ETHERFIELDS GAME FLOW

During the campaign, in order to discover their goal / identity, players (Dreamers):
Complete Rules Summary [v. 1.6 2023/08 ]
• play scenarios (Dreams) exploring maps (Dreamscapes) where they encounter
A narrative, cooperative deckbuilding campaign game for 1-4 players (or 5 with the 5th player addon) Entities, collect useful Items, gather Ether and Shining Gems;
set in a fantastical world where a series of unique surreal dreamscapes await exploration. • when a Dream is completed, players travel across the Dreamworld map,
where they encounter special entities called Slumbers, buy more powerful
GAME SETUP Influence cards and collect the Keys needed to enter the next Dream.

The first time you play Etherfields, please follow https://etherfields-secret- A THE DREAM
scripts.web.app/ or alternatively, you can apply the following steps:
• Place the 4 “Do not open this deck” card packs at one end of the card tray. A dream has roughly 3 phases: setup, dream resolution (turns) and conclusion
• Unwrap remaining card packs and place them in the main long well of the core
box. Keep them in order. DREAM SETUP
• Secret cards are identified by the card ID in the top right corner on the back. • If a previous Slumber Dreamscape is present, completely discard it first
• Starting cards don’t have a card ID: separate them with dividers. They are: (i.e.: all Slumber Map tiles, Quirk cards...).
4 Dreamer Influence decks of 22 cards each, 81 Influence Market cards, • Dreamers leave their Influence deck, hand and discard pile as they are:
12 Turn cards, 10 Fate cards, 6 Flaw cards, 5 Item cards. don’t discard or shuffle anything.
• The big square cards are called Tiles.
• Each Dream has its proper Dream Gate tile.
• Each player chooses one of the Dreamer characters to play, then takes the It specifies the location (District) on the
corresponding Influence Deck of 22 cards, miniature and Dreamer Board. Dreamworld map where you can enter the
• Each player shuffles their Influence deck and place it face down in front of them. Dream, the number of Keys required and the
list of setup steps. For your First Dream you
From now on, if this is the first time you are playing A
can ignore those requirements.
the game, only carry out the sections of the Game
Setup highlighted in green. B • SETUP STEPS: resolve the steps listed on
C the Dream Gate tile to prepare
1. Place the game board A down. the Dreamscape map for this Dream.
2. Place all your Note cards and Items on the Place the Dreamers miniatures on the Entrance spaces .
Storage space B. If starting a campaign, J D H • TURN DECK: shuffle all the Turn cards (discarded cards too) to form a new Turn
you will not own any of these yet. deck, then randomly draw the listed number of Turn cards and place them face-
3. Place the 2 Setup Slumber Map tiles on the I down in the Turn deck slot.
Dreamscape Board space C. L - Flip the top Turn card face-up.
In your first game, ignore this. Items - Discard the remaining cards face-down to form a new Turn Discard Pile.
K F
4. Each Dreamer places their chosen Dreamer Board, This Turn deck determines how much time you have to complete the Dream.
Influence Cards, Miniature and Basic Action Card E • INTRODUCTION: Read this reference within the Secret Scripts book
in front of them.
• FLIP the Dream Gate tile to its other side and place it on the Dream Gate slot.
5. Turn Cards – shuffle and place face-down on the Turn Discard slot D. Read all the text present here: you must acknowledge the GOAL of the Dream and
Fate Cards – shuffle and place face-down on the Fate deck slot E. the script number to resolve if you run out of Turns.
Slumber deck / Entity slot G – set aside the Delta Phase Tile (green back), shuffle • Finally the Dreamers begin to explore the Dreamscape and the first Turn begins…
the remaining cards and place them on top of it. Entity tiles will go here too.
Flaw Cards – shuffle and place face-down on the Flaw deck slot F. DREAM RESOLUTION
Shuffle and place remaining tiles on the Slumber Map Tiles slot H. Dreamers now explore the Dreamscape map in order to complete the Dream.
Season Cards (I) – ensure that the top card is the same from your previous game. Each Turn consists of a Dreamers Phase, where players take actions simultaneously.
Take out the Wisdom card holder housing all found Wisdom cards. followed by a Dreamscape Phase, where the game take actions.
Dream Gate Tiles – take out your available Dream Gate Tiles from the special This 2 phases will alternate until the Dream reaches its conclusion
envelop. When starting any Dream they will be placed on J . Do not do it yet!
Place all discovered Dreamworld Map Tiles on the Dreamworld Map board K. DREAMERS PHASE
6. Place all dice, tokens and markers in separate piles near the board. 1) DRAW step :
If they have been unlocked, both universal and personal Sign tokens can be • Each Dreamer draws 4 Influence cards, not exceeding their Hand Size Limit,
placed out also, otherwise leave these in the box. which by default is 6 cards. If you reach your hand limit, you stop drawing.
7. Setup the Hour Counter on L : 1/2/3/4/5 Dreamers = 5/4/3/2/1 Hours. Before you draw, you may discard any number of cards from your hand.
You may choose to use the game board Clock, paper & pencil, or a die. - At no time during the game you can have more cards than this limit.
8. Resolve the Awakening Card, starting from Step 4. After the “Placing 2 Starting / - If you can draw, you cannot choose to draw fewer cards than required
Setup Slumber Map tiles” step (the tiles are labelled on the back), place your (unless you would exceed the Hand Size Limit).
