Taverns & Dragons
Taverns & Dragons Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Main gameboard
- 5 tavern boards
- 25 hero cards
- 5 double-sided location tiles
- 12 event cards
- 28 recipe cards
- 24 mission cards
- 5 aid cards
- 7 dragon boards
- 7 dragon standees
- 3 hunt dice
- 14 damage markers
- 15 minion meeples (3 in each color)
- 25 action dice (5 in each color)
- 10 markers
- Starting player token
- King token
- 25 energy gems
- 25 coin tokens
- 66 ingredient tokens (15 magic mushrooms, 14 wild plants, 14 magma spices, 13 dragon eggs, 10 dragon meats)
- 10 reroll runes tokens
- 12 wound tokens
- 3 trophy tokens
- 5 forge tokens
- 5 dungeon tokens
- 3 fire tokens
- 4 frost tokens
- 4 closed tokens
- Drawstring bag
Goal of the Game
As a tavern owner, your task is be to attract famous heroes, hunt dangerous dragons, and collect rare ingredients to cook the finest dishes.
These accomplishments provide prestige points. At the end of the game, the player with the most prestigious tavern will be declared the winner!
The game is played over 7 rounds, during which the players take turns performing various actions.
Setup
Set the gameboard in the center of the table.
Shuffle the recipe cards into a face-down deck. Place this deck on the marked space of the game board and reveal the top card, face-up.
Shuffle the hero cards into a face-down deck. Place this deck on the marked space of the game board and reveal the top 4 cards, face-up.
Shuffle the dragon boards and randomly select 2 of them. Place those dragons on the marked space of the game board, face-down.
Place the King token on the rightmost space of the track.
Shuffle the location tiles and randomly select 4 of them. Place those locations on the marked spaces of the game board. For your first game, we recommend using the runes, the market, the magic portal, and the dungeon, in that order.
In a two-player game, each location may only be visited once per round. Place a "closed" token on each location's rightmost cost space.
Put 4 wild plant, 3 magic mushroom, 2 magma spice, and 1 dragon egg token(s) into the bag. Then, randomly place an ingredient token from the bag onto each empty ingredient space on the board.
Give each player 1 energy gem, 1 gold coin, and the tavern board and 5 dice of their chosen color. Each player must then place their 3 minions on the city gate area and their marker at the start of the prestige track.
Place all other items (tokens, hunting dice, etc.) within easy reach.
Randomly assign the first player token.
The game is ready to begin!
Game Overview
1) Beginning of Round
At the beginning of each round, each player rolls their 5 action dice and places them on the emblem of their tavern board.
Each player adds up the values of their dice.
The player with the lowest total gets the first-player token. If there is a tie, give the first-player token to the tied player closest to the current first player (in clockwise order).
Any player who rolls 10 or lower on their action dice receives 1 gold coin in compensation.
2) Players' Turns
Players take turns playing clockwise. On each of your turns, you will play 1 of your action dice.
3) End of Round
All dice are returned and the gameboard is set up for the next round (see End of Round).
Your Turn
On each of your turns, you must choose one of your available dice and place it on a free action space to perform one of the following actions:
- Earn gold coins
- Get energy gems
- Activate a minion
- Cook a recipe
Earn Gold Coins
Head to the Royal Bank and borrow some gold coins to help attract famous heroes to your tavern.
Choose an action die and place it on a unoccupied space of the royal bank. Gain as many gold coins as are shown below that space.
Your die must exactly match the value shown on your chosen space (dice of any value may be placed on the rightmost space).
Each space may only contain 1 die, except for the rightmost space, which may hold any number of dice. Each player may place only one die per round on the bank.
Get Energy Gems
Your minions will need a lot of energy to explore their surroundings and hunt for dragons.
Choose an action die and place it on the energy source. Gain a number of energy gems equal to the value of your die.
Any number of dice may be placed on this space. A player may place multiple dice here during a round (but only 1 die per turn).
