Black Dragon's Guild Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Start of the Season
  • 2. Recruiting
  • 3. Scouting
  • 4. Questing
• Abilities and Bonuses
  • Player's Ability
  • Adventurer's Ability
  • Ancestry
  • Adventurer Card Description
  • Quest Bonus
  • Quest Card Description
  • 5. End of the Season
• Achievements
• End Game
• City Places
  • The Guild's Castle
  • Black Market
  • Mage Tower
  • Bank
  • Proving Grounds
  • Orcus Dungeon
  • Rival Guild Headquarter
  • Barracks
• Player Ability Tokens

Components

• 40x Adventurer Cards
• 45x Quest Cards
• 6x Achievement Cards
• 40x Coins
• 1x Main Board
• 2x Magic Scroll Tokens
• 2x New Recruit Tokens
• 12x Ally Tokens
• 4x Player Boards
• 6x Player Role Tokens
• 6x Player Ability Tokens
• 40x Cubes (10x per color)
• 20x Action Tokens (5x per color)

Setup

1. Place the main board in the center of the table where all players can reach it.
2. Stack a number of Magic Scroll tokens and New Recruit tokens on the spaces that show the same symbol on the main board equal to the number of players -1. Put back in the box the ones you do not use during the game.
3. Coins are sorted out and placed next to the main board (this is going to be the Stock). Reminder: the bronze coins are worth 1, the silver coins are worth 3 and the gold coins are worth 5.
4. Each player takes a Player Board and places it in front of them.
5. Each player chooses a color and takes 3 Action Tokens and all Cubes of the same chosen color. Place randomly 1 Cube from each player on the turn order scale. This is going to be the round order at the beginning of the first season. Each player places 1 Cube on space 0 of the Reputation track on the main board. Each player places 1 Cube on the starting square of the Alignment track on the Player Board.
6. Give 3 Ally Tokens to each player and give them randomly 1 Ability Token and 1 Role Token. After each player chooses which side of the Ability token they want to play with, they place them on their Player Board.
7. Give 8 Coins to each player.
8. Shuffle the Adventurer cards and place them face down on the side of the main board, beside the Guild's Castle (top left of the main board), to form the Adventurers Deck.
9. Shuffle the Quest cards and place them face down on the side of the board, beside the quest area (bottom left of the main board), to form the Quest Deck.
10. Shuffle the Achievement cards, draw randomly 3 cards and place them where all players can see them.

"There are 3 roles: Defender, Attacker and Support. Having all three Roles in your party of Adventurers can get you Reputation in many Missions".

Gameplay

The game lasts 4 Seasons, each divided in 5 phases:

1. Start of the Season
2. Recruiting
3. Scouting
4. Questing
5. End of the Season

1. Start of the Season

Draw a number of Quest cards, based on the player count, from the top of the Quest deck and place them face up on the quest area of the Main Board.

• 2 Players: 4 Quest Cards
• 3 Players: 6 Quest Cards
• 4 Players: 8 Quest Cards

2. Recruiting

Each player draws 5 cards from the top of the Adventurers Deck without showing them to the other players.

All players select 1 card from their hands and place it face down in front of them. Then they pass the cards in their hands to the player on their left.

Players continue to do so, until they have chosen 4 Adventurers. Players discard the last card in their hands and put it in the discard pile beside the Adventurer deck.

Players take the selected Adventurer cards, which will form their hands, without revealing them to other players.

If during the game there are not enough cards to draw from the Adventurer deck, shuffle the cards in the discard pile to form a new Adventurer deck.

3. Scouting

In this phase, players place their Action tokens to bet on the Quest cards and/or gain bonuses from the City Places.

Starting with the first player, each player can place 1 Action token on a Quest card or on a City Place. Following the turn order, players will continue to place their Action tokens until all players have no Action tokens left.

City Places and Quest cards have the following placement restrictions:

City Place.

• The maximum number of Action tokens on a City Place is the number of players -1.
• Each player can place only 1 Action token on a City Place.

Quest Card.

• There can be any amount of Action tokens on a Quest card.
• Each player can place any number of Action tokens on a Quest card one per turn.

After all players place their Action tokens, resolve first the City Places by starting from the Guild Castle and continuing with the others by following the City Places numbers. Players take their tokens back once the action is resolved.

Note: Players who placed their Action tokens on the Mage Tower or on the Barracks, also take 1 of the corresponding tokens (Magic Scroll and New Recruit).

You can find the descriptions of all the City Places at the end of the rulebook.

After resolving all the City Places, Players will continue by taking the Quest cards. The player with the most Action tokens on a Quest card wins the bet and adds it to their hand. On a tie, the player higher in the turn order wins the bet. The Players who lose the bet, with at least 1 token on the Quest, draws only 1 card from the top of the Quest deck and adds it to their hand.

