Heroes & Treasure Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Player Information
  • Characters
  • Weapons
  • Classes
  • Starting Out
• Quest Master Information
  • Moving Around
  • Laying Out the Map
  • Difficulty Levels
  • Ending a Level
  • Monsters
  • Wandering Monsters
  • Combat
  • Combat Order
  • Combat Actions
  • Special Combat States
  • Spells and Abilities
  • Items

Player Information

Characters

Characters are the people inside the game who are controlled by the players. The campaign included with this base set is made for adventures with 2-4 characters. If desired, a player can control more than one character, so one player could play 2, or two players could play 4. Each character has a different class (see below), and the best parties of adventurers have a variety of classes to help them handle different kinds of danger.

Weapons

Weapons (and attack spells) in the world of Heroes & Treasure are represented with dice. Usually one die represents one weapon. Some characters can use two weapons at once, and some characters have weapons or spells that use more than one die, usually where one does normal damage and one does a special effect. Each class has a starting weapon, described below, and each class can gain other weapons as they gain experience in the world.

The dice themselves are described both by color and by an identifying letter (for example, orange die D and grey die S). They have sides with one, two, or more dots, and some sides that may be blank. A blank side represents a miss, and the sides with dots represent a damage amount equal to the number of dots.

Classes

A class here is like your job. It describes what you're good at and what you're not, what you spend your time practicing and what things you hate doing. Here are the four basic classes of the Heroes and Treasure world:

Fighters love to fight. They're very good at using big weapons like swords and axes to attack, as well as shields and strong, heavy armor to protect their bodies. Because of this, they're usually the first ones to rush towards a dangerous enemy, trying to keep the rest of their group safe. They're terrible at any kind of magic spells.

Starting fighters use a sword, and they roll grey die S to attack. Fighters can also use shields if they find them. Fighters start with 10 health points.

Wizards spend long nights learning how to control magic. Their spells can help a lot in a hard fight against monsters, but the thin magic wands they use, plus their loose robes, mean they're bad at fighting with their hands and they get hurt easily. The good news is that they can cast spells far away from the danger.

Starting wizards use a dagger, and they roll orange die D to attack. Wizards start with the Frost Bolt spell, which does damage and can freeze its target. Later they can cast Invisibility and Fireball. Wizards start with 6 health points.

Clerics are another kind of magic user, with a special symbol (a gold sigil shown in the printed rulebook), for their spells. But instead of studying books and scrolls, they pray in churches or temples to have magic powers. Usually the powers they get are magics of healing and protection, to keep their group healthy and safe. They also have extra power against the undead, like walking skeletons or zombies.

Starting clerics use a mace, which is like a metal club, and they roll blue die M to attack. Clerics start with the Heal spell. Later they can cast Turn Undead and Protect. Clerics can choose to cast any spell available to them at their level, up to the maximum number allowed. Clerics start with 8 health points.

Rogues don't use magic, but they are very sneaky, and they fight best by quietly getting close to whoever they want to hit. Some are pirates, some are thieves, and some are more like ninjas who hide in dark corners where you can't see them. Not everyone trusts Rogues to be honest, but they're very good friends once you know them.

Starting rogues use a pair of daggers, and they roll two orange dice D D to attack. More experienced rogues can use additional weapons, and they can switch between weapons whenever they want. Experienced rogues can also learn to sneak into rooms without being seen by monsters. All rogues are good at finding secrets that other characters might completely miss. Rogues start with 6 health points.

Starting Out

At the beginning of a level, each player should find the reference card for their character and collect red life counters equal to their starting health value. A player's "level" is said to be the same as the number of the campaign level they are playing. Players should also locate the dice used for their weapons. Players who have characters who cast spells should consult the reference card for the type and number of spells they have access to at their level, and then gather spell tokens for their available spells. Some spells may also use dice, much like weapons do.

Reference card, Cleric (as printed): Level 1 (cross symbol): can cast 2 spells. Level 3 (skull and cross symbols): can cast 3 spells. Level 6 (shield, skull and cross symbols): can cast 4 spells. These counts are the spells usable per dungeon map. Available spells: cross symbol, Heal 2 health on target; skull symbol, 2 damage to all undead in room; shield symbol, target is shielded from next hit. Health points by level: Level 1 is 8, Level 3 is 10, Level 7 is 12. Weapon: Mace.

Quest Master Information

Moving Around

Movement in Heroes & Treasure is very low-stress. If there are no monsters in the room, characters have free movement and can interact with anything in the room they like. They can move their character pieces around or not. When the current room has been explored, the party can, as a group, choose where to go next. The character pieces then all move to the next tile. In combat, movement is limited and can only happen as part of a character's turn (see section on Combat Actions, below).

Laying Out the Map

There are two sets of map tiles included, on opposite sides of the same physical tile pieces, labeled with letters. Each dungeon level description will indicate which set of tiles it uses, and the maps mark the letter for each room and corridor. The base set includes an underground cavern set marked with white letters, and a stone wall set marked with red letters. NOTE: Not all sets contain one of each letter. For example, the "Cavern" set has no room C, and the "Stone" set has both an A1 and an A2. The letters are consistent across sets for how many exits the room has and where they are.

