How to Play Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape

Game Objective

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is a cooperative dungeon exploration game for 1-6 players, where participants take on the role of Lightbearers, heroes chosen to combat the Darkness threatening the world. The goal is to complete the chosen Mission, facing monsters, collecting treasures, and leveling up. Players win immediately by fulfilling the Mission's victory condition, but lose if they fail to meet the objectives or run out of Lifebearer Tokens.

Setup

1. Each player chooses a hero, takes their Hero Card, miniature, and Hero Board.
2. Place the Life and Mana Tokens according to the hero card's starting values.
3. Choose 1 starting weapon, 1 Worn Leather Armor, and 1 Potion (Life or Mana).
4. Prepare the Lifebearer Tokens according to the number of players.
5. Shuffle the Horde Cards, Roaming Monsters, Items, and Doors into separate decks.
6. Set up the Dungeon according to the chosen Mission, placing doors, enemies, and treasures in the indicated locations.
7. Position the heroes in the Starting Zone and place the Darkness Tracker on space 1.

Game Flow

Each round has 4 phases, in this order:

1. Hero Phase: Each player performs 3 actions with their hero (move, attack, recover, swap items, or special actions).
2. Enemy Phase: Hordes and Roaming Monsters activate, attacking or moving according to their rules.
3. Level Up Phase: Heroes spend experience to evolve, acquiring new talents and increasing attributes.
4. Darkness Phase: The Darkness advances, potentially bringing more enemies or strengthening existing ones.

Actions and How to Play

Available Actions

• Move: Spend 1 action to gain 2 Movement Points (MP). Use them to:
  • Move to adjacent Zones.
  • Open doors.
  • Interact with objects (such as picking up treasures).
• Attack: Use a weapon to attack enemies. Types of attacks:
  • Melee: Target in the same Zone.
  • Magic/Ranged: Target 1 Zone away (within Line of Sight).

  Resolve the attack by rolling the Attack Dice, Defense, and Enemy, applying effects, and calculating damage.

• Recover: Gain up to 2 Life or Mana.
• Swap and Equip: Allows swapping items with allies in the same Zone.
• Special Actions: Abilities or items may grant additional actions.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately when:

• Victory: Players fulfill the Mission's victory condition.
• Defeat: They fail to meet the objectives or lose all Lifebearer Tokens.

There is no scoring system—victory is determined solely by completing the Mission.

Tips for Winning

• Explore as a group: Reveal Chambers together to better handle the enemies that appear.
• Use the Shadow: Heroes in the Shadow gain bonuses from the Shadow Die.
• Prioritize Leaders: Killing the Horde Leader grants valuable rewards and extra experience.