Victory and Defeat

Frequently Asked Questions

Adversaries

• Does cascading Blight contribute to the loss condition of Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony)?
  Yes, as long as the original Ravage Action in a land caused 8+ damage.
  Tags: Ravage, Blight, Victory and Defeat, Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony), 0 more...
• When playing against France, if the Slave Rebellion event card causes a victory, can the next Event Card turn it into a sacrifice victory or otherwise undo it?
  No. You check for victory after the Main Event ("Small Uprising" or "Rebellion") and after the Dahan Event ("Aid the Uprising"), and never get to the follow-up Event Card if you win.

  Even if the 2nd Event Card is interpreted as a triggered action(†), it's not triggered by the Main Event or Dahan Event, so it doesn't need to be resolved before checking victory/defeat. (It's triggered by "finishing the Event Card", which is timing based on the game's structure similar to something like "after the Ravage Step" - not an action proper.)

  (†) = And it's not clear if it should be, its wording predates "After" meaning "triggered action".
  Tags: Actions, Victory and Defeat, Kingdom of France, Slave Rebellion, 0 more...

Definitions

• If the end of a Step or Phase triggers multiple Actions, are those Triggered Actions part of the same Action Tree?
  No, they each start their own Action Tree.

  This can matter if one Action Tree will win the game and another will lose the game — the players can choose which Action Tree resolves first and check for Victory after that one.

  For instance, the Triggered Actions from Russia Level 6 each start their own Action Tree, each potentially winning the game (e.g., with Call to Guard) or losing the game (e.g., combined with France or England).
  Tags: Action tree, Triggered Actions, Victory and Defeat, Visions Out of Time, 0 more...

Effect Rules

• If your Incarna is the only Presence you have left on the island, do you need to continually count it as Presence to avoid losing?
  No. You can choose to count it as Presence for victory and defeat checks without having to count it as Presence for everything else.

  Similarly, pieces that can count as Beasts don't need to continuously count as such against the Tsardom of Russia, just for the victory and defeat checks.
  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Counts As, Incarna, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, 3 more...
• Pieces that "do not participate in Ravage" are ignored for Ravages. Does this include checking for victory?
  No, that wasn't intended. Pieces not participating in an Invader Action are still counted for Victory / Defeat.
  Tags: Do not participate in Ravage, Victory and Defeat, Unnerving Pall (Shroud of Silent Mist), Temporary Truce, 4 more...

General Play

• What is the timing of Victory / Defeat?
  Check Victory/Defeat after each action tree is entirely complete – i.e., when you're not in the middle of an action, and there are no pending triggered actions. Example: if a Ravage action destroys a Spirit's last Presence, you still finish the Ravage action (which might involve a Dahan counterattack), plus any actions it triggers (eg: Blood Draws Predators), but you do not resolve any further Ravages from the same Ravage Card.

  This is a slight rules change; the intent is that it be formally published in a future expansion, but FAQs will treat it as true starting immediately. (The core game rules say to check after each and every action, which could be in the middle of a tree of actions - eg, between the Ravage action and Blood Draws Predators.)

  For loss conditions which key off of "you try to do something but can't" (e.g: The Kingdom of France's loss condition, when you are unable to add a Town), the loss is noted as soon as that happens, but you may play out the rest of the action tree to see if you achieve a Sacrifice Victory. Other loss conditions, like The Kingdom of England, are only checked when the tree is complete.
  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Sacrifice victory, Changed rulings, Ravage, 2 more...
• What happens if a piece winds up in a place or state it's not allowed to be?
  If the place still exists, then:

  • Pieces representing humans (Dahan / Invaders) are cleaned up to the closest legal land — this is not considered a move, is not an action, and does not trigger anything, it is simply a correction of the game state. This happens only once you are not in the middle of an action, and there are no pending triggered actions (i.e., after each action tree), just before checking for victory/defeat.
  • All other pieces remain where they are, but are considered out of play unless/until they're no longer in an illegal state.

  On the other hand, if the place was destroyed and pieces within it somehow survived the destruction, they all get cleaned up.

  This sort of thing can happen if pieces survive the sinking of a board (like Dahan via Infinite Vitality with threshold or Explorers via the Tsardom of Russia's A Sense for Impending Disaster), if an Ocean stops being a land (by Ocean's Hungry Grasp losing its Presence there) while other Spirits' Presence is there, or if Invaders/Dahan are left in the Ocean after an action but manage not to Drown in some way.

  If the nearest legal land is unclear, use your best judgment, based on physical distance if necessary. If there is literally no legal land to put the pieces in, return them to the supply; this is still considered cleaning up (not an action, not a move/remove/destroy, does not trigger anything).
  Tags: Pieces, Illegally placed pieces, Victory and Defeat, Action tree, 12 more...
• Do you win as soon as you earn the last Fear card and the Victory space is revealed?
  Yes.

