```metadata title: Kilforth v2.0 description: An alternative series of rules for the Kilforth board game series. tags: '' systems: [] renderer: V3 theme: 5ePHB ``` # A Different Approach to Kilforth ## Outline ### Criticism *Gloom* and *Shadows of Kilforth* hold a lot of appeal to me for various reasons: their framework allows for epic stories to emerge, the classification of cards is interesting, and there’s a lot of character progression and customization to be had. I do, however, find some of its other aspects less engaging: - I’m not a big fan of dice-based resolution, yet that’s what the games mostly revolve around. - Despite differently-labeled attributes and encounters, I feel they end up mostly playing the same. Places and Quests in particular are resolved in exactly the same manner. - For all the customization options available, I’ve often ended up building in the same way whenever it came to taking down the Ancient, namely by accumulating lots of Fight dice. - The game uses a large number of cards, but also a lot of dice and tokens, and has a lot of secondary rules, including very specific terms that don’t always feel well-explained. Many of these rules and tokens I don’t feel necessarily add to the game, and I think could be condensed or removed to its benefit. - Progression comes down to collecting cards with certain keywords, when I feel there are many more ways to set progress conditions, including ways that aren’t as dependent upon the whims of the card deck. - While I don’t expect perfect balance, some aspects of the games feel wildly out of sync with one another, with some card types clearly outstripping alternatives despite being equally easy to obtain. - I’ve mostly played the game with other players, and multiplayer mostly feels like players playing the game in parallel to one another, instead of collaborating with or influencing one another. This is somewhat understandable, given that the games are mainly designed with singleplayer experiences in mind. ### Goals - Eliminate dice and tokens as much as possible. - Diversify character progression and customization. - Diversify the challenges players face. - Simplify the ruleset and exploit its core elements further. ### Broad Changes - Players start out with more cards, but have to veil assets to move. - Challenges are resolved primarily by veiling assets of corresponding type. - Assets each provide two bonuses, one of which is signature to their type. - Encounters have signature mechanics corresponding to their type, mirroring those of the rewards obtained from them. - Sagas require performing certain actions, and each chapter provides its own totem. ## Setup Setup remains similar to *Gloom* and *Shadows*, in that the player builds the map from location cards, then assembles the four reward decks, four encounter decks, and the night deck, all placed face-down. ### The Map The map remains a 5x5 grid. At the center is the city location where the players begin, with a token there showing their position on the map. Shuffled into a location pile are the following: - 6 mountain locations - 6 badlands locations - 6 forest locations - 6 plains locations When you move in a direction that does not yet have a location, draw one from the location pile and place it in the space you are moving into. Challenges can be placed in empty locations, and when moving into the location, place the challenge at its space on top of it. ## Player Cards Each player starts with the following: - An **ancient**: each ancient has a deck of eight cards; choose **four** of them at random without revealing them, place them on top of each other at the map’s city, and reveal the top card. **Veil** this card, disabling it until the end of the day, and tilting it to reflect its status. - A **saga**, composed of four chapters. - Four **assets** drawn from the reward decks. The player can draw from any reward deck they choose, including the same deck more than once. - Four **rumors** drawn from the reward decks. The player can draw from any reward deck they choose, including the same deck more than once. {{note ##### Drawing Rewards When drawing a reward during setup or any other time in the game, whether an asset or a rumor, draw **two** cards from the associated reward deck, choose one to keep, and discard the other, placing it in its respective discard pile. }} {{pageNumber,auto}} \page {{note ##### Hand Limits The player can only have up to **eight** cards at a time. Initially, only **four** of those cards can be assets, and the rest can only be rumors. If the player finds themselves over their hand or asset limit, they must immediately discard, exchange, or sacrifice cards until the limits are met. }} ## Player Actions Players are able to perform a number of general actions: ### Move The player can move to a laterally adjacent location in one of two ways: - **Veil an asset of any type:** disable the card until the end of the day, tilting it to reflect its status. - **Discard a rumor of any type.** When moving into a location with no challenges, i.e. encounters, night cards, or ancients, the player must draw an encounter from the corresponding encounter deck and place it at the location. Other cards may move the player in different ways, or allow them to do so. In multiplayer, after the player has moved in this manner, they cannot do so again until every other player has either moved as well, or chosen to pass their turn. ### Defeat Challenges, i.e. encounters, night cards, and ancient cards, list the requirements needed to defeat them, usually a combination of rewards. If the player is in the same location as the challenge and meets those requirements, they can choose to defeat it through a combination of the following ways: - **Veil assets** of the types needed to defeat the challenge. - **Discard rumors** of the types needed to defeat the challenge. Once defeated, the challenge is discarded. In