Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Dice and Symbols
• Hits and Wounds
  • Hits
  • Wounds
• Hero Card
• The Hero Dashboard
• Equipment and Treasure
  • Item Card Breakdown
  • Item Types
• The Initiative Tracker
  • Initiative Tracker Breakdown
  • Advanced Initiative Rules
• Party Morale
• Game Tiles
  • Game Tile Breakdown
• Darkness Tiles / Event Deck
  • Darkness Tiles
  • Event Deck
• Boss AI Cards / Spawn Cards
  • Boss AI Decks
  • Spawn Cards
• Tokens
  • Wall Tokens
  • Treasure Chest Tokens
  • Health Potion Tokens
  • Ladder Tokens
  • Spawn Tokens
  • Specific Enemy Portal Tokens
  • Objective Tokens
  • Morale Token
  • Status Effect Tokens
  • WOUND Tokens
  • Crabbling Tokens
  • +/- ATK & DEF Tokens
  • Familiar Tokens
• Game Setup
  • Starting Health Potions
  • Encounter
  • Spawning Enemies
  • Experience Tier Spawn
  • How to use the Initiative Tracker and Cards
• Hero Turn
  • Actions
  • Move Action
  • Attack Actions
  • Ready Equipment
  • Interact
  • Trade
  • Dropping an Item/Token
  • Step Up & Fall Back
• Resolving Darkness Tiles / Events
  • Dealing with Darkness Tiles
  • Dealing with Event Cards
• Familiars
• Enemies
  • Grunts
  • Casters
  • Brutes
  • Archers
  • Mega-Brute
  • Bosses
• Enemy Turn
  • Enemy Line-Of-Sight
  • Engaged
  • Enemy Movement
  • Enemy Attacks
  • Defending Enemy Attacks
  • Enemy Stat Card
  • Taking WOUNDS
  • Downed
  • Defeat
• Bosses
  • Mega-Brute
  • Crabblings
  • Boss Scenarios
• Campaign Rules
  • Campaign Rules
• One-Shot Scenario Rules
• Keywords
• Quick Reference Guide
  • Heroes
  • Enemies
  • Status Effects
  • CRIT

Dice and Symbols

Throughout the game, you will be rolling dice to complete different actions. The dice have four symbols:

• Axe The Axe symbol is used for MELEE attacks. It is also used for Knowledge Checks, primarily due to the Wanderer's Guild seeing axes as tools for both creation and destruction.
• Ranged The Ranged symbol is used for RANGED attacks and SPELL attacks.
• Axe/Shield The Axe/Shield symbol can be used as either an "Axe" for Attack or Knowledge rolls, or a "Shield" for Defense rolls against enemy attacks and other possible threats.
• Crit The Crit symbol represents a critical success on a roll. A CRIT counts as one success for any roll, plus it "explodes" allowing you to roll one additional die per CRIT result. CRITS can also trigger special effects on your Weapons and Abilities. CRITS will always explode into more dice unless the Item Card or Ability states otherwise.

Hits and Wounds

Any damage done to heroes and enemies alike involves HITS and WOUNDS.

Hits

HITS are incoming damage that has the chance to be blocked. Each success on an attack roll is considered a HIT. HITS that are not successfully blocked deal one WOUND per HIT.

Wounds

WOUNDS represent damage an enemy or hero has suffered. Some special attacks or events may deal WOUNDS instead of HITS. While HITS can be blocked, WOUNDS cannot.

Upon a successful "Axe/Shield" or "Crit" roll, you will block one incoming HIT. The hero suffers one WOUND for each HIT not blocked.

Hero Card

You are playing as one of the Wanderers, members of a noble guild who are known far and wide for their adventuring ways and kind hearts. They are all unique in their own way, so make sure to try out all the heroes you can.

Before setting up the Scenario, each player chooses one or more heroes to play. Each hero gets a Hero Dashboard, an Experience Tracker Clip, the hero's Hero Card, the hero's Starting Equipment, and the hero model.

The Hero Card is filled with information about the Wanderer you have chosen to play, including their Defense, Health, Knowledge, and unique abilities.

The image above details the parts of a hero card. Continue reading to learn what each section of the card means and how it works in the game.

1. Hero's Name: The name of your selected hero.
2. Hero's Health: Health or "HP" represents the number of WOUNDS your hero can take before they are considered DOWNED. To keep track of these, use WOUND tokens and place them in the WOUNDS section of your Hero Dashboard. More information on "Taking WOUNDS" and being "DOWNED" on page 34.
3. Hero's Defense: Defense or "DEF" represents the number of dice heroes roll when defending an attack by an enemy. Heroes roll one die per point in their Defense stat plus any bonuses from item cards and hero abilities.

When rolling for Defense, you will make one Defense Roll against all incoming attacks from a group of enemies instead of rolling Defense against each individual attacking enemy. This will be explained in more detail in the "Defending Enemy Attacks" section of the rule book on page 33.

4. Hero's Knowledge: Knowledge represents the intellect of the character. There are certain Events, Unique Items, and Scenario Objectives that utilize this stat. Heroes roll one die per point in the Knowledge stat plus any bonuses from item cards and hero abilities. Since axes are used for a tool of creation and as a weapon of destruction, Knowledge rolls succeed with "AXE" and "CRIT" symbols. More information on "Knowledge Checks" can be found on page 28.

5. Hero's Experience Tier: This represents what Abilities are available per each Experience Tier. Your current Experience Tier is tracked using the Experience Tracker on the Hero Dashboard. More information on the "Experience Tracker" can be found on the next page.

6. Hero's Abilities: Abilities are special skills that heroes can use in battle. They are unique to each hero and can have a large impact on successfully finishing a Scenario.

All heroes automatically start with one Ability at Tier One. For all Tiers containing a choice between two Abilities, you can only choose one Ability. You cannot change an Ability once it has been selected until you reach a new Scenario.

You gain access to new Abilities by raising your hero's Experience. You gain Experience by defeating enemies in the game, or when another hero is the first to break into a new Tier of Experience. Abilities also have certain keywords applied to them, such as PIERCE and CLEAVE. These keywords modify your attack in different ways, creating a unique way to engage in combat for those heroes. These keywords are explained in the "Keywords" section of the book on pages 38-39.

The Hero Dashboard

Each hero played during the game will need a Hero Dashboard. The Hero Dashboard is used to keep track of your hero's Experience/Experience Tier, WOUNDS, Equipment, and other tokens. The game will include plastic number clips to track your Experience using the Experience Tier on the left side of the dashboard. In this section, we will break down the Hero Dashboard and the symbols and sections mean, as seen in the graphic above.

1. Experience Tracker: The Experience Tracker is used to track the hero's Experience, or XP.

At the beginning of a Scenario, all heroes start with zero Experience. You will keep track of this by using the Experience Tracker Clip on the left side of your Hero Dashboard.

Experience represents the number of enemies your hero has defeated during a Scenario. Grunts, Archers, and Casters are all worth one Experience when defeated. Brutes are worth two Experience when defeated, and Mega-Brutes are worth five Experience when defeated. Boss enemies grant one Experience per WOUND dealt to the boss. After defeating enemies, move your Experience Tracker clip to increase your hero's total Experience.

2. Experience Tier: After a certain amount of Experience is gained, heroes will access a new Experience Tier, with a total of five Experience Tiers available (represented by the roman numerals I, II, III, IV, and V). When a hero is the first to gain access to a new Experience Tier, all other heroes gain XP based on the Experience Tier that hero has reached. For example, when a hero reaches Tier 2 the party gains one XP; Tier 3 gain two XP; Tier 4 gain three XP; Tier 5 gain four XP. Next, they cause a Tier Spawn (discussed next) then immediately gain one new Ability that they have unlocked by reaching a new Experience Tier (more on Abilities on page 5).

3. Tier Spawn: Once a hero is the first to break into a new Experience Tier and the party gains XP, it causes more enemies to spawn by revealing Spawn Cards. The number next to the symbol is the number of Spawn Cards to reveal when the first hero reaches this Experience Tier. For example, when a hero reaches Tier 2 you draw one Spawn Card; Tier 3 draw two Spawn Cards; Tier 4 draw three Spawn Cards; at Tier 5, a Mega-Brute model is spawned at the closest Spawn Point. More on "Mega-Brute" and their actions on page 35.

4. Hero Card Slot: This is where you place your Hero Card.

5. Relic Placement: This area is where you place your Relic Items. Relic Items are special loot items that are rewarded from certain Scenarios.

6. WOUND Placement: This area is used to place WOUND Tokens.

7. Readied Equipment: This area is used to place Readied items. Many items in the game, such as Weapons, Shields, Off-hands, and Spells, must be Readied to be used in combat and to gain their bonuses.

While most items only take up one paw to be Readied, some items, such as a two-handed sword, requires both paw slots to be Readied and will be placed between the left and right paw slots.

8. Inventory: This area is used for all non-readied items such as armor, accessories, and Weapons in reserve. You can only carry as many items as you have item slots.

If you ever receive a new item while having a full inventory, a hero can discard an item to make space in their inventory, give the item to a CLOSE hero (more information on CLOSE in the "Keywords" section on page 34), or drop an item onto the space they currently occupy, allowing other heroes to pick it up at the cost of one ACTION.

Equipment and Treasure

Item Card Breakdown

1. Name of item.
2. Item description keywords.
3. How many paws are needed to Ready this item.
4. How many dice to roll to perform an ATTACK ACTION with this item, and what symbol is needed for a successful HIT.
5. Special Rules for the item. Most items feature Special Rules such as "CRIT causes (X)" meaning the special rule is triggered if an enemy has suffered a WOUND from a roll with a "CRIT" symbol.

