VITA MORS Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Game Parts Highlight
  • Privilege Tokens
  • Round Token
  • Character Cards
• Game Setup
  • Assigning parties
• Summary
• Game Flow
  • Plague Doctor's Practice
  • Grim Reaper's Judgement
  • Final Sentence
• Example
  • Notes for Final Sentence
• End of Game
• Character's Ability
• Missions

Contents

• 15 Character Cards
• 7 Mission Cards
• 2 Mission Tokens
• 2 Vita-Mors Tokens
• 1 Round Token
• 24 Privilege Tokens (6 sets; 4 in each set)
• 7 Party Tokens
• 6 Vita-Mors Coins
• 1 Plague Doctor Figure

Game Parts Highlight

Privilege Tokens

• Counterfeit: Place in front of another player to duplicate his/her Vote.
• Lock: Place in front of another player to prevent him/her from Voting.
• Reverse: Place in front of another player to reverse his/her Vote.
• Grim Reaper's Will: Place next to the Plague Doctor to make its Diagnosis a valid vote.

Round Token

A reminder to use the Privilege Tokens from right to left, and to pass the Plague Doctor from left to right.

Character Cards

The characters in Vitamors are classified into: Aristocrats, Civilians, and Slaves. There is at least 1 Pretender in each class.

A Pretender's Actual Class and Superficial Class are different, and they all wear masks. The Class Mark shown on the card is the Superficial Class; the Actual Class is shown separately. The Actual Classes in the Superficial Class are Aristocrats, Civilians and Slaves.

All Characters have abilities except for Pretenders. (Character's Ability is written on the back page.)

Game Setup

Setting up the table:

1. Shuffle each Character Card deck separately, and then place them face-down.
2. Pick out Mission Card BALATRO (Joker) and place it face-up.
3. Shuffle the remaining Mission Cards, reveal 2 cards, and cover the mask part with the Mission Tokens.
4. Place the Vita-Mors Tokens right to Mission Cards.

The table also has the Vita Row, the Trial Hall (between the rows) and the Mors Row.

Each player takes:

• 1 set of Privilege Tokens (place face-up)
• 1 Vita-Mors Coin

Assigning parties

Take as many of the Party Tokens as the following list, and shuffle them. Each player draws 1 token, looks inside secretly to check which party he/she is in, and places it face-down in front of himself/herself. (The Party Tokens are: the token marked I, the token marked II, and the Joker token.)

• 3 Players: I x1, II x1, Joker x1
• 4 or 5 Players: I x2, II x2, Joker x1
• 5 or 6 Players: I x3, II x3, Joker x1

Summary

In this game, everyone plays as a Grim Reaper and takes turn to be the host to manipulate the Plague Doctor. The host on turn leads the Plague Doctor to visit a patient and make a diagnosis, and then all players judge the patient by voting and exercising their privilege. When a player completes the mission of his/her party, they can claim victory immediately.

Game Flow

The player who has visited a doctor lately becomes the first host, takes the Round Token and the Plague Doctor Figure. The game is round based, and each round includes 3 phases: Plague Doctor's Practice, Grim Reaper's Judgment, and Final Sentence. The game proceeds for several rounds until someone completes his/her party's mission and claims victory.

• Plague Doctor's Practice: Visit a patient, then make a diagnosis.
• Grim Reaper's Judgement: Vote, exercise privilege, tally.
• Final Sentence.
• Then change host.

Plague Doctor's Practice

Visit a patient: The host reveals 1 Character Card from any of the deck top and places it in the Trial Hall.

Make a diagnosis: The host places the Plague Doctor Figure on the Vita Token or the Mors Token.

Grim Reaper's Judgement

Vote: All players (including the host) place the Vita-Mors Coin in their palm, and clench their fist. (Place the sun side face-up to vote for Vita, and moon side for Mors.)

Exercise privilege: The host asks other players (individually, from left to right) whether they would like to use a Privilege Token. The host decides whether to exercise privilege only after other players have made their decision.

NOTE: Each player can use only 1 Privilege Token per round, and should discard it at the round's end. Each player and the Plague Doctor can only be targeted once per round. (You can't target yourself)

Tally: All the players reveal their palm to show the Vita-Mors Coin, sum up the privilege's influence and tally the votes.

Final Sentence

If there are more Vita votes, the character is sentenced to live and should be placed on the Vita Row, and vice versa. If the number of Vita votes and Mors votes are equal, the Plague Doctor's diagnosis should count as the final sentence.

