Wildlands: The Ancients Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• The Awoken
  • Setup
  • Objective
  • Ancients and Minions
  • Minion and Ancient Reactions
  • Players' Turn
  • Ancients' Turn
  • Resolving Minion Cards
  • Scenario Special Rules
  • Summon
  • Advance Tracker
  • Resolving Ancient Cards
  • Object Counters
  • Traps
  • Treasure Cards
  • Ancient Crystals
  • Changes to Actions
  • Monster Actions
• The Wrath of the Ancients
  • Setup
  • Arcane Guardians
  • Special Actions
  • Desperate Measures
  • Infamous Adversaries
  • Encounters
• War for the Crystals
  • Four-Player and Six-Player Setup
  • Five-Player Setup
  • Team Turns
  • Game End
  • The Ancients
  • Changes to Actions
• Foreign Lands
  • The Abyssal Lake
  • The Lost Factory

Overview

This box contains four expansions to Wildlands:

• In The Awoken, one or two players play co-operatively, facing off against the mighty Ancients (page 4).
• In The Wrath of the Ancients, one player can use the Ancients as an extra faction in normal games of Wildlands (page 12).
• In War for the Crystals, four to six players face off in team-vs-team games of Wildlands (page 14).
• In Foreign Lands, two new maps are introduced for players to use in any game of Wildlands (page 16).

Components

General

• 5 Ancient miniatures

The Awoken

• 5 Scenario sheets
• 16 Treasure cards
• 36 Minion cards
  • 10 Tempest/Wildfyre
  • 8 Gnomes/Gizmos
  • 6 Shades/Aberrations
  • 6 Dragonlings/Spitters
  • 6 Goblins/Crazed
• 25 Object counters
  • 5 Ancient crystals
  • 5 Treasures
  • 3 Explosive traps
  • 4 Pit traps
  • 4 Stasis traps
  • 4 Blank counters
• 55 Minion counters
  • 10 Tempest/Wildfyre
  • 15 Gnomes/Gizmos
  • 10 Shades/Aberrations
  • 10 Dragonlings/Spitters
  • 10 Goblins/Crazed
• 26 Ancient cards
  • 5 Magus
  • 5 Automaton
  • 5 Phantasm
  • 6 Lizardman
  • 5 Tyrant

Scenario sheet key:

• A. The name and number of the scenario. This has no gameplay effect.
• B. The types of minions used in the scenario.
• C. The objects used in the scenario.
• D. The minions to place on the map during setup.
• E. The damage token track for the Ancient.
• F. The Ancient's starting health.
• G. The event track.
• H. The special rules used in the scenario.
• I. A summary of reactions on minion and Ancient cards.
• J. A list of scenario-specific keywords.

Minion counter key:

• A. Minion health value.

The Wrath of the Ancients

• 30 Ancient action cards
• 1 Ancients Faction card
• 5 Ancient character cards

War for the Crystals

• 2 Colours, each including:
  • 5 Miniature bases
  • 5 Crystal shards

These bases are for use with the Unquiet Dead and Adventuring Party expansions, and should not be attached to the Ancients miniatures.

Foreign Lands

• Double-sided board

The Awoken

This expansion lets one or two players play co-operatively against the mighty Ancients.

Setup

1. Choose any board in your collection to play on, except the Hedge Maze or Crypt from Wildlands: Map Pack 2.

2. Each player chooses a faction and a colour, taking the matching miniatures, cards, and bases, and one matching shard. You cannot choose the Ancients faction!

3. Each player chooses a scenario sheet and places it in front of them. You can choose any scenario. For two-player games, use the A sides. For single-player games, use the B side. That means you will always face as many Ancients as there are players.

4. Place your faction's shard in the starting space on the event track on your scenario sheet.

5. Take the Ancient miniature, minion counters, and object counters shown on your scenario sheet and place them to one side of the board. If there are two players, only take the object counters shown on the scenario with the lowest number. Return the rest of the object counters, Ancient miniatures, and minion counters to the box.

