Prologue

Welcome to the prologue to the Lure of the Valley campaign for Earthborne Rangers. Playing this prologue is optional, but if you’re new to the game, we recommend that you do.

This prologue is not a substitute for the rulebook. While it touches on the rules, someone in your group will need to have either read the rulebook or be familiar with the rules before you dive in. If that person is you, the prologue is a great way to ease yourself and your group into the game. Keep the rulebook close at hand in case anyone has questions or is looking for clarification on any of the finer points.

Playing the prologue will do a couple of things for you. For one, it will introduce you to the basic concepts of gameplay. Having some understanding of how to play the game will help you build a Ranger deck suited to your play style and the experience you’d like to have while playing. It’s important to create a Ranger deck that works for you and contains cards that you enjoy playing! Additionally, as you play the prologue, you’ll build your Ranger deck while learning the basics of the game, getting a sense for what you want to include in your deck based on a small amount of experience with the game. Once the prologue is complete, you’ll have the option to revise any deck-building decisions that you made during play, so don’t worry about making perfect choices.

The prologue assumes that you are playing with the contents of a single core set. If you’ve combined multiple core sets, or included a Ranger Card Doubler or any expansions, you can still play the prologue, but you’ll need to tailor the deck-building sections to suit your specific situation. With that, let’s begin!

Imagine a low fire burning in the pre-dawn light. Imagine you’re wrapped in a warm cloak, breathing cool mountain air. You smell the smoke from the fire and the rich scent of pine.

Last night you swore your oaths to the ancestors, to the elders, and to the spirit of the Valley. The sun begins to rise on your first day as a Ranger, a caretaker of the land, and a friend to its people.

You watch as Elder Thrush retrieves her condenser kettle from a low branch, checks the water level, then places it onto the fire. As the water rises to boil, Calypsa, the Ranger who has mentored you for the past nine months, sets about crushing dried marrowleaf for tea in plain carbon forged cups.

Once it’s ready, she hands you a cup. Steam pours off of it. It smells of the forest.

Calypsa raises her cup. “To your true self.” She drinks, and you follow suit. The tea invigorates you, warmth spreading throughout your body. It feels amazing.

Your eyes are drawn to the flame. As you watch, your eyes unfocus. You hear the voices of your ancestors. You can feel them with you. You can feel their support and their love. You hear them speak, and they remind you of your best qualities, the person you truly are.

Who are you?

You’ll begin by choosing aspect cards. Going clockwise around the table, each player will choose one aspect card until everyone has one. You’ll then repeat that process for your personality cards. These cards compose the foundation of your Ranger deck.

1.

Start by gathering the aspect card set. There are twelve aspect cards in the core set. Each has four numbers on it, ranging from 3 to 1. These numbers represent your Ranger’s core abilities, based on their lifestyle and inherent attributes. Your aspect values determine the resources you’ll have to play cards from your hand and to interact with the game world.

Think about what types of things you’d like your Ranger to be able to do well. Your aspects, especially your high and low aspects, have a significant impact on how your Ranger interacts with the game world.

If you’d like to be able to hike swiftly through the Valley, or if you’d like to be able to defend yourself against dangerous predators with a hand weapon, you should choose Fitness as your high aspect.

If you’d like to be able to easily converse and get along with the people of the Valley, or if you want to form deep connections with the natural world, you should choose Spirit as your high aspect.

If you’d like to be able to adeptly avoid the Valley’s many dangers and easily explore the environment, you should choose Awareness as your high aspect.

Lastly, if you’d like to be able to expertly solve a multitude of problems and handle situations which require either great concentration or great insight (or both), you should choose Focus as your high aspect.

2.

Choose a player to be the Lead Ranger. The Lead Ranger walks at the front of your hiking formation as you explore the Valley’s many footpaths, so they will encounter a higher rate of both dangers and boons than the rest of the group. They also make decisions for the group if it can’t reach a consensus.

3.

Beginning with the Lead Ranger, choose an aspect card, and place it in front of you. Then the player to your left does the same. Continue to choose aspect cards in this manner until all players have chosen one. Place the remaining aspect cards back in the box. Your aspect card sits in front of you as you play. It is not shuffled into your deck. Note: If you are playing solo, we recommend choosing a Fitness of 2 or higher.

4.

Find the Personality card set and separate them by aspect (Awareness, Fitness, Focus, and Spirit). There should be a total of eight cards for each aspect (two copies each of four unique cards).

You’ll notice that each of these cards has one or more icons in the upper-left portion of the card. These are called “approach icons.” They represent how well your Ranger handles certain types of situations.

The four approaches are conflict, connection, exploration, and reason. The mix of approach icons in your deck will represent your Ranger’s proclivities. You can choose your personality cards based solely on the card title, their rules text, or you can choose them based on which approach icons you’d like to have in your deck.

5.

Start with the Awareness cards, and place them in the center of the play area so that all players can see them. Beginning with the last player to pick an aspect card (the player to the right of the Lead Ranger), choose one card, take both copies, and place them in front of you. Then the next player to the right does the same.

