Trickerion: Dawn of Technology Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
• Changes in Gameplay
  • Gaining & Spending Trickerion Shards
  • Contraptions & the Build Contraption Action
  • Signature Tricks
  • Learning Signature Tricks
  • Preparing Signature Tricks
• End Turn Phase
• End of the Game
• Appendix
  • Special Assignment Cards
  • Contraption Effects
    • Mechanical Contraption — Tesla Coil
    • Optical Contraption — Smoke Machine
    • Spiritual Contraption — Hypnotizer
    • Escape Contraption — Training Machine
  • Dawn of Technology with Other Modules and Expansions
    • + Dahlgaard's Academy
    • + Magician Powers
    • + Dahlgaard's Heir Solo Mode
  • Signature Trick Special Abilities

Components

• 4x Contraption Boards (1 for each Trick category)
• 5x Special Assignment cards (1 for each Trick category)
• 12x Signature Tricks (1 for each Magician)
• 16x Contraptions (4 for each Trick category)
• 25x Trickerion Shards

Game Setup

This chapter describes the setup for a core game with the Dark Alley and Dawn of Technology. Dawn of Technology can only be played with the Dark Alley added to the core game. It can also be played with most of the other expansions released for Trickerion — for setup specifics and rule changes for these cases, refer to the Appendix.

1. Shuffle each new Special Assignment cards (Downtown, Market Row, Workshop, Theater) into their respective decks before placing them onto the Dark Alley slots.

   The illustration marks the five new Special Assignment cards: Tech Expert, Energized Delivery, Chain Reaction, Mechanized Interludes and Dahlgaard's Workshop. Their text is given under Special Assignment Cards in the Appendix.

2. Give each player the Contraption Board corresponding to their chosen Favorite Trick category. Place it to the left of their Player Game Boards so that the Contraption slots are aligned with the Shard slots.

3. Give each player the 4 Contraptions corresponding to their chosen Favorite Trick category. Set them aside for now.

4. Give each player 1 additional starting Trickerion Shard (for a total of 2). Place these Shards on the lowest two slots on their Player Game Board.

5. After all players have chosen a Magician, also give them the Signature Trick belonging to that Magician. Set it aside next to their Player Game Board for now.

IMPORTANT: Players who chose The Mechaniker, Lumenia the Radiant, the Priestess of Mysticism or Professor Bernard as their starting Magician will receive a Level 1 Signature Trick at this point. These players may choose to pay 1 Shard to place their Signature Trick into their Workshop as their starting Trick (instead of a standard Trick) rather than setting it aside. Players may not choose their Signature Trick as their bonus starting Trick if they chose the Engineer as their starting Specialist.

Changes in Gameplay

Gaining & Spending Trickerion Shards

In this expansion, players' Shards are stored on the Shard symbols next to the Contraption slots, on the left edge of their Player Game Board. The Shards that players gain must be placed on these symbols if possible, filling them from the bottom up. Similarly, Shards are spent from these symbols, from the top down. Excess Shards gained are collected separately and are spent before the ones on the symbols.

These Shard symbols will matter during the 'Reactivate Contraptions' subphase (as explained in the End Turn section).

Contraptions & the Build Contraption Action

Contraptions are intricate inventions enhancing your Workshop in various ways. They have two states, Active and Inactive, represented by the two sides of the token. Contraptions can be built on the four Contraption slots. Each slot has a benefit printed adjacent to it — to gain that benefit, you have to use a Contraption on that slot by flipping it from its Active side to its Inactive one.

Unless specified otherwise, each Contraption can be used once per Turn, before you place a Character in the 'Place Characters' phase. The various Contraption benefits are detailed in the Appendix.

The Contraption Boards start empty — Contraptions can be built by taking the new Workshop Action.

BUILD CONTRAPTION (1 Action Point): Place one of your Contraption tokens on the bottommost empty slot on your Contraption Board with its Active side facing up.

The following rules apply to the 'Build Contraption' Action:

• This Action's icon is printed separately on all Contraption slots because it also has a variable Coin cost depending on the slot. If you cannot pay this cost, you may not build a new Contraption.
• Contraptions can only be built from the bottom up — you may not "skip" empty Contraption slots.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you have enough Coins and Action Points, you may always build a Contraption — even if you don't have enough Shards on the symbols adjacent to it. Newly built Contraptions always start Active, which means you will always be able to use them at least once.

You can read more about how to reactivate Contraptions in the 'End Turn' phase section.

Signature Tricks

The Dawn of Technology introduces a new set of Tricks, each specific to a certain Magician. These symbolize that your Magician has mastered one of the original Tricks so well that they took it to a whole new level and now bears their own personal mark.

