Defenders of the Realm: The Dragon Expansion
Defenders of the Realm: The Dragon Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components (Second Edition)
- Dragon Generals and Minions
- Brimstone
- Onyx
- Hemlock
- Sapphire
- Agents of the Dark Lord
- Sterling, Guardian Dragon of the Realm
- Winds of War
- New Quests
- New Special Hero Cards
- Global Effects
- Rules for 5 or 6 Players
- The King's Champion Rewards
- Scenarios
- Base Game Rules Clarifications / FAQ
Components (Second Edition)
- 3 Dragon General Miniatures
- 4 New Dragon General Placards
- 1 Guardian Dragon – Sterling the Silver Dragon
- 4 New Minion Placards
- 4 Wound Tracker Tokens – 1 for each General
- 3 Agent of the Dark Lord Placards
- 8 Fire Tokens
- 8 Troll Renegade Tokens
- 4 Royal Blessing Tokens
- 1 Royal Blessing Card
- 12 New Quest Cards
- 10 Global Effects Cards
- King's Champion Fame Guide
- 6 New Special Cards
- New Darkness Spreads Deck
- New Hero Cards Deck
- King's Champion Scoring Tokens
- 7 King's Champion Reward Cards
- Rulebook, with a story from the Realm
Dragon Generals and Minions
Players can now choose between multiple Generals for the colors Green, Red, Black, and Blue (although we recommend using the High Dragon Sapphire when other Dragons are in play), mixing and matching to randomize their games to a greater degree, or play one of the preset scenarios, like Rampaging Dragons, in the back of this rulebook. (See Page 19.)
Setting up the Hero and Darkness Spreads Card Decks
When using a new General, players need to customize the Hero and Darkness Spreads Decks by taking out the cards of the General(s) not being used in the game and shuffling all cards with Icons of the Generals being used (The Generals' Movement Icon for the Darkness Spreads Deck, and Generals' Attack Icon for the Hero Deck) into their respective decks. Once players choose the General, they should take the respective Wound Token and place it on the highest number of that Dragon General's Wound Track, as in the base game set up.
The new Generals in this expansion are all Dragons, and each is unique in their combat skill and the minions they command. Their General Cards are just like the original Generals with one exception: each of these General Cards show the General's starting location, the troops to be placed with him or her at the start, and movement type. In most cases, movement will be along the arrows on the board following the path the base game Generals move on, but for the Red Dragon Brimstone, that General starts on a new location, Fire River, and has special movement as described on the card and in this book – Dragon Flight.
Example (rulebook illustration): Replace Black General Varkolak's Darkness Spreads Cards with Black Dragon General Onyx's. Replace the Hero Cards, too. You can also look for this Dragon Expansion icon on the Darkness Spreads and Hero Cards.
Brimstone
Brimstone's Special Movement
Brimstone moves differently than any of the other Generals in the game. Not only does he not start at the previous Red General's location, he does not have a path to Monarch City. He uses special movement called Dragon Flight and will move every time his General's Movement Icon appears on a Darkness Spreads Card as noted below.
Dragon Flight: This is a special movement that only the Red Dragon uses. On the Darkness Spreads Cards with Brimstone's picture, a Location will appear with the Dragon Flight icon identifying that the Red Dragon immediately moves to that location. The Red Dragon General will always move when his icon is activated, therefore he can move all over the board. When he moves, as soon as he lands, he sets the location On Fire – placing one of the 10 Fire Tokens on that location.
Setting a Location On Fire: There are 10 Fire Tokens that will be used when Brimstone is one of the Generals, or an Agent of the Dark Lord. Fire Tokens are only added to a location that Brimstone lands on, or a location that has 3 Fire Elementals on it. There is a limit of 1 Fire Token per location.
Effects of Fire Tokens on a Location: When a location is On Fire, it now only takes 3 of any Minion type present to Taint the location. Additionally, locations On Fire cost 2 Actions to enter and any Hero ending their turn in a location On Fire suffers 1 wound due to fire damage. Fire wounds are not blocked by armor or special abilities like Hiding in the Shadows.
Brimstone has no flight path that will land him in Monarch City. In order for Brimstone to move to the capital and defeat the Realm, he must place all 10 of his Fire Tokens on the board. When Brimstone is activated to move and all 10 of the Fire Tokens are on the board, Brimstone automatically attacks Monarch City and defeats the Heroes and the Realm.
Minions (Red): Fire Elementals
Fire Elementals are magical living flames that will set a location On Fire when 3 are present. Add a Flame Token to the location. A roll of 4 or more is required to defeat a Fire Elemental Minion.
Putting Out Fires
This is a new action that Heroes can take. A Hero may put out the fires by traveling to the location with a Fire Token on it and spending 1 Action to discard a Hero Card matching the color of the location On Fire. Roll 2 Dice – a roll of 4+ on either die extinguishes the fire and removes the Fire Token from the board, returning it to the surplus Fire Tokens near the board. The action is similar to Healing the Land, but with a better chance of success.
Onyx
Minions (Black): Zealots
These Zealots are berserk fighters that deal out wounds each round of combat. When a Hero attacks one or more of the Zealots and fails to kill all in single blow, the Hero suffers 1 wound immediately at the end of each round of combat if 1 or more Zealots remain. A roll of 4 or more is required to defeat a Zealot Minion.
Berserk: Each round of combat (after each Combat Action) if there are any Zealots in the location, the Hero suffers 1 wound regardless of the number of Zealots present. This is in addition to any wounds that the Hero will suffer if they end their turn with 1 or more Zealots (or minions in general). As with typical minions, a player ending their turn in a location with 1 or more Zealots will suffer 1 wound for each Zealot present.
