Wreck the Ruin

Wreck the Ruin is what is known as a “roguelike” game, meaning there is a high degree of challenge and randomness - you will likely fail at times, sometimes in spectacular fashion. Learn from your mistakes and don’t be discouraged! Every run is a unique opportunity to try new things and tell a new story. Who knows what you might discover! 

The Ruin

Beginning a Run

The players select an unlocked Objective from the Dig Site sheet and open the Logbook to the indicated page. The Logbook provides story context and instructions for how to build the Objective Deck using the Location cards. Read the Logbook entry until instructed to stop. 

Building the Objective Deck

To build the Objective Deck, add the indicated number and types of Location cards at random and shuffle them.

Preparing the Mercenary Party

After building the Objective Deck, the players prepare the Mercenary party. 

• Each player chooses a Mercenary, gives them a name, and collects the corresponding basic Mercenary dice. 

• Proficiencies - when unlocked, each player selects a Proficiency unlocked for their Mercenary, places it next to their Mercenary board, and adjusts their stats or collects additional dice as indicated on the Proficiency card.

• Upgrade stations - players may exchange Flux for upgrades they can use on the current run.

 

Now you’re ready to enter the Ruin!

Navigating the Ruin

Reveal the top card of the Objective Deck and follow the instructions for the type of Location card it is. When the players are finished with the Location, reveal the next Location card. Proceed this way until the number of encounters have been completed as indicated in the Logbook in the Objective Deck setup section.

Location Cards

Encounters

Encounter cards set up a showdown with Monsters. They indicate the following for 2, 3, and 4 players:

• Encounter level - 1, 2, and 3.

• Number of Scamper Proles to add to the encounter.

• Number and Threat Level of Monsters the Mercenaries will fight.

• Rewards for completing the encounter.

• Number and value of secrets available to be claimed.

Non-Combat: Sanctuary, Cache, Altar

These Location cards indicate what happens when the Mercenaries enter one.

Events

Events contain short narratives and may involve a decision or rolling dice. These might be good, bad, or somewhere in between! They do not count towards the total number of Locations visited.

Scenarios

Scenarios are Locations with story context and specific setup instructions. When the players reach a Scenario, open the Logbook to the indicated page and follow the setup instructions for the number of players. Scenarios have conditions for succeeding and failing them. If the players succeed, they collect any indicated rewards and assemble the next portion of the Objective Deck if instructed. If the players fail a Scenario, the current run ends. 

 

Scenarios may have special rules, so be sure to read the entire description carefully!

Completing an Objective

The Logbook will instruct players when they have reached the end of the current Objective. This may occur at the end of a Scenario or will be indicated as a Location called “Exit the Ruin” following a portion of the Objective Deck. If the players succeed in completing the Objective, they collect any indicated rewards, return to the Dig Site, and mark the Objective complete on the Dig Site sheet. 

Ending a Run

A run can end in success or failure. Either way, players gain Flux equal to the total level value of the Encounters they completed divided by 2 and rounded down.

 

For example, the players completed 2 level 1 Encounters, 2 level 2 Encounters, and 1 level 3 Encounter: 

 

2 level 1 Encounters: 1 + 1 = 2

2 level 2 Encounters: 2 + 2 = 4

1 level 3 Encounter: 3

Total level value: 2 + 4 + 3 = 9

Flux gained: 9 / 2 = 4.5, rounded down to 4

 

Note this amount in the Flux box on the Dig Site sheet.

Difficulty Scaling

 

Dice

Mercenary Dice

Each Mercenary has a set of unique dice. There are 3 quality levels of these dice - basic, advanced, and expert. All dice of the same quality are identical. Players begin each run with all 3 of their basic Mercenary dice. Each Mercenary has 3 basic dice, 2 advanced dice, and 1 expert die.

General Dice

There are 5 types of general dice (melee, ranged, psychic, special, and investigate), each with 2 quality levels - basic and advanced. These dice are granted by proficiencies, items, and abilities.

Standard Dice

A standard die is a normal 6-sided die. Various effects require a standard die roll, indicated by the die symbol followed by the effect associated with the value rolled.

Corrupted Dice

Corrupted dice are gained when Mercenaries reach their corruption limit.

