Vast: The Fearsome Foes

Vast: The Fearsome Foes Rulebook

Table of Contents

The Ghost
The Cave Ghost
The Ghoul
The Vile Ghoul
The Nightmare Unicorn
The Shadow Unicorn

The Ghost

The spirit of a long-lost adventurer, cursed to haunt the Cave for eternity. Her only hope of finding peace is to place the few lasting remnants of her mortal life at focal points within the Cave, and then draw enough energy from them to finally escape the curse.

Components

3 Ghost Pieces (Standee, Meeple, Miniature)
1 Ghost Board
1 Cave Ghost Board
9 Possession Cards
6 Artifact Tokens
6 Ghost Tiles
1 Focus Cube
5 Difficulty Variant Cards
1 Reference Card ("Blocking the Ghost")
1 Variant Card ("Crowded House")

The Ghost is a player role that can be added to any other combination of player numbers and roles. We recommend that you use the Ghost to replace one of the five original roles. While you can add the Ghost to the original roles to accommodate six players (or seven if you also include the Ghoul), playing with more than five players may slow down the game significantly.

The Cave Ghost is a player role that replaces the Cave. She shares some parts of the Ghost and the Cave's powers. Instead of collecting Artifacts, she uses the Cave's victory condition of collapsing the Cave.

Both the Ghost and Cave Ghost are advanced roles that should not be used by new players. Either role is best played in an experienced group by a player who is familiar with the rules of all the other roles being played.

How to Win

Find Ghost tiles with the help of other players, lock 5 Artifacts onto Ghost tiles, and then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

Setup

Before you set up the Cave (page 2 in Vast: The Crystal Caverns), return 2 Ambush tiles, 2 Event tiles, and 2 Treasure tiles to the box. Then, when you form the three piles of Cave tiles, shuffle 2 Ghost tiles into each pile, continuing to shuffle until none of the piles shows a Ghost tile on top.

Place the Blocking the Ghost Reference card where everyone can see it.

Using the Focus cube, set your Focus to 0.

Form the Possession deck as follows:

Three or more players: Take the Possession cards matching the roles being played, and return the other Possession cards to the box. (For example, in a game with the Knight, Dragon, and Ghost, you take the Possessed Knight, Possessed Dragon, and Ghost Possession cards.)
Solo or two players: Refer to Possession in Two-Player and Solo Games (page 4) for setup and play rules.

If any Possession cards in the deck refer to Flare, take the Flare Variant card. If other players also get Flare, place the card near the map; each of those players may use it.

Distribute Artifact tokens as follows:

Three or more players: Give 1 Artifact token to each other player except the Cave. Place the remaining Artifact tokens on the Entrance tile.
Solo or two players: Place all Artifact tokens on the Entrance tile.

At the start of your first turn, place the Ghost piece on any unoccupied Dark tile. If no such tile exists, place a Dark tile (provided by the Cave, if present) and place the Ghost piece there.

Then, choose and place a Possession card facedown on your Possession space, and set aside the other Possession cards facedown.

The Ghost does not use the numbers in the top-right corner of Possession cards. These are used by the Cave Ghost.

Turn Summary

The Ghost is seventh in turn order, after the Ghoul.

During your turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Resolve Possession Card
Move and Act
Select Possession Card

Your turn ends when you complete these phases.

At the end of another player's turn, you might also take a possession turn.

Statistics

Your Focus, which may increase through play, sets your Movement and Influence for the current turn.

Movement is the number of spaces you can move per turn.

Influence [INF] determines the strength of your Telekinesis and Possession powers.

1) Resolve Possession Card

Skip this phase during your first turn.

If there is an unrevealed Possession card on the Possession space of your player board, gain 1 Focus.

Then, if the unrevealed card is the Ghost card, you can reveal it to gain its listed bonuses to your Movement and Influence until the end of your turn.

The Ghost Possession card reads: During this turn: +2 Movement, +1 Influence. Its flavour quote is: "My strength is slowly returning. Time to take matters into my own hands…"

You cannot reveal this card if any player piece is on a Ghost tile with a locked Artifact.

2) Move and Act

During this phase, you can move and use Telekinesis in any order and combination.

Move

You may move a number of spaces up to your Movement.

You may move through walls and into any spaces, including open spaces, freely and without effect. (Other players may also enter your space freely and without effect.) However, you cannot end this phase on an open space, a space with any Artifacts, or a space with player pieces who carry any Artifacts.

Telekinesis

You may use Telekinesis to move an object (token or other player piece) that is orthogonal (not diagonal) from you, whether or not it is visible to you. (Visibility is defined on page 5 in Vast: The Crystal Caverns.)

You may move an object in a straight line away from or toward your space, including into your space. (Thus, you can move an object into your space, and then move it away from your space in a different direction.)

Your Influence equals the number of different objects that you can move per turn, and it also equals the total number of spaces that you can move each such object per turn.

You can split up an object's total spaces of movement into multiple moves during your turn, as long as its total movement throughout your turn does not exceed your Influence. (For example, with 3 Influence, you could move an object one space, move your piece, and then move the same object two more spaces. Later in your turn, you could move up to two other objects, each up to three spaces.)

Objects moved with Telekinesis must obey the Forced Movement rules (page 4 in Vast: The Crystal Caverns).

A non-locked Artifact can be moved into Dark or Lit tiles and into spaces that hold other player pieces. It can be moved into your space, but cannot end this phase there. It can be moved through a wall if you have at least 3 Influence and if you have not yet moved it during this turn. Once you move a non-locked Artifact through a wall, you cannot move it further during the same turn.
Crystal, Event, Vault, and Bomb tokens cannot be moved.
The Knight cannot be moved if she has a Hero cube assigned to her Shield.

3) Select Possession Card

Collect all Possession cards except the card (if any) on your Mental Block space. (If you wish, you may show off the Possession card that was on your Possession space.)

Taking a Possession Turn

At the end of another player's turn, you may reveal the Possession card on your Possession space (not your Mental Block space) if the card matches that player. (For example, you may reveal the Possessed Dragon at the end of the Dragon's turn.)

You cannot reveal the Possession card if any player piece is on a Ghost tile with a locked Artifact (so you cannot take a possession turn).
In games without the Cave player, the player taking a turn places or collapses tiles before the Ghost chooses to reveal a Possession card.

When you reveal a matching Possession card, you begin a possession turn.

Rules: You play the turn from its beginning, following the normal rules for the role. However, you must use the statistics and follow the restrictions listed on the Possession card (not the possessed player's statistics). Track the role's victory conditions and other states (Grit, Wakefulness, Fury, etc.) as normal unless noted otherwise on the Possession card.

Components: If you are prompted to gain or use components of the possessed player (such as drawing cards), take them from the appropriate deck or supply, not from the player. At the end of your possession turn, you must discard unused cards and return unused components to their supplies.

Use Limits: The possession turn is not a separate turn, so you continue to follow any limits on the number of times that actions and effects can be used per turn, counting any actions and effects used by the possessed player during their normal turn. (For example, the possessed Dragon cannot remove a second Pride cube for revealing an Event tile if the Dragon player already removed a cube during his turn, the possessed Thief cannot target the same player with Backstab a second time, and the possessed Cave must spend more Omen tokens to use omens such as Hatred and Past Plunder if they were used during the Cave player's turn.)

Information: You do not gain access to private information held by the possessed player, such as cards in their own hand, except for the Cave's hand of tiles (as described on its card).

Dice: If a Possession card prompts you to roll more dice than there are available for use or are included in the game, you can substitute dice or reroll dice to represent the additional dice you need to roll.

(For example, if the Possessed Ghoul prompted you to roll 4 Ghoul dice, you could reroll one die to get a fourth result, but you could choose from all four results. Or if the Possessed Vile Ghoul prompted you to roll 2 Ghoul dice, but all the Vile Ghoul player's dice were assigned to its dice chart, you could roll the Thief die twice and choose from the two results.)

Other Players

Unless specifically noted, other players cannot target the Ghost with attacks, powers, or other effects. There are only two ways for other players to affect the Ghost.

First, if any player piece, except the Ghost, is on a Ghost tile with a locked Artifact, the Ghost cannot reveal a Possession card for any purpose. (The Cave does not have a player piece, so it cannot block Possession cards in this way.)

Second, other players can cause a Mental Block. During another player's turn, if their player piece is on the same space as the Ghost or on an adjacent space (ignore walls), that player can cause the Ghost to have a Mental Block by spending the following:

Knight: Lose [INF+2] Grit.
Goblins: Discard [INF] Secrets cards.
Dragon: Discard [INF] Power cards.
Unicorn: Discard [INF] Unicorn cards.
Thief: Spend [INF] Action cubes.
[Vile] Ghoul: Spend [INF+1] movement points.

The Cave can cause a Mental Block by just affecting the Ghost with Soporific Spores.

Once the blocking player pays for the Mental Block, the Ghost removes the Possession card matching the blocking player from her Possession deck or Possession space, and places the card face-up in her Mental Block space.

If the matching card came from the Ghost's Possession space, she does not take a possession turn at the end of the matching player's turn, and she does not gain 1 Focus during her next Resolve Possession Card phase for having an unrevealed card.

