Runebound

Overview

Runebound (Third Edition) is an adventure strategy board game set in the fantasy realm of Terrinoth, published by Fantasy Flight Games. Players take on the roles of heroes striving to prevent an impending doom by exploring the land, completing quests, gaining skills and assets, and ultimately confronting a powerful villain. Each scenario presents a unique story with its own victory conditions. The game is played over two Acts of 12 rounds each, with players spending hero actions each turn to move, adventure, train, shop, or rest.

Components

• 1 Game board depicting the realm of Terrinoth
• 6 Hero cards with matching plastic figures
• Adventure cards (quest, combat, exploration, and social encounters)
• Asset cards (weapons, armor, and items)
• Skill cards (abilities for heroes)
• Class cards
• Scenario cards and story tokens
• Combat tokens (double-sided with various symbols)
• Gold tokens
• Life tokens, miscast tokens, stun tokens, success tokens
• Terrain dice
• Hero playmats
• Adventure gems (placed on map locations)

Setup

Lay out the game board and separate all tokens and cards by type. Each player selects a hero and takes the corresponding hero card, figure, and playmat. Shuffle adventure, asset, and skill decks separately. Place adventure gems randomly on designated map locations. Select a scenario and set up story cards and tokens as described by that scenario. Place hero figures on their starting locations.

Turn Structure

Each hero has 3 actions to spend per turn. Actions may be repeated. After all players have taken their turns, the round ends, and any end-of-round effects (such as scenario-specific events) are resolved.

Available Actions

1. Move (1 action): Move into an adjacent hex, OR roll terrain dice equal to your speed and spend dice matching the terrain of hexes you wish to enter. This allows covering multiple hexes in one action.
2. Adventure (1 action): Encounter an adventure gem on your hex. Draw and resolve the corresponding adventure card (combat, quest, exploration, or social).
3. Rest (1 action): Heal damage. Resting in a city, town, shrine, or stronghold heals all damage.
4. Shop (1 action): While in a settlement, browse and purchase asset cards by paying their gold cost.
5. Train (1 action): Draw skill cards equal to your maximum hand size, then discard down to your hand limit.

Actions

Movement

Heroes roll terrain dice equal to their speed value. Each die shows terrain symbols. To enter a hex, spend one die matching that hex’s terrain type. Unmatched dice are wasted. Alternatively, simply move to one adjacent hex without rolling.

Combat

When encountering a combat adventure, the player to the hero’s right controls the enemy. Combat uses a token-flipping system: each side has a pool of combat tokens showing attack, defense, and special symbols. Players simultaneously flip tokens and resolve damage. Heroes can play skill cards to modify results. Combat continues until one side is defeated or the hero flees.

Quests and Exploration

Quest adventures advance the story and may reward gold, items, or story progress. Exploration encounters test hero abilities and may provide rewards or inflict penalties.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Victory conditions vary by scenario. Typically, players win by:

• Defeating the main villain of the scenario
• Collecting a successful combination of quest objectives
• Being the first to complete the scenario’s specific goal

The game is competitive by default – the first player to fulfill the scenario’s victory condition wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Two Acts: The game is split into Act I and Act II, each lasting 12 rounds. Act II introduces more powerful enemies and advances the scenario’s story.
• Knocked Out: If a hero loses all health, they are knocked out and must spend their next turn recovering, losing gold and adventure progress.
• Terrain Dice: Different terrain types (forests, hills, mountains, plains, water) require matching die faces. Roads are easier to traverse.
• Fast Travel: Some settlements allow heroes to move quickly between distant locations.
• Skill Cards: These serve as both combat modifiers and special abilities. Managing your hand is critical.

Player Reference

Action	Cost	Effect
Move	1 action	Move 1 adjacent hex or roll terrain dice for multi-hex movement
Adventure	1 action	Resolve adventure gem on current hex
Rest	1 action	Heal damage (all damage in settlements)
Shop	1 action	Buy asset cards in settlements
Train	1 action	Draw and manage skill cards

Combat Token Symbols: Surge (lightning bolt) = special abilities; Shield = block damage; Sword = deal damage; Blank = miss.