For every level of Campaign difficulty (including Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3), there is a corresponding Treasure Deck. For example, a Level 2.0 Scenario will use the Level 2 Treasure Deck when drawing for new items.

Heroes can gain items in a few different ways:

• Treasure Chest Tokens: Scenarios in Barnacle Bay may have pre-set Treasure Chest Tokens outlined in the "Encounter Layout" section of your selected Scenario in the Campaign Book. Heroes spend one ACTION to interact and open a Treasure Chest Token and draw one Treasure Card from the top of the current level Treasure Deck.
• Darkness Tiles: While exploring the streets and catacombs, you will enter Darkness Tiles where you may find Treasure or trigger Events. When a Darkness Tile shows a treasure chest, the hero immediately draws one Treasure Card. More details on "Resolving Darkness Tiles & Events" on page 27.
• Scenario Rewards: Some Scenarios in Barnacle Bay may reward you with Scenario-specific rewards, such as bonus Treasure Cards and Relic Items. The Scenario-specific rewards will be shown in the setup section of the Scenario in the Campaign Book. You will then shuffle through the appropriate decks and either draw the amount of cards indicated (i.e., if a reward says "Draw two Level 2 Treasure Cards") or find the specific card its referencing (i.e., if the Scenario specifies "receive the Fish Fiend relic card").

Item Types

Weapons: These are the primary tools of battle. Use these during ATTACK ACTIONS to inflict WOUNDS on the enemy. Weapons come in many varieties, such as Bows, Swords, Spears, Hammers, and Axes. They are also considered either one-handed, two-handed, or dual-wield.

You can Ready a variety of two one-handed Weapons, but may only attack with one of them at a time per ACTION. Two-handed and dual-wield Weapons go in the two-handed space, between the left and right paw spaces. Their item card background will be red.

Spells: Spells are commonly used to perform a Ranged Attack and have unique Special Rules depending on the Spell. Spells function the same way as Weapons, but use a different Keyword (SPELL) for certain Hero Abilities and items. Their item card background will be red.

Off-Hand: Unlike Weapons that you attack with, off-handed items are readied alongside Weapons and supply a variety of benefits based off their Special Rules. Off-Handed items can offer support and defensive bonuses, depending on the item. Their item card background will be red.

Armor: Armor is a type of passive equipment that stays in your hero's inventory slot and does not need to be readied to grant its bonuses. A hero may only gain the bonuses for one Armor equipment card in their inventory. If you ever receive a new Armor card while already having one in your hero's inventory, you must either discard one of the Armor cards or drop one of the cards onto the space your hero occupies. Their card background will be blue.

Helm: Helm items work the same as Armor. Your hero can only gain the bonuses for one Helm item. If you ever receive a new Helm card while already having one equipped, you must either discard one of the Helm cards or drop one of them onto the tile space your hero occupies. Their card background will be blue.

Accessories: Accessories can be a wide variety of items, such as jewels, gauntlets, or boots. These items are passive like Armor and Helms, but you may gain bonuses from multiple Accessories. Their card background will be green.

Relic Items: These are incredibly rare and powerful items that are gained by completing certain Scenarios. Each character may only equip one Relic Item. Relic Items are equipped by placing them into the Relic Space on the Hero Dashboard. Their card background will be yellow.

Special Items: Some items have the Keyword SPECIAL in their item description keywords. These items are not affected by bonuses from any other items, hero abilities, or the Initiative Tracker.

Familiars: Familiars are creatures controlled by the heroes that assist the party. They come with their own stats and special rules. For more details see the "Hero's Turn" section on page 22.

One-Shots: One-Shot items function differently than other items. One-Shot items are obtained from discovering them in the Event Deck. These cards are placed next to your hero dashboard and are discarded immediately after they are used.

The Initiative Tracker

The Initiative Tracker is placed off to the side of the game board and is used to keep track of the turn order by using hero and enemy initiative cards. It also keeps track of party morale. The board is double sided: one side shows the turn order based on heroes being used and the enemies currently on the board, while the other has symbols next to the Initiative Slot that give bonuses to the hero OR enemy who is currently in that slot for more tactical play. Using the Initiative Tracker is explained further in the "Game Setup" section on page 18.

Initiative Tracker Breakdown

1. Initiative Slot: This notifies where each character lies in the turn order.

Ex. Since Tank is in Initiative Slot #1 he would activate first at the beginning of the round.

2. Character Initiative Card: This is the hero or enemy card used to show their place in the initiative order.

3. Open Slot: These open slots are for initiative cards to be added to the Initiative Tracker.

4. Morale Tracker: This tracks your party's morale. Morale represents the number of times any member of your party can be DOWNED before you lose the Scenario. More information on "Party Morale" can be found on page 12.

5. Advanced Initiative Stat Bonus: When playing the Advanced Initiative rules, these symbols represent stat bonuses gained to that hero or enemy type that occupies that initiative slot. More information on "Advanced Initiative Rules" can be found on page 11.

Advanced Initiative Rules

If you are feeling confident in your abilities and are ready for the full Barnacle Bay experience, we recommend using the advanced side of Initiative Tracker. The advanced side of the Initiative Tracker adds stat bonuses next to each initiative slot. These bonuses affect the hero or enemy that occupies each initiative slot.

• +1 Defense: This increases the amount of dice a hero rolls for Defense by one or increases an enemy's static Defense stat by one.
• +1 Attack: This increases the amount of dice a hero rolls for Attack by one or increases the enemy's static Attack stat by one.
• +1 Movement: This allows a hero to take a free Move Action or increases how many spaces an enemy moves when it activates by one.

Party Morale

During the game, Scenarios can be lost in multiple ways; however, all Scenarios are lost when the Party Morale reaches zero, which is represented by the "skull" symbol below on the left. At the beginning of a Scenario, the Party Morale starts at four. Each time a hero gains WOUNDS equal to their max health and becomes DOWNED, the party loses one Morale. If Party Morale ever gets to zero, the party has lost the Scenario.

Game Tiles

Each Scenario is created by using a variety of different game tiles to create the location of the town and playable area. There are two different sized game tiles: large and small.

All tiles are double sided and either represent an above-ground or below-ground area. The above-ground side of a tile is marked with an (A) next to the tile number while the below-ground side of a tile is marked with a (B) next to the tile number. Most Scenarios have both above-ground and below-ground Encounters.

To be able to move from an above-ground tile to a below-ground tile, Heroes must interact with ladder tokens to flip the current tile they are on to go above-ground or below-ground. Ladder tokens may only be interacted with once all enemies in the Encounter have been defeated. It's hard to descend a ladder with a Bearshark trying to bite you!

Game Tile Breakdown

Examples of the tiles are shown to the right. The lines and symbols are described below.

1. Open Space: White dashed lines mean that you can see through and move into this space.
2. Walls: Red dashed lines represent walls that may not be moved into. This affects hero and enemy movement and attacks, as well as the enemy Line-Of-Sight. More information on Line-Of-Sight on the "Enemy Turn" section on pages 31-32.
3. Closed Space: Walls that take up all the sides of a space are fully closed off cannot be moved or seen through. They have this Do Not Enter icon: [DO NOT ENTER]
4. Water Space: Blue dashed lines represent water spaces. Water spaces slow down the heroes movement by stopping their MOVE ACTION once you enter it. It takes a full MOVE ACTION to move out of it. More on water spaces in the "Water/Blue Lines" section on page 23. Water spaces have this icon: [WATER DROP]
5. Tile Number: This is the tile's Number and which side is visible, and is used to help set up Scenarios.

Ex. Tile 8A is an above-ground tile, while Tile 8B is a below-ground tile.

6. Small Tiles: Small Tiles are used to further expand a Scenario's layout.

Darkness Tiles / Event Deck

Darkness Tiles

Darkness Tiles represent Elder Bane's magic that shrouds the town in darkness. Darkness Tiles are shuffled and placed face down onto spaces of the game tiles dictated in the Scenario Setup section of the Campaign Book. Darkness Tiles can reveal either events, treasures, or hidden objectives for certain Scenarios. More on "Resolving Darkness Tiles & Events" on page 27.

Event Deck

When heroes enter Darkness Tiles that reveal the event symbol, that hero draws one Event Card and resolves the effects of the card. Event Cards cause unique situations to happen that can have a variety of effects. Many of the events have multiple outcomes depending on the result of a dice roll.

More on "Resolving Darkness Tiles & Event Cards on page 27.

Boss AI Cards / Spawn Cards

Boss AI Decks

Boss enemies function differently than other enemy models. Boss enemy actions are dictated by a deck of cards. Boss AI Decks are explained further in the "Bosses" section on page 35.

Spawn Cards

Spawn Cards are used to populate the board with enemies. Here's how the card breaks down:

1. These numbers mirror the Experience Tier from the Experience Tracker. Based on the hero having the highest Experience Tier of the party, you will use that XP level to spawn those enemies.
2. This description tells you the quantity and type of enemy you are spawning on the board.
3. This is the order you spawn enemies onto the board (i.e., for "1 Brute/2 Grunts", spawn the Brute first). More on "Spawning Enemies" on pages 19-20.

Tokens

Wall Tokens

Wall Tokens are modular wall pieces that are placed on the game board using the Scenario Setup section in the Campaign Book. Heroes and enemies cannot move or see through walls. Wall Tokens are also double sided: the blue wall tokens represent objective walls that may have special rules depending on the Scenario being played.

