Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) – Merick Farrow Lieutenant Pack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Lieutenant Pack Rules
  • Introduction
  • Plot Cards
  • Gaining Threat Tokens
  • Purchasing and Triggering Plot Cards
    • Plot Card Anatomy
  • Threat and Fortune
  • Spending Threat Tokens
  • Spending Fortune Tokens
  • Agents
    • Agent Card Anatomy
  • Monster Sizes and Traits
• Merick Farrow Plot Cards
  • • Dark Pact
    • Greater Power
    • The Dark Mark
    • The Grasping Grave
    • Masques
    • Mystic Might
    • Thaumaturgy
    • Bolt from the Blue
    • Cabal
    • Summon - Merick
• Lord Merick Farrow Agent Cards
  • • Lord Merick Farrow Agent, Act I
    • Lord Merick Farrow Agent, Act II

Lieutenant Pack Rules

Introduction

Lieutenant packs expand Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition by providing unique plastic figures that can be used to replace lieutenant tokens in quests. In addition, these packs introduce a new layer of strategy and progression for overlord players with the introduction of Plot and Agent cards.

Plot Cards

After hero players choose their classes at the start of a campaign, the overlord may choose one Plot deck. He will use his chosen deck for the duration of the campaign. After the overlord chooses his Plot deck, he takes the basic card (the Plot card with no purchase cost) and places it faceup in his play area. Then, he takes all remaining Plot cards that have the same deck name and places them facedown in his play area. He may look at his facedown Plot cards at any time.

Plot cards are upgrades the overlord player may purchase throughout the course of a campaign. They provide the overlord with special abilities that are available to him when the card is faceup in his play area. Plot cards are different from Overlord cards; the overlord does not add them to his Overlord deck, and he purchases them in a different way.

Important: The overlord player can only use Plot and Agent cards when playing a campaign.

Gaining Threat Tokens

Each time a hero is defeated during an encounter, instead of drawing one Overlord card, the overlord may choose to gain one threat token. The overlord can only gain threat tokens in this way once per hero per quest. If he chooses to gain a threat token, the overlord takes one hero token belonging to the hero and places it near his Plot deck as a reminder that he has gained a threat token for defeating that hero. In addition, there are a number of other ways in which the overlord may gain threat tokens:

• At the end of each quest, the overlord receives one threat token. If the overlord wins the quest, he receives one additional threat token.
• During the Spend Experience Points step of any Campaign phase, the overlord may spend any number of his experience points to gain three threat tokens for each experience point he spends.
• Each time the overlord plays a Rumor card featuring a quest, he gains one threat token. Rumor cards and applicable rules are included in some Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition expansions.

Each time the overlord gains one threat token, he takes one token from the threat and fortune supply and places it in his play area with the threat side faceup. Each threat token the overlord gains during a campaign remains in his play area until he spends it. Between quests, the overlord player records the amount of unspent threat tokens in the Campaign log. He may spend this threat at a future point during the campaign.

Purchasing and Triggering Plot Cards

Each Plot card has a purchase cost that indicates the number of threat tokens the overlord must spend to purchase the card. During the Spend Experience Points step of each Campaign phase, the overlord player may purchase any of his facedown Plot cards by spending threat tokens equal to the Plot card's purchase cost (see "Plot Card Anatomy"). He places purchased Plot cards faceup in his play area and can use them in all future quests during the campaign.

The overlord can trigger abilities on a faceup Plot card as specified on the card. Each time he triggers a Plot card ability that requires him to "exhaust this card" or "use this card", he must spend a number of threat tokens equal to the Plot card's trigger cost (see "Plot Card Anatomy").

Plot Card Anatomy

1. Name: This area displays the name of the Plot card.
2. Purchase Cost: This area displays the number of threat tokens it costs to purchase the card. The overlord begins play with his basic Plot card. These basic cards have no purchase cost.
3. Ability: This area describes all rules for the Plot card, including when the card can be triggered.
4. Deck Name: This area displays the Plot deck to which the card belongs.
5. Trigger Cost: This area displays the number of threat tokens it costs to trigger this card's effect.

Threat and Fortune

Threat and fortune are represented by different sides of the same token. The red side of the token represents threat, and the white side represents fortune. During setup, place these tokens in a supply within easy reach of all players.

The overlord player may spend threat tokens he has gained (see "Gaining Threat Tokens") to purchase or trigger abilities described on Plot cards. A hero may spend fortune tokens to receive certain benefits (see "Spending Fortune Tokens").

