Viscounts of the West Kingdom: Keeper of Keys — Rules Manual

game design - shem phillips & s j macdonald
illustration - mihajlo dimitrievski
graphic design & layouts - shem phillips

copyright 2022 garphill games
www.garphill.com

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introduction
In Viscounts of the West Kingdom: Keeper of Keys, tensions continue to rise in the King’s court. Some choose
to plot in secret, forging alliances with like-minded officials. Others seek out treasures and secrets hidden deep
within the castle walls. Will you remain loyal to the very end, or take the future into your own hands?
components
10 Hero
Townsfolk Cards
(Marked with a )
12 Starting
Townsfolk Cards
(Marked with a )
20 Neutral
Townsfolk Cards
(Marked with a )
5 Manuscripts
(Marked with a )
18 Chest Tiles
3 AI Chest Tiles
For Solo Play
5 Player Cards
3 Public Building
Cards
1 Scheme Card
For Solo Play
4 Player Boards
3 Public Buildings

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3
setup
Set up Viscounts of the West Kingdom as described in the original rulebook, with the following changes:
1. Shuffle the new Hero Townsfolk Cards, Townsfolk Cards, and Player Cards into their respective piles.
2. Mix the 5 new Manuscripts in with the originals. This will result in each pile having an extra Manuscript.
3. Place the 3 Public Buildings with their matching cards faceup near the Main Board.
4. Replace the original Player Boards with the new ones.
5. Each player replaces the original Journeyman, Lender, and Trader cards in their starting deck with the new
versions.
6. Shuffle all 18 Chest Tiles into a facedown Draw Pile near the Main Board. Draw the top 4 Chest Tiles and place
them in a faceup line by the Draw Pile.
7. Once all players have selected their starting Hero and Player Card, shuffle all remaining Hero Townsfolk Cards
(including the unchosen card) into a facedown Draw Pile near the Main Board. Draw the top 3 Hero Townsfolk
Cards and place them in a faceup line by the Draw Pile.

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4
hero townsfolk cards
This new effect allows players to gain 1 of the 3 faceup Hero Townsfolk Cards
into their hand. This is always a free action (it does not require any Silver to be
paid). This is not considered a hire, and therefore does not trigger any abilities
tied to hiring. Anytime 1 of the 3 faceup Hero Townsfolk Cards is collected,
immediately replace it with the top card from the Hero Townsfolk Draw Pile.
A number of new Hero Townsfolk Cards have this effect. When a card with this
symbol drops-off a Player Board, it is removed from the game entirely once all
other effects along the bottom of the card have been resolved.
For example, Girard is removed from the game, and allows players to gain a new
Hero Townsfolk Card and 2 Silver.
Scarlette is 1 of the new Hero Townsfolk Cards. When played, she allows a player to
immediately take an action to Transcribe a Manuscript. This happens before Viscount
movement. Transcribing a Manuscript this way follows all the normal rules (as if it
were a primary action).
player cards
These new Player Cards provide more variety during Setup. The starting
locations for Viscount Figures on these cards are all on the inside path
of the Main Board. For example, 3.5 would be on the inside path of the
Main Board segment with numbers 3 and 4.
The Hero Townsfolk Card and Chest Tile gained from Player Cards
1.5 and 3.5 are selected from the faceup options at the end of Setup.
The 3 discards from 7.5 are chosen by that player, and placed into their
discard pile before shuffling their starting deck.

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5
public buildings
These new Public Buildings are available when taking a
primary action to Construct a Building. To construct a Public
Building, players must do the following:
1. Have their Viscount on a space with 1 of their previously
constructed Buildings, matching the Building type of the
Public Building they wish to construct.
2. Pay the cost shown in the top-left corner of the chosen
Public Building Card. This follows the same rules as
constructing the standard Buildings.
3. Remove their Building from the Main Board, placing the Public Building in its place. Their Building is
returned to their Player Board (covering any available space of its type). This does not reactivate any rewards
from placing the Building or completing Links. Returned Buildings can be constructed again on future turns.
4. Place the Public Building Card alongside their Player Board and resolve its immediate effect, as shown on the
right of the card.
If players gain an effect that would reward a free Building, this cannot be used to construct a Public Building. It is
possible for 1 player to construct multiple Public Buildings. Each Public Building can only be constructed once.
Once built, they provide their owner with an ongoing ability:
Public Trading Post - Any time this player gains or destroys a Hero Townsfolk Card, they may flip 1 Debt or 1
Deed.
Public Guildhall - This player has a permanent Criminal Icon. This is always in effect, including for all primary
actions, playing Criminals to their Player Board, Collision resolutions, and Shuffles.
Public Workshop - This player may choose to ignore 1 Criminal Icon on their Player Board during all Collisions.
They also draw the top card from their Draw Pile to their hand during all Collisions.

