Western Legends Stories

Western Legends Stories Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective

Western Legends Stories is an sandbox narrative game in which players will try to become the greatest legend of the west.

By participating in the adventure through the story cards, they will seek to accumulate the maximum number of Legendary Points (LP) to win the game.

The paths to achieve this will be diverse and varied: whether you choose to become a Marshall, builder, cowboy, miner, gambler, or even an outlaw, everything is possible. However, only the most courageous, strategic, and persevering will succeed in rising to the rank of legend.

7 Game boards
5 Player boards
6 Player cards
1 Scoring board
20 Places tiles
1 Gold bag
1 First player token
5 Save bags
25 Minis
10 Wooden bullet markers (2 of each color)
5 Health markers
2 General store stands
1 Exploration notebook
5 Marshal tokens
5 Wanted tokens
4 NPC Fight dice
1 "SALOON" Dice tower
1 Tutorial sheet
5 Player aids
60 Money Cards (30 of each Money card)
Closed tokens
7 Legendary Skill cards
70 Skill tokens (10 of each skill)
80 Resources tokens: 50 Stones (25 Gold nuggets & 25 Pebbles), 15 Hide tokens, 15 Food tokens
6 Law cards
45 Item cards
27 Unique Item cards
65 Secret cards
198 Story cards

Setup - 4 Players

Take all the story cards of the episode you want to play and start reading them in order following the order on the back of the cards. The setup, specific to each episode, is presented on the second story card of each deck. However, it follows a common framework presented below.

Place the scoring board with the legend track and law track on one edge of the table. Set up the money cards and serious injury cards on it.
Give each player a player board of their chosen color, along with the wooden markers, health marker, and mini's base of the same color. Also distribute the corresponding mini for the player board, as well as a player aid/backup sheet for each.
Each player places one of their wooden markers on space 0 of the Legend track and the other on space 1 "citizen" of the Law track. Then they insert their health marker into injury slot #5 on their player board. *
Place the food tokens, skin tokens, skill tokens, and Fight dice near the board. Also place the stones (nuggets and pebbles) in the cloth bag and place it nearby.
Shuffle the "Poker" cards, "Bandit" cards, "Animal" cards, and "Exploration" cards separately and place them on the table near the scoring board. *
Deal poker cards and money to each player. *
Set up the game board in the center of the table. *
Place the Places tiles on the game board. *
Place the minis of all players on a space of the game board. *
Place the Places cards corresponding to the installed tiles in the exploration notebook.
Place the non-player character (NPC) figures and cards respectively on the game board and in the exploration notebook. *
Place the store stand near the game board with the items to buy inside.
Place the first story cards under the scoring board. *
The most courageous player goes first.

Some of the listed elements, their quantity, or their details may change depending on the episode. Everything is specified on the setup history card for the episode.

How to Play

The game is played clockwise. Each player takes their turn following the game round presented below.

Players Turn

Start of the Turn Phase - Optional - Move a Non player Character (NPC) up to 2 spaces (within its movement limit)
Action Phase — Perform 2 Actions (You may repeat the same action several times)
- A. Move
- B. Rest
- C. Play an Action card
- D. Interact with a place, a character, or fight a player on your space.
End of Turn Phase
1. Check if you are eligible for end-of-turn rewards
2. Rest
3. Discard cards until you are within your hand limit
4. The next player becomes the active player and begins their turn.

Detailed Players Turn

1. Start of Turn Phase

This phase is optional, and it allows you, if you wish, to move an NPC present on the board up to a number of spaces within the limit of their movement value indicated on their card.

Example: The NPC Juan is present on the board, his movement value is 3. During my start-of-turn phase, I may move him up to 3 spaces.

2. Action Phase

During your action phase, you must perform 2 Actions of your choice among 4 possible actions. These actions can be performed in any order, and you can repeat the same action multiple times.

A. Move

When you have a mount, your movement value increases (it is indicated in the top right corner of your mount's card), allowing you to move further in a single action. You are not required to use all your movement points.

You cannot move into areas marked with red dotted lines.

Boards, Regions

During your adventures, you will move on a game board. The story cards will indicate where and how to place the board.

The boards are made up of one or more regions (separated by a thick continuous line) and spaces (separated by a thin continuous line).

Some areas are marked by red dotted lines. These areas represent natural obstacles and cannot be entered.

However, there are passages indicated by a double arrow, with the condition for using the passage at the center of the double arrow (usually discarding 2 cards). When you use these passages, the space of the passage is not counted in your movement.

Example: Without a mount, you'll move 1 space per move action.

Example: As you've got a mount with a movement value of 2, you can move up to 2 spaces per move action.

