The Order of Vampire Hunters: The Night is Darker Expansion

Expansion for The Order of Vampire Hunters

The Order of Vampire Hunters: The Night is Darker Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Playing the Expansion

The Night is Darker is an expansion for The Order of Vampire Hunters that enables you to play all Hunts with 5 or 6 Hunters. Also, many of the new components, the Hunters, the Desmodus Vampires and the new campaign can be used in 1-4 player games.

18 Highly detailed plastic miniatures:
- 2 new Hunters, Benny and Sebastian.
- 6 new Desmodus Vampires.
- 4 Thralls, in 2 poses.
- 4 Warriors, in 2 poses.
- 2 Upyrs.
2 Hunter ID Cards.
2 Basic Weapon Cards.
1 Vampire ID Card.
2 Large Double-sided Map Tiles.
1 Small Double-sided Map Tile.
18 Encounter Cards.
6 Vampire Activation Cards.
2 Compulsion Cards.
69 Tokens.

New Hunters

The 2 new Hunters, Benny and Sebastian, can be used with the 4 Hunters from the core game in 5 or 6 Hunter games.

However, you are always free to use any combination of Hunters you wish. So if you have other Hunters from different expansions, you may use any of them to play the Hunts in this campaign. Also you may use Benny and Sebastian in any of the existing Hunts from the core game or other expansions.

Vampire Activation Cards

Shuffle the new Activation Cards into your other Level 3 Vampire Activation Cards before drawing the cards for The Night is Darker Hunts. You will play with a mix of new and old cards. You can also do this for any existing Hunt, if you want to add Desmodus Vampires to that Hunt.

If you want to play with more Desmodus in the Den, create the Vampire Activation Decks by selecting Activation Cards from this expansion first and then complete the decks with other cards from your collection.

Compulsion Cards

If you are playing with Turned Hunters, shuffle the new Compulsion Cards with the other Compulsion Cards during setup. The new Compulsion Cards are not specific to this expansion and can be used in any game.

The Night is Darker Campaign

5-6 Hunters

The Night is Darker Hunts have been carefully balanced for 5 or 6 Hunters and will give you the most exciting play with larger groups. To play the campaign with 5 or 6 players, follow the normal setup rules, but create your Encounter Deck using just the Night is Darker Encounter Cards. When you resolve an Encounter, draw a Night is Darker Encounter Card, not a core Encounter Card.

The Night is Darker Encounter Cards are very similar to the core cards and only differ in the color coding:

Blue Bars: Resolve the blue bar for 5-Hunter games.
Pink Bars: Resolve the pink bar for 6-Hunter games.

Example: Resolving an Encounter in a 5-Hunter Game. Magenta has ended her move in an unexplored room and must resolve an Encounter. She draws 2 Encounter Cards, 1 from each deck. Because there are more than 4 players, she follows the green bars on the core game card, placing 2 sleeping Thralls. Next, the new card is resolved, this time using the blue bars for 5 players. In this case, only 2 of the 3 bars on the card are used, placing a Desmodus and a Giant Bat.

You may also include The Night is Darker Vampire Activation and Compulsion Cards.

Nightmare Mode: If you are experienced players, you can increase the difficulty of 5-6 player games by making a small change to this scheme. Resolve the yellow bars from the core card instead of the green bars.

2-4 Hunters

You can play these missions with fewer than 5 Hunters. Simply construct the Encounter Decks using Encounter Cards from the core game (see Spawning Desmodus Vampires below for spawning Desmodus Vampires from core Encounter Cards).

Other 5-6 Hunter Campaigns

With slight modifications, you can take any existing Hunt and play it with 5-6 Hunters. You will need to spawn more Vampires and use more Vampire Activation Cards:

Follow the instructions in the Hunt definition to create an Encounter Deck from the core Encounter Cards. Then repeat this process making a second Encounter Deck from The Night is Darker Encounter Cards. Both decks will have a mix of Level 1 and 2 cards, as described in the Hunt.
Construct your Vampire Activation Decks normally. With more Hunters you will often draw through the whole deck. If the draw deck is empty, shuffle the discard deck to form a new draw deck. Do not add extra cards to the Vampire Activation Decks as you may upset the balance of Level 1, 2 and 3 cards.