Ex.1 is a normal Wall Token, and Ex.2 is an Objective Wall Token.

Treasure Chest Tokens

Treasure Chest Tokens represent treasure chests that heroes can interact with to gain Treasure Cards. Treasure Chest Tokens are placed on the game tiles indicated by the Scenario Setup section of the Campaign Book. A hero must spend one ACTION to interact with a Treasure Chest Token. Once a hero has interacted with a Treasure Chest Token, the token is removed from the game board, and the hero gains one Treasure Card. You will draw this card from the corresponding Treasure Deck of your current Scenario's Level.

Health Potion Tokens

Health Potion Tokens represent health potions that heroes may find. Health Potion Tokens can either be pre-set on the game tiles using the Scenario Setup section of the Campaign Book, or found through the Event Deck. A hero must spend one ACTION to pick up the Health Potion Token and place it on their Hero Dashboard. Unlike items, health potions do not take up an item slot. Heroes with a Health Potion Token may spend one ACTION to use the potion to heal half as many WOUNDS equal to the hero's total maximum health rounded up (Ex. Tank has five HP; when he uses a Health Potion, his wounds will heal up to half of his total HP. Since he has an odd number of HP, he will round up and heal for three WOUNDS). This includes the health being modified by items and abilities. A hero may also use a health potion to RALLY a CLOSE DOWNED hero. After using a Health Potion Token, discard the token.

Ladder Tokens

Ladder Tokens represent an entrance or exit to the other side of a tile. Ladders are placed onto game tiles using the Scenario Setup section in the Campaign Book. A hero must interact with a ladder token to flip the current tile they are on to enter the other side of the tile. A hero must be in the same space as a Ladder Token to interact with it. In order to interact with a ladder token, the Encounter must be clear of all enemies and all heroes must be on the same tile.

Spawn Tokens

Spawn Tokens represent magical portals that the enemies of Barnacle Bay spawn through. When enemies are spawned (i.e., as the result of starting a new Encounter, a Tier Spawn, an Event Card result, or any other means) they are placed in the same space as a spawn token. Heroes may not interact with Spawn Tokens. More information on "Spawning Enemies" can be found on pages 19-20.

Specific Enemy Portal Tokens

Specific Enemy Portal Tokens function differently than normal Spawn Tokens. Instead of spawning enemies at the beginning of a new Encounter, through Event Cards, or through Tier Spawn, these special portals spawn one enemy of its specific type after that type of enemy's activation.

These portals will continue to spawn enemies each round until deactivated. The way to deactivate Specific Enemy Portals depends on the rules of the current Scenario being played. Enemies spawned through these portals are considered ENGAGED.

Objective Tokens

Many Scenarios throughout Barnacle Bay have the heroes searching for special Scenario-specific items such as keys, magic runes, or the town mayor, to name a few. These special items are represented by the Objective Tokens.

The rules for the Objective Tokens are dependent on the Scenario being played. All rules are explained in the Scenario Setup section of the Campaign book.

Morale Token

The Morale Token is used to keep track of the parties current Morale Level on the Initiative Tracker. More information on "Party Morale" and how it affects the game on page 12.

Status Effect Tokens

These tokens are used to keep track of certain status effects on the heroes such as SLEEP, POISON, and CURSE. These tokens are placed on the character's initiative card when a hero suffers a certain effect. More information on the individual Status Effects in the "Keywords" Section on pages 38-39.

WOUND Tokens

These tokens are used to keep track of WOUNDS on heroes and enemies. WOUNDS on heroes are placed onto the WOUND Section of the Hero Dashboard. WOUNDS on enemies are placed next to the enemy model on the board.

Crabbling Tokens

Crabblings are small enemies represented with tokens that are spawned by Mega-Brute. More information on Mega-Brutes and Crabblings in the "Bosses" section on page 35.

+/- ATK & DEF Tokens

Many situations in the game may cause heroes to have temporary advantages or disadvantages to their attack and/or defense stat. These tokens are used to keep track of these changes.

Familiar Tokens

The Familiar Tokens represent Familiars, creatures that assist our heroes in the game, on the board. Familiars can be natural parts of a hero's build or picked up as a reward during a Scenario!

Three of these tokens are included as part of the punchout boards in the game. The top two tokens, the Ink Splat (left) and Hailey (right), are only able to be used by heroes outside of the core game. Liz the Runecaster uses the Ink Splat and is a purchasable hero. Bebo the Warlock uses Hailey and is an exclusive hero unlocked during the Kickstarter Campaign. The Fish Fiend token (bottom) can be acquired as a Scenario reward during the game. More information on "Familiars" on page 28.

Game Setup

To set up and play "Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay," follow the instructions below while referring to the chosen Scenario in the Campaign Book:

1. Choose Scenario: Choose a Scenario from the Campaign Book, then place the tiles as shown in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book. For more information on Scenarios, check the "How To Read The Scenarios" section on page 3 of the Campaign Book.
2. Choose Your Hero: Each player must take a Hero Dashboard and choose which hero they wish to play for the Scenario/Campaign. Place each hero model on the "Start" Token as seen in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book. Give the heroes their corresponding Starting Equipment Cards (which will have the hero's name on them) or Treasure Cards they earned from a previous Scenario, if any.

Start with your Experience Tracker at zero XP on your Hero Dashboard. For most Scenarios, we recommend playing with at least four heroes. The amount of enemies you fight scales up and down for the amount of heroes played, but some Scenarios may be more challenging with only two or three heroes.

3. Shuffle the Treasure Deck: Shuffle the Treasure Deck that corresponds with the current level Scenario being played. For the Intro Scenario, use the Level 1 Treasure Deck.
4. Shuffle the Darkness Tiles: Shuffle the Darkness Tile stack and place the Darkness Tiles face-down onto the board as shown in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book.
5. Setup Walls: Place any needed Wall Tokens onto the board as shown in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book.
6. Setup Tokens: Place any Spawn, Treasure Chest, Potion, and other needed tokens onto the board as shown in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book.
7. Shuffle the Event Deck: Shuffle the Event Deck and place it face-down within reach of the players.
8. Shuffle the Spawn Deck: Shuffle the Spawn Deck then draw Spawn Cards to spawn enemies on the board. More information on "Spawning Enemies" section on this page. Place the Spawn Deck face-down within reach of the players.
9. Spawn: Spawn enemies onto Spawn Tokens. More information on "Spawning Enemies" can be found on this page.
10. Setup the Initiative Tracker: Place the Initiative Tracker within reach of the players and place the Party Morale Token on the "4" Morale Tracker space. Shuffle the Initiative Cards of each chosen hero and enemy type together. Draw and deal them face-up on the Initiative Tracker starting with the number 1 slot going down the board until the deck is empty.

Starting Health Potions

Depending on the amount of heroes being played, the party may start with a certain amount of Health Potions. Split these among your party as you see fit.

• 2x Heroes → 2x Health Potions
• 3x Heroes → 1x Health Potion
• 4+ Heroes → 0x Health Potions

Encounter

Each Scenario is broken into Encounters. An Encounter consists of all tiles that are connected and the same level tile as the heroes (i.e., above-ground and below-ground). Darkness Tiles do not separate areas to create a different Encounter. The Campaign Book shows the current Encounter on fully colored tiles, while tiles for other Encounters are grayed out.

When entering a new Encounter, set up new tokens and Darkness Tiles as shown in the "Encounter Layout" section of the Campaign Book. When moving onto a new Encounter from a previous one in the same Scenario, the Initiative Order is reshuffled and dealt back out again after enemies have been spawned.

Spawning Enemies

Spawning is a major aspect of the game and may affect the outcome on each Scenario played.

When you start a new Encounter, enemies are spawned onto the board. Draw one Spawn Card for each hero plus one Spawn Card for each large sized tile in the Encounter (see image below for example).

When drawing a Spawn Card, you will spawn the enemies that are listed next to the current Experience Tier your party is in. The party's Experience Tier is based on the hero who has the highest XP level (Refer back to "Tier Spawn" on page 7 for more information).

The first Spawn Card drawn spawns enemies on the closest Spawn Point to the heroes. Enemies continue spawning on the next spawn point in a continuous clockwise rotation, one Spawn Card per Spawn Point. If a Spawn Card lists more than one enemy type for that Experience Tier, place the models onto the spawn point in the order listed.

Ex.1: If there are four heroes and one large tile, you draw five Spawn Cards for the encounter. You spawn the first cards worth of enemies at the closest spawn to the heroes starting point, i.e. SPAWN 1. Then, going in a continuous clockwise rotation starting at "12 o'clock", you spawn next at the spawn point directly above the previous spawn at SPAWN 2. You then follow the clocks rotation to SPAWN 3, then SPAWN 4, ending at the first spawn point for SPAWN 5.

You may need to reveal more Spawn Cards than there are Spawn Points in the Encounter. In this case, continue to spawn enemies in a clockwise rotation until you have spawned enough enemies for the Encounter.

Each space in a tile can hold four normal sized models (i.e. Grunts, Archers, and Casters), two Brute models, or one Mega-Brute/Boss model. For example, one space can hold four grunts, two grunts and one brute, or two brutes. If the space you are spawning on is considered full, you will then spawn enemies on a CLOSE space to the Spawn Point.

A CLOSE space is any space next to the current space not including diagonals. If there are multiple options for which CLOSE space to spawn the enemies on, the players will decide which close space the enemy will spawn on.

