Tales are Real: Animalis vs. Schatten Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents of the Box
• The Animalis
• The Schatten
• Creature Cards
• Equipment Cards
• Special Abilities
• Dice Chance
• Game Setup
• Game Flow
  • 1. Recruitment
  • 2. Equipment
  • 3. Battle
• Victory and Defeat
• Game Mode: 2 vs. 2
• Bonus Game Mode: Survive!

Contents of the Box

• 20 "Animalis" creature cards
• 20 "Schatten" creature cards
• 40 equipment cards
• 18 "Animalis" life markers
• 18 "Schatten" life markers
• 2 W6 dice
• 1 rulebook

Playing time: approx. 15-60 minutes. Players: 2 players, or up to 4 players with a second base game. Recommended age: 14 and up.

Components:

• Creature cards of the Animalis
• Creature cards of the Schatten
• Equipment (shared cards)
• Die: W6
• Life markers of the Animalis
• Life markers of the Schatten

The Animalis

The Animalis can regenerate life points. When an Animalis suffers damage, there is a (dice) chance to fully regenerate it. The ability is triggered after the creature has suffered damage, provided the damage did not reduce its life points completely to zero.

Background: The Animalis are wild beast-creatures from a harsh and hostile world. Because of the hard living conditions of their homeland, they have over time developed extraordinary powers of self-healing. This unique gift allows them to survive even the most severe injuries and to regenerate within a very short time.

The Schatten

The Schatten are able to dissolve their physical form for a short time, making attacks on them more difficult. When they suffer damage, there is a (dice) chance to halve it. Fractions are rounded down. The ability is triggered before the creature suffers damage.

Background: Very little is known about the mysterious shadow creatures. It is said that their home is the Twilight, a parallel world filled with darkness and endless emptiness. Nobody knows how or when the Schatten broke away from their world. One thing is certain, however: they are here - and they are dangerous.

Creature Cards

1. Name of the creature
2. Damage the creature inflicts
3. Life points of the creature
4. Dice chance at which the creature's ability is triggered. Here: on a "1" or higher
5. Tier of the creature. The higher the tier, the more powerful the creature (possible tiers see below)
6. Ability that is unique to the creature's people. Here: Regeneration
7. Individual ability of the creature
8. Equipment points of the creature. These determine which equipment the creature can carry

Tiers (as printed on the card): the top tier is marked "5 ★ Champion ★" with the label "Elite creature" (highest tier); the bottom tier is labelled "Normal creature" (lowest tier).

Equipment Cards

1. Name of the card
2. Damage points that the equipment inflicts additionally
3. Additional life that the creature gains by carrying the equipment. For a shield, the block chance is found here
4. "X" - the equipment is held in the main hand
5. Type of equipment (description see below)
6. "X" - the equipment is held in the off-hand 4 + 6: "X" - the equipment is held two-handed
7. Description of the ability
8. Equipment points required to be able to hold the equipment

Types of equipment:

• Melee weapons inflict the highest damage. They can be held in the main hand or in both hands.
• Ranged weapons allow creatures to attack from a distance. In addition, they receive the ability "First Strike", i.e. they inflict damage on the opponent first.
• Shields can be used to block attacks. If the block is successful, the creature suffers no damage from the attack.
• Potions can be used during the battle and grant creatures special abilities for a certain time.

Special Abilities

Some abilities are named on the card text only with a single word, as their explanation takes up a lot of space. These abilities are listed and explained below.

- First Strike - Creatures with First Strike attack their opponent first. Hits and damage are determined before the opposing creature can attack. If both creatures have First Strike, they attack simultaneously.

- Death Blow - This ability is given together with a dice chance. If the roll succeeds, the opposing creature is destroyed immediately - regardless of the number of its life points.

- Area Damage - When the target is hit, the creatures to the left and right of it suffer area damage. This damage can neither be reduced nor avoided. The people-specific abilities (Regeneration and Shadow Form) are also not triggered by it.

- Provoke - The creature with this ability must begin the turn in order to provoke. It chooses an opposing creature and thereby forces it to attack. The opposing commander can thus not choose for himself which creature he puts into attack mode.

Dice Chance

In the following situations during a battle, a dice roll can or must be made:

1. To trigger the people-specific ability
2. To trigger the individual ability of a creature or equipment
3. To block with a shield

Each roll has a chance to succeed and thereby trigger an action. The dice chance is given as a number followed by a plus sign. For a dice chance of, for example, 4+, a 4 or higher must be rolled. Each commander rolls with one die and has only one attempt for it.

The illustrations in the original rulebook show: the dice chance of the people-specific ability; the dice chance of an ability, here: 5+ for Death Blow; and the dice chance for blocking with a shield.

Game Setup

Before a game begins, each player chooses his people. Who becomes commander of the "Schatten", who of the "Animalis"?

Each commander receives the creature deck and the life markers of his people, as well as one die. He sorts the Champion cards out of the deck, chooses one card from them for the game and places it face down in front of himself. The remaining Champion cards are removed from the game. Then the creature cards are shuffled and placed face down next to the respective commander. The life markers are to be placed next to them.

The equipment cards are available to the commanders jointly. They are shuffled and placed face down in the middle between the commanders. The playing area for a game of Tales are Real is now prepared.

Note: Defeated creatures and their equipment are placed on the so-called "graveyard" (Friedhof) of the respective people. The graveyard is a card pile next to the creature deck.