When you resolve an Encounter, draw one card from each deck. Resolve the core card using the green bars only. Then resolve The Night is Darker card, using the blue bars for 5-Hunter games and the pink bars for 6-Hunter games. All other Encounter rules are followed normally. For example, during the day, Vampires are placed Asleep. As before, the numbers on the bars show the location where Vampires are placed, not the number of miniatures to use.

Spawning Desmodus Vampires

If you are playing Hunts that use the core Encounter Cards, these cards will not spawn Desmodus Vampires. However, it is easy to add Desmodus Vampires by spawning them instead of a core Vampire. Simply pick a Vampire to replace and replacement frequency:

Spawn Desmodus instead of Warriors (recommended). These Vampires are similar in strength and the Hunt will remain balanced.
Spawn Desmodus instead of Thralls. Desmodus Vampires are a little stronger, so this will make your Hunts slightly harder.
Use Desmodus Vampires for every Spawn (recommended). This will make your game a little simpler, as the number of different types of Vampires does not change. You can leave the core Vampire ID Card and minis in the game box.
Alternately place Desmodus Vampires and the original Vampire type. Using both Vampires will maximize the variety of Vampires in the Den, but you will have to keep track of which Vampire spawns next.

As stated above, including the new Vampire Activation Cards is another way to spawn Desmodus Vampires in your game.

Desmodus Special Abilities

The Desmodus Vampire has 2 Special Abilities that work together.

Envelop: The Envelop ability activates if the Desmodus rolls 2 or more Hits in a single Attack. After resolving the Attack normally, place a Wrapped Token beside the Hunter. Wrapped Hunters cannot perform any Actions until they use an Action to Break Free. Unlike Dig Free, other Hunters cannot help the Wrapped Hunter. However, the Token is removed if another Hunter Destroys the Desmodus.

Squeeze: If the Desmodus has Wrapped a Hunter, it changes how it reacts to Vampire Activation Cards. If a Vampire Activation Card is drawn that Activates the Desmodus, it ignores the Action on the Card and causes 1 Hit to the Wrapped Hunter. This happens for all Actions, including Moving and Attacking other Hunters.

If other cards, for example Terror Cards, refer to the core Vampire, apply that card to the Desmodus Vampire as well.

Campaign

Campaign Map

This Campaign Map shows how to organize the individual Hunts into the Campaign. Follow the arrows to form a continuous path from Hunt 19 to Hunt 24.

As printed, the map links the Hunts as follows: Hunt 19 leads to Hunt 20; Hunt 20 leads either directly to Hunt 22, or to the optional Hunt 21, which leads to Hunt 22; Hunt 22 leads to Hunt 23; and Hunt 23 leads to Hunt 24.

You may not repeat a Hunt. You can complete the final battle in Hunt 24 without winning every Hunt, but if you lose too many, you will lose the Campaign.
Hunt 21 is optional.

New Campaign Rules

Dashboard: All Hunters continue to use the same Dashboard, unless their Reward explicitly awards them a new one.

Hunts

Each Hunt below lists its setup, special rules, objectives, and the rewards and downtime that follow. The Hunt Prologue narrative is omitted; Epilogue narrative is omitted where noted.

Hunt 19: The Compound

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 3 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 force at each of the 3 Entrances.
Clock: Start 4, End 8.
Encounter Deck: 11 Level-1 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 10 Level-2 and 5 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 5 Level-2 and 4 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete joins the Hunt.
Dashboard: The Hunters use the Small Dashboard in this Hunt.
Standalone Play: The Hunters start with no Special Ability or Equipment Cards.

Special Rules

The Blue Door is Locked. Activate the Lever to Unlock the Blue Door. Once Unlocked, it can be Opened normally.

Objectives

Hunters' Primary Objective: If a Hunter Picks Up the Objective Token and leaves the facility, the Hunters gain the Evidence reward. This Objective ends the Hunt normally and the Run reward will not be awarded.
Hunters' Secondary Objective: If a Hunter Destroys a Desmodus, that Hunter gains the It's Real reward.
Turned Hunters' Primary Objective: If all Turned Hunters leave the facility before the Clock runs out, the Turned Hunters gain the Run reward. Do not end the Hunt when the current Turned Hunters leave, as more Hunters may Turn.

