate will lose 1d2 life tokens for each Gate Seal on the Shadow Gate.