Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) – Skarn Lieutenant Pack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Lieutenant Pack Rules
  • Introduction
  • Plot Cards
  • Gaining Threat Tokens
  • Purchasing and Triggering Plot Cards
    • Plot Card Anatomy
  • Threat and Fortune
  • Spending Threat Tokens
  • Spending Fortune Tokens
  • Agents
    • Agent Card Anatomy
  • Monster Sizes and Traits
• Skarn Lieutenant Pack Cards
  • Skarn Plot Cards
    • What Doesn't Kill
    • Possessive Nature
    • Bitter Rage
    • Desolation
    • Thick Scars
    • Thunderous Fall
    • Delusional Path
    • Unknown Origin
    • Faithful Guardian
    • Summon Skarn
  • Skarn Agent Cards

Lieutenant Pack Rules

Introduction

Lieutenant packs expand Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition by providing unique plastic figures that can be used to replace lieutenant tokens in quests. In addition, these packs introduce a new layer of strategy and progression for overlord players with the introduction of Plot and Agent cards.

Plot Cards

After hero players choose their classes at the start of a campaign, the overlord may choose one Plot deck. He will use his chosen deck for the duration of the campaign. After the overlord chooses his Plot deck, he takes the basic card (the Plot card with no purchase cost) and places it faceup in his play area. Then, he takes all remaining Plot cards that have the same deck name and places them facedown in his play area. He may look at his facedown Plot cards at any time.

Plot cards are upgrades the overlord player may purchase throughout the course of a campaign. They provide the overlord with special abilities that are available to him when the card is faceup in his play area. Plot cards are different from Overlord cards; the overlord does not add them to his Overlord deck, and he purchases them in a different way.

Important: The overlord player can only use Plot and Agent cards when playing a campaign.

Gaining Threat Tokens

Each time a hero is defeated during an encounter, instead of drawing one Overlord card, the overlord may choose to gain one threat token. The overlord can only gain threat tokens in this way once per hero per quest. If he chooses to gain a threat token, the overlord takes one hero token belonging to the hero and places it near his Plot deck as a reminder that he has gained a threat token for defeating that hero. In addition, there are a number of other ways in which the overlord may gain threat tokens:

• At the end of each quest, the overlord receives one threat token. If the overlord wins the quest, he receives one additional threat token.
• During the Spend Experience Points step of any Campaign phase, the overlord may spend any number of his experience points to gain three threat tokens for each experience point he spends.
• Each time the overlord plays a Rumor card featuring a quest, he gains one threat token. Rumor cards and applicable rules are included in some Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition expansions.

Each time the overlord gains one threat token, he takes one token from the threat and fortune supply and places it in his play area with the threat side faceup. Each threat token the overlord gains during a campaign remains in his play area until he spends it. Between quests, the overlord player records the amount of unspent threat tokens in the Campaign log. He may spend this threat at a future point during the campaign.

Purchasing and Triggering Plot Cards

Each Plot card has a purchase cost that indicates the number of threat tokens the overlord must spend to purchase the card. During the Spend Experience Points step of each Campaign phase, the overlord player may purchase any of his facedown Plot cards by spending threat tokens equal to the Plot card's purchase cost (see "Plot Card Anatomy"). He places purchased Plot cards faceup in his play area and can use them in all future quests during the campaign.

The overlord can trigger abilities on a faceup Plot card as specified on the card. Each time he triggers a Plot card ability that requires him to "exhaust this card" or "use this card", he must spend a number of threat tokens equal to the Plot card's trigger cost (see "Plot Card Anatomy").

Plot Card Anatomy

1. Name: This area displays the name of the Plot card.
2. Purchase Cost: This area displays the number of threat tokens it costs to purchase the card. The overlord begins play with his basic Plot card. These basic cards have no purchase cost.
3. Ability: This area describes all rules for the Plot card, including when the card can be triggered.
4. Deck Name: This area displays the Plot deck to which the card belongs.
5. Trigger Cost: This area displays the number of threat tokens it costs to trigger this card's effect.

Threat and Fortune

Threat and fortune are represented by different sides of the same token. The red side of the token represents threat, and the white side represents fortune. During setup, place these tokens in a supply within easy reach of all players.

The overlord player may spend threat tokens he has gained (see "Gaining Threat Tokens") to purchase or trigger abilities described on Plot cards. A hero may spend fortune tokens to receive certain benefits (see "Spending Fortune Tokens").

Spending Threat Tokens

When the overlord spends threat tokens, they are either returned to the supply or placed on Hero sheets as follows:

• Purchasing Plot cards: During the Spend Experience Points step of the Campaign phase, each threat token spent to purchase Plot cards is returned to the supply.
• Triggering Plot cards: Each time the overlord spends a threat token to trigger a Plot card, he must flip the token to its fortune side and place it on the Hero sheet which currently possesses the lowest number of fortune tokens.

