Thieves Guild

Thieves Guild Rulebook

Table of Contents

Introduction

In the fast paced adventure game "Thieves Guild" you are battling to win the gold of the City of Ladroness. You are in charge of a band of crafty thieves or you command the rugged bounty hunters. To win as a thief you must be daring, carry out bold attacks and swift retreats, and always watch your back! As a bounty hunter you must be merciless in your pursuit, fearlessly corner thieves to defeat them in combat and collect your reward. You may seek your fortune in the city or beyond the city walls. A Thieves Guild is a secret, organized, group of thieves. As leader of your Thieves Guild, you will decide where to hit, and how best to invest your coins. As leader of the Bounty Hunters, you will defend the city of Ladroness, and plan how to bring in the most wanted thieves in the land. This is a game of battle, wits, and the luck of the die!

Object of the Game

Thieves: To collect 50 coins by thieving or using the Black Market, and get them to your base before anyone else, or eliminate all other players (very difficult).

Bounty Hunters: To arrest your set number of thieves (depending on how many players are in the game), or collect 100 coins before thieves get their 50 coins to base, or eliminate all other players (very difficult).

Thieves

There are 3 Thieves Guilds in the game. Each Guild is played by one player and is made up of 4 characters. The 3 Guilds are Humans, Elves, and Orcs. There are differences between the Guilds. A character's agility rating determines how skillful he is as a thief and what he needs to roll for certain situations, such as thieving from a shop. Character's combat ratings show what they need to roll in order to attack or defend in a fight.

Humans have good agility and combat ratings. They are a well-rounded group of thieves. The humans may land on the space of the Witch to acquire 4 free magic items per game.

Elves have the best overall agility and the lesser combat ratings. Although they are not the toughest in battle, they are excellent thieves. The Elves may visit the Enchanted Forest to acquire 4 free magic items per game.

Orcs have the best overall combat rating and the lesser agility rating. Orcs are more of the bandit type. Although their agility is not the best, they are toughest in combat. The Orcs may visit the Grave Mound to be healed four times per game.

Bounty Hunters

The Bounty Hunters are a rugged band of warriors that have been hired to protect the city. They have excellent combat scores and are experienced mercenaries. Led by the horse riding Knight Marshal, their task is to lock up thieves in the Fortress. There are a maximum of six Bounty Hunter characters that you get to play.

Game Setup

Once all the parts are out and ready it's time to set up the game.

All the tokens should be in their corresponding bin in the Master tray. Each player gets one die.
Shuffle Fate cards and place them face down where everyone can reach them.
Shuffle Black Market cards and place 1 face down by each Black Market space on the board. There are 4. Set the remaining cards aside.
Choose your team (Human, Elf, Orc, or Bounty Hunters) and grab your Player Card. Here you will keep track of each of your characters.
Grab your 4 character stands (Thieves). Bounty Hunters get 3 (2 players), 5 (3 players), and 6 (in a 4 player game). Place your characters at your base. Thieves' bases are on the corners of the board and Bounty Hunters begin in the Fortress in the city.
Thieves get 6 coins to hand out to their characters. Place them on your Player Card where it says Coins.
If the Human Guild is playing, place 1 Bless, 1 Curse, 1 Holy Water, and 1 Leaf of Transport token on the Witch space. If the Elven Guild is playing, place 4 Leaf of Transport tokens on the Enchanted Forest space. If the Orc Guild is playing, place 4 Holy Water tokens on the Orc Grave Mound space.
Set the turn counter to 1. This will move at the beginning of each bounty hunter turn.

Basic Strategy

Hint: In Thieves Guild, magic can play an important role. Familiarize yourself with all the magic items in the game, and see how best you may use them to your advantage (pg. 14). There is a limited supply of all magic items, so it is important to get them soon.

Thieves. You must take advantage of the fact that all of the Bounty Hunters start in the City. This is your chance to send your 4 Thieves in any direction with limited safety. You can use the Thieves Tunnel to begin your journey to ransack a couple of shops in the city. You can buy some items at the Black Market, if the price is good. You can purchase your magic items at the Gypsies. You may be able to do all of these things on your first move. The idea is to DO something. You have a small amount of gold coins to begin with, and this is your chance to start to make money. You might also consider sending thieves quickly to your special space to collect free magic items.

How to earn coins (Thieves)

Thieves earn coins in the following ways:

Buy items on the Black Market for a low price, then sell them at another for a higher price
Sack shops in the City of Ladroness
Eliminate another character and collect their coins and items
Having good luck when you land on a Fate space

Bounty Hunters. As a BH you have no time to waste. The best strategy for cornering a thief is to use two bounty hunters. So you should try and keep them in groups of two if possible. Begin to send your men to the outside of the city so they can start arresting thieves. Consider sending a couple back towards the Thieves Tunnel entrance to catch thieves coming in. Keep in mind you may want them to be armed with magic weapons to aid in the capture of these quick thieves. You begin with no coins, but on your next turn every shop in Ladroness will be paying you for your protection. Begin to plan how you will use these gold coins, and send your men to where they will be spending them.

