How to Play Zombicide: White Death – Eternal Empire

Game Objective

In Zombicide: White Death - Eternal Empire, players take on the role of masters of Chi, a vital mystical energy, in an Eternal Empire ravaged by the Black Plague and hordes of zombies. The main objective is to fight against the zombie invasion and the schemes of necromancers, channeling Chi to perform heroic deeds. Survivors must defeat the zombies, especially the fearsome Warden Brutes, who can only be eliminated using Chi. Additionally, it is crucial to protect the Chi Statues, which are the main sources of mystical power and favorite targets of the God-Eater Abomination. Monsters must not be allowed to destroy the statues and extinguish the remaining life force of the Empire.

The game is a campaign expansion for Zombicide: White Death, where Survivors travel in search of answers about the zombie invasion. Victory is achieved by completing the specific Objectives of each Quest, which can range from rescuing artifacts, saving monks, evacuating civilians, to eliminating specific zombies or the Defiler Necromancer.

Setup

The setup for Zombicide: White Death - Eternal Empire involves the following steps, which may vary slightly depending on the chosen Quest:

• Game Components: The game includes 6 Survivor miniatures and their ID Cards (Zhi Yang, Zhi Shen, Shao Yinying, Fengbao Jianrui, among others), 4 double-sided Game Tiles, 9 Zombie miniatures (1 God-Eater Abomination and 8 Warden Brutes), 36 Chi Tokens, 1 Orange Spawn Token, 37 various Tokens, 145 Mini-Cards (72 Advanced Equipment cards, 16 Chi Skill Cards, 56 Zombie Cards, 1 Abomination Card), 136 Objective Cards, and 1 Campaign Sheet Notepad.
• Game Board: Assemble the game board using the Game Tiles specified in the Quest (e.g., Quest 1 uses 26V, 32V, 34R, 35V, 36V, & 38V).
• Survivors: Each player chooses a Survivor and receives their ID Card and miniature. Each Survivor starts the game with 3 Chi Tokens. The Chi reserve has no upper limit and cannot fall below 0. Survivors from the Eternal Empire expansion start with 2 Skills at the Blue Level.
• Chi Skill Cards (Optional): Shuffle the Chi Skill Cards from both groups (Blue/Orange and Orange/Red). For each Survivor, draw 1 Chi Skill Card from each deck. The player can choose to swap 1 Skill from the Survivor at the indicated levels (Blue or Orange for the first deck, Orange or Red for the other) for 1 of the indicated Chi Skills. If the swap is made, the card is kept near the Survivor's Dashboard. Otherwise, the card is reshuffled into the deck.
• Card Decks: Replace the Equipment, Starting Equipment, and Vault Weapons decks with their Advanced versions from Eternal Empire. Replace the Zombie Cards deck with the Advanced Zombie deck from Eternal Empire.
• Initial Tokens and Miniatures: Place the Chi Statues, Guards, Corruption Tokens, Cauldrons, Rope Ladders, and the Beacon according to the Quest map.
• Objective Cards: Each Quest has its own set of Objective Cards. Place them in the specific Zones (mainly Objective Zones) as described on the Quest map. Some Objective Cards, called Notes, are placed face down near the board.
• Orange Zombie Spawn Token: This token creates an Orange Spawn Zone that becomes active as soon as any Survivor reaches the Orange Danger Level.
• Campaign Sheet (for Campaign Mode): Each Survivor receives their own Campaign Sheet to record progress, CXP, Bonus Actions, and Campaign Skills.

Game Flow

The game progresses in Game Rounds, each divided into three main phases:

1. Players Phase:
   • The first player activates all their Survivors, one after another, in any order. Then, the next player does the same, proceeding clockwise.
   • Each Survivor has 3 Actions to spend, which can be performed multiple times per Activation, unless otherwise indicated.
2. Zombies Phase:
   • Step 1 – Activation: Attack or Move
     • All Zombies spend 1 Action doing one of two things:
     • Zombies in the same Zone as at least 1 Survivor attack them.
     • All Zombies that did not attack, move.
     • Zombies prioritize visible Survivors they can reach before those they cannot. If they have no Line of Sight to any Survivor, Zombies prioritize the loudest Zone they can reach. Choose the shortest path.
   • Step 2 – Spawn:
     • Always draw Zombie Cards for all Spawn Zones in ascending order, starting with the first Spawn Zone and ending with the Defiler Spawn Zone.
     • Use the highest Danger Level among the Survivors.
     • If there are no more miniatures of a specified type: Place the remaining ones. Then, spawn an Abomination (extra activation instead, if one is already on the board).
     • Defiler Necromancer: The Zombie Spawn Token it came from moves 1 Zone towards the Beacon, spreading Corruption.
3. End Phase:
   • Remove all Noise Tokens from the board.
   • The next player receives the First Player Token (plays clockwise).