Dreamers in any of the spaces • Reshuffle Penalty – if your Influence deck runs out of cards while drawing,
9. If this is your first game, you are ready to start the game. Take and resolve tile reshuffle your Discard pile to create a new deck, then draw the rest of the
1-01 X (The First Dream Gate tile). required cards and take the Reshuffle penalty : suffer 1 OR Seal 3 Cards.
However, if you reshuffle the deck while not drawing cards, no penalty is taken.
Reveal: whenever the game asks you to reveal a card or tile with a specific code, 2) ACTION step :
find it in the Secret deck/tiles (by checking the code on its back) and reveal it.
Dreamers simultaneously move across the Dreamscape and take actions ,
Place it in corresponding slot or near the game board.
without worrying about player order, unless a specific situation calls for it.
When the game only gives a letter instead of a full code, it means the revealed
This step ends when all players agree there is nothing more they wish to do.
card/tile comes from the current Dream instead of the Secret deck/tiles.
• Actions can be found on various game elements like the Basic Actions card,
Secret Scripts : whenever you see a reference to "s. ####", turn to the relevant
Influence cards, Progress cards, active Mask, active Items, tiles, etc.
number in the Book of Secret Scripts and read it aloud. An updated digital version
of this book can be found at: https://etherfields-secret-scripts.web.app/ • Pay the cost for the Action – usually it’s an amount of Intent to pay:
When Multiple Choices are applicable (like moving an Entity when you have discard a combination of Influence cards from your hand and/or active Items
several possible paths), the Dreamers choose one as a group. If you do not satisfy until you reach the required amount of a particular type of Intent.
the requirements to make a certain choice, you may not choose it. How to discard: influence cards go to a personal Influence Discard pile;
Items are discarded into the shared Item Storage.
• Apply the written result – often it’s a reminder to an entry in the Secret Scripts • Some gradual actions have a cost given in two Intent colors. When paying for
book or a game effect to apply. such an action, you must choose an Intent color and pay the full cost using that
Intent represents how a Dreamer chooses to interact with the world or the manner color. eg. if there are 2 Dreamers in play, 3 /3 means either 6 or 6
in which they would solve a particular problem. There are 4 Intent colors: , not a combination of both.
Awareness: Conversation, observation, understanding, and technology. • Any Intent marker placed on an action is considered to be yours, even if it was
placed by another Dreamer.
Cunning: Movement, cleverness, avoidance, acting, and deception
• If a Gradual action is on an Entity tile, when there are several miniatures of a
Wrath: Physical effort, fighting, tenacity, or arguing.
given type of Entity in play, Intent markers placed on the Entity tile are not
• If a card has multiple Intent colors to choose from, you must choose which one assigned to any of the miniatures. They are only assigned (and then discarded) to
you want to use when discarding it. If you are discarding a card in this way you a specific miniature when the gradual action is actually performed.
may not use its printed action ability. Intent is gained immediately when
discarding the card and any excess Intent is lost HIGHER COST ACTIONS ( x2 )
= The cost of this action is always 0 Intent. Using it is free. Do not confuse this with Gradual actions: eg. if there are 2 Players, x3
= Suffer the shown amount of to pay this cost. = 6 to be paid all in a single Action, not gradually over several turns.
= To use this action, you must discard the given amount of .
• Actions depicted on a map tile can only be carried out if the Dreamer’s miniature DREAMSCAPE PHASE
is in that action’s space (unless it is an Assault/Contact action). This phase begins when all players agree there is nothing more they wish to do.
BASIC ACTIONS Now the game acts, following the instructions on the current Turn card
(the topmost card of the Turn deck).
• Move – Spend any number of to move the same number of The Dreamers cannot use any actions or card effects during this phase unless a card
spaces. Only orthogonal (not diagonal) movement is allowed. allows it specifically or there is a rapid icon present on it
• Effort – Once a turn, lose X hours to move X spaces.
1) ENTITY AND DREAM EVENT steps :
• Peek a Card – Discard 1 card to take a 5-second peek at 1
Secret card/tile from the current Dream with an Influence / • Effects listed in the current Turn card are resolved from top to bottom.
Item / Flaw / Fate or Slumber back. These effects can be found on Entity tiles, Dream Gate tiles or any revealed Secret
cards. When several effects are supposed to happen during the same step,
• Assault / Contact – marked specifically with "Assault" or "Contact" keywords, resolve them in any order, but consider that they all happen simultaneously.
can be performed from the base range of 1 space away. This can be modified by
some Influence or Item cards. • Resolve “At the end of the Turn” effects only after resolving all the other effects.
You can bold the effect of an Assault/Contact action by paying its cost multiple
times, and you can choose a different target for each effect. Morphing step: resolve the Morphing eflfects indicated on Entities.
Usually you randomly draw Morphing tokens (from a small cup or
• Gain a Shining Gem – Discard 3 Influence cards from your hand to gain a .
opaque bag – not included) and place them on the Entity tile:
• Use A Shining Gem – Discard 1 to reroll any roll (of any die, rolled by anyone). Each Entity effect that inflicts inflicts 1 additional .
