The Game Round1 Cycle PhaseHero Cycle Move and/or pick up objects Play cards to: Move, and/or pick up objects, and/or Perform Actions Play cards to: Perform Reactions and InterruptsDarkness Cycle (If the Darkness meter reaches 6+, then) Event Threat Penalty Activation Spawn2 Hero Deck Phase3 Refresh Phase Darkness Meter (Darkness Cycle) Allies Activate Quest Results Status Effects Trap Results Cleanup

Hero Cycle There is no structure within the Hero Cycle. Planning ensures the Heroes maximize their efforts.A card must be completed before any other card can be played.If a Hero can provide a bonus, or buff to an Action, it must be played before the Action is put in play.Heroes must spend at least 1 Action Point (AP) per Hero Cycle. If they dont, they are considered to be Loitering. (The maximum amount of treasure allowed by ALL tiles in an Act is reduced by 1).Move and/or pick up objects All Heroes begin with 2 base Movement Points. This can be modified by equipment or status effects. Heroes cant move through monsters or allies (unless permitted by a card), but they can move into an open space through diagonally adjacent monsters or allies. There are four different types of movement that your Hero can perform each round and each of these corresponds to one of the four symbols on the left side of each Hero card. From top to bottom these are: Stationary (no movement) Cautious (normal movement is halved and then rounded up) Normal (base movement plus any modifiers for equipment, buffs etc.) Aggressive (any movement using Move cards is considered Aggressive)Next to the symbols for each movement type on the Hero cards is listed a bonus or penalty for playing that card whilst performing each type of movement. For instance, an attack card may allow you to roll an extra D10 if you remain Stationary. It should be noted, that the penalties and bonuses listed on each card are determined by the Heros overall movement for that whole round, not for the Heros movement up until the card is played. In the example above, a Hero could not play a card to attack at the start of the round and receive the bonus D10 for not moving, if they are then planning to perform any sort of movement later in the round after the attack is complete. Players cant use Movement Points (MP) after playing cards if they didnt calculate the movement into the card initially. Heroes can use Move cards after an attack, but only if they use the bonus/penalty associated with Aggressive movement. If the attack cant be combined with an Aggressive movement, then the Move cant be played. If a Heros Normal movement is reduced to 1 MP, then that Hero cant use Cautious movement. Once a Realm Tile is cleared, the Heroes gain double MP until they enter a new tile. To pick up a treasure from the Realm Tile, the Hero must be on top of the Treasure token and spend a Movement Point. Multiple items can be picked up only if an equal number of MPs are spent. After it is picked up, the Hero pulls a random card from the equivalent Item Deck.

Play cards to Move, and/or pick up objects, and/or Perform Actions Cards are played in open Action Spaces on the Hero Board. If the Hero has no available spaces, then he cant play a card.Heroes are limited to 1 Action card per Hero Cycle. They may play as many Reactions or Interrupts as they have available slots.Interrupts can only be played during the Darkness Cycle.Action Points should be added to the Darkness Meter immediately once a card is played. If this initiates a Darkness Cycle, the card played is completed before the Darkness begins.Heroes MUST play cards to attack. There are no abilities Heroes can take that arent associated with a card.If a Hero can provide a bonus, or buff to an Action, it must be played before the Action is put in play.A card must be completed before any other card can be played.Combat Hero Combat is divided into 6 steps:1. Line of Sight & Range2. Play Card(s)3. Form Dice Pool4. Target Numbers and Rolling5. Remove Casualties and Place Treasure6. ThreatLine of Sight Heroes must be able to draw an unblocked line from any corner of the square where the miniature stands to any corner of the square where the target stands.Blocks LoSDoes Not Block LoS Monsters (except for the Archer)Heroes LairsAllies Red Realm Tile Lines Blue Realm Tile Lines Traps Treasure WallsInteractive Realm Objects Diagonally Adjacent MonstersPlay Card(s) Cards are played in Action Spaces on the bottom of the Hero Board. If all the spaces are filled with cards, then the Hero cant play anymore cards.Heroes are limited to 1 Action card per Hero Cycle.Action Points should be added to the Darkness Meter immediately once a card is played. If this initiates a Darkness Cycle, the card played is completed before the Darkness begins.

