The Red Dragon Inn 3 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Object of the Game
Getting Started
On Your Turn
Sometimes and Anytime Cards
Losing the Game
- Running Out of Gold
- Passing Out
Gambling
More Drink Rules
Other Rules
Appendix A - The Characters
Credits

Components

4 Character Decks (Serena, Wizgille, Phrenk and Kaylin), Serena's Piety Chart and Piety Marker, Wizgille's Gear Deck, Phrenk's Potion Deck, Wulfric Deck, 4 Player Mats, Drink Deck, 4 Fortitude Markers (red), 4 Alcohol Content Markers (clear), Gold Pieces

Object of the Game

Keep your Gold and stay conscious. If you run out of Gold, or if your Alcohol Content is ever greater than or equal to your Fortitude, you are out of the game.

Getting Started

Shuffle the Drink Deck and place it where everyone can reach it. Leave space for a discard pile next to the Drink Deck.

Each player takes a player mat, a red marker, a clear marker, and one of the Character Decks. Each player also takes the extra material for that character and sets it up as described in the document "The Characters".

Shuffle your Character Deck and place it on the space labeled Deck on your player mat. When you must discard Character Deck Cards, place them in the space labeled Discard on your player mat. Be sure to keep your Character Deck completely separate from your extra deck, if you have one. Do not use the same discard pile for both.

Take 10 Gold and place it near your player mat where everyone can see it. This is your "Stash." (For games with 2 players, take 8 Gold instead. For games with 7 or more players, take 12 Gold instead.) Put the extra Gold to the side. This is the "Inn."

Place the red marker on the 20 on your player mat. This is your Fortitude. Place your clear marker on the 0 on your player mat. This is your Alcohol Content.

Take a card from the Drink Deck and place it face down on the space labeled Drink Me! This is your Drink Me! Pile. Do not look at the cards in your Drink Me! Pile yet.

Draw the top seven cards from your Character Deck. This is your hand. You may look at these cards, but you must keep them hidden from the other players.

Choose someone to go first.

On Your Turn

Your turn consists of four Phases, which must be played in order: Discard and Draw, Action, Order a Drink, Drink.

1. Discard and Draw

You may discard any cards from your hand that you do not want and then draw from your Character Deck until you are holding seven cards. You may not play any cards or effects until you have finished drawing cards.

If you draw the last card from your Character Deck, shuffle your discarded Character Cards and put them back on the Deck space on your player mat.

If you are holding seven or more cards you may opt to keep all of them and draw no new cards.

2. Action

You may play one Action Card. To play an Action Card, read the title of the card out loud and pick the affected player(s). Give other players a chance to respond to the card, then follow any instructions on the card and discard it to the Discard space on your player mat.

Card example — "Don't call me cute!" (Action) — Pick another player. They lose 2 Fortitude.

Some Action Cards cause you to start a Round of Gambling. See "Gambling" below for more details on this.

If you cannot or do not want to play an Action Card, you don't have to.

3. Order a Drink

Take the top card from the Drink Deck and place it face down, without looking at it, on top of any other player's Drink Me! Pile.

Card example — "Wine" (Drink)

If the Drink Deck runs out of cards, each player must pay the tavern to serve up a new round of Drinks. (See "More Drink Rules" below for details.)

4. Drink

Reveal the top card of your Drink Me! Pile, follow the instructions on the card and place it in the Drink Deck discard pile. Some of the instructions on Drink Cards are represented by icons:

Gain [X] Alcohol Content
Gain [X] Fortitude
Add a Chaser - see "Chasers" under "More Drink Rules"
Lose [X] Fortitude

If you don't have any cards in your Drink Me! Pile when you have to drink, you start to sober up; reduce your Alcohol Content by one.

Ending Your Turn

After your Drink Phase, the player to your left goes next.

Sometimes and Anytime Cards

Sometimes Cards can only be played under certain conditions. Each Sometimes Card tells you when it can be played in its text.

Card example — "This'll give that drink a little extra kick!" (Sometimes)

Some Sometimes Cards allow you to Negate or Ignore another card. These cards are described in "Negate and Ignore Effects" under "Other Rules".

You may play multiple Sometimes Cards in response to the same game event, even if they are multiple copies of the same card. However, you must play the cards one at a time and give your opponents an opportunity to respond to each one.

Anytime Cards may be played at any time, even if they interrupt another action.

Card example — "Tip the Wench." (Anytime)

Relevant Sometimes and Anytime Cards may be played in any Phase of a turn, either before or after the special action for that Phase. For example, you may play an Anytime Card during your Discard and Draw Phase before you discard and draw.

If two or more players would like to play Sometimes or Anytime Cards at the same time, see "Timing" under "Other Rules".

Losing the Game

Running Out of Gold

If you run out of Gold, the Wench kicks you out of the Inn and you must spend the rest of the night out in the stables. You are out of the game.

Passing Out

If your Alcohol Content is ever greater than or equal to your Fortitude, you fall unconscious and the Wench drags you up to your room to sleep it off. Your Gold is divided between the Inn and any players still in the game. Split your Gold in half. One half, rounded up, goes to the Inn. What's left gets split evenly among the remaining players, with any remainder going to the Inn. You are out of the game.

If you run out of Gold or pass out, you don't lose immediately. First, finish resolving any cards that have been played but have not yet resolved. After these cards resolve, you have one last chance to play Sometimes or Anytime Cards to save yourself or attack others. If you can't save yourself, then you're out of the game.

If you have any cards in your Drink Me! Pile when you lose, put them in the Drink Deck discard pile.

