Dark World Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Castle Assembly
• Game Assembly
• Heroes
• Figure Assembly
• Hit Point Discs
• Weapons
• Monsters
• Magic Items
• Contents
• Rules
  • Setup
  • Turn Order - The Mace of Chaos
  • A Hero's Turn
  • Movement in Rooms
  • Responsibilities of Korak the Cobran
    • Placing Monsters
  • Combat
    • Fighting
    • Combat Dice
    • Bout of Combat Sequence
  • Hit/Miss Cards
    • Miss Cards - Value Avoids 1 Hit

Castle Assembly

Many components require some assembly.

Press the castle pieces together. Fit the throne in place. Add the castle arch. Add 4 skulls. Add 3 castle doors. Press the flag labels onto the poles and fit them into the castle.

Game Assembly

Assemble 2 secret doors into walls. Assemble 8 room doors into walls. Fix the castle onto the board with 4 fixing plugs. Make sure the Castle Pits fit under the rear corners of the castle. Fit 3 crosswalls with wall clips as shown; the colour of the board and walls should match. Add 2 other walls. Add the Mace of Chaos to the castle throne.

Heroes

The Knight - Of noble birth. Famous for his fighting ability with the Spiked Mace. A skilled, stylish fighter and expert horseman. He follows a strict code of conduct and is dedicated to defend the weak, humble and poor.

The Barbarian - The perfect fighting machine. A muscular giant with an iron will. A superb warrior, immensely strong, fit and deadly with the Broadsword. Trustworthy, loyal and fearless. A relentless enemy of Korak.

The Dwarf - Known as "Giant Slayer". Courageous and strong, skilled with Warhammers and Axes. A faithful ally, never afraid of danger, and a fierce fighter in tight spots. He's attracted to fine, large helmets and jewelled weapons.

The Ranger - Vanishes into the mist. A skilful and nimble scout, able to move invisibly under the enemy's nose. Intelligent, with acute eyesight and hearing, he can almost magically sense when danger is near. A master of combat, he is especially skilled with Rapiers, often fighting with one in each hand.

Figure Assembly

Figures are supplied unpainted.

Fit the weapon in the hand. Place the figure into its base by inserting one end of the figure foot rail into the base slot, and snap into place. Push down the other end of the foot rail until snapped into position.

Additional instructions for hero figures: Place the Hit Points numbered ring face up into the hero's base. Note: the numbers should show through the opening of the hero's base. Place the base into the hero base and turn until the numbered ring notches lock into the base notches. Make sure the base turns freely.

Haunter and Korak: see the assembly diagrams on the rulebook page.

Hit Point Discs

Fix the discs to the monster bases as follows:

• 8 Green discs - Orcs
• 4 Brown discs - Ogres
• 4 Light Blue discs - Skeletons
• 2 Dark Blue discs - Mummies
• 1 Red disc - Manticore
• 1 Purple disc - Korak

Weapons

Basic Weapons: Axe, Rapier, Cutlass, Spiked Mace.

Golden Weapons: Battle Axe, Broadsword, Warhammer, Morning Star.

Monsters

ORC - There are many races of Orcs. They are the largest of the Goblinoid creatures, with green, wart-covered skin and brutal, ugly features. Cruel, foul-smelling, dim-witted, they prefer fighting in large numbers and use swords as their favourite weapon.

OGRE - Humanoid, primitive, low intelligence, dull brown or grey coloured, over 10 feet tall, broad and immensely strong. They have very sharp teeth, huge hands, and prefer to fight with large wooden clubs. They live to eat, fight and kill.

SKELETONS - These are magically animated undead beings created by Korak the Cobran. They have no mind of their own, are completely unafraid and always fight to the death.

MUMMIES - Are among the more powerful undead creatures. They have risen again, to spread chaos throughout the world. Their touch delivers a deadly shock which only the strongest Hero can survive.

HAUNTER - This undead horror lives literally within the castle walls. When summoned by Korak, it sweeps through the castle, destroying all it meets. Its ghostly body allows it to travel through any obstruction. It is outside the full control of Korak, as many Monsters have fatally found!