If a second card is added to her Mental Block space, return the first card to her Possession deck.

Artifacts

Artifacts are items that once belonged to the Ghost and are now all that remains of her former, mortal life. Individually they are of little value, but when placed on focal points they amplify the Ghost's powers until she is strong enough to escape the Cave and her curse.

The six Artifact tokens have different artwork, but they do not follow different rules. At the start of the game, each Artifact shows its side without the blue border.

During your turn or a possession turn, if an Artifact, or a player carrying one, enters a Ghost tile without a locked Artifact, then lock the Artifact to the Ghost tile, placing the Artifact there and flipping the Artifact to its blue-bordered side.

Specifically, lock an Artifact in these cases:

If you use Telekinesis to move an Artifact, or a player carrying an Artifact, onto such a Ghost tile.
If a possessed player carrying an Artifact enters such a Ghost tile.
If a possessed player forces another player carrying an Artifact to enter such a Ghost tile.

Do not lock an Artifact in these cases:

If a non-possessed player carrying an Artifact enters such a Ghost tile on their own turn.
If a non-possessed player forces another non-possessed player carrying an Artifact to enter such a Ghost tile.

You win if you lock 5 Artifacts to Ghost tiles, and then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

A locked Artifact cannot be moved in any way. If a Ghost tile with a locked Artifact is ever removed from the map, the Artifact still counts toward the Ghost's victory condition.

If an Artifact is locked during a possession turn, the possession turn ends immediately.

Collecting, Carrying, and Dropping Artifacts

Each player can carry only one Artifact. However, the Cave and the Ghost cannot collect or carry Artifacts.

If the Goblins player gets an Artifact during setup, the Artifact starts the game off the map, and it is given to the first Tribe to reveal. If a Tribe carrying an Artifact leaves the map for any reason, the Artifact leaves the map as well. Whenever the Goblins' Artifact is off the map, give it to the next Tribe to reveal. In total, the Goblin Tribes can carry one Artifact, not three.

At any time during a possession turn, the Ghost may force the possessed player to drop a carried Artifact onto their space. Likewise, if the possessed player is not carrying an Artifact, the Ghost may instead force them to collect a non-locked Artifact on their space.

Dropping or collecting an Artifact does not cost an action or any resource.

Ghost Tiles

Ghost tiles are a new type of Cave tile. When the Cave has a Ghost tile in its hand, it must place the Ghost tile before any other tiles (including Crystal tiles), even when another player is taking a turn. (In games without the Cave player, Ghost tiles do not take priority. They are placed exactly like other Cave tiles when drawn from the stack.)

In addition to an Ambush, Event, or Treasure symbol, the Lit side of each Ghost tile shows a new symbol, the Ghost symbol, which shows that the tile can lock an Artifact.

A Ghost tile with a locked Artifact may be collapsed normally. The locked Artifact still counts toward the Ghost's victory condition.

Ghost tiles without a locked Artifact cannot be collapsed. If a Ghost tile would be removed by the Collapse, remove the next eligible tile instead.

Forced Movement

When forced to move (due to collapsing tiles), the Ghost cannot be moved onto spaces that hold Artifacts.

If a tile with a non-locked Artifact is removed, the player who removed the tile must move the Artifact to any adjacent space without the Ghost. Artifacts cannot be moved through walls during forced movement.

Terrain

The Ghost, possessed players, and Artifacts interact with Terrain tiles as follows:

When you or a possessed player piece enters the River, you may immediately move that piece for free in the direction of the current.
You may enter and move through Pits, spending movement points as normal. You cannot use Telekinesis to move Artifacts onto or through Pits, but other players can carry Artifacts onto and through Pits.
You may enter the impassable spaces of the Canyon, but cannot end your turn there. Artifacts cannot enter the impassable spaces.
You cannot target player pieces in the Mushroom Forest with Telekinesis or Possession. If a possessed player piece enters the Mushroom Forest, the possession turn ends immediately.
You and Artifacts may enter Magma without effect.

Possession in Two-Player and Solo Games

Instead of being able to possess an opponent, you can briefly summon the ghostly remnants of long-lost adventurers and other cave-dwelling creatures to do your bidding before they disappear.

Set up the Possession deck as follows:

In a two-player game, remove the Possession card matching the non-Ghost player.
For any position (1–7) in turn order—except the position of the non-Ghost player—that has multiple roles, randomly remove cards from that position until only one remains.
If the non-Ghost player shares a position with other roles, randomly remove cards of the other roles from that position until only the non-Ghost player and one other role remain.
In a solo game, remove the Ghost Possession card, so that positions 1–6 each have only one Possession card.

(For example, two players are setting up and are playing the Ghost and Dragon. The Ghost starts setting up her Possession deck. She cannot possess her opponent, so she returns the Possessed Dragon card to the box. Next, she sets out the remaining Possession cards, finding that the Possessed Goblins and Possessed Vile Ghoul share position 2 in turn order. She shuffles those two cards and draws one, the Possessed Goblins, so she returns the Possessed Vile Ghoul to the box. Now that each position in turn order only has one card, she collects them to form her Possession deck.)

The Resolve Possession Card phase works as normal. However, if you reveal the Ghost Possession card, remove it from the game at the end of your turn.

The Select Possession Card phase works as normal.

Revealing a Possession card to begin a possession turn works differently:

If the position in turn order of the Possession card is before the non-Ghost player, reveal the card at the end of your turn.
If the position is after, reveal the card at the end of the non-Ghost player's turn.

(For example, if playing against the Dragon, you could choose the Possessed Knight card during the Select Possession Card phase. At the end of your turn, before the Dragon's turn begins, you could reveal the Possessed Knight card to begin the possession turn with the Knight. If you instead chose the Possessed Thief, you could reveal the card at the end of the Dragon's turn.)

At the start of a possession turn, place the player piece (if any) of the possessed role on the map according to its setup rules for placement on its first turn. It does not begin with any Artifacts, but may collect an Artifact from the map to carry.

At the end of a possession turn, drop the Artifact (if any) carried by the possessed player piece onto its space, remove the possessed player piece from the map, and then remove the revealed Possession card from the game.

Player Variants

If you are also playing with the Ghoul, set up the game using the instructions in the Ghoul's Player Variants section first, then add the Ghost using the appropriate instructions below.

In games without a Cave player:

The Ghost reveals a Possession card after a player places or collapses Dark tiles at the end of their turn.
The Ghost places or collapses tiles only at the end of her turn, not after possession turns.

4+ Players

The Ghost can be added as a player role to any variant designed for 3 or more other players.

In games without a Cave player:

The Ghost always gets the Past Plunder Variant card, even if another player would get it or if the variant would not include it.
Each player places or collapses only 1 tile at the end of their turn (instead of placing 1 or collapsing 3).

3 Players

The Ghost can be added as a player role to any 2-player variant designed for 2 players.

If another player would get the Past Plunder Variant card, the Ghost gets it instead.

2 Players

The Ghost can be added as a player role to the solo variant of any other role.

Neither player takes the Alone in the Dark or Alone in the Dark II Variant card.

During setup, place all Artifact tokens on the Entrance tile, and form the Possession deck as described in Possession in Two-Player and Solo Games (page 4).

If you are playing Goblins vs. Ghost, the Goblins must smash 4 or 5 Crystals to win. (Players should agree during setup on the goal number.) The Ghost must lock one more Artifact than the number of Crystals the Goblins must smash.

1 Player / Solo

Take the Alone in the Dark II Variant card. Place or remove tiles only at the end of your turn, not at the end of possession turns. During setup, place all Artifact tokens on the Entrance tile, and form the Possession deck as described in Possession in Two-Player and Solo Games (page 4).

Take the Flare Variant card. After placing tiles according to Alone in the Dark II, roll Flare for each Artifact on a Dark tile, using the Artifact as the center space for the roll.

You win if you lock 5 Artifacts and then escape the Cave.

Choose a difficulty level:

Easy: Form the Possession deck as normal. You lose if 5 Crystal tiles collapse.
Medium: After forming the Possession deck, shuffle the deck, draw three cards to use, and remove the rest from the game. You lose if 5 Crystal tiles or 2 Ghost tiles collapse.
Hard: After forming the Possession deck, shuffle the deck, draw three cards to use, and remove the rest from the game. You lose if 5 Crystal tiles or any Ghost tiles collapse.

Difficulty Variants

You can adjust the difficulty level for the Ghost as follows:

Spirit (Easiest): You must lock 3 Artifacts.
Specter (Easy): You must lock 4 Artifacts.
Ghost (Standard): You must lock 5 Artifacts.
Phantom (Hard): You must lock 5 Artifacts. During setup, remove the Ghost card from your Possession deck.
Wraith (Expert): You must lock 6 Artifacts. During setup, remove the Ghost card from your Possession deck.

Fully Focused Variant

You can combine this variant with any Difficulty card except Wraith to increase your difficulty.

Your victory condition changes as follows:

After locking the number of Artifacts specified by your Difficulty card, you must end your turn on any Ghost tile without a locked Artifact, or you can simply lock another Artifact. (On Ghost or Phantom, this Ghost tile will be the last one remaining.) After doing so, you win if you escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

The Cave Ghost

The spirit of a long-lost adventurer, cursed to haunt the Cave for eternity. Rather than seeking escape or merely an end, she has claimed the Cave as her own, twisting its powers so she might destroy all trespassers.

