Description

This is a fantasy card game in which players each take on the role of a fantasy adventurer (cleric, ranger, rogue, warrior, or wizard) who starts the game with a randomly selected personality trait, personal motivation, and end goal.

All adventurers are part of a party, and they work cooperatively to reach the Lair Card (where the chosen adventure's Boss Monster is revealed). If the party defeats the boss, they win, and gain an Epic Treasure Card. Otherwise, they die and lose the game.

The objective of the Solo version of the game is to accomplish your character's End Goal before s/he becomes too cowardly, despairing, mad, reviled, or too dead to continue adventuring.

Different End Goals include: Becoming Accomplished (in a certain discipline or skill), becoming Powerful, being Revered as a god, becoming Renowned (for performing feats), or by attaining great Wealth.

To accomplish the End Goal, the adventurer travels from Location Card to Location Card.

When the adventurer enters a Location, s/he can do one of four things: Make Camp (to hunt and rest), Interact with the displayed NPC, do Trade (rolling on a table), or Explore the Location.

To explore, the Location Card is flipped over, revealing an Encounter. Encounters represent monsters, traps, or perilous situations that must be defeated. Successfully defeating these encounters results in gaining XP and Treasure Cards.

The XP can be used to eventually gain up to three Levels. Each new level has three Skill Cards you can choose from. You place the acquired Skill Card below your Adventurer Card.

Each Encounter displays from one to three Impact Icons, which signify how dangerous, horrifying, and taxing the encounter is to resolve. Unless the adventurer immediately avoids (or escapes) the encounter, s/he will be impacted by interacting with it.

The Encounter Impact will add to the character's Personality, which in turn, affects how effective s/he will be during subsequent encounters.

In addition to encounter impacts, there are Event Cards that come into play for different durations that also display Impact Icons on them.

Whenever conditions in play match those specified on active Event Cards, the event impacts the adventurer. The Event Card is then placed under the Adventurer Card, with the Event Card's bottom section visible from the appropriate side of the Adventurer Card.

A possible outcome of the event is that the character becomes mentally afflicted, emotionally disturbed, or physically maimed.
Thus, as the adventure continues, the character may become too emotionally, psychologically, or physically weak to continue to pursue his or her End Goal. In this case, the adventurer loses the game.

Conversely, the adventurer wins the game by enduring encounters and events (some of which are positive), and by attaining his or her End Goal.

Each End Goal lists varying levels of success, so you always try to score higher in subsequent gaming sessions.