Dungeonquest Rules

INTRODUCTION

A thousand years have passed since the evil wizard T'Siraman fell, but men still fear to enter his dark fortress of Dragonfire Castle, which squats grim and brooding atop Wyrm's Crag. In the villages that huddle in its shadow, stories are whispered of the fabulous treasures which fill the castle's dungeons, and of the things which guard them. Old men draw closer to their fires and tell of the noises which echo across the valley at night, when the castle seems to take on a malign life of its own. Few indeed return in daylight; their eyes are troubled, and they are reluctant to tell of their adventures, None has ever returned after nightfall.

The ruddy light of sunrise begins to burn off the autumn mist, and four pairs of eyes look toward the looming keep. Four minds reflect on the villagers' tales, and four hands tighten their grip on four weapons: Sir Rohan the Knight, with his shining armour and greatsword; Ulf Grimhand, the Barbarian from the far north, with his huge double-headed axe; El-Moran the Ranger. with his deadly longbow and forester's shortsword; and Volrik the Brave, the swaggering Adventurer. Fools or Heroes? Only time will tell.

Dungeonquest is a fantasy boardgame in which you play a hero braving the terrors of Dragonfire Castle This hero is known as your character. There are four characters provided with the game, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as shown on their Character Sheets. Dungeonquest has been carefully balanced, so that each character has roughly the same chance of succeeding and surviving. The game may be played solo or with up to four players.

Your task is to enter the dungeons beneath Dragonfire Castle find your way to the Treasure Chamber in the middle, and escape

- in a multi-player game, you must escape with more treasure than your opponents in order to win. You must escape before the sun goes down; for after dark, the inhabitants of the castle become stronger. and no mortal could possibly survive' Even in daylight. The dungeons are dangerous, with dead ends, monsters, traps. and last - but certainly not least - the Dragon which guards the treasures. After long experience and extensive playtesting. we know that your character has about a l5 percent chance of survival...

When a room is entered, check to see if there is a trap or monster there. If there was already a Room tile on the square to which you moved, you do not draw a Room tile, but still draw a Room card.

Of course, there are exceptions to this basic principle Certain Rooms have special rules, and you follow these instead of taking a Room card. Also, you may choose to search the room you are in instead of moving. in the hope of finding secret doors or hidden treasures.

With skill and a bit of luck, your character will reach the Treasure Chamber, with its incalculable riches and its large, sleeping Dragon. Once there, you may try to take some of the treasure - but be very careful not to wake the Dragon!

A game of Dungeonquest lasts for 26 turns. At the end of the 26th turn, night falls, and the player whose character got out of the dungeon with the most treasure is the winner It is better not to ask what happens to those characters who are still in the dungeon at nightfall...

The Burial Service was brief and to the point. The Initiate intoned the formula from memory, in a flat voice that had spoken the names many times before. long before the end, most of the pitifully small band of mourners had chosen to step from the cold shadow of Wyrm's Crag and trot briskly towards the advertised warmth of the tavern door. Looking up from his devotions, the Initiate realised the pallbearers had gone with them. He looked nervously at the four who remained, thought better of the question that came to mind, and scampered off to find someone who would lower the body into the grave.

"In all honesty" laughed Ulf Grimhand, "I didn't think he'd make it back. I mean some First Timers just look like Dragon Food." The others nodded. The sentiment might not have suited them, but they' recognised the accuracy behind it.

Sir Rohan looked up at the Castle, which was bathed in an awkward sunlight which softened the grim image that was burned in his mind. "There isn't a man alive now who has been into the Castle and returned, save those who are standing by this grave."

"All the more Treasure left for us, then" cackled Volrik, who was ever one to see the potential profit in any situation.

"T'Siraman will get us eventually," growled Ulf, "But I think we can expect a little more profit from the enterprise first."

EI-Adoran kicked some dirt into the grave, and made some gesture with his hand that might have been a mark of respect or might have confirmed that he too thought the ex-adventurer was Dragon Meat from the day he arrived.

"It takes a lot of the pleasure out of the game if we four are the only ones left going up there. If there aren't hordes of other fools coming here to be slaughtered we shan't get the credit we deserve for our pains."

"I don't want to share the Treasure with anyone!" snapped Vorik. but he held up his hands in front of the advancing bulk of Ulf Grimhand to show that present company was excepted.

"The way you're going, I hardly think that emptying the Wizard's vault is a problem," Rohan smiled. "It's been at least three months since you came out with a battered gold cup and your sword bent like a horseshoe. l think we could afford to advertise for some new blood..."

"Blood's right!" howled UIf, greatly amused. He composed the proclamation on the spot. "Adventurers for Dungeon Quest. Pay excellent. Prospects poor. Only Fools or Heroes need Apply."

And strangely, that's just what they got...

DUNGEONQUEST RULES

Summary of Play

Players each have a character (chosen from those available in Appendix I) who they move around the dungeon, encounter various nasties and find as much treasure as you can. The game lasts for 26 turns, during which time you must travel into the dungeon, collect as much treasure as you can AND get back to one of the corner rooms (you can leave early if you wish). The winner is the player whose character leaves the dungeon with the most treasure.