How to Win

Collapse the Cave. To do so, you must first place all of the Cave tiles, then remove Cave tiles until 5 Crystal tiles have been removed.

Setup

Place the Ghost tiles near you. (Do not shuffle them into the tile stack, as the Ghost does.)

Take the Possession cards matching the roles being played, except for the Ghost card. Return the other Possession cards to the box.

Leave the Artifact tokens in the box.

Follow all of the setup rules for the Cave (page 12 in Vast: The Crystal Caverns).

At the start of your first turn, place the Ghost piece on any unoccupied Dark tile. If no such tile exists, place a Dark tile from your hand, and then place the Ghost piece there.

Turn Summary

The Cave Ghost replaces the Cave in turn order, after the Dragon and before the Thief.

During your turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Collect Omen Tokens
Shape the Cave
Move and Use Powers
Place Treasure
Check Past Plunder

Your turn ends when you complete these phases.

1) Collect Omen Tokens

Collect Omen tokens based on your Isolation plus the number of Crystal tokens and Ghost tiles on the map, as shown below. Do not count those removed from the map, and do not count Treasure tokens (as the Cave does).

Isolation + Crystals & Ghosts	Omen Tokens
1	1
2	2
3–4	3
5–7	4
8–11	5
12+	6

2) Shape the Cave

Choose a tile from your hand and place it, Dark side up, adjacent to any tile on the map. Then, draw a new tile from tile stack and add it to your hand.

If you have any Crystal tiles in your hand, you must place them before placing any other tiles. (Tiles placed during other players' turns do not have to be Crystal tiles.)

Once the last tile in your hand has been placed, the Collapse begins on your next turn.

3) Move and Use Powers

During this phase, you may move and use powers in any order and combination, up to the limits described in their sections.

Moving

During this phase, you may move up to six spaces.

You may move through walls and into any spaces, including open spaces, freely and without effect. (Likewise, other players may enter your space freely and without effect.) However, you cannot end this phase on an open space.

Using Powers

You may use the powers shown on your player board by spending Omen tokens, following the rules for the Cave. Place spent Omen tokens in the Past Plunder space on your player board (instead of returning them to the bag).

Rockslide, Hatred, and Crystal Curse function as the Cave's same omens, except for the following changes:

Rockslide: The Rockslide token can only be placed on an edge adjacent to your space.
Crystal Curse: This power can only affect a space surrounding your space.
Hatred: This power can only affect a space surrounding your space. During the Collapse, tiles you wish to remove with Hatred still follow the normal requirement based on the number of tiles they touch, while also needing to be in a surrounding space. (Tiles added or removed during the Shape the Cave phase do not need to be in surrounding spaces.)
Plot Twist lets you place a Ghost tile (of your choice), Dark side up, in a surrounding space.
Telekinesis works as the Ghost's same ability, but you can move only one object (regardless of Influence), and the distance you can move an object depends on your Isolation from the target object. You may target the same object with multiple uses of Telekinesis (unlike the Ghost).
Possession works as the Ghost's same ability, except that you start the possession turn immediately when you use the power (instead of at the end of the target player's turn), and other players cannot block it in any way. The cost in Omen tokens to possess a player depends on your Isolation from the target plus the role's Possession value (the number listed in the upper corner of the Possession card). When using this power, treat your Influence [INF] as 2.

4) Place Treasure

Place a Treasure token on a Dark tile that does not hold a player piece or Treasure token. If no such tile exists, do not place the Treasure token.

5) Check Past Plunder

If the Past Plunder space on your player board holds 6 or more Omen tokens, return 6 Omen tokens to the bag and place a Treasure token on a Dark tile that does not hold a player piece or Treasure token. If no such tile exists, do not place the Treasure token.

Repeat this phase if 6 or more Omen tokens remain on your Past Plunder space.

Cave Rules

The Cave Ghost follows all of the rules for the Cave listed in its Cave Tiles, Treasures, and Events boxes, except that the Cave Ghost cannot examine the top three cards of the Event deck.

The Cave Ghost also follows all of the rules for the Cave listed in its The Collapse section.

Ghost Tiles (Cave Ghost)

Ghost tiles are a new type of Cave tile. In addition to an Ambush, Event, or Treasure symbol, the Lit side of each Ghost tile shows a new symbol: the Ghost symbol.

Ghost tiles on the map contribute to the number of Omen tokens that you draw during the Collect Omen Tokens phase.

In games with the Cave Ghost, Ghost symbols only show which tiles are Ghost tiles; they have no other effect.

If a Ghost tile is removed from the map before the Collapse, return the tile to your supply (not to the bottom of a tile stack).

You can place Ghost tiles by using the Plot Twist omen.

Isolation

The Cave Ghost's power over entities in the Cave and her attunement to the Cave itself change as she becomes more or less isolated from them.

Isolation is measured in rings of surrounding spaces, ignoring the presence of walls, tile features, and open spaces:

3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 2 2 2 2 2 3
3 2 1 1 1 2 3
3 2 1 G 1 2 3
3 2 1 1 1 2 3
3 2 2 2 2 2 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

(G marks the Cave Ghost's own space.)

During the Collect Omen Tokens phase, measure your Isolation from the closest player piece. (For example, if a Goblin Tribe is in a space marked "2" and the Knight is in one marked "3", your Isolation is 2.) With greater Isolation, you will collect more Omen tokens.

When using Telekinesis or Possession, measure your Isolation from your target. With lower Isolation, your power will be more powerful or less expensive.

Other Players

Unless specifically noted, other players cannot target the Cave Ghost with attacks, powers, or other effects.

Player Variants

The Cave Ghost is an alternative to the Cave, so she may be used in any variant that would include the Cave player, using the setup instructions and victory conditions of the Cave. (Like the Cave, there is no solo variant for the Cave Ghost.)

Crowded House (Variant)

Crowded House is intended for use in games with many players.

The change for games with 4 or more players applies only in games without a Cave [Ghost] player, and it slows down the Collapse to give players more time to complete their victory conditions.

The change for games with 6 or more players gives the Cave [Ghost] player a small boost to help offset the greater number of players who will be collecting Treasures, smashing Crystals, and affecting Isolation.

Difficulty Variants

You can adjust the difficulty level for the Cave Ghost as follows:

Spirit (Easiest): Remove 2 tiles of each type, including Ghost tiles, during setup. Remove Ghost tiles at random, returning them facedown to the box. The Cave collapses when 3 Crystal tiles have been removed.
Specter (Easy): Remove 1 tile of each type, including Ghost tiles, during setup. Remove Ghost tiles at random, returning them facedown to the box. The Cave collapses when 4 Crystal tiles have been removed.
Ghost (Standard): The Cave collapses when 5 Crystal tiles have been removed.
Phantom (Hard): Place 4 Hatred tokens near your board. When you use the Hatred omen while any Hatred tokens remain, you may ignore its effect to instead remove a Hatred token from the game. The Cave collapses when 5 Crystal tiles and all Hatred tokens have been removed.
Wraith (Expert): Place 8 Hatred tokens near your board. When you use the Hatred omen while any Hatred tokens remain, you may ignore its effect to instead remove a Hatred token from the game. The Cave collapses when 5 Crystal tiles and all Hatred tokens have been removed.

The Ghoul

Corrupted by the Cave's power and with the last remnants of its humanity long gone, the Ghoul lives only to hunt. It relentlessly stalks and terrorizes others, growing stronger with each battle, until it is again ready to enter the outside world.

Components

3 Ghoul Pieces (Standee, Meeple, Miniature)
1 Ghoul Board
1 Vile Ghoul Board
3 Ghoul Dice
13 Terror Cards
9 Ghoul Discs
1 Fury Cube
5 Difficulty Variant Cards
1 Ghoul Reference Card ("Attacking the Ghoul")

The Ghoul is a player role that can be added to any other combination of player numbers and roles. The Ghoul focuses on building up Fury by hunting and stalking indiscriminately. We recommend that you use the Ghoul to replace one of the five original roles. While you can add the Ghoul to the original roles to accommodate six players (or seven if you also include the Ghost), playing with more than five players may slow down the game significantly.

The Vile Ghoul is a player role that replaces the Goblins and focuses on killing the Knight, Dragon, or Unicorn. It works similarly to the Ghoul, but uses its dice differently and draws cards more often.

How to Win

Gain Fury equal to your Fury goal by attacking other players and collecting Treasures, then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

Your Fury goal equals 7 + the number of players, up to a maximum of 14. (For example, in a two-player game, you would need 9 Fury, while in a five-player game, you would need 12 Fury.)

Setup

Place the Ghoul piece, Ghoul dice, and Ghoul discs near your player board.

Shuffle the Terror cards to form the Terror deck.

Place the Fury cube on the "0" space of the Fury track.

At the start of your first turn, place the Ghoul piece on any unoccupied Dark tile. If no such tile exists, place a Dark tile (provided by the Cave, if present) and place the Ghoul piece there.

Turn Summary

The Ghoul is sixth in turn order, after the Thief and before the Ghost.

Each turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Roll and Set Statistics
Move and Act
Set Defense

Your turn ends when you complete these phases.