MANTICORE - A fearsome sight. The huge body of a lion, a humanoid face, and a large scorpion-like tail which fires death rays. Add this to its tremendous strength and razor sharp claws, and you have a formidable foe. The Manticore is the personal bodyguard of Korak. It never leaves the Castle Arena.

KORAK THE COBRAN NEMESIS - The Lord of Chaos and Master of Fear. He rules his evil world with the Mace of Chaos. It is believed that he was born of a human wizard and the legendary Cobra Woman of Korana.

Magic Items

Healing Potions, Speed Boots and Fireball Grenades are the Magic Items (see the Magic Items section of the rules below).

Contents

• 25 finely detailed miniature figures: 4 Heroes (Barbarian, Knight, Ranger, Dwarf); 21 Monsters (Korak, Manticore, Haunter, 2 Mummies, 4 Ogres, 4 Skeletons, 8 Orcs)
• 8 Weapons: 4 Basic (Axe, Rapier, Cutlass, Spiked Mace); 4 Golden (Battle Axe, Broadsword, Warhammer, Morning Star)
• 20 Monster Bases
• 4 Hero Bases
• 1 Adventurer's Rule Book
• 1 Game Board
• 5 interlocking Castle Room walls (card)
• 8 Castle wall clips
• 8 Castle Room Doors and 8 Hinges
• 2 Secret Door frames, 4 Swivels, 2 Card Panels
• 1 Castle (7 plastic pieces)
• 1 Mace of Chaos
• 4 Flag Poles and 4 Flags (self-adhesive)
• 5 Skulls
• 3 Castle Doors
• 2 Castle Pits
• 2 Castle Pit cards
• 6 Castle fixing plugs (2 spare)
• 4 Hero Base Camps
• 4 Base Camp Discs (self-adhesive)
• 18 Magic Items: 2 Grenades, 4 Speed Boots, 12 Healing Potions
• 4 Treasure Chests
• 25 Gold Coins (card): 5 x (1), 7 x (2), 5 x (3), 4 x (4), 4 x (5)
• 3 Combat Dice
• 1 10-sided Die
• 32 Hit/Miss Cards: 20 Hit, 12 Miss

Rules

Setup

For 2-5 players: One player plays Korak the Cobran. The other players play the Heroes. A player may play 1, 2, 3 or 4 Heroes (this depends on the number of players in a game).

Object of the game: The Heroes fight their way through the Castle to defeat Korak. At the same time they try to gain the most points by killing Monsters, and collecting coins and Hit/Miss Cards. Korak uses his Monsters to defeat the Heroes.

To start:

1. Each player takes a Hero, a Basic Weapon, a Base Camp and 3 Hit/Miss Cards dealt from the shuffled pack. Match the Base Camps to the coloured Hit Point rings of the Heroes.
2. Heroes are placed in the castle entrance in any order. Their bases must show 8 Hit Points.
3. Korak hides 1 Golden Weapon in each Chest and places them in 4 different rooms (not in front of or behind a Door or Secret Door).
4. Korak keeps all Monsters and Magic Items behind the Castle (Monster storage area).
5. Korak places the Gold Coins in the Castle Pit with no numbers visible.
6. Korak places the Haunter at the side of the board, near the Castle rooms.

Turn Order - The Mace of Chaos

Hero characters go first. The order in which they take their turn is determined by the Mace of Chaos. Korak shakes it, then places it in position on the Castle. Heroes move in the order of the coloured balls, with the first to go being the Hero with the ball colour at the tip of the Mace of Chaos.

• The Mace is shaken after each round - the order of play for the Heroes will therefore change every round.
• A round is a turn for each Hero, followed by a turn for Korak.

A Hero's Turn

For each Hero, a turn consists of 3 ACTIONS.

An action is: a move of 1 square, or one bout of combat (in any order).

Therefore, a Hero may:

a) move 3 squares in one turn, or b) move 2 squares and play one bout of combat, or c) move 1 square and play 2 bouts of combat, or d) stay put and play 3 bouts of combat.

