Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
December 1st
Introduction
Root is a game of woodland might and right. Stalk the woods as the Vagabond, seize the
initiative with the Eyrie birds of prey, rule over your subjects as the Marquise de Cat, or
command the Woodland Alliance to create a new order. With creatures and cunning, you'll rule
a fantastic forest kingdom in the ultimate asymmetric game of adventure and war.
We hope you enjoy this preview of Root as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!
We Don’t Need Playtesters/Editors
At the moment, Root is entering final development and balancing. We have a large pool of
playtesters and will be relying on the work of professional editors to polish these rules after final
adjustments to balance have been made. Though we appreciate your enthusiasm and
comments, we are not soliciting public feedback on this version. This is our gift to you all for
your wonderful support of the campaign so far.
Player Scaling
The following game is recommended for three to four players.
If playing with three, we recommend that you play without the Vagabond, though you may
substitute the Vagabond for the Woodland Alliance.
If you wish to explore the two-player game, we advise that you play the Marquise against the
Eyrie. Special two-player scenarios will be included in the final game, along with rules that allow
for a huge range of player configurations.
● 25 cubes in three different colors (for the Marquise, Woodland Alliance, and Eyrie)
● A Vagabond pawn and a single cube in a matching color for the Vagabond’s score cube
● 15 tokens to represent wood.
Setup
1. Assign Factions: Assign one faction to each player using any method.
2. Draw Starting Hands: Remove the four special victory condition cards from the deck of
cards, and set them aside. Shuffle the deck. Each player draws 3 cards.
3. Prepare Deck: If playing with three or fewer players, return the Coalition Victory special
victory card and the Chaos Victory special victory card to the box. Then, shuffle the
special victory cards into the deck and place it near the map.
4. Place Ruins: In games with the Vagabond, shuffle the ruin tokens and place one, with
the item side face down, on each red-bordered slot on the map. (The ruin tokens consist
of the following items: <bag>, <boot>, <hammer>, and <sword>.)
5. Set Up Factions: The players set up their factions as described below in the following
order: Marquise de Cat, Eyrie Dynasties, Forest Alliance, Vagabond.
Marquise de Cat Setup
1. Place a warrior in each clearing, including the Keep.
2. Place y our Sawmills, Workshops, and Recruiters on the matching tracks of your faction
board.
3. Place the wood tokens near your faction board.
4. Place a Sawmill on the Keep, place a Recruiter on any clearing adjacent to the Keep,
and place a Workshop on any other clearing adjacent to the Keep.
5. Place your score marker on the “0” space of the score track.
Vagabond Setup
1. Pick a character card, then place the items listed on your character card in the Available
pool shown by your faction board.
2. Place your character pawn on any forest.
3. Take a warrior from each player and place them on the Indifferent space of the
alignment chart on your faction board. (These warriors are referred to as alignment
markers)
4. Place your score marker on the “0” space of the score track.
Golden Rules
Rules Conflicts
If text on a card or faction board conflicts with text in this rules reference, the card or faction
board takes precedence.
If text in the learn to play conflicts with text in this rules reference, this rules reference takes
precedence.
If you are prompted to place a building, take the leftmost building from its track on your faction
board. If your building is removed, return it to the rightmost empty space.
If you are prompted to place wood, take it from the Marquise’s supply. If wood is removed,
return it to the Marquise’s supply.
If you are prompted to place your pieces but you cannot place the total number prompted, you
must place the maximum number possible. Example: if the Marquise recruits warriors, but does
not have enough warriors in her supply to place a warrior at each recruiter, then she may place
as many as able.
If you are prompted to remove your pieces but you cannot remove the total number prompted,
you must remove the maximum number possible.
If you are prompted to place a piece at a building, place it in the clearing with that building.
Key Terms
Like other Leder Games, each faction in Root is played differently and has different goals.
However, all factions share certain terms which are described in this section.
Hits
Many effects in Root deal hits.
Each time you take a hit, you must remove one of your warriors from the affected clearing. If you
have no warriors, you must remove one of your other pieces of your choice from the affected
clearing.
