Delve
Delve battles represent adventurers navigating an uncharted, labyrinthine space. In a delve battle, the map is composed of multiple tiles marked with icons. These icons interact with delve cards and are used as reference points when additional tiles are revealed. The adventurers move through the delve, exploring new rooms, unlocking cachesCacheCaches are locked containers found on the battle map that adventurers may open to gain item cards., and gaining skyshardsSkyshardA delve is fully explored when all of its skyshards have been revealed and gained. Unless the encounter specifies otherwise, 3 skyshards are required.—pieces of crystalized Magicka that are used to track the party's progress.
Enemy Pool
Unlike in the other battle modes it is not calculated once at the beginning of the battle, but for each individual tile as that tile is explored. Each delve card has a challenge scale, which shows the maximum number of enemies that can be drawn for a revealed tile and their maximum levels. The number of enemies that are actually deployed depends on the EP available, the drawn card's challenge scale, and the number of hexes on the revealed tile. The procedure for deploying enemies in a delve is described under Delve Exploration.
Setup
- Set Up the Battle Map: Separate the delve tiles by shape into separate stacks, keeping them facedown. Then, place the entrance tile in the play area (leaving plenty of room to expand the map). Some provincesProvincesEach province is represented by an overland map and gazetteer. use additional setup rules for delves. Refer to the province's Delve Feature section at the front of the gazetteer for these rules.
- Place Cache Chips: No cache chips are placed.
- Deploy Enemies: No enemy chips are deployed. These are deployed as additional tiles are explored.
- Deploy Adventurers: Deploy each adventurerAdventurerEach character created by a player is an Adventurer. Each adventurer is a party member. to the entrance tile. Start by choosing an adventurer to take the first player token and deploy their chip so that they occupy any single hex. Then, proceed to deploy each other adventurer in clockwise order around the table. This becomes the permanent turn order for the rest of the battle. Each adventurer may set their battle formBattle FormsBattle form icons appear on skill lines, abilities, and weapon items. During an engage action, the adventurer's battle form limits the dice that can be rolled together and sets the adventurer's range. when deployed and choose which itemItemsAdventurers can gain useful items along their way. Each item card takes up 1 space in an adventurer's inventory, whether it is in a ready slot or the pack area. There are 2 types of item cards, common and legendary. cards to place in their ready slots.
- In a delve battle, an adventurer in a
hex may explore and connect the next tile at the start of their first turnTurnDuring a battle round, each unit on the battle map takes a turn. Some abilities are limited to a certain number of uses per turn; that limit is reset at the start of each unit's turn..
- In a delve battle, an adventurer in a
- Deploy Companions: If adventurers have companionCompanionA companion is a unit that is under the ongoing control of either the entire party or a specific adventurer. units that are deployed during battle setup, deploy those companions to the entrance tile, if able. If multiple players have companions to deploy, deploy those companions in player turn order.
- If there are no unoccupiedOccupied/UnoccupiedA hex is occupied when it contains a unit (or overland token) and unoccupied when it does not. hexes remaining on the entrance tile, set undeployed companions next to the entrance tile. They can enter the battle map during later roundsBattle RoundDuring a round, each adventurer takes a turn. After your party has finished its turns, each enemy takes its own turn. After all units have completed a single turn, the round ends.
- Set Round Counter: Set the party's Round Counter die to 1 and place it in the square slot on the dial chip holder. Then, begin battle rounds. Trigger skills and other abilities with "start of battle" timing now.
Uncover vs Survey
| Aspect | Uncover | Survey |
|---|---|---|
| XP Rewards | 1 XP for each collected skyshard and encounter reward (if successful). You still gain XP for skyshards if you retreat with at least 1 party member still alive. | Encounter Reward XP only |
| Partial Completion | You gain XP for each skyshard even if retreating before completing the encounter. | Not possible, encounter is failed. |
| Encounter Duration | End of battle round, however it is optional even after objective is met. | End of battle round, not optional. |
Do you always get XP for skyshards?
The only battle objective which gives you XP for the number of skyshards collected is the UncoverUncoverThe party must fully explore the battle map by gaining all required skyshards—by default 3—and then successfully retreat. If the party retreats before fully exploring the battle map, the encounter is failed. objective. Delves with the SurveySurveyThe party must fully explore the battle map by gaining all required skyshards. The default number of required skyshards is 3, although the encounter may specify a different amount., EliminateEliminate XTo accomplish the Eliminate objective, the specified objective unit (or units) must be defeated or otherwise removed from the battle map., or any other objective, only give the XP as stated in the encounter.
SourceDelve GE-07 Throne Room - populate enemies first
For the Throne Room delve card, populate the enemies first, before resolving the "When Revealed" text.
SourceDo you shuffle the delve deck at the end of a delve?
Yes, see step 3 of End of Battle Cleanup.End of BattleA battle ends after the current round when any of the following occur: The party achieves the encounter's objectives, or the party retreats from battle, or all adventurers are defeated.