Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala – Epics of Valerna

Expansion for Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala

Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala – Epics of Valerna Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

4 miniatures: Reganna (Fulgen), Itza Chapula (Nahuac), Aellas (Fell), Weeping Mother (Neutral)
2 Character cards
4 Creature cards
15 Vaala cards
15 Epic Character cards
4 Epic Player boards (Dragon / General)
9 Saga cards (large)
12 Stage cards
4 Reference cards (large)
2 Null Portal dials (with Combat and Wound values)
10 Nullborn dials (with Combat and Wound values)
4 Dragon dials (with Combat and Wound values)
12 Stronghold rings (with Combat and Wound values)
3 Stage markers
4 Wound track blockers

Dials with Combat and Wound values are rotated to show the amount of wounds suffered during the game.

Epic Characters

Explore expanded player choices and character progression. Epic characters offer distinct gameplay and a starting unique Vaala ability that adapts upon Dragonbonding, synergizing with the Bonded player.

Epic player boards replace the regular Power track with scattered slots for Power tokens. Once collected, these tokens must be strategically placed to enhance specific character aspects and cannot be moved afterwards.

Epic characters cannot be played as Faceless players. You may play as an Epic character in solo games.

This expansion provides Epic Character cards for base game characters and alternate characters from the Heroes of Valerna and Scourge of Valerna expansions.

Setup

After choosing their faction and character, any number of players with a standard General or Dragon may opt to play as an Epic character instead. If you do, follow these steps:

Return your faction-specific player board and regular character card to the box. They cannot be used by another player (Faceless or Human).
Place an Epic player board in front of you using the proper side (General/Dragon).
Place the corresponding Epic Character card on your Epic player board with the side displaying the character illustration (non-dragonbonded).
Epic Dragons must place a Wound track blocker covering the 3 leftmost spaces.

All other setup steps are followed normally, including the usual starting region for the faction.

Your character still plays with their usual Vaala cards and the Action cards that match its usual faction. This is shown in the icons on your Epic Character card.

Aellas may play as an Epic Character from Allaria or Tyveria. As a regular character, they play as the Fell Knight with its unique set of Vaala cards.

Power token slots

When a player with an Epic Player board collects, gains, or steals Power tokens from anywhere, they must choose where to place Power tokens from among the slots in their player board.

Once placed, Power tokens cannot be moved, except if an opponent's combat injury allows them to steal one. As usual, the injured player chooses which Power token is stolen.
Effects from Power tokens slots stack with other effects such as Saga stages, Denizen cards, etc.
Each slot holds a maximum of 1 Power token.
As usual, spent Power tokens you steal, remain spent.

Epic Dragons

Epic Dragons offer extensive customization through 20 Power slots on their boards but still require only 10 Power tokens to achieve victory.

Glyphs function the same as on standard Dragon Player boards.

Health slots: You start the game with 3 Wound slots. Slide the Wound track blocker and any Wound tokens on your Wound track to the left when you place Power tokens on Health slots. Slide them to the right if a Power token is stolen from a Health slot.

Combat Value slots: Power tokens here only provide Combat Value bonus to its corresponding Wound value and are not moved when you slide the Wound track blocker.

Hoard slot: Heal extra Wounds. You can't heal beyond your maximum Wound value as indicated by the Wound track blocker.

Vaala slots: Reduce the Power cost of Vaala cards you play. The minimum cost is 0. Treat negative numbers as 0.

Essence slot: As usual, whenever you complete the Essence track, you gain 1 Power token from the supply even if there's no Power token on this slot. If there is, you still gain only 1 Power token but you may also flip a Power token on your board.

Epic Generals

Epic Generals function as singular heroes commanding followers within a limited number of regions, differing from standard Generals who lead extensive armies across vast territories.

Their Glyphs present a slight variation from regular General player boards, bridging the gap between General and Dragon. Assault, Deploy, and Harvest Glyphs resolve only in regions where your General is.

As usual, Epic Generals and their Units control regions (unlike Dragons). This means that Region cards are gained as resolved as usual.

While initially less potent, their Power slots hold the potential for significant power accumulation if not countered.

Maximum Force slot: Increase the limit of your Units per region.
Assault slot: Gain +1 Combat Value when resolving this Glyph. This bonus does not apply when combat is initiated by another player or other means that is not your Assault Glyph.
Vaala slots: Reduce the Power cost of Vaala cards you play. The minimum cost is 0. Treat negative numbers as 0.
Harvest slot: May gain a Denizen card from the lineup when resolving this Glyph.
Deploy slots: Place additional Units when resolving this Glyph.

