Kingdom Death's world is immensely deep and brutally challenging. It will captivate the imagination and stoke the fires of obsession.

Boutique Nightmare Horror

Skills and techniques learned by survivors, usually through story events, and recorded on the Survivor Record Sheet.

Abilities

The Watcher's instinct. Described on the Watcher's showdown story event and basic action card.

Absorb

Add +1d10 movement to a move action. Before moving, you may roll the Death Die and add the result to your movement for one move action this round.

Acceleration

A gear special rule. Accessory gear may be worn in addition to armor on a hit location. Each accessory specifies the hit location it covers.

Accessory

Represents permanent changes to attack rolls. Positive attribute adds to the dice roll, while negative attribute subtracts from the dice roll.

Accuracy (Attribute)

The number that each attack roll result must meet or exceed in order to be considered a hit. Listed on monster attack profiles and weapon gear.

Accuracy (Weapon/Attack Profile)

An ability. Add 1d10 strength to wound attempts when attacking with Fist & Tooth.

Acid Palms

The part of the survivors' turn in which an individual survivor gains movement and activation. Each survivor must complete their act before another may start theirs, and all unused movement and activations are lost when a survivor ends their act.

Most things a survivor or monster can do during the Showdown Phase, like moving and attacking, are actions.

Action

Activation can be spent to attack, activate some gear, and interact with terrain. Survivors gain one activation during that survivor's act.

Activation

A gear special rule. A survivor may only activate/spend {Q} on this gear the listed number of times during a showdown.

Activation Limit X

A miniature is adjacent to another when it occupies a space one space in a cardinal (non-diagonal) direction from a square occupied by the other miniature.

Adjacent (Miniature)

An ability. You may set aside 2 dice with the High Roller knowledge. These dice must be from separate attacks.

Advanced Play

The Tyrant's instinct. Described on the Tyrant's showdown story event and basic action card.

Advance (instinct)

A knowledge advances when appropriate observation conditions are met. Advancing a knowledge transforms it into something more powerful. When this happens, immediately replace the old knowledge with the new one on your survivor record sheet. Update your knowledge deck and the settlement record sheet, if applicable.

Advance (knowledge)

A type of gear special rule. Having the indicated number of colored affinities will trigger the effect. Each affinity bonus only applies once, regardless of how many extra affinities a survivor has.

Affinity Bonus

Some gear cards have red, blue, or green half-squares on the card edge. If a half-square is adjacent to a half-square of the same color on another gear card, the complete square they form is one affinity.

Affinity (Completed)

An attack trigger found on some monster AI attack profiles. If there are any successful hits in the attack, resolve all damage from all hits in this attack (roll hit location dice, apply damage to hit location), then apply this trigger's attack effects. If there is no damage dealt from the attack, do not apply this effect.

After Damage

An attack trigger found on some monster AI attack profiles. If there are any successful hits in the attack, before rolling hit location dice, apply this trigger's attack effects.

After Hit

The end of a Showdown Phase. Contains different outcomes based on the survivors' success or failure.

Aftermath

An ability. You may hunt if you are retired. When you gain Hunt XP, you may instead choose not to gain it.

Ageless

A secret fighting art from the Lion Knight expansion. It allows the survivor to rotate up to 3 gear cards in their gear grid. Each of these gear cards may be rotated 90, 180, or 270 degrees in either direction, as long as the card remains aligned with the printed square on the survivor's gear grid. This changes the positions of the affinities and arrows on those gear cards. The rules of the cards themselves remain unchanged.

Ageless Apprentice

Add an attack roll to an attack. During your attack, after making your attack rolls but before drawing hit locations, you may roll the Death Die as an additional attack roll. 

Aggression Overload

AI cards are made up of actions, flows and alerts. Some cards also have persistent injury and/or definition boxes. There are four kinds of AI cards - Basic, Advanced, Legendary, and Special.

AI Card

Made up of AI cards used for a specific showdown. See the monster's story event for details of its AI deck. The AI Deck is reduced as the monster is wounded.

AI Deck

Actions following an alert contain important conditional information that must be considered to determine if the action is performed. Continue to perform any further actions on the AI card unless stated otherwise. Survival may not be spent during an alert.

Alerts

The Gold Smoke Knight's instinct. Described on the Gold Smoke Knight's showdown story event and basic action card.

All Is Ash

An effect during the showdown that refers to all survivors applies to all survivors currently on the showdown board.

All Survivors

A gear keyword. This gear is substantively crafted of amber.

Amber

If the monster moves into the survivors' hunt board space, it ambushes the survivors. End any current hunt events and start the showdown immediately. Survivors skip their first turn. In most cases, this means that the monster will take two turns in a row.

Ambush (Monster)

Some hunt events allow the survivors to ambush the monster. If they do, survivors may go first in the showdown. Do not follow the setup rules on the monster's story event. Instead, place the listed showdown terrain, the monster, and survivors on the showdown board as the players decide (setup rules on terrain cards must still be followed).

