Soldier

### **Story**

The blow rattles off the banded iron of his buckler. Taking the energy from the strike, the
Soldier spins to his right, swinging his longsword low, hacking off the Grubber’s leg below
the knee. Continuing his momentum, the Soldier angles the sword in an upward arc,
burying it deep into the flank of the Mucker. The ground below the Soldier’s feet begins
to soften from the bodies and blood saturation. Raising his boot to the Mucker’s belly, he
pulls his weapon loose, then turns to face his next foe.

No solitary figure splits the dawn, but a seemingly endless stream of Grubbers shuffle from their lair with
sinister intent. He can see second-thoughts pass over their faces as he slowly begins to advance, banging
sword on shield. The Soldier can feel his ire rise from within, a rage so powerful surely it will consume
him with bloodlust. He cracks a small smile as the Grubbers trip over themselves backing away from his
terrible visage.

This Soldier is something more. They should not have come.

Like a flash of lightning and with the force of
thunder, the Soldier charges into the mass of
minions, splintering their morale. Those that aren’t
felled by the shining Soldier’s sword, bright as the
day, are trampled by the terror-struck horde in
full flight. They flee from a war-possessed fighter
wielding fury and judgment.

Cleaving a wide swath through the frightened foe,
the Soldier’s rage surges uncontrollably. He finds
himself overcome, lost in the slaughter, helpless in
the wrath, bellowing battle roars.

I have become Death and the Darkness will flee
from me!

#### **Playing the Soldier**

A stalwart Hero, the Soldier’s primary method of engaging the forces of Darkness is through his use of weapons. There are very few weapons that the Soldier
can’t utilize to their fullest capacity. He has a good mix of area-of-effect and direct-damage attacks. He has little time for ranged attacks and should be at the
forefront of any assault where his strengths feed into each other.

He has two very clear tracks for players to explore.

The Soldier is a prolific offensive threat. He is able to use his attacks and Rage mechanic to kill many Minions and out-muscle even the mightiest Monsters.
However, when used in this way, the Soldier must be aware of his Threat. It can quickly get out of hand and inexperienced groups will find themselves
overwhelmed quickly.

The Soldier is also an amazing defensive target. Sometimes referred to as a “tank” or “meat-shield,” the defensive-minded Soldier builds Threat to draw
attacks to himself, leaving his allies with opportunities to kill in relative safety. Being better equipped to deal with mass enemy attacks, the Soldier makes any
engagement with the enemy easier to manage.

**Interrupt**
The Soldier is the undisputed
king of acting in a Darkness
Cycle. He has more Interrupts
that can be used in combination
than any other Hero. He can
both protect the party he is with
and damage the Darkness with
great skill.

**Rage**
The Soldier’s unique deck mechanic is manipulated through playing Rage cards. There are no cards that are
specifically titled Rage. However, EVERY card in the Soldier’s deck can be a Rage card.

Any defensive ability or offensive attack that draws extra cards played as Rage refers to cards played from the
Soldier’s draw deck face-down into Action Spaces. The Soldier is not allowed to look at, or know, what cards are
being played as Rage. This is a built-in cost of playing Rage cards; the Soldier will have fewer options.

The Soldier can never play more Rage cards than he has Action Spaces. Cards played as Rage cannot be played
over; they are considered to have used the Action Space.

**Tricky Cards**

*Riding The Edge*

This is a very straight-forward attack, no pun intended. Basically,
the Soldier is charging in a straight line through the enemy. He
can extend the range of this attack, and thus the distance he
travels, by using cards as Rage.

On the other hand, there are a few important things to remember.
First, Riding the Edge is an AoE. If there are multiple Monster-
types in the area-of-effect, he needs multiple dice successes. He
can still apply them to do the most damage.

Second, there are some enemies that cannot be moved through. In these cases, the Soldier
cannot attack this enemy with Riding the Edge, nor can he travel through this enemy to attack
other Monsters.

*The Easy Way*

The Easy Way seems imminently dismissible. It seems like
the Soldier’s version of a non-combat action card, which it is.
However, the other thing this card does is let the Soldier search
his draw pile and add one card to his hand. This is extremely
useful and should not be overlooked.

**Threat**

The Soldier, blinded by Rage, places cards face down in Action Spaces to make face up abilities better,
and to maintain high Threat. Rage is used to fill the Action Spaces even when there is no Soldier ability to
power. He can, at any time during the Hero Cycle, add Rage cards to his Action Spaces to keep his Threat
up. Maintaining a high Threat is important for Soldiers who want to go with a defensive build.
Adding Rage never costs AP.

**Battle**

Abilities with the Battle moniker are
conditions applied to the Soldier that provide
him or the party with benefits. They are
always helpful and should rarely be sent to
the discard without being played.

**Card Synergy**

*I’ll Take That +*
You Can Have This

This is a nice, easy Interrupt
combination that allows the
Soldier to parry and counter-
attack for one AP, but it is only
available if the player adds
You Can Have This from the
advanced Hero cards.

*Impenetrable + Battle Rage + Everyone Behind Me*

Impenetrable with Battle Rage stands as the best way for the Soldier to survive when he is
surrounded and outnumbered. When the advanced Hero card Everyone Behind Me is used as
well, those adjacent to the Soldier gain his shield bonuses and become Impenetrable, too.

*Blade Dance + Battle Rage*

Battle Rage is a powerful card. It turns all cards into a Rage. When Blade Dance is used
with Battle Rage and full Action Spaces, the Soldier can counter-attack four targets as an
Interrupt. And all that for one AP. The value is extraordinary.