[!NOTE] Anything not included here is as in the core rulebook.
Changes to Progression
Weapons and Armor
Weapons and Armor forged are shared, however, only one player may use a particular weapon class at a time. This is due to not having enough minis or cards for multiple people playing the same class.
You may freely change weapons and armor before a hunt (as long as it has been forged).
Materials
Materials gathered and carved are shared. You can exchange materials at the Resource Centre in the following ratios:
- 3 of any common –> 1 specified common
- 5 of any common –> 1 specified non-common
- 3 of any non-common –> 1 specified non-common
- 10 of any material –> 1 specified monster part
- 3 of any monster part –> 1 specified monster part
- 3 of any common –> 1 health OR stamina potion
- 5 of any common –> 1 trap (once the Trapper has arrived)
When purchasing upgrades, you may also “automatically exchange” materials, regardless of if the Material Exchange upgrade has been purchased.
Weapon Change Bonus
The Research Commission wants you to be proficient in all weapons classes. Using a weapon class that you’ve not used in the past 3 hunts will reward you an additional die during carving.
Hunting License and Hunter Rank
You must level up your Hunting Rank to receive a license to hunt larger and stronger monsters. You gain +1 HR the first time you defeat a monster at a given level.
| HR | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 26 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Great Jagras | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | 🟦 | Assigned | |||||
| Barroth | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | 🟨 | Investigation | |||||
| Tobi-Kadachi | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | 🟪 | Tempered | |||||
| Pukei Pukei | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Anjanath | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Jyuratodus | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Rathalos | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Diablos | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Azure Rathalos | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 | |||||||
| Black Diablos | 🟦 | 🟨 | 🟪 |
Changes to Combat
Player Actions
Play any combination of actions in any order, unless specified
- Play Attack Card.
- Walk - move 1 node for free.
- Sprint - play attack card face down, move the number of nodes specified by dodge value.
- Consume Items - play face up on stamina board, remove if hurt before your next turn. On next turn, the item is used.
- Health potions completely heal health (set health dial to full).
- Rations completely refresh stamina (remove as many cards from stamina board as you want).
- Whetstone (sharpen) - reshuffle damage discard into damage deck. Return whetstone to shared supply.
- Life Powder - completely heal your Hunter and any Hunter in an adjacent node.
- Ancient Potion - completely heal your Hunter and refresh your stamina.
- Place Item - place an item on your node. You cannot attack when placing an item.
- Trap
- Monster Lure
- Barrel Bomb
- Short Rest / Take a Breather- remove 1 face up or 2 face down cards from your stamina board, but you cannot take any other action.
Once your actions are performed, perform hand maintenance by discard either 1 face up or 2 face down cards from anywhere on the Stamina Board, then draw and resolve a Time Card.
Consumables
Play the item face up on stamina board, and return the item to the supply if you take damage before your next turn. At the start of your next turn, the item is used.
Trap
Your party can carry 1 trap. Traps must be purchased from The Trapper. When a monster moves into a trap, it immediately ends its turn.
You may also roll a d10 to attempt to capture the monster. If you roll higher than the monster’s current health, you successfully capture the monster, and receive an additional d6 when rolling carves.
If you do not roll higher, you may resolve the player turns specified on the monster’s current behaviour card. If you bring its health down to or below what was rolled, it is also successfully captured.
If you fail to capture the monster, it becomes enraged and its next behaviour card will have a player count of zero.
Monster Lure
Your party can carry 1 monster lure. Lures must be purchased from The Trapper.
When a lure is used, it forces a Turf War to occur. If used in combat, is must be placed on a node. Another monster will then soon come from the closest edge node.
Barrel Bomb
Throw a barrel bomb at the monster. You can throw the barrel any distance.
Draw 2 ELEMENTAL DAMAGE cards. Reduce the monster’s health by the amount drawn. If the monster is suffering the sleep status ailment, it suffers double damage.