Character abilities

Epic Character cards feature a unique ability that may be activated when resolving a Vaala Glyph by discarding a Vaala card from your hand.

Alternatively, you may still choose to resolve the Vaala Glyph normally to play Vaala cards from your hand or draw one from your deck (if there are none, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck and draw).

As usual, if you become Dragonbonded, you must flip your Epic Character card and exchange Dragonbonded tokens.

Sagas

Like Event cards, Sagas resolve at the start and the end of the Resolution phase. They bring new elements to regions and/or affect other dynamics of the game, becoming more powerful as the game progresses.

Saga card anatomy

Front: card name; additional rules; stage number; stage effect and flavor text.

Back: card name; illustration; additional setup rules; flavor text.

Setup

After finishing the setup for the base game, follow these steps:

Select 3 Saga cards or choose them at random. Place the cards next to the game board. Return the unused Saga cards to the game box.
Follow the additional setup rules from each of them, one at a time.
Place a Stage marker at random in each Saga card, on the ∞ space. Read for all players the additional game rules (∞) on each of them.
Shuffle the Stage cards together and place them facedown next to the Event deck.

For an immersive experience with this thematic expansion, read out loud the flavor text in the cards' back at the start of the game.

Rules

Planning phase: Place a Stage card facedown onto the Action stack after every Event card placed. This means that a total of 2 Stage cards are placed in the Action pile every round—second and last cards to be resolved during the Resolution phase.

Resolution phase: After revealing a Stage card, move its matching Stage marker (and only that marker) to the next Stage effect from its Saga card. The Stage effect is resolved. Then, discard the Stage card.

The first time, slide the marker next to the Stage I effect.
The second time, slide the marker to the Stage II effect.
The third time, slide the marker next to the Stage III effect.
The fourth time, the marker remains next to Stage III and the effect is resolved again.

For a more immersive experience, read out loud the flavor text in the Stage that corresponds to the Stage being activated.

Stages

The game is affected by special effects from the Saga cards in play.

Additional rules have a ∞ icon and remain active regardless of the location of Stage markers. Stage effects are immediate and resolved once, as soon as the Stage card is revealed.

If rules on Saga cards contradict the base game rules, the text on the Saga cards take precedence.

Stage effects are not cumulative with previous stages of the same card—only 1 effect from each Saga card is resolved.

However, additional rules from multiple Saga cards affect the entire game. If one or more of those are triggered at the same time, resolve α first, then β, and finally ⤋. (The three rule-type symbols are printed as shown in the preliminary document.)

Determining among multiple options

If a Saga card's rules or effect has multiple options to resolve it, the player to the right of the player with the initiative token makes the choice. Unless the choice relates to a token that is Dragonbonded to a human player, in which case, its Dragonbonded player chooses.

For choices related to Faceless players, normal rules apply. The choice is made by any player Dragonbonded with them or, if there is none, the player with the initiative token.

For solo play, determine your preference at the start of the game and resolve accordingly:

Fast-paced: Choose the first option that you identify which follows the rules.
Standard: Identify all possible options and choose randomly using dice or a coin flip.
Challenging: Choose the least favorable option for you. If you can't determine, choose randomly among 2 of them using a die or a coin flip.

Assault Glyph

Saga cards may cause Neutral forces or Dials to initiate combat. They target the enemy with the highest Combat Value in the same or adjacent region. If the region has multiple enemies, combat is initiated against each of them, one at a time, in order from highest to lowest Combat Value until there are no more enemies or the attacker is defeated or injured and forced to retreat.

In case of a tie, normal tiebreaking rules apply:

A Human player bonded to a Dragon dial chooses.
If not applicable, the player to the right of the one with the initiative token chooses (multiplayer) or choose randomly (solo).

Note that an enemy is a Force, Dragon, or Creature of a different type than the attacker. For example, a Null force can attack a Neutral force, Dragons, Generals, or Creatures, but not another Null force.

Dial tokens

Dials must be assembled as shown in the preliminary document's diagram, which is not reproduced in text form.

Many Saga cards feature Creature dials that come into play. They do not count as Units although Null dials (Portals and Nullborn) attack and defend together as a Null force.

Retreating: Like Faceless players, dial tokens do not retreat and always counterattack.

Wounds: Unlike Creature miniatures, dials do not heal after combat. Keep track of wounds applied by rotating the wheel, which counts as a Wound track for all effect purposes. When the amount of wounds equals or exceeds the Wound Value, remove the dial from the game.

