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Cult of the Deep

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195893009152
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$45.00

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Description

 Cult of the Deep is a hidden-role dice game for 4-8 players where you are a cultist trying to establish your faction’s rise to power. Battle for control of rituals and mythical monsters as you seek victory and control of the Cult.

A social deduction game where actions speak louder than words. What do you do?

  • Give life to the High Priest?
  • Sacrifice your body to protect others?
  • Drain your own blood for greater power?
  • Use alchemy to help complete rituals?
  •  Harvest the soul of an ally to strengthen your faction? 
  • Control the Kraken and punish those who oppose you?

Each action tells a story of who you are, or at least, who you want people to think you are.

Remember, even if you are killed, the game is far from over as you become a Wraith. Forever haunting enemies and allies as you tug on the strings of fate itself to gain victory.

Cult of the Deep is for 4-8 players. Your goal is to achieve your victory condition first. You may or may not have allies, depending on your role.

Before the game, each player is given a role that determines their win conditions. Each role is hidden until death, except for the High Priest.

Players are then given a Character card that determines their starting health, special ability, and a power symbol that provides an additional way to gain life from the dice.

 

A Sigil card is then given to each player. This once per game ability is kept hidden until a player chooses to reveal it and use its power.

Each player will take a turn by rolling their dice up to 3 times. They then decide where to commit those dice: 

  • to rituals to gain altar effects to empower themselves 
  • finish a ritual in order to gain its powerful Keeper effect 
  • stab other cultists
  • gain life
  • give life to other cultists

If a player is killed, they are not eliminated. Instead, they become a Wraith. They will act like any other cultist except they cannot commit dice like normal but instead haunt the dice of enemies and allies by giving, replacing, or discarding dice.

For this example turn, I am the Blood Mage who has the High Priest role. I have an ability to roll one extra die if I lose 1 life but I choose not to.

I roll 5 cultist dice, keeping the dice I like and rerolling the ones I don't, for a total of 3 rolls. I end up with 1 Double Dagger, 1 Single Dagger, 2 Blood, and 1 Cosmos. 

From the quick reference card every player is given at the beginning of the game.

I am the High Priest and I like being alive. 

I commit a Blood to myself and another to the Astrologer who I think is my Faithful. (Note: You can gain more life than you start with...you'll need it.)

On a previous turn, the Librarian was being suspicious so I commit the Double Dagger and Single Dagger to him.

For my last die, the Cosmos, I commit it to the Sea Hydra. Its altar ability allows me to give or take 1 life from any player for each die committed. Only committing 1 die to it also does not put it in danger of being finished by opposing factions.

In the Response phase, other players may use abilities, powers gained from rituals, or Sigils that affect the Response phase. The Librarian decides to use a Siren Coin, earned earlier from contributing to a ritual, to recommit the Double Dagger from themselves to the Astrologer. Every player is given a chance to take an action in the Response phase. No one else does at this time.

As the active player, I choose the order in which the dice are resolved. 

  • The Double Dagger is resolved first and sadly my "Faithful" loses 2 life.
  • I then choose to resolve the Blood on the Astrologer; they gain 1 life.
  • The Librarian is next; losing 1 life.
  • I gain 1 life from the Blood on me.
  • Finally, I resolve the Cosmos symbol, moving the corresponding tracker down 1 towards 0 and give 1 life to the Assassin off screen. I think he is the Heretic.

I have now finished my turn and it is now the Astrologer's turn.

Let's talk rituals. There are always 3 or 4 rituals in play depending on player count. In this example, we come in at the Resolve phase of the Blood Mage. They have committed a Cosmos to the Sea Hydra and 1 Parchment and 2 Ancient Symbols to Ancient Chant. 

The Blood Mage resolves the 3 committed dice on Ancient Chant. For each die resolved, the marker is moved one space down the track and the altar ability is triggered. In this case, the Parchment track marker is moved once and the Ancient Symbol track marker is moved twice. This triggers the altar ability 3 times and results in the Blood Mage gaining 3 Chant coins.

Ancient Chant now has both markers at 0 on its ritual tracks. The Blood Mage has completed the ritual and become its Keeper. They now take the Ancient Chant Ritual card, place it in their play area, and is now able to use the Keeper ability on the card.

Sigils are powerful cards that are discarded after use. 

The High Priest was wrong about the Astrologer being a Faithful. They have shown their true heretical colors and stabbed the High Priest by committing 2 Double Daggers and a Single Dagger.

Before the Astrologer resolves their dice, the Blood Mage decides to use their Sigil. Sigil of Persuasion allows the Blood Mage to re-commit up to 3 dice during any players Resolve phase. They choose to re-commit the 2 Double Daggers and the 1 Single Dagger back to the Astrologer.

Death is not the end for a cultist. On death, you reveal your role and return as a Wraith to bring about retribution on your enemies. (Note: A Wraith can still win.)

As a Wraith, you roll 3 dice instead of 5. These dice are then used on other players' Response phases. Different Wraiths also have different abilities like Malice, Envy, or Wrath.

The Librarian commits 1 Double Dagger to the Blood Mage, 2 Cosmos to Astral Rift, 1 Ancient Symbol to Ancient Shadow, and 1 Blood to himself. 

It's now the Response phase.

Malice can discard dice of matching symbols. Malice takes the Blood die in front of them and discards the matching Blood on the Librarian. Envy can replace a die with one of their own. They decide to replace the Ancient Symbol with a Double Dagger. Since the die was replaced, the Librarian gets to recommit the die and stabs the High Priest with it. With no other responses, play moves into the Resolve phase.

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