Contents
THE LAW OF THE SOUL RANGERS...
The Gatekeeper's been banished to a Black Hole by the demented dentist, Dr. Mastiff, and The Harbinger's Provinces hacve gone to the Dogs! Mastiff's Ranger Dogs -- that is! Very little is known about the past lives of Mastiff and the Soul Rangers before they were commetted to limbo via papers -- which never processed them to The Other Side -- sealed with 'NEVER EVER to be opened', for they told of things far more DISGUSTING then FEAR!
All Rangers arrived on The Other Side stripped of everything except their bones. The first act of any Ranger on The Other Side was to steal a spirit -- somebody else's lost soul. Hence te reason they came to be known as 'Soul Rangers'. This was not a particularly hard task for any Ranger given their unspeakable criminal past. Soul food was easy pickings. Especially for the likes of Dr. Mastiff and the cartel of six special Rangers he's befriended.
AIM OF THE GAME...
The aim of the game is to:
FIRST -- get 'promoted' to become one of Dr. Mastiff's six Ranger Razor Gangs.
SECOND -- return the six different colored Keystones you have been given to their rightful places in the Sewer and then win the game by racing back to the Central Hub and draw your own 'most disgusting' slip for the Pit of Scum.
SETUP...
Separate the plastic Playing Pieces from the sprue and assemple the according to diagram (each half is marked with a letter inside -- ensure that you match correct halves -- A to A, B to B, etc.). If you wish to personalize your Soul Rangers, you can paint the bandana bases in the color of the Ranger. Place the new cap for the Pit of Scum in th Well base and place it in the Central Hub. Lay out the six segments of the board, colored side up, around the Hub. Each player then writes the thing that MOST DISGUSTS THEM on a slip of paper, crumples it up and places it in the Pit.
THE MOST FILTHY ONE...
Next, each player rolls the die -- the player rolling the LOWEST number becomes "The Most Filthy One". That player distributes a Numbskull to eacho player which should then be placed in it's 'Home' position in the Ring Road. Each player is then given their matching numbered Slab containing six different colored Keystones. The Keystones in the Slab should FACE AWAY from the player. The Most Filthy One then chooses which colored board segments they wish to keep -- equal to the number of players -- turning the remaining segments to Sewer side up. For example, if there are four players, the game is started with two of the board segments already Sewer side up. The Most Filthy One must make sure that all players always obey Dr Mastiff's commands and these rules -- and any player caught disobeying or cheating must miss a turn.
THE VIDEO
The Host of this video is Dr Mastiff, the demented dentist who always has his oxygen mask close at hand! This is his 'Operating Hour' and you have just 60 minutes before you become his next victim! When Dr Mastiff appears on screen, all play must STOP and the player's turn at that point is null and void. Any Duels are also void. If Mastiff asks any player to 'SMILE' they must give a toothy grin and follow his instructions precisely. Play then passes to the next player on the left.
PLAYING THE GAME...
Unless specifically stated, all movement rules for ATMOSFEAR -- 'The Harbingers' apply, with the exception in 'The Soul Rangers', more then one player can occupy and space on the board.
To start the game, insert the video casette in your VCR and press 'PLAY', the tape must not be stopped until the end of the game. Each player in turn, starting with The Most Filthy One, rolls one die and moves their Numbskull out of their Home Space, heading for the colored Headstone of their choice via the Ring Road. As soon as they land on any Headstone by an exact throw, they become the Soul Ranger of that color.
They take their Numbskull on place it in their Slab -- FROM NOW ON THEIR NUMBSKULL IS KNOWN AS THEIR 'GRUNT'. Next, they will take their Ranger's Character Card and place the Character Card in their Slab so that the list of powers faces the player. They then turn their Ranger's board segment over to the Sewer side and place their new Ranger Playing Piece on the Skull symbol.
On their next turn, they can start to move around the SEWERS trying to GET RID OF KEYSTONES. The way to do this is to land on an EMPTY Keystone space by an exact throw, and then PLACE THE SAME COLORED KEYSTONE on the space. SOUL RANGERS CANNOT ENTER ANY COLORED SEGMENT UNTIL IT HAS BEEN CLAIMED AND TURNED SEWER SIDE UP.
Everytime a player GETS RID OF A KEYSTONE two things happens: They gain the power associated with that color Keystone (if it is the only Keystone of that color they hold), and They pick up a Weapon Card
IMPORTANT NOTE: Like Soul Rangers, Grunts DO NOT become trapped in Black Holes. If you land on a Black Hole, you can move as normal on your next turn.
KEYSTONE POWERS...
Unlike The Harbingers, Soul Rangers GAIN power when they GET RID OF THEIR KEYSTONES. If, however, a Ranger regains a Keystone, they lose the power gained previously UNTIL they get rid of that Keystone again.
GENERAL KEYSTONE POWERS...
Thes four powers are available to all Rangers, although they will be affected by different colored Keystone for each Ranger (refer to each Ranger's Character Card):
GRUNT: LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives a player the power to collect and use their Grunt. They can take their Numbskull and place it on the Skull symbol on their own colored Sewer. From then on, they can choose on each turn whether to move their own Soul Ranger Playing Piece or Grunt (see GRUNT CONTROL...).
DOUBLE DICE: LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives a player the power to roll one or two dice on each turn.
DUEL: LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives a player the power to attack another player using their Weapon Cards when they land on a Lightning Symbol by an exact throw (see WEAPON CARDS...).