Affliction and Boon Dice

Afflictions represent negative status effects and Boons represent positive status effects. Affliction and Boon dice cannot be rerolled. Afflictions have a face called Cleanse (a cross) and Boons have a face called Fade (three diagonal lines). If Cleanse or Fade is rolled, the die is discarded when it is resolved.

Monster Dice

Monsters roll 2 dice on their turns - the Monster Ability die and the Monster Target die.

Monster Ability Dice

The Monster Ability die indicates which ability the Monster will use on its turn with the number of talon symbols (1, 2, or 3). There are also other symbols which cause some other special action:

• Crossed out investigate symbol - The Monster discards the lowest value secret remaining.

• Shield - The Monster gains 1 Defense counter.

• Fist - The Monster gains 1 Strength counter.

• Armor - The Monster regenerates 1 armor.

• Crosses - The Monster heals all affliction counters.

There are two types of Monster Ability dice - normal (black symbols) and elite (gold symbols). Normal Monsters and minions roll the normal Monster Ability die, and Elite Monsters and minions roll the elite Monster Ability die.

Monster Target Die

The Monster Target die indicates which Mercenary the Monster targets with the ability it uses on its turn. Decide who is player 1, 2, etc. and use the Monster Target die corresponding with the number of non-succumbed Mercenaries in the encounter.

Standard Symbols

• Standard symbols may appear on any Mercenary’s dice.

• Modal faces - When a diagonal slash appears on a die, choose one set of symbols on either side of the slash (ie. choose to gain 2 melee damage or 1 wild damage).

• Melee - Add 1 melee damage to your damage pool.

• Ranged - Add 1 ranged damage to your damage pool.

• Psychic - Add 1 psychic damage to your damage pool.

• Wild - Add 1 melee, ranged, or psychic damage to your damage pool.

• Special - Used to activate abilities, such as those on proficiencies and items.

• Investigate - Used to observe Monsters, activate abilities, and claim secrets.

• Focus - Gain 1 Focus.

• Defense - Gain 1 Defense.

• Boost - Gain 1 Boost.

• Blank - Nothing happens.

Mercenaries

Each Mercenary represents an archetype (ie. the Bulkhead is a melee fighter), further defined by their proficiency. 

Proficiencies

Proficiencies represent the specialization of your Mercenary and confer a set of unique abilities, additional dice, and/or adjustments to starting stats like speed and corruption limit. These abilities generally include 1 “passive” ability, or ability that is always active, and 2 “activated” abilities, or abilities that require paying a cost to cause an effect.

Companions

Some proficiencies grant companions - sidekicks that help out in some way. Each companion has its own special abilities and many contribute dice to the Mercenaries.

 

Companions can also appear during the campaign. Their abilities are explained in the Logbook.

Items

• Items are obtained as rewards for completing Encounters, purchased at the Dig Site, or earned from other locations.

• Some items have adjustments to stats like speed or corruption limit indicated on them.

• Each Mercenary may equip 2 items. If a Mercenary has 2 items, they must discard 1 of those items to equip a new item.

• Mercenaries cannot trade items.

• Unclaimed items are discarded. 

• If the item deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discarded item cards and start a new item deck.

Cursed Items

Cursed items begin with the Cursed Item side up and the indicated number of curse counters. Some Cursed Items even have negative stat adjustments! The Mercenary with the Cursed Item equipped may use 1 purify symbol to remove 1 curse counter. Any number of curse counters can be removed in a turn provided there are sufficient purify symbols. When the last curse counter is removed, the curse is lifted - flip the item 180 degrees and use the non-cursed side of the item.

Mercenary Boards

Stats

• Corruption Limit

• Speed

• Skull Limit

Consumables

• Defense

• Focus

• Boost

Damage Pool

Basic Training

Proficiency Slot

Items Slots

Monster Boards

Threat Level

Normal or Elite

Abilities

Analysis

• Body

• Body Parts

• Observe

• Flavor text

Minion cards

• Threat Level

• Normal or Elite

• Abilities

• Health

Combat

Setup

• Begin the encounter by revealing random Monsters from the Monster decks (quantity and threat level determined by the encounter card). The first Monster revealed is Monster 1, the second is Monster 2, etc.