How to earn coins (Bounty Hunters)

Bounty Hunters earn coins in the following ways:

At the start of your 2nd turn, you get 1 coin for every building in town that does not have a Sacked! token, (Fortress not included).
Arrest a thief and get 3 coins. Eliminate a thief and get 5 coins. You also get all of the items and coins he might be carrying.
Having good luck when you land on a Fate space

Your Turn

Thieves go first. The turns begin first with Humans, Elves, Orcs, and then Bounty Hunters. Your turn is done in order. You begin with your number 1 character. You are playing THAT character. When you complete steps 1-3 of the Turn Sequence, you move on to your number 2 character and you are now playing THAT character. This is important as you have to remember that they are separate. The turn sequence contains everything you can do on your turn. It is also done in order. Bounty Hunters, remember to collect your coins at the beginning of your turn and keep track of the Turn Counter (pg. 22).

Turn Sequence

Action - An action is something you do. Here you may do the action that is available to you on that space. It may be the Black Market, Gypsies, Assassins, or some other space. You may also trade items or deal with other characters in your space. Bounty Hunters: Collect Coins. No one is allowed to do a Fate during this first Action phase of the Turn Sequence.
Move - Movement is done 2 ways in TG. If you are outside of the city, you roll one die. You may move up to the number of spaces that you rolled, or not move at all. If you roll an 8 then you may move 0-8 spaces. In the city, all characters move 0-4 spaces. The Knight Marshal (leader of the Bounty Hunters #1) may move up to 7 spaces in the city, and adds a +3 to his die roll outside of the city. This is because he is on horseback.
Action - Do the action that is available to you on that space. If you have moved onto a Fate space this is the time to draw a Fate card. You may also do any other action available to you, as was done in #1 above (Bounty Hunters do not collect coins again). You now move onto your next character. Combat/Sackings are done at the very end of your turn.
Combat/Sacking - These are done after ALL your characters are done with steps 1-3. You then begin with your #1 character. Follow the instructions for the combat sequence and for Sacking. You may not do any other single action after combat or sacking. Your turn is done after you have conducted all sackings and combat.

Combat

Combat Sequence

You may attack once per character, per turn. This is done at the end of your turn only. The exception to this rule is if you are attacked as part of a Fate card, then the Fate card's combat is handled right away. All other combat, sackings, and assassinations are done at the end of your turn. If you are using an assassin, you roll his attack before your characters.

How to Attack:

A. Outside the city, you must land on the same space as your enemy. Inside the city, you must land on an adjacent space. The exception is if your character has the Bow of Distance, (See page 15).

B. Announce to your enemy that you are going to attack them. Point out the characters to engage in the combat. Begin with your #1 character and go in order (1, 2, 3, 4). If your #1 character is not attacking anyone, then move on to your #2 character.

C. Roll Die for your attack. The roll must be equal to or greater than your combat rating, as stated on your Player Card. If the roll is successful, then you have hit your opponent and that character gets a death token placed on their Player Card. You are now done attacking with this character for this turn. Note: If your opponent is eliminated in this fight, he may still retaliate.

D. If you are attacking the same target with two or more characters, you now roll for the next character attacking, and add a death token to the opponent if you hit. Do this once with all characters attacking the same opponent. Note: Assassins attack alone and not with your other characters.

Defender:

A. The character being attacked may now retaliate, whether the attacker was successful or not. Roll die. The roll must be equal to or greater than your combat. If your roll was successful, then you have hit your attacker, and the attacker gets a death token placed on their Player Card. You only get one roll per defender. If the defending character is attacked by more than one character, the defender may roll only one defensive roll, and if successful, choose which character was hit.

B. If you have another character that is in a legal position to attack, then they may also roll to help defend your attacked character. If they roll their combat score or higher, then you add a death token to the attacker. Example: One Bounty Hunter is attacking a Human Thief on a space that has another Human Thief on that space (one Bounty Hunter vs. two Thieves). In this example, the Bounty Hunter may only attack one Thief, but both Thieves may roll for retaliation. Remember, one character may only attack or retaliate to one opposing character per combat sequence. A defender only gets 1 defense roll, not 1 for every character attacking him.

A character's turn is DONE after combat. You may not do any other action.

When a character has 5 Death tokens on his Player Card, that character is eliminated from the game. Remove that character from the board, as it will no longer be used. All of that character's items and coins go to the character that delivered the eliminating blow.

Note: Always announce which character you are trying to hit and which character is attacking before you roll. This will help the game to play smoother.