It is possible for multiple players to lose at the same time. If this happens, first determine which players are passing out. Each of those players divides their Gold among the players who aren't passing out, as described above. After this, if any players have no Gold, they lose the game as well. This means that if one player passes out and another runs out of Gold simultaneously, the player who is running out of Gold could be saved by getting a share of the Gold from the other player!

If all remaining players would lose the game simultaneously, the game is a tie between those players.

Gambling

When a player plays "Gambling? I'm in!" as their Action, this starts a Round of Gambling.

When a Round of Gambling begins, normal play is suspended and each player must ante 1 Gold, putting it in the middle of the table (making sure not to get it confused with the Inn's Gold). This counts as "losing Gold" for the purpose of cards which affect that.

The player who started the Round of Gambling is currently winning ("in control" of the Round).

Play proceeds clockwise around the table from the player who started the Round. On your turn you may either play a Gambling or Cheating Card or pass.

Card example — "Gambling? I'm in!" (Action - Gambling)

Card example — "Of course I'm winning! Pixies are lucky!" (Cheating)

Play a Gambling or Cheating Card: Playing either of these two types of card gives you control of the Round of Gambling. The card you play may have other effects, as well.

Pass: You may choose to pass instead of playing a card. You may pass even if you have a Gambling or Cheating Card that you could play (and it is often correct to do so!) If you pass, you are still in the Round of Gambling and may play Gambling or Cheating Cards later in the Round, as long as the Round does not end first.

Ending the Round

If you play a Gambling or Cheating Card and everyone else passes, the Round of Gambling ends, and you win. Take all of the anted Gold and add it to your Stash.

As soon as the last player passes, the Round of Gambling ends immediately. You may not play cards that would affect the Round after this point unless the card explicitly states that you can. In particular, "Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip…" may not be played after the last player has passed.

If a card effect says that you win the Round, the Round ends immediately, and you take the anted Gold.

When the Round of Gambling is over, normal game play resumes. The player who started the Round moves on to their Order a Drink Phase.

Winning Hand!

"Winning Hand!" is a special Gambling Card, because only Cheating Cards can be used to take control after it has been played. If "Winning Hand!" is played and it is followed by a Cheating Card, then any Gambling or Cheating Card can be played next. Just remember:

A Cheating Card can be played after anything.
A Gambling Card can be played after anything except a "Winning Hand!"

Card example — "Winning Hand!" (Gambling) — Take control of a Round of Gambling. The next card to take control must be a Cheating Card.

Leaving a Round of Gambling

Some cards allow you to leave a Round of Gambling. If you leave a Round of Gambling, you cannot play Gambling or Cheating Cards for the rest of that Round, but you may still play Sometimes or Anytime Cards. You are no longer affected by cards that require you to ante, such as "I raise!" Any Gold that you previously anted stays in the pot.

If you play a card that requires players to ante, then immediately leave the Round (for example, with "Gambling? I'm in!" followed by "Not now, I'm feeding Wulfric"), then the Round proceeds normally, but currently has no winner. If the Round ends before any player takes control, all anted Gold goes to the Inn.

Forcing a Player to Leave a Round of Gambling

Some cards force a player to leave a Round of Gambling. When a player is forced out of the Round, each player, including the one being forced out, has a chance to respond (for example, with "Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip...", "My holy blade detects lies!", or some other anti-cheat card).

If there is ever only one player left in the Round, the Round of Gambling ends and the remaining player wins.

Running out of Gold During Gambling

If you run out of Gold during a Round of Gambling, you will remain in the game at least until the Round of Gambling ends, even if you leave the Round of Gambling or are forced out. Ignore any effects that force you to pay or ante Gold. If you do not win the Round of Gambling, you are out of Gold and out of the game!

If you play a card that would require players to ante, but you cannot ante (because you are out of Gold and cannot use a card like "Illusionary coin" from The Red Dragon Inn 2), then no player is required to ante.

Gambling Example

On his turn, Phrenk plays "Gambling? I'm in!" to start a Round of Gambling.

Serena plays "This is not in the Paladin's Codex..." to leave the Round of Gambling. She does not have to ante, but she cannot play any Gambling or Cheating Cards for the rest of this Round.

Phrenk, Kaylin and Wizgille each ante one Gold. Since Phrenk started the Round, he's winning (in control).

Kaylin goes next. She passes.

Wizgille plays "I raise," a Gambling Card that forces all players in the Round to ante an additional Gold. Phrenk, Kaylin and Wizgille each ante one more Gold (bringing the pot to six Gold). The "I raise" card also puts Wizgille in control of the Round of Gambling, so she is now winning.

Phrenk plays "Winning Hand!" This is a special Gambling Card that can only be beaten by Cheating Cards. Phrenk is now winning.

Kaylin plays "Do you even know how to play this game?" - a Cheating Card. Kaylin is now winning.

Wizgille passes.

Phrenk plays "Gambling? I'm In!" In addition to starting a Round of Gambling, "Gambling? I'm in!" can be used during a Round to take control. Phrenk is now winning.

Kaylin passes and so does Wizgille.

Phrenk wins the six Gold in the pot.

More Drink Rules

Running Out of Drinks

When you reach the end of the Drink Deck, each player must pay one Gold to the Inn to get the Wench to bring more Drinks.

After each player pays one Gold, shuffle the discarded Drink Cards into a new Drink Deck. This happens instantly, so the Drink Deck is never out of cards. Drink Cards that have been put on Drink Me! Piles remain where they are.

