Ready to Play: Proving Grounds Game Rules

Welcome to the Proving Grounds! This is where you and I will cover everything you need to know to get started. Now, let’s dive into the rules and get you ready to play!

The Setup

First things first: let’s get everything set up. Grab your game components and make sure you have the game board, dice, tokens, and cards. Lay out the game board in the center of the table, so it’s visible to all players. Each player needs to choose a character and take their corresponding token. Shuffle the deck of challenge cards, and you’re all set!

Objective of the Game

The goal of Proving Grounds is to survive a series of challenges and prove your worth as a hero. Each challenge represents a different trial you must overcome. The game is played in rounds, and you have to complete all the challenges within a set number of rounds to win.

Gameplay

Starting with the first player, take turns in a clockwise direction. On your turn, you’ll roll the dice and place them on the action board, which shows different actions you can take. Each action has a specific requirement, such as matching dice or achieving a target number. Choose an action that matches your rolled dice and resolve its effects. The actions will allow you to move, attack, or defend against the challenges.

After resolving your action, it’s time for the challenge! Draw a challenge card and follow the instructions. Challenges can be enemies you have to defeat, tasks you have to accomplish, or obstacles you have to overcome. Use your hero’s abilities, items, and resources to overcome the challenge. The cards will provide you with additional information and rules specific to each challenge.

Remember, the clock is ticking! Each round, you’ll lose a token, representing time running out. If you lose all your tokens before completing all the challenges, you lose the game. But if you manage to overcome all the challenges before time runs out, you win and prove yourself as a true hero!

Final Thoughts

Now that you know the rules, it’s time to gather your courage and dive into the Proving Grounds. The game will present you with thrilling challenges and test your strategic thinking. Will you be able to overcome all the trials and emerge victorious? Only time will tell. Good luck, hero!

I stand alone against the world. A group of people has accused me of killing my own mother, the Sun Queen, and they want to take over the throne from my family.

In order to prove that I am innocent and regain my rightful place, I have to enter the Proving Grounds and pass a difficult trial that will test my fighting abilities.

Will I, the Wizened’s chosen daughter, defeat my enemies in the arena? Or will I be defeated by the conspirators and their wicked plans?

What’s inside the box?

• 1 Dragonling Die
• 14 Attack Dice
• 1 Encounter Board
• 1 Health Marker
• 1 Dragonling Token
• 1 Sun and Moon Dial
• 6 Battle Markers
• 1 Reference Card
• 6 Shield Tokens
• 6 Conspirator Cards
• 6 Shield Tokens
• 15 Inspiration Cards
• 19 Chariot Cards
• 30 Enemy Cards
• Rulebook

Before we get started, there’s one important thing you’ll need: a one-minute timer. You can easily download the Renegade Games Companion app, which has the official Proving Grounds timer for you to use.

Your mission: survive the Proving Grounds

Hey, I’m Maia Strongheart, and I’m counting on you. We’re about to enter the Proving Grounds, where the challenge is simple, but not easy. Your goal is to defeat eight enemy combatants in the arena before your health runs out. It’s a test of strength, strategy, and endurance. Can you prove yourself worthy?

So here’s the deal: if you manage to beat eight bad guys and make it out alive till the end, victory is yours! But hold on tight because if that health meter ever creeps up to the final spot on your health bar, it’s game over for you, my friend!

Understanding Enemy Cards

1 Card Name: The name of the enemy I’m about to face.

2 Battle Track: This is where I’ll keep track of my progress in the battle.

3 Start Space: When I draw the enemy card, I’ll place the battle marker on this space.

4 Bottom Space: If the battle marker reaches this space, I’ll get hurt. Ouch!

5 Top Space: If the battle marker reaches this space, I’ll defeat the enemy! Victory!

6 Dice Requirements: I’ll need a certain number of dice, and maybe even specific colors, to move the battle marker forward on the battle track.