After the 3 phases, the host hands over the Round Token and the Plague Doctor's Figure to his/her right to start another round.

Example

Plague Doctor's Practice

• Visit a patient: Ming is the host. He reveals a card from the Aristocrat's deck. It turns out to be the King.
• Make a diagnosis: Ming places the Plague Doctor Figure on the Vita Token as his diagnosis.

Grim Reaper's Judgement

• Vote: All the players vote secretly using the Vita-Mors Coin.
• Exercise privilege: Ming asks other players from his left to right, if they wish to exercise privilege.
  • Howard refuses to exercise privilege.
  • Woolf exercises privilege "Reverse" to Howard, placing the token in front of Howard.
  • Ming exercises privilege "Grim Reaper's Will" to the Plague Doctor, placing the token next to its figure.
• Tally: All players reveal their palm and show the coin.
  • Ming and Howard vote for Vita, and Woolf votes for Mors.
  • There's a "Reverse" token before Howard, so his vote becomes Mors.
  • "Grim Reaper's Will" turns the Plague Doctor's diagnosis into a valid vote, so Vita plus 1.
  • Ming (Vita) + Howard (Mors) + Woolf (Mors) + Grim Reaper's Will (Vita). Vita : Mors = 2 : 2.

Final Sentence: When the votes are equal, the Plague Doctor's diagnosis (Vita) becomes the final sentence. The King is sentenced to live, so Ming moves the King to the Vita Row.

Change host: Ming passes the Round Token and the Plague Doctor to his right (Howard). Howard becomes the next host.

Notes for Final Sentence

All the judged Character Cards should be placed in the Vita Row or Mors Row from left to right, according to their final sentence and the order they are judged (1st, 2nd, 3rd, ... in each row), as the illustration shows.

End of Game

Every time before changing host, check if you have completed your party's mission. If you do, reveal your Party Token and claim victory.

If there is more than 1 party completing their mission at the same time, check if the host is among them. The party with the host wins. If the host isn't among them, the party with the next host wins. If all decks are empty and yet no mission is completed, no one wins.

Character's Ability

• King: If the King survives, the actual class of the character revealed next becomes Aristocrat.
• Knight: During the Grim Reaper's Judgement, the host votes and exercises privilege after other players have voted and exercised privilege.
• Grafter: During Tallying, if Vita votes minus Mors votes equals 1 or 2, the Grafter lives; if both sides are equal, use the Plague Doctor's diagnosis as the final sentence. If Vita - Mors does not equal 1 or 2, the Grafter dies.
• Clergy: If the Clergy lives, no one can exercise privilege in the next round.
• Merchant: (activates instantly) All players secretly choose a privilege token and pass it to the player left to them simultaneously. (Skip players who have run out of privilege tokens)
• Maid: If the Maid dies, there will be an extra Vita vote during Tallying in the next round.
• Prophet: (activates instantly) Reveal 1 card from the top of each Character Card deck, and leave them where they're revealed.
• Beggar: During Tallying, if Mors votes minus Vita votes equals 1 or 2, the Beggar dies; if both sides are equal, use the Plague Doctor's diagnosis as the final sentence. If Mors - Vita does not equal 1 or 2, the Beggar lives.
• Assassin: If the Assassin lives, players won't have to discard the used Privilege Token during this round.
• Prostitute: If a player doesn't exercise privilege, he/she can't vote during that round (same as the effect of privilege "Lock").

Missions

• LIBERALITAS (Generosity): 3 characters live during 4 consecutive rounds.
• FAVORIS (Favor): 3 characters share the same actual class in Vita Row.
• INMITIS (Cruelty): 3 characters die during 4 consecutive rounds.
• INIQUITAS (Inequality): 3 characters share the same actual class in Mors Row.
• AEQUABILITAS (Equality): In Vita Row, 3 characters of 3 different actual classes lie together. (Regardless of how many deads are in between.)
• PIETAS (Duty): In Mors Row, 3 characters of 3 different actual classes lie together. (Regardless of how many livings are in between.)
• BALATRO (Joker): If no party wins during designated rounds, the Joker wins. (3 players/9 rounds, 4 players/8 rounds, and so on.)

The manual illustrates examples of LIBERALITAS, INIQUITAS and PIETAS with card layouts.