As you’re choosing cards, be sure to check your aspect values. Some personality cards require you to have a 2 or higher in its aspect. Once all players have chosen their Awareness personality cards, place any unchosen cards back into the box.

6.

Then, starting with the last player to choose their Awareness cards, do the same for the personality cards of each other aspect in turn, starting with Fitness, then Focus, then Spirit. Once all players have chosen their personality cards, each player should have a total of eight personality cards (two copies of four unique cards) sitting in front of them.

7.

Each player shuffles their personality cards and places them facedown in front of them beside their aspect card. For now, this is your Ranger deck. Then each player draws 6 cards. This is your starting hand.

Before you build the rest of your deck, we’ll go through a round of play using only your Ranger’s personality cards. The

8.

Place a number of energy tokens equal to your Ranger’s aspect values onto your aspect card.

Now, we’ll set up the play area beginning with the location where you’ll start your journey: Ancestor’s Grove.

9.

Find the Ancestor’s Grove, Boulder Field, and Lone Tree Station cards in the location card set. These are the only locations available to you during the prologue. Place Ancestor’s Grove in your play area so that it is easily accessible to all players. Place Boulder Field and Lone Tree Station off to the side for now.

10.

Find the Woods path card set. Shuffle these cards and place them facedown beside the Ancestor’s Grove location card. This is the path deck. The path deck holds the flora, fauna, and geographical features you’ll encounter in and around Ancestor’s Grove.

Typically, each time you travel to a new location, you’ll build a new path deck using cards from multiple sets, but for the prologue, we’ll use the Woods set on its own.

11.

Find the A Perfect Day card in the weather card set (the back of the A Perfect Day card is Midday Sun). Place A Perfect Day next to the Ancestor’s Grove location card and add three counters to it. Build and shuffle the challenge deck.

12.

Each player takes a Common Tests card and places it in front of them next to their aspect card.

13.

Follow the Arrival Setup instructions on the back of the Ancestor’s Grove card.

Your eyes refocus, and Calypsa smiles warmly. “It is time,” she says. “As of this morning, I am no longer your mentor. Like you, I am a Ranger.” She speaks briefly with Elder Thrush, douses the fire, then turns to you. “We will travel from here to the Boulder Field. I’ll stay back and follow your lead.”

14.

Your goal this round is to travel from Ancestor’s Grove to Boulder Field. If you’re unable to do so, that’s all right. The prologue will continue!

On the Common Tests card, you’ll find the Traverse test. During this round, you can use this test to place  on the Ancestor’s Grove location card. Once there’s enough  on Ancestor’s Grove (4 per Ranger), you’ll be able to travel to Boulder Field.

Since you’re playing with far fewer cards in your deck than normal, it’s entirely possible that you might run out of cards in your deck from suffering fatigue (see page 20 of the rulebook) before the end of the first round. If this happens, don’t end the day like you would in a typical game. Instead, shuffle your discard pile and fatigue stack into your Ranger deck and continue playing. Now, play one round as described on page 12 of the rulebook until all Rangers are finished taking turns, then proceed with this step.

At the end of taking turns, stop. Do not move on to the refresh phase. We’re going to continue to build your Ranger deck before we move on to the next round. If you successfully travel to Boulder Field, reshuffle all the Woods cards into the path deck, and follow the setup instructions for Boulder Field. Then, whether you’re at Boulder Field or Ancestor’s Grove, proceed to the next round.

As you walk beneath the shade of a long-limbed oak, you think back to your youth, living and playing in the villages and wild spaces of the Valley. A light breeze cools your skin, and it conjures a memory of your apprenticeship. You had finished your first day’s work, sweat cooling on your skin, overlooking the Silverfin—its water sparkling with the colors of sunset. You stood at a moment of promise. Now, as a newly sworn Ranger, you stand at another, buoyed by the lessons learned in your youth.

Now that you have a sense for how you interact with the game, it’s time to choose your background. Your background represents the formative years of your Ranger’s life: where they grew up, their occupation, and how they spent their time before they took on greater responsibilities in the Valley.

15.

Find each of the four background card sets (Artisan, Forager, Shepherd, and Traveler). Each background set contains eighteen cards (two copies each of nine unique cards). Place these sets in the center of the play area so that all players can see them. Beginning with the lead Ranger, choose one background set and place it in front of you. Then the next player to the left does the same. Once all players have chosen their background set, place any unchosen sets into the box.

16.

Now that everyone has a set of background cards in front of them, take some time to look through the cards in your set and determine which cards you’d like to include in your deck. You’ll choose a total of five unique cards (taking two copies of each) from your background set.

As you’re choosing cards, be sure to check your aspect values. Some cards in the background sets require you to have at least a 2 in its aspect. Once all players have chosen which cards they would like to include in their deck, place any unchosen cards to the side. We’ll revisit them later.

17.

Take your hand, Ranger deck, and discard (but not your fatigue stack), and shuffle them together with your chosen background cards. Place your deck facedown again.