Fainting
When you faint, immediately discard a time card.
On your next turn, you may then discard an additional time card each to sharpen or clear your stamina board (ie: immediately discard a time card, then you wish to sharpen and clear your stamina board, so you discard another 2 time cards). Then reform your Action Deck by discarding your hand, combine your Action card discard and draw decks, shuffle them, and redraw your hand.
Finally, set your health to full and place your hunter on a starting node.
Threat Shift
In addition to standard threat shifts, players can force themselves to become the highest or lowest threat by performing specific actions.
A player will immediately become the highest threat when they:
- Do a large amount of damage in a single turn (10%+ of monster HP).
- Play a block card.
- Inflict break.
A player will immediately become the lowest threat when they:
- Take a rest action.
Time Cards
Roar
- Halve the cards lost, round down (ie: d3 instead of d6)
- Players may place one card face down to stamina board to reduce 1 time card loss. Multiple players can place multiple cards.
Poisoncups, Vespoids, Toads
All have a 1-point dodge value which you may elect to take when being hit. Falling boulders cannot be dodged.
Weapons
Insect Glaive
Reveal your next kinsect at the end of your current turn, before taking a time card and performing hand maintenance. When initially setting up, reveal your first kinsect.
Note: this just lets you plan ahead a bit
Armor
- Alloy and Bone are considered White rarity at the Forge
- Jagras and Barroth sets are considered Yellow rarity at the forge
- Bone Chest no longer has the Slugger skill, instead it has “Paralysis Resist: You cannot suffer paralysis”
- This makes the Bone set against Tobi-Kadachi somewhat in line with the Alloy set against Pukei Pukei
Armor Skills
Speed Eating
- Discard and resolve potions at the END of turn instead of at the start of your next turn.
Changes to Scoutflies
Scoutflies can be used to “learn” information about a monster. More on this in the next section.
Changes to Monsters
- Monster physiology card information is hidden and can be revealed using scoutflies, or during combat.
- At the end of a quest narrative, when revealing scoutfly tokens, the information about a monster can be learned for scoutfly points:
- Monster element and ailment resistances (1 point each)
- Monster part break values, and if something happens when a part is broken (1 point per part)
- Monster part armor values (1 point per part)
- Monster Ability (2 points)
- Monster elemental and ailment values revealed when triggering in combat, ie: stun in triggered, now know stun value.
- Health values are never known.
All information is remembered between hunts, so if you learn the fire resistance for a Great Jagras during your first encounter with it, you’ll know it for the next encounter.
[!TIP] It might be a good idea to record what you know about monsters in some sort of hunter notes…
Turf Wars
Turf Wars are when another monster enters the fight.
Invading monsters start with less health that normal. Both monsters are considered a threat value of 10.
You may carve an invading monster if it is defeated, but no bonus carves can be applied.
Downtime Activities
You may do any number of activities between hunts.
Visit the Handler
As there is no Campaign Timer, quests can be repeated as often as needed, and there is no need to visit the Handler to replay a quest.
Bounties
Bounties offer material rewards for completing certain objectives. Each player can hold one bounty at a time. Bounties are completed automatically when the the player who collected the bounty achieves the objective. Bounty rewards are awarded when returning from a hunt.
Picking Bounties
Bounties are picked randomly by rolling a d20. The player rolls 3 bounties and picks one. You may choose to discard a bounty at any time.
Collecting Rewards
Roll a d12 to see what reward is collected. You may roll as many times as specified in the bounty reward.
Bounty List and Rewards Table
The bounty list and rewards table can be found here.
Resource Centre Upgrades
The Resource Centre can be upgraded to allow additional Downtime Activities. Multiple upgrades can be purchased at once. Upgrades take time to apply, and will be completed after the next hunt.