Strategy Note: The berserker skill of the Zealots can do a lot of damage to Heroes, but if the players send armored Heroes after the Zealots (Paladin, Dwarf) using their ability to ignore 1 wound from minions, the Zealots are much less of a threat.
Heroes with Armor
Heroes that have armor protection can block the wound each round, as well as 1 at the end of the turn if in a space with the minions.
The Rogue
The Rogue's Ability to hide in the shadows will not prevent damage from the Berserk attacks, but will continue to stop end of turn damage from the Zealots as normal.
Example: The Rogue attacks 3 Zealots and rolls 3 dice getting a 2, 2, 5 – defeating 1. She now suffers 1 wound to the Berserk skill because 2 Zealots remain. She attacks again with her final action (brave little Rogue) rolling a 1, 3 – both misses. She again suffers 1 wound from the Berserk skill and would suffer 2 more wounds, but uses her skill Hide in the Shadows and therefore takes no additional wounds.
The Cleric
The Cleric has a blessed attack that will also work on Zealots as their evil triggers the blessing on her mace. Therefore, the Cleric adds +1 to each die rolled in combat with Zealots as she does with Undead and Demons.
Hemlock
Minions (Green): Imps
These creatures are Quick Flying and Mischievous. A roll of 3 or more is required to defeat an Imp Minion.
Placing Imp Minions: The Green Darkness Spreads Cards place the Imps the same way as they do the Orcs in the base game with the following exception:
Quick Flying: There will never be more than 1 Imp placed at one time per location – Therefore Imp Location cards in the Darkness Spreads Deck will show only 1 Green Minion to be added. That is the good news. The bad news is that each time 1 Imp is placed, the Quick Flying skill will cause 1 Imp to be placed in each adjacent location that does not currently have an Imp on it, similar to an overrun.
Mischievous: Imps are sly and natural born thieves – Heroes lose 1 Random Hero Card rather than take wounds for each Imp at the location in which the Heroes end their turn.
Random Card Loss Process: Shuffle your Hero Cards. The player to your Right draws 1 for each Imp at your Location and discards the drawn cards.
Slayer & Defeating Imps: When a Hero becomes the Slayer of the Imps by landing the final blow on Hemlock, this is a special role from other Slayers in that no action need be spent to defeat the little troublemakers. The Hero merely needs to move into a location with 1 or more Imps to slay them (no combat action is necessary).
Sapphire
Minions (Blue): Dragon Masters
These powerful wizards draw their power from the magic the dragons generate and create. Their combat power is not fixed, but determined by the number of Dragons active in the game. A roll of 2 plus the number of active Dragons invading the Realm is required to defeat a Dragon Master.
Example: If all 4 Generals are Dragons, the player would need to roll a 6 in battle to defeat a Dragon Master. If 3 Dragons are active, a 5+ would be needed – and so forth.
Agents of the Dark Lord
Each Dragon General (excluding Sapphire) provided in the game also has a corresponding Dark Agent Placard, and possibly a Dark Agent miniature as well. Agents act as special henchmen to the Dark Lord. The Agents never invade Monarch City, but they do harass and create problems that the Heroes will have to deal with.
Agent Rules
If the players want to increase the difficulty of the base game with the original Generals, or a mix of old and new Generals, they can add one Agent in service to the Dark Lord. This Agent's Card is placed next to the 4 General Cards and the War Status Board. Each Agent Card gives detailed information about the Agent: where they start, when they are activated, special powers, and how they can be defeated. Agents are also added to some of the Scenarios in the Scenarios Section of this rulebook.
Key Rules for Agents:
- Only 1 Agent can be used in a game
- The corresponding Dragon General and its Agent cannot be in the same game
- Agents never invade Monarch City
- Agents do not count as Minions on Locations
- Heroes may move freely past Agents
- Agents, like Generals, do not attack Heroes that end their turn on a Location with them
- Agents only attack when they are activated to do so
- Slaying an Agent grants a Victory Point with base game rules (more in the King's Champion Variant) and a reward of 2 Hero Cards
Sterling, Guardian Dragon of the Realm
There are many threats in this Realm, but the Silver Dragon Sterling is one example of a helpful force. Adding Sterling to the game can give the Heroes a much-needed advantage against the Generals – but encountering the Silver Dragon requires traveling and actions.
Sterling Rules
Setup: Follow the steps below to setup Sterling as a Guardian of the Realm in your game. Note: using Sterling will make the game easier for the Heroes to win.
Step 1: Shuffle the 3 Sterling Global Effect cards into the Darkness Spreads Deck. These cards are not counted as Global Effects when building the deck with 3 Good and 3 Bad and may be included even if not using any other Global Effect cards.
Step 2: Place Sterling's board next to the invading Generals boards. Place the Silver Dragon miniature on his board.
Step 3: Shuffle Sterling's Encounter the Silver Dragon Cards and place next to the placard as indicated.
Playing a Game with Sterling the Silver Dragon: When a Sterling Global Effect is drawn, place Sterling on the Board at the Location of the Card. The Silver Dragon will remain active until she flies away as directed on her encounter cards.
Encountering Sterling: Often the dragon is in Human, Elf, or Dwarf form, so difficult to find and encounter. Heroes on the same Location as the Silver Dragon may spend 1 Action per turn to Search for the dragon. Roll 3 dice (this is considered a Quest, so Quest bonuses may be used) and each 5 or 6 is a Success. Regardless of the number of Successes rolled, draw the top card afterward. The Hero must use one of the bonuses equal or less than the successes they rolled on the card 0–3. If the action also has Sterling moving, the Dragon is moved (and may be removed from the board if instructed to do so).