Most often, players deal hits in battle. In battle, the affected clearing is the clearing of battle.
Improvements and conspiracies can also deal hits; these effects specify the clearing from which
pieces must be removed.
Whenever you deal a hit that removes a building, you score one victory point.
If you remove your last building from a clearing, you must also discard one improvement from
your play area, if able.
Removing Hideouts. Whenever a Hideout is removed, the Alliance must remove any
conspiracy and half (round up) of the supporters in the matching forest nation box. Then, the
Alliance increases their Outrage by one.
Local
Some rules refer to a local player or piece.
A player is local if any of their pieces are located in any clearing with any of your pieces.
A piece is local if it is located in the same clearing as any of your pieces.
Piece
A piece of a faction is any component color-coded to it, so the Marquise’s pieces are all purple,
the Alliance green, the Eyrie brown, and the Vagabond black or white.
Most factions have two types of pieces: warriors and buildings. The Marquise also has wood.
Play Area
Some rules will prompt you to place a component in your p
lay area, which is the area above
your faction board.
Ruler
The ruler of a clearing is the player with the most combined warriors and buildings in that
clearing. If there is a tie between two players, no one is the ruler.
Lords of the Forest. The Eyrie is the ruler of a clearing when tied for most combined warriors
and buildings there.
Lone Wanderer. The Vagabond pawn is not a warrior, so he cannot be the ruler of a clearing or
cause another player to cease being ruler.
Key Concepts
Like in the previous section, all roles share certain concepts which are described in this section.
Almost every clearing is aligned with one forest nation: mouse, rabbit, or fox. The Keep of
Marquise de Cat is a clearing aligned with all nations.
Areas on the map enclosed by paths and clearings are called f orests. A forest is adjacent to all
clearings that touch it without crossing a path, and it is adjacent to all forests that are separated
by only one path. The forest surrounding the map is out of play, not part of the map.
Each clearing has a number of slots, shown as white and red boxes. Whenever you b uild a
building in any way, the clearing where you build it must have an open slot. You cannot build in
a clearing with no open slots.
In games with the Vagabond, each red-bordered slot begins covered with a r uin token. Once
the Vagabond explores a ruin and takes its token, the open slot can hold a building, as normal.
In games without the Vagabond, the red-bordered slots begin open.
Multi-use Cards
Root uses a single deck of multi-use cards. Each card has three uses:
1. A suit matching one of the four forest nations: bird, fox, rabbit, and mouse. Each faction
can spend cards of particular suits for different effects.
2. A conspiracy, which the Alliance can complete by spending supporters to earn victory
points, resources, and infrastructure improvements.
3. An improvement, which can be crafted. Once crafted, improvements confer various
bonuses and may put items into play for the Vagabond to take.
Special Victory Cards. Four cards in the deck are special victory cards. Like with the other
cards, you can spend a special victory card from your hand for its suit. For details on playing
these cards, see Goals and Play (page XX).
Birds Are Wild. The bird suit is wild—you can spend a bird card as any other suit, including if
you must spend multiple cards of matching nation. This rule does not work in reverse: if you are
prompted to spend a bird card, you cannot instead spend a card of another suit.
Cards Are Secret. You cannot reveal any cards in your hand to other players.
Crafting
Each faction can craft cards in their hand into improvements. Improvements can score you
victory points, provide a persistent benefit, or give you a one-time ability that you can activate by
discarding the improvement.
During Daylight, you can craft any number of cards from your hand into improvements.
To craft an improvement, you must exhaust crafting buildings of the nations shown on the
improvement. The nation of a crafting building matches the nation of its clearing.
Each crafting building can be exhausted only once per turn. When you exhaust a crafting
building, you can flip it, and then flip it back over at the end of your Evening. (If you have two
crafting buildings in a fox clearing, you may not craft two cards which require two foxes each.)
When you craft an improvement, resolve its text, and then do the following:
● If you crafted an improvement with a persistent or activated effect, turn it sideways and
put it into your play area above your faction board.