1 move is to any adjacent square. Diagonals are not allowed.

Movement in Rooms

1. When a Hero reaches a closed door, he must open it (opening a door does not count as an action). If he has movement left, he may walk through it, but only after Korak has placed the Monsters in the room.
2. When doors (but not secret doors) have been opened, they remain open until the end of the game.
3. A Hero may walk through squares containing other Heroes, but may not stop on the same square. A Hero may never walk through a square containing a Monster. He must either walk round, or stop and fight.
4. Likewise Monsters may walk through squares containing other Monsters, but may not stop on the same square. A Monster may never walk through a square containing a Hero. He must either walk round, or stop and fight.

Responsibilities of Korak the Cobran

Placing Monsters

When a room door is opened by a Hero, Korak must immediately decide which Monsters to put in the room. There is a maximum limit of Monster Hit Points for each of the rooms:

• In rooms 1-2, the limit is 3 Hit Points per room.
• In rooms 3-5, 4 Points per room.
• In rooms 6-8, 5 Points per room.
• At least 1 Monster, but no more than 2, must be in each room.
• They must each have a Magic Item. Total points allowed for the room may be split between the 2 Monsters - lower than the maximum allowed may be used.
• Monsters must not be placed on the square in front of the open door. In their turn, they may move onto that square.

Combat

Fighting

• Opponents must be on adjacent squares - diagonals not allowed.
• A Hero or Monster may attack more than one opponent in a turn. He must have enough actions to do so. He attacks them one at a time.
• A bout of combat is an attempted blow (a roll of the dice) by the player, followed by a return blow from his opponent (assuming the opponent survived the character's attack). The number of swords shown on the dice equals the number of hits.

Combat Dice

• Each Hero rolls 2 dice for combat, until he finds a Golden Weapon, and then he rolls 3 dice for the rest of the game.
• Korak rolls only 2 dice in combat for Monsters.

The combat die faces show 0 Hit Points, 1 Hit Point and 2 Hit Points.

Bout of Combat Sequence

A Hero's attack

1. Hero rolls 2 dice (3 if he has a Golden Weapon).
2. Decides whether or not to use his Hit Cards, before he...
3. Secretly checks the base of the Monster to see its Hit strength.
4. If dice roll (and cards used) are the same or greater, Monster is dead. Hero takes the Monster, its Magic Item, a Gold Coin and a new Hit/Miss Card and combat bout ends, but...
5. If dice roll (and cards used) is less, the Monster survives intact.
6. If you don't need the Magic Item, leave it on the dead Monster's square.

All Monsters are killed outright. They do not reduce in strength.

Korak's attack

1. Korak rolls 2 dice for the Monster.
2. Hero subtracts hits on his base. If he is knocked unconscious (0 or less Hit Points left), he goes to Castle Entrance, if not unconscious...
3. Hero continues with a second bout of combat, or moves away (if he has any actions left).

Hit/Miss Cards

Each Hero gets 3 Hit/Miss Cards at the start of the game. A Hero collects a new Hit/Miss Card after killing a Monster.

Miss Cards - Value Avoids 1 Hit

Miss Cards are like armour. When a player takes a hit from Korak's throw of the Combat Dice, he may reduce the Monster's damage by 1 for every Miss Card played, up to a maximum of 2 per combat bout. Miss Cards are only used to reduce the Monster's blows.

Hit Cards - Value Adds 1 Hit

Hit Cards are used to increase the damage done. After rolling the dice and before looking at the Monster's base, a player may decide to use Hit Cards to increase the damage and thus kill the Monster, but only a maximum of 3 Hit Cards can be used in any one combat bout.

• Used cards are returned to the bottom of the card pack.

Note:

• Hit/Miss Cards are valuable, they count towards your total points at the end of the game.
• Save at least 1 Hit Card for the battle with Korak.

Gold Coins

A Hero collects a Gold Coin after killing a Monster. Gold Coins are drawn randomly (without looking at their value) from the Coin Pit. All coins have a value on one side. Heroes keep the coins in their Base Camps.

