Tainted Grail Kings of Ruin reference sheet

Overview

• Cooperative story-rich campaign game for 1–4 players set in dark Arthurian/Celtic Avalon [p.4 — Introduction]
• Each player controls one of 4 Characters; goal is to survive, explore, and complete story Chapters [p.4 — Introduction]
• Core loop: Travel between Locations, Explore for story, resolve Encounters (Combat or Diplomacy), rest at End of Day [p.4 — Simple Gameplay Overview]
• Wyrdness covers the map each day unless waystones are activated to hold it back [p.21 — Waystones]
• Characters advance by spending Exp on Attributes, Skills, and new Combat/Diplomacy cards [p.13 — Attributes & Character Advancement]
• Death or insanity ends the campaign unless special Secret cards intervene [p.14 — Death and Insanity]

Setup

Character Setup (each player separately)

1. Choose a Character; read starting letter; take Tray and model [p.6 — Character Setup]
2. Place markers on starting Energy and Terror slots (red chevrons) [p.6 — Character Setup]
3. Place Health marker on starting Health slot (red chevrons) [p.6 — Character Setup]
4. Place markers on starting Attribute slots and starting resources: Elgan 2 Food+1 Magic, Gerdwyn 2 Food+1 Wealth, Iunis 3 Food, Osbert 1 Food+1 Wealth+1 Magic [p.6 — Character Setup]
5. Build 10-card Combat deck (letter 'B') and 10-card Diplomacy deck (letter 'B'); shuffle separately. Remaining 'A' cards = Advancement Pool [p.6 — Character Setup]

World Setup

6. Place Location 101 clear-side up in center; place all Character models on it [p.6 — World Setup]
7. Attach Location 102 to Direction Key on Location 101, wyrdness-side up [p.6 — World Setup]
8. Shuffle Item 'A' and Consumable decks separately; leave Secret deck unshuffled [p.6 — World Setup]
9. Take one fresh Status sheet [p.6 — World Setup]
10. Distribute Order of the Day Help cards; place Status cards and remaining Help cards on table [p.6 — World Setup]
11. Sort Encounter cards by back color into 3 piles [p.6 — World Setup]
12. Place Time, Quest, universal markers and dice on table [p.6 — World Setup]
13. Follow Chapter I Setup card to build Event deck and Encounter decks [p.6 — World Setup]

Turn structure

I. Start of the Day

1. Resolve Start of the Day effects (Items, Skills, etc.) [p.8 — Start of the Day]
2. Remove 1 Time marker and 1 Quest marker from each card that has them [p.8 — Start of the Day]
3. Flip all Locations without a waystone to wyrdness side [p.8 — Start of the Day]
4. Roll Guardian die for each Guardian on the table [p.8 — Start of the Day]
5. Discard all non-Quest Events from Active Events area [p.8 — Start of the Day]
6. Reveal and read top card of Event deck; move to Active Events area [p.8 — Start of the Day]

II. During the Day

7. Players perform Actions one at a time in any agreed order until all agree to end [p.8 — During the Day]

III. End of the Day (each Character)

8. Resolve End of the Day effects [p.10 — End of the Day]
9. Rest: if not Exhausted, reset Energy to starting slot; if Exhausted, gain 4 Energy [p.10 — End of the Day]
10. Recover: may pay 1 Food once to gain 1 Energy, 1 Health, lose 1 Terror [p.10 — End of the Day]
11. Suffer wyrdness: if in a wyrdness Location, lose 2 Health and gain 2 Terror [p.10 — End of the Day]
12. Advance Character: spend Exp on Attributes, Skills, or new cards [p.10 — End of the Day]
13. Modify decks: swap cards in/out; minimum 10 cards per deck [p.10 — End of the Day]
14. Read Vision if Location has Vision seal (optional, once per Day per Location) [p.10 — End of the Day]

Actions

Combat

Starting Combat: Draw 3 cards; may Redraw (each redraw = 1 fewer card). Check Enemy Traits [p.24 — Starting Combat]

Each Combat Turn:

