The Shadows of Hexfall

Before You Begin

Here are a few things that have been added or changed for this Expanion of The Siege of Hexfall.

• Rogue Hero
• Bard Hero
• Twice as many Grunts and Brutes Spawn during Monster Phase (See Instructions Section 7)
• New Ancient One Monster now spawns after defeating the Boss (See Instructions Section 7)
• Temple locations now available (See Instructions Section 10)

1. Game Overview

Players: 2-6

Play Time: 45–60 minutes

Recommended Age: 10+

The Shadows of Hexfall is a fully cooperative board game in which players play the role of Heroes defending the land of Hexfall from an ever-growing monster invasion. Monsters emerge from arcane portals and relentlessly advance toward Villages and Heroes. Players must coordinate movement, manage risk, and make sacrifices to seal Portals and defeat the Monster Boss.

There is no Monster player. All monster actions are controlled by the game rules.

In order to balance out the difficulty when playing with fewer than 6 players, keep all the Heroes in play even if it means one or more players play two Heroes.

2. Objective

Heroes Win If:

• All Portals are sealed AND
• The Monster Boss is defeated

Heroes Lose If:

• Two Villages are destroyed OR
• All Heroes are defeated

3. Components

3.1 Board Components

• 8 Modular hex tiles:
• 2 Brown Temple Tiles
• 6 Plain Brown Tiles

3.2 Structures

• 2 Temple Structures

3.3 Heroes

• Rogue miniature (Purple Meeple)
• Bard miniature (Orange Meeple)

3.4 Monsters

• 8 Monster Grunts (Small Black Meeples)
• 4 Monster Brutes (Medium Black Meeples)
• 1 Monster Ancient One (Large Brown Meeple)

3.5 Tokens & Markers

• 32 Small health rings
• 8 Large health rings

4. Setup

1. Shuffle the hex tiles and place them face down in the center of the play area.
2. Players work together to arrange the hidden hex tiles into any connected shape they choose. The board may be built randomly or designed by the players, as long as all tiles are connected.
3. Once the board layout is complete, flip all hex tiles face up and reveal the battlefield of Hexfall.
4. Place the matching structure on each special tile.
5. Place 1 Portal Shard on each Ruin tile.
6. Each player selects one Hero and places their miniature on any Village tile.
7. Place 2 Monster Grunt on each Portal tile.

5. Heroes

5.1 Hero Stats

Heroes begin the game at full Health.

5.2 Hero Abilities

Rage (Barbarian): When the Barbarian takes damage, place 1 Rage marker on their base (maximum 2). Each Rage marker grants +1 Attack. At the end of the Barbarian’s turn, remove 1 Rage marker.

Inspiring Song (Bard): Once per round, choose another Hero on your tile. That Hero gains +2 attack on their next turn this round.

Arcane Seal (Mage): The Mage is more effective at sealing portals, succeeding on a roll of 4-6 and only takes 2 damage on a failed seal. With a Portal Shard the Mage can seal a Portal using an Action.

Mage’s Last Stand (Mage):If the Mage dies during the game the following happens:

• Final Seal: Seal one open Portal anywhere on the board.

Ranged Shot (Ranger): The Ranger may attack a Monster on an adjacent tile without moving.

Nimble (Rogue): Once each round ignore damage from one Monster attack.

Shield Wall (Warrior): Once per round, reduce incoming damage by 1.

6. Round Structure

1. Monster Phase
2. Hero Phase
3. End of Round

7. Monster Phase (Game Controlled)

Current Difficulty: Normal

There are four steps per monster phase as described below. It is recommended that one player resolve all monster actions, one step at a time with other players helping track or making suggestions as appropriate.

Step 1 – Spawn

• If no Portals are sealed, each open Portal spawns 2 Grunts.
• If one Portal is sealed, each remaining open Portal spawns 2 Brute instead.
• If two portals are sealed the Boss spawns at the remaining portal or the nearest ruin to the portal that was most recently sealed. Only the Boss spawns this turn but future rounds brutes will continue spawning at open portals.
• Once the Boss has been defeated, the Ancient One spawns on the hex of the Hero it first hunts (see Section 7.1: The Hunt).