• Each Mercenary rolls a standard 6-sided die and adds the result to their base Speed. Set the turn order for the encounter, with highest Speed going first and lowest Speed going last. Mercenaries win ties with Monsters. Ties between Monsters are resolved by the Monster’s combat number (ie. Monster 1, Monster 2). Players choose how to resolve ties between Mercenaries. Arrange the Monster and Mercenary turn order cards in order from left to right, with left being the highest speed and right being the lowest speed.

• Unlike normal Monsters, Bosses take multiple turns per round depending on the number of Mercenaries and have multiple cards to track their turn order: 

  • 2 Mercenaries: 2 Boss turns/round

  • 3 Mercenaries: 3 Boss turns/round

  • 4 Mercenaries: 4 Boss turns/round

Actions (Monsters)

• On a Monster’s turn, roll the Monster Ability die and the Monster Target die. Resolve any effects indicated by the Monster Ability die (ie. gain 1 Strength counter), then the Monster takes the corresponding action printed on its board if able. If the action targets a Mercenary, it targets the Mercenary indicated by the Monster Target die.

• When a Monster inflicts corruption on a Mercenary, that Mercenary gains a corresponding amount of corruption on their Mercenary board. Once a Mercenary gains corruption up to or exceeding their corruption limit, that Mercenary resets their corruption to 0 and gains 1 corrupted die.

• If a Monster rolls an ability that has been disabled, it does not take an action.

• Preventing corruption from a Monster ability (ie. with Defense) does not prevent a Mercenary from gaining afflictions from that ability.

• Ability types

  • Passive - Passive abilities are always active (unless disabled). They may affect the starting setup for the Monster, affect its abilities in some way, interact with the Mercenaries, etc.

  • Auto - Monsters use Auto abilities at the start of their turns before rolling for their other abilities. If a Monster has multiple Auto abilities, the Mercenaries choose the order in which the Monster uses them and they resolve independently.

  • Counter - If a Mercenary damages a Monster with a Counter ability, at the end of the Mercenary’s turn (after the Mercenary is done resolving their dice and using their abilities), the Monster uses the Counter ability on them. If a Monster has multiple Counter abilities, the Mercenaries choose the order in which the Monster uses them and they resolve independently. If a Monster is killed, it does not use its Counter abilities.

Minions

• Some Monsters summon Minions. Minions attack Mercenaries one at a time after the summoner Monster has rolled the Monster die and resolved all abilities. If Minions have more than 1 ability, they roll the Monster Ability die and the Monster Target die. If Minions have 1 ability, they only roll the Monster Target die. Minions with no abilities do not take actions or attack.

• Minions require damage counters to kill and can gain afflictions and any other counters a Monster could gain.

• If the summoner Monster is killed, all Minions summoned by that Monster are killed as well.

Monster Boons and Afflictions

• Monsters and Minions can gain boons (like Strength) and afflictions (like Weakness), represented by counters.

• The maximum number of counters of each type a Monster or Minion can have is equal to its Threat Level (for example, a Threat 2 Monster can have up to 2 Strength counters). 

• Monster Boons

  • Strength - Whenever the Monster inflicts an amount of corruption on a Mercenary with one of its abilities, add 1 to that amount for each Strength counter the Monster has.

  • Defense - Protects the Monster’s Body and Body Parts. Mercenaries must discard all Defense counters on a Monster before they can damage that Monster’s Body and Body Parts. Use 1 melee, ranged, or psychic damage to discard each Defense counter.

  • Thorns - If a Mercenary damages a Monster with Thorns counters, at the end of the Mercenary’s turn (after the Mercenary is done resolving their dice and using their abilities), the Monster inflicts 1 corruption on that Mercenary for each Thorns counter it has (all at the same time). If a Monster has Counter abilities and Thorns counters, the Mercenaries choose the order in which the Monster uses them and they resolve independently. If a Monster is killed, it does not use its Thorns. Thorns are not considered Monster abilities and are not affected by Strength or Weakness counters.

• Monster Afflictions

  • Weakness - Whenever the Monster inflicts an amount of corruption on a Mercenary with one of its abilities, subtract 1 from that amount for each Weakness counter it has (Weakness cannot reduce corruption inflicted below 1).