The number of gems available is limited to those in the supply.
Discarded gems are returned in the supply.
Activate a Minion
Your faithful minions bear the heavy responsibility of traveling the kingdom in search of rare ingredients.
Choose an action die and place it your tavern board in the unoccupied minion space of your choice.
When activated, your minion must move. Before or after moving, your minion may also collect an ingredient, visit locations, and/or hunt the dragon.
Each minion may only be activated once per round.
Move
Your minion moves a number of areas (represented by white circles on the game board) equal to the value on your die. Minions must follow the path on the game board. Minions always move clockwise, and they may take forks in the road.
The booted minion always moves one additional area (between 2 to 5 areas).
Areas are adjacent to locations that share the same letter on the game board.
Reroll Runes
When your minion stops or moves into the area of the Elder Maple, gain a reroll rune.
At any time during your turn, you may discard one of these runes to reroll one of your action or hunting dice.
Store Ingredients & Heal Wounds
Before or after its movement, a minion in the area of the city gates may:
- Move all its carried ingredient tokens to your pantry. Those ingredients are now available for your recipes.
- Remove their wound tokens.
Collect an Ingredient
Once per activation, before or after its movement, your minion may collect an ingredient from their area.
Take the ingredient token directly from the game board or from the supply, when the ingredient is printed on the board. Place it in a free space on your tavern board, below your minion.
If your minion runs out of space, it cannot collect an ingredient. You may not discard ingredients to make room for new ones.
The strong minion may carry an additional ingredient.
Visit a Location
Before or after its movement, your minion may visit a location adjacent to its area. Pay the cost of visiting that location by placing the required resources directly on the location tile - this indicates that the location has already been visited this round.
Each location has two spaces and may only be visited twice per round (in 2-player games, once per round). After paying the required cost, immediately apply the location's effect.
Each location is explained in detail in the back of this booklet.
A minion may visit multiple locations on a turn, but may never visit a given location more than once per turn.
A minion may never visit any location occupied by a dragon.
Hunt the Dragon
Once per activation, before or after its movement, your minion may hunt a dragon in a location adjacent to its area.
Discard 1 to 3 energy gems, then roll the same number of hunting dice. To achieve the best possible results, make good use of your reroll runes, abilities, and hero bonuses.
1) Your minion attacks the dragon
For each matching symbol you get on a hunting die, place a damage marker on a matching symbol of the dragon's board. You must place a damage marker whenever possible.
With fewer than 4 players, ignore the fourth line on the board.
If you complete a damage line on the dragon's board, earn the rewards associated with that line:
- Gain gold / energy / reroll rune.
- Place a dragon meat token on one of your minion's free spaces.
- Advance your marker on the prestige track.
If you place the final damage marker on a dragon (all damage lines have been filled), take a random trophy token and keep it face-down until the end of the game. Remove the dragon's standee from the game board.
2) The dragon strikes back
Your minion suffers a wound for each wound symbol rolled on a hunting die.
The minion with the helmet and shield is well-equipped: it ignores wound symbols rolled during a hunt.
When a minion suffers a wound, place a wound token on one of its free spaces on your tavern board. If all spaces are occupied, discard an ingredient and place the wound token in its place.
If the dragon is still in game and at least one special-attack symbol is rolled, it unleashes its devastating special attack. Apply the effect shown on the dragon's board.
Cook a Recipe
Roasted dragon tail, sprinkled with magma-burning spice and served with a delicious magical herb salad.
Choose an action die of any value and place it on the recipe you want to cook, then discard the required ingredients from your pantry to the supply.
Then, take the recipe card and earn prestige equal to:
- the recipe's prestige value, plus
- the value of the die placed on that recipe, plus
- any bonus revealed by taking the recipe card (+1 or +2)
Advance your marker along the prestige track accordingly, and keep the recipe card near your tavern board.
Move the remaining recipe cards downwards to fill the space left on the gameboard, then reveal a new recipe from the deck.