Ex.2: The heroes are still in Tier 1 of the XP tracker. The next Spawn Card drawn calls for two Archers to spawn on a currently full space. The players will select a CLOSE space in which to spawn those enemies.

The one exception to full spaces is with Brute and Mega-Brute/Boss models. If a Brute or Mega-Brute needs to spawn into a full space, it will push other models out of the way into adjacent spaces to make enough room for the Brute or Mega-Brute to enter. If there are multiple choices of where models get pushed to, then it is left to the players to decide which CLOSE space the models are moved to. Players also get to decide which models are moved by the Brute or Mega-Brute.

Experience Tier Spawn

The first hero to access a new Experience Tier causes enough of a racket to draw the attention of enemy reinforcements and spawn new enemies.

The number next to the Tier Spawn symbol indicates how many Spawn Cards are flipped. One Spawn Card for Tier 2, two Spawn Cards for Tier 3, three Spawns Cards for Tier 4, and one Mega-Brute is spawned if you reach Tier 5. The enemies spawned from the Experience Tier Spawn will spawn at the nearest Spawn Point to the hero that reached that tier. The next Spawn Card's worth of enemies will spawn at the next clockwise Spawn Point. If multiple spawn points are the same distance from that hero, players get to decide which of the tied Spawn Points the enemies spawn at. You may NOT split one Spawn Card's worth of enemies on multiple Spawn Points.

How to use the Initiative Tracker and Cards

When you begin to set up the Initiative Tracker, pull out all hero Initiative Cards for the heroes being played during the Campaign. Once enemies have been spawned onto the board, add the corresponding Initiative Cards to the stack of hero Initiative Cards.

Shuffle the Initiative Cards together and place them face-up on the Initiative Tracker in order from 1-12 until you run out of cards. You have now created the turn order for the Encounter. To see why your placement on the Initiative Tracker can be important, see the "Advanced Initiative Rules" on page 11, as well as "Enemy Attacks" on page 32.

This turn order isn't static: the initiative can be in constant flux due to enemies being defeated, new enemies being spawned, or heroes taking special actions. More on these special hero actions in the "Step Up & Fall Back" section on page 26.

Once an enemy type has been eliminated from the Encounter, the enemy's Initiative Card is removed from the Initiative Tracker. All initiative cards will move up in the initiative to fill the empty space.

Heroes may take special actions to move to the top or the bottom of the initiative. These actions are explained further in the "Hero Turn" section on the next page.

When a new enemy type is spawned during an Encounter, the Initiative Card is placed at the bottom of the initiative in the order in which it is listed on the Spawn Card.

Be sure to stay aware of the position of the heroes and enemies on the Initiative Tracker. This especially comes into play if you are using the "Advanced Initiative Rules", which can be found on page 11.

Hero Turn

Heroes can perform a variety of actions, as well as shift their position in the Initiative Tracker, deal with the results of a Darkness Tile or Event Card, and even control a minion called a Familiar.

Actions

When it is a hero's turn, they may perform a variety of actions. At the beginning of a Scenario, all heroes start with two actions available per turn. A Hero may perform actions in any order or the same action multiple times. Below is a list of the actions you can take on your turn:

• Move Action
• Attack Action
• Interact
• Ready Equipment
• Trade Equipment
• Drop Items / Tokens
• Step Up
• Fall Back

Move Action

You can move up to two spaces per MOVE ACTION. There is no diagonal movement in this game. You may not perform another action until you have finished your MOVE ACTION. During your MOVE ACTION, you will be able to DODGE through an enemy's attack range, move into Darkness Tiles, find your way around walls and buildings, navigate through water spaces, and figure out another route around a space full of enemies.

• DODGE: If you want to move your hero while you are within an enemies attack range, your hero will have to attempt to DODGE out of the way of a quick attack them.

To DODGE out of the way, you roll dice equal to your hero's Defense stat found on their Hero Card (plus any additional defense you gain from Item Cards, hero abilities, and Advanced Initiative Rules) against one incoming HIT, regardless of how many enemies you are in attack range of. For more information on rolling for Defense, check the "Defending Enemy Attacks" section on page 33.

Ex. On Kira's turn, she uses a MOVE ACTION to get away from the Brutes, but she will have to roll to DODGE out of the way since she is in their attack range. She rolls two dice for her DODGE roll, based on her Defense, and gets an "AXE/SHIELD" and "AXE" symbol. She blocks the one incoming HIT and successfully DODGES.

• Darkness Tiles: Heroes must move onto the Darkness Tile to investigate them. When the hero enters the Darkness Tile, flip the tile over and place it face-up on the space. Place the hero on top of the Darkness Tile. Once a hero enters a Darkness Tile, the hero's movement is immediately ended, and they must resolve the effects revealed from the tile. More information on "Resolving Darkness Tiles & Events" can be found on page 27.

Ex. On Kira's turn, she moves onto the Darkness Tile to investigate. Even though she can move up to two spaces per MOVE ACTION, investigating a Darkness Tile automatically ends her MOVE ACTION. The player then flips the Darkness Tile, moves Kira onto the flipped Darkness Tile, and deals with the results.

• Wall Token: Wall Tokens are modular walls in the game that create an impassable terrain. Heroes cannot move or attack through Wall Tokens.

Ex. Kira wants to explore the Darkness Tile directly beneath her, but unfortunately a Wall Token blocks her way! She'll have to use her MOVE ACTION to get around the Wall Token.

• Red Lines: Red dashed lines represent buildings and walls on game tiles. Heroes and enemies may not move, see through, or attack through these obstacles.

• Water / Blue Lines: Blue dashed lines outline water spaces on game tiles. Water slows down a hero's movement. Moving into a water space ends your hero's MOVE ACTION. Moving out of a water space takes one full MOVE ACTION.

Ex. Though Kira normally gets to move two spaces per MOVE ACTION, she decided to move into a water space. This automatically ends her movement. She uses her second MOVE ACTION to move out of the water space into another water space.

• Full Spaces: A space is considered full if it contains any combinations of four hero or enemy models (including Grunts, Archers, or Casters), two Brute models, or a Mega-Brute/Boss. Heroes may not move into or through a full space of enemies. However, a hero is able to move through other hero models as long as they have enough actions to end outside of the full space.

Attack Actions

An ATTACK ACTION uses your hero's Weapon, Ability, or SPELL with the applicable modifiers to attack enemies. Heroes, as well as enemies, cannot attack diagonally.

• MELEE Attacks: MELEE Weapons are noted with the "MELEE" Keyword, as well as the "AXE" symbol located next to the number on the right side of the item card. To attack an enemy with a MELEE Weapon, your hero must be CLOSE to the target. CLOSE is one space away, as long as it is not diagonal. The attack cannot go through red dotted lines.

Example of a MELEE Weapon: Zweihander — Weapon: Two-Handed Melee, 4 dice, "Axe" symbol. Special Rule: +1 ATK RE-ROLL.

Ex. Tank is only able to Melee Attack the Brute on the right since it is considered CLOSE and his path isn't blocked. The one on the left is also CLOSE, but it is blocked off by a red dashed line.

• RANGED Attacks: Ranged Attacks are noted with the "RANGED" Keyword, as well as the "RANGED" symbol located next to the number on the right side of the item card. Ranged Attacks can hit their target as long as the attacker has a CLEARSHOT. CLEARSHOT represents an unobstructed view of an enemy in a straight line. The distance of a Ranged Attack is unlimited, as long as nothing blocks the field of view in the straight line. Full spaces, Red Lines, Wall Tokens, and Darkness Tiles block the field of view.

Example of a RANGED Weapon: Longbow — Weapon: Two-Handed Ranged, 4 dice, "Ranged" symbol. Special Rule: +1 RE-ROLL on ranged attacks.

Ex. Fynn is only able to attack the two Brute models on the board as well as the space full of grunts on the adjacent square. Fynn does not have a CLEARSHOT on any of the other Grunt models due to red-dotted lines, the Darkness Tile, a full space of enemies, and being in a diagonal space.

• Rolling for Attacks: Once the attacking hero determines that the target is within attack range, you will gather dice equal to the number listed on your Readied Weapon plus any bonuses from character abilities, other item cards, and any possible Initiative Tracker bonuses. Anything with "+(X) Attack/ATK" adds additional dice to your attack, with "(X)" representing the number of dice added. After all this has been determined, roll the dice and check your results.

First, determine if any of the dice rolled the "CRIT" symbol. The "CRIT" symbol represents a success but also "explodes," which means you roll one additional die per "CRIT" symbol rolled. CRITS explode again and again until no other CRITS are rolled. Once all additional dice from CRITS have been rolled, check for successes. "AXE" and "CRIT" symbols count as successes for Melee Attacks. "RANGED" and "CRIT" symbols count as successes for Ranged Attacks.

The total number of successes equals the amount of HITS being dealt to the enemy. Most enemies have a Defense Stat that automatically blocks one incoming HIT from a hero per point in their Defense Stat. Any HIT that is not blocked by an enemy's Defense causes a WOUND. More information on the enemies and where their stats and abilities can be found, check the "Enemy Stat Card" section on page 34.

After dealing WOUNDS to an enemy, place WOUND Tokens next to the enemy's model you are targeting equal to the amount of WOUNDS the hero dealt to the enemy. When there are WOUND Tokens equal to the enemy's max HP, the enemy is defeated and their model is removed from the game board. After defeating enemies, heroes gain one XP for each enemy defeated, two XP for each Brute model defeated, and five XP for each Mega-Brute model defeated.