Korak's Turn

After all the Heroes have had a turn, then Korak has his turn. In his turn:

1. Korak may take 3 actions (any combination of moves and combat) with each of his visible Monsters. A visible Monster is one that is placed in a room after the door has been opened by a Hero. Combat follows the same sequence, but Korak rolls first.
2. Korak may take 3 actions (any combination of moves and combat) with each of his visible Monsters. A visible Monster is one that is placed in a room after the door has been opened by a Hero. Combat follows the same sequence, but Korak rolls first.
3. He may summon the Haunter once, if he wishes.

The Haunter

Once per turn, Korak may choose to activate this monster:

• Korak rolls the 10-sided die. This allows Korak to fly the Haunter across the row corresponding to the roll of the die (1-9 at side of board), killing or knocking unconscious all in its path. If Korak rolls a 0, then the Haunter is asleep and does not appear. The Haunter passes through walls and doors as if they didn't exist.
• Any Hero that is hit is knocked unconscious. Immediately return the Hero to the Castle Entrance and follow the normal rules.
• Any Monster hit is killed, removed from play and placed in the Monster Pit. The Magic Item it was guarding is left on the floor where the Monster stood.
• Once the first Hero has reached the Doomstep, the Haunter can no longer be activated.

Castle Entrance Room

• The Haunter may not harm anyone in the Castle Entrance.
• Monsters may not enter the Castle Entrance.

Healing Fountain

• Using it costs 1 turn.
• The Fountain restores all of a Hero's Hit Points (8).
• More than 1 Hero may use it at the same time.

Unconscious Hero

On his next turn, an unconscious Hero is automatically restored to just one Hit Point. He may now take a normal turn with all the usual options. If he has a Magic Potion, he may use it and then step onto, and stop, on the Teleport Platform. Alternatively, he may go to the Healing Fountain. His turn now ends.

Teleport Platform

• Stepping onto it costs 1 turn.
• Using it does not count as an action.
• A Hero may immediately Teleport to any square up to the front of the last open door, following the order of the rooms. For example, if rooms 1 to 5 have been opened, a Hero may Teleport up to the square in front of the open door into room 5. However, if rooms 1 to 8 have been opened, except rooms 5 and 6, which were bypassed due to the Secret Doors being used by all the players, then you may only Teleport up to the square in front of the open door into room 4. You then have the choice of either exploring room 5 or trying to use the Secret Door yourself.
• You cannot Teleport to an occupied square but can land on the nearest free square behind it.

Secret Doors

There are two Secret Doors, one in room 1 and one in room 4. To use a Secret Door, a Hero must stop on the Secret Door square and roll the 10-sided die. To find the Secret Door, you must roll one of the numbers printed on the Secret Door square:

• In room 1, you must roll a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
• In room 4, you must roll a 1, 2 or 3.
• If you fail, any more normal movement you had that turn is lost and you must move one adjacent square away.

If the Secret Door is found, revolve it and move the Hero to the square in the new room. If this is the first time this room has been visited, Korak must place his chosen Monsters into the room.

• Rolling the dice and moving through the door does not count as an action.

Secret Doors Are One-Way

However, when a Secret Door is turned - and a Monster, Hero, or Magic Item is standing on the square on the other side of a Secret Door - the Door Opener and the Monster, Hero or Magic Item swap places. Monsters cannot activate the Secret Doors, nor can they stand on the Secret Door squares with the numbers.

Treasure Chests and Golden Weapons

• Monsters and Heroes never stand on the treasure chest square.
• Once all Monsters in that room are dead, a Hero may open a chest by standing in the square directly in front of it. He may take the Golden Weapon inside and replace it with his Basic Weapon.
• A Golden Weapon allows the Hero to roll 3 Combat Dice instead of the normal 2 dice.

Magic Items

Healing Potions, Speed Boots and Fireball Grenades.

• Heroes may own up to 2 Magic Items at a time.
• Using a Magic Item does not count as an action - it is in addition to the 3 actions allowed.
• All Magic Items may only be used once. They are then discarded into the Castle Pit.
• Use it any time in a Hero's turn, but never during Korak's turn.
• Any Magic Item left in a room may be picked up by any Hero moving onto that square, provided the square is unoccupied.