Ambush (Survivors)

A gear special rule. You must have a bow in your gear grid to activate this card. Ammo has the range of a bow in your gear grid.

Ammo - Bow 

A gear keyword. This gear is ammunition for another weapon gear.

Ammunition

The Slenderman's instinct. Described on the Slenderman's showdown story event and basic action card.

Amnesia

An ability. At the start of the survivors' turn, if you are adjacent to the monster, reveal the top AI card, then place it back on top of the deck.

Analyze

An impairment. It takes one fewer bleeding token to kill you. This impairment can be gained multiple times. If you gain Anemic enough times that it takes 0 bleeding tokens to kill you, you instantly die.

Anemic

Remove this card from play and return it to the game box. Unless it is recorded into settlement storage or the survivor's record sheet, any archived card is permanently lost. It must be returned to its respective deck and be re-drawn to be gained again.

Armor

Recorded on the survivor record sheet. Determined by armor gear in the survivor's gear grid, as well as other effects and events. Each point negates one point of damage to the hit location. Armor points decrease by 1 for each damage they negate.

Armor Points {M}

Each armor set is comprised of all armor from a single settlement location with the keyword 'set'. For example, while a survivor is wearing the White Lion Helm, White Lion Gauntlets, White Lion Coat, White Lion Skirt, and White Lion Boots, they have completed the White Lion armor set.

Armor Set

A survivor wearing a completed armor set gains the benefits of the armor set bonus listed on its corresponding armor set card.

Armor Set Bonus 

A survivor hit location. Damage to the arms beyond the heavy injury level results in a roll on the Arms section of the Severe Injury table.

Arms 

The start of the showdown. Any survivors who have "On Arrival" effects apply them in the order of their choice. 

Arrival 

The Marrowism neurosis. When you gain knowledge at the Forum that is not from Marrowism, it costs +2 lumi. You cannot refuse a Majestic Invitation from a Bone Eater.

Arrogance

A gear keyword. This gear card is an arrow.

Arrow

A survivor ability. On Arrival, if possible, add an Acanthus Plant terrain card to the showdown.

Astute

An ability. When you make an observation about a knowledge, make two observations instead.

Astute Psyche

The process of making attack rolls and resolving damage, wounds, or other effects.

Attack

Attack effects are rules contained in a box below the attack profile on some AI cards, and applied when the trigger occurs. These effects are applied only once, even if the target is hit or damaged multiple times by this attack.

Attack Effects

Part of monster AI cards and basic actions. Lists the speed, accuracy, damage, and any triggers for a monster attack.

Attack Profile

The dice roll that represents an attempt to hit a target. A Lantern 10 will always result in a hit.

Attack Roll

An aspect of a survivor or monster described by a numerical value.

Attribute

Attribute modifier tokens are used to indicate temporary changes to attributes. Attribute modifier tokens are double-sided to represent gains and losses for that attribute, and are combined with permanent attribute totals to determine the current level of each attribute. All tokens are removed at the end of each showdown.

Attribute Modifier Token 

Automatic hits happen in the place of attack rolls. When a survivor attacks, they make attack rolls equal to their weapon's Speed (plus modifiers). Each automatic hit foregoes one of these rolls and adds 1 to the total number of hits when hits are determined. The remaining attack rolls are performed normally, and all hits (rolled or automatic) are drawn and resolved together. Automatic hits are not Perfect hits.

Automatic Hit(s) 

A movement that puts the most possible spaces between two points on the showdown board, such as a monster, survivor, terrain, or board edge.

Away (Movement)

Gear with this keyword is an axe weapon. Survivors may gain levels of axe weapon proficiency with this weapon.

The direction opposite the monster's facing. 

Back

A gear special rule. Spend {q} and archive X wounds from the monster's wound stack to perform a Ballad. Effects of Ballads last until the gear is archived, you die, or you begin a different Ballad. Ballads have different names and costs (denoted by [X]).

Ballad [X]

A gear keyword. Balm items work by rubbing them on a survivor's skin. 

Balm

A special rule. At the start of your act, gain (or lose) howling tokens until you have X of them. During your act or a survival opportunity, you may spend 1 howling token to do one of the following: gain {a}, which must be spent immediately, limit once per round. Gain {q}, which must be spent immediately, limit once per round. Perform a survival action using the howling token in place of survival. Gain +1 STR token until the end of the round.

Banshee Dura X

A gear special rule. On a Perfect hit, gain +X strength for the rest of the attack.

Barbed X

Bash

A Monster's basic action is detailed on its Basic Action card. A basic action consists of a target action and an attack action with an attack profile. Monsters will perform a basic action on some AI cards, in some reactions, or if the AI deck and discard are both empty. Performing a basic action does not count as an AI card being drawn.

Basic Action

Double-sided Basic Action/Reference cards contain a monster's basic action on one side and an overview of the monster's characteristics on the other side.

Basic Action / Reference Card

100 events survivors may encounter out in the darkness. Found in the Basic Hunt Event section of the rulebook. 