Saga Cards

This section features the Saga cards in more detail.

The Eye of Kadmos

This Saga, key to the setting, brings Dragon dials into play to lay waste in Valerna. Non-bonded Generals may form a dragonbond with them.

Setup: Place 1 Dragon dial in 2 non-starting regions.
Rules: Non-bonded Generals finishing their turn in the same region as a Dragon dial roll for Dragonbond.
Stage I: Destroy 1 Power token from each region with a non-bonded Dragon dial. If there are no non-bonded Dragon dials, place a Dragon dial in an uncontrolled region.
Stage II: Each non-bonded Dragon dial heals all wounds and takes a Wrath action. If there are no non-bonded Dragon dials, place a Dragon dial in an uncontrolled region.
Stage III: Each non-bonded Dragon dial heals all wounds and takes a Wrath action. If there are no non-bonded Dragon dials, place a Dragon dial in 2 uncontrolled regions.

The preliminary document shows four Dragon dials (A to D), each with Combat Value 3, Wound value 5 and Trophy value 1, as a diagram.

When activating Stage effects, if there are no Dragon dials in the supply, no more are placed. This is more likely to happen when playing with expansions that bring more Generals to the game.

When destroyed in combat, a Dragon dial grants 1 Power token from the supply to the player who destroys it.

Dragon dials

Dragonbonded dial: The General player bonded to a Dragon dial may choose only in some situations. Dragon dials are still autonomous and follow normal rules as written if not bonded (such as not retreating), but when multiple options are available, its bonded General makes the choice. If there's none, the player to the right to the one with the Initiative token makes the choice.

The bonded player chooses whether to apply wounds to its Bonded Dragon dial or to Units in the same region.

Bonded to a Dragon dial: Place your Dragonbonded token on your own Character card to indicate that your Dragonbonded ability is active and that you cannot bond with another Dragon.

Consider these rules for your Bonded Dragon dial:

Not a Unit: Your Bonded Dragon dial is not considered a Unit.
- Doesn't control regions.
- Doesn't count toward 6-Unit limit per region since it is not a Unit.
- Doesn't collect Power tokens from a Harvest Glyph.
Assault Glyph: In combats involving your Bonded Dragon dial:
- Add 3 to your Combat Value.
- You may assign wounds to it instead of to friendly Units.
- Enemy Units destroyed go to the Essence track on this card.
While attacking, you may move your Bonded Dragon dial to the chosen region where combat will be initiated if it is adjacent to that region. While defending, if you choose to retreat, your Bonded Dragon dial also retreats to the chosen region.
Deploy Glyph: After resolving this Glyph, you may choose to move your Bonded Dragon dial to an adjacent region or a region connected by sea. Like Dragon players, it may move to regions with enemy Units with this action.
Harvest Glyph: After resolving this Glyph, Heal 1 wound. You may spend 1 Power to heal an additional wound.
Skull icon: If your Bonded Dragon dial is fully wounded, cancel your next Glyph and heal 5 wounds. If fully wounded in combat (not by other effects such as Vaala cards), you are injured and forced to retreat with 1 Power stolen.

The preliminary document also shows a Reference card diagram for this section (Dragonbonded ability; Essence track) and an Essence track icon, which are graphics not reproduced in text form.

The Great Conspiracy from the Crimson Crow

Introduce the largest criminal organization of Valerna to the game. The Saga adds neutral Units to non-starting regions, increasing the Combat Value of neutral forces, and triggering assaults, further escalating its impact and presence as the game progresses.

Setup: Place 1 additional neutral Unit in each non-starting region.
Rules: Neutral forces gain additional Combat Value equal to the Stage of this Saga.
Stage I: The neutral force with the highest Combat Value takes an Assault action.
Stage II: Place 1 neutral Unit in each neutral or uncontrolled region.
Stage III: Place 1 neutral Unit in each neutral or uncontrolled region. The neutral force with the highest Combat Value takes an Assault action.

In Stage I and III, if there are multiple neutral forces tied for highest Combat Value and/or multiple possible targets for combat, the player to the right of the one with initiative token decides.

Legendary relics secretly guarded

Power tokens are placed on Denizen cards in the lineup. Players can gain Power tokens from Denizen cards by retreating to their homeland, influencing which Denizens are available and adding another layer of strategy to obtaining Power.

Setup: Place 1 Power token on each Denizen card in the lineup whose homeland is not a starting region.
Rules: During the Clean-up phase, Denizen cards in the lineup with at least 1 Power token on them are not shuffled back into the Denizen deck. Draw cards until there are 6 total cards in the lineup.

