Malhya: Lands of Legends · Board game rules
How does combat work in stealth mode?
Quick answer
There's no traditional combat in Stealth mode — instead heroes can perform silent "Kill" actions (Ranged or Melee) on enemies; if detected, an Alarm triggers and the group shifts into full Combat mode.
Details
In Stealth mode, heroes don't fight enemies with attack/defense dice as in Combat mode. Instead, during the Heroes' Main or Secondary Phase, a hero can perform one of two specific Kill actions to eliminate an enemy quietly: a Ranged Kill, which requires a valid, unpenalized Line of Sight to the target and costs 5 Action Points, or a Melee Kill, which works against any adjacent enemy regardless of weapon (even barehanded) and costs 4 Action Points [p.45 — Stealth mode gameplay]. A Ranged Kill generates a Noise token on the corpse's space, while a Melee Kill does not, since the attacker lowers the target quietly [p.45 — Stealth mode gameplay].
Each time a hero performs one of these Kill actions (or moves, or moves a corpse), they must roll a Stealth die for that type of action once they end their turn; rolling Threat symbols advances the cube on the Threat Track, making detection more likely [p.45-46 — Rolling the Stealth dice].
If an Alarm is triggered — because the Threat cube reaches the end of the track, a hero or corpse is spotted, the Action card deck runs out, or a Special side is rolled on the black Stealth die — Stealth mode ends immediately and the group moves into full Combat mode, starting the first turn with 0 Initiative for all heroes [p.49 — Triggering the alarm]. From that point on, standard Combat mode rules apply: heroes and enemies act in Initiative order, using Weapon cards, Armor, Talents, and dice-based Attack/Defense sequences [p.51-52 — Combat mode gameplay].
Watch out: A Waiting hero can interrupt the moment just before an Alarm triggers, but only to perform a Kill action (melee or ranged) — not to move or relocate a corpse. Also, it's impossible to eliminate two threatening enemies at once with a single interrupted action, so being spotted by two enemies simultaneously will trigger the Alarm regardless [p.49 — Picking up your turn again to avoid the Alarm].