Form Dice Pool The collection of all dice being rolled for an attack. Hit Dice are D10s. All base-level Heroes have a base 1 D10 to hit in combat. The number of HD can be modified by weapons, buffs, status effects and Monster abilities. Fate Dice are D6s with symbols reflecting the defining attribute of each Hero and the Darkness. These dice are rolled and their results are used to achieve recipes for items. Once spent on a recipe, the Fate die is considered used.The dice pool is only rolled once. All successes for all Target Numbers (TN) are taken from this roll.Target Numbers and Rolling The Target Number (TN) appears in the shield on the Monster card. It is the number required to roll to hit the target. Any number equal to or higher than the TN is a success.AoE attacks require multiple successes. Attacks against multiple targets with different TNs need to be checked against each specifically. A result can only be used for 1 target. Fate Dice Success Each weapon has a Fate recipe that, if met, allows the Hero to carry out the additional heroic deed associated with the weapon. If a result is used on one recipe, it cant be used again.Remove Casualties and Place Treasures Remove any Monsters killed. 1 treasure token is placed in a spot an enemy died for: Every 3 Minions killed Every Captain killed Every Mini-Boss killed Every Lair destroyedRemember to lower the Treasure counter on the Darkness Board. Any treasure added to the Realm Tile should come from those placed on the Darkness Board during the setup of each tile.Threat The last step in Hero combat is to adjust the attacking Heros Threat. The Heros Threat Meter is raised 1 point per point of damage received by the Darkness. It has nothing to do with potential damage or kills. Play cards to: Perform Reactions and InterruptsInterrupts can only be played during the Darkness Cycle and only if the Hero has available slots on their Hero Board.

Darkness Cycle 1) Check Threat Range If no enemies are in Threat Range, then the Darkness Cycle ends. If an enemy is in Threat Range, then draw a Darkness card. 2) Resolve Event3) Check Threat Penalty If any Hero is at Threat 10, then resolve the Threat Penalty.4) Activate Enemies5) Spawn MonstersCheck Threat RangeThe range in squares, where an enemy becomes aggressive.Heroes add the Threat Range to the Threat Range of the Hero. If the total Threat is equal to or greater than the distance between them, then the monster is considered active. On tiles with multiple Lairs of the SAME Monster-type, when one becomes active, they all do.If Threat Range does not activate a Monster-type in this step, they remain inactive this Darkness Cycle.If no Monsters activate, then a Darkness card is not drawn.Once a Monster-type on a tile becomes active it stays active.Resolve Event (Draw a Darkness Card)Draw a Darkness Card and resolve it in order from top to bottom. If the conditions stated in the card are met, then resolve it.Anytime the word immediately is used on a card, it is resolved before anything else.Check Threat PenaltyThreat Penalties occur if a Hero has a Threat of 10.Activate EnemiesCombat functions the same for every enemy. Each step is resolved for all Monsters in order of Activation before moving on to the next step. For instance, all Monsters move before attacking.1) Order2) Priority & Movement3) Attacking4) Damage & Death

Order The order of Activation is listed on the Darkness Deck Cards.Realm Tiles with multiple Monster-types activate in the following order based off the Monster-types classification. Instinct > Intellect > UndeadIf there are multiple Monster-types with identical classification, then the Monster with the higher Threat Range activates first.Instinct These Monsters stop at the first available square when they reach a target. They dont make room for allies in later cycles.Intellect The Monsters filter past any target to make room for their allies. They arrange themselves around the target to provide space for others to attack.Undead Function the same as Instinct.Priority & Movement Monster Priority refers to the order in which an enemy chooses his target.Each Monster Priority is broken down into a list of 3 definers where the top-most definer takes precedence. There may be occasions where a 4th and 5th definer is required. In that case use the following criteria.Least Vitality Player ChoiceAll Darkness monsters move 1 square per Movement Point. Monsters cant move through other Monsters or Heroes but they can move into an open space through diagonally adjacent Monsters or Heroes. Monster ALWAYS attack if able, and if they cant attack, they ALWAYS move to a position to be able to attack an available target (even if they cant get there in the same round).Within each Monster-type, Minions are grouped by adjacency. Where the initial Minion moves, his neighbors follow.Captains, Agents, Mini-Bosses and Bosses never use group movement.Proximity as a Priority represents a Monsters ability to engage a target. It is not necessarily the shortest distance from the target. Rather, its the shortest distance a Monster must travel to engage a target. If a Minion cant get to a Hero because hes surrounded, it moves toward the next available target.Any Melee Minions already adjacent to a target dont leave combat to pursue another target. If they are forced to leave, they dont pull their neighbors with them.