Drink Events

Some cards in the Drink Deck are Drink Event Cards. If you reveal a Drink Event Card, follow the instructions on the card. Cards that affect Drink Cards do not affect Drink Event Cards unless they specifically say that they do so. You may respond to Event Cards just like any others, but once an Event Card has started resolving, it cannot be Negated or Ignored.

Card example — "Monster Attack!" (Drink Event)

Chasers

If you reveal a Drink Card that has the phrase "with a Chaser" in the title and/or the "+" mug icon, reveal the next card from the deck from which you revealed the previous Drink. If it's a Drink Card, add its effects to the original Drink. If it's another Drink with a Chaser, add its effects to the original Drink and continue this process.

If no cards remain in your Drink Me! Pile when you would reveal a Chaser from it, or if you reveal a Drink Event Card as your Chaser, there is no additional effect. Do not continue revealing cards, and if you revealed a Drink Event, discard it without taking its effects. You do not sober up if your Drink Me! Pile runs out while revealing Chasers.

The Drink Deck is never out of cards, so if you run out of cards while revealing Chasers from the Drink Deck, follow the Running Out of Drinks rule and then continue revealing Chasers.

The original Drink and its Chasers all count as a single Drink. A card that allows you to Ignore a Drink will Ignore the original Drink and all of its Chasers.

No player may respond to a Drink until all of its Chasers have been revealed.

Card example — "Pixie Punch with a Chaser" (Drink) — "When you need a little private pixie time, it's got to be Pixie Punch!"

Chaser Example 1: Kaylin drinks from her Drink Me! Pile and gets Wine with a Chaser. She reveals the next card on her Drink Me! Pile and gets Dragon Breath Ale. She adds the effects of both Drinks, for a total Alcohol Content of 6. She plays "Not now, I'm feeding Wulfric" to Ignore the Drink, so she gains no Alcohol Content.

Chaser Example 2: During a Drinking Contest, Wizgille reveals Light Ale with a Chaser from the top of the Drink Deck. She reveals the next card from the Drink Deck and gets Round on the House. Since Round on the House is a Drink Event Card, it has no effect as a Chaser. Wizgille gains 1 Alcohol Content.

Ordering Additional Drinks

Some cards allow you to order additional Drinks during your Order a Drink Phase. When you do this, you may put the Drinks face down on any other players' Drink Me! Piles. They can all go to the same player, or they can be distributed however you like among multiple players.

Ordering Drinks and Ignore Effects

Ordering a Drink cannot be Ignored by any player. However, if a player plays a card that allows them to order extra Drinks for another player, any player may use an appropriate Ignore effect to Ignore other effects on the card.

Example: Wizgille plays "Hey! Let's test out my new drink creation device!" She reveals the Gear Card "Too much steam!" and chooses Kaylin and Phrenk to each lose 1 Fortitude. Kaylin plays "~ Poof! ~" to Ignore the Fortitude loss. Wizgille may still give one or both extra Drinks to Kaylin.

Other Rules

Minimum and Maximum Fortitude, Alcohol Content, Gold

Your Fortitude and Alcohol Content can never go below 0 or above 20. Your Gold can never go below 0, but it has no maximum. If the Inn runs out of Gold Pieces, use some other markers as a substitute.

If a card effect cannot fully take effect due to these limits, the card still takes effect as completely as it is able.

Example: Kaylin is at 0 Alcohol Content. Phrenk plays "You're looking a little green. Drink this." to make Kaylin lose 3 Alcohol Content and pay him 2 Gold. Kaylin cannot lose 3 Alcohol Content, since she is already at 0, but she still must pay Phrenk 2 Gold.

Cards That Affect Your Fortitude, Alcohol Content, Gold

Some cards specify that they can be played in response to a card that affects your Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold. A card affects one of these attributes only if it could directly change that attribute when it takes effect.

If a card could normally affect an attribute but can't because that attribute is already at its minimum or maximum value, the card is still considered to affect that attribute.

You may not Ignore a Round of Gambling with a card that allows you to Ignore a card that affects your Gold.

Example: Wizgille plays "Tip the Wench" to make Kaylin pay 1 Gold to the Inn. In response, Kaylin plays "~ Poof! ~", allowing her to Ignore the card, since it would directly change her Gold.

Example: Kaylin reveals Wine on her Drink Phase. Phrenk plays "Here ya go... This'll make that drink better!" to add 2 Alcohol Content to the Wine. Kaylin may not play "~ Poof! ~" here, because Phrenk's card is not changing her Alcohol Content directly—it is changing the effects of the Wine.

Example: Kaylin reveals Dragon Breath Ale on her Drink Phase. She plays "Ah! I really needed a bath" to Ignore the Drink. Wizgille plays "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" to Negate "Ah! I really needed a bath." Kaylin may not play "~ Poof! ~" here, because Wizgille's card is not changing Kaylin's Alcohol Content directly—it is Negating Kaylin's card that would allow her to Ignore the Drink.

Example: Serena wins a Round of Gambling. At the end of the Round, Gerki (from the original Red Dragon Inn game) plays "Um...I know you think you won, but..." to take the pot. Serena may not play "You're angering me. You would be wise to stop!" here, because Gerki's card is not directly changing Serena's Gold. It is affecting the outcome of the Round of Gambling.

Redirecting Damage

Some cards, such as "I'm not Eve. She's over there" (from The Red Dragon Inn 2) allow damage to be redirected from one player to another. When this happens, the game treats the Fortitude loss as though it came from its original source.

Example: Kaylin plays "Actually, his bite is worse than his bark" to make Eve lose 3 Fortitude. Eve plays "I'm not Eve. She's over there" to redirect the damage to Wizgille. When the damage resolves, Wizgille plays "I believe your attitude needs some percussive maintenance" to deal 2 damage the player who hit her. Wizgille's card causes Kaylin to lose 2 Fortitude, not Eve.