Ex. Kira attacks a Level 1 Grunt (stats: 1 ATK, 1 DEF, 3 HP) using Kira's Katars, which are a MELEE Weapon. Kira rolls four dice and has a result of "AXE", "CRIT", "RANGED", and "RANGED".

Ex. (con't.) Kira then rolls an additional die for the "CRIT" (since CRITS explode). That die rolls an "AXE". So, the final result is then "AXE", "CRIT", "AXE", "RANGED", and "RANGED", which equals two HITS for the two "AXE" rolls (which count as successful Melee Attack rolls) and one HIT for the "CRIT" roll (which counts as a successful roll in all checks), for a total of three HITS. The Level 1 Grunt has a Defense of one which automatically blocks one of the incoming HITS. Kira ends up dealing two WOUNDS to the Level 1 Grunt.

Rolling CRITS can also cause a Weapons Special Rules or an Ability to trigger. If you cause a single WOUND to an enemy on your Attack, all "CRIT" symbols rolled cause these Special Rules or Abilities trigger as well. For example, if you roll three CRITS and an enemy has two defense, you only cause one WOUND; however, you also trigger the Special Rules and Abilities for each CRIT you rolled.

Ready Equipment

A hero may spend one action to swap items from an item slot into one of their paw slots.

Ex. The hero is spending one action to Ready the Parry Stiletto alongside the Cleaver.

Interact

A hero may spend one action to interact with Treasure Chest Tokens, Potion Tokens, and Objective Tokens. Objective Tokens are Scenario specific objectives that vary from activating a switch, rescuing a hostage, or carrying an ancient relic.

Trade

A hero may spend one action to give or receive an item from another CLOSE hero. When trading items, you may freely swap your Readied items.

Dropping an Item/Token

A hero may spend one action to drop an item card from their inventory or an objective token they are carrying. When a hero drops an item or token, it goes onto the space that the hero is currently in. To pick an item up, a hero must enter that space that the item is in and spend one ACTION to do so.

Step Up & Fall Back

At the beginning of a hero's turn, they may Step Up or Fall Back on the Initiative Tracker by sacrificing all of their ACTIONS.

• Step Up: When a hero Steps Up, they move their Initiative Card to the number 1 slot on the Initiative Tracker. After doing so, push all the remaining Initiative Cards down one slot. This may result in a Hero going two turns in a row. You may only Step Up while there are enemies ENGAGED with the heroes. ENGAGED enemies are explained in the "Enemy Line-Of-Sight" section on page 31.
• Fall Back: When a hero Falls Back, they move their Initiative Card to the end of the Initiative Order on the Initiative Tracker. After doing so, push all the remaining Initiative Cards up one space to fill the empty space. Like Step Up, you may only Fall Back while there are enemies Engaged with the heroes.

Once a hero has used all of their actions or has decided to pass for their turn, it is then time for the next enemy or hero on the Initiative Tracker to activate.

Resolving Darkness Tiles / Events

Dealing with Darkness Tiles

Throughout the Campaign of Barnacle Bay, heroes will have to investigate the Darkness Tiles to uncover special events or treasure. When a hero enters a Darkness Tile, you will need to flip over the tile and place it face up on the same space, then place the hero on top. By entering a Darkness Tile, the hero's MOVEMENT ACTION is ended. If a Darkness Tile covers up a space with a red or blue dashed line, it negates those lines and the space is treated as an open normal space.

Darkness Tiles may reveal either a Treasure Chest, an Event Darkness Tile, or an Objective Event Darkness Tile.

• Treasure Chest: When a Darkness Tile reveals a Treasure Chest, the hero immediately draws one Treasure Card from the corresponding level Treasure Deck and places it in an item slot on their Hero Dashboard. If a hero receives a new item, they may freely rearrange the items on their Hero Dashboard including their paw slots.
• Event Darkness Tile: When a Darkness Tile reveals an Event symbol, the hero who moved into that Darkness Tile immediately draws one Event Card and resolves the card's effects. You can read more about Event Cards on the next page.
• Objective Darkness Tile: The Objective Darkness Tiles with a red border and the "Objective" symbol on them are either treated like a normal Event Darkness Tile or they will have special rules applied to them depending on the Scenario you are playing.

For example, a Scenario may require the heroes to find three keys that are hidden in the Darkness Tiles. The heroes must uncover three of the red Objective Darkness Tiles to "find" the hidden keys and complete this Scenario.

Dealing with Event Cards

Event Cards trigger special events that happen during your Campaign throughout Barnacle Bay. Events can have a wide variety of effects such as gaining special loot or having your hero test themselves for a variety of outcomes.

• Knowledge Checks: Many Event Cards require a hero to test their Knowledge or "CHECK KNOWLEDGE". When testing the Knowledge of a hero, the player will gather dice equal to their hero's Knowledge stat (including any modifiers applied by items) and roll for success. Since axes are considered a tool for creation as well as destruction, the "AXE" symbol represents a success on Knowledge rolls, as well as the "CRIT" symbol.

After a hero rolls their dice, they first check for any CRITS. Remember, a "CRIT" symbol represents a success and also explodes meaning you roll one additional die per "CRIT" symbol rolled. Once all additional dice from CRITS have been rolled, add up the successes (which includes "AXE", "AXE/SHIELD" and "CRIT" symbols) for your Knowledge check. Compare the number of successes to the event card to determine the outcome.

• Defense Checks: Some Event Cards require a hero to test their Defense. When testing the Defense of a hero, the player will gather dice equal to their hero's Defense stat (including any modifiers applied by items and/or the Initiative Tracker) and roll for success.

After a hero rolls their dice, they first check for any CRITS. Once all additional dice from CRITS have been rolled, add up the successes (which includes "AXE/SHIELD" and "CRIT" symbols) for your Defense Check. Compare the number of successes to the Event Card to determine the outcome.

Familiars

Certain heroes can summon or control Familiars either through their starting items or by picking up a special relic item. Familiars have their own Attack, Defense, and Health which can be found on their cards. Like heroes, if a Familiar is the closest target to an enemy, they are attacked by the enemy. If there is ever a tie between an enemy attacking a hero or a Familiar, the enemy will always attack a hero.

Familiars operate on a special set of rules:

• Movement: Familiars may move with heroes for free and may move as many spaces as your hero can during a MOVE ACTION. A hero may also spend one ACTION to move the Familiar two spaces, while keeping the hero stationary.
• Attack: Familiars do not need to be held in a paw slot to attack like Weapons or Spells. Heroes may spend one ACTION for the Familiar to attack a CLOSE enemy.
• Summoning: When a Familiar takes WOUNDS equal to the Familiar's health, the Familiar is defeated and removed from the board. A hero must spend two ACTIONS to re-summon a Familiar token into that hero's space. When the hero controlling a Familiar is DOWNED, remove the Familiar token from the board. When a Hero controlling a Familiar RALLIES, the hero may also summon a Familiar without spending any actions.

Enemies

Enemies are the cultists and villagers of Barnacle Bay that have been mutated by Elder Bane's magic. There are a few different types of Enemies that you will fight during your adventures in Barnacle Bay:

Grunts

Once peaceful otter fisherman of the village, they were transformed by Elder Bane's dark corrupting magic. Driven insane and given a monstrous crab claw, they now prowl the streets enforcing Bane's dark will! Grunts attack CLOSE heroes with Melee Attacks. More information on "CLOSE" on page 38. Grunts are worth one XP.

Casters

Fish-Bat casters are higher ranking cultists that wield the magical power of the deep and have embraced the changes willingly. Casters also have a dark miasma cloud that affects all heroes that are CLOSE to the Caster. The effects of the miasma depend on what level of Scenario is being played and are listed on the Enemy Stat Card. Casters use Ranged Attacks against heroes in CLEARSHOT. More information on "CLEARSHOT" on page 38. Casters are worth one XP.

Brutes

The formerly loyal bear guards of Barnacle Bay have had their minds and bodies twisted to do the Cult's bidding and are now berserking Bearsharks! Brutes in Barnacle Bay only attack CLOSE heroes with Melee Attacks. More information on "CLOSE" on page 38. Brutes are worth two XP.

Archers

The once peaceful rabbit monks to the local church are now cult zealots who specialize in hurling large spikes from their horrendous, mutated tentacles.

Archers used Ranged Attacks against heroes in CLEARSHOT. More information on CLEARSHOT on page 38. Archers are worth one XP.

Mega-Brute

A true monstrosity born of his corruption, these behemoths strike fear into all but Elder Bane. These creatures are beasts of the deep who have been summoned to do the cult's will. A Mega-Brute's actions are dictated by rolling one die onto the table and then referring to the Mega-Brute Card. The Mega-Brute is worth five XP. More on the "Mega-Brute" on page 35.

Bosses

Bosses appear in special Boss Fight Scenarios. Boss actions are determined by the Bosses Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deck. Instead of activating with an Initiative Card, Bosses activate after each hero's turn, where you reveal one card from the Boss AI deck and follow the instructions on the card for its actions. Boss fights are described in more detail in the "Boss Scenarios" section on page 35.

Chalk is a mysterious witchdoctor who spreads darkness and corruption throughout the city!

Elder Bane is the nefarious leader of the Cult of the Deep. Beware his bewitching tongue, dark magics, and powerful mutated form!

Krex is an example of what happens when you yield to the darkness willingly.