  • Blind - If a Blind Monster would target 1 Mercenary with an ability, roll 1 standard die. 1-3: The Monster's ability happens normally. 4-6: Ignore the ability.

  • Addled - Addled Monsters cannot use Auto or Counter abilities.

  • Sapped - Whenever a Mercenary fills a damage slot on a Sapped Monster, they heal 1 for each Sapped counter on that Monster.

  • Brittle - Destroying armor on Brittle Monsters requires 1 less damage for each Brittle counter (but not less than 1).

  • Stunned - At the beginning of a Stunned Monster’s turn, discard all Stun counters on it and it skips its turn.

Actions (Mercenaries)

Rolling Dice

• At the beginning of each round, all Mercenaries roll their available dice, decide which ones to keep, and reroll any other dice (except for afflictions, boons, and corrupted dice with skulls on them). Once the Mercenary is out of rerolls, the dice results are set. Unless indicated otherwise, the Mercenary has 1 reroll.

• If a Mercenary has a companion, they roll their companion’s dice. Companion dice may be rerolled.

• Each Mercenary resolves their dice on their turn.

Mercenary Turns

• On their turn, each Mercenary chooses 1 Monster to engage. They are only allowed to assign damage to that Monster this turn, however, effects that say “target Monster” may be used on any Monster.

• On their turn, the Mercenary may resolve dice, damage Monsters, use abilities, and take any other actions in any order. The Mercenary must resolve all of their dice before ending their turn. If the Mercenary discards a die before resolving it, that die does not resolve. 

• Any Mercenary may resolve a companion’s dice on their turn, even if that companion does not belong to them. A companion’s dice may only be resolved once per round.

The Damage Pool

• The damage pool is a tool for organizing the number and types of symbols the Mercenary rolls on their dice to use for damaging Monsters and paying ability costs. Some abilities refer to the damage pool, but its use is not required to play the game.

• On their turn, the Mercenary resolves their dice in any order and adds cubes to their damage pool associated with their resolved dice results.

• When wild damage is resolved, the Mercenary declares what type of damage it is being used for and that damage type and quantity counts as being added to the Mercenary’s damage pool (wild damage itself never counts as being added to a damage pool).

Damaging Monsters

• Each Monster has a Body and Body Parts with corresponding damage symbols, including armor, melee, ranged, psychic, wild, skull, and purify. To deal damage to a Monster’s Body or Body Parts, place damage cubes from your damage pool on the corresponding damage slot on the Monster. Armor requires 2 symbols of the same type to remove and all armor on a Monster’s Body or Body Part must be damaged before dealing other types of damage to that Body or Body Part.

• If a damage slot has a number on it, it requires that much damage of the indicated type to fill. If there is no number, a damage slot requires 1 damage of the indicated type to fill. 

• Wild damage slots are filled using any combination of melee, ranged, and/or psychic damage - they do not need to be filled using the wild symbol.

• A Monster is killed and removed from combat once its Body has all non-armor (red) damage slots filled.

• A Monster’s Body Part is disabled once it has all non-armor damage slots filled. Disabling a Body Part causes an effect, such as disabling one of the Monster’s abilities for the rest of the encounter or dealing damage to the Monster’s Body.

  • If damage is dealt as a result of disabling a Body Part, that does not count as entering the Mercenary’s damage pool.

• When items or abilities refer to dealing a quantity of damage, that quantity is equal to the amount of damage used to fill a damage slot (ie. filling an armor slot counts as dealing 2 damage, filling a 3 melee slot counts as dealing 3 melee damage, filling a 3 wild slot with 2 ranged and 1 psychic counts as dealing 2 ranged damage and 1 psychic damage).

Items and Abilities

• When an ability has a cost, the Mercenary discards the corresponding number of cubes from their damage pool then observes the effect. An ability may be used any number of times (unless stated otherwise) as long as the Mercenary pays its costs each time they use it.

Investigate

• The Mercenary may use investigate symbols to observe Monsters, claim secrets, and use abilities with the investigate symbol in their costs.

• To observe a Monster, the Mercenary chooses a Monster to observe (it does not need to be the Monster the Mercenary engaged), uses 1 investigate symbol, then resolves the indicated effect. The Mercenary may observe any number of Monsters on their turn, but can only observe each Monster once per turn. There is no need to place a cube on the observe ability’s investigate slot.