7 Enemy Ability: Some enemies have special abilities that can change how I resolve my attacks. Gotta be prepared!

8 Dragon Ling Icon: This icon tells me that this enemy is weak against a specific result from the dragonling die. Good to know!

Setup

First, I’ll ask you to place the encounter board right in front of you on the table.

Next, grab the enemy deck and shuffle it. Keep it nearby, facing down.

Now, draw six cards from the enemy deck, one at a time. As you draw each card, put it face up in an empty slot around the encounter board.

Make sure to place a battle marker on the start space of every enemy card that’s in play.

Move the health marker to the top left space on the health track.

Take three white attack dice and place them on the exhaustion track. Put one die on each space.

Grab three attack dice – one green, one yellow, and one blue. Stack them up and place them on the space on the health track that has three colored rings.

In your play area, put eight attack dice. You’ll have one green, one yellow, one blue, and five white dice. These dice are what we call your dice pool.

Important: Don’t forget to remove the optional modules from the game box if you’re playing the “training game”.

Let’s Play!

I’m going to explain how the game works, so get ready! The game is split into rounds, and you keep playing until you either win or lose. Each round lasts exactly 60 seconds and happens in real time! During a round, there are three steps that you need to follow:

• First Step: Roll the Dice
• Second Step: Resolve Attacks
• Third Step: Recover

But wait, there’s more! Proving Grounds has a core game called the “training game” and six additional modules. You can mix and match these modules to make the game more challenging and varied. It’s up to you!

Step 1: Roll the Dice

Alright, let’s get started! When you begin this step, start the timer using the app or any other one-minute timer you have. You’ll have exactly 60 seconds!

Now, grab all the dice in your dice pool and give them a roll. Once you’ve finished the initial roll, separate the dice based on the numbers they show.

If you’re not happy with the results, don’t worry! You can reroll the dice. Just keep in mind the following rules. You have the option to reroll until you’re satisfied with the outcome or until the timer runs out. If you decide to stop early, simply tap “Battle End” in the app.

Now, let’s talk about sets. A set is when you have two or more dice showing the same number, like 1, 1, 1. You can always reroll a set if you want to.

You can have multiple sets of dice at the same time, like rolling three ones and three threes. But remember, you can only reroll one set at a time. After rerolling a set, separate the dice again based on the new results.

A set of ones

What is a single?

If you have only one die showing a specific number, like a single 4, that die is called a single. Singles can never be rerolled.

However, when you reroll a set and one or more dice from that set match a different single, that single now becomes its own set and can be rerolled.

Two singles

Example: So, I just rolled my dice and here’s what I got: 1.1.3.3.4.5.6.6. Looks like I have singles of 4 and 5, and unfortunately, I can’t reroll those. On the bright side, I have sets of 1s, 3s, and 6s. I think I’ll give those 1s another shot, and guess what? They turned into a 4 and a 6!

Now my dice look like this: 3.3.4.4.5.6.6.6. I’ve still got a single 5 and sets of 3s, 4s, and 6s. I could keep rerolling some of those sets, but you know what, I’m actually pretty happy with these results. So, I’m going to stop the timer and call it a day.

Step 2: Bring on the Attacks

Alright, now that I’ve finished rolling my dice, it’s time to separate them by number. Once that’s done, I’ll assign them to the matching numbered slots on the encounter board. These dice are my trusty weapons in the battle against the enemies. Now, let’s resolve those attacks!

First, I’ll move the battle markers. We’ll start with enemy #1 and end with enemy #6. After that, we’ll check to see if we defeated any enemies or if we got wounded by them.

A. Move Battle Markers

The battle marker on an enemy card can move up, down, or stay in place, depending on the dice you assigned to that enemy.

Single: If you use a single dice to attack, move the battle marker down one space on the enemy card’s battle track. Ouch, the enemy just hit you!

Set: If you use a set of dice that add up to a number equal to or greater than the number above the battle marker, move the battle marker up one space on the enemy card’s battle track. Nice! You’ve hit this enemy!