6. Turn the object counters face down and randomise them.

7. Take the minion cards and Ancient cards used in your scenario. Shuffle each type of card separately and place them in face-down decks next to your scenario sheet.

8. Shuffle the treasure cards and place them in a face-down deck next to the board.

   For an easier game, each player may draw a treasure card, which they assign to a character of their choice.

9. Shuffle the map cards and place them face down next to the board.

10. Return all the other cards to the box.

11. Choose an object counter at random and draw a map card. Place the object counter in the matching map space, keeping it face down. Then place the map card in a discard pile. Repeat this step for all the object counters shown on the scenario sheet. Remember, only place one scenario's objects.

Objective

In The Awoken, players win by either collecting five ancient crystals between them or by knocking out all the Ancients they face.

If a shard reaches the end of an event track on a scenario sheet or if all the characters in one faction are knocked out, the players lose.

If you are facing the Automaton, you can only win by collecting ancient crystals, as it cannot be knocked out!

Ancients and Minions

In The Awoken, players face off against the Ancients (represented by miniatures) and minions (represented by counters). The Ancients and minions function like player characters – they can take and be targets of actions, suffer damage, and be knocked out.

When an Ancient takes damage, place the damage tokens on the scenario sheet. When the number of damage tokens matches or exceeds the health value shown there, the Ancient is knocked out and removed from the board. Remember, knocking out all the Ancients will win you the game.

When a minion takes damage, place the damage tokens on its counter. When the number of damage tokens matches or exceeds the health value shown on the counter, the minion is knocked out and removed from the board.

Minion and Ancient Reactions

When a minion or Ancient would take damage from an action or a trap, reveal the top card of the matching Ancient or minion deck. If the reaction prevents damage from the attack, the minion or Ancient takes no damage. Then, discard the revealed card.

If multiple minions or Ancients would take damage from a single source, repeat this process for each one in turn.

Players' Turn

In two-player games of The Awoken, the players take their turn collectively, rather than individually. Once you have finished taking your turn, the Ancients and their minions take their turn. You take the first turn.

On the players' turn, you may each play as many cards as you wish, in any order, as in a normal game of Wildlands. You will never have to reveal characters, as you will have placed all the characters on the board during setup.

Once you have both played all the cards you wish to, you each draw three cards from your action decks. You may never have more than seven cards in your hand.

Ancients' Turn

During the Ancients' turn, you will draw minion cards and Ancient cards. These will act against you. Once the Ancients' turn is over, it is your turn again.

Draw and resolve a minion card corresponding to the scenario with the lowest number. If the Ancient corresponding to that scenario is on the board, draw and resolve a matching Ancient card. In two-player games, then draw and resolve a minion card corresponding to the other scenario. Finally, if the Ancient corresponding to that scenario is on the board, draw and resolve a matching Ancient card.

Never draw Ancients cards for Ancient not on the board.

Whenever you finish resolving a card, discard it. If you need to draw a card but the deck is empty, shuffle the appropriate discard pile into a new deck and then draw a card.

Resolving Minion Cards

Each minion card lists monster actions for two types of minion, as well as a scenario effect.

First, all the minions matching the type shown at the top of the card take monster actions. Find the minion in the lowest-numbered space on the board and resolve all the corresponding monster actions, working from left to right. Then, the minion in the space with the next-lowest number resolves the same monster actions. Continue until all minions of the matching type have resolved their monster actions. If two minions are in the same space, you can decide the order in which to resolve their actions.

Repeat this step in the same way for all minions matching the type shown at the bottom of the card.

Finally, resolve any scenario effects. The 'summon' and 'advance tracker' effects are explained on the next page. All other scenario effects are explained on the scenario sheet, in the 'keywords' section.

Scenario Special Rules

Some scenarios include special rules – these are listed on the scenario sheet and affect the normal rules. If there is ever a conflict between what is written in this rulebook and a scenario sheet, the scenario sheet takes precedence.