• To claim a secret, the Mercenary must have the indicated number of investigate symbols on the secret cube. If they do, they may use the indicated number of investigate symbols and claim that secret. The Mercenary may claim any number of secrets on their turn provided they have sufficient investigate symbols.

Consumables (Defense, Focus, Boost)

• Each Mercenary has tracks on their Mercenary board for Defense, Focus, and Boost. The maximum Defense, Focus, and Boost a Mercenary can have is 4. When a Mercenary gains a consumable, they move the counter up the corresponding track. When a Mercenary uses a consumable, they move the counter down the corresponding track. At the end of each encounter all Mercenaries reset their Defense, Focus, and Boost to 0.

• Defense - When a Monster inflicts corruption on a Mercenary, that Mercenary may use any amount of their available Defense to reduce the corruption inflicted by the same amount.

• Focus - While rolling or during their turn, a Mercenary may use 1 Focus to reroll 1 of their dice (except for boons, afflictions, and corrupted dice with skulls on them). This reroll is in addition to the normal rerolls and any amount of Focus may be used in a turn. Mercenaries may use Focus to reroll their Companions’ dice.

• Boost - During their turn, a Mercenary can use any amount of Boost to gain the same amount of special symbols.

Mercenary Boons and Afflictions

• Mercenaries can gain boons (like Vigor) and afflictions (like Poison), represented by dice and counters. Mercenaries can only have 1 copy of any boon or affliction at a time (for example, if a Mercenary has Poison and they gain Poison, they don’t gain Poison again). 

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Corrupted Dice, Succumbed, and Failing a Run

• Mercenaries must roll their corrupted dice. 

  • If a Mercenary rolls a skull symbol on a corrupted die, that die cannot be rerolled for the rest of the turn.

  • If a Mercenary rolls a blank or a purify symbol on a corrupted die, that die can be rerolled.

  • If a Mercenary rolls 2 purify symbols among corrupted dice, the Mercenary may use those 2 symbols to discard 1 corrupted die.

• Succumbed to the corruption.

  • If the Mercenary resolves a number of skull symbols equal to or greater than the Mercenary’s skull limit, that Mercenary succumbs to the corruption. 

  • When succumbed, the Mercenary discards all Afflictions, Boons, and counters on them, remove all corruption, and keep charge counters on items. On their turn, a succumbed Mercenary rolls all corrupted dice and 1 of their Mercenary dice normally. They can assign damage from their dice, observe, and claim secrets but cannot use items or abilities. Monsters and other Mercenaries cannot interact with them unless stated otherwise. When one of their corrupted dice is purified, the Mercenary is no longer succumbed and returns to playing normally.

  • If the Mercenaries survive the encounter, any succumbed Mercenaries are no longer succumbed.

• If all Mercenaries succumb to the corruption during an encounter, the run ends.

  • The first time Mercenaries die in a Dungeon, add the corresponding Abominations to the Monster deck for that Dungeon.

Victory and Collecting Rewards

• If the Mercenaries kill all Monsters in an encounter, the encounter is over. The Mercenaries discard any afflictions, boons, or counters they have other than charge counters or curse counters on items. Corruption and corrupted dice carry over to the next location. 

• Next, the Mercenaries collect the rewards indicated on the front of the encounter card. The Mercenaries may distribute these rewards however they choose.

• If a Mercenary claimed any secrets during the encounter, flip the encounter card over and the Mercenary collects the rewards corresponding to the value of the secrets they claimed. Mercenaries may not share rewards gained from secrets unless stated otherwise.

The Dig Site - Permanent Upgrades and Purchases

• During the campaign, the Mercenaries will meet victory and tragedy. Either way, a strange substance known as Flux appears in some quantity in the ruins. It seems capable of interacting with various machines scattered throughout the area to produce useful upgrades for the Mercenaries. 

Upgrade Stations

• Each upgrade station offers a different benefit to the Mercenaries. Some upgrade stations are available at the start of the campaign and others must be unlocked by progressing through the dungeons.

• At the start of each run, the Mercenaries may use any amount of their remaining Flux to purchase upgrades for that run from unlocked upgrade stations.