If a card says that it redirects Fortitude loss, it does not redirect any other effects on the affected card.

Example: Wizgille plays "This device can change alcohol into gold! Watch!" For her Gear Card, she reveals "Sorry, loose gear" and chooses Eve to lose 1 Fortitude. Eve plays "I'm not Eve. She's over there" to redirect the damage to Kaylin. Kaylin loses 1 Fortitude, but Wizgille still Ignores her Drink and gains Gold from the Inn.

Negate and Ignore Effects

Some Sometimes Cards allow you to Negate or Ignore another card.

When you Negate a card, you completely prevent it from resolving. The Negated card goes to the appropriate discard pile. None of its effects happen.

When you Ignore a card, the card resolves normally, but it has no effect on you. It still affects other players as usual.

Negate Example: Kaylin plays "Don't call me cute!" to make Serena lose 2 Fortitude. Serena plays "How dare you strike a Paladin!" to make Kaylin also lose 2 Fortitude. Kaylin responds with "We don't think so!" Serena's card is Negated, so it has no effect. Serena does no damage to Kaylin, and her Piety remains unchanged.

Ignore Example: Serena plays "Blasphemer!" to make Kaylin lose 3 Fortitude. Kaylin responds by playing "~ Poof! ~" to Ignore the effects of "Blasphemer!" Kaylin Ignores the Fortitude loss, but Serena still gains one Piety, since the card affects her normally.

Card example — "I don't think so!" (Sometimes) — Negate a Sometimes Card. This card can only be affected by another I don't think so!

Card example — "~ Poof! ~" (Sometimes) — Ignore an Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card that affects your Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold. You may not use this card to Ignore a Round of Gambling.

Cards do not Negate or Ignore other cards unless they specifically use the word "Negate" or the word "Ignore." So, for example, cards which reduce or redirect damage, reduce Alcohol Content, or pass Drinks to other players are not Negating or Ignoring anything.

Many cards allow you to Ignore a Drink. You may only play a card of this type on a Drink that you are about to drink. You may not Ignore someone else's Drink unless that player first passes it to you, splits it with you, or otherwise makes you take effects from it.

Reduction Effects

Some cards allow you to reduce an effect from another card.

Reducing an effect from a positive number to a negative number reduces it to 0 instead. If a card would affect all players, reducing the effect that one player takes does not reduce it for the other players unless that card says that it changes "numeric effects."

Timing

Whenever any card is played or a Drink or Event Card is revealed, each player (in turn order, starting with the player who played or revealed the card) may play relevant Sometimes Cards in response.

If no player has any response to a card, that card resolves and its instructions are carried out.

If a player plays a response to a card and that response resolves, each player (in turn order, as above) has another opportunity to respond to the original card. If no player does, the original card resolves.

Timing Example 1: Kaylin reveals Light Ale during her Drink Phase. She is holding "Ah! I really needed a bath", which would allow her to Ignore the Drink. She chooses not to play it, since the Drink only has an Alcohol Content of 1. Phrenk plays "Here ya go… This'll make that drink better!" to add 2 Alcohol Content to the Light Ale. After Phrenk's card resolves, Kaylin will have another opportunity to play "Ah! I really needed a bath" to Ignore the spiked Light Ale, even though she previously chose not to respond.

If two or more players are instructed to reveal and drink Drinks at the same time (for example, with the Drink Event "Drinking Contest!"), they first reveal Drink Cards and Chasers, as appropriate. After that, in turn order (as above), players may play Sometimes Cards that modify Drinks. Anytime Cards may also be played here. When no player has any further responses, each player drinks their Drink simultaneously.

If two or more players wish to respond to the same game event with Sometimes or Anytime Cards, players should take back their plays, then play and resolve their Anytime Cards in turn order, beginning from the player whose turn it is. After that, they should play and resolve their Sometimes Cards in the same way.

If a situation arises in which two or more players are each waiting for the others to act before making a decision, the deadlock should be broken with a similar method. In turn order, beginning with the player whose turn it is, each player declares their choice, then the game continues normally.

Timing Example 2: Kaylin is at 12 Fortitude and 10 Alcohol Content. On her Drink Phase she reveals Elven Wine. In order to keep from passing out, Kaylin plays "Why do they have to make these tankards so big?" to Ignore the Drink. Phrenk (sitting to Kaylin's left) and Wizgille (sitting to Phrenk's left) each hold an "I don't think so!", and each suspects that the other is holding one. Both Phrenk and Wizgille are interested in Negating Kaylin's Ignore card, but neither wants to be the one to spend their critical "I don't think so!" To resolve the deadlock, first Phrenk, then Wizgille must either play a response to Kaylin's card or choose not to. If neither Phrenk nor Wizgille decides to play "I don't think so!" on Kaylin's card, Kaylin Ignores her Drink and remains in the game.

If two or more players wish to respond to sequential game events that occur as the result of a card being played, then players should take back their plays, then play them sequentially.