• Remove Morphings – Discard 1 Key or 1 to discard 1 Morphing token from an
Each Entity effect that Seals your cards, seals 2 additional cards.
Entity within range 1. Removed Morphings go back to the Morphing Pool.
• Boosting Your Intent – Once per turn, when you spend at least 1 Intent (even if Entity Movement is raised by 2.
it’s less than the required cost) to pay for any action, you may decide afterwards When you roll , it still only Moves 1 space
to roll the Luck die to add additional Intent to this action. All Entity effects with range have that range increased by 1 space
The various outcomes depend on the following results:
All Masks worn by the Dreamers are inactive. All effects are
– The action is failed and you don’t reclaim discarded Influence cards used to applied immediately (e.g.: hand or Progress card limit reductions
pay for this action. Additionally, discard 1 or suffer 1 or Seal 3 cards. cause immediate discards).
– No Intent is added. If this means that the action fails, you don’t reclaim All placed Progress cards are inactive. All effects are applied
discarded Influence cards used to pay for this action.
immediately. New ones can be placed but will remain inactive.
– Add 1/2/3 Intent of the same color.
Dreamers cannot reroll dice results in any way.
The Luck die is always used as the last source of adding Intent to the action –
after rolling the die, you can’t add any more Intent to this action. Dreamers cannot use their for rerolls (but can gain more).
If you fail to gather the required number of Intent, the used Intent is lost, even They can however still pay for effects that cost .
though you didn’t perform the action. Basic step: resolve the Basic effects on cards and tiles in play.
You may also use the Luck die when performing a Movement action to Move
farther. It counts only as 1 Movement. Special step: resolve the Special effects on cards and tiles in play.
If roll was failed, the Dreamer does not Move at all. Entity Movement step: move each entity in play. Roll the movement die
• Dreamer’s Death – It’s a reminder of what happens when Dreamers exceed their for each Entity, or if the players agree, roll once for all entities.
limit. Resolve Secret Card II-42 I Death Wisdom Card. Entity Moves 1 space only.
Send Hours to gain more Turns – If Dreamers desperately need more Turns,
Entity Moves X spaces, where X is its Movement Value.
they can spend X Hours to add X Turn cards at the bottom of the Turn deck.
Just try not to abuse of this rule, or some Dreams will become too much easy. Entity Moves by its Movement value, then roll again and resolve
the new roll.
GRADUAL ACTIONS ( 2 ) Entity ignores the Movement die.
• The basic cost must be paid X times where X is the number of Players.
Entities move toward the closest Dreamer, if several Dreamers are in the
• A Dreamer may choose to pay the full cost with a single payment, same range, players decide. If it is in a space with a Dreamer or it does not
OR one or more Dreamers may pay it gradually over several Turns. have a legal path to its target, it does not Move.
Eg 3 with 3 Players: a Dreamer may pay 9 OR one may pay 6 during When an Entity enters the targeted Dreamer’s space, it stops its Move.
2 turns and another Dreamer may pay the remaining 3 . Entities also do not use Map Actions in any way (so they won’t follow you
• Each time the basic cost is paid, take an Intent Marker from the supply, through shortcuts, etc.).
and place it near the Action to show that it has been paid. An Entity is considered to be every Entity token/miniature with a specific name
• Return all Intent markers to the supply after the action is performed. and all shapeshifters.
• If you need one marker of a specific color but there aren’t enough left, you may Miniatures placed by the Dreamers are NOT considered to be Entities.
take an Intent marker from another action. If you are in the range of multiple tokens/minis of the same Entity, you are
affected by it only once (unless their effects scale based on their numbers).
 Other Turn card rules... SLUMBER/Dream Gate location – Dreamers choose to draw a Slumber
tile or to open a Dream Gate (if they have collected the needed keys).
“Block 1 step”: choose and mark one of the steps with a universal token .
This step is skipped when resolving the Turn Card. If they choose to draw a tile from the Slumber deck:
If the tile is not an Entity, just follow its instructions.
“Add 1 Turn”: take the bottom card of the Turn discard pile and place it If the tile is a Slumber Entity, resolve it similarly as a Dream Entity, as follows:
at the bottom of the Turn deck. • Slumber Entity Setup
Loot: when gaining Loot, use the current Turn card Loot section. – Turn deck: shuffle all the turn cards, draw the number of cards specified on
the Slumber setup tile. Turn the top tile face-up. Discard the others.
– Slumber deck: don’t alter the Slumber deck – leave it as it is – recently added
2) DISCARD TURN step (End of Turn) : tiles stay below the Green tile. It will be reset only when the Delta Phase triggers.
• The current Turn card is discarded facedown on top of the Turn Discard Pile. Whenever the game asks you to add a new Slumber tile to the Slumber deck,
All effects with “until the end of this Turn” cease to be in effect now. or to discard it, just add the tile to the bottom of the deck, without reshuffling.
If the game asks you to resolve all effects of the current Turn card during the • Slumber Exploration: – you explore the Slumber just like you explore
Dreamers Phase, don’t discard the current Turn card afterward. Dreams: a series of turns with Dreamers phases (players act with Draw step and
• Then, if there are cards remaining in the Turn deck, Action step) and Dreamscape phases (game acts by applying Turn card effects).
a new Turn begins with the Dreamers phase again. As usual, if you run out of Turns, perform the “Out of Turns/Skip” effect.