Statistics

Unlike the other roles, the Ghoul doesn't have statistics that remain stable throughout play. Instead, the Ghoul rolls dice each turn, giving it points to spend on various actions.

1) Roll and Set Statistics

First, remove any Ghoul discs from your Attack space and return them to your supply. (You won't need to do this on your first turn.)

Then, roll all three Ghoul dice. If the sum of all three dice is 7 or less, draw a Terror card. (If you are playing on Hard or Expert difficulty level, you roll only 2 dice, and you draw a Terror card if the total roll is 4 or less.)

Next, choose two dice and set aside the third die (it will not be used on this turn). The die with the higher value is your movement points, and the die with the lower value is your attack points.

To track your movement points, use the die you rolled. If you gain movement points and need to track a number higher than 6, use Ghoul discs.

To track your attack points, place an equal number of Ghoul discs on the Attack space of your player board, and set aside the die you rolled. If you gain attack points, add Ghoul discs to this space.

2) Move and Act

During this phase, you can spend movement points to move and to collect Treasure tokens and Dragon Gems, and you can spend attack points to attack other players and smash Crystal tokens. You can also use the effects of your Terror cards (page 3).

Move

You may move to an adjacent space by spending 1 movement point.

You may enter Lit and Dark tiles. You do not reveal Dark tiles when you enter them.

You must spend +1 movement point to move through a wall.

You must spend +1 movement point to enter a space that holds any number of other player pieces without immediately attacking. If that space holds any player pieces that you cannot attack, you must spend +1 movement point even if you immediately attack another player piece on that space.

Even if you cannot attack a player piece, you may still enter its space if you spend +1 movement point.

Collect Treasures and Gems

You may collect Treasure tokens and Dragon Gems on your space by spending 2 movement points per Treasure or Gem collected.

If you collect a Dragon Gem, roll the Dragon die. If it affects the center tile, you skitter (it's a trap!) and return the Gem to the Dragon's supply. If it does not affect the center tile, take a Treasure token from the Cave's supply (or map, if supply empty) and return the Gem to the Dragon's supply.
If you collect a Treasure token, place it on the Treasure space on your player board. The Thief can use Pickpocket to steal Treasure tokens on your Treasure space.

Whenever you have 2 Treasure tokens, you gain 1 Fury and return both tokens to the Cave's supply.

Attack

If you are on a space with another player piece, you can attack the player piece by spending Ghoul discs equal to 1 + the target's defense statistic (Strength, Armor, or Stealth).

You cannot attack the same player piece more than once during the same turn.

If you attack a player, you do not spend +1 movement point to enter their tile.

When you attack, deal the following effect:

Knight: She loses 1 Grit for each Hero cube she has available, or 1 Health, or 1 Treasure card, her choice. Place lost Treasure cards at the bottom of the Treasure deck.
Goblin Tribe: The Tribe scatters.
Dragon: He discards Power cards equal in number to his Armor, or loses 1 Health, or returns 1 Sloth token from his Wakefulness track to any open Sloth space, his choice.
Unicorn: He loses 1 Health or discards Unicorn cards equal in number to his Armor, his choice. (The Unicorn Teleports after you skitter.)
Crystal: You must spend 3 Ghoul discs to smash a Crystal token. (The Crystals you smash count toward the victory conditions of other players.)
Thief: He is killed. Draw Terror cards equal in number to the Thief's Loot Drop Level (minimum 1), keep one, and return the others to the bottom of the Terror deck. (When resolving this attack, if the Thief uses Unnatural Evasion and rolls successfully, he moves after you skitter.)

After resolving the attack, you gain 1 Fury and then skitter.

3) Set Defense

Note how many Ghoul discs you have remaining on your Attack space. This is your Defense, which determines whether other players can attack you, until the start of your next turn. (Do not remove discs when attacked by other players.) If no discs remain, your Defense is 0.

Fury

Fury is a measure of the Ghoul's anger and growing power.

You gain 1 Fury whenever you attack a player and whenever you have collected 2 Treasure tokens.

As you gain Fury, move the Fury cube up the Fury track. Whenever it reaches an even-numbered space, draw a Terror card.

You win if you have Fury equal to 7 + the number of players, and then you escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

Terror Cards

Whenever you draw a Terror card, place it face-up near your player board.

Each Terror card has two effects:

A persistent effect or a once per turn effect.
A once per game effect.

A persistent effect applies every time its trigger condition is met.

Once you resolve a card's once per game effect, you must remove the card from the game. If you resolve a once per game effect that begins with "During this turn," remove the card from the game at the end of your turn.

You cannot use both of a card's effects on the same turn, and you cannot use the once per game effect of identical cards on the same turn.

(For example, you may use the once per game effect of a Chase card and the once per game effect of a Hunt card on the same turn, but cannot use the one per game effect of two Chase cards.)

Some effects require that you spend movement points. This is abbreviated to "movement" to save space.

Other Players

At the end of your turn, your remaining attack points become your defensive attribute: Defense. After resolving any attack, shot, or effect listed below, you immediately skitter unless otherwise noted.

The Knight can enter your space only if her Strength is greater than your Defense. If she enters your space, she attacks you. This attack completes her Daring Sidequest card. It also completes her Stalwart Sidequest if your Defense was 3 or greater. It also completes her Fearless Sidequest if you were on a Dark tile that she just revealed. She may shoot you with her Bow if her Strength is 2 or greater.
A Goblin Tribe can enter your space only if its Strength is greater than your Defense. If it enters your space, it attacks you. The Goblins gain 1 Rage (instead of losing 1), and the Tribe does not scatter.
While underground, the Dragon can enter your space freely. While on the surface, the Dragon can enter your space only if his Armor is greater than your Defense. He may attack you using Claw or Scratch.
- Claw counts as the Dragon eating 1 Goblin.
- Scratch counts as the Dragon eating 3 Goblins and forces you to discard 1 Terror card.
- Hiss does not affect you.
- If you enter a space with a Flame Wall, you skitter but are otherwise unaffected.
The Unicorn can enter your space freely. When he enters your space, he attacks you. If the Unicorn attacks while he has 3 Anger, you must discard 1 Terror card.
The Cave can target you with Soporific Spores to reduce your Fury by 1 (you do not lose any Terror cards).
The Thief can enter your space only if his Stealth is your Defense. He can attack you with Pickpocket or Backstab.

Forced Movement

You cannot be forced to move through walls or onto spaces that hold other players.

Skittering

After you resolve an attack, or after you are attacked by another player, you immediately skitter.

The player whom you attacked, or who attacked you, announces a Dark tile symbol (Fangs, Bones, or Eye) that is shown on any unoccupied Dark tile on the map. Then, you must place your figure on any unoccupied Dark tile showing the matching symbol.

If the attack did not involve another player (for example, if you smash a Crystal in a game with no Cave player, or if you are attacked by the non-player Shadow Unicorn), then you must place your piece on any unoccupied Dark tile whose symbol matches the top tile of the Cave tile stack. During the Collapse, randomly select a Dark tile symbol using tiles that have already collapsed.

If there are no unoccupied Dark tiles on the map (usually due to the Collapse), you must instead place the Ghoul on any unoccupied space surrounding the Entrance tile.

Skitter Variant

Some groups may want the Ghoul to move further when it skitters, or may want to give opposing players more input. This variant switches the choices of the players involved in an attack. Players must agree during setup whether to use this variant, and the variant rules must be used for the entire game.

In this variant, when the Ghoul skitters, the Ghoul chooses a Dark symbol (Fangs, Bones, or Eye) matching an unoccupied Dark tile, and then the opposing player in the attack places the Ghoul piece on any unoccupied Dark tile showing the matching symbol.

If there are no unoccupied Dark tiles on the map, the opposing player may place the Ghoul piece on any unoccupied space surrounding the Entrance tile. Use the standard skitter rules for attacks not involving another player.

Terrain

The Ghoul interacts with Terrain tiles as follows:

When you enter the River, you may immediately move for free in the direction of the current.
You may move through Pits, spending movement points normally.
You cannot enter the impassable spaces of the Canyon.
If you end your turn on Magma, you skitter but are otherwise unaffected.

Player Variants

If you are also playing with the Ghost, set up the game for the desired variant below, then follow the instructions in the Ghost's Player Variants section.

4+ Players

The Ghoul can be added as another role to any existing variant for four or more players.

In games without the Cave player, make the following changes:

Give the Ghoul the Past Plunder Variant card. The Ghoul gets this card instead of any other player, and gets this card even if the variant would not include it.
Each player places or collapses only 1 tile at the end of their turn (instead of placing 1 or collapsing 3).

3 Players

-Any 2 Roles- vs. Ghoul

Set up and play the Ghoul as normal.
All other players follow the rules for the corresponding two-player variant.
Do not move any cubes from the Hunger track to the Wakefulness track on the Dragon's player board.
Give the Ghoul the Flare Variant card. If other players also get Flare, place the card near the map; each of those players may use it. The Ghoul may target its current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
If a player other than the Ghoul would get the Past Plunder Variant card, give it to the Ghoul instead. (However, if the Ghost is also present, she gets the card instead.)
The Ghoul wins if it gains 10 Fury and then escapes the Cave.

