Dungeon Degenerates: Highlands Happenings

Expansion for Dungeon Degenerates: Hand of Doom

Dungeon Degenerates: Highlands Happenings Rulebook

Table of Contents

Encounters

Down River / Lotus Man

Down River: Encounter · Environment · Bandit. Lotus Man: Encounter · Human · Wizard. Two encounter headers on one card face.

Down River

An Old Salt offers you free passage - "I'm in need of a stout crew of likely lads!" You may Ignore or Accept.

Accept: Keep this card as an Agenda. During the next Map Action Phase, you must travel (free of charge) to another Port following River Port travel rules. One adventurer must make a PER Test. Rogues may roll 3 dice & use any 2. If you fail, you are set upon by the Law! In the Encounter Phase, draw as many Law [icon] cards as shown on the Danger card Icon key for your party size (in place of any Monster or Encounter cards indicated by the card), even if the Danger Value does not require it, then discard this card.

Lotus Man

As the Lotus Man passes, wreathed in perfumed clouds of peace, all is well! You may Ignore, Approach or Fight him.

Approach: The party may spend 1 Luck to reduce the Danger Level in any single Highlands space. Roll D6: On 3 or less, shuffle this card back into the Encounter deck.

Fight: He puts up no resistance - you are Victorious, but must increase the Danger Level in this space.

All the Madmen / Nightmare of a Wiseman

All the Madmen: Encounter · Weird. Nightmare of a Wiseman: Encounter. Two encounter headers on one card face.

All the Madmen

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

You prepare for attack, but the creatures facing you seem barely aware of your presence. Some cackle maniacally, some sob whilst others whisper conspiratorially to themselves....

If there is already an Epic Monster in this space, resolve this card before encountering the Epic Monster. Draw & assign monsters this turn, but do not fight. Gain no XP but you may take GP & roll for Loot. Any adventurer who takes GP or Loot must fail a MRL Test or become Demoralized. Shuffle the monsters back into the Highlands Monster deck.

Nightmare of a Wiseman

A strange vibration in the ether affects those sensitive enough to pick up on what's going down...

Each adventurer may take one (& only one) of the following actions (Scholars, Warlocks & Wizards may roll 3 dice & use any 2):

Become Suppressed to gain half {MAG Test} Luck.
Become Demoralized to remove {MAG Test} Wounds.
Become Blinded to gain {MAG Test} XP.

Ascending Stars / Magic Dealer

Ascending Stars: Encounter · Environment. Magic Dealer: Encounter · Human · Wizard. Two encounter headers on one card face. The stat line at the foot of the card is printed beneath the Magic Dealer panel; see the notes at the end.

Ascending Stars

As stars appear in a cloudless sky, a sense of the cosmic forces at play grips your mind, opening vast vistas...

Scholars, Warlocks & Wizards may make a MAG Test. If you succeed, become Exalted & gain 1 Luck. Hunters, Performers & Wild may make a PER Test. If you succeed, become Focused & gain XP equal to your lowest die. Adventurers may roll once for each Class.

Magic Dealer

As if by magic, she appears! You may Ignore, Approach or Fight the Magic Dealer.

Approach: If you have the Cryptic Scroll, you may give it to the Magic Dealer; discard & each adventurer gains 1 Luck. A Scholar, Warlock or Wizard may make a MAG Test. If you pass, the Magic Dealer is open for business! Adventurers may buy XP for 2 GP each & Luck for 4 GP. Roll D6: On a 3 or less, shuffle this card back into its deck.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 4 (up-arrow icon, labelled MAG) · ARM 1 · HP 8 · XP VAL 2, GP 2 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: RALLY · REGENERATE

Bad Reputation

Encounter · Bandit

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

As you size each other up, you see a glimmer of recognition in your foe's eyes...

Roll D6. Deduct 1 for each Fighter, Militant or Rogue & for each adventurer with Intimidate or Strike Fear. Add 1 for each Merchant, Performer or Scholar.

If the result is lower than or equal to the Bounty Level, all Human XP VAL 1 monsters in this space are Dazed.
If the result is higher than the Bounty Level, all Bandits in this space gain Onslaught.