1. Pick Active Character (place Time marker on Tray) [p.24 — Combat Turn]
2. Remove 1 Time marker from each Sequence card; resolve Delayed Abilities if last marker removed [p.24 — Combat Turn]
3. Play cards from hand into Sequence; first card is free, additional cards require gaining a Bonus [p.24 — Combat Turn]
4. If no cards played → resolve Opportunity Attack [p.24 — Combat Turn]
5. Enemy Attacks last Active Character based on current Combat Pool value; resolve left to right [p.24 — Combat Turn]
6. Repeat for remaining unactivated Party members [p.24 — Combat Turn]
7. End Turn: discard to 3 cards, draw 1, remove all Tray Time markers [p.25 — End Turn]

Victory: Combat Pool ≥ Encounter Value at any point → win immediately; collect Loot [p.25 — Victory Check]

Escape: Lose 1 Health → Enemy Attack → leave Combat; counts as a loss [p.22 — Escaping Combat]

Negative Pool: If Pool would go below 0, last Active Character discards 1 card per missing marker instead [p.26 — Negative Combat Pool]

End of game

• Campaign ends when all players complete the current Chapter's Quest or all Characters die [p.4 — Introduction]
• If a Character's Health drops to 0, attach 'You Are Dying' card; death triggers if conditions on that card are met [p.14 — Death]
• Without Secret card 6, 8, or 9: any Character death ends the game for all players [p.14 — Death]
• With Secret card 6, 8, or 9: death costs other Characters 1 Health + 2 Terror each and advances 'Time Passes' status, but the dead Character revives with 4 Health [p.37 — Death]
• Insanity (Terror in red slot): attach 'You Are Going Insane' card; causes Panic in all Encounters [p.14 — Insanity]

Glossary

• Wyrdness (★): Location state where Explore is blocked; Characters lose 2 Health and gain 2 Terror at End of Day [p.19 — Wyrdness Locations]
• Waystone: Model placed in a Location corner; keeps up to 4 touching Locations on their clear side [p.21 — Waystones]
• Fade: Remove a waystone from play; does not automatically flip Locations [p.21 — Fade Effect]
• Guardian: Roaming Encounter standee; blocks Explore and Location Actions; moves each Start of Day [p.17 — Guardians]
• Sequence: The shared line of played Combat or Diplomacy cards; Keys connect between adjacent cards [p.23 — Combat Sequence]
• Bonus (lightning bolt): Required to play any card after your first in an Activation; must be gained, not just connected [p.24 — Bonus]
• Delayed Ability (X marker): Ability on a card that triggers only when its last Time marker is removed [p.25 — Combat Triggers]
• Panic: State when Going Insane; forces top-of-deck card as first play and skips End Turn draw [p.26 — Panic]
• Affinity Track: Diplomacy track whose final position determines the Conclusion when Duration hits 0 [p.27 — Basic Diplomacy Overview]
• Duration: Countdown die in Diplomacy; Encounter ends and Conclusion resolves when it reaches 0 [p.27 — Encounter's Duration]
• Exhausted: Energy marker in red slot; Rest only grants 4 Energy instead of full reset [p.14 — Character Tracks]
• Time Passes: Campaign status marked when instructed; too many parts may have negative consequences [p.21 — Status Sheet]

FAQ

• Q: Can you leave a Party mid-Exploration? — A: No. You may not leave a Party in the middle of any Action, including Exploration [p.9 — Leaving a Party]
• Q: Does a Character who drops to 0 Health end the whole Encounter? — A: No. They are removed from the Encounter; other Party members continue [p.14 — At Death's Door]
• Q: Do Instant (★) effects trigger when a Location is flipped or replaced? — A: No. Instant effects only trigger when a Character enters the Location [p.19 — Flipping and Replacing a Location Card]
• Q: Can you Explore a Location that has a Guardian? — A: No. Explore and Location Actions are blocked in Locations with a Guardian (forced Explorations from effects still apply) [p.17 — Guardians]
• Q: In a Party roll, do you add Attributes from multiple Characters? — A: No. Use only the highest Attribute among Party members; do not add them together [p.11 — Rolls and Checks]
• Q: Can you pay a cost you can't fully cover if it says 'lose'? — A: Yes for 'lose' (subtracts from 0 if needed), but No for 'pay' (must cover fully) [p.12 — Rewards and Payments]
• Q: Does winning the Combat Pool race end the Encounter immediately, even mid-card resolution? — A: Yes, but Key Bonuses on the winning card are gained first before the Encounter ends [p.22 — Victory Condition]