2 Players

Knight vs. Ghoul

Give the Knight the Goblin Infestation Variant card and the Monster tokens. Use the rules for Normal Goblins (line A).
Give the Ghoul the Past Plunder Variant card.
The Knight wins if she smashes 5 Crystals and then escapes the Cave.
The Ghoul wins if the Knight is killed, or if it gains 9 Fury and then escapes the Cave.
Both players lose if the Cave collapses.

Goblins vs. Ghoul

Place the Flare Variant card near the map; both players may use it. The Ghoul may target its current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
Give the Ghoul the Past Plunder Variant card.
The Goblins win if they smash 5 Crystals and then escape the Cave.
The Ghoul wins if it gains 9 Fury and then escapes the Cave.
Both players lose if the Cave collapses.

Dragon vs. Ghoul

Place the Ash Dragon Variant card near the map.
Give the Ghoul the Past Plunder Variant card.
Do not move any cubes from the Hunger track to Wakefulness.
The Dragon wins if he awakens, comes to the surface, and then escapes the Cave.
The Ghoul wins if the Dragon is killed, or if it escapes the Cave after gaining 9 Fury.
Both players lose if the Cave collapses.

Cave vs. Ghoul

Give the Ghoul the Flare Variant card. The Ghoul may target its current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
The Cave wins if it collapses.
The Ghoul wins if it gains 9 Fury or smashes 6 Crystals, and then escapes the Cave.

Thief vs. Ghoul

Place the Flare Variant card near the map; both players may use it. The Ghoul may target its current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
The Thief wins if he stashes 6 Treasure tokens.
The Ghoul wins if it gains 9 Fury and then escapes the Cave.
Both players lose if the Cave collapses.

Ghoul vs. Ghost

Refer to the Ghost's Player Variants section for details.

Solo

Take the Alone in the Dark II Variant card.
Take the Flare Variant card. You may target your current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
You win if you gain enough Fury or smash enough Crystals, and then escape the Cave. Choose your difficulty level:
- Easy: Gain 7 Fury or smash 5 Crystals.
- Medium: Gain 8 Fury or smash 6 Crystals.
- Hard: Gain 9 Fury or smash 7 Crystals.
You lose if the Cave collapses.

Difficulty Variants

You can adjust the difficulty of the Ghoul as follows:

Ragpicker (Easiest): You must gain Fury equal to 5 + the number of players.
Scavenger (Easy): You must gain Fury equal to 6 + the number of players.
Ghoul (Standard): You must gain Fury equal to 7 + the number of players.
Stalker (Hard): You must gain Fury equal to 7 + the number of players. You use only 2 Ghoul dice.
Hunter (Expert): You must gain Fury equal to 8 + the number of players. You use only 2 Ghoul dice.

Regardless of the difficulty level or number of players, the Ghoul's Fury goal cannot exceed 14.

The Vile Ghoul

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This creature has grown quite at home in the Cave, in the—how long has it been now? Years? Decades? Now, interlopers are no mere prey to be spooked and scared away with bared claws and an ancient blade. No, the Vile Ghoul needs more, seeks more, wants more decorations for its home and food for its belly.

When playing the Vile Ghoul, follow all of the rules for the Ghoul except where noted otherwise.

How to Win

Kill the Knight.

If there is no Knight, you must kill the Dragon.

If there is no Dragon or Knight, you must smash 5 Crystals and then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

Setup

Use the Vile Ghoul player board.

Set the Ghoul piece, Ghoul dice, and Ghoul discs near your player board.

Shuffle the Terror cards to form the Terror deck.

At the start of your first turn, place the Ghoul piece on any unoccupied Dark tile. If no such tile exists, place a Dark tile (provided by the Cave player, if present) and place the Ghoul piece there.

Turn Summary

The Vile Ghoul replaces the Goblins in turn order, after the Knight and before the Dragon.

Each turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Prepare Board
Select Statistics
Move and Act
Set Defense

Your turn ends when you complete these phases.

1) Prepare Board

If you have no dice in your supply, then collect all three Ghoul dice from the dice chart, roll them, and place them in your supply. (You will perform this step on your first turn.)

Otherwise, slide the die from the left side of the dice chart to the right side of the same row. Do not move any dice already on the right side.

Remove any Ghoul discs on your Attack space and set them beside your player board.

2) Select Statistics

First, select one die from your supply (do not roll it) and place it on the matching die face on the dice chart.

The selected row lists your Movement and Attack for this turn. Any dice on the right side of the selected row are Boost dice, which you can spend during the Move and Act phase of this turn.

Place Ghoul discs equal in number to your Attack on the Attack space on your player board. (You won't spend these Ghoul discs, but they do provide a helpful reminder of your Attack to the other players.)

3) Move and Act

This phase works identically to the Move and Act phase of the Ghoul, except for the following changes.

Instead of spending attack points, your Attack remains constant throughout your turn, except for temporary bonuses that you add by spending Boost dice and using the effects of the Hunt Terror card.

You can spend Boost dice to gain various bonuses during this phase. When you spend a Boost die, do not remove it from its space. It remains there, but it cannot be spent again on this turn.

Move

You can spend Boost dice in place of movement points.

You can enter a space with another player piece, but you must spend +1 movement point to do so if your Attack is less than or equal to that player's defense statistic (Strength, Armor, or Stealth) or if you choose not to immediately attack that player piece.

To add a temporary bonus to your Attack, you can spend Boost dice or use effects from your Hunt Terror cards. This bonus lasts only for the current movement and the immediate attack upon entering a space. (Do not add Ghoul discs to your Attack space.)

Collect Treasures and Gems

You can spend Boost dice in place of movement points.

Attack

You can attack a player piece on your space only if your Attack is greater than that player's defense statistic (Strength, Armor, or Stealth).

If you added a temporary bonus to your Attack in order to move into your current space, the temporary bonus persists until you complete your attack.
To smash a Crystal, you must have at least 3 Attack.

Your attack deals the same effects as the Ghoul's attack, except for three differences:

Do not remove Ghoul discs from your Attack space. Your Attack remains constant throughout your turn.
The Knight must lose 1 Health.
If you have a victory condition of killing the player whom you are attacking, they must choose to lose Health as the result of the attack.

4) Set Defense

Your Attack is also your Defense, as described in the Set Defense phase of the Ghoul's rules.

You cannot spend Boost dice to improve your Defense.

Fury and Terror Cards

The Vile Ghoul draws a Terror card each time it successfully attacks or collects 2 Treasures or Dragon Gems (not every other time, as the Ghoul does). As such, the Vile Ghoul does not need to track Fury.

Player Variants

2+ Players

The Vile Ghoul is an alternative to the Goblins, so it may be used in any variants that would include the Goblins, using their setup instructions and victory conditions.
In any setup with the Knight, she also takes the Goblin Infestation Variant card and the Monster tokens. Use the Normal Goblins difficulty level (line A). If she is killed by an Ambush, it counts toward the Vile Ghoul's victory condition.

In addition, make these changes to the rules of specific role combinations:

Vile Ghoul vs. Dragon (+Any): Do not move any of the Dragon's Hunger cubes to Wakefulness.
Vile Ghoul vs. Cave: The Vile Ghoul must smash 6 Crystals.
Vile Ghoul vs. Thief (vs. Cave): The Thief must stash 5 or 6 Treasures to win. (The players must agree on the goal number during setup.) The Vile Ghoul must smash one more Crystal than the number of Treasures that the Thief must stash.

1 Player / Solo

Take the Alone in the Dark II Variant card and the Flare Variant card. You may target your current space with Flare, spending 1 movement point each time.
You win if you smash enough Crystals and then escape the Cave. Choose a difficulty level:
- Easy: You must smash 5 Crystals.
- Medium: You must smash 6 Crystals.
- Hard: You must smash 7 Crystals.
You lose if the Cave collapses.

Difficulty Variants

You can adjust the difficulty of the Vile Ghoul as follows:

Ragpicker (Easiest): If you must kill the Knight, she starts with 5 Health. If you must kill the Dragon, he starts with 3 Health. If neither, you must smash 3 Crystals.
Scavenger (Easy): If you must kill the Knight, she starts with 6 Health. If you must kill the Dragon, he starts with 4 Health. If neither, you must smash 4 Crystals.
Ghoul (Standard): If you must kill the Knight, she starts with 7 Health. If you must kill the Dragon, he starts with 5 Health. If neither, you must smash 5 Crystals.
Stalker (Hard): If you must kill the Knight, she starts with 7 Health. If you must kill the Dragon, he starts with 5 Health. If neither, you must smash 5 Crystals. You use only 2 Ghoul dice.
Hunter (Expert): If you must kill the Knight, she starts with 8 Health. If you must kill the Dragon, he starts with 6 Health. If neither, you must smash 6 Crystals. You use only 2 Ghoul dice.

The Nightmare Unicorn

Once a guardian of the overworld forests, the Nightmare Unicorn now haunts this dark place, shifting in and out of reality, manifesting when the terrible is afoot, anger boiling inside him. Compelled by dark magic for centuries, all he wishes now is to escape these depths, this bridle, to the bright place he once called home.