The 'Special Rules' box on the scenario sheet lists:

• Illusory: Do not draw and resolve an Ancient card on the Ancients' turn unless instructed to do by an effect on a minion card, the scenario track, or due to the Unpredictable special rule.
• Unpredictable: Immediately after activating a Pit Trap, draw and resolve an Ancient card.
• Awakening: If you would resolve an Ancient card, and the Phantasm has not yet been summoned, instead advance the scenario track.
• Ethereal Form: After the Phantasm takes damage for the first time on a turn, it cannot suffer further damage for the rest of that turn.

The 'Keywords' box on the scenario sheet lists:

• Haunt: For the purposes of determining the closest character during this movement, the Phantasm ignores characters in the same space that it is in. Each time the Phantasm enters a space, it makes a melee attack against all characters in that space.
• Poisonous Fumes: Each character with at least one damage token on their character card suffers one damage. This damage can be blocked by taking the cover action.

Summon

Draw a map card and place a minion of the type indicated in the corresponding space.

If all the map cards are in the discard pile, shuffle them into a new deck. If no minions are available, do not resolve this scenario effect.

Advance Tracker

Advance the crystal one space to the right on the scenario sheet, and resolve the effect shown there. This may include a scenario effect (shown on the scenario sheet) or the 'summon' effect described on the previous page.

Resolving Ancient Cards

Each Ancient card lists monster actions for the Ancient.

Resolve all the monster actions listed on the card, working from top to bottom and left to right. For a list of all monster actions, see 'monster actions' on page 9.

Object Counters

Object counters are placed around the board during setup. During your turn, if a character is in the same space as a face-down object counter, you may reveal the object. In two-player games, to reveal an object you must discard a card linked to a character in the same space as the object counter. For single-player games, you do not discard any cards.

To reveal an object, flip the counter face up.

• If it is a trap, activate it (see 'traps' overleaf).
• If it is a treasure, remove the counter. Then reveal the top card from the treasure deck and place it next to the character card that revealed the object.
• If it is an ancient crystal, leave the counter face up on the map. See 'ancient crystals' overleaf for how to collect ancient crystals.
• If it is a blank counter, remove the counter. It has no effect.

Traps

Pit Traps

When you activate a pit trap, draw two cards from the action deck and place them in the discard pile. If one of the drawn cards is linked to the character who revealed the object, or if it shows a move symbol, there is no effect. Otherwise, all characters in the space take one damage. Then remove the pit trap from the board.

Explosive Traps

When you activate an explosive trap, all characters, minions, and Ancients in the same and adjacent spaces take one damage. Minions and Ancients react to damage as normal. You can block the damage to characters by taking a shield action. Then, remove the explosive trap.

Stasis Traps

When you activate a stasis trap, place the trap underneath the character who revealed it. This character is ensnared and cannot take the move or climb actions until the trap has been removed.

When all the stasis traps in the scenario have been revealed or all the characters in a single faction have been ensnared, remove all the revealed stasis traps.

When an ensnared character has been knocked out or a treasure card lets the character move, remove the corresponding stasis trap.

Treasure Cards

Characters can gain treasure cards by revealing object counters.

Each treasure card states when it can be used and its effect.

Treasure cards with the ×1 symbol are discarded once they have been used.

Treasure cards with the ∞ symbol can be used as many times as you like and are not discarded.

Ancient Crystals

When a character is in the same space as a revealed ancient crystal, you may play three cards displaying that character's icon as a single action. If you do, place the ancient crystal on that character's card.

Alternatively, you may play three cards with icons matching one character who has already been knocked out. All three cards must display the same character's icon – you cannot mix the icon of the character collecting the ancient crystal with those of knocked-out characters, and you cannot mix the icons of different knocked-out characters.

Carrying Ancient Crystals

A character is carrying an ancient crystal if it is placed on their character card. A character can carry multiple ancient crystals.