Encounter the Silver Dragon card (Success / Encounter):
- 0 – Sterling takes flight. Remove Sterling from the board.
- 1 – The Dragon's wisdom is great. Take any 2 Hero Cards from the discard pile. If you wish to take none, draw 2 Hero Cards.
- 2 – The Dragon shares a Quest opportunity. Draw 1 Quest Card.
- 3 – The Silver Dragon attacks one of the Generals and forces them back 1 Location. Then the Silver Dragon flies away – remove from the board.
Sterling on a Location: While Sterling is on a Location, no minions may be placed on it unless they are part of a General's movement. They sense and fear the Silver Dragon.
Winds of War
Players may choose to play with the Winds of War. In general, this makes the game more challenging for the Heroes.
Setup: Place the Winds of War Board near the General's cards. Shuffle the Winds of War cards and place them on the designated space on the board. When Special Hero Cards are played for their Special Action (not dice to attack a General) they are placed on the Winds of War Board as a Played Special Card. Additionally, any Quiet Night Cards are also added to the board.
When 3 Cards appear on the board, a Winds of War card is triggered. Turn over the top Winds of War Card and either perform the Prevention required or activate the card's Action. Players collectively must decide what to do. Then discard the 3 Special Cards that triggered the event to the box – they are out of play.
Example Winds of War card – "Siege of the Capital" (The armies of the Dark Lord surround Monarch City):
- Action: Add 1 Minion (of matching color) to each Location surrounding Monarch City that has 1 or more Minions. If the Location is empty, add 2 Minions.
- Prevention: Each Hero is moved to Monarch City and discards 2 random Hero Cards.
Renegade Troll Rules
Trolls count as 1 Minion on their location. When attacking a location with a Troll, the player always attacks the Troll separate from other Minions present, and requires a separate Action to attack. To Attack Troll Renegades roll 3 Dice. To remove the Troll Renegade Token, you must roll doubles of any number. In other words, you need 2 of the same number – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 out of the 3 dice. Other minions on the location may be removed normally, but when removing the Troll, 2 dice of doubles must be spent. The Dwarf and Paladin are natural Troll Slayers and may re-roll some or all dice from an attack.
Attacks that fail to defeat the Troll result in a single wound to the hero that may be blocked by Armor (Paladin, Dwarf) or avoided by the Eagle Rider if in the air.
New Quests
Players should take the 12 new Quest Cards and shuffle them into the Quest Deck the first time they play using the Dragon Expansion, regardless of any other components they may choose to use in the game. If a Quest surfaces that cannot be achieved because the focus of the quest is not in the game (like scout the Black Dragon General and there is no Black Dragon General in the game) the quest is simply discarded with no effect and a new one drawn.
Note: This is the same rule that applies with quests in the base game after Generals identified on an open Quest Card have been slain. When a Quest cannot be achieved, the Quest Card is immediately discarded and a new Quest is drawn.
The new Quests are used just like the Quests in the basic game. No special rules apply to the Quests of the Dragon Expansion.
New Special Hero Cards
Separate the Special (Purple) Hero Cards from the basic Hero Cards and combine them with the 6 New Special Hero Cards. Once all the Special Hero Cards are shuffled, deal 6 into the box without looking at them. Now shuffle the remaining Special Hero Cards into the Hero Deck.
Note: The set up process will be used in every game to keep the game balanced and challenging. If players add the new Special Cards without removing any, the game balance will shift toward an easier experience for the players. Of course, if players are having a difficult time winning, they may want an easier game. (See Variant: Want an easier game?).
Note: Generals should be chosen and the appropriate Hero Cards (Cards with the matching General Attack Icons and name on the bottom of the card) be put into the Hero deck prior to shuffling in the Special cards. (See New Generals for more details).
Global Effects
There are 10 Global Effect Cards provided in the Dragon Expansion. These cards are new to play and when activated from the Darkness Spreads Deck will change play until discarded by a new Global Effect or by a General moving. There are 5 Good Global Effect Cards, beneficial to the Heroes, and 5 Bad Global Effect Cards, a hindrance to the Heroes. Not all 10 Global Effects should be included in each game. The players may establish the number of Global Effects they prefer to be in the game to make it tougher or easier, but the following setup is recommended for Global Effects (See Establishing Global Effects below).
Global Effects do not count as Darkness Spread Cards drawn when it comes to placing minions or moving Generals. When a Global Effect is drawn, it is activated by placing it on the board as a reminder of the effect to all players. Immediately draw another Darkness Spreads Card after a Global Effects is drawn.
Global Effects remain active until a) A new Global Effect is drawn, or b) A General moves or c) An instruction on the card requires you to discard the Global Effect Card. These events will cause the active Global Effect Card to be discarded.
Note: If a second Global Effect is drawn on the same turn, it (the second Global Effect Card) is discarded with no effect. Likewise, if a General Moves on the turn the Global Effect is drawn, this movement will not cause a discard of the Global Effect Card, nor will it negate the Global Effects.
All is Quiet Cards: It is recommended that the All is Quiet Cards be removed from the Darkness Spreads Deck. If you want an easier game, leave them in, but the Global Effects should replace these cards as a thematic way to both give the players a little breather, and to create some interesting challenges.