• If no cards remain in the Turn deck, resolve the “Out of Turns” effect • Out Of Turns / Skip – If the Slumber Entity has a skip effect, the Dreamers
(as described on the Dream Gate/Slumber Tile). may decide, at the start of any Turn, to resolve the “Out of Turns” effect instead
of playing that Slumber. If this effect does not take into account any element
DREAM CONCLUSION placed during the setup, the Dreamers may decide to Skip the Slumber even
before it has started. Usually this will give a negative penalty to the Dreamers.
Eventually the Dream will finish and the game will address what to do.
• Gain Loot – Resolve the Loot Section of the Current Turn card
Don’t discard your hand, tiles, cards, markers and don’t reshuffle discards piles.
Don’t draw Influence cards. Be sure to clear the Dreamscape of any Dream map tile. • “This Slumber ends” – The Slumber ends immediately.
- Discard the current Slumber tile to the bottom of the Slumber deck
Dream gate tiles can be stored between game sessions in the envelop provided.
- Discard all Entity tokens/markers/miniatures related to that Slumber.
After your first Dream, script s133 will guide you to setup your first Dreamworld and - Keep in place Slumber Map tiles, Quirk cards, tokens, or markers not associated
Slumber dreamscape map. If you have Etherfields 2.0 be sure to apply the new map. with the current Slumber tile.
- Dreamers miniatures also remain in the spaces where they are at the end of the
Slumber so they can start there in the next Slumber.
B DREAMWORLD and SLUMBERS - The next Slumber will begin with everything as it is now.
- Continue exploring the Dreamworld Map.
When a Dream is completed, a secret script will instruct you how to set up the
Dreamworld and the Slumber Dreamscape for this phase of the game. Delta phase – When you draw the special Green-colored slumber tile, just
The main goal here is to find the necessary Keys to open the next Dream gate. follow its instructions. Basically it’s a rest & reset phase: you choose if you want to
unseal cards or remove Distress or reshuffle your Influence deck and then you reset
The Dreamworld is a 2x4 tiles map placed on the bottom of the Game Board. the Clock hours and the Slumber deck.
The first time Dreamers explore the Dreamworld, they start by placing the Team 3) END OF THE DREAMWORLD PHASE: a new Dream Gate is unlocked
Marker on the Awakening location, as instructed on script s133. When Dreamers want to enter a new Dream, they collect the needed Keys, travel to
1) SETUP Slumber Dreamscape: prova first, clear the Dreamscape of any Dream the Dream Gate location in the “District” specified on the Dream Gate tile and here,
map tile, if any, then place the 2 Starting/Setup Slumber Dreamscape Map tiles and they choose to unlock the Gate – now the Dreamworld Phase ends.
place the Dreamers miniatures on the Entrance spaces . Dreamers clear the Slumber Dreamscape and follow instructions on the Dream Gate
Shuffle the rest of the unlocked Slumber Dreamscape Map tiles, place them tile in order to to setup and begin a new Dream exploration.
facedown in a pile on their relevant space on the board. Remember: don’t alter in any way the Dreamworld map (Team marker stay) and
don’t reset the Slumber deck.
2) DREAMWORLD EXPLORATION
• Dreamers, as a group, may move around the map
following the big arrows or the small arrows.
◦ Movement between the big arrows is free
C GAME DETAILS
(i.e.: doesn’t cost Intent).
◦ When using a Shortcut (big arrows), each
DREAMSCAPE MAP
Dreamer must Seal 1 card. When a map tile is revealed, turn it face-up and align the tile’s code with the
• The Dreamworld Map Wisdom card (I-01 D) corresponding code on the game board on the DREAMSCAPE MAP area.
contains the description of all icons visible on the Map tiles may overlap two slots, so it is important to check the code of the tile (A1,
Dreamworld Map. You get this card after finishing the First Dream. B2...) is aligned with the code on the game board and the grid lines match up.
• While in the Dreamworld, you can still use Influence and Items cards, In your first game, the Dream Gate tile has instructed you to reveal only the Setup
and effects from active Progress cards. tile (Tile 1-01 SETUP). Turn it over and place it over the top of the A2 slot.
• While exploring the Dreamworld, Turn cards are not used.
Dreamer's Entrance Dreamers will always enter the Dreamscape on the
Location – draw a Fate card and resolve it. spaces marked with that icon, placed between 2 spaces. It means that it refers to
If the Fate card asks you to draw and place a Slumber Map tile, both of them. Place your miniatures on either of these spaces.
after the placement, if any Map tile on the board has an empty Place your dreamers in either of the 2 available spaces on the A2 Tile.
Quirk card slot, place this Fate card into that space (if 2+ empty Map Actions can be found on Map tiles. Those with the symbol are single
spaces, your choice), otherwise, the Fate card is discarded to the use only. After using the action, block it with a token.
bottom of the Fate deck.
Walls They are impassable barriers that you can’t move
Shopping Location – you may use a Shopping Card (11-41C), if available, through or measure Range through.
to allow each Dreamer to choose one of the following: Some Walls do not cover the entire edge of their space (have an opening in their
- Buy Influence Cards – draw 3 cards from the Influence Market deck and buy 1 center, or cover half their space). This means that the Wall on that edge is disabled.
or more by paying their cost (upper right corner) to add them to the discard pile,
Two adjacent tiles may sometimes display a tiny gap between their Walls, just on
then place the rest at the bottom of the Market deck
their edges. These gaps don’t disable the Wall.
