Aeon's End: Legacy

Campaign setup and goal: Follow the included First Game Setup sheet for the first chapter, then prepare the game using that chapter’s campaign instructions. Player boards, character setup, and starting decks determine each Mage’s initial abilities. A Mage begins at 10 life and Gravehold at 30; neither can exceed its starting value. The campaign changes the player-card supply and components as chapters direct. Keep the same player count throughout the campaign; if someone is absent, a current player controls that Mage rather than adding a new player mid-campaign.

Random turn order: The turn-order deck contains four player-turn cards and two Nemesis-turn cards, with player cards assigned according to player count. Shuffle and reveal them one at a time to determine who takes the next turn, so the Nemesis does not always wait until every player has acted. At the end of a set, shuffle the discarded turn-order cards to create the next set; the order of heroes and enemy can change. Do not confuse this deck with the Nemesis deck: one determines when someone acts, while the other provides the enemy’s effects.

A Mage turn has three phases in order: Spell Casting, Main, and Draw. During Spell Casting, resolve prepared Spells on breaches. A Spell prepared on an opened breach may be cast or kept for later; a Spell on a closed breach must be cast. During the Main phase, players may repeatedly play Gems and Relics, spend Aether gained that turn to acquire a supply card, focus or open breaches, prepare Spells, and resolve additional effects. During Draw, keep unplayed cards in hand and draw until holding five cards.

Breaches and Spells: Each Mage has breaches with focus costs, opening costs, and orientations. Focusing rotates a breach 90 degrees and reduces its later opening cost; once opened, it stays open for the game. A Spell can be prepared only on one of that Mage’s opened breaches or a closed breach focused this turn, and each breach holds at most one Spell. Players cannot prepare Spells on another Mage’s breach. A Spell prepared in the Main phase cannot go back to the already completed Spell Casting phase, so it normally waits until that Mage’s next turn. If still on a closed breach then, it must be cast.

Aether and the no-shuffle deck: Aether lasts only for the current turn. Unspent Aether disappears at the end of the turn and cannot be carried forward or given to an ally. During Draw, keep unplayed cards; if the deck is empty, flip the discard pile over to form a new deck without shuffling. A player may choose the order in which played Gems and Relics go to the top of the discard pile. Newly acquired cards also go on top of the discard pile, letting players plan their future draws.

Nemesis turns: A Nemesis has Attack, Minion, and Power cards. An Attack resolves as soon as it is drawn. A Minion stays in play with life and ongoing effects. A Power receives countdown tokens and resolves when the count reaches zero during a Nemesis Main phase. Resolve ongoing Minion effects and Power countdowns in the order they entered play, then draw a Nemesis card. A newly played Minion or Power resolves only effects marked IMMEDIATELY; other ongoing effects begin on later Nemesis phases. Each Nemesis also has its own Unleash ability.

Empty Nemesis deck and outcomes: If the Nemesis deck is empty when a card must be drawn, resolve Unleash three times instead. The players win immediately when the Nemesis reaches zero life, or at the end of any turn when the Nemesis deck is empty and no Minions or Powers remain in play. The players lose if Gravehold reaches zero life or, in a multiplayer game, all Mages become Exhausted. A Mage at zero life becomes Exhausted but remains in the game; that Mage cannot regain life, and damage that would hit an Exhausted Mage is dealt to Gravehold at double value.

Solo and campaign resolution: The rulebook recommends that a solo player control multiple Mages, preferably no more than two. In solo play the player is their own ally; one Mage becoming Exhausted is not itself a loss, while Gravehold reaching zero life is. After each chapter, use the campaign cards and chapter instructions to choose upgrades and make permanent changes, which may include stickers, writing, sealed components, or removed cards. Keep unopened chapter content sealed until instructed. The campaign must keep a consistent player count. At the end, the resulting Mages, Nemeses, and player cards can be kept for use with other Aeon’s End games.