Healing Potion

When drunk, it restores a Hero's Hit Points to hill strength [sic - printed as "hill" in the source; presumably "full"]. A Potion may not be drunk if you are already at full strength (8 points).

Speed Boots

When used, the Hero takes one extra turn of three actions. These are added to any part of the current turn you might still have left.

Fireball Grenade

• The Grenade must be thrown two squares away. It is too heavy to throw further and too dangerous to be nearer.
• If thrown at a Monster, it does 3 Hits damage to the target square, and 2 Hits damage to each adjacent square (but not through walls).
• Any Monsters slain leave their Magic Items in their square.
• It may never be thrown directly at a Hero, but Heroes suffer 2 Hits damage if they are in adjacent squares to the hit Monster.
• Hit Cards may not be used to increase the Grenade's effect.
• The Grenade must be thrown in a straight line, not diagonally.

The Castle Arena - Arch and Doomstep

Once a Hero has chosen to pass through the Arch and into the Battle Arena, there is no going back.

• Monsters from the Castle Rooms may not pass through the Arch into the Arena, nor may Arena Monsters enter rooms.
• Arena Monsters may not step on the Doomstep, nor fight any Hero standing on it.
• A Hero may not fight a Monster while the Hero is standing on the Doomstep.

Arena Bonus Cards

• The first Hero to reach the Doomstep takes 4 Hit/Miss Cards.
• The second Hero takes 3 cards. The third and fourth Heroes each take 2 cards.

The Castle Arena

• Korak always stays on the throne.
• The remaining Monsters, up to a maximum of 6, are brought into play in the first Korak turn after the first Hero arrives on the Doomstep.
• They are not moved on that first turn, but are placed on squares at the lower level in front of Korak, or under the Castle, one Monster per door.
• Each Monster, other than Korak, must be given a Magic Item to defend.

Stairs

For Combat, the next stair, either up or down, is an adjacent square.

Unconscious Hero in the Arena

If you are knocked unconscious by any Monsters (other than Korak) you go back to the Doomstep. However, you must lose (remove it from your Base Camp) one of the following:

• A Magic Item, or
• A Hit/Miss Card, or
• A Gold Coin, or
• A slain Monster figure.

This reduces your chance of winning. If you have none of the above, you lose nothing (except time).

• Next round you recover to 1 Hit Point and continue play.

Fighting Korak

Fighting Area

• Korak rolls 3 Combat Dice when he fights a Hero.

Korak may only be fought from the area immediately in front of his throne. This area can accommodate all the Heroes at the same time. Monsters may not enter this area. Once a player has reached this area, he need only fear Korak.

Korak has 7 Hit Points, more than any other Monster. He cannot be killed by a very good throw of the 3 dice (maximum 6), but can only be killed by a mix of dice and Hit Cards (maximum of 3 cards).

If Korak is killed, the game ends. His figure is taken by the Hero and counts 7 towards winning. In addition, the victorious Hero is placed on Korak's throne and receives 5 extra points.

However, if a Hero is knocked unconscious by Korak, HE IS OUT OF THE GAME, and must now wait to see if his side wins.

Winning

1. If all 4 Heroes are eliminated by Korak, KORAK WINS.
2. If Korak is killed, the game ends immediately. (Any Monsters left alive on the board are considered to be harmless once their master has died.)
3. The Heroes count up their points as follows:
   • Each slain Monster in your Base Camp is worth the number of Hit Points under its base.
   • Each Gold Coin is worth the number on it.
   • Each unused Hit or Miss Card is worth 1 point.
   • Standing on the throne is worth 5 points.

Note: Unused Magic Items do not have a point value.

The winner is the Hero with the most points, not necessarily the Hero that kills Korak. This counting method can also be used to see who was the best Hero in games where Korak wins.

Advanced Rules

For a more challenging game:

1. Heroes may never keep more than 6 Hit/Miss Cards at a time.
2. To kill a Monster in combat, Heroes must get at least 1 Hit Point more than its strength.