How to Play Massive Darkness 2: Heroes & Monster Set – Monks & Necromancers vs The Paragon

Game Objective

In Massive Darkness 2: Heroes & Monster Set - Monks & Necromancers vs Paragon, players take on the role of Heroes who manipulate powerful energies. Necromancers seek to control the energies of death to strengthen their abilities and create servants, while Warrior Monks invoke their life force (chi) to protect the living and combat the Darkness. The overall objective is to advance through the campaign, using each class's unique abilities to overcome challenges and enemies.

Setup

For the Necromancer:

• Choose a Level 1 Talent and place it along with the Soul Track near the Necromancer Hero's dashboard.
• Place the Soul Track marker on space 0 and all 4 Bond tokens next to the Soul Track.
• Remove the Skeleton Mob card from the Mob (Levels 1-2) deck and place it, along with the Skeleton Mob miniatures, near the Hero's dashboard.

For the Monk:

• Take the 4 Starting Chakras and place them in your hand.
• Choose a Level 1 Talent and add the indicated Chakra to your hand.
• Keep the other Chakra cards near the Hero's dashboard.
• Take the 30 Monk tokens and place them in a supply near the Hero's dashboard.

For the Expansion:

• Shuffle the additional Wandering Monster and new items into their respective decks.
• Components from levels 6 to 10 and Legendary Treasure cards are only used in Campaign Mode (available in the Heavenfall expansion).

Game Flow

The game flow is divided into turns, where Heroes perform their actions. For the Monk, the turn begins with a specific phase:

Monk's Turn Start:

• The Monk must play 1 of their Chakra cards, placing it face up in front of their dashboard. This is the Active Chakra for that round.
• The effects described on the Active Chakra can be used by the Monk and, in some cases, can help other Heroes.
• Some Chakras have effects that occur at the start of the turn when the Chakra is played.

Hero Phase:

• At the start of each Hero Phase, place all of the Monk's Active Chakras face up in their own discard pile. These are the discarded Chakras.

Actions and How to Play

Necromancer:

Soul Track:

The Necromancer needs Souls to stay strong and use their abilities. The Necromancer gains Souls in the following situations:

• Whenever the Necromancer kills an enemy miniature: +1 Soul.
• Whenever a Leader is killed (even if not by the Necromancer): +2 Souls.
• Whenever a Wandering Monster is killed (even if not by the Necromancer): +4 Souls.
• Other abilities and effects may also allow the Necromancer to gain Souls.

Whenever the Necromancer gains a Soul, move the Soul Track marker 1 space to the right for each Soul gained.

Whenever the Necromancer spends Souls through Talents or other effects, move the Soul Track marker 1 space to the left for each Soul spent.

There are thresholds on spaces 4, 8, and 14 of the Soul Track. If the Soul Track marker is on these spaces or any space to their right, the Necromancer gains the respective benefits listed on the Soul Track.

Skeleton Servants:

• If the Necromancer possesses the Summon Skeletons ability, they can spend Souls to summon Skeleton Servants into their Zone.
• These Servants are not considered Heroes, cannot perform actions, and do not suffer Reaction Damage.
• Whenever the Necromancer moves, Skeleton Servants also move, always remaining in the Necromancer's Zone.

Revived Leaders:

• If the Necromancer possesses the Reborn Leader Talent, they can, as an action, spend Souls to revive a dead Leader (a Leader whose card is in the discard pile). The Skeleton Leader is considered dead for this purpose.
• If the Necromancer revives any Leader, place a small Bond token under its base and the corresponding Monster card near the Necromancer Hero's dashboard.
• The Leader gains 1 of the Necromancer's weapons (either equipped or in their Inventory), which can be swapped in a subsequent Swap action.
• Revived Leaders count as Heroes for the purpose of targeting miniatures (but not for the number of Servants in Mobs, Wandering Monster Health, etc.), but do not possess their Special Abilities.
• The Leader's Health and Defense are as shown on their Group card.
• During the Necromancer's turn, they can activate each revived Leader once for free (the first activation does not cost an action) and can spend actions to activate them again.
• When activated, Leaders can perform 1 Attack action or 1 Move action. When performing a Move action, each Leader has 2 MP, just like any other Hero.
• Leaders cannot interact, open doors, recover, or carry any items other than their original weapon. They also do not roll the Shadow die when attacking in the Shadows.
• Leaders can use the abilities of the equipped weapon, if possible.
• Whenever a Resurrected Leader kills an Enemy, the Necromancer gains the experience and Souls.
• Whenever a Resurrected Leader is killed (except the Skeleton Leader), return its Monster card to the discard pile.
• If, at any time, a higher-level Mob card of a Skeleton Mob or any Resurrected Leader is drawn, replace the current Monster card near the Necromancer's dashboard with the new one. Then, draw a new card for that event.
• The number of Leaders the Necromancer can control is limited to the value shown on the current Reborn Leader Talent, which starts at 1 and can go up to 3. If the Necromancer already has as many Leaders as the limit allows, they cannot revive another Leader until the one(s) they control are killed.