B. Rest

Resting allows you to draw the top 2 cards from the Poker deck, choose one, and discard the other. It's a convenient way to replenish your hand when you're low on cards.

C. Play an Action card

Many cards (Poker, object, etc.) with the word "Action" on them can be used during this phase to perform a specific action. When you use the action of a card, place it face up on the table, carry out the necessary steps to perform the text on the card, and then discard it if it's a Poker card.

D. Interact with a place, a character, or fight a player on your space

1. Interact with a place

When you are on a space with a location icon, you can perform the specific actions for that location. These actions are written in red uppercase (e.g., Build) on the corresponding location card placed in the exploration notebook. To know the details of each of the location actions, refer to the "Locations" chapter, which explains each possible action in detail.

NOTE: Some areas, like forest zones (recognizable by their color and forest logo), do not have a places tile. However, it is possible to perform the specific action indicated on the corresponding places card.

Diagram callout: Icon and Location name / Action name / Description of Action to apply — shown on a location card (example: "Gold Deposit", action "Search for Gold": Take 1 stone from the bag. You may discard a card to take 2 additional stones from the bag for each card discarded this way. Gain 1 Legendary Point for every 2 gold nuggets gained this way in the same turn.)

2. Interact with a character

When you are on the same space as a non-player character (NPC), you can consult their character card. If an action is indicated in red uppercase on it (e.g., Fight), you can use one of your actions to perform it. Then, carry out the necessary steps to perform the text on the card.

Refer to the "Fight" chapter to learn how to fight against NPCs.

3. Fight a player

When your mini occupies a space with another player you may use one action to initiate a fight. Fighting players can earn you Legendary Points and penalize your opponent. The mechanics of a fight are explained in the "Fight" chapter.

3. End of Turn Phase

During this phase, you must perform the following actions in this order:

1. Check if you are eligible for end-of-turn rewards

Some elements in the game grant you end of turn rewards. They are recognizable by the mention "END OF TURN REWARD". You can obtain end of turn rewards on cards in your possession, but most often it is your position on the law track that offers them to you.

Example: if at the end of your turn you are on the Wanted side of the law track at space 1, you gain 1 poker card.

Some end of turn rewards are subject to conditions indicated near the reward in question.

2. Rest

Taking a rest allows you to draw the first 2 cards from the poker cards deck, choose one and discard the other. It's a handy way to refresh your hand when you're running low on cards.

3. Discard cards until you are within your hand limit

You must discard poker cards if you have more than your maximum hand size: 5 cards minus 1 for each wound you have.

4. The next player becomes the active player and begins their turn.

(This draft rulebook leaves the remainder of this section blank, marked "WIP" by the publisher.)

End of the Game, Scoring and Backup

End of the Game

If one of the story card decks is empty and there are no new story card decks to place, this triggers the end of the game. Players finish the current round so that they all have played the same number of turns. Then proceed to the end-of-game scoring.

NOTE: there are different types of adventures in Western Legends Stories; consult the "Adventures" chapter to learn about changes to end-of-game scoring.

End-of-Game Scoring

The player(s) who participated in the most story cards gain(s) 1 Legendary Point (LP).
If you are the best Wanted or Marshal, gain 1 LP.
If you have cards that give points at the end of the game (e.g., tamed mount, etc.), gain the number of LP indicated on the cards.
If you have skill tokens, gain 1 LP for every set of 3 tokens (regardless of the skill of the tokens)
If you have money, gain 1 LP for every $60 increment
If you are the player with the most combined resources, gain 1 LP
Lose 1 LP for each wound you have

Backup

In a multi-episode adventure, it is necessary to save your game before putting it away (or before starting the next episode) to keep the necessary elements.

Here's what each player should place in their bag:

The "first player" token if you are the one with the fewest Legendary points.
Your serious injury cards if you have any. Discard them when setting up the next episode and start with 1 less health point due to the card.
Half (rounded down) of your money.
Your mount, it will be tamed for your next game.
The weapon of your choice in your possession.
2 objects of your choice among those you had (empty bottles are not kept) - Discard all your resources.
A Marshal or Wanted token if you were one, you will start with 1 point of this type in the next episode.
Up to 2 "skill" cards obtained during the adventure.
Up to 2 skill tokens of your choice obtained during the adventure.

Story Cards

Story cards are at the heart of the Western Legends Stories experience. They serve to guide the game, tell the adventure, help with setup, and trigger the end of games.

Each adventure can include one or more episodes. Each episode consists of a set of story cards, made up of several decks, identifiable by their name located at the top right of each card.