multiplayer, multiple players can defeat the same challenge, provided they are all in the same location. Each reward used by any participating player counts towards the challenge’s requirements, so that each individual player can fulfil only a portion of the requirements and still defeat the challenge. When an encounter is defeated by multiple players, its trophy is distributed among the players who participated in its defeat in a manner they agree upon. Players do not each receive the encounter’s full trophy. ### Deed At any point in time, the player can choose to use the effects made available to them by their cards. \column ### Discover While at a location matching that of an owned rumor (a fixed position on the map, rather than a named location), the player can choose to turn that rumor into an asset. ### Make Camp At any point in time, the player can choose to end their actions for the day, taking no additional actions until the next. Once every player has made camp, the night phase begins. ### Exchange In multiplayer, any two players at the same location can exchange rewards with one another, giving each other any rewards they choose. ### Dark Bargain At any point in time, the player can invoke a **dark bargain**, a desperate plea to higher powers of questionable benevolence. This incurs the following: - Draw and place **four** night cards. If the player draws from an empty night deck, the game ends and **all players lose**. - Any player who chooses to partake discards **all** of their rewards, save for their totems, and draws **four** assets and **four** rumors. ## Player Cards Throughout the game, the player will hold two main sorts of cards, **rewards** and their **saga**. These provide their own respective benefits: ### Rewards Rewards are cards beneficial to the player, typically obtained by defeating encounters. The player will obtain rewards in the form of **assets** or **rumors**. An **asset** is a reward in its full form, and its listed effects are available to the player. A **rumor**, however, does not provide the effects listed on its card until the player **discovers** it. When drawing a reward, draw two cards from the associated reward deck, choose one to keep, and discard the other. Each reward has two listed effects, and each type of reward has a signature effect, which its cards always possess: #### Item Commonly obtained from **enemies**, found in **mountains**, and typically required to defeat them. Signature effect is a **persistent bonus**. {{pageNumber,auto}} \page #### Title Commonly obtained from **places**, found in **forests**, and typically required to defeat them. Signature effect is **bond**: enhance one of your applicable cards. #### Ally Commonly obtained from **strangers**, found in **plains**, and typically required to defeat them. Signature effect is **veil**: produce a potent effect and disable the card until the end of the day, tilting it to reflect the change. #### Spell Commonly obtained from **quests**, found in **badlands**, and typically required to defeat them. Signature effect is **sacrifice**: produce a significantly powerful effect and discard the card, placing it in its respective discard pile. ### Saga The player’s saga tells the adventure their character sets on as they work towards defeating their Ancient. Each of a saga’s four chapters requires the player to achieve a certain goal, but offers an increasingly powerful boon once fulfilled. The player begins their saga at the first chapter: each chapter lists one or more objectives, and once those objectives are met, the following occurs: - The player flips the chapter card to reveal its **totem**, a powerful asset that can also be used in place of any other asset type. - The player's asset limit (but not their hand limit) is increased by one. - The player reveals the next chapter and its new objectives. {{note ##### No Skipping Ahead The player can only meet the objectives for their current saga’s chapter. If the player performs an action that meets the objective of another chapter of their saga, it does not count towards that objective unless the condition is still met during that chapter. }} ## Challenges Challenges are cards that oppose the player, standing between them and victory. There are three types of challenges: **encounters**, **night** cards, and **ancients**. ### Encounters Encounters are the most common challenge the player faces: whenever the player moves into a location with no challenges, they must draw an encounter from the corresponding deck. The player can also choose to draw an encounter when at a location with no challenges. Encounters grant **trophies** on defeat, typically in the form of rewards, are found in locations corresponding to their type, and each type of encounter has a signature mechanic, which its cards always possess: #### Enemy Found in **mountains**, common trophies are **items**, which are typically required to defeat them. Signature mechanic is a **persistent malus**, applied to all applicable players. #### Place Found in **forests**, common trophies are **titles**, which are typically required to defeat them. Signature mechanic is **bond**: add a modifier to the place’s location. #### Stranger Found in **plains**, common trophies are **allies**, which are typically required to defeat them. Signature mechanic is **veil**: if left undefeated until night, produce a potent effect during the night phase. #### Quest: Found in **badlands**, common trophies are **spells**, which are typically required to defeat them. Signature mechanic is **sacrifice**: if left undefeated until night, produce a significantly powerful effect and discard the card, placing it in its respective discard pile. {{note ##### Only One Challenge per Location If a night card is drawn and placed on a location with an encounter, or an encounter is moved to a location with another challenge already, the encounter is