OR
- Buy 1 Item – draw 1 item from the Item Market and pay 2 to place it in an Entity Spawn Spawned Entities always appear in spaces bearing the icon.
Active Item slot (discarding one if full). If several spaces are available, players choose. When spawning several Entities, if
- If you don’t buy any cards or items you gain 1 . there is more than one space available, allocate them as evenly as possible.
- Return the Shopping card to the Secrets if you used it.
 In the Dreamscape, if there is any space with a Turn Suit COMPONENT LIMITATIONS Whenever you should gain or place a component
icon, check to see if it corresponds to the current Turn Suit and there are not enough left in the pool (lack of or markers, Keys,
on the current Turn card. If it does, the first Spawned Entity must be placed in that tokens, Shapeshifter miniatures, etc.), that component is not gained/placed.
corresponding space.
is the only exception to this rule. If a Dreamer should suffer and there are
none left in the pool, all Dreamers fail (see “Distress and Dying”).
The number of components of a given type is NOT dependent on the numbers of
Dreamers. This rule applies to any component gained from the Secret cards of a
Dream (Influence/Item/Note cards, etc.). For instance, if you already found a
special Item in a Dream, that Item won’t be there anymore if you visit that
Dream again (e.g., because you were previously defeated). You do not gain a
second copy of that Item.

INFLUENCE CARDS
Shining Gem Slots When you’re in a space with a , you may At the start of the campaign, each Dreamer only
spend 1 , place it in that and the effect described next to that has access to their 22 starting Influence cards.
becomes active. You may use this action without paying additional costs. • You may play Influence cards from your hand
either for their Intent or for their action/effect.
Trap whenever you Move through a space (or end Movement /
Relocation on it), you trigger the Trap effect described in the Dream/Slumb. • Unless specified otherwise, you can only play
Influence cards during the Dreamers Phase.
Drawing Bonus At the start of the Dreamers Phase, if you’re in a space • Cards with rapid icon can be played at any
with a Drawing Bonus, during the Draw step draw a number of additional time during your action (even in the middle of
Influence cards equal to the number shown on this bonus icon. another action), other Dreamers rounds or
A Drawing Bonus does not modify your Hand Size limit. during the Dreamscape Phase (making sure to pay their costs before doing so).
Stairs No effect, unless another card or rule directly addresses it. • Additionally, each individual starting Influence deck has its own special feature –
a character specific action – printed on the back of each card. Dreamers may
Blocked Space Neither Entities nor Dreamers may Move or measure perform this action when the card is on the top of their deck.
range through a Blocked space. If you want to Move to a space behind a As the campaign proceeds, the more cards a Dreamer adds to their deck, the less
Blocked space (or use an action targeting that space), you must measure the range this action will be available as they gradually lose their original identity.
around it – this may sometimes be impossible.
• Gained Influence cards (from Dreams, from the Influence Market) are placed face-
RANGE – Actions and effects may require a target have a specific range. up on top of the Dreamer’s Discard Pile.
This is the maximum range of an action / effect. Range 0 means the same space. PROGRESS CARDS
Actions and effects can always target spaces that Influence cards that provide persistent abilities.
are closer than maximum range. • Place into your Progress Zone (beneath your
Calculate range only through horizontal-vertical Dreamer board) by paying the listed cost on the
spaces, never diagonally. top of the card. From then on, you may use any
“In any range” or “unlimited range”: any range, but not through Walls or Blocked action or effect on this card. Once played, an
spaces. “In any space”: you may ignore range, Walls and Blocked spaces. active Progress card cannot be discarded to use
as Intent.
Terrain Symbols don’t have any effect unless another • Each Dreamer may have a maximum of 4 Progress cards in their Progress zone.
card or rule directly addresses them. When a Terrain symbol Once the limit is reached, to play a new Progress card you must discard one of
is at the center of a Map tile, all 4 spaces on this tile are considered as having that your placed Progress cards (active or flipped) first.
symbol. If a Terrain symbol is on the line between 2 spaces of a Map tile, both You cannot voluntarily discard a placed Progress card otherwise.
spaces are considered as having that symbol.
• Flipping Progress Cards – Turn it face-down. The card’s action can no longer be
Terrain tokens (placed in a space / 2 spaces / tile) follow the same rules as used until it is unflipped. The card still counts toward your placed Progress cards
Terrain symbols. Whenever there are both and Terrain symbols in the same limit. Some rules refer to icons – this refers to the number of your
space at the same time, the symbol is ignored..
active Progress cards of the corresponding color (flipped cards do not count).
LIMIT OF MINIATURES & ENTITY TOKENS PER SPACE Each space can hold • Progress cards are not discarded when used. They remain in your Progress zone
max 4 miniatures and/or Entity tokens, after which it is considered full. until a game effect forces you to discard them.
Dreamers can move through full spaces, but cannot stop on them. • You may have two identical active Progress cards
Entities entering full spaces (either by Moving or by Spawning) causes Dreamers
to be pushed out to any adjacent space chosen by the players. However if the INFLUENCE MARKET
full space contains only 1 Dreamer, that Dreamer cannot be pushed and the • It is a pool of Influence cards available to the Dreamers when they go Shopping
Entity ends its Movement within range 1 of the space. on the Dream World map.