  The text on the last Fear card does not matter.
  Tags: Fear, Victory and Defeat
• What creates a sacrifice victory? What do you finish evaluating before deciding whether you have won or lost?
  You finish evaluating the current action - for instance a Power, or a Ravage in a single land - until you are not in the middle of an action, and have no triggered actions left to resolve. If you meet both a win condition and a loss condition, it is a sacrifice victory (p. 12).

  For instance, if Pillar of Living Flame does enough damage to destroy the last needed Invader and then adds the last Blight to the island, that is a sacrifice victory. If a Ravage in a land adds the last Blight, but then the Dahan retaliate and wipe out the last Invaders for the current victory condition, that is also a sacrifice victory.

  However, Ravages are evaluated land-by-land (in an order you choose), so a Ravage in one land can cause a victory before a Ravage in another land can add the last Blight and cause defeat.

  You only check at the end of the action tree, so, for instance, Confounding Mists can prevent loss against the Kingdom of England by pushing out a building the moment it is built.

  The loss condition of The Kingdom of France (Plantation Colony) is based off of "try to add a Town and fail" rather than the game state. If you try to add a Town and fail, note that you've done so; you will lose (or get a Sacrifice Victory) at the end of the action tree.
  (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Sacrifice victory, Timing, Victory and Defeat, Effect, 1 more...

Power Cards

• Can Weave Together the Fabric of Place affect victory/loss condition X?
  Yes, Weave Together the Fabric of Place makes the lands one land for all purposes, including victory/loss for conditions like in the Dahan Insurrection scenario.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Weave Together the Fabric of Place, Kingdom of Scotland, Dahan Insurrection, 1 more...
• If you target yourself with Growth Through Sacrifice and remove your only Presence on the island, is that land still considered "your land"? (So you could re-add a Presence to avoid losing?)
  No - "your land" / "your lands" are checked when you reach that instruction in the text. When it comes time to add a Presence to one of your lands, you have no lands and cannot do so.

  This logic doesn't apply to Moving or Repositioning your only Presence, however - in those cases, there's never a point in time when the Presence is off the island, so you still can measure Range or have a valid "your land".
  Tags: Adding Presence, Repositioning Presence, Move, Presence, 2 more...
• How does "Absolute Stasis" interact with victory condition X or loss condition Y?
  It doesn't, per the text on the card. The land is an ordinary land for any game-end conditions.

  For instance:

  • You can't win by using Stasis on the land with the last Cities;
  • You can't lose by using Stasis on the last of a Spirit's Presence
  • Beasts in that land count for Russia's additional loss condition; and
  • The final Ravage in Dahan Insurrection does not happen in that land, but any Invaders left there count against the victory condition.
    Tags: Victory and Defeat, Absolute Stasis (Fractured Days Split the Sky), Tsardom of Russia, Kingdom of Scotland, 3 more...

Scenarios

• In the Dahan Insurrection Scenario, what is the timing of Coordinated Insurrection (the uprising instead of a terror victory)? Can the Insurrection trigger actions - eg, Vengeance of the Dead?
  The Insurrection replaces the normal Terror Victory, so happens after the first action where you reach Terror Level 4. Yes, the Insurrection can trigger actions, which can can help fulfill victory conditions.

  The new wording would be "When you would win a Terror Victory (Level 4), instead: in each land with Dahan, Dahan deal damage as if fighting back after a Ravage. After completing these actions (and any triggered actions), if you do not meet the Scenario victory conditions, you lose."
  Tags: Triggered Actions, Victory and Defeat, Dahan Insurrection, Vengeance of the Dead, 0 more...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Are pieces in The Endless Dark still on the island?
  Yes, they are still on the island for all purposes, even though they aren't in a land or on a board.

  In particular:

  • Invaders in The Endless Dark block a Terror Level victory.
  • Presence in The Endless Dark prevents loss from Spirit elimination.
  • Beasts in The Endless Dark count towards preventing a loss against the Tsardom of Russia.
  • Towns in The Endless Dark count towards a loss against the Kingdom of France.
  • Presence in The Endless Dark can be destroyed by Events and Blight Cards that destroy Presence from each Spirit (but not those that destroy Presence from specific boards).

  However, _showLink didnt receive the expected type {1}, and thus:

  • The Endless Dark does not count for loss conditions that are based on contents of a particular land, like Habsburg Mining Colony or the Kingdom of England.

  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Tsardom of Russia, 14 more...
• Can Lure of the Deep Wilderness win the game in Terror Level 1 by using Enthrall the Foreign Explorers?
  Changed answer: No. Lure's ability effectively means "do not participate in Ravage", and pieces not participating in Ravage aren't ignored for Victory / Defeat.

  It would be better phrased as, "For each of your Presence in a land, up to 2 Explorer do not participate in Ravage."

  See also Pieces that "do not participate in Ravage" are ignored for Ravages. Does this include checking for victory?.
  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Changed rulings, Enthrall the Foreign Explorers (Lure of the Deep Wilderness)