Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Trivia Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
• Handling Disputes
• The Winner
• Optional Rules
• Tournament Team Play

Components

• 600 Question cards, sorted into five levels: Level One (the easiest), Level Two, Level Three, Level Four, and Level Five (the toughest). [The per-level card counts are illegible in the source text layer and are not transcribed.]
• 1 Question card box
• Character cards. [The number of character cards is illegible in the source text layer.]
• Skull markers, two-sided. [The number of skull markers is illegible in the source text layer.]
• 1 Plastic bag for storing markers
• Divider cards

Setup

1. Choose a character card and place it face up in front of you. Each player does the same. If five or fewer players are present, each should choose a different character class. This game features five classes, including monsters. There are two cards for each class:
   • Wizard
   • Rogue
   • Warrior
   • Monster
   • Priest
2. Sort the skull markers by character class. There are 2 markers for each class.
3. Each player takes 6 skull markers matching his or her character class and places them in the lid of the question box. When all markers are in place, this is called the skull pool.
4. Place any extra markers in the plastic bag and set them aside; they won't be used in the game.
5. To determine who plays first, shake the skull pool to mix the markers. Then draw 1 marker from the pool at random. The character class drawn plays first. If two players represent the same class, and that class is drawn, roll a die or flip a coin to determine who starts. Play proceeds to the left.
6. Return the starting character's marker to the skull pool, and mix the pool thoroughly.
7. Before your first game, shuffle the question cards, keeping each of the five levels separate. Insert the dividers and place all cards in the question box.

How to Play

Players take turns answering questions, starting with the player who won the draw. Here's what happens in a turn:

• When it's your turn to play, state which level of question you wish to answer, from Level One (the easiest) to Level Five (the toughest). Tip: Most Level One questions are multiple choice. The player to your right acts as the "Question Master," or QM. The QM draws a card of the chosen level and reads the question aloud.
• You must answer the question reasonably quickly. There is no formal time limit. (Players may use a stopwatch and establish a limit if they'd like, however.) You may ask the QM to repeat the question once or twice, but the total time to answer remains the same.
• If you cannot answer, or your answer is wrong, your turn is over. (Go to Step 6.)
• If your answer is correct, reach into the skull pool without looking and draw a marker for each level of your question. Example: If you answer a Level Three question correctly, draw 3 skull markers at random. Look at each marker drawn, one at a time.
  • If a marker shows an opponent's character class, that opponent has been wounded; place the marker skull side up on the appropriate player's card. (If two opponents have the same character class, you must choose between them.)
  • If you draw a marker showing your own character class, you may use that marker to heal a wound. Remove one marker from your character card and return it to the skull pool, along with the marker you drew.
  • If you draw a marker showing your own character class, and another player also has that class, you may wound the opposing character or heal your own; it's your choice.
  • At times you may draw a marker that you can't, or don't wish to, use. That may be a marker for a teammate's character class (see "Tournament Team Play") or your own class when you haven't any wounds. Return the skull marker to the pool when your turn ends, unused. (Better luck on your next draw.)
• Death: As soon as a character has six skull markers on his or her card, that character is dead. The owning player turns the character card over, and places the deadly skull markers in the plastic bag (out of play). The player has been eliminated from the game.
• Return the question card to the box. Place the card at the rear of the correct section, with the back side forward to show that it's already been used.

Handling Disputes

The player who asks the question (QM) determines whether an answer is correct. His or her ruling is final.

Text in parentheses on the back of a question card is optional information; it is NOT part of the required answer.

The Winner

Play continues until all characters but one have died. The survivor's player wins the game.

Optional Rules

• Balancing Play: If players of different experience levels are participating, you may wish to give a less experienced player a higher tolerance for wounds. For example, you may place 8 skull markers for that player's character in the pool, and declare that the character can sustain 8 wounds before dying. Adjustments must be declared before play begins, however.
• Stopwatch Play: For a fast-paced game, limit answering time to 10 seconds per level of the question. Use a watch with a second hand or a stopwatch to gauge answering time.
• Cutthroat Play: You may raise the stakes by penalizing players for wrong answers. A player who answers incorrectly (or not at all) must draw 1 skull marker for a Level One or Two question, 2 markers for a Level Three or Four question, and 3 markers for a Level Five question. Each marker that matches a player's own character class counts as a wound, but other markers are returned to the skull pool.
• Thumbs Up or Down: If a player's answer is close or clever, other players may vote for or against it (showing thumbs up or down). Ties go to the answerer.
• Basic Team Play: In this version of the basic game, two players share a character card, acting as one player. They confer on all answers and take turns drawing from the skull pool. They also take turns serving as QM for opponents to their left.

Tournament Team Play

Tournament play is similar to the basic game with the following changes:

• Only one person is the Question Master. He or she reads ALL questions, and makes final rulings on disputes.
• Remaining participants form teams of equal number. If 10 or fewer players (in all) are participating, each should take a separate character card. Otherwise, each team shares one card.
• Play alternates between teams.
• Each round, one member of each team acts as the team's spokesperson. The next round, the player to the left becomes the spokesperson, and so on.
• The spokesperson selects the question level the team will attempt to answer. The entire team may confer to arrive at the solution, but the spokesperson states the team's answer.
• The spokesperson draws skull markers from the pool if the answer is correct.
• The spokesperson places the markers as desired, with one exception: if each player has a character card, the spokesperson can heal only his or her own character's wounds, not a teammate's.
• Players with "dead" characters cannot confer with teammates.
• Play continues until all characters on one team are dead. The surviving team wins (even if only one player remains).
• In larger tournaments, groups of equal teams may compete separately, each with its own QM. The winning team from each group competition then advances to a final round.