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Etherstone · Reference sheet

Etherstone reference sheet

Overview

  • 2–4 players compete to earn the most points on the planet Nobura [p.4 — Gameplay]
  • Draft a hand of 7 Entity cards, choose a Leader, then take turns performing one action per turn [p.4 — Gameplay]
  • Gain Etherstones by drafting dice; spend them to Cast Entity cards into play [p.8 — Action Step]
  • Attack Threats to earn rewards and end-game points [p.9 — Attack]
  • Game ends when a player empties their hand, the Threat deck runs out, or Point tokens pool empties [p.9 — Endgame Check Step]
  • Most points wins; tiebreakers: fewest cards in hand → most Etherstones → most Life [p.10 — Final Scoring]

Setup

  1. Place all Etherstone, Counter, Void Pact tokens, and Endgame Trigger token in shared supply pools [p.3]
  2. Arrange 4 dice display tokens in a square; roll all 5 dice and place each on its matching token (purple die goes in the center) [p.3]
  3. Add Point tokens to supply pool: 2P→15, 3P→20, 4P→25; rest go to reserve [p.3]
  4. Build Threat deck (level III bottom, II middle, I top): 2P→3/3/4, 3P→4/4/5, 4P→4/5/6 [p.4]
  5. Reveal top 3 Threat cards face-up as the Threat display [p.4]
  6. Each player takes a random Life dial (one must be the Starting Player Life dial) [p.4]
  7. Give each player a Player Aid card [p.4]
  8. Perform the Drafting Phase (deal 7 Entity cards, draft 1 and pass left until each player has 7; draw 2 Leaders, keep 1) [p.5 — Drafting Phase]

Turn structure

Each turn has 3 steps [p.8 — On Your Turn]:

  1. Refresh Dice — If display is empty, must refresh. Otherwise, optionally lose Life equal to dice remaining to refresh early.
  2. Action — Perform exactly one: Dice Draft, Cast, Attack, Rest, or Void Pact.
  3. Endgame Check — Check all three endgame conditions; take Endgame Trigger token if triggered.

Actions

Action Cost Effect Notes
Dice Draft — Take 1 die; gain 2 Etherstones of that color; trigger matching abilities Purple die: lose 1 Life, choose any color for 2 Etherstones
Cast Pay card's Etherstone cost Place 1 Entity card from hand face-up in-play; trigger Instant abilities Void cost = any color mix
Attack — Pick 1 Threat; assign ready Followers + optionally your Leader; if Attack value ≥ Threat Life, succeed; gain rewards; add to Spoils Leader joining = lose Life equal to Threat's Strength
Rest — Ready all exhausted Followers —
Void Pact Mandatory if corrupted; forbidden if not Reset Life dial to Leader's starting value; gain 1 Void Pact token (−7 pts at scoring) —

Combat

Attack sequence [p.9 — Attack]:

  1. Choose 1 Threat from the display.
  2. Choose any ready Followers to join; exhaust them. Optionally add your Leader (never exhausted).
  3. Trigger all Attack abilities in any order.
  4. Total Attack value must meet or exceed Threat's Life — otherwise pick a different Threat or a different action.
  5. If Leader joined: lose Life equal to Threat's Strength.
  6. Resolve end-of-Attack ability effects.
  7. Gain all rewards shown on the Threat card.
  8. Place Threat face-down in your Spoils stack; draw next Threat from deck into display.

Scoring

Final Scoring sources [p.10 — Final Scoring]:

  • Point tokens in your area: 1 pt each
  • Endgame Trigger token: +2 pts
  • In-play Entity cards: points shown top-right of each card
  • Endgame abilities on in-play Entity cards
  • Threats in your Spoils stack: points shown top-left of each card
  • Remaining Life: +1 pt per 2 Life on dial
  • Void Pact tokens: −7 pts each
  • Currently corrupted: −3 pts

End of game

Endgame triggers (checked at step 3 of your turn) [p.9 — Endgame Check Step]:

  • Your hand has 0 Entity cards remaining
  • Threat deck is depleted
  • Point token supply pool is empty

Once triggered, play continues until every player has taken the same number of turns [p.10 — Endgame].

Player to the right of the starting player always takes the final turn; if they trigger the end, the game ends immediately after their turn.

Most points wins; tiebreakers: fewest cards in hand → most Etherstones → most Life [p.10 — Final Scoring].

Glossary

  • Corruption: Life dial reaches 0; place dial on Leader card. Must perform Void Pact as next action. −3 pts at scoring [p.6 — Corruption]
  • Exhausted: A Follower rotated sideways after joining an Attack; cannot Attack again until readied [p.9 — Attack]
  • Spoils stack: Your face-down pile of defeated Threats; score their top-left points at end [p.9 — Attack]
  • Void Pact token: Gained after performing Void Pact action; each costs −7 pts at Final Scoring [p.9 — Void Pact]
  • Defeat (ability): Attack a Threat using only that ability — no Leader, Followers, or other ability modifiers allowed [p.11 — Glossary]
  • Activation Effect: Perform a Dice Color/Value/Range ability from another in-play card as if triggered by a die [p.11 — Glossary]
  • Recall: Return one of your in-play Entity cards to your hand [p.12 — Glossary]
  • Destroy: Remove the target card from the game entirely [p.12 — Glossary]
  • Protection: Reduces damage dealt to your Leader when facing a Threat [p.12 — Glossary]
  • Void Etherstones: No purple tokens exist; pay Void costs with any color mix [p.6 — Spending Etherstones]
  • X ability icon: Variable amount you choose or the ability dictates; #X means multiply X by that number [p.12 — Glossary]

FAQ

  • Q: Can you trigger abilities on an exhausted card? — A: Yes, exhaustion does not prevent ability triggers [p.7 — Abilities]
  • Q: Can you trigger abilities on a card Cast during the same turn? — A: Yes, abilities may trigger on cards Cast by a previous ability during the same turn [p.7 — Abilities]
  • Q: What happens if an ability refers to 'the most' but there is a tie? — A: The ability does not activate [p.7 — Abilities]
  • Q: Can Life exceed the starting value on the Leader card? — A: Yes, up to a maximum of 16 [p.6 — Life]
  • Q: Can a non-corrupted player perform Void Pact? — A: No, it is forbidden unless you are corrupted [p.9 — Void Pact]

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