Whenever a Dragon or General retreats, they may gain 1 Power token from any Denizen card in the lineup whose homeland matches the region they retreated from.
Stage I: Place 1 Power token on the rightmost Denizen from the lineup.
Stage II: Place 1 Power token on the leftmost Denizen from the lineup.
Stage III: Remove 1 Power token from each Denizen in the lineup. Then, place 1 Power token on the rightmost Denizen in the lineup.

When a General gains a Denizen card from the lineup, return to the supply all Power tokens (if any) on that card.

Do not slide the cards in the lineup and just fill the gaps during Clean-up while revealing new Denizen cards.

The Return of the Dragonbonded

This Saga brings more neutral Units, representing adversaries plotting against or exploiting the emergence of dragonbonded heroes. It also impacts Power token distribution and removal from regions, creating dynamic shifts in territories and their resources as the stages progress.

Setup: Place 1 additional neutral Unit in each region adjacent to a mountain.
Rules: After resolving the Dragonbond Event card, place 1 neutral Unit in each neutral or uncontrolled region.
Stage I: Place 1 neutral Unit in any neutral or uncontrolled region. Place 1 Power token in any neutral region without Power tokens.
Stage II: Remove all Power tokens from each region with 3 or more Power tokens. Place 1 neutral Unit in 2 different uncontrolled regions if possible.
Stage III: Remove all Power tokens from each region with 2 or more Power tokens. Place 1 neutral Unit in 2 different uncontrolled regions if possible.

Strongholds of Wonder

Cities can become Strongholds to defend regions and Dragons from collecting Power unless the Stronghold is destroyed. Stage progression favors placement in neutral or uncontrolled regions and grants Power to regions with Strongholds.

Setup rules: Each General takes their faction's Stronghold tokens.
Game rules: If a city would be placed in a region that already has a city, place a 4-Wound Stronghold instead. If there is already a Stronghold, reset it to 4 Wounds. Dragons can't collect Power from regions with a Stronghold. Units can't move into a region with a Stronghold, except by initiating combat.
Stage I: Place a city in every neutral region.
Stage II: Place a city in every neutral or uncontrolled region.
Stage III: Place 1 Power token from the supply in each region with a Stronghold token.

Every Stronghold token has a faction side (color) and a neutral side (gray). Stronghold tokens are rings that surround city tokens and can be rotated to track the amount of wounds left to destroy it. They don't heal after combat.

When placing a Stronghold token, use the faction side if the region is controlled. Use the neutral side if the region is neutral or uncontrolled. Newly placed Strongholds enter into play with 4 Wounds.

While applying hits, apply them to the Stronghold first. If a Stronghold with 1 Wound left takes a hit, remove the Stronghold token and return it to the supply. The city token remains in play and follows the normal rules, taking the next hit and being removed afterwards.

Strongholds contain cities. For movement purposes, Strongholds still count as cities, allowing Units to move by sea from regions with Strongholds. Vaala cards affect cities within Strongholds as usual.

Each General can have up to 3 Strongholds in play and can't place more until one of them is destroyed.

A region with a faction Stronghold remains as a controlled region for that player even if there are no Units there.

Resolution phase: Glyphs from a Region card with a Stronghold in it are resolved by the player who controls it.
Clean-up phase: The controller of the Stronghold takes the matching Region card.

If its owner moves all Units from a region with a Stronghold, the region remains controlled by that player.

Neutral Strongholds come into play only if a Fortify Glyph is resolved in a Neutral region with a city token. The region remains Neutral until the Stronghold and Neutral force are destroyed.

While Strongholds do not count as Units for any reason (including for Harvesting or the 6-Unit limit) nor do they count as a force themselves, they do have a combat value of 1 that they can provide to themselves or to friendly forces in the region.

Enemy Units cannot move into a region with a Stronghold, unless they initiate combat in that region. Combat ends when the attacker retreats or destroys the Stronghold.

Dragons can move into regions with Strongholds but can't collect Power from those regions. The Stronghold must be destroyed first.

Vestiges of the Null

Introduces Null Portals and Nullborn to the game. Combat against Null forces is altered, and defeating them allows players to take a Vaala action. The stages increase the presence and power of the Null forces, making them a growing threat.

