Maia Strongheart stands alone against the world. A cabal of conspirators has framed her for the death of her own mother, the Sun Queen, and these traitors intend to usurp the throne from her family.

To prove her own innocence and reclaim her birthright, Maia must step into the Proving Grounds to complete a trial that will stretch her combat skills to the limit.

Will the Wizened's chosen daughter vanquish her foes in the arena? Or will she be overwhelmed by the conspirators and their evil aspirations?

Components

• 1 Dragonling Die
• 14 Attack Dice
• 1 Encounter Board
• 1 Health Marker
• 1 Dragonling Token
• 1 Sun and Moon Dial
• 6 Battle Markers
• 1 Reference Card
• 6 Shield Tokens
• 6 Conspirator Cards
• 6 Shield Tokens
• 15 Inspiration Cards
• 19 Chariot Cards
• 30 Enemy Cards
• Rulebook

The game requires use of a one-minute timer. Be sure to download the Renegade Games Companion app, where you will find the official Proving Grounds timer.

Object of the Game

Your goal, as Maia Strongheart, is to survive the Proving Grounds by defeating eight enemy combatants in the arena before your health is reduced to zero.

If you defeat eight enemies and are still alive at the end of the round, you win! If the health marker ever reaches the last space on your health track, you immediately lose!

Enemy Card Anatomy

1 Card Name: The name of this enemy.

2 Battle Track: Used to track your progress against this enemy in battle.

3 Start Space: When the enemy card is drawn, the battle marker is placed on this space.

4 Bottom Space: If the battle marker reaches this space, you suffer a wound.

5Top Space: If the battle marker reaches this space, you defeat the enemy.

6 Dice Requirements: The number (and possibly color) of dice required to move the battle marker into this space of the battle track.

7 Enemy Ability: Some enemies have abilities that affect how your attacks are resolved.

8 Dragon Ling Icon: This icon represents a weakness to a specific result from the dragonling die.

Setup

1 Place the encounter board on the table in front of you.

2 Shuffle the enemy deck and place it nearby, face down.

3 Draw six enemy cards, one at a time, from the deck. As each card is drawn, place it in an empty slot around the encounter board, face up.

4 Place a battle marker on the start space of each enemy card in play.

5 Place the health marker on the top left space of the health track.

6 Place three white attack dice on the exhaustion track, one on each space.

7 Stack three attack dice (one green, one yellow, one blue) and place them on the space with three colored rings on the health track.

8 Place eight attack dice (one green, one yellow, one blue, five white) in your play area. This is known as your dice pool.

Note: The rest of the components are only used with the optional modules. If you are playing the "training game", return these other components to the game box.

Game Play

The game is played over a series of rounds, until you trigger a win or loss condition. The main part of each round takes exactly 60 seconds and occurs in real time! There are three steps to each round, which must be performed in order:

• Step 1: Roll Dice
• Step 2: Resolve Attacks
• Step 3: Recover

Note: Proving Grounds is made up of a core game (the "training game") and six modules that can be added, in any combination, to increase the game's difficulty and variability.

Step 1: Roll Dice

At the beginning of this step, start the timer in the app. (If you don't have access to the app, any one-minute timer will work). You now have 60 seconds!

Pick up all of the dice in your dice pool and roll them once. After this initial roll, separate the dice according to their rolled results.

You may reroll your dice, following the rules below, until you are satisfied with the results or until the timer goes off - whichever happens first. (If you decide to stop early, hit "Battle End" in the app).

What is a Set?

If you have two or more dice showing the same number (e.g., 1,1,1), those dice are known as a set. Sets can always be rerolled.

It is possible to have multiple sets at the same time (e.g., 1,1,1 and 3,3). However, you can only ever reroll one set at a time. After rerolling a set, separate the dice again, according to the results of the new roll.

Set of 1's

What is a Single?

If you have only one die showing a given number (e.g., a single 4), that die is known as a single. Singles can never be rerolled.

However, when you reroll a set, if one or more dice from that rerolled set now match a different single, that single becomes part of its own set, and can now be rerolled.

Two Singles

Example: After Carter's initial roll, his dice look like this: 1.1.3.3.4.5.6.6. He has singles of 4 and 5, which cannot be rerolled. He also has sets of Is, 3s, and 6s. He decides to reroll his two Is, and they come up as 4 and 6.

His dice now look like this: 3.3.4.4.5.6.6.6. He now has a single of 5 and sets of 3s, 4s, and 6s.