Game Flow

A game is played over five rounds, each consisting of three phases: (1) Recruitment - (2) Equipment - (3) Battle.

1. Recruitment

In this phase the creatures on the playing area are put into position. In the first round, each commander draws five cards from his creature deck for this and places four of them face up in front of himself. These creatures form the respective armies. The remaining card is placed under the creature deck. Once all armies are set up, the commanders now also reveal their Champion cards and place them in the middle of their army.

Each creature is provided with life markers equal to its life points. The markers are placed below the cards and stand for the creature's life.

If one or more creatures die during a round (exception: Champion), the commander must refill his army at the beginning of each new round by drawing new cards from his creature deck until he again has five creatures placed on the playing area. Only then is the new round played.

Note: Life markers represent the life points of each creature. Each marker is placed below the card and stands for the creature's life.

2. Equipment

At the beginning of a round, each commander draws three cards from the equipment deck and can equip his army with them. Which creature can be equipped in which way depends on two factors: (1) Does the creature still have a hand free, and (2) does the creature have enough equipment points? The equipment cards are placed below the creature cards and, before the start of the battle, can be freely exchanged between creatures or taken back into hand.

Equipment cards are not always optimally usable. They can therefore be exchanged in the equipment phase. For this, three cards are selected from the hand and placed on the graveyard. In exchange, one equipment card may be drawn from the deck.

The illustrations in the original rulebook label: creature in attack mode; battle line of the creatures; life markers; equipment of the creatures.

3. Battle

The battle phase proceeds turn by turn, with both commanders taking turns. The higher dice roll decides who may begin. The active commander selects one of his creatures and puts it into attack mode by pushing the card slightly forward. The opposing commander responds by putting one of his own creatures into attack mode. The creatures then attack each other and follow this sequence: (1) Use potions - (2) Land hits - (3) Determine damage - (4) End the turn.

1. Use potions Potions are only played during the battle phase, when both creatures are in attack mode. Potions are not equipped; they are simply placed on the playing area when they are used. They remain there until the creature's turn is finished and are placed on the graveyard afterwards.

2. Land hits The creatures now attack each other. In principle every attack hits, but some equipment and creatures have the ability to ward off attacks. The ways these abilities work are varied and described in the respective card text. Even if a creature is equipped with a shield, an attack can be warded off with a successful dice roll.

3. Determine damage If a hit is successful, damage is dealt. If both creatures hit, they inflict damage on each other at the same time. Damage can be reduced by equipment, individual creature abilities, and especially by the people-specific abilities.

Damage is always reduced in the same order: first by equipment, then by creature abilities, and finally by people-specific abilities.

Life markers represent the life points of the individual creature. When a creature suffers damage, life markers equal to the damage suffered are permanently removed. Damage suffered remains for the entire duration of the game and reduces the life points of the creature in the rounds to come as well. If the damage suffered exceeds the value of the life markers a creature has available, it is destroyed. The respective commander takes the creature card, as well as its equipment card(s), out of the game and places them on the graveyard.

Example (illustration in the original rulebook): the card in the middle represents an exhausted creature that has already lost two life points and now has only four life points left.

4. End the turn After the mutual exchange of blows, the turn is over and both creature cards are turned sideways. They are thereby exhausted. Exhausted creatures cannot be deployed again in the current round. A round ends when all creatures on the playing area are exhausted. If a new round is then begun, the cards are turned back and are ready for use again in the new round.

Victory and Defeat

The game ends after five rounds at the latest. Victory or defeat depends on how many creatures were destroyed during the game. To determine this, the commanders count the creature cards of their army placed on the graveyard. Normal creatures count once; Elite creatures count double. The commander who has suffered the fewest losses wins.

If, on the other hand, the Champion of a commander is defeated, the battle ends immediately and the opposing commander wins the game.

Game Mode: 2 vs. 2

With a second base game, the game can be played as two teams of two. The same base game may be used twice for this. The game flow and rules in 2 vs. 2 are nearly unchanged, but the entire game setup is present twice.

Special features:

1. Recruitment phase: each player has his own creature deck and has his own creatures on the playing area.
2. Equipment phase: each opposing pairing draws from a shared equipment deck. Only these may draw from it. Within a team, equipment may be exchanged freely.
3. Battle phase: per turn, two creatures per team attack. Either one player sends two creatures into battle simultaneously, or each team member sends one creature of his own.

Team 1 and Team 2 are labelled 1, 2 and 3 in the original illustration.

Bonus Game Mode: Survive!

As an alternative to the standard game, Tales are Real can be played in the game mode "Survive!" (Überleben!). This game mode brings short games of 15-20 minutes, which nevertheless have a lot to them. "Survive!" can also be played in the 2 vs. 2 game mode.

Only a few small changes:

1. Rounds are played until one player has no creatures left on the playing area.
2. There is only one recruitment phase and one equipment phase. These take place in the first round. After that, no creatures can be placed on the playing area or equipped any more.
3. In the equipment phase, seven instead of three cards are drawn and equipped.

Note: the original rulebook prints "Rekturierungs-" in this section, which is a typo for the Recruitment phase ("Rekrutierungs-"); it is translated here as the Recruitment phase.

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The original rulebook's credits block ("Ein Spiel von Richard Heinrich", contributors, copyright and address details) is not transcribed.