How To Make An Arrest

Only bounty hunters can make an arrest, and it takes 2 to arrest a thief. It takes 2 hits from 2 bounty hunters on the same combat sequence to make an arrest. The arrested thief and the 2 BH's are placed in the Fortress. More than 2 bounty hunters may hit the thief; but, only 2 bounty hunters can escort the thief to the Fortress. A hit from an assassin does not count for an arrest. Arrested thieves are placed in the Fortress, and may not do anything on their turn unless they roll a successful escape roll. If a bounty hunter hires an assassin, and that assassin eliminates a thief from the game, that counts as 1 elimination for the bounty hunters. When you make an arrest or eliminate a thief, remember to collect any coins or items that thief is carrying. That player must give them to you. If you do not ask for them, then he does not have to offer them. Also collect the playing piece of any character eliminated by a bounty hunter so you can keep track. Black Market items are traded in immediately for the Base price. You collect this right away. You do not need to send your bounty hunter to the Black Market. Place arrested thieves face down in the Fortress. Remember, an arrested thief always gets his defense roll, unless he was hit from afar by 2 Bows of Distance.

The Player Card

This is your command center. Your characters are listed from left to right. You begin your turn with your #1 character and continue to the #2 character. Death tokens are placed on the spaces provided that say "Lives". When all 5 are filled, then that character is eliminated (Bounty Hunters get 6 "Lives"). Magic Items and Weapons are placed on the space that says "Magic Items". You can only carry one per character. A Bless or a Curse token is placed on the space labeled "Bless/Curse". Coins are placed on the space labeled "Coins". Items from the Black Market, such as Gold, Silver, and Poison, are placed on the 5 spaces provided where it says "Items". You may place only 1 token on each space. You can only carry 5 of these items. If you ever acquire more than a character can carry then simply place the item you don't want on the board next to where that character is at. Any other player or character can pick it up on their turn. You can carry an unlimited amount of coins. The Player Card allows you to keep track of what your characters have as far as items, magic, coins, life, and combat/agility ratings.

[Player Card diagram labels: "Death tokens for Bounty Hunters are placed in these empty spaces here." / "Magic weapons and items go here." / "This is the #2 character of the Elves Thieves Guild. Everything he is carrying goes on these spaces of the Player Card." / "Bless/Curse tokens go here." / "Only Black Market items go here."]

Each character is carrying HIS OWN stuff. You can't move items around whenever or to whomever you want. You can't take a Death token off of one of your characters and place it on a different character. If one character lands on a Black Market, but has no coins to buy any items, you can't take the coins from another character and pass them to the one at the Black Market. Each character is on his OWN space and is carrying his OWN items. You can pass items, Magic items, and coins from one character to another during the ACTION part of the Turn Sequence. The characters trading or passing items must be on the same space, outside the city, or on an adjacent space, inside the city. You cannot pass Bless, Curse, or Death tokens.

Important

It is very important that you keep the game fair and play by the rules. When you buy items, make sure you pay the correct amount. Remember to pay for items, when you take them from the Master tray. When you sell items, make sure you are paying yourself the right amount. It's no fun to win or lose unfairly, and fun is the whole point!

Sacking the City of Ladroness

How to sack the Capitol and the Treasury

To sack a building in Ladroness, you must enter it. You may enter only from one of the GREEN spaces outside of the building. These are also the spaces where you must exit. The Capitol and the Treasury have the most gold in them, but are the most difficult to sack. It takes 2 agility rolls or 2 combat rolls to win it. There are 2 guards in each building. Enter the building. At the end of your turn, you may sack it. A thief must decide on agility rolls or combat rolls (one thief cannot do both on the same turn) and announce it to the other players.

Agility rolls:

To create a distraction, roll your agility or higher. To crack the safe, roll at least 2 higher than your agility. If both rolls are successful, you have sacked the place! You get 12 coins!
If you fail on either agility roll, then the guards attack you. The Player for the Bounty Hunters rolls the dice. The guards have a combat score of 6. There is no defense roll. Your character gets a Death token for every hit and is kicked out. Place him on an exit space. This thief's turn is over.

Combat rolls:

To surprise attack guard #1, roll your combat or higher. To defeat guard #2, roll at least 2 higher than your combat. If both rolls are successful, you have sacked the place! You get 12 coins!
If you fail on either combat roll, then the guards attack you. The Player for the Bounty Hunters rolls the dice. The guards have a combat score of 6. There is no defense roll. Your character gets a Death token for every hit and is kicked out. Place him on an exit space. This thief's turn is over.

How to sack a shop in Ladroness

Some shops are more difficult to sack than others. Each has its own agility score, which tells you what you need to roll to successfully sack the shop.

