RULEBOOK DR AF T

INTRODUCTION
Each player takes on the role of a powerful leader, striving to gain the most victory points through various
means, such as summoning cards, overcoming Threats, and utilizing their abilities as effectively as possible.
Players gain precious Etherstones and activate powerful abilities by drafting dice. These Etherstones are then
spent to summon Followers, Rituals, and Technology to further aid them.

COMPONENTS

XX x Basic Cards XX x Leader Cards XX x Threat Cards (X level 1, 5 x Etherstone Dice

X level 2, & X level 3)

3 x Life Dials 1 x First player Life 32 x Counters 80 x Etherstone Tokens

Dials (20 each in red, green,
black, & white)

32 x Victory Point 12 x Void Pact Tokens 4 x Player Aid cards 1 x Endgame Trigger Token
Tokens
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 SETUP

8 4
7

5
6

3 1
2

6
5
8 4
7

1. Place all Etherstones and Counters into supply 3. Separate Threat cards by their level and shuffle
pools where all players can access them. each set separately. According to the player count,
2. According to the player count, place the indicated place the indicated number of Threat cards face down
number of victory point tokens into a pool: into a pile, with level 3 on the bottom, level 2 in the
middle, and level 1 on top:
• 2 player - 15 tokens
• 2 player - 3 level 1, 3 level 2, 4 level 3
• 3 player - 20 tokens
• 3 player - 4 level 1, 4 level 2, 5 level 3
• 4 player - 25 tokens
• 4 player - 4 level 1, 5 level 2, 6 level 3
All remaining victory point tokens are placed off to the
side in the reserve, only to be used if the victory Point All remaining Threat cards are returned to the box.
pool has been exhausted or if otherwise specified by Then, deal 3 Threat cards from the top of the
a card ability. deck face up in the middle of the table,
forming the Threat display. 3
4. Shuffle all the Leader cards and deal 2 face up to 6. Take a number of Life dials equal to the player
each player. count, ensuring the Starting Player dial is included.
Note: Ignore this step if using the Premade Flip the dials over and randomly distribute one to
Hands Variant, as explained in the next step. each player. Flip the dials face up, and the player with
the Starting Player dial will be the starting player.
5. Shuffle all of the Basic cards and then deal 7 to
each player. Each player must simultaneously choose Starting Player dial
1 card and place it aside, then pass the rest of their
cards to the player on their left. They continue to
choose 1 card from those that are passed and pass
the rest until all players have set aside 7 chosen cards.
These cards form the player’s hand of cards, and they
should be kept hidden from their opponents.
First Game - Premade Hands Variant
Instead of choosing a Leader and drafting an initial 7. Each player must now discard one of their Leader
hand of cards, players can jump into the game cards, leaving the other card face up in front of them.
quickly by choosing one of the five premade hand
options. Each player should choose one of the • Players gain all Etherstones
following hands by finding the matching Leader and Counters indicated at the
and Basic cards according to their numerical IDs. bottom of their Leader card.
• Each player sets their Life dial’s
HAND LEADER CARDS ID
value to the amount shown in
A A01 A02-A08
the top right corner of their
B B01 B02-B08
Leader card.
C C01 C02-C08
D D01 D02-D08
E E01 E02-E08
Premade Hand “A”

8. Give each player one Player Aid card for reference.

Demo copies: Please notice that the icons on
the Player Aid for “Persistent” ( ) and “End
Game” ( ) are switched.

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 GAMEPLAY
The game takes place over an indeterminate number of turns. Beginning with the Starting Player and moving
clockwise, each player will perform turns until the end of the game.