Establishing Global Effects and the Darkness Spreads Deck for the Game: Take the 5 Bad Global Effects, identifiable by the background on the front of the card, and shuffle them. Then deal 3 to the box without looking at them and place the 2 that will be active to the side for use shortly. Now take the 5 Good Global Effects (also identifiable by the background on the front of the card) and shuffle them. Discard 2 of these cards into the box without looking – they will not be used. Next, take the 5 Global Effects (2 Bad Effects, and 3 Good Effects) and shuffle them into the Darkness Spreads Deck.
Note: In the same manner done for the Hero Cards Deck, Generals should be chosen and the appropriate General Darkness Spreads Cards identified and used to create the Darkness Spreads Deck prior to shuffling the 5 Global Effect Cards into the deck. If the Orcs are not being used, remove the Orc Patrols and Orc War Party and replace those cards with the new "Special" Darkness Spreads Cards.
Note: As more expansions for Defenders of the Realm are released, there will be more Global Effects Cards added to the game. The setup will continue to be recommended with 2 Bad Global Effects and 3 Good Global Effects so that the game continues to be balanced and challenging. Of course, players that want a tougher game can put 0, 1 or 2 Good Global Effect Cards in the game while someone wanting an easier game can reduce the Bad Global Effects and increase the Good ones that they add to their games. It is recommended that the maximum number of Good or Bad be 3 Global Effects Cards and a total of no more than 6 Global Effects appear in any game and never more than 4 of one type (Good or Bad). This way much of the game will be played with no special effect in play, and by randomly changing them every game, the story aspect of the game continues to increase as no two games will ever be the same.
Sample cards shown on page 15 (card text as printed):
- Inns Closed (Bad) – Increased raids have forced the innkeepers to flee for safety… Immediate Effect: The Inns are closed! Ongoing Effect: While this card is active, Heroes may not Heal at the Inns or take Rumors at the Inn Actions.
- Ship Transports (Good) – Local fishermen assist the Heroes with travel in these most desperate times… Immediate Effect: For 1 Action, Heroes may move from any one Location touching the Seas to any other Location touching the Seas. Draw Another Darkness Spreads Card.
Rules for 5 or 6 Players
Rules for 5 Players: The following changes to basic game rules should be used to keep the balance of a challenging game when adding a 5th Hero (player) to the game. Remove all of the Darkness Spreads All Is Quiet cards from the deck. They will not be used in the game.
- The choice of Hero Selection should be random – Shuffle Heroes and deal 1 to each player.
- Players start with 1 Hero Card rather than 2. Players will still gain 2 Hero Cards at the end of each turn.
- Maximum Hand Size for Hero Cards is now 8 rather than 10.
Rules for 6 Players: The following changes to basic game rules should be used to keep the balance of a challenging game when adding a 6th Hero (player) to the game.
- Remove all of the Darkness Spreads All Is Quiet cards from the deck. They will not be used in the game.
- Shuffle all Special cards and remove 5 randomly. Place them in the box without looking at them.
- The choice of Hero Selection should be random – Shuffle Heroes and deal 1 to each player.
- Players start with zero Hero Cards rather than 2. Players will still gain 2 Hero Cards at the end of each turn.
- Maximum Hand Size for Hero Cards is now 7 rather than 10.
In both setups (5 or 6 players), the players will still set the Global Effects normally as in a 1 – 4 player game.
As always, players may change the set up to make the game easier or tougher based on the level they wish to play, but the maximum hand size rules, and the number of Hero Cards gained each turn should remain as listed above.
Source note: the printed page 16 has a "Royal Blessing" heading in its right-hand column with no body text beneath it in the rulebook; the Royal Blessing rules are not printed in this rulebook. The Royal Blessing Tokens and Card are referenced in the Scenario and easier-game rules.
Strategy consideration with increased players: The biggest issue the players face in 5 and 6 player games is the flow of Hero Cards. They start with less in a 5 & 6 player game and players hold less with a reduced hand size. With extra players, the control of Minions and Tainted Crystals should be easier to handle – so the key focus must be preparing to attack Generals.
The King's Champion Rewards
Defenders of the Realm is a true cooperative game with recognition of the overall King's Champion. Whether using the King's Champion rules in the base game, or this variant, all players continue to win or lose as a team. This variant introduces a more thorough way to identify the level of heroism exhibited by the Heroes in defense of the Realm and recognizes multiple Heroes at the end of the game.
Set up of the King's Champion Rewards: Make a draw pile of the Gold Fame Tokens (Minor Fame) anywhere near the board. Players will be drawing from this pile throughout the game, so make it accessible to all.
Take the Blue Fame Tokens (Major Fame) and place them in a cup for drawing during the game, then place the cup next to the Gold Fame Tokens. For easy tracking of when and what type of Fame Token to draw, refer to the King's Champion Fame Guide.
Playing the Game with the King's Champion Rewards: Play the game normally, but as the players perform tasks in defense of the Realm, they will be awarded minor and major fame that the King will recognize at the end of the war, should the Realm be saved by the Heroes. Heroes will earn Minor Fame for the following heroic actions – these Fame Tokens are awarded regardless of success.
Minor Fame Heroic Actions
- Attack 3 Minions in a Location – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Attempt to Heal the Land – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Attempt a Quest that requires Dice to be Rolled – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Attack any number of Minions in Monarch City – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Wound a General in Battle – Gain 1 Minor Fame token for each Wound inflicted
- Attempt to put out Fires in a Location – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Build a Gate (not by use of Special Card) – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Delay a Quest to place Minions when supply is too short – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
- Attack an Agent of the Dark Lord – Gain 1 Minor Fame token
Major Fame Heroic Actions
- Complete a Quest Successfully – Draw 1 Major Fame token
- Land Slaying Blow to a General – Draw 2 Major Fame tokens
- Successfully Put Out a Fire on a Location – Draw 1 Major Fame token
- Gain 2 or More Cards from a Rumor Action in the Inn – Draw 1 Major Fame token
- Slay 2 or More Minions in a Single Round of Combat – Draw 1 Major Fame token
- Successfully Heal the Land (without a Special Card) – Draw 1 Major Fame token
- Slay an Agent of the Dark Lord – Draw 2 Major Fame tokens
The Realm is Saved! At the end of the game, if the Heroes are victorious, The Realm is saved from the invading armies of the Dark Lord and all players are winners. To celebrate, the King sponsors a Grand Ball in which the Heroes are honored. If the Heroes fail to win, The Realm has fallen and the King awards no one – all players lose.