Step 2 – Target Priority

1. Closest Hero
2. Closest Village

Monsters will always target a Hero first unless there is a village closer. If a Village and a Hero are the same distance from the monster will target the Hero. If two players are an equal distance from the monster than the player may choose who the monster will target.

Step 3 – Move

Grunts and Brutes move 1 tile toward their target. The Boss moves up to two tiles toward its target. If there are multiple paths to the target, the players decide which route the monsters will take.

Step 4 – Attack

• Monsters attack if on the same tile as their target.
• Resolve Monster attacks in the following order: Grunts → Brutes → Boss.
• If multiple Monsters and multiple Heroes are on the same tile, each Monster attacks once. Heroes may choose how to assign Monster attacks among Heroes on that tile. When the Boss attacks multiple Heroes, roll one attack for all.
• The Boss moves up to 2 tiles per Monster Phase and attacks all Heroes on its tile.
• Villages take 1 damage per attacking grunt, 2 damage from attacking brutes, and 3 damage from the attacking Boss. Monsters do not roll for attacks but automatically deal damage to villages.

7.1 The Ancient One

Movement: The Ancient One has 2 movement each turn.

Attack: During its attack, the Ancient One attacks every Hero and Village on its hex and on all adjacent hexes. When the Ancient One attacks multiple Heroes, roll one attack for all.

Damage: Heroes take damage normally. Villages on adjacent hexes each take 1 damage. If the Ancient One is on the same hex as a Village it destroys that structure immediately.

The Hunt: When the Boss is defeated, roll the die and consult the Hero Numbers table below. If the roll matches a Hero currently in play, the Ancient One spawns on that Hero's current hex and begins hunting them. If the roll matches a Hero that isn't in play (or has already been defeated), reroll. While hunting, the Ancient One ignores the normal Target Priority rules (Step 2) and always moves toward the hunted Hero each Monster Phase, regardless of distance to other Heroes or Villages. This affects movement and targeting only — its attack still hits every Hero and Village on its hex and adjacent hexes as described above.

The Ancient One continues hunting the same Hero until either that Hero is defeated or the Ancient One is destroyed. If the hunted Hero is defeated, immediately reroll using the same Hero Numbers table to determine its next hunted Hero before the next Monster Phase.

7.2 Optional Rule: The Overseer (Player-Controlled Monsters)

For a more challenging, competitive experience, one player may take on the role of the Overseer instead of playing a Hero. The Overseer controls all Monster actions directly, replacing Steps 2–4 of the Monster Phase with the choices below. This requires at least 3 players (1 Overseer and at least 2 Hero-controlling players); a Hero-controlling player may still play multiple Heroes as normal.

• Spawn (Step 1): Locations and quantities are unchanged. If more than one eligible spawn point exists, the Overseer chooses where each Monster spawns.
• Target Priority (Step 2): Removed. The Overseer freely chooses each Monster's target — any Hero or Village — each phase. This includes the Ancient One, whose hunted Hero the Overseer selects directly, ignoring the Hunt roll in Section 7.1.
• Move (Step 3): Movement distances are unchanged (Grunts and Brutes move 1 tile, the Boss and Ancient One move up to 2 tiles), but the Overseer chooses the direction and path for each Monster.
• Attack (Step 4): Attack order and damage are unchanged. When multiple Heroes share a tile with an attacking Monster, the Overseer chooses which Hero is attacked.

Monster Stats: The Overseer's Monsters use the same Attack, Defense, and Health values shown in the Difficulty table above — the Overseer gains no bonus stats, only control over their actions.

Winning and Losing: The Overseer wins if the Heroes lose (see Section 2). The Heroes win under the normal victory conditions.

Suggested Difficulty: Because a thinking opponent is naturally more dangerous than the fixed Monster rules, it's recommended Heroes play on Easy or Normal difficulty when facing an Overseer, especially for a first game.