Council of Legends rules for Playtesting
(v01.08.2023)
Introduction
The Council of Legends, an assembly of Earth’s most influential Cryptids, has convened once again. The Earth has fallen out of balance due to a plague of Eco-Threats! These powerful Cryptids must work together to clear the biomes and restore the ancient Beacons. These Beacons connect the biomes and help maintain Earth’s delicate balance. Will they succeed in their mission, or will the Eco-Threats be too much for them?
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught!
Objective
Play as Cryptids and use their skills and Allies to rid the Biomes of Eco-Threats and find the 6 Beacon cards. Rebuild all 6 Beacons to complete the mission as a team. The player with the most Reputation points wins the game!
Components and Requirements
- 1 Board
- 6 Legend Trackers (4x10 player mats)
- 36 Resource Deck cards
- 90 Biome Deck cards
- 6 Legend markers (octagonal tokens)
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Beacon bases (tan rounds)
- 6 Beacon tops (yellow glass beads)
- 40 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
- 1 wooden six-sided die
*2-6 Players | Ages 12+ | 45-60 mins*
Setup
Place the board in the center of the playing area. Have each player choose a Legend Tracker and lay it, face up, front of them. Give each player 2 Reputation tokens, which are placed in the Reputation space on their Legend Tracker.
Each player gets a Legend marker that matches the trait colors (Speed and Stealth) on their Tracker. Place each Legend marker on the Biome with their respective color. (For example, Mothman’s traits show green; use the green marker; start on the Forest due to the green-colored diamond).
Shuffle the Resource deck and place it, face down, on the board space that matches it. Next, shuffle the Biome deck and divide this into six piles of 15 cards each. Place each pile, face down, in the light-colored space at the bottom of each Biome. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to play!
Introduction
The Council of Legends, an assembly of Earth’s most influential Cryptids, has convened once again. The Earth has fallen out of balance due to a plague of Eco-Threats! These powerful Cryptids must work together to clear the biomes and restore the ancient Beacons. These Beacons connect the biomes and help maintain Earth’s delicate balance. Will they succeed in their mission, or will the Eco-Threats be too much for them?
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught!
Objective
Play as Cryptids and use their skills and Allies to rid the Biomes of Eco-Threats and find the 6 Beacon cards. Rebuild all 6 Beacons to complete the mission as a team. The player with the most Reputation points wins the game!
Components and Requirements
- 1 Board
- 6 Legend Trackers (4x10 player mats)
- 36 Resource Deck cards
- 90 Biome Deck cards
- 6 Legend markers (octagonal tokens)
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Beacon bases (tan rounds)
- 6 Beacon tops (yellow glass beads)
- 40 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
- 1 wooden six-sided die
*2-6 Players | Ages 12+ | 45-60 mins*
Setup
Place the board in the center of the playing area. Have each player choose a Legend Tracker and lay it, face up, front of them. Give each player 2 Reputation tokens, which are placed in the Reputation space on their Legend Tracker.
Each player gets a Legend marker that matches the trait colors (Speed and Stealth) on their Tracker. Place each Legend marker on the Biome with their respective color. (For example, Mothman’s traits show green; use the green marker; start on the Forest due to the green-colored diamond).
Shuffle the Resource deck and place it, face down, on the board space that matches it. Next, shuffle the Biome deck and divide this into six piles of 15 cards each. Place each pile, face down, in the light-colored space at the bottom of each Biome. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to play!
Legend Tracker
Resource Deck
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Biome Deck
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Gameplay
The player who was most recently at a National Park goes first. If no one has been to one, put this game away immediately and get yourselves to a park and enjoy nature!...Or just roll the die and the highest roll goes first...ya lazy bums!
Each player’s turn will follow these steps:
1. Roll the die and draw that number of Resource cards. Resource cards are the currency of the game and you will use these to pay for drawing cards from the Biomes.
2. Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. You may only move once per turn, only during this step. Look at your Legend’s Speed trait (on your Tracker) and see how many spaces you can move. For example, Mothman’s Speed is 2, so this Legend can move up to 2 spaces per turn. Your Legend can move around the ring from Biome to Biome in either direction. The Biome your Legend marker lands on is where you will continue the next action.