The Grand Ball after a Victory: Place the King's Champion Card on the board and shuffle the remaining Grand Ball Cards and deal 3 of them face up on the board. Starting with the player that achieved the highest total fame points (Minor+Major Fame), that Hero is honored by the Royal Court and awarded the King's Champion Card. The Hero with the second highest points now has their choice of remaining cards, then the third highest and the fourth. If playing with more than 4 Heroes, no further rewards are given out, but the King still recognizes those Heroes as honored warriors – to honor them, all players should cheer.
Awards: Players may want to keep track of awards on the chart on the following page so the next time they play Defenders of the Realm the player that earned the reward can (providing they play the same hero that won it) use the reward in the game. When a player winning a reward plays with the same hero that won the reward – they are awarded the Grand Ball Card at the start of the game as a benefit in the new game.
Award Tracker
The printed Award Tracker on page 18 is a record sheet (columns: Generals, Minions, W/L, Champion, Duke, Land, Mayor, Stables, Folk Hero, Blessing). Its instructions:
- Track Generals used in the game with these abbreviations: Sapphire (S), Varkolak (V), Gorgutt (G), Balazarg (B), High Dragon Sapphire (HDS), Onyx (OD), Hemlock (HD), Brimstone (BRD), Lord Vileheart (LV), Gash Bloodclaw (GBC), Ygzell (YZ).
- Track Minions used in the game with these abbreviations: Dragonkin (DK), Undead (U), Orcs (O), Demons (D), Dragon Masters (DM), Zealots (Z), Imps (I), Fire Elementals (FE), Nightmares (N), Skeleton Warriors (SKW), Wolf Riders (WR), Gluttons (G), Blood Demons (BD).
- Rewards: Write the name of each Hero and the Player on the Reward achieved. They may use this Reward in their next game, providing they use the same Hero that earned it.
- W/L – Win/Lose: Track wins and losses if desired, or just track wins for King's Rewards.
Scenarios
The Dragon Expansion provides new Generals, bringing the total number of Generals and Minions available for play to 8 each with the base game. Even more Generals and Minions are available in the "Minions" (Kickstarter) Expansion. Many different scenarios are possible by mixing and matching Generals and Minions to create different challenges. Below are a few game scenarios that we think you will both enjoy and find very challenging.
Scenario 1: Rampaging Dragons
The Dark Lord has engaged the Dragons to serve as his Generals and each has mustered an army to serve their ruthless attacks on the Realm.
Generals: Brimstone, Sapphire, Hemlock, Onyx
Minions: Fire Elementals, Dragon Masters, Imps, Zealots
Agent of the Dark Lord: None
Setup: Use the Darkness Spreads Deck that shows the Dragon Generals. The Dragon Quests are added to the Quest Deck. It is not important to discard the quests for the other generals – if they appear in the game, just discard them since they cannot be achieved. Add the new Special cards to the base game Special cards, shuffle them and then discard 6 into the box without looking at them.
Special Rules: The Dragons are relentless – there are no All is Quiet cards in use. They should be removed from the Darkness Spreads Deck.
Want an easier game against the rampaging dragons? Use some of the base game's Easier Game Rules or implement some of these:
- Keep 1 or More All is Quiet cards in the Darkness Spreads Deck
- Choose Which Special cards are discarded to the box
- Use 1 or more Royal Blessing Tokens
- Shuffle 4 Good Global Effect and only 1 Bad Global Effect Cards into the Darkness Spreads deck.
Scenario 2: Realm in Flames
The Dark Lord has summoned the Fire Dragon Brimstone and unleashed him as an independent agent to turn the Realm into an inferno.
Generals: Balazarg, Sapphire, Gorgutt, Onyx
Minions: Demons, Dragonkin, Orcs, Zealots
Agent of the Dark Lord: El Fuego
Special Rules: Perform the following additional actions during setup of the game.
- Darius, the High Mage and Councilor of Magic to the Royal Council, assists the heroes. After the Special cards are shuffled, 6 plus the number of players are dealt into the box. The remaining cards are now shuffled into the Hero Deck per the normal rules for preparing the Hero deck. The cards dealt into the box are now shuffled and each player is dealt 1 card randomly as part of their starting hand. The other Special cards are now placed back into the box without looking at the cards removed from the game.
- Prior to placing the Minions per normal rules of play, turn over 3 Darkness Spreads Cards and place 1 Fire token on each of the 2 spaces on the card. On Fire rules apply and Tainted Lands may occur.
- All is Quiet Darkness Spreads Cards: Add 2 All is Quiet cards to the Darkness Spreads deck.
Scenario 3: Onslaught!
The reports can't be true, but they are. The enemy has advanced very quickly; if the Realm is to stand, the Heroes must move quickly. Onslaught is a scenario where the enemy has advanced before the Heroes respond.
Generals and Minions: The Players may choose the Generals or randomly determine Generals and Minions.
