Valpiedra: Descensus ad tenebras Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Overview
• Game Objective
  • Goal
  • Victory
  • Defeat
• Setup
• Game Flow
• Game Phases
  • 1. Advance Phase
  • 2. Combat Phase
  • 3. Rest Phase
• Rules Clarifications
  • Creature Effects
  • Special Cases
  • Empty Deck
• Increasing the Difficulty
• Iconography
• Victory
• Acknowledgements
• Credits
• Summary of Game Phases
  • Descent
  • Ascent

Components

• 4 Hero cards
• 1 Health-Evil tracker card
• 1 Valpiedra card
• 18 Rank-1 Creature cards
• 14 Rank-2 Creature cards
• 12 Rank-3 Creature cards
• 8 Level cards
• 2 Relic cards
• 3 Reference cards
• 6 dice
• 14 Damage tokens
• 10 Health upgrade tokens
• 1 Heroes token
• 3 markers

Game Overview

Valpiedra is a cooperative adventure and tactical combat game set in a cursed town besieged by demonic creatures emerging from a hellish rift.

Will you dare descend... and come back?

Game Objective

Goal

Descend to Level IV of the catacombs, recover the Relic, and ascend back to the surface, defeating the Creatures along the way and seal this Portal to Hell forever.

Victory

The Heroes win the game if, after recovering the Relic in Level IV, they manage to ascend back to the surface and complete the Rest Phase in Valpiedra.

Defeat

The Heroes lose the game if any of the following conditions occurs:

• The Damage marker reaches the Heroes' Health marker.
• The Evil marker reaches space 15.

Setup

1. Each player chooses 1 Hero card. In a solo game, choose 2 Heroes.
2. Select the cards according to the number of Heroes:
   • Health-Evil marker: 2 Heroes, 3-4 Heroes.
   • Level setup: 2-3 Heroes, 4 Heroes.
3. Next, arrange the cards as shown in the setup example: Health-Evil tracker card, Valpiedra card, Level I to IV cards with the Descent side face up, and finally the Cursed Relic card.
4. Place the Heroes token on the Valpiedra card, set the Heroes' Health marker to the starting space marked in red (5 or 6, depending on the number of Heroes), and place the Damage and Evil markers next to the tracker card.
5. Group and shuffle the Creature cards separately by rank (1, 2 and 3).
6. Place Creatures face down in each Level as follows:
   • 2 or 4 Heroes: 2 Creatures of the Level's Black Rank card to the right of each Level card.
   • 3 Heroes: 2 Creatures of the Level's Black Rank card and 1 Creature of the Level's White Rank card to the right of each Level card.
7. Set the dice, Damage tokens, and Health Upgrade tokens aside, and within reach of all players.

Game Flow

The game is played over two parts: Descent and Ascent. Each part is made up of three phases, which are repeated until that part is completed.

1. Advance Phase.
2. Combat Phase.
3. Rest Phase.

Game Phases

1. Advance Phase

During the game, the Heroes will progress together as a group through the different levels, starting from Valpiedra.

Valpiedra Card

1. Name.
2. Direction of Advance.
3. Damage from attacks.
4. Extra damage from Vulnerability.
5. Quick effects.
6. Camp.

Level Card

1. Level: Depth at which the Heroes are located.
2. Descent / Ascent: Indicates whether the Heroes are moving down or up in the catacombs.
3. Number of Heroes.
4. Black Creature rank, also referred to with the rank symbol: Rank of the Creatures to be summoned at specific points in the game (Setup, Ascent, or certain game effects).
5. White Creature rank, also referred to with the rank symbol: Rank of the Creatures to be summoned when the Heroes enter this Level.
6. Evil: At the start of the second round (see Combat Phase), increase Evil by 1 if the Heroes are on a Level with this icon. This effect only triggers if, in the previous round, the Heroes did not defeat all the Creatures on this Level.
7. Health Increase: Creatures on the Level gain the indicated amount of Health. Place Health Upgrade tokens on the Creatures as reminder.
8. Pursuit: At the start of the second round (see Combat Phase), Creatures on deeper Levels ascend one Level (for example, Creatures on Level IV ascend to Level III). This effect only triggers if, in the previous round, the Heroes did not defeat all the Creatures on this Level.