Move a thief into a shop.
At the end of your turn, any thief inside a shop may sack it. Announce that you are going to sack the place and with which thief.
Roll the required agility score for that shop or higher, and you have sacked the shop! Place a Sacked! token on the shop and collect your reward!
If you fail on your agility roll, then the owner of the shop attacks you. The player for the Bounty Hunters rolls the attack die. If the owner rolls the shop's combat score or higher then your thief gets a death token.
Now you may retaliate against the owner. Roll your combat or higher and you have sacked the shop! Place a Sacked! token on the shop and collect your reward!
If you fail on your combat roll, then you are kicked out of the shop. Place your thief on one of the exit spaces of the shop.

A character's turn is DONE after sacking. You may not do any other action.

The City of Ladroness

There is much space to cover in the City of Ladroness. It can take you 4-5 turns just to get in and out of there. Boots of speed and a Leaf of Transport can help you travel much more quickly. In the city there is the Capitol, the Treasury, the Fortress, 6 shops and 2 Thieves tunnels.

The Shops

Thieves may sack the shops. Any character may go in and purchase items at some shops. Shops are protected by Bounty Hunters in the area, but they are also guarded by their owners. Each shop is described here, with the items that can be purchased there, and how to go about sacking the place.

The Wizard - Moreland El Wizard will sell you the following Magic items:

Leaf of Transport - 2 coins
Boots of Speed - 4 coins
Gloves of Agility - 3 coins
Agility Dust - 2 coins

(See page 14 for more information)

Agility Score: Roll 1 over your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: The wizard attacks with a bolt of lightning that never misses. No combat roll is required. If you fail to sack his shop, you will feel his wrath!

Successful Sack: You receive 6 coins and a Leaf of Transport.

The Blacksmith - Criz Tobal the blacksmith offers you the following Magic weapons:

Sword of Flame +1 - 2 coins
Sword of Light +2 - 3 coins
Bow of Distance - 4 coins
Helm of Protection - 1 coin
Shield of the Lion - 2 coins
Shield of the Griffin - 3 coins

(See Magic Weapons on page 15 for more information)

Agility Score: Roll 1 over your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: The Blacksmith swings his hammer with a combat score of 5.

Successful Sack: You get 6 coins and a magic weapon of your choice.

The Tavern - Chuey the Goblin owns this place. He offers refreshing drinks.

Agility Score: Roll your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: Chuey flings a mean dagger with a combat score of 6.

Successful Sack: You receive 7 coins, and a free refreshment.

The Temple - The Cleric, Rey De La Cruz, resides here. He offers the following services and Magic items:

Holy Water - 2 coins
Bless - 2 coins
Curse - 2 coins

(See Magic Items on page 14 & 16 for more information)

Agility Score: Roll 1 over your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: This Cleric carries a massive club and attacks with a combat score of 7. Be wary, if your thief fails to sack the Temple, he will not only be thrown out, but also receive a Curse!

Successful Sack: You receive 5 coins and a Holy Water.

The Market - This small shop is owned by a beautiful Elf named Leenda.

Agility Score: Roll 1 less than your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: Leenda attacks with a small crossbow. Her combat score is 7.

Successful Sack: You receive 4 coins.

The Inn - Managed by Pops the old mercenary, this Inn provides lodgings for the Public.

Agility Score: Roll your agility or higher for a successful sack.

Combat: Pops attacks with his heavy Mace. His combat score is 6.

Successful Sack: You receive 5 coins.

The Fortress

When a thief is arrested, he is placed face down in the Fortress. At the beginning of his next turn, he may try to escape. He must roll at least 2 higher than his agility score. So if his agility is 5, he must roll a 7 or higher. If he is successful, he may continue his turn. If not, he must wait until his next turn to try to escape again. The Fortress is the Bounty Hunter base. It cannot be sacked.

The Thieves Tunnels

There are 2 tunnels at the back of the city. They are surrounded by enter and exit points highlighted in green. These are only for thieves to use. When a thief enters the city through the Thieves Tunnel space, he may choose either of the 2 tunnels in the city to enter. He places his character on the tunnel, and then may move 4 spaces. His first space will be one of the green enter spaces. You cannot enter a building on your first move into the city, unless you have boots of speed. This is because you can only move 0-4 spaces, but all buildings are at least 5 spaces away to enter. You cannot jump from one tunnel over to the other. If you exit out one of the tunnels in the city, you end up at the Thieves Tunnel space on the outside of the city.

Spaces Outside the City of Ladroness

The larger spaces around the board are outside the City of Ladroness. There is a black border that separates the city from the countryside. Each space outside of the city is described here.

ENTER - This space is used to enter and exit the city. When you land here, you may move into the city by moving 1-4 spaces. When you exit the city onto this space, you may roll and move. See page 17 for more info.