Play a Hero
Valiant heroes wait in the marketplace, eager to assist your minions. All they ask for in return is some fresh mead and a few gold coins.
Hire a Hero
You may hire a hero from the market at any point during your turn. Pay the indicated number of gold coins, then place the hero's card below your tavern board. That hero is now in your tavern; they provide prestige points at the end of the game.
Refresh the market by revealing a new hero from the deck.
Use a Hero's Ability
During your turn, you can use the abilities of any heroes in your tavern. To do so, turn the hero's card sideways and apply its effects.
An ability preceded by the activation icon requires you to have activated a minion during this turn. The hero's effect is then applied to that minion.
Turned hero cards are exhausted - you may not use their abilities. At the beginning of rounds 3, 5, and 7, straighten out any exhausted heroes - you may use them once again!
Hero Bonuses
Each hero has a bonus that may be used once per game. Place one of your energy gems on the hero card's bonus space, then immediately apply its effect:
- Add the matching ingredient token to your pantry.
- Gain a coin.
- Gain a reroll rune.
- Change the face of a hunting die to match this icon.
Energy gems placed in this way stay on hero cards until the end of the game, to show that the hero's bonus has already been claimed.
End of Round
A round ends once each player has placed all 5 of their dice. Perform the following steps in order:
A) Each player takes back all of their dice.
B) Return all energy gems and tokens on locations to the supply (in a 2-player game, keep all "closed" tokens in place).
C) Move the recipe cards down one space and reveal a new recipe. The recipe that leaves the bottommost space is removed from the game.
D) Move the King token one space to the left along the day track. Resolve the effects of any icons crossed during the King's move, going from top to bottom.
- Ahh, mead! Straighten all exhausted hero cards - their abilities are available once again.
- A dragon awakens. Reveal a dragon board. Place the matching standee on the location tile indicated on the dragon board. Then, apply the dragon's waking effect. If there is already a dragon in play, it vanishes. Remove its standee and board from the game.
- It feels like... magic! Discard all ingredient tokens from the game board. Put 4 wild plant, 3 magic mushroom, 2 magma spice and 1 dragon egg token(s) into the bag. Then, randomly place an ingredient token from the bag onto each empty space on the game board.
- An unexpected event. If you are playing with the Events module, reveal one event card and apply its effect as indicated.
Endgame
The king has reached the city gates, and he is hungry! Where will he feast tonight?
The game ends at the end of the 7th round.
The King's Call
In the final round, each minion is teleported to the city gate area at the end of their activation, and their ingredients are placed in your pantry.
Each player moves their marker along the prestige track according to the point values of their:
- heroes in their tavern,
- dragon trophies,
- mission cards (if you played with this module),
- 1 point for each ingredient in their pantry.
The player with the most prestige points wins the game!
In the event of a tie, the player who cooked the most prestigious recipe wins. If there is still a tie, players share the victory.
Credits
Created by Quentin Vernet, Marc Vernet
Illustrated by Baptiste Michard, Nastya Lehn
Published by Lord Raccoon Games
Edited by Michael Schemaille, The Geeky Pen
Many thanks to: Philou for his magical 3D powers. Quackalope, BoardGameCo, The Board Game Nexus, Game Brigade, Tantrum House, La Mesa de Dam and Nox Spellenzolder, whose passion helped spread awareness of our game. Elodie and our families for being at our side during this crazy adventure!
And, of course, a big thank you to our 2767 backers for their enthusiasm and support. Without you, none of this would have been possible.
Congratulations to those who made their ideas become reality: Justin Hall (Tunnelologist, gauntlet of Power, "griffin egg"), Kevin Palacios (hero's horn, "Oh, Lily", "metal chunks", Barrel Carrier), Rivera Charly (Dragon Charmer), Emmanuel Zamora (Master Chief), Francisco Amado (Titan dragon, colosseum, "stone egg", fairy in a jar), Felipe Suarez Perandones (Polar dragon), Lord Grislan (black market), Damien Wood ("wounded wing") and Eric Wietzel (counterfeit fairy dust).