Each Signature Trick has a regular counterpart in the original Trick lineup, but the Signature version usually has better Yields, more Trick Markers or costs fewer Action Points to Prepare.

IMPORTANT: Signature Tricks also have a special ability that standard Tricks don't — these are detailed in the Appendix.

Learning Signature Tricks

When you take the 'Learn Trick' Action at the Downtown, you may choose to learn your own Signature Trick (set aside during setup) instead of a standard Trick. Note that Signature Tricks also have a Fame Threshold — if you don't have the required amount of Fame, you have to pay Coins equal to the difference between your current Fame and the threshold to learn it.

Once a Signature Trick has been learned, locate its standard counterpart (printed on the back of the card, see example):

(Example in the source: the back of a Signature Trick card reads "Standard: Automaton" and shows a Fame Threshold of 36.)

• If it is in one of the Dahlgaard's Residence decks, remove it from the deck and return it to the box.
• If it is in another player's Workshop, do nothing.
• If it is in your Workshop, replace it with the Signature version, and return the original Trick to the box. Move the Symbol Marker and the Trick Markers (if any) over to the Signature Trick. Note that if the original Trick had Trick Markers in the Theater, those Markers now represent the Signature version.

Preparing Signature Tricks

Signature Tricks are prepared the same way as their standard counterparts (they even have the same Component requirements), with one important exception: to prepare a Level 1/2/3 Signature Trick, you also need to have at least 1, 2 or 3 Contraptions built, respectively.

IMPORTANT: You don't need to have Active Contraptions for this purpose, nor do you have to use them when you prepare the Signature Trick. It is enough to simply have the required number of Contraptions built.

End Turn Phase

Dawn of Technology adds a new subphase to the very end of the 'End Turn' phase: Reactivate Contraptions. During this phase, all Inactive Contraptions with a Shard on all Shard symbols next to their slot are flipped to their Active side.

IMPORTANT: Some of the higher Contraption slots have a Fame value printed below them. You receive this Fame bonus when that Contraption is flipped to its Active side (and not when it is used). In the unlikely case that the Contraption was already Active at the start of the 'End Turn' phase, you do not receive this bonus — only if it is flipped to its Active side.

End of the Game

After the seventh turn, all players' leftover assets and Level 3 Tricks score bonus Fame as usual, with one exception: instead of scoring 1 Fame per Shard, players score 2 Fame for every 3 Shards they have at the end of the game, rounded up (including those on the Shard symbols).

Appendix

Special Assignment Cards

The five new Special Assignment cards are printed as follows. The card art shows a faceted-gem symbol where the text says "Trickerion Shards", and a dark square symbol where it says "Components"; the symbols are transcribed as those resources.

• Tech Expert: You may also reactivate one of your Inactive Contraptions (including gaining its Fame bonus, if any), even if you do not have enough Trickerion Shards.
• Energized Delivery: You may use one of your Contraptions to immediately receive up to two Components available in the Order area. The Contraption's usual effect does not apply.
• Chain Reaction: You may also reactivate an Inactive Contraption (including gaining its Fame bonus, if any), even if you do not have enough Trickerion Shards.
• Mechanized Interludes: You receive 1 Fame and 1 Coin for each of your Contraptions.
• Dahlgaard's Workshop: You may also take one 'Build Contraption' Action without spending any Action Points or Coins.

Contraption Effects

Mechanical Contraption — Tesla Coil

Tesla Coils help power the City of Magoria, granting you extra Coins and Fame in the process.

• Level 1-2: Gain 2 Coins.
• Level 3: Gain 3 Coins. Gain 1 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.
• Level 4: Gain 1 Fame for every 4 Coins you own when you use this Contraption, up to a maximum of 6 Fame. The Coins are not spent.

Optical Contraption — Smoke Machine

Smoke Machines conceal your Tricks on stage, making their exact components impossible to tell.

NOTE: Optical Contraptions can only be used before taking the 'Prepare Trick' Action. You may use multiple Contraptions for preparing the same Trick. You may also use the Contraptions if you have enough Components to prepare the Trick without them (to receive the reactivation Fame bonus).

• Level 1-2: Use this Contraption to lower the Trick's Component requirement by 1 Basic or Advanced Component of your choice.
• Level 3: Use this Contraption to lower the Trick's Component requirement by 1 Basic, Advanced or Superior Component of your choice. Gain 1 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.
• Level 4: Use this Contraption to lower the Trick's Component requirement by up to 2 Basic, Advanced or Superior Components of your choice. Gain 1 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.