Big Entities are those whose miniatures or tokens are bigger than normal. They • When a game effect instructs to Buy Influence Cards, each Dreamer may draw
occupy the whole space in which they stand and cannot be pushed out in any the top 3 cards of the Influence Market and buy any number of them with their
way. When a Big Entity enters a space, it pushes all other miniatures and/or available , placing them face-up on top of your Discard Pile. Any remaining
Entity tokens in that space to any adjacent spaces chosen by the players and cards are returned to the bottom of the Market. The cost of each Influence card in
also causes it to end its Movement. the Influence Market is indicated in its upper right corner.
In some Dreams, you will find spaces completely cut off by Walls. If you draw a starting card of another Dreamer, you may buy this card – and start
The Dreamers may be able to Relocate to these spaces in various ways. using the special action on its back, even though you are not that Dreamer.
If 4 Dreamers occupy such a space, no Entity can spawn or Relocate there.
• You mainly gain during Slumbers, as a Loot for victory and also through
completing Dreams.
Frequent Symbols • When the game asks you to RETURN a card to the Influence Market, remove this
: Distress : Shining Gems : Ether : Universal marker card from your deck and put it at the bottom of the Influence Market – it doesn’t
: Awareness / Cunning / Wrath Intent matter if this card was from your starting deck, bought from the Influence Market
or gained in a Dream.
• At the start of the game the Influence Market consists of all Influence cards with
no secret code number on their back, while the Items Market is empty.
Influence deck: the 20-40 card Limits – only during the Deckbuiding step of the MASKS II-41 S cards
Awakenings, you must check that your Influence deck is within the 20-40 limit.
• Throughout the course of the First Dream, the Dreamers will have obtained their
– Minimum: 20 Influence cards. If, for any reason, you have less than 20 cards, first two Masks. When worn, they provide you with special powerful abilities.
you must add all your available cards to your deck. • Each Dreamer may only wear one of them at a time – this is your Active Mask,
– Maximum: 40 Influence cards. Excess cards are placed back in the box, in the normally chosen at the beginning of each game session (place it in a plastic
slot dedicated to your Dreamer (with your Divider). stand). The ability on the back of this Mask may be used at any time.
These unused cards, cannot be used in the game until the next deckbuilding step. • If the Mask’s action can be used Once per Turn, you may place it at the top of
– Remember: during the Deckbuilding step, you must add all Flaw cards in your your deck after using it as a reminder and remove it at the beginning of the next
possession to your Influence deck (they do not count toward the 20-40 limit). Turn during the Draw step.
• Restore a Mask: replace your Active Mask with one of your other Masks (or if
SEALING and UNSEALING CARDS both Masks were discarded, to make one of them Active).
Seal X cards: Reveal X Influence cards from the top of your deck and place them in • Discard a Mask: you lose it, place it either back in the box or off to the side.
the Sealed pile. Sealed cards are unavailable until you manage to recover them • You may choose to place Sealed cards underneath or atop discarded Masks.
through an Unseal effect. • When you gain a new Mask you may immediately wear it, discarding your current
Unseal X cards: Take X cards from the top of your Sealed pile and place them in Active Mask.
your Discard pile. They will become available again after you reshuffle your deck. • Unused Masks can be placed back into the box.
• Only Influence cards can be Sealed. Other cards in your deck (like Flaw cards) are The Secret Cards (II-41 S cards) representing your Dreamers’ Masks can be used
placed back on the top of the Influence deck after the sealing operation. to remind which Dreamer owns which Mask from game to game.

If you should Seal cards, but you do not currently have cards in your Influence deck, WISDOM CARDS
you do NOT need to reshuffle NOR Seal your cards.
• These cards add new rules that change the game or offer new possibilities.
• All the Wisdom cards you have gained are always considered active.
ITEMS • Place the Wisdom cards in their dedicated card holder, 9 cards on each side.
If the card holder is full, choose which cards to keep in the card holder but
• Dreamers at any one time can only have max 3 Active Items, which are placed in
regardless the choice made, all the Wisdom cards are always considered active.
their designated spaces on the board.
There is a 4th Item Slot on the board that may also be unlocked. NOTE CARDS
• Any Dreamer can use Active Items – either by discarding them for Intent or using
them for their effects. All Note cards gained during the game are kept in the Storage and can be used
• All other Item cards owned by the Dreamers are not considered to be active but by any Dreamer.
placed face-down in the Storage slot of the Board.
• Discarded Items if not otherwise instructed, go to the Storage.
FLAW CARDS
• Restore an Item: draw one randomly from the Storage and place it in an Active Flaw cards are negative effect cards that clutter your Influence deck.
Item slot. If there are no slots available, you must discard one of your other active • When the game instructs you to gain a Flaw card, draw one from the Flaw Deck
Items or the Item you just drew, back into the Storage. and put it on the top of your Discard pile.