Random Selection of Generals: Shuffle all General cards and then deal them one at a time. The first of each color to be dealt is active in the War. Whenever a second General of the same color emerges, he is discarded and another drawn. When each of the 4 colors of General have been drawn, the selection is complete. Take the Minions that go with their General and place them near the board.
Agent of the Dark Lord: The Players may add a Dark Agent, by choice or randomly, as they prefer.
Special Rules: The following rules are used for setting up the game.
- Do the normal set up, but when placing 2 Minions you will use 4 cards rather than 3. When placing 1 minion, use 5 cards rather than 3. During this placement, overruns and tainted lands can occur.
- After the placement of troops, flip over 2 Darkness Spreads Cards. The General movement icon on the bottom is only used to identify the General that will move. Regardless of the location on the card (exception: Brimstone – he will use this location if in the game) the identified Generals will move to their next location. This means that 2 Generals will be 1 step closer to Monarch City, or 1 General will be 2 Steps closer at the start of the game. After this step, shuffle the Darkness Spreads deck, adding Global Effects Cards and All is Quiet cards as desired.
- Shuffle the Special Hero Cards separately and deal 2 to each player. Afterward, discard 6 Special Hero Cards into the box without looking at them. Next, shuffle the remaining Special Hero Cards into the Hero Deck. When shuffled sufficiently, deal 4 cards to each Hero in the game.
- Shuffle the Quest Cards and deal 2 to each player. The players review the 2 Quests, discard 1 and keep the other. Reshuffle Quest deck after the selection is complete.
Scenario 4: The Land is Dying
The poison infesting the land is spreading quickly, accelerated by the venomous march of the Green Dragon Hemlock and his Imp minions.
Generals: Hemlock, Sapphire, Varkolak, Balazarg
Minions: Imps, Dragonkin, Undead, Demons
Agent of the Dark Lord: The Players may add a Dark Agent, by choice or randomly, as they prefer.
Setup: Follow the normal rules for set up. All 4 All is Quiet cards should be added to the Darkness Spreads Deck. No Agent of the Dark Lord should be used with this scenario.
Special Rules: Each time that Hemlock moves, place a Tainted Crystal on the space he moves into as his venomous breath decays the land.
Scenario 5: The Burning Land
The Dark Lord has tasked Brimstone, the Red Dragon, to scour every village and dale with fire to make way for his advancing generals. The Heroes must douse the fires before the Red Dragon returns.
Generals: Balazarg, Sapphire, Gorgutt, Varkolak
Minions: Demons, Dragonkin, Orcs, Undead
Agent of the Dark Lord: None
Setup: Set up the game using the original 4 Generals and their minions. No Agent of the Dark Lord is to be used. All 4 All is Quiet Cards should be added to the Darkness Spreads Deck.
Set the Realm Ablaze: After the normal setup of the board, place an On Fire Token on all three Inns, Brookdale Village, McCorm Highlands, Seabird Port, and Monarch City.
Special Rules: The following rules are in play with this Scenario:
Locations On Fire: While these locations are On Fire, Heroes that end their turn on them may not collect Hero Cards and no Heroes can conduct Rumors at the Inn Actions.
The Return of Brimstone, the Red Dragon: As soon as a General is defeated, The Red Dragon enters play. The decks (Both Hero and Darkness Spreads) will need to be reshuffled with the Red Dragon cards added. Brimstone will have no minions; the Red Minion tokens remain Demons.
Preventing the Appearance of Brimstone: The Fire Tokens in the Inns and Cities must be extinguished before a General is killed. If this occurs, Brimstone will not appear in the game.
Removing Fire Tokens from Monarch City and the Inns: These Fires can only be removed by using the (special) purple cards to douse flames. Special cards used to put out flames are not discarded from the game, but placed in the discard pile of the Hero Cards and reshuffled since the special ability on the card has yet to be used.
Monarch City On Fire: If Brimstone enters the game and Monarch City is on Fire when he is activated to move, he immediately moves to Monarch City and the game is lost by the Heroes.
Want an easier game?
The Dragon Expansion provides a number of thematic ways to increase and decrease the difficulty level of the game. However, the expansion primarily introduces more challenges than benefits, so players that are losing too often may use the methods listed under this section in the base game rules along with any listed below to reduce the challenge to best fit their game group.
- Choose which Special cards are discarded from the game. This not only assures players that the best Special Cards will appear, it eliminates the "fog of war" related to randomly discarding without looking and not knowing what resources are available in the deck.
- Increase the Good Global Effects and reduce the Bad ones. Keep in mind that no more than 6 Global Effects should ever appear in a game and no more than 4 of one type (Good or Bad).
- Use more Royal Blessing tokens than recommended for the number of Heroes in the game.
Base Game Rules Clarifications / FAQ
Since the Inns and Monarch City are all circled in purple, does Monarch City have an Inn? The answer in game terms is no. While there are certainly Inns in the city, players may NOT use Rumor Actions in Monarch City.
Design Note: The reason there is no Inn (in game terms) in Monarch City is that the central location makes it too easy to gain cards through the Rumors Action. My logic in not placing an Inn there from a thematic perspective is that while the city is full of Taverns and Inns, these establishments are not out on the frontier where the trappers, hunters, and woodsmen would be coming into and sharing information of what they have seen of the enemy in the surrounding lands. So, while you can heal in Monarch City like at any other Inn, you cannot gain the valuable enemy information from Rumors that awards Hero Cards.
Do Demons overrun when they Taint a Location with a 3rd Demon? No. Demons have the special skill of tainting a location when a 3rd Demon is placed on it, but this does not create an overrun. Overruns only occur whenever a 4th Minion is added to a location.