Advance Phase is divided into three steps, resolved in order: Descent/Ascent - Summon - Reveal Creatures.

Descent

The Heroes descend, as a group, to the next Level card:

1. If they have not yet reached Level IV, move to the next Level card by placing the Heroes' token on it.
2. Summon 1 Creature of the Level's White Rank card, and place them face-down at that level to the right of the Creatures already there, forming a line.
3. Reveal the Creatures, one by one, from left to right.

Example: If the Heroes advance to this Level card, they will summon 1 Rank-1 Creature and 1 Rank-2 Creature.

Ascent

When the Heroes defeat all Creatures on Level IV and complete the Rest Phase (see Rest Phase) on Level IV, they gain the Relic card. At that moment, follow the instructions shown on the Relic card. From there, the Heroes must ascend Level by Level until they reach the Valpiedra card again, facing new dangers while carrying the Relic. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the same way as explained in the Descent.

Creature Card

1. Name.
2. Creature's Rank.
3. Health: Amount of Damage needed to defeat it.
4. Defense: The Creature does not take Damage from attack dice matching the value shown.
5. Vulnerability: If the Hero has any icon matching this one (Virtue), the Hero deals 1 additional Damage to this Creature for each matching icon.
6. Ability: Produces effects that affect the Level it is in and remains active while the Creature is in play, unless the Ability itself states otherwise.
7. Experience: Heroes may use it to improve their attributes or heal (see Rest Phase).
8. Loot: Type of Equipment Heroes can obtain by defeating the Creature.
9. Loot Ability: The effect granted when equipped by a Hero.

Some Creatures may trigger abilities at specific moments of the turn:

• On reveal: Activated immediately when the Creature is revealed, and cannot be countered.
• End of round: Activated after all Heroes have attacked, before checking if Evil increases. These abilities are resolved from left to right.

2. Combat Phase

This Phase is played over successive rounds until all Creatures on the Level have been defeated, at which point the game proceeds to the Rest Phase. Each round is divided into three steps, resolved in order: Start of Round - Heroes' Attacks - End of Round.

Start of Round

Resolve each of the following icons shown on the Level card where the Heroes are located, as well as any "Start of round" abilities:

• Increase Evil by 1.
• Pursuit: Creatures on deeper Levels ascend one Level (for example, Creatures on Level III ascend to Level II). When one or more Creatures ascend to the same Level where the Heroes are, reveal them from left to right as if they had just been summoned.

These effects do not trigger during the first round, when the Heroes enter a new Level.

Hero Card

1. Name.
2. Range: Maximum distance they can attack.
3. Attack: Number of dice rolled when attacking.
4. Virtue: Strength against Vulnerability.
5. Special Ability.
6. Type and amount of Equipment the Hero can carry.

Example of Range: If the Hero's Range value is 2, they may attack either the first or the second Creature in the line.

Heroes' Attacks

During this step, the Heroes freely choose the order in which they will attack, each becoming the active Hero and fully resolving their attack before passing the turn to another Hero, until all have played.

To attack, the Hero selects a Creature within their Range and rolls as many dice as indicated by their Attack value, which may be modified by the abilities of Creatures or Equipment.

• Each die with a result of 1, 2, or 3 deals 1 Damage.
• If the Creature has any Vulnerability icon, it takes 1 additional Damage for each matching icon present on the Hero's card or their active Equipment.

After the attack (even if the Creature took no Damage):

• If the total Damage inflicted does not equal or exceed the Creature's Health, place on it as many Damage tokens as inflicted. Then, the Creature counterattacks, dealing 1 Damage to the Heroes.
• If the total Damage inflicted equals or exceeds the Creature's Health, it is defeated. Place it in a face-up pile of defeated Creatures to the left of the Level card.

Finally, the remaining Creatures regroup, shifting to the left.