Good Information

Encounter · Human

A shady figure nervously approaches you - he seems to know something about your reason for being in these parts and claims he has information that can help...

One adventurer may make a MRL Test. If you fail, you may spend GP equal to your highest die. For each GP spent, you may draw either 1 Encounter or Monster or 2 Loot cards (not Epic Monster or Epic Loot) from their respective decks. You may then choose to discard any of the cards drawn & place the cards you chose not to discard at the top of their deck(s). If there are 16 cards or more left in the Highlands Encounter Deck, reshuffle this card into that deck.

Fungal Farmer / Concealed Pit

Fungal Farmer: Encounter · Fungus. Concealed Pit: Encounter · Trap. Two encounter headers on one card face.

Fungal Farmer

As you approach a farmstead, you realise something is very wrong. "A wonderful crop this year..." grins the farmer, through a fungal beard, his rotten teeth the last vestige of humanity showing on his blossoming face...

You may Ignore the farmer or Burn the whole area.

Ignore: Add a Fungus counter to this space & each adjacent space. Increase the Danger Level in this space.

Burn: The party becomes Detained. Each adventurer must fail a MRL Test or become Demoralized.

Concealed Pit

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

Treachery is afoot... literally!

Each adventurer must pass a PER Test or fall into the concealed pit. Adventurers who fall into the pit cannot take part in the fight, but at the end of each combat round you may use the Levitate Skill or pass an AGI Test to pull yourself out of the pit. If you pass, enter the fight in the next combat round. If there are no adventurers left in the fight, adventurers still in the pit at the start of a combat round are defeated.

Deal Going Down

Encounter · Bandit · Goblin

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

You have stumbled upon an illicit sale. What are the Goblins so keen to buy from the Bandits?

If there is already an Epic Monster in this space, resolve this card before encountering the Epic Monster. Do not draw monsters as usual this turn. Instead, draw (n) cards from the Highlands Monster deck & (n) cards from the Badlands Monster deck where (n) is the Party size. Discard any Highland cards that are not Bandits & any Badland cards that are not Goblins. If you do not draw a single Bandit or Goblin continue to draw & discard from the respective decks until you have at least one Bandit & one Goblin (reshuffle discarded cards into their decks). The monsters are distracted by their dealings, so you may Escape without penalty. If you kill all Bandits OR all Goblins, remaining monsters gain Skirmish. If you are victorious, roll D6 & add the total number of trophies from the fight. The party gain that many GP. If the total is 7 or greater, draw an Epic Loot card as well. Distribute Loot & GP in reverse MRL order, taking 1 Loot or 1 GP in turn until everything is distributed (Rogues may take 2 GP in their turn).

Guild Grudge

Encounter · Law · Merchant

You are approached by an Agent of the Grossers' Guild. Having seen your fighting prowess, he asks if you are interested in a job... You may Ignore him, Accept the job or Fight him.

Ignore: Shuffle this card back in with the top 8 cards of the Highlands Encounter deck.

Accept: Take this card as an Agenda. If you take the Agent of the Meaters' Guild as a trophy, place the Guild Vendetta Encounter card under this card.

Gain 6 GP. Each adventurer may (in MRL order) purchase one Item from the Loot discard pile. Discard both cards.

Fight: If you win the fight & have the Guild Vendetta Encounter card as an Agenda, take this card as a trophy & follow the instructions on that card.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 3 (down-arrow icon, labelled MRL) · ARM 1 · HP 6 · XP VAL 2, GP 3 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: RALLY [red square icon] · SUMMON [red square icon] · COMMAND (LAW)

Guild Vendetta

Encounter · Bandit · Merchant

You are approached by an Agent of the Meaters' Guild. Having seen your fighting prowess, he asks if you are interested in a job... You may Ignore him, Accept the job or Fight him.

Ignore: Shuffle this card back in with the top 8 cards of the Highlands Encounter deck.

Accept: Take this card as an Agenda. If you take the Agent of the Grossers' Guild as a trophy, place the Guild Grudge Encounter card under this card.

Gain 6 GP. Each adventurer may (in reverse MRL order) take one Food Item from the Loot discard pile. Discard both cards.

