1. Place the 7 Region Cards to form the Game Map:

A. Place the Capital City Region Card in the center of the table.

B. Place the 6 Outer Region Cards (Forest, Ruins, Mountains, Plains, Coast, and Desert) in a circle around the Capital City (see below):

The Outer Region Cards are placed randomly in ANY order.

i. Place 2 Outer Regions to the left and right of the Capital City.

ii. Place 4 Outer Regions around the Capital City forming a circular shape, 2 above and 2 below.

iii. Randomly choose which Outer Region Card side to play with: “A or B” (denoted by an icon on the bottom left of each card. The Regions do not all have to be on the same letter side).

C. Place all 7 Threat Tokens on the “0 space” of each Region Card’s Threat Track (the numbered spaces on the right side).

2. Give each player a Hero Card (selected or randomly drawn) along with a Defender ITEMeeple® and a Hit Point Token in their choice of color. Place the remaining Hero Cards and tokens back in the box.

D. Each player places their ITEMeeple® on the Capital City Card.

E. Each player places their Hit Point Token on the highest number of the number track on their Hero Card, indicating full Hit Points.

3. Shuffle the Artifact Cards and place the deck face down within reach of all players. Place the Artifact Items near this deck.

4. Shuffle the Epic Foe Cards and place one face down near the Game Area. Put the unused Epic Foe Cards back in the box without revealing them. Place the Epic Foe Hit Point Token nearby for use later.

5. Create the Turn Deck and the Horde Deck, and remove any Leftover Cards (see Creating the Card Decks):

F. Place the Turn Deck in its starting configuration within reach. Designate an area next to it for a Discard Pile.

G. Shuffle the Horde Deck and place it on top of the Epic Foe Card.

H. Place the Leftover Cards in the Box Lid; these cards will remain face down for the remainder of the game.