Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Setup: The base campaign supports 1-4 players with one character each. Set resources, attributes and survival tracks from the character components. Version 2.0 offers Story, Standard and Challenge modes; this summary uses Standard. Build separate fifteen-card combat and diplomacy starter decks and twenty-five-card advancement pools, then configure events and encounters for the chapter.

Start of day: Skip this stage on the first day. Thereafter, follow the main rules: resolve start effects, remove expired menhirs and unprotected locations, reduce menhir and time dials and location time tokens, move guardians, then reveal the event, plan and equip. A menhir whose dial was removed at one remains active that day and expires at the next start of day.

Daytime actions: Each character takes one action in an agreed order, then repeat until everyone finishes. Travel normally costs one energy and moves across one directional connection, never diagonally. Exploration normally costs one energy and follows the location back and journal until it ends. Location and character actions use their printed costs. Resolve lightning effects on arrival; passing ends your actions for that day.

Menhirs and map: Reveal locations through matching directional connections within active menhir range. Inspecting a menhir is free; activation follows its local text, with costs scaling to all characters in the game, not just the party. Remove unprotected locations at start of day and apply wyrdness penalties and relocation to characters there. A special rule retains the map when the last menhir expires.

Parties and sharing: Characters together may agree to act as a party, but cannot freely split during an action. Party travel and exploration normally cost one energy per member. A location action instead has one total cost and one output, with payment assistance allowed. A journal reward of one resource is normally shared; only explicit per-member wording multiplies rewards.

Combat and diplomacy: Choose a member not yet activated, connect cards and resolve bonuses and abilities. The first card needs no extra-play connection; later cards must connect the additional-play symbol. Attribute keys require the appropriate level; a joined magic key can be activated for one magic. Combat wins when the pool reaches the enemy value. Diplomacy wins a stage at the top affinity slot during a check, and the whole encounter after the final stage.

Enemy and turns: An unresolved encounter attacks or responds against the active character according to its table, then another member activates. After everyone activates, each discards down to three, draws one and clears character activation markers before the next turn. Panic and other effects modify this. Combat allows costly escape; avoiding diplomacy is available only before drawing its starting hand.

End of day and advancement: Resolve end effects, then optionally spend one food to restore one health and lose one terror. In Standard 2.0, skipping food does not automatically exhaust you. Restore energy next, only four points if exhausted and always limited by health. Spend experience and rebuild decks, each containing at least fifteen cards. Two experience draws three from the relevant advancement pool; keep one and shuffle the others back.

Status, failure and saves: Save-sheet statuses belong to the group; relevant secret cards track personal changes. Zero health first invokes the dying card rather than immediately removing a character. Death ends solo play; cooperative play may introduce an unused character, but fails if all characters are in use or dead. Complete chapter and campaign objectives as instructed. Prefer saving at chapter end, recording characters, map, dials and deck states.