Revived Wandering Monsters:

• If the Necromancer possesses the Reborn Monster Talent, they can, as an action, spend Souls to revive a dead Wandering Monster (a Wandering Monster whose card is in the discard pile).
• If the Necromancer revives a Wandering Monster, place the large Bond token under its base and place the Wandering Monster Card near the Necromancer Hero's dashboard.
• Revived Wandering Monsters count as Heroes for the purpose of targeting miniatures (but not for the number of Servants in Mobs, Wandering Monster Health, etc.), but Wandering Monsters do not possess their Activation Pattern or their Special Abilities.
• A Wandering Monster's attack and defense are as shown on its card. Revived Wandering Monsters have Health equivalent to their Hero Value (even if playing with Single Player rules).
• During the Necromancer's turn, they can activate the revived Wandering Monster once for free (the first activation does not cost an action) and can spend actions to activate it again.
• When activated, the Wandering Monster can perform 1 Attack Action or 1 Move Action. When performing a Move action, the Wandering Monster has 2 MP, just like any other Hero.
• Revived Wandering Monsters cannot Interact, Open Doors, Recover, or carry any items. They also do not roll the Shadow die when attacking in the Shadows.
• Whenever a Revived Wandering Monster kills an Enemy, the Necromancer gains the experience and Souls.
• Whenever a Revived Wandering Monster is killed, return its card to the discard pile.
• If, at any time, a higher-level card of a Revived Wandering Monster is drawn, replace the current card near the Necromancer's dashboard with the new one. Then, draw a new card for that event.
• Necromancers can always control a maximum of 1 Revived Wandering Monster (regardless of the level of the Reborn Monster Talent). If the Necromancer already controls a Revived Wandering Monster, they cannot revive another Wandering Monster until the one they control is killed.

Monk:

Chakras:

• At the start of the Monk's turn, they must play 1 of their Chakra cards, placing it face up in front of their dashboard as a reminder. This is the Active Chakra for that round, and the effects described on the Chakra can be used by the Monk and, in some cases, can help other Heroes.
• Some Chakras have effects that occur at the start of the turn when the Chakra is played.
• Due to the Monk's Talents, there may be more than 1 Active Chakra.
• At the start of each Hero Phase, place all of the Monk's Active Chakras face up in their own discard pile. These are the discarded Chakras.

Chakra Types:

Some Talents may refer to Chakra types. These are: Combat, Agility, and Guidance and are written before the name of each Chakra. The Meditation Chakra does not have a specific type.

Monk Tokens:

Some Talents indicate that Heroes can gain A, B, or G tokens. When indicated, take 1 of the corresponding tokens from the set near the Monk's dashboard and place them on the affected Hero's card. If there are no tokens in the set, the Hero gains no tokens.

• When attacking, Heroes can spend any amount of A, returning them to the supply. For each token spent, add +1 to the roll.
• When defending, Heroes can spend any amount of B, returning them to the supply. For each token spent, add +1 to the roll.
• In combat, Heroes can spend any amount of G, returning them to the supply. For each token spent, they can reroll any die from their Combat Dice pool.

End of Game and Scoring

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Tips for Winning

1. For the Necromancer: Prioritize eliminating Leaders and Wandering Monsters to quickly accumulate Souls. This will unlock the Soul Track thresholds, granting powerful benefits and allowing the summoning of Skeleton Servants and the resurrection of Leaders and Wandering Monsters to increase your combat power.
2. For the Monk: Strategically manage your Chakra cards. Choose the Active Chakra that best suits the current combat situation or the team's needs, taking advantage of effects that can benefit other Heroes. Use Monk tokens (A, B, G) to optimize your attacks, defenses, and dice rolls at critical moments.