Fight: If you win the fight & have the Guild Grudge Encounter card as an Agenda, take this card as a trophy & follow the instructions on that card.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 3 (down-arrow icon, labelled MRL) · ARM 1 · HP 6 · XP VAL 2, GP 3 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: RALLY* · SUMMON* · COMMAND (BANDIT*)

*Discard if RALLY / SUMMON cards are not Bandit.

High Grass / Low-Down

High Grass: Encounter · Environment. Low-Down: Encounter · Human · Wizard. Two encounter headers on one card face.

High Grass

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

Wild grass towers over you at all sides. The perfect place for an ambush!

All monsters in this space gain Ambush. Any adventurer who attempts to Escape may roll 3 dice & use any 2.

Low-Down

A Fortune Teller offers to read your fate.

You may Ignore or Approach them.

Approach: One adventurer may spend up to 6 GP then make a MAG Test. If you pass & your lowest die is lower than or equal to GP spent, you may look at the top 3 Danger cards (place the cards back on the top of the Danger Decks in the same order as drawn).

Hopped Up

Encounter · Alchemical

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

The opponents before you are excitable, unpredictable, on edge & ready to strike!

When you target a monster with a Melee attack that is not targeting you, you must first make an AGI Test. If {AGI Test} is lower than the target monster's XP the monster immediately targets you.

Into the Void

Encounter · Void

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

As you face off against your foes, a roaring portal of light belches into existence within spitting distance!

Place a Voidgate counter on this space. You may choose to Escape the fight before it begins by entering the Voidgate. If so, shuffle the monsters back into the Highlands Monster Deck & move the party to the Maze. Each adventurer suffers from Void Shock.

March or Die

Encounter · Bandit · Law

Sunlight glints off distant armor - you are being pursued by a seasoned Bounty Hunter & his compatriots!

You must Run from the Bounty Hunter or Fight.

Run: The party leader must take this card as a Curse. Discard this card if you Lake Port, River Port or Void Travel. If during a Map Action Phase the party Rests or Foot Travels (not Force Marches), then the adventurer with the highest PER must attempt a PER Test. If you pass & {PER Test} is higher than the current Bounty Level, discard this card. If you fail, the Bounty Hunter catches up with you! You must immediately Fight.

Fight: Draw cards from the Law [icon] deck equal to the party size & add them to the fight. Discard this card if you win the fight.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 5 (down-arrow icon, labelled MRL) · ARM 1 · HP 8 · XP VAL 2, GP 2 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: PURSUE · COMMAND (BANDIT)

Minceomancer

Encounter · Human · Scholar · Wizard

You encounter a renegade Alchemist. Down on his Luck, he is turning the High Art into a Low Living. You may choose to Ignore, Approach or Fight him.

Ignore: Roll D6. Add 1 for each Fighter, Hunter or Wild in the party. Deduct 1 for each Merchant, Militant or Puritan. If the result is 3 or less, he attacks! You must Fight.

Approach: Roll D6. Add 1 for each Scholar, Warlock or Wizard in the party. Deduct 1 for each Merchant, Militant or Puritan. Less than 2: He attacks! You must Fight. 3-4: You may purchase Alchemical Items from the discard pile. 5 or more: As 3-4 above, but he also offers the Scholar, Warlock or Wizard with the highest MAG a Meat Homunculus for 10 GP ({MAG Test} breaks ties). If you choose to purchase, take this card (but you cannot trade or share it).

Meat Homunculus: Ally | Construct

Attach this card to one monster (not ALL [icon]). The monster cannot target an adventurer while the card is attached. At the start of each combat round, place Wounds equal to attached monsters XP VAL on this card. Discard this card if there are 6 or more Wounds on it. Remove Wounds at the End of the fight.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 4 (down-arrow icon, labelled MAG) · HP 9 · XP VAL 2, GP 3 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: RALLY · ANNOY · EXPLODE · VENOM

Moldy Moonshine / Gangland

Moldy Moonshine: Encounter · Bandit. Gangland: Encounter · Bandit. Two encounter headers on one card face. The stat line at the foot of the card is printed beneath the Gangland panel; see the notes at the end.