General Concepts Life Points

Players are represented in the game by their chosen
Etherstones
Leader, and they begin the game with Life points
Etherstones contain concentrated Ether, and they can
equal to the value shown on their Leader card. During
be spent by players in order to Summon cards and
the game, players may gain and lose Life points, and
activate powerful effects. There are 5 different Ether
this is shown by spinning their Life dial to their new
sources:
Life points value. Players are allowed to gain more
• Black - Exalted Life points than is shown on their Leader card, up to a
maximum of 16. Each time a player’s Life points reach
• Green - Whisperers zero, their Leader is defeated, and they will be forced
to spend an action gaining a Void Pact (incurring a
• White - Luminary hefty -7 Victory Point penalty for doing so).
• Red - Limbics Victory Points
Players will gain victory points in a variety of ways
• Purple - Void during the game, from cards summoned and
When spending Ether, players must return matching overcoming threats to abilities that are activated on
Etherstone tokens to the supply. There are no Void cards. Each time a player is instructed to gain victory
(Purple) Etherstone tokens, any Etherstone may be Points, they must take that amount of victory Point
spent to pay for these costs. tokens from the supply pool. If the supply pool runs
When gaining Ether, players take matching Etherstone out, then they continue to take the full amount in
tokens from the supply. When gaining Void Ether, victory Tokens from the reserve that was set aside
the player takes any color combination of Etherstone during setup. The victory point icons printed along
tokens up to the indicated amount. the top of Threats and Basic cards are added to
the player's total at the end of the game and are
never associated with gaining victory point tokens.
The player with the most victory Points will win the
game, so try to gain as many as possible!
There is no limit to the number of Etherstones, victory
point tokens, or Counters players can possess. The
supply for each of these is considered to be unlimited.
In the unlikely situation where there are not enough
tokens of the correct type, use any suitable alternate
tokens as a replacement.
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Cards Overview - Ability Triggers
There are three types of cards in the game: Basic,
Threat, and Leader. · Instant - Triggered immediately when the
card is summoned.
• Basic Cards
» Top left · Instant before summoning - Triggered
- Cost to summon this card. immediately before the card is summoned.
- Standard Cost - The upper · Persistent - Triggered each time the
icon indicates how many of indicated condition is met for as long as the
a specific color Etherstones card is in play.
must be spent. This color
will always match the overall · End game - Triggers during final scoring.
color of the card. · Strength - Used when overcoming Threats
- Void Cost - The lower icon, if with an Attack action.
present, indicates how many
additional Etherstones must · When Attacking - Triggers when
be spent without any color performing an Attack action.
restrictions. · Dice Activations - Triggered when the
» Top right indicated condition is met on a drafted die.
- The number of victory points that the card will Color - Triggers when the
be worth to the controlling player if it is in play matching color die is drafted.
when the game ends.
» Bottom 1•2 Number - Triggers when the matching
- Name of the Card value die is drafted.
The background color of this area will always 1->3 Number range - Triggers when a die is
match the color of the card.
drafted that has a value that falls within the
- Card ID number indicated range.
- Type
Each card is one of the following three types:

· Technology
· Ritual
· Follower - These are used to overcome
Threats using the Attack action. When
positioned upright, they are considered to be
Ready, and when they are rotated sideways,
they are considered to be Exhausted.