Timing Example 3: Wizgille plays "Oh no! It's not supposed to do that…" to make Kaylin lose 2 Fortitude. For her Gear Card, she reveals "It's not supposed to shoot sparks!", which will weaken Wizgille's original card. At this point, Kaylin wants to play "~ Poof! " to Ignore the effect and Wizgille wants to play "Wait, wait… I can fix that!" to Negate the revealed Gear Card. Since the game event of revealing a Gear Card happens before the game event of Kaylin losing Fortitude, Wizgille plays "Wait, wait… I can fix that!" first. Once that card takes effect, Kaylin may choose whether she still wants to play " Poof! ~" in response to the original "Oh no! It's not supposed to do that…"

"Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip…"

There are four important points to remember about "Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip…":

It may not be played in response to "Gambling, I'm in!" or "I raise!" as a means to avoid having to ante.
It may not be played in response to a card that would end the Round.
It may not be played after the last player has passed in a Round of Gambling.
It may be played in response to an effect that forces a player to leave the Round of Gambling, even if that effect would result in only one player remaining in the Round.

Card example — "Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip..." (Sometimes) — You may play this card at any time during a Round of Gambling, even if you have left the Round. You may not play this card if the Round has already ended. You may not play it in response to a card that would make players ante or would end the Round when it resolves. The Round of Gambling ends immediately. All anted Gold goes to the Inn.

"The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks."

Negating or Ignoring a Drink, passing a Drink to another player, splitting a Drink, and increasing or decreasing a Drink's Alcohol Content are all considered changing the Drink's effects, so "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" can be played in all of these cases.

"The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" cannot be used to Negate another copy of "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks."

"The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" cannot be used to Negate a card that orders you Drinks, forces you to drink, or directly increases your Alcohol Content.

"The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" cannot be used to Negate a card that affects a Drink Event.

Card example — "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks." (Sometimes) — Negate a Sometimes Card that changes the effects of a Drink. (This includes cards that Negate, Ignore or split Drinks, pass Drinks to other players, or alter any of a Drink's effects.) This card can only be affected by I don't think so!

Splitting Drinks

When a card is played that can split or duplicate a Drink, it creates separate, independent Drinks. A card that affects a Drink can only affect one of the split Drinks. If a Drink is altered before it is split, then the altered Drink is split.

Split Example 1: Fiona (from the original Red Dragon Inn game) reveals an Elven Wine (3 Alcohol Content). She plays "Come, my friend, sit and drink with me!", which splits the Drink into two Drinks with 2 Alcohol Content each (3 Alcohol Content split in half, then rounded up). Phrenk then plays "Here ya go… This'll make that drink better!" to add 2 Alcohol Content one of the two Drinks. The result is one Drink with 2 Alcohol Content and another with 4 Alcohol Content.

Split Example 2: Phrenk plays "Here ya go… This'll make that drink better!" as soon as the Elven Wine is revealed, making the Elven Wine a Drink with 5 Alcohol Content. Fiona then plays "Come, my friend, sit and drink with me!", creating two Drinks with 3 Alcohol Content each.

To split a Drink with one or more Chasers, first combine all like numeric effects (Alcohol Content, Fortitude, drawing cards, discarding cards, etc.), then split each combined effect in half, rounding up.

Split Example 3: On Fiona's Drink Phase, she reveals Elven Wine with a Chaser of Gnomish Inspirational Ale (Gain 2 AC, draw 2 cards). She then plays "Come, my friend, sit and drink with me!" to split the Drink with Wizgille. Fiona and Wizgille each gain 3 Alcohol Content and draw 1 card.

Mead

Mead is a Drink that has its own built-in split effect. When a player reveals Mead, players first get an opportunity to affect the Drink. When players are done affecting the Mead, the player who revealed it may choose a player with whom to split it. Players then have another opportunity to affect the split halves of the Mead. Because players have an opportunity to affect the Mead after it is split, the two players sharing the Mead could end up taking different effects from it!

Mead Example: Wizgille reveals Mead during her Drink Phase. No player alters the Drink, so she decides to split it with Kaylin. This creates two copies of Mead with 2 Alcohol Content each (half of 3 rounded up). After this, Phrenk plays "Here ya go... This'll make that drink better!" on Kaylin's Mead, giving it a total Alcohol Content of 4. Each player then drinks her Mead, so Wizgille gains 2 Alcohol Content and Kaylin gains 4.

If Mead is the result of a Drink Event Card or if Mead is revealed as a Chaser to another Drink, it may not be split with another player. The player drinking the Mead takes its full effects.

Round on the House

The card Round on the House is similar to a split effect, but is not considered a split effect. When a Drink is revealed for Round on the House, each player immediately receives a separate, independent copy of that Drink. Players do not have an opportunity to affect the Drink before it is copied, but may affect the individual copies afterward.

Card example — "Round on the House!" (Drink Event)

Drinking Contest

When a player reveals a Drinking Contest card, each player, starting with the player whose turn it is, reveals the top card of the Drink Deck. If that card is a Drink Event, discard it and reveal again. If it is a Drink, it has no effect and counts as having no Alcohol Content. If it is a Drink with a Chaser, the player continues revealing Drink Cards as appropriate. Once all players have revealed one or more cards from the Drink Deck, players may, in turn order, play Sometimes Cards that modify Drinks. Anytime Cards may also be played here. When all players are done playing cards, each player drinks and discards their Drink, then the player who revealed the Drink with the highest total Alcohol Content receives one Gold from each other player.

If two or more players tie for the Drink with the highest total Alcohol Content, the tied players repeat the process of revealing, modifying, drinking and discarding Drinks until there is a clear winner. If all tied players but one pass out during this process, the remaining player wins the Drinking Contest and does not continue drinking. If all tied players pass out during this process, the Drinking Contest has no winner.

If a player would win the Drinking Contest and pass out at the same time, that player collects Gold for winning the contest, then passes out.