Rewards and Downtime

Evidence: The Hunters examine the item they find in the heart of the facility. It is part of an ancient Relic. Take a Relic Card by following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
It's Real: Each Hunter that destroyed a Desmodus gains +2 Focus at the end of the Hunt.
Run: The Turned Hunters run from the facility and are caught by their handlers from the Order, who quickly start the cure. Knowing that the Hunters are safely out, the handlers scour the facility carefully and find the broken Relic. Take a Relic Card by following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
Transfusion Cost: The Transfusion Cost is -3 Focus.
Training: There is enough time to learn 1 new Special Ability before the next Hunt. Follow the normal rules for learning Special Abilities, but each Hunter may only learn a maximum of 1 Ability now.
Equipment: The Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.

Hunt 20: Elder Encounter

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 3 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 force at each of the Starting Areas inside the building.
Clock: Start 4, End 8.
Spawn: Place the Evaki and Theyr miniatures asleep in the Area shown on the minimap and put their Elder ID Cards within easy reach of the players.
Encounter Deck: 11 Level-1 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 8 Level-2 and 7 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 4 Level-2 and 5 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete joins the Hunt.
Standalone Play: Each Hunter randomly draws 1 Special Ability and 1 Equipment Card.

Special Rules

The Blue Door is Locked at the start of the Hunt. Activate the 3 Levers to unlock the Blue Door. Once Unlocked, it can be Opened normally.

Objectives

Hunters' Primary Objective: If the Hunters Destroy Evaki and Theyr, they gain the Defeated Elders reward. This Objective ends the Hunt normally and the Get Out reward will not be awarded.
Turned Hunters' Primary Objective: If all Turned Hunters leave the building before the Clock runs out, the Turned Hunters gain the Get Out reward. Do not end the Hunt when the current Turned Hunters leave, as more Hunters may Turn.
Shared Secondary Objective: If a Hunter or Turned Hunter ends the Hunt with 7+ Focus, they gain the Experienced reward.

Rewards

Failure: If neither the Hunters nor the Turned Hunters achieved their Primary Objective, the Campaign is over.
Defeated Elders: You call your support to clear the building, in case there are any more Vampires to Destroy. The support team also needs to search the building and see what is going on.
Get Out: Some force is driving the Turned Hunters to leave the building. The support team starts the cure and heads into the building to see what is happening.
Experienced: All Characters that end the Hunt with 7+ Focus will use the Large Dashboard in the next Hunt.
Transfusion Cost: The Order administers the Cure immediately. It is not perfect; the transformation will only be reversed for 1 or 2 days. If the Turned Hunters gain the Get Out reward, the quick actions of their handlers mean the Transfusion Cost is -2 Focus. If not, it is -3 Focus.

Downtime – Return Home

Training: There is enough time to learn 1 new Special Ability before the next Hunt. Follow the normal rules for learning Special Abilities, but each Hunter may only learn a maximum of 1 Ability now.
Equipment: The Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.
Play Hunt 22 next.

Downtime – Stay on Site

Training: There is not enough time to learn a new Special Ability before the next Hunt.
Equipment: Your support team brought some equipment and the Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.
Play Hunt 21 next.

Epilogue choice: You must decide whether to stay and investigate again tomorrow (Downtime – Stay on Site) or go back to the Order's HQ (Downtime – Return Home).

Hunt 21: Quarantine

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 3 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 force at each Entrance and 1 at the Starting Area inside the building.
Clock: Start 4, End 8.
Encounter Deck: 11 Level-1 and 1 Level-2 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 8 Level-2 and 7 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 2 Level-1, 2 Level-2 and 8 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete joins the Hunt.
Standalone Play: Each Hunter randomly draws 1 Special Ability and 2 Equipment Cards.

Special Rules

The Blue Door is Locked at the start of the Hunt. Activate the 3 Levers, to unlock the Blue Door. Once Unlocked, it can be Opened normally.