He could still reroll any of his sets, but he is happy with these results, so he ends early, stopping the timer.

Step 2: Resolve Attacks

After you have finished rolling your dice, separate them by number, then assign them next to the matching numbered slots of the encounter board. The dice represent your attacks against those enemies. Now you must resolve your attacks.

First, move battle markers, in numerical order (i.e., starting with enemy #1, ending with enemy #6). Then check to see if you defeated any of the enemies, or if you suffer any wounds from those enemies.

A. Move Battle Markers

The battle marker on an enemy card will move up, down, or not at all - based on what dice you have assigned to that enemy.

Single: If you attack with a single, move the battle marker down one space on the enemy card's battle track. The enemy has scored a hit on you!

Set: If you attack with a set containing a number of dice equal to or more than the number indicated in the space directly above the battle marker, move the battle marker up one space on the enemy card's battle track. You have scored a hit on this enemy!

• Multiple Spaces

  If there are enough dice in the set to move up multiple spaces, you may do so, but each space requires separate dice.

• Color Requirements

  Some spaces require that you have dice of specific colors in the set in order to move the battle marker up by one space.

• Incorrect Combination

  If your set does not contain the required number or color of dice, nothing happens. Do not move the battle marker up or down.

No Dice: If you did not assign any dice to the enemy, you did not attack them; nothing happens. Do not move the battle marker up or down.

Example: After finishing his die rolls, Carter has the following dice: 1,1,2,4,4,6,6,6. He moves the battle marker up one space on enemy #1 since he has at least two Is.

He moves the battle marker down one space on enemy #2 since he has a single 2. He assigned no dice to enemy #3, so nothing happens. Enemy #4 requires two dice, and one of them must be green.

Carter has two 4s, but neither of them are green, so nothing happens. He assigned no dice to enemy #5, so nothing happens. He moves the battle marker up one space on enemy #6 since he has at least three 6s and one of them is blue.

B. Check for Defeat or Wounds

If the battle marker on an enemy card has now reached the top space or bottom space of the enemy's battle track, you must resolve the consequences.

Defeating an Enemy

If the battle marker reaches the top space of the battle track, you have defeated the enemy! Remove the enemy card from the encounter board and place it in a face-up discard pile.

Suffering Wounds

If the battle marker reaches the bottom space of the battle track, you have suffered a wound!

Whenever you suffer a wound, there are three things that happen:

• Add one of your dice to the exhaustion track, placing it on the top space. If there are any dice already on this space, stack them.

• Move the health marker down one space on your health track.

• Reset the enemy's battle marker to the start space.

Example: On enemy #1 and enemy #6, the battle marker has reached the top space of the battle track. Carter has defeated them, so he removes those cards from the encounter board and puts them in the discard pile.

On enemy #2, the battle marker has reached the bottom space of the battle track, so Carter suffers one wound! He must add one of his dice to the exhaustion track - he chooses a white one.

Then he moves his health marker down one space and resets the enemy's battle marker to the start space.

Replacing Dice

If suffering a wound causes the health marker to move into the space on your health track with the stack of colored dice, you get to replace one of the white dice in your dice pool with one of the colored dice from the stack. Discard the replaced white die to the game box.

Any remaining colored dice in the stack are then moved down one space on the health track. The next time you suffer a wound and your health marker moves down another space, you will get to replace a die again. Remember, if the health marker reaches the last space of the health track, you lose!

Example: Carter has suffered another wound, and this time the health marker moves into the space on his health track with the stack of colored dice, so he gets to replace a die.

He sees that he will be needing yellow dice for some of the enemies currently in play, so he takes the yellow die and discards one of his white dice.

Step 3: Recover

Retrieve all dice assigned to enemies this round, returning them to your dice pool. On the exhaustion track, move all dice down one space. Any dice that were on the bottom space now move off the exhaustion track and return to your dice pool.

For each empty slot around the encounter board, draw the top card of the enemy deck and place it in the empty slot, face up. Then place the battle marker on the start space of that card.

You are now ready for the next round! Remember, the round sequence continues until you trigger a win or loss condition.

The Modules

The training game is only the beginning of Maia Strongheart's difficult trials in the Proving Grounds. Once you have become comfortable with the introductory gameplay, these modules expand the choices and challenges significantly.

Feel free to add a single module or mix and match to your tastes. If you're feeling truly adventurous, put them all together for a true test of your gladiatorial combat skills!

Check here a detailed information of the modules.

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