Spending Threat Tokens

When the overlord spends threat tokens, they are either returned to the supply or placed on Hero sheets as follows:

• Purchasing Plot cards: During the Spend Experience Points step of the Campaign phase, each threat token spent to purchase Plot cards is returned to the supply.
• Triggering Plot cards: Each time the overlord spends a threat token to trigger a Plot card, he must flip the token to its fortune side and place it on the Hero sheet which currently possesses the lowest number of fortune tokens.

If there is a tie, the heroes choose which hero among the tied heroes gains the token. If the overlord spends more than one threat token, he follows this process once for each token spent.

Spending Fortune Tokens

Heroes may spend fortune tokens to trigger any of the following abilities:

• 1 fortune token: During his turn, a hero may recover 1 [black drop icon].
• 1 fortune token: After dice are rolled, a hero may reroll 1 of his dice.
• 2 fortune tokens: After performing his two normal actions, a hero may immediately perform one additional action. Limit once per round per hero.
• 2 fortune tokens: During the Shopping step of the Campaign phase, heroes may collectively spend their fortune tokens to draw 1 additional Shop Item card.

When a hero spends a fortune token, he returns it to the threat and fortune supply. Heroes cannot trade their fortune tokens to other heroes. After the Shopping step of each Campaign phase, heroes return all fortune tokens on their Hero sheets to the threat and fortune supply.

Transcription note: The leaflet's text layer contains a glyph that does not extract as text. Rendered from the printed page, it is a single solid black drop icon with no name printed beside it, so it is shown above as "[black drop icon]". Check the printed leaflet if the exact icon name is needed.

Agents

Some Plot cards allow the overlord to use a lieutenant figure as an agent in an open monster group. The Agent card corresponding to the current act lists the agent's characteristics, abilities, and attack dice. An agent is treated as a master monster within its open monster group with the following exceptions:

• Regardless of quest rules, an agent cannot be placed as a reinforcement.
• When an agent is defeated, the overlord must return the Plot card that summoned the agent back to his Plot deck. The card may be purchased again.
• As described on the Plot card, the overlord cannot use an agent in any quest that features the lieutenant version of that agent. Additionally, the overlord cannot use some agents in specific campaigns. For example, the overlord cannot use Baron Zachareth as an agent while playing "The Shadow Rune" campaign because it features Baron Zachareth as an important lieutenant in that campaign.

Plot cards that allow the overlord to summon an agent often require him to replace master and minion monsters of an open group after setup of an encounter. If the overlord cannot meet the replacement requirements, he replaces the entire open group.

When an agent is placed in a monster group, that agent and the monsters in that group are treated as if they are part of the same monster group. While the agent is on the map, the overlord cannot use the monster figures it replaced as reinforcements, regardless of quest rules.

The overlord cannot summon an agent during an Interlude or a Finale. Unlike lieutenants, an agent cannot wield a relic.

Agent Card Anatomy

Agent card front and back.

1. Name: This area displays the name of the agent.
2. Abilities: This area lists all the abilities for the agent.
3. Characteristics: This area lists the characteristics (Speed, Health, and Defense) of the agent. The agent's characteristics differ depending on the number of heroes playing (represented by the gray silhouettes).
4. Attack Type Icon: This icon shows the type of attack (Melee or Ranged) the agent has.
5. Dice: This area lists the dice used by the agent when performing an attack.
6. Ability Rules: This area explains the full details of the agent's abilities.
7. Deck Name: This area displays the Plot deck to which the Agent card belongs.

Monster Sizes and Traits

Many Plot cards have effects that interact with monsters that have specific monster traits or sizes. Monster size is defined by the number of spaces the monster's base occupies:

• Small monsters occupy one space (e.g., goblin archers and zombies).
• Medium monsters occupy two spaces (e.g., barghests).
• Huge monsters occupy four spaces (e.g., ettins and merriods).
• Massive monsters occupy six spaces (e.g., shadow dragons).

Note: medium, huge, and massive monsters are still large monsters for the purposes of movement and quest rules.

Merick Farrow Plot Cards

The Merick Farrow pack's Plot deck is the Cursed by Power deck. Each card's footer shows the deck name and the card's number within the set (for example "1/12"). Each card's purchase cost is the red number in the top-right corner, when printed, and its trigger cost is the red number in the bottom-right corner. Dark Pact prints no purchase cost, so it is the basic card (the card the overlord begins play with).

Transcription note: On the card scan, the heart icon is printed as the damage icon and the shield icon as the defense icon. Both are rendered below as the words "damage" and "shield". The lightning-bolt icon is rendered as "[surge icon]". The green round icon in the Bolt from the Blue dice line is rendered as "[green round icon]", since the card does not name it in print.

