# Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2022 - **BGG Rating**: 8.8 - **BGG Rank**: #63 - **Players**: 1-4 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 30-90 min - **Weight**: 3.69 / 5 - **Designers**: Jamie Jolly - **Artists**: Dongbiao Lu, Dongjun Lu, Francesca Baerald, Sean Jackson, Vladimir Buchyk - **Publishers**: Shadowborne Games, Hobby World, Rawstone - **Categories**: Adventure, Card Game, Dice, Exploration, Fantasy, Fighting, Miniatures, Mythology, Puzzle - **Mechanics**: Action Points, Card Play Conflict Resolution, Cooperative Game, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Hexagon Grid, Modular Board, Pattern Recognition, Push Your Luck, Role Playing, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Storytelling, Variable Player Powers ## Verdict Perfect for RPG lovers who want the feeling of campaign progression paired with brutal tactical combat.Epic and challenging boss fightsImmersive branching narrativeRewarding character progressionThrilling exploding dice systemSteep initial learning curveSessions can be quite longHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready to dive into the Deepwood, a place where nature is as dangerous as the creatures that inhabit it. In Oathsworn, you and your friends form the 'Free Company', a group of sworn warriors who stand as humanity's last line of defense against indescribable horrors. The game blends the immersion of an adventure book with the tactics of a modern board game, creating an experience where every narrative choice can lead to completely different paths. The game structure is split into two main phases. First, you navigate through a storybook, making decisions that shape the group's destiny and lead to inevitable encounters. When the fighting starts, the action shifts to the combat board. This is where the game shines with epic, multi-phase boss fights, where you face monsters controlled by a clever AI. It's not just about hitting hard, but about outsmarting and outplaying the enemy using the right strategy. The heart of the combat is an 'exploding dice' push-your-luck system that keeps you on edge: you can aim for massive damage, but you risk missing the attack entirely. To balance this luck, there is the 'Battleflow', a Euro-style cooldown system that requires careful resource management to ensure the group doesn't run out of steam mid-fight. As the campaign progresses, you feel real growth: gaining new levels, powerful loot, and allies who join your journey. It's the kind of game where the story evolves organically, and the feeling of victory after defeating a colossal boss is immensely rewarding. If you love RPGs, deep campaigns, and tactical miniature combat, Oathsworn is your next obsession. ## How to Play 1. Objective of the Game In Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood, you and your friends play as members of a free company of Oathsworn. The story part of each chapter takes you through a series of locations, while the encounter part pits your party against enemies in tactical combat. The goal is to survive the encounters and progress through the chapters of the campaign. The exact victory condition and scoring method are detailed in the official rulebook; consult the manual for full details about this section. 2. Setup (Preparation) Follow these steps to get the game ready for a new chapter. Free Company Composition Create a group of 4 Oathsworn characters. Each can be a full character or a companion version. Full Character Setup Take the character board and place an HP die in the HP slot, set to its maximum (6 if starting a new chapter). If playing an encounter, set it to the HP recorded on the character sheet. Place the character model and a character sheet. Name the character and record the REGEN and MAX ANIMUS values by checking the matching boxes on the tracks. Place a tracker token on the REGEN slot equal to the value on the character sheet. Place a number of animus gems equal to MAX ANIMUS on the reserve side of the animus track. Take 3 iron and the starting item cards from the Chapter 1 Common Item deck. Place colored cubes on the MIGHT track as shown on the item cards. If the item has a DEFENSE value, place a tracker token on the DEFENSE slot equal to the total of those values; otherwise place a 1‑value token. Companion Setup Take the companion card and place an HP die set to its maximum (6 if starting a new chapter). If playing an encounter, set it to the HP recorded on the companion sheet. Place 2 animus gems on the reserve side of the animus track. Companions always have a maximum of 2 animus and never increase it. Take 3 iron and the companion’s starting item cards. Place colored cubes on the MIGHT track and a tracker token on the DEFENSE slot equal to the total of the DEFENSE values plus 2; if none, place a 3‑value token. Story Setup Place the token tray, dice, MIGHT cubes, iron tokens, and card organizer 1 near the playing area. Place the player and encounter MIGHT deck organizers near the board. Place the free company bag nearby. The bag should contain a free company pad sheet, a backpack card (no item cards), 4 men‑at‑arms ally cards, and 8 player aid cards. Take all ally cards from the bag and place them face‑up nearby. Take the backpack card and all item cards from the bag and place them in a pile with the backpack on top. Give each player 2 player aid cards. Place the special rules board facedown at the side of the playing area. Do not look at it until instructed. Place the time tokens and location tokens (numbered 1‑30) face‑up nearby. Prepare the city event deck and deepwood event deck: shuffle cards 1‑6 from each deck into a new deck and place them face‑up; return the rest to the organizer. Do not set up the game map, time track, or path card during this initial setup. You will be told when to do so during the story. Archiving and Saving When you finish a play session, archive any components that are no longer needed and place the remaining components in the appropriate save bags as described in the manual. 