Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala – Scourge of Valerna
Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala – Scourge of Valerna Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 miniatures: Tetzcoatl (Coatl), Rakzor (Exor), Eirándi (Nahuac), Oryan (Ysval)
- 1 Coatl Player board
- 1 Exor Player board
- 1 Nahuac Player board
- 1 Ysval Player board
- 6 Coatl Action cards
- 6 Exor Action cards
- 5 Nahuac Action cards
- 5 Ysval Action cards
- 10 Wound tokens
- 4 Character cards
- 20 Vaala cards
- 4 Dragonbond tokens
- 21 Power tokens
- 6 Nahuac Infantry tokens
- 6 Ysval Infantry tokens
- 6 Nahuac Cavalry tokens
- 6 Ysval Cavalry tokens
- 6 Nahuac Ranged tokens
- 6 Ysval Ranged tokens
Expanded Configurations
This expansion for Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala contains two new realms and two new dragon broods for you to play as, enabling brand new combinations with the base game.
Suggested configurations (with or without Faceless players):
- 2 Dragons & 2 Generals (standard)
- 3 Dragons & 3 Generals (standard with more players)
- 4 Dragons (ruthless and straightforward)
- 4 Generals (advanced and more tactical)
It is suggested to choose two Dragons and two Generals, but not necessary. Any configuration mentioned above will add variety to your game and a different experience. You can also try 3 Dragons & 1 General (or 3 Generals & 1 Dragon), or even go for an 8-player game with 4 teams — each General player starting Dragonbonded with a Dragon player. Keep in mind the game balance and advertised playtime was optimized for 4-player games, but don't let that stop you from an epic game night with all your friends!
Setup
To play with the factions included in this expansion simply add them to those available for choosing (step 2 of the setup). If you are playing with fewer than 4 players, choose the Faceless players from the remaining Player boards and use their Faceless side. You may pick randomly.
Keep setting up the game as normal but consider the following when determining starting regions (step 5 of the setup):
By default, the starting regions for the new factions are:
- Coatl: Allaria
- Exor: Trade Road
- Nahuac: Nahuac
- Ysval: Ysval
Mixing with the Base Game
When combined with the base game, if two players choose a Dragon and General with the same starting region or adjacent regions (such as Nahuac with Lower Primalian Range), follow these rules instead:
Identify the 4 starting regions in the game board: Allaria, Ysval, Trade Road and Lower Primalian Range. If the Nahuac Player board has been picked, Nahuac becomes a starting region instead of Lower Primalian Range.
Place each General miniature in their default starting region.
Determine initiative. Each Dragon player places their miniature in an empty starting region, beginning with the player at the right of the first player and proceeding counter-clockwise.
Continue with the normal setup. Non-starting regions should have a Power token and a neutral Unit token on them. Each starting region should have only 1 Dragon miniature or 1 General miniature with 3 corresponding Unit tokens.
Playing with 5+ Players
With the addition of new Player boards, you may choose to play with more than 4 players. Make the following changes to the game:
Setup
Players do not need to sit with Dragon players between General players, unless the amount of Dragon players equals the number of General players.
After General players have received their starting Region cards, reveal a Region card from the deck for each Dragon player and place their miniature in that region. This is the Dragon's starting region. Shuffle the revealed Region cards back into the deck after determining the starting regions for all players.
Identify the non-starting regions in the board and place an additional neutral Unit token in each of them.
At the end of setup, each non-starting region should have 1 Power token and 2 neutral Unit tokens on it. Starting regions should not have any Power tokens or neutral Unit tokens.
Planning Phase
A player may only pass if they have played at least two cards into the Action stack.
Gameplay
Lords of Vaala is an asymmetric game. Dragons and Generals are not played in the same way. Every realm has access to distinct Denizen cards in the first few rounds, while each dragon brood has a unique Combat Value progression in their Wound Track. They all have an array of Action cards with different Glyph configurations on them. On top of that, the characters have their own set of Vaala cards and Dragonbonded ability, providing a different feel with each of them.
The Arcane Action cards from the Coatl brood and Nahuac realm have the Vaala Glyph first. Remember Glyphs are always resolved in order, from top to bottom.
Exor brood introduces the keyword Ultimate in Action cards, which includes two Glyphs of the same type. Use it wisely, it is the only Action card with the Wrath Glyph in the Exor brood.
Some Vaala cards in this expansion are placed in front of you in order for their effects to come into play. Unless otherwise specified, these are discarded during the Cleanup phase and any tokens on them are returned to their respective supply (not to Player boards or the game board).
FAQs
Do Heroic Allies receive my Denizen abilities?
No, neutral Units are not infantry Units, and so do not receive any Denizen abilities you have.
Can I exceed the limit of 6 Units per region by using Blend In? Can I skip the effect for the next combat I initiate during that round?
You cannot exceed the limit. If you would, you may place any of the 3 Unit tokens and then return to your supply Unit tokens of your choice in that region until you have 6. Remember: your General miniature counts as a Unit towards the limit.
You may choose not to place Units tokens or keep some for the next combat you initiate in that round. Note that if Blend In is discarded for any reason (including during the Cleanup phase), the Unit tokens on it are returned to your supply.