Keep the map tiles on hand, and lay them out as the players enter the corresponding rooms. It may help to stack them ahead of time in the same order they appear in the campaign module list, which makes them easy to find as the party progresses. When each new tile is placed, add stand-up doors and monsters according to the map image and room description, plus extra features such as fountains as needed, and place the party at the entrance they used. The group can decide ahead of time the order in which they will always enter new rooms; the doorways are wide enough for two characters to stand together in front and, if the party is larger, another two to stand immediately behind them.

Difficulty Levels

Monsters come in three difficulty levels. If there are two characters in the party, use Easy, if three, Medium, and if four, Hard. This is important to remember, because the game will be much too easy or much too hard if you don't. If players are particularly good or bad at combat tactics, you may adjust up or down slightly as needed. You can also shift difficulty based on player luck. The easiest way to do this is to adjust who the monsters attack during the fight, within the combat rules (below). The goal is to make the campaign fun, challenging, and exciting, but not frustrating or a death trap.

The three difficulty levels are denoted by three icons: green circle E (Easy), white circle M (Medium), and red circle H (Hard). Some room descriptions may also have variations, such as including an extra monster at higher difficulties, or yielding an extra reward at lower difficulties.

Ending a Level

Campaign levels typically end with the party going through a gate, or using a trap door, or at another point specified in the level description. At the end of a level, even if the next level is a continuation (such as the second half of a deep dungeon), the party has time for a long rest, and everything resets. In particular:

• All health points are restored.
• All spells are restored.
• Any potions, scrolls, shields, special items, etc. are lost. Weapons are permanent equipment and are not lost.
• Characters all "level up", and may gain new abilities as specified in their character definitions. A character is considered to have an "experience level" equal to the map number that they are starting. So a new character is said to be "level 1."

Monsters

Monster descriptions are found on the cards in the included deck. The cards can also serve as an organizing method for holding life counters during combat. For easy access, collect the cards you'll need before starting the level. The cards look like this:

Example monster card, Goblin Worker (as printed): Goblin workers are the ones who gather food, clean up, and are almost slaves, doing whatever the bigger goblins tell them to do. They're not happy, and their first instinct is to take it out on any humans they see. They have no weapons, but they attack with their fists. At the bottom, the card has the monster's health and attack die (or dice). The Easy side shows difficulty icon E, health 2, and a black die labeled U. The Medium side shows icon M, health 3, and an orange die labeled D. The Hard side shows icon H, health 4, and a blue die labeled M.

The cards give the monster's name, image, and description. At the bottom, the card has the monster's health and attack die (or dice). The text description can also indicate some specific skills or specials for the monster, which may vary by difficulty level, as in this example:

Example monster card, Ogre (as printed): Ogres are extremely strong and tough, but they aren't often seen outside of the foothills. One hit from their clubs will stun the damaged opponent for a round. The best defense against them is just not to get hit. In M and H, stuns on every hit. Starts combat with shields due to its tough hide: Easy, 1 shield; Medium, 2 shields; Hard, 3 shields. The Easy side shows health 15 and a grey die labeled S. The Medium side shows health 15 and a grey die labeled G. The Hard side shows health 30 and a grey die labeled G.

Wandering Monsters

Most campaign levels include a line indicating what monsters can be found wandering around the rooms. If the party enters an empty room, including a room that's empty because they killed the monsters there, left, and then returned, the QM rolls the indicated die to see if there is now a new monster in the room. Some dice have multiple possible outcomes, for example a Giant Rat on a roll of 1, or a Spider on a roll of 2. A blank outcome means no monster is there right now. Corridors - the narrow connecting hallways between rooms - do not have wandering monsters in them. The QM can also choose to make a wandering monster roll any time the party takes an unanticipated action that takes a long time.

Combat

Combat in this world is very simple. Characters and monsters have color-coded dice that represent the weapons they are using. Roll the die (or dice) once to attack. Blank sides are misses, and sides with dots are hits. The amount of damage done (health points lost by the target) is the number of dots shown on the dice. If a weapon (or set of weapons used by a single character) does more than one point of damage to the target, that is called a "critical" hit.

If a character or monster reaches 0 health points, they are defeated and are removed from the board. If a character is defeated, the party can choose to continue and try to complete the mission without that character, or they can accept defeat and everyone can restart the level together from the beginning.

Combat Order

The characters in the party always act in this order, according to their class: Rogue, Fighter, Wizard, Cleric. If there is more than one character of a given class, the group can decide ahead of time which of the two will act first. After the players' turns, the room's monsters attack, those with higher starting health going before the ones with lower health. Unless otherwise noted, the party "gets initiative" and attacks before the monster group does. Exception: if the players are making a lot of noise nearby, for example knocking on the door to the room or casting spells at the door, the monsters in the room are on high alert and will attack first, and you should tell the players the reason that this happened. Normal combat actions nearby do not cause this alertness.