The Heroes may use defeated Creature cards in two different ways: as Experience (see Rest Phase) or as Equipment (see Rest Phase).

During an attack, the Heroes may activate the abilities of their equipped Loot cards.

Each Hero may use their Equipment while they are the active Hero, except for items of the Ring type, which may be used at any time.

Abilities that increase the number of attack dice must be activated before rolling the dice; the rest can be activated after seeing the results.

End of Round

When all Heroes have attacked, the End of Round begins:

• Resolve all abilities with an "End of round" effect, if any.
• Increase Evil by 1 for each Creature without Damage in the Level where the Heroes are located.
• If there are still Creatures in the Level where the Heroes are, start a new round from the Start of Round step. If there are none, immediately begin the Rest Phase.

If the Heroes defeat all Creatures on a Level during the Ascent, they proceed to the Rest Phase and then ascend to the next Level, even if there are still Creatures on lower Levels.

3. Rest Phase

During this Phase, Heroes can perform different actions, in any number and in any order. Creature cards defeated during the Combat Phase will be used as Experience or as Equipment.

Camp

With the Camp action, the Heroes may resolve either of the following effects:

• Increase the Heroes' Health by 1, spending the amount of Experience (see Spending Experience) indicated on the Valpiedra card. (Costs 4 Experience.)
• Remove all Damage from the Heroes, taking the Damage marker off the tracker card. Then, summon a new face-down Creature of the black Rank card indicated on each of the OTHER Levels where the Heroes are not present. (Costs 4 Experience.) For example, if the Heroes remove all damage at level II, summon a Creature of each Level's black Rank card at levels I, III, and IV.

Spending Experience

Before spending Experience, the Heroes may "accumulate" several defeated Creature cards from the same Level to gather the amount of Experience needed to pay for the effect they wish to activate.

Any defeated Creatures not used as Experience or Equipment at the end of the Rest Phase are discarded into their corresponding discard pile, along with Creatures of the same rank.

At any time during the game (even during an attack) the Heroes may check the Creatures they defeated during the Combat Phase and spend the accumulated Experience to perform any number of the quick effects shown on the Valpiedra card:

• Reduce Evil by 1, spending the amount of Experience shown on the Valpiedra card. (Costs 2 Experience.)
• Reduce the Heroes' received Damage by 1, spending the amount of Experience shown on the Valpiedra card. (Costs 3 Experience.)

The effect that increases the Heroes' Health described in the Camp action, which also requires spending Experience, can only be carried out during the Rest Phase.

Example of accumulating Experience: If the Heroes have defeated a Creature worth 4 Experience and another worth 2 Experience, they may use them together to: Reduce Damage by 1 point, paying 3 Experience; reduce Evil by 1 point, paying 2 Experience; spending a total of 5 Experience, with 1 left unused and therefore lost.

Equipping Loot

Each Creature defeated during the Combat Phase provides different Loot that may be equipped by any Hero during the Rest Phase, becoming that Hero's Equipment.

There are 4 types of Equipment, each functioning differently:

• Weapon: Permanently increases the Attack of the Hero who carries it.
• Armor: Permanently grants passive abilities to the Hero who carries it.
• Ring: Grants a specific ability, with the following conditions:
  • Only affects the Hero who has it equipped.
  • Can only be activated once per Level. Rotate it 90º to exhaust it after use. At the end of the Rest Phase, rotate it back to make it available for the next Level.
• Holy Text: Activates a powerful effect, with the following conditions:
  • May be used on any Hero, even those not equipped with this loot.
  • Single use. Discard it after activation, placing the Creature in the discard pile of the corresponding Rank.

Each Hero has 5 Loot slots on their card.

Equip: To equip a Loot card, place it next to the Hero card, showing only the Equipment. A Hero may only carry the Equipment indicated on their card, without exceeding the specified quantities. Each Equipment card occupies one slot and remains in play until it is discarded or replaced. Slots with the wildcard icon allow any type of Equipment to be equipped.