• Item Market: the Item Market is a special pile of Items that Dreamers don’t own, • Whenever you draw a Flaw card from your Influence deck, you must resolve it
but can be acquired by paying their Ether cost in a Shopping location of the immediately. When a Flaw card is placed into your Progress Zone, it doesn’t
Dreamworld. Usually the game will instruct you to add Items to the Item Market count toward the active Progress card limit.
at Dream setup. Don’t mix up the Item Market with the Storage. • Most Flaw cards can be removed from your deck for a price (generally 1 ) after
which it is returned to the bottom of the Flaw deck.
DISTRESS and DYING • Remember that Flaw cards are omitted when having to Seal cards and are then
Distress icon is used to mark distress, fear, fatigue, doubts and wounds. placed back on top of your Influence deck.
• During the deckbuilding step (Awakening), you must add all your Flaw cards to it
All Dreamers lose when: (they do not count toward the 20-40 limit).
• Any Dreamer suffers an 8th : Dreamer dies immediately, and all Dreamers lose.
• A Dreamer should suffer , but there are none left in the pool (there are a total OVERLAY CARDS
of 16 markers in the game): all Dreamers lose. • The Overlay cards are Secret cards which contain parts of the Dream Map.
• A Dreamer has fewer than 6 cards in total, including cards in their Influence deck, • These cards should be immediately placed on the Dreamscape when revealed, in
hand, and Discard Pile but not including Active Progress cards and Sealed cards: the way that allows them to fit correctly and very precisely onto the current
Dreamer dies and all Dreamers lose. Dreamscape Map and the Dream board grid.
If Dreamers lose, resolve the Death Wisdom card (II-42 I). • When an Overlay card is placed in the Dreamscape, it cannot be removed unless
If Dreamers lose in a Dream, they additionally discard the current Dreamscape. and the game specifically allows you to do so.
return all cards and tiles of this Dream (except for those already gained by Dreamers • When you should place an Overlay card, any miniature/token/marker occupying
or added to the game decks) to the Secrets. Keep the Dream Gate tile of this Dream its dedicated spot is placed on the top of the Overlay card in the same (albeit
so that you may still come back to try again changed) place.
• Note: Overlay cards must be placed very precisely.
ENTITIES
• Entities enters play when spawned by the game. STATE TOKENS
• When an Entity enters play, resolve the Setup
• State tokens, when gained, are placed next to the targeted miniature/Entity and
section in the upper right corner of its tile.
only affect it alone.
• Models placed by the Dreamers (from Influence
cards, Note cards...) are NOT considered Entities. • When you should place a State token and there are none left in the pool, the
effect is ignored.
• Dreamers may interact with Entities by performing
Interactions if within the required range. ERRATA: state tokens received during the Dreamscape phase are discarded at the
These actions are indicated on the Entity tile. end of the next turn Dreamers phase (ignore the “this turn” wording on the token).
Assault / Contact actions have a default range 1. Dazed – The max. range of Entity effects/ Dreamer Actions is reduced to 1
• When an Entity spawns multiple miniatures (e.g. Dogs): a) the game can spawn a
maximum of 4 Creature/Human Shapeshifter miniatures b) they are considered as Stunned – Any caused by effects of the stunned target are ignored
single Entity, each Dreamer in range will suffer an Entity effect just one time. Paralyzed – The affected Entity/Dreamer is unable to Move/Relocate
Poisoned – The affected Entity is unable to gain newer Morphings until the
end of the Dream/Slumber.
 AWAKENING Influence/Item cards) and activities (placing Progress cards, gaining Shining Gems,
etc.) as they want.
When game instructs to resolve an Awakening, carry out the steps on the You may always pass the current round and act again in another round if you wish.
Awakening Wisdom card (II-41 M).
Each Dreamer can perform as many rounds as they wish until everyone runs out of
It allows your Dreamers to remove Distress and Sealed cards and to modify their cards to play or passes in a row.
Influence deck albeit at the cost of obtained Keys, gems and placed Progress Cards.
The First Player receives the First Player Marker and is also responsible for resolving
D OTHER RULES any indecision or conflict between the players. This marker will pass clockwise to
the next player at the start of each new Turn
• Player Count Icon indicates the number of players in the game.
• Relocation – Relocating means moving to another space, ignoring range, Walls, ADVICES from THE MANUAL
and any other obstacles – much like a “teleportation”. Whenever you find yourself in a situation where you think you cannot do anything,
• Relocate Team Marker [Dreamworld] – You must Relocate to a different location. see if using any of the following might be a way out:
• Once per Turn – During Dreamworld phase, these actions / effects can be used – cards in hand (both their Intent and actions).
only once during each travel between Slumbers/Dreams. – your Dreamer’s special action if visible on the back of the Influence deck.
• Reroll: if a game effect let you reroll a die, there is no limit to the number of – actions listed on the Basic Actions cards (e.g., discarding 3 cards to gain a Shining
rerolls you can perform, as long as you can meet the conditions and pay all costs Gem, discarding Morphing tokens, peeking on the Secret card).
required. When you reroll the die, only the result of the last roll is applied.
– Boosting your Intent by rolling the Luck die.
Previous results are ignored.
– using your Shining Gems.
SAVING YOUR GAME – using your Mask ability.
– using any of the Wisdom cards you have.
After resolving any Location effects on the Dreamworld Map, you may pause and
save your campaign. – using any of the Progress cards you have placed.