Components

3 Unicorn Pieces (Standee, Meeple, Miniature)
24 Unicorn Cards
1 Nightmare Unicorn Board
1 Shadow Unicorn Board
2 Tracking Cubes
21 Unicorn Cubes
5 Difficulty Variant Cards
1 Unicorn Reference Card ("Attacking the Unicorn")

The Nightmare Unicorn is a player role that replaces the Dragon. Like the Dragon, the Unicorn wants to escape the Cave, but rather than needing to wake up, the Nightmare Unicorn must siphon power from the Cave by exploring it and from other players by getting angry and attacking them.

The Shadow Unicorn is a non-player role that you can add to a solo or multiplayer game. The Shadow Unicorn doesn't have a victory condition, but rather acts as an antagonist. When you add the Shadow Unicorn to a game, one player can change their victory condition to killing the Shadow Unicorn.

How to Win

Increase your Radiance to 9 by marking Crystals, collecting Treasures, and attacking other players, and then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile during your turn.

Setup

Use the Nightmare Unicorn board. Using the Tracking cubes, set your Health to 5 and your Anger to 1. Then, place Unicorn cubes on the 12 spaces of the Radiance track. Keep the remaining cubes in a supply near your player board.

Shuffle the Unicorn deck and draw 4 cards to form your starting hand.

At the start of your first turn, place the Unicorn piece on a Lit tile adjacent to the Knight, facing directly away from the Knight. If there is no Knight, instead place the Unicorn piece on the Entrance tile facing in any cardinal direction, away from other player pieces if possible. If no valid Lit tile is available and the Entrance is occupied by another player piece, place the Unicorn piece on an unoccupied Dark tile adjacent to the Entrance tile, and reveal the Dark tile.

Unlike the other player pieces, the facing of the Unicorn piece matters because it determines the direction it moves. Keep the Unicorn piece clearly facing in one cardinal direction on the map. Do not change the Unicorn's facing unless directed by a card.

Turn Summary

The Nightmare Unicorn replaces the Dragon in turn order, after the Goblins and before the Cave.

Each turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Perform Actions
Replace Hand and Reset Anger

Your turn ends when you complete these phases.

Statistics

Spirit is the number of cards you draw to make your new hand at the end of your turn.
Pace is the maximum number of actions you can perform during your turn.
Armor helps you defend against attacks on other players' turn.
Clarity is the number of cards you reveal when forced to Teleport.

1) Perform Actions

During this phase, you may perform actions by playing cards from your hand. You may perform a number of actions per turn up to your Pace. (You may track your actions by using extra Unicorn cubes in your supply.)

When you have performed actions equal in number to your Pace, or if you choose to stop performing actions, move to the next phase.

The Unicorn has three actions: Move, Turn, and Teleport. You must complete an action before starting another.

To Move or Turn, you must play a card that shows "Move" or "Turn." After you resolve the action, discard the card.

Teleport works differently, since "Teleport" is not shown on any cards. To Teleport, you must play any two cards at once. Refer to Teleportation for more details.

Some Unicorn cards show an angry action. When you play an angry action, first increase your Anger by 1, then perform the listed action (Move or Turn).

During an angry action, you cannot mark Crystal tiles with Unicorn cubes or collect Treasures. (Thus, you do not gain Radiance by doing so.)
As your Anger increases, your attacks deal more harm to other players. (Refer to Attacking for more details.)
Your Anger cannot exceed 3.

As you perform actions, you will have the chance to mark Crystal tiles with your Unicorn cubes and to collect Treasure tokens, both of which increase your Radiance. (Refer to Radiance and Upgrades for more details.)

Move

Move your piece forward (in the direction you are facing) by the number of spaces listed on the card. You must move as many spaces as possible, up to the listed distance.

Whenever you enter a Dark tile, reveal it.

When you orient this tile, you must connect an open edge to the tile from which you entered.
If you haven't finished your Move, you must also orient this tile so you can move into the next space in a straight line, if possible. If you cannot orient the tile so you can move out of it, you stop moving.

Whenever you enter a space that holds another player piece, you immediately attack it. (Refer to Attacking for more details.)

If you end a Move on a Crystal tile that does not hold a Unicorn cube, you may place a Unicorn cube on it to gain 1 Radiance.

If you end a Move on a space with a Treasure token, you may collect it to gain 1 Radiance.

Outside your turn, you cannot mark Crystal tiles with cubes or collect Treasures, so you cannot gain Radiance.

Turn

Turn your piece in the direction shown on the played card by your choice of 90° or 180°.

If you are on a Crystal tile without a Unicorn cube, you may also place a Unicorn cube on it to gain 1 Radiance.

If your space contains a Treasure token, you may also collect it to gain 1 Radiance.

2) Replace Hand and Reset Anger

Discard all Unicorn cards in your hand, then draw cards equal in number to your Spirit. Whenever your Unicorn deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck before drawing.

Then, reset your Anger to 1.

Attacking

You attack immediately when you enter a space that holds another player piece. If a space holds multiple players, you choose which one to attack. Your attack always succeeds, regardless of the defending player's statistics (such as Armor or Stealth).

When you attack, you deal the following effect based on your Anger:

The Knight loses 1 / 3 / 5 Grit.
A Goblin Tribe scatters / +Discards a Secrets card / ++Population is reduced to 0. (These effects are cumulative.)
The Dragon discards 1 / 2 / 3 Power cards.
The Thief is killed, and you draw cards equal to his Loot Drop Level + 0 / 1 / 2. At 3 Anger, the Thief also loses an upgrade (but keeps the Treasure token).
The [Vile] Ghoul skitters. At 3 Anger, it also discards a Terror card.

If your Anger is 3, you also gain 1 Radiance.

After attacking, you are forced to Teleport.

You can attack the same player multiple times per turn, but you only gain 1 Radiance the first time you attack that player on each turn.

Other clarifications to attacking players:

If the Goblins have the Trap card face-up and choose to discard it, the targeted Tribe ignores the attack. You are still forced to Teleport, but you do not gain Radiance.
If the Thief has the Unnatural Evasion upgrade and rolls successfully, he ignores the attack. After the Thief moves 1 space away, you are forced to Teleport, but you do not gain Radiance.
When you attack the [Vile] Ghoul, you are forced to Teleport after it skitters.

An attack resolves before marking Crystal tiles or collecting Treasures. Because you are forced to Teleport immediately after attacking, you cannot mark your tile or collect Treasures there.

Other Players

Other players may choose to attack you. If the attacker has the victory condition of killing you, the attack causes you to lose 1 Health. After resolving the attack, you are forced to Teleport.

The Knight can enter your space only if her Strength is equal to or greater than your Armor. If she enters your space, she attacks you. If her Strength is greater, the attack succeeds. If her Strength is equal, she must roll the Dragon die, and the attack succeeds only if the die affects the center space.
A Goblin Tribe can enter your space only if its Strength is greater than your Armor. If it enters your space, it attacks you.
The Dragon can enter your space freely, and he can freely attack you with Claw or Scratch. Claw counts as eating 1 Goblin, Scratch counts as eating 3 Goblins. Hiss does not affect you. If you enter a space with a Flame Wall, you are forced to Teleport.
The Thief can enter your space freely. If his Stealth is greater than your Armor, he can attack using Backstab by spending 3 Action cubes. The Thief cannot attack you with Pickpocket.
The [Vile] Ghoul may spend movement points to enter your space regardless of its Attack, but it can attack you if its number of spent Ghoul discs (Ghoul) or Attack (Vile Ghoul) is greater than your Armor (you are forced to Teleport after it skitters).

Other changes and clarifications to rules for other players are listed below:

The Knight may complete her Daring Sidequest by attacking you. She may shoot you with the Enchanted Bow to force you to discard Unicorn cards, as if shooting the Dragon. After she resolves the shot, you are forced to Teleport. She may use the Mighty Axe for the Strength bonus, but cannot discard a Hero cube to increase damage.
The Goblins may target you with Hex to force you to discard cards, as if targeting the Dragon.
The Cave may target you with Soporific Spores to remove one upgrade of your choice (but you do not lose Radiance). The Cave cannot affect you with Giant Bats.

Teleportation

The Unicorn can Teleport, moving from one space to another while ignoring all walls, effects, and player pieces on spaces in between. There are two ways to Teleport: you can use the Teleport action, and you can be forced to Teleport. If a rule refers to "Teleport" alone without stating "the Teleport action" or "forced to Teleport," the rule refers to both cases.

Each Unicorn card shows a grid with the Unicorn in the center space, which is your current space. The other spaces correspond to the surrounding spaces, and the marked space indicates the destination space of the Teleport. When Teleporting, orient the chosen card so the arrow (^) above the grid points in the same direction as the facing of your piece.

When you Teleport, pick up your piece and place it on the destination space, without changing your piece's orientation.

Next, if you are on a Dark tile, reveal it as if you had moved into it.

Then, if your space holds another player piece, you attack it. (The attack will force you to Teleport again, so you won't continue to the next step for this Teleport.)

Finally, only during your turn, if you are on a Crystal tile without a Unicorn cube, you may place a Unicorn cube on it to gain 1 Radiance, and if you are on a space with a Treasure token, you may collect it to gain 1 Radiance.