The main adventure, for example, consists of 7 episodes. There are therefore 7 sets of story cards and as many games to play for this adventure.

An episode ends when the story cards draw pile is exhausted. In this case, players finish the round so that each player has played the same number of turns.

Never consult story cards without being invited to do so or without completing the condition indicated on the front. This would spoil your gaming experience.

Setup

On the first story card of an episode, its name is indicated on the front and a text describing the story is on the back. Read it aloud before reading the second card. The second card allows you to follow the setup steps before installing the first deck.

At the top right is the name of the deck (often indicated as days). There are often multiple cards per deck. Most of the time, at the top left, one or more symbols are indicated. In this case, you must distribute all the cards from the same deck evenly into as many separate piles as there are card symbols.

When one of the piles no longer has any cards, discard any remaining piles without consulting them, then set up the next deck (following the order of days).

Example: the prologue "The Journey" starts over two days with one card. Day 3 has two. They must therefore be stacked in separate decks.

During the action phase of their turn, a player can complete a story card if they meet the condition indicated on the front of the story card. In these cases they complete their action before immediately flipping the card and reading it aloud. They then resume their turn where they left off.

The first part allows players to follow the progress of the adventure, while the second part presents rewards, and modifications to make to the game.

NOTE: in certain situations, a symbol is present on the card; in this case, the player should read it in their head.

Poker Cards

In Western Legends Stories, poker cards have multiple uses. They provide special actions, bonuses, determine the winner of a fight, or a game of poker...

There are 3 types of Poker cards recognizable by the color of their name: Action card, Bonus card, and Reaction card.

Action cards offer a unique action, playable during your action phase.
Bonus cards provide a specific bonus when used in the situations outlined on the card.
Reaction cards allow you to react to a previously taken action.

In addition to the Action/Bonus/Reaction type, they also have a value, a symbol, and a color in the top left corner.

These pieces of information will be used to resolve fights, as well as determine the winner of poker games and more.

NOTE: For cards with face values (J: Jack, Q: Queen, K: King, and A: Ace), the numerical fight value is indicated below in the symbol.

Example poker cards: "Savings" (Action, gain money), "Shootout" (Bonus — if you play this card during a fight, you may immediately cancel the fight and initiate a new one; NPCs and Automata participate in the new fight with a lower die), "Bedroll" (Reaction — after making a move, you may play this card to draw and keep 1 card from among 2), "Living Legend" (Action, gain a Marshal or Wanted token and a skill token of your choice), "Quickdraw" (Bonus — if you play this card during a fight against an NPC, increase your fight value by 1), "Determination" (Reaction — consult the Story cards whose trigger is visible, choose one and gain the rewards indicated on the back; if the card indicated a location, move to it).

Non-Player Characters (NPC)

In Western Legends Stories, there are 3 types of non-player characters (NPCs): bandits, animals, and Personalities.

Bandits

If you decide to interact with bandits, a fight will always occur. Fighting bandits can be a good strategy to earn Legendary Points, but be prepared for such fights as danger is ever-present.

Animals

In some cases, usually when you decide to perform the forest action, animals will appear. Some are clearly harmless and easy to hunt, but others can be very dangerous and put your life at risk.

Personalities

Personalities are a particularly interesting type of NPC because they represent all the important characters you can meet in the game. Some will be friendly, some less so, and others will outright try to attack you. In any case, encountering these NPCs will always be exciting.

NPC Dice

Non-player characters (NPCs) usually have a Die indicated on their card. This die represents their strength in combat. The Dice come in different colors representing their strength.

Here is the hierarchy of the dice strength, from strongest to weakest: black, red, yellow, green.

NOTE: When it is required to use a "Lower Die," this means to use the die of strength just below the current die.

Example: the NPC "Bo Walsh" attacks with a red die. As no red dice are available, you use a yellow die. You roll the yellow die and get a 12. You'll have to do more than 12, using your poker cards and bonuses from your equipment (e.g. a Quickdraw card played during a fight against an NPC increases your fight value by 1).

On certain faces of the NPC fight dice, a bad luck effect is indicated. This effect can be of several types (food, injury, etc.) and is added to the combat result, no matter the outcome.

Locations

During your stories, you'll discover a variety of Locations across the map. While most Locations are found within towns, they can appear anywhere on the board.

Locations are either Under Construction or Complete.

Under Construction, Locations have their "Under Construction" side face up with empty slots.

Unless otherwise stated, Under Construction Locations have only 1 Location Action: Discard 2 cards and place a token on the Under Construction tile in one of the slots. Once done, gain a Builder Skill token, $20, and any subsequent rewards.