FATE - When you land on a Fate space, you must immediately grab a Fate card. Read it aloud to the other players and follow the instructions. When you begin your turn on a Fate space, you do not grab a Fate card. A Fate card is drawn and done only during the 2nd action of the Turn Sequence.

THIEVES TUNNEL - Only thieves may use this space to enter the city. You may place your character on 1 of the 2 tunnels that appear at the end of town and move 1-4 spaces. When you are in the city, you may move to one of the tunnels in the city, and come out at the Thieves Tunnel space outside of the city, and then roll to move.

ASSASSINS - Land on this space to hire an assassin. Pick out the one you want, and pay the cost. Place the assassin card by the character you plan to attack on the board. At the end of your turn, attack with your assassin. He may continue to attack on the same turn until he hits his target, or the target hits the assassin. If you hit your target, that character gets a DT, and you remove the assassin card. If you miss and the target hits, you then remove the assassin card. If you miss and the target misses, then you continue the attack until someone is hit. The assassin card for Neetache the Ninja is seen here.

BLACK MARKET - Here you will buy or sell the following items: Gold, Silver, and Poison. The object is to buy an item at a low price, and then sell it at higher price later. These are the prices:

Item	Lowest	Base	Highest
Gold	3 coins	4 coins	6 coins
Silver	2 coins	3 coins	4 coins
Poison	1 coin	2 coins	4 coins

Only the character that is at the Black Market can look at the card. You have to remember the prices. You can't keep checking back once you move on to another character. Black Market cards change on every 4th turn. It is important to remember to use the turn counter, because at the beginning of the BH's 4th turn, you remove all the BM cards and place new ones down. When a Bounty Hunter lands on a BM space, that BM is closed and may not be used by anyone. See pages 16 & 17 for more info.

GYPSIES - Here you may purchase all magic items and weapons. Items are more expensive at the Gypsies than in town. You must add one coin to the regular cost of any item you buy.

WITCH - 1 Bless, 1 Curse, 1 Holy Water and 1 Leaf of Transport are placed here at the beginning of the game for the Human Guild only. Human thieves may land here and pick them up.

ORC GRAVEMOUND - 4 Holy Waters are placed here at the beginning of the game for the Orc Guild only. Orc thieves may land here and pick them up.

ENCHANTED FOREST - 4 Leaf of Transport tokens are placed here at the beginning of the game for the Elven Guild only. Elf thieves may land here and pick them up.

THIEVES BASE - On each corner, except the Thieves Tunnel, there is a base. One for each Guild. Here your characters are safe. They may not be attacked. However, if your characters attack from base, then the target does get to retaliate. You may place items here at base and no one can come and take them. When you get 50 coins to base, you have won the game! See pages 16 & 17 for more info.

Magic

There are some very useful and powerful magic items, spells, and weapons in Thieves Guild. Here is a description of each, and the rules on how they may be used. On your Player Card, you will see how each of your characters has a single space for a Magic Item. That is because you are allowed to have only one at any given time. There is a separate space for a Bless or a Curse. You can only have one of those as well. It is important to learn and follow these rules as Magic used improperly can change the balance of the game and make things unfair.

Magic Items

Magic Items are purchased at the Wizard and the Temple. You can get them at the Gypsies, but remember to add 1 coin to the regular price of every item.

Gloves of Agility - 3 coins. These are purchased at the Wizard. The owner adds +2 to their die roll when they are rolling for Agility. So if you are trying to sack a shop and roll a 5 on your Agility roll, you add 2 and it is a 7. Another way to look at it is to subtract two from your Agility score. If your character has an Agility score of 5 and he has the Gloves of Agility then it is now 3! There are only 2 sets of Gloves in the game.

Agility Dust - 2 coins. This is purchased at the Wizard. This item acts the same as the Gloves of Agility, except that it may only be used once. When you are going to make an Agility roll, you must announce that you are going to use Agility Dust. You then add +2 to your roll. You then remove your Agility Dust token from your Player Card and place it in the Master bin.

Boots of Speed - 4 coins. These are purchased at the Wizard. The wearer adds +3 to his movement roll outside the city. When you are inside the city you may now move 6 spaces instead of 4. The Knight Marshal is the only character that cannot use Boots of Speed. That is because he is on a horse. He cannot buy 2 pairs of Boots of Speed and then put them on the horse. The other Bounty Hunters and Thieves may use them. There are only 2 pairs of Boots in the game.

Leaf of Transport - 2 coins. This is purchased at the Wizard. A Leaf can transport a character anywhere on the board, except into a building. When you use a Leaf, your turn for that character is DONE. You may not move, or engage in combat. You can buy a Leaf and place it on your Player Card. Then you can buy a 2nd Leaf but you must use it immediately. You can only carry one Leaf. A Leaf is used during the Action phase of the Turn Sequence.