3. Use Resource cards to draw Biome cards. Each Biome space has a number within a colored diamond – this is the amount of Resources needed to draw one card from that deck. You cannot draw cards from a Biome unless your Legend marker is on that space. Each Resource card has a number on it, which is the value of that card. Treat these like money, combining them to reach the totals you need. You can add cards together, but you cannot make change. For example, you can play three 1s to pay for a Desert card, but if you play a 3 Resource for a Forest card, you simply lose the other 2 that would be left over. Put the used Resource cards in the "Recycling Bin" (the space with the “R” inside the Recycling symbol, opposite corner from its draw pile space). Whenever you run out of Resource cards to draw, shuffle and reuse these "Recycled" cards. Draw one card from that Biome deck and reveal it. You must resolve each card before drawing another one. You may continue drawing and resolving cards from a Biome as long as you have the Resources to pay for it.
At any time during our turn, you may also:
Use a Legend Skill. Each Legend has a Skill in the bottom left of your Tracker that you can use on your turn if pay 2 Reputation tokens. You may use this skill than once if you have enough Reputation tokens to pay for it.
Use an Ally Skill. This is described later.
Use the Conservation Area. You may pay 1 Resource to draw the top card in the Conservation Area and add it to your Tracker. You may do this as many times as you like in one turn, as long as you can afford it and have space for it.
Your turn ends when one of the following occurs:
* You run out of Resources to play
* You are unable to clear a present Eco-Threat
* You trigger a Lockdown
* You choose to pass your turn
Play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn.
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks.
The player who was most recently at a National Park goes first. If no one has been to one, put this game away immediately and get yourselves to a park and enjoy nature!...Or just roll the die and the highest roll goes first...ya lazy bums!
Each player’s turn will follow these steps:
1. Roll the die and draw that number of Resource cards. Resource cards are the currency of the game and you will use these to pay for drawing cards from the Biomes.
2. Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. You may only move once per turn, only during this step. Look at your Legend’s Speed trait (on your Tracker) and see how many spaces you can move. For example, Mothman’s Speed is 2, so this Legend can move up to 2 spaces per turn. Your Legend can move around the ring from Biome to Biome in either direction. The Biome your Legend marker lands on is where you will continue the next action.
3. Use Resource cards to draw Biome cards. Each Biome space has a number within a colored diamond – this is the amount of Resources needed to draw one card from that deck. You cannot draw cards from a Biome unless your Legend marker is on that space. Each Resource card has a number on it, which is the value of that card. Treat these like money, combining them to reach the totals you need. You can add cards together, but you cannot make change. For example, you can play three 1s to pay for a Desert card, but if you play a 3 Resource for a Forest card, you simply lose the other 2 that would be left over. Put the used Resource cards in the "Recycling Bin" (the space with the “R” inside the Recycling symbol, opposite corner from its draw pile space). Whenever you run out of Resource cards to draw, shuffle and reuse these "Recycled" cards. Draw one card from that Biome deck and reveal it. You must resolve each card before drawing another one. You may continue drawing and resolving cards from a Biome as long as you have the Resources to pay for it.
At any time during our turn, you may also:
Use a Legend Skill. Each Legend has a Skill in the bottom left of your Tracker that you can use on your turn if pay 2 Reputation tokens. You may use this skill than once if you have enough Reputation tokens to pay for it.
Use an Ally Skill. This is described later.
Use the Conservation Area. You may pay 1 Resource to draw the top card in the Conservation Area and add it to your Tracker. You may do this as many times as you like in one turn, as long as you can afford it and have space for it.
Your turn ends when one of the following occurs:
* You run out of Resources to play
* You are unable to clear a present Eco-Threat
* You trigger a Lockdown
* You choose to pass your turn
Play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn.
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks.
Ally
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Place this face-up on the Ally space of your Legend Tracker. You may use your Ally’s skill for free at any point on your turn, once per turn. Allies can help improve Legend traits, boost rewards, and even move and remove Eco-Threats. If you already have an Ally, pick which one to keep and send the other one to the Conservation Area.
