Knaves of the Deepwood

The Knaves are led by 3 unique Captain warriors who act using items from your Stash. Each turn you reveal one Captain (chosen in previous Evening), refresh items matching their card's icons, and take 3 items from your Stash into the Captain's Item slots. Captains can take 1 standard action (Dash, Battle, or Recruit) plus any number of item actions by exhausting items. Key items: Boot (Dash), Sword (Battle), Bag (Capture Hostage), Hammer (Build Den), Tea (Revel - place 2 Skunks), Coins (Bribe - replace enemy with Skunk), Crossbow (Harass - roll die to remove pieces). Your 10 Skunk warriors support Captains. Both can move in/out of forests ignoring rule, giving unique mobility. Start by choosing your first Captain and planning which items to prioritize.

As attacker in battle, you take enemy warriors you hit as Hostages - place them in adjacent forests (split them up if desired). This is your primary scoring method. Use Capture item action (Bag) to take 1 enemy warrior as Hostage without battling. When you remove enemy buildings/tokens in battle, take 1 item from their crafting box as loot. You score based on total Hostages per faction: 1 = 0 VP, 2-3 = 1 VP, 4-5 = 2 VP, 6-9 = 3 VP, 10+ = 4 VP. Focus on capturing 2-3 Hostages from multiple factions rather than stockpiling from one. Forests can hold 1 Hostage per faction per adjacent den - build dens to increase capacity.

Dens are your buildings that act in Evening. Each den can Trap (move Skunks from adjacent forest, then battle) OR Hire (place 1 Skunk in adjacent forest with no Skunks). Establish dens by giving matching card to any enemy in clearing (or spend card if no enemies). Dens serve three purposes: increase Hostage capacity in adjacent forests (1 per den per faction), provide crafting pieces, and generate warriors/battles in Evening. Build dens adjacent to forests where you're holding Hostages. Use Trap to ambush enemies who enter den clearings. Use Hire to spread Skunks into new forests for future raids. Balance between building dens and keeping cards for other actions.

Hostages Escape in Evening: each forest holds 1 Hostage per faction per adjacent den. Excess Hostages return to owner's buildings/tokens (or removed if none). Build dens adjacent to forests to increase capacity. When defending in battle, use Smoke Signals: before roll, move Skunks to battle clearing from one adjacent forest. This reinforces your defense and protects Hostages. Enemies can use Negotiations once per Evening: give you a card to release Hostages from adjacent forests into a matching clearing. If they rule that clearing, they release 1 Hostage from EACH adjacent forest. Accept Negotiations when you need cards or when Hostages would escape anyway.

In Evening, choose which Captain acts next turn (place card face down). Each Captain refreshes different item types, so plan ahead based on what you need. Aggressive turns: choose Captain that refreshes Swords/Crossbows for battles. Expansion turns: choose Captain that refreshes Hammers/Boots for building/movement. Hostage-capture turns: choose Captain that refreshes Bags/Coins. Your goal is to maintain 6-9 Hostages across 2-3 factions (3 VP/turn) or 10+ from one faction (4 VP/turn). Use item actions liberally - you refresh 3+ items per turn. Harass (Crossbow) is powerful for removing pieces without taking Hostages. Bribe (Coins) converts enemy warriors into your Skunks instantly.