Once an Under Construction Location has its slots filled, flip the Location over to its Complete side. Buildings will remain on their Complete side for the rest of the game and subsequent Stories unless otherwise noted.

Completed Buildings have Actions or Reactions that can be taken or come into effect when in their space. You must be in the same space as the Location tile to use its Actions or other effects.

Location Actions are in red. You may use one of your Actions to activate the Location and follow all of the listed effects.

Some Locations will have 2 possible Actions, such as the Trading Post which has a Trade action and a Hold-Up action. These are separate actions and you must choose one or the other to activate with your Action. You may perform multiple, different actions at a Location using an Action point for each action.

Equipment and Inventory

There are 2 types of equipment: resource tokens and equipment cards.

Resource tokens can be of several types (gold nuggets, skins, food, etc.) and are earned during the game. They must then be placed on your player board in an available space. They can usually be sold for money or used to heal (food). If you have no more available spaces, you cannot take additional resources.

The resources obtained are placed on the player board on the corresponding space.

Equipment cards can be very diverse:

Money ($10 or $20) primarily allows you to buy things in shops
Weapons (red banner) allow you to improve your skills during Fights
Mounts (dark brown banner) allow you to improve your movement and sometimes increase the size of the equipment you can carry
Various objects (brown banner) offer various additional benefits. They must be placed on your player board in an available space not containing resources.
Others (white banner) do not use a space on your player board, and they cannot be stolen.

Fights

There are two categories of combat: player fight and NPC fight.

Fight Against a Player

When you decide to use one of your actions to fight a player located on your space, perform the following steps in order:

1. Declaration

Announce to your opponent what type of combat you are engaging in.

There are 3 possible types of combat: Duel, Rob, and Arrest, all of which work the same way but have different consequences.

Duel: duel allows you to measure yourself against your opponent, revealing your combat skill. Winning a Duel will improve the winner's legend while harming the loser's.
Rob: As the name suggests, it allows you to take some of your opponent's possessions. It's also a way to become Wanted.
Arrest: Arresting allows you to stop "Wanted" players and gain Marshall points.

To attempt an arrest, your opponent must be "Wanted" on the law track, and you must not be.

Then choose a poker card from your hand and place it face down on the table. This will be your card for the combat.

Your opponent then decides whether to participate in the fight. If they decide to fight, they must also choose a poker card from their hand and place it face down on the table. If they refuse the combat, they lose immediately; proceed to the consequences step.

NOTE: It can be wise for the player who is attacked to refuse the fight if they are sure to lose. Even though they will suffer the consequences of a lost fight, they will not lose a poker card.

2. Reveal

Each player reveals their card and resolves any bonus effects (equipment, weapons, poker cards, specific skills...).

3. Reaction

Players can now use reaction effects present on poker cards in their hand. The player who loses the combat has priority to play a reaction, then the other player can play one in turn. Continue in this order until players no longer want to play any.

4. Consequences

Players involved in the combat gain rewards and suffer penalties according to the declared combat type (Duel, Theft, or Arrest).

The winner is the player with the highest combat value, once modifiers (bonuses and reactions) are applied. In case of a tie, the player who initiated the combat always wins. Regardless of the type of combat, the loser always suffers 1 injury (this can be canceled if they played a card with a bonus stating otherwise).

(The draft rulebook has a large blank section marked "WIP" here before resuming with the combat outcome details below.)

NOTE: During combat, the player initiating the fight is the "active player", and their opponent is the "targeted player".

Duel:

If the active player wins the fight, they gain 1 Gunslinger skill token (see skills chapter). The targeted player, in turn, loses 1 LP in addition to their wound.

Rob:

If the active player wins the combat, they gain 1 Wanted point (see law track) and steal from their opponent either: up to $80, OR 2 item/resource slots, OR 2 cattle tokens, OR the reward from the stagecoach card (if the attacked player was escorting it). The targeted player loses what their opponent steals from them and suffers 1 wound.
If the targeted player wins the combat, they gain 1 LP. The active player only suffers their wound.

Arrest:

If the active player wins the combat, they gain 1 Marshall point (see law track) and $30. They gain an additional 1 LP if the Wanted player has the highest Wanted points and has at least 2. The targeted player suffers a wound, loses their Wanted points, and if there is a prison, their pawn is moved to the nearest one and laid down, and they can play 1 fewer action on their next turn.
If the targeted player wins the combat, they gain 1 LP. The active player only suffers their wound.

Special Cases:

You can only fight the same player once per turn (you can fight several different players as long as you have the necessary actions).

Once the fight is over, discard all played poker cards.

NOTE: If your opponent refused the combat, you must still discard your card.