4. Questing

In this phase, players go with their fellow guild members (Adventurers) to form a party and complete quests.

Remember: your character counts as an Adventurer to satisfy the minimum requirements of a Quest.

• Simultaneously, all players choose 1 Quest card from their hand and place it on their Player Board on the left of the character illustration.
• Players may choose Adventurers from their hand or from their Allies and they must pay in Coins the chosen Adventurers (or Allies) as reward to join the quest party. The cost to invite an Adventurer on a quest is shown on the top left of the Adventurer Card. Important: when you play Adventurers you must pay their cost immediately.
• Players place the chosen Adventurer(s) on the right of the character illustration of their Player Board and/or place an Ally token on the chosen Ally cards.
• Players may place, beside the Quest card, a Magic Scroll and/or a New Recruit token, if they have any and if the Quest has them as bonus. They can be re-used for other Quests during the current season.
• Once the Quest parties are completed and the quest requirements have been satisfied, players calculate the total amount of Reputation they gain from Quest bonuses, Adventurers and/or Player Abilities.
• Then, players gain the quest Reward (Alignment, Coins and Reputation).
• Players then put aside all the Adventurers of the quest party, they will no longer be used.
• Players take back all Ally tokens placed on Ally cards, unlike other Adventurers, Allies can be used for multiple Quests during a season.

Players repeat these actions until everyone has completed all their quests or decided not to play any other Quest card.

If during the Season a player plays more than one Quest, they simply place the new Quest card on top of the previous one.

Remember: For each Adventurer and/or Quest card you have left in your hand, you will get -1 Alignment during the End of Season phase.

Abilities and Bonuses

Player's Ability

Players may gain extra Reputation based on the ability on their Player Board. Each player has a unique Ability token which will not change for the entire game.

"At the start of the game, you will receive a double-sided Ability token. Choose carefully which side you want to play, this could substantially change your playstyle".

Adventurer's Ability

Players may gain extra Reputation based on their Adventurer's Ability (bottom of the card) depending on the type of Quest played. If the Adventurer's Ability matches the type of the played Quest, the Player gets the Reputation points indicated on the right. If an Adventurer does not have an Ability that matches the Quest, the Player still gains 1 Reputation. Important: this does not count for your character.

Ancestry

Players gain 1 Reputation if they have 2 Adventurers of the same Ancestry, in the Adventurers party who completed the Quest, +1 Reputation for each extra Adventurer of the same Ancestry.

Ancestries: Orcs, Dwarves, Humans, Elves, Dark Elves.

Note: Adventurers of the Uncommon Ancestry do not give this bonus.

Adventurer Card Description

The card shows: Cost, Role, Ancestry, Ability, Reputation.

Quest Bonus

There are several bonuses that allow you to gain more Reputation during Quests (central part of the Quest cards).

• Extra Party Member: Quests with this bonus give players the opportunity to add more Adventurer cards to their party after reaching the minimum required to complete the Quest. Each Extra Party Member cost -1 Coin, but never less than 1 Coin.
• Magic Scroll: Players with the Magic Scroll token gain 3 Reputation for each Quest completed which has this bonus during the current season.
• New Recruit: Players with the New Recruit token gain 2 Reputation for each Quest completed which has this bonus during the current season.
• Perfect Party: Players with all 3 Roles (Defender, Striker, Support) in their party gain 2 Reputation for each Quest completed which has this bonus.

Quest Card Description

The card shows: Quest Type, Minimum Adventurers required (including your character), Quest Bonus (two spaces), Rewards.

5. End of the Season

At the end of each Season all players perform the following actions, in addition to receiving various bonuses.

• Players place 1 Cube on one of the Status slots of the current season and take 1 relative reward. Note: at the end of the first Season, players can choose a reward from the first Season slots. At the end of the second Season players can choose a reward from the one left over from the first season or one from the second season slots. At the end of the third Season, players can choose from the second or third season slots. At the end of the fourth season, no Rewards are chosen.
• Players may choose 1 of the Adventurer cards they used in the Questing phase and add it to the Ally slot of the current Season of their Player Board. Note: It is not possible to keep as an Ally an Adventurer who has not being played in any quest. Important: the sum of the Allies Bonus Reputation cannot be more than 8.
• If a player decides to do not keep an Adventurer as Ally, gains the reward showed on the Ally slot of the current season.
• For each Adventurer and/or Quest card you have left in your hand in this phase you gain -1 Alignment.
• Players discard all the Adventurer used on the Questing phase and all the cards in their hands and place them on the discard piles.
• Players put back on their City places the New Recruit and Magic Scroll tokens.
• All Mission cards left on the board are discarded and a new Season begins, if this is the fourth Season, the game ends and players count their final Reputation score.