If 3 Demons are on a location and 2 are to be added, does the location immediately taint 2 times? No, there can only be 1 tainted crystal placed in a location per turn. Regardless of how many Demons are being added to a location that already has 2 Demons, only 1 tainted crystal would be added to that location. However if, by adding 2 Demons an overrun would also occur, then a Demon would be added to each surrounding location and if any of those locations would now have 3 Demons or 4 of any type of minion, that location would taint also. So, while only 1 tainted crystal can be added to a single location on a turn, more than 1 tainted crystal could be added by being placed on newly overrun locations as well as the original location from which the overrun spawned.
When the Ranger becomes a Slayer, does his archery skill couple with the Slayer skill? No, the skills do not stack.
The Slayer Card states that when spending a combat action in a Location, the Slayer defeats all of that type of minion. No combat roll is required, but the action is restricted to the location the Slayer is on.
Design Note: The Slayer's ability is gained because the minions now fear the Slayer. They know of his fame and fear him, therefore they run at the sight of the Slayer – becoming routed troops fleeing in fear and open to the Slayer's attack. The Ranger's Archery Skill would not reveal him to the Minions as the Slayer and therefore would not cause them to route in fear as he approached, as he would be just an Archer firing at them from a distance — therefore the Ranger's Archery skill would not work with the Slayer action.
Can a magic gate be built at an Inn location? No, players must use a Hero Card to build a Magic Gate and no Hero Cards have the Inn locations on them. There is a Special card that allows for a Gate to be built anywhere, but Inns are restricted. You can build gates right outside the Inn in the location that is connected to them, but not the Inn itself.
Design Note: The Inns are never overrun and Gates cannot be built on them for the same thematic reason that Heroes can walk past Minions on other locations. Each Location on the board is considered to be a vast area (an entire town, forest or mountain range) but the Inns are small finite locations and as a result not attacked by the enemy that is working to gain strategic hold of the Realm and could care less about the Inns. Since a Magic Gate is actually a pretty large circle of stones, one could not be built in a small Inn.
Placing 2 Minions when 3 are present – are multiple tainted crystals and multiple overruns triggered? No – only 1 Tainted Crystal and 1 overrun will occur. When you have 3 of any type of minions on a location and are to place one or more new Minions of any type to that location, the location immediately becomes Tainted (only placing 1 Tainted Crystal regardless of type of Minions or number that was to be added) and the Minion type on the Darkness Spreads Card being added overruns to each surrounding location, meaning that 1 Minion of that type is added to each surrounding location. This overrun action may place a 3rd demon on a location if the overrun was Demons or a 4th minion on a location, and in doing so would cause an additional Tainted Crystal to be placed on the overrun location, but will not cause any additional overruns.
Are all quests one-shot Adventures? All quests are not a one time action pass or fail. Many are actions that do not have any dice rolls to succeed, but require the Hero to go somewhere and spend an action, like Scout a General. Some require the Hero to go multiple places and spend actions, like Organize the Militia. However, some quests are a one time event representing going into a dungeon to find something and the player spends an action to roll X number of dice and must get a number (usually a 5 or a 6) on one of the dice to succeed. If they succeed, they take the card and now have the Reward. If they fail to get the required die roll, they discard the quest as a failure.
Are all Rewards discarded when used, or do some provide an ongoing advantage for the Hero? Cards that grant a one time benefit will state "discard to use" and identify the benefit. Some rewards, like the Unicorn Steed and Boots of Speed provide an ongoing benefit to the Hero, identifiable by the fact that the reward does not require the player to discard it to use the reward.
What about the Unicorn or the War Banner – they look like Quests you search for and you do roll dice? Why do they not say Discard if Failed? The Unicorn and War Banner are unique in that the player may spend actions seeking them, each action granting a single die to be rolled. While the failure of the roll does not cause them to be discarded, I have seen players chase these quests (which have very valuable quest rewards – so I understand their motive) to the detriment of Realm as minions spring up and Generals move while the Hero spends multiple actions (and in some cases turns) chasing the elusive Unicorn.
Design Note: These 2 cards are not in error by not having discard if failed—this was the way I intended them and not because they are of such great assistance to the players (although they are very valuable, especially if obtained early in the game). For me, the design of these quests (as well as every aspect of the game design) was to focus on theme first. Create a fantasy world that the players can truly become heroes and as such pursue what they wish. So, in designing these cards, I wanted a Unicorn in Unicorn Forest that a player could pursue as a steed and I wanted them to have the opportunity to chase the mythical beast until they could catch it, or until all players became frustrated with the player pursuing it. It is kind of like King Arthur's Questing Beast in that regard.
As for the War Banner, I felt like it was important to have a famed item that everyone knows where it is, but it is just hard to obtain. In the other quests, most read they are fabled or rumored – when the hero fails, the item was just not there or some long gone adventurers already took it. So, that is the story behind the Unicorn and the War Banner.
Does the wizard's teleport ability allow him to move to any location once per turn? Yes, the wizard may teleport to any location one time each turn – no card is required, he just chooses a location and moves to it. His teleport, though limited to one time per turn, is very strong as it enables him to Teleport to Monarch City or any of the Inns even though there are no Hero Cards that enable that to occur.
Can he use the teleport ability to move to any magic gate on the board as listed in the number 1 part of the movement by magic gate action? Yes, he can choose any location to teleport to, but can only teleport one time per turn.