Generally a player will move once a turn, unless searching a room or performing another action.

Movement is to an adjacent room and a room cards will normally be taken (see Appendix II for details of the cards that could be drawn).

If any actions need resolving (eg your reaction to a Monster that you find) these will be resolved with the following turns move ie

Report 1 will be Turn 1's movement only.

Report 2 will be resolving anything arising from turn 1 requiring a decision and Turn 2's Movement.

Detailed Rules

1. The Player Turn

Each player moves simultaneously, with die rolls determining movement priority if two players both try to enter the same tile in the same turn (see "Room" rules in Appendix II for restrictions on the number of characters in rooms).

Instead of moving players may spend a turn searching or using other abilities that require the use of a turn (see Appendix I for details of requirements). Players may be forced to miss movement for other less pleasant reasons (See Appendix II).

When searching, players need to specify the tile they want to be on should they find a secret door. A room may be searched twice before the player has to move on. If the player returns to that room later, it may be searched in the same way as if it was a first visit to that room.

Appendix II gives details of rooms that cannot be searched.

If a player meets a monster, or draws another room card (e.g. crypt / corpse) which requires further a decision, the player will include this with the following turn's movement.

The results of this will be included with the following turn's movement. Note that the result may prevent the movement from actually happening (most extreme case - your character dies).

2. The Monsters

There are 5 types of monsters: Goblin, Orc, Mountain troll, Champion of Chaos. Some are tougher than others and the Death Warrior is basically a skeleton (relevant for arrows).

When a character encounters one of these, subject to special abilities (see Appendix I), the character must either Attack, Wait & See OR Escape (the choice may be restricted further eg entering the room through a secret door or portcullis prevents escape). The GM will then determine the monsters reaction and strength. Possible reactions are:

Combat - see section 2.1

Escape - You move back to the room you have just come from. If you have entered the room through a door you will need to draw another room card in order to escape. A failure here will be treated as a wait and see (dependant on any traps).

Flee - The monster runs away and nothing further happens.

Slash / Escape - The monster slashes at you as you make your escape. You may take damage before you escape.

Slash / Combat - As above except the slash happens before you enter combat.

2.1 Combat

Combat proceeds as follows unless any special abilities are used (see Appendix I). Note these are the combat rules for solo play.

In hand to hand fighting a d10 is rolled with the following results:

d10

roll Result

1-3 Character loses 1Life Point

4-6 Character and Monster lose 1 Life Point each.

7-9 Monster Loses 1 Life Point

10 Monster Loses 2 Life Points

The combat continues until either the player or the character dies.

2.2 Sneak Attacks

A monster has suddenly popped out and hit you. lose d12-Luck Life Points. The combat then continues as normal except you may only attack or escape.

Appendix I - Characters

Each character has different strengths and weaknesses. Players choose which of the characters they wish to play before making their first move.

Characters have 4 characteristics - Strength, Agility, Armour, Luck, Life Points and may have special abilities. The following table summarises each character. All will also have ring (see Appendix II) unless otherwise stated.

Full details of characters' abilities will be published for those characters' that have been selected (I am afraid I'm running out of time to get these out).

Appendix II - Reference Sheet

Magic Rings

All rings have one use only. Players may include conditional orders over the use of the rings.

Ring of Blinding

Allows you to defeat one Monster Automatically. It does not work against a sneak attack.

Ring of Healing

Restores up to 5 Life Points at the start of your turn but you may not do anything else that turn.

Ring of Opening

Will open one Door or Portcullis

Ring of Warning

You may avoid one trap - either when entering a room OR when the TRAP room card is drawn.

Ring of Vision

You may draw 4 tiles when searching and choose one.

Ring of Transformation

You may replace one room tile with a second (which you must accept).

Ring of Luck

You may replace the result of 1 die roll.

Rooms

Tower Room

These four rooms are in the four corners of the Dungeon. Each player starts in a different corner. Players start by moving out into the dungeon from one of the exits in their tower room. Players may subsequently move back into the tower room and out through the other exit in one turn.

Players must make it back safely to one of the four corner rooms before sunset (26 turns) or perish in the dungeon.

Normal Rooms

When player enters a room the player will draw a "room card". See the "Room Cards" section below. Normal rooms may have doors (which can be passed through, subject to the draw of a room card), or a portcullis (which can be passed through if the portcullis can be lifted (roll equal to or less than Strength on a d12).

Bottomless Pit:

Do not take a room card. Instead roll d12 or retreat. If you attempt to cross the pit, a d12 is rolled and compared to your Agility. Less than or equal to your Agility and you have made it safely across the pit and move for your next turn.

If the result is greater than your Agility you fall into the Pit and are out of the game. You may never search a bottomless pit.

Cave-In

Take a room card as normal.

On your next turn you must roll a d12 or retreat. If you decide to retreat you must move back to your previous room, treating it as a normal move. If you decide to try to move on the d12 roll is compared to your Agility. Less than or equal and you move as normal. Greater than and you miss that turn.

Next turn you may retreat or roll again.

