Escape! The Devouring Ooze Rules

By Michael Bielaczyc

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Starting the game!

Grab a gang

Each gang has 3 boggarts.

Boggart Scavenger

Dice: 3
Health: 2
Max Shields: 1
Max Goods: Unlimited
Special: A scavenger can carry unlimited scavenged supplies.

Boggart Brute

Dice: 3
Health: 3
Max Shields: 2
Max Goods: 3
Special: A brute can use a shield token to push without moving.

Boggart Sprinter

Dice: 3
Health: 1
Max Shields: 1
Max Goods: 2
Special: A sprinter can reroll one Shield.

The Antagonist

There is one Devouring Ooze.

Devouring Ooze

Dice: 3
Health: 13
Max Shields: 0
Special: A Devouring Ooze can move diagonally.
Special: If there are no boggarts within 4 squares, the ooze may reroll a single blank die.

For an in-depth look at the rules, as well as a video tutorial, visit: SagaBorn.com/EscapeRules

Set up the Table

The game is simple. Your boggart gang needs to get through the sewer and into the safety of the Warrens. They will race down the corridors, fighting, pushing, and grabbing anything that can help as they flee the horrors of being eaten by the Devouring Ooze!

The boggart gang that exits through the last tile with the most total scavenged goods wins!

Set Up – Sewer Map Tiles

Boggarts start in the Starter Tile. Place two more random sewer tiles down to the left of the Starter Tile. Now begin to run for your lives!

At the start, you only have a total of 3 sewer tiles on the table (the starter tile and two others*). When someone moves their boggart past the last tile (tile 3), they get to choose the next tile to place down, as well as choose which exit tile goes down.

The default game has a total of 5 tiles; the starting tile, 3 middle tiles, and an end tile with an exit.

*Tiles can be chosen randomly

Action Cards

Each player is given three action cards. Read these and keep them handy.

Scavenged Goods

Each boggart is given one scavenged good to be placed on the boggart’s card.

Starting the Game – Initiative and Gameplay

Each boggart gang rolls 3 battle dice. Whoever has the highest amount of hits wins initiative, and gameplay starts with them. After that, all turns move clockwise around the table, alternating gangs one boggart at a time. The Devouring Ooze moves last, at the end of the turn after all boggarts have gone.

In the game world, each turn is only a few seconds, so while gameplay may take a little longer, this is a race for their lives!

Movement and Combat

Each boggart gets to roll battle dice equal to its dice number. The results can be used as follows:

Star: Move 1 square or inflict 1 damage to an adjacent foe.

Hollow Star (Critical): Move 2 squares or inflict 2 damage to an adjacent foe.

Shield: You pick up some debris and use it as a shield, gain a Shield up to your max shields. Place a shield token on the boggart’s card. Shields may also be used for special Actions; if so, they can not be used to gain a shield.

2x Shield: You may choose to forgo adding defense, instead using two shields to move 1 space.

Blank: No action.

Special Notes:

A shield can be used to block a single point of damage.
Movement can only go side to side, back, or forward. Diagonal moves cannot be made by boggarts.
The Devouring Ooze can move diagonally.
A boggart can push another boggart out of the way if they land in an occupied space. The pushed creature can be pushed into any unoccupied adjacent space (including diagonal) except the space the moving boggart is coming from. The Devouring Ooze can not be pushed.

Devouring Ooze Movement and Combat

The Devouring Ooze rolls 3 dice and moves. It CAN move diagonally. The Devouring Ooze needs only to land on a boggart to swallow them whole. Once an ooze has swallowed a boggart, it must stop there to digest and loses any further actions for that turn.

An ooze is mindless*; it always moves towards the closest boggart. If there are two boggarts at equal distance, the ooze goes after the one with the most scavenged goods. If both have the same amount of goods, roll a die for each boggart, The one with the highest roll is the one it moves towards.

*For 4-player games, the Devouring Ooze can be played by a player. Then it is only as mindless as the player.

The Ooze can be controlled by the current players as long as they follow the rules, unless it is played by another player. If someone gets knocked out of the game, they can take control of the Ooze. If controlled by another player, the Ooze is free to use its movement as it likes, with the goal of killing as many boggarts as possible. The boggart wins if it wipes the entire board before any scavenged goods are removed from the sewer.

The Ooze eats any special tiles, supplies, or other objects that it lands on.

Scavenged Supplies

Every boggart starts with one scavenged supply. When they die, they drop all supplies on the square where they died. Another boggart may then pick up dropped supplies by landing on that square. Supplies may also be found on special squares. A boggart only needs to land on the space with the supply to pick up a dropped supply. Any boggart who makes it to the entrance of the Warrens returns with all their scavenged supplies.

Rubble

On most map tiles, there are two patches of rubble. When a boggart lands on the rubble for the first time, turn over a Tile Card. Immediately resolve the Tile Card for the boggart who landed there. Place the Tile Card near the Sewer Tile it is on. Anytime a boggart lands on the rubble, resolve that card again. If the Ooze lands on rubble, it eats the rubble, and it can no longer be used by the boggarts. 60% of Tile Cards offer boons, but 40% are dangerous, so landing on these can be a fun gamble.

Winning

The team that makes it through the exit with the most supplies wins.

Glossary

Battle Dice: the SagaBorn Basic 8 dice.

Critical: a single star that is hollow. This can be used as 2 movement or 2 damage. It can not be split.

Hit: a single star. This can be used as 1 movement or 1 damage.

Round: the time period for a single boggart’s actions.

Shield: a shield symbol can be used to block or for other special effects found on action or character cards.

Turn: a turn is when each boggart and ooze has had an action round.

Action Cards

27 total:

3x Dodge – Ignore 1 damage.
3x Burst of Speed – Anytime during your turn, move 1 extra square.
3x Stand your Ground – Ignore 1 Push
2x Hard Hitter – Add +1 to damage.
2x Lucky – Reroll 1 die.
2x Decoy – When the ooze attempts to devour you, force it instead to move to an adjacent square.
3x Sidestep – One of your boggarts’ moves may be diagonal.
3x Push It – Turn one Hit to a Crit.
3x Turtle Shell – Deflect up to 2 damage.
1x Found spear – Any damage caused this round can be to a creature up to 3 squares away.
1x Magic Amulet – At anytime, swap places with another boggart.
1x Magic Amulet – At anytime, teleport to an empty adjacent space next to another boggart.

Tile Cardss:

20 total

6x Scavenged Goods – Gain 1 scavenged goods.
3x Spike Traps – 1 damage.
2x Spear Traps – 2 damage.
4x Action Cards – Draw one action card.
2x Boosts – Immediately move 1 space.
2x Difficult Ground – Stop Movement and -1 die next turn.
1x Pitfall of Doom – Fall to your death.

Player Cards:

9x Boggart Cards (3 gangs)
1x Ooze Card

Includes:

9 Boggart Minis
1 Devouring Ooze Mini
3 SagaBorn Battle Dice
27 Action Cards
20 Tile Cards
10 Player Cards
5 Doubled-sided Sewer Tiles
9 Injury Tokens
12 Shield Tokens
20 Scavenged Goods Tokens

FAQ

Please submit questions below!