● If you crafted an improvement with an item, take the matching item token from the
supply and put it into your play area. If the Vagabond is not playing, or if no matching
item token remains, do not put the item token into your play area. If the Vagabond crafts
an improvement with an item, he may immediately put the crafted item into his
exhausted items pool.
Cottage Industry. The Alliance score twice the victory points listed on improvements they craft.
Movement
When you take a move, you may take any number of your warriors (or your Vagabond pawn)
from one clearing and move them to one adjacent clearing.
If you rule the origin clearing, you may move your warriors to a
ny adjacent clearing.
If you do not rule the origin clearing, you may move your warriors only to an adjacent clearing
that you rule, that no one rules, or whose ruler gives you permission to enter.
A given piece is not limited in the number of times it can move during the same turn. If an effect
allows you to take multiple moves, you may move the same or separate groups of warriors.
Nimble. The Vagabond can move into a clearing without permission, and can move into forests
with Slip or when retreating from battle.
Alliance Movement. The Alliance is uniquely restricted in its ability to move. The Alliance can
only move by executing appropriate conspiracies.
Battle
When you initiate a battle, choose a clearing where you have warriors. You are the a
ttacker.
Choose one player in the clearing of battle to be the defender.
If the defender has no warriors in the clearing of battle, remove all of the defender’s pieces
there. The attacker scores one victory point per building removed. The battle then ends. (If the
Vagabond is the defender and has no available <sword>, he must retreat in step 1.)
1. Defender may declare retreat. If defender does retreat, the defender takes hits based
on the number of retreating warriors, the attacker may play one ambush card to deal a
hit, and then the battle ends.
2. Defender may play ambush cards to deal hits to the attacker.
3. Roll dice and count hits to both attacker and defender, who can modify hits with other
effects.
4. Deal hits simultaneously. Then the battle ends.
If the defender chooses to retreat, he immediately takes the hits listed on the following table.
Retreating Warriors 1–2 3–4 5–6 7+
Hits 0 1 2 3
After the defender takes hits, the attacker may play one ambush card matching the clearing of
battle to immediately deal one unpreventable hit.
Finally, the defender must move all remaining warriors to one adjacent clearing he rules. End
the battle immediately.
Vagabond Retreat. The Vagabond takes hits when retreating based on his total number of
available and exhausted items, rather than number of retreating warriors. The Vagabond may
retreat into any adjacent clearing or forest.
If any attacking warriors remain after taking hits, continue to step 3. Otherwise, end the battle
immediately.
<Print-and-Play Note: A roll of “4” is considered a “0” so the four-sided dice only produces
numbers 0-3. The game will have custom d12s included with an equivalent distribution.>
The maximum number of hits you can deal from rolling equals the number of your warriors in the
clearing of battle, whether you are the attacker or defender.
After counting these hits, the attacker and defender can add hits by using special abilities or
other effects in their areas of play. Added hits are not limited by the number of warriors in the
clearing of battle. (For example, if you have 3 warriors and roll 3 hits, then add 1 hit because of
a special ability, you deal 4 hits.)
If you remove your last building from a clearing, you must also discard one improvement from
your play area, if able.
Whenever you deal a hit that removes a building, you score one victory point.
The Keep of Marquise de Cat. During any battle in the Keep, the Marquise can ignore one hit
taken, even if retreating.
Hideout Loss. Whenever a Hideout is removed, the Alliance must remove any conspiracy and
half (round up) of the supporters in the matching forest nation box. Then, the Alliance increases
their Outrage by one.
Hidden. If defending with a single warrior, the Alliance can ignore one hit taken.
Each time the Vagabond takes a hit, he must damage one available item. Because the attacker
and defender take hits simultaneously, the Vagabond can exhaust and then damage the same
<sword>. If no available items remain to damage, the Vagabond may damage an exhausted
item. If no undamaged items remain to damage, the Vagabond ignores any remaining hits.
Victory
The first player to reach 40 victory points immediately wins the game.
During your Daylight, you may play a special victory card into your play area to activate it.