You pause to drink some water from your canteen. Voluminous clouds drift lazily overhead. You see Calypsa emerge from the trees and walk down the trail toward you. “Let’s walk together for awhile,” she says. “I need to share some last bits of wisdom with you. It may be some time until our paths cross again out here in the wild.”

Before you build the rest of your deck, we’ll continue playing, this time using only your Ranger’s personality cards and background cards.

18.

Proceed to the refresh phase. Instead of drawing just one card, draw six cards as you would at the beginning of a game. Then, play the next round as described on page 12 of the rulebook before proceeding to the next step.

Search the Valley set for Calypsa, Ranger Mentor, and put her into play within reach of a Ranger of your choice. Don’t read her campaign entry during this prologue, however. Your goal for the round is to clear Calypsa by placing sufficient  tokens on her.

On the Common Tests card, you’ll find the Connect test. Try using this test to place  tokens on Calypsa.

When you clear Calypsa, or before you move on to the refresh phase (regardless of whether or not you cleared Calypsa), read the following:

“ ... and that was the last time I went swimming near a lutrinal holt.” You and Calypsa share a laugh. She takes the hem of your cloak between her thumb and forefinger and nods solemnly. “You are now a Ranger of the Valley,” she says. “You are charged with protecting its people and lending aid to any in need, but while you do, take care to look out for each other. Your fellow Rangers will need you, and you will need them.”

She steps back and smiles. “It’s time to return to Lone Tree Station. I must go by a different route, but I will see you there.”

19.

Return Calypsa, Ranger Mentor to the Valley set.

Now that you’ve had an opportunity to try out some cards from your background set, it’s time to choose your specialty. Your Ranger’s specialty represents their recent past and the occupation to which they’ve dedicated themselves prior to joining the Rangers.

20.

Find each of the four specialty sets (Artificer, Conciliator, Explorer, and Shaper). Each specialty set contains twenty-six cards (two copies each of twelve unique cards plus two role cards). Place these sets in the center of the play area so that all players can see them. Beginning with the last player to choose a background set, choose one specialty set and place it in front of you. Then the next player to the right does the same. Once all players have chosen their specialty set, place any unchosen sets into the box.

21.

Now that everyone has a set of specialty cards in front of them, take some time to look through the cards in your set and determine which cards you’d like to include in your deck. You’ll choose a total of five unique cards (two copies of each) from your specialty set plus one role card, which does not get shuffled into your deck. Your role card sits in front of you, next to your aspect card.

As you’re choosing cards, be sure to check your aspect values. Several cards in the specialty set require you to have at least a 2 or a 3 in its aspect. Once all players have chosen which cards they would like to include in their deck, place any unchosen cards to the side along with the unchosen cards from your background set. We’ll revisit these shortly.

22.

Take your hand, Ranger deck and discard (but not your fatigue stack) and shuffle them together with your chosen specialty cards. Place your deck facedown again.

If you’ve chosen Shaper as your specialty, you may search your deck for a conduit and equip it.

23.

Proceed to the refresh phase. Instead of drawing just one card, draw six cards as you would at the beginning of a game. Then, proceed to the next round of play.

Regardless of your current location (Ancestor’s Grove or Boulder Field), your goal this round is to travel to Lone Tree Station. If you are able to travel at the end of a round, travel to Lone Tree Station to complete the prologue.

WHEN YOU TRAVEL TO LONE TREE STATION, READ THE FOLLOWING:

You emerge from a line of trees and find yourself walking through a vast, rolling field. In the distance, you see the towering form of Lone Tree Station rising against the clear blue sky, and on the breeze you smell the hint of something sweet. Is someone baking?

The prologue is nearly complete. Take some time to tidy up the play area. Gather your deck, discard pile, fatigue stack, and hand into your Ranger deck and set it aside. Gather the path cards and return them to their sets. It’s time to conclude deck-building by choosing your Ranger’s outside interest. Usually you choose your outside interest from the entire starting card pool, but for the prologue, we’ll narrow it down a bit so it’s not such an intimidating choice.

If you’re playing solo, you can skip the next step and choose your outside interest from the starting card pool, or you can choose one of the suggested outside interests listed on page 33 of the rulebook.

24.

Look through the cards from your chosen background and specialty sets that you did not include (or couldn’t include) in your deck. Choose two of those cards (both copies of each) that you think might be helpful to the group, and place them in the center of the table.

If someone in your group is playing as a Shaper, keep in mind that most cards from that specialty are not useful to other players due to their keywords, so choose carefully.

Beginning with the lead Ranger, choose one card (both copies) from those in the center of the table, and place them in front of you. Then the next player to the left does the same. Once all players have chosen their outside interest, add those cards to your deck, and return the remaining cards from your background and specialty sets to the box.

Now that you’ve played a bit, if you’d like to make different choices for your Ranger deck, you may do so now.

You’re now ready to begin the Lure of the Valley campaign! To begin, read entry 1, "Missions."