discarded. }} ### Night Cards With each passing night, the map receives a new night card: these challenges are rarer than encounters, though much more difficult to defeat, often incurring losses. They also do not grant beneficial trophies when defeated. Each night card on the map empowers the players’ ancients, making victory even less likely until they are dealt with. {{note ##### Running Out of Night Cards If the player is meant to draw a night card and none are left, the world’s time is up, and the game results in a loss for all players. }} ### Ancients Ancients are malevolent, godlike creatures from beyond space and time, and the ultimate foe in Kilforth. It is the player’s ultimate goal to defeat their ancient and save the world. The ancient is made up of four cards, each representing a phase of combat, randomly chosen from a larger set of eight. Each card has its own mechanics and steep defeat requirements, often with dire consequences should the player choose to flee. {{pageNumber,auto}} \page Once all of an ancient’s cards are defeated, the foe is vanquished: - In singleplayer, the player wins. - In collaborative multiplayer, **all** players win once **all** Ancients are defeated. - In competitive multiplayer, the **first** player to defeat their Ancient wins. Multiple ancients can occupy the same city. ## Game Rounds: Day and Night Each of the game’s rounds proceeds in a day in Kilforth. During the day, the main phase of play, players take actions as specified above. Once all players have made camp, night begins. During the night phase, the following occurs, in order: - **Unveil** all veiled player cards, rendering them ready to be used again once the day begins. - Activate the **veil** effect of all applicable challenges, veiling the activated cards. - Activate the **sacrifice** effect of all applicable challenges, discarding the activated cards. - Draw one **night** card and place it at its specified location (a fixed position on the map, as opposed to a named location). - Unveil all veiled challenges. - Night ends, and the day begins anew. ## Variants Should the player want to play the game differently, or alter its difficulty, here are a few suggestions for alternate rules: #### More/Fewer Ancient Phases Should the player desire a tougher end-game challenge, they can add additional ancient cards to the standard four, up to the ancient’s maximum of eight. If, by contrast, the player wants to secure a higher chance of victory, they can place fewer cards, down to a minimum of one. #### Accelerated Sagas Should the player desire a quicker session, they may choose to increase their saga progress and accelerate the spread of night at the start of the game: each player flips their saga chapter to their totem, revealing the next chapter, and one player then draws and places **four** night cards. This can be repeated until all saga chapters are completed. \column ## Glossary of Key Terms - **Ally:** A type of reward typically obtained from stranger encounters in plains locations, and used to defeat them. Each ally has a veil effect, producing a potent effect and disabling it until the end of the day. - **Ancient:** The player’s ultimate foe. Defeating the ancient is the only way to win the game, and save the world of Kilforth from certain doom. It is a type of challenge. - Ancients are *not* encounters, and are not affected by mechanics that specifically target encounters. - **Asset:** A card whose effects the player can use. It is a type of reward card, and can be an ally, item, spell, title, or totem. - **Badlands:** A type of location where the player can find quest encounters and spell rewards. - **Bond:** Modify another card. - **Challenge:** An obstacle to the player’s victory. Encounters, night cards, and ancients are all challenges. - **City:** A type of location where the player can find the ancient. - **Defeat:** Grant a challenge’s trophy and discard the challenge. Challenges each list a way to defeat them. - Discarding a challenge is *not* equivalent to defeating it. If a challenge is made to be discarded, it does not grant its trophy. - **Dark Bargain:** A desperate action the player can undertake to obtain new rewards, accelerating the advance of night in the process. - **Deed:** Perform an action listed on a card. - **Discard:** Place a card in its respective discard pile, removing it from play. - Discarding a card is *not* equivalent to defeating or sacrificing it. If a card with either or both of those effects is made to be discarded, it does not produce them. - **Discover:** Turn a rumor into an asset. This requires being at the rumor's indicated discovery location. - **Draw:** Take a card from the top of a deck. When drawing a reward, take two cards, choose one to keep, and discard the other. If the deck is empty (and not the night deck), shuffle its discard pile, which then becomes the new deck. - **Encounter:** A type of card that typically appears when the player enters a new location, producing a negative effect until defeated, whereupon it grants a (usually) beneficial trophy to the victor. It is a type of challenge, and can be an enemy, place, quest, or stranger. - **Enemy:** A type of encounter found in mountains locations. Enemies typically require items to defeat, and grant them as trophies. Each enemy imposes a persistent malus. - **Exchange:** Give and receive rewards to and from players at the same location. {{pageNumber,auto}} \page - **Forest:** A type of location where the player can find place encounters and title rewards. - **Item:** A type of reward typically obtained from enemy encounters in mountain locations, and used to defeat them. Each item provides a persistent bonus. - **Make Camp:** End one’s day, taking no further actions until the next. - **Mountain:** A type of location where the player can find enemy encounters and item rewards. - **Move:** Place the player’s character in a