Moldy Moonshine

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

As you pick your way cautiously onwards, you happen upon a hidden moonshine still.

Draw monsters this turn but discard without redrawing any that are not Bandits (shuffle these back into the deck). If no cards are Bandits or you win the fight, the adventurer with the highest CON ({CON Test} breaks ties) may take this card as an Item.

MOLDY MOONSHINE 2 GP | ITEM | FOOD

QUICK ACTION: Discard this card & make a CON Test. If you pass, gain +1 STR until the end of the fight. If you roll doubles take Wounds equal to your lowest single die halved.

Gangland

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

A Bandit Enforcer weighs you up...

Draw monsters this turn but discard without redrawing any that are not Bandits. If more adventurers pass a STR or MAG Test than there are monsters (including the Enforcer), they run off (shuffle all discarded cards back into the deck). Otherwise, you must Fight.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 4 (up-arrow icon, labelled STR) · HP 8 · XP VAL 2, GP 2 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: COMMAND

Nemeses of Warlocks

Encounter · Daemon · Goblin

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

Something sinister stalks the Highlands in search of retribution.

If there is already an Epic Monster [skull icon] in this space, resolve this card before encountering the Epic Monster [skull icon]. Draw from the Badlands Monster deck (not the Highlands Monster deck) this turn. A creature half Goblin, half Daemon leads the monsters. If you win the fight, take this card as an item.

CRYPTIC SCROLL | ITEM | RELIC

This scroll is indecipherable, but appears to be part map & part message.

[house icon] You may only sell this scroll in a Town for GP equal to D3 times the Town Level.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 4 (up-arrow icon, labelled MAG) · ARM 1 · HP 8 · XP VAL 2, GP 2 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: COMMAND · ABUSE (WARLOCK)

The Happening

Encounter · Human · Scholar

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

An ancient bearded man, naked but for a loincloth, sits silently meditating in front of a swaying crowd of devotees. Does he preach good vibes or bad trips?

Each adventurer who chooses to Approach him may make one of the following tests (Warlocks, Wizards & Scholars may roll 3 dice & use any 2).

MAG Test: Become Exalted if you pass. Become Suppressed if you fail with doubles.
MRL Test: Become Blessed if you pass. Become Demoralized if you fail with doubles.
PER Test: Become Focused if you pass. Become Blinded if you fail with doubles.
STR Test: Become Invigorated if you pass. Become Weakened if you fail with doubles.

If you fail in a Perilous [skull-type icon] space, become Detained. If you pass with doubles, place a Metaphysical [icon] counter on the status Condition. When you next recover, remove the Metaphysical [icon] counter but keep the Status condition.

The Pool / Can I Play with Madness

The Pool: Encounter · Weird. Can I Play with Madness: Encounter · Weird. Two encounter headers on one card face.

The Pool

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

A murky pool provides the opportunity to hide from your pursuers...just take a dip...

All adventurers may make a CON Test. If all succeed, do not draw monsters this turn. If you fail with doubles, become Poisoned.

Can I Play with Madness

You stumble on a strange pool. You watch as, at intervals, Weirds spontaneously spawn from its depths. Dare you stare into the pool?

Each adventurer may spend XP in the hope of gaining Luck. Declare how much XP you wish to spend, then roll a D6: If the result is equal to or less than the XP spent, gain 1 Luck. You may do this multiple times. Scholars, Warlocks & Wizards may reroll but if the second roll fails, lose 1 Luck. You may sell a single Skill for its XP cost (Mastery cards are worth double) or take a single Madness Weakness card (draw randomly) to gain additional XP.

Thing That Should Not Be

Encounter · Weird

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

The creature before you is a freak of whatever still passes as nature in this blighted Region...

Rather than draw monsters as shown on the Danger card;

Draw a monster from the Highlands Monster deck, discarding & redrawing any Swarms or monsters with VAL 3 XP or higher.
Roll D6 & draw another monster from the following deck, discarding & redrawing any Swarms or with VAL 3 XP or higher: 1: Lowlands 2-3: Wetlands 4-6: Badlands

These two cards fight as one monster and will target two or more adventurers based on each card's target priority.