Chamber of Darkness

Do not take a room card. At the start of your next turn roll a d6 to see where you come out:

2 Exits: 1-3 way you came in; 4-6 other exit

3 Exits 1-2 way you came in; 3-4 nearest exit clockwise, 5-6 nearest exit anticlockwise

If the exit rolled is impassable you miss your turn.

You may never search a Chamber of Darkness

Chasm

A wide and deep chasm divides this tile. Take a room card as normal but next turn you may only leave by an exit on the same side of the chasm as you came in. You may never search a Chasm tile.

Corridors

Do not take a Room card. Instead move again. In the absence of conditional orders, the GM will continue your move in the direction closest to your (estimated) destination.

You may not search a corridor tile.

Portcullis

A heavy iron portcullis smashes down behind your character. Take a room card as normal but if it is a Monster you may not choose to escape. If you ever wish to move through a Portcullis you must raise it by rolling your strength or less on d12.

If you succeed you move through as normal. If not your turn ends, but you may try again on the next turn.

Rotating Room.

Do not take a room card. . The tile rotates 90 degrees and may leave you trapped in a dead-end. The tile only ever rotates once. You may not search a rotating room.

Trap

Take a trap card instead of a room card. You may not search a trap card.

Treasure Chamber

Do not take a room card. Instead take two treasure counters from the dragon's hoard and then one Dragon counter. If the Dragon shown is sleeping, all is well and you end your turn. If you draw a fiery dragon you must lose all your treasure, d12 life points to the dragon's fiery breath and must move to any adjacent tile (but not drawing a room card).

You may leave the chamber any time you wish as a normal move but you do not draw any treasure counters for this move.

It is at this time that your dragon counters get shuffled back into the pack as long as you were alone in the treasure chamber. .

There are 11 sleeping dragon and one fiery dragon counters in the pack.

The treasure chamber is the only place where you may have 2 or more characters. In this instance each player draws two dragon counters per turn, increasing the chances of the dragon waking up. All characters in the treasure chamber suffer the penalty as outlined above.

Only when all players have left the treasure chamber are the dragon counters shuffled in.

Players may re-enter the treasure chamber on any turn after leaving it without penalty.

Room Cards

Bracelet or Jewellery

You have found some treasure!

Cave-in

There is a 1 in 6 chance that you have been killed. If you survive you lose d6 life points.

Crossfire Trap

Lose d12-Armour life points.

Crypt

You MAY search the crypt for treasure.

Curse of the Wizard

All corridors are rotated by 90 degrees clockwise or anticlockwise or by 180 degrees.

Dead Adventurer

You MAY draw a corpse card

Empty

Nothing happens

Giant Spider

Either fight or flee.

To flee roll d6 and escape back there on a roll of 3-6. On a 1-2 stay and fight.

There is a straight 50:50 chance that you will win any fight. If you lose, lose 1Life Point and fight again next turn. You must fight until you defeat the spider.

You may fire arrows etc instead of fighting the Spider, killing the spider on a 1-6. You may only fire the maximum number of missiles that you carry at any one time. If you lose, you lose 1LP.

Monster

See the Combat section.

Potion

You may pick this up or discard this BUT you may only carry one potion at a time.

You may drink the potion: A die is rolled and the following table is consulted:

Die (D12)

roll Result

Sneak Attack

See the combat section

Trapdoor

Roll d12. If this is greater than your Agility, you fall into this trap, losing d6 Life Points and your turn ends. Next turn you can climb out if a d12 roll is less than or equal to your Agility OR if you have found some rope. If the first roll is less than or equal to your Agility, treat this room as a normal one.

Vampire Bats

Lose d6 Life Points.

Your Torch Goes Out

Each turn you have a 3 in 6 chance of relighting your torch. You may not move until you have re-lit it.

Corpse Cards

Golden Guineas or Necklace

You have found some treasure

Nothing

As it says - nothing but old bones.

Potion

See Room cards above

Rope

You may keep this if you wish. It will allow you to automatically climb out if you fall down a trapdoor.

Scorpion

Lose d6 life points.

Crypt Cards

Guineas, Jewelled Dagger, Bracelet or Brooch

You have found some treasure

Empty

You find nothing

Potion

See room cards.

Skeleton

Roll d6

1-3 Nothing happens

4-6 The skeleton springs to life - fight a combat as if you have just drawn a death warrior (See Combat Section)

Trap

Lose a variable number of lifepoints (depends on the trap).

Search Cards

Golden Guineas, Jewellery, Ring

Treasure!

Empty

You find nothing.

Giant Centipede

Lose d12 Life Points

Potion

See Room Cards

Trap

You have triggered a trap - take a trap card.

Secret Door

You immediately move to your choice of adjacent (but not diagonal) room, drawing a new tile and room card if necessary. You may not escape if you draw a monster.

Trap Cards

Cave-In, Crossfire Trap, Trapdoor

See room cards above

Explosion

Lose 4 Life points and miss your next turn

Poisonous Gas

Lose d6-3 Life Points and Miss d6-3 turns.

Poisonous Snakes

Variable Life Point Loss

Door Cards

Door Jammed

The door will not open. You may try again next turn.

Door Opens

You may move through the door.

Trap

Lose a variable number of lifepoints.