The Shadow Over Westminster
The Shadow Over Westminster Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Agents
Illuminati Shadow - The Illuminati network connects the most powerful figures in the world and controls them through information trafficking. A Shadow is a master in acquiring that information.
Shadow abilities focus on removing Exposure.
Knight Templar - Sworn to protect the legacy of humanity from all that is evil, members of the Knights Templar can see the truth hidden behind the shadow, and have guarded against dark powers for over a millenium.
Templar abilities focus on removing or preventing Darkness.
The Watcher - Stories say the Order of the Watchers began as angels sent to watch over mankind. Their descendants carry on the legacy, standing as sentinels against otherworldly forces.
Watcher abilities focus on Research.
The Outsider - A mysterious being whose origins are unknown and that never seems to age. His interest in the source of the Cataclysm is a personal one.
Outsider abilities focus on Investigations. Each Agent starts with their own deck of cards comprised of their Investigation and Research abilities. Each turn, new cards are drawn from their deck into their hand. As cards get used, they will be placed into the discard pile. Through the course of the game, the Agent will have opportunities to take new cards. Whenever a card is taken, it is put into the Agent’s discard pile, and will not be available to be used until it is reshuffled into their deck and drawn.
Agents also have a special ability they can use throughout the game, and a Master Ability they can use once they reach Knowledge level 4 (See The University).
Card Types
Investigation: Played (sometimes over several turns) to complete Investigations and the Cataclysm. When an Investigation card is trashed it is removed from the game.
Research: Spent to acquire new Investigation and Research cards by paying their research cost. Research cards from the Museum are Artifacts that may be played to have additional effects. Research must be spent all at once, and may not be saved between turns. When a Research card is trashed it is removed from the game.
Playing vs. Spending Investigation cards and Artifacts can be Played, which puts them into the play area where they stay until some action removes them. Research cards and Artifacts in play can be Spent, which moves them directly to your discard. Some Artifacts have an ability that requires you to discard them to use, in which case they can not also be Spent.
Disturbance: The challenges faced on Investigations. Once taken, they may be used at the University to learn about the Cataclysm. If the Disturbance Deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new Disturbance Deck.
Exposure: The Agents must remain hidden from the public at large, as revealing their mission would throw the world into a catastrophic panic. Exposure cards do nothing but clog up the Agents’ decks, making it more difficult to succeed at any task. If an Agent is required to draw an Exposure card and there are none remaining, they must reveal a Darkness card instead.
Darkness: The reach of the Cataclysm that is revealed every turn.
Whenever you are directed to take a card, it is placed into your discard pile.
Whenever you are directed to trash a card, it is removed from your deck. Most cards are removed from the game, but Exposure cards are placed back into the Exposure pile.
Setup
Each player chooses an Agent mat and takes the figure that represents them.
Remove the Betrayal Cataclysms that require Agents not in the current game (see The Cataclysm) Shuffle the remaining Cataclysm cards and place one face down onto the Cataclysm space on the game board. Remove the rest from the game.
Separate the Research cards into Personal Case Logs, Talismans, and Artifacts. Separate the Investigation cards into Basic Investigations, Advanced Techniques, and the Special Investigation decks (one deck for each Agent).
Give each Agent four Basic Investigation cards and three Personal Case Log cards. These will be shuffled to form their Deck. Leftover Personal Case Logs are removed from the game.
Along the left side of the board, place two Advanced Technique cards per player into a face up stack. Place the Special Investigation decks for each of the Agents in the current game into separate face up stacks. Any unused Investigation cards are removed from the game.
Separate the Artifacts with a Research cost of 3 from those with a cost of 5. Shuffle each separately, then place the 3’s on top of the 5’s, all face down, forming the Museum Deck. Place the cards off of the board next to the Museum, and place the top 3 cards from the Museum Deck into the green spaces.
Search the Disturbance cards and place one Cult Activity card face up at the Warehouse. Depending on the number of Agents in the game, place a number of Cult Activity cards face up at the Underground.
- 1 or 2 Agents - 1 Cult Activity
- 3 or 4 Agents - 2 Cult Activity
Shuffle the remaining Disturbance cards and place them face down to the right of the board to form the Disturbance Deck.
Shuffle the Darkness cards and place them face down below the Disturbance cards.
Place the Talisman cards face up to the right of the Museum.
Place the stack of Exposure cards below the Artifacts..
Place the Knowledge Marker (white cube) onto the “S” level of the University (first level).
Make a pile of the Darkness tokens (black cubes) near the right side of the board.