Modules
For even more strategy and variety, spice up your game with these modules that can be freely added to and combined with the base game.
Secret Missions
Setup: Shuffle the mission cards, then reveal and place a face-up common mission on the game board. Deal 2 mission cards to each player, who must choose one to keep (face-down), and one to discard.
Rules: At the end of the game, players will earn prestige points for completing their mission and/or the common mission.
Tavern Power
Setup: Place a marker of your color on the leftmost space of your tavern board's power track.
Rules: Whenever you place an action die with a value of 1, move your power track marker one space to the right. At any time during your turn, you may trigger the effect of any one power track space that your marker has reached or passed. After applying that effect, return your marker to the leftmost space of your power track:
- Earn 1 gold / energy / rune.
- Add the matching ingredient token to your pantry.
- Change the face of a hunting die.
- Move one of your minions to any area.
Events
Setup: Shuffle the event deck, then place it face-down near the game board.
Rules: At the end of rounds 1, 2, 4, and 5, reveal 1 card from the deck and apply the effect shown on the day track.
Details on Heroes
- Bounty Reaper: You choose the 2 ingredients to swap (the one carried by your minion and the one carried by the targeted minion).
- Green-leaf: Change the faces of your available action dice to match those of any other player.
- Guardian: Increase the value of all your available action dice by 1 (i.e. 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 remains 4).
- Map Holder: Place the resources on the tile of the chosen location. You may visit a location occupied by a dragon.
- Mentalist: Copy the ability of any hero (exhausted or not) in your tavern, another player's tavern or in the market.
- Owl Master: Place in your pantry the ingredient chosen from the area of your minion.
- Pathfinder: If the location requires anything other than an energy gem (e.g. a coin), you must pay that cost anyway.
- Summoner: Place a second matching token on any ingredient carried by one of your minions.
Description of Locations
- Campfire: Reroll your minion's die. That minion immediately gets a second activation, using the new roll.
- Magic Portal: Move your minion to any other area.
- Dungeon: Draw a face-down dungeon token at random, then resolve that token's effect. Gold / Prestige: Earn the indicated reward, then stop or continue exploring. Wound: Your minion suffers a wound and the exploration stops.
- Forge: Draw an unclaimed, face-down forge token at random, keeping it near your tavern board (max 1). On your next hunt, discard that token and place a matching damage marker on the dragon board.
- Enchanted Runes: Reroll any number of your available action dice.
- Travelling Caravan: All ingredients carried by your active minion are moved to your pantry.
- Alchemy Laboratory: Cost: 1 energy and 1 spice token. Discard 1 spice token carried by your active minion. Gain 2 gold coins.
- Itinerant Market: Cost: 1 or 2 gold coins. Place 1 wild plant, 1 magic mushroom, or 1 magma spice token from the supply into your pantry.
- Black Market: Cost: 1 gold and -2/-3 prestige. Place 1 egg or 1 dragon meat token from the supply into your pantry.
- Pantheon of Heroes: Exchange a hero from your tavern with one from the market. That hero comes into play straightened (not exhausted).
The Cards Are Always Right
If a hero's ability (or a location's effect) conflicts with this rulebook, follow the instructions on the card (or location).
For example, the Collector allows you to collect twice with your minion during the same turn.
Glossary
- Areas: Spaces used by minions to move around the board. They are represented by white circles.
- Available action die: An action die placed on the emblem of a player's tavern board, that has not yet been played this round.
- Carried: An ingredient that occupies a minion's space on your tavern board.
- Exhausted: A hero is exhausted when its card is turned sideways. That hero's ability is unavailable until its card is straightened (turned upright).
- Pantry: An area in your personal space used for storing ingredients collected by your minions.
- Unoccupied space: A space that is not already occupied by another die / token.