"At the end of the first and third seasons, you may receive an additional Action token as a Reward. Although this may seem particularly advantageous, don't forget that coins are indispensable in this game and that even a few Reputation points could make a difference at the end".

Achievements

If, at any time during the game, a player fulfills the requirements of an Achievement they must take 1 Cube of their color and place it on the highest score space not already occupied by another player's cube. The player immediately gains that amount of Reputation shown. If two or more player fulfils the requirements of an Achievement at the same time, they place their cubes by following the turn order.

End Game

At the end of the fourth Season, players can gain Reputation from their Alignment and any Coins they have left. The player with the highest Reputation becomes the new Guild Master!

In case of a tie, the player with the most Coins wins, if there is still a tie, the player who has completed the most Quests wins. If this does not resolve the tie, the player with the most Allies wins. If there is still a tie, flip the table!

End game Reputation score by Alignment:

Chaotic Evil	Neutral Evil	Neutral	Neutral Good	Lawful Good
4	2	0	4	8

Coins: Every 3 Coins left, players gain 2 Reputation.

City Places

Each bonus from the city places can be gained only once for each Action Token.

Note: It is not mandatory for a player to resolve a city place, if they place an Action token on it.

The Guild's Castle

It shows the round order (from the first to the last player) and allows players to change it. If a player places an Action token on circle 1, they become player number 1; the second circle grants you rank 2; the third circle grants rank 3. The other players' positions are changed accordingly on the turn order scale. Players who select the Guild's Castle with their action also gains 1 Reputation.

Example: During this turn, Blue has placed an Action token on 1 in the Guild's Caste. Red has placed one on number 2. The turn order, which was Red / Green / Yellow / Blue, changes. Blue now comes first, and Red comes second. Green now slips to the third position, and Yellow comes last. This will be the new turn order from now on.

Black Market

Adventurers can steal money or sell prohibited goods in the black market, but this will affect their Alignment, bringing them to an evil path. If a player places an Action token on the Black Market gains 3 Coins and loses 1 Alignment. Neutral Good Players lose 1 extra Alignment.

Note: Neutral Good players do not get extra Coins when loosing the extra Alignment.

Mage Tower

Adventurers can buy magic scrolls which will help them to perform better during their quests. If a player places an Action token on the Mage Tower must pay 2 Coins and takes the Magic Scroll token. Players with a Magic Scroll gain 3 Reputation for each quest completed which has this bonus during the current season.

Bank

Adventurers may need extra money to pay their allies to quest with them. If a player places an Action token on the Bank, gains 2 Coins. Furthermore, the player with the lowest Reputation gains 1 Coin. If there are more players with the lowest Reputation, the last in the turn order gain the Coin. If the player who select the Bank is Neutral Evil gans 1 extra Coin.

Proving Grounds

Training is very important for an adventurer and there is no better place than the proving grounds to improve themselves, but sometimes the training is too hard and they will need to stay back and rest. If a player places an Action token on the Proving Grounds must pay 2 Coins and gains 2 Reputation. The player may also immediately discard 1 Adventurer from their hand.

Orcus Dungeon

Adventurers can complete a side quest in the Orcus dungeon. To know the secret location of the dungeon, the adventurers must slide a tip to the guild's squire. If a player places an Action token on the Orcus Dungeon must pay 1 Coin and gains 1 Reputation and 1 Alignment. Chaotic Evil players cannot select this City place.

Rival Guild Headquarter

Adventurers can pick quests from the rival guild, but this will affect their alignment, bringing them to an evil path. If a player places an Action token on the Rival Guild building, loses 1 Alignment and draws 3 Quest cards, add one to their hand and discards the others. Neutral Good players cannot select this City place.

Barracks

Adventurers can find a new recruit to join their quests in the city's barracks. If a player places an Action token on the Barracks must pay 1 Coin and takes the New Recruit token. Players with a New Recruit gain 2 Reputation for each quest completed which has this bonus during the current season.

Player Ability Tokens

Transcriber's note: the source PDF shows the ability token icons as images, so the tokens are not identified by name here; the effects are listed in the order printed.

Below, we explain in detail how Player Abilities can help players to gain extra Reputations or other important bonuses.

• For each completed Diplomacy and/or Rescue quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• For each completed Achievement the player gains 3 Reputation.
• For each completed Diplomacy and/or Escort quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• For each completed Assasin quest the player gains 3 Reputation.
• For each completed Diplomacy and/or Scouting quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• For each completed Quest the player gain 1 Coin.
• For each completed Scouting and/or Escort quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• For each completed Quest the player gain 1 Alignment.
• For each completed Scouting and/or Rescue quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• This counts as the player always has the New Recruit token.
• For each completed Escort and/or Rescue quest the player gains 2 Reputation.
• The ancestry of the player is Human and/or Orc.