Each Agent draws three cards from their Deck to form their starting hand.
Choose an Agent to take their turn first. Play continues clockwise.
Gameplay
Turn Order:
- Reveal and resolve a Darkness Card
- Choose and Move to any location.
- Perform an Action.
- Discard hand and Draw new cards.
Revealing Darkness Cards: Turn over the top card of the Darkness deck. If the card proclaims Darkness in one of the locations, place a Darkness token there. If the location already has three Darkness tokens, then Darkness has engulfed that location (See Locations). Remove all Darkness tokens from that location after dealing with the effects.
The revealed Darkness card is placed face up in a stack beside the board. When the Darkness deck runs out of cards, reshuffle them to form a new Darkness deck.
Many cards and abilities have effects that happen ‘at the start of your turn’. You may resolve these in any order you wish, but they must all happen after revealing the Darkness Card, and before you move or play other cards.
Moving: You may move your figure to any available space at any location, or remain where you are. If all of the spaces at a location are full, you may not move there. You may not choose to move after you have performed any actions at any location. If you are forced to move because Darkness has engulfed your location, you may still choose to move as normal on your turn. The Cataclysm is not an available location until after it has been revealed (flipped face up) by raising the knowledge level to 3 at the University.
Performing Actions: You may perform one action available at your current location (See Locations). If you complete an Investigation and are moved to the Agency, you may not rest or research a new Investigation ability that same turn (unless you have the Antikythera Mechanism). Any time you take a card, it is placed into your discard pile and cannot be used until it is drawn.
Discard and Draw: Discard all cards in your hand. If you wish, you may place one card into the Reserve space on your Agent card instead of discarding it. Then draw the number of cards indicated by the current knowledge level at the University. If you would draw a card but your Deck is empty, shuffle all the cards currently in your discard pile to form your new Deck. A player may not shuffle their Deck until they are required to draw a card and are unable to do so. If your draw pile is empty, there is considered to be no card on the top of your Deck. If there are no cards left in both your Deck and discard pile, your Agent must play with their smaller hand.
The Reserve Space
A card on your Reserve space (left edge of your Agent mat) may be played or spent on your turn, and it is not discarded during the Discard and Draw step. It may not be switched out for a card that is in your hand, but may be discarded at any time to allow you to put a different card in the Reserve. Locations
Locations
The Agency: There are two different actions available at the Agency, resting or researching new Investigation abilities. Only one action may be performed here each turn.
Resting: Trash all exposure from your hand and Reserve space. If, at the start of any turn, an Agent has nothing but exposure in their hand (not including their Reserve card), they must move to the Agency and rest, taking no other actions that turn, and suffering any penalties if they leave an ongoing Investigation.
Researching an Investigation ability: Spend 2 Research to take an Advanced Technique, or spend 4 Research to choose and take one Investigation card from your Agent’s Special Investigation deck. Spent Research cards go into your discard pile.
Special Investigation Cards
Each Agent has a set of skills that makes them unique in the struggle against the Darkness. These abilities are usually used during Investigations just like the Basic Investigation cards, but may also have special effects that occur when they are played. When the text on a card breaks a rule in the rulebook, follow the text on the card.
The Museum: To take an Artifact from the Museum, an Agent must spend a number of Research cards with Research values that add up to at least the cost of the desired Artifact. Spent cards go into your discard pile.
Artifacts Unlike Personal Case Logs or Talismans, the Artifact cards from the Museum are not just for research, they also have special effects that can be used. These Artifacts may be played in front of your Agent card at any time on your turn and remain in play. Their effect is either always in effect, or has some other sort of trigger noted. If their effect says it happens at the start of your turn, you may not use that effect the same turn you equip them. An equipped artifact may be spent for research just like any other Research card. If spent for research, it then goes to your discard.
The University: You may place any number of Disturbance cards into the space at the University. If the number of Disturbance cards at the University is equal to the next Knowledge Level, remove them from the game and advance the knowledge token one level. All Darkness tokens at the University are then removed. You may not place any more Disturbance cards on the same turn after the Knowledge Level has increased. Cards placed at the University remain there when the Agents move away.
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Level 2: All Agents may now draw four cards each turn (on their Discard and Draw step).
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Level 3: All Agents may now draw five cards each turn. Immediately after the turn in which the knowledge token advances, reveal the Cataclysm card. In addition, the situation has escalated and any new Investigations at the Underground will include one additional Disturbance card.
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Level 4: All Agents may now use their Master Ability
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Level 5: All Agents may now draw six cards each turn.
