Way of the Samurai: Blood and Bushido Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Blood
  • Blood Module Card Effect List
• Bushido
  • Bushido Card Effect List
• Gisei
• 1 Versus 3
• Yoroi
• Shiro
• Surrounding
• Weapons

Blood

The Blood module changes how injury cards affect you. It consists of 5 Injury cards with a star icon on a corner. When added into the game, shuffle them and place it next to the base game Injury deck. When you resolve an injury effect on your opponent, draw a card from the "base game" injury deck. When you resolve an injury effect on yourself, draw a card from the new injury deck instead.

Important: After you resolve injury effects from the Blood module, you must keep the wound card next to your play area for the rest of the game instead of shuffling back into the Injury deck. All effects on multiple injury cards can stack together. If the Injury deck is empty, you lose the game immediately.

This module is not compatible with campaign mode.

Blood Module Card Effect List

• Wound 1: For the rest of the game, your Strength level cannot be more than 3. Any excess Strength level from action cards is lost. (Arm injury)

• Wound 2: Remove the Injury die from the game immediately. For the rest of the game, you cannot activate the Injury die, and Combos no longer have any effect. (Broken rib)

• Wound 1: For the rest of the game, your Technical level cannot be more than 3. Any excess Technique levels from action cards are lost. (Broken finger)

• Wound 2: For the rest of the game, you lose 1 life point at the end of each round. A round ends after the opponent's second counterattack. (Deep gash in the abdomen)

• Wound 1: Decrease the level of the Injury die by 3. If the Injury die level is less than 3, set it to level 1 instead. (Broken shoulder)

• Wound 2: For the rest of the game, you cannot gain any more Ki tokens, regardless of the means. (Eye injury)

• Wound 1: You lose X life point(s). X = the level of your injury die. You cannot lose less than one hit point and never more than six hit points. (Injury to the thigh)

• Wound 2: You lose X ki point(s). X = the level of your injury die. You cannot lose less than one ki point and never more than six ki points. (Loss of balance)

• Wound 1: No effect. (Lucky Dodge)

• Wound 2: You lose the game immediately. (Beheaded)

Bushido

The Bushido module allows you to use your combos in a new way. It consists of 7 cards that represent the 7 Bushido virtues.

When you add this module into your games, place the Bushido deck next to the indicator board. Place a small round pawn next to the deck. During the game, when you make a matching-symbol combo, you will have the option to "get a Ki token" or "win a Special Action card" or "place the small round counter on the first kanji on the back of the card." If during the game you make a combo again you can move the small round counter to the second kanji and so on. When your pawn reaches the third kanji you can immediately draw a Bushido card and resolve it.

Bushido cards give you a powerful advantage. Once drawn, place the card next to you and keep it until the end of the game or the end of its use. You can only win one Bushido card per game. When you win a Bushido card, keep the card and remove the Bushido deck from the game.

Classic combos are not the only way to move the Bushido slider. You can also, at any time, spend 2 Ki points to advance the cursor to the next Kanji.

This module is compatible with the campaign mode and the samurai clan. The card won during the campaign is kept until it is used up or the end of your game.

Bushido Card Effect List

• For the rest of the game, when you score a combo, you can draw 2 Special Action cards instead of one.
• For the rest of the game, when you score a combo, increase the Injury Die levels by 2 instead of 1 (e.g. from 2 to 4, 3 to 5). The excess beyond level 6 is lost.
• For the rest of the game, after drawing your 6 starting Action cards at the beginning of each round, you can discard up to two cards from your hand and draw two new ones. This effect is irreversible. This action is limited to once per round.
• This card is a bonus of 5 in Technique. Place a chip on the number 5 (white). You have a +5 Technique credit to spend as you wish during combat. Each time you spend one or more Technique points from this card, drag the slider token by the same amount. You can spend all 5 points at once or spread them over several rounds. When the bonus is used up, discard the card.
• This card is a bonus of 5 in Strength. Place a token on the number 5 (white). You have a +5 Strength credit to spend as you wish during combat. Each time you spend one or more Strength points from this card, drag the slider token by the same amount. You can spend all 5 points at once or spread them over several rounds. When the bonus is used up, discard the card.
• You can save your Life by sacrificing your Ki. At any time, you can discard up to 4 Ki Tokens in your pool onto this card, then gain Life Tokens for the same amount of Ki tokens you have discarded from this effect earlier. This card can be used for several rounds, but cannot discard Ki Tokens on this card regardless of the means. When there are 4 Ki Tokens on this card, discard this card and all Ki Tokens on it.
• This card allows you to choose any card from the Bushido deck.

Gisei

Gisei means "sacrifice," a move where you take a small cut to avoid deeper wounds or to strike the opponent with greater force. This module allows you to try new strategies and take more risk. It consists of 5 cards.

When added into the game, shuffle them to form the Gisei Deck and place it next to your gauge tray. Before revealing each opponent's counterattack, you can discard a Life Token and draw a Gisei card.

Gisei cards raise your Guard level, but be careful, as there is a Gisei card that decreases your Guard level instead of increasing it. The sacrifice may not be worth it. When you have resolved the card's effect, shuffle it back into the Gisei Deck.