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chest tiles
6
This new effect allows players to gain 1 of the 4 faceup Chest Tiles. When gaining Chest Tiles, players
must slot them below 1 of the 3 card spaces of their Player Board. If they choose, players may discard
a previously acquired Chest Tile to make room for a new tile. Chest Tiles discarded this way should be
removed from the game entirely. Whenever a Chest Tile is collected, immediately replace it with the top
tile from the Chest Draw Pile.
Once collected, Chest Tiles provide new benefits or rewards when particular cards move into the spaces
above them. This is only when a card is played into the first space, or slid into the second or third space
during Card Management. In other words, immediate benefits from Chest Tiles are not gained after cards
are moved using a Rearrange effect.
For example, this player has just placed a Grifter into their first space. Since this has at least 1 Criminal
Icon, they immediately gain 1 Ink Well. On a future turn, while their Grifter is in their third space, they’ll
treat his single Builder Icon as if it were 2.

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7
These Chests may treat either a single Cleric,
Builder or Noble Icon (not Criminals) from a
card in their space as 3 Merchant Icons.
These Chests may treat either a single Cleric,
Builder or Noble Icon (not Criminals) from a
card in their space as 2 other Icons.
These Chests treat either a single Cleric, Builder
or Noble Icon (not Criminals) from a card in their
space as 2 of that same Icon.
These Chests reward 1 Ink Well, Stone or Gold
when a card with 1 or more Criminal Icons enters
their space.
These Chests reward 1 Ink Well, Stone or Gold
when a card with 2 or more Merchant Icons (not
Criminals) enters their space.
These Chests reward 1 Silver when a card with
1 or more Cleric, Builder or Noble Icons (not
Criminals) enters their space.
In addition to the original scoring steps, players also score Victory Points as shown on their Public
Buildings and collected Chest Tiles (2, 5 or 9 VP for having 1, 2 or 3 Chest Tiles).
Chest Tiles are only concerned with printed Icons on cards in their spaces (not Icons generated from card abilities).
Each Icon can only be used once during a primary action. Using Chest Tiles to convert Icons is always optional.
end-game scoring

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8
solo play
All rules from the Solo Variant remain unchanged, unless specified below. There
are some additional rules for managing how the AI interacts with Hero Townsfolk
Cards and Chest Tiles. During Setup, shuffle the new Starting Scheme Card into
their Scheme Card Draw Pile. Shuffle the 3 AI Chest Tiles and slot them facedown,
1 below each card space on the AI’s Player Board.
When the new Scheme Card is revealed, remove the 2 right-most Hero Townsfolk
Cards and Chest Tiles. These cards and tiles should be immediately replaced from
the top of their respective Draw Piles. Always slide the remaining cards and tiles to
the right before adding new ones. In this way the AI will always target the older ones
first. Hero Townsfolk Cards and Chest Tiles should also be shifted from left-to-right
in the same way when the player collects them.
After this, the AI moves their Viscount 1 space around the Main Board. Finally, the
bottom row has 3 options: Flip an AI Chest Tile; Focus; or gain 1 Debt and flip 1
Deed.

The first time the AI reveals this Scheme Card, they will flip the AI Chest Tile below the first card space on their
Player Board. On the second time, they’ll flip the second Chest Tile, and on the third time, the third tile. Once all 3
AI Chest Tiles have been flipped, they will no longer take this action.
The AI will always choose to convert Icons if it benefits their action. At the game’s end, the AI scores 2, 5 or 9 VP
from their flipped Chest Tiles.
The AI can construct Public Buildings for both end-game scoring and their in-game effects. For the Workshop,
they always ignore a Criminal Icon - the draw icon has no effect. They prioritize constructing Public Buildings
before their own. When returning Buildings, place them on the right-most available space of their Player Board.
These Chests may treat either a single Cleric,
Builder or Noble Icon from a card in their space
as 2 other Icons.

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