Enemy Turn

Instead of having complex actions like heroes, enemies are automated and follow simple rules. When it is an enemy's turn on the Initiative Tracker, all enemies of that type complete their turn. Before enemies are activated and take their turn (i.e. when enemies become ENGAGED), you must determine which of the heroes are visible to the enemies by checking their Line-Of-Sight.

Enemy Line-Of-Sight

You can determine the Line-Of-Sight by drawing an imaginary straight line from the furthest back corner of the space the enemy is standing in to the furthest back corner of the space the hero is standing in. If the line does not intersect with a Wall Token, a Darkness Tile, red dashed lines, or an unaccessible space marked with the Do Not Enter Icon (as seen on page 13), then the enemy is considered ENGAGED and will activate. The enemy's Line-Of-Sight is not blocked by a space that is full of enemies. Enemies can see heroes diagonally even though there are no diagonal attacks or movements. Both enemies and heroes can see around a corner but cannot make a Ranged Attack around a corner.

If a hero passes through an enemies Line-Of-Sight at any point during their turn, those enemies are now ENGAGED.

Here is an example of enemies not having Line-Of-Sight on a hero:

Ex.1: The Grunts cannot see Tank due to the dotted red line representing a wall, and because of the darkness tile blocking their Line-Of-Sight. They will not activate.

Here is an example of enemies having Line-Of-Sight on a hero:

Ex.2: The Brutes can see Tank since nothing is obstructing their view.

Engaged

Once you have determined the enemies that have Line-Of-Sight on any hero, those enemies are considered to be activated and are ENGAGED. This means that when it is an enemy's turn on the Initiative Tracker all ENGAGED enemies of that type move if they are not in attack range, then they attack if they are in attack range after moving. More information on "Enemy Movement" and "Enemy Attacks" in the following sections.

Enemy Movement

The distance an enemy can move is determined by the type and level of the enemy.

An enemy's base movement is one space unless stated otherwise on the Enemy Stat Card (more information on the "Enemy Stat Card" on page 34). ENGAGED enemies always move the shortest route to be within attack range of the closest hero. If there is ever a tie for which hero is the closest, the Enemy will move towards the hero who is the highest in the initiative (i.e., if Tank is in Initiative Slot #1, he is the highest in the initiative).

Even though enemies are not hindered by Water Spaces like heroes are, they cannot move through Darkness Tiles, Wall Tokens, red dashed lines, or spaces that are full. More information in the "Full Spaces" section on page 23.

Certain enemies can also push models out of a space that is considered full, which include the Brutes, the Mega-Brute, and Bosses. They may move into a full space by pushing out smaller sized models to a CLOSE space to make room for them. The Brute only moves two smaller models (which models are moved is up to the players), while the Mega-Brute and Bosses move the entire full space. If there isn't a CLOSE space that the smaller models can be moved to, then the Brute, Mega-Brute, and Bosses cannot move. Unlike the smaller models, a Brute, Mega-Brute, and Boss may not be pushed out of their space.

Ex. A Brute pushes out two Grunts on the Brutes turn.

Enemy Attacks

Once enemies are within attack range of a hero, they will attack the closest hero. Enemies with Melee Attacks like the Grunt and Brute will attack heroes in CLOSE spaces, and enemies with Ranged Attacks like the Archer and Caster will attack heroes in CLEARSHOT (more information on CLOSE and CLEARSHOT on page 38).

If there is ever a tie in which hero is considered to be the closest, check the Initiative Tracker. The hero that is higher up in the Initiative Tracker is considered the target for the enemies attack (i.e., if Tank and Fynn share a space they are both the closest target. Tank is in Initiative Slot #1, so he is at the top of the Initiative Tracker and will be attacked by the enemies on their turn if they are in attack range.)

Enemies have a damage stat (which can be found on their Enemy Stat Card, more information on page 34) to determine how many HITS the hero must block by rolling the hero's Defense. Enemies do not roll for attacks. All attacks by enemies are automatically considered successful HITS that heroes must defend against, more information on the next page.

When you are being attacked by a group of enemies, all enemies of the same type (i.e., Grunts, Archers, Casters, and Brutes are different enemy types) attack at the same time for a potentially devastating combined attack.

Ex. On the Casters turn, they move one space to try to get into CLEARSHOT and attack Tank together as a group.

Defending Enemy Attacks

When enemies attack a hero, the hero needs to defend against incoming HITS. To defend against an enemy attack, a hero gathers dice equal to the amount of Defense the hero has listed on their Hero Card plus any bonuses from Item Cards, hero abilities, and the Advanced Initiative Rules. The hero then rolls the dice looking for the "AXE/SHIELD" symbol or "CRIT" symbol. Just like with hero attacks, a "CRIT" symbol equals one success and explodes allowing you to roll an additional die.

After all the additional dice from CRITS have been rolled, check how many "AXE/SHIELD" and "CRIT" symbols have been rolled. The total number of successes determine how many HITS from the enemy the hero has successfully blocked. Any HITS left unblocked cause WOUNDS to the hero.

Ex.1: Two Level 1 Grunts are attacking Tank, which is one damage (i.e., one HIT) per Grunt for a total of two HITS directed towards Tank. Tank then gathers two dice from his base Defense stat on his Hero Card and one die from his shield starting item, which grants +1 Defense, for a total of three dice. Tank rolls his Defense with a result of "CRIT", "RANGED", and "AXE/SHIELD". Tank rolls an additional die for the "CRIT" which results as an "AXE". His final Defense roll is "CRIT", "AXE", "RANGED", and "AXE/SHIELD" giving Tank a total of two successes on Defense against two incoming HITS from the Otter Grunts. Tank blocked all the HITS and did not suffer any WOUNDS.

Ex.2: If Tank's result was "AXE/SHIELD", "RANGED", "RANGED", Tank would have only blocked one of the two incoming HITS and Tank would then suffer one WOUND.

Enemy Stat Card

All of the basic enemies in the game (including the Grunt, Archer, Caster, and Brute) will have their stats and abilities on the Enemy Stat Card. There are three in total that correspond with the level of Scenario you are currently playing (i.e., Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Stat Cards). The further you progress through the game, the more challenging the enemies become. Make sure to refer to these cards to keep track of the enemies new stats and abilities!

Ex. Here is a sample of a Grunt on the Level 1 Enemy Stat Card, which tells us that they have 3 Health, 1 Defense, and will try to Melee Attack a CLOSE hero for 1 HIT.

Taking WOUNDS

Anytime a hero fails a defense roll against incoming enemy attacks or certain events, the hero takes WOUNDS equal to the amount of damage they failed to defend against. When suffering WOUNDS, place the WOUND Tokens on the WOUND section of your Hero Dashboard. If your hero ever has WOUND Tokens equal to the hero's maximum health, the Hero is DOWNED.

Downed

When a Hero is DOWNED, immediately put the hero's model on its side, remove any Objective Tokens the hero was carrying and place them on the same space they are currently in. Move the hero's Initiative Card to the bottom of the initiative track on the Initiative Tracker.

Next, the Morale Token moves one space down on the Morale Tracker on the Initiative Tracker. The DOWNED hero may not perform any actions besides trying to RALLY by rolling one die per hero in that space (including themselves), per action.

A hero successfully RALLIES when rolling a "CRIT" symbol. Once the hero RALLIES, stand the hero model back up and freely move them two spaces without incurring a DODGE roll. When a hero RALLIES they heal for half of their max HP (which includes any HP bonuses given by Item Cards or hero abilities), rounded up in their favor. Heroes automatically RALLY if there are no ENGAGED enemies on the board. Alternatively, another hero with a Health Potion may spend the Health Potion to Rally a CLOSE DOWNED Hero. A hero's turn is over after they have RALLIED.

Defeat

If the party's Morale ever drops to "0" on the Initiative Tracker (also represented on the tracker by the skull icon below), the heroes have been defeated and have lost the Scenario. Many Scenarios in the Campaign Book have multiple challenges that will define the success and failure of the Scenario, as you will find in the "Special Rules" section of the Scenario you are playing in the Campaign Book. If the party is defeated in a Campaign, the heroes lose all loot gained from the current Scenario. Players may then choose a different Scenario of the same difficulty level.

Bosses

As you make your way through the Campaign you will encounter both Mega-Brutes and Bosses, significantly tougher and trickier enemies that require different, unique strategies to overcome them.

Mega-Brute

Mega-Brute models are mini bosses that can appear in Scenarios. When a Mega-Brute is spawned during a Scenario, take all of the Initiative Cards from the Initiative Tracker and shuffle in the Mega-Brute's two Initiative Cards. Place down the shuffled Initiative Cards onto the Initiative Tracker. With two Initiative Cards, Mega-Brute models activate twice per round. Mega-Brutes do not gain bonuses from the Advanced Initiative Rules.

When it is a Mega-Brute's turn to activate, the Mega-Brute moves one space towards the closest hero unless it is already in attack range of a hero. After moving, any player will roll one die; the Mega-Brute's boss stat card will show which action the Mega-Brute will take determined by the result of the die roll.

The Mega-Brute has different stats and health depending on the Scenario Level you are currently playing. These stats are shown on the Mega-Brute Card.

Crabblings

If a Mega-Brute ever rolls a "CRIT" for its action, it will Spawn two Crabbling tokens CLOSE to the Mega-Brute. When Crabblings are spawned, place the Crabbling Initiative Card at the end of the Initiative Track. There may only be four Crabblings on the board in total.