Combat Actions

During a turn, or a "round" of combat, a character or monster can do ONE of the following:

• Attack the nearest enemy (if there are two at roughly the same distance, either can be chosen). The enemy does not need to be adjacent; it just needs to be the nearest one. Some weapons and spells can attack any enemy, regardless of their location in the room. This rule means that typically if there are two monsters facing two characters in front, each monster can only attack the character in front of it, and vice versa, while a third character, behind, might have free choice.
• Spend a spell token to cast a spell.
• Move up to 3 squares in the room, using adjacent non-diagonal moves.
• Use a potion.
• Equip a shield (Fighters only).
• Use another item that may be available.

Special Combat States

If a character is Invisible, they cannot be targeted by any spells or be attacked. The character can move or drink a potion or take a non-offensive action such as equipping a shield without losing invisibility. If an invisible character attacks or casts a spell, they lose their invisibility. However, if they roll a complete miss, they can immediately reroll the attack once for free (but they still become visible no matter what). Some monsters may be able to see invisible characters; they are not caught by surprise in this way, and they can also attack the invisible character.

If a character is Stunned or Frozen, they cannot take any action on their next combat turn. These two states have the same effect.

If a character has a Shield equipped, the next attack or spell that hits that character instead does 0 damage and has no other effects, and the shield is destroyed. Misses have no effect on the shield. Attacks that involve more than one die roll (such as the Rogue's twin dagger attack) are completely absorbed even if both dice hit.

Spells and Abilities

Wizard:

• Level 1: Frost Bolt. Target any enemy in the room. The grey die S is rolled for damage, and the die labeled H is rolled to see if the target is frozen. The Wizard can cast this 4 times per dungeon level.
• Level 3: Invisibility. Target becomes invisible. This spell can be cast outside of combat. The Wizard can cast this 3 times per dungeon level starting at level 3.
• Level 6: Fireball. Target any enemy in the room using the red die labeled F. Target is automatically stunned (unless it's immune to stun), even if a Shield or Protect spell is active. The Wizard can cast this 2 times per dungeon level starting at level 6.

Cleric:

• Level 1: Heal. Target gains 2 health points, limited by their starting health total. This spell can be cast outside of combat. The Cleric can cast 2 spells per dungeon level, which must be Heal spells.
• Level 3: Turn Undead. All undead in the room take 2 damage. If used by a monster, all undead in the room gain 2 health. The Cleric can cast 3 spells per dungeon level, in any combination of Heals and Turn Undeads.
• Level 6: Protect. Target gains a shield, as if they equipped a shield item. If Protect and a shield item are both active at once, the Protect works first. Two Protect spells can't be active on the same character at the same time. This spell can be cast outside of combat. The Cleric can cast 4 spells per dungeon level, in any combination of Heals, Turn Undeads, and Protects.

Fighter:

• Level 3: Can use shields.
• Level 5: Gains 2 extra health.

Rogue:

• Level 1: In certain rooms, may be able to find hidden items that other players miss.
• Level 3: Whenever the rogue enters a new room with monsters in it, they sneak in and become invisible to those monsters. Does not work against wandering monsters.
• Level 5: Can switch between any available weapons at will.
• Level 6: Sneaking also works against wandering monsters.

Items

There are a number of different items that can be found in the campaign. Players should generally not be told how to use them or what they do; they should think of uses themselves. Campaigns may introduce other items than those basic ones described here. When not in combat, items can be traded freely between characters, but otherwise each item is held by one character.

• Health Potion: Can be used in or out of combat to recover 2 health points for the drinker, limited by their starting health total. Destroyed when used.
• Mana Potion: Can be used in or out of combat to recover 1 spell token of the drinker's choice (for spells that drinker has access to). Destroyed when used.
• Empty Bottle: At a fountain, the bottle can be filled with fountain water, at which point it becomes a potion that matches the type of the fountain. A bottle can only be filled once.
• Rock: A good-sized rock can be thrown at an enemy as a combat action. It automatically hits, stunning the target for one combat round, but does no damage. Can target any enemy in the room regardless of location.
• Lumber: A long wooden plank. Can be used to cross a pit safely (see the section on pits, below).

Dungeon Features

• Door: Doors and Gates are placed upright in stands on the map, at the edge between two map tiles. They can be opened as long as there are no active enemies in the room and if they are not locked.
• Key: Opens a specific locked door or chest, as given in the dungeon description.
• Chest: Chests have tokens that are placed flat in the room as described. They cannot typically be moved, but they can be opened if they are not locked.
• Fountain: This icon is placed flat in the room. Drinking from the fountain has a magical effect as specified in the room description, and can typically only be used once per player. Empty bottles can be filled at a fountain to become the matching type of potion.
• Trap door: This icon is placed flat in the room and functions as a gateway that ends the level and/or starts the next level. Can be traversed just like a normal door.
• Pit: This icon is placed flat in the room. Players cannot walk directly across it. Players should figure out on their own how to cross it. If they carry a piece of lumber to the pit, they can cross it directly. If a character jumps into the pit, they lose 1 health and can climb out on the other side. If a character climbs carefully to the bottom of the pit, they take no damage and can climb out on the other side, but roll for a wandering monster each time a character takes the time to do this.