The force in the building must be 2 Hunters. Give an Objective Token to a Hunter that starts in the building, to represent the Relic they found. It must be placed in an empty Inventory Slot.

Objectives

Shared Primary Objective: If a Character leaves the building with the Objective Token, that group gets the Hidden Relic reward. Turned Hunters can obtain this reward. They will carry the Relic in their backpack without knowing what they have.
Shared Secondary Objective: If a Character ends the Hunt with 7+ Focus, they gain the Experienced reward.

Rewards and Downtime

Hidden Relic: Take a Relic Card by following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
Experienced: All Characters that end the Hunt with 7+ Focus will use the Large Dashboard in the next Hunt.
Transfusion Cost: The Transfusion Cost is -3 Focus.
Training: When you get home, there is enough time to learn 1 new Special Ability before the next Hunt. Follow the normal rules for learning Special Abilities, but each Hunter may only learn a maximum of 1 Ability now.
Equipment: The Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.

Hunt 22: Kophas!

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 4 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 Hunter in each Starting Area in the Room with Kophas. The other 2 forces are placed in the other 2 Starting Areas.
Clock: Start 5, End 9.
Spawn: Place the Kophas miniature Awake in the Area shown on the minimap and put the Elder ID Card within easy reach of the players. Use the side with the most Health Points.
Encounter Deck: 9 Level-1 and 2 Level-2 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 2 Level-1, 5 Level-2 and 5 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 4 Level-1, 10 Level-2 and 10 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete is not available.
Standalone Play: Each Hunter randomly draws 1 Special Ability and 2 Equipment Cards.

Special Rules

Resolve the Encounter Card for the Room with Kophas at the very start of the game. Kophas is making a lot of noise, so place these Vampires Awake.
The Hunter that starts beside the Crate is in cover.
Discard all Equipment Cards from the 2 Hunters in the Room with Kophas. They have lost their Equipment in the confusion at the start of the Hunt.
The Blue Door is Locked at the start of the Hunt. Activate the 3 Levers in any order, to unlock the Blue Door. Once Unlocked, it can be Opened normally.
At the very start of each Round, beginning with Round 7, draw an Encounter Card from the Encounter Deck. Spawn those Vampires in the Room where Kophas begins play. They will Activate in the same round they are spawned.
Kophas uses its mind to dominate Turned Hunters and they do not attack Kophas under any circumstances, even if their Compulsion is to Attack Vampires.
When you Defeat Kophas, interrupt the Attack, discard unassigned Wounds and read the Interlude.

Objectives

Hunters' Primary Objective: If a Hunter leaves the facility with Objective Token 1, the Hunters gain the Recovery reward.
Turned Hunters' Primary Objective: If all Hunters are Turned, the Turned Hunters gain the Swap Sides reward.
Shared Secondary Objective: If a Hunter or Turned Hunter ends the Hunt with 7+ Focus, they gain the Experienced reward.

Interlude

Kophas staggers from the blow and steps back, toward the rough tunnel the Burrowers have made. Suddenly, the monster lunges into the hole and disappears from sight. If you made Kophas retreat, you must have dealt it a severe wound, but it is unlikely to be fatal. Remove Kophas from play and stop resolving extra Encounter Cards for this Room.

Rewards and Downtime

Recovery: Take a Relic Card by following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
Swap Sides: The support team waits as long as it can and enters the facility. A thorough search of the building turns up another Relic, as expected. Take a Relic Card by following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
Experienced: All Characters that end the Hunt with 7+ Focus will use the Large Dashboard in the next Hunt.
Transfusion Cost: The Transfusion Cost is -3 Focus.
Training: There is not enough time to learn any Special Abilities before the next Hunt.
Equipment: You brought some extra Equipment with you. The Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.

Hunt 23: Papers

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 3 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 force at each Entrance.
Clock: Start 4, End 8.
Encounter Deck: 12 Level-1 and 3 Level-2 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 4 Level-1, 5 Level-2 and 9 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 1 Level-1, 2 Level-2 and 9 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete joins the Hunt.
Standalone Play: Each Hunter randomly draws 2 Special Ability and 2 Equipment Cards.