Repeat the above steps if the party size is 3 or more to create a second combined monster. Treat the combined monster(s) as a single target. It has both monsters' abilities & Classes, the highest ATT & ARM of the two cards, and the combined HP of both cards. When Wounds equal the combined HP, take both cards as trophies.

Treasure Map

Encounter

Wind blows a ragged parchment across your path. Closer inspection reveals it to be what looks like an old treasure map...

The party leader may take this card as an Item. Draw a Danger card to determine a Location (discard & redraw if the card does not have a Location) & place a GP counter on top of a Monster Condition counter at the Location (remove the counters if you lose or sell this Item).

TREASURE MAP 6 GP | ITEM |

[house icon] [campfire icon] Rest at the location with the GP & Monster Condition counter. Discard the counters & one adventurer must make a PER Test. If you fail, discard this card. If you pass, gain {PER Test} GP & draw cards from the Loot deck equal to your lowest die. In addition, if you pass on doubles, draw an Epic Loot card.

Mad Parade

Encounter · Weird

RESOLVE IMMEDIATELY

A dizzying, hallucinatory line of Nackt Drek go streaming across the road, performing a caricature of a parade, led by a Nacht Drek Grand Marshal.

If there is already an Epic Monster [skull icon] in this space, resolve this card before encountering the Epic Monster [skull icon]. All adventurers must make an AGI Test. If more fail than pass, fight as normal (including this card). Otherwise, the party may take this chance to Escape without penalty but the parade will carry on regardless. Draw monsters this turn but place any Weird monsters under this card & discard any non Weird monsters. The party leader takes these cards as a Curse:

[campfire icon] One adventurer must make a PER Test. If they fail, you must immediately fight this card & any monsters under this card. Discard this card on leaving the Highlands & shuffle any monsters back into the Highlands Monster deck.

Stat line (printed at the foot of the card): ATT 4 (up-arrow icon, labelled MAG) · ARM 1 · HP 8 · XP VAL 2, GP 2 (lightning and money-bag values) · Traits: COMMAND

Notes on Transcription

Card count. BGG describes this expansion as 21 new cards, and the scans hold 21 card faces: one single face (Down River / Lotus Man), two sheets of nine faces each, and two single faces (Treasure Map and Mad Parade). Seven of the faces carry two encounter headers and the other fourteen carry one, shown above as "X / Y" with each card's own title, type line and text kept as printed. The 28 encounter headers are all transcribed.
Icons. Stat-line and header icons are rendered as words: XP (lightning), GP (money bag), Luck (clover), Wounds (drop), HP (heart), ATT, ARM, MRL, MAG, PER, AGI, STR, CON, and the arrow icons beside ATT (labelled MRL, MAG or STR on the card). Where a card shows an icon with no printed label, it is marked as an icon, not guessed at: the Law icon after "Law" on Down River and March or Die, the red squares on Guild Grudge and Guild Vendetta, the party icon in Deal Going Down, the Fungus counter icon, the skull icons marking Epic Monsters, the Perilous and Metaphysical icons on The Happening, the house and campfire icons on the item boxes, and the loop icon after "ALL" on Minceomancer.
Stat lines. The stat bars at the foot of Ascending Stars / Magic Dealer, Moldy Moonshine / Gangland, and the single faces with a foot bar (March or Die, Minceomancer, Nemeses of Warlocks, Mad Parade, Guild Grudge, Guild Vendetta) are monster-style stat lines. On a two-header face the bar is attributed to the lower panel it sits under (Magic Dealer, Gangland).
Red strike icons. The Down River / Lotus Man card face shows a red cross over the Lotus Man header icon, and All the Madmen and The Pool show a red cross over their header icons. The scans do not print a rule for this mark, so it is not transcribed as a rule.
Printed wording not corrected. March or Die's Run paragraph reads "Discard this card if you Lake Port, River Port or Void Travel." as printed; it appears to be missing a word, but it is transcribed as it appears on the card. The names "Nackt Drek" and "Nacht Drek" on Mad Parade are both printed as shown.
Scan legibility. The sheet images were read at full resolution, cell by cell. Small-type wording was read at scan resolution; a reader should compare exact punctuation against a physical card before relying on it.