If there is a tie, the heroes choose which hero among the tied heroes gains the token. If the overlord spends more than one threat token, he follows this process once for each token spent.

Spending Fortune Tokens

Heroes may spend fortune tokens to trigger any of the following abilities:

• 1 fortune token: During his turn, a hero may recover 1 [black drop icon].
• 1 fortune token: After dice are rolled, a hero may reroll 1 of his dice.
• 2 fortune tokens: After performing his two normal actions, a hero may immediately perform one additional action. Limit once per round per hero.
• 2 fortune tokens: During the Shopping step of the Campaign phase, heroes may collectively spend their fortune tokens to draw 1 additional Shop Item card.

When a hero spends a fortune token, he returns it to the threat and fortune supply. Heroes cannot trade their fortune tokens to other heroes. After the Shopping step of each Campaign phase, heroes return all fortune tokens on their Hero sheets to the threat and fortune supply.

Transcription note: The leaflet's text layer contains a glyph that does not extract as text. Rendered from the printed page, it is a single solid black drop icon with no name printed beside it, so it is shown above as "[black drop icon]". Check the printed leaflet if the exact icon name is needed.

Agents

Some Plot cards allow the overlord to use a lieutenant figure as an agent in an open monster group. The Agent card corresponding to the current act lists the agent's characteristics, abilities, and attack dice. An agent is treated as a master monster within its open monster group with the following exceptions:

• Regardless of quest rules, an agent cannot be placed as a reinforcement.
• When an agent is defeated, the overlord must return the Plot card that summoned the agent back to his Plot deck. The card may be purchased again.
• As described on the Plot card, the overlord cannot use an agent in any quest that features the lieutenant version of that agent. Additionally, the overlord cannot use some agents in specific campaigns. For example, the overlord cannot use Baron Zachareth as an agent while playing "The Shadow Rune" campaign because it features Baron Zachareth as an important lieutenant in that campaign.

Plot cards that allow the overlord to summon an agent often require him to replace master and minion monsters of an open group after setup of an encounter. If the overlord cannot meet the replacement requirements, he replaces the entire open group.

When an agent is placed in a monster group, that agent and the monsters in that group are treated as if they are part of the same monster group. While the agent is on the map, the overlord cannot use the monster figures it replaced as reinforcements, regardless of quest rules.

The overlord cannot summon an agent during an Interlude or a Finale. Unlike lieutenants, an agent cannot wield a relic.

Agent Card Anatomy

Agent card front and back.

1. Name: This area displays the name of the agent.
2. Abilities: This area lists all the abilities for the agent.
3. Characteristics: This area lists the characteristics (Speed, Health, and Defense) of the agent. The agent's characteristics differ depending on the number of heroes playing (represented by the gray silhouettes).
4. Attack Type Icon: This icon shows the type of attack (Melee or Ranged) the agent has.
5. Dice: This area lists the dice used by the agent when performing an attack.
6. Ability Rules: This area explains the full details of the agent's abilities.
7. Deck Name: This area displays the Plot deck to which the Agent card belongs.

Monster Sizes and Traits

Many Plot cards have effects that interact with monsters that have specific monster traits or sizes. Monster size is defined by the number of spaces the monster's base occupies:

• Small monsters occupy one space (e.g., goblin archers and zombies).
• Medium monsters occupy two spaces (e.g., barghests).
• Huge monsters occupy four spaces (e.g., ettins and merriods).
• Massive monsters occupy six spaces (e.g., shadow dragons).

Note: medium, huge, and massive monsters are still large monsters for the purposes of movement and quest rules.

Skarn Lieutenant Pack Cards

Each Plot card shows its purchase cost as the small red number at the top right of the card face, and its trigger cost as the large red number at the bottom right. The Twisted Soul deck name and card number (for example "2/12") are printed in the footer.

Transcription note: the first Plot card, What Doesn't Kill, has no purchase-cost badge on its face. It is therefore given below with no purchase cost, matching the leaflet's description of the basic Plot card.

Skarn Plot Cards

What Doesn't Kill

Twisted Soul 1/12 · Purchase cost: none printed · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a monster suffers 1 or more damage. If that monster was not defeated, it recovers 1 damage. Mark that monster with a threat token from the supply. Each marked monster adds 1 brown die to its defense pool.

Possessive Nature

Twisted Soul 2/12 · Purchase cost: 1 · Trigger cost: 0

Use this card when you exhaust the "Summon Skarn" Plot card. Gain threat tokens equal to the number of relics in the play areas of the heroes and overlord. Then, return this card to the game box.