TUNNELLING: LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives a player the power that, when they land on a Compass Symbol by an exact throw, they can move immediately to any other unoccupied Compass Symbol on the board.
SPECIAL KEYSTONE POWERS... These are only available to certain Rangers:
KIDNAP: (Nof) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Nof the power to kidnap another player's Grunt by landing on it by exact throw. The return ransom can only be paid by accepting a Keystone from Nof -- unless the Grunt's owner can land on a Skull space and defeat Nof in a Dice Duel, in which case the Grunt is returned instead of giving Nof a Keystone.
BIO HAZARD: (Sep) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Sep the power to clear a Sewer by landing on any Black Hole space by exact throw. This activates the Bio Hazard, and Sep places any other pieces (with the exception of his own Grunt ONLY) on empty Black Hole spaces anywhere on the board.
LOOTING: (Woks) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Woks the power to steal a card from any other player any time. If he is not caught in the act, he may keep the card. If he is caught he must return the card. Woks can only steal one card at a time.
GAMBLER'S LUCK: (Ja) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Ja the power to roll both dice once if he is given a Keystone by another player. If Ja rolls a total of 7 or 11, he returns the Keystone and gives the player one of his own into the bargin.
WEAPON TRADE: (Zass) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Zass the power to trade Weapons Cards with any other player when he lands on any Black Hole space by exact throw. Zass gives the chosen player his weakest Weapon Card and takes two at random from the players hand in return.
SUPER GRUNT: (Sep, Nof, Ja) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives these three Rangers the power to pick up and accumulate any number of Keystones with their Grunt. When they land exactly on another player -- they give them all the Keystones their Grunt has collected (see GRUNT CONTROL...).
DOUBLE UP: (Woks, Zass, Rott) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives these three Rangers the power to take another turn if they roll a double.
RUNAWAY: (Rott) LOSING THIS KEYSTONE...gives Rott the power to move another player's piece (either Ranger or Grunt) to any unoccupied Black Hole space on the board, if Rott lands exactly on the piece.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If a player's piece is moved to a Black Hole by another player and that player's power is activated by landing on a Black Hole space, the the activation still occurs. For example, if Rott moves Sep's piece to a Black Hole, and Sep has got rid of his red Keystone, then Bio Hazard is activated.
WEAPON CARDS & WEAPON DUELLING...
There are 36 Weapon Cards -- each one shows a different weapon, and is ranked 1 (lowest) to 12 (highest). Players pick up Weapon Cards whenever they get rid of a Keystone. As soon as they have got the power to use Weapon Cards, they can duel with other players who share this Dueling power. To duel, both players select a Weapon Card and place it face down in front of them, the cards are turned over simultaneously and the highest card wins. Both cards are discarded, and the winner gives the looser a Keystone. If the winner has no Keystones left, the winner may pick any Keystone from the board to give to the loser. In the event of a tie, both cards are discarded but no Keystones change hands.
FATE CARDS...
At intervals, Dr. Mastiff will tell a player to 'Take a Fate Card'. The chosen player picks up a Fate Card and reads it aloud -- unless the Card specifically instructs them not to do so. Certain cards affect specific players or all players for the duration of the game. These cards must be placed so that all players can see them. If any Fate Card has no immediate or delayed effect -- replace it to the bottom of the pack and take another Fate Card.
DICE DUEL...
Any player may dice duel another even if they do not have the power to use Weapon Cards. To Dice Duel, a players must land exactly on any Skull space, choose another player and each player rolls one die. The highest roller gives the loser a Keystone. If the winner has no Keystones left, they may pick any Keystone from the board to give to the loser. I nthe event of a tie, the duel is void and no Keystones change hands.
GRUNT CONTROL...
When a player gains the power to collect their Grunt, they place it on the Skull space in their own colored Sewer. The Grunt does one thing and one thing only -- it can collect Keystones one a a time (unless it has the power of Super Grunt) and give them to other players. A player can then choose, on each turn, whether to move their Grunt or Ranger Playing Piece -- both pieces cannot be moved in the same turn.
To pick up a Keystone, the player moves his Grunt onto a Keystone on the board by an exact throw. On subsequent moves, the player moves the Grunt and the Keystone together, if the Grunt lands by an exact throw on another player's Ranger piece it gives that player the Keystone. Once the Grunt delivered the Keystone, it returns to its Skull starting space.
If a Gruntis kidnapped by Nof, any Keystone(s) it has collected stay with the Grunt, and are returned when the Grunt is ransomed. The Grunt is only affected by one special Keystone power -- Super Grunt. If a player has this power, Grunt is not longer restricted to carrying one Keystone at a time -- it can pickup and deliver any number of Keystones.
WINNING THE GAME...
The first player to get rid of all their Keystones must return to their original Home space in the central Hub. On their next turn, The Most Filthy One takes a slip at random from the Pit of Scums, opens and reads it aloud. If it IS that player's slip, they have WON the game. If it is NOT, the slip is put back into the Pit of Scum and the player must wait until their next turn to try again. Until they win they can still be attacked by other players and their Grunts. If no player manages to WIN and STOP the video tape within the hour -- Dr Mastiff is declared the winner!
NOW -- DIM THE LIGHTS AND TURN THE VOLUME UP AND YOU ARE READY TO CONTINUE THE AMPLIFIED ATMOSFEAR EXPERIENCE!