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• Threat cards Abilities
» Top left All triggered abilities are optional unless otherwise
stated and may be performed in any order of
- Victory Points
the player’s choice. Each ability is separated by a
- The number of victory points
horizontal line. Abilities may also be triggered if
that the card will be worth at
that card is Exhausted.
the end of the game to the
player who overcame it using When activated, abilities are only performed once
an Attack action. unless there is an X icon which means the player
» Top right chooses how many times it is performed. Abilities
- Life points may be performed multiple times during the same
turn if activated by other ability effects, and they may
- The number of damage
be activated even if their card was summoned by a
needed to overcome it
previous ability during the same turn. Once a player
during an Attack action.
begins performing an ability, they must perform it in
» Bottom
its entirety.
- Name
- Card ID number If an ability refers to a player having the most of
something, it will not activate if they are tied for the
- Victory Bonus - Effects are immediately most.
gained by the player who overcomes it. If an ability refers to Life points or Protection, then
- Strength - Damage dealt to the player if they the target of that ability is either the current player if
use their Leader to help overcome this Threat. no other target is stated, or the opponents if that is
specified. Otherwise, if an ability does not mention
• Leader cards a target, then the target of that ability is the card
» Top Right with that ability.
- Life points
Example:
- Amount of Life points the
player begins the game with. Jonathan has the Kind Shapeshifter and Ant
Duchess in play. He drafts a green value 2 die,
- Players may exceed their
which activates the Kind Shapeshifter’s dice
starting Life value up to a
activation, letting him gain any 1 activation
maximum of 16.
effect from one of his followers in play. He
» Bottom
chooses the Ant Duchess, activating the dice
- Name ¾ ability which places 1 onto the Ant Duchess
- Card ID number because no specific target was specified.
- Abilities - See the Basic Cards
section
- Starting Resources - Etherstones and/or
Counters gained during setup.
- Strength - Used when overcoming Threats
with an Attack action. 7
Player Turns Summon
On a player's turn, they will perform the following They choose one Basic card from their hand and
three steps in order: summon it by spending Etherstones. The number and
color of spent Etherstones are shown in the top left
1. Refresh dice step corner of the card. Any color of Etherstone can be
If there are no dice in the display, then the active used to pay for an indicated Void cost.
player must roll all 5 dice and place them into the Once the required Etherstones are spent, the card
display. Otherwise, the active player may optionally is placed face-up in front of the active player. All
lose Life points equal to the number of dice in the immediate abilities shown on the card are activated at
display to roll all 5 dice and place them into the this time.
display.
Attack
2. Action Step
With this attack action, the player overcomes one
The active player must perform one of the following Threat card. They begin the attack action with an
action options: attack value of 0. They must decide if they, as the
Leader, want to personally join the attack. If so, they
Dice Draft
add the strength value of their Leader card to their
They take one die from the display and then gain
attack value, but they will also be vulnerable to taking
2 Etherstones of the selected die’s color. The value
damage from the Threat. Leader cards are never
of the die has no effect on the quantity or color of
exhausted, so their card is kept upright even when
Etherstones gained.
used.
If the Void (purple) die is taken, the player loses
After this, they may exhaust any number of their
1 Life point and then gains 2 Etherstones of any
Ready Followers in order to add the Follower’s
one color. The die will act as that color for all
strength to their attack value. Exhausted Followers are
purposes for the remainder of the active player’s
turned to the side to show they may not be used in
turn. The face value of the Void die is unchanged
attack actions until rested.
unless a specific ability changes it.
The player must now select one Threat from the
After gaining Etherstones, the active player may
display that has a Life total equal to, or less than, the
perform all abilities shown on their Leader and in-
player’s attack value. The Threat is overcome, and the
play Basic cards that are triggered by the chosen die’s
player may gain all effects shown at the bottom of the
color and/or value. These abilities are activated in any
Threat card.
order of the player’s choice, and the chosen die will
only activate each ability once. If the player used their Leader card’s strength
during this action, then they lose Life points
equal to the strength value shown in the
bottom right corner of the overcome Threat.
If the player’s Life total reaches zero, they are
defeated, and they must place their Life dial on
top of their Leader card to show this. Any excess
damage dealt by the Threat is ignored once a
Leader is defeated.
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Next, the player places the overcome Threat card
facedown into a personal stack in their area where it
will be worth victory points to them at the end of the
ENDGAME & FINAL SCORING
game. Then, they finish this action by drawing the top
Once the endgame has been triggered, continue
card from the Threat deck and placing it face up into
playing turns in clockwise order until every player
the Threat display. If the Threat deck is exhausted,
has taken the same number of turns. This means the
then skip this refresh and continue playing with less
player to the right of the starting player will always
than 3 Threat cards in the display.
perform the final turn of the game, and if they trigger
Rest the end of the game, then no other players will
All of the player’s Exhausted Followers become Ready, perform further turns.
and they rotate each of them upright to show this. Then, players will sum up their victory points from the
Void Pact following sources:
This action is mandatory if the active player’s Life - 2VP if they gained the Endgame Trigger token
dial is at 0 and currently on top of their Leader to - VP tokens gained throughout the game
show that they are defeated. - Static VP shown in the top right corner of Basic
They set their Life dial to the Life total shown in the cards in play
top right corner of their Leader card and place it next - Conditional VP from cards in play that have
to their Leader. Then, they gain a Void Pact token and endgame abilities
keep it in their area. Void Pacts will reduce the player’s - VP from overcome Threats
final score by 7 points each, so being defeated should - 1VP for every 2 remaining Life points
be avoided as much as possible! - -7VP for each gained Void Pact token
3. Endgame Check Step The player with the most victory points wins the game.
In the case of a tie, use the following tie-breaker
If any of the following conditions are met, then the conditions in order until the tie is broken: least cards
endgame is triggered, and the active player gains the in hand, number of remaining Etherstones, and most
Endgame Trigger token: remaining Life points. In the unlikely case that there
• The active player has no Basic cards left in their are still tied players, then they share the victory.
hand. Due to card destruction, they may have less
than 7 cards in play at this time.
• There are no cards left in the Threat deck. This
trigger happens even if there are still 3 Threats in
the display.
• The victory point pool has no more tokens in it.

