1. Objective of the Game

In Scholars of the South Tigris: Body of Books, the Caliph has called for a greater focus on the study of medicine. Doctors from near and far bring books and scrolls, wishing to share their latest discoveries. With this recent influx of knowledge and understanding, there seems no better time to start publishing our latest findings across all fields of science.

Players compete to become the most renowned scholar by publishing Page Cards, advancing on the Medicine Research Track, and collecting XP and other victory‑point resources. The game ends when the final Caliph Card is revealed; the player with the highest total score wins.

2. Preparation (Setup)

1. Set up Scholars of the South Tigris as described in the original rulebook, then apply the following changes:
• Place the Main Board Extension at the right end of the original Main Board, and put all XP Tokens and the Black Dice into the Main Supply.
• Shuffle the new Starting Translator Card, all Translator Cards, and all Scroll Cards into their respective piles.
• Shuffle the 8 Upgraded Action Cards (grey backs). Place 6 face‑up above the Main Board Extension, arranged into 2 rows of 3. Put 1 XP on each card in the top row and 2 XP on each card in the bottom row. Return the remaining 2 cards to the box.
• Place 1 XP on space 3 of each of the 7 Research Tracks. Place 1 XP per player on the first Caliph Card space.
• Shuffle the 52 Page Cards into a facedown Draw Pile near the Main Board Extension. Reveal the top card and place it face‑up into each of the 6 Book spaces of the Main Board Extension.
• Give each player:
  • Their new Action Card, added to their hand of Action Cards.
  • An extra Research Marker, placed on the zero space of the Medicine (black) Research Track.
  • 1 Black Die, added to their Bag (before selecting Starting Translators and Resource Cards).
  • 1 XP from the Main Supply.
  • 1 Starting Page Card, 1 Row Reference Tile, and 1 of each Row Bonus Tile. Place these below their Player Board as shown, respecting the order from top to bottom.

3. Flow of the Game

The game proceeds in turns, each consisting of the following phases in order:

1. Action Phase – The active player chooses and resolves one of their Action Cards (Recruit, Deliver, Research, Translate, or a Black variant). They may also use any Retired Translators or Tucked Page Cards that are available.
2. End‑Turn Tucking – After the action, the player may tuck any eligible Page Cards or Retired Translators beneath their Player Board, following the costs dictated by their Row Reference Tile. If a row becomes fully filled, the player slides the Row Reference Tile down one row, resolves the highest Row Bonus Tile, flips it to its gold side, and places it above the Row Reference Tile.
3. Event Phase – If the game includes any global events or enemy turns (not detailed in the provided context), resolve them here. Otherwise, proceed to the next player.

The game continues until the final Caliph Card is revealed, triggering the End of Game step described in section 5.

4. Actions and How to Play

Recruit Actions

• Black Recruit Action – Increase the action’s value by 3.
• Players can Employ Translators into Room 11 by paying 4 Silver. This allows them to gain 1 Page Card or 2 XP (see the reminder above the Medicine Research Track).

Deliver Actions

• Black Deliver Action – Gain 1 XP if the player stops on or moves past the Neutral Marker (starting on the same space does not grant XP).
• Delivering a Medicine Scroll advances the player up the Medicine Track, just like delivering Scrolls of other colours.
• Moving beyond space 7 immediately earns 1 XP.

Research Actions

• Black Research Action – Advance up the Medicine Research Track. All costs are the same as advancing up other Research Tracks.
• Each player has a new Action Card that may be used to harvest the Medicine Track when Resting.

Translate Actions

• Black Translate Action – The player does not translate a Scroll from the House of Wisdom; instead, they aim to gain a Page Card from those available.
• With a Black action value of 6 or higher, the player must place 1 Gold onto any 1 Translator. After doing so, they gain 1 XP and 1 Page Card.
• With a Black action value of 10 or higher, the player must place 2 Gold onto any 2 Translators (not on the same Translator). After doing so, they gain 3 XP and 1 Page Card.
• Players may always choose to gain 2 XP instead of a Page Card if they wish.
• Gold placed must come from a player’s personal supply. If the Translators receiving Gold do not belong to the player placing it, they must also pay Silver to the owners, just like any other interaction with Translators.

Black Dice and Upgraded Action Cards

• Each player starts with 1 Black Die in their Bag. They can gain more throughout the game.
• Black Dice have values 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6 and take priority over all other colours.
• When a player gains a Black Die but none remain in the Main Supply, they may instead gain a Primary Die or Destroy a White Die.
• Any time a player gains a Black Die, they may upgrade 1 of their Action Cards. The upgrade process is described in the Black Dice section of the manual.

5. End of Game and Scoring

When the final Caliph Card is revealed, the following steps occur before final scoring:

1. In turn order from the First Player Marker, each player may resolve their End Game Page Cards (gold banners). During their turn, they can resolve the effects of these Page Cards in any order they choose.
2. If any effect results in retiring more Translators or gaining more Page Cards, those cards must be tucked immediately, not at the end of the turn.

After all End Game Page Cards are resolved, players calculate their Dice Sum, counting Black Dice as colours (positive). Then they add the following components to their score:

• Tucked Page Cards
• Facedown Row Bonus Tiles
• The position of their Research Marker on the Medicine Track

Remaining XP is not worth anything. The player with the highest total score wins.

6. Tips for Winning

• Use Black Dice strategically: because they take priority over all other colours, they can unlock higher‑value actions and grant extra XP or Page Cards when combined with Black actions.
• Focus on completing rows of Tucked Page Cards and Retired Translators to slide your Row Reference Tile down, lowering future costs and unlocking powerful Row Bonus Tiles.
• Plan your End Game Page Cards carefully: resolving them in the right order can allow you to tuck additional cards and trigger extra row completions before the final score is tallied.