1 Versus 3

Module 1 Versus 3 allows you to face three enemies at the same time. Each opponent is associated with a number (from 1 to 3) and a specific number of Health and Ki points.

This module includes 3 enemy cards and 1 random counter-attack card. When you play with this mode, the three enemies surround you.

With this mode, the course of a round is the same as in classic mode except for a few modifications. After drawing your 6 Action cards at the beginning of the round, you must place a small marker chip on the opponent you wish to attack. You can only attack one opponent at a time. A round consists of two attacks; you can attack the same opponent twice or two different opponents.

Once the opponent is selected, you must activate two Action cards (unless you use your Ki). Then discover the defense of the selected opponent. Then place your third Action card. Resolve your attack. Then roll the blue die and refer to the random Counterattack card. This card lets you know which opponent is counterattacking and therefore how many counterattacks you need to resolve. To do this, roll the blue die and apply the result.

Example: If the result is 2, you must resolve three counterattacks. A first one from opponent 1, a second one from opponent 2 and a third one from opponent 3.

If an opponent is dead you do not have to resolve his counterattack. Example: if opponent 2 is dead, you roll the die and make a 4. You only have to resolve opponent 3's counterattack.

When you kill an opponent, you must flip his card over. He can no longer counterattack. When you kill all three opponents, you win the game.

Note: Injury die bonuses must be activated on the attacked opponent.

Yoroi

Yoroi means "Armor," and this module can grant anyone who wears it an advantage in a fight. The Yoroi module consists of a card, which has two uses: either to protect yourself for an easier fight, or make an opponent tougher to defeat.

When you use the armor: Place the YOROI card next to your play area and put a small round token on the number 4. This will gain you 4 Life Tokens worth of resistance. When you have to take damage, slide the token on the YOROI card down according to the damage first. When the token on the YOROI card has reached 0, remove it from the game. Any excess damage afterwards is removed from your Life Token pool instead. You cannot spend Armor Resistance to gain Ki Tokens when using Bokken's effect. We recommend using this module in campaign mode.

Special Rule: AFTER the armor has taken damage, roll the blue die. If the result is a 6, the armor is broken. Remove the YOROI card from the game. Otherwise, nothing happens.

When the opponent uses the armor: Place the YOROI card next to or under the opponent's card. Place a small round token on the number 4. This will gain the opponent 4 Life Tokens worth of resistance. When the opponent has to take damage, slide the token on the armor card down according to the damage first. When the token on the YOROI card has reached 0, remove it from the game. Any excess damage afterwards is removed from the opponent's Life Token pool instead.

Special Rule: AFTER the armor has taken damage, roll the blue die. If the result is a 6, the armor is broken. Remove the YOROI card from the game. Otherwise, nothing happens.

Shiro

With full armor and dual-wielding technique akin to Miyamoto Musashi, Shiro is one of the most formidable opponents throughout his duels. This opponent consists of a double-sided card with A and B sides depicted on a corner. During setup, place the Shiro card on the A side. Shiro starts with 8 Life Tokens and 5 Ki Tokens.

When Shiro has taken damage, flip the opponent card to the other side. When you flip the card and side B is revealed, choose ONE of the effects as shown and resolve it immediately:

• Discard a Ki Token. If you run out of Ki tokens, you cannot choose this effect.
• Discard a Life Token.
• Discard an action card, either one you are keeping next to the gauge board, or from your hand. If you discard a Special Action card from your hand, draw a new one from the Action deck to replace it.
• Decrease the Injury Die point by 1. If your injury die is 1, you cannot use this option.

If side A is revealed, nothing happens, and the round continues as normal. In other words, every 2 strikes you land on Shiro successfully, you will have to discard either a Life point, a Ki Token, an Action Card, or a point of the Injury Die.

Surrounding

There are 2 new surroundings in this expansion: The Bamboo Forest and The Cliff.

The Bamboo Forest will allow you to protect yourself when you need it, but beware that this place can also cause you a lot of damage.

The Cliff has a special rule: You can only exploit it once in a fight. You can resolve a level 1 injury to your opponent if you roll a 1, 2 or 3, or you can fall off the cliff to your demise and lose the game immediately if you rolled a 4, 5 or 6.

Weapons

There are 2 new weapons in this expansion: YARI and WAKIZASHI, which give you more choices and encourage deck manipulating.

YARI

• Advantages: When you have drawn 6 Action cards during the beginning of the round, you can discard all cards in your hand and draw 6 new ones to your hand, for up to 3 times in the game. This effect can stack with the "discard card and redraw" rule in Campaign mode, bringing them up to 4 times.
• Disadvantages: Start the game with 1 Life Token and 1 Ki Token less. (In other words, start the game with 7 Life Tokens and 4 Ki Tokens instead.)

WAKIZASHI

• Advantages: When drawing a Special Action card, draw two cards, keep one, and shuffle the other back into the Special Action deck instead.
• Disadvantages: At the end of the tenth round, draw an Injury Card and resolve its level 1 injury effect.