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Maneuver
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Immediately add this card to one of the three Maneuver spaces on your Legend Tracker, face-up. You will use Maneuvers to remove Eco-Threats from play. You can hold a maxiumum of 3 Maneuvers - if these spaces are full when you draw a Maneuver, decide which three to keep on your Tracker and send the fourth one to the Conservation Area.
Each Maneuver will depict which type of Eco-Threat it can remove: Earth = Environmental Threat; Hiker = Human Threat. |
Environmental Eco-Threat
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Leave the card face-up on the top of the Biome deck. If you have a Maneuver card on your Tracker that can clear Environment Eco-Threats, you can choose to play it to continue your turn. To remove Eco-Threats, send both the Maneuver and the Eco-Threat cards to the Landfill in the center of the board. Collect any Rewards listed on the bottom of the Eco-Threat (number in diamond is Resources, foot is Reputation). If you don’t have a Maneuver, leave the Eco-Threat face-up on the Biome deck until someone can clear it. You can't draw a new card here until the threat is removed. You must be in the same Biome to remove an Eco-Threat with a Maneuver.
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Human Eco-Threat
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These act much like the Environmental Eco-Threats, but are more dangerous to Legends. The number within the magnifying glass symbol (Perception Level) defines how easily the Humans can spot your Legend. If your Legend’s Stealth is equal to, or higher than, their Perception, the Humans cannot see you and you can stay in that Biome and continue your turn. Legends that remain unseen can move into and out of this Biome safely. If you have a Maneuver card on your Tracker that can clear Human Threats, do the same as you would for Environmental Threats.
If your Stealth is less than the Eco-Threat’s Perception, place a Lockdown token on this Biome space and move all Legend markers in this Biome – regardless of Stealth – to the closest Unlocked Biome (no Lockdown token present). If either direction is open, each player can choose which direction their Legend flees. Your turn immediately ends. Notes on Lockdowns When a Lockdown is triggered, it cannot be prevented, even if an Ally’s skill lets you remove Eco-Threats. No player may enter a Locked Biome until the Lockdown token is removed or relocated (with Skills, Allies, and special cards). If the next closest unlocked Biome also has a Human Eco-Threat, the same Perception vs. Stealth rules apply – if any present Legends’ Stealth is less than the Perception, this triggers another Lockdown. When a Biome is in Lockdown, it no longer counts as a space to move to, so a Legend with a speed of 1 will skip over Locked Biomes to the next Unlocked Biome. |
Local/Global Event
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Read this card aloud, do what it says, and then send the card to the Landfill.
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Beacon
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You have located one of the ancient Beacons! Assemble this Biome’s Beacon by placing a Beacon base (tan cylinder) in the white circle above the respective Biome, then a Beacon top (yellow glass bead) on top of this. You do not have to be in that Biome to assemble its Beacon. Collect the rewards listed on the Beacon card, then keep this card next to your Tracker for scoring later.
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Full Legend Tracker
Comparing Perception to Legend's Stealth
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Maneuvers and Allies sent to Conservation Area
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Cards in Conservation Area
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Restored Beacon
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Losing and Winning
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown and/or all players are unable to move or clear any more Eco-Threats (no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends have been caught!
If all 6 Beacons have been restored (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have restored balance to the Earth and finished your mission! The player with the most Reputation tokens is the winner of the game! If there is a tie on Reputation tokens, the player with the most Beacon cards wins. If this is somehow tied, as well, everyone wins as a team.
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown and/or all players are unable to move or clear any more Eco-Threats (no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends have been caught!
If all 6 Beacons have been restored (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have restored balance to the Earth and finished your mission! The player with the most Reputation tokens is the winner of the game! If there is a tie on Reputation tokens, the player with the most Beacon cards wins. If this is somehow tied, as well, everyone wins as a team.
Lockdown in each Biome: team loses
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Beacons restored in each Biome: team wins
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©2022, Kevin A. Elliott