Card example — "Drinking Contest!" (Drink Event) — Each player reveals a Drink from the Drink Deck and drinks it. The player who reveals the Drink with the highest Alcohol Content (even if they avoid the effects of the Drink) wins 1 Gold from each other player. If there is a tie, the players who tied reveal and drink again until there is a winner. The effects of Drink Event Cards are ignored and they count as 0 Alcohol Content.

If a player passes out during a Drinking Contest, that player loses the game, but does not split their Gold among the other players until after the Drinking Contest is completed. Players who lose the game in this way still must pay one Gold to the winner of the Drinking Contest before splitting their Gold.

Cards that increase or decrease the Alcohol Content of a Drink will affect the outcome of a Drinking Contest. If a Drink is split, Ignored, or given to another player, this does not affect the outcome of the contest. If a player somehow takes extra Drinks during a Drinking Contest, these extra Drinks do not affect the outcome of the Drinking Contest.

If a Drink's total Alcohol Content is less than 0 (such as "We're cutting you off!"), it counts as a 0 Alcohol Content Drink in a Drinking Contest. The Drink will still affect your Alcohol Content as normal.

Drinking Contest Example 1: In a Drinking Contest, Phrenk reveals Wine (2 Alcohol Content), and Serena reveals Light Ale (1 Alcohol Content). Phrenk plays "Partial Antidote", reducing the Alcohol Content of his Drink to 1, so he ties with Serena. They each gain 1 Alcohol Content, and the Drinking Contest continues.

Drinking Contest Example 2: In another Drinking Contest, Phrenk reveals Dragon Breath Ale (4 Alcohol Content), and Serena reveals Dark Ale (1 Alcohol Content). Phrenk plays "I think you'll appreciate this drink more than I will" to give his Drink to Serena. Serena gains 5 Alcohol Content, but Phrenk still wins the Drinking Contest.

If you run out of Gold during a Drinking Contest, you will remain in the game at least until the Drinking Contest is finished. Ignore any effects that force you to pay Gold. If you do not win the Drinking Contest, you are out of Gold and out of the game!

Drinking Contest Example 3: Kaylin has 1 Gold, and reveals a Drinking Contest on her Drink Phase. As Drinks are revealed by each player, the Drink Deck runs out, so everyone pays 1 Gold to the Inn to get a new Drink Deck. Kaylin pays her last Gold, so she will be out of the game if she does not win. She reveals a Dragon Breath Ale and wins the Drinking Contest, receiving a Gold from each other player and staying in the game.

Appendix A - The Characters

The following character-specific rules are transcribed from the companion document "The Characters," referenced throughout the core rules above.

Wizgille the Tinkerer

Wizgille is a Gnomish Artificer. Her brilliance with gadgets is surpassed only by her enthusiasm for tinkering with them—often with disastrous results…

Setup: Shuffle the Gear Deck and place it next to your Player Mat. Leave space near your Player Mat for a Gear Deck discard pile.

Many of the cards in Wizgille's Character Deck have gears in their title box. These are her Device Cards. Whenever you play a Device Card, reveal the top card of your Gear Deck and add its effects to the Device Card. The Device Card and its attached Gear Card(s) are treated as a single card with the combined effects. No player may respond to the Device Card until its Gear Card has been revealed. (This is analogous to the rule that treats a Drink Card with Chasers as a single Drink.)

Card example — Wizgille's Gear Deck card: "Excellent result! The card you play takes effect. - And - Add 1 to any numeric effects. - And - It's excellent."

Card example — "Explosion!" (Gear Card) — The card you play does not take effect. - And - You lose 1 Fortitude. - And - Pick a player. They discard a random card from their hand.

If your Gear Deck runs out of cards, reshuffle your Gear Deck discard pile and use that as your new Gear Deck.

If a Device Card allows you to choose between one or more effects (such as "Not now! I still need to recalibrate everything!"), a Gear Card is revealed regardless of which effect is chosen.

Some effects on Gear Cards require you to choose one or more players. This choice is independent of any choices you may have made for the original Device Card.

Wizgille Example 1: Wizgille plays "Silly me! I didn't realize my dart shooter was loaded!" which makes a player lose 2 Fortitude. She reveals "Sorry, loose gear," which allows her to choose a player to lose 1 Fortitude. She may target different players with the Fortitude-loss effects, or she may target the same player with both. If she chooses the same player for both, it is treated as a single 3-Fortitude attack.

If a Gear Card would cause a Device Card to not take effect, then the Device Card's effects are not considered when determining whether or not the combined card "affects" something like a Drink or a player's Fortitude.

Wizgille Example 2: On Wizgille's Drink Phase, she reveals Dragon Breath Ale. She plays "This device can change alcohol into gold! Watch!" and reveals the Gear Card "Uh oh! I'd better fix that right now." Players may not play "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" on Wizgille's card, because the Gear Card makes the combined card no longer affect her Drink.

Wizgille Example 3: Wizgille plays "Oh no! It's not supposed to do that", targeting Kaylin. For her Gear Card, she reveals "Explosion" and targets Kaylin to randomly discard. Kaylin may not play "Poof!" here, because the combined card is no longer affecting her Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold.

Wizgille has a unique card: "I didn't activate my temporal dilation field. It's just deja vu." This card allows you to Negate nearly any card in the game, but the player whose card is Negated may play another of the same type.

Card example — "I didn't activate my temporal dilation field. It's just deja vu." (Sometimes) — Negate an Action Card. The player who played it may play another Action Card. OR - Negate an Anytime or Sometimes Card. OR - Negate a Gambling or Cheating Card. The player who played it may play another Gambling or Cheating Card. If they don't, it counts as though they passed. OR - Negate a Drink or Drink Event. The player who revealed it takes another Drink from the same deck or Drink Me! Pile. (This could cause that player to sober up.) You may not play this effect on a Drink that has been copied or split.