Crabbling stats are 1 ATK, 0 DEF, and 1 HP across all levels of the Campaign.

Boss Scenarios

Bosses function differently than other enemies. Each Boss comes with a Boss Stat Card and a Boss AI Deck that determines its actions. Shuffle the Boss's AI Deck and place it next to the game area.

Place the Boss model in the space shown in the Campaign Book. Shuffle the Initiative Cards of the heroes and place them onto the Initiative Tracker. Bosses do not have an Initiative Card since they activate at the end of each hero's turn.

At the end of each hero's turn, you will reveal one Boss AI card. The Boss AI Card will determine what actions the Boss will take and who it will target. Each time you WOUND a Boss, your hero gains one XP for each WOUND inflicted upon the Boss. When a hero is the first hero to break into a new Experience Tier, all other heroes gain XP, just like other Scenarios. Instead of a Tier Spawn, the first hero to break into a new Experience Tier causes the Boss to immediately take another action by revealing the next AI card. More information on "Experience Tier" can be found on pages 6-7.

Ex. Examples of a Boss Stat Card (left) and a Boss AI Card (right).

Campaign Rules

Throughout the Campaign of "Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay," the heroes of the Wanderer's Guild are pitted against a multitude of Scenarios, each with their own challenging and engaging Encounters to overcome. It is up to you to choose your path through the Campaign of Barnacle Bay and how to best defeat each Encounter and Scenario.

Campaign Rules

This game is intended to be played as a choose-your-own-adventure Campaign played across several play sessions. Once heroes have completed the winning objective of a Scenario, you will have the opportunity to select which Scenario to pursue next, as indicated in the Campaign Book.

After winning a Scenario and moving to the next Scenario, heroes will discard all ONE-SHOT items and tokens and reset their XP tracker to zero. Resetting the XP tracker to zero allows for players to try different hero abilities throughout different Scenarios. While during one Scenario it may be best to play defensively, other Scenarios might be better tackled with more of an offensive build.

Heroes get to keep all items earned from the previous scenarios. While XP and Hero Abilities represent the short term quick progression within a Scenario, the items the heroes gather over several Scenarios represent the long term progression.

• Trading in Items: When starting a new Scenario in a Campaign, the party has the option to trade in unwanted items for new items from the Treasure Deck of the Scenario they last completed. The party must discard two Item Cards to draw one new Item Card from the Treasure Deck that matches the level of the previously completed Scenario. Shuffle the traded in cards back into their respective Treasure Card decks.
• Progressing in the Campaign: There are three levels to the Campaign of "Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay." After winning a Scenario, the Campaign Book will show which Scenarios to choose from next. After defeating two Scenarios and a boss Scenario, the heroes will progress to the next level of difficulty. Enemies start to become more difficult as you progress. Each level of difficulty has a different Enemy Stat Card for the enemies. Be sure to use the correct Enemy Stat Card for the level of difficulty of the Scenario. You will use the Level 1 Enemy Stat Card for all 1.0 and 1.5 Scenarios, Level 2 Enemy Stat Card for all 2.0 and 2.5 Scenarios, and the Level 3 Enemy Stat Card for all 3.0 and 3.5 Scenarios.
• Starting A New Encounter: When heroes enter a new Encounter by flipping a tile, new Spawn Points, Darkness Tiles, and other tokens may need to be placed as specified in the Scenario setup section in the Campaign Book. After the tokens have been placed, spawn enemies onto the board, but be sure to spawn the enemies of the party's current Experience Tier (more information on "Spawning Enemies" on page 19-20). After all enemies have been spawned, shuffle the Initiative Cards for each hero and enemy type on the board and lay them out onto the Initiative Tracker.
• Defeating an Encounter: Once all enemies in the Encounter are defeated, all heroes regain one HP. Once the Encounter is clear of enemies, heroes are able to interact with Ladder Tokens to flip the current tile and enter a new Encounter.
• Swapping out Heroes: If a player wants to change heroes during the Campaign, the player can swap hero cards and trade in unwanted items for new items from the corresponding level Treasure Deck.

One-Shot Scenario Rules

Despite the game being set up as a Campaign-driven adventure, players have the opportunity to play any of the Scenarios in the Campaign Book as a one-shot adventure. To play any of the Scenarios of Barnacle Bay as a one shot adventure just follow these simple steps.

• Select a Scenario: Choose one of the Scenarios in the Barnacle Bay Campaign Book.
• Draw New Treasure Cards: When drawing new item cards, the party will draw three Treasure Cards from the corresponding level Scenario that the party has skipped over. Refer to the table below for how many Treasure Cards to draw from each level depending on the Scenario Level you have picked.
• Trade in Items: After collecting treasure from skipped Scenarios, the players may trade in two unwanted Treasure Cards to draw one new Treasure Card from the treasure deck of the corresponding Scenario Level. Using the trade in option is a great way to try to get better equipment for your heroes!

Ex. The heroes are starting a Level 2.5 Scenario. The heroes have two unwanted Level 2 Treasure Cards that they wish to trade in. They discard those cards, placing them at the bottom of the Level 2 Treasure Card deck and draw one Level 2 Treasure Card.

Below is a chart to help you understand how many treasure cards of each level to draw if you decide to play a one-shot Scenario:

Scenario Level	Level 1 Treasure Card	Level 2 Treasure Card	Level 3 Treasure Card
Intro Scenario	-	-	-
Level 1.0	3	-	-
Level 1.5	6	-	-
Level 1 Boss Fight	9	-	-
Level 2.0	9	-	-
Level 2.5	9	3	-
Level 2 Boss Fight	9	6	-
Level 3.0	9	9	-
Level 3.5	9	9	3
Final Boss Fight	9	9	6

Keywords

This game utilizes many Keywords to help save space on Hero and Enemy Cards and make ABILITIES easier to understand. We've included this section to help understand what these Keywords mean and how they apply in the game.

+/- ATK: Increase or decrease the number of dice rolled for Attack rolls by the number listed.

Ex. Roland acquired the "Mighty Gloves" ACCESSORY, which gives him +1 ATK. This means on his next ATTACK ACTION, he will roll an additional die.

ACTION: When a hero tries to move, attack, or interact with something, it takes an ACTION to do so. More information on "Actions" on page 22.

ACCESSORY: This is a unique item type that modifies the heroes stats and occasionally gives them new Abilities. Heroes can carry multiple ACCESSORY items, which have a green background.

# ACTIONS: The number of ACTIONS a certain Ability costs to use.

Ex. Ibexus's "Mana Stream" is a 2 ACTION Ability, and it costs two ACTIONS to cast it.

AOE: AOE stands for "Area of Effect". If a hero successfully attacks with a Weapon or Ability that triggers an AOE effect, all other enemy models in the same space will be affected. When an enemy attack is an AOE against heroes, all heroes within the same space of the targeted hero must roll defense against the attack.

ARMOR: This is a protective item that modifies the hero's Health and Defense stats, as well as potentially offer special Abilities while defending. Heroes are limited to only being allowed to carry one Armor item per hero. Armor Item Cards will have a blue background.

ATK: Short for "Attack", and will commonly be found in the rules, Item Cards, and Event Cards as shorthand.

CHARGE: After a MOVE ACTION, a hero may then attack an Enemy for free without using another ACTION.

CHECK KNOWLEDGE: This is a dice check primarily used in Event Cards, and in some special cases Item Cards. You roll dice equal to your Knowledge stat, and deal with the Event Card or Item Cards results. More on "Knowledge Checks" on page 22.

CLEARSHOT: Any model that is visible in a straight line from the target is in CLEARSHOT. Full spaces, Wall Tokens, Darkness Tiles, and red lines block CLEARSHOT.

CLEAVE: When you have a Weapon or Ability that causes attacks to CLEAVE, rolling a CRIT causes one additional enemy within the same space as the target to automatically suffer one WOUND.

CLOSE: CLOSE means up to one space away from the source. Does not include spaces that are diagonal to the original source.

CONFUSE: When an enemy model is affected by CONFUSE, that enemy model attacks another enemy model in attack range and ignores that target's defense. If there are multiple options for which enemy model the CONFUSED enemy attacks, its up to the players to choose the enemy.

CRIT: A CRIT is when a die shows the "CRIT" symbol. When a "CRIT" is rolled, it "explodes" causing another die to be rolled into the dice pool. Many special Abilities are triggered on CRITS. For Item Special Rules or Abilities based on ATTACK ACTIONS, the target enemy must be WOUNDED with a roll including a CRIT for that Special Rule or Ability to trigger.

2x CRIT: The Ability triggers when the dice roll has two or more successful CRITS. For special Abilities with ATTACK ACTIONS, the target enemy must be WOUNDED with a roll including two CRITS.

CURSE: Place a CURSE Token on the hero's Initiative Card. The hero has one less ACTION they can use on their turn. To cure yourself of the CURSE, the hero must roll a CRIT on a Knowledge Check at the end of their turn. Once it is resolved, remove the CURSE Token from your hero's Initiative Card. More information on "Knowledge Checks" on page 22.

DEF: Short for "Defense" and will commonly be found in the rules, Item Cards, and Event Cards as shorthand.

+/- DEF: Increase or decrease the number of dice rolled for defense rolls by the number listed.

Ex. Kira acquired the "Buckler", an OFF-HAND shield. It gives her +1 DEF, meaning she rolls an additional die on her next Defense check.

DUAL-WIELD: Dual-Wield Weapons represent a pair of two Weapons used simultaneously that take up both paw slots.

