Dwellings of Eldervale

Setup: use each player faction’s element plus two additional elements for realms, monsters, and Adventure decks; build the starting map with the prescribed ruins for the player count. Each player starts with three active workers, five Magic cards, one of each basic resource, and a Starter card; other units await summoning.

Turns: either place one ready unit or Regroup, adding Free Actions at their permitted times. With no units in Eldervale, normally place in any realm without units or monsters. Otherwise place adjacent to one of your units, never in a realm already containing your own unit. Advanced units and card abilities provide exceptions.

Realm actions: placement requires and performs the realm’s action. Elemental realms provide one Treasure token, or a printed resource from an empty stack. Ruins exchange resources, summon units, build Dwellings, or grant cards. A Dungeon first adds a realm adjacent to at least two existing realms, then buys one Adventure card, buys a second or burns a faceup card, and replenishes the display.

Regroup: retrieve map units one at a time to an eligible tableau action, resolving it immediately, or directly to readiness. Each card action accepts one unit. Then retrieve Underworld units directly, without card activations, and finally return units from the tableau. All active units must be retrieved.

Dwellings and power: the Mill or Starter Dwell action converts a worker still in an elemental realm without a Dwelling, paying the realm cost. It remains permanently and is no longer a unit. Score two points per adjacent ruin or any player’s Dwelling and advance for the realm’s elemental symbols. Gaining Adventure cards also advances the matching track; maintain at most four elemental tracks.

Battles: until everyone has Regrouped once, the game is peaceful and monsters dormant. Later, contested placement or a monster rushing in can trigger battle, after the realm action. Adjacent units may join in order. Units, Dwellings, and spent Swords supply dice, up to six per player. Compare highest dice successively; an exact tie defeats everyone. Losing units go to the Underworld, gaining one Sword each.

Resources and Magic: Gold substitutes for other resources; ordinary resource types each cap at five and Magic hands cap at seven at turn end. Cash in Treasure tokens or slot them into cards; replacing a slotted token gives no resources. Spells follow their timing, quests score immediately, and prophecies score at the end. Orbs claim public rewards or empower cards, among other uses.

Ending and scoring: a sixth Dwelling or the last drawn realm triggers one more turn for everyone, including the triggering player. Add elemental values for the Starter and eligible Adventure cards, track markers and Dwellings, plus Vaults, prophecies, and one point per unused Orb. Each Dwelling supports up to three Adventure cards for elemental card scoring; the Starter is exempt. Highest score wins; break ties by resources including Magic cards, then share victory.