How to Play Abyss: Leviathan

Game Objective

In Abyss: Leviathan, the forces of the Abyss Kingdom are mobilized as the Leviathans gather at the border. Each Guild assigns two recruits, specialized in battling these protean monsters. The Allied Races train incessantly and develop skills they hope will be useful. Against the Leviathans, some of your choices – to fight or flee – can have serious consequences. The overall objective of the game remains the same as the base game, but now with the addition of combating the Leviathans and managing the consequences of Martial Law. The game can be played by two to five players and requires the base game Abyss, and can be combined with the Kraken expansion.

Setup

The game elements are positioned according to the basic rules, with the following changes:

1. Leave the base game's Threat Track in the box. Instead, assemble the Border Board and place it to the right of the main board.
2. Carefully shuffle the Leviathan cards and form a deck. Place this deck face down near the Border. Roll two dice, reveal the first Leviathan, and place it face up in the Border zone corresponding to the dice total. Place a Life Point token on the top space of the Leviathan.
3. Deal one value 1 crab Ally from the base game to each player. Then, carefully shuffle the new Exploration cards with those you already have.
4. Take the Tamer from the base game's Lords and return her to the box. Carefully shuffle the new Lords with those you already have.
5. Make a second deck with the new Monster tokens, which you will place face down next to those from the base game. Do not mix the two decks of Monster tokens.
6. Place the dice, Wound tokens, the figure (the Scourge of the Abyss), and the remaining Life Point tokens next to the board.
7. To play with 5 players, one of the players takes the cup from the expansion.

Game Flow

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

The base game rules remain the same, with the following additions and modifications:

Martial Law

With the declaration of Martial Law, the number of Allies a player can hold in hand is limited. If you wish to keep more than 12 Allies in hand at the end of your turn, you must pay one Pearl for each extra Ally. Otherwise, you must discard each extra Ally for which you choose not to pay a Pearl. You cannot discard Kraken Allies in this way, if you are playing with the Kraken expansion.

Explore the Depths Action

During the Explore the Depths action, if the revealed card is a Monster, you still have the choice to continue your Exploration or fight. The rules have changed as follows:

Continue your Exploration: Add a Leviathan

If you decide to continue your Exploration, you must add a new Leviathan to the Border. Reveal the top card of the Leviathan deck, then roll the 2 dice. The sum of the results obtained indicates the Border zone where the Leviathan will position itself.

• If the zone is free:
  1. Place the Leviathan in it and place a Life Point token on the top space of its card.
  2. Discard the Monster from the Exploration Track.
  3. Continue your Exploration.
• If the zone is occupied:

  The Leviathan already present in the zone attacks you before being removed by the newcomer; you cannot avoid this attack.

  1. Suffer the attack of this Leviathan by immediately applying the penalty effect indicated in the bottom right corner of the Leviathan card:
     • Receive as many Wound tokens as indicated on the Leviathan. At the end of the game, each Wound token in your possession costs 1 Influence Point.
     • Discard three Pearls. If you have fewer than three Pearls, discard all you have. If you possess no Pearls, this attack has no effect on you.
     • Discard three Allies. If you have fewer than three Allies, discard all of them. If you have no Allies, this attack has no effect on you.
     • Discard one of your free Lords (those that were previously used to take control of a Location are protected). If you possess no free Lords, the attack has no effect on you.
  2. Discard the Leviathan currently in place and replace it with the new one you drew. Place a Life Point token on the top space of this new card.
  3. Discard the Monster from the Exploration Track and continue your Exploration.

Fight a Leviathan

If you decide to fight, choose a Leviathan from those present on the Border and perform the following steps:

1. Calculate your Attack Power:

   Discard from your hand ONE Ally of the requested Race. Then, roll ONE die.

   Your Attack Power = the die result + the value of the discarded Ally.

   Important: if you do not have an Ally of the requested Race, you CANNOT fight. You must then continue your Exploration and add a new Leviathan.

   The new Allies can be an invaluable aid during battle. To benefit from them, you will have to use one to fight.

   • After rolling the die, you can spend as many Pearls as you wish to add to your Attack Power: +1 per Pearl.
   • To calculate your Attack Power, roll BOTH dice and only take into account the higher of the two values.
2. Apply your Attack Power:
   • If your Attack Power is less than the Leviathan's Resistance, your attack has no effect on it. Your Ally is discarded, but you still gain 1 Pearl, a paltry salary for the risk you took.
   • If your Attack Power is equal to or greater than the Leviathan's Resistance, it loses 1 Life Point. Your attack is successful.
   • If your Attack Power is equal to or greater than the sum of multiple Leviathan Resistance levels, it loses as many Life Points as levels are surpassed. Your attack is successful.

   When a Leviathan loses one of its Life Points, gain as a reward the number of Monster tokens indicated next to the Life Point token, and then move the life token to the next space. You can choose your Monster tokens from those of this expansion, those of the base game, or a mix of both.

   • Gain 2 to 4 Influence Points.
   • Depending on the token, gain 2 to 3 Pearls, a Key, or a Council stack.

   If you take the new Monster tokens, you have the option, after consulting them, to reveal them immediately or reveal them at the start of one of your next turns. Once revealed, apply their effect and then discard them.

   When a Leviathan loses its last Life Point, it is dead. In addition to the reward for your successful attack, take the Leviathan and keep its card face up in front of you.

   If you are the first player to kill a Leviathan, take the Scourge of the Abyss. As soon as an opponent reaches or exceeds the number of Leviathans killed by the most valiant defender, they take the statue from the player who currently possesses it. The player who possesses the statue at the end of the game gains 5 Influence Points. The death of a Leviathan ends your turn.

   Important: each time a player kills the last Leviathan present on the Border, they automatically add a new one. To do this, they follow the procedure for adding a Leviathan, without taking into account the Exploration. There must always be at least one Leviathan on the Border.

3. Decide if you are ending your turn, or if you are attacking again:

   On your turn, you can fight ONLY ONE Leviathan. However, you can attack it multiple times, provided you discard a new Ally of the requested Race. If you attack again, start again with the "Calculate your Attack Power" step.

The New Lords

This expansion contains ten new Lords whose Powers you will discover over time, as they come into play. Each Guild has selected two recruits from among its most valiant warriors. Thanks to their Powers against the Leviathans, they can help you in the defense of the Borders.

• The Rebel: choose a Leviathan. It loses one Life Point as if you had made a successful attack against it. You thus take the corresponding reward. If it was its last Life Point, you kill it and keep the Leviathan card in front of you.
• The Border Guard: the target opponent adds a new Leviathan to the Border as if they had decided to continue their Exploration after having revealed a Monster.

End of Game and Scoring

There are now two additional ways to trigger the end of the game. At the end of a player's turn, if the Leviathan deck OR any of the Monster token decks are empty, each opponent has one last turn, during which Monsters that are revealed during Exploration are discarded without effect.

Then, calculate your Influence Points as in the base game. Afterwards, subtract 1 Influence Point for each Wound token you possess. Finally, add 5 Influence Points to the total of the player who possesses the Scourge of the Abyss.

Tips for Winning

• Encounters with Monsters are dangerous and victory is never guaranteed. It is sometimes better to fight and lose time due to a defeat than to continue Exploring at the risk of getting hurt.
• Carefully observe the Leviathans present on the Border to gather Allies of the necessary Race during Exploration, even those of lesser value.
• Don't forget, a Crab Ally always allows you to fight.