Bitter Rage

Twisted Soul 3/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card at the start of your turn. While this card is exhausted, each time a monster marked with a threat token performs an attack, that attack gains +2 damage.

This card does not refresh as normal. Refresh this card at the end of each quest.

Desolation

Twisted Soul 4/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 2

Exhaust this card at the start of your turn. While this card is exhausted, each time a hero suffers 1 or more [black drop icon], that hero suffers 1 additional [black drop icon].

This card does not refresh as normal. Refresh this card at the end of your turn.

Thick Scars

Twisted Soul 5/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card at the start of your turn. While this card is exhausted, each monster marked with a threat token applies +2 to its Health.

This card does not refresh as normal. Refresh this card at the end of each quest.

Thunderous Fall

Twisted Soul 6/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a HUGE or MASSIVE monster suffers damage equal to its Health and is defeated. Each hero adjacent to that monster is Stunned.

Delusional Path

Twisted Soul 7/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a hero enters an empty space that is 5 or more spaces away from each other hero. That hero tests [gear icon]. If he fails, you may immediately move him up to his Speed. Then, the active player continues his turn.

Transcription note: the test icon on this card is a gear, shown as "[gear icon]" because the card does not print an attribute name beside it.

Unknown Origin

Twisted Soul 8/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 0

Use this card when you exhaust the "Summon Skarn" Plot card. Each hero tests [open book icon]. For each hero who fails, you gain 1 threat token.

Transcription note: the test icon is an open book, shown as "[open book icon]" because the card does not print an attribute name beside it.

Faithful Guardian

Twisted Soul 9/12 · Purchase cost: 4 · Trigger cost: 0

Exhaust this card when the Skarn agent is defeated. Gain 3 threat tokens.

Summon Skarn

Twisted Soul 10/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 2

Exhaust this card after setup of an encounter to choose an open monster group. Replace 1 master and 2 minion monsters in that group with the Skarn agent.

If the Skarn agent is defeated, return this card to your Plot deck.

You cannot use this card in a quest that uses the Skarn lieutenant.

Skarn Agent Cards

The Skarn agent has two Agent cards, one for each act, numbered 11/12 (Act I) and 12/12 (Act II). The front of each card gives the agent's name, attack type, dice, abilities and characteristics. The back of each card gives the full text of its abilities. The Speed, Health and Defense values are read by hero count from the gray silhouettes beside each row: the top row is for 2 heroes, the middle row for 3 heroes, and the bottom row for 4 heroes.

Transcription note: the die colours for the Defense column are not named on the card. Defense is given below as the hexagon faces printed on the card: a dark (outlined) hexagon face, and a light hexagon face.

Skarn Agent, Act I (Agent card 11/12)

• Attack type: melee (axe icon), marked with the Act I numeral.
• Dice: blue and yellow.
• Abilities (front): "Flail", "Energy Drain 3", and "surge: Mend 3".

Heroes	Speed	Health	Defense
2	3	10	one dark hexagon face
3	3	13	two light hexagon faces
4	3	18	two light hexagon faces

Ability rules (back of card 11/12):

• Flail: When attacking, Skarn may target 2 separate heroes. It makes 1 attack roll, and each hero rolls defense dice separately.
• Energy Drain X: If a hero suffers damage as a result of an attack from Skarn, you may cause that hero to suffer up to X damage as [black drop icon] instead.
• surge: Mend X: Skarn recovers X damage.

Skarn Agent, Act II (Agent card 12/12)

• Attack type: melee (axe icon), marked with the Act II numeral.
• Dice: blue, red and yellow.
• Abilities (front): "Energy Drain 4", "move: Thrash" (arrow icon), "surge: Mend 4", and "surge: +1 damage".

Heroes	Speed	Health	Defense
2	3	16	two light hexagon faces
3	3	19	one dark hexagon face and one light hexagon face
4	3	24	one dark hexagon face and one light hexagon face

Ability rules (back of card 12/12):

• Energy Drain X: If a hero suffers damage as a result of an attack from Skarn, you may cause that hero to suffer up to X damage as [black drop icon] instead.
• move: Thrash: Perform an attack. This attack affects each figure adjacent to Skarn. Each figure rolls defense dice separately.
• surge: Mend X: Skarn recovers X damage.

Transcription note: the front of card 12/12 shows a "surge: +1 damage" line that is not explained on the back of the card, so it is transcribed as printed with no further rule text. The surge and move icons are rendered as words, and the arrow icon before Thrash is rendered as "move", as on the leaflet.