Wizgille Example 4: Wizgille has 1 Gold. Serena, on her Drink Phase, reveals the only card in her Drink Me! Pile. It is a "Drinking Contest!" Wizgille plays "I didn't activate my temporal dilation field. It's just deja vu" to Negate the Drinking Contest. No Drinks are revealed and no Gold changes hands. Serena must drink the next card in her Drink Me! Pile. Since she doesn't have any more drinks, she sobers up, losing 1 Alcohol Content.

Brewmaster Phrenk

Phrenk is a Troll Alchemist. His skill as a potionmaster is unmatched, but he's not above using his skills for the "lowly" art of creating specialty drinks for his friends.

Setup: Shuffle the Potion Deck and place it next to your Player Mat. Reveal the top card of your Potion Deck and place it face up near your Player Mat. Leave space near your Player Mat for a Potion Deck discard pile. It is a good idea to keep your Potion Deck discard pile visually distinct from the face-up Potion in front of you in order to prevent confusion. We recommend turning your Potion Deck discard pile 90 degrees sideways, as shown below.

Card example — Phrenk's Potion Deck card: "Potion of Lesser Healing" (Potion - Anytime) — Gain 1 Fortitude.

Card example — Phrenk's Special Draft (extra deck) card: Add 1 Alcohol Content to a Drink.

Card example — "I brewed up some extra drinks." (extra deck card) — You may play this card during the Order a Drink Phase of your turn to Order 2 additional Drinks for free. (Drinks you order may be placed on any other players' Drink Me! Piles.)

Revealing Potions: At the beginning of your turn, before you discard and draw, reveal the top card of your Potion Deck. If you still have a Potion face up in front of you from a previous turn, you must choose whether to keep the old Potion or the newly-revealed one. Discard the other. You must make this choice before you take any other actions.

Two of the cards in Phrenk's Potion Deck are called "Brewing Mishap". When you reveal one of these cards, you must immediately discard the Brewing Mishap and your face-up Potion Card, if you have one.

If Phrenk's Potion Deck runs out of cards, reshuffle his Potion Deck discard pile and use that as his new Potion Deck.

Card example — "Invisibility Potion" (Potion - Sometimes) — Ignore an Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card that affects your Fortitude or Alcohol Content.

Playing Potions: You may play the Potion in front of you as though it were a card in your hand. Each Potion Card says whether it may be played as an Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card.

Whenever a Potion Card is played, it may be responded to just like any other card of the Potion's type (Action, Sometimes or Anytime). When the Potion resolves, follow the instructions on the card, then put the card in Phrenk's Potion Deck discard pile.

Selling Potions: At any time (except while revealing a new Potion on your turn), you may sell the Potion in front of you to another player for the amount of Gold indicated on the Potion Card. The purchasing player puts the Potion Card face up in front of them and may play it as though it were a card in their hand.

Both parties must agree to the sale. You may not force a player to buy a Potion, nor may another player force you to sell one.

The Potion's price is non-negotiable. Potions purchased by one player may not be resold to other players.

Players who have purchased Potions may keep multiple Potions in front of them. However, Phrenk may only have one Potion in front of him at a time, as described under "Revealing Potions."

If Phrenk loses the game or if he reshuffles his Potion Deck due to running out of cards, all purchased Potions stay where they are and can be used later.

Card example — "Acid Spit Potion" (Potion - Anytime) — Pick another player. They lose 1 Fortitude.

Phrenk Example: Phrenk's face-up Potion is Acid Spit Potion. Because he is running low on Gold, he offers to sell it to Kaylin, who agrees. Kaylin pays Phrenk one Gold and puts the Acid Spit Potion face up in front of her. Soon after, she decides to play it against Serena. It is played and resolved as an Anytime Card, then placed in Phrenk's Potion Deck discard pile.

Remember, once you have revealed your new Potion at the beginning of your turn, you may not use or sell either Potion until you discard either the new Potion or the old one. If you wish to use or sell your old Potion, do so before revealing your new one!

Kaylin the Renegade

Kaylin is a tiny Pixie Enchanter with a big chip on her shoulder. Wulfric is a wolf who is neither tiny, nor has a chip on his shoulder. Between her magical skills and his brute strength, they are a match for any dungeon's monsters.

Setup: Shuffle the Wulfric Deck and place it next to your Player Mat. Leave space near your Player Mat for a Wulfric Deck discard pile. Reveal the top card of the Wulfric Deck and place it on the Wulfric Deck discard pile. This is Wulfric's mood.

At the end of Kaylin's turn, after her Drink Phase, Wulfric's mood changes. Reveal and discard the top card of the Wulfric Deck. Wulfric's current mood determines a standing effect that applies to Kaylin continuously until Wulfric's mood changes again.

If the Wulfric Deck runs out of cards, leave Wulfric's current mood in place, then reshuffle the rest of the Wulfric discard pile and use that as the new Wulfric Deck.

If a Wulfric Card would adjust the numerical value of a card effect, it adjusts the card as a whole rather than the individual effects on the card.

Card example — Wulfric Deck card: "Wulfric is feeling Bitey" — Whenever another player would lose Fortitude from a card that you play from your hand, that loss is increased by 1.

Card example — "Wulfric is feeling Loyal" — Whenever you would lose Fortitude, that loss is reduced by 1.