Spiritual Contraption — Hypnotizer

The Hypnotizer allows you to "motivate" the townsfolk of Magoria — and your own team — for various powerful effects.

• Level 1: When you place a Character at the Market Row and take a 'Buy' Action, you may use this Contraption to reduce the total amount of Coins you spend by 3 (to a minimum of 1).
• Level 2: Before you place a Character, you may use this Contraption to switch the placed Assignment cards (Permanent or Special) between two of your Characters or return a placed Assignment card to your hand and replace it with another. You may not change cards below Characters already placed.
• Level 3: When you place a Character at the Downtown, before you take an Action, you may use this Contraption to set any of the Downtown dice to a face of your choice. Gain 1 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.
• Level 4: Instead of the 'Place Characters' phase, you may only use this Contraption in the 'Performance' phase, after your own Performance. Double the Performance card bonus on the card you performed. Gain 2 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.

Escape Contraption — Training Machine

A well-trained team can put you ahead of the competition by being able to take more Actions.

NOTE: You may only use a maximum of one Escape Contraption per Character placement.

• Level 1: Use this Contraption to give your Character 1 additional Action Point at the Market Row or the Workshop.
• Level 2: Use this Contraption to give your Character 1 additional Action Point at any Location, except for the Theater.
• Level 3: Use this Contraption to give your Character 1 additional Action Point at any Location.
• Level 4: Use this Contraption to give your Character 1 additional Action Point at any Location. Gain 2 Fame when this Contraption is reactivated.

Dawn of Technology with Other Modules and Expansions

Dawn of Technology is designed to be playable with most of the expansions released for Trickerion so far, but some combinations work better than others. In some cases, a few rule clarifications are also required.

Module	Compatibility
Dark Alley	Compatible
Duel of Magicians	Compatible
Magician Powers	Not recommended together (see below)
Dahlgaard's Academy	Compatible
Dahlgaard's Heir Solo Mode	Compatible

+ Dahlgaard's Academy

Dawn of Technology is fully compatible with the Dahlgaard's Academy expansion, but playing them together is only recommended for players who have played each of them separately at least once. This is the most complex way of playing Trickerion with the longest game time, but for veteran players, it will likely be a very satisfying experience.

If you play these two expansions together, keep the following rules in mind:

• During setup, shuffle the new Academy Special Assignment card provided in this expansion into the Academy Special Assignment deck.
• If you are playing the Quick Start optional rule (detailed in the Dahlgaard's Academy rulebook), each player starts with their first Contraption already built. Also, remember that the Dawn of Technology and the Quick Start ruleset add 1 starting Shard each, which brings the starting Shard count up to 3.

+ Magician Powers

Since these two expansions have quite similar functions, we strongly recommend not playing them together.

+ Dahlgaard's Heir Solo Mode

The solo mode introduced in the Dahlgaard's Academy expansion is fully playable with the Dawn of Technology.

If you play this way, keep the following rules in mind:

• The Heir does not build Contraptions or acquire Signature Tricks. Therefore, playing the solo mode with Dawn of Technology will make it somewhat easier.
• During setup, the Heir also gains 1 additional Shard.
• During the endgame scoring, you score 2 Fame for every 3 Shards you have as usual, but the Heir scores 1 Fame for each of its Shards.
• Optional rule to increase challenge: At the end of the turn, the Heir gains 1 Fame for each Contraption you did NOT reactivate and 1 Coin for each empty Contraption slot you have. If it got neither, it receives 1 Shard.

These expansions are sold separately.

Signature Trick Special Abilities

On top of their better Yields and overall stats, Signature Tricks also each have a special ability. This ability is the same on all Level 3 Signature Tricks, but varies on Level 1-2 Signature Tricks. (The source omits the full stop after "ability".)

• Free Orientation: When you place this Trick's Marker on a Performance card, the corner corresponding to the Trick's category does not have to be in a Link circle. In other words, the Trick Marker can be oriented freely — usually to create a Link that would not be possible otherwise.
• Encore: You may have up to two of this Trick's Markers on one of the Performance cards.
• Resident Trick: If this Trick is part of your own Performance, do not remove it from the Performance card after the 'Performance' phase.

NOTE: If due to some other effect you have 2 Trick Markers of this Trick in your Performance, you still remove one of the two.

• Easy Setup: When you take the 'Set Up Trick' Action in the Theater, for 1 Action Point, you may place up to two of this Trick's Markers on the Performance cards.
• Wildcard Bonus (Level 3 only): During the endgame scoring, you may choose and score the scoring condition of any Level 3 Trick in the same category as this Trick, unless the Trick you would choose is also in your Workshop.