Sanctuary

Overview

Sanctuary (also known as Sanctuary: Thieves’ World) is a board game designed by Bill Fawcett for 2-6 players, set in the fictional city of Sanctuary from the Thieves’ World shared-universe anthologies by Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey. In the standard 2-5 player game, each player takes the role of a thief traveling through the city, responding to rumors, avoiding guards, and stealing goods. The first player to collect 300 silver pieces and hide them in their secret cache wins. In a 6-player game, the sixth player takes on the role of Kadikithis, directing Hell Hounds to prevent robberies.

Components

• 1 Game board depicting the city of Sanctuary
• Thief pawns (one per player)
• Guard/Hell Hound pawns
• Rumor cards
• Event cards
• Silver piece tokens
• Secret cache markers
• Dice

Setup

Place the board centrally. Each player chooses a thief pawn and places it at the starting location. If playing with 6 players, the sixth player takes the Kadikithis role and places Hell Hound pawns. Shuffle the rumor and event decks. Each player secretly selects a location on the board as their secret cache. Distribute starting silver pieces.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player:

1. Draw Rumor/Event: Draw a card that indicates a potential robbery opportunity or an event that affects the city.
2. Move: Move your thief pawn through the streets of Sanctuary toward the rumor location or your cache.
3. Encounter: If you encounter guards or Hell Hounds, attempt to evade or deal with them.
4. Rob: If at a rumor location, attempt the robbery to gain silver pieces.
5. Cache: If at your secret cache location, deposit silver pieces for safekeeping.

Actions

Movement

• Move your thief through the city streets, spending movement points.
• Navigate routes carefully to avoid guard patrols.

Robbery Attempts

• When at a rumor location, attempt the robbery.
• Success is determined by dice rolls or card effects.
• Successful robberies yield silver pieces of varying values.
• Failed robberies may result in losing silver or being sent to jail.

Guard Evasion

• Guards patrol the streets. Encountering a guard forces an evasion check.
• Failing to evade may result in losing silver, losing a turn, or being sent back to a starting area.

Caching Silver

• When at your secret cache, deposit any silver pieces you are carrying.
• Only cached silver counts toward the 300 silver piece goal.
• Silver carried on your person is at risk of being lost through guard encounters or failed robberies.

Kadikithis (6-Player Only)

• The sixth player controls Hell Hounds instead of a thief.
• Hell Hounds patrol the city and attempt to prevent robberies.
• The Kadikithis player wins by preventing any thief from reaching 300 cached silver by game end.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Standard Game (2-5 players): The first player to cache 300 silver pieces at their secret location wins.

6-Player Game: Thieves race to cache 300 silver. Kadikithis wins if no thief achieves this by game end.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Secret Cache: Each player’s cache location is hidden. Other players may try to deduce it based on movement patterns.
• Guard Patrol Routes: Guards follow set patrol patterns, making route planning important.
• Hell Hounds: More dangerous than regular guards, Hell Hounds actively hunt thieves.
• Rumor Quality: Some rumors are more lucrative but more dangerous. Players must assess risk vs. reward.
• Carrying Limit: There may be a limit to how much silver a thief can carry at once.
• Thief Encounters: When two thieves meet, they may have an opportunity to steal from each other.

Player Reference

Action	Effect
Move	Navigate city streets
Rob	Attempt robbery at rumor location
Cache	Deposit silver at secret cache
Evade	Attempt to avoid guards

Victory (2-5 players): Cache 300 silver pieces.

Victory (6 players): Kadikithis prevents all thieves; or first thief to cache 300 silver.