Dark Pact

Cursed by Power 1/12 · Basic card (no purchase cost) · Trigger cost: 0

After setup of the first encounter of each quest, the hero players choose a hero and place that hero's hero token on this card.

When the chosen hero suffers any amount of damage, he may exhaust this card to reduce the amount of damage suffered by up to 2. If he does, you gain 1 threat token.

At the end of each quest, discard the hero token from this card.

Greater Power

Cursed by Power 2/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a monster performs an attack, after dice are rolled, to discard the top card from your Overlord deck. This attack gains +2 damage. If the discarded card was a Magic Overlord card, this attack gains +3 damage instead.

The Dark Mark

Cursed by Power 3/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 0

After setup of the first encounter of each quest, the hero players choose a hero and place that hero's hero token on this card.

Exhaust this card when a hero suffers at least 1 damage. That hero suffers no damage and the hero whose hero token is on this card suffers 2 damage instead.

At the end of each quest, discard the hero token from this card.

The Grasping Grave

Cursed by Power 4/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a hero performs a stand-up action or is revived by another hero. That hero rolls 1 red power die instead of 2.

Masques

Cursed by Power 5/12 · Purchase cost: 2 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card when a hero performs an attack, before dice are rolled. If you do, the attack is a miss.

This card does not refresh as normal. Refresh this card at the end of each quest.

Mystic Might

Cursed by Power 6/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 1

Use this card after you play a Magic Overlord card. Place 1 fatigue token on this card.

You may discard 1 fatigue token from this card, after dice are rolled, to either gain +2 damage for an attack or add 2 shield to a defense result.

At the end of each quest, discard all fatigue tokens on this card.

Thaumaturgy

Cursed by Power 7/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card at the end of your turn and discard a Magic Overlord card from your hand to search your discard pile for a Magic Overlord card of your choice. Reveal that card and place it in your hand.

Bolt from the Blue

Cursed by Power 8/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card during your turn to choose a hero. Perform an attack targeting the chosen hero using the following dice: [green round icon], one blue die, and one yellow die.

If the total range of this attack is less than 4, it is a miss. This attack gains:

• [surge icon]: +2 Range
• [surge icon]: +2 damage

Cabal

Cursed by Power 9/12 · Purchase cost: 4 · Trigger cost: 1

Exhaust this card after setup of an encounter to choose a monster group and place this card near that group's Monster card. Each master monster in that group gains:

• Overseer: This monster deals +1 damage for each other monster in its group within 3 spaces of the target, (to a maximum of +4 damage).

Transcription note: A small ability icon printed before the word "Overseer" is not reproduced; the ability is given by its name and rules text as printed.

Summon - Merick

Cursed by Power 10/12 · Purchase cost: 3 · Trigger cost: 2

Exhaust this card after setup of an encounter to choose an open monster group. Replace 1 master monster in that group with the Lord Merick Farrow agent.

If the Lord Merick Farrow agent is defeated, return this card to your Plot deck.

You cannot use this card in any quest that uses the Lord Merick Farrow lieutenant.

Lord Merick Farrow Agent Cards

The Lord Merick Farrow agent has two Agent cards, one for each act. Each Agent card shows its act number as a numeral in the bottom-right corner (I or II), its name ("Lord Merick Farrow"), its ability bar, its Speed, Health and Defense for each hero count, and its dice. The ability names below are printed on the card; the card scan does not show the full ability rules text that appears in the Agent card anatomy above, so that text is not reproduced here. The Agent card's attack type is shown by a green bow icon in the bottom-left corner, which is the ranged attack icon.

Transcription note: The Agent card rows are read by hero count from the silhouettes printed beside each row (two, three and four silhouettes). Defense faces are read from the hexagons on the card face; the card does not name the die type, so they are given here by colour as printed. The surge and move icons are rendered as words from the printed icons, and heart icons as damage.

Lord Merick Farrow Agent, Act I

• Abilities: "Aftershock" and "Ignite" (move icon), with "surge: +1 damage" printed beneath the two ability names.
• Dice: blue and red.
• Attack type: ranged (green bow icon).

Heroes	Speed	Health	Defense
2	4	8	one white defense face
3	4	11	one white defense face
4	4	13	one white and one brown defense face

Lord Merick Farrow Agent, Act II

• Abilities: "Aftershock" and "Ignite" (move icon), with "surge: Wither" printed beneath "Aftershock" and "surge: +1 damage" printed beneath "Ignite".
• Dice: blue, red and yellow.
• Attack type: ranged (green bow icon).

Heroes	Speed	Health	Defense
2	4	10	one white and one brown defense face
3	4	12	two white defense faces
4	4	15	one black and one white defense face