When a character who is carrying one or more ancient crystals is knocked out, choose a character still on the board and place the ancient crystals on their character card.

Carrying ancient crystals has no effect, but it may be referenced by scenario effects and monster actions.

Changes to Actions

Some actions work slightly differently in The Awoken than in a standard game of Wildlands, as described below.

Claim Shard

The claim shard action cannot be used when playing The Awoken.

Rally

In two-player games, characters held by either player count as your characters when taking the rally action.

Interrupt

You can play the interrupt action at the following times:

• After a minion card has been revealed, but before any minion actions have been resolved.
• After an Ancient card has been revealed, but before any Ancient actions have been resolved.

Encounters

The encounters described in the Unquiet Dead and Adventuring Party expansions cannot be used when playing The Awoken.

Monster Actions

The standard monster actions are explained below. Monster actions that are specific to one type of minion or Ancient are explained on the matching scenario sheet or on the cards themselves.

Move

Move the minion or Ancient one space towards the closest character. If multiple characters are closest, move the minion or Ancient towards the character in the space with the lowest number. If the minion or Ancient is already in a space with a character, do nothing. Minions and Ancients ignore the normal restrictions for high ground when moving.

Fly

Take two move actions, one after the other, exactly as described above.

Reposition

If the minion or Ancient is more than one space away from the closest character, take the move action. Otherwise, do nothing.

In other words, the minion or Ancient will move towards the closest character, but won't enter the same space as them.

Melee / Heavy Melee

If a character is in the same space as the minion or Ancient, the minion or Ancient makes a melee or heavy melee attack against that character. If there are multiple characters in that space, you choose which character is targeted. The character can defend against the attack as normal.

Ranged Attack

If a character is in line of sight of the minion or Ancient, the minion or Ancient makes a ranged attack against that character.

If multiple characters are in line of sight of the minion or Ancient, the closest character is targeted. If multiple spaces containing characters are closest, the character in the lowest-numbered space is targeted. If more than one character is in that space, you choose which one is targeted. The character can defend against the attack as normal.

Heavy Ranged Attack

If a character is in line of sight and within two spaces of the minion or Ancient, the minion or Ancient makes a heavy ranged attack against that character.

If multiple characters are in line of sight and within two spaces of the minion or Ancient, the closest character is targeted. If multiple spaces containing characters are closest, the character in the lowest-numbered space is targeted. If more than one character is in that space, you choose which one is targeted. The character can defend against the attack as normal.

Area Attack

If a character is within one space of the minion or Ancient, the minion or Ancient makes an area attack against that space, targeting all characters, minions, and Ancients in it. The minions and Ancients react to the attack as described on page 5. If multiple spaces that contain characters are within one space of the minion or Ancient, the space containing the most characters is targeted. If multiple spaces contain the same number of characters, the lowest-numbered space is targeted.

If the minion or Ancient making the attack targets the space it is in, it may take damage from its own attack.

Heal

Remove one damage token from a minion or Ancient in the same or an adjacent space. The card will specify which types of minions or Ancients can be healed. If multiple minions or Ancients of the right type can be targeted, remove a damage token from the one that has the most damage. If there is a tie, remove the damage token from the one with the highest starting health. If there is still a tie, remove it from the minion or Ancient in the lowest-numbered space. If there is still a tie, decide randomly which of the tied minions or Ancients is healed.

The Wrath of the Ancients

This expansion lets a player use the Ancients to replace any faction in Wildlands. It also lets a team use them in addition to other Wildlands factions in the War for the Crystals expansion.

Setup

If you wish to play as the Ancients in a game of Wildlands, take all the Ancient miniatures, Ancient character cards, Ancient action cards and the Ancients faction card and prepare to play as normal, with the following changes:

Do not choose a colour, and do not take any bases or shards for this faction.

When you are handed five map cards by the player on your left, remove them from the game without placing any crystal shards.

Arcane Guardians

You can claim shards of any colour by following the normal rules for doing so. Place the shard you have claimed on the character card corresponding to one Ancient in the same space.