DOWNED: When a hero has WOUNDS equal to their total HP, that hero is DOWNED. When DOWNED, a hero places their model on its side, drops all tokens on the space the hero occupies, places their Initiative Card at the end of the initiative track, and the party loses one MORALE. More on "DOWNED" on page 34.

ENGAGED: Enemies are considered ENGAGED if they have Line-Of-Sight on a hero model. Enemies from Enemy Specific Portals Spawn on the board already ENGAGED. More information on ENGAGED enemies in the "Enemy Line-Of-Sight" section on page 31.

HELM: Helms are a protective item that modifies the heroes DEF and HP stats, like ARMOR. Heroes are limited to only being allowed to carry one Helm item per hero.

HITS: HITS are the incoming damage from a successful attack by a hero or enemy. HITS deal WOUNDS when they break through an enemy's Defense or a hero's failed Defense Roll.

HP: HP is short for Health. It is commonly used throughout many assets in the game.

+(X) HP: Increase your total health pool by (X) amount. You will most commonly see this on ARMOR, HELM, and ACCESSORY item cards.

Ex. Tank acquired the "Worn Armor" Item Card. It gives him +1 HP and +1 DEF. This adds one health to his total health pool.

KNOCKDOWN: When a hero or enemy suffers KNOCKDOWN, place the hero model on its side. The hero or enemy will then have -1 Defense until they stand back up. For heroes, this costs one ACTION. For enemies, it costs their entire turn. Heroes do not have to DODGE away from enemies who suffer KNOCKDOWN.

MELEE: A keyword for a type of item, which is used by Item Cards and Abilities. When using a MELEE Weapon, heroes can only attack enemies that are CLOSE. More on CLOSE on the previous page.

OFF-HAND: Off-Hand items are special pieces of equipment that must be Readied to gain their benefits. Typically they modify your ATK or DEF rolls, as well as apply special bonuses.

ONE-HANDED: One-Handed items are items that require one paw slot to be readied and is also a keyword for certain Abilities.

PIERCE: PIERCE allows your Attack to ignore one Defense on the targeted enemy model.

POISON: Place a POISON Token on the hero's Initiative Card. A hero takes one WOUND per turn until that hero rolls an "AXE/SHIELD" symbol on a Defense Check at the end of their turn. If they roll a CRIT on that check, remove the Poison Token.

RALLY/RALLIES: When it is a DOWNED hero's turn to activate, they must attempt to RALLY by rolling one die per hero in their space (Including themselves). They roll these dice as many times as they have an ACTION. A hero successfully RALLIES when a CRIT is rolled. When a hero RALLIES they may freely move two spaces and ignore the effects of water. A hero's turn ends after a successful RALLY.

RANGED: A keyword for a type of item, which is used by Item Cards and Abilities. When using a RANGED Weapon, you can attack any enemy in CLEARSHOT. More on CLEARSHOT on the previous page.

REACH: Normally a MELEE Weapon can only attack enemies in the same or adjacent spaces as the hero using it, but Weapons with REACH can attack one space further away. This is only applied to a few select items.

+/- RE-ROLL: After rolling dice for any check, a hero may re-roll one of the dice from the dice pool after CRITS have been resolved. Many RE-ROLL Abilities state what kind of roll they allow RE-ROLLS on. For example, +1 ATK RE-ROLL means a hero may re-roll one die after an attack roll.

SLEEP: Place the model on its side. Place a SLEEP Token on the hero's Initiative Card. Until that hero rolls a CRIT on a Knowledge Check at the end of their turn, takes a WOUND from an enemy attack, or has another hero wake them up for one ACTION, that hero has -1 DEF and may not activate their turn. Remove the SLEEP Token once a hero "wakes up".

SPELL: A keyword for a type of item, which is used by Item Cards and Abilities. Spells have unique Special Rules that make them different than a standard Weapon. Like RANGED Weapons, they can be used to attack any enemy in CLEARSHOT. More on CLEARSHOT on the previous page.

TRAPPED: This means a hero cannot MOVE or ATTACK until the Event Card they are currently TRAPPED by is resolved. The Event Card will give instructions on how to escape the trap on the card.

TWO-HANDED: Two-Handed items are items that require both paw slots to be readied and is also a keyword for certain Abilities.

WEAPON: A keyword for a type of item that includes MELEE, RANGED, SPELL, and OFF-HAND items. Weapons must be Readied in a paw slot to perform an ATTACK ACTION and/or gain any stat bonus they offer. Some Abilities only effect Weapon items. Weapon items have red Item Card Backgrounds.

WOUND: A WOUND represents any damage that is done to a hero or enemy in the game that has not been successfully defended against. Many events state "Take 1 WOUND". WOUNDS cannot be blocked. When a hero has as many WOUNDS as they have HP, that hero is considered DOWNED.

Quick Reference Guide

Heroes

Here is a list of hero actions you can take on your turn:

• MOVE: Move your hero up to two spaces per MOVE ACTION. Moving into a Water Space ends your MOVE ACTION and takes a full MOVE ACTION to move out of. Darkness Tiles also end your MOVE ACTION. You cannot move diagonally.
• ATTACK: Roll as many dice as your currently Readied Weapon states in the lower right corner of the card plus any modifiers from the other Item Cards or your hero's Abilities. Subtract the enemies defense stat number (located on the Enemy Stat Card) from your successful dice rolls. Any HITS that made it past their defense causes a WOUND to the Enemy. You cannot attack diagonally.
  • MELEE Weapon attacks only hit CLOSE targets. Successes on rolls are "AXE", "AXE/SHIELD", and "CRIT" Symbols.
  • RANGED Weapon and SPELL attacks only hit enemies in CLEARSHOT. Successes on rolls are "RANGED" and "CRIT" symbols.
• TRADE: Trade an item to a hero in a CLOSE space for one Action. The hero receiving the item can automatically Ready that item if it is a Weapon, Spell, or Off-Handed item.
• STEP UP & FALL BACK: A hero may forfeit their turn to Step Up to the top of the Initiative Tracker or Fall Back to the bottom of the Initiative Tracker.
• INTERACT: Spend one ACTION to interact with Treasure Tokens, Objective Tokens, use a Health Potion Token, or pick up an item that was dropped.
• RALLY: When you are DOWNED, you can RALLY to get up by rolling one die per hero in your space (including your hero) and getting a "CRIT" symbol. You can move two spaces freely, then your turn ends.

Enemies

The enemies stats and information can be found on their Enemy Stat Card, which correlates with the level of Scenario you are playing. Make sure to reference this for any information on the enemies you may have. Here are the basics of how enemies operate in this game:

• ENEMY TURN: Enemies that have Line-Of-Sight on a hero are considered ENGAGED and will move one space towards the closest hero, then attack.
• LINE-OF-SIGHT: To determine this, take the back corner of the enemies space and opposing corner of the heroes space; if you can draw a straight line that isn't blocked by red dashed lines, Darkness Tiles, or the edge of the board, that enemy has Line-Of-Sight on the hero then becomes ENGAGED and activates on their next turn.
• DEFENDING AN ENEMY ATTACK: When an enemy attacks, their damage is automatic. It is up to you to defend against it by rolling as many dice as your Defense Stat on your hero card plus any modifiers from your Item Cards or hero Abilities. Successes on rolls are "AXE/SHIELD" and "CRIT" symbols.
  • Grunts and Brutes attack CLOSE heroes with Melee Attacks.
  • Archers and Casters attack heroes in CLEARSHOT with Ranged Attacks.

Status Effects

Here is a list of the Status Effects that you might suffer in this game, and how to resolve them.

• KNOCKDOWN: Place the model on its side. Until the hero spends one ACTION to stand back up, they have -1 DEF.
• CURSE: Place a CURSE Token on the hero's Initiative Card. The hero has one less ACTION they can use on their turn. To cure yourself of the CURSE, the hero must roll a CRIT on a Knowledge Check at the end of their turn. Once it is resolved, remove the CURSE Token from your hero's Initiative Card.
• SLEEP: Place the model on its side. Place a SLEEP Token on the hero's Initiative Card. Until that hero rolls a CRIT on a Knowledge Check at the end of their turn, or takes a WOUND from an enemy attack, or has another hero wake them up for one ACTION, that hero has -1 DEF and may not activate this turn.
• POISON: Place a POISON Token on the hero's Initiative Card. Until that hero rolls an "AXE/SHIELD" symbol on a Defense Check at the end of their turn, they suffer one WOUND per turn. If they roll a CRIT, they remove the Poison Token.
• DOWNED: When a hero takes WOUNDS equal to their total health, they are DOWNED. Place the model on its side, and move the hero's Initiative Card to the bottom of the Initiative Tracker. They can then attempt to RALLY or be RALLIED by another hero in the same space to stand back up and start activating normally.

CRIT

The "CRIT" symbol represents a critical success on a roll. A CRIT counts as one success for any roll, plus it will "explode" allowing you to roll one additional die per CRIT result. CRITS will always "explode" into more dice unless the Item Card or Ability states otherwise.

Rolling a CRIT can also cause an Weapon's/Item Card's Special Rules or an Ability to trigger. If you cause a single WOUND to an enemy on your attack, all "CRIT" symbols rolled cause these Special Rules or Abilities trigger as well. For example, if you roll three CRITS and an enemy has two defense, you only cause one WOUND; however, you also trigger the Special Rules and Abilities for each CRIT you rolled.

Make sure to refer to each section of the rulebook for how CRITS affect the outcome of any dice check you roll for.