Canteen and Smithy upgrades must happen in order.
| Upgrade | Cost | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Material Exchange | HR 1 10 common materials |
Allows materials to be exchanged at the Resource Centre. |
| Material Purchase | HR 3 Material Exchange unlocked 10 common materials |
Allows materials to be purchased at the Resource Centre using the Core Rules Downtime Activity 1 rules. |
| Trapper | HR 3 1 non-common material |
Allows certain hunting gear to be purchased from The Trapper. |
| Canteen Lv 1 | HR 1 1 common material 1 monster part |
Allows white rarity meals at the Canteen to be ordered, also receive a free white rarity meal for the next hunt. |
| Canteen Lv 2 | HR 4 Canteen Lv 1 unlocked 4 non-common materials 2 monster parts |
Allows yellow rarity meals at the Canteen to be ordered |
| Canteen Lv 3 | HR 7 Canteen Lv 2 unlocked 4 non-common materials 4 monster parts |
Allows green rarity meals at the Canteen to be ordered |
| Canteen Lv 4 | HR 15 Canteen Lv 3 unlocked 8 non-common materials 8 monster parts |
Allows purple rarity meals at the Canteen to be ordered |
| Smithy Lv 1 | HR 1 2 common materials |
Allows the Smithy to be used to forge white rarity gear |
| Smithy Lv 2 | HR 2 Smithy Lv 1 unlocked 2 non-common material 2 monster parts from: Great Jagras, Barroth |
Allows the Smithy to be used to forge yellow rarity gear |
| Smithy Lv 3 | HR 4 Smithy Lv 2 unlocked 4 non-common materials 4 monster parts from: Tobi-Kadachi, Pukei-Pukei, Anjanth, Jyuratodus |
Allows the Smithy to be used to forge green rarity gear |
| Smithy Lv 4 | HR 12 Smithy Lv 4 unlocked 8 non-common materials 4 monster parts from: Rathalos, Azure Rathalos, Diablos, Black Diablos |
Allows the Smithy to be used to forge purple rarity gear |
The Canteen
You can spend materials at the canteen to gain buffs for the next hunt. Only ONE player may benefit from a meal, but multiple players may order a meal.
| Meal | Rarity | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack Up | White | 1 common material 1 monster part |
When drawing damage cards, draw an additional one and then pick one drawn card to shuffle back into your damage deck |
| Break Up | White | 1 common material 1 monster part |
Deal an additional Break when applying Break |
| Stun Up | White | 1 common material 1 monster part |
Deal an additional Stun when applying Stun |
| Evasion Up | White | 1 common material 1 monster part |
You may move an additional node when dodging |
| Stun Resist | Yellow | 2 common materials 1 monster part from: Barroth Diablos Black Diablos |
The hunter must be inflicted twice with stun before becoming stunned. |
| Poison Resist | Yellow | 2 common materials 1 Pukei-Pukei material |
The hunter must be inflicted twice with poison before becoming poisoned. |
| Sleep Resist | Yellow | 2 common materials 1 Jyuratodus material |
The hunter must be inflicted twice with sleep before suffering sleep. |
| Paralysis Resist | Yellow | 2 common materials 1 monster part from: Tobi-Kadachi |
The hunter must be inflicted twice with paralysis before becoming paralysed. |
| Blast Resist | Yellow | 2 common materials 1 monster part from: Rathalos Azure Rathalos |
The hunter must be inflicted twice with blastblight before suffering blast. |
| Defense Up | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from: Barroth Diablos Black Diablos |
The hunter gains +2 armor. |
| Fire Resistance | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from: Anjanath Rathalos Azure Rathalos |
The hunter gains +2 fire defense. |
| Water Resistance | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from: Great Jagras Jyuratodus |
The hunter gains +2 water defense. |
| Ice Resistance | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from An Ice monster |
The hunter gains +2 ice defense. |
| Thunder Resistance | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from Tobi-Kadachi |
The hunter gains +2 thunder defense. |
| Dragon Resistance | Green | 1 common material 2 monster parts from: Rathalos Azure Rathalos |
The hunter gains +2 dragon defense. |
| Health Up | Purple | 2 non-common material 4 monster parts |
The hunter has +2 maximum health for this quest. |
| Palico Treat | Purple | 2 non-common material 4 monster parts |
Your Palico may use their ability an additional time. |
| Felyne Insurance | Purple | 2 non-common materials 4 monster parts from: Great Jagras Barroth |
Do not count the first time any hunter faints. They still must follow the process for fainting. |
| Stubborn Defiance | Purple | 2 non-common material 4 monster parts from: Tobi-Kadachi Pukei Pukei Anjanath Jyuratodus |
The first time your health reaches 0, do not faint and instead set your health to 1. |
| Divine Platter | Purple | 2 non-common material 4 monster parts from: Rathalos Azure Rathalos Diablos Black Diablos |
Once per quest, you may choose to ignore an instance of damage. |
The Smithy
All weapons and armour forged are shared, however, these limits still apply:
- Only ONE of each weapon class can be used at a time.