Multiple Spaces

Color Requirements

Incorrect Combination

Nope: If you didn’t assign any dice to go against the enemy, then you didn’t actually attack them. So, nothing really happens in that case. You don’t have to move the battle marker up or down or anything like that.

After I roll my dice, I have the following numbers: 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6. Based on those results, I need to determine what happens in the battle. Let’s break it down.

First, I’ll move the battle marker up one space on enemy #1 because I have at least two 1s. Moving on to enemy #2, I’ll move the battle marker down one space since I have one 2. For enemy #3, I didn’t assign any dice, so nothing happens there.

Now, enemy #4 requires two dice, and one of them must be green. I have two 4s, but none of them are green, so nothing happens with enemy #4. As for enemy #5, I didn’t assign any dice, so there are no consequences there either.

Finally, for enemy #6, I’ll move the battle marker up one space since I have at least three 6s, and one of them is blue.

Moving on to the next step. If the battle marker on an enemy card reaches the top or bottom space of the enemy’s battle track, I have to resolve the consequences.

Great! We’ve finished part B. Now let’s move on to the next section.

If the battle marker makes it to the top space on the battle track, you win! Take the enemy card off the encounter board and put it face-up in a discard pile.

Taking Damage

If the battle marker reaches the bottom space on the battle track, you get hurt!

When you get hurt, three things happen:

• Put one of your dice on the exhaustion track, at the top space. If there are already dice there, stack them up.
• Move your health marker down one space on your health track.
• Move the enemy’s battle marker back to the starting space.

Example: So, here’s what happened: I was facing two enemies, numbered 1 and 6, and the battle marker had reached the highest space on the battle track for both of them. I managed to defeat them, which meant I got to remove those cards from the encounter board and put them in the discard pile.

But then there was enemy number 2. The battle marker had reached the very bottom space on the battle track, and that meant trouble for me. I ended up getting wounded! Ouch! As a result, I had to add one of my dice to the exhaustion track – I chose a white one.

But it didn’t end there. I also had to move my health marker down one space and reset the battle marker for the enemy back to its starting position. Talk about a setback!

Replacing Dice

Now, if I had suffered a wound that caused my health marker to move into the space on my health track where the stack of colored dice was, guess what? I would have gotten a chance to replace one of my white dice with one of those colorful ones from the stack. Pretty cool, right? Oh, and I would have had to say goodbye to that old white die by discarding it into the game box. Farewell, trusty white die!

Once all the colored dice have been used, you have to take an injury and move your health marker down. This means you get to replace a dice from the stack. It’s important to remember that if the health marker reaches the end of the track, you lose the game!

I’ve just suffered another injury, and this time, the health marker on my health track has moved to the slot with the stack of colored dice. That means I get to replace one of my dice. Looking at the enemies currently in play, I see that I’ll need a yellow die, so I grab one and discard one of my white dice.

Alright, now it’s time to recover. First, I retrieve all the dice that were assigned to enemies this round and put them back into my dice pool. Then, I move all the dice on the exhaustion track down one space. Any dice that were on the bottom space now leave the exhaustion track and return to my dice pool.

Next, I take a look at the encounter board. If there are any empty slots, I draw the top card from the enemy deck and place it face up in one of those slots. Once the card is in place, I put the battle marker on the start space of that card.

Are you ready for the next round? It’s time to take on the next challenge in Maia Strongheart’s trials in the Proving Grounds. This is where things start to get really tough. But don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you to guide you through it.

Introducing the Modules

The training game was just the beginning. Now, we have a whole set of modules that will take your skills to the next level. These modules offer a wide range of choices and challenges that will put your gladiatorial combat skills to the test.

Here’s the best part – you have the freedom to choose which modules you want to include in your challenge. You can add a single module or mix and match to create a unique experience. And if you’re feeling really brave, why not try them all together? It’s the ultimate test of your abilities.