Actions and How to Play

During the Players Phase, each Survivor has 3 Actions to spend. The available actions are:

• Move: Move 1 Zone. Spend extra Actions if there are Zombies in the starting Zone.
• Search (once per Turn): In a Building Zone free of Zombies. Draw a card from the Equipment deck. The Survivor can then reorganize their inventory for free.
• Reorganize/Trade: Trade Equipment with another Survivor in the same Zone. Players can trade as they wish, it doesn't have to be equal.
• Combat Action:
  • Melee Action: Requires equipped Melee weapon.
  • Ranged Action: Requires equipped Ranged weapon.
  • Magic Action: Requires equipped Combat spell.
• Enchantment Action: Requires equipped Enchantment.
• Take or Activate an Objective: In the Survivor's Zone.
• Do Nothing: All remaining Actions are lost.
• Make Noise: Place a Noise Token in the Survivor's Zone.
• Cauldron Action (uses 3 Actions):
  • Move a Cauldron from the Survivor's Zone to an adjacent Zone with an open path. The Survivor moves with it.
  • Pour a Cauldron from a Battlement Walkway to an adjacent Street Zone. All Actors in the target Zone are eliminated.
• Guard Action:
  • Move
  • Melee or Ranged Action.
  • Move or Pour a Cauldron (3 or more Guards).

Chi Rules

Chi is a special resource that can be spent to activate spectacular effects, such as adding dice, Damage, or activating dedicated Skills. Chi Tokens are placed on the Survivor's Dashboard and cannot be traded.

• Meditation (New Action):
  • Sets a Survivor's Chi reserve to 3. If done in a Chi Statue's Zone, sets the reserve to 6.
  • Can be done in any Zone, as long as there are no Zombies or Corruption in it.
  • A Survivor can perform only one Meditation Action per Turn (even if it's a Free Action).
• Using Chi: When performing an Action, a Survivor can spend up to 1 Chi Token to activate one of the following effects:
  1. Activate a Chi Skill: A Survivor can activate only 1 Chi Skill per Turn.
  2. Recast an Enchantment: Chi can be spent to cast an Enchantment a second time, once per Turn.
  3. Enhance a weapon: Chi can be spent to improve a weapon's characteristics once per Action.
• Warden Brutes: If there are any Warden Brutes on the board, a Survivor must spend 1 Chi Token to attack Zombies (either to enhance the weapon or use a Chi Skill). Guard Actions are not Combat Actions and do not allow spending Chi to eliminate Zombies in the presence of Warden Brutes, unless they possess the Skill Guards: Warden Killers.
• God-Eater Abomination: Each Survivor loses 1 Chi Token (down to a minimum of 0) whenever a God-Eater Abomination card is drawn.
• Improve Armor Rolls: Outside of a Survivor's Turn, they can spend 1 Chi Token to improve an Armor roll they are about to make, either by decreasing the difficulty or allowing a re-roll (depending on the equipment's characteristics). This can only be done once per Armor roll.

New Zombies

• Warden Brute:
  • Wounds dealt: 1
  • To eliminate: Damage 2
  • Adrenaline provided: 1 point
  • Special rule: Zombie cards that spawn Brutes, spawn 1 additional Warden Brute. As long as there are Warden Brutes on the board, Zombies can only be eliminated with Combat Actions where Chi is spent (to enhance the weapon or use a Chi Skill) or game effects that eliminate all Actors in the target Zone (e.g., Cauldron or Dragon Fire).
• God-Eater Abomination:
  • Wounds dealt: 1
  • To eliminate: Damage 3, Cauldron, or Dragon Fire.
  • Adrenaline provided: 5 points
  • Special rules:
    • Wounds inflicted by Abominations cannot be prevented by Armor rolls.
    • Requires a Damage 3 weapon to kill (can be achieved with Skills or special Quest rules).
    • When eliminated, place a random face-down Vault Weapon in the Abomination's Zone.
    • Ignores walls and does not need ladders to climb or descend Battlement Walkways.
    • Each Survivor loses 1 Chi (minimum 0) each time a God-Eater Abomination card is drawn.
    • Always moves towards the nearest Zone with a Chi Statue. If several are at the same distance, players choose.
    • Attacks Chi Statues as if they were Survivors, destroying them with a single attack. A broken Chi Statue does not give extra Chi when meditating in its Zone.

Special Zones

• Bridge Zones: These are Street Zones that allow safe passage over Ice Zones. An Actor can only enter or exit a Bridge Zone through its entrances. The Jump Skill can ignore this rule.
• Ice Zones: These are Street Zones. Survivors cannot fight or stay in them for too long, otherwise, they are eliminated in the End Phase (no Armor roll). Survivors (or Guards) in an Ice Zone can only perform Move Actions, Take an Objective, or pick up a Vault Weapon card. Ice Zones do not affect Zombies. Corruption Tokens cannot be placed in Ice Zones and Bridge Zones.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends and victory or defeat is determined by the specific Objectives of each Quest. Quests are designed to be played in campaign mode, but can also be played individually.

• Victory Condition: The Quest is successful as soon as the Survivors fulfill all the Objectives listed on the Quest card. Objectives may include:
  • Reclaiming Vault Weapons (e.g., Quest 1).
  • Activating and keeping Guards safe (e.g., Quest 2, Quest 4, Quest 9).
  • Saving a Celestial One and taking them to an Exit Zone (e.g., Quest 3).
  • Eliminating a specific number of Warden Brutes and/or picking up Objective Cards (e.g., Quest 6).
  • Defeating a Defiler Necromancer and eliminating all Zombies from the board (e.g., Quest 7).
  • Finding Fire Stars and using them to move the