How to Collect Defence Shields

Check each shield’s required Book, Scroll and third item, then exchange them at its space to work toward the House victory goal.

The defender's victory objective

A house player wins by obtaining two Defence Shields. Collecting a large deck or reaching a room alone is insufficient. There are two shield types, and the shield's symbol determines the final item required. The component index lists their quantities; the setup lesson explains their random face-up placement.

Check the three-item requirement

To obtain a shield at its space, exchange:

1. One Library Book Card.
2. One Parchment Scroll.
3. Either the Dark Detector or a D.A. Coin, matching that shield's symbol.

All three items must be handed in at the space holding that shield, with the Detector or Coin matching the printed symbol. The rules describe an exchange for a shield. Official requirement: printed page 5. Check the shield before committing to a route.

Where the resources come from

• Library Book: visit the Library, take one of two face-up books and immediately resolve its effect and knock-on effects; refill the empty book space. Hold at most one book.
• Scroll: satisfy two of three House Location Cards simultaneously. Return those two to the deck bottom. After your first Scroll draw two replacement objectives; after your second return the last objective and draw no more this game.
• Detector: progress on Loyalty to at least space five and meet its lead/tie ownership conditions.
• Coin: enter the revealed Room of Requirement. Hold at most one D.A. Coin.

Handing in the Dark Detector for a shield drops your Loyalty pawn back three spaces and returns or transfers the Detector as the eligible ownership rules require. If every house then falls below five, the Room of Requirement closes. Follow the Detector exchange case and room case. Resource and Loyalty source: printed pages 11–12 and 17–19.

Plan the second shield as well

Our editorial suggestion is to make a small checklist for each attempt: which shield you want, which items you possess and where the missing item can be obtained. Keep the route to the shield in view while gathering resources. After the first shield, reassess the board and the Dark Arts Path rather than automatically repeating the same journey.

A finished checklist still needs a pawn at the appropriate shield space. Resources do not claim a distant shield automatically. Use the tabletop resource checklist during play, and consult rule clarifications before treating unclear wording as a ruling.

The Detector or Coin comparison begins with both third items, a Book, a Scroll and no Shields. If your board really offers both checked legal routes, compare the resources and Loyalty left after the first Shield: spending the Detector drops Loyalty three spaces; spending the Coin does not. The hypothetical ledger assumes no other effects and does not supply a map route or universal best choice.

Sources

• Publisher rulebook — printed pages 5, 11–13, 17–19 and 23
• MinaLima official tutorial — house goals at 03:10, resources from 09:03