Discard: Heroes may discard Equipment voluntarily or due to game circumstances. The discarded card goes to the discard pile of the corresponding Creature rank.

Trade: Heroes may trade, give or replace Equipment during the Rest Phase. If a Loot card is discarded or replaced, the Creature's Experience can no longer be used.

• Cards used to gain Experience must be placed in the discard pile of the corresponding Creature rank.
• If cards are combined to pay a cost, any unused excess is lost.
• Each defeated Creature can only be used once: either to equip it, or to spend it as Experience, never both.
• Any unused Equipment or Experience at the end of a Level is lost when the Rest Phase ends.

Rules Clarifications

Creature Effects

Creature abilities are only active while the Creature is in play. When defeated, their effects end immediately.

Example: If the Arcane Demon grants +1 Health to all Creatures. When it is defeated that bonus is lost on all Creatures. If any Creature's remaining Health would subsequently drop to 0, it is immediately defeated.

If a Creature permanently changes some state of the game, that effect persists even after it is defeated.

Example: The Martyr of Silence reduces the Heroes' Health at the end of the round. That reduction remains even if the Martyr of Silence is no longer in play.

Special Cases

• Sr. Agnes Ermilia: Thanks to her Special Ability, she may exhaust Holy Texts instead of discarding them after use. For her, they are not single-use.
• Bearer of Thorns: Its loot allows you to reduce either Damage or Evil 1 step.
• Blasphemous Warden: If an adjacent Creature is attacked and the Damage is redirected to the Warden, the creatures do not counterattack if the Warden dies, even if the attacked Creature is still alive. If the redirected Damage comes from an attack on another Creature, the Warden's Defense does not apply. Only the attacked Creature's Defense applies.
• Burning Summoner: Summons a new Creature of the indicated Black Rank when it takes Damage, even if it dies from that same hit.

Empty Deck

What happens if you cannot place a Creature card of a required Rank?

Shuffle the discard pile of the same rank to replenish the deck only when it is completely empty and you need to draw a new card.

If at any point you cannot place a Creature card of the required Rank, follow these rules:

• During Creature placement in Levels, replace the missing card with two Creatures of the next lowest available Rank.
• If there are no longer lower Rank available, do not place a new Creature.

Increasing the Difficulty

Looking for a more challenging game? Try these variants:

Hard Mode. Reduce the Heroes' starting Health by 1 during Setup.

Extreme Mode. Play with the Unholy Relic instead of the Cursed Relic. This adds additional consequences during the Ascent… Only for Heroes unafraid to descend… and even less to ascend.

Iconography

• Health arrow: Increase or decrease the Heroes' Health by one space on the tracker card for each arrow icon.
• Damage arrow: Increase or decrease the Heroes' inflicted Damage by one space on the tracker card for each arrow icon.
• Remove Damage: Reduce the Heroes' Damage to 0 by removing the Damage token from the tracker card.
• Damage token: When a Creature receives Damage, place a Damage token with a value of 1 on it for each point of Damage received. Damage tokens are double-sided, showing values 1 and 3.
• Health Upgrade token: Place Health Upgrade tokens on the Creature according to the requested values. Its Health is increased temporarily by the amount shown. Health Upgrade tokens are double-sided, showing values 1 and 2.
• Evil arrow: Increase or decrease the Evil by one space on the tracker card for each arrow icon.
• Dice icon: The Heroes gain (+) or lose (–) one attack die per icon shown.
• Range: Distance from which the Heroes can attack a Creature.
• Reroll: Reroll one attack die.
• "=" icon: Apply the effect shown after the "=" to all attack dice results matching the value indicated in the icon. If a "1x" appears before the die icon, apply the effect to only one matching die.
• Defense (shield icon): The Creature does not take Damage from attack dice matching the value shown in its shield icon.
• Summon icon: Summon a Creature of the Rank shown on the icon.
• Black/White rank icon: Summon a Creature of the Rank as specified on the level's black or white rank card where the Creature is summoned.
• Summon on other Levels icon: Summon a new face-down Creature of the black Rank card indicated on each of the OTHER Levels where the Heroes are not present.
• Vulnerability / Virtue: If the Hero has any Virtue icon (on their card and equipment) matching the Vulnerability icon shown on the attacked Creature, they deal +1 Damage for each matching icon.