When Darkness engulfs the University - Any Disturbance cards at the University are immediately removed from the game. Any Agents at the University are moved to the Agency and take one exposure. One Darkness token is added to the Cataclysm. Remove all Darkness tokens from the University.
The Warehouse: One Agent will go on an Investigation alone (see Investigations). If no Disturbance card is present when an Agent moves to the Warehouse, draw and place one from the Disturbance Deck.
When the Investigation is completed - The Agent takes the Disturbance card and one Talisman. All Darkness tokens at the Warehouse are removed. The Agent is moved to the Agency. No new Disturbance cards are revealed until an Agent moves to the Warehouse again.
When Darkness engulfs the Warehouse - Failed Investigation: If a Disturbance card is present, it is discarded next to the Disturbance deck. Any Agent at the Warehouse discards all played Investigation cards, is moved to the Agency, and takes one Exposure. One Darkness token is added to the Cataclysm. All Darkness tokens at the Warehouse are removed.
The Underground: Any number of Agents may work together on an Investigation at the Underground (see Investigations). If no Disturbance cards are present when an Agent moves to the Underground, draw a number of them from the Disturbance deck based on the total number of Agents in the game. 1 or 2 Agents - 1 Disturbance 3 or 4 Agents - 2 Disturbances After the Agents have reached Knowledge Level 3 at the University, the situation has escalated, and one additional Disturbance card is drawn when a new Investigation is started.
When the Investigation is completed - All Agents at the Underground may decide how to split up taking the Disturbance cards and a matching number of Talisman cards. If Agents cannot agree on a distribution, they take turns taking one of the available cards, starting with the Agent who completed the Investigation and continuing clockwise until all cards have been taken. All Darkness tokens at the Underground are removed. The Agents are then moved to the Agency. No new Disturbance cards are revealed until an Agent moves to the Underground again. When Darkness engulfs the Underground - Failed Investigation: If there are any Disturbance cards at the Underground, they are discarded next to the Disturbance deck. Any Agents at the Underground discard all played Investigation cards, are moved to the Agency, and take one Exposure. One Darkness token is added to the Cataclysm. All Darkness tokens at the Underground are removed.
Investigations
Investigations are where Agents will use their abilities to work against the Darkness overtaking the city and gain clues about the nature of the Cataclysm.
To play an Investigation card, lay it out in front of your Agent card. You play cards one at a time but may play any number of them during your Action step. The cards remain in play until either the Investigation is complete or you move to a different location. When the sum of all played Investigations of all Agents at the same location is equal to or greater than the total Investigation cost, the Investigation is completed. The total Investigation cost is determined by adding together the Investigation costs of all of the Disturbance cards at that location.
When an Agent ends their turn on an Investigation, they must take 1 Exposure before drawing.
If an Agent moves away from an ongoing Investigation, they discard all their played Investigation cards and take one Exposure. If they were the only Agent on the Investigation, the Investigation is abandoned and all Disturbance cards at that location are trashed.
The Cataclysm: Agents may only move to the Cataclysm after it has been revealed (Knowledge Level 3 at the University). The Cataclysm may have an effect that changes gameplay. Darkness tokens at the Cataclysms may never be removed for any reason, unless the Cataclysm card itself specifically instructs it. The Cataclysm can hold 5 Darkness tokens before it is engulfed. Cataclysm Card The Cataclysm is treated like an Investigation, using the Cataclysm’s difficulty instead of an Investigation cost. The difficulty is based on the number of Agents in the game and is shown on the Cataclysm card. Agents take exposure when they end their turn at the Cataclysm.
If an Agent moves away from the Cataclysm before it is completed, any of their played Investigation cards are discarded, and they take an Exposure.
When the Cataclysm is completed - The world is saved and the game is won.
When Darkness engulfs the Cataclysm - The world is destroyed and the game is lost.
Known Errata
Note added by the transcriber, not part of the preview rules text. The publisher's Kickstarter updates about the final printed rulebook list these corrections, which are NOT applied to the text above:
- The box and rulebook component lists say 15 black cubes, but there are only 14. There are only enough spaces for 14 cubes to be on the board at once. (This preview text says only "a pile of the Darkness tokens (black cubes)".)
- On page 6 of the printed rulebook a text box got the last line cut off. In the grey box labeled "Investigations" the last line should read "the Investigation is abandoned and all Disturbance cards at that location are put into the Disturbance discard pile." (The preview text above reads "...all Disturbance cards at that location are trashed.")