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 GLOSSARY
• Icons
» When Attacking - Triggers when overcoming a
» Card Types threat with an Attack action.
- Threat » Activations (from drafted dice) - Triggered when
- Leader the indicated condition is met on a drafted die.
- Follower - Color - Triggers when the
- Ritual matching color die is drafted.

- Technology - 1•2 Number - Triggers when the matching value

» Ether & Card Colors die is drafted.
- 1->3 Number range - Triggers when a die is
- Black - Exalted drafted that has a value that falls within the
- Green - Whisperers indicated range.
• Abilities
- White - Luminary » General Concepts
- If an ability refers to Life Points or Protection,
- Red - Limbics
then the target of that ability is the current
- Purple - Void (acts as any Ether color) player’s Leader. Otherwise, If an ability does
• Ability Triggers not mention a target, then the target of that
ability is the card with that ability. Example: +1
» Instant - Triggered immediately when the card without any other text means that you will place
is summoned. 1 counter on the card you are activating.
- If an ability refers to a player having the most of
» Instant before summoning - Triggered something, it will not activate if they are tied for
immediately before the card is summoned. the most.
» Persistent - Triggered each time the indicated » Opponents - Whenever an ability mentions
condition is met for as long as the card is in play. Opponents, this means every opponent of
the active player. Effects upon Opponents are
» End game - Triggers during final scoring. performed as much as possible.
» Attack - Overcome a threat by performing an Example: In a 4-player game, "Opponents
Attack action. suffer -2 damage" applies to all the other three
» Strength - Used when overcoming Threats with players. When playing with more than 2 players,
an Attack action. all opponents are affected, and you cannot
choose the target.
» In Play - This refers to Basic cards that have been
summoned. They may be Ready or Exhausted.
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» Attack - Overcome a Threat by performing a
standard Attack action. » Ready - One exhausted card is rotated to its
» Defeat - Attack a Threat using only this ability. The ready position.
player cannot use their Leader, Followers, or other
» Exhaust - One ready card is rotated to its
abilities to modify the attack value.
exhausted position.
» Activation Effect - Gain the dice activation effect
» Summon - Perform the Summon action. This ability
from another card in play.
frequently shows an indicated condition and/or
» Ether - Gain 1 Etherstone of the matching color change to the overall cost.
from the supply.
» Counter - Generic tokens that are placed
onto played Basic and Leader cards which have
conditional effects that are described on the cards
that use them. If an ability spends Counters, then
they must be taken from the card with that ability,
and the full indicated amount must be spent, or
the ability will not activate.
» Life - You gain or lose the indicated number of
Life Points by rotating your Life Points dial.
» Victory Point - Gain the indicated number of
victory point tokens from the supply pool. If the
supply is exhausted, players may still gain Victory
Point tokens from the remaining tokens that were
set aside during setup.
» Reserve - When instructed to gain victory point
tokens from the reserve, they are taken from those
set aside during setup, not from the supply pool.
» Strength - Add or subtract the indicated
number to the attack value when overcoming a
Threat.
» -X to +X / - X is a variable amount that is the same
for all parts of this effect, chosen by the active
player.

» Recall - Bring one played Basic card back to

hand.

» Destroy - Remove the card from the game

» Protection - Prevents the indicated amount of
damage to the leader when facing a threat.
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