ShadowsIf a Hero is in Shadows, Monsters must pass a Notice Test before they can engage him. If they fail to notice him, they cant engage him, nor can he be a priority. If one Monster notices him, all others after dont need to make a Notice Test. Ranged MovementRanged Monsters, if able move to the maximum distance while maintaining range and LoS. They dont move out of range or LoS. If Ranged Monsters are not in range or cant see the target, they move so they can attack.Attacking Monster Combat is divided into the following steps:1. Line of Sight & Range2. Form Dice Pool3. Target Numbers and Rolling

Line of Sight Monster must be able to draw an unblocked line from any corner of the square where the miniature stands to any corner of the square where the target stands.Monsters have slightly different rules for Line of Sight.Blocks LoSDoes Not Block LoS Lairs*Lairs* TrapsMonsters Red Realm Tile Lines Heroes Walls NPCs/Allies Blue Realm Tile Lines Treasure Interactive Realm Objects * Lairs that are of the same type as a ranged monster dont block LoSForm Dice Pool The collection of all dice being rolled for an attack. Hit Dice (D10s)Attack section of the Monster card Event from the Darkness Deck Card Buffs from Monster abilities Debuffs from the Heroes

Fate Dice (FD)For Minions and Captains, Fate Dice are rolled when they successfully hit a Hero. If the Fate Dice results in a Darkness Symbol, then the Hero is afflicted by the Monsters power.Darkness Fate Dice can be manipulated through the following effects:Attack section of the Monster card Event from the Darkness Deck Card Buffs from Monster abilities Debuffs from the Heroes Rerolls based off Hero equipment Target Numbers and Rolling The Target Number (TN) represents the number required to roll to hit the Hero. Any number equal to or higher than the TN is a success.Damage & Death When a Hero is hit by an attack, that Hero must reduce their Vitality by the amount of damage taken. If that Hero is reduced to zero Vitality, then he is dead.When a Hero dies, quest items they carry are transferred to another Hero. However, all of the dead Heros gear, including potions, is left on his person. Spawn MonstersSpawning happens after the Activation step. Newly placed Monsters dont activate after placement.Monsters are placed in the squares adjacent to the Lair if possible. They are also placed in the best possible position to do damage to the Heroes.Spawning guidelinesMelee (first)Adjacent to the Lair As close to the target as possible Closest square available nearest the Lair If there is more than one target, refer to that Monsters PriorityRanged (second)Adjacent to the Lair As far away as possible from the target Closest square available nearest the Lair If there is more than one target, refer to that Monsters Priority In range of a targetLair Once a Lair has taken 5 damage, it is destroyed.When Lairs are placed on a Realm Tile, they begin with a population, Lairs start with a specific number of Minions based off of Lair type and number of Heroes. These Minions are placed as close to the Lair as possible.Hero Deck PhaseAfter each Hero has completed his turn, the Hero Deck Phase begins.Heroes reduce Threat based off of open Action Spaces on the Hero Board, then move non-Ongoing cards to the discard pile.Heroes may keep one card from their present hand, then draw up to their maximum hand size of five cards.Refresh Phase1) Darkness Meter 2) Darkness Cycle3) Allies Activate 4) Quest Results5) Status Effects6) Trap Results7) Cleanup

The Refresh Phase has numerous steps that take place in a specific order. During these steps, if a Darkness Cycle is activated, then that cycle interrupts the Refresh Phase. Afterward, the Refresh Phase resumes and is completed.Darkness MeterThe Darkness Meter is added to based off the number of activated enemy types (Minions & Captains of the same Monster-type are counted as one). If this activates the Darkness by reaching 6 on the Darkness Meter, then players proceed to a Darkness Cycle before advancing to Allies Activate.Darkness CycleOnly go to this step if the Darkness Meter has reached 6 during the previous step. Allies ActivateAllies perform their Actions. The players choose where the Ally moves and its target to attack.Quest ResultsIf a quest objective is active, then results are calculated during this step of the Refresh Phase.Control is determined Kills and pickup are calculated Escort or deliveries happen Hero Cycle timers are reducedIf the quest was successfully achieved on the same turn the timer expired, the quest is considered to have been completed.Status ResultsEffects that linger on Heroes and enemies are marked with a status token. These remain with the target until they are resolved.

If a Hero is afflicted with a Status Effect, then they are reconciled during this step of the Refresh Phase. If the result kills the target, then that miniature is left on the Realm Tile until Cleanup.If this represents the last phase for a Status Effect, then it is removed at this time.Trap ResultsAny trap that is disarmed is removed from play immediately. If a trap fails to be disarmed, it activates and affects all targets now.There are traps that summon Monsters and in that case, these Monster activate now and not during the Darkness Cycle.CleanupThe step where dead Heroes are removed from the Realm Tiles. In addition, if the Heroes have failed a quest, then the quest objective is removed now.The Cleanup step is also when Heroes can alter equipped gear with items in their inventory. Heroes may swap any item in their inventory as many times as they wish.

Sheet1StatusEffectCurseReduces hand size by 1.ProneThe target can't perform Actions, Reaction or Interrupts. He must spend the entire activation getting up.DoTAny attack that continues to damage beyond the intial hit.FrozenReduce usable Action Spaces by 1.PossessionHeroes act for the Darkness using the Possessor's priorities.CaptureAn attack that forces the Hero to sacrifice cards from his hand.