Basic Hunt Event 

Generic resources that can be gained from most quarry monsters and many events.

Basic Resources 

A trigger found on some monster attack profiles. Apply this trigger's attack effect after hits and hit location dice are rolled, but before damage is dealt to hit locations.

Before Damage

An ability. You may spend survival and use fighting arts, weapon specialization, and weapon mastery while Frenzied.

Bitter Frenzy

Survivors can gain bleeding tokens from severe injuries, monster attacks, and some events. If a survivor has 5 or more bleeding tokens, they are dead. All tokens are removed at the end of each showdown.

Bleeding Token 

Bleed X

A gear special rule. When you wound the monster from its blind spot, all of its Reflex reactions become Failure reactions until the attack ends. (This includes the current reaction.)

Blindside

Usually the spaces directly behind the monster. Survivors in the monster's blind spot are outside of its field of view, and gain +1 accuracy when attacking.

Blind Spot 

A gear special rule. Spend activation to ignore X hits the next time you are attacked. Lasts until your next act. A survivor may not use block more than once per attack.

Block X

A gear special rule. If you are adjacent to another survivor, you may spend {q} to kill them. You gain their bleeding tokens and it takes an additional 5 bleeding tokens to kill you this showdown.

Bloodeater

A survivor hit location. Damage to the body beyond the heavy injury level results in a roll on the Body section of the Severe Injury table. This is the only hit location that appears twice on the hit location dice.

Body

An attack that always hits a survivor's body location. Do not roll hit location dice for this attack.

Body Blow 

Some survivors track their Body Count, which is the number of survivors they have killed.

Body Count

A gear keyword. Bone is one of the primary materials used to craft this gear.

Bone (Gear)

Bone (Resource)

Gear with this keyword is a bow weapon. Survivors may gain levels of bow weapon proficiency with this weapon.

The Brain is a survivor location different from hit locations, and represents a survivor's mental fitness. Since the human mind is fragile, there is only one injury level for the Brain (indicated by the light-lined unfilled box). Any damage beyond the light injury level results in a roll on the Brain Trauma table. The Brain is only damaged by brain damage.

Brain

Brain damage only affects the Brain location.

Brain Damage

Contains possible outcomes of excess damage to the Brain location.

Brain Trauma Table 

Broken Lantern (Resource)

When a new location is built, place that settlement location in the play area and add the new location to your settlement record sheet. This is a permanent addition to your settlement.

Build (Location)

Burnt Nerves 

A specific type of Strain Milestone that is checked at the end of a Campaign. If achieved, resolve its Permanent Effect and remove the achieved strain milestone card from your game. It can never be used again.

Campaign End (Strain Milestone)

A gear special rule. This gear may only be activated X times per campaign. Record this on your settlement record sheet to keep track.

Campaign Limit X

A canceled attack immediately ends. Discard all unresolved hit locations. Do not perform any actions, special rules, critical effects, or reactions on these cards. This most commonly happens when the attacker is knocked down, draws a trap card, or is no longer in range of the monster during their attack.

Canceled Attack

A survivor ability. Before making an attack roll, you may declare "Caratosis X" in a loud, booming voice. If you do, that attack gains X automatic hits. X cannot be more than your total red affinities. When the attack ends, gain +X Hunt XP.

Caratosis 

A survivor status. When you gain this, place all your attribute tokens on this card. At the start of your act, remove a token from this card and suffer 3 damage to a random hit location. When there are no tokens on this card, archive it.

Catalyze

The Lion Knight's instinct. Described on the Lion Knight's showdown story event and basic action card.

Catwalk

A gear special rule. This gear must be placed in the center of your gear grid. If you gain this and already have a gear in the center of your grid, archive it and place this in the center of your grid.

Center

A card that modifies how a survivor comes into the world. Character cards will bestow small benefits or penalties on newly named survivors.

Character Card

A gear special rule. Survivors spend movement and activation to move the maximum available spaces in a straight line in one direction. At the end of movement, if in range, perform an attack using a melee weapon, adding the number of spaces moved in this way to your strength for the attack. Charge does not impact any further attacks this turn.

Charge 

If you have a Charged token at the end of your attack with a metal weapon, if you hit the monster, it is shocked and suffers an automatic wound. Archive all Charged tokens at the end of each round.

Charged token

An ability. Spend {v}{v} to cause departing survivors to suffer the frenzy brain trauma twice and ignore bash for the rest of the lantern year. Limit once per lantern year.

Cheer Captain

A special newborn blessed under a Solar Eclipse. Some cards and story events care about Children of the Sun.

Child of the Sun

A gear special rule. When you attempt to wound a hit location with a persistent injury, gain +X luck for that wound attempt.

Cleavage X

A gear special rule. You may spend MA to activate and attack with this weapon. If you do, it gains the two-handed keyword, +4 strength, and slow for the attack. You cannot use Cleave if an injury or other effect is preventing you from activating gear with the two-handed keyword.

Living Glossary