Scope: Base-game Act progression and boss rules. This reference answers what happens at an Act’s end and corrects the assumption that every boss has a separate intent deck.

Follow one branch of the Act map

Begin at the first encounter and move upward along a printed path after each room. The group chooses between ordinary encounters, elites, events, campfires, treasure and merchants as available. A Campfire lets each player Rest for 3 HP or Smith to upgrade a card; a Merchant can sell cards, relics and potions or remove a card for a cost.

Set up the boss from the map

The Boss node uses the Boss card shown at the top of the current Act map. Set up its combat according to that card and the combat instructions, then resolve the shared Player Turn and Enemy Turn repeatedly. Use the boss card’s printed action pattern; do not substitute a supposed universal “boss intent deck.” Enemies that accompany a boss follow their own order, with bosses acting last in the Enemy Turn.

As in other fights, players reset Energy and Block at the start of their shared turn, draw five cards each and resolve one die result for applicable effects. They may coordinate attacks and defense before enemies act. If any one player reaches zero HP, the entire party loses.

What persists between fights?

HP and the developing character deck matter from room to room. At the end of a combat, return Powers, discard and exhaust piles to the character deck as directed, then reset the temporary Block and Energy tracks and most combat tokens. Relics, card upgrades and other lasting rewards continue to shape later encounters. A new fight is not played with the exact temporary state of the previous one.

Defeating a boss, rewards and a stopping point

Defeat the boss to beat that Act. Resolve the listed rewards, including the boss relic choice where indicated. The rulebook reveals one boss relic per player plus one for the party to choose from, or three in solo play; each player may choose a relic or skip. Then the party can end its adventure there, save and continue later, or proceed to the next Act. The final boss is whichever Act boss the group chose as the end of this session.

What about Act IV?

Act IV is an optional unlocked challenge with additional requirements. The rulebook requires all three keys by the end of Act III to enter it. It also provides Quick Start rules for beginning at Act II or later, and Catch Up rules for a player joining at the start of an Act. Consult those tables instead of inventing a deck and rewards for a skipped Act.

Common mix-ups

• Defeating an Act boss can be a valid stopping point; a multi-Act session is a choice.
• Enemy Block and a character’s temporary combat tracks are reset in the listed steps; lasting deck improvements are retained.
• Act IV has its own unlock and key conditions, so it is not the default next stop after every Act III victory.

Read the full turn guide, strategy guide and game hub.

Source

Contention Games official rulebook (PDF), checked October 2, 2026.