Is the 10 card hand limit only applied to the active player? When you are the active player, you must discard down to 10 Hero Cards at the end of your turn after you draw the Hero Cards for the turn. If it is not your turn and you go over the limit by participating in a victorious battle with a General, you must discard down at the end of the active player's turn as well – you may not keep cards over the limit of 10.
When multiple heroes battle a general, do all players state how many cards they are committing to the battle prior to anyone rolling dice? If so, in what order do the players state how many cards they will commit? All players must commit all cards to the battle at the start of the battle. Players should place the cards they are committing on the board to show they are being used in the battle. All cards placed on the board will be discarded after their battle dice have been rolled, or the battle is resolved. If there is a question of who commits first, the active player must commit first and then clockwise around the table from the active player. At this point, the active player (who is the commander of the assault on the General) determines who will attack first. After that attack is resolved, the commander picks the next attacker and so on, usually positioning so that he/she can be the slayer. If the General is slain before a player uses their cards, those committed cards are still discarded.
Note: If the General is Gorgutt, all players must roll even if the General is essentially slain as the roll of 1's may block previous hits, just as excessive 1's rolled early carry over to the other heroes' rolls.
Note: All players involved in the Battle with a General, whether they rolled or not gain the 3 Hero Card reward if the General is slain. Likewise they suffer the penalty if they lose to him.
Sorceress, First attack Bonus: Her ability indicates that the first attack is at +2 against creatures of her new shape, does that mean she gets +2 for her first attack in each space she enters?
Question Example: She attacks in space A, at +2. She moves to space B, where more of the same creatures are and gets +2 against them. She attacks the group in space B again, but does not get the bonus this time. She moves back to space A and attacks the last remaining minion there, but gets no bonus, because she attacked there earlier in the turn.
That is correct except the last point, the shape-shift attack bonus applies to the first attack on matching minions upon entering each location. Any additional attacks while she is on that location without leaving would not get the +2 bonus. However, if she left the space and returned to it later in the turn to attack any survivors from her first attack, she would get the bonus again as it would be her first attack upon entering the space (even entering a second time).
*Design Note: The bonus works because she is able to sneak into the minion lines and attack when they
are most vulnerable, therefore the powerful +2 bonus to each die rolled. It is then lost, because even the most dense of soldiers will realize the attacker standing in their ranks with blood on their weapons and bodies at their feet must be the enemy. But if she leaves the space, whether to attack somewhere else or to just enter again, she will be able to sneak into their ranks and attack again. From a design perspective I wanted to leave this option open to the player if they failed to kill all the minions in the attack and did not want to continue fighting without the shape-shift bonus. But I also wanted to make it costly and it is, they must spend 1 action to leave the location, another to return and a 3rd action to attack again – that would be half of their Actions points – pretty costly. Few self-respecting sorceresses would lose that many actions pursuing this strategy, but it is possible.*
How does the Wizard's Fireball Spell work when multiple colored minions are in the location being attacked? The Wizard player spends 1 action to attack 2 Orcs (Green) and 1 Undead (Black) and may now discard either a Black or Green card to use his Fireball. Regardless of which color card he discards, the Fireball will now defeat each minion on a roll of 2 or higher.
Ranger's Archery Skill: Is it used against all minions 1 location away (multiple locations) or is it used against 1 location that is one away? Card reads: May attack enemy minions 1 space away as if they were in the same location. The Ranger can attack one of the adjacent locations for 1 action as if he were in that Location. He cannot attack all adjacent locations at the same time for 1 action.
Example: The Ranger is in Monarch City at the start of his turn and there are 2 Orcs in Father Oak Woods, 1 Dragonkin in Bounty Bay, and 2 Undead in the Dancing Stones. For 1 Action he can attack any one of these locations without moving into them so he spends his first of 5 actions to attack the Dancing Stones with 2 Undead and rolls 2 dice getting a 3 and a 5 result. He defeats one of the Undead. He spends a second action to attack again hitting the undead with a 6 die roll. He decides to move into the Father Oak Woods as his third action. He spends his fourth action attacking the 2 Orcs in Father Oak Woods and since his target is in a green location with him he gains the +1 die bonus for Woods Lore and rolls 2 dice (one for each Orc present) gaining a 2 and a 4 hitting both (You need a 3+ to defeat Orcs and he achieves this with his Wood Lore Bonus). With four actions spent and the desire to end his turn on a Green location to gain the Elf Support extra action next turn he looks at all adjacent spaces and sees that he has 1 Dragonkin in Rock Bridge Pass and 1 Demon in Pleasant Hill. Because the Demon is easier to defeat than the Dragonkin (the Demon requires a 4+ to hit and the Dragonkin a 5+) he spends his fifth and final action firing at the Demon and gets a 4 removing it from the location. He ends his turn by Drawing 2 cards, adding 1 temporary Action token from supply to be used on his next turn, and then resolves 1 Darkness Spreads Card since the game is in the Early War status.
If the Eagle Rider sets his attack style to Ground, does that mean he cannot move 4 spaces flying? No, the Attack style applies only to how he chooses to fight the battle – either in the sky, or on the ground, where he has a better shot, thus enabling him to re-roll all dice one time if he wishes. His movement is always 4 spaces.
Note: Often players misread his Ground Combat skill. He may re-roll all dice or none. He may not just re-roll the failed dice.
If Imps attack me and I have armor that prevents 1 wound will it protect me from their card theft? Likewise, if the Eagle Rider is in his Sky Attack, is he safe from Imps stealing his cards since they can fly? Heroes that have armor protection from Minion wounds also are protected from Imps stealing their cards. The Eagle Rider when his combat style is Flying is also protected, he is to be considered too high for the Imps to reach and an Eagle can fly much faster than an Imp.