Holy Water - 2 coins. This is purchased at the Temple. When you use a Holy Water, you remove 1 Death Token from your character on the Player Card. You can buy or use as many Holy Waters as you want to on your turn but you can only carry 1. You cannot use a Holy Water after combat or when it is not your turn. Holy Water is used during the Action phase of the Turn Sequence.

Magic Weapons

Magic Weapons are purchased at the Blacksmith. You can buy them at the Gypsies, but remember to add 1 coin to the regular price of every item. There are only 2 of each Magic Weapon in the game.

Sword of Flame - 2 coins - adds +1 to combat roll.

Sword of Light - 3 coins - adds +2 to combat roll.

Bow of Distance - 4 coins - You may attack an enemy from 1, 2, or 3 spaces away from a legal attack point. For every space, you subtract 1 from your combat roll. If you attack from 3 spaces away, then you have a -3 on your combat roll. If you rolled a 10, then it is now a 7. In the city, there can be up to 3 spaces between you and your target. Outside the city, there can be up to 2 spaces between you and your target. If you are outside the city and there are 2 spaces between you and your target, you would subtract 3 from your combat roll, because you are 3 spaces away from a legal attack. A character does not get a defense roll against the Bow, unless he is on a legal space (See part A of combat rules on page 6.), or also has a Bow of Distance.

Helm of Protection - 1 coin - If you are hit in combat, you may roll to block that hit. If you roll 10-12, then you do not get a Death token for that hit. You now may roll your Defense roll.

Shield of The Lion - 2 coins - If you are hit in combat, you may roll to block that hit. If you roll 9-12, then you do not get a Death token for that hit. You now may roll your Defense roll.

Shield of the Griffin - 3 coins - If you are hit in combat, you may roll to block that hit. If you roll 8-12, then you do not get a Death token for that hit. You now may roll your Defense roll.

Spells

There are 2 useful spells you can hire the Cleric from the Temple or the Gypsies to perform.

Bless - 2 coins at the Temple and 3 coins at the Gypsies. When you purchase a Bless, you must immediately place it on the character of your choice. You can buy as many as you like. When a Blessed character is hit in battle, he removes the Bless and does not get a Death token. If you Bless a Cursed character, then that character removes the Curse but does not get the Bless.

Curse - 2 coins at the Temple and 3 coins at the Gypsies. When you purchase a Curse, you must immediately place it on the character of your choice. You can buy as many as you like. When a Cursed character is attacked in Combat, he is automatically hit. The attacker does not need to roll the die. Simply give the Cursed character a Death token. He may attempt to block that hit if he has a Magic Weapon that blocks hits. He does get his Defense roll. A Curse may only be removed after the Cursed character has received a Bless or a Death token. If you Curse a Blessed character, then that character loses his Bless but does not get the Curse.

How to Win the Game

If at any time during the game, you are the only player remaining in the game, because all the characters of all the other players have been eliminated, and you still have at least one character left to play, You Win! Otherwise:

Thieves - You must get 50 coins to your Base first. For example, one of your thieves may have 25 coins, another may have 15, and a third thief may have 10. When a character lands on base, he may take his coins off of the Player Card and place them on his base. Nothing can be taken from his base by other players. The first player to deposit 50 coins at base wins the game!

Bounty Hunters - There are 2 ways to win. One way is to collect 100 coins. You do not have to get them to the Fortress. The other way is by arresting and eliminating Thieves. You can only count Thieves eliminated by or for the Bounty Hunters. In a 2-player game you need 2 thieves in the Fortress (at the same time). Or 2 thieves eliminated. Or 1 thief in the Fortress and 1 thief eliminated. 3-player game - 3 thieves in the Fortress (at the same time). Or 3 thieves eliminated. Or a combination of arrests and thieves eliminated that adds up to 3. Example: 2 thieves in the Fortress and 1 thief eliminated. 4-player game - 4 thieves in the Fortress (at the same time). Or 4 thieves eliminated. Or a combination of arrests and thieves eliminated that adds up to 4. Example: 3 thieves in the Fortress and 1 eliminated.

Rules to Remember

The Black Market: When your character lands on a Black Market space, you may look at the card to see the prices. You can buy or sell items. Buy only as much as you can carry. There are 5 spaces on your Player Card for items. When your character is on the BM (Black Market) space, you can look at the card as many times as you like. When you are done with that character and move on to another character, you cannot look at that BM card again until your next turn, or until another one of your characters lands there. You must remember the prices. When you start your turn on a BM space, you may look at the prices again and buy or sell. If on the same turn you end up at another BM space, you may buy and sell again at the new BM.

Buying and selling items at the BM is done during the Action Phase of the Turn Sequence. You must be sure to pay the right amount and collect the right amount for items. It is up to the players to make sure the game remains fair and is played correctly. When a Bounty Hunter (BH) lands on a BM, it is shut down, and no one can buy or sell items there. That BM is closed until the BH is no longer on that space.