Shards you have claimed do not score you points. You must knock out five characters to win the game.

Whenever you could play a card, you may instead spend one of your claimed shards to take the special action of the Ancient carrying it (see below). Then remove the spent shard from the game.

When you claim a shard, you must wait until your next turn to spend it.

Other players may declare that they are interrupting after you take a special action, but they must wait until the whole action is finished before they take their interrupting turn.

When an Ancient with one or more shards on their character card is knocked out, you must place those shards on the space the Ancient was in.

Special Actions

Magus

Move any two revealed characters to any one space on the map. They can be your own or other players' characters.

Automaton

The Automaton suffers up to X damage, where X is less than the Automaton's remaining health. For each damage the Automaton takes, you may take a ranged attack or heavy ranged attack action, following the normal rules.

Phantasm

The Phantasm takes up to four move or climb actions. After each one, you may make up to one melee action against each enemy character in that space.

You may enter the same space multiple times during this special action, but you must make a move or climb action in order to make a melee action.

Lizardman

The Lizardman may take a heavy melee action, then a move or climb action, then a melee action, then another move or climb action, and then another melee action.

Each of these actions is optional, and you may choose to take some actions but not others. However, the actions must be carried out in the order listed. In effect, you can skip any of the actions in the sequence, but you cannot change the order they are resolved in.

Tyrant

All other Ancients on the board take up to two move or climb actions, followed by one melee action.

Each Ancient takes all their actions at once. You can choose the order in which the Ancients are activated.

Desperate Measures

At the end of each turn, immediately before drawing three cards, the active player may discard any number of action cards from their hand. This applies to any player, not just the player using the Ancients.

The only benefit of doing so is that you can get rid of cards you could not otherwise play usefully, so you can draw the full three cards at the end of your turn.

Infamous Adversaries

Each Ancient knocked out by another player is worth two points.

Encounters

The encounters described in the Unquiet Dead and Adventuring Party expansions cannot be used in games of The Wrath of the Ancients.

War for the Crystals

This expansion lets four to six players face off as two teams for truly massive games of Wildlands.

Four-Player and Six-Player Setup

For a six-player game, you will need a copy of Wildlands: Unquiet Dead or Wildlands: The Adventuring Party.

1. Choose a board to play on.
2. Divide the players into two equally sized teams.
3. Each player chooses a faction and colour, taking the matching miniatures, cards and bases, but not the crystal shards.
4. Place the miniatures on the character cards, and separately shuffle the action decks.
5. Deal each player one map card for each character in their faction.
6. Each player assigns one map card, face down, to each of their characters.
7. Each team chooses a colour of crystal shard for one faction in their team. Draw five map cards from the deck and place those shards on the matching spaces.
8. Draw seven action cards each.
9. The team whose crystal shard is on the lowest-numbered space goes first. Each player on that team chooses one character in their faction and reveals it.
10. Each player on the other team chooses one character in their faction and reveals it.
11. The team whose crystal was on the lowest-numbered space takes their first turn as normal, starting with each player revealing one more character.

Five-Player Setup

1. Choose a board to play on.
2. Divide the players into two teams – one team of two and one team of three.
3. Each player chooses a faction and colour, taking the matching miniatures, cards and bases, but not the crystal shards. One player on the team of two must choose the Ancients faction, using the rules listed in the Wrath of the Ancients expansion.
4. Place the miniatures on the character cards, and separately shuffle the action decks.
5. Deal each player one map card for each character in their faction.
6. Each player assigns one map card, face down, to each of their characters.
7. Each team chooses a colour of crystal shard for one faction in their team. Draw five map cards from the deck and place those shards on the matching spaces.
8. Draw seven action cards each.
9. Take the crystal shards of one colour currently not in use and place one on each of the Ancient character cards.
10. Each player on the three-person team chooses one of their characters and reveals it.
11. The two-person team goes first.