Setup: Place 1 Null Portal in 2 non-starting regions.
Rules: During combat against a Null force, players' Combat Value above 3 becomes 3. After defeating a Null force in combat, you may take a Vaala Glyph action.
Stage I: Place 1 Nullborn in each region with a Null Portal. If there are no Null Portals, place 1 Null Portal in any uncontrolled region.
Stage II: Place 1 Nullborn in each region with a Null Portal. If there are no Null Portals, place 1 Null Portal token in any uncontrolled region. Each Null force takes a Wrath action.
Stage III: Place 2 Nullborn in each region with a Null Portal. If there are no Null Portals, place 1 Null Portal and 1 Nullborn in any uncontrolled region. Each Null force takes a Wrath action with +1 Combat Value.

The preliminary document shows the Null Portal dial (Combat Value 1, Wounds 4) and the Nullborn dial (Combat Value 2, Wounds 1) as a diagram.

Regions can have multiple Nullborn and Null Portal dials with no limit. In combat, they attack or defend together as a Null force. They are not considered Units or a neutral force and do not control regions.

To defeat a Null force, you must eliminate all Nullborn and Null Portals in the region without retreating.

Weavers of the Arcane Arts

Weavers of the Arcane Arts enriches the game by spotlighting magic and potential through Vaala cards. It lowers the cost to play Vaala cards, promotes their use with bonus Vaala actions, and lets players restore unspent Power tokens to keep playing Vaala cards.

Setup: Each player draws a Vaala card from the top of their deck.
Rules: Vaala cards cost -1 Power to play (to a minimum of 0).
Stage I: In turn order, each player may take a Vaala action.
Stage II: The player (or tied players, in turn order) with the least Power tokens on their player board may take a Vaala action twice.
Stage III: All players flip up to 3 Power tokens on their player board to their unspent side.

Note: Regardless of the Stage, Vaala cards from the Kadhah (Legends of Valerna expansion) are discarded normally when the Kadhah is destroyed and not during the Clean-up phases.

The Wilderness Uprising

This Saga empowers the monsters that roam the land. Recommended with the Creatures of Valerna expansion. It guarantees Creatures to appear as Denizens, and escalating wound damage to adjacent foes.

Setup: If there are no Creatures in play after forming the lineup, reveal cards from the Denizen deck until a Creature is revealed and put it into play. Shuffle the other revealed cards back into the Denizen deck.
Rules: During the Clean-up phase, if there are no Creatures in play after forming a new lineup, reveal cards from the Denizen deck until a Creature is revealed and put it into play.

If you are unable to reveal a Creature card from the Denizen deck because they all are in the discard pile, shuffle all Creature cards back into the Denizen deck so that you can reveal one.

If all regions are controlled and there are no Region cards available to slide under a Creature card, place the Creature miniature in a random controlled region with the most Power.

Shuffle the other revealed cards back into the Denizen deck.
Stage I: Each Creature deals 1 wound to every Dragon or force in adjacent regions.
Stage II: Each Creature deals 1 wound to every Dragon or force in adjacent regions.
Stage III: Each Creature deals 2 wounds to every Dragon or force in adjacent regions.

If playing with this Saga, before setup, add Creatures cards to the Denizen such as The Weeping Mother and the ones in the Creatures of Valerna expansion. Refer to the rules in The Weeping Mother section below.

If all regions are controlled and there are no Region cards to slide below a Creature card, then place it in the region with the most Power, in case of a tie, choose randomly among the tied regions.

Zenith of the Elder Moon

The Elder Moon embodies the Null's opposition to Vaala's transformative power. This Saga limits Vaala hand size to 2, reduces region Power tokens to a maximum of 1, forces players with the most Power tokens to spend one, but grants each player one unspent Power token at setup.

Setup: Place 1 unspent Power token from the supply on each player board (including Faceless, if any).
Rules: Players can't have more than 2 Vaala cards in their hands at any time.
Stage I: Remove all but 1 Power token from every region that has more than 1 Power token.
Stage II: Remove all but 1 Power token from every region that has more than 1 Power token.
Stage III: The player (or players, if tied) with the most Power tokens on their player board flips 1 of them to their spent side.

If you already have 2 Vaala cards in your hand, you must play a Vaala card in order to be able to draw a new one. Effects that cause you to discard Vaala cards from your hand are also helpful to draw new ones.

Expansion Characters

Dragonbond's rich lore is brought to life through compelling narratives featuring memorable characters. This expansion features key characters from The Rise of Itza graphic novel, usable with some factions from the base game or previous expansions.

Select your desired Character card. Its logos and illustration will guide you to the corresponding miniature, Vaala cards, and matching faction's Player board, Action cards, and tokens.