Fate: As soon as you land on a FATE space, you must immediately draw a FATE card and follow the instructions. Read it out loud so that the other players know what you have drawn. If you are starting your turn on a Fate, you do not grab a Fate card for that space, unless you do not move and remain on that space as your turn.

Assassins: Each character you control can hire one assassin per turn. To hire an assassin, you need to land on the Assassins space, and then choose an assassin from the cards that are there. They have different combat scores and prices. You then select a target. Simply place the assassin card next to any character you wish to attack. You cannot put him next to a character that is at their base. You do the attack during the combat phase of your turn before your own characters.

Magic: You can purchase magic items from four places: Wizard's Shop, Cleric's Temple, the Blacksmith, and the Gypsies. The first three are in the city, and the Gypsies are outside the city. You can only buy certain things from each place, but the Gypsies can sell you any of the Magic items and spells for 1 coin more than the regular price. For example, a Bless costs 2 coins at the Temple and 3 coins at the Gypsies. Remember that you may only carry 1 magic item. For example, you might buy 2 Leafs of Transport, or 2 Holy Waters, as long as you place 1 on your Player Card and immediately use the other.

City of Ladroness: When a building is sacked, a Sacked! token of the Guild responsible is placed on it. The token means that no thief can sack this place and that the BH's do not receive a coin from that place. The shop is closed and nothing can be purchased from it. The token is removed by the player who sacked the place at the end of his next turn.

Entrance into the city: Your character may move into the city from a roll, and then move 1-4 spaces into the city. Select a green entrance space to enter on, and that counts as 1 space. Your character may move out of the city, and then roll 1 die for movement outside the city.

Your Base: You and your belongings are safe on base. No one can attack you or take your items that are on your base. Fortress is BH base. If you are on Base, and decide to attack another character that is on your Base, they can retaliate and defend themselves. To win the game, Thieves must have the required amount of coins at their base.

Movement: Characters move by passing, from the space they are on, to any adjacent space; and, every space they move to counts as one space.

Outside the city: If your character is outside of town, you roll a 12 sided die. You may move in either direction up to the number you rolled. If you rolled an 8, you may move 0-8 spaces. Remember the Knight Marshal adds +3 to his roll. Characters may move over or through other characters, and land on spaces with other characters.

Inside the city: A character inside the city may move 0-4 spaces in any direction. A character may move from the space he is on to any other space that is touching the space he is on, even if only the corners are touching. He may not move onto or through RED spaces. He may move over or through other characters, as long as there is an empty space for him to land on. Green spaces are where you Enter or Exit a building.

Entering and Exiting the city: When you enter the city from the front gates, you may move 0-4 spaces immediately. When you exit the city from the front gates, you may roll for movement immediately. When a thief enters town from the Thieves Tunnel, he begins his movement from one of the tunnel exits and may move 0-4 spaces immediately. You begin counting your movement from here. You can make it to the entrance of the Market or the Inn when you first enter, but you cannot make it inside of the building. That will have to be on your next turn.

[Movement diagram, page 18: a worked example on the city board showing Elf Thief Jemar moving from the Tavern exit space into the Blacksmith, with numbered spaces 1 to 4 and the Bounty Hunter Big Lou following. Diagram not reproduced in text.]

In this example, Jemar is moving from the Tavern exit space into the Blacksmith. He moves diagonally from the exit space to 1 then diagonally to 2, across to 3 and then straight into the Blacksmith makes 4 spaces. Big Lou the Bounty Hunter will follow after him. Big Lou is only 3 spaces away from entering the Blacksmith.

Examples

Human Guild - Turn 1

I collect my 6 coins to start and place them on my #4 character's "Coins" space.
I roll the die for my #1 character's movement and get a 4. I move two spaces to the Black Market space and check the card. Gold is 6, Silver is 4, and Poison is 4. I end this character's turn.
I roll the die for my #2 character and get a 12. I move him to the Thieves Tunnel and into the nearest tunnel exit on the right. I then move him 4 spaces into town and place him on the entrance to the Inn. I will sack the Inn on my next turn. I end this character's turn.
I roll the die for my #3 character and get a 7. I move to the Black Market that is only 5 spaces from my base, and check the card. Gold is 3, Silver is 2, and Poison is 1. I now know that I will buy here and sell at the Black Market where my #1 character is at. I end this character's turn.
I roll the die for my #4 character and get a 5. Since he is carrying the 6 coins, I send him to the Black Market where my #3 character is and pay 5 coins for 5 poisons. I place my coins in the Master bin and place 5 poison tokens on my #4 character's "Items spaces" on my Player Card.

On my next turn I will try and get my #4 character over to the Black Market where my #1 character is and sell the 5 poisons. I will collect 20 coins!