3. Game Flow (How the Game Advances) The game alternates between a story part and an encounter part for each chapter. Story Part Read the story entry for the current chapter using the Companion App or Story Book. Move the free company marker to the indicated location, remove the location token, and place it on the next available space of the time track. Resolve any event cards (city or deepwood) drawn as instructed. Apply any time track effects (immediate, end of story, or end of encounter) based on the token placed. When instructed, place a location token and move the free company marker there, following the same token‑placement rules. When instructed to choose a location to go to, pick a location that has a location token on it. Move the marker there, remove the token, and place it on the time track. When instructed to gain a clue, take the corresponding clue token and place it near the time track. Encounter Part Follow the encounter setup steps from the Encounter Book (placing the encounter board, HP dice, stage cards, etc.). Choose a lead Oathsworn; they take the first turn in each round. Proceed through the encounter phases as described in the Sequence of Play section of the manual. Turn Structure During an Encounter Refresh Phase (skip if ambushed) Each Oathsworn and ally regenerates animus equal to their REGEN value. Companions always regenerate 2 animus. Move any ability cards from cooldown 0 back into the hand. Companions remove all cubes from their archetype card. Oathsworn Phase (skip if ambushed) Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player may take one turn. On a turn, a player may make one move action and play up to one ability card. Both are optional. Companions may make one move action and either attack or activate a special ability. Players may use any number of item cards and combat tokens in any order. Item cards have an animus cost that must be paid before activation. Injury cards in hand must be played before movement or ability cards on the first turn of the round. Encounter Phase 1 Draw the top face‑up stage card and resolve its effects. Choose a target for the stage card following the detailed targeting rules. Perform any enemy movement and attacks as specified by the stage card. Activate minions if instructed. 4. Actions and How to Play Below are the core actions available to players during the encounter phase. Move Action Spend any amount of animus (moving it from the available area to the reserve area). For each animus spent, you may move to any adjacent hex that does not contain an obstacle or another character. Some items or abilities allow free movement as specified. Fire tiles remove the tile and cause 1 HP loss; water tiles cost 2 movement and are not removed. Ability Card Play Choose the effect on the card you wish to play. Pay the animus cost shown in the top left corner. Resolve the card’s effect. Place the card on the cooldown position indicated by its cooldown value (0 = below board, 1 = left, 2 = above, 3 = right). After playing an ability card, all other cards in that cooldown position battleflow to the next lowest cooldown position. Items can be battleflowed by other cards and still provide their MIGHT and DEFENSE even when on cooldown. Item Card Use Pay the animus cost before activation. After resolution, place the item on the cooldown position shown on the card. Item abilities do not cost animus and are single‑use; after use, turn the item facedown. Some items have alternate abilities for companions. Combat Token Use Combat tokens may be used during the story or encounter to reset MIGHT decks or for other effects. During an attack, you may use combat tokens for REDRAW or EMPLOYED X3 to upgrade MIGHT cards. When an attack misses, you gain any one combat token of your choice and regain all REDRAW and EMPLOYED X3 tokens spent. Attack Choose how many MIGHT cards to draw: one card of each color on your MIGHT track plus any number of white cards. If you draw 2 or more blanks, the attack misses and does no damage. Otherwise, sum the values of the drawn cards to determine damage. Apply criticals: for each critical symbol drawn, draw another card of the same color and add its value; repeat if another critical appears. Apply any REDRAW or EMPLOYED X3 upgrades before drawing. Divide the total damage by the target’s DEFENSE and round down to determine HP loss. Companion Actions Companions spend animus and have a set number of actions per round. They may move 2 hexes, perform an attack, or refresh MIGHT decks by spending 2 animus or battleflow tokens. Companion archetype cards provide two abilities that can be used once per round. Companion items have passive MIGHT, range, and DEFENSE even when on cooldown. Ally Actions Ally models replace an unconscious Oathsworn and act like companions. They regenerate 2 animus per round and use the alternate combat token rules. Some allies have a once‑per‑encounter ability that consumes a MIGHT cube. 5. End of Game and Scoring The campaign ends when the free company completes all chapters or fails to meet the survival condition. If at any point the free company has fewer than 4 available Oathsworn, the campaign is failed. During the Tally Level, Loot and Losses steps, mark a tick on the knockout track for each Oathsworn that went unconscious. Unconscious Oathsworn receive an injury card and lose an additional item. At the start ## FAQ ### Is the game too complex for non-RPG players? It's considered an 'Expert' game, but the rules are well-structured. If you enjoy learning new systems, you'll be fine, but be ready to study the manual. ### Can I play it solo? Yes! The game works great in solo mode, allowing you to experience the story and face the bosses on your own. ### How long does each session take? Sessions typically range from 30 to 90 minutes, but keep in mind that boss fights can run longer depending on the difficulty. ### Do I need a lot of miniatures to play? The game comes with amazing miniatures for heroes and monsters, which are essential for the immersion during combat. ### Is it a 'Legacy' style game? It has campaign elements and progression (levels, loot), but it doesn't involve destroying components like traditional Legacy games. ### Is combat based purely on luck? No. While dice provide the tension, the 'Battleflow' system and card management require significant strategy to win. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 255.86 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6843378&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/43992/oathsworn-into-the-deepwood?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com