- The appropriate copies of armour must be for forged for each person to wear it, ie: if 3 people want to wear the Great Jagras Headpiece then it must be forged 3 times.
- Previous weapons in a tree must have been made at least once.
The Trapper
The Trapper sells tools to help your hunts. The Trapper stocks the following items. Her inventory is refreshed after a hunt.
| Item | Cost | Held Limit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trap | 1 non-common material | 1 | Allows capturing monsters |
| Basic Lure | HR5 reached 1 non-common material |
1 | Basic monster lure. |
| Scented Monster Lure | HR5 reached 1 non-common material 2 monster parts from a specific monster |
1 | A monster lure that increases the chance for a specific monster to be lured. Does not guarantee the monster is lured though. |
| Life Powder | HR10 reached 2 non-common materials 1 Health Potion |
1 | Completely heal your Hunter and any Hunter in an adjacent node. |
| Ancient Potion | HR15 reached 2 non-common materials 1 Health Potion 1 Ration |
1 | Completely heal your Hunter and refresh your stamina. |
| Barrel Bomb | 1 non-common material | 1 | Throwable explosive. |
Palico Training
Everyone can bring their Palico on a hunt.
Your Palico starts with your choice of any one Palico card. These must be unique across the party. You can spend materials to train your Palico and unlock a new ability to use. Your Palico can have a total of four abilities to choose from, but can only bring one on a hunt.
When departing on a hunt, all Palicos must have a unique ability.
Palico Upgrades
| Ability | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| First Ability | Free | Your Palico has an ability |
| Second Ability | HR 5 reached 2 common materials 2 monster parts from: Tobi-Kadachi, Pukei-Pukei |
You can select a second ability for your Palico to use |
| Third Ability | HR 10 reached 2 non-common material 2 monster parts from: Anjanath, Jyuratoduos |
You can select a third ability for your Palico to use |
| Fourth Ability | HR 16 reached 2 non-common material 2 monster parts from: Rathalos, Azure Rathalos, Diablos, Black Diablos |
You can select a fourth ability for your Palico to use |
| Palico Combat | HR 7 reached Ability Re-use not purchased 2 non-common materials 2 monster parts from: Tobi-Kadachi, Pukei-Pukei |
Your Palico can be used for combat |
| OR | ||
| Palico Ability Re-use | HR 7 reached Combat not purchased 4 non-common material 4 monster parts from: Anjanath, Jyuratoduos |
Your Palico may use their ability a second time |
Palico Combat
You can instead opt to forgo a Palico ability and instead equip your Palico for combat. Use your Palico token to track its position. A Palico has the same threat level as its Hunter, and uses the same part targeting rules as a Hunter.
During your turn, your Palico may:
- Move 1 node
- Attack - Roll a d6. Deal 1 damage for an odd result or 2 damage for an even result.
- If a 6 is rolled, deal 1 Break as well.
If your Palico takes any damage, it faints and takes 3 monster turns to recover.