The Thing from the Swamp
The horrific din rising above the village occupied by the fearsome Pict warriors leaves no room for doubt; Conan and his group of volunteers who came from Fort Tuscelan have failed to arrive before the sacrifice.
Yselda, daughter of the governor of Velitrium, howls in terror. The prisoner, tied to a black pole, is surrounded by a mass of terrifying and gibbering silhouettes; before her, Zogar Sag is determined to demonstrate his power.
The sinister shaman trembles while chanting guttural incantations to the rhythms of the warriors’ ceaseless shouts. Strange bubbling starts on the surface of the swamp at the very moment Yselda falls unconscious, victim of a charm cast by Zogar Sag.
There is no time to plan, as Conan knows the powers of the priests of Jhebbal Sag and their ability to control all manner of beasts. But does he know that the most powerful of them can also call upon ancient, nightmarish creatures?
Objective
To win the game, a Hero has to flee the village with Yselda after the charm is broken before the end of turn 12.
Setup
The game starts with the Heroes’ turn.
- Warrior: Conan (Battle Axe, Chainmail, Shield)
- Rogue: Shevatas (Parrying Dagger, Throwing Knives, Leather Armor)
- Sorcerer: Hadrathus (Kris and 4 spells: Bel’s Caress, Mitra’s Halo, Lightning Storm, Teleportation). He starts with Mitra’s Halo cast.
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After setup, each Hero moves 5 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone. |
Asset Deck
Chests require a complex Manipulation with a difficulty of 2 to open. The Asset deck contains: Crossbow, Explosive Orb, Life Potion x4, Spellbook, Two-Handed Sword.
Event
Event Tile 1
Reinforcements: Reinforce all dead Pict Hunters
in reinforcement areas 
as evenly as possible. Then do the same
with all Hyenas. Players may choose in which reinforcement area to place any remainder
miniatures.
Then shuffle all Activation tokens except this one and place them back in the Reserve.
Event Tile 2
Perform the following actions in order:
- Impending Awakening: Increase the Turn track by 1.
- Destruction: Place a Water token
in the area woth the Strongest Hero. That area becomes a water area where all corresponding rules apply. Add a Tentacle miniature to this
area, which immediately attacks that Hero.
Special Rules
Game Board Rules: Standard game board rules apply except Overlord units ignore the Water areas rule.
Spellbook: While carrying the Spellbook, Hadrathus gains the spell Mitra’s Healing.
Animal Senses: Hyenas will not target a Hero with a Halo spell active.
Magical Charm: Yselda is represented by the Princess miniature. If a Hero takes the Pictish Fetish and Zogar Sag dies, the charm is broken. Yselda now counts as an object with an Encumbrance value of 6, and can be picked up by a Hero by performing a simple Manipulation. She cannot be attacked.
Zogar Sag: Targets the Strongest Hero. Zogar Sag cannot be wounded except by a Hero carrying the Pictish Fetish.
Tentacle: When the Tentacles Activation token is drawn,
Tentacles that can reach a Hero activate before Tentacles that cannot reach a Hero. If a
Tentacle cannot attack a Hero because a wall is an obstacle, destroy the wall instead of attacking. Place a Wall Wrecker
token to indicate this wall has been destroyed. Tentacles
will not destroy walls unless this condition is met.
Pictish Fetish: When a Hero opens the last chest on the board, that Hero also takes the Pictish Fetish card.
Fleeing the Village: A Hero can flee the village from an area at the edge of the board by spending movement points as though crossing a border. Once a Hero has fled, they cannot return to the board. A Hero that has fled is not considered to be killed; they are still counted for the number of Activation tokens to be drawn.
Options
Four Player Mode
- Sellsword: Amboola (Sword, Leather Armor), starts in the same area as the Heroes.
- Reminder: The Overlord activates four times per turn.
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| (9 Max) | (5 Max) |
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| Hard Mode: Choose one of these tiles to substitute. |  |
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