Remove your score marker from the score track. For the rest of the game, you can only win by
meeting the victory condition listed on your activated special victory card.
Alternatively, you may play a special victory card for its suit. If you do, do not discard the card;
instead, place the card face up near the map to show that it is available to take.
During Daylight, the acting player can take an available special victory card into their hand by
spending a card of matching suit.
An activated special victory card does not count against your hand size, and it cannot be
removed from play. Once you have activated a special victory card, you cannot replace it by
activating a different special victory card.
● Chaos Victory: During your Birdsong, you win the game immediately if every other
player has 33 to 39 victory points or has activated a special victory card.
● Coalition Victory: When you play this special victory card to change your victory
condition, place your score marker on the faction board of the player with the fewest
victory points. If that player wins the game, you also win.
● Economic Victory: During your Birdsong, you win the game immediately if you have
five crafted improvements in your play area.
● Military Victory: During your Birdsong, you win the game immediately if you rule the
Keep of the Marquise de Cat. (Not playable by the Vagabond or Marquise.)
Turn Structure
Each player’s turn consists of three phases: Birdsong, Daylight, and Evening.
Victory Points
The Marquise scores victory points each time she builds a building. She also scores victory
points by crafting some improvements, and by removing buildings owned by the other players.
Birdsong
Place one wood at each Sawmill.
Daylight
You may take up to three actions, plus another action for each bird card you spend. You can
take actions in any order. Your possible actions are listed below:
March
Take two moves.
Battle
Initiate a battle.
Build
Choose whether you want to build a Sawmill, Workshop, or Recruiter. Find the leftmost
building of that type remaining on your faction board. Note that building’s cost, listed at
the top of its column.
Then, choose any clearing you rule with an empty slot. Remove wood equal to the
building’s cost from any clearings you rule that are adjacent to the chosen clearing or
connected to the chosen clearing by any number of other clearings you rule.
Finally, place the chosen building on the chosen clearing, and score the victory points
listed on the space under the building removed from your faction board.
You do not lose victory points for returning a building to your faction board, and you still
score victory points when you build a building that was previously returned to your
faction board.
Recruit
Place one warrior at each Recruiter. Then, the Alliance increases its Outrage by one.
Incite Mob
Spend three cards of matching nation. In each clearing of matching nation that you rule,
remove all buildings of other players, and score 2 victory points per building removed
(instead of 1 victory point, as normal). Each player who removed any buildings draws
cards equal to the number of their own buildings removed.
Evening
Each player draws cards equal to their own <coin>.
Then, you discard down to your hand limit of five cards.
Victory Points
The Eyrie scores victory points during its Evening based on the number of Roosts on the map,
by crafting some improvements, and by removing buildings owned by the other players.
The Decree
On your turn, you will take actions using a growing set of instructions called the D
ecree. The
Decree has four columns, each matching one of four actions. Over time, you will add cards to
your Decree. Add new cards on top of cards already in a column. Fan the cards in a column
down, so all of the card suits are visible.
You will end Daylight by running the Decree, performing the actions shown by its four columns.
In each column, you take one action per card in the column, and you must take that action in the
clearing nation matching the card suit. If you cannot take an action, you immediately fall into
Turmoil.
Birdsong
You must play one bird card or one or two non-bird cards to the Decree. You may play each
card to the end of any of the four columns.
Daylight
First, you may Reform and Craft any number of times.
Reform
Spend any card in order to move a card of matching suit from one column of the Decree
to the end of another column.
Craft
Craft an improvement from your hand, using Roost with stars.
Then, resolve the Decree. Start with the leftmost column and move right. In each column, start
with the top card and move down.
Recruit
Place a warrior in any clearing with a Roost whose nation matches the card suit. If you
cannot place a warrior, you fall into turmoil.
Move
Move from any clearing whose nation matches the card suit. If you cannot move at least
one warrior, you fall into turmoil.
Battle
Initiate a battle in any clearing whose nation matches the card suit. If you cannot initiate
a battle, you fall into turmoil.
Build
Build a Roost in any clearing you rule whose nation matches the card suit. If you cannot
build a Roost, you fall into turmoil.