new location, which triggers the appearance of an encounter if the location has no challenges on it. - **Night:** Night is both a phase of play and a type of card: - The **night phase** is the end of each round, whereupon certain cards are activated and a night card is drawn. Once the night phase ends, the day and a new round begins. - **Night cards** are a type of challenge, harder to defeat than encounters, and empower the Ancient until defeated. - Night cards are *not* encounters, and are not affected by mechanics that specifically target encounters. - **Place:** A type of encounter found in forest locations. places typically require titles to defeat, and grant them as trophies. Each place has a bond effect, modifying its location. - **Plains:** A type of location where the player can find stranger encounters and ally rewards. - **Quest:** A type of encounter found in badlands locations. Quests typically require spells to defeat, and grant them as trophies. Each quest has a sacrifice effect, producing a significantly powerful effect and discarding it if left undefeated. - **Reward:** A type of card the player can use to their benefit, typically given as part of a trophy for defeating an encounter or completing a saga chapter. Allies, items, spells, titles, and totems are rewards. - Sagas are *not* rewards, and aren’t affected by mechanics that specifically target rewards. - **Rumor:** A card with limited use that the player can turn into an asset by going to its specified location. It is a type of reward card, and can be an ally, item, spell, or title. - **Sacrifice:** Produce a card’s specified effect before discarding it. - Discarding a card is *not* equivalent to sacrificing it. If a card with a sacrifice effect is made to be discarded, it does not produce its sacrifice effect. - **Saga:** A set of cards (chapters) setting players objectives to complete, each granting a totem and revealing the next chapter on completion. Each subsequent chapter’s objectives are more difficult than the last. - Sagas are *not* rewards, and are not affected by mechanics that specifically target rewards. - **Spell:** A type of reward typically obtained from quest encounters in badlands locations, and used to defeat them. Each spell has a sacrifice effect, producing a significantly powerful effect and discarding it. - **Stranger:** A type of encounter found in plains locations. strangers typically require allies to defeat, and grant them as trophies. Each stranger has a veil effect, producing a potent effect at the end of the day if left undefeated. - **Title:** A type of reward typically obtained from place encounters in forest locations, and used to defeat them. Each title has a bond effect, allowing it to enhance another card. - **Totem:** A special asset granted upon completing a saga chapter. Totems can be used in place of any other asset. Each subsequent chapter’s totem is stronger than the last. - **Trophy:** A set of consequences for defeating a challenge. Encounters typically give rewards as trophies on defeat, though some challenges may force harmful effects instead. - **Unveil:** Re-enable a veiled card and *all* its effects. Veiled cards are tilted to reflect their status, and unveiling them tilts them back to normal. - **Veil:** Disable a card and *all* its effects until the end of the day, tilting it to reflect the change. Cards with a veil effect produce an effect before veiling themselves. At the end of the day, veiled cards become unveiled, and return to normal. - Challenges cannot be defeated while they are veiled, as defeat requirements are part of the card’s effects. - If a card with a veil effect is made to be veiled by an effect other than its own, it does *not* produce its own veil effect. ## Example Cards ### Items ### Titles ### Allies #### Bodyguard: - **Veil:** Veil a challenge at your location. - **Sacrifice:** Challenges cannot discard your cards this day or night. #### Ninja: - If you have no other ally assets, the Ninja counts as two allies when defeating a challenge. - **Veil:** Use this card to move. If your destination contains no challenges, you can choose not to draw an encounter on arrival. {{pageNumber,auto}} \page ### Spells #### Chronomancy: - **Veil:** Place an encounter on the map at the top of its draw deck, keeping it face-up. - **Sacrifice:** Place a night card on the map anywhere you choose in the night deck, keeping it face-up. #### Martyrdom: - **Sacrifice:** Defeat an encounter at your location. - **Bond** to an **Ally** to give it **Sacrifice**: Sacrifice this spell as well, and defeat all encounters at your location and all laterally adjacent locations. ### Sagas and Totems #### The Font of Magic: ##### Chapter 1: - **Objectives:** Sacrifice a spell. - **Totem - The Path of Knowledge:** When drawing from the spell deck, you choose from three cards instead of two. You can still only keep one choice among them. ##### Chapter 2: - **Objectives:** Sacrifice a bonded spell. - **Totem - Arcane Echoes:** After sacrificing a spell, draw a spell rumor. ##### Chapter 3: - **Objectives:** Sacrifice five spells in one day. Place the sacrificed spells on this saga chapter, and discard them upon completion or at the end of the day. - **Totem - Myriad Magic:** Your spell rumors do not count towards your hand limit. ##### Chapter 4: - **Objectives:** Have 10 or more spells. - **Totem - Power Overwhelming: Sacrifice:** Your spell rumors can be sacrificed as if they were assets. This effect ends if the spell deck is empty, or if you take any action other than sacrificing a spell. ### Enemies #### Brigand: - **To Defeat:** 1 Item - **Trophy:** 1 Item rumor - Upon drawing a reward, place it on the Brigand instead. This reward becomes part of the Brigand’s trophy. The Brigand can only steal one reward in this manner. ### Places ### Strangers ### Quests ### Night cards ### Ancients ### Locations {{pageNumber,auto}}