Fight Against Non-Player Characters (NPC)

After consulting the NPC's card to find out their fight dice, follow these steps in order:

1. Preparation

Choose a poker card from your hand for each die of the NPC and place it face-up on the table. This will be your card for the fight. If your opponent rolls multiple dice, you must assign a card for each of your opponent's dice.

2. Reveal

Roll the NPC's die (or dice).

3. Reaction

You can now use reaction effects present on poker cards that you have in hand.

4. Consequences

The winner is the participant with the highest fight value, once the modifiers (bonuses and reactions) are applied. In case of a tie, the character who initiated the combat always wins.

Regardless of the outcome of the combat, apply the consequences for success or failure indicated on the NPC's card.

(This draft rulebook leaves the remainder of this section blank, marked "WIP" by the publisher.)

Scoring Board

The scoring board is the ideal dashboard to track the progress of the game.

On the Legends track, you can see the overall progress of players as Legends. As soon as you gain 1 or more Legendary Points (LP), move your wooden marker of your color forward by the corresponding number of spaces.

The Law track allows you to track the alignment (Neutral, Marshal, Wanted) of players and their potential end-of-turn gains. A player can only be in one alignment at a time.

When you gain 1 Wanted or Marshal point, move your wooden marker of your color in the indicated direction. Also, gain 1 LP for each point earned.

A Wanted player can never gain Marshal points.

(When a player is Wanted, their only option to become Neutral or Marshal is to be arrested and lose all their Wanted points.)

A Marshal player, on the other hand, can become Wanted by committing a crime, and they will lose all their Marshal points.

Finally, below this board, spaces are indicated to set up the story cards details of Marshal and Wanted points (icons, etc.).

Marshal/Wanted Points and Skill Tokens

Marshal/Wanted Points

These points represent your loyalty.

When you gain 1 Marshal or Wanted point, move your wooden marker on the Law track in the direction of the earned point. At the same time, immediately gain 1 LP for each Marshal/Wanted point won.

Skill Token

After successfully completing certain actions, you can earn skill tokens.

Each skill token allows you to immediately gain 2 LP (move your marker on the Legends scale), but most importantly, it helps you approach the title of Legend in a given skill.

When you obtain 3 tokens of the same skill, you become the Legend of that skill unless another player already is. Claim the corresponding skill card if no one already possesses it.

NOTE: Possessing a skill card is equivalent to possessing 3 tokens of that skill.

If a player already had the skill card, you must obtain a number of tokens of that skill equal to the number of tokens held by the player who has the skill. In this case, you become the new legend of that skill (gain the skill card), and the previous legend loses 1 token of that skill.

Health, Wounds, and Death

When you suffer one or more wound, you must move your injury marker to the right on your character board.

Wounds affect you in several ways:

They reduce the size of your hand during your end-of-turn phase. Any excess cards must be discarded during this phase.
When you receive a 3rd injury, you must draw a Serious Injury card and apply the instructions noted on it.
If you receive a 5th injury, this results in the immediate death of your character. However, your game is not over: Immediately take a Succession card and follow the instructions noted on it. This will allow you to continue the adventure with a new character.
During the end-of-game scoring, each injury you possess will deduct 1 LP from your score.

There are many ways to heal an injury, for example, by eating (discard a food resource), using whiskey, going to doctor's office, etc.

The Exploration Notebook

The exploration notebook is your guide for the adventure. Throughout the game, you will add cards of discovered places, encountered personalities, bandits, etc., to it.

The notebook consists of several sections:

One for locations with which interaction is possible
One for personalities
One for lawmen
One for bandits
One for various notices and announcements

The story cards will tell you when and which cards to add to it.

When you add a new character (personality, lawman, or bandit), place the card in a free slot of your choice, then place the corresponding mini (or the corresponding color) on the game board as indicated on the story card that made it appear.

Adventures

There are several types of adventures in Western Legends Stories:

Competitive adventures where players experience a story while competing against each other
Investigation adventures where players try to solve a case by triumphing over others
Cooperative (or semi-cooperative) adventures where players experience a story by facing the game together

Some rules differ from those previously indicated depending on the type of adventure.

Solo and 2-Player Rules

(This draft rulebook only has a section heading and placeholder note here: "Explanation of rules and automata.")

For solo or 2-player games, specific rules and automata (automated opponents) should be introduced to ensure a balanced and engaging experience. These automata can simulate the actions and decisions of additional players and help maintain the intended challenge and dynamics of the game.

Map

(This draft rulebook leaves the map section as a blank placeholder — the final map artwork/legend had not been finalized at the time of this transcription.)