Jealous Fiefs. You can only have one Roost per clearing.
Evening
Score the victory points shown below the rightmost empty space on your roost track.
Turmoil
If you fall into turmoil, discard all of the cards in the Decree except any Loyal Viziers.
Then, flip your current leader face down and set it aside, choose a new leader from those that
remain face up and place it near your faction board. Place your Loyal Viziers on the Decree
spaces shown on your new leader.
If you ever have no face-up leaders remaining, turn all of your facedown leaders face up.
If you have no Roosts on the map, build one in any clearing.
Finally, end your turn. Do not perform any more Decree actions, and skip Evening.
Leaders
The Eyrie has four leader cards, which are described below.
Builder
Your Loyal Viziers begin on Recruit and Build.
Whenever an improvement scores you victory points, you score double the victory
points.
Charismatic
Your Loyal Viziers begin on Recruit and Move.
For each Recruit action on the Decree, you must place two warriors instead of one.
Commander
Your Loyal Viziers begin on Move and Battle.
During any battle as the attacker, you inflicts an extra hit.
Despot
Your Loyal Viziers begin on Move and Build.
Whenever you remove an opponent’s building, you score another victory point.
Woodland Alliance
Victory Points
The Woodland Alliance scores victory points by revealing some conspiracies, by crafting some
improvements, and by removing buildings owned by the other players.
To place a card in a Hideout card slot, its matching Hideout must be on the map, and the slot
must not have a card in it.
If a Hideout is removed, discard any card in the matching Hideout card slot.
Supporters
Your faction board has three forest nation boxes: rabbit, fox, and mouse. Any warriors in your
forest nation boxes are called supporters.
If a Hideout is removed, also remove half (rounded up) of the supporters in the matching forest
nation box.
Birdsong
Return all conspiracies on Hideout card slots to your hand ( both face-up and facedown cards).
Then, draw cards as indicated by your Outrage. (Draw these cards in addition to your draw on
the Marquise’s turn.)
Daylight
You can take actions by spending supporters from a forest nation box, returning spent
supporters to your supply. Each action lists its cost in supporters, which must come from the
same forest nation box. Any supporters left in forest nation boxes at the end of Daylight remain
for future turns.
Spy
Spend one supporter and one card to draw one card.
Battle
Spend one supporter to initiate a battle in a clearing of matching nation.
Craft
Craft an improvement from your hand, using Strongholds. This action does not cost
supporters.
Educate
Spend a fox, rabbit, or mouse card to place a supporter in the matching forest nation
box. (Bird cards are wild, so you can spend one to place a supporter in any forest nation
box.)
Train
Spend a bird card and one supporter to place a warrior in any clearing whose nation
matches the spent supporter.
Keep Secrets
Play a card face down to an empty Hideout card slot. This action does not cost
supporters.
Conspire
Spend supporters equal to the cost of the conspiracy to play the card face up in the
empty Hideout card slot matching the nation of the spent supporters. Resolve the
conspiracy.
Effect resolution. You can resolve the effects of the conspiracy in any order, unless
otherwise noted, and you can choose which effects to resolve.
Effect location. In general, the Hideout slot of your conspiracy does not limit where you
can resolve an effect. The conspiracy will state whether you must resolve its effect at the
matching Hideout or not.
Supporter nation. The supporters you spend do not need to match the card suit of the
conspiracy played.
Build Hideout
Spend two supporters to build a Hideout and place a warrior in a clearing of matching
nation.
Build Stronghold
Spend three supporters to build a Stronghold in a clearing you rule of matching nation.
Evening
Place one supporter in each forest nation box.
Then, discard down to your hand limit of two cards.
Victory Points
The Vagabond scores victory points by completing tasks that affect the other players, by crafting
some improvements, and by removing buildings owned by the other players.
Vagabond Card
Roger the Raccoon: When you use the Steal action, you are considered to have one
more available <sword>.