The Teleport Action

You can perform the Teleport action by playing two cards at once. Choose your destination from either card, and place your piece there. Ignore the destination on the other card.

Do not perform the actions listed on these cards (Move or Turn).
Do not gain Anger, even if the played cards show angry actions.
If you have only one card in your hand, you cannot perform the Teleport action.
Though you play two cards to Teleport, it costs only one action.

Before the Collapse, you can use the Teleport action to move to an open space. When you do, you must place a Dark tile there, connect that tile to the map using the fewest possible Dark tiles, reveal the destination Dark tile, and then place your piece there. (All Dark tiles are placed by the Cave player, if present.)

During the Collapse, you cannot use the Teleport action to move to open spaces.

Beware! Teleporting to empty spaces allows you to quickly escape from danger, but it also adds many more tiles to the map than normal movement does. Use it sparingly to prevent the Collapse from beginning too quickly, and to avoid helping the Cave player too much.

Forced Teleport

When you are forced to Teleport, draw and reveal Unicorn cards equal in number to your Clarity, choose your destination from one revealed card, place your piece there, and then discard the cards you revealed.

You cannot be forced to Teleport to an open space. If none of the revealed cards show a valid destination, reveal more cards, one at a time, until you find a valid destination.

Radiance and Upgrades

Radiance represents the Unicorn's power, which he drains from the other players. There are three ways to gain Radiance:

If you attack another player while at 3 Anger, gain 1 Radiance after resolving the attack.
During your turn, if you end a non-angry Move, Turn, or Teleport on a Crystal tile (even if it is smashed) that does not hold a Unicorn cube, you may place a Unicorn cube there to gain 1 Radiance.
During your turn, if you end a non-angry Move, Turn, or Teleport on a space with a Treasure token, you may collect it to gain 1 Radiance, returning the Treasure to the Cave. You may collect multiple Treasure tokens on a space, gaining 1 Radiance each.

If a Crystal tile with a Unicorn cube is collapsed, remove the cube with the tile, but do not return a cube to your Radiance track.

Each time you gain Radiance, remove a Unicorn cube from your Radiance track and place it on an upgrade space.

An upgrade to Spirit, Pace, Armor, or Clarity immediately increases that statistic by the amount shown. (If you upgrade Spirit, wait until the Replace Hand and Reset Anger phase to draw more cards.)
The Unbridled upgrade increases your Anger by 1 immediately. Also, during the Replace Hand and Reset Anger phase, your Anger resets to 2 (not 1).
The Displacement Blast upgrade gives you the Displacement Blast action. To perform this action, play a card but do not resolve its listed action. Instead, remove the marked tile shown on the card. You can only perform the Displacement Blast action once per turn.

You win if you gain 9 Radiance and then escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile.

Dragon Gems

In games with a Dragon player, you may also collect Dragon Gems to gain Radiance. All of your rules that refer to Treasure tokens now also refer to Dragon Gems.

When you collect a Dragon Gem, you must roll the Dragon die:

If the die affects the center tile, you do not gain Radiance (the Dragon Gem is a trap!) and you are forced to Teleport.

If it does not affect the center tile, you gain 1 Radiance.

Then, return the Dragon Gem to the Dragon, regardless of the die result.

Forced Movement

When forced to move, rather than forced to Teleport, you cannot be moved through walls, onto Dark tiles, or onto spaces with other players.

If collapsing tiles would force you to move, you are instead forced to Teleport.

Terrain

The Unicorn interacts with Terrain tiles as follows:

If you enter the River, you may immediately move for free in the direction of the current, as normal. If you move into the River during a Move, this free movement does not count against the listed number of spaces for your Move.
If you end any Move or Teleport on Magma or a Pit, you are only forced to Teleport and are otherwise unaffected. You cannot move directly from one Pit to another.
You cannot enter the impassable spaces on the Canyon, even with Teleport.
You cannot Teleport onto a Mushroom Forest space that holds another player. If you are inside the Mushroom Forest, you cannot Teleport onto any space that holds another player, even a space outside the Mushroom Forest.

Simple Teleport Variant

Inexperienced players or players who prefer a simpler system can use this variant of the Teleport rules. You may decide to use this variant freely during setup. If you wish to switch to this variant or to the normal rules during play, you must announce this switch at the end of the Perform Actions phase.

In this variant, instead of matching the arrow (^) of the played card to the orientation of the Unicorn piece, face the arrow (^) directly away from your seating position at the table. While this variant will reduce your options somewhat, it drastically reduces the complexity of planning movement.

Player Variants

2+ Players

The Nightmare Unicorn is an alternative to the Dragon, so you can replace the Dragon in any variants that include him. Set up all other players as directed by the variant, and set up the Nightmare Unicorn normally.

If the variant instructs you to take the Ash Dragon Variant card, instead take a Unicorn cube from your supply (not your Radiance track) and place it on the first Armor upgrade space. Thus, the Unicorn's Armor starts at 2 instead of 1. This cube cannot be removed by the Cave.

In games without the Cave [Ghost], modify the standard rules for placing and removing tiles at the end of each player's turn as follows:

Before the Collapse, if no Dark tiles were revealed during your turn, place 1 Dark tile on the map adjacent to any tile.
During the Collapse, instead remove 3 tiles, regardless of whether tiles were revealed during your turn.

Modify the rules for specific role combinations as follows:

Unicorn vs. Dragon (+Any):

Do not move any of the Dragon's Hunger cubes to Wakefulness during setup.
The Unicorn takes his turn after the Dragon (before the Cave).
During setup, if everyone agrees, one player may change their victory condition to "Kill the Nightmare Unicorn by reducing his Health to 0." Players who do not have this victory condition can still attack the Unicorn, but their attacks only force him to Teleport, not to lose Health.
If the Dragon changes his victory condition to killing the Unicorn, he must also awaken, come to the surface, and escape the Cave, as normal, in order to win.

Unicorn vs. Thief or Unicorn vs. Cave vs. Thief:

The Thief wins if he stashes 6 Treasures or if he kills the Unicorn.

Solo

Take the Alone in the Dark II Variant card.
You win if you gain 9 Radiance and then escape the Cave.
You lose if the Cave collapses.

Difficulty Variants

You can adjust the difficulty of the Nightmare Unicorn as follows:

Terror Pony (Easiest): You must gain 7 Radiance.
Night Mare (Easy): You must gain 8 Radiance.
Nightmare Unicorn (Standard): You must gain 9 Radiance.
Dire Unicorn (Hard): You must gain 10 Radiance.
Phantasm Unicorn (Expert): You must gain 11 Radiance.

The Shadow Unicorn

It is said that a unicorn once roamed these caverns. Oh, how he wished to be free, to run again through the plains and forests, to rejoin with the light. But that was before, and he failed. Now he is a simple, wild beast, a shadow at home in the darkness. Do not cross him, for as riders break in their mounts, so will he break you.

How Players Win

The Shadow Unicorn has no victory condition. He simply wants you to lose.

In a solo game against the Shadow Unicorn, your victory condition changes to: "Kill the Shadow Unicorn. If playing as the Knight, Dragon, Thief, or [Vile] Ghoul, you must also escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile." As normal, the Dragon must awaken and come to the surface before he can escape the Cave.

In a multiplayer game against the Shadow Unicorn, one player can change their victory condition to the one listed above. (See Multiplayer Variant on page 7.)

If the Cave collapses, everyone loses except for the Cave [Ghost] and the Shadow Unicorn. Also, if playing as the Knight or Dragon, you still lose if your Health decreases to 0.

Throughout these rules, references to "you" do not refer to the Shadow Unicorn. Instead, "you" refers to the player who has the victory condition of killing the Unicorn. As a result, this player makes some decisions for the Unicorn.

Player Setup

Choose your role and set it up normally.

If playing as the Knight, take the Goblin Infestation Variant card and the Monster tokens. You may choose any difficulty level. (The Monsters level is recommended, but first-time players may want to use the Normal or Tough Goblins level instead.)

If playing as the Goblins, Thief, or [Vile] Ghoul, take the Flare Variant card.

If playing solo, do not take the Alone in the Dark Variant card.

The Shadow Unicorn is not designed for use against the Cave or Cave Ghost alone. If you wish to play as one of those roles, play a multiplayer game (page 7).

Unicorn Setup

Place the Shadow Unicorn player board near your player board. Using the Tracking cubes, set his Health to 7, and set the Revealed Crystals track to 0–2.

Draw 3 Unicorn cards and place them near his player board to form the Spirit pile.

On the Unicorn's first turn, place him on any Lit tile adjacent to your player piece, facing directly away. If there is no Lit tile available, place the Unicorn on an unoccupied, adjacent Dark tile and then reveal that tile.

Unlike the other player pieces, the facing of the Unicorn piece matters because it determines the direction it moves. Keep the Unicorn piece clearly facing in one cardinal direction on the map. Do not change the Unicorn's facing unless directed by a card or a rule in this chapter.

Turn Summary

The Shadow Unicorn takes his turn after all players.

Each turn, resolve the following phases in order:

Resolve Spirit Pile
Refresh Spirit Pile

The Shadow Unicorn's turn ends when he completes these phases.

Statistics

Spirit is the number of cards he draws to form a Spirit pile at the end of his turn.