Team Turns

Players in the same team take their turns collectively. At the start of each turn, each player on the active team who has unrevealed characters reveals one character. No action may be taken until each player who is able to has revealed one character.

Players in the active team then collectively play as many cards and reveal as many characters as they wish, in any order they like.

After all players on the team have played all the action cards they wish to, they each draw up to three cards for a maximum hand of seven.

Game End

Players score points as a team. The first team to score ten points wins the game.

You score points for collecting shards and knocking out characters on the opposite team, as described in the Wildlands rulebook.

If any faction loses all its characters, add up the points scored by each team. The team with the most points wins immediately. If there is a tie, the team with the faction that lost all its characters loses, and the other team wins.

The Ancients

If the player controlling the Ancients faction picks up a shard, follow the rules in the 'arcane guardians' section on page 12. Their team does not score a point. If a player on the same team as the Ancients faction picks up a shard, they score one point as normal.

Ancients cannot take special actions on the same turn they are revealed or on the first turn of the game.

In five-player games, when an Ancient is knocked out, do not place the shards they started with on the space the Ancient was in. Instead, return those shards to the box.

Changes to Actions

Some actions work slightly differently in War for the Crystals than in a standard game of Wildlands, as described below.

Rally

Characters from other factions in your team count as your characters for the purposes of taking the rally action.

Interrupt

You may play an interrupt card during the other team's turn immediately after any player in that team takes an action. Only the player who played the interrupt card may then take actions. No other player may take an interrupt action until play has returned to the active team and a player on that team has declared another action.

Foreign Lands

The maps included in Foreign Lands can be used in any game of Wildlands and with any other expansion in this box.

The pursuit of arcane crystals has driven intrepid hunters to lands where few others would dare to tread. In the parts of the Abyssal Lake where the ice is thinnest, the blue-green glow of arcane energy is visible, emanating from below. The faint light source flickers periodically, obfuscated by a great shadowy mass shifting in the water. The core of the Lost Factory projects this same light, reflecting down its many metallic corridors and illuminating the complex at night.

The Abyssal Lake

The Abyssal Lake has lain undisturbed for centuries. A dense fog hangs over the bleak landscape surrounding it, and an unnatural chill runs down the spine of those who stray too close to its stony shores. The frozen glass-like surface of the lake reflects all light, and hides what dwells in the dark depths below.

Slippery Surface

When a character enters a space, if they have taken two or more move actions this turn, they may choose one other character in the same space and move it into any adjacent space.

Thin Ice

Some spaces on the board have thin ice. When a character enters a space with thin ice, every other character in that space takes one damage. You can block this damage by taking a cover action.

If you are using Foreign Lands with The Awoken expansion, the 'slippery surface' and 'thin ice' do not apply to minions and Ancients. They do not trigger either rule, nor can they be moved or damaged by them.

The Lost Factory

Nobody can remember what was made in this place, or who made it. But one thing is evident: the great machines of the Lost Factory are moving again. Groaning under their own weight, the cogs are turning, throwing off dust that had settled over millennia. Pillars of smoke and steam are rising hundreds of metres into the sky, dominating the surrounding landscape – an omen of things to come.

Conveyor Belt

There are two conveyor belts on the board. Each space on a conveyor belt shows which belt it belongs to and its direction with either a blue or a red chevron symbol.

When a player scores a point by knocking out a character or collecting a shard, they may activate one conveyor belt. All the characters and shards in spaces on the activated belt are moved one space along it, in the direction indicated by the arrows on that space. Conveyor belts never move characters or shards off the board.

If you are using Foreign Lands with The Awoken expansion, Ancients, minions, and objects are also moved in this way.

A character or shard on space 4 will move to space 40 if the blue conveyor belt is activated. A character or shard on space 9 will move to space 34 if the red conveyor belt is activated.

Space 6 is on both the blue and red conveyor belts. The characters on space 6 will move to space 5 if the blue belt is activated or to space 7 if the red belt is activated.