The Crafting Beaver: You can spend a <torch> to build a building of your current
clearing’s ruler. You must follow that faction’s rules for building a building, but you do not
have to spend wood to build a Marquise building. That building’s owner cannot stop you
from building.
Item Tokens
<Torch>: Can exhaust to Battle, Repair, Steal, Aid, or Explore.
<Crossbow>: Can exhaust to inflict a hit when you or your enemy retreats.
<Bag>: If available during your Evening, your hand size is two cards higher.
<Coin>: If available during the Marquise’s Birdsong, you draw another card.
Alignment
Your faction board shows an alignment chart composed of many alignment boxes
connected by black arrows. At any given time, this chart will hold an alignment marker
from each faction in play.
<Print-and-Play Note: Use a warrior cube from each other player as an alignment
marker>
Adjusting Alignment
Whenever you fulfill the task listed on a black arrow connecting your current alignment
space to another alignment space, you score the listed victory points and move your
alignment marker to the connected space.
Your alignment shifts for removing warriors in battle regardless of whether you are the
attacker or defender.
● Gift one card to a player in one turn: Score 1 victory point.
● Gift two cards to a player in one turn: Score 2 victory points.
● Gift two cards to a player in one turn: Score 3 victory points. You are now an
Ally.
Cross-chart Shifts
● Remove 1 warrior in one battle: Score 2 victory points. You are now a
Nemesis. (From any non-negative alignment.)
● Gift two cards to a player: Score 2 victory points, and move to second positive
alignment. (From the first negative alignment.)
End-of-Side Tasks
● Gift one card: Score 2 victory points. (From end of positive side.)
● Remove one warrior in one battle: Score 2 victory points. (From end of
negative side.)
When moving from one clearing to another by exhausting <boot>, you may move any
number of Ally warriors along with you, even warriors from multiple Ally factions. If you
move any Ally warriors with you, you do not gain the benefit of your Nimble special
ability.
In any battle against a non-Ally defender, you may treat Ally warriors in the clearing of
battle as your own, even warriors from multiple Ally factions. The maximum hits you can
deal by rolling equals the number of Ally warriors there, but you can increase your
maximum hits by exhausting <sword>.
When you take hits, you must first remove Ally warriors in the clearing of battle. If no Ally
warriors remain, you take further hits.
Nemesis Penalties
While a faction’s alignment marker is on the final two negative spaces of the alignment
chart, that faction is a Nemesis. <PNP Note: This still might be named “Hostile” on the
faction board.>
You must spend another <boot> to move into a clearing with any pieces owned by a
Nemesis faction. These penalties stack, so moving into a clearing with two Nemesis
factions will cost a total of three <boot>.
Birdsong
Move all of your exhausted items to your available items.
Then, take one move without exhausting <boot>, even if you move into a space with Nemesis
players. For this move only, you may move into a forest.
Daylight
You can take actions in any order, as described below.
Craft
Craft an improvement from your hand, by exhausting <hammer>. The nation of all
<hammer> matches your current clearing.
Move
You can exhaust a <boot> to move to an adjacent clearing. For every Nemesis faction in
the destination clearing, you must exhaust another <boot> in order to move.
Gift
Give any number of cards matching your current clearing to a local player. ( Bird cards
are wild, so you can always gift bird cards.) Then, for each card you give, you may take
one item from above their faction board.
You can exhaust a <torch> to take an action from those listed below.
Battle
Repair
Move one damaged item to your exhausted items pool.
Steal
Target a local player. If you have more available <sword> than that player’s local
warriors, take a random card from that player. Then, that player scores 1 victory point.
Aid
The Alliance places one supporter in the forest nation box matching your current
clearing. Then, you score 1 victory point.
You can only use this action while you are in a clearing with a Hideout.
Explore
Take one local ruin token, reveal it, and place it in your exhausted items pool. Then, you
score 1 victory point.
Evening
Discard down to your hand limit, equal to your <bag>.
If you are in a forest, move all of your damaged items to your exhausted items pool.
Improvement Clarifications
Cobbler: For the Vagabond, this improvement gives a free <boot> whenever he exhausts a
<boot>.