Victory

Do not read until you have completed the adventure.

The Heroes emerged from the depths with torn bodies, broken armor, and faces covered in soot, blood, and ash. Yet despite everything, one of them still clutched the cursed Relic to their chest as if their life depended on never letting it go. Without understanding how or why, the Heroes knelt before the portal, and a phrase burst from their lips like an ancient echo: "That which is below equals that which is above, and that which is above equals that which is below, for the fulfillment of the miracles of the One."

These words tore an invisible breach in the fabric of reality. The box containing the Relic shattered with a sudden, sharp crack. From within, a shard of emerald stone slowly rose, suspended by an immaterial force. Impossible letters, alien to any human alphabet, glowed within its core like green embers. Then, the entire town groaned.

A terrible howl split the skies, and all the demons and restless souls still ravaging the town began to rise, drawn toward the stone. They spiraled upward, merging with it, feeding it. When the last demonic whisper faded, darkness swallowed everything, and the emerald exploded into a blinding light that consumed them all.

When they opened their eyes again, the world had changed.

Before them lay only the smoking remains of the chapel. The altar was now a charred ruin, and the portal to hell was nothing more than a black crack in the ground. Everything seemed calm… except for the fragment. There it was, resting on the earth—intact, but pulsing. The Heroes looked at each other, still dazed, fear pounding in their temples. One of them, unable to resist, leaned down and picked it up. Instantly, a green glow enveloped their body, and as they raised the stone toward the gray sky, a smile slowly spread across their face… a smile that was not their own.

Acknowledgements

To my friends from the testing group 'Factoría de Protos': for your constant support, for the advice that has helped improve this game, and above all, for encouraging me at every step of the way.

To PIF Games, for believing in this project from the very beginning and giving me the creative freedom to develop it alongside them.

And above all, to you, Tere. Thank you for your unconditional love, for your support, and for your infinite patience in putting up with this madman and his constant wild ideas.

Credits

Author: Leandro Félix García.

Editor: Present is Future Games (PIF Games).

Illustration and Graphic Design: Ignacio García González.

Translation - Revision: Etienne Coiffard, Jaime Polo, Teresa Márquez.

This game incorporates elements and symbols of religious inspiration as part of its narrative setting. We wish to make clear that all of them have been used with the utmost respect, with no intent to offend the beliefs of any person or community.

Faith, in the universe of Valpiedra, is portrayed as a positive and powerful force, capable of fighting and eradicating darkness. We hope that the experience will be enriching for everyone, regardless of culture, spirituality, or personal background.

If at any time a participant feels uncomfortable with the theme, we encourage them to contact us. We will be happy to listen, learn, and improve through empathy and dialogue, valuing their perspective.

©2025 Anastasio Martínez León. Present is Future Games is a registered trademark of Anastasio Martínez León. All rights reserved. www.pifgames.com

Summary of Game Phases

Descent

1. Advance Phase

• The Heroes advance to the next Level.
• Summon the indicated Creatures (white rank).
• Reveal the Creatures from left to right.
• Activate any "On reveal" abilities.

2. Combat Phase

• Starting from the second round, activate any Evil and Pursuit icons.
• The Heroes attack in the order they choose.
• Activate any "End of round" abilities.
• Increase Evil (1 per Creature without Damage) on the Level.
• Repeat the Combat Phase if there are still enemies on the Level.

3. Rest Phase

• Spend Experience to: reduce Evil (2 Experience, anytime); reduce Damage (3 Experience, anytime); increase Health (4 Experience, Rest Phase only); or remove all Damage and summon new Creatures on other Levels (4 Experience, Rest Phase only).
• Equip Loot.
• Exchange or discard Equipment.

Ascent

Same Phases as in the Descent, plus:

• Follow the instructions on the Relic card.
• Pursuit: some Creatures ascend from lower Levels.