Kaylin Example 1: Wulfric is currently Loyal. Wizgille plays "Silly me! I didn't realize my dart shooter was loaded!" which will make Kaylin lose 2 Fortitude. She reveals "Sorry, loose gear" as her Gear Card, which makes a player lose 1 Fortitude. She chooses to target Kaylin with the "loose gear" Fortitude loss effect, as well. Wulfric's Loyal effect applies only to the card as a whole. It does not apply to each Fortitude loss effect individually. Kaylin loses a total of 2 Fortitude.

Card example — "Wulfric is feeling Clumsy" — Whenever you would gain Alcohol Content, that gain is reduced by 1.

Kaylin Example 2: Wulfric is currently Clumsy. On her Drink Phase, Kaylin reveals Wine with a Chaser (2 Alcohol Content). The chaser is Light Ale (1 Alcohol Content). Wulfric's Clumsy effect applies to the Drink as a whole, since a Drink with Chasers counts as one Drink. Kaylin gains a total of 2 Alcohol Content.

Note that Wulfric's Clumsy effect does not alter the Alcohol Content of a Drink. It simply alters the effect Kaylin takes from that Drink. This can be relevant for cards like "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks" and "Drinking Contest!"

Card example — "Wulfric is feeling Stalwart" — Players may not play cards that would Negate or Ignore cards you play from your hand.

Wulfric has a unique card: Stalwart. When Wulfric is feeling Stalwart and Kaylin plays a card from her hand, players may not play any card that would Negate or Ignore that card. This includes "I don't think so!", "The Wench thinks you should stop playing with the drinks," and many other cards.

Serena the Pious

Serena would have died if she hadn't been such a cute baby. The Paladins who found her could not bring themselves to slay her as they did the other Orcs in her village. Seeing no other option, they took her in and tried to raise her as one of their own. Even with her training, she is always at risk of succumbing to her chaotic Orcish instincts, so she must be ever-vigilant to stay on the righteous path.

Setup: Take the Piety Chart and place it near your Player Mat where the other players can see it. Take the Piety Marker and place it on 8 on the Piety Chart, as shown below.

Many cards in Serena's Character Deck indicate that they move her Piety up or down. This is shown by the orange or blue arrows on the cards. When you play one of Serena's cards, adjust your Piety by the indicated amount after all other effects on the card have been carried out. An "X" instead of an arrow will be explained in the card's text.

Card example — "Will the Temple really miss one Gold?" (Anytime) — Gain 1 Gold from the Inn. [Piety: down arrow]

Some of Serena's cards have a better or worse effect depending on her Piety. Use the effect corresponding to your Piety at the time that the card takes effect. Note that this may be different from what your Piety was when you played the card!

Your Piety cannot go above 8 or below 1. If a card's effects would cause your Piety to drop below 1, it stays at 1, but you must atone for your sins by either tithing 1 Gold to the Inn or losing 1 Fortitude. If you choose to lose 1 Fortitude, you may not avoid that Fortitude loss in any way. If you are at 1 Piety and a card's effects would make you lose 2 Piety, you only need to atone once, not twice.

Card example — "I'm sure you did something to deserve it..." (Action) — Pick another player. 8~~7: They lose 1 Fortitude. 6~~3: They lose 2 Fortitude. 2: They lose 3 Fortitude. 1: They lose 4 Fortitude. [Piety: down arrow]

Serena Example 1: Serena, who is at 2 Piety, plays "I'm sure you did something to deserve it…", targeting Kaylin. Kaylin has no response. Kaylin loses 3 Fortitude, then Serena loses 1 Piety. Serena does not adjust her Piety until all of the card's other effects have been carried out, so Kaylin does not lose 4 Fortitude.

Serena Example 2: Serena is at 1 Piety. She plays "I'm sure you did something to deserve it," targeting Kaylin. Kaylin responds with "You think you're so big? Have another drink!", an Anytime Card that makes Serena drink the top Drink on her Drink Me! Pile. Serena reveals Elven Wine and decides to Ignore it with "This is not in the Paladin's Codex…" This makes her Piety go to 2. After this exchange, Serena's original "I'm sure you did something to deserve it" takes effect. Since Serena is now at 2 Piety, Kaylin loses 3 Fortitude (not 4), then Serena goes back down to 1 Piety.

Card example — "Blasphemer!" (Action) — Pick another player. 8~~4: They lose 2 Fortitude. 3~~2: They lose 3 Fortitude. 1: They lose 4 Fortitude. [Piety: up arrow]

Serena Example 3: Serena is at 6 Piety, 15 Fortitude, and 14 Alcohol Content. During her Drink Phase she reveals Dragon Breath Ale. Since the ale would cause her to pass out, she plays "This is not in the Paladin's Codex…" to Ignore the Drink. In response, Phrenk plays "I don't think so!" to Negate Serena's card. Not wanting to take any chances, Serena plays "It's time to pray," an Anytime Card which causes her to lose 2 Alcohol Content and gain 2 Piety. She then responds to Phrenk's "I don't think so!" with an "I don't think so!" of her own, which can't be Negated, because she is now at 8 Piety. "I don't think so!" Negates Phrenk's card, then "This is not in the Paladin's Codex…" takes effect, allowing Serena to Ignore the Dragon Breath Ale. (It also would increase her Piety by 1, but since she is already at the maximum, this has no effect.)

Credits

The Red Dragon Inn 3, Eighth Edition

Game Design: Geoff Bottone, Jeff Morrow and Cliff Bohm

Based on mechanics designed by Geoff Bottone, Colleen Skadl and Cliff Bohm

Art Direction and Layout: Cliff Bohm

with Art created by Kennon James, Rose Besch, Doug Kovacs, ColdFuzion Studios and Beth Trott

Published by SlugFest Games West, LLC.