When do I check the results of my Read the Enemy guess?
When the chosen player's next card is revealed in the Action stack, resolve the effects of Read the Enemy. Remember that Region cards are not Action cards, so do not count as a player's next Action card. However, you may choose Arcane or Ultimate as words from Action cards.
Who gets to choose when resolving the Dragonbond ability of Rakzor or Tetzcoatl?
The active player chooses but they can always discuss as a team. Rakzor picks which Unit token is placed from their Bonded General's supply. Just as the active player (Bonded General or Tetzcoatl) chooses whether or not to spend Power tokens from their teammate's Power Track.
Realms and Broods
Flavour text from the rulebook, transcribed for reference.
Nahuac
"Weave a Life Worth Living"
The oldest surviving realm of Valerna, the Nahuac Coalition of Free States has quietly stood in the Westerlands for millennia, watching other realms rise and fall since the Altanesi Empire. An alliance of humans, birdfolk and lizardfolk, Nahuac is built on mutual cooperation and respect for nature's strict order.
Most Náhuinn humans have been blessed with the ability to shapeshift into animal form, and the Coalition includes entire nations of jaguarkin, batkin or deerkin. These nations all answer to a central council of speakers, a leaderless ruling body that oversees the people's needs across the realm.
Nahuac is built on the magic of Makaab — the power to weave nature according to one's needs. This allows the Náhuinn to build their cities and organize their activities in harmony with their environment, and gives them uncanny terraforming powers in battle.
The army of Nahuac is led by the brave ocelinn, the realm's jaguarkin warrior caste. Behind them march stout Bendavee lizardfolk, while Buunkun birdfolk and Mun Kisuut batkin scout the field from the air. Then come the dread forces of Xibac necromancers, which have pushed life magic to its limit, allowing corpses to rise and fight for their land after death.
Ysval
"Kindle the Light Together"
The Holy Alliance of Ysval is a relatively small, young realm in the Northerlands of Valerna. Founded by repentant cultists of the Null, it became an example of community, resilience and religious fervor. The realm is ruled by the Galadyan faith, which preaches unity and healing; while each city has its own ruler, known as a Duk, Galadyan priests are the moral compass holding the realm together.
The Galadyan Church of Light is the largest religion in the world, based on the teachings of Galadyn, a whaler turned dung collector and then sanctified for his humility and healing powers. While organized faith is a rarity in Valerna, Ysvalians maintain it is only through Galadyan teachings that they have managed to weather the bitter cold, dragon raids and even the enmity of Tyveria, the mightiest realm of Valerna.
And while Galadyan beliefs certainly lie at the core of Ysval's strength, it also owes its safety to its brave defenders: devout knights that ride griffons and other beasts into battle, led by stalwart warpriests. Ysval's army is small but strong, with few elite units to face the larger numbers of their enemy. The knights and priests are complemented by the allies of Ysval — púka halflings, the best cooks and smiths in the world, and Hmyr giants, ancestral guardians of the northern woods.
Coatl Brood
"Know Everything There Is to Know"
Coatl dragons are among the most unusual breeds of the Red Moon, easily distinguishable by the feathers that cover their scales. Coatl dragons love magic, arcana and research, boasting the greatest and oldest magic traditions in Drakha, and in any world. Their study of Kadmic runes, combined with their impressive lifespan, allows them unique insight in the nature of the cosmos and magic itself.
The azhurma dragon lord of brood coatl is Kux, one of the wisest and most knowledge-hungry beings in the universe. It is said that Kuxcoatl has a plan for every possible thread of fate in both Drakha and Rhaava, and has subtly influenced events in both worlds for an eventual goal that only he knows. For as much as coatl dragons love discovery, they love secrets almost as much.
Like all dragons, the Coatl are formidable fighters, but where they really shine is in their magic power. While they are not above crushing prey with their beautiful tails or roasting it with dragonfire, they much prefer toying with their opponents' minds with their control of perceptions, time and space.
During Red Moon raids, Brood Coatl usually takes more living captives than other dragons; first, because they prefer to consume raw vaala from spells and magic items, and second, because they need test subjects for their magical research back home.
Exor Brood
"All Is Prey"
The most brutal and ruthless of dragon broods, the Exor are the supreme hunters of Drakha, which makes them the apex predators of the known universe. Veritable killing machines from their mighty sinews to their razor-sharp claws, from their uncanny senses to their armored hides, they complement their might with a skill most dragons lack: stealth. For an Exor dragon, it is possible to ambush and devour their prey before it even realizes what happened.
Besides their uncanny ability to move silently, Exor dragons can easily camouflage their rock-colored bodies with the deserts that constitute their favored hunting grounds; if this wasn't enough, they can burrow into the rock itself, often hunting their targets from below the ground, and surfacing only at the very last moment. If you're wandering the calm, level sands of Drakha, and suddenly one of your companions disappears, you know an Exor dragon came and went, and its prey will never be seen again.
The azhurma pack leader of Exor dragons is Rawraxxa the Apex Huntress, a cunning and cruel predator that likes the chase far more than the catch, and respects a prey that dies fighting far more than one that begs for mercy. While other azhurma tend to look down on Rawraxxa for her base instincts and crude demeanor, they still know better than turning their backs to her.