Objective

The primary objective of Sleeping Gods is to explore the world, complete quests, gather totems, and ultimately wake the gods to return home. The game is played over a series of sessions, with players aiming to accumulate as many points as possible by the end of the campaign.

Setup

1. Game Components:

   • Game Board: A large, double-sided world map representing the seas and lands to explore.

   • Player Boards: Individual boards for each crew member, including Captain Sofi Odessa, used to track health, abilities, and fatigue.

   • Adventure Book: A narrative book that contains all the game’s story entries and outcomes.

   • Quest Cards: Cards that represent the various quests players can embark on.

   • Event Cards: Cards that trigger events each day.

   • Ability Cards: Cards that grant special abilities to the crew members.

   • Command Tokens: Used to perform actions and activate abilities.

   • Item Cards: Items that can be found or purchased, aiding in the journey.

   • Enemy Cards: Represent the enemies encountered during combat.

   • Ship Board (The Manticore): Tracks the ship’s status, including resources like command tokens, food, and coins.

   • Totem Cards: Special cards collected by completing quests, crucial for achieving victory.

2. Initial Setup:

   • Place the Ship Board: Place The Manticore board within reach, and set up starting resources (command tokens, food, and coins).

   • Set Up the Map: Place the world map on the table. Players will start on the “Port” space.

   • Distribute Player Boards: Each player chooses or is assigned crew members. Each crew member’s board tracks their health, fatigue, and abilities.

   • Shuffle and Place Cards: Shuffle the Quest, Event, Ability, Item, and Enemy decks, placing them in their respective locations.

   • Draw Starting Cards: Draw the starting quests and abilities according to the game’s instructions.
     

Gameplay

Sleeping Gods is played over a series of turns, with each turn representing one day in the game world. Each day consists of several phases:

1. Event Phase

• Draw Event Card: At the beginning of each day, draw an Event Card and resolve its effects. These can range from environmental changes to unexpected challenges or rewards.

2. Action Phase

• Choose Actions: Players take turns performing actions, such as:

  • Exploring: Move the ship to a new location on the map, possibly triggering an adventure entry in the Adventure Book.

  • Drawing a Quest: When arriving at certain locations, players may draw a Quest Card and decide whether to embark on the quest.

  • Performing a Ship Action: Take actions on The Manticore, like repairing damage, cooking meals, or assigning crew to specific tasks.

  • Combat: Engage in combat if an enemy is encountered. Combat involves rolling dice, using abilities, and managing the health and fatigue of crew members.

3. Adventure Phase

• Narrative Decisions: If the ship lands on a location with a number, refer to the Adventure Book and read the corresponding entry. Players make choices that will affect the outcome of the story.

• Quests and Exploration: Progress through quests by making decisions, gathering items, or interacting with the environment.

4. End of Day Phase

• Resolve Effects: At the end of the day, resolve any ongoing effects from events or combat.

• Manage Resources: Make sure the ship has enough food to feed the crew. If not, penalties such as fatigue or damage may be applied.

• Prepare for Next Day: Refresh command tokens and prepare for the next day’s adventure.
  

Combat

Combat in Sleeping Gods is tactical and requires careful management of crew abilities and health:

• Engage Enemies: When combat begins, place enemy cards in the combat area and determine their attack order.

• Use Abilities: Assign crew members to attack or use abilities. Each crew member can only be used once per combat round, so plan accordingly.

• Roll Dice: Roll dice to determine the outcome of attacks and defenses. Hits and damage are resolved based on the crew’s abilities and the enemy’s defenses.

• Damage and Fatigue: Track damage on both crew members and enemies. Crew members may also gain fatigue, limiting their effectiveness in future turns.
  

Winning and Losing

• Winning: To win the game, players must gather enough totems by the end of the campaign to wake the gods. The number of totems collected determines the ending achieved and the final score.

• Losing: The game can end prematurely if the ship is destroyed, the crew is incapacitated, or players fail to gather enough resources to continue.
  

Additional Rules

• Saving the Game: Sleeping Gods is designed to be played over multiple sessions. Players can save their progress by recording their current status, including the location of the ship, crew health, and quest progress.

• Skill Checks: Throughout the game, players may be required to perform skill checks. This involves rolling dice and comparing the result to the required skill level, adding bonuses from abilities or items as necessary.
  

Strategy

• Plan Ahead: The world of Sleeping Gods is vast and full of dangers. Always plan your moves and think ahead to avoid getting stranded or overwhelmed.

• Balance Resources: Managing resources like food, command tokens, and crew health is key to survival. Always keep an eye on your supplies and try to keep the crew well-fed and rested.

• Explore Thoroughly: The game rewards exploration, so don’t hesitate to venture into unknown territories to uncover new quests, items, and storylines.

• Make Strategic Decisions: The choices you make can have lasting consequences, so consider your options carefully before deciding on a course of action.
  

Example of a Turn

1. Draw Event Card: An event occurs, such as a sudden storm, affecting your ship's movement.

2. Move Ship: You decide to move The Manticore to a new location on the map.

3. Read Adventure Entry: Arriving at the new location, you refer to the Adventure Book and read the story entry, making a choice that leads to a new quest.

4. Combat: During the adventure, you encounter enemies and must engage in combat, using your crew’s abilities to defeat them.

5. End of Day: You finish the day by resolving the event’s effects, managing resources, and preparing for the next day.