Reganna Fulgen

Plays with the Fulgen faction (Dragon) from the base game.

As a dragon of the Fulgen brood, Reganna shares many attributes with her kin. Clever and opportunistic, she acts only after finding how to tip the scales in her favor.

Itza Chapula

Plays with the Nahuac faction (General) from the Scourge of Valerna expansion.

Itza is a fiery young necromancer who has broken with the traditions of her people, the Xibac, and uses her magic to help those in her society who need her the most.

Aellas

Plays with the Fell Knight faction from the Legends of Valerna expansion or as an Epic General with Allaria or Tyveria factions from the base game.

The Ally token comes into play in different ways depending on how Aellas is being played:

As Fell Knight, by having players bid Power, noted in the Player board.
As Epic General, by activating its unique ability, noted in the Epic Character card.

Vaala cards can be placed faceup in front of you or your Ally. The effect applies to the player who has the Vaala card in front of them, even if the Ally token is passed to another player in the same round. Face-up cards are discarded during the Clean-up phase.

Aellas is a half-elf born of kings and queens, but raised by the Dream in the Fell realms. He seeks to learn more of the mortal realm, to leave an impression upon the world.

The Weeping Mother

This creature is featured in the Dragonbond RPG adventure named The Weeping Mother that unfolds with other characters from graphic novel The Rise of Itza.

Weeping Mothers are rare, powerful cihuen spirits driven by revenge, harming others indiscriminately. Their spirit can only be permanently quelled by returning their mask to a significant grave or shrine; otherwise, they can only be temporarily banished and will reform over time, until they can again seek vengeance on those who wronged them in life.

During setup, shuffle all Creature cards named Weeping Mother into the Denizen deck.

Whenever a Weeping Mother card is revealed in the Denizen line-up, follow these rules:

If it is the only Weeping Mother in the line-up, draw a random Region card from the Region deck and slide it below the Creature card. Then place the Weeping Mother miniature in that region and immediately destroy all Power tokens there.
If another Weeping Mother is in the line-up, discard the newly revealed Weeping Mother card. The creature's stats increase for each Weeping Mother card in the discard pile.

During the Clean-up phase, when revealing Denizen cards, a line-up may consist of 6 Denizen cards plus a Weeping Mother for a total of 7 cards—Creature cards don't count toward the 6-card limit.

Weeping Mother is not a unit; its region remains neutral, controlled, or uncontrolled as per normal rules. The Region card under the Creature card is claimed during the Clean-up phase by any human General controlling that region. If control is lost, return the Region card below the Creature card.

Combat with a Weeping Mother

Dragons and forces can begin their turn, move or retreat into a region containing a Weeping Mother. Only initiate combat is stated by a Glyph or another effect.

Combat against a Weeping Mother is initiated as if it were a neutral force; it does not retreat and always counterattacks. If the region contains additional enemies, the attacker must initiate combat sequentially. This continues until no enemies remain in the region or the attacker has retreated.

To defeat a Weeping Mother, all wounds must be dealt in rounds of a single combat. If the attacker retreats between combat rounds, the Weeping Mother heals all damage.

When a Weeping Mother is defeated:

Discard its Creature card and return its Region card back into the Region deck.
Return its miniature to the supply in case a new Weeping Mother is revealed. Creatures are not added to Essence tracks.
If it was defeated in combat, the attacker gains 1 Power token from the supply (Trophy value).

Weeping Mother's stats are shown as icons in the preliminary document and are rendered in words here:

Combat Value: 2, plus 1 per additional Weeping Mother card in the discard pile.
Wounds: The amount of wounds needed in a single combat to defeat a Weeping Mother is 2, plus 1 per additional Weeping Mother card in the discard pile. Wounds are healed if the attacker retreats.
Trophy value: 1.

Playing without Faceless Players

Playing with Sagas requires additional game upkeep. To minimize downtime, players can opt to play without Faceless players in 2- or 3-player games.

If players are fine with the possibility of forming a dragonbond and having a cooperative or 2 vs 1 game, just remove the Faceless player boards and play normally.

If players prefer to play a fully competitive game, return to the box the Dragonbond card from the Event deck. Do not trigger Dragonbonding between players.

Note that the Saga card The Eye of Kadmos may cause General players to dragonbond with Dragon dials in the same way the Heroes module in the Legends of Valerna expansion may cause Dragon players to dragonbond with Hero Unit tokens. These dragonbonding triggers should be played as normal—players are taking risks and choices for the chance to gain an edge.