Special Rules

There is a torn and dirty set of papers spread over the tunnel floor. A Hunter can stuff the papers in a folder and take them – use the Pick Up Action to place Objective Token 1 in an empty Inventory Slot. This Token can be traded between Hunters like an Item Card. It is too important to Drop.

Turned Hunters cannot Pick Up the folder or Trade it, but if they have it when they Turn, they will not drop it.

Objectives

Shared Primary Objective: If a Character can exit the building with Objective Token 1, gain the Solved Reward. If you do not complete this Primary Objective, you have failed to solve the mystery and the campaign is over.
Hunters' Secondary Objective: Any Hunter that Destroys an Elder gains the Battle Experience reward.
Turned Hunters' Secondary Objective: Any Turned Hunter that has 8+ Focus at the end of the Hunt gains the Battle Experience reward.

Rewards and Downtime

Solved: The reward text is narrative only and is omitted. No further rule is printed for this reward.
Battle Experience: All Characters that gained the Battle Experience reward will use the Large Dashboard in the next Hunt.
Transfusion Cost: The Transfusion Cost is -4 Focus.
Training: There is enough time to learn 1 new Special Ability before the next Hunt. Follow the normal rules for learning Special Abilities, but each Hunter may only learn a maximum of 1 Ability now.
Equipment: The Hunters can use their Focus to purchase Equipment normally.

Hunt 24: Shut Them Down

Setup

Entrance: Split the Hunters into 3 forces as evenly as possible. Place 1 force at each starting area.
Clock: Start 4, End 9.
Spawn: Place the Kophas miniature asleep in the Area shown on the minimap and put the Elder ID Card within easy reach of the players.
Encounter Deck: 8 Level-1 and 3 Level-2 Encounter Cards.
Vampire Day Activation Deck: 4 Level-1, 7 Level-2 and 7 Level-3 Cards.
Vampire Night Activation Deck: 3 Level-1, 6 Level-2 and 9 Level-3 Cards.
Pete and the Extractor: Pete joins the Hunt.
Standalone Play: Each Hunter randomly draws 2 Special Ability and 2 Equipment Cards. In addition, draw 3 Relic Cards, following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.

Special Rules

Begin this Hunt by drawing one more Relic Card, following the rules in Drawing Relic Cards.
You must have a complete, assembled, Relic to attempt this Hunt. If you failed to retrieve enough Relic Components in your previous battles, the Order has lost this Campaign.
The Blue Door is Locked at the start of the Hunt. Activate the 3 Levers in any order, to unlock the Blue Door. Once Unlocked, it can be Opened normally.
After their intensive training, the Turned Hunters will instinctively attack Kophas, without any other change to the Turned Hunter rules. Turned Hunters' Attacks can Wound Kophas when it is in either form. However, their claws are relatively ineffective: Kophas rolls 1D6 for each Hit the Turned Hunters cause and avoids a Wound for each roll of 5+.

Objectives

Hunters' Primary Objective: You must Destroy Kophas. End the Hunt and read Epilogue 1.
Turned Hunters' Primary Objective: You must Destroy Kophas. End the Hunt and read Epilogue 2.
If Kophas is not Destroyed, read Epilogue 3.

Epilogues

Epilogue 1 (read after Destroying Kophas as the Hunters), Epilogue 2 (read after Destroying Kophas as a Turned Hunter) and Epilogue 3 (read if Kophas is not Destroyed) are narrative passages, omitted here. Their closing guidance is printed as follows.

After Epilogue 2: Our Campaigns are intended to be standalone. However, if you have additional miniatures, you may wish to retire the Hunters that Turned in this scenario and/or play your next Campaign with a new Vampire Lord representing the Lord born here. Include Desmodus Vampires in the Night's army to continue this story for one more cycle.
After Epilogue 3: Our Campaigns are intended to be standalone. However, you may wish to extend this story into your next Campaign by continuing to use Kophas and the Desmodus Vampires in that story arc. If you have additional Hunter miniatures, you could even retire the Hunters that lost the fight with Kophas today.