In order to not lose the you have collected you may resolve a Buying Influence – using any of the active Items (either for its Intent or Action).
cards step once. Afterward, if any Dreamer has remaining they discard all their – using the Clock (either to Move or to add a Turn card).
remaining and gain 1 Secret Card II-41 R which allows you to gain 1 when – looking for a Sign token match.
you setup again for the next game.
– looking for any hints hidden in the Dreamscape (be it written or graphic).
Carry out Steps 1-3 of the Awakening Wisdom card:
1] Discard all Influence cards (from deck, hand and Progress zone) REMEMBER YOUR MASK Mask effects allow you to avoid a lot of penalties while
2] Cure all and Unseal all cards paying relatively low costs. During the Awakening, you may exchange your Mask
3] Discard all Keys and for any other Mask you have, especially if it better suits your deck or can help
Then, place the rest of the cards and tiles in their corresponding slots in the box you in the upcoming Dream.
(using the proper Dividers): BALANCE YOUR DECK When you play solo or with 2 players, it is wise not to
• Each Dreamer’s deck with their Basic Action cards and Mask cards (II-41 S). overspecialize your deck. You can always rebuild your deck during an Awakening.
• All Team cards from the Storage (e.g.: note cards) SHINING GEMS allow you to reroll ANY die (even the Entity Movement Die).
• the Turn deck You may be able to slow down a powerful Entity by doing this. If you find
yourself with too many cards in hand consider discarding 3 cards to gain 1 .
• the Flaws deck
Later in the game you will find a Wisdom card that allows more use for
• the Slumber Map deck
ETHER has other uses than buying Influence Cards. You may spend it to discard
• the Fate deck
nasty Morphings from Entities and to remove Flaws from your deck. Items you do
• the Slumber deck not find in Dreams also go to Item Market, where you can buy them with
• the Seasons deck BOOSTING INTENT It is useful to sometimes boost your Intent using a Luck die.
• keep the active Season card at the top Many effects grant you die rerolls, so don’t be afraid to use this.
• Dream Gate tiles should be placed in the special envelop SLUMBERS – particularly the easy ones – are a good way to build up your
• Sign tokens that are still available Dreamer’s Progress card zone in order to prepare yourself for Dreams. Not all
• Remaining components should be separated and stored in bags Slumbers will require you to combat enemies – use your Dreamer’s strengths to
If you are within a Dream when you decide to do this you must treat it as a “Death their advantage. As Turn cards are open information, time completing the
of a Dreamer” (Secret card II-42 I) Slumber with the most desired Loot while avoiding negative Entity effects.
If there is little benefit in completing the Slumber or it is too difficult, consider
ADDING A NEW DREAMER skipping it. This option sometimes has less punishing effects than if you were to
try and defeat the Entity. A certain game mechanic (Deliverance) unlocked later
Each game of Etherfields is self-contained enough to allow you to play each session
with a different number of Dreamers. will allow you to remove or alter certain Slumbers
DREAMS A thorough exploration of Dreams will allow you to better understand
If the last session was played with fewer than four Dreamers and a new player
wants to join the game, all they have to do is pick an unused Dreamer archetype them and gain more knowledge about the world of Etherfields. Checking all Note
and join the adventure. If it’s the other way around, just play without the absentees. cards available (even some from previous Dreams) may make finishing the
They’ll still be able to join the Team during the next session. If a player cannot current Dream easier or grant special rewards.
participate in the session, their Dreamer can be handled by a new player (provided Don’t forget to also check the back of the Dream Gate tile for tips or rules you
the original player agrees). may have forgotten. It may be an idea to have a scrap piece of paper to record a
few brief notes to help you with more intricate puzzles.
OFFICIAL VARIANTS Do not hesitate to use the Clock in order to add more Turns if you feel you do not
The Thorn Knight: If you have the Thorn Knight add-on, its Wisdom card is have enough time, especially if you are playing solo. Don’t forget that you may
active from the start of the game. It contains all rules needed to use it in your use Hours to move as well in case you find yourself almost within range of an
games. Entity with no cards left in your hand
Structured Rounds: Alternatively if you would like a more structured turn
order, you may start with the First Player and go clockwise with each Dreamer
performing a round involving one Dream action (Map Action, Dream or Entity tile
interaction) and as many other actions (e.g.: Movement, Basic actions, actions from
 Unofficial ADVICES and VARIANTS
• Use 2.0 Dreamworld map but to make things more interesting, you don’t gain a
Key at the start of every Slumber, but only when you beat a Slumber Entity.
• Play with the 1.0 map until you have at least unlocked all the tiles, then try out
the 2.0 map at that point and decide each session which you feel like using.
• 1.0 map is almost certainly harder. But you will add a lot more cards and content
to the game, in particular to the slumber and fate decks and they will get stronger.
• Play without Awakenings. To balance, you still impose the deck size limit and
allow for deck building during regular times (for example, during Sanctuary visits).
Alternatively you could choose to do Awakenings to tune your Influence decks.
• Players cannot perform Awakenings at any point. They may only perform
Awakenings while on the Awakening space on the Dreamworld map
• Each time the Delta Phase occurs, each player returns 1 card for every 10 cards in
their deck to the Influence Market. They may then add in any of their set-aside
cards to their deck.

Release Notes
• 1.6 - Dreamworld / Slumbers section (page 3) reorganized and edited.
• 1.5 - Initial published version