Bounty Hunters - 2 player game - Turn 1 following previous example of Human Guild turn 1.

I begin with characters #1, #2 and #3 in the Fortress. I do not collect coins on this turn, but begin to on my second turn. I place a marker on #1 of the Turn Counter.

I move the Knight Marshal out of the Fortress, and out of the city, onto the outside of the board, (The Entrance space). It is exactly 7 spaces. I roll the die for his movement and get a 10. I add +3 and it is 13. I decide to place him next to the Human's #1 character at the Black Market, only 1 space away. This BM is now closed. I will COMBAT him at the end of my turn.
I move my #2 character 4 spaces towards the city exit. This character's turn is done.
I move my #3 character 4 spaces towards the city exit. This character's turn is done.
I announce that the Knight Marshal is attacking Dom Juan, The Human's #1 character.
I roll for my attack and get a 6. My combat rating is 5 so that is a hit. I hand the player of the Human Guild a Death token for him to place on Dom Juan on his Player Card.
Dom Juan rolls his Defense roll and gets a 7. That is a hit.
I place a Death token on the Knight Marshal on my Player Card. My turn is now over.

On my next turn I will move my other 2 Bounty Hunters out of the city and try to make an arrest.

Orc Thief sacking the Temple

At the end of the Orc player's turn he has his #4 Orc, Tusk, in the Temple.
He announces he is going to sack the Temple.
He attempts to roll 1 over his agility or higher but rolls only a 7 and fails.
The Cleric attacks him and the Player who is the Bounty Hunters rolls the die. He gets a 9 and Tusk gets a Death token placed on his Player Card.
Tusk now gets his defence roll and gets a 5. That is a hit and the Cleric surrenders.
Tusk receives 5 coins and a Holy Water. He places them on his Player Card.
The Orc player now places a Sacked! token on the Temple.

Note: The Holy Water may not be used until the next turn during the Do/Action part of the Turn Sequence.

Elven Thief sacking the Capitol

At the end of the Elven player's turn, he has his #3 Elf, Izel, in the Capitol.
He announces he is going to sack the Capitol with Agility rolls.
He attempts first to roll his agility or higher and gets an 8. That is successful.
He attempts his second roll that must be 2 or more over his agility and gets a 6. He fails.
The 2 guards in the Capitol attack him. The player of the Bounty Hunters rolls 2 dice and gets 2 hits.
Izel gets 2 Death tokens added to his Player Card.
The Elven player places Izel on one of the green exit/enter spaces outside of the Capitol.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trade stuff? Only if you are on the same space as another character outside of town or on an adjacent space inside of town. It must be your turn and done during the "Action" part of the Turn sequence. You cannot trade Bless, Curse, or Death tokens.
Who gets the coins? When you start the game, each Thieves Guild gets 6 coins. You place them on the "Coins" space of the characters you want. Bounty Hunters get coins on their 2nd turn and you place them on the "Coins" space of the characters you want. At the beginning of their turn, Bounty Hunters collect 1 coin from every shop that does not have a "Sacked!" token on it and passes them out to the characters of their choice. Other than these examples the character who earns the coins, gets the coins. If a thief sacks a shop, then THAT thief gets the coins. If 2 Bounty Hunters make an arrest, then at least one of THOSE two Bounty Hunters get the coins. If a BH hires an assassin, and that assassin eliminates a Thief who is carrying coins, then those coins go to the BH that hired the assassin.
How much can I carry? This is why you have a Player Card, so you can keep track of how much you are carrying. A Thief can carry 1 Magic item, 1 Bless or Curse, up to 5 Black Market items, and up to 5 Death Tokens. A Bounty Hunter can carry the same things but no Black Market items. You may not stack items on top of one another. If you get more than you can carry, then you must leave the extra items on the board where your character is standing. If you want to trade, then follow the rules to trading.

The Board

[Board diagram, page 21: labelled regions "Orc Base", "Enchanted Forest", "Thieves Tunnels", "Assassins", "Witch", "Elven Base", "Bounty Hunter Base", "Orc Gravemound", "Human Base". Diagram not reproduced in text.]

Turn Counter

Place a coin or marker on the #1 at the start of the Bounty Hunter's 1st turn. Move the marker to #2 at the start of the Bounty Hunter's 2nd turn. Move the marker to #3 at the start of the Bounty Hunter's 3rd turn. Move the marker to the last space at the start of the Bounty Hunter's 4th turn, and change the Black Market cards on the board. On the Bounty Hunter's 5th turn, you move the marker back up to #1. Continue the game in this fashion, and change the Black Market cards on every 4th turn.

[Turn Counter graphic, page 22: numbered spaces 1 to 3 and a final space labelled "Change Black Market Cards". Graphic not reproduced in text.]