Armor helps him defend against attacks during other players' turns.

The Unicorn's statistics improve as Crystal tiles are revealed, as shown by his Revealed Crystals track. Count all Crystal tiles revealed throughout the game, even Crystal tiles that are revealed when being collapsed.

1) Resolve Spirit Pile

First, draw and reveal a card from the Spirit pile. Each card will prompt either a Move or Turn. Do not perform this action yet, because it may provoke the Unicorn to perform the Rampage action instead.

Each odd card prompts a Move action unless the card shows an angry action. (Odd cards are the first, third, fifth, and seventh cards drawn during this phase.)
Each even card prompts a Turn action unless the card shows an angry action. (Even cards are the second, fourth, and sixth cards drawn during this phase.)
A card with an angry action prompts its listed action, regardless of whether the card is odd or even.

Then, check whether the Unicorn performs the prompted action or a Rampage. If the following two conditions are true, perform the Rampage action and do not perform the prompted action. (The Unicorn does not Rampage on his first turn.)

Is the prompted action a Move or angry action? (If you want to change which actions provoke a Rampage, see Difficulty Variants.)
Is any player piece, except the [Cave] Ghost, visible to the Unicorn? (Visibility is defined in Vast: The Crystal Caverns on page 5.) The facing of the Unicorn piece does not affect visibility. (He can smell you.)

If the Unicorn does not Rampage, resolve the prompted action (Move or Turn).

Finally, if the Spirit pile is not empty, repeat this phase. If it is empty, move to the next phase.

Move

First, if the Unicorn piece is facing a wall, turn it right until it faces an open edge.

Then, move the Unicorn forward (in the direction of his facing) by the number of spaces listed on the card.

Each time the Unicorn enters a new space, follow these steps in order:

If he is on a Dark tile, reveal it.
If the space holds another player piece, he attacks it.
If the space holds a Unicorn cube, he Teleports.
If the Unicorn is facing a wall, he marks the tile with a Unicorn cube, and then turns right until he faces an open edge.

Teleporting or attacking will move him to a new space, returning him to step 1.

The Unicorn must move as many spaces as possible, up to the distance listed on the revealed card. If the Unicorn Teleports for any reason, ignore any remaining movement prompted by the revealed card.

Whenever he reveals a Dark tile, you must connect an open edge to the tile from which he entered. If he hasn't finished his Move, you must also orient this tile so he can move into it, if possible. If you cannot orient the tile so he can move into it, he stops moving.

Rampage

Turn the Unicorn piece to face the target and move it to the space with the target. Then, the Unicorn attacks the target.

The Unicorn cannot target the [Cave] Ghost.

If multiple Goblin Tribes are visible, he targets the Tribe with the highest Strength, regardless of distance. If these Tribes have equal Strength, he targets the closest of these Tribes. If they are at equal distance, you choose which one he targets.

During a Rampage, he does not immediately Teleport when he enters a tile that holds only a Unicorn cube (as he would during Move). Instead, he continues moving to his target.

Turn

Turn the Unicorn piece in the listed direction until the piece faces the first open edge.

2) Refresh Spirit Pile

First, form a new Spirit pile by drawing Unicorn cards equal in number to his Spirit. If you must draw cards but the Unicorn deck is empty, shuffle his discard pile to form a new deck before drawing new cards.

End-of-Turn Tile Placement

In games without the Cave [Ghost], modify the standard rules for placing and removing tiles at the end of each player's turn as follows:

Before the Collapse, if no Dark tiles were revealed during your turn, place 1 Dark tile on the map adjacent to any other tile.
During the Collapse, instead remove 3 tiles, regardless of whether tiles were revealed during your turn.

The Shadow Unicorn never places or removes tiles at the end of his turn.

Attacking

Whenever the Unicorn enters a space with a player piece, he attacks it. However, the Unicorn cannot attack the [Cave] Ghost.

The Unicorn's attack always succeeds, regardless of the defender's statistics. When he attacks, he deals the following effect:

The Knight loses 1 Health.
A Goblin Tribe scatters.
The Dragon loses 1 Health.
The Thief is killed.
The [Vile] Ghoul skitters.

After resolving the attack, he Teleports.

Other Players

Other players may choose to attack the Shadow Unicorn.

The Knight can enter the Unicorn's space only if her Strength is equal to or greater than his Armor. If she enters his space, she attacks him. If her Strength is greater, the attack succeeds, so he loses 1 Health. If her Strength is equal, she must roll the Dragon die, and the attack succeeds only if the die affects the center space.
A Goblin Tribe can enter the Unicorn's space only if its Strength is greater than his Armor. If it enters his space, it attacks him. The Unicorn loses 1 Health, the Tribe scatters, and the Goblins lose 1 Rage.
The Dragon can enter the Unicorn's space freely, and the Dragon can freely attack the Unicorn with Claw or Scratch. Claw counts as eating 1 Goblin and causes the Unicorn to lose 1 Health. Scratch counts as eating 3 Goblins and causes the Unicorn to lose 1 Health. Hiss does not affect the Unicorn. If the Unicorn enters a space with a Flame Wall, he Teleports but is otherwise unaffected.
The Thief can enter the Unicorn's space freely. If the Thief's Stealth is greater than the Unicorn's Armor, the Thief can attack with Backstab by spending 3 Action cubes, causing the Unicorn to lose 1 Health.
The [Vile] Ghoul may spend Movement to enter the Unicorn's space regardless of its Attack, but it can attack him only if its Attack is greater than his Armor (the Unicorn Teleports after the Ghoul skitters).

After being attacked, the Unicorn immediately Teleports.

Other changes and clarifications to rules for other players are listed below:

The Knight may complete her Daring Sidequest by attacking the Unicorn. She may shoot him with the Enchanted Bow to force him to discard Unicorn cards from his Spirit pile, as if shooting the Dragon. After she resolves the shot, he is forced to Teleport. She may use the Mighty Axe for the Strength bonus, but cannot discard the Hero cube to increase damage.
The Goblins may target him with Hex to force him to discard Unicorn cards from his Spirit pile, as if targeting the Dragon.
The Cave cannot affect him with Giant Bats.

Teleportation

Whenever the Unicorn enters a space with a Unicorn cube, attacks a player, or is attacked by a player, he then Teleports. Keep the facing of the Unicorn piece the same.

When he Teleports, draw and reveal a Unicorn card, and place the Unicorn piece on the destination shown on that card. Always orient the card so the arrow (^) points in the same direction as the Unicorn piece.

Before the Collapse, if he would Teleport to an open space, then add a Dark tile there, connect it to the map with the fewest possible Dark tiles (all Dark tiles are provided by the Cave player, if present), and then place the Unicorn piece there.
During the Collapse, if he would Teleport to an open space, then collapse 3 tiles. After collapsing, draw more cards, one at a time, until a valid destination is found, and place the Unicorn piece there. Do not collapse more tiles during this Teleport if more invalid destinations are drawn.

After placing the Unicorn piece, follow these steps in order:

If he is on a Dark tile, reveal the tile as if he had moved to it.
If the space holds another player piece, he attacks it.
If the space holds a Unicorn cube, he Teleports.
If the Unicorn is facing a wall, he marks the tile with a Unicorn cube, and then turns right until he faces an open edge.

If the Unicorn is ever on a tile that collapses, or on a tile with no open edges, he immediately Teleports.

The Unicorn's movement and teleportation can expand the map quickly in unpredictable directions, so make sure that you have more table space than normal.

Difficulty Variants

The Shadow Unicorn does not use Difficulty Variant cards. Instead, you can adjust which prompted actions will provoke the Unicorn to Rampage as follows:

Easy: Rampage is only provoked by an angry action (not by a non-angry Move or Turn).
Medium: Rampage is provoked by a Move or an angry action (not by a non-angry Turn).
Hard: Rampage is provoked by any action.

Multiplayer Variant

In games with multiple players, if everyone agrees during setup, one player can change their victory condition to "Kill the Shadow Unicorn. If playing as the Knight, Dragon, Thief, or [Vile] Ghoul, you must also escape the Cave by entering the Entrance tile." The other players will use their standard victory condition for the given player variant.

When selecting a multiplayer variant, do not count the Shadow Unicorn as a player.

The Shadow Unicorn follows the rules for solo play with the following changes:

On the Unicorn's first turn, the player whose goal is killing the Unicorn places the Unicorn piece, following the setup rules for solo play.
Only the player with the victory condition of killing the Unicorn can decrease the Unicorn's Health by attacking. Other players may attack the Unicorn, but doing so will only force the Unicorn to Teleport.
When the Unicorn performs a Rampage, determine which player piece the Unicorn targets in the following order of priority:
1. The visible player piece whose victory condition is killing the Unicorn (if any).
2. The closest visible player piece.
3. A random visible player piece.
If another player has the victory condition of killing the Knight, then when the Unicorn attacks the Knight, she loses 5 Grit instead of losing Health.
If another player has the victory condition of killing the Dragon, then when the Unicorn attacks the Dragon, he discards 2 Power cards instead of losing Health.
If the Unicorn kills the Knight